A While Later in the Guardians' Ship
The Guardians of the Galaxy gathered in the common room of their ship. Peter had just finished explaining everything to Rocket.
Rocket stood on a crate, arms crossed, tail flicking. "You call that 'figured it out'? We're gonna rob the guys who just beat us senseless?"
"Oh, you wanna talk about senseless?" Peter shot back. "How about trying to save us by blowing us up?"
"We were only gonna blow you up if they didn't turn you over!"
"How on earth were they gonna turn us over if you only gave them a count of five?!"
Rocket gestured wildly. "We didn't have time to work out the mechanics of the plan! The situation was evolving!"
He looked at Groot for support. "This is what we get for outsourcing."
"I am Groot," said Groot.
"That's not the point and you know it!"
Eli watched the exchange, thoroughly confused. He understood about three words of that entire conversation. Somehow, Rocket seemed to understand every single one.
Gamora stepped in, voice cutting through the chaos. "What's important now is that we get the Ravagers' army to help us save Xandar."
Rocket snorted. "Yeah, 'cause that's gonna happen."
Eli raised a hand. "Not to be rude or anything, but that guy looks like he'd just sell the stone to someone else. Like, immediately. Probably before lunch."
Rocket pointed at Eli. "Thank you! See? She gets it."
Eli's eye twitched "He."
Rocket blinked. "What?"
"I'm a he."
Rocket squinted. "Could've fooled me."
Eli didn't even hesitate. "You're a raccoon."
"I'M NOT A RACCOON!"
The room erupted again—but this time, Eli didn't step back.
He stepped forward.
"Alright, can we focus?" His voice wasn't loud—but it cut through the noise in a way that made everyone pause for half a second. "You're all arguing about how you're going to fail instead of figuring out how to win."
That got their attention.
Rocket crossed his arms. "Oh yeah? You got a better idea, Whitey?"
Eli met his gaze evenly. "Yeah well not an idea, but Stop thinking like survivors."
Silence flickered.
Gamora's eyes narrowed slightly—interested.
Eli continued, calmer now. "You've all been running, stealing, killing—whatever it takes to stay alive." He gestured between them. "But this? This isn't that kind of situation."
He pointed at the hologram.
"This is where you decide if you're just people who got lucky… or people who actually stand for something."
The room went quieter than before.
Even Rocket didn't interrupt.
Eli stepped back slightly. "Because if you go into this thinking you've already lost…" He shrugged. "Then yeah. You will."
Gamora raised her voice. "We have to stop Ronan. That's the priority."
"How?" Rocket asked, throwing his paws up. "How do we stop a Kree fanatic with an Infinity Stone?"
Peter stepped forward, confidence radiating from him. "I have a plan."
Rocket stared. "You have a plan."
"Yes."
"A plan."
"That's what I said."
"You. Peter Quill. Have a plan."
Peter's confidence wavered slightly. "…I have twelve percent of a plan."
Rocket's jaw dropped. "Twelve percent?!"
"That's a measurable amount!"
"Twelve percent is not a plan! That's an idea! That's a vibe!"
Drax spoke from the corner. "If his plan is twelve percent, then mine is one hundred percent. We kill Ronan."
"We can't just kill him! He has an Infinity Stone!"
"Then we kill him harder."
"That's not how it works!"
"I am Groot."
"Thank you, Groot!"
Eli leaned against the wall, watching the chaos unfold. It was like watching a family argue over dinner. A very loud, very violent family who talked about murder like it was a side dish.
Gamora sighed. "We need Yondu's army. Without it, we don't even have a chance."
"Chance of what?" Rocket snapped. "Dying slightly slower?"
Peter stepped forward, his voice cutting through the noise.
"Guys."
Everyone turned.
"Yondu's gonna be here in two seconds, expecting to hear this big plan of ours. I need your help." He looked at each of them—Drax, Gamora, Rocket, Groot. Then his eyes landed on Eli. "All of you."
Eli met his gaze and nodded slightly.
Peter took a breath.
"I look around at us and you know what I see?"
No one answered.
"Losers."
The room went cold.
Eli's brows furrowed slightly. Not a great start, Quill.
Peter caught the reaction and scrambled. "I mean—like, folks who have lost stuff. And we have, man. All of us." He looked at Eli. "Even you. You must have lost something. Or someone."
Eli thought of his parents. Of Earth. Of Natasha.
He nodded once.
Peter continued, gathering steam. "We've lost our homes. Our families. Normal lives. Usually, life takes more than it gives. But not today."
He looked around the room.
"Today, it's given us something. It's given us a chance."
Drax stepped forward, his voice a low rumble. "A chance to do what?"
Peter met his eyes. "To give a damn. For once. To not run away." His voice grew stronger. "I, for one, am not gonna stand around as Ronan wipes out billions of innocent lives."
Silence.
Then Rocket, in a small voice: "But Quill… stopping Ronan is impossible. You're asking us to die."
The words hung in the air.
Gamora was the first to move. She stepped forward, standing beside Peter.
"I am with him."
Drax placed a hand on his knife. "I will have my revenge. One way or another. I am with you."
"I am Groot," said Groot, stepping forward.
Everyone looked at Rocket.
The small raccoon sighed, rubbing his face with tiny paws. "Fine. Fine! But if we're gonna die, I'm recording it. Someone's gonna make a fortune off our life rights."
Peter grinned. "That's the spirit."
Eli stood apart from the group, staring out the viewport.
The Celestial skull of Knowhere was shrinking in the distance, getting smaller with every second they flew away.
"Damn," he thought. "I almost had it."
Rocket's voice cut through his thoughts. "So who's Whitey over there? And why does she look like she just lost her puppy?"
Eli turned. "My name isn't Whitey. As I said earlier, it's Eli. And I'm a he."
He looked at Peter. "And why did you drag me into this? I don't know anything about the Infinity Stone you were talking about. I just wanted to get to Knowhere."
Peter spread his hands. "Because if I let you go with them, they might have eaten you. Or sold you. Or both. You should be thanking me."
"Thanking you for—"
The door slid open. Yondu stepped in, flanked by Ravagers.
"Alright, Quill. Let's hear this big plan of yours."
Peter straightened. "Right. The plan."
Yondu waited.
Peter opened his mouth.
Nothing came out.
"…It's a work in progress," Peter said finally.
Yondu stared at him.
Rocket buried his face in his paws.
Gamora pinched the bridge of her nose.
Drax nodded slowly. "The twelve percent plan. I respect it."
Eli sighed.
After Yondu left—unimpressed but willing—Peter gathered everyone again.
He looked at Eli. "Can you help? With the fight?"
Eli thought about it. Xandar. A city full of people who had nothing to do with any of this. People who would die if no one stopped Ronan.
He nodded, stepping into the circle.
"I might as well save as many people as I can."
Later in Rocket's Workshop Eli found Rocket alone, tinkering with parts.
"I need something."
Rocket didn't look up. "Everyone needs something. What's your currency?"
Eli leaned against the wall. "I need a laser. Blue. The hottest one you can make."
Rocket's ears perked up. He turned, interest flickering in his small, clever eyes. "Hotter how? Cutting hot? Melting hot? 'Oops I accidentally vaporized a wall' hot?"
"The hotter the better."
Rocket studied him for a long moment. "…You got something to trade?"
"I'll owe you. A favor. Whenever you need it."
Rocket scoffed. "You think I work on credit?"
"I think you're curious what I'm gonna do with it."
Rocket's whiskers twitched. He hated that Eli was right.
"…Fine. One favor. And you pay for parts."
"Done."
Rocket worked fast. Within minutes, he had a compact cylinder assembled, components clicking together with precision that shouldn't have been possible from such small paws.
He held it up. "Five thousand degrees Celsius. Could cut through starship plating like butter. Won't last more than a few minutes on full power, but for what you're doing?" He shrugged. "More than enough."
Eli took it. "Thanks."
"Yeah, yeah. Don't make me come collect that favor somewhere inconvenient."
Secluded Corner of the Ship
Eli stood near the viewport again.
Knowhere was gone now. Just another shape fading into the distance.
He didn't even care about it anymore.
Because now he was coming back for it but now, It wasn't about what he could gain. It was about what would happen if he did nothing, Billions of lives.
A city that didn't even know it was about to be erased.
He exhaled slowly.
"…Guess I'm doing this the hard way again."
Eli stared at the device in his hand.
"Five thousand degrees…" he murmured and He exhaled slowly.
"…Alright. Let's see if this was a bad idea."
He closed his eyes and pulled, the reaction was immediate. Heat—violent, overwhelming—rushed through him, not like fire, but like pressure. Like something trying to force itself into shape inside him.
His hand tightened and he thought "…Yeah, okay—this is new," he muttered through clenched teeth.
The structure of the laser broke apart, not physically, but conceptually. Energy patterns, heat signatures, focusing mechanisms—all of it flooding into him at once.
Too fast.
His vision flickered for a split second his control slipped, A thin line of blue light shot from his eyes and carved a glowing line into the wall across from him.
Eli's eyes snapped open. The beam cut off instantly.
Silence.
He stared at the mark "…Okay," he said slowly. "So that's… something I need to work on." He flexed his fingers. The heat was still there. Controlled now—but waiting.
Power like that didn't come quietly.
The system lit up.
[ New Abilities Integrated ]
1. Heat Generation & Thermal Manipulation
· Can generate concentrated heat from hands, eyes, or other focal points
· Maximum temperature: 5,000°C
· Capable of melting steel, glass, and concrete instantly
· Applications: welding, cutting, offensive combat
2. Energy Projection / Laser Beams
· Can project coherent, focused beams of energy
· Variable intensity: from harmless light to extreme heat
· Slicing capability through most known materials
3. Speed & Precision
· Lasers travel at light speed—conceptual replication achieved
· Near-instant energy projection
· Enhanced targeting accuracy across significant distances
( Two slots left)
Eli opened his eyes.
He could feel it now. The heat building behind his eyes. The energy coiled in his hands. Ready to release.
He looked at the wall.
And smiled.
"Lasers from my eyes," he thought. "That's going to be cool."
He stood and headed back to the planning room.
In the Planning Room Peter and Rocket were arguing over a holographic map when Eli walked in.
"Where've you been?" Peter asked.
"Getting ready."
Rocket squinted at him. "You look different. Did you do something with your hair?"
Eli's mouth twitched. "Just got my eyes checked."
Rocket stared for a moment. Then shrugged. "Whatever, Whitey. Just don't get us killed."
Eli sighed. "It's Eli."
"Yeah, sure."
Peter pulled up the map. "Alright, listen up. Here's how this is gonna work."
The plan was insane. Desperate. The kind of thing that only worked in stories.
But as Eli listened—as he watched these broken, strange, impossible people come together to fight something that should have been unstoppable—
He understood.
This was what heroes looked like.
Not perfect. Not clean.
Just people who refused to run.
The battle was coming.
And Eli was ready.