The Angel of Death | Peter Quill

Chapter 14 - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2

"What's going on in here?" Seraphina asks as she joins Drax, Gamora, Mantis, and Peter. Drax and Mantis laugh loudly, pointing at Peter.

"Quill-" Drax starts to say.

"Shut up!" Peter and Gamora interrupt.

"I was showing them my powers!" Mantis exclaims, moving towards the sisters. She takes Seraphina's wrist, and her antennas start to glow. "I sense a deep sadness, but also overwhelming love for your family, especially because of your special-" She says, looking to Peter as she speaks.

"That's enough. You continue and the next thing you're gonna feel is a broken jaw." Gamora interrupts, yanking her hand off her sister's wrist. Mantis takes a step away and looks at the others. Seraphina drops down on the seat next to Peter, staring at the ground as she covers the place Mantis had touched her with her own hand. She refuses to look at Peter as he stares at her, concerned by the distant expression on her face.

"I can also alter emotions to some extent." Mantis tells them.

"Yeah, like what?" Peter asks, finally looking away from Seraphina.

"If I touch someone who is sad, I can ease them into contentment for a short while. I can make a stubborn person compliant. But I mostly use it to help my master sleep. He lies awake at night thinking about his progeny." She explains.

"Do one of those on me." Drax says, patting his chest. Mantis steps towards him and places her hand on his forehead.

"Sleep." She commands. Drax's eyes close and he slumps backwards against the seat, starting to snore.

Seraphina forces a smile and stands, wrapping her arms around herself and walking away, shaken by the fact that Mantis knew her secret and almost shared it with the others.

"Are you okay?" Gamora asks, following her.

"Yeah, I'm fine." She lies, making Gamora roll her eyes.

"Clearly you're not. Have you not told him?" She replies.

"I can't." She tells her, shaking her head. "You and Rocket are the only ones who know."

"You have to tell him." She says.

"Don't you think I know that!" Seraphina snaps. She sighs. "Sorry. I know I have to but it's hard. What if he looks at me differently?"

"Of course he will." She replies. Seraphina glares at her sister and she rolls her eyes again. "In a good way."

"How do you know?" She asks.

"Because he's my best friend." Gamora tells her. She raises her hand, silencing her as she opens her mouth to argue. "You're my sister, you're automatically closer to me than he is." Seraphina nods but stays silent. "Deep down, you know this won't upset him."

Seraphina sighs and wraps her arms around her sister, resting her head on her shoulder. Gamora wraps one arm around her, the other stroking her hair. They both smile, remembering when they would comfort each other just like this when they were children. Seraphina's smile falters for a moment, wishing Nebula would quit lying to herself about hating Gamora and they could just be sisters.

After a moment, the sisters pull away and Seraphina leaves to find Peter. She spots him sitting by himself, listening to his Walkman. She approaches and he pulls the headphones off, pausing the song.

"What's up?" He asks as she sits next to him.

"There's something important I need to tell you." She tells him. "Nothing bad." She adds as she sees him start to panic. He relaxes and she takes a deep breath.