Carter flew through space, a gravity force field surrounding him to prevent absorbing any more mass. He didn't need to grow larger—at least not yet. His focus was on getting back to his main body without attracting attention. As he sped along, he deliberately steered clear of the former location of the X3X prison, not wanting to risk any encounters with the universal-level forces that might come looking for answers.
"Last thing I need is them on my tail," Carter thought, keeping his speed up and his presence minimal.
Carter's journey back took a couple of years, and for the most part, it was smooth sailing. The only real interruption came during his fifth year, when a random wormhole appeared out of nowhere. The thing nearly sucked him in, but aside from that, it wasn't much of a threat.
As Carter zipped through space, he reflected on the one close call during his journey—a random wormhole that popped up out of nowhere.
He remembered the moment vividly. Five years into his trip back, everything had been calm, until—
WOOSH!
A swirling vortex suddenly opened up near him. The gravitational pull was intense, and Carter found himself getting dragged in.
"Wait, what the—are you serious right now?!" Carter yelled in disbelief as he felt himself being pulled toward the wormhole. "I've just been minding my own business! I swear this universe has it out for me!"
The force intensified, and Carter flailed his rocky mass as much as a giant, sentient celestial body could.
"I am not dealing with a wormhole today. Nope!" He tried using his gravity control to push back, but the vortex was strong. "C'mon, work with me here!"
The struggle was real. After a few moments of fighting it, Carter managed to break free, flying away at top speed.
Panting—through space obviously had no air—he muttered, "Why do I feel like this universe is trying to give me a bad case of cosmic indigestion?"
Looking back at the wormhole, he shuddered. "Not today, space onahole. Not today."
And just like that, Carter continued on his journey, laughing to himself about how close he'd come to getting sucked into who knows where.
After a long journey, Carter finally returned to his main body. It was a little over 5 million feet in mass, looking small compared to his newly expanded form. But what made it different was the life that now thrived on it. "Daddy's home,"