For a month, the world had mourned, reeling from the elemental disaster that had scarred the planet. Then, without warning, the mysterious screen that hung in the sky, silent for four long weeks, illuminated once more.
On the ground, Tony Stark, whose eyes were bloodshot from sleepless nights spent coordinating global recovery efforts, glanced up. A bitter smile touched his lips. "Perfect timing, as always," he muttered to the empty air.
Far away, hurtling through the shimmering chaos of a cosmic wormhole, Peter Quill and his companions saw the screen flare to life. A shared, silent understanding passed between them as they pushed their ship, the Milano, to fly even faster toward the distant blue marble of Earth.
Their journey had been a frantic, desperate scramble across the galaxy. It had all started with a daring escape from the Kyln, the Nova Corps' high-security prison. Their plan had been simple: take the mysterious Orb they'd acquired and sell it to the highest bidder, a notorious figure known as the Collector who resided on the mining outpost of Knowhere.
But when they arrived, they found Knowhere in ruins, already conquered by Thanos.
They managed to find the Collector hiding amidst the wreckage, alive by sheer luck, only to learn two terrifying truths. First, the Orb contained the Power Stone, one of the legendary Infinity Stones. Second, the Collector wanted nothing to do with it. He explained that Thanos's brutal demonstration with the Reality Stone—which he'd used to decimate Knowhere and the Collector's priceless collection—had shattered his nerve. Some treasures, he now understood, were too dangerous to possess, and he flatly refused to take it off their hands.
With no other buyers, Quill's crew was forced to turn back, hoping the Nova Corps on Xandar would agree to safeguard the Stone. Their luck ran out before they could even leave Knowhere's orbit. Ronan the Accuser, who had been hunting them relentlessly, ambushed them.
He seized the Power Stone, his crazed eyes set on a new goal: he would use it to destroy Xandar first, then turn on his former master, Thanos. It took every ounce of Quill's questionable charm and a hefty promise of payment to convince his estranged father figure, Yondu, and his band of Ravagers to help them stop the Kree fanatic.
In the final, desperate confrontation above Xandar, Quill managed to do the impossible. By grabbing the Stone himself, he tapped into a strange, powerful celestial lineage from a father he'd never met. With Gamora, Drax, and Rocket sharing the catastrophic burden of its energy, they channeled its power and obliterated Ronan.
But the victory came at a great cost. The battle left Xandar with catastrophic losses. Nova Prime, upon learning that Thanos already possessed another Infinity Stone, feared that keeping the Power Stone would paint an even bigger target on their world. She gratefully thanked the newly-dubbed Guardians of the Galaxy but refused to take the stone, leaving them with the universe's most dangerous hot potato.
She did, however, confirm that Quill's unique heritage was the only reason he'd survived holding the Stone. Even Yondu, who'd once coveted the Orb for its price tag, now saw it for what it was: a cosmic death sentence. He'd watched Ronan disintegrate from its power and wanted no part of it.
That left them with only one destination. Earth.
Quill knew, deep down, that if anyone would be crazy enough—or brave enough—to take on this burden, it would be the Avengers. The dimensional screen had already made it clear that a showdown between Earth and Thanos was all but inevitable.
Meanwhile, Thanos had learned of the Power Stone's reemergence on Xandar. Enraged by his favorite daughter Gamora's betrayal, he dispatched his other child. Nebula, simmering with a lifetime of resentment, eagerly volunteered to hunt down her sister and reclaim the Stone for their father.
[A little boy appeared in the sky, holding a Walkman in his hand and sitting on a chair listening to music.]
[From the hospital environment, it could be seen that this was taking place in a medical facility.]
[A man approached him, crouched down, and called out, "Peter! Your mother wants to talk to you!"]
[The little boy didn't respond to him, so the man gently removed his headphones and said, "Come on! Peter!"]
[The man guided the little boy into a hospital ward. Under the harsh fluorescent lighting, the bruises around his eyes could be clearly seen.]
[A bald woman lay weakly on a hospital bed, and her relatives were beside her with expressions of profound sadness.]
[Meredith looked at the injury around her son's eye and said worriedly, "Why did you fight with other kids again? Honey!"]
[The little boy shrugged his shoulders, looking nonchalant about the confrontation.]
[Seeing his dismissive attitude, Meredith called to him again with gentle concern.]
[Under his mother's loving gaze, the little boy explained, "They killed an innocent little frog! They smashed it with a stick!"]
[Hearing this, Meredith smiled with maternal pride, "You and your father are so alike! You look like him too! He is an angel! He radiates pure light!"]
[Meredith's father interjected: "Meredith! Don't you have a gift for Peter?"]
[She gestured weakly toward the gift box and envelope beside her bed.]
[The little boy's grandfather picked up the items and placed them into his backpack, "I'll help you pack these!"]
["You have to wait until I'm gone before you open it! Okay? Your grandpa... will definitely take good care of you! Until one day your dad comes back to pick you up!"]
[The little boy, Star-Lord, struggled to hold back his tears as the reality of the situation overwhelmed him.]
[Looking at her son's anguished expression, Meredith said with failing strength: "Hold my hand...Peter!"]
[But the little boy couldn't accept the fact that his mother was about to leave, and turned his head away, refusing to look at her, as if denial could prevent her departure.]
[Meredith's breathing became weaker and more labored. She held onto her last breath, desperately hoping that her son would take her hand one final time.]
[His grandfather also urged with gentle desperation: "Peter! Come on!"]
["Hold my hand…" Meredith's breathing gradually became shallower, and her hand fell down weakly.]
[The warning alarm from the heart monitor nearby announced her passing.]
[When the little boy finally turned his head, his mother had closed her eyes forever.]
[It was only then that he shouted in panic and regret: "Mom? No! No! No! Mom!!!"]
[Grandfather carried the emotionally devastated little boy out of the ward, "Peter!"]
["No!!!" the little boy screamed with heartbreaking anguish.]
["You are a good boy! Be strong! Peter! Stay here! Okay?" The grandfather held back his own tears, placed the little boy outside, and turned back inside to deal with his daughter's final arrangements.]
[Star-Lord stared blankly at the people in the ward, then ran out of the hospital in overwhelming grief...]
[He fell to his knees helplessly on the hospital lawn, crying and regretting why he hadn't held his mother's hand in her final moments.]
[In the dark night, a ray of light suddenly appeared, and a powerful wind swept through. The little boy was blinded by the intense glare and could not open his eyes. He instinctively looked up.]
[But he saw an alien spaceship materialize above him.]
[Then a tractor beam of light enveloped him.]
[The little boy screamed in terror: "Mom!!!"]
"Peter?" Tony frowned. The name immediately made him think of Spider-Man. "Another one?" he wondered aloud. He also noted the primitive-looking medical equipment and the style of the cars outside the hospital. Aliens had abducted a child from Earth, and it had happened decades ago.
On the bridge of the Milano, Peter Quill stared at the screen, his face a mask of devastation. He recognized that little boy. He recognized that hospital room. The single greatest regret of his life was playing out for the entire universe to see: the moment he'd refused to take his dying mother's hand.
Gamora, sitting in the co-pilot's seat, noticed the tears welling in his eyes. "Quill? What is it?" she asked, her voice laced with a rare, gentle concern.
"It's nothing. I'm fine," Quill said quickly, wiping at his eyes with the back of his hand. He sniffed, forcing himself to look away from the screen as the painful memories he'd buried for decades came rushing back.
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