C125 I’m Star-Lord (Patreon)

Tony watched as Howard leaned heavily against the bar, barely able to keep his eyes open. He seized the opportunity, seeing a chance to find out more about Peter and this new duck-like friend he’d made.

"Come on, Howard," Tony said, standing up and tossing some cash on the bar. "Let's get you home."

Howard grumbled incoherently but didn't resist as Tony helped him to his feet. They made their way out of the bar, Howard stumbling and leaning on Tony for support. Tony was surprised to find that Howard had come in a helicopter, parked neatly on a landing pad at the airport.

"Where the hell did he get this thing?" Tony muttered, noting the Soviet markings as he loaded the drunken Duck into the cockpit alongside him.

"Alright, featherbrain, where to?" Tony asked, settling into the pilot’s seat and starting the engine.

Howard slurred his words, barely making sense. "Up... we gotta go up..."

Tony sighed, realizing this was going to be a challenge. "Up it is."

The helicopter lifted off, and Tony started to navigate based on his passenger's sporadic and barely coherent directions. The journey was anything but smooth, with Howard leading them in circles at times.

"Right... no, left! Wait, up!" Howard mumbled, his head lolling to the side.

"Make up your mind, will you?" Tony grumbled, constantly adjusting the controls.

After what felt like an eternity of misdirections and near-misses, they finally broke through the thick layer of clouds. Tony’s eyes widened as the Red Room floating base came into view, its massive structure hovering in the sky like something out of a science fiction movie.

"What the f*ck...?" Tony breathed, utterly awestruck by the sight.

"Thassit," Howard slurred, pointing lazily. "There."

Tony shook off his shock and navigated towards one of the hangars. The massive doors slowly opened as they approached, allowing them to fly inside. The hangar was dark and eerily silent as they landed.

Tony helped Howard out of the helicopter, both trying to be as quiet as possible, like teenagers sneaking back into the house after a night out.

However, their stealthy approach was abruptly ruined as the hangar lights flicked on, flooding the space with bright light.

Howard squinted, and his heart sank when he saw Peter leaning against the wall, arms crossed as he stared at Tony in surprise. “?”

Howard stumbled, trying to stand upright. "Hey, Cap... I brought company..."

“I can see that…” Peter's eyes narrowed on Tony. "Care to explain what he’s doing here?" He asked Howard.

Tony cleared his throat, smiling awkwardly. "Just giving your feathered friend a lift home. You know how it is after a long night out, right?"

Peter didn’t look amused. "I wasn’t talking to you..."

Tony nodded, realizing he might have bitten off more than he could chew. "Right, umm, I’ll just stand over here…" he said, taking a step away from both Peter and Howard.

Peter's eyes bore into Howard, his fury palpable. “What the hell were you thinking?" His voice was low, barely contained anger simmering beneath the surface. "I told you not to leave. Do you have any idea how reckless that was? And to make matters worse, you brought someone to our secret base. Do you even realize what you've done?"

Tony, standing off to the side, tried to interject. "Hey, Peter, maybe we can—"

Peter turned sharply, his glare silencing Tony instantly. "Stay out of this, Stark. This is between me and the Duck."

Tony raised his hands in a placating gesture, deciding it was best not to push his luck. "Alright, alright. Just trying to help."

Peter turned back to Howard, asking. "Are you even listening right now? Do you understand how serious this is?"

Howard squinted, trying to focus on Peter's face. "I... I'm sorry. I just..."

Before he could finish, Howard's face turned green. With a loud, retching sound, he bent forward and vomited all over Peter's shoes, then collapsed onto the floor, unconscious.

Peter looked down at the mess on his boots, his anger momentarily giving way to disgust. He took a deep breath, trying to regain his composure. "Great. Just great."

Tony couldn't help but chuckle, despite the tense situation. "You know, I did the exact same thing to my old man once. He was so p*ssed off..."

“Yeah, well so am I…” Peter shot him a look, then sighed. "Come on, let’s get this stupid bird to the med bay."

…

As Peter carried the unconscious duck through the hangar, Tony's eyes were wide with fascination. The sight of the spaceship parked there was enough to leave him in awe, but the advanced technology and sleek design of the vessel had him practically drooling.

"Is this... is this what I think it is?" Tony asked, his voice filled with a mixture of excitement and disbelief.

"Yup," Peter replied curtly, his focus on getting Howard to the infirmary. ‘Why did Howard have to bring him to this hangar? There’s like 5 other options…’

Tony's gaze darted around, taking in every detail. "This is incredible... I've never seen anything like it. The tech here is... it's out of this world."

Peter sighed, trying to keep his patience. "Let’s just get Howard to the infirmary, and then we can talk."

They made their way through the ship, Tony's head swiveling as he tried to take in everything at once. The sleek corridors, the advanced control panels, and the hum of alien technology all left him speechless.

As they entered the infirmary, Tony's eyes widened even further. The room was filled with advanced medical equipment, the likes of which he had only dreamed about. A medical droid immediately approached, its sensors scanning Howard as it prepared to attend to him.

"Whoa... is that a robot?" Tony asked, stepping closer to get a better look.

"Yes, it’s a medical droid," Peter confirmed, laying Howard down on a hospital bed. The droid began to work, scanning Howard's vitals and administering necessary treatments.

Tony watched in fascination as the droid efficiently tended to Howard. "The level of technology here... it's like something out of a movie..."

…

As Peter and Tony left the med bay, Tony's mouth was constantly moving with questions, trying to make sense of everything he'd seen.

Peter, on the other hand, was focused on something else entirely. The vomit on his boots and pants was making him increasingly uncomfortable.

"How does the ship's propulsion system work?" Tony asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "And what kind of power source are you using? Whatever it is, it has to be light-years ahead of anything on Earth!"

Peter sighed, kicking his vomit-soaked boots into a nearby trash compactor. "I’m a little busy right now, Tony. We can talk about the ship later..."

Tony didn't seem to hear him, continuing his rapid-fire questioning. "Where’s the cockpit? Does this thing have energy shields like Star Trek? And what's the deal with that medical droid? Is it fully autonomous or remotely controlled? Wait, Is it alive?!"

Peter ignored the barrage of questions as he started taking off his pants, tossing them into the trash as well. The sight finally seemed to snap Tony out of his curious frenzy. He took a step back, his eyes widening in bewilderment.

"Whoa, whoa, hold on!" Tony exclaimed, raising his hands defensively. "I don't roll that way, man. Not that I have anything against it or anything, but I'm into women, not men." He says before suddenly having a realization, “Oh, wait a minute. Is this some sort of welcome ritual from your planet or something? Should I take my pants off too?”

Peter paused, looking at Tony, who began to unbuckle his pants, as if he were an idiot. "Stop! Please for the love of god, just stop. I'm only getting rid of the clothes Howard puked on." He shook his head, walking past Tony to his room. "Just wait here."

Buckling up his pants, Tony watched as Peter disappeared into a room at the end of the hall, feeling a bit foolish for his misunderstanding. When Peter returned a moment later, dressed in a fresh pair of pants and new boots, Tony rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly. "Oh... right. Sorry about that. I thought—"

"Yeah, I know what you thought," Peter scoffed, a small smirk playing at the corners of his lips. "Now, come on. Follow me," he said, leading the way out of the ship and into the labyrinthine hallways of the Red Room.

As they navigated the corridors, Peter glanced over his shoulder. "Alright, Tony. I'll answer three questions, but make it quick. I have things to do and I actually want to get some sleep tonight."

Tony's eyes lit up at the opportunity. "First question: Was that an alien ship we were just in?"

Peter raised an eyebrow. "Seriously? I give you three free questions, and you ask something you already know the answer to?"

Tony realized his mistake. "Right, obviously an alien ship. Do-over." He thought for a moment. "Are you actually from Earth or is your identity just fabricated?"

Peter sighed. "Yes, I'm from Earth. My information is real. I was abducted by aliens when I was nine."

Tony's eyes widened in realization. "That explains why you went missing,” he muttered, a flicker of envy appearing on his face. “Man, I wish aliens had abducted me as a child..."

Peter rolled his eyes, his expression serious. "Trust me, no you don't. It may sound exciting, but the maniacs that took me weren't nearly as friendly as you’re probably imagining right now."

Tony's eyes widened further. "D-did they probe you?!" he asks in a hushed tone, glancing at Peter's backside, as if expecting to see some kind of evidence.

Peter sighed, recognizing that this conversation might be better had once Tony was sober. "No, they didn’t probe me, you sick freak. Now, ask your next question."

Tony thought for a second. "What is this place? Because it’s definitely not alien like your ship. Don’t get me wrong, it’s ahead of Earth’s technology by maybe a decade, but it’s nothing compared to your ship."

Peter explained, "This is the Red Room, a base I commandeered shortly after I arrived back on Earth. My crew has been upgrading it. Well, Rocket has been upgrading it while the rest of the crew works as his minions."

‘Rocket?’ Tony thought, intrigued. "That explains the bits of alien tech I keep spotting," he said, gesturing to an alien-looking terminal at the end of the hall. "Like that!"

Peter nodded. "Yeah, that's Rocket's doing. Though I have no idea what they actually do..."

Tony opened his mouth to ask his last question, but before he could, Peter turned into a room, the door hissing open for him. Inside sat Peggy Carter.

Peter immediately addressed her. "Peggy, we can move the Red Room as planned. Howard’s back."

Peggy nodded, moving to activate the controls, but she froze at the sight of Tony, who had followed Peter inside.

Simultaneously, they both exclaimed, "Why is he/she here?"

————

Darth Maul stood on the bridge of the leading Kree warship, his yellow eyes fixed on the vast expanse of space beyond the large viewport. His face was contorted into a perpetual scowl, a reflection of the annoyance and frustration boiling within him.

The task assigned by his master was beneath him—retrieving a mere plaything was a mission unworthy of his skills and status. To make matters worse, this mission forced him into Wild Space, an unpredictable and dangerous region that could claim his life at any moment.

The journey had been far from smooth as well. They had already lost two warships: one to the insatiable pull of a black hole and another to a colossal, squid-like creature that had torn the ship apart before succumbing to their fleet's artillery fire. The beast's death had been swift, but the loss of the ship and its crew was a blow to Maul’s pride and resources.

Despite these setbacks, they were now nearing their destination. The fleet had just entered the solar system where Carol’s signal was emanating from. A giant blue planet loomed before them—Neptune. Beyond it, a tiny speck in the vastness of space marked their true target: Earth.

Maul’s scowl deepened as he stared at the distant speck. "Prepare the fleet," he ordered, his voice a low growl. "We approach our destination."

The officers on the bridge snapped to attention, issuing commands to the rest of the fleet. The ships moved with coordinated precision, each one a piece of the larger, deadly puzzle that Maul intended to unleash upon this unsuspecting world.

A/N: 2121 words :) 4/4 done ✅