C209 Papa

C209 Papa

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——————

More than an hour after finding it, Peter stood before the giant seed, his lightsaber humming with lethal intent as the glowing black blade sliced through the alien roots.

Sparks flew as the blade cut deep into the core of the plant, but to Peter’s frustration, the damage began to heal almost instantly. No matter how many times he slashed, the seed simply regenerated, its energy pulsing stronger each time.

Peter gritted his teeth, his grip tightening around the hilt of his saber. “Dammit,” he muttered under his breath, trying to keep his growing anger in check.

Switching tactics, he deactivated the lightsaber and extended both hands toward the seed. He reached out with the Force, willing the energy around him to bend to his will. The air around the seed began to tremble, the invisible power swirling as Peter attempted to crush it, to obliterate it from existence.

But nothing worked.

The seed’s dark tendrils pulsated with an unnatural resilience, resisting his every effort. It was as if the plant was mocking him, immune to the Force’s touch.

Peter’s frustration began to boil over. “Why won’t you die!?” he growled, sending a powerful wave of energy toward the seed, but once again, it regenerated, mocking him with its unrelenting vitality.

Suddenly, as it healed, the seed began to take on a different form. It wasn’t a plant anymore. It was his father—Ego. The embodiment of everything Peter despised.

Ego materialized before him, “Is that you, Peter?” He asked, realizing what was happening. “Are you trying to destroy my seed?”

Ego gazed down at Peter, his thoughts racing as he pondered how his son could possibly know about the seed he had planted on Earth. ‘Did Meredith tell him?’ he wondered. ‘But how would she have found out?’

Peter stood frozen, his eyes locked on Ego. The seed had vanished from sight at this point. ‘This has to be an illusion... right?’

Ego’s grin widened as his gaze fell on the glowing sword in Peter’s hand, feeling the power his son emanated. ‘Interesting...’ His voice reverberated through the space, low and mocking. “You’ll never destroy my seed, Peter. Just give up.”

Peter’s breath hitched, his hands trembling as the words sunk in. “Shut up,” he muttered, trying to block out the voice.

But Ego wasn’t done. He noticed how Peter’s power seemed to double as he grew more frustrated and angry. The apparition leaned forward, his eyes gleaming with interest.

“You know who I am, don’t you? I can see it in your eyes,” Ego said, his tone curious but edged with something darker. “Is that why you’re doing this? To punish me for leaving you and your mother? Did Meredith tell you about me—about this place?” His voice softened, turning almost wistful. “I loved your mother so much...”

Peter’s blood ran cold. His mind went blank for a moment, and then something inside him snapped. The casual way Ego had spoken about his mother—the woman who he had killed—stirred a fury in him like nothing he had ever felt before.

“Don’t you dare say her name!” Peter roared, his voice shaking with barely contained rage. His hands began to glow with dark energy, the yellow hue of the Dark Side flickering dangerously in his eyes. He stepped forward, consumed by the anger bubbling inside him.

Ego's eyes widened at Peter’s display of power. ‘Did he inherit my powers?’

Peter’s breath came in ragged bursts as the fury inside him reached a boiling point. His eyes gleamed with a dangerous intensity, the yellow of the Dark Side now fully consuming his irises. Without hesitation, he pressed his glowing hand against the image of Ego.

At first, Ego thought nothing of it. But something changed, his eyes widening even further as he felt his strength being drained. His once-powerful form began to wither, the glow in his eyes dimming as his cheeks sank in, his body crumbling away.

Peter’s connection to the Dark Side deepened in that moment, his hand siphoning the life force from the seed. The illusion of Ego began to disintegrate, panic flashing across his face as he tried to break free from Peter’s grip.

“No! Wait—” Ego’s voice cracked, his once-commanding presence now reduced to a desperate plea. “You don’t understand—”

Yes, Ego had loved her. She had been the only one to make him feel something real in the cold, vast expanse of the cosmos.

But that love had been fleeting. Meredith’s mortality had been her downfall. Ego’s ambitions had been too great, his plans too vast to let a single human woman stand in his way.

“It’s a shame,” Ego mused, shaking his head as if dismissing an unpleasant memory. “But it had to be done.”

There was no remorse in his voice, no regret. The way he spoke about killing Peter’s mother was as if he were forced to fire an employee, not murder the woman he had once claimed to love. Her death had been a necessary sacrifice—a minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of things.

Ego turned his back to the setting sun, the glow of the horizon casting a long shadow behind him. He walked back inside his palace, his hands clasped behind his back, his mind already racing with plans for the future.

‘Should I give him more time?’ he wondered silently. Peter’s powers were awakening, but he wasn’t fully there yet. Perhaps it would be wise to wait, to let him come into his full potential before making contact.

After all, Peter was special. His favorite child. Ego wanted him strong—strong enough to stand by his side when the time came. Together, they would conquer the universe, spreading Ego’s consciousness to every corner of existence.

But for now... Ego would watch. He would give Peter the time he needed to grow.

“Yes,” Ego muttered to himself, a slow smile spreading across his face as he disappeared into the grand halls of his home. “I’ll give him a little more time...”

The celestial being’s voice trailed off as the doors to his palace closed behind him, the sun setting on another day on his planet—another day closer to the fulfillment of his grand vision.

————

Peter sat in the cockpit of his ship, staring blankly out at the horizon as the ship ascended higher into the sky. The landscape of his hometown slowly shrank beneath him, disappearing into the distance as the ship cut through the atmosphere. He leaned back in his seat, the hum of the engine filling the silence around him.

His mind, however, was far from quiet.

The encounter with the seed—his father’s seed—still weighed heavily on him. He had told himself it was just a hallucination, a product of his anger mixed with the dark side of the Force. And yet, a small part of him couldn’t shake the feeling that there was more to it.

Something about the way the seed had reacted, the power it held—it had felt too real. Too connected. But Peter pushed those thoughts aside for now. He had more pressing matters to deal with. Besides, he had already destroyed the seed, and that was all that mattered.

“Alfred,” Peter called out, his voice breaking through the hum of the engine. “Set course for the Atlas. Let’s get this over with.”

“Understood, Master Peter,” Alfred replied. The AI’s calm voice filled the cockpit as the ship adjusted its trajectory, heading back toward the floating base.

Peter leaned back in his chair, exhaling a deep breath as he mentally prepared himself for what came next. His time on Earth was running out, and he could feel the weight of that realization settling on his shoulders.

He had said his goodbyes, and tied up most of his loose ends, but there was still that lingering feeling—something unresolved.

Before he could dwell too long on that thought, the Atlas came into view, its massive form hovering in the distance like a sentinel watching over the planet below. The sight of it filled Peter with a sense of finality.

His time here was almost over.

The ship docked smoothly into the Atlas’s hangar, the familiar hiss of the doors opening as Peter stepped out onto the deck. He was greeted by the usual flurry of activity—crew members moving supplies, the low hum of engines, and the distant sound of Transformers working in the background.

But amidst the chaos, there was something different in the air. A certain stillness. A sense of finality.

Peter’s eyes scanned the hangar, taking it all in. This was it. His last few moments on Earth were ticking away, and soon he’d be back in the stars, back where he belonged.