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*****
Mike smiled faintly, flipped his hand over, and three Infinity Stones appeared in his palm. He set them into the recessed sockets on the controller.
Each Stone radiated its own distinct light. The pitch-black controller began to draw in their power; replenished by that energy, the controller's dark substance propagated continuously until it sheathed the entire planetary core.
Seeing this, Jor-El and Mike finally exhaled.
The first step was a success.
"How long until you can take complete control of it?"
Jor-El considered. "If everything goes smoothly, a week."
Mike's eyes brightened. "Then I'll leave this to you."
Jor-El nodded and waved toward the planet's core.
In an instant, an energy shield blossomed from the controller, wrapping it in protection.
It was a core-defense barrier: only those with authorization could open it and enter the core zone. No one else could get in.
Mike had no intention of repeating the original storyline—claim the planet, only for someone to blow the core to pieces with a bomb.
"Mike, I'll need the instruments from the base."
As Jor-El spoke, he looked around at the hollow reaches of the planet, and a flicker of anticipation lit his eyes.
He and Mike planned to take complete command of this world and build a new base here.
As for the old base…
Too small in scope.
Still, none of their previous efforts were a waste.
Everything they had built—equipment or robots—could be reused now.
Mike would remain here for a while to refit the place alongside Jor-El.
With three Infinity Stones as the heart, if they followed their original designs and mock-ups, the base would boast a suite of astonishing capabilities:
Short-range and long-range spatial jumps; a planet-scale energy shield; even an attack powerful enough to annihilate a world…
Beyond that, with Ego's core under control, they could harness the "planetary light" and its shaping/creation faculty to accelerate construction and bring the entire planet fully under their command.
Add the intelligent system Jor-El as the management core…
Just thinking about it had Mike excited.
He opened a star-spanning portal. Jor-El took control of the robots in the Earth seafloor base and set them to hauling cargo, while Mike helped transfer the heavier systems.
Several minutes later, Mike closed the link to the undersea base and called to Jor-El, who was directing the busy robots, "Jor, I'm stepping out for a bit."
Jor-El nodded and plunged back into work.
Mike left the planet's core sector and boarded the El. Dozens of expectant gazes met him. Mike gave a firm nod. "Ego has been handled."
A collective breath of relief—and then cheers.
Mantis shrank back a little, nervous. "But to kill Ego, you have to destroy his core. If the core is destroyed, the planet collapses…"
The others froze and looked at Mike.
They all heard what she was implying.
According to Mantis, if Ego was truly finished, planetary collapse would be the normal outcome.
Mike inclined his head. "You're not wrong—but there's another way to take Ego down without destroying the planet."
Everyone leaned in.
"Erase Ego's consciousness."
At that, they were stunned, then turned to Mike in amazement.
He smiled as he explained, "It'd be a shame to just blow up this world. I've got a plan for it."
"A plan?" Star-Lord—Peter—peered at him, puzzled.
Mike weighed his words. After a few seconds, with everyone watching, he said slowly, "I'm going to take it with me—bring it to Earth."
"What?!"
A chorus of shock. Even Gwen and Raven looked rattled.
Mike hadn't mentioned any of this to the Wolf at all.
He glanced at the two women and smiled. "I wanted it to be a surprise. But since this planet is tied to Peter, I figured I should tell him."
"Don't. I don't want any ties to it. It's disgusting," Star-Lord said, face twisted—then curiosity won. "So how are you going to do it?"
Mike smiled and outlined the plan in broad strokes.
By the time he finished, everyone was reeling.
He gave them a small, confident grin. "When it's done, you're welcome anytime."
The Guardians managed wan smiles, but Rocket lifted a small paw. "One question."
He stared earnestly at Mike. "Even if you can bring this planet back to Earth—if you want to make it a satellite, you're going to cause a ton of trouble!"
He ticked off his fingers, muttering item by item: "Gravitational interactions with Earth, seasonal shifts, climate perturbations, and—"
"Thank you, Captain Rocket."
Mike laughed, ruffling the fur between Rocket's ears. He bent down and lowered his voice: "We've considered that. The Infinity Stones will handle it."
The Reality Stone would solve it perfectly.
"That's great!" Rocket's eyes sparkled as he looked up at Mike.
Captain Rocket…
Mike's voice echoed in his head.
Wow. That sounded so good.
He'd have to listen to that a hundred times a day!
Rocket—who had already, very quietly, recorded it—was cheering inside.
"All right—where are you headed? I'll get you there. I need to stay on this world for a while," Mike said, turning to the Guardians.
Star-Lord thought for a beat. "We'll need a ship. If possible, send us to the Wastelands first."
The Wastelands—Collector territory. The biggest black market around; if you had money, you could buy anything.
"No problem," Mike said.
"So… are you lending us the El?" Star-Lord asked hopefully, eyes shining.
He loved this ship—the energy shield was absurdly strong.
And with a professional's eye, he was sure the El still hid a secret weapon or two.
"No. This ship has special meaning to me," Mike refused with a shake of his head.
Come on—he'd practically built this one with his own hands. No way was he just giving it away.
More importantly…
"It's only the Wastelands. You don't even need a ship to get there."
He smiled at Star-Lord, and a card appeared between his fingers.
A thought—and the card dissolved into motes of light. A whirling portal opened before them.
Star-Lord gaped. "That works too?"
Gamora leaned through the gate for a look, then turned back. "It's the Wastelands."
Awe rippled through the group as they looked at Mike.
What a convenient ability.
"Goodbye, everyone," Mike said, giving them a wave.
"Let's go," Drax grunted, striding forward first. Under his breath: "That planet felt awful. I kept expecting tentacles to lash out and whip me."
Mantis shivered. "That's terrifying."
The two crossed the portal, then turned to wave their farewells.
"See you on Earth, Mike! When I—" Star-Lord began.
"I'll play host," Mike promised with a smile, sharing a brief, easy hug.
"Thank you for saving us, Mr. Kent," Gamora said coolly, then added in a low voice, "Thanos is still hunting the Infinity Stones. Be careful."
"Mm." Mike's smile was faint. He gave Rocket's head one last scrub. "Till next time, Captain Rocket."
He pressed a communicator into Rocket's paw and winked.
Jor-El had made it; it would connect them whenever needed.
Rocket tucked it away, snapped a crisp salute, and said, "At your service, sir."
"Haha!" Mike chuckled, then reached out to tousle Groot. "Goodbye, Groot."
Groot swayed gently in response.
Gwen and Raven raised their hands in farewell.
Once the team had gone, Mike closed the portal.
Feeling two looks boring into him, he sighed at Gwen and Raven. "All right, all right—I'll tell you everything."
Earth — Avengers Tower, Conference Room
Every Avenger was present, each bearing a touch of disarray. The air in the room was heavy.
After a long moment, Tony forced out, "This was my fault."
The room came to life at once.
"Stark, you're always this arrogant!" Pietro snapped.
Wanda nodded emphatically. "That thing you made has put us in extreme danger."
That thing—Ultron.
Tony had created the AI by studying the Mind Scepter. He'd intended it to help the Avengers and other heroes confront threats and maintain peace—but something went wrong.
Ultron gained self-awareness and decided that humanity itself was the source of chaos. Only by eradicating humans could true peace be achieved. Naturally, the Avengers and the X-Men were obstacles on his path to "peace."
Worse, Ultron had escaped Tony's lab with the Mind Scepter in tow.
What next?
Nuclear launch codes? A planet-wide network virus? Or some new, even more dangerous weapon forged with the Scepter's power?
None of the Avengers wanted to imagine it.
Bruce raised a tentative hand. "Um… I was involved too."
Everyone stared at the two scientists, speechless.
Scientists, huh. Always the dangerous ones.
Tok, tok.
Steve rapped his knuckles on the table.
"Everyone, now isn't the time for blame. Our first priority is to find Ultron—and destroy it."
Thor's voice was low. "I recommend alerting the X-Men. We'll need their help."
The team exchanged glances and nodded.
Suddenly, Barton said, "Is Mike back yet? Can we reach him?"
Tony shook his head.
"Then we proceed as if Mike won't be joining this fight," Steve said.
Faces darkened another shade.
"Thankfully, Clark is still here," Natasha murmured.
Steve stood. "Move out, everyone. Time is precious."
(End of Chapter)