["I'm on Morag! You ain't here, and neither is the Orb!" Yondu's voice crackled with raw hostility.]
[Star-Lord, looking sheepish, quickly tried to explain. "Hey! I'm close! I was just trying to save you the trip!"]
[But Yondu wasn't buying his flimsy excuses.]
[He stared hard at Star-Lord, his eyes practically burning through the holographic display.]
["Well! Why don't you tell me exactly where you are now?"]
[Facing Yondu's intense glare, Star-Lord pressed his lips together. "I... I can't. I really don't want to say."]
[Yondu's face contorted with fury, his expression turning murderous.]
["I busted my hump to get this deal! You will not be screwing me out of it!"]
["'Busted your hump'?" Star-Lord scoffed. "You mean making a few phone calls?"]
[Yondu leaned into the camera, his voice a low growl. "We don't do that to each other! We're Ravagers! We got a code!"]
["Yeah, and that code is 'steal from everybody'!"]
[Seeing that his threats were having no effect, Yondu resorted to dredging up the past.]
["When I picked you up on Terra... my crew wanted to eat you!"]
[Star-Lord's lip curled. "Picked me up... is that what you call it?"]
["They ain't never tasted Terran before! I'm the one who stopped 'em! You're only alive because of me! I will find you..."]
[Star-Lord abruptly cut the connection before Yondu could finish his threat.]
[Staring at the dead screen, Yondu's rage boiled over. He whirled around to face his crew, his eyes wild.]
["Put a bounty on his head! Forty-thousand units!"]
[Despite his anger, a part of him couldn't bear the thought of Star-Lord actually being killed. He turned to his first mate, Kraglin, and added a crucial condition. "But I want him back alive!"]
[One of the crew members piped up, confused. "Alive?"]
[A subordinate dared to question him further. "I told you when we first took him we should have delivered him to his client! He was cargo! You've always been too soft on him!"]
[Yondu's patience snapped. He stalked toward the man, his authority challenged one too many times. He grabbed the crewman by the collar, his other hand hovering menacingly over the Yaka Arrow at his hip.]
["You think I'm too soft on you! Quill is my business! He'll be caught soon enough, and when he is, I'll kill him myself!"]
[Faced with Yondu's murderous glare, the crew fell silent, none daring to utter another word.]
[Yondu turned away, his gaze lost in the distance.]
["What we should really be worried about is who else is after that Orb!"]
On his ship, the Eclector, the real Yondu Udonta narrowed his eyes, his gaze fixed on his own image flickering across the massive screen. The events playing out had taken place a month ago. He'd always dismissed the dimensional broadcast as a trivial amusement, something for bored civilizations to gawk at. Like most people who had been featured, he'd never imagined he would one day be the star of the show.
Now, a flicker of curiosity ignited within him. For the first time, he found himself genuinely wondering what the future held.
On the vibrant, living surface of his world, Ego watched the broadcast. Any lingering doubts he'd harbored about Star-Lord's parentage evaporated as he listened to Yondu's men. There was no question. The boy was his.
A slow, triumphant smile spread across his face. "I've found you at last, my son."
He didn't yet know that the boy possessed the same Celestial spark, but finding another of his children was a monumental step. The chances of his great Expansion succeeding had just increased exponentially.
He turned to Mantis, his gentle empath. "My dear," he said, his voice brimming with newfound purpose, "it is time for us to leave."
The two of them boarded Ego's elegant, bio-organic ship, its form flowing as it prepared to set a course for the son he had so long sought.
Mantis followed, her heart heavy with apprehension. She could feel the swell of joy and ambition radiating from Ego, but it was tainted with a cold, ancient hunger. She couldn't tell if finding Star-Lord was a blessing or a curse. Beneath the planet's serene surface lay the skeletal remains of countless others, his failed children. She could only pray that this newfound son wouldn't suffer the same fate.
[The screen shifted, revealing a colossal, wing-shaped warship gliding through the blackness of space. It was the Dark Aster, the flagship of the Kree fanatic, Ronan.]
[Inside, in a grand chamber, Ronan the Accuser rose from a ceremonial pool. Unclothed and pale, he walked toward his attendants.]
["They call me terrorist, radical, zealot. Because I obey the ancient laws of my people, the Kree… and punish those who betray them."]
[A servant poured a black, viscous liquid over his pale skin. As it was wiped away, others came forward, dusting his body with shimmering powder and painting his face with the black sigils of war. Finally, they fitted him with his imposing, dark armor.]
["Because I do not forgive your people for taking the life of my father, and his father, and his father before him. A thousand years of war between us will not be forgotten!"]
[A defiant voice answered from the shadows.]
["You are deluded. A peace treaty has been signed."]
[Ronan's gaze fell upon a captive Xandarian officer, his face bruised but unbroken.]
["My government is a disgrace," Ronan snarled. "You and your culture are a disease!"]
[He hefted his massive warhammer, the Universal Weapon, and stalked slowly toward the prisoner.]
[Despite his situation, the Xandarian showed no fear. "You will never rule Xandar!"]
[Ronan paused. "No," he said, his voice a low rumble. "I will cleanse it."]
[He raised the warhammer high and brought it down with devastating force. Blood sprayed across the stone floor, staining the Kree symbol etched into the pathway. Ronan knelt, observing the ritualistic kill.]
[A metallic voice cut through the silence. "Ronan. Your hunter, Korath, has returned."]
[The scene changed. Korath now knelt before Ronan, delivering his report.]
["Master! The thief is a human outlaw who calls himself Star-Lord. We have learned he plans to sell the Orb to a man known as the Broker."]
[Ronan gripped his warhammer tightly. "I promised Thanos I would deliver him the Orb. In exchange, he will destroy Xandar for me."]
[He stood, his presence filling the chamber. "Nebula! Go to Xandar. Retrieve the Orb."]
[Nebula stepped forward, a cruel smile playing on her lips. "It would be my pleasure."]
[Gamora stepped forward smoothly. "It is a misfortune for you," she said, her tone cutting. "Because if you fail, you will have to face our father."]
["I am a daughter of Thanos, just as you are," Nebula shot back, her voice laced with the cold jealousy she always felt for the sister who always bested her, the sister whose victories spared her from their father's brutal "upgrades."]
[Gamora ignored Nebula's venomous stare. "I know Xandar. It is my area of expertise."]
[Nebula clenched her fists. "Ronan has already commanded me—"]
["Silence!"]
[Ronan's command echoed through the hall. Though seething, Nebula immediately clamped her mouth shut.]
[The Accuser walked until he stood directly in front of Gamora, the head of his warhammer looming beside her face. He stared down at her, his eyes cold and unforgiving.]
["You will not fail me."]
[Gamora met his gaze without flinching, her own expression a mask of calm confidence.]
["Have I ever?"]