Rocket Raccoon

Guardians of the Galaxy has a talking racoon, who started out as Subject 89P13 being genetically and cybernetically modified by High Evolutionary (a geneticist who sought to create a perfect species out of what he viewed as lower life forms, and build his own utopia), and this gave him enhanced intelligence and the ability to speak.  Rocket chose his name because he liked the Beatles’ song ‘Rocky Raccoon’, but then he discovered that the High Evolutionary planned to kill him and his friends, so he attacked and mutilated him, and then fled into the cosmos abord a ship.  In his travels Rocket meets Groot, a Flora colossus (plant like species) that is almost invulnerable to physical harm because he has a highly accelerated healing factor, so he is able to regrow limbs and even his entire body from nothing more than a twig and they become friends.  Rocket and Groot get involved in a battle over the Power Stone and they get captured along with Peter Quill (leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy) and Gamora (a green-skinned humanoid race known as Zehoberei and she is referred to as The Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy) and they are all sent to space prison.  Groot sacrifices himself to shield Rocket.  Rocket plants part of his destroyed body which gives birth to a newly planted baby Groot.  The new Flora colossus has a foul mouth, but he is mostly incomprehensible to the untrained ear, however he does learn some English words and is able to say, “eye hmmm grew root”, but everyone thinks he is saying, “I am Groot.”

Written for Melissa’s Flash Fiction Challenge #272.