[Star-Lord spun around in the pilot seat and yelled frantically at Rocket over the sound of enemy fire, "Why don't you return fire with the laser cannon?!"]
[Rocket immediately jumped down from his weapons chair and sprinted quickly to the other side of the damaged spacecraft.]
["Those golden bastards blew up our main power generator! But wait - I just remembered I brought along a small emergency detonator!"]
[Nebula heard this exchange and shouted with obvious frustration: "A detonator is completely useless without any explosives to detonate!"]
[Rocket reached into his equipment bag and triumphantly pulled out one of the stolen Anulax batteries, its surface gleaming with contained energy.]
["Well! Good thing we have these highly unstable power sources!"]
[Star-Lord quickly descended from the cockpit to see what Rocket was planning.]
["Is that thing actually powerful enough to kill a cosmic entity like Ego?"]
[Rocket responded while expertly assembling the Anulax battery into an improvised explosive device with practiced efficiency.]
["If I can get the positioning right, it should cause a devastating chain reaction throughout his entire nervous system!"]
[Star-Lord obviously didn't fully understand the technical implications, and pressed for clarification: "What exactly does that mean for us?"]
["The whole planet will explode in a matter of minutes! We have to escape as quickly as possible! I'm installing a timer mechanism right now! Let's go!"]
[Star-Lord immediately activated his nano-mask and jet-boot thrusters upon hearing this dire news, then leaped out of the damaged spaceship with Rocket and began flying directly toward Ego's exposed core structure.]
[The pursuing Sovereign spacecraft immediately spotted their escape attempt, and multiple pilots began firing concentrated energy bursts at the two flying figures, but Star-Lord and Rocket managed to dodge the incoming fire with skillful aerial maneuvers.]
[They successfully navigated through the defensive fire and dove directly into the hole that had been created by their earlier laser cannon bombardment.]
[But just as they disappeared into the core chamber, Ego's consciousness detected their presence and location. The ground beneath Gamora, Drax, and Mantis suddenly began emitting brilliant white light.]
[Then the massive stone pillar formations in front of them started flashing with increasing intensity, becoming progressively brighter as Ego's power awakened.]
[Mantis's expression changed to one of genuine fear, and she spoke with barely controlled panic: "He's coming! Ego is fully aware now!"]
[The landscape in front of them began rising and reshaping itself as Ego's cosmic power extended throughout the planetary structure.]
[Drax looked directly at the frightened Mantis, "Didn't you say you could make him fall asleep with your powers?"]
[Mantis wrung her hands nervously and replied with obvious doubt, "That only works when he naturally wants to sleep! Right now he's far too powerful and alert! I don't think I can do it!"]
[Drax stepped closer and spoke with uncharacteristic gentleness: "You don't have to believe in yourself right now, because I believe in you completely!"]
[Mantis looked back at the surprisingly supportive warrior, then turned to face Ego, who had used his cosmic energy to create a crude but terrifying facial manifestation in the rock.]
[Ego's massive stone face roared with earth-shaking volume, opening his enormous mouth wide and beginning to condense devastating cosmic energy within it, with blindingly bright white light gathering and intensifying.]
[Mantis stared at the deadly energy attack racing toward her and her companions, mustered every ounce of courage she possessed, and grabbed onto the organic root systems in the ground, channeling her empathic abilities to their absolute maximum potential.]
[Accompanied by her desperate, loud battle cry: "GO TO SLEEP!!!"]
[The cosmic energy blast that had already reached the three defenders suddenly dissipated harmlessly, and Ego fell into a deep, unnatural slumber. Everything around them returned to peaceful silence.]
[But the tremendous effort left Mantis with bloodshot eyes due to the severe overuse of her psychic abilities.]
[Drax looked visibly relieved, then turned to Gamora with his typical bluntness: "Honestly, I didn't think she could actually do it! After all, she looks so thin and fragile!"]
[Gamora stared at the tactless warrior with an expression of complete exasperation. As always, absolutely no one on their team could be considered normal by any reasonable standard!]
[Mantis struggled to maintain her psychic hold and cried out with strain, "I don't know how long I can keep him unconscious like this!"]
[On the other side of the cavern, Star-Lord and Rocket stood at the entrance to Ego's core chamber, peering into the pitch-black depths ahead of them.]
[Rocket switched on his powerful flashlight and carefully examined the interior structure. He could see numerous tiny holes scattered throughout the protective shell, with eerie blue light emanating from the openings.]
["The metal plating is way too thick for us to penetrate! For this bomb to work properly, we have to place it directly on top of Ego's actual core structure! Unfortunately, our big butts definitely can't fit through these microscopic holes!"]
["Well..." Star-Lord's gaze involuntarily drifted toward Baby Groot, who was currently using small leaves and flower buds to meticulously clean dust particles from his tiny wooden body.]
[Rocket followed Star-Lord's meaningful stare and immediately understood exactly what he was thinking, and couldn't help but voice his strong objections.]
["This is absolutely the worst idea you've ever had!"]
["But it's literally the only idea we have left at this point!"]
["Emmm! This is completely unbelievable!" Although Rocket felt that this plan was extremely unreliable and dangerous, they had absolutely no other viable options available to them.]
[He carefully picked up Baby Groot, gently placed him on his back, and walked deeper into the cave while muttering complaints to himself.]
["Rocket! Do this dangerous thing! Rocket! Handle that impossible task!"]
[Star-Lord placed all his remaining hopes on their success, then turned around, drew both of his element guns, and let out a weary sigh.]
["Today has been absolutely terrible in every possible way!" Then he leaped down from the cave entrance, activated his flight thrusters, and began an aerial battle against the pursuing Sovereign spacecraft.]
When Scott Lang witnessed this scene, his eyes immediately lit up with recognition and he found a compelling reason why he absolutely had to join the mission! "Oh! It looks like I definitely have to go with you! No one else can fit through that kind of small opening except me when I shrink down!"
War Machine rolled his eyes in obvious skepticism, "We don't actually need our explosives to be placed that precisely!"
"Well! It's always good to have a backup plan, you know? That's exactly how I managed to take out the massive Earth Elemental! I'm particularly skilled at dealing with giant enemies like that!"
Rhodes opened his mouth to argue but found himself unable to refute Scott's logic. He had to grudgingly admit that Ant-Man had made crucial contributions during their battle against the Earth Elemental threat.
At that moment, Tony Stark emerged from the workshop downstairs and clapped his hands loudly to attract everyone's attention.
"Alright everyone! Let's confirm our final team roster: Me, Rocket, Quill, Gamora, Mantis, Scott, Banner, Natasha, Mysterio, Wanda, and Pietro will be the ones making the journey! Thor and Captain Marvel will catch up with us later once they complete their preparations."
"The rest of our team stays here on Earth to defend against the possibility of Thanos launching a surprise attack while we're away! To be absolutely safe, we're taking one of the Infinity Stones with us as a last resort option! Everyone agreed?"
The assembled heroes nodded their understanding. Most of the chosen team members possessed significant superpowers or specialized skills, and the remaining Avengers would likely only create complications if they accompanied the space mission.
Seeing that no one had any major objections to the plan, Tony continued, "Everyone should get some rest while you can - our spacecraft is fully prepared and ready for launch! We'll be departing very soon, and the Nova Corps fleet will be waiting to rendezvous with us near Ego's planetary location!"
At the same time, on the distant forge-world of Nidavellir, the central core of the massive star ring had been severely damaged and automatically shut down due to the sudden temperature shock of transitioning from ultra-low temperatures to ultra-high temperatures of several thousand degrees.
Thor made the determined decision to manually restart the forge mechanism himself, even though doing so would require him to endure absolutely terrifying levels of stellar energy. The Dwarf King Eitri strongly advised him not to be so recklessly impatient and suggested waiting until the automated systems could be properly repaired.
But Thor understood with absolute clarity that Earth and its defenders might not have enough time to wait for a safe solution, and Tony's team would definitely need his enhanced weapons and power. The sooner he could successfully forge Stormbreaker and repair the damaged Mjolnir, the sooner he could travel to provide assistance against Ego.
Captain Marvel floated nearby in the forge chamber, offering to take his place in the dangerous procedure, reasoning that her ability to absorb cosmic energy meant that the star core's power output couldn't possibly harm her.
But Thor politely but firmly rejected her generous offer. He couldn't always rely on others to solve his problems, and he absolutely couldn't allow someone else to take such extreme risks for what was essentially his personal responsibility! Odin had never taught him to seek the easy path when duty called!
A true king must accept his own responsibilities! Especially the king of Asgard! He could not and would not run from this challenge!