[Ego tilted his head with predatory satisfaction and looked at the helplessly strung-up Star-Lord, then walked slowly up to him with deliberate menace. With casual cruelty, he reached out and took away Peter's beloved Walkman - the last connection to his mother's memory.]
[Star-Lord's voice was barely a whisper of desperate pleading: "No! Please... not that..."]
[Ego turned on the Walkman with mocking ceremony, and the familiar melody of "Brandy (You're a Fine Girl)" began to play once again - the song that had meant everything to Peter and his mother.]
[Star-Lord looked at the precious device in his father's hands, and a single tear slowly traced its way down his cheek as childhood memories flooded back.]
[Ego began singing along with the music in a mockingly sweet voice: "My life, my love! My woman is the sea! Peter... this song represents the sea of possibilities before us!"]
[After delivering this twisted interpretation, he crushed the Walkman between his fingers, destroying the last physical link between Peter and Meredith.]
["Oh! No!" Star-Lord could only watch helplessly as his most treasured possession was reduced to electronic fragments.]
[Ego immediately began the process of extracting the divine celestial power from Star-Lord's body. Peter's screams of agony echoed through the vast chamber as brilliant blue-white energy poured from his eyes and mouth like liquid starlight.]
[As the cosmic energy was systematically drawn out through the organic tentacles, a beam of pure power connected from the base of the energy conduits directly to Ego's humanoid form. The transferred force created a massive explosion of light and power that shook the entire planetary structure.]
[Gamora, Drax, Nebula, and Mantis, who had been running desperately toward the palace through the organic corridors, immediately noticed that the massive structure ahead of them was now emitting a blindingly brilliant white light. The intense illumination forced them to stop in their tracks and shield their eyes from the overwhelming radiance.]
[Blue-white celestial energy swirled around Ego in complex patterns, and as his consciousness moved deeper toward the core interior of the living planet, the intertwined root systems throughout the world immediately lit up like a vast neural network, rapidly transmitting this stolen power throughout Ego's entire planetary body.]
[On Earth, thousands of miles away, the flower that Ego had planted decades ago during his courtship of Meredith began to pulse with ominous blue light.]
[The alien organism suddenly began to expand at an exponential rate, and the trees behind the roadside motel started falling like dominoes as the growth consumed everything in its path. Terrified passersby saw this unnatural phenomenon and screamed in panic as they began running for their lives.]
[The location of the small motel was instantly consumed by Ego's expanding biomass, which then began spreading rapidly in all directions like a living tsunami, systematically swallowing up every building, vehicle, and living thing it encountered.]
[Back on his planetary body, Ego felt the intoxicating sensation of beginning to devour an entire world, and his massive features were filled with pure ecstatic enjoyment at the taste of conquest.]
"Oh my God! Thank goodness we managed to dig up and destroy our seedling!" Scott Lang looked with visible relief at the Ego clone sample that had been contained and sealed within a specialized glass containment unit. He understood all too well what horrific fate awaited anyone unfortunate enough to be swallowed by that expanding nightmare.
Major cosmic civilizations like the Nova Empire had dramatically stepped up their desperate search for Ego's hidden clones, especially focusing on worlds and locations where Ego had been known to make contact. Most of the time, Ego's humanoid appearance remained relatively consistent across different encounters, making identification somewhat easier.
Therefore, it was relatively straightforward for highly developed civilizations with advanced surveillance networks to research and identify where Ego had appeared throughout their documented history.
Very quickly, the Ego clone that had been planted on Xandar during one of his earlier visits was located by Nova Corps search teams. Rhomann Dey personally oversaw the deployment of high-powered military-grade laser weapons to completely incinerate the entire alien organism before it could activate.
The advanced Kree Empire also rapidly completed the systematic eradication of multiple clones discovered throughout their territorial space, using their sophisticated biotechnology to ensure complete destruction.
Ego's original planetary consciousness felt each of his carefully planted extensions being systematically located and destroyed across the galaxy, and he became absolutely furious at this systematic dismantling of his millennium-spanning plan.
On the living world, the enormous human face that comprised the planet's surface features opened its massive mouth and released a deafening roar of pure rage that shook the very foundations of the world. Unfortunately, sound cannot travel through the vacuum of space, so his fury remained trapped on his own world. In the empty cosmos, only Ego could hear the echo of his own impotent screaming.
At this moment, Ego's hatred for the mysterious viewing screen had reached its absolute peak, just like all the other villains whose carefully laid plans had been ruined by these cosmic broadcasts. But like all the others before him, he could do absolutely nothing about the screen's interference and could only rage helplessly against forces beyond his control.
[On the other side of the palace complex, Drax kicked open the massive ornate doors with explosive force and rushed inside, followed closely by his determined companions.]
[Ego, who had been completely absorbed in the euphoric process of draining energy from Star-Lord, suddenly heard the sound of multiple intruders breaking into his inner sanctum.]
[Before he could properly react to this unexpected interruption, he heard another sound - this one much louder and more ominous. He turned his head sharply and looked back and upward toward the source.]
[Through the massive crystalline windows behind him, he saw a battered spacecraft crash through the transparent barriers and rush straight toward him at maximum velocity.]
[Yondu was piloting the ship with grim determination and shouted his battle cry directly at Ego: "Hello there, you child-murdering bastard!"]
[Ego could only watch in shock as the heavily modified spacecraft crashed directly into his humanoid form, completely crushing his physical manifestation into scattered fragments of cosmic matter.]
[After losing its central humanoid control node, the organic tentacles that had been penetrating and draining Star-Lord's body began to immediately dissipate and retreat back into the interior mechanisms of the planet.]
[Star-Lord fell heavily from mid-air, his body wracked with pain, and then collapsed weakly onto the chamber floor, barely conscious but finally free.]
[Back on Earth, the Ego clone that had been rapidly expanding and consuming everything in its path suddenly lost its vital energy supply and stopped its terrifying growth completely.]
[The citizens who had been running frantically for their lives were able to halt their desperate flight. They noticed that the nightmarish alien growth had suddenly stopped moving, and they also came to a cautious stop to observe this strange development.]
["What the hell was that thing?!!" one shocked observer shouted.]
[Little did the curious onlookers know that their decision to linger and investigate would eventually cost them dearly. Curiosity would indeed prove fatal, and the price they would pay for their dangerous fascination would be their very lives.]
[Drax and his companions saw Star-Lord crawling weakly on the ornate floor and immediately rushed over to help their fallen friend.]
[The cargo hatch of Yondu's battered spacecraft opened with a mechanical hiss, and Baby Groot could be seen waving enthusiastically at them from his position behind the opening.]
[Drax gestured wildly with his hands and yelled in his typically blunt manner, "Get out of the way, you tiny tree! Little Groot, you adorable idiot!"]
[As Drax climbed aboard the spacecraft, Baby Groot immediately began punching and kicking him repeatedly in the arm with his tiny wooden fists, clearly expressing his anger at being called names.]
"Wow! What an absolutely adorable little Groot! He's small in stature but definitely has a big temper, hahaha!" There was a burst of delighted exclamations from the crowd of viewers.
Someone commented with obvious amusement: "Every time I see Baby Groot, I think it's hilarious. He's definitely worthy of being the team mascot! Those Ravagers who betrayed Yondu certainly have good taste in choosing their favorites!"
"Little Groot throwing tiny punches at Drax is priceless! Hahaha!" The sight of Baby Groot's righteous anger made everyone burst into laughter.
"This little tree person is absolutely precious!"
"Is this the real-life version of 'little fists hitting your chest'? No wait, it should be 'tiny punches hitting your elbow!'"
"Drax really has a way with words. Little Groot is so small, how could he possibly be standing in anyone's way?"
The onlookers who were watching the cosmic broadcast purely for entertainment were all thoroughly amused by Baby Groot's innocent but fierce behavior.
Everyone present was infected by his irresistible cuteness and pure-hearted nature, and waves of laughter rose and fell throughout the viewing area, echoing under the vast expanse of the sky above them.
The viewers didn't particularly care whether the events unfolding in the broadcast would somehow affect their own reality. After all, they reasoned, the Avengers and other heroes were there to handle any truly dangerous situations that might arise.
[Gamora carefully helped the injured Star-Lord to his feet and said with characteristic directness, "I knew something was seriously wrong with this whole situation from the beginning!"]
[She supported the limping and weakened Star-Lord as they made their way slowly toward the rescue spacecraft.]
[Star-Lord managed to retort despite his pain: "Oh great, that's exactly what I need to hear right now! Really helpful timing, Gamora!"]
[Yondu's voice called out from the ship, "Well! Does this mean I'm back in your good graces?"]
[Star-Lord still managed to tease despite everything: "I suppose this means we can finally acknowledge that unspoken romantic tension between us!"]
[Gamora rolled her eyes in exasperation, "There is absolutely no such thing as unspoken romantic tension between us!"]
[After Drax had fully entered the spacecraft, he immediately began complaining to Rocket about the dramatic rescue: "What kind of flying was that? You almost killed all of us with that stunt!"]
[Rocket spun around in his pilot's chair to face the complaining warrior and said with obvious sarcasm, "Uh... how about 'Thank you for saving our lives, Rocket?' That would be nice to hear!"]
[Drax responded with typical bluntness: "We had the entire situation completely under control before you arrived!"]
[Mantis had been pacing back and forth anxiously behind them, her antennae drooping with worry and fear.]
[Upon hearing Drax's confident claim, she immediately contradicted him with urgent panic in her voice: "No, we absolutely do not have this under control! What you just destroyed was merely an extension of his real body! The true Ego will regenerate and be back very soon!"]