Soren's pursuit of Thor and the Hulk had led him across half the galaxy, through a trail of broken ships and frightened Ravagers, until he finally arrived at the barren world of Berhert the same place the Guardians had crashed before.
✦••┈┈••✦••┈┈••✦
The crashed Milano groaned under its own weight, smoke curling up from its torn hull. The ground around it was scorched… a reminder of how close they'd come to becoming space dust.
"Damn it, Quill!" Rocket fur fluffed in outrage. "I told you to let me drive! Look at her now! She's a pile of scrap with wings!"
Peter Quill threw up his hands. "Oh please, this happened because you stole the batteries! And for what?"
"They're basically paperweights!"
Rocket puffed out his chest. "They're not paperweights… they're valuable!"
"If that mysterious guy hadn't blasted the Sovereign fleet chasing us," Quill shot back, "We wouldn't even be having this argument."
"We'd be atoms floating in space!"
Gamora stepped between the two of them before the shouting escalated into an actual firefight.
"Enough! What's done is done." Her voice cut cleanly through the bickering. "The Sovereign will come after us. We need to focus on repairing the ship before they track us here."
Her authority settled the group like a splash of cold water. Even Rocket's snarling eased… somewhat.
But then he frowned at the memory, scratching behind his ear.
"Still… that tiny guy who bailed us out, what was he? He took out dozens of Sovereign ships."
Gamora looked uneasy. She'd seen the same flash of power, a burst of energy strong enough to obliterate a fleet in seconds.
"You're sure he was small?"
"Yeah, 'bout this tall." Rocket held his paws apart, measuring something absurdly tiny in midair.
"…" Everyone stared at him.
"Rocket," Quill groaned. "Perspective distance. Ever heard of it?"
"He probably wasn't one inch tall. More like you were one inch smart, Raccoon."
"DON'T CALL ME A RACCOON!" Rocket's fur stood on end.
"Oh boy!" Quill scrambled out of the way as Rocket tiny teeth bared.
"STOP." Nebula's voice froze everyone.
Her cybernetic eye glowed. "Something followed us through the wormhole."
The group instantly went from chaos to combat readiness.
Over the treetops, space rippled and an oval, metallic goose-egg shaped ship burst through the atmosphere, thundering as it descended toward the crash site.
"That's not Sovereign tech," Gamora tightening her grip on her blade.
"Is that the inch-tall guy's ride?" Quill asked weakly. Rocket snorted. "If so, he travels in style."
Unknown ships rarely meant good news.
The vessel's hatch hissed open.
The Guardians braced themselves.
Two figures stepped out.
And despite NOT seeing a one-inch villain… no one relaxed.
Both figures stood at normal human size, certainly not an inch tall as Rocket had previously joked. One of them was a middle-aged man with a silver beard and graying hair.
Beside him stood the young woman he had raised since childhood, her insect-like antennae striking against the backdrop of the forest.
The moment Peter Quill laid eyes on the man, a warmth and instinctive pull rose in his chest. It was a feeling he had not experienced since the days he spent with his mother.
A feeling of blood recognizing blood.
"Peter Quill," The man said gently, noticing the disbelief on Peter's face, "I suppose the beard threw you off."
"My name is Ego. I am… your father."
Emotion colored his voice, the kindness in his eyes was clear.
"…" Everyone was stunned.
None of them had expected the Star-Lord, an Earth-born outlaw, to have a father who radiated such power.
Still, because this was Peter's long-lost parent, the group instinctively lowered their guard. After a short exchange, they managed to piece together the truth.
Ego explained that he was not from Earth at all.
He had visited the planet many years ago and fallen in love with Peter's mother. Circumstances had forced him to leave, but he had spent decades searching across the galaxy for the son he had lost.
He also revealed that he had built an entire planet, his own world, Ego's Planet and now that he had finally found Peter, he wished to bring him home.
Peter hesitated, torn between caution and the longing he'd carried his whole life.
Eventually, he agreed to travel with Ego and see this 'Ego's Star' for himself.
After a team discussion, they devised a plan… Rocket would remain behind to repair the ship and keep an eye on Nebula. Once the craft was back in shape, he and the others would follow and regroup on Ego's planet.
The idea originally came from Gamora, who was uneasy about Ego's sudden appearance.
Leaving Rocket behind was a safety measure, someone reliable who could respond if things went wrong.
Rocket grumbled, clearly unhappy, but he reluctantly agreed.
So the Star-Lord and the rest of the Guardians boarded Ego's sleek vessel and departed for Ego's world.
As their ship disappeared into the stars, another vessel approached from the darkness. Not far from Berhert, Yondu's craft streaked through space closing in…