Jeff The Land Shark

“Klyntar, dead ahead,” Star-Lord said as his starship, The Milano, approached a somber black sphere hanging silently in the void of deep space.

“You just had to say ‘dead,’ didn’t ya, Quill?” groaned Rocket.

“Sorry,” Star-Lord said, powering down the ship’s thrusters as it entered the planet’s orbit. “But honestly, I may not be far off. We barely made it off this world alive last time we were here.”

“Well, maybe if ya can manage not to crash our ship into this miserable ball of goop again —” Rocket said, beginning to take out his frustrations on the ship’s captain.

“I am Groot,” Groot interrupted with a stern tone in his voice.

“Yeah, I know,” Rocket relented. “It all worked out in the end. No use arguin’ about it now.”

“Except it didn’t all work out, did it?” Star-Lord asked. “I mean, if it had, we wouldn’t have had to come back here again so soon, right?”

“Probably shouldn’t have left in the first place,” Rocket said with a shrug. “Not until we knew Knull was actually a goner.”

“We had no reason to believe he could have survived,” Mantis chimed in as she entered the ship’s bridge. “Even I couldn’t sense him after that explosion.”

“Yeah,” Rocket mused. “If a genetic bomb built from the Divine Codex of a dead Celestial wasn’t enough to obliterate that jerk, I don’t know what is!”

“MRRRR!” a tiny creature growled as it hopped up on the ship’s control panel to get a better view of the planet they were rapidly approaching.

“Jeff suggests that he should have just swallowed Knull whole,” Mantis said, translating for her little friend.

Mantis had first encountered Jeff the Land Shark when they were both prisoners of an Elder of the Universe known as the Collector. After they managed to escape captivity in the Collector’s alien menagerie together, Jeff had accompanied Mantis when she reunited with her fellow Guardians of the Galaxy. From Yggsgard to Arakko, Jeff had proven himself a valuable ally in every battle since and had earned his place aboard The Milano. He took quickly to space travel, seeming to enjoy cruising through the stars almost as much as surfing through the seas. But as much as he faced every day with unbridled optimism, even Jeff couldn’t find much joy in the idea of returning to Klyntar.

As the ship prepared for landing, Jeff began to hum a peaceful tune in an attempt to calm himself.

“MMMMM MMM MMMM MMM MMM MRRRR…” he crooned softly.

“Ugh! Enough with all the singin’ already!” Rocket snarled. “I haven’t been able to get that flarkin’ tune outta my head for weeks!”

“I am Groot,” Groot said encouragingly, gently petting Jeff on the back of the head.

“I agree with the big guy,” Star-Lord said. “I think Jeff’s a great singer!”

“I’ve heard what Quill calls music, Jeffy,” Rocket quipped. “I wouldn’t take that as a compliment.”

“Music has been proven to have a soothing effect on countless species,” Mantis added. “If Jeff’s melodies help to keep him calm and focused in the battle to come, they may very well do the same for us.”

“Makes sense to me,” Star-Lord said. “I’m still gonna bring my cassette player though, just in case…”

“Well, you might as well hit play now, flyboy…” Rocket said as The Milano gently landed on Klyntar’s surface, “…’cause it’s go time!”

The Guardians of the Galaxy exited their ship and cautiously stepped onto Klyntar’s surface. Having been on this world quite recently, they knew the many dangers posed by the species of symbiotes that called it home. As soon as they exited the ship, Mantis clutched her head in pain.

“Knull…” she said, her voice trembling, “…he’s grown stronger! I can feel his darkness… everywhere… ”

Right on cue, several symbiotes slithered their way towards the Guardians at alarming speed. Rocket and Star-Lord both unloaded their blasters at the creatures, but the energy blasts went right through the symbiotes’ ever-shifting protoplasmic bodies without causing the creatures any harm.

“They sure look a lot angrier than the last time we were here!” Rocket said.

“And hungrier!” Star-Lord added as a symbiote launched itself through the air towards him, its sharp fangs glistening in the moonlight.

“MRRRR!” Jeff exclaimed as he batted the symbiote away from Star-Lord with his powerful tail.

“Get back on board the ship! NOW!” Star-Lord ordered… but it was too late. The horde of symbiotes had managed to get close enough to ensnare each of the Guardians in their amorphous tendrils. In a matter of moments, the heroes had been transformed from noble warriors to devoted servants of Knull.

“Whoa. Why were we fighting this?” Star-Lord asked, examining the living costumes that had enveloped him and his teammates. They were now clad in black from head-to-toe, with crimson spirals on their foreheads — the mark of Knull. “We look totally hardcore!”

“And all we gotta do to keep this kinda power is blast a bunch of lousy heroes in Knull’s name?” Rocket said. “Sounds like a sweet deal to me!”

“We are Groot!” Groot agreed vehemently.

“MRRRR…” Jeff grunted, not nearly as enthusiastic as his allies about their sudden turn to the dark side. The little land shark was doing everything he could to resist his symbiote’s control, but nothing seemed to be working. He could hear Knull speaking to him through the symbiote hivemind, compelling him to give in. But Jeff had never been the type to blindly obey. Instead, he doubled down, conjuring up images in his mind of all the people he had promised to fight for. Kate. Elsa. Gwen. Sai. Mantis. Seol. And, of course, his newest friends, the Guardians of the Galaxy.

“MRRRRR!” Jeff yelped as he winced in pain. It was quickly becoming clear that happy thoughts alone wouldn’t be enough to fend off Knull’s attempts to assimilate Jeff into his symbiote army. But perhaps a happy tune would…

“MMMMM… MMM… MMMM… MMM… MMM… MRRRR…” Jeff hummed slowly and methodically, trying to focus all his positive energy into the lilting melody.

All of a sudden, something completely unexpected happened. The symbiote that was trying to bond with Jeff began to hum the tune as well. At first, Jeff had assumed that the creature was evil, but then he remembered something that another of his allies, Venom, had told him during their adventure on Mars: Symbiotes each have their own personalities, just like people. Knull may be able to influence them to do his bidding, but he can’t change who they are at their core.

Jeff didn’t know much about the symbiote that had surrounded his body, but he could tell that his song was getting through to it. Its frenzied attempts to overtake Jeff’s mind had subsided, and now it seemed to be fighting back against Knull’s control instead. It was clear to Jeff that the symbiote was in great pain as it struggled to resist its creator’s commands, so Jeff did something that surprised even himself. He stopped fighting and let the symbiote complete the bonding process.

Jeff knew that accepting the symbiotic bond could very well turn him into a bloodthirsty monster, but there was also a small chance that it could create a unique partnership that strengthened both of them. And as a creature that always saw the best in every situation, Jeff was willing to take that risk.

As the connection between Jeff and his symbiote deepened, it gained full access to Jeff's memories. It could feel the peace of the warm ocean waves. It could see Jeff playing and dancing at the Hellfire Gala without a care in the world. And it could hear Jeff’s mesmerizing song growing louder and stronger. And suddenly, just like Jeff, the symbiote made the conscious choice to focus on the good in the universe, breaking free from Knull's control once and for all.

“MRRRR!” Jeff exclaimed with renewed vigor as the bonding process finally finished. He and his symbiote were now in perfect harmony, and Jeff had never felt so strong before. And while he was certainly hungrier than ever as well, his desire to devour everyone in sight was finally in check. In its place was a desire to help everyone in sight instead — especially the Guardians.

If Jeff’s song could break his own symbiote free from Knull’s influence, there was a solid possibility that it could do the same for the symbiotes that had bonded with Jeff’s friends. Jeff swiftly swam across the planet’s surface until he found himself standing in the center of the assembled Guardians. He opened his jaws wide.

“I knew it! That little freak’s gonna eat us!” Rocket yelled. “Knull says he’s gone rogue. We gotta take him out!”

But before the Guardians could begin their assault, Jeff sang out loud and proud.

“MMMMM MMM MMMM MMM MMM MRRRR…”

“That… that song…” Star-Lord said, shaking his head as if snapping out of a bad dream as his own symbiote pulled away.

“So beautiful…” Mantis added as she began to sway to the hypnotic melody, returning to her green self more with each beat.

“MMMMM MMM MMMM MMM MMM MRRRR…”

“Y’know…” Rocket said. “It actually ain’t so bad after all…”

“I… am… Groot…” Groot replied, coming back to his senses.

As Knull’s crimson spirals faded from the foreheads of his companions, Jeff grinned wider than he ever had before, with hundreds of teeth showing in his symbiotic smile.

“You did a good job, my little friend,” Mantis said, reaching out to gently boop Jeff’s blunt nose. “I knew you would.”

“So wait…” Rocket said, examining his paw, which was still covered in a thick layer of symbiotic slime, “…we get to keep these amped-up costumes, but we don’t have to follow Knull’s orders? That’s a way better deal!”

“This might be the upper hand we need to put Knull down for good this time,” Star-Lord said. “And it’s all thanks to you, Jeff. When this battle is over, maybe it’s time to make you an official Guardian of the Galaxy. Whaddaya say?”

“MRRRR!” Jeff chirped with glee as he leaped into the air and did a flip. He couldn’t have been more excited about what was to come.

“Better keep that track on repeat, buddy,” Star-Lord said as more heroes began to arrive on Klyntar to join the impending war against Knull. “Looks like we’re not the only ones who are gonna need it.”

Jeff took a deep breath and prepared himself for the inevitable battle ahead. He knew it wouldn’t be easy — it never was. But he also knew that, with a little positivity and a happy tune, absolutely anything was possible!