7496/Halfworld and the Truth about Rocket

Halfworld and the Truth about Rocket
Date of Scene:	29 August 2021
Location:	Halfworld, Keystone Quadrant
Synopsis:	The Guardians arrive at Halfworld, where they not only find out there are others like the injured Rocket, they also learn an unexpected truth about him and the planet itself. Of course there's a mission involved.
Cast of Characters:	Rocket, Drax, Peter Quill, Nebula, Finley Ellison, Ava Starr, Gamora, Vance Astro

---

Rocket has posed:
Since the attack on Sanctuary II, the Milano has been en route to Halfworld. There was already one death as a result of the efforts of the Guardans of the Galaxy and friends to stop Thanos and get Nebula back.

In that respect, the mission was a partial success. Nebula is with the crew, but in addition to Phyla-Vell's erasure there is another barely hanging on to life: Rocket, in stasis, the recipient of a vicious attack by Nebula, who only snapped out of it after realizing what she'd done. Now, she leads the way to the only place she could think of that had any chance at fixing him up. What will happen afterward, that remains to be seen.

Not much is known about Halfworld itself. Rocket certainly hasn't spoken much of it, though a couple times when he was drunk it seemed old memories were surfacing. Something about "Loonies," keeping them occupied, keeping them happy. Rumors existed about animals like him, but also robots. None of it was clear. When Nebula struck, and struck again and again, the scars and markings over Rocket's torso and back revealed more: cybernetics and circuitry within, blended with organic tissue, muscle, flesh. There was more to Rocket than it'd appeared, but how much? More importantly, what was his connection to the planet?

As the Milano came out of its last jump, leaving it in the Keystone Quadrant, Halfworld itself loomed ahead of them. Initially, the Guardians and those with them can see a Saturn-like ring around the planet, but scans indicate it is more of a metallic, technological wall rather than debris and space dust. Data records reveal it to be called the Galacian Wall, and energy signatures along with visual confirmation indicates it serves as a force field of some kind. To what purpose, though? To keep the planet's inhabitants in? To keep others such as those in the Milano out? Both?

It doesn't impede them from seeing the planet itself, and it doesn't take much to determine how it came to be called Halfworld: one side of it looks green, likely teeming with life, similar to a planet such as Earth. The other side is the complete opposite. Gray, silver, industrial, dead.

Before anyone on the ship can decide on a course of action, they are hailed from someone planetside, the voice robotic, female:

<<Foreign vessel, designation Ravager M-Class: this is a restricted zone. You will identify yourselves immediately and state your reasons for intruding on Halfworld airspace. Repeat: this is a restricted zone. Unsatisfactory answers will be met with extreme force. You have one minute to respond or depart.>>

The clock is ticking.

Drax has posed:
"Tell them we have stolen property," Drax says as if he gets a vote on a gameshow.  He nods and grins encouragingly from where he stands, hanging onto a handle attached to the hull.  "I wonder what happens if we do neither."  He somewhat leans forward over the seats a little so he can look at all of the panels.

Peter Quill has posed:
Star Lord is manning the Milano's controls today as the planet comes into view. When the message follows he taps the comms button. "Whoa, whoa, this is the Milano we come in peace," he begins. "We've got an injured crew member that needs medical attention we're requesting permission to land," then he tries something. "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy," he looks back at the rest of the crew and shrugs. Maybe they heard of them? Who knows.

He shakes his head to Drax mouthing 'dude no' before looking to Ava. "Figured out the bands yet? We might need them if things get ugly."

Nebula has posed:
    It's really easy to steal a spaceship full of people when the people on it all agree with your motives. In this case, save Rocket's life. Nebula feels guilty but she's not going to let anyone unwrap that onion. Sure, Thanos put her in the mindset for a bit of murderiness but she's the ones with the knives. She chose Rocket strategically as he usually packs the most firepower.

    At first the cockpit door was locked - then Gamora wanted to talk which turned in to a very loud argument just about everyone on the ship probably heard. Then the cockpit door was unlocked and she needed food, which meant interacting with the Ava and Fin, who turned out to be more interesting than she expected. Now that they are here, the door is open and Nebula isn't even the one piloting anymore.

    The strange 'half world' has her eyes widen a touch. She's never seen its like before. A curious place that promises an interesting history. She is standing against the back of the cockpit area with one foot against the wall. Her dark eyes closed - she's not going to take no for an answer, not after coming all thsi way.

Finley Ellison has posed:
All of this is well outside of Finley's experience. And for once, she's out of bright ideas. Or she hasn't had a bright idea yet. Maybe they just aren't in enough danger for her to come up with a truly off the wall solution.

Either way, she hangs back, next to Ava. And keeps he mouth shut.

Ava Starr has posed:
"Let's hope things don't get ugly," Ava says dryly in response to Quill. Because, no. She *hasn't* figured out the bands yet. Not for lack of trying. (Okay. Maybe a little lack of trying. But there has been *some* trying. Sorta.)

She stands at the back of the cockpit, mainly out of curiosity about where they're going. But, if things get rough, she'll need to retreat to wherever there's an extra seat she can strap into. Though she hasn't lost her ability to go intangible, and thus avoid bruises. She does, however, worry about getting accidentally ejected from the ship in that state. She shoots Finley an apprehensive look, her one hand flexing in and out of a fist that betrays her nervousness. Then, her gaze returns to the planet with its strangely split appearance. It's not even a tidal lock thing. It's just a... weird... inhabitant thing, if she has to guess.

Rocket has posed:
Those in the cockpit of the Milano may notice the ship continues to be scanned even as they formulate and provide a response. That robotic voice interjects, <<Query: Guardians of the Galaxy, known members? The Keystone Quadrant is far removed from other regions. Conclusion: none venture here unless there is a specific reason. Identity of injured crewmember requested.>>

It certainly appears that they are going to have to give up some information if they want to be permitted inside the force field.

Drax has posed:
Drax shrugs at Quill but doesn't yell anything over the comms, so it's a win.  "What name would they know him by here?" He wonders aloud once the robotic voice has responded.  "I only know him as Rocket and Dog and Raccoon.  You know.  All the names he doesn't like?" he almost whispers, as if it would matter.

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter glances at Drax and shrugs. "That's about it for me too, and some letters and numbers I think? But totally blanking on those."

He glances back to the others. "Strap in, and Fin if you want to be co-pilot get on up here," he says before turning back to the comms screen. "We call him Rocket. About yay high," he holds his hand up about Rocket's height if the cameras are on or not. "Likes machines and guns, he's from here apparently."

Nebula has posed:
Nebula suspects responding with 'Professional Asshole' is going to be counter productive to their purpose here. At least whatever kind of AI is challenging them seems to share its stream of thought. Of course, she has been puzzling over why Rocket said Lylla. Whoever or whatever that is meant to be. That he didn't say Groot has been puzzling her since she took the Milano.

    "They're sure to answer to one of them. Trash Panda, Ratchett, Rabbit, Murder Furball, Anger Issues," and these are names coming from Nebula, Miss Angry Smurfette herself, "It wouldn't surprise me if Rocket was just another made up name too." Made up by someone and he liked it? .. truth be told most of all of those names were made up by Peter.

    At the mention of letters and numbers she sighs and pushes off the wall and walks over to the comms. Pressing the speak button she recalls the drunken ramblings of Rocket that may or may not be his actual name, "eighty nine p thirteen." She has a very good memory - digital and biological.

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley glances around to the rest of the crew. Since no one -- Nebula in particular -- seems to be objecting to Peter's offer to have her at the helm, she squeezes Ava's fingers briefly, and then threads her way to the front to take a seat in the co-pilot's chair. "Rock and roll," she murmurs.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava suspects that strapping in the moment Finley takes the helm is *not* the best way to show confidence in her friend. So, she continues to stand back by the door. But once Fin releases her hand, hell, yes, she's gone intangible. It's not, however, a lack of confidence in Fin. It's a total confidence that, as the crew starts listing out all of the insults they like to label their friend with (geez, with friends like these...), she's justifiably cautious about just what the Halfworld response is going to be.

She glances down to ghe bands on her wrist and finds herself wishing they were a helluva lot more intuitive than they actually seem to be. She can't phase a whole ship intangible. Hell, she can't even phase all the people here intangible.

"Bloody hell," she murmurs.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora heals pretty fast, but not THAT fast. The bandaging around her wounded arm is no longer as severe, but it's still restrictive. She's donned her cloak to hide it, along with obscuring most of her body. She's been silent since the approach, staring at the planet in an odd combination of awe and a sort of disgust she struggles to articulate. She gives Nebula a bit of a look when she so easily recalls such seemingly trivial details about Rocket, but she can't chalk that up to sentimentality, necessarily. Lady's got a computer in a brain, essentially.

Rocket has posed:
<<Verfifying...>> comes the rather sterile, emotionless voice. <<Subject 89P13, designation 'Rocket' confirmed.>>

That is the last they hear from whatever computer or AI security or whatever it is, but that is far from the end.

The mention of Rocket draws an immediate shift in the responses, as another female voice cuts in, though this one is not robotic at all.

<<Did you say Rocket? As in Ranger Rocket? As in Rocket Raccoon? Our scans confirmed he was aboard, but unresponsive. No wonder we didn't hear him. What happened? Wait. Tell me in person. My name is Lylla. I knew...I mean, I know him. But he might not know me any more.>>

That name is familiar, at least to Nebula. Rocket, in shock and about to lose consciousness while she carried him to the Milano, mistook her for Lylla, calling her his love.

Moments pass and a flickering in the Galacian Wall brings with it another message from said Lylla.

<<Enter, quickly. Follow the coordinates to the building indicated and land in the hangar. It is our headquarters. There are things we must explain, and there is not much time to do it. Please, hurry.>>

There is urgency in her voice, along with concern. Something has her unsettled.

As they pass through a gap made in the Wall it closes back up behind them, which re-establishes the energy field. Descending toward the green side of the planet puts them close to the transitional zone to the other side of Halfworld, but there is a large mansion in view along with the hangar she spoke of, a wide door rising up out of the ground. All seems peaceful on the surface, and they can see a few small villages in the distance, homes and buildings made out of a yet to be determined design. Dome-like, white.

When the Milano arrives inside the hangar, the doors close behind it. Awaiting them are a few creatures that stand upright much like Rocket's known to. One is an otter. Another is a mole. A third is a walrus, though that one is positioned like one would expect a walrus to be. Flanking them are a trio of weapon-toting robots of vaguely humanoid design...if clowns count for humanoid here. One has sawblades for hands, another carries an axe, the third a sword.

All six await those on the ship to exit.

Drax has posed:
"No rocks.  No rolls.  Rocket is sleeping."  In stasis.  Same thing.  Sure.  Drax frowns and says to himself, "Ranger Rocket?"

After they get their directions and the comms shut off, Drax says, "I'm bringing a rifle.  Maybe some grenades.  We have those.  Right Quill?"  As they pull into the hangar though and get a look at who is waiting, he leans forward a little, making Quill's chair creak.  "They do not look very helpful."

Peter Quill has posed:
Peter gives Finley a grin for her 'rock and roll' comment and when Lylla asks about Rocket he says, "We mostly just call him Rocket, but would looove to hear about that whole 'Ranger Rocket' thing when we get down there Lylla."

When they get the okay to land he nods for Fin to take them on down to this hangar Lylla mentioned, keeping an eye on the scanners as they go, commenting "Sure, Drax, 3rd locker on the right marked 'for fun'" he explains about the weapons.

Once they land and he gets a look at the welcoming party Quill blinks, nodding to Drax. "Gotta agree there big guy, especially the robots."

Then he puts on a big grin for the locals. "Hey, I'm Star-Lord, this is Drax, Ghost, Finley, Gamora and Nebula, we're Rocket's friends, which of you are Lylla?"

Nebula has posed:
    A twitch, hand pulling back from the communicator button, when she hears the name Lylla. Coincidences always trigger a warning in the back of her mind. Like it's a set up.. Rocket in his last dying moments laying a trap in retaliation. She shakes her head. No. He had his nice voice on, not his fake nice voice, when he told her he thought they were friends.

    Her eyes look to Fin as she takes the co-pilots seat and she doesn't object. Not with Peter at the controls. When they're granted permission she turns and leaves the cockpit. Not much longer later she pushes a large pulse rifle to Gamora's chest, "I don't trust this place." Because she is also pushing the floating stasis chamber containing Rocket and needs someone she can count on to take the shots when they're needed. If she knew Ava better, she'd be handing her the pulse rifle.

    Still, as she steps off the Milano and is welcomed by hostile looking robots, a slot in her leg opens up and a weapon is drawn, the thigh closing back up again just as quickly. She points it at the robot with the sword. Instinct. "This better not be a trap."

    She's about to ask which one of them is Lylla.. when Peter asks it. She shoots him a look, as if he's meant to know what's on her mind. Just Nebula looking angry as per usual.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora arches an eyebrow when Peter points out the weapon locker's marking and says "Still? I told you-" Gamora stops. No. Not the time. Don't get distracted. There are armed robots eyeing up their ship. Relatedly, Gamora gets a surprise rifle shoved into her chest by Nebula, a description she would normally expect to come immediately before her deat, but it turns out the rifle is for her. It's far enough to the side that Gamora has to catch it with her bad arm. She tries not to wince. She still does, a little. "Nor I." Is all she says in response.

    Gamora accompanies Peter, standing beside him with her hood raised, obscuring her face; one hand gripping the pulse rifle under her cloak. The sword's in there somewhere, but the arm she uses the draw it isn't in the best shape right now.

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley guides the ship to the docking point in the hanger as one by one the crew empties out of the cockpit. She glances up to Ava. "Guess they trust us, huh?" she asks.
"Also there are murderbots outside? Interesting planet," she observes. This time, she's got plans to make it off the ship. Hopefully they won't need her manning the Milano's guns.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava gives Finley a wry smile. "Just... stick with me," she suggests. It'll make Ava feel better, if not Fin.

That said, the most weaponry Ava brings is that sweet plasma sniper rifle. She's rarely needed anything more. Though, okay, yes, those bands are still on her wrists. She's not sure if they count as weapons or not... yet. Especially since, as far as she can tell, they don't freakin' work.

Besides, she keeps hoping that -- just maybe -- the Guardians are actually going to make friends here. They do want their crewmate fixed, after all. Much easier to do when people are more kindly disposed toward you.

The rifle is slung across her back. As her wont, she hangs back, watching until she understands the flow of battle and the lay of the battlefield. Or, in this case, the manor grounds and unusual welcoming committee.

Rocket has posed:
A hand goes up from the mole toward the robots as the Guardians and crew deboard with guns and more ready. "Now, now, there is no need for any hostilities. They're here for our protection. You understand?" All the same, the clown guard, in all their colorful attire, lower their weapons.

The otter introduces herself first. She wears a blue outfit, like a cross between a dress and a hooded cloak. "I'm Lylla, and I'm the head of the Halfworld Asylum for the Criminally Insane. With me is Wal Rus, one of our engineers, and Judson Jakes, our lead doctor. Rocket..I don't know what he's told you, and he probably doesn't even remember it, but he used to be our head warden."

They are only given moments to fathom this information.

The walrus has metallic tusks along with a collar that contains a red pouch over his chest from which mechanical arms can extend, while the mole is dressed in red and white scrubs that fit more like robes. "Never thought we'd see Rocket again, especially not like this," Wal Rus says, and Jakes adds, "No. He was never supposed to return. That was part of his plan to ensure the safety of the planet, but it's a damn good thing he's back."

What exactly are they talking about?

Before anything else can be said, anthropomorphic animal orderlies rush forward with a guerney to fetch Rocket from the stasis pod. "We'll take good care of him, we will!" promises a tabby cat. "Yes, yes! We have just the stuff to make him right as rain again!" vows a white rabbit. "Hurry! Hurry! We must scurry! To save our good friend, we'll work uninterrupted 'til the end!" both exclaim, saluting.

Already, robotic elements in the guerney begin to interface with Rocket to help stabilize him as they wheel him off. Stabilize, and keep him in place. His breathing is shallow, and what can be seen of his body shows the signs of multiple stab wounds. He does not come to.

Lylla's hands come together gently before her, an expression of sorrow evident. "You'll be wanting answers. Halfworld has problems you haven't seen yet, but we can't delay too long. Your being here now, while for sad reasons, also comes at a good time. We need your help. Where shall we start? At the beginning?"

It is the best way for them to know what they've arrived in the middle of.

Drax has posed:
"Wal Rus?"  If only Drax knew what walruses were he'd be slapping his knee, but he just squints as if he should know the name or he had heard it before.  He seems at ease with his rifle, ready to take quite a few rounds to the chest if necessary.

"Rocket was not a patient?"  Drax sounds...surprised of course!  "I am Drax," he announces.    Introduction finished.  When the orderlies come for Rocket, Drax looks over to Nebula.

Peter Quill has posed:
"Wait, Rocket was the /warden/ of an asylum for the criminally insane?" Peter asks. "Does that mean what I think it does here or is Warden just another name for patient?" he asks, a smirk crossing his lips.

Wal Rus gets a nod, "Good to meet you Wally, give my best to the Eggman," he says deadpan with the Beatles reference.

"What sort of problem are we talking about?" he says suddenly more serious. "We're good at problems, just ask Xandar... where we fixed one for them." And caused a lot more for them before that but... details...

Nebula has posed:
    Rhyming animals? Head Warden of an prison? She stares down at Rocket in the pod as he's taken away.. just who the hell is Rocket?! She slowly lowers her gun, for her protection, when the robots lower their weapons too. Her thigh opens up and she slips the gun back in, then the thigh closes around it hiding it away.

    Nebula looks back at Drax wondering why he's looking at her. But then she's sighing as they ask for help.. and of course Peter offers it. Her eyes fall upon the Otter as she regards this Lylla. For now, she will warily accept what's happening here.

    "He remembered you," she says darkly as if it were a very bad thing, "as I was gutting him." Blunt statementn of fact are the forte of the Guardians. She believes the look of concern on her face speaks for itself, but not everyone can read her. Not like Gamora.

Gamora has posed:
    Hearing this place is an insane asylum inspires a subtle, concerned glance towards Rocket's stasis pod from Gamora. The realization that he was the warden simultaneously eases her mind, but leaves her more surprised than the alternative. That said, she lightly jabs Peter in the ribs with her elbow for voicing it.

    As Rocket is taken away, Gamora arches a dubious eyebrow. "They seem confident. ... If whimsical."

    Gamora straight up does Not Get the mood here.

Gamora contributes to Peter's sales pitch with, "And Knowhere. Knowhere would speak of us in... less complicated terms."

    Nebula speaks! Gamora whips off her hood to attempt to convey a positive demeanor and unconvincingly clarifies, "She means while gutting... fish. For eating! WITH him! In safety." She shoots Nebula a bit of a Look.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"This place is giving me some twisted Alice in Wonderland vibes," Finley whispers to Ava. "Ummm..." But she follows the Ghost and the crew and gurney beings self-operating on Rocket. "How does it even all work?"

Ava Starr has posed:
And, just like that, Ava is really sure she's stepped into some seriously warped version of the Looney Tunes. Or maybe Disneyland as run by H.P. Lovecraft.

She nods her full agreement to Finley's assessment. "Pretty sure this place was created by an animator on LSD," she murmurs in return. "For the record, none of the drugs I've ever tried have *ever* been this trippy."

Rocket has posed:
"A patient? Goodness, no!" Lylla exclaims as though the mere idea is beyond her ability to comprehend. "Follow us over to this screen." It's quite a large one. Would look great as the centerpiece of a home theater. "You're probably wondering why Rocket has no real memory of this place. It's because that's how he wanted it, how he said it had to be for everyone's protection." Nebula's words cause her to stop again, discomfort clear as can be. "I..don't know what to say to that," she admits.

Wal Rus gives Peter a look of confusion. "The Eggman? Do you mean Humpty Dumpty?" Evidently there is knowledge of Earth fairy tales even out here. Perhaps they aren't only tales from Earth. There could be more to this. For his part, Jakes can only shrug as he leaves the talking primarily to Lylla as they all walk over toward the screen. Wal Rus shuffles. The clown guards remain where they had been, monitoring.

The otter continues, though she is visibly shaken at first, "If you noticed how far away Halfworld is, there's a reason for that. Because it's so remote, that also makes it safer for everyone here. Halfworld works as a Matrioshka brain, world spheres within world spheres that helps gain the most power from the sun in the center. The Galacian Wall? Just the outer shell. It keeps things from getting in, and it keeps things from getting out."

The screen shows a more micro display of the world and the wall, before zooming in to gradually show a prison building that seemingly morphs to look like a medieval castle, showing humans cavorting about in various costumes that might invoke thoughts of Halloween or a masquerade, frolicking, dancing, and seemingly happy.

"Halfworld is the largest asylum in known space. It's full of criminals who have been deemed unsafe or unfit to imprison anywhere else. Here, they live out fantasies through virtual immersion by our wardens...us. We were created to be seen as a cute and friendly presence. Because of that, we are part of their therapy."

"The deeper we go," Lylla says, as the display switches back to show rows of inmates in elaborate booths fit with equally elaborate headgear with bits, bobs, dials, transistors, wires, cables and the like, "the more dangerous the criminals. These are the people who are deemed incurable. Security is greatest here, and the robotic guards look like clowns to give a happy, fun image. When the inmates get upset, that is when problems follow."

"Rocket.." Lylla adds, "was Chief of Security. He and Blackjack O'Hare worked together closely." An image of both the raccoon and the bunny shows on the screen. "Rocket saw to the entire system, helping make it what it is today. Thousands of patients came in under his watch, and not a single one escaped nor had an incident we couldn't handle in decades."

There is a 'but,' and here it comes. "But that was until Barry Bauman, a psychic of untold power from Earth, also known as the Star-Thief, arrived."

She lets this all sink in, watching for any reactions or questions thus far, though she adds, "You may think what you're seeing is hard to believe, but it is very real."

Peter Quill has posed:
:So you're saying there's a sun and layers and layers of crazy people under our feet right now?" Peter asks boiling things down to the simplest of terms. "And that Rocket, was in charge of /keeping/ people in prison?" he doubted the locals would get the humour of that but still. He enjoyed it. "So why did he leave and I'm guessing he was made to forget it so nobody-"

Peter stops mid-sentence.

"Wait. Star Thief. Wow. Definitely lives up to that last part, he basically ripped off my outlaw name," he complains, looking around for support. "So what this rip-off artist do exactly? And where can we find them so he can get what's coming to him." Priorities, right?

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula already hates this place. This is the kind of crazy place the Nova Corps probably would send her to after she breaks out of their jails a few more times. She snarls a moment at the description of the 'calming' affect the cute animals are meant to have. They certainly do the opposite - especially the creepy clowns.

    "I'd want to forget this place too," she says with a biter edge in her voice. "You'd have to be crazy to want a name like Star Lord's..." Still, this place is feeling more and more like a trap the longer she stands here.

Drax has posed:
"Lords and thieves are completely different Quill," Drax says, shaking his head.  "Why would I find what I am seeing hard to believe?  I am seeing it!"  He lifts his hand to gesture to yet another cluster of weird stuff that he has been ignoring.  He doesn't know if it's there, but it's there, just like he /knew/ it would be.  Got it?

"What is happy or fun about saw blades?"  Drax raises his pointer finger as if he were in class.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora gives Peter a concerned look and asks him, in all seriousness, "Do you know of this 'Dumpty?'" before her attention is drawn elsewhere.

    Gamora seems somewhat... perturbed by all of this. It is remarkably strange. As much as the Guardians were cultural whiplash to Gamora, the hyper pleasant scenarios they've constructed here are at complete odds with every single part of her upbringing and perception of... *anything*. She looks distinctly uncomfortably as she asks, "Rocket... *came up* with this?" She looks over her shoulder at the clown robots, then back to Lylla. "*Rocket?*"

    Peter says his outlaw name has been ripped off! "His hero name." Gamora says quickly, glancing off to the side. "His heroic... outlaw n- heroism is outlawed..." Gamora thinks, "... Somewhere."

    She gives Peter a look that says something like "Oh my god I am the worst at lying please stop saying incriminating things!'

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley's expression clearly says 'oh my god we are all going to die here on this crazy clown cute animal toon town planet'. But what she says is "Oh. Fascinating."

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava walks with the group and watches everything the otter girl decides to show them on the screen. She listens to the story. She glances to Finley. "Do you think they have 'Candid Camera' in space?" she asks the other Terran woman, referring to an old Earth television show. "No, wait. I know. Ashton Kutcher is actually an alien and we're being Punk'd."

Yep. That's her theory. PUNK'D!

She starts looking around for the hidden cameras...

Rocket has posed:
"It's complicated," is all Lylla tells Peter about his question regarding layers. She nods to the question about Rocket keeping others in prison, apparently not getting how ironic that is. "Getting to all of that," she says.

"Before you worry too much about Rocket, please be assured that our finest doctors and medical technology are being used right now to make him better, and we've seen worse," Lylla tells them, and her otter hands fidget with some discomfort, a tear in an eye. She is working to remain professional.

"He..like the rest of us, was created here. All of us have some mixture of cybernetics and there is no way around saying it: the process was extremely painful for every one of us. Our bodies were enhanced, our intelligence amplified, and we were given the ability to talk. This was all handled by the robots. You saw the other 'half' before you landed. The ones who made this place left robots behind to automate everything, and their programming included our creation."

This said, she returns to the story of the Star-Thief, who clearly loved stealing whatever he could. Yes, Peter, he did. "Bauman's actual body was killed on Earth some time ago, but his mind didn't die. He survived by jumping from host to host until he was captured and brought here, subdued and sedated to the point he couldn't jump again. Or so we thought. Multiple times, he possessed others and it led to attacks, riots, attempted escapes, but he was always stopped in time. Once, he even possessed Dr. Dyvyne, our head of psychology. Rocket and Blackjack prevented him from escaping that time as well, but Dr. Dyvyne was not so lucky."

The screen shows a headshot of a reptilian creature in a lab coat, followed by a cartoonish 'explosion' of it before sad animal faces blot out the image by popping up over it.

Drax has posed:
Drax looks confused, but this isn't unusual. He tilts his head at the sad animal faces that pop up to censor the gore. He looks over to Ava, "Who is Ashton Kutcher and what is a Punk'd?" He too starts looking around when she does. "What are we looking for?"

Peter Quill has posed:
"Yep, he's big on Earth," Peter confirms about Humpty Dumpty in perfect deadpan. Though between that elbow for his earlier faux pas and the look he gets from Gamora now, Peter raises his hands. "Right, my hero name," he adds to the welcoming party. "Still want to blast him in the face for stealing it." That's better right?

Still banter aside he does focus on how Rocket and his friends came about, flinching at the description. "Guessing they didn't say please or put you guys out?" if not it explained a heck of a lot about Rocket. "And you guys are going easier on him now right?":

When they get to Star Thief, Quill whistles.. "Wow, so this guy steals bodies? That's impressive but if Rocket and Blackjack beat him before there's got to be a way to detect him in a new host and maybe keep him out of our heads, right?"

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula has her own priorities, as she usually does. She frowns a moment and says, "Who created this place. Who made you and Rocket and the others." She has a bone to pick with them. A bladed or plasma rifle shaped bone. "If my friend," she used the f-word, "Star-Thief will be the least of your worries."

    There's no where to storm off to, or she would, instead she looks around for someone to glare at. Fin. Fin will do. She glares at Fin. She called this nightmare of a place fascinating after all.

    Time to throw some fuel on the fire, "If Star-Thief jumps from mind to mind, then you could be Star-Thief..." then she looks at Wal Rus, "Or you..." and then to Peter, "... or you, with the similar name." Now she's just stirring the pot.

    She does, however, turn and walk away. Back on to the ship. It doesn't take her too long but the lights on the ship suddenly flicker and when she returns she dusts her hands, "The ship won't go anywhere until I undo what I just did." Unilateral decision making, it's a Nebula forte. "Anyone who tries to convince me to undo it must clearly be Star-Thief."

Vance Astro has posed:
    Since Rocket is taken care of, and likely to survive somehow, Vance hasn't really been in on everything. He's been studying the specs for the health bay on board the Milano. With the intent of trying to improve its functionality in case of future injuries and such. I mean he's an engineer from the 31st century. Maybe h e can find a way to be useful.

    He's been doing that pretty much since the moment Rocket was removed from it. But once he's finished tinkering on his system with schematics.. after all, he's not going to just adjust things. He's making plans he can show to the owner before making adjustments.

    And then.. the lights dim, and he looks up, moving towards the exit and walking down the ramp, "Forgive the interruption but.. what the heck just happened?" he asks, gesturing to the ship from the ramp.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora's shoulders slump slightly, but she's relieved. Peter's save is, at least, an improvement. Her brow gradually furrows at talk of the inhumane work done on the creatures here, and her eyes gradually wander over to Nebula, clearly not blind to what they have in common. Gamora was modified too, of course, but nothing close to the level of Nebula.

    She admittedly misses a little of the 'body swap' talk as she stares dumbfounded at the cartoony depiction of death, before she shakes her head and tries to focus, "Another Human, then?" She asks concernedly. She's never never heard of an Earthling who could swap bodies, but she'd also never heard of their Kryptonian and half-Kree communities, or their actual honest to god magical witches, so she's opened her mind a bit to what can happen on Earth.

    The ship is disabled and Gamora just... stares. "Nebula." Gamora raises her hands in front of her and splays her fingers in a vague choking motion, "... Neeebulaaa..." Gamora sighs sharply and drops her arms. "Peter can not be Star-Thief. He would not know him well enough to imitate his particular delicacy with words."

Finley Ellison has posed:
Finley groans. "I knew I should have put a lockout command on the controls."

She doesn't say it too loudly though. Since Nebula has already decided that this is her fault for some reason. Even thought Nebula is the one who brought them to Halfworld. After she sliced up Rocket. But noooo, it's the little non-assassin human's fault. Geez Nebs.

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava looks back to the ship as it flickers and locks down. She glances back to Fin, moving once more to stand partially between her and Nebula. She glances down to the q-bands on her wrists again briefly and murmurs to Fin. "Okay. First thing we need to learn is safe FTL flight with these things." She doesn't like being trapped. Especially by PsychoSmurf.

Drax's question catches her attention. She hasn't spent enough time with him to know just how literal he is. She has, however, picked up on Quill's tendency to give the aliens completely false information about Earth. "He's... I'll explain it later," she decides.

She knocks softly on the surface of one band. Anybody home in there? It's time to get better acquainted.

Rocket has posed:
On the Milano, Groot pokes his head out, sees everyone gathered together around the screen, plus the trio of guards, and he ducks back inside. He is watching and listening to everything.

Lylla fields Peter's worries about their friend. "If you're wondering about anesthesia, yes. We use it." That is all she has to say about it relative to any prior things that were done to make them the way they are, until Nebula questions her further. "The creators left this planet years ago. Now, only we remain with the robots."

"Rocket knew it would only be a matter of time before Bauman found a way out that none of us could stop, so he did something that had never been done before, or even considered. Each warden was tied biologically to the living prison. He made each of them keys, such that only our individual cellular patterns could be used, all at once, to reach the innermost levels of the asylum. Without each one of us present at the same time, the lock could never be opened, and Bauman would never escape."

Lylla says, her hands fretting with themselves again, "If you haven't already guessed what happened next, Rocket threw away the key by leaving, saying it was his duty for the safety of the rest of us, and he demanded we use the immersion therapy system to wipe all knowledge of the truth here, so he would never remember us, never try to return. He was given partial memories of different adventures, different roles. Yes, a place still with mental patients, but not the same. He believed we had been therapy pets, given to the 'Loonies' to help treat them, before the conversions to what we are now, and that he became the protector of the planet. That much was true to an extent, but different from the full truth. Part of restoring him to the way he was..will also restore his memories of the truth. I don't know if he's ready for that, but we don't have much choice."

While the Guardians debate over how to handle Star-Thief, even leading up to Nebula putting the Milano on lockdown, Lylla opens her mouth once or twice in an effort to get a word in only to stop. Finally, Wal Rus barks out, "Everybody, stop talking and listen for a second!" With this, Lylla has the opening to finish her story.

"Bauman died for good a few years ago, but lately we have been having problems with some of the guards in the lower levels beginning to malfunction. Yes, some of them have lethal weaponry in case they are left with no other options. They have not been upgraded or maintained since the warden lock was created, and many are starting to break down. There is a threat that some of the inmates in the lower levels could get loose and find a way out if we don't get someone in there to fix it. We thought it was hopeless without Rocket to help open the lock, but now that he is here, and you're here with him..."

Do they see where she is going with this?

Vance Astro has posed:
    Okay, totally confused here. Vance tilts his head and asks softly, "Star Thief? What are we..." and then he looks about to the others, such as Lylla... he falls silent and just listens. He is quite good at going silent and listening when the need arises. So he just listens... still confused. I mean come on, none of this really existed in -his- timeline. Or if any of it did, he was never around any of it.

Peter Quill has posed:
"That is? incredibly selfless of him," Peter says as Lylla tells them about what Rocket did to keep Star Thief locked up. He looks as surprised as he sounds.

"So you're looking for someone to open up the lock with Rocket, go down into the lowest levels of your looney bin, and fix your robots before the most dangerous prisoners can get loose? That about right?" he asks before following it up with. "So we do this, you patch up Rocket? That the deal or is there some units in this for us?"

As Vance asks what's going on. "We're on Rocket's homeworld, it's a big looney bin, he was a guard," a beat. "I know, weird right? Anyhow he's part of a genetic lock on the lower levels which means people can go down there and fix their crazy clown robots before the super dangerous inmates throw the sink through the window and skip this place like the big Indian in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest." He looks to Lylla to see how his summary holds up.

Gamora has posed:
    Gamora nods once firmly. "That is an excellent summary, save for Peter's brief seizure at the end." Gamora then just... *squints* at Nebula for shutting down their ship without listening. There's a lot of history in that look. A lot of not listening.

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula narrows her eyes.. claiming Star-Thief is dead is exactly what someone like Star-Thief would want people to think. Still, they are fixing Rocket. She was going to ditch the Milano but given they're stuck on this rock until Peter has his fill of being a good guy, she will find another time, later, once they've left to ditch them.

    "So we have smash some robots to satisfy Peter's itch," she says and stares back at Gamora with a look of 'what?'. She know exactly what she did, but she also knows how much it annoys her sister when she pretends she doesn't.

Finley Ellison has posed:
"Are we smashing? Or fixing?" Finley asks. She's mostly been following this 'Who Framed Roger Rabbit?' charade. But there's been no mention of 'the dip' yet. So...

Ava Starr has posed:
Ava's expression actually grows genuinely concerned. "There *is* something to protect us from being possessed by a psychopathic psychic, right?" she asks sharply. She looks between them. "Ghost," she says, pointing at herself. "If he hitches a ride with me, it's not going to matter how many locks you've got in place." Because she can phase through them all...

Rocket has posed:
"That is..essentially correct, except for the part about only making him better if you help. You could leave with or without helping us, with or without him," Lylla replies to Peter.

Blackjack O'Hare himself steps in from another room. "And that's where I come in. I left this place ages ago, and I ain't getting into the hows or whys right now, but when I saw Rocket a while back and he didn't remember anything, I knew the immersion therapy was a success. It bugged me 'cause of what we did together here, but he did what he thought he had to do and I gotta admit, it worked. We just didn't factor in any malfunctions we didn't think we could handle. Every brilliant plan has a fatal flaw sooner or later."

The hare, now known as the leader of the Black Bunny Brigade, a group of mercencary rabbits, looks at them through the red eyes of the helmet that covers most of his head. "What you guys did on Sanctuary II? Word got around real fast. I got eyes and ears in a lot of places, and I had a feeling you'd be coming here. I got in just before you did and they told me everything. They could fix Rocket up good as new but without me here, nobody's getting that lock open. I'm one of the keys, too. So I suggest we all settle in, grab a bite to eat, and get ready, because as soon as Rocket's better? We got work to do."

Lylla adds, "If we can count on your help. Without it, I'm afraid we don't have the power right now to deal with a breakout, and there are still dangerous criminals who could cause problems across the galaxy and beyond." The screen shows a look inside one of the lower cells and while everything seems peaceful right now, there are signs things aren't as they should be, such as a clown guard sparking from exposed wiring in its head.

"Blackjack is right," Jakes chimes in. "There is work to be done, but nothing can happen until Rocket is back in good shape again and that may take hours. We have enough time to take you to guest housing, where you can eat and sleep if you need it, and you can even see some of the patients who are further along in their rehabilitation. You lot look like this problem of ours shouldn't be that hard to deal with. If you're helping, of course. And if you do, we need the robots deactivated so they can be repaired, /not/ destroyed! And no harm must come to the inmates!" /Maybe/ the robots on the other side of the planet can make more guards, but that is yet to be covered.

Has the mole /never/ watched a horror film or read a mystery novel before? The way Wal Rus slaps his face with a flipper suggests the answer is no.

While everyone is left to discuss and debate what to do, someone emerges from the Milano and ambles closer. He is sure to tell them, "I am Groot!" as he points at himself, and the direction Rocket was taken off to. 'Rocket is my friend and I'm not leaving without him. If they need my help, it's the least I can do.' Those who have been learning how to understand him can tell where his thoughts lie about all this.

There is no further talk from the animals about Star-Thief, however that leaves the others to worry and wonder.

Nebula has posed:
    Nebula is one of those few people who understand Groot without Rocket around. Mostly. She mostly understands him. She sighs and huffs at him and replies cryptically much like Rocket always does, "Really? this is the line you draw?" She frowns a moment and says, "Fine. I'm in. Save the robots, stop a prison break, kill the reanimated ghost of Star-Thief."

    Her eyes look over toward Ava and Fin, then back to her sister and then on to Drax and Peter. "This is a terrible idea. But Groot wants to help them for Rocket."

Vance Astro has posed:
    And so, Vance is just... wow. This is crazy. Insane asylum, guard... Black Bunny Brigade. "So, when does the Queen of Hearts or the Jabberwocky show up?" he asks with a lopsided smirk on his face.

    "And... there's someone possessing people? This place -is- insane."

Peter Quill has posed:
"Well, I can't speak for the rest of my crew but since you guys are being fair with healing up Rocket I'm game to go down there and look at what we can do to stop these guys getting out," he says before looking to the crew "Besides if they do get out they'll hurt Rocket's friends and we'll probably have to still fight them when they start making trouble in the galaxy. So might as well head this one off and get back into the hero saddle again." Peter needed that much after Thanos.

Ava Starr has posed:
Yeah. This is a bad idea. Ava understands the need to help with the broken robots and keep the badguys behind bars. And, hey. She's still SHIELD enough to want to see that happen. But, it seems to her, if the ghost of some telepath survived to make it all the way this far out into space, it could jolly well survive whatever it is the Furry Crew thinks they did to kill the damned thing.

Oh, yeah. She's definitely fucked.

She murmurs softly, wiping a hand down her face. "We never shoulda left Earth."