American Comics: Multiverse of Madness

294. The Fading Star.

Wasteland Universe

Spartax Planet's Former Location

In the asteroid belt of this ancient planet, an artificial satellite space station slowly floated along its gravitational orbit outside of Spartacus.

The space station's interior hall was spacious, with transparent glass offering a clear view of the surrounding space and planets. Particularly prominent was the planet bearing the Church's emblem, its scarred surface glaringly ominous, with no trace of life remaining.

The sound of a bottle clattering echoed, and a disheveled figure stumbled out of a cryo-chamber, leaning against the wall as they made their way into the hall.

"Holy shit..."

The figure was an elderly man, his hair and beard long and unkempt, indicating he hadn't taken care of himself in quite some time. But with only himself aboard, personal grooming didn't seem to matter much.

The old man held an empty bottle, draining the last drop of alcohol before his blurry, disoriented eyes finally began to focus on his surroundings.

"Damn it, how long was I asleep?"

(Two months and three days, ever since you ordered me to disable the wake-up alert system.)

The space station's advanced AI system quickly responded to his question, equipped with high-level recognition capabilities.

Hearing the AI's reply, the old man turned to open the liquor cabinet, only to find it completely empty. "Did I ever tell you to keep me in cryosleep until the Moonlight Interstellar Transport team arrived?"

(Yes, you issued that command.)

"Then...," the old man rubbed his temples, feeling the eerie silence around him, "have they arrived?"

(No, they have not.)

"Then why did you wake me?"

(You have a mission.)

"What?!"

The old man was momentarily stunned, his foggy mind struggling to comprehend what the AI was talking about.

Just as he was about to curse and head back to his cryo-chamber, he turned around and suddenly saw several strange figures standing behind him.

At the forefront was a raccoon walking upright. It appeared to be a product of biological modification, with most of its parts replaced by machinery. However, its fur looked somewhat withered, giving it an aged appearance.

Behind the raccoon were three humanoid beings with green skin, all of them also quite old. The one in the center was a muscular man with tough skin branded with red markings. On either side of him stood two women, one of whom had antennae on her head.

"Good heavens!"

The raccoon stared at the old man, its mouth wide open in shock.

"Quill, I knew you'd gotten old, but I didn't expect you to look like a facehugger now!"

The old man, hearing the voice, was momentarily stunned. He stared in disbelief at the group, never expecting that his old friends would find him again after all this time.

"Peter Quill, don't you recognize us? Star-Lord?"

One of the women stepped forward calmly, approaching the old man.

"It's time to save the universe again!"

The woman's firm voice jolted the old man out of his daze. In that moment, long-forgotten memories resurfaced.

An overwhelming flood of emotions filled his mind as he remembered. He was once the great leader of the Guardians of the Galaxy, the one who had saved the galaxy from peril time and time again—Star-Lord.

But...

Quill clutched his head, closing his eyes in pain.

In the darkness, countless images flashed through his mind. He saw himself leaving the Guardians of the Galaxy, returning to his home planet, Spartacus. He saw himself becoming the emperor of the planet, living a happy life with his beloved and their children.

At the same time, he also saw the disastrous result of his own tactical mistake—the destruction of his home planet by the Universal Church of Truth. His failure had cost the lives of every single person on the planet. Including his family, all of whom he lost.

As Quill sank deeper into his sorrow and guilt, he suddenly felt something being draped over his shoulders. Looking up, he realized it was his old battle suit from his days with the Guardians of the Galaxy—his iconic red jacket.

"You... you shouldn't have come to find me." Quill stroked his worn-out battle suit, as if reminiscing about his old friends.

But in the next moment, Rocket Raccoon poked him with a staff.

"Hey! What are you doing?!"

"Nothing, just checking if you're a Skrull imposter, you old geezer," Rocket Raccoon sneered. "But you're definitely not a Skrull. They would have abandoned their friends for some royal inheritance."

Quill had long gotten used to Rocket's sarcastic tone, and he silently turned his head. "Of course, I'm not a Skrull. You know the Church wiped out the Skrulls decades ago. Besides, it's not about 'inheriting the throne'!"

"Enough."

Seeing that Quill and Rocket were about to start one of their old arguments, Gamora stepped in to break it up.

"Stop dwelling on the past. We need to focus on the present. Come on, Quill, join us. Let's save the galaxy once again."

"Don't be ridiculous..." Quill gave a bitter smile, slumping to the ground, his voice trembling. "I'm not Star-Lord anymore. Rocket's right. I'm just an old fool... a fool who couldn't even protect his own home."

"But you still have a second chance," Gamora said earnestly. "The Church will eventually set its sights on Earth, Quill. That's another home of yours. At least you can still save Earth from destruction."

"Earth?"

Quill slowly opened his eyes, looking at Gamora. Suddenly, something clicked, and he got up. "Earth doesn't need me. It has more than enough heroes—the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men. But when I needed them, where were they?"

Quill grew more agitated as he spoke.

"When I needed their help, where were they?! And come to think of it, you guys didn't show up either! After all we've been through together—fighting the Annihilation Swarm, the cosmic coup, and that damn Infinity War. But where were you?!"

"When my family died... where were you then?!"

"Family?"

Rocket Raccoon let out a soft sigh.

"Yeah, family, Quill. And when your other family needed you—when Groot needed you—where were you?"

"Groot..."

Quill suddenly lifted his head. It was only then that he realized that among his old friends, Groot, the endearing and dependable tree creature, was missing.

It was as if all the strength drained from his body, and Quill collapsed weakly to the floor. He couldn't bear the thought of losing another friend. He couldn't handle the idea of both his families slipping away from him.

"Alright..." Quill turned his head towards Gamora, defeated. "What do we do?"

Seeing Quill find his resolve again, even though his spirit wasn't fully back, Gamora believed this was a good start.

"At your command, Captain."

"Then, we'd better head to Earth. Let the heroes there know about the Church's threat. Hopefully, after all these years, I'll still recognize a few familiar faces."

Quill stood up, putting on his old battle suit. At the same time, he grabbed his dust-covered elemental blasters.

"By the way, how did you all get here?"

"Want to see an old friend of yours?" Rocket Raccoon grinned.

Following Rocket's direction, Quill walked briskly to the space station's window, where he saw a heavily worn, rusting spaceship.

"The Milano..."

Staring at the mighty yellow spacecraft, Quill's eyes welled up with tears.

That was his beloved ship, the main vessel of the Guardians of the Galaxy. It held countless thrilling adventures and unforgettable memories of happiness.

.....

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295. Soul Corruption.
296. A Gesture of Respect.
297. The Delusions in the Dark.
298. The Dionesium.
299. The Way to Recover a Name.