[Heroes Assembled] Groot Fan Fiction - Origins: How Rocket Met Groot And Became Best Buds...Get It

 

5598/Origins: How Rocket Met Groot And Became Best Buds...Get It

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Origins: How Rocket Met Groot And Became Best Buds...Get It
Date of Scene:	15 March 2021
Location:	Somewhere in Space
Synopsis:	How Rocket and Groot met and went off on great adventures together before joining the Guardians. Everything here is all true!
Cast of Characters:	Rocket, Groot

---

Rocket has posed:
"I said I wanted it! That means I have a right to it!"

The voice belonged to a small creature wearing a mostly orange jumpsuit. It could pass for someone's idea of prison attire, except for it having a variety of pockets and attachment points built into it. It's more like something an engineer or handyman might wear, but this would have to be one of the stranger examples of that in the known galaxy.

Why? Because the creature is, for all intents and purposes, an upright, talking raccoon. A raccoon that, in fact, is scampering away from the owner of a food stall at a market at an unknown little moon of an unknown planet somewhere in space (hey, there's a lot of these podunk places. Who can be expected to remember all of them? Some don't even have real names!)

"Give it back! Give it back or I'll shoot! I'll call the Nova Corps, you raccoon..thief!" the shopkeeper shouts, brandishing a small laser pistol. He is also of alien origin, a bird-like beak, purple skin, hair more like feathers. Poor thing hasn't even got any wings.

That's when the critter stops in the middle of chomping down on the still-alive morsel he swiped, looking like a giant blue shrimp. "Whaff waff fhat? Mouf iff full!" he retorts, and after swallowing he glares. "I ain't a raccoon! I'm Rocket! And I'm about to murder ya!" Out comes his own version of a gun, but after pulling it off a mounting bracket at his back, it articulates into something larger. "Heh heh heh..." He aims it at the guy, who has stopped dead in his tracks. "You really think the Nova Corps even knows or cares about this place?" he taunts.

Groot has posed:
Groot doesn't tell people a lot but when he was younger, before he was exiled, he visited Earth once and recognizes the Racoon. No one here understands him, not his landlord, not his initial jailers, not the thugs who run it but all leave him alone now unless he doesnt want to be. They learned that the hard way. Still, it gets lonely. He was released on good behavior but he is looking to start trouble again. This place is boring and exile is pointless. He is adrift.

Also, he wasn't aware Earth had more than one talking species. "I am Groot?" You are from Earth? He doesnt expect an answer but does say, "I am Groot." You look like a racoon from Earth. He immediately pays attention to the gun but chuckles at the look on the man's face.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket puts the guy directly in his sights and squints through the glass, pretending to really need to focus on his aim as the poor sap turns tail and starts to run, shouting, "No, please! You can have it! My treat! I like raccoons!"

"I /said/ I ain't a raccoon!" He pulls the trigger, but just before doing so he flips a switch to go from 'kill' to 'stun,' and rather than lethal ordnance blasting the alien, an arc of electrical current shoots out and hits home. The shopkeep goes rigid as he gasps, then the zap courses through him and leaves him a quivering mess on the ground. A few onlookers make themselves scarce, while others go about their business like nothing happened. They've seen stuff like this before.

"Direct hit. Still got it," Rocket preens, pretending to blow smoke away from the multi-faceted barrel. That's when he realizes someone else is nearby, apparently addressing him, or repeatedly introducing himself. As he lowers the business end of the weapon, he eyes the much taller, woodsy thing. "What the fuck is a groot?"

Groot has posed:
Groot chuckles. Oh this again? Gee, its not like he hasnt had this conversation before, "I am Groot." My species has limited vocal abilities as we get more mature. Its fine, no big deal. Nice to meet you though, I actually AM called Groot. He extends his hand in greeting. He is impressed at the fact that Rocket switch to stun at the last possible moment.

Rocket has posed:
Sometimes, scaring the piss out of someone and letting them live is more entertaining than killing them. Besides, Rocket just busted out of prison before flying over here. Besides besides, if he ever comes back here, he's going to want more of that tasty snack and the alien ought to be smart enough to simply give him a freebie in exchange for sparing his life.

It's a great Rocket Racket when it works.

"Yeah, you said that already," he informs Groot. "You're Groot and I'm Rocket, but I don't go around just saying that all the time." He peers at the branchy, leafy arm that slides closer, and in that moment he fails to see yet another alien deciding to play the hero. A gun is pointed at Rocket's back from diagonally behind him, and it looks set to kill.

Groot has posed:
Groot is not about to let that happen. Rocket might be a five minute friend until he gets exasperated but its a connection and Groot will take it. Groot is surprisingly fast for someone so large, and in a blur he tries to grab the gun and crush it into a ball. Unless stopped will also grab the owner of the pistol and hold him up close to his face, nice an intimidating.

"I am Groot!" Listen bub, he spared the other guys life. I like life. It's a thing I do. Like I could REALLY really easily crush your skull, just like this; putting his fingers on the guy's skull and squeezing it (if able) but I'm not going to do that. I'm just going to throw you in the middle of that lake down there, isnt that nice of me? "I am Groot."

Rocket has posed:
Rocket turns at whatever Groot's doing, staring as the gun is easily snagged and repurposed into something completely useless. The weaponsmith in Rocket may lament the destruction of what was probably a perfectly good gun he could have used, but it's not like there won't be other opportunities. He plants his hands at his sides as Groot reads the riot act to the alien with signs of a porcupine about him.

"Watch it. Quills suck." For just a moment, he looks off in a random direction and winks, as if there's something behind it. Probably nothing.

Back to Groot introducing himself again, Rocket realizes the way the words are said carry a different tone of voice, and he blinks. It wasn't understood, but given the body language and the overall demeanor, there's a message being conveyed.

In spite of the alien's protests, Rocket watches him soar, chucked into the distance where he lands with a little splash. At that moment, the gears turn in Rocket's head and he scrambles up to scale Groot and stand atop a shoulder, resting a hand against the side of his head for a grip. "Saaaay, you ain't got anywhere specific you gotta be, do you? I happen to have a ship over that way. You might say I'm a bit of an explorer."

Groot has posed:
Groot blinks in confusion at the scrambling. He has never had anyone over the age of five CLIMB him before though animals obviously do so. "I am Groot." . o O "I do not, Rocket." He is curious about this exchange and pleased that the alien he hurled the better part of a hundred yards didn't land on the rocks that were a hundred and ten meters out. He is kind and not violent but he is not a saint.

He sees the other expression on Rocket's face at the bent gun and unbends it, so that it is vaguely gun shaped but only an idiot would fire it since it is looks like some kind of alient sculpture or the likes thereof. He hands it to Rocket and says, "I am Groot." . o O "I have no idea why you would want such a thing, but I certainly don't need it."

Rocket has posed:
"What? No, no..this gun is useless now. Forget about it." Rocket takes the now unbent weapon, shakes his head at it, and lobs it over his shoulder. It happens to glance off the head of someone walking past them, and the sound of a yelp leads to a little snicker escaping the little monster's muzzle. The trajectory was too perfect to be blind luck.

Rocket continues, "So I'm gonna guess you were saying you ain't got a ship. I could use a flying buddy, someone to watch my back when I need it..like you did with the guy out there takin' a swim. Even if I can't understand you, but I got a feeling I just ain't listening the right way." He motions toward the ship, expecting Groot to move in that direction.

Groot has posed:
Groot also finds himself chuckling at the indigation from the alien with the very annoying voice. "I am Groot." . o O "No, no ship. No destination either, so never tried to get one. Watching your back?" He looks off into the lake and thinks a moment as the sun starts to set in a green and bluish hue, "I am Groot." He starts moving in the direction Rocket is trying to get him, . o O "Aye. I could do that."

Rocket has posed:
Rubbing his little hands together, Rocket is feeling the beginnings of a great plan taking shape. Someone like this on his side would make a lot of things much, much easier.

Before they go, he points back to the blue shrimp stand. "Hey, I'm still hungry. You wanna grab a couple more of those for me? The guy there, he won't mind. We got ourselves a little understanding. While you're at it, grab something for yourself, too. My treat." Technically he isn't paying for it, so it's just basic theft. No matter. They'll be back in space in no time.

---------------------------- ELEVATOR MUSIC, FADE OUT/IN ----------------------------

"You wanna try repeating that? I think I got part of it this time." Rocket is in the small common area of his ship, which isn't a very big thing to begin with. Barely above shuttle status, at least it's been retrofitted with some weaponry, because who flies a spaceship without guns?

He's standing on a chair, and while Groot might have to duck a little or sit to get comfortable, it's not awful. The front of his jumpsuit is zipped down enough that a few of the remnants of the past..lab work can be seen in the form of metallic bits near the collarbones, in particular. Toward one corner is a stash of loot from their last successful scam.

Groot has posed:
Groot says, "I am Groot" . o O "My name is Groot. Your name is Rocket." He's trying to keep it simple, since the effort is more than what ANYONE has tried to do since his exile. This is what they counted on when he spared the life of the mammal, his slow descent into madness in a galaxy that could not understand him. But he would return, and they would pay. He would claim what they had stolen from him! But until then, this was delightfully distracting. He found himself enjoying Rocket's lazze faire views on things, his casual irrevert humor and his bizarre obsession with stealing cybernetic arms."

Rocket has posed:
There were a few of those in another corner. Even a cybernetic leg. What he was going to do with them, he didn't even really have a plan. It just entertained him to see the expressions on the faces of others when they ended up missing the limbs. Even less than a whole limb meant good times ('I gotta /hand/ it to ya...')

It's taken weeks just to get this far, to the point of figuring out the basic lines of communication when Groot says those three words. You have to listen past it, to follow the sound of it, the body language, every little part. Fortunately, as something who's mostly an animal, Rocket has some natural instincts to help.

A lot of time has been spent flying, and eating, and sleeping, and causing trouble in different sectors, but times like this, at a rest stop on some backwater planet...a little bit of quiet isn't that bad. "I got my name outta that, and yours too. Say something else this time."

Groot has posed:
Groot says, ""I am Groot." . o O "We are on a spaceship. This is a pen." He found the latter to be one of the most common things in any language he had picked up and held a pen in his hand. He enjoyed the progress that they had made so far and was exceptionally patient.

He looked at the loot from their last gig in the corner with satisfaction and smiled. It was odd really, while he would NEVER give up his claim to the crown, the immediacy of it, the burning thirst for revenge was replaced by a friendship he hadnt felt since leaving his home.

Rocket has posed:
"Say that again," Rocket tells Groot, so he can repeat the identification of the pen. "Again." It takes a few times, but he begin to better understand the connection between how Groot says what he does. "A few more weeks, and I ought to have you able to tell me anything you've seen on this ship and I'll probably be able to get it without seeing the thing." That would help a lot once they start doing more, especially when Groot identifies things that are similar.

They are beginning to make this work. Rocket is starting to learn how to read Groot and follow his unique language. It's..actually pretty awesome. Having more of a back-and-forth conversation would be another step up, but very much in line to happen with enough time. "So you ain't really got a better place to be? I probably shouldn't be asking this and looking a gift horseworm in the mouth - tasty by the way, if you've never had one - but why'd you bother helping me out back on that shithole anyway? You didn't even know me."

And if Groot /did/ know Rocket before, would he have still helped? Yet, here he is, with the furry little thing.

Groot has posed:
Groot says, "I am Groot." . o O "I am Groot. You are Rocket. We are on a spaceship. This is a pen." He chuckles and nods, and then says, "I am Groot" . o O "In a few more wees you will either have it or go space mad and toss me out the airlock but since I can regenerate limbs, I will rip on off and leave it in a planter to remember with my friend" he grins widely and chuckles.

Groot sighs and doesnt want to bore his friend with politics so he keeps it simple, "I am Groot." . o O "I was a leader where I came from. I stood up for someone who had no defender and ended up killing one of my own. I broke our one law and they banished me. Until I have an army to conquor my world and take it back, I have nowhere else to go. And I helped you because I liked what you did with the weapon not killing them. I value life and help people when it isnt too much of an inconvenience."

Rocket has posed:
Rocket holds up his hands. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, slow down. Overload!" Doing the 'This is..' stuff is one thing. He hasn't yet graduated to full conversation. All in due time, assuming they get the chance. "I'm gonna need you to repeat some of that, and I ain't gonna eject you out the airlock. You could go around someplace pretending to have some of those for arms and legs, though." He gestures toward the cybernetic limbs. "We could tell people you were made in a lab by crazy scientists trying to create some robot plant and we need credits for more treatments."

This would hit a little too close to home if his memories weren't all messed up about things in his past.

"But if I'm hearing this right, you..protected someone? And killed someone? Hey, killing is okay. Sometimes there's a good reason for it. Sometimes there's not and you just wanna do it because you can." If this draws a scolding reaction, at least it'll be a chance to learn.

Groot has posed:
Groot chuckles wildly at that. "I am Groot." . o O "You mean like this?" He puts on the leg and drops his own limb slowly working around into it. "I am Groot!" . o O "No one will defeat the mighty Rotorbot!" He does a pretty good immitation of the person they took the leg from. He nods, and repeats part of it, "I am Groot."


. o O "I am Groot. You are Rocket. We are on a spaceship. I have a pen." He pauses, "No. I don't have any place else to go." He listens to Rocket and then thinks, "I am Groot." He looks out the window . o O "It was them or the asshole. This wasn't a good reason but it was a necessary one." He looks back at Rocket and nods at the last statement.

Rocket has posed:
Repeating the common phrase of the day is helpful as a way of reinforcing that much. What Rocket gets out of the rest of the conversation /might/ only be 25% of it or so, but it's better than what it used to be.

He doubles over with laughter as Groot models the leg and shambles around a little with it on, and it's enough that he falls off the chair to land on the floor with a little thump that only interrupts the giggling for a couple seconds. "Ohhh, that's great! We ain't gonna get rich on that, but there's enough idiots out there who fall for the sympathy thing that we'll be living well for a while offa that idea!" he predicts.

He sits up to focus more on the end, sobering up quickly. "I ain't much of a saint, either. I've been in and out of a bunch of different prisons. So if you, I dunno, want me to drop you off somewhere, I get it. There's a reason I got no friends. I ain't easy to put up with, and sometimes it's safer for everybody that way." His ears turn back at this, flattening. He /expects/ Groot to move on at some point. And yet, Groot's accepted him so far.

Groot has posed:
Groot chuckles and does a passing job of looking harmless and infirm. He shrinks to the smallest he can go, about twice as high as Rocket and gets wide and an anime like, "I am Groot?" . o O "Please sir, may I have another bowl of space gruel?" He chuckles and resumes his normal size. "I am Groot?" . o O "If we don't get rich doing that, what can we get rich doing? This hand to mouth thing gets old my mechanically inclined friend."

He nods to Rocket's statement. He knows Rocket isnt a saint but he sees more of who Rocket is when no one else is around. "I am Groot." . o O "Even if I had somewhere else to go, and I don't, I'm in no hurry to get there." He is enjoying their time together. It's a strange life, but it is THEIR life.

Rocket has posed:
"We're all out of space gruel," Rocket says. That is definitely an item Groot's learned how to describe for him. "That as small as you can get? Meh. You're still double my size," he grumbles. Raccoons aren't bears, though. They're naturally small critters. At least he's bigger than one, even if he's not one (he totally is). "Look, we'll figure somethin' out. I can fly the shit outta anything, but there's only so much someone into the kinda things we are can do. But the longest I've ever gone without a meal is..three, four days maybe? At least I can just water you..right?"

He looks to the walking, talking tree, and hesitates before making a quick patting gesture at an arm. "I guess I ain't, either." He might not have got all of that yet, but he did get the general feel behind it. So, commiserating felt like the way to go. "You're not a bad partner, but don't tell anybody I said that. I don't need them knowing I got a soft side. Or, tell them whatever you want. Without a translator, they probably ain't gonna get it anyway."

---------------------------- ELEVATOR MUSIC, FADE OUT/IN ----------------------------

The prison wasn't much, as far as prisons go. Barely more than a beefed up processing center at an intergalactic jail. How they got there was really embarrassing. They were going to make off with a stash of weapons after a long night full of partying, drinking, and sneakily scouting out the depot, but Rocket overslept and forgot to check the charges on his own. Then, he went into it with a hangover and passed out the moment he tried to do anything strenuous. Reminder to self: don't do that next time.

"The good news," he said to Groot next to him in the cell, "is it should be a piece of cake gettin' outta here. But how'd they get you, too? I woulda figured you'd have gone wild on them. I honestly don't even remember what happened." He /is/ in a standard jail jumpsuit, sized more for the smaller of criminals. There are multiple other people and aliens in lockdown with them, many watching the pair with open suspicion.

Groot has posed:
Groot says, "I am Groot." . o O "I can get drunk, its just a lot harder than it is for most, but last night I found something that works. We'll need to take some of that one the ship." He chuckles, . o O "I could just but open the walls, but...I think your idea is a better one." He considers, and says, "I am Groot." , o O "You know I find the idea of breaking out of prison fun...its the kind of thing that might increase our street cred if we do it enough and between the two of us I doubt there are many places we couldn't get out of. Maybe we stumbled into someting good here?"

He looks at a larger man looking at them and grows to 12 feet. He doesnt even say anything and just flexes an arm as thick as an oak tree, plant muscles bulging. He is just daring the asshole to try something.

Rocket has posed:
"That's why you're all right. You even like getting drunk," Rocket says. By now, enough time has passed that the gaps in understanding between them are few and far between. It's not the first time they've shared a spot behind bars, but even when jailers have the foresight to separate them, either of them are capable of staging an escape. It's just more fun to do it together.

A lot of what they get into and out of is based on the potential for fun.

"I got a few ideas already working out in here," he says, tapping the side of his head as a look of mischief takes shape. He puts a hand out to get Groot to ease back down a ways. Both of them know Groot could probably just bend the bars, or extend himself enough to slip a key loose to bring back over. That's too easy, and only meant as a last resort. The guy stepping to them certainly looks like the toughest sumbitch in the room, and he's got enough metal plating over his subsequently bald head that you could probably cover it with magnets.

"Something we can help you with, chrome dome?" Rocket asks, giving Groot the wink now as he stands up so he's between the man and the bars of the large cell. "Looking for a polish? Maybe that guy over in the corner can take care of a shiny head that big." Oh, a dick joke.

Groot has posed:
Groot chuckles. He could throw this guy through the wall, and the cool thing is, with that plate on his forehead, he could do it in a way that wouldn't even kill him. Sure, break a few bones but...he waited though. One of the most enduring things of their friendship is that Groot just enjoyed WATCHING Rocket operate. So many idiots underestimated him and had no idea what thehy were dealing with. Groot was more than willing to let Rocket handle this situation. He didn't get intimidate when, frankly, given enough plant matter he could grow bigger than the building. He was better than this guy. Hell, he was better than most people but his empathy let him see the side of the little guy.

Almost no one in here was the little guy and if they ended up fighting all these guys, Groot wouldn't end up with even a molecule of guild. After a few moments of staring between the idiot and Rocket, Groot quietly whispered, "I am Groot." , o O "Why don't you show him why its a really bad idea." It would be the highlight of his evening.

Rocket has posed:
The goal here is clearly to get the man angry enough to charge like a bull at Rocket. "What did you say?" he challenges menacingly, to which Rocket gives Groot a look of boredom, rolling his eyes. "When they did all that," he says, gesturing to the shiny head as he cups his hands as if mimicking the shape, "did they replace your brains too, or did you just never have any? I /said/ I ain't putting my mouth around that or any other part of you. There's a lot of shit you couldn't pay me to do - okay, that part's probably not true - but the point is, I don't swing that way in jail. Ain't nobody gonna get me to sink that low, least of all a dumb humie like you."

By this point, the general din of conversation has cut out. The furry little creature is talking, and antagonizing the one guy in here they haven't messed with. Rocket, standing on the bench for a couple extra feet of height, still comes in well short of the seven feet Mr. Shiny Baldy Head towers at, and both of them make a show of cracking their knuckles. Gonna be a throwdown here! Maybe. Wait for it, Groot. It's gonna be hilarious.

Groot has posed:
Groot crosses his arms and smiles, trying to look harmless. He can't really, since he is a walking talking freaking tree, but he just looks non challant. He loves the build up, and even decides to be nice and 'warn' the man, knowing full well he isnt. "I am Groot." This is said in a tone that SHOULD be understood universally, . o O "You will be SOOORry." He already has his eye on two chuckleheads who already think they're going to protect their pack leader slowly trying to flank around Groot to get at Rocket. Groot eyes both of them, letting them know what happens if they do.

Rocket has posed:
The lackeys pause, for the moment. They don't act further without a cue from their boss. "Oh, I get it, guys. He's the /head/ honcho? Leader of the /sack/..I mean, pack? The /cock/ of the walk? The guy with the biggest /tool/ in the bag? I don't want to sound like a /dick/ here, but your name ain't /Peter/ is it? You runnin' a /members/ only club in here?"

That's more than enough for the guy to actually roar at Rocket, "That's enough! I'm gonna fuck you up, you little shit!" He lowers his head, the one connected to his shoulders, as he shouts, "I'm not even into that stuff! I like women! And my name's Woody!"

"Suuuure ya do," Rocket taunts, and when the name is given he almost loses it. "/WOODY?/ That's perfect! You hear that, Groot? His name's /WOODY!/" At that point, he charges and Rocket hops to one side, assisting with a trip at just the right point.

*CLANG* goes the sound of Woody hitting the metal bars, bending them enough that he gets stuck. Waving his hands frantically before gripping the bars to shove, his voice grows to a panic. "Help me, guys! I can't get it out!"

Rocket crosses his arms as the room erupts into mayhem. "I don't even need to say anything else to that."

Groot has posed:
Groot explodes. He was waiting for the chance to unloosh some pent up frostration and picks them both up and tosses one into the group of toughs considering joining the fight like bowling pins and picks the other up and throws him into the wall right next to their leader. He roars and smiles wickedly. These idiots are about to realize that they are messing with the .....well, they didnt have a gang name really but Rocket and Groot was a name they would know soon enough. The Notorios RG....GR.....GRR? Groot sighs. Leave the clever quips to his friend.

"I am Groot." . o O "Now might be a good time to leave."

Rocket has posed:
Rocket keeps himself off to one side. He could bite at hands and ankles and scratch out some eyes if he really wanted to, but part of this is about letting Groot have some fun instead of hogging it all for himself. The commotion is dealt with almost as quickly as it begins, and without any guards even responding. Must be getting some coffee. Nobody expects a sudden breakout, but in their defense nobody there had dealt with Rocket and Groot before.

Once it's all over, Rocket positions himself within Woody's line of sight and keeps his arms crossed, staring up at him with disappointment in his furry face. "Just think. If you kept a bottle of lube on you at all times, just in case of situations like this, you could get yourself unstuck a lot easier. Think about that next time. Groot, be a pal and.." He gestures, intending for his tree teammate, his plant-based partner, his sappy sidekick, his budding..buddy to lend a hand, or a branch.

Once Woody is freed up and the opening in the bars is left behind, Rocket squeezes through and motions for Groot to follow. "Come on, pal. Let's grab our stuff..well, my stuff, get outta here, and go find something else to do. Oh, wait." He counts it off on his fingers. "That's..seventeen escapes now."

Groot has posed:
Groot obliges his friend and knocks a hole in the wall. He beams and says, "I am Groot." . o O "Seventeen. But who's counting?" He waves at the idiots as he bends the bars BACK into place.

Rocket has posed:
Rocket giggles one last time after Groot's put the bars back. "You know they can just get out through the hole, right?" Maybe that's what Groot intended all along. "Heh..hole."

After Rocket's swapped the jail jumpsuit out for his more familiar one and regained possession of his weapons, a knocked-out guard or two left behind, he climbs Groot again for the walk back to the ship, casting out all sorts of threats and promises about what they'll do if anyone dares to get in their way.

Nobody does.

Once he's nestled comfortably back into the pilot's seat, he pulls up a local map and expands it out further. "Anywhere you want to go next? I could use a little R&R on one of those resort planets, myself." He gives Groot a grin, which for him still looks more like a grimace or a show of anger. Rocket doesn't smile all that well.

"I'm glad we found each other. We make a good pair. Me with the brains, you with the brawn. Nobody can stop us. But if you tell anybody that, I'll burn you in your sleep." No, he won't. Not any more.

Groot has posed:
He could try to close the hole but doesnt care to. He closed the bars, maybe the prison in their own minds will keep them inside? As it is, he walks with Rocket considering, "I am Groot." . o O "Maybe Xandar one of these days? I hear that they have neat museums and fantastic bars if you can get past the annoying law enforcement.