Chapter 245

Chapter 245

Chapter 245:

I met up with Jean the next day. The two of us hovered in the air, a few miles above New York City, while they had our conversation. I asked Jean what happened after the Phoenix Force took her away the day before.

“It was crazy! She took us into space! Actual space! There was no air, and we were in a total vacuum, and yet I was completely fine. The Phoenix Force told me a little about my powers. Apparently, I can fly faster than the speed of light now! I can cross the entire galaxy in only a few hours! I’m a little hesitant to actually try it because I'm afraid I'll end up getting lost,” Jean explained what had happened to her.

I nodded in understanding. “I can fly into space as well, but I've never gone much farther than Mars. If I wasn't able to open portals anywhere I want, then I would also be afraid of getting lost in space. I'm sure the Phoenix has some kind of method to figure out where she’s traveling in the void. You should try reaching out to her in the future and asking her about it.” I told her. Maybe Jean had some kind of instinctual way to read the stars that she just hadn't realized yet?

I changed the topic back to yesterday. It was time to find out what planet the Phoenix wanted us to purge. I wanted to get this done quickly so I could gain access to cosmic energy! I had a feeling it could dramatically increase my offensive and defensive capabilities. My Susanoo enhanced with cosmic energy would be incredibly powerful, at the very least.

[You could probably make it a lot bigger too with all that power!]

“The Phoenix told me that she wants us to purge a planet called Ego. It's kind of a weird name for a planet. She also told me that it can be hard to locate because it's always on the move.” Jean said while scratching her cheek. “I'm not exactly sure how that works since planets are supposed to circle stars and all...” She explained to me.

“Fuck...” And just like that, my excitement came to a halt. Of course the Phoenix Force wasn't going to give us an easy assignment!

“What's wrong?” Jean asked in concern.

“Ego isn't a planet, it's a Celestial!” I told her.

Jean tilted her head curiously. “What's a Celestial?”

I let out a sigh. I decided to give her the explanation of what we were getting into on the way to our first destination. I had no idea where Ego was, and neither did Jean. I figured if anyone knew, it would be the Universe's biggest Voyeur. We were off to Asgard first.

...

Jean and I traveled to Asgard while I explained to her what a Celestial is. Needless to say, she was not happy that we were hunting one of the strongest beings in the Marvel Universe. Something told me that Ego was not going to go down without a fight. In the second Guardians of the Galaxy movie, Rocket managed to kill the Celestial by planting a bomb in Ego’s core, but something told me it was not going to be that easy for us.

We were currently in Asgard’s war room. The top figures of Asgard and the Grigori were here.

Hela was quite pleased to get her full necromancy powers back before the war kicked off for real. “This is quite the gift you've brought me, my love.” Hela said as she took hold of the black orb containing Hades’s divine power. “I thank Lady Death for taking vengeance on that foolish god who stood against us as well.” She added vindictively.

“I'm glad that Hades has been greatly reduced, but until he’s dead I won’t let my guard down. For now though, I’ve got a much bigger fish to fry.” I told her.

Hela nodded in understanding. “Yes, you’ve certainly stepped up your game. Hunting a celestial? How I wish I could go with you...” She lamented. She obviously couldn’t and neither could any of my siblings. I’d brought them the news that the war was about to kick off as well. King Laufey and Surtur were finished amassing their forces and ready to attack Asgard.

“Are you sure you don't want to stay and participate in the glorious battles to come, Sister?” Kokabiel asked me with a vicious grin. The news that the Fire Demons and Frost Giants were planning to attack in a few days had really gotten my more bloodthirsty siblings excited.

“She can't stay.” Azazel said. “She received a mission from the Phoenix Force. It wouldn't be a good idea to delay something like that. Just be careful out there, Sis.” He stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug.

“Indeed, Celestials are very tough opponents. Even my Father only managed to kill them with the power of the Infinity Stones. That being said, I believe in you far more than I ever did him.” Hela told me with an encouraging smile.

I smiled back at her. “Thanks, Hela.” I turned to Heimdall and asked him if he was able to see where Ego currently was located in the galaxy?

Heimdall shook his head. “I'm deeply sorry, my Lady. Celestials all have their own methods of shielding themselves from my gaze.” He looked dejected that he couldn't be of any help to me.

“How are we supposed to find him then?” Jean asked with a pout. “He can't be that hard to find! He's an entire freaking planet after all!”

I pondered that for a moment. I was hoping that Heimdall would know where Ego was, but if that wasn't the case, I would need a new plan. Neither Jean, nor I, wanted to spend years searching a massive galaxy for him. There had to be a way to find him quicker.

[Maybe you could lure him to you? What did Ego want desperately in the second movie?]

A smirk crossed my face at the System’s words. That could work!

“Did you think of something, Layla?” Jean asked after noticing my expression.

I grinned at her before turning to everyone else and explaining. “Ego has a half-human son. His name is Peter Quill. Sometimes he goes by Starlord. Ego has been searching for his missing son for decades. If I can get to Peter, then I can make Ego come to me. Maybe lure him into a trap even.”

“Starlord?” Heimdall asked with a raised eyebrow.

“That's a pretty arrogant name, but if he is Half-Celestial, then he must be a fairly impressive being. I'm surprised we've never heard tales of such a fierce being.” Hela said.

I snorted. Well, he was impressively lucky if nothing else. He didn't even know he was Half-Celestial, so he never bothered learning any of his powers. Without them, he was basically Tony Stark in Space, but with way less cool tech at his disposal.

–Layla–

“Ok then...” I muttered as Jean and I made our way out of the alien grocery store.

Since Asgardians have such long lives, they tend to forget other species aren't as long lived. Because of that, no Asgardian visited the embassy for over 200 years. The Nova Empire obviously took that to mean the Asgardians no longer had an interest in them. So the Nova Empire got rid of the embassy all together...

[200 years is a long time. Odin was also extremely isolationist towards the end of his reign.]

“They tore down the Asgardian Embassy and built a grocery store on top of it!? That's so disrespectful!” Jean huffed out. “What do we do now!?” She asked me in concern.

“We try to find Peter Quill ourselves. We then have to find a way to let Ego know that we have his son.” I explained the formations of my plan. Ego can't start his plan of purging all life from the galaxy without Peter. He would have to come to us when the word got out. Especially if we got some kind of video proof that Peter actually had the Celestial powers that Ego desperately needed.

“How are we going to find this Starlord?” Jean asked. “Do we just start asking around? There’s literally billions of people on this planet. Just this city alone has tens of millions.” She said with a grimace. “What if he leaves the planet before we find him?”

I pat Jean on the shoulder while strolling forward towards a nearby group of people. “Relax, everything will work out.” I said over my shoulder to her.

I approached a group of teenagers who were huddling around a guy holding a tablet. They were all watching whatever was on the screen with enthusiasm.

“Is this video real? Was that really him!?” A girl asked.

“Almost half of Xandar has seen it at this point! It’s 100% confirmed to be real!” The boy holding the tablet said.

“Hah! Take that you purple bastard! That’s what you get!” Another guy said while pumping his fist.

“This is absolutely stellar! And this woman is so beautiful. What I wouldn’t give for her to appear in front of me!” A third guy exclaimed.

“Hello everyone.” I said to get their attention. The group of four teens glanced up at me and their mouths all fell open almost simultaneously.

“Am I dreaming right now!? Did my wish just come true!?” The third guy spoke while looking at me. “If this is a dream, then I'm going to make the most of it!” He reached his hand forward...towards my chest.

I smacked it away in annoyance. This was not the first time some horny guy had tried to grope me, but usually they didn’t attempt it when other people were looking.

“Ow!” He cried in pain while clutching his hand. I didn’t break it, but there would definitely be a bruise! A shocked expression then appeared on his face as he gazed up at me while rubbing his hand. “...It really is you! You’re actually here!” He exclaimed excitedly. He was looking at me in reverence!

“Holy shit! It really is her!” The boy holding the tablet exclaimed. He started looking between me and the tablet he was holding rapidly in disbelief.

“I can’t believe it! It’s Layla of the Fallen!” The only girl of the group pushed her friends out of the way and ran up to me. “You are amazing and I’m such a big fan! My name is Xenu! Can I get a picture with you?” She was asked while holding up some kind of recording device.

“Sure?” I said questioningly. I had no idea what was going on right now. How did teenagers from an alien planet I’d never been to recognize me? She made a happy “squee” noise before she hopped next to me and took a few selfies.

“Thank you so much!” She said happily while skipping back to her gaping friends.

“Sure...” I said again. I still had no idea what was going on. What I did notice, though, was that I was starting to draw a crowd. And by a crowd, I meant pretty much everyone nearby.

Jean walked over towards me as more and more people nearby started pointing at me with looks of shock or excitement! “Uh, Layla? I don’t know how, but somehow the video of you fighting Thanos a year ago has spread all over the galaxy. You’ve become a really big deal. Not only that, but this Universe's Thanos has apparently completely stopped committing atrocities for the past few months since the video spread everywhere. Everyone thinks he’s in hiding because he’s afraid you'll kill him next.” Jean explained to me as she read the minds of the people around us.

[Wow...]

Ok, then. Did I just go from the most famous woman on Earth to the most famous being in the galaxy? It kind of felt like it with all the reverential looks and cheers these people were giving me.

[I wonder how they got a copy of the video? Do aliens have access to Earth’s internet?]

Clearly some aliens had been to Earth in the past year without us knowing, and they did have access to the internet. That would have to be rectified in the future.

More and more crowds of people started to surround Jean and me. They were starting to get pushy and grabby as Xandarians and other aliens all rushed forward to get a look at me. I didn’t want to get mobbed, so I signaled to Jean that we should head up.

My black wings manifested behind me as I took to the air. A red aura appeared around me as Jean kept pace and flew next to me. That seemed to only excite the alien crowd even more as they started cheering for us loudly!

I heard weird sounding sirens off in the distance before a handful of flying vehicles sped towards the two of us. The writing on the side of the vehicles identified them as the Nova Corps. One of the flying cruisers hovered over to us. A window rolled down. “Layla of the Fallen? I’m Corpsman Dey. The Nova Prime wants to see you. Hop in!” He said as the doors slid open.

I glanced at Jean to make sure he was who he said he was. She nodded at me. “Alright then.” I said while scooting in the back seat. “Take me to your leader.”

XXX