[ Little decisions, little choices, little hesitations, can impact the world in huge ways. Choosing to skip a dental appointment, choosing to turn right, choosing to speak up when it's easier to stay silent, can profoundly alter the course of history.
In one reality, a heart monitor shrieks in a quiet hospital, and afterward, a small boy runs out, collapsing on the damp grass.
In another, a heart monitor shrieks, while an alien army razes the Earth.
In hundreds of thousands of realities, the Guardians of the Galaxy come together. The members may be different, their catalysts and purposes and goals may change, but in many universes, they exist.
There are at least three thousand realities where the Guardians of the Galaxy are called in to put down a cult – and in most of them, they call themselves the Pure Beyond. The cult believed that their universe was beyond saving, that utopia must exist somewhere else, and were determined to tear down the walls of reality to find it, no matter how many people they might kill along the way.
In at least a dozen universes, Peter Quill snorts as the team examines building schematics. "I mean, is it even worth it to take these guys down? There's no way multiple universes exist. It's just a thought exercise, right?"
In a dozen other universes, it's Rocket who asks those questions, and Peter Quill glares at him. "Thanos thought it was possible. He did not make a habit of chasing after fairytales."
In most of the other universes, the Guardians of the Galaxy ignore the call. Apparently they collectively thought this was a fool's errand, as well.
The Guardians who determine that the Pure Beyond are dangerous – or, at least, worth the trouble for the paycheck – charge in. In some of those realities, the Guardians of the Galaxy are a well-oiled machine, are astoundingly successful in suppressing the cult with hardly any trouble. In some others, the Guardians are dismantled or destroyed, devastated by the loss of some or all of its members.
In at least eight realities, the Guardians fight, tooth and nail, and are slowly gaining the upperhand, making their way to the heart of the compound to take down its leader. In some of those realities, Drax cackles, driven by his battle-high as he breaks the skulls of two cultists. Rocket and Kraglin are similarly eager for bloodshed, eager to test their new guns and explosives. Groot flits between them all, flinging cultists to and fro with reckless abandon, while Mantis subdues cultists with a press of her hand.
In at least two realities, Peter Quill turns to Gamora and says, "I thought this was gonna be harder."
In at least another two, Peter Quill turns to Gamora and says, "Don't let your guard down."
They battle their way to the heart of the cult. In these realities, the Pure Beyond's leader calls themselves the Harbinger – a dangerous being, rumored to have even more dangerous magics at his fingertips. When the Guardians arrive, the Harbinger sneers (much like a Saturday morning cartoon villain, most of the Peters think). They sic their most fearsome defenders on the Guardians, and unsurprisingly, they have yet another fight on their hands.
In at least two realities, the Guardians defeat the Harbinger and his lackeys without issue.
In at least four realities, the Guardians suffer heavy casualties. In half of those, they manage to wrangle success from the jaws of defeat; the other half does not.
And in two others—
It's funny, how decisions can echo, how reality can fold in on itself over and over and over.
Events play out the same in both realities: the Harbinger realizes beyond all logic, they're losing. They realize the Pure Beyond is falling to shambles around them, with their followers collapsing in sprays of blood, falling to the Guardians. The Harbinger slips on an ancient ring and performs a series of complicated hand movements. They had been saving this for themselves and their followers, but special exceptions could be made – for instance, banishing the Guardians to another dimension.
The Harbinger focuses on the closest Guardian, uttering a few arcane words.
In both worlds, Peter shouts, "Gamora!"
In both worlds, he bodily shoves her out of the way.
In both worlds, the magical blast hits Peter directly, and he disappears in a thunderous explosion—
—only to reappear, disoriented and reeling and changed, though he's quick to recover.
In the one reality, Peter manages to turn his trip into a spin, and a fireball wreathed in lightning escapes his blaster, punches a hole into the Harbinger's gut. He fires off at least a half dozen other shots, obliterating more and more mass from the Harbinger’s body. The battle ends, and he sags, relieved and exhausted.
In another reality, Peter rebounds and snarls, light catching on the silver scars carved into his brow, curling around the outside corners of his eyes, running over the bridge of his nose. He lunges forward to drive his sword into the Harbinger's heart, who gasps, eyes wide and mouth working like a fish out of water. Peter follows the cultist to the floor before resting his boot against the Harbinger's chest, yanking his sword free. The battle ends, then, and he flicks his sword, divesting it of excess blood. With the room quiet, he lifts his gaze from the Harbinger's body and finds the other Guardians staring at him.
In both realities, Peter Quill's gaze falls on Gamora, lips parting to ask, "Are you hurt?" Except she's staring at him, too.
And in one reality, he sees Gamora in a familiarly styled leather jacket, with her arms slack at her sides, blasters held loosely in her hands. She gapes at him, eyes wide and staring, lips parted, and face clear of scars. He sees the open confusion mixed with outrage and fear on her face, as clear as day.
And in another reality, he sees silver scars high on the swell of her cheeks, etched into her brow. And in her hand, he sees Godslayer, similarly dripping with blood. For a few, long, endless seconds, they all stare at one another. Peter's hand reflexively tightens around Godslayer's hilt, and he thinks he sees Gamora's hand do the same.
In one reality, Rocket asks, "Where the hell did you get those guns?"
In another reality, Rocket asks, "When the hell did you get a sword?"
And the tension breaks.
They have no option but to take Peter aboard their new ship, the recently christened Benatar, as they head to their other ship, the Quadrant. He's not sure if they've folded him in out of loyalty to the other Peter, or to the idea of Peter; he can't quite tell. They'll get this figured out, they tell him. They'll get him back to where he belongs, and, hopefully, find out where their Peter got banished to. Rocket fiddles with the ancient ring, stolen off of the Harbinger's cooling corpse, and claims he knows a guy who probably knows a guy who might have a connection to another guy. Drax wonders aloud if the Collector might have information worth trading for.
He's surprised when the team breaks off, going their separate ways and leaving him alone in the common area. Even now, he's cautious and wary, keeping his hand a twitch away from where Godslayer sits in its holster at his hip. If he were in their position, he doubts he would be so trusting to allow a stranger free rein of their ship, even if he wears a familiar face.
... Ah. No. There is someone in his position, in a matter of speaking.
His gaze falls again to Gamora. This entire time, they've been keeping their distance, have been regarding one another with cool, level gazes. Now, though, the two of them stand in the common area.
A muscle in his jaw jumps, head tilting slightly to one side as he thinks. Slowly, he sits at the table, and the flick of his gaze silently invites her to take a seat, as well.
(He notes that the table is covered in half-full, stained glasses, wrappers, and the guts of various weapons. His Guardians and these Guardians seem to have that in common.)
For a few seconds, he watches her warily, then dryly, ]
let's all stay calm and not do anything rash
In one reality, a heart monitor shrieks in a quiet hospital, and afterward, a small boy runs out, collapsing on the damp grass.
In another, a heart monitor shrieks, while an alien army razes the Earth.
In hundreds of thousands of realities, the Guardians of the Galaxy come together. The members may be different, their catalysts and purposes and goals may change, but in many universes, they exist.
There are at least three thousand realities where the Guardians of the Galaxy are called in to put down a cult – and in most of them, they call themselves the Pure Beyond. The cult believed that their universe was beyond saving, that utopia must exist somewhere else, and were determined to tear down the walls of reality to find it, no matter how many people they might kill along the way.
In at least a dozen universes, Peter Quill snorts as the team examines building schematics. "I mean, is it even worth it to take these guys down? There's no way multiple universes exist. It's just a thought exercise, right?"
In a dozen other universes, it's Rocket who asks those questions, and Peter Quill glares at him. "Thanos thought it was possible. He did not make a habit of chasing after fairytales."
In most of the other universes, the Guardians of the Galaxy ignore the call. Apparently they collectively thought this was a fool's errand, as well.
The Guardians who determine that the Pure Beyond are dangerous – or, at least, worth the trouble for the paycheck – charge in. In some of those realities, the Guardians of the Galaxy are a well-oiled machine, are astoundingly successful in suppressing the cult with hardly any trouble. In some others, the Guardians are dismantled or destroyed, devastated by the loss of some or all of its members.
In at least eight realities, the Guardians fight, tooth and nail, and are slowly gaining the upperhand, making their way to the heart of the compound to take down its leader. In some of those realities, Drax cackles, driven by his battle-high as he breaks the skulls of two cultists. Rocket and Kraglin are similarly eager for bloodshed, eager to test their new guns and explosives. Groot flits between them all, flinging cultists to and fro with reckless abandon, while Mantis subdues cultists with a press of her hand.
In at least two realities, Peter Quill turns to Gamora and says, "I thought this was gonna be harder."
In at least another two, Peter Quill turns to Gamora and says, "Don't let your guard down."
They battle their way to the heart of the cult. In these realities, the Pure Beyond's leader calls themselves the Harbinger – a dangerous being, rumored to have even more dangerous magics at his fingertips. When the Guardians arrive, the Harbinger sneers (much like a Saturday morning cartoon villain, most of the Peters think). They sic their most fearsome defenders on the Guardians, and unsurprisingly, they have yet another fight on their hands.
In at least two realities, the Guardians defeat the Harbinger and his lackeys without issue.
In at least four realities, the Guardians suffer heavy casualties. In half of those, they manage to wrangle success from the jaws of defeat; the other half does not.
And in two others—
It's funny, how decisions can echo, how reality can fold in on itself over and over and over.
Events play out the same in both realities: the Harbinger realizes beyond all logic, they're losing. They realize the Pure Beyond is falling to shambles around them, with their followers collapsing in sprays of blood, falling to the Guardians. The Harbinger slips on an ancient ring and performs a series of complicated hand movements. They had been saving this for themselves and their followers, but special exceptions could be made – for instance, banishing the Guardians to another dimension.
The Harbinger focuses on the closest Guardian, uttering a few arcane words.
In both worlds, Peter shouts, "Gamora!"
In both worlds, he bodily shoves her out of the way.
In both worlds, the magical blast hits Peter directly, and he disappears in a thunderous explosion—
—only to reappear, disoriented and reeling and changed, though he's quick to recover.
In the one reality, Peter manages to turn his trip into a spin, and a fireball wreathed in lightning escapes his blaster, punches a hole into the Harbinger's gut. He fires off at least a half dozen other shots, obliterating more and more mass from the Harbinger’s body. The battle ends, and he sags, relieved and exhausted.
In another reality, Peter rebounds and snarls, light catching on the silver scars carved into his brow, curling around the outside corners of his eyes, running over the bridge of his nose. He lunges forward to drive his sword into the Harbinger's heart, who gasps, eyes wide and mouth working like a fish out of water. Peter follows the cultist to the floor before resting his boot against the Harbinger's chest, yanking his sword free. The battle ends, then, and he flicks his sword, divesting it of excess blood. With the room quiet, he lifts his gaze from the Harbinger's body and finds the other Guardians staring at him.
In both realities, Peter Quill's gaze falls on Gamora, lips parting to ask, "Are you hurt?" Except she's staring at him, too.
And in one reality, he sees Gamora in a familiarly styled leather jacket, with her arms slack at her sides, blasters held loosely in her hands. She gapes at him, eyes wide and staring, lips parted, and face clear of scars. He sees the open confusion mixed with outrage and fear on her face, as clear as day.
And in another reality, he sees silver scars high on the swell of her cheeks, etched into her brow. And in her hand, he sees Godslayer, similarly dripping with blood. For a few, long, endless seconds, they all stare at one another. Peter's hand reflexively tightens around Godslayer's hilt, and he thinks he sees Gamora's hand do the same.
In one reality, Rocket asks, "Where the hell did you get those guns?"
In another reality, Rocket asks, "When the hell did you get a sword?"
And the tension breaks.
They have no option but to take Peter aboard their new ship, the recently christened Benatar, as they head to their other ship, the Quadrant. He's not sure if they've folded him in out of loyalty to the other Peter, or to the idea of Peter; he can't quite tell. They'll get this figured out, they tell him. They'll get him back to where he belongs, and, hopefully, find out where their Peter got banished to. Rocket fiddles with the ancient ring, stolen off of the Harbinger's cooling corpse, and claims he knows a guy who probably knows a guy who might have a connection to another guy. Drax wonders aloud if the Collector might have information worth trading for.
He's surprised when the team breaks off, going their separate ways and leaving him alone in the common area. Even now, he's cautious and wary, keeping his hand a twitch away from where Godslayer sits in its holster at his hip. If he were in their position, he doubts he would be so trusting to allow a stranger free rein of their ship, even if he wears a familiar face.
... Ah. No. There is someone in his position, in a matter of speaking.
His gaze falls again to Gamora. This entire time, they've been keeping their distance, have been regarding one another with cool, level gazes. Now, though, the two of them stand in the common area.
A muscle in his jaw jumps, head tilting slightly to one side as he thinks. Slowly, he sits at the table, and the flick of his gaze silently invites her to take a seat, as well.
(He notes that the table is covered in half-full, stained glasses, wrappers, and the guts of various weapons. His Guardians and these Guardians seem to have that in common.)
For a few seconds, he watches her warily, then dryly, ]
I appreciate you not attacking me.