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

[awarlock]

I'm sorry you had to be the one to deal with what happened after. I never meant for it to end this way.

[You would think martyrdom covers his track record of gloriously bad but seemed like good at the time ideas.

He's still guessing at what happened, but a lot of times he's right. It's not a huge jump to conclusion to think that he turned into the Magus as a result of trying to mend a fault. In which case, it's not a surprise that Gamora would be mad. They have a history, all three? two? of them. A meeting that should never have happened again.

He made so damn sure, so sure that it wold never happen-- And now that it has again, it's.

Priorities, first.]

Does Peter know this as well?

[gamora]

Then how was it supposed to end? ( Sorry doesn't cut it. Sorry doesn't make him magically come back from the dead, sorry doesn't reform the Guardians, sorry doesn't change the fact that the Magus tortured her and nearly broke her, sorry doesn't fix anything. Gamora thought she'd worked through this the last time they were here, and then they'd left and she was alone again. Because that's what always happens to her - she's left alone and abandoned once she's no use to anyone.

The Initiative had been a convenient outlet in that it gave her something to work with, to be a part of. But it wasn't the same, it didn't provide her with the drive and the purpose she needed and craved. ) What self-sacrificing idiocy would you have done instead?

( Because things end. Gamora isn't naive enough to think otherwise. The Guardians of the Galaxy-- she hadn't thought of that end when she'd been a member. They simply were, and maybe she wasn't happy, but it was something. It was all she had. And then that had been taken from her bit by bit until she'd been left staring at statues. )

Of course he flarking knows. He shot you in the head.

( Not that it worked. )

[awarlock]

We ran out of time.

[WIth more time, maybe the outcome wouldn't have led to a desperate grasp for a prelude to their final solution. Maybe if people listened, it wouldn't have ended in everything being horrible for her. Even though he likes to think about the maybes and better outcomes, the fact is, like sorry, maybes doesn't fix anything. Gamora's just going to have to deal with it and the fact that the state of the universe will always come before any of their happiness and lives. So when he speaks again, it's firm and resolute to reflect that acceptance.]

But I would have taken same steps. I would've let Peter shoot me in the head again, if it means that's what it takes.

[He should talk to Peter about this. They shouldn't sidestep it because Peter's suppose to be a teammate, or whatever they are now.]

[gamora]

Of course you would! You're Adam Warlock. ( That's what's so endlessly frustrating about the situation. Why she wants to strangle him until he gets some sense of self preservation knocked into him or until she has the satisfaction of getting her anger out. Because it's one of the things that makes him inexplicably, completely Adam Warlock. And try as she might she can't find it within herself to hate him for it. What she can find is plenty of self-loathing for the fact she can't hate him for it, however. But that's always been there, and Gamora hardly thinks twice about it anymore. ) The moment you don't die for the greater good is the moment I know you're not you.

( You're not the same. And he's not - but he still is, in all the ways that really count. But she doesn't want to go there, they don't talk about this - haven't even brushed the top of the mess that's underneath. Gamora's not about to start, however, so she throws her hands up in the air and turns away.

The silence is almost beginning to stretch into uncomfortable territory when she speaks again. )

You begged him to shoot you. Except that it wasn't you, it was the Magus.

[awarlock]

[There's nothing to say about that. Yes, he is Adam Warlock, and he will do what's necessary because for all he knows he can't die. That makes him a perfect and, perhaps, the only candidate for some of the tasks the universe is burdened with.

Seeing as her side of the conversation has derailed into her ranting about him and his apparently lack of self-preservation, Adam lets her anger at him roll over and waits for something more enlightening to come out of her. And he is much more concerned about turning into the Magus. Call it selfish or insensitive or whatever, but her anger and frustrations matter very little in the big picture.]

Do you know whether you or Peter are further in the future?

[gamora]

I'll give you a guess - he hasn't died yet when he's from.

( C'mon Adam, which has Gamora's luck ever been in her favor? She turns back to him for that, just to make sure he gets the full force of her look that she's using. )

[awarlock]

[He gets that she's mad but that look is a bit harsh. It's not like he wanted what happened to have happened. Feeling there's no point in regretting a future decision that he has yet to make, he stares back at her and gives her a look in return.]

Are you going to be like this the whole time we're here?

[gamora]

Depends on how many idiotic things you're planning to try.

( If Gamora was a more self-aware individual she'd know that taking out her anger on both Adam and Quill is childish and unproductive. But all she wants to do is punch them both for leaving her twice over even if they can't remember it. It's how the universe works, Gamora knows that, but it never makes it any easier to deal with when it keeps happening. Because they'll leave - just like last time - they'll leave to go die and she'll be trapped in this universe alone with no chance to see them again if they every returned to life.

So instead she retreats into herself, crosses her arms and lets her head fall so she doesn't have to see him and be tempted to punch in his stupid golden face. )

[awarlock]

[He hates that she's like this, so angry at an uncaring and unfair world. But he also remembers distinctly that he was like this, a long time ago. Maybe that's why he hates it. He knows for a fact that it's why he's not being more difficult or returning her anger with his own.]

Maybe so many that we lose count, or only a few. You will still think it's too many so, does it matter?

[Redundant question. Move on - though easier said than done it seems.]

I used the timeline where I became Magus to mend the rip in time and space. Peter shoots me when I eventually turn into him. What else happened?

[gamora]

Maybe one time you'll actually bother to listen.

( He won't. She knows he won't, so it's a losing battle. )

Phyla brought back Thanos before he killed her. ( And she totally deserved that, not even sorry. ) And then Quill marched all of us into the Cancerverse where Drax, Thanos, Quill, and Rider all died.

I only found out later that Lord Mar-Vell killed you - as the Magus.

( And then he came back as a horde of creepy children, apparently. She's done some digging during her new adventures as a mercenary and a freebooter. )

[awarlock]

Interesting.

[What else can you say about that, really. But the important thing is that he can look at the elements that were there and cross them off. Because he knows for sure that Thanos isn't here. And there sure as hell no Lord Mar-Vell. Take out the two more powerful figures, and they have less probabilty for disaster.

Maybe.]

What happen to everyone else?

[gamora]

( A shrug. )

We went our separate ways. I didn't ask them, they didn't ask me.

( It was more like Gamora took the first ship off of Hala she could and spent the time between then and her arrival here picking up spare jobs here and there. It wasn't-- it wasn't the same as being a member of the Guardians. Nothing would be like that ever again, it had gone just like everything else.

But it kept her busy, and that was the most she could ask for anymore. )

[awarlock]

[That's it.

That's all he needs to know. Not that he doesn't care but there are priorities and then there are irrelevant information according to those priorities. When he stands he doesn't take the cape with him.]

If there's a chance that my future aligns with what you've experienced, I need to know that I can trust you and Peter do the right thing.

[A beat, as he reminds himself of their failure rate.]

Or at least gather the right resources that can do it.

[gamora]

You want us to kill you.

( Her purpose. Her original purpose, despite the way the universe and time has shifted so it becomes blurred - as if it never happened to her but someone else who looks and acts just like her. There are moments where her memories sync up and moments still where they diverge. Complicated, but she simply accepts it as the way it is. )

'Right resources'. Because other people are going to sign right up when we ask them if they're willing to kill a teammate.

[awarlock]

Yes.

[Put bluntly. There's no hesitation when he says it despite the fact that he was colouring his phrasing it in a delicate way before. He forgot, briefly, that Gamora doesn't need that. It's what she was intended to do.

He ignores that last statement. If it comes to that, not only will it not be his problem but it will also be a problem that's entirely out of his hands.]

I think I know a way that'll make this work. {WOW DOESN'T THIS SOUND A BIT FAMILIAR] But it's not ready yet. I need more time, and I'll let you know when I have it working.

[A beat.]

It might not come to that. By coming here, we have a new set of possibilities, each produces endless variations on tomorrow. Maybe only some will repeat themselves.

[gamora]

( See it sounds familiar, but it also sounds like the weird philosophical bullshit Adam always spouts and makes her want to do something incredibly rash and drastic. )

Right. Well, when you're finished spouting philosophy and start thinking about it, you can fill me in.

( It's dismissive, but only in the sense that Gamora feels they're done with that topic, not of his company. )

[awarlock]

[He's not sure if using the Soul Gem as a preventative measure is a good idea, considering his shaky control over it and the effect it has on him. He just knows it's all he has. And she wouldn't understand that even if he wanted her to.

He looks like his mind is far off for a moment before nodding.]

Did I tell you how I mended the rip in space/time? [Redundant question. He knows he didn't. He doesn't share his thought process that much.] Just know that I have a solution in hand.

[gamora]

Something about grafting a redundant timeline onto our current one. We went to the Church, because you said that sometime a greater enemy means setting aside current grievances.

Or something.

( Don't ever tell her that she doesn't pay attention when it counts. )