Gamora stood nearby, watching the scene unfold.
Seeing the expression on Nebula's face—one she had never seen before—the sarcastic remarks Gamora had been about to make simply died in her throat.
"So…"
Antony stood up and casually pulled Nebula to her feet.
"I suppose we're friends now?"
Then he turned to Gamora and extended a hand to her as well.
"And you, Ms. Assassin."
"You've got a bit of a temper, but I can tell—you were protecting her."
"You're a good sister."
"Your delivery's just… a little clumsy."
Gamora stared at the offered hand.
She hesitated.
Then finally grasped it and stood up.
"My name is Gamora."
Her tone was still cool, but the hostility had disappeared.
"Nice to meet you both, Gamora. Nebula."
"My name is Antony Starr."
"But you can call me Homelander."
He gestured toward Jessica.
"And this is my most capable partner—Jessica Jones."
Jessica, who was holding the camera orb, rolled her eyes so hard it looked painful.
Her fingers cracked loudly as she clenched them.
Still, she freed one hand and waved lazily.
"Hi, alien hotties. I'm Jessica."
"And just so you know—don't believe his nonsense."
"He says that kind of thing to every pretty girl."
Despite the sarcasm dripping from her voice, jealousy was bubbling in her chest.
What annoyed her even more was that she had fallen for the same charm before.
Looking at Antony standing there like he was glowing under the alien sunlight, she cursed silently.
"…Damn it."
"Why do I even think he looked kinda cool just now?"
System Prompt:
Special Popularity +8,000! (From Gamora)
Special Popularity +15,000! (From Nebula)
------
Earth — Livestream Chat
Meanwhile, viewers across Earth were going absolutely wild.
The chat scrolled so fast it was unreadable.
[OMG Homelander is so gentle!!]
[Jessica's jealous LMAO!!]
[The way he looked at her when he said that line… If he said that to me I'd give him my first time instantly!!]
[That blue alien girl is awesome. Is she a cyborg?]
[For the next minute I don't want to be human. I want to be the robot girl!!]
["You are unique in this starry sky." I'm tattooing that line on my body!!]
[This is what a true hero looks like. Strength and compassion!]
The system notifications kept ringing inside Antony's mind.
His mood improved instantly.
Meanwhile—
Behind them, Rocket stared at the scene with his jaw practically hitting the ground.
"What the hell…"
Rocket poked Yondu in the side.
"Does Homelander have a pheromone launcher installed in his mouth or something?"
"Learn something, Rocket."
Yondu rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"That's called charisma."
"Sometimes it works better than your gun."
Just as the atmosphere finally turned friendly—
Antony's expression suddenly changed.
The shift was seamless.
From warm and approachable…
To deadly serious.
He turned his gaze toward the darkness deep inside the cave.
"What's wrong?" Gamora asked immediately.
"There's something in there."
Antony narrowed his eyes as if seeing something terrifying.
"Something very bad."
He flicked his cape.
"Follow me."
Without another word, he walked toward the cave.
The others exchanged uneasy glances.
But the seriousness in Antony's expression was contagious.
They followed.
-----
Inside the Cave
The deeper they went, the darker it became.
And the smell…
Rot.
Decay.
Death.
Finally—
They reached the end of the cave.
Jessica activated the spotlight on the camera.
Click.
A beam of light cut through the darkness.
"…What the hell—"
Everyone gasped.
Bones.
Mountains of them.
Endless piles of skeletons.
Small ones.
Large ones.
Different shapes.
Different species.
They stacked endlessly throughout the enormous cavern, stretching deep into the shadows.
Empty eye sockets stared back silently.
As if telling the story of their final moments.
"Oh my God…"
Jessica covered her mouth.
She almost dropped the camera.
-----
Earth — Livestream Reaction
The chat instantly froze.
For several seconds—
There was silence.
Then came a tidal wave of fear and rage.
[WHAT IS THAT?!]
[Are those skeletons?! There's a whole mountain of them!]
[My God… are those human bones?!]
[There are so many… how many people died here?!]
[Wait… are those CHILD skulls?!]
[Why are there children?! WHAT IS THIS PLANET?!]
[This is hell!!]
[Homelander! Kill it! Kill that monster!!]
"These… these people…"
Rocket's voice trembled.
For once, the sarcasm was gone.
"Who were they?"
Antony stood silently before the bone pile.
He already knew.
These were Ego's children.
Across countless worlds, Ego had spread his seed—searching for offspring who carried the Celestial gene.
Yondu had been hired to bring them back.
Each child tested.
If they possessed the power—
They lived.
If they didn't…
They were killed.
Thrown into this cave.
And turned into nourishment for the planet.
It was a massacre that had lasted thousands of years.
A genocide against his own blood.
Antony slowly turned toward Yondu.
His expression dark.
"Mr. Yondu…"
"…do you know something about this?"
Every gaze instantly fell on Yondu.
Yondu's lips trembled.
Looking at the piles of bones—
Memories he had buried long ago clawed their way back to the surface.
Child after child.
They had sat inside his ship.
Looking up at him with curious eyes.
"Where's our father?"
And Yondu had always told them:
"Your father's a god."
"He'll give you the best life in the universe."
Then he delivered them here.
Into hell.
Every deal.
Every time Ego smiled and said, "I'll take good care of them."
Every time Yondu took the payment and left.
He had always told himself he was helping those kids.
Giving them a better father.
He forced himself never to wonder what happened afterward.
But now—
The truth stood naked before him.
Those mountains of bones…
Were the children he had personally delivered.
"These…"
Yondu's voice shook.
"They're all his kids."
"He spread his seed across the galaxy."
"And hired people to bring the children back."
"…I was one of them."
"He told me…"
"He said he'd take good care of them."
"I thought…"
"I thought he just…"
"You thought he wanted to be a good father?"
Antony stepped forward.
He grabbed Yondu by the collar and lifted him off the ground.
"LOOK AT THIS!"
"Is this what you call taking care of them?!"
His anger was partly performance.
But also genuine.
Even for the sake of the livestream—
Any decent person would feel rage seeing something like this.
"Yondu."
"You're not stupid."
"You delivered them again and again."
"Did you ever see a single child grow up?"
"Did you ever see even one walk out of here?"
He stared directly into Yondu's eyes.
"Did you really know nothing?"
"…Or did you just choose…"
"…not to think about it?"
Yondu closed his eyes in pain.
Yes.
He had suspected the truth long ago.
But he had chosen to run from it.
He was afraid that he had truly sent those children into hell.
So when he found Peter Quill, that boy from Earth—
He finally made a decision.
He kept Quill.
Raised him himself.
He saved one child.
But he couldn't save the hundreds he had already delivered.
--------------
T/N:
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