(Intergalactic Space)

The Milano had speed-up and flown to the vast dark blanket of space with numerous stars floating on a galaxy. Peter Quill drove the fleet with Gamora which he was eager to meet the person of interest. The fleet ended up in the intergalactic boundary of Milky Way Galaxy and Large Magellanic Cloud. They had seen a longer and larger fleet in front of them. Quill widened his eyes and jawdropped which he had never seen it.

" Peter! Peter! " Gamora called his name and snapped her fingers in front of him. " Hey! Hey! Hey! Wake up! "

" What?! What?! " he raised his voice.

" Are you losing your mind right now? " she asked, raising her eyebrows.

" Honestly, I've never seen this huge ship before! " he laughed and scratched his head. " Seriously, I wish I could have one! "

Suddenly, they received an audio transmission from the other fleet which he patched in.

" Milano, do you copy? This is from the Ceres Galliot. I'm guiding your way to the Tambor. Are you with me? " a male voice asked.

" Yeah, yeah! I'm looking at your fleet right now! " Quill answered and chuckled. " That's a pretty awesome and huge. "

" You have a lot to hear from me, Starlord. "

" Wait, you're Captain Taron Vrok?! " he recognized the man's voice. " I thought you're dead! "

" It's Wang Tengfei, now. It's a long story to tell. Now, I'm taking you there. "

" Copy, that. " Quill ended the transmission and turned off the patch.

" Peter, I never knew you befriended a Kree before, " Gamora said. " Was he working for Ronan? "

" Nope, he never worked for him, " he answered. " Yondu just introduced me to him and his company once back in Knowhere. They left Hala because of Ronan. They're the few good Kree guys who wanted to go to Earth, so we helped them. "

" Then what happened? "

" Well, something happened afterwards. I never saw him again when he ended up stuck in a black hole. "

" Then, he reappeared once again. Funny, you have encountered an old friend way back. "

" The mysteries of this universe still puzzle me, " Quill smirked.

The Milano had followed the Ceres Galliot going to the outer reaches of the Milky Way Galaxy. Quill and Gamora saw an enormous space fleet in front of them. The red headed Terran again widened his jaw in awe as he saw it. His green-skinned girlfriend slapped his back when he moaned.

" Gamora, what the heck?! " he turned to her.

" Peter, stop staring at it! Keep maneuvering! "

" Right! Right! "

The other members of the team were staring at the window as they saw the biggest fleet coming on their way. Quill received another audio transmission and patched it in.

" This is Captain Roh Norison from the Tambor, " a female voice echoed. " We are expecting you for this rendezvous with the Ceres Galliot. "

" Yeah, yeah, this is Peter Quill, aka Starlord from the Milano. We've got money to give you to your exiles. "

" Good! We can let you in, " she answered. " Welcome aboard. "

" Thanks! " she replied and ended the transmission.

Drax got surprised to hear from what he had heard. He never realized that his intention would come true. He was smiling as he felt pleased the whole cash prize was meant for those orphans and exiles from planet Hala. On the other hand, Rocket was crossing his arms and cursing at the situation which he was still bitter from that casino incident and the bickering with his friend. Groot sat beside him and patted his furry shoulders.

" I am Groot, " the plant being said.

" Look Groot, I don't need to be sympathized. I want money! " the furry one angrily gritted his teeth.

" I am Groot? "

" You don't even get me, do you? "

" I am Groot! "

" Oh, come on! Get lost will ya?! " Rocket furiously exclaimed as Groot rolled his eyes and sighed.

" I AM GROOT... " he sternly muttered and walked away.

" Okay, guys! " Quill called his teammates as they turned their attention to him. " Any moment from now, we'll be meeting with some exiled Kree. So, you guys show respect and be nice. Is that understood? "

Everyone nodded except for Rocket who was still crossing his arms and not in the mood to answer. Mantis looked intently at him when the furry one sternly glared at her.

" You have some serious problems, " she sighed.

Docking on the Tambor, the two fleets had met. The Milano had opened its shaft along with the Ceres Galliot. Quill and his team left their ship as they saw a bespectacled blue skinned man wearing a white changshan and black pants. The Kree man seemed to be cultured on Earth or another Earth which he has been. He looked like a Chinese from his clothing. He was smiling at the red-headed Terran and his crew.

" Peter Quill? " the blue Kree recognized him and curiously raised his voice.

" Captain Taron Vrok? " Quill responded using his former name and hugged his long-lost friend. " I don't know what should I call you now? "

" Like I said earlier, it's Wang Tengfei, " he smiled and hugged him back. " You can call me, Teng for short! "

" Teng! It's good to see you back from the dead! Man, you look like Bruce Lee from what you're wearing! "

" Bruce Lee? You mean the Chinese action star? "

" Yeah! For a Kree like you, how did you know that? "

   " I've been watching and reading books and films about Chinese culture and history from my Earth friends here and the other dimension. Yeah, I speak like a normal Chinese, drink tea, and eat chopsuey, bean cakes, pork buns, dumplings and noodles. Cracking and reading some fortune cookies and doing some Feng-shui are my favorite things. Well, by profession, I'm an astrophysicist, archaeologist, historian, and a guardian from the other universe. My new life is a jack of all trades. Like you will say,  It's far out, dude! " 

" Man, I like the drastic change in you! " Quill made his friendly fistbump as Tengfei chuckled and responded with the same gesture. " You sounded more like an Earth-man than your previous militaristic self! You've got culture! "

" Yeah, thanks! " Tengfei answered and turned to his teammates. " So, they are your companions who helped you defeated Ronan in Xandar? Am I right? "

" Yeah, how did you know that? "

" Another exiled Kree bird had tweeted me to tell your story! "

" Oh yeah! " Drax broke his silence as he understood and gave a hardy laugh. Rocket rolled his eyes in disgust and ignored him. The bald giant smiled and offered the Kree a friendly a handshake, " Right! The name's Drax, a former mercenary. I'm the luckiest guy in the universe that you'll ever meet! Nice to meet you, Teng! "

" Same here, " he smiled. " I'm happy to meet a very fortunate man like you! "

" Yeah!! By the way, we call ourselves the Guardians of the Galaxy! "

" That's a cool name! "

" I am Groot! You are Groot! " the woody plant being gave the exiled Kree a friendly hug.

" Oh, yeah! " Tengfei laughed as he felt tickles from the branches. " You're an awesome tree! "

" I am Groot! "

" Peter has told me about you. I'm Gamora, by the way. " the red-headed and green-skinned lady smiled.

" Likewise, " the Kree nodded and queried. " Tell me, what happened to Old Yondu? "

    " He has passed on, " she sadly answered. " We and the entire Ravagers had set a memorial somewhere else. " 
    

    Quill bowed his head in sadness as everyone understood. Tengfei sighed as he remembered the day when Yondu decided to help him and his companions going to Earth.  Somehow, that was the Kree Voidwalker's fondest memory of the old crazy Centaurian. 

   " I'm sorry to hear that. He will be missed. " 

   " Yeah, we all do..." Quill replied. 

" I'm just new to this team. I'm Mantis, " the insect lady greeted as she glowed light from her antennae. " You're a very powerful Kree warrior, but a noble man. "

" Gee, thanks, Mantis! Only my friends from another dimension and my family just complimented me like that, " he blushed.

" Another universe? " she curiously raised her voice. " You have been there? "

" Yes, it's a very long story to tell. Then, I got married upon my return here few years ago. "

" You're married, Teng? " Quill asked. " Who's the lucky gal? "

" It's a Japanese woman living in China, " Tengfei smiled. " She's half-Kree and speaks Chinese and English aside from her native language. "

" Woah! "

" That's nice to hear from you, bud, " Rocket blandly nodded. " But you're not gonna be happy to meet me. "

" You must be? "

" Rocket Raccoon, the most unfortunate genius of this team. "

Tengfei noticed and sensed the furry being's negativity which he was somewhat puzzled. Then, he turned to Quill and asked, " Did something happen to him? "

" Teng, I'm gonna explain that later, " he replied. " For now, we want to check your people and donate this cash prize. "

" Sure, sure. I'm going to guide you and let you talk to my Kree friend Captain Roh Norison. She's gonna give you some formal arrangements for this donation and distribution. You're all just in time here. "

" So, are there other donors who will help your people? "

" Actually, your team is the first one to volunteer. Then, lately we received other transmissions from other people in the other parts of the cosmos. "

" Cool! " the red-headed man smiled and carried the cash bag. " I guess we're on it! "

Tengfei and Quill's team went walking to the hallway as they saw a crowd of blue and pink skinned survivors in all walks of life gathered around and the others kept wandering. They were all in sad faces. The younger children were all crying and wailing along with the Kree widows. The team felt pierced like a sword from this fleet's gloomy disposition. Gamora heavily sighed as she remembered how her evil adoptive father had done. She looked away which she couldn't stand to see them. On the other hand, Rocket was not interested in looking at them which he thought of acquiring the money for his own benefit and remained silent.

" So, this is what Thanos has made, " Drax sadly spoke.

" Yeah, " Quill nodded. " It's too terrible. "

" I....am....Groot..." Groot sadly spoke and wept as Mantis gently patted his shoulders.

" It's okay, Groot, " she calmly spoke.

" Honestly, this is not I wanted to see, " Tengfei sternly replied.

" Why? " Mantis asked.

" When I left Hala, the Kree Empire was still glorious and corrupted. Now, my people are experiencing turmoil and despair. "

" I understood what you mean, " Gamora nodded.

" We need to find out why he's doing this, " Quill replied.

(Author's Footnote: Sorry for keep you guys waiting for this story. It takes me some time to gather ideas while working on my other main stories and job hunting in real life. The cover art for Chapters 1 and 3 will be drawn very soon!

This chapter is also connected to Kree Voidwalker

Roh Norison belongs to Mare_my_Nostrum )