Not long after Tony and Rocket returned to New York, the sky projection flickered back to life, casting its ethereal glow across the city once more.
Tony squinted at the brightening display, checking his watch with annoyance. "Seriously? It's only been a day since the last one. What's the rush?"
[A vast farm sprawled across the screen, accompanied by the distant rumble of an approaching engine.]
[Earth, Missouri, 1980!]
[On a winding country road, a blue convertible cruised past rolling fields, classic rock blaring from its speakers.]
[Young Meredith sat in the passenger seat, her hair whipping in the wind as she stretched her arms toward the sky, singing along with infectious joy.]
[Ego looked impossibly young behind the wheel, his sunglasses reflecting the golden afternoon light as he stole glances at Meredith. He reached over to pull her close, pressing a tender kiss to her wind-tousled hair.]
[Ego brought Meredith to a rustic roadside motel.]
["Come on! Come on!" He grabbed young Meredith's hand, practically dragging her toward a grove in the nearby hills.]
["Wait up!" she laughed, stumbling to keep pace with his excitement.]
[Ego's enthusiasm was infectious. "Here! My beautiful water lily! Come, you have to see this!"]
[Meredith looked around the empty wilderness, confused. "Where exactly are you taking me?"]
["Here! Look at this!" Ego led her to a small clearing where a single, extraordinary flower bloomed in the grass.]
[The outermost petals shimmered blue-green like ocean waves, while the inner layers glowed orange-red like sunset. Deep within its center, azure light pulsed like a heartbeat.]
["Oh my God! It's beautiful!" Meredith breathed, kneeling beside the alien bloom.]
[Ego stood watching her reaction with satisfaction. "I was concerned it wouldn't adapt to your soil composition, but it's taken root beautifully. Soon, it will spread everywhere—across every world in the universe!"]
[He gestured grandly, his eyes bright with cosmic ambition.]
[Meredith laughed, thinking he was being playfully dramatic. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but I love how passionate you get!"]
["My heart belongs to you, Meredith Quill!" Ego declared with theatrical flair.]
[Meredith threw her arms around his neck, grinning. "I still can't believe I fell in love with an alien!"]
[She pulled him down for a passionate kiss.]
[The camera slowly descended, focusing on the strange flower beneath their feet.]
[The plant's tendrils twitched rhythmically, as if possessed of their own consciousness.]
[The view plunged deeper into the flower's orange-red core, revealing flashes of blue-white energy coursing through its structure like neural impulses.]
[The deeper the perspective went, the faster the energy pulsed, until the white light strobed in rapid, hypnotic succession.]
"What do you think we're looking at here?" Captain America asked, his expression grim. He'd already connected the dots—these had to be Star-Lord's parents.
But Meredith's casual acceptance of Ego's alien nature was unexpected. Combined with what they'd learned about Star-Lord's unique genetics from the Nova Corps, a disturbing picture was emerging.
Especially that comment about spreading across the universe. Was Ego serious about that plan?
Tony was already pulling out his phone, speed-dialing Star-Lord's number. The device was something he'd given Peter just hours ago for emergency contact—he hadn't expected to need it this soon.
Back in Missouri, Star-Lord nearly dropped his hammer when the projection appeared overhead. Tony's call came moments later, the billionaire's voice tense with urgency.
"Quill, I need you at these coordinates immediately." An address pinged onto Star-Lord's screen. "And bring Gamora and Drax. This could be important."
Star-Lord looked at his companions, who were already setting down their repair tools. The gravity of the situation was written across all their faces.
"Grandpa! Can I borrow your truck?" Star-Lord called out.
Jason Quill didn't hesitate, tossing over his keys. "Drive safe! That thing was just fixed!"
"He can pilot a starship," Jason muttered to himself as Star-Lord jogged away. "How hard can a pickup truck be?"
His teenage grandson shrugged. "You'd be surprised, Grandpa."
Star-Lord, Gamora, and Drax piled into the old Ford—Drax choosing the truck bed since his massive frame wouldn't fit in the cab. Star-Lord turned the ignition, shifted into what he thought was first gear, and promptly drove straight through Jason's garden fence.
"Oh for the love of—" Jason covered his eyes as his truck lurched through his prized tomato plants.
Gamora stared at Star-Lord in disbelief. "You seriously can't drive?"
Star-Lord's face reddened with embarrassment. "I was eight when I left Earth! It's not like Yondu taught driving lessons! But hey, how hard can it be? I can fly through asteroid fields!"
The truck promptly stalled. Then stalled again. And again.
"If you don't figure this out soon, I'm walking!" Drax shouted through the rear window, looking distinctly green around the gills.
"Sorry! Almost got it!" Star-Lord frantically worked the clutch and accelerator, finally managing to lurch forward—directly toward a large oak tree.
He yanked the wheel hard left, tires spinning on the grass as they careened across the front yard. Jason clutched his chest, watching his landscaping get systematically destroyed.
Once they finally reached the main road, Star-Lord handed his phone to Gamora. "Can you navigate? I need to focus on not killing us."
"Keep straight for ten miles," Gamora read, then glanced back at him thoughtfully. "What do you think we're going to find out there?"
"Honestly? I'm terrified to know what my father left behind on Earth." Star-Lord gripped the steering wheel tighter. "Especially if he was serious about that spreading across the universe thing."
Drax's voice carried through the rear window, unusually somber. "That flower gave me an ominous feeling. Like death waiting to bloom."
"Yeah, me too," Star-Lord admitted, pressing harder on the accelerator. "Let's just hope he was trying to impress Mom, not planning galactic conquest."
Meanwhile, light-years away, Ego watched the projection with calculating eyes. The cosmic being's expression shifted between fondness for the memory and cold strategic planning.
He'd already confirmed that Star-Lord carried his Celestial genes—the key to everything he'd worked toward for millennia. Soon, he would retrieve his son. If Peter joined willingly, excellent. If not... well, every battery needed a power source.
Beside him, Mantis observed her father's changing emotions with growing dread. Her empathic abilities let her feel the dark currents beneath Ego's paternal facade—ambition, ruthlessness, and a terrifying willingness to sacrifice anyone for his grand design.
She clasped her hands tightly, fighting to keep her fear from showing. Ego's plans for his son were far more sinister than anyone realized, and she was powerless to warn them.
The cosmic game was accelerating, and Peter Quill was walking straight into his father's web.