[On the screen, Ego stood and walked toward Star-Lord, who was listening intently to the song "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" by Looking Glass.]
["'Brandy, you're a fine girl. What a good wife you would be. But my life, my lover, my lady is the sea,'" Ego quoted, a thoughtful expression on his face. "For all these years, I've been trying to figure out what that song means. He is a sailor, and he loves the girl, but he's not going to stay. Because the sea calls to him. She is the sea."]
[He paused, his gaze distant. "I had to leave your mother, Peter, because my lady, the sea, was calling my name. It's a calling all great men share. The responsibility to answer when history calls to them. Sometimes, we can't enjoy the pleasures of mortals."]
[Star-Lord looked troubled, trying to process his father's words. "Well, you may not be a mortal, but I—"]
[Ego immediately cut him off. "No, Peter. As long as the light inside this planet is not extinguished, we don't have to face death."]
[Star-Lord's eyes widened in surprise. "I can be immortal?"]
[Ego nodded slowly. "Mmm-hmm."]
[The concept seemed too immense to grasp. Peter asked again, his voice filled with disbelief, "Really?"]
["Yes," Ego confirmed. "As long as the light is still there."]
["So I can use the light to... build cool things? Like you built this whole planet?"]
[Ego laughed, a deep, rumbling sound. "Haha! It might take you a million or two years of practice to become proficient. But... yes!"]
[After receiving a definitive answer, Star-Lord covered his mouth, a wave of shock and excitement washing over him. He stood up, unable to contain his energy. "What? This is too... Get ready to see an 800-foot-tall statue of Pac-Man! With Skeletor and Heather Locklear next to it!"]
["You can make whatever you want, Peter!"]
["I'm going to make some weird stuff!" Star-Lord declared, raising his eyebrows mischievously.]
[Ego's expression turned serious. "But Peter, you must know this is a huge responsibility. Only we can reshape the universe. Only we can hold its reins and lead it in the right direction."]
[Star-Lord narrowed his eyes, intrigued. "How?"]
[Ego stretched out his hand, and a bright, white flame of energy ignited at his fingertips. Star-Lord watched for a moment, then mirrored the action, a similar flame appearing in his own palm. The two smiled at each other, and Ego said, "Follow me."]
[Outside their room, Mantis, who had been listening in, pulled back with a look of sheer horror. Fear made her gasp for breath, and a silent, desperate resolve formed in her mind.]
[The scene shifted, showing Drax fast asleep on his bed, snoring loudly.]
[Mantis rushed to his side, shaking him urgently. "Drax! Drax! Drax! We need to talk!"]
[Drax's eyes fluttered open to see Mantis leaning over him.]
[Seeing that he was awake, Mantis quickly moved to the bedside.]
[Drax looked her up and down before speaking. "I'm sorry. But I like a woman with some meat on her bones."]
["What?" Mantis asked, completely bewildered by his non-sequitur.]
["I'm trying to say you're disgusting," Drax stated bluntly. "I just didn't want to make you too sad!"]
["No! I wasn't thinking… What are you doing?" Mantis exclaimed as Drax suddenly looked as if he was about to vomit.]
[Drax grimaced with discomfort. "I'm imagining having skin contact with you." A wave of revulsion washed over his face.]
[Mantis was now both exasperated and angry. "Drax! That's not what I meant! I don't like you like that! I don't even like your species!"]
["Hey! There's no need for personal attacks!"]
[Deciding to abandon that tangent, Mantis leaned in, her voice low and urgent. "Listen! Ego got what he wanted! I should have told you earlier! I'm so stupid! You are all in grave danger!"]]
"The light inside the planet?" Rhodes mused, narrowing his eyes. "Does that mean if the light goes out, he dies? Is that his weak point?"
"Yes, that seems to be the implication," Captain America agreed with a nod.
"Destroying a planet? I'm afraid that's not something we can accomplish," Banner said with a frown. "Even with our most high-tech weapons, none of them are capable of that. The most powerful Tsar Bomba, even strengthened tenfold, wouldn't cause true planetary damage."
He recalled their recent battles. "The elemental storm was terrifying, wasn't it? Seventy-two hours to wipe out all life in North America, fifteen days to exterminate humanity entirely. But even something that powerful couldn't shake the Earth itself. Only the surface life would suffer."
"Well, Ego's celestial form isn't as big as a normal planet. It's just a little bigger than your moon," Mantis explained from her seat.
"That's still impossible for us! We can't do it!" Tony Stark interjected, running a hand through his hair. "The only thing I can think of is… the Rainbow Bridge." He frowned. "We all saw its power during the Elementals incident. Without its help, we would have struggled to defeat the Wind and Fire manifestations."
He continued, thinking aloud, "But that brings its own problems. Would Asgard even get involved? And every time the Bifrost is activated at full power, it causes an imbalance in the energy of the Nine Realms and creates a massive backlash."
Star-Lord puffed out his chest. "Hey! Why don't we just watch and see how we handle it? I bet you I figure out Ego's conspiracy and crush him! After all, I am Star-Lord!"
Gamora rolled her eyes at his boast. Ignoring him, she turned to Tony. "What is the most powerful weapon you have on Earth?"
Tony snapped his fingers. "Ah! Jarvis, show them my latest creation."
"Yes, sir," the AI's voice responded as a holographic projection materialized in the air.
Tony manipulated the image, isolating a basketball-sized sphere. "The large-scale black hole grenade. An improvement I made after discovering the standard model's range was too small during the fight with the fire elemental." He grinned proudly. "This baby can now generate a stable black hole with a fifty-meter diameter. It disappears after five seconds, but almost nothing can withstand it."
Banner shook his head. "Fifty meters is still too small for a planet's core. We'd have to rely on conventional bombs."
Tony countered with a frown, "We can't just launch a nuclear payload into its core. Ego's not an idiot; he won't just sit there and let it happen."
"Are there weapons like star destroyers out in the universe?" Rhodes asked, directing his question to the cosmic heroes.
Star-Lord shook his head. "Well, there are plenty of powerful weapons, but completely destroying a planet isn't easy, especially when the planet itself can fight back."
"Thanos has weapons capable of it," Gamora added grimly. "But he rarely uses them. It doesn't fit his philosophy. Killing half and leaving the other half is his style."
Tony let out a sharp, humorless laugh. "You mean we should ask Thanos for help? No! That's impossible." The very thought sent a chill down his spine. Every night, he dreamed of Thanos and his alien armies invading Earth. He had made Thanos his ultimate imaginary enemy; how could he ever cooperate with him? "Besides," Tony added, "Thanos wouldn't get involved. After he got the Reality Stone, he went into hiding somewhere, using it to prepare for his grand plan."
Rocket Raccoon, who had been quiet until now, raised a furry hand. "Well, I've got an idea!"
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