Deep Within Ego's Core
"Ego is... laughing."
Mantis's voice carried a tremor of terror that made everyone pause in their desperate descent toward the planet's heart. Her empathic abilities painted her pale features with reflected emotions, not her own fear, but the space joy radiating from the false god above them.
"He's ecstatic," she continued, her antennae glowing with involuntary resonance. "His greatest desire is finally within reach."
The words hit the group like a physical blow. They all understood what Ego's current plan entailed, the complete absorption of Ben's planetary energy. If the Celestial was celebrating, it could only mean that Ben was losing the battle above.
"I have to go help him!" May's composure shattered entirely, her enhanced physiology trembling with maternal panic. The color drained from her face as every protective instinct she possessed screamed at her to abandon the mission and rush to her nephew's aid.
No matter how powerful Ben had become, no matter what space responsibilities he'd taken on, in her heart he would always be the boy who'd needed her care after his parents died. The thought of him suffering alone while she cowered in the depths of a hostile planet was unbearable.
Uncle Ben caught her wrist as she turned toward the tunnel they'd descended, his grip gentle but unyielding. "May, stop. You need to think clearly."
"Think clearly?" May's voice rose to a near-shout, her eyes blazing with fury. "You want me to think clearly while our son is being murdered by a space monster?"
"I want you to remember the Plumbers Code," Uncle Ben said, his voice steady despite the pain evident in his expression. His hands shook slightly as he spoke, betraying the internal struggle between his roles as protector and pragmatist. "In critical situations, we sometimes have to make impossible choices."
The words came out measured and calm, but his trembling lips revealed how much the decision was costing him. This was perhaps the hardest thing he'd ever had to say.
Aunt May wrenched her arm free with enhanced strength that left finger-shaped dents in Uncle Ben's armor. For the first time in their decades of marriage, she looked at her husband with something approaching hatred.
"Are you telling me to stand here and watch my child die while I do nothing?" Her voice cracked with anguish and disbelief.
"I'm telling you to trust him," Uncle Ben replied, his voice gaining strength as he found his conviction. He reached for her hands again, this time holding them like a lifeline. "May, Ben isn't just some kid in over his head. He's defeated Thanos. He's built an interstellar empire. He's faced down space threats we can't even comprehend."
His weathered face softened with paternal pride mixed with worry. "And even if we went back up there, we'd only be a distraction. We'd make him worry about protecting us instead of focusing on survival. The best way we can help Ben is to complete this mission, to give him the advantage he needs."
Princess Looma punctuated the argument by driving all four fists through an approaching energy tentacle, her expression showing none of the emotional turmoil affecting the older humans. "Uncle Ben speaks wisdom," she declared with characteristic directness. "I recognize Ben as a warrior superior to myself. When he fights, I trust his strength and focus on my own duty."
Her eyes blazed with absolute conviction. "If we succeed here and he falls above, then we die with honor knowing we did our part. If we fail here because we abandoned our mission, then we die as cowards who failed him when he needed us most."
The brutal honesty was exactly what the moment required, even if it wasn't what anyone wanted to hear.
Star-Lord, who had been unusually quiet during this exchange, finally spoke up. "I should go help him. My power might be weak compared to his, but I'm still part-Celestial. Maybe I can disrupt Ego's concentration or something."
It wasn't false bravado, Peter Quill genuinely felt responsible for the situation. Ego was his father, after all, and this entire mess existed because of their twisted family dynamic. The least he could do was try to make amends.
"Not alone, you're not," Yondu growled, his weathered features set with determination. "Boy's got about as much sense as a Orloni in heat. Someone's got to make sure he doesn't get himself absorbed the moment he shows up."
The unspoken truth was that Yondu couldn't bear the thought of Peter facing Ego without backup. After decades of protecting the young man from dangers he'd never even known existed, the old Ravager wasn't about to stop now.
So they split into two teams. Star-Lord and Yondu fought their way back through increasingly aggressive energy constructs toward the surface, while the remaining group continued their descent toward the core.
But even as they pressed onward, everyone could feel the change in their environment. Where their initial descent had been relatively straightforward, dropping through kilometers of planetary structure with minimal resistance, now every meter was a battle.
Ego's power was growing stronger by the moment, manifesting as writhing masses of hostile energy that sought to entangle and crush the intruders. The very air became thick and viscous, like trying to breathe underwater. Gravity shifted unpredictably, sometimes pulling them toward walls or ceilings with crushing force.
Princess Looma became a crimson whirlwind of destruction, her four arms leaving afterimages as she pulverized anything that threatened the group. Rocket emptied magazine after magazine into the encroaching threats, his enhanced reflexes allowing him to reload and fire with machine-like precision while perched on Groot's shoulders. Uncle Ben and Aunt May fought back-to-back, their plasma rifles heating to dangerous temperatures as they maintained a constant barrage.
But the energy kept coming, kept growing stronger, kept pressing closer.
"The core!" Mantis called out over the chaos, pointing toward a massive spherical structure that dominated the cavern ahead of them. "There!"
Rocket paused in his gunfire to stare at their target, his cybernetic jaw dropping open. "You've got to be kidding me. That thing's the size of a moon!"
"That's just the protective shell," Mantis clarified, her voice barely audible over the sounds of ongoing battle. "Ego's true core is hidden deep within those layers. To destroy him permanently, we have to place the explosives at the very center."
"Great," Rocket muttered, already calculating the logistics. "And how exactly are we supposed to get inside? I can see openings in the shell, but they're barely big enough for insects."
The revelation that their target was far more complex than anticipated sent a wave of despair through the group. They'd come so far, fought through so much, only to discover that their goal might be impossible to reach.
Princess Looma studied the massive shell for exactly three seconds before coming to her characteristic conclusion.
"Simple," she declared. "We break it open."
Without waiting for discussion or debate, she launched herself at the core shell like a guided missile. Her enhanced musculature drew power from both her Tetramand heritage and the Old Power she'd learned on Sakaar, red lightning crackling around her form as she prepared to deliver a blow that would make tectonic plates jealous.
"Red Wind Devastation!"
The impact was beyond description. When Princess Looma's four-armed strike connected with Ego's protective shell, the resulting shockwave rippled through the entire planetary structure. The massive sphere, larger than some asteroids, developed a spider web of cracks that spread across its surface like breaking glass.
But it was the accompanying sound that truly marked the moment's significance. A low, mournful wail echoed through every tunnel and cavern of Ego's body, like the death cry of a god realizing its own mortality.
Whether that anguish came from Looma's devastating attack or from events transpiring far above them, none of the infiltration team could say for certain.
When Star-Lord and Yondu finally fought their way back to Ego's surface, they emerged into a scene that defied comprehension. The battle between Ben and Ego had transcended anything that could be called merely "planetary" in scope.
The epicenter of their conflict blazed with the light of a newborn star, white-hot energy radiating across the electromagnetic spectrum with enough intensity to be visible from neighboring solar systems. Ego's planet had become a space lighthouse, its surface transformed into a beacon that could guide ships across galactic distances.
"I don't think we can help with this," Yondu observed with characteristic understatement, his weathered features squinting against the impossible radiance.
Star-Lord's inherited Celestial bloodline was responding involuntarily to the massive energy expenditure around them. His eyes had lost their normal coloration, becoming wells of swirling space power that allowed him to perceive details hidden from normal vision. Through that enhanced sight, he could see past the blinding light to the truth of what was happening at the battle's center.
"Help?" Star-Lord's voice carried a note of wonder and relief. "Yondu, look closer. We don't need to help, Ben's winning."
The reversal was complete and absolute. Where moments before Ego had been draining Ben's planetary essence through space extraction conduits, now those same channels were flowing in the opposite direction. Black symbiotic tendrils had emerged from Ben's transformed body, their surfaces marked with golden absorption rings that functioned like space vampires.
Feedback's legendary appetite was enhanced beyond all previous limits by its fusion with Ultimate Gravattack's form. The resulting hybrid possessed not just the ability to absorb unlimited electrical energy, but the capacity to drain and redirect fundamental space forces themselves.
Ben's body, which had been withering under Ego's assault, now pulsed with renewed vitality. His rocky exterior showed signs of verdant growth, actual plant life sprouting from his planetary surface as absorbed life energy sought expression.
"Okay, that's enough with the vegetation," Ben muttered, consciously suppressing the urge to transform his skin into a garden. "Getting stronger is fine, but I draw the line at becoming green all over."
The energy flowing into him from Ego was staggering in both quantity and quality. This wasn't just raw power, it was the accumulated life force of countless worlds, the stolen essence of thousands of murdered children, the space heritage of a being that had existed since the universe's dawn.
But even Ben's enhanced form had limits, and Ego's reserves seemed genuinely infinite.
"The problem," Ben realized as power threatened to overwhelm his ability to process it, "is that Ego isn't just a planet. He's the sum total of every world he's ever consumed. This is like trying to drink an ocean through a straw."
Ultimate Gravattack could theoretically handle this much energy, but it would require millions of years to properly integrate and utilize such vast reserves. Ben had minutes at most before the accumulation reached critical mass and destroyed him from within.
"What a shame, Ben Parker," Ego's voice carried across dimensions, touched with something that might have been genuine regret. "You've achieved something remarkable, but your victory will be your destruction. That energy will tear you apart long before you can hope to master it."
Ben looked up at the false god's wavering form and smiled with perfect calm. "You're right about one thing, I can't handle this much power alone. Fortunately, I know exactly where to put it."
In the dimension of Genesis, ancient powers stirred.
Ben's personal realm had been growing steadily since its creation, populated by Mana-enhanced beings and enriched by the presence of willing emigrants from various worlds. Even displaced Asgardians had found new homes within its expanding boundaries. But compared to established dimensions ruled by entities like Dormammu or the Vishanti, Genesis remained relatively underpowered.
Until now.
The sudden influx of space energy through Ben's connection to his dimension caused immediate and dramatic changes. Landscapes that had been slowly developing over months transformed in seconds. Rivers of pure Mana began flowing across continents that hadn't existed moments before. The very fabric of reality within Genesis strengthened and expanded as fundamental forces received unprecedented reinforcement.
Odin and the Ancient One, who had been peacefully meditating within Ben's realm, felt the change immediately. Both opened their eyes simultaneously as power beyond their expectations flooded their surroundings.
"What in the Nine Realms, ?" Odin began.
", is happening here?" the Ancient One completed, her normally serene expression showing genuine surprise.
Their enhanced senses quickly traced the energy surge to its source, revealing the space tug-of-war taking place in distant space. The sight of Ben locked in battle with a fellow Celestial while channeling enough power to create new universes sent both ancient beings into immediate action.
"Someone's practically giving away space energy," Odin observed, his single eye gleaming with opportunity.
"And it would be terribly rude to refuse such generosity," the Ancient One agreed, her usually peaceful demeanor shifting into something far more predatory.
Without further discussion, both masters of mystical arts positioned themselves at the energy input conduits Ben had established. Their combined magical might transformed what had been a gradual absorption process into something resembling a space vacuum cleaner operating at maximum efficiency.
Odin channeled the full authority of the All-Father, drawing upon power reserves that had once commanded the Nine Realms. The Ancient One brought to bear the accumulated mystical knowledge of centuries, her understanding of dimensional mechanics allowing her to optimize the energy transfer beyond anything Ben could have managed alone.
Together, they began draining Ego with the enthusiasm of space bargain hunters who had just discovered a clearance sale on universal power.
Ego, who had been confident that even Ben's enhanced form couldn't match his accumulated reserves, suddenly found himself facing three opponents instead of one. Worse, the Ancient One and Odin were operating with the mindset of beings who had learned patience across geological timescales, they could afford to drain him slowly and steadily, storing power for future use rather than needing immediate application.
"Stop!" Ego's voice cracked with growing desperation as his space radiance began to dim. "This is impossible! I am eternal! I am, "
"Getting weaker by the second," Ben observed with satisfaction.
The false god's magnificent illusions began to fail as his power reserves dwindled. The beautiful paradise he'd maintained for Star-Lord's benefit crumbled away, revealing the barren wasteland beneath. Even his massive sky-face became translucent, struggling to maintain cohesion as the energy that sustained it flowed away.
Continental masses that Ego had held aloft through sheer force of will crashed back to the surface with apocalyptic impact. The planet's artificial weather systems collapsed, leaving behind the sterile atmosphere of a dead world. The very ground began to crack and crumble as structural integrity failed.
"Please," Ego begged, his voice now barely a whisper carried on space winds. "Show mercy. I can be your ally. Together we could, "
Ben cut off the energy transfer with a casual gesture, leaving the once-mighty Celestial as little more than a fading echo of his former self. The false god's form had become so insubstantial that even speaking seemed to require tremendous effort.
"After we deal with Vilgax, you can take a break," Ben told Overkill, who had maintained the symbiotic fusion throughout the entire energy transfer.
The symbiote consciousness nodded and flowed back into the Omnitrix's core like receding tide, its work complete.
Ben compressed his planetary form back into a more manageable sphere, using gravitational control to lift Star-Lord and Yondu from the surface as he descended toward the planet's core. Around them, Ego's world was dying, not with the violent explosion they'd originally planned, but with the slow decay of a body whose life force had been completely drained.
Yet even a dying god could be dangerous. Ego might be powerless now, but his physical form still contained enough residual energy to threaten nearby systems if left uncontrolled.
When Ben arrived at the core chamber, he found the infiltration team had completed their mission with characteristic efficiency. Princess Looma's devastating attack had opened the protective shell like a cracked egg, exposing the pulsing heart of Ego's consciousness to direct assault.
"Ben!" Aunt May launched herself at him with the kind of relieved desperation that only a parent could understand, her enhanced strength nearly bowling him over despite his current form. "Are you hurt? Your skin looks terrible!"
"This is Ultimate Gravattack's rock exterior," Ben explained patiently, though he couldn't entirely suppress his amusement at being fussed over by someone who stood barely chest-high to his current transformation.
Princess Looma was only slightly more restrained in her greeting, settling for a bone-crushing embrace that would have liquefied a normal human being. "My beloved returned victorious!" she declared with satisfaction. "As I knew he would!"
"Ben, thank goodness you're here," Uncle Ben said, his relief evident despite his attempts to maintain professional composure. "We've placed the explosive, but something strange happened. Ego's core seems to have gone completely dormant."
"Probably because he's dead," Ben replied matter-of-factly.
"Dead?" Rocket perked up with interest. "So we don't need to blow anything up?"
"Oh, we're definitely blowing things up," Ben corrected with a grin that would have looked disturbing on his rocky features. "Dead gods have a tendency to come back when you least expect it. The only way to be absolutely certain is complete molecular dispersal."
He gestured broadly, and oxygen began condensing around the group from various atmospheric sources throughout the dying planet. Within moments, they were surrounded by a bubble of breathable air that would sustain them in the vacuum of space.
"Besides," Ben added, lifting the entire group through gravitational manipulation, "planetary explosions make excellent fireworks. And we've all earned a good show."
They rose through the crumbling tunnels and catacombs of Ego's body, past geological formations that were already beginning to collapse without the space will that had shaped them. When they finally emerged into space, Ben positioned them at a safe distance to observe the finale.
"Everyone ready?" he asked, though he was already reaching out with the Space Stone's power to trigger the explosive they'd left behind.
The explosion, when it came, was everything Ben had promised and more.
What had once been a living planet became a rapidly expanding sphere of incandescent gas and plasma, its death-light visible across multiple star systems. The shockwave that followed carried enough energy to disrupt local space-time, creating beautiful aurora effects in neighboring nebulae.
But perhaps most importantly, the space signature that had once identified Ego as a Celestial entity faded completely, replaced by the ordinary radiation pattern of stellar debris.
"Well," Star-Lord observed as multicolored fragments of his father's corpse painted brilliant streaks across the void, "that's definitely the most expensive funeral I've ever attended."
"Come on," Ben said, activating the Space Stone with casual ease. "Let's go home."
The portal that opened before them showed the familiar blue skies of Earth, where normal problems waited to be solved by people who didn't have to worry about space genocides or false gods.
It seemed almost anticlimactic after everything they'd been through.
In the debris field that had once been Ego's domain, space dust drifted in patterns that would eventually form new asteroids. Most of the scattered matter would be captured by nearby gravitational fields, contributing to the slow process of stellar formation that had been continuing since the universe's birth.
But one observer remained to witness the aftermath.
A silver figure materialized from the quantum foam of space-time, riding a board that seemed to be crafted from solidified starlight. The Silver Surfer hovered motionless for long moments, his enhanced senses cataloging the complete absence of life where a Celestial consciousness had existed for billions of years.
"The living planet Ego has been destroyed," he murmured to himself, his voice carrying harmonics that normal beings could never produce. "This information must be reported to The Devourer of Worlds immediately."
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