The Path of Time ★ [3] ? (EDITING)

Architects of Destruction

"Ookay. Well, I'm Star-Lord."

I glanced at him, brow furrowed. "Who?"

He sighed incredulously, standing to spread his arms out in a duh! fashion. "I'm Star-Lord, man! The legendary outlaw? Leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy?"

The more he spoke, the more confused I got. "Uh..."

"Forget it." He held his hand out for me to shake it in greeting. "Peter Quill."

I shook his hand, still confused but genuinely glad to have another team on hand to help with the plight. "Andi. And don't call me the Chosen One. It's...unnerving."

"Fair enough."

There was a moment of silence between us before I glanced at him again, eyes squinting suspiciously. "What exactly did Sirius tell you about me?"

He chuckled as he sent me a look that sent my heart aflutter and my pulse quicken. "Don't worry, all the things he said were good. He spoke quite highly of you. It seems everyone around here does."

I huffed. "Yeah, I bet they do."

"Well, from what I've heard you're the Obi-Warn Kenobi here."

"What?"

"You know, Star Wars. 'Help me Obi-Wan Kenobi. You're my only hope.'"

"That comparison is–"

"Awesome?"

"Cringe-worthy."

"Oh."

I smirked all the same. "I know what you're trying to do, Peter, and I appreciate it..." I turned to the Avengers and the Guardians continuing to square off nearby, Steve trying to push forward a truce between the two. "...but I don't need you to cheer me up. I–"

"Don't have time?" he wondered, his green eyes watching me curious.

"Ironic, isn't it?"

"I suppose so."

I smiled gratefully all the same. "Thanks."

He smiled back. "Anytime."

My attention snapped to the sounds of boots hitting the ground, heavy footfalls of running. Lily tore through the camp towards Primavera's tent. I stood cautiously, Peter following, as she charged into Primavera's tent. I could faintly hear her breathless words tumble from her mouth, and I heard the one word that made everything inside me go cold: Eon.

And that's when I heard the drums in the distance. An army marched towards the camp – over one hundred strong, stomping in time like a thunderstorm was on the way. The bickering between the teams nearby ceased as fast as it began. Walkers around the camp crept from the tents and around to stand on the fringes of the walkway leading up to us.

I swallowed as the small – a tiny dispatch of soldiers compared to the actual army – battalion reached the edge of the camp. My blood ran through my body like liquid ice when I recognised the cool figure and icy expression of Eon parading towards me and the others standing at the high point of the camp. Chameleon was by his side, his body tense and a pained and nervous expression pulled.

Primavera entered the corner of my eye as she exited her tent, standing at its entrance with her fingers threaded, patiently waiting for Eon to approach.

"Well, well!" he boomed. "It has certainly been a while, Milady!"

Primavera simply raised her chin in silent anger at our enemy entering our camp.

I wasn't stupid. I'd been around long enough to understand what was going on here. This was a parlay. What Eon was intending to do with this opportunity was disturbing. If things went wrong, we were severely outnumbered. This moment was a temporary time of peace, and we needed to keep it at all costs. Live today, fight tomorrow.