i am a master hunter | OPEN

[gamora]

Date & Time: October 7th, evening.
Location: The VR rooms.
Characters: Gamora & YOU
Summary: Wanting to punch some monsters, Gamora travels to the 90s. This time without broken spines.
Warnings: Standard comic book violence, will edit as needed.


( The scene that Gamora programs into the VR is surprisingly mundane at first glance - a jungle island complete with muggy heat and the sound of the ocean in the distance. Gamora herself looks different - dressed in a fishnet one piece with a V cut into the front down past her navel, black fur cape, and a surprising amount of gold jewelry. It's familiar to her, at least, drawn on what she remembers from her longest stay on Earth previous to her arrival in Exsilium. A castle - thin and almost pathetic looking rather than imposing - rises out of the jungle in the distance and completes the setting.

But Gamora isn't there to dwell on past memories, she's there to keep herself entertained. And what better way to do that than adjust the programming so her physical strength increased to the level it was on Godthrab and let herself loose on Monster Island?

Which is why she's grinning when the first giant creature crashes through the underbrush and she dodges a swipe of a gigantic clawed hand. Low key, good old fashioned physical combat - there really was nothing better. )

Comments

[gamora]

No one did, that was kind of the point. Where else are you going to keep the infinity gems?

( Some stupid island where no one would come looking for them. It worked rather well, at least at first. But then everyone knew they had them, and things went from 'uneventful' to 'rapidly spiraling out of control and everyone makes stupid life choices'.

So nothing changed that much from then to now. )

Have a better idea?

( They're stuck on the moon, the missions are all to gather supplies and not fight anyone or anything. And Gamora's just fine without running to sign up to make a toilet paper run, thanks. )

[getoffmyearth]

[He's just going to plop down on the grass and watch her fight monsters, then. She can have all of them. He feels no need to take on any of them today, his life is hard enough without shooting a virtual monster in the face.]

I wish I did, Gamora, you'd be the first to hear about it. Well, you and Adam.

[though maybe he would tell her before, just to see if he would have an ally or not when he took it to Adam, if the idea was going to be particularly Adam-disapproved.]

I wish I had any ideas, period.

[gamora]

( Gamora doesn't respond until she's brought down two more, canceling the program and falling ten feet from the head of the last one to the ground as it disappears from under her. )

This from the ideas man. ( It's less scathing than it could have been, but Gamora's accepted that there's nothing to do, that this is one problem she can't fight her way out of, but that doesn't mean she has to like it. ) Adam's traveled through realities before, with the Soul Gem. Don't ask me how - I don't know. ( A beat, and she leans up against a palm tree, arms crossed. ) It's not connected to the teleport system that the Initiative uses, so the UE might not be able to follow us through.

Tell him no when he offers it as a solution.

( Gamora knows it won't actually stop Adam, but if there's one thing she's sure of it's that the Soul Gem is never worth the trouble using it causes. She doesn't care about the plan - it's solid and it might actually work, which means they'll end up trying it. But Adam Warlock has never been the type of person to prioritize his own personal well being when faced with a solution. Gamora doesn't want to think about why she's so adamant that he doesn't do anything overly stupid since he'll go and do it anyway, it's not important.

What is important is that he doesn't screw them all over this time around. And himself. )

[getoffmyearth]

[That certainly interrupts his train of thought. Peter is determined to come up with something, if he has to do it with nothing but sweat and grit and glue a solution together with spit. Because even when he's not responsible, Peter feels responsible. If he doesn't do it- if they don't do it, and he doesn't pull together the effort and the plan- then it's probably not going to happen. He really, truly, believes that. Always had, back from the very early days as Star-Lord; it's the one thing he still has left, when all the new-age heroism and romanticism of space have fallen by the wayside as foolish and dangerous dreams.]

- he's never told me anything like that before. [Is he maybe a little hurt? He shouldn't be. It's not like he's told Adam all about his past, before. Though some part of Peter assumes Adam could just see it all by looking at him; the fact that he's not constantly bathing in contemptuous judgment from Adam Warlock says that he probably can't, though. But it's odd that if it's a solution, they haven't been immediately gunning for that before. Maybe. It's not like Adam to just sit on information or hold back from doing something.] What makes you even think he'd bring it up?

[Because just as Peter has failed to tell Adam he's carrying a cosmic cube (though Gamora probably took care of that for him)...he's not entirely aware in a conscious sense if Adam has that thing.]

[gamora]

Because he has the gem, Quill. And he's already tried to use it only it's-- ( Gamora pauses, as she tries to think of how to exactly explain the link between Adam and the gem. Vampiric is the word that springs to mind first, but that's not accurate. ) Flark, I don't know. It's always been his thing.

( Gamora has always cared very little for the gems as a whole, and harbors a fair amount of resentment towards the soul gem while knowing full well that inside of it has been one of the only times she's actually felt at peace with the world. It's a complicated relationship, but not nearly as complicated as the one between it and Adam. )

He probably wants to wait until he has some control over it again.

[getoffmyearth]

[This doesn't sound good. Peter has distinct feelings about powerful artifacts that are kind of unstable and unpredictable. Even in the hands of somebody like Adam. Because despite everything- despite the Magus- Peter still has an unshakeable faith in Adam's ability to do the right thing and pull off amazing feats.]

What is that supposed to mean?

[gamora]

I mean exactly what it sounds like.

( Quill doesn't know. How could he know? He's never met Adam while he was wearing the Soul Gem, and it's not something any of them talk about either. For a moment Gamora is reminded of how much of her own history is tied up with not only Adam, but Drax and Moondragon. They'd know what she was talking about, perhaps not to the same level, but all of them were witness to his struggle with it. )

It's always been semi-sentient, and Adam's normally been able to bend it to his will. ( A shrug. ) He'll get it eventually. He always does.

[getoffmyearth]

Just when you think things couldn't get more screwed up than they already were-

[Teach him to think that. There's a lot of issues they have, and Peter would be the first to say he's got his own demons, his own baggage. These things don't ever go away. You live with the scars of your life forever and ever, all the regrets and the things you ever did and all your failures. He can handle that. He can handle a lot. Superpowered evil side? Ok. Adam's a good guy. They'll help him as best as they can. (Peter tries not to think of how they failed him, how they never did help him properly.) But this is a whole new problem. Do they have room for more of those? What's going to be the one thing that finally breaks them completely?

(It's him. It's his death. There are no Guardians without Peter Quill.)]

What happens if he doesn't get it, Gamora? I don't want-

[He can't get the words out.]

I can't try to- to stop him, again, like I did before.

[gamora]

I'll do it.

( Gamora knows she's failed in the past, that every time it comes down to line she can never fulfill the purpose for which she was saved. Kill the Magus. But if it's Adam - if it's not the Magus, then maybe there's a chance for success. )

He wants us to do it, anyway. So if you can't, I will.

( They definitely had this conversation. )

[getoffmyearth]

You guys have already talked about this?

[Don't feel left out don't feel left out don't feel left out-]

Why the hell hasn't he said anything to me about that either? Did you- you told him what happened, didn't you?

[Oh Gamora why would you do that.]

[gamora]

He asked.

( And Gamora has never cared enough to flat out lie. )

I'm not going to walk around and pretend it didn't happen.

( Not when she can remember it - half conscious and floating above them as she was. It didn't work, it was another flarking trick that got them all, but it still happened. )

[getoffmyearth]

[But it wasn't her hand on the trigger.]

You could have let me say something. You could have let me tell him.

[But he doesn't even know what he would say. What do you say about that? What he said when he tried to put the bullet in Adam's brain, maybe. Look what you made me do.

And the part that's so much harder to say. The part where you have to say I'm sorry for failing to kill something.]

[gamora]

What? "Sorry Adam, but you begged me to to shoot you in the head but it obviously didn't work"?

( A disbelieving huff, arms crossed. She doesn't believe there was any other way to break it to him, or that he could have even choked out the words. )

Don't be stupid, Quill.

[getoffmyearth]

You know, not everyone feels the need to deliver a conversational punch in the face when they have something bad to say.

[It's a lot easier when you're emotionally constipated to get around having to say what you mean. But Peter feels like he owes some honesty, now. Some kind of decorum.]

[gamora]

I don't believe in pulling my punches. ( Verbally and physically. Some people appreciate it. Other people wonder if Gamora has any sense of tact at all. ) If you expected otherwise you've got the wrong members of the team.

[getoffmyearth]

[TACT AND GAMORA ARE TWO BOATS PASSING IN THE NIGHT NEVER EVEN NOTICING EACH OTHER OR THE ICEBERG THEY'RE ABOUT TO RUN AGROUND ON. In each others' company, only disaster can follow.]

Every time- every time we have a conversation like this, you act like I must be blind or deaf or stupid, like I don't know these things.

[gamora]

Could have fooled me.

( SHRUG. Because it's totally not her problem right now, it's all on him. )