And the stars look very different today...

[zunesareawesome]

It was a way out. But it wasn't home.

Truthfully, after Norfinbury, anything would be better than that place, but the cold truth was--there was no way to find his own universe out of the endless multiverse, even if Norfinbury's busted technology had worked properly. He was stuck, here, with a megalomaniac Flynn--granted, a Flynn that managed to open up a portal out of there. Maybe that's what it took to get out of Norfinbury.

Or, Peter thought sometimes on bad days, Norfinbury only released you once you became the twisted version of yourself it wanted you to be. A specially-designed virus inflicted on countless worlds.

Besides, he ought to know something about that.

He didn't stay long on earth, he couldn't. Maybe it had something to do with the mystery of how they were revived in Norfinbury, their bodies recreated or cloned or healed, or maybe it was something that was gonna happen to him anyway, but he could feel the Light burning inside him, inside his head almost as soon as he landed. A desperate need to take to the stars. He'd managed to create a ship and took off.

Time passes, and scientists notice something odd about several exoplanets they're monitoring, especially ones marked as 'earth-like' or other planets in zones that could make them potentially habitable. Bright bursts of light and changes in the composition of the atmosphere or surface, it was inexplicable. Possible evidence of intelligent life? If they didn't know any better, especially with the rocky planets that now somehow boasted extreme changes, it was like something was terraforming them.

There was cause for alarm when Mars suddenly turned blue and green a few months later.

Meanwhile, a small blue-and-orange ship that looked suspiciously like a slightly more organic-looking Milano was racing towards the earth.

Comments

[zunesareawesome]

"Oh dude! I was kinda thinking he mighta tried to trick me but he did it! He actually did it! Thanks, Flynn!" Peter's absolutely ecstatic.

He makes a face. "'Bought' makes it sound so bad. It's not really...bought, more like...traded! Like how sports teams trade players? That's all. You're on my team now. Team Awesome. And we're gonna have so much fun."

Peter grins even wider. "You're not one of the flies or ants anymore."

[luckythief]

Yep, that's what he thought. Quill didn't even understand the implications of what he did when you spelled them out for him. He's like a... child, somehow, but no, that's not it. It's just a different way of thinking, an alien's way of thinking, or maybe a god's, but there's something horrific about it, something utterly destructive behind the cheerful mask.

It's warm on the planet's surface but Ezekiel feels cold anyway and he remembers Stone telling him about what happened between Quill and Flynn. Betraying him. Torturing him. Destroying him.

And we're gonna have so much fun.

Ezekiel forces a smirk, trying not to let on to his growing horror. "I make it a point to always be on Team Awesome."

But that last bit makes him blink. "I'm not?"

[zunesareawesome]

Peter seems genuinely happy, this is probably the best thing that's happened to him ever since he'd come to this world, much less all the crap that happened in Norfinbury. He's got a new friend and he's immortal and this is just the best day ever?

A real friend.

After so long.

"Then you're in luck, cause Team Awesome is here to stay, bro!"

If he was a dog, he'd be doing the tappy-paw dance right now.

"Nope!" He throws a hand out indicating the entire planet. "It was part of the deal with Flynn! Awesome, isn't it? Now I know what you're thinking, like--can't immortality get boring? Not if you've got an awesome planet and everything that you could ever want!"

He trails off, something dark flickering behind his gaze. "There's so many worse ways to spend eternity."

[luckythief]

"What...?"

Ezekiel stares at him, at the planet, back at him. "W-what do you mean, immortality?"

It was part of the deal with Flynn! What was part of the deal with--

No.

No, no, he can't possibly mean what Ezekiel thinks he means. He looks down at his hands, still tingly, and Flynn's nasty expression comes back to him and enjoy and suddenly his heart is beating wildly in his chest with rising panic. He pats himself down as if he can find the answers somewhere on his body.

"W-what are you saying?"

[zunesareawesome]

"Immortality, bro! Did you think I was gonna invite a mortal to spend like, two seconds on this planet? Seriously. Not that you were a bad mortal, you were pretty cool."

He motions for him to come up the stairs to the balcony with all the awesome trimmings. There's a pool table, ping pong table, and a whole entire 80's arcade setup near the back, too. He stops about two steps up, however.

"So the earth is 'saved'-" Airquotes. "--because of you. That was the trade."

[luckythief]

"I'm immortal?"

It's like the air has gone out of him and he can't get it back into his lungs. He's dizzy, swaying for a second, he needs to sit down when the sudden existential dread doesn't just creep up on him but crushes him with the force of an avalanche.

Immortal. Flynn traded him away, made him immortal to stay with Quill. Forever.

But Earth is saved. Earth is saved. Ezekiel tries to focus on that instead because that is good and he needs to focus on that because otherwise he is going to scream and he's not sure if he can ever stop. Earth is saved and that is good.

And we're gonna have so much fun. That darkness behind Quill's face. There's so many worse ways to spend eternity.

And suddenly Ezekiel understands that he will have no say in this. There won't be a 'no' for an answer. It's been decided and there will be no argument, no pleading that will reach Peter. Ezekiel will either stay with him or Peter will make him stay with him.

Like he did with Flynn.

Jacob's words come back to him, those awful stories about what happened back in that Norfinbury place. Torturing Flynn. Breaking Flynn. Making him into what Quill wanted him to be.

He can't become what Quill wants him to be.

"... that is amazing! Are you serious right now?!" It's like he's watching himself from the outside suddenly, and he's almost confused at his ability to look so absolutely cheerful and excited. "For real? I'm immortal? Well, of course I always knew I was too awesome for mortality anyway but-- that is so sweet!"

[zunesareawesome]

"I know, it's so cool, isn't it?" Finally! Someone actually accepting their immortality with actual excitement instead of freaking out about it? Man, this was gonna be so much easier than with Flynn!

He hops up the stairs two at a time, beyond excited.

"It's gonna be so sweet. Just you and me and the rest of the universe. We're gonna rule it all, because we just rule? And then we got your video games, and you're gonna make me lots and lots of video games, right? Probably more after the Expansion is over and we'll have less to do..."

[luckythief]

"Y-yeah! It's super great."

Ezekiel follows him, his head still spinning.

"The... Expansion? Wait, you're still going on about that?" Suddenly he's overcome by an even worse feeling of dread. "I thought your flowers were all gone?"

Didn't Ezekiel get them all last time? He was so sure. How many more could there be?

[zunesareawesome]

"Yeah, 'course I am? Flowers are a part of me, bro," he grins as he walks over to the Mountain Dew and beer refrigerators. "I can create new ones whenever I want. There's a bunch over in the greenhouse over there."

He grabs a bottle of beer and pops the cap off with a flick of his thumb, and points it towards the general direction of the greenhouse. He tosses Jones a bottle as well. "There's a new batch cookin' up for later. I'll bring you along, too!"

[luckythief]

He catches the beer and almost drops it – which, if Peter knew anything about him would reveal just how badly shaken he is – clutching the bottle to his chest.

"T-they are?" It's automatic, popping the cap, his gaze following to where Peter is indicating? "There is?"

A beat. "Y-you will?"

[zunesareawesome]

"Uh-huh," he answers to all the questions. He doesn't mind the fact that Jones is asking all the questions. If he was in his place, he'd be curious too. "It's pretty cool, the Expansion? I don't just let anybody see it."

A pause, then a shrug. "Most people that see it usually die? The ones that don't escape in ships, anyway. But yeah, it's really cool. Have you ever seen a planet terraformed?"

[luckythief]

He drinks because he really needs a drink at this point but also because he has to stop him from saying something really stupid. It's like he's in a fog, the situation feels unreal, it's too bizarre and horrific. Standing in this Arcade Wonderland, so bright and shiny, while Quill tells him about killing entire civilizations.

Ezekiel coughs a little and is almost tempted to ask for something stronger than beer.

"Only in video games."

[zunesareawesome]

"Well, you're gonna love it. It is so cool. Just the sheer power of y'know, making things? And new plants and landforms and atmospheres and I could make an orange ocean if I wanted, because wouldn't that be cool? And it could taste like oranges?"

Because why not, y'know?

"If you have any ideas, I'd love to hear 'em! We're in this together, bro!" He takes a long swig from his beer.

[luckythief]

"I, uh..."

He suddenly feels very cornered when Quill asks him so casually about something so enormous, so awful.

Instead he lets his gaze wander back to the ginormous playground in wonder. Distraction mode enabled!

"You made all this?" He pokes one of the arcades as if he had a hard time to believe it's really there. "Like you made the computer last time? How-- how does that work?"

[zunesareawesome]

Distraction works! He totally doesn't mind distractions, bro!

"Yeah! Molecular manipulation, I can make anything I want! Mechanical stuff is a little harder, but I grabbed some stuff from earth--your earth, anyway--before I left so that I could make sure I got it right."

There's some actual books and magazines scattered on a couch nearby.

[luckythief]

Good! All the distractions! It's definitely a good time for distractions!

... But he's actually getting distracted for real because what Peter is telling him is just wild.

"Anything you want? That's-- wait! Can I do that, too?!"

Priorities.

[zunesareawesome]

"Uh...I don't think so? Unless you're also a Celestial?" he studies him. "Or you know magic, I mean."

[luckythief]

"No, I'm Australian."

Ezekiel.

"But I know magic, I mean, I work for the Library? Never really used it, though. Well, not directly. I kind of worked more with it."

[zunesareawesome]

"...Australia. I remember learning about Australia. I think there's like a bazillion poisonous things there? Something like that."

Not exactly a Celestial?

"...so you don't actually know or use magic, you just work with it. Isn't that the same thing?"

[luckythief]

"It's really not that bad. Just check your boots before you put them on and beware of the drop bears."

He sits, picking up some of the magazines, turning them in his hands. It's hard to believe they are not supposed to be real.

"Nah. It's more like... I take what's already there and tweak and modify it. Bring it into the 21st century. I could probably build something that emulates your molecular manipulation but it wouldn't come from me, you see?"

[zunesareawesome]

"...because of spiders and snakes?" That sounds terrifying. "What's a drop bear?"

He's just going to imagine the terrifying place that Australia must be for a moment, as he tries to figure out what Jones means by that.

"So you use magic and technology together, without like...summoning the magic by yourself?"

[luckythief]

With a very serious expression, "You don't wanna know."

He smirks. "Exactly like that. And I kind of improve it along the way. You know. Make it modern, 21st century-ish."

[zunesareawesome]

"Wow. Okay, yeah, maybe I don't wanna know." If it was that bad? He hopes he never sees a drop bear, ever.

"That is actually like, really cool?" he sounds genuinely stoked. "What's some of the things you can do? That's almost like being a wizard, but like, a techno-wizard!"

[luckythief]

"It's like a koala but it attacks people from above and it is vicious and merciless." The more you know!

"Techno-wizard? I like that. Why don't the others ever call me that? I absolutely am a techno-wizard."

[zunesareawesome]

"An evil koala? That sounds wicked cool." And terrifying. He feels so knowledgeable now!

"Dude, and I bet you could have your own theme song? I'm thinking something like the Neverending Story meets Led Zeppelin."