Archive of Our Own

Chapter Text

For many years now, Blue Meanie Nebula has, much to the feigned annoyance of her family friends, made it a point to return to Earth at least once a year. Then she's increased her visits here to twice a year. Rocket is one of the loudest with his grumbling about their frequency of visits in those bunch of misfits who called themselves the Guardians of the Galaxy.

But you want to hear something funny? 

I know that for all of his grumbling, he doesn't mean a word of it. His grumbling, it's really nothing more than just a cover for how he really feels. I think that he just doesn't want anyone to know how much he looks forward to seeing how much Morgan has grown since the last  time he saw her. He also doesn't want the others to know how much he looks forward to building things with her. 

Yes, don't worry Tony. I know I should monitor what projects he and Morgan are working on while he's here, and I do. Rocket seems to understand that he's dealing with a young one, and so far he's only involved Morgan with things that will interest her while not endangering her at the same time.

I found out something about Nebula that I don't know if you knew. Everything that she sees is actually recorded, and stored as video files in her brain -- video files that she is able to project so others may watch them! I made this discovery by accidental eavesdropping on her and her sister during one of their visits here. Yes, I know what you're thinking but it really was an accident that I overheard them, and saw Nebula actually playing back one of her files for Gamora. 

What they were talking about, and what Nebula played back for her, I won't go into the detail in this letter because it was definitely a private matter between two sisters. But I will say all this happened after I had put Morgan to bed Do you have any idea how hard it is to get an excited Little Miss to sleep while the Guardians are visiting us? Oh, she is so much like you in that way, Tony! So very much!, and was coming out to ask the Guardians if they needed anything before I went onto bed myself. It's always been an exciting occasion when they come to visit, doubly so now that we've returned to the city, and I always have to make sure that we're at the cabin when I know they're going to be visiting Earth.

You never had a chance to meet Gamora, did you? By the time you met Nebula, she was dead , murdered by that monster who had the unmitigated gall to call himself their father, right? Well, in the years since the last battle with him , we finally found out where he came from. Nebula told use he found and captured her on Morag -- the past him. He found out what the team was doing in the past, replaced her with his Nebula to do his bidding, who in turn used the technology that you invented to come forward to 2023! 

I know that we don't have a lot of rooms in the cabin but we do have a guest room. I have always offered it to the Guardians whenever they visit but they usually sleep on their ship or if the weather is nice, they'll sleep underneath the stars. They've Rocket told me our stars are not their stars, but they're still kinda pretty. Star-Lord Peter actually told me he was born on Earth, and got abducted by aliens when he was a kid. 

I asked him if he'd like to look into seeing if he has any family here on Earth but he told me thank you but no. He had lost any family he had here on Earth a long time ago, and the others were now his family. By the others I know he meant the other Guardians, although he didn't actually say this. He doesn't have to because I've seen how he looks at the others when they're not looking in his direction and it's definitely the kind you only reserve for the people you love.

It was on a night they made a campfire, and the others had already fallen asleep. As I said, I went out to ask if they needed anything. I am surprised that neither of them heard me as I approached their campsite. Maybe they didn't hear me because of the memory file Nebula was replaying, or maybe they are just that comfortable when they visit here, If it is the latter, I can't help but feel honored because it means they trust me. and  Nebula didn't shut it off until after I was close enough to see a few seconds of the memory file she was playing. 

I know if they were on any other planet, and if I were anyone else, Nebula (and Gamora) most likely would have been on her feet in one second flat, weapons in hand, ready to protect her family. But as it was, they both only looked a little surprised rather than startled to see me. I explained why I was there, and they both said they had everything they needed. I wished them both a good night, and then I headed back inside.

I didn't realize exactly what I had seen that night until one weekend long after the Guardians had left Earth again, when Rhodey and I were going through the last of your things I knew needed to be thrown out. Don't worry though! By thrown out I mean donated to those who could use whatever it was or saved for either Morgan, Peter, or Harley 

I know, I know! You had been gone by eight years at this point, but sorting through the things left behind by someone you loved so much is not an easy task! And I know doing it has been just as hard on Rhodey as it has been me, which is why it has taken us so very long to get this finished.

One of the last things that we found when we were almost finished going through the last of your things was a metal case that had your father's name on it. I won't write about the feelings the words that were said at seeing his name brought up because this letter is not about that. But let's just say neither Rhodey or I were very happy when we saw what was written on the case. 

My first inclination was to put it on a trash heap, and burn it unopened. I think that was Rhodey's first inclination too, but somehow he got past it before I did, and said we should look through the case just to be sure that something of yours was not inside. He had a good point so we opened the case, and we started to sort through it.

It didn't take us long to realize that everything in it actually belonged to Howard. Rhodey had been about to close the lid again, and put it aside, when I saw something that caught my eye. I stopped him when I said something like "Wait, what is that?" He said something, probably something like "What's what?" but I wasn't really listening to him. Instead, I was busy reaching inside of the case, and pulling out the object that had caught my eye.

"It's a movie reel." I heard Rhodey say the moment he saw it, and then he shrugged, "Some of Howard Stark's old home movies. Big deal." After reading the label on the reel, I agreed, and placed it back in the case. I did tell him though that maybe we should watch it before either destroying or donating the case's contents. Yes, Tony, the thought we needed to donate the contents of the case to a museum finally crossed my mind once I got over my original anger. 

Rhodey agreed that yes we should watch that reel and any others in the case before we donated them I was leaning more towards donation at this point. "Now I know why Tones had this thing." he said as he set up the player for us to look at the footage. Now, I won't say either of us enjoyed watching the reels in the case but finding the footage of you being a curious little boy Why did Howard have to react that way with you? You never ever reacted or were that way with Morgan whenever she interrupted you in whatever it was you were doing! I know you always were worried if you were being a good father to her, Tony, and I can tell you that YES you were! I knew it before I saw this footage but seeing this only confirmed what I already knew to be true! YOU WERE SUCH AN AMAZING FATHER!!! It hurts so much knowing that our little girl only got to have you be her Daddy for four years.

I wish we hadn't watched the rest of that reel because, in all of the time I've known him, I don't think I have ever seen Rhodey so angry before and I've seen him get pretty livid at you in the past too. I think you know what made him so angry at your father , but I have to say I think I was more hurt then I was angry. 

But Rhodey... he was another subject altogether! For a few minutes, I was more than a little scared that he was either going to blow a blood vessel or have a stroke! Thank goodness he was calm again by the time Morgan got back home from Josie's house!

I would say I wished we'd never laid eyes on that case or found the reels inside but without either one of those things, I never would have realized something else. The night I stumbled on what Nebula was doing with her sister, I had a sudden realization that she was showing Gamora a home movie ! A home movie from one of her memories! I know the technology involved with her movies was a little different but the principle was the same!

With this realization,  another idea came to me, and something I hoped Nebula would consent to do for me the next time she visited Earth. Which unfortunately wouldn't be for another six months or so as the Guardians were due to come back in time to visit for Morgan's birthday.