The Milano's heavy-caliber cannons roared to life, peppering Ego's ship with shells that sparked harmlessly against its glowing hull.
Having returned to Missouri, Mysterio soared into the sky. Green, ethereal energy coalesced in his hands, which he blasted toward the celestial vessel. The attack dissipated against the ship like a single drop of rain in the ocean, having no effect whatsoever.
Beneath his domed helmet, Mysterio's brow furrowed. He changed tactics, summoning a colossal column of green energy, attempting to wrap it around the ship and trap it in an illusionary cage. But it was a futile effort. The ship was an extension of Ego himself; it pulsed with a blinding blue-white light, and Mysterio's verdant construct shattered instantly. The backlash sent him tumbling from the sky.
Wanda reached out with a stream of Chaos Magic, catching him before he hit the ground. "Are you alright?"
"Yeah, I'm okay!" Mysterio said, righting himself. His expression was grim as he flew back up. "Be careful! His power is immense! Wanda, you have to use your Chaos Magic!"
A familiar red glow ignited in Wanda's hands as she and Mysterio ascended together.
Ego ignored them, his ship relentlessly pursuing the Milano. Because Star-Lord was on board, he couldn't risk using his full power, fearing he might accidentally destroy his only remaining "backup battery." He could only use measured attacks, trying to disable the Ravager ship and force it down.
At that moment, Captain Marvel, having received the alert, streaked across the sky and arrived at the scene. She took in the aerial chase in a glance and didn't hesitate. Becoming a living missile of cosmic energy, she slammed into Ego's ship with enough force to send it careening out of the sky.
The celestial vessel crashed to the earth like a meteor, gouging a massive crater in the ground.
"Surrender now! I'm only asking once, for Quill's sake!" Carol called out, hovering in the air as she blazed with the full power of her Binary form.
Ego didn't waste breath on words. A beam of pure blue-white light shot out from the wreckage. Captain Marvel instantly met it with a blast of her own, and the two powers clashed in a brilliant explosion. Tony deployed a particle cannon array from his back and opened fire on the downed ship, while the newly arrived Wanda and Mysterio added their own power to the assault.
Inside the Milano, Rocket saw that Ego was pinned down. He grinned, spun the ship around, and dove back into the fight without a second thought.
Star-Lord just sat in the pilot's seat, his heart a tangled mess of emotions. He still didn't understand the full scope of Ego's plan, but after hearing Mantis's warning, he understood one thing clearly: his deadbeat dad was not one of the good guys. For years, he had wondered what his father would be like. Reality had dealt him a cruel and violent answer, leaving him feeling hollow and depressed.
Behind the motel, Natasha helped Mantis out of the woods. Gamora, her face a mask of cold fury, immediately blocked their path. "What did you mean, we can't let Ego take Peter?"
"He has a plan, a terrible one!" Mantis explained, her voice trembling. "But he can't complete it alone—he needs the power of two Celestials. If he gets Peter, his plan will succeed! Countless worlds will be consumed by Him! Not just Earth, but so, so many other planets will suffer!"
"Did you get all that, Tony?" Natasha asked into her comm.
"Loud and clear!" came the reply. "JARVIS, where are my big guns?"
"Sir, the Mark XVII and the Mark Destroyer II are en route. ETA is 1 minute and 17 seconds," JARVIS responded instantly. "The Iron Legion has also been dispatched."
The Mark XVII was a new prototype Tony had developed after studying Wakandan and Asgardian technology, its armor a priceless alloy of Uru and Vibranium blended with other rare metals. It was still unstable, however, lacking the crucial magical enchantments needed for full functionality, which was why Tony hadn't activated it yet. The Mark XVI project, which had started earlier, was actually further behind in development. But facing a threat like Ego, Tony decided the Mark Destroyer II might not be enough. He figured he'd deploy both and let JARVIS run a field test.
"Damn it! Get out of my way!" Ego roared, furious at being surrounded and beaten down. A massive shockwave of blue-white light erupted from the ship, blasting all his attackers back and interrupting their assault.
"Whoa-ho! Looks like Quill's old man is throwing a tantrum! Hahaha!" Rocket cackled, skillfully maneuvering the Milano to avoid the blast while continuing to pepper the ship with cannon fire.
Beside him, Peter just rolled his eyes, a bitter taste in his mouth. He'd heard everything Mantis said over the comms.
Wanda clasped her hands, condensing a scarlet energy bolt and compressing it into a dense, volatile sphere. She glanced at Mysterio, who nodded in understanding and began gathering his own green energy. Wanda hurled the Chaos Bomb, and Mysterio immediately used his power to guide it, ensuring it struck the ship dead-on.
Wanda threw her hands open. The energy ball detonated, enveloping Ego's ship in a violent, swirling vortex of red magic.
At the same instant, Tony, now clad in the hulking Mark Destroyer II armor, fired a fully charged unibeam. The destructive blast struck the ship, which shuddered violently. Cracks spiderwebbed across its hull, revealing the raw celestial light within.
When an egg cracks, it's not far from breaking.
Captain Marvel saw the flaw. Channeling all her cosmic power into a single, devastating punch, she shot toward the damaged area. The next second, the ship erupted in a blinding flash of blue-and-white light, tearing itself apart from the inside out.
"Agh!" Carol was thrown back by the sheer force of the explosion, which was powerful enough to rip through Wanda's magical containment field.
When the light from the explosion finally faded, the ship was gone. Vanished, without a trace. And Ego along with it.
"Is he... dead?" Tony asked, his sensors scanning the empty crater for any sign of life.
"This was not his true body," Mantis said, her voice grim. "So no, this won't kill him. But it will blind him. He won't know what's happening here with Quill, or on Earth. His energy must return to his true self to transmit the information."
She looked at them, her large eyes filled with dread. "You don't have much time. He will soon realize his avatar has been destroyed. When he does, he will be forced to begin his plan."
Captain America, having sprinted the whole way, finally arrived on the scene just after the explosion. He jogged up to the group, slightly out of breath. "Wait! Someone start from the beginning. What is Ego's plan?"
Mantis looked at the weary heroes gathered around her and began to tell them everything about Ego's plan.