"Tony, if you want to become stronger, you can."
"If you come to space with us, I'll give you a Superman gene serum."
"Their current abilities are basically the same as Superman's from the comics—Kryptonian abilities."
"Are you sure you don't want to think about it?"
Karl patted Tony on the shoulder as he spoke.
The reason Karl extended this invitation was simple.
Haohan had already detected a spaceship under construction beneath Tony's house.
Clearly, Tony had already begun preparing for space exploration.
Karl simply decided to push him a little further.
"What?! Superman?"
"You mean the guy in the comics who can lift airplanes with one hand?"
"My God… you actually obtained his gene serum?!"
Tony stared at Karl in shock.
After all, that was Superman.
Even though Tony had only read the comics as a child, the name still carried weight.
Of course, Karl wasn't telling the full truth.
The serum was technically derived from an ordinary Kryptonian warrior, not Superman himself.
But the abilities were still similar enough.
"Of course."
Karl pointed toward the sky.
"Did you see Pietro and Peter flying around up there?"
"They're wearing stellar energy transmitters, which means they're absorbing stellar radiation every moment."
"They're getting stronger every second."
"And honestly, this is still just the beginning."
Karl wrapped an arm around Tony's shoulder as they walked toward a table near the house.
Above them, Pietro and Peter were still performing aerial maneuvers.
Meanwhile, May, Raven, and Helen Zhao had already entered Tony's house.
They were looking for little Morgan, since they hadn't seen her yet.
Soon they found Pepper on the second floor playing with the child.
Pepper was pleasantly surprised to see them.
The women began chatting while taking turns holding Morgan.
Elsewhere, Samuel suddenly took off and dove straight into the ocean.
Karl didn't even need to think about what he was doing.
Samuel was obviously planning to study the genetic structures of deep-sea organisms.
Even Juggernaut had disappeared somewhere.
Karl wasn't worried.
There were very few things on Earth capable of harming them now.
And everyone carried quantum communicators anyway.
Tony, meanwhile, remained silent.
He watched:
Pietro and Peter flying through the skySamuel diving into the oceanJuggernaut disappearing into the distance
His mind drifted into deep thought.
Karl spoke again.
"Tony, you should think about this more broadly."
"Once you enter the universe, you'll see the vast cosmic sky and countless alien civilizations."
"Don't you want to witness their technology?"
"We can even travel to other universes."
Karl leaned closer.
"You could meet your counterparts in other realities."
"I can tell you with certainty that Tony Stark exists in almost every universe."
"And in some universes… you're even more powerful than you are now."
Karl paused.
"Don't you want to experience the multiverse?"
Tony remained silent.
Karl continued calmly.
"May, Raven, Helen, and I already possess near-eternal lifespans."
"My power continues to grow."
"Do you really think my ability to resurrect the dead would allow them to leave me?"
"Even if you develop life-extension technology on Earth, it would only buy a few hundred years."
"But traveling through the universe with me?"
"That opens the door to infinite possibilities."
Karl gestured toward the house.
"Think about Pepper."
"Think about Morgan."
"Think about Howard and Maria."
"Are you really willing to watch them grow old and die while you remain behind?"
Tony's expression grew complicated.
Karl continued.
"And Morgan…"
"If she grows up traveling among the stars, she'll receive interstellar education far beyond anything Earth can offer."
"Joining me would only benefit your family."
"There's almost no downside."
"Safety won't be a problem."
"You won't need to fight on the front lines either."
Tony sat quietly for a long time.
Karl was right about one thing.
After seeing the vastness of the universe, returning to a normal life on Earth would probably feel… dull.
Eventually Tony sighed.
"I think I need to talk to Pepper and the others."
"This invitation is tempting, I admit."
"But Earth is still…"
He shook his head.
"I need to discuss it with them first."
Karl nodded.
"Fair enough."
Then he casually added:
"By the way…"
"When did you finish building the spaceship under your house?"
Tony froze.
The corner of his mouth twitched.
He suddenly realized something.
Karl had been extremely annoying lately.
"Shit."
"You actually found out about that?"
Tony rolled his eyes.
"I was planning to take Pepper and the others on a space vacation."
He stood up and sighed.
"Alright."
"I'll go talk to them."
Then he pointed at Karl.
"But if they agree…"
"You're building me a new spaceship."
Tony snorted.
"I'm not riding in the same ship as you."
With that, Tony walked back toward the house.
Karl simply smiled faintly.
Then he suddenly pulled Hela into his arms.
Hela immediately struggled.
But Karl held her firmly.
He slapped her lightly on the hip a couple of times.
Only then did she stop resisting.
For years, the two of them had been constantly bickering.
But over time—
Their relationship had slowly changed.
Although Hela never admitted it, Karl could clearly sense her feelings.
After all, Karl possessed the Self Stone, which carried the combined perception abilities of the Infinity Stones.
He could easily perceive emotional fluctuations.
And since Karl woke from his long slumber, Hela's feelings had only grown stronger.
That realization gave Karl confidence.
Hela's cheeks turned slightly red.
She buried her face against Karl's chest, unwilling to look up.
Karl didn't push things further.
He simply held her quietly.
Nearby, Yan and Black Phoenix exchanged glances.
Then both of them smiled knowingly.
...
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