Ego led the group into the palace.
Along the way, he constantly showed Star-Lord the energy garden, the buildings generated by thought, and the evolutionary process of his long life.
Star-Lord grew quieter and quieter as he listened.
Peter, however, looked completely uninterested; watching this old geezer act only made him feel disgusted.
He simply turned to Gamora and asked,
"Where's your sister?"
Gamora immediately looked toward the spaceship, only to realize that Nebula had slipped away at some point.
This allowed the group to naturally split into two teams.
Ego and Star-Lord continued their reminiscing, while Peter took Gamora and the others to find Nebula, with Mantis proactively joining the team as a guide.
The group had just left the palace when the shriek of an incoming aircraft echoed from the distance.
It was Nebula, piloting a small craft and firing frantically at Gamora.
"Nebula, stop."
Gamora shouted, trying to stop Nebula while leading the others to dodge.
But it was clearly in vain.
Just as Gamora was hesitating over whether to attack her own sister,
Peter, standing to the side, casually kicked out a Tempest Kick.
Boom!
A hundred-meter flying slash struck the aircraft, blowing it up on the spot.
Nebula jumped out in a sorry state, but she didn't give up. Instead, with a suicidal attitude, she grabbed an energy weapon and charged at Gamora, screaming:
"You win every time, and every time he tears off another part of me!"
Gamora's voice carried a hint of trembling:
"I never wanted you to become like this, but I had reasons why I had to become strong!"
Nebula sneered: "You weren't the one in pain, so of course you can say whatever you want!"
Looking at the awkward sisters, Peter crudely interrupted this long and tedious family drama.
"Sorry, I'm not in the mood for a melodramatic Web-series today."
As he spoke, he directly moved to subdue both Gamora and Nebula.
Following that, he reached out and pressed his hand onto the struggling Nebula.
The white light of the Horse Talisman quickly covered her body.
The mechanical parts on Nebula's body began to fall off rapidly, twisted interfaces healed, the metal spine was replaced by flesh and blood, and the cold armor on her face vanished bit by bit.
Nebula's struggling strength grew weaker and weaker.
She looked at her hands in bewilderment; her mechanical fingers were now covered in flesh, and she could no longer feel the phantom pain of torn flesh.
Gamora stood to the side, her eyes turning red.
"Nebula..."
Nebula looked at Peter, then at Gamora, a tsundere expression appearing on her face:
"Don't think this will make me forgive you."
Gamora sheathed her blade and directly hugged her sister:
"I'm sorry, it's my fault for always ignoring your feelings."
Nebula's body stiffened for a moment, but the frost on her face finally melted:
"How do you plan to compensate me?"
Gamora spoke with a determined attitude:
"Anything you want, as long as I have it."
A hint of a smile finally appeared in Nebula's eyes:
"I don't want anything, I just want to kill him with you."
Rocket couldn't help but complain:
"Can you two stop speaking in riddles? Who is 'he'?"
The two looked at each other and spoke the name in unison:
"Thanos!"
...
Watching Peter heal Nebula so easily, Brandt's antennae twitched slightly, and the hesitation in her eyes became more obvious.
Peter looked at her and gave a smile:
"What do you want to say?"
Brandt walked quickly toward Peter and couldn't help but reach out and touch his forehead.
Feeling Peter's memories, her body gradually stopped trembling.
"You care very much about family."
Peter replied as if it were a matter of course: "Of course, family is the most precious treasure."
Brandt was deeply touched and then plucked up the courage to say:
"Please follow me."
...
At the same time Brandt was taking Peter and the others to see her dead siblings,
"Did you ever even love my mom?"
Faced with Ego's invitation, Star-Lord only asked this one question.
Ego's expression softened:
"She made me waver."
"So when I put that thing in her brain, my heart truly ached for a long time."
The air went still.
Peter and the others returned to the palace at that moment, just in time to see Star-Lord raise his blasters at Ego.
The firepower of the two energy guns poured into Ego, riddling his upper body with holes:
"Fuck! You killed my mom!"
Ego's body rapidly restored itself in the energy, and the fatherly love on his face vanished completely.
"I gave her love, and I gave you life."
Star-Lord continued to pull the trigger.
"To hell with your life!"
The disguise on Ego's face peeled away layer by layer, and he raised his hand. Blue-white energy rose from the ground to form countless tentacles, binding Star-Lord's limbs.
"You're still too young, child."
Star-Lord roared as he struggled.
"Don't call me child!"
Ego's voice gradually turned cold:
"You belong to me."
As he spoke, the ground split open, and countless energy tentacles coiled toward everyone present.
Gamora slashed one apart, but a second tentacle immediately wrapped around her waist.
Nebula rushed forward to save her but was also pinned to the ground by energy tentacles.
Rocket's energy gun fired frantically, but the energy tentacles ignored the firepower and hung him upside down.
"Damn it, this thing doesn't follow physics!"
Drax hacked wildly with his knives; for every one he cut, three more appeared.
"I like their enthusiasm, but I don't like them touching me!"
Groot was wrapped into a ball, a pained expression on his face.
"I am Groot!"
Sif drew her sword and slashed the energy tentacles at her feet, constantly moving closer to Ego.
But faced with more and more energy tentacles, she eventually seemed overwhelmed.
Ego looked at Sif with appreciation, the greed in his eyes fully revealed.
"The Asgardian bloodline is indeed excellent."
"I've tried many races, but an Asgardian female, I truly haven't tried yet."
Sif's voice came through gritted teeth:
"In your dreams!"
Ego only gave a smug smile:
"Don't be in a hurry. Once I have control over Quill, I'll have plenty of time to accompany you."
As he spoke, Star-Lord's eyes began to glaze over, and the blue-white energy within him was forcibly drawn out.
But just then, Peter, who was bound by tentacles, suddenly took a step forward.
The energy tentacles binding him tried to tighten, only to be shattered by a terrifying energy in an instant.
Ego looked at him and couldn't help but threaten:
"I know you're strong, Peter Parker, but this is my body."
Slap!
His words had just fallen when Peter's massive slap struck his face, sending him flying.
In that instant, all the energy tentacles lost control.
Star-Lord fell from mid-air and was caught by Gamora.
Rocket hit the ground but shouted excitedly:
"Do it again, man!"
Boom!
Ego stood up from the rubble, his energy erupting wildly, causing the entire palace to shake violently.
"You dare attack me on my Planet?"
Slap~
Peter flashed in front of him again, raising his hand and slapping the other side of his face:
"What? I need to pick a place to hit you?"
***************************
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