Somewhere in the Galaxy, nestled in a remote corner of civilization, was the planet of Biko.
Once a thriving hub of prosperity like Nova, Biko eventually fell into desolation due to overpopulation of the local species, leading to the depletion of energy and food on the planet, ultimately resulting in the extinction of the race.
With no more energy to harvest on Biko and only remnants of ancient technological debris from centuries past, advanced civilizations, and even Interstellar hunters, avoided setting foot here. Only some impoverished wandering aliens were forced to settle here out of necessity.
Yet today, this remote and desolate planet of Biko welcomed a special visitor after a long absence.
A thin, gaunt alien child, dressed in tattered clothes, rummaged through the garbage heap, finding a somewhat intact T-shirt. Immediately, he joyfully put it on, as if it were a gift from the heavens, clasping his hands together in gratitude towards the setting sun.
At that moment, two points of light appeared in the sky, gradually growing larger and eventually transforming into an Eagle-Class Interstellar fighter Spaceship and an orange Spaceship.
The two ships continued to descend, finally hovering above the garbage heap where the alien child was, and coming to a gentle stop.
The door of the orange Spaceship opened, and Star-Lord Quill, adjusting his clothes, walked to the door and addressed the alien child below in a serious tone, "Hey, kid, we need to ask you something."
The alien child trembled in fear and took a few steps back before he hid behind a large piece of junk equipment.
"Um..." Quill awkwardly scratched his nose. Inside the cockpit behind him, Gemora couldn't help shaking her head, and Rocket walked out, grinning, and mockingly tapped Quill's leg, "Can't even handle a kid, watch me."
Rocket approached the door, coughed, and the alien child peeked out from behind the equipment.
Rocket smiled friendly, raised the energy gun he was carrying on his back, and said menacingly, "Kid, if you don't want to die, tell us everything you know!"
Before he could finish his sentence, Rocket was grabbed from behind and thrown backward by a hand, "You two can't do this."
It was Gemora. She stepped lightly from the Spaceship and landed softly on the garbage heap.
"Don't worry, we won't hurt you," Gemora said gently as she approached the trembling alien child. Normally merciless when it came to killing, she surprisingly softened in front of the child. She took out a bright red apple from her pocket and offered it to him.
The alien child looked at the apple, swallowed his saliva, and after nodding at Gemora, eagerly grabbed the apple, devouring it greedily, eating it down to the core and seeds.
After finishing the apple, the alien child relaxed a bit and asked, "What do you want to know?"
"We've had some problems with our Spaceship, and we heard there's a mechanic named Howard here who can repair Spaceships," Gemora said in a gentle tone.
"You're looking for Master Howard?" The alien child suddenly smiled, "You've come to the right place. His skills are top-notch here. He lives not far from here, at the foot of the nearby mountain. Let me take you there."
As he spoke, the alien child made a face at Quill and Rocket.
"That brat!"
Rocket gritted his teeth, and rolled up his sleeves, ready to make a move, but was quickly stopped by Quill, "Alright, alright, as long as we find the place, that's all that matters. Don't stoop to the level of a child."
On the other Eagle-class fighter,
Kyle saw Gemora and the alien child reach an agreement and nodded, "Looks like they've found the place."
"Clang!"
There was a sound of metal hitting the ground in the rear lounge, and Tony was still anxiously shouting, "J.A.R.V.I.S., hurry up and help me take off the lower half of my armor. I need to change clothes!"
"Of course, sir."
J.A.R.V.I.S. responded, followed by a series of metal dismantling sounds.
Kyle and Lorna glanced at each other and smiled knowingly. This day had been long awaited, and even Tony, who used to be a child, now had wrinkles and stubble and showed a mature appearance.
In a tone full of warmth and anticipation, Lorna reached out her hands, clasping Kyle's left hand, feeling the warmth and slight tremble within.
"You must be looking forward to this too, Boss," She said softly.
"Yeah, it's been so long. Howard, Logan, and Lucy," Kyle sighed, noticing the tension on Lorna's face. He squeezed her hand reassuringly and said, "Don't worry, Lucy will accept you and Raina."
Regardless of anything else, Raina and Lorna, these two women, had been by Kyle's side all along, weathering storms and hardships with him. He couldn't just discard them. If they wanted to stay, Kyle had no reason to refuse.
As he ventured to the pinnacle of the evolutionary chain in the universe, there should be no regrets left. Otherwise, in the end, he would end up lonely like Thanos, Dormammu, or the Ancient One.
"Boss," Lorna's heart trembled and tears almost welled up in her eyes. She had been waiting for these words for too long.
---
South of Planet Biko.
There stood a building pieced together from various civilizations' debris, towering twenty meters in height and constructed with distinct features both inside and out. Compared to the surrounding mountains of garbage, this building looked surprisingly luxurious, with a sign bearing the logos of Stark and SHIELD.
A sun lounger was placed in front of the building, and an old man with white hair lay on it in casual clothes, basking in the filtered sunlight. His face was covered with a magazine, and an old-fashioned radio played dance hall music from Earth's nineteen-twenties beside him.
"Grandpa Howard! Grandpa Howard! You've got business!" A young alien child ran over from a distance, waving his arms and shouting loudly.
"What business? Can't you see I'm trying to relax?" Howard grumbled unhappily before removing the magazine from his face. However, when he saw two Spaceships flying towards him in the sky, he quickly straightened up.
"One is the Interstellar Hunter fighter I repaired before, and the other is from an extragalactic civilization?" Howard muttered to himself, taking a few steps forward. The two Spaceships landed in front of the building one after the other, kicking up clouds of yellow dust.
The cockpit of the Star-Lord fighter opened first, and Quill stepped out, smiling at Howard. "Old man, it's been a few years. You still look pretty fit!"
"What's this? Little Star-Lord, are you bringing me business?" Howard raised an eyebrow as he asked.
"No," Quill shook his head, gesturing to the Eagle-class fighter, "You have some old friends who came specially to find you. I brought them here."
"Old friends?" Howard looked at Quill in confusion, then turned his gaze to the Eagle-class fighter. Just as the cockpit door opened, a silver-haired young man walked out.
"You, you're..." Howard was completely stunned when he saw the silver-haired youth. His aged body trembled slightly, his mouth moved, but no sound came out.
The youth's handsome face was like a finely carved sculpture, with silver hair cascading down his shoulders and a towering figure with perfect proportions. His demeanor was as indifferent and imposing as it had always been, just like the invincible young general from decades ago.
Life is like a fleeting glance.
The youth in front of him was almost identical to the one from years ago!
Howard stood there with a dumbfounded expression on his face. If it weren't for the young alien child shaking his arm, he might have thought this was all a dream or illusion.
"What's wrong? Have you forgotten even me?" Kyle approached him, looking at the old friend who had aged thirty or forty years since they last met, and said softly, "Long time no see, Howard. I've come to fulfill our agreement."
This agreement had been delayed for half a century and spanned billions of light-years.
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