To be honest, before Star-Lord returned to Earth, he never expected to encounter so many unexpected events. He even felt that the intensity and danger of these events surpassed those of his cosmic wandering adventures!
Star-Lord couldn't quite remember what he was like as a child. His years of wandering the universe and living as a Ravager had made him fall in love with adventure and thrill-seeking, and now Earth seemed to perfectly satisfy Star-Lord's preferences.
"Exciting!" Star-Lord couldn't help but feel a surge of excitement at the thought of investigating the hidden mastermind behind everything. If it weren't for the turbulent undercurrents on Earth, with one crisis just passed and another brewing, Star-Lord might not have been so eager to leave Earth and return to the universe.
However, whether it was investigating Thanos or the Skrulls, it was all extremely thrilling, and Star-Lord was quite interested. He was curious about what the Skrulls, who could transform into other people, looked like. If one turned into him, would they be as handsome as he was?
Having received his mission, Star-Lord was now waiting for Tony Stark to finish the communication device before he could return to the universe. Meanwhile, the other Avengers, reassured by Robert, were also regaining their composure and had begun focusing on improving their own skills.
Though the enemy numbers were large in the recent battle in New York, the Avengers weren't too troubled. Even if Robert hadn't intervened, the Chitauri wouldn't have been a match for them. If the Avengers had been fully available, even the Black Order wouldn't have posed much of a challenge.
However, the Kryptonians had seriously injured the Avengers. Even the Martian Manhunter, who was the most versatile among them, could only suppress a Kryptonian that wasn't considered strong. The furious Hulk wasn't guaranteed to overpower every Kryptonian in terms of strength.
Among the Avengers, only Peter Parker and Tony Stark could be said to have performed well.
Peter Parker's abilities had further evolved after Venom devoured Carnage, granting him a power similar to Hulk's—growing stronger with rage. This allowed him to shine against the Kryptonians, even suppressing one single-handedly.
As for Tony Stark, just before the Kryptonians arrived, he upgraded his armor with a fusion of Vibranium and Nth Metal, creating a new nanotech suit. This suit could hold its own against the Kryptonians!
Unfortunately, the suit was extremely expensive to produce, and to ensure it was battle-ready, large quantities of nanomaterials had to be stored. Therefore, Tony Stark couldn't mass-produce the suit.
While Vibranium wasn't in short supply thanks to a disaster meteor, Nth Metal wasn't easy to replicate. Baron Strucker had exhausted his fortune trying to replicate Nth Metal, and even Tony Stark, with all his wealth, couldn't afford such a drain.
Moreover, replicating Nth Metal was only for the consumable parts of the suit. To make it react and fuse with Vibranium required significant resources. Otherwise, Tony Stark would have upgraded his entire army of suits.
Aside from Peter Parker and Tony Stark, the other Avengers, even when giving their all and risking their lives, could only barely hold off the Kryptonians. Without Robert's support, the Avengers might have suffered casualties, which was something they couldn't accept.
Even though the Kryptonian incident had passed, the Avengers knew that some Kryptonians hadn't died but had left Earth. Who could say for sure that they wouldn't return?
Not to mention, someone had stolen the remains of the Kryptonians. If the thieves could perfectly clone the Kryptonians, it would pose a significant challenge to the Avengers.
The Kryptonian template was too powerful. The Avengers could handle a small number, but if their numbers grew, they might truly be overrun by the clones.
As a result, the Avengers felt an urgent need to improve their abilities, while the Martian Manhunter, observing their determination, felt a sense of guilt.
After all, the Kryptonian remains that were stolen belonged to the Kryptonian he had killed. When the Martian Manhunter noticed something unusual on the battlefield in New York, he assumed the Kryptonian was dead and rushed to help. He hadn't anticipated that the remains would vanish. If the Kryptonian hadn't been dismembered, and if the Martian Manhunter wasn't certain that its consciousness had been extinguished, he might have thought it had come back to life and escaped.
After learning that the Space Stone had also been stolen, the Martian Manhunter, like Clark and Jarvis, was frantically searching for possible locations where the stone and the remains might be hidden. Unfortunately, he had no luck either.
The Martian Manhunter even went undercover in several of his old identities to investigate, but he found no clues in the official organizations he checked. While there was nothing overtly suspicious, he couldn't find any evidence related to the Space Stone or the Kryptonian remains.
This turn of events heightened the Martian Manhunter's vigilance. He began to suspect that not only was Clark being targeted, but everyone associated with the Avengers might be under surveillance.
Of course, this was just the Martian Manhunter's suspicion without any concrete evidence, but it didn't stop him from becoming more cautious and attempting to increase his own strength.
The Martian Manhunter felt that, while he might not be able to match Clark or Robert, he shouldn't let the other Avengers close the gap. If he didn't push himself, Peter Parker and Hulk might surpass him entirely!
Seeing the Avengers rekindle their fighting spirit, Robert nodded in satisfaction and left the Avengers' base with Kara. After all, there wasn't much to do here, and Clark had conveyed the Kent family's concerns, so Robert had to go back to check on them.
As for the hidden mastermind, Robert figured that since they had already made their move, they were bound to show themselves again. Otherwise, why would they steal the Space Stone and the Kryptonian remains? They couldn't have taken them just for a collection, right?
Once those behind the scenes revealed themselves, Robert was confident he could deal with them. As long as they showed themselves once, Robert would remember their aura, and they would never be able to hide again!
Back on the remote island, Robert and Kara returned home. Clark hadn't come back yet, as he was busier than the Avengers. The aftermath of the New York battle was beginning to surface.
When supernatural events were exposed to the public, it only made them aware of the supernatural world. However, it was still very difficult for ordinary people to access or obtain supernatural powers.
But aliens were different. When large amounts of alien technology were studied by various countries, or when government agencies or lucky individuals began selling alien tech, it would no longer remain secret.
There weren't many top geniuses on Earth, but there were plenty of talented people. Especially since Earthlings were good at reverse engineering, even if the replicated alien tech wasn't perfect, it far surpassed the conventional weapons available on Earth.
As a result, in a short time, energy weapons and laser weapons had begun circulating on the black market, forcing government agencies and police forces to upgrade their weaponry. After all, you can't fight lasers with gunpowder.
This arms race wasn't just between nations but had spread to private organizations, with various individuals constantly upgrading their weapons to stand out and fetch a good price.
Unlike many government researchers, who were cautious and methodical, these private inventors were often imaginative and unrestrained, modifying weapons as they saw fit. It didn't matter if the modifications made sense; as long as they could be made, they were done!
This threw the gun-friendly nation into complete chaos.
What? You're still using an old AK-47? You're outdated. People are out there on the streets with laser UZIs. Can your AK-47 compete with that?
What? You've upgraded your AK-47 too? Where did you do it? I don't have a connection, can you hook me up?
This was the current state of America. Nobody wanted to walk down the street and suddenly be blasted by a laser weapon without the ability to fight back. Even if they didn't intend to shoot, they had to be prepared. Otherwise, they'd be sitting ducks in a dangerous situation.
As for the police? They're notoriously slow to respond, and their new laser weapons aren't necessarily more powerful than makeshift alien tech.
In the old days of firearms, everyone knew the relative power of each other's weapons. Even modifications didn't increase power by much. But alien technology, even slightly improved, resulted in a massive power boost. There was even an incident where an alien laser revolver blew up a building with one shot, leaving many onlookers in shock.
In this situation, Clark's responsibilities had grown significantly. The problem was that, during the era of firearms, Clark could ensure that bullets fired wouldn't harm others. But now, it was different. Clark couldn't predict how powerful these weapons would be, which caused him considerable trouble.
Some government agencies had even started to publicly criticize Clark, using the Kryptonians' demonstrated abilities to drag him into a media storm, trying to destroy his public image.
Fortunately, in this world, Clark wasn't fighting alone. He wasn't great at handling public opinion, but the Avengers were skilled in that arena. Tony Stark, in particular, had a lot of people working under him, and with Steve Rogers personally overseeing the situation, they managed to keep things under control.
"Been busy lately?" Jonathan asked, looking at Robert and Kara as the two families gathered at the Kent home on the remote island.
"Actually, not too busy. Clark's the one who's been swamped. You know me; I'm not really good at these things. If it weren't for concerns about follow-up incidents, I would have come back to see you all sooner," Robert replied with a smile.
"Unfortunately, this incident has had quite an impact. Guns weren't too much of a problem before, but now that it's laser weapons, the
damage is just too much. Otherwise, you could have gone back already."
"We're fine staying here. It's a nice place, and everything we need is right here. As long as you're all safe, that's what matters," Martha said warmly. "Plus, with Lana Lang here, you don't have to worry about our safety. Just come back and visit when you can."
"I guess that means there are even fewer Kryptonians now!" Robert said with a smile, looking at Lana Lang. "Didn't Clark talk to you about the great plan to expand the Kryptonian population? The task of growing the Kryptonian race is in your hands!"
"Kara is also a Kryptonian. Why don't you ask her to expand the Kryptonian race?" Lana Lang retorted, glaring at Robert.
"That's different. If Kara and I have children, they'll be Saiyans. Even if we expand a race, it will be the Saiyan race. Expanding the Kryptonian population is Clark's responsibility. I remember Clark... uh... never mind!" Robert started to say confidently but then stopped abruptly, realizing there were some things he shouldn't mention.
"What about Clark?" Lana Lang narrowed her eyes suspiciously at Robert.
"Oh... I meant that Clark seems really busy, so you should seize the time," Robert quickly improvised. He had been about to mention Lois, but he realized he wasn't sure how Clark had handled that situation and didn't want to put him in an awkward position.
"You don't need to tell me that. Martha has already mentioned it, saying they could help out with the baby," Lana Lang replied, still eyeing Robert with some skepticism but nodding in agreement with Martha's earlier suggestion.
"Just be careful, though. You're both extraordinary, so your child might turn out to be quite powerful!" Robert added with a smile.
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