"Did I hear that correctly? This Ego is mating with countless races throughout the universe? This is absolutely insane!" Bruce Banner shook his head with visible disgust, his scientific mind recoiling at the implications of such widespread genetic manipulation.
"Does he think of himself as some kind of cosmic breeding machine? He doesn't even consider the horrific consequences for his victims or their species." Tony Stark's voice carried both revulsion and bitter irony. He thought he had been rather promiscuous in his younger days, but he estimated that the total number of women he had been with in his entire lifetime was probably less than the number of different alien species that Ego had violated!
War Machine complained from his position nearby: "Whoa! This guy has such twisted appetites! It's really chilling to even think about! Just imagining what those poor beings went through gives me goosebumps!"
Natasha Romanoff frowned deeply, her eyes filled with the cold disdain of someone who had seen too much exploitation and abuse: "This Ego is using the sacred concept of love as a weapon to satisfy his own monstrous selfish desires. And he's been using so many of his own children as nothing more than energy batteries to be drained completely dry!"
Wanda Maximoff shook her head, her face contorted with disgust and her hands unconsciously glowing with red energy: "This represents a complete disrespect for all life in the universe. How utterly pitiful are those countless races that he's been using as nothing more than reproductive tools. He is just a selfish, narcissistic monster who deserves the worst possible death!"
Star-Lord from fell into troubled silence. Now that he wasn't under Ego's hypnotic influence like his alternate self, he could think clearly and naturally began to suspect that Ego's supposed love for his mother might not have been nearly as pure and genuine as he had claimed.
[Ego looked at Star-Lord with what appeared to be genuine relief and paternal pride, "Of all my thousands upon thousands of descendants across the galaxy, only you have inherited the divine connection with the celestial light that flows through my essence!"]
[Star-Lord couldn't help but smile with growing warmth and acceptance as he listened to Ego's seemingly heartfelt words of validation and belonging.]
[After listening intently to Mantis's urgent explanation about the true nature of this place, Gamora said with absolute decisiveness: "We have to find Quill immediately and get him away from his father! We need to leave this cursed planet before it's too late!"]
["Ego must have already won him over by now! He has a way of getting into people's heads and making them believe..." Nebula interrupted Mantis sharply before she could finish delivering her warning.]
["Then let's just get out of here while we still can!" Nebula's pragmatic survival instincts kicked in.]
[Gamora rejected her suggestion without any hesitation, her loyalty absolute, "No! Quill is our friend! We don't abandon family!"]
[Nebula scoffed at this display of sentiment, her cybernetic enhancements glowing as her emotions flared, "You people just yell at each other constantly! You're not friends, you're barely functional as a team!"]
[Drax nodded thoughtfully at Nebula's observation: "You're absolutely right about the yelling! But we are much more than friends! We are a family! And families never leave anyone behind, no matter what!"]
[Drax glanced meaningfully at Gamora, then at the nervous Mantis, and finally fixed his gaze directly on Nebula with a slight smirk, "Except maybe you, blue robot lady!"]
[Nebula rolled her eyes and shook her head in complete exasperation, "Oh! My God! You people are impossible!"]
[Back in the grand hall, Ego could no longer contain his overwhelming inner excitement and threw his arms wide as he shouted triumphantly to the vaulted ceiling: "For the first time in my entire cosmic existence spanning millions of years! I am no longer alone in this vast, empty universe!!!"]
[Star-Lord slowly lowered his head as the weight of what his father was asking him to do began to sink in, his expression becoming increasingly troubled and depressed.]
[Ego noticed the change in his son's demeanor and looked at him with growing confusion: "What's wrong, my boy? This should be the happiest moment of both our lives!"]
[Star-Lord slowly raised his head to meet his father's gaze, conflict clear in his eyes, "My friends... the Guardians... what happens to them in your plan?"]
[Ego's expression showed a flash of disappointment when he heard this concern for lesser beings.]
["You see, this is your inferior human side showing through, Peter! This weakness you inherited from your mother!"]
[Star-Lord nodded woodenly, his voice hollow, "Yes... I suppose it is..."]
[Ego continued his psychological manipulation, moving closer to his conflicted son.]
["But we're beyond such petty concerns now! We are gods! We don't need the approval or companionship of mortals!"]
["Okay..." Ego turned around, gesturing grandly as he prepared to continue explaining the glorious details of his expansion plan.]
[At this crucial moment, Star-Lord's thoughts drifted to cherished memories of his mother, "But my mother... you said you loved my mother with all your heart!"]
[Ego paused and turned his head to look at his son. He sighed slightly with what seemed like genuine melancholy and looked up toward the ceiling as he began to recall every precious detail of his past relationship with Meredith Quill.]
["I did love her! My beautiful Water Lily! She could sing every single song on the radio with perfect pitch and timing! I went back to Earth three separate times just to see her smile and hold her in my arms!"]
[Ego's voice took on a wistful quality as he continued, "I knew that if I went back a fourth time... I would never have the strength to leave her again! My expansion plan... the ultimate meaning of my entire existence... would be completely abandoned! So I did what was absolutely necessary for the greater good!"]
[His tone shifted to something that sounded almost apologetic, "But... it breaks my heart that I had to give her that brain tumor!"]
[This sudden, casually delivered revelation struck Star-Lord's consciousness like a bolt of lightning, sending massive shock waves through his entire being!]
[Star-Lord's eyes, which had been transformed into swirling galaxies under Ego's influence, immediately faded and returned to their normal human appearance. The cosmic connection was severed as the full horror of what his father had just admitted crashed over him like a tsunami.]
[He whispered in complete disbelief and growing horror: "What?!!"]
[Ego didn't notice Star-Lord's dramatic change in demeanor and continued speaking matter-of-factly: "I know, I know this sounds terrible when I put it like that!"]
[Before Ego could finish his callous explanation, Star-Lord suddenly drew both of his element guns with lightning speed and began firing at his father with absolutely murderous intent.]
[The dense barrage of high-energy bullets directly riddled Ego's humanoid body, turning his torso into Swiss cheese. The sustained fire was so intense that even his head was split completely in half by the relentless stream of energy bolts.]
[After suffering this unexpected and devastating attack, Ego flew into an absolutely towering rage and screamed at Star-Lord with the fury of a wrathful god.]
["Who do you think you are?!! How dare you raise your hand against your father?!!"]
[Star-Lord roared back with equal fury, his voice breaking with grief and rage: "You! You killed my mother!!! You murdered the only person who ever truly loved me!!!"]
["I worked so hard for so many years... traveling across the galaxy to find the perfect form that would appeal to you... Is this how you show gratitude for everything I've given you?!!" Ego's voice dripped with wounded pride and growing menace.]
[As Ego spoke, his damaged body began to shift and change, transforming himself into his younger, more appealing appearance - the face that had seduced Meredith Quill decades ago.]
["Look at me! You've really grown up to be such an ungrateful child!"]
[His features hardened back into his true, ancient face, and then he raised one hand with deliberate menace. Suddenly, a thick tentacle of pure energy erupted from the ground directly behind Star-Lord, piercing straight through his torso and lifting his body high into the air like a trophy.]
[Star-Lord cried out in agony as the energy construct tore through his flesh, "Aaaaarghhhhhh!!!"]
[Ego's face was a mask of divine wrath as he looked up at his impaled son, "I wanted to do this the easy way, with you as my willing partner... But now it seems that you'll just have to serve as a thousand-year battery while I slowly drain every ounce of celestial power from your body!"]
Star-Lord felt his face fill with uncontrollable anger, his fists clenched so tightly his knuckles turned white, and his entire body trembled from the force of his rage.
"This damn monster!!! How dare he..." Star-Lord's voice cracked with emotion as he watched his alternate self suffer the ultimate betrayal.
Tony Stark ran a hand through his hair, his arc reactor flickering with his agitation, "Of course he's not human - no human being would casually give the woman he claims to love a fatal brain tumor. What kind of 'Water Lily' deserves that kind of death sentence?"
"It's going to be okay! We'll make sure he pays for what he's done!" Captain America placed a reassuring hand on Star-Lord's shoulder, his voice carrying the conviction of someone who had faced down tyrants before.
Star-Lord had received the urgent message from Nova Prime about the Nova Corps' offer of assistance. With the addition of their considerable military forces, his confidence in mounting a successful rescue mission had increased significantly.
However, the Avengers had never engaged in large-scale space combat operations, so they still needed considerable time to select the right personnel and equipment. Venturing into deep space was extremely dangerous and required extensive preparation and specialized gear.
Tony Stark and Rocket were working around the clock to urgently modify their available spacecraft, trying to retrofit them for extended space travel and combat operations.
Unfortunately, many of the advanced materials readily available on Earth were simply not suitable for the extreme conditions of long-distance space travel, which had significantly slowed down their modification and upgrade process.
Fortunately, T'Challa had soon learned about their desperate situation through his intelligence networks and had immediately sent a substantial shipment of pure vibranium, which greatly accelerated their transformation work and improved their chances of survival.
[On Gamora's side of the planet, her communication device finally crackled to life after hours of static.]
["Finally got through! Rocket, is that you?"]
[Rocket was climbing rapidly into his modified attack craft while barking instructions over the comm, "Keep that communicator active so I can track your position! We're using some old industrial construction equipment that Yondu used years ago to break into the Sovereign's most secure bank!"]
["Ego is a complete lunatic! The whole planet is him!"]
[Rocket's voice came through steady and determined despite the chaos, "I know exactly what we're dealing with! Just get ready for extraction!"]
[Yondu grabbed the microphone clipped to his collar and commanded his crew: "Take her down fast! Kraglin! No time for fancy flying!"]
[Kraglin yanked hard on the control lever, and their massive construction ship immediately began its rapid descent, diving toward the planet's surface at maximum speed.]
[As they approached the world from orbit, the true horror of their situation became apparent. This massive red planet was pulsing with eerie blue-white light in a slow, regular pattern that resembled breathing.]
[The two largest glowing spots positioned near the top were clearly eyes, the elongated glowing region below formed a mouth, and the raised mountainous peak in the center created what was unmistakably a nose. From their current distance, the entire planetary surface looked exactly like an enormous human face - Ego's face - staring up at them with malevolent awareness.]