Jeff the Land Shark Skins

As Jeff the Land Shark swam another lap around his small glass enclosure, frustration finally began to settle in. He had tried so hard to stay his usual optimistic self, even after he lost track of how long he had been held captive here inside this strange Theme Park created by the enigmatic Elder of the Universe known as the Collector.
Jeff didn't really know how he got here in the first place. One second, he was frolicking in the endless waves lapping at the California coast with his BFF Gwen. The next, he was here, trapped within a tiny tank that he couldn't seem to chomp his way out of, no matter how wide he opened his powerful, little jaws.
But since his unexpected arrival, Jeff had pieced together why he was here. Surrounding his own enclosure were countless other holding cells, each containing unique specimens of lifeforms he had never seen before. Some almost looked like the human friends he had made back home, but others were so bizarre and alien that they couldn't possibly have lived on the land or beneath the waves of his native world. Jeff had visited a zoo before with another of his friends, the archer called Kate. And now, he thought that he was probably in one — just another exhibit on display in an intergalactic menagerie on the edge of the known universe.
Jeff didn't love being confined in his tank, but he had taken some comfort in the fact that he wasn't here alone. And while none of the other creatures around him seemed to be fluent in landshark, there was one fellow captive whose thoughts Jeff could hear in his own head. She said her name was Mantis and that she was a friend. And if there's one thing that Jeff loved — other than devouring everything in his path — it was new friends!
But one thing that Jeff hated was when those friends were in trouble... which brings us back to why Jeff had suddenly lost his cheerful demeanor in the first place. Jeff had felt Mantis's psionic scream as she was removed from her cell and dragged away. He had heard the guards talking about taking her to some sort of arena where the Collector's prisoners were forced to fight for their lives against multi-dimensional variants of themselves. Jeff had no idea what any of that meant. But he did know that Mantis was in trouble. He couldn't hear her voice in his head anymore. He couldn't feel her calming presence. He couldn't see where she was or if she was safe. And that made Jeff mad!
Jeff began to swim frenzied circles in his tank, increasing his speed by swishing his tail and paddling his tiny legs as fast as he could. When he had built up enough momentum, he propelled himself toward the wall that separated him from freedom. But the only result was sharp pain as his sweet little face smooshed against the crystal clear wall. Not even the slightest chip or crack could be seen in the glass... though a few may have been left behind in his teeth. It was clear that Jeff would need another plan if he wanted to escape.
As he floated there, dazed from the impact, Jeff wondered what his friends back home would do if they were in his situation. Kate would probably use an explosive arrow. Gwen would find an unexpected way to break through a wall (probably the fourth one). Elsa would have hidden some ancient enchanted blade in her ponytail to slice through the impenetrable glass. And Wade would simply sweet talk the guards into letting him out, winning their favor with false promises of money and tacos. None of those options would work for Jeff. He was stuck here, and the thoughts of his lost friends — including Mantis — left him feeling more and more alone with every second that passed.
But then he sensed it. A familiar tingle in his brain. Mantis was alive! And she was coming back... for him! Jeff couldn't help but grin as his friend approached, flashing several rows of serrated teeth in her direction. This was the first time he had seen Mantis in person, but while he may not have known her face, he immediately recognized her mind. Now that mind was clearly focused on one thing only — escaping from captivity once and for all.
"MMMRRRRR!!!!"
"He's going to draw the guards," another voice said.
In all his excitement, Jeff hadn't even noticed that Mantis was not alone. She had another humanoid with her, this one far more dark and brooding in demeanor. She did not look nearly as happy to see Jeff as Mantis did. And, to be honest, Jeff wasn't convinced that he liked her much either.
"Mrrr?" Jeff grunted quizzically, noticing the way the second woman was looking at him. He felt as though she was sizing him up, preparing to strike him down the second there was no longer any glass between them.
"Don't mind her," Mantis said as she started to activate the release mechanism on the side of Jeff's enclosure. "She wants to get out of here as badly as we do. And she knows the only way we can make that happen is if we work together."
Jeff smiled at Mantis, and she smiled back. Despite the fact that they were attempting to break out of the Collector's exhibition, with no real idea how to escape or where they would go if they did get free, there was something about this humanoid that made Jeff feel like everything was going to be all right. And it was clear he had the same effect on her.
Mantis continued to fiddle with the latch on Jeff's tank just as a squadron of armed guards came into view. As the guards shouted something in an alien language, Jeff could sense that Mantis was already reaching out with her mind in hopes of diverting them. But as quick as Mantis's thoughts were, somehow their new friend managed to get to the Collector's crew first. Her blades flashed in a glittering dance, and in seconds, the guards were down for the count. Jeff couldn't have been more impressed.
"Mrrr," Jeff said, trying to express his appreciation to the purple-haired warrior. Her cold gaze never softened. Jeff could sense that her mind was powerful, just like Mantis's, but her thoughts and emotions were heavily guarded. Jeff wanted his newest friend to like him as much as Mantis did, but for now he would simply have to accept that she no longer seemed to want to kill him or leave him behind.
Mantis finally managed to swing open the door of Jeff's tank, releasing a flood of water into the hallway. Jeff emerged from the miniature wave it created, propping himself up on his stubby legs and giving his body a quick shake to expel the excess moisture from his skin. Mantis laughed with pure delight as a deluge of droplets rained down on her. The other woman was not nearly as amused.
"Let's go," Mantis said, beckoning to her unlikely pair of partners. She began to run through the Collector's menagerie with a determination that made Jeff believe she knew where she was going. The warrior woman stayed close at Mantis's side, so Jeff felt the best thing to do was bound along right behind them.
As Mantis and her companion forged ahead, Jeff suddenly found himself distracted by an unusual smell. It was unlike anything he had ever encountered before, either on land or in the sea. It smelled delicious... and powerful...
Before he realized what he was doing, Jeff had veered off from his companions, entering the Collector's private gallery. Here, the Elder of the Universe had gathered some of the most powerful items and artifacts in all of existence and was displaying them for his wealthiest patrons to gaze upon. Jeff didn't know what any of these strange things were. Not the six colorful stones, nor the glowing cube, nor the otherworldly crimson gem, nor the flaming demonic scroll. But he did know one thing. He hadn't eaten in a very long time...
Jeff's instincts took control. He opened his tiny jaws wide and started to swallow down almost everything in the gallery as quickly as he could. Alarms began to blare, but it didn't stop Jeff from consuming one object of power after another!
"There you are, Jeff!" Mantis cried as she and her mysterious ally entered the now-empty gallery. "We thought we had lost you. Are you... okay...?"
"Mrrr...URP!" Jeff belched in response. His tiny tummy had started to rumble after he had gulped down a little metal vial marked PYM.
As Jeff blushed with embarrassment, Mantis chuckled. Even the steel-willed stranger couldn't help but smirk. But all levity instantly faded as another group of guards arrived in the gallery.
"Tivan is going to have our heads!" one guard shouted, as he realized that all of the artifacts in the private gallery had somehow vanished.
"Not if we bring him theirs first," another guard responded, aiming his weapon directly at Mantis and pulling the trigger.
"MRRRRR!"
Without a second of hesitation, Jeff leapt between the guard and Mantis, instinctively shielding his friend from the oncoming blast. But as he intercepted the attack, something extraordinary happened. Jeff grew to ten times his regular size!
"Hmm," mused the warrior woman. "Must've been something he ate..."
The enlarged Jeff let out a delighted squeal as he charged toward the guards, all of whom dropped their weapons and retreated as swiftly as possible.
As soon as they were in the clear, Jeff beckoned Mantis and her friend to follow him.
"That's not the right way, friend," Mantis said. "We found the hangar. It's in the other direction. That hall will just lead you back to your cell."
"Mrrr," Jeff said confidently, fully aware of what he was doing.
"Oh, I see," Mantis said with a smile. "Good boy, Jeff."
The women raced after the giant Jeff, back into the heart of the menagerie.
"Stand back, everyone," Mantis cried out directly into the minds of all the captive creatures.
As the alien assemblage took cover within their cells, the massive land shark gave a mighty twirl, swinging his tail with tremendous force and shattering through the outer glass walls of countless enclosures. The lifeforms once trapped within suddenly emerged from holding and scattered in all directions, each seeking their own way out of the Collector's custody.
"Mrrr?" Jeff asked as he began to shrink back down to his normal size.
"I know, Jeff," Mantis responded. "But we don't have time to save them all. At least not yet."
"Come on," their curious companion said, leading Jeff and Mantis through the chaos and back toward the hangar. "This may be our only chance."
Together, they entered the hangar, and Mantis located a spacecraft similar to the one she had flown during her time with the Guardians of the Galaxy. Relief washed over her as she led her new teammates onto the ship and powered it up.
"We're finally free," the other woman said with relief. "We can go home now..."
But the stoic warrior paused. She didn't need Mantis's empathic abilities to sense the sadness radiating through Jeff's mind as he looked back toward the creatures rampaging through the Theme Park below them.
"And they will be free, too," Mantis said reassuringly, placing a hand on Jeff's smooth fin and giving it a gentle rub. "We will find help and come back for them. We will free every single one of them. And we will make sure the Collector pays for what he has done. How does that sound, little one?"
As the ship lifted off, Jeff responded as only he could. With a toothy grin and an emphatic:
"MMMRRRRRR!!!"

“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!