"Quill, now's your chance. Don't hesitate!" Alan pressed his communicator, reminding Quill that this was a decision he had to make himself.
Ego may have been his biological father, but he had never acted like one.
Earlier, Alan had worried that because the course of events had changed, Quill might waver—perhaps he would find it difficult to strike down his own father.
But then, Quill's calm voice came through the communicator.
"I understand. Thank you, Alan."
As Mantis exerted her power, putting Ego's brain into a deep sleep, Quill knew that without Alan and the others, he might never have been able to deal with Ego on his own.
Ego was a hypocrite. He was the one who killed his mother.
To Ego, Meredith was nothing more than a vessel for creating life. Once the "task" was complete, she was discarded without mercy.
Now, with Ego's brain asleep, the tentacles that had been emerging from the ground, crackling with electricity, came to an abrupt halt.
Without hesitation, Quill took out the bomb and placed it on the massive brain. In its dormant state, the brain was no longer pulsing as violently as before.
A beeping sound came through the communicator—inside the ship, the others immediately understood that Quill had armed the bomb.
"Alan, the bomb has been activated. It will detonate in one minute..." Quill wanted to see that wretched brain explode with his own eyes.
"Gwen, take Mantis back to Alan and the others. This planet is about to reach its end," Quill said with a near-smile.
Mantis pulled her hands away from the ground—Ego, still in his slumber, wouldn't wake up anytime soon. She hesitated, then called out timidly, "I think we should all leave together."
"If the brain is destroyed, the whole planet goes with it. You know that, don't you?" She was worried that Quill wouldn't be able to escape in time before the planet was obliterated.
Mantis tried to persuade him in a hushed voice, but Quill's expression showed that no one could shake his resolve.
Gwen's heart sank—was Quill planning to stay behind just to witness Ego's brain being destroyed?
No way. If he stayed, he would die here. Gwen wasn't going to lose a single teammate.
She stepped forward, preparing to use her webs to pull Quill to her side and drag him away by force. If he wanted to be mad at her afterward, so be it.
Alan had been listening to their conversation over the communicator, hearing everything clearly.
Just as Gwen raised her hand to fire her webs, Alan's voice echoed in her ear.
"Come back, Gwen. Let Quill make this decision himself."
Not only was Gwen shocked by Alan's words, but Yondu, who saw Quill as his own son, nearly lost control and rushed to Alan's side.
His eyes widened, the veins on his blue skin standing out as he grew agitated.
"Emperor, what the hell are you saying?!"
"Are you just going to stand there and watch Quill die on Ego's planet?!"
Yondu immediately readied his flight gear—there was no way he would let Quill do something so foolish.
"I won't stand by and watch him throw his life away! He may not be my biological son, but he's the most important person in my life!"
Gamora, deep in thought, reached out and stopped Yondu.
She seemed to understand what Alan meant.
...