C129 I’m Star-Lord (Patreon)

Peter and everyone in the control room let out a collective sigh of relief, having just watched with bated breath as the blips for the Kree ships descended to Earth and passed over New York City.

The tension had been almost unbearable, each moment stretching out as they feared the worst. However, the ships seemed to have no interest in the city, their focus solely on following Carol’s ship’s beacon, which would lead them straight to the Red Room.

Tony broke the silence, his voice a mix of amazement and concern. "Since they passed over New York, doesn’t that mean the world knows about aliens now?"

"Uh..." Peter's mouth dropped open as he thought. ‘I didn't think of that... Maybe we should have headed out to the ocean instead?’

As the weight of his words settled over the group, Peggy’s phone began to ring. She glanced at the screen, her expression annoyed. "Not now," she muttered, hanging up. But the phone rang again... and again... and again. Each time she hung up, the phone rang almost immediately.

Finally, unable to ignore it any longer, Peggy answered. "What is it? I’m busy," she snapped.

A man's voice, sharp and authoritative, yelled from the other end. "Carter! Why haven't you been answering? The Council is furious! We have an emergency!"

Peggy's eyes flashed with irritation. "I know about the aliens, and I’m handling it," she cut him off, her tone leaving no room for argument. She hung up before he could respond, and this time, the phone didn’t ring again.

Peter raised an eyebrow, wanting to ask who that was, but Rocket's urgent voice interrupted. "Heads up, everyone. The fleet will arrive soon."

Everyone turned their attention back to the holographic map, where the Kree ships were moving steadily toward their location. The markers on the display grew closer, their arrival imminent.

"They’ll be here any minute," Rocket added, his voice tense but controlled.

Peter turned to Rocket, his expression serious. "How far out are the Professor and Magneto?"

Rocket tapped a few controls, adding both groups to the holographic map. Thankfully, he could do this because they were both using helicopters from the Red Room.

The icons representing Xavier and Magneto's teams appeared behind the Kree fleet, moving at half the speed. "The fleet must have passed them," Rocket said, his voice grim. "They’ll get here late."

Everyone else seemed to realize this as well, a range of nervous looks spreading across their faces. The weight of the situation pressed down on them.

Peter thought for a second before asking, "Rocket, can you handle things here alone, or do you need assistance?"

Rocket shook his head. "I need a bunch of people to help out. There’ll be a lot of controls to work when everything pops off."

Peter nodded, looking around the room and quickly assigning roles. "Teefs, Floor, Lylla, Peggy, Natasha, Tony, and Howard, stay here and assist Rocket with controlling the Red Room in battle."

Howard immediately complained, "But I want to fight!" He shouted, swinging his Tommy gun around.

Peter shot him a glare that silenced him instantly. "You're on thin ice already. Now isn’t the time to push it."

With the assignments made, Peter turned to Groot and Cosmo. "Follow me," he said, heading toward the door.

“I am Groot!/Yes, Captain!” Groot and Cosmo fell in step behind him, leaving the control room and the others behind.

As they left, Tony, curiosity getting the better of him, walked up to one of the tables filled with buttons. "What does this one do?" he asked, his hand already reaching out.

Rocket's eyes widened. "Don't touch that—"

But it was too late. Tony flipped a switch, and the room sprang to life. Panels shifted and opened up, revealing multiple chairs fitted with large joysticks, each equipped with a single trigger.

Holographic screens appeared in front of each chair, displaying the weapon systems emerging from the hull of the Red Room. Giant plasma cannons and high-caliber plasma turrets, ready for action.

Tony's mouth watered at the sight, realizing the immense power at their disposal. “Beautiful..." he muttered, awe evident in his voice.

Howard, watching from the side, felt his disappointment at being left behind wash away instantly. "Well, this just got a lot more interesting," he said, a grin spreading across his face.

Rocket, although slightly annoyed, couldn't help but smirk. "Alright, let's get to work. Everyone, take a seat and get familiar with your controls. We're going to need all the firepower we can muster."

————

Outside, Peter and Cosmo stood at the tallest point of the Red Room, the high-altitude wind blowing fiercely around them, awaiting the impending storm of the Kree fleet.

Peter pulled an earpiece from his pocket and placed it in his ear. Tapping it once, he asked, "Can you guys hear me?"

"Yep, loud and clear," Rocket's voice crackled through the earpiece, followed by a chorus of affirmations from the rest of the group, all sitting in their chairs, joysticks in hand.

Peter then asked, "Groot, Logan, can you hear me as well?"

"I am Groot," came the deep, resonant reply.

Logan's gruff voice followed. "I think he means yes, we can hear you."

Both Logan and Groot were in the forest below, standing amidst the dense trees, waiting. Logan, curious and slightly annoyed, asked, "Why are we down here again?"

Minutes ago, Logan was walking through the Red Room halls, searching for someone to explain the blaring alarms, when he ran into Groot, Cosmo, and Peter, who promptly recruited him into the fight.

Peter took a deep breath before explaining. "I need you and Groot to sweep the ground during the battle and kill any stragglers that survive. Groot has the home-field advantage since we're in a forest, and Logan, your animalistic mutation gives you a similar edge. But remember, make sure no ships are ever above you."

Logan chuckled. "Why? Think they'll abduct us or something?" He asked, imagining a tractor beam pulling them up.

Peter shook his head, smiling slightly. "No, because they might crush you when we shoot them out of the sky."

That seemed to sober Logan up. His smirk disappeared, replaced by a serious expression. "Okay, got it. We’ll stay far away from any ships."

"Good. When the Professor and Magneto's groups arrive, I'll have their followers join you. Until then, you'll have to manage on your own." Peter replied, nodding in satisfaction. He glanced down at the outer hull of the Red Room beneath him, taking in the sight of the plasma cannons and turrets strategically positioned around the base.

"Rocket," Peter called out, "I have to say, the firepower you’ve added to the Red Room is incredible. If I ran into a ship like this in space, I'd definitely turn the other way and run."

Rocket's laugh echoed through the earpiece. "I'm not even halfway done with the upgrades. This baby’s gonna be unstoppable!"

Peter smirked, feeling a surge of gratitude for having Rocket on his team. ‘Thank god for you, Rocket. You're the best addition to my crew.’ He thought, happy to have a genius onboard.

Suddenly, Rocket asked, "So, when should I remove the clouds covering the red room?"

The clouds surrounding the red room were artificially created to hide it from sight. Meaning, Rocket could easily turn them off from the control room with the flip of a switch.

Peter responded, "Will the red room show up on their ship's sensors?"

Rocket scoffed, "Do you think so little of me? Of course not!"

Peter smirked, "Alright, then keep the clouds up until I say so. And no one is to fire a single shot until I've given the word. Just wait and prepare to fire."

————

Minutes later, Darth Maul stood in the observatory of his flagship, the largest ship in the fleet, gazing out of the giant reinforced window. All he could see was a cloudy sky above and a dense forest below.

His eyes flicked to the holographic map displaying the GPS location of Carol's ship's beacon, which indicated it was less than a mile ahead. Yet, there was no crash site in sight. Nothing.

The fleet pushed forward nonetheless, but now they were positioned directly above the beacon, yet still, there was nothing.

Maul frowned angrily and turned to the soldiers controlling the ship. "Where is the ship? It’s certainly not down there." His voice was cold and menacing. "If any of you have made a mistake, I will torture you until you beg for death." His yellow Sith eyes glowed, sending a chill through the Kree soldiers.

The Kree soldiers scrambled, frantically trying to determine the issue. One of them had a bright idea: he switched the POV of the holographic GPS to show its longitude and latitude. Springing from his seat, he called out to Maul, "Lord Maul!"

Maul glared at him. "What is it? Did you make a mistake?"

The soldier, shaking with fear, stuttered, "N-no, my lord. It’s the beacon. It’s... above us!"

Just as he said this, Maul peered out of the sealed window, trying to see above. The glass made it difficult, but he could barely make out the clouds beginning to vanish, revealing the edge of some sort of structure. He muttered, "What is that?"

Then, he noticed a plasma cannon on the edge of the structure, turning downward to aim at them. His eyes widened in realization. "Get us out of here, now!" he shouted.

…

Peter watched as the fog cleared on his command, revealing the fleet perfectly positioned below them. He gave the order over his earpiece, "Aim."

He observed the giant plasma turrets and cannons simultaneously align downward, ready to strike. "Leave the biggest ship to me and Cosmo," he instructed, receiving affirmative replies in return.

"Fire!" he commanded, his voice firm.

The excited voices of his team echoed over the radio as they happily complied. Plasma cannons and turrets unleashed a barrage of firepower, blasting down at the fleet.

In an instant, the sky lit up with the blinding light of alien artillery. The beams of energy shot downward, piercing the Kree ships with explosive precision.

“…” Peter watched as the first ship erupted into flames, its hull disintegrating under the relentless assault. The explosion sent shockwaves rippling through the fleet.

One ship, struck directly in its engine core, spiraled out of control. Its fiery descent accompanied by the deafening roar of metal tearing apart. The ship collided with another, and both exploded in a dazzling display of destruction, debris raining down into the forest below.

Peter smirked, satisfaction curling his lips. "I love it when a plan comes together," he muttered, observing the chaos. His plan was unfolding flawlessly, and the Kree fleet was crumbling.

…

Meanwhile, Maul watched in horror from the bridge of his warship as the plasma blasts tore through his fleet. The once-formidable armada was now a scene of chaos and destruction. He could do nothing but stare as ship after ship was annihilated.

The air was filled with the sounds of explosions and the screams of soldiers. Maul's anger boiled over as he saw two ships collide, their wreckage cascading in a fiery display. He clenched his fists, his yellow eyes blazing with fury and helplessness.

Maul's voice was a snarl of desperation. "Get all ships moving, now!"

The crew scrambled to obey, but before the ship could go anywhere, Maul's gaze was drawn to a flicker of movement above.

…

Atop the Red Room, Peter turned to Cosmo, a determined glint in his eyes. "You ready?"

Cosmo barked, her collar replying, "Let's do it, Captain!"

Together, they leapt off the edge, hurtling down toward the largest warship—Maul's warship. As they neared the massive vessel, they both concentrated, channeling all their telekinetic strength. Just before impact, they released a powerful blast of telekinesis, cushioning their descent while simultaneously crumpling a quarter of the ship with a forceful impact.

The ship groaned under the immense pressure, tilting awkwardly as it was forced to crash to the ground. It landed heavily on its right engine, which immediately exploded.

*Boom!*

Though the ship remained mostly intact, the damage was clear. It wouldn’t be flying again without some serious repairs.

Peter and Cosmo rode the descending vessel like a surfboard, leaping off just before it impacted the ground, both completely unharmed.

Maul was thrown off his feet by the crash, but he quickly regained his footing, anger fueling his movements. He stumbled to the window, peering out to see the source of his ship's sudden downfall.

His eyes widened in shock as he saw Peter and Cosmo standing defiantly in front of the downed warship. "Jedi!" he hissed, recognizing Peter immediately as the one who killed Ronan the Accuser. After all, he and his master were all over the holonet, especially in the Kree Empire.

Of course, Peter recognized him as well. ‘So, Sidious sent his apprentice…’ And though he couldn't hear Maul's words through the reinforced glass between them, he still responded with a calm, "Hello there..."

A/N: 2159 words :) 4/4 done ✅ another chapter coming soon. Just gonna eat something first.