Chapter 257: The Arrival of the Purple Sweet Potato

Carol's willingness to explain things to Clark, rather than continuing to solve problems with her fists, was largely due to Monica's presence as a mediator.

It certainly wasn't because she couldn't beat Clark or was afraid of his Infinity Stones. Absolutely not! Probably...

Upon hearing Carol's words, Monica immediately asked, "What exactly is going on?"

Clark, however, didn't seem too bothered by it. Instead of leaving the Infinity Stones out there for Thanos to snatch, he preferred to keep them in his own hands.

As for the dangers, it couldn't be more dangerous than doing nothing!

Unexpectedly, Carol's response was, "The special substances you collected from the Void should not be brought back to Earth. Doing so would only invite trouble."

Clark frowned upon hearing this. The trouble she mentioned was not the two Infinity Stones, but those substances that contained a smattering of cosmic energy?

Seeing Clark's reaction, Carol spoke with a hint of pride, "Since you are collecting such things, you must be aware of their origin. The Void was originally just a skull of an ancient god. But have you ever considered whether that god had kin and if they are really extinct now?"

Was Carol implying that the threat came from a group of celestial beings?

No wonder many civilizations in the universe considered the extraction and sale of these substances from the Void illegal. It was all due to the threat from this celestial group!

However, if that was the case, "Why is the Void still there? The Collector has been dealing with those substances for so many years without any issue, right?"

Carol sighed and shook her head, "As for the specifics, I'm not entirely sure. Although it's strictly prohibited to mine and trade these substances, the penalty isn't of the highest severity. Moreover, black markets for these substances exist on the main planets of major civilizations."

"If I had to define such activities, they're dangerous, but maybe not catastrophic. However, I strongly advise against bringing these substances back to Earth; it's not worth the risk."

"If some of the predecessors who left Earth had been as concerned about our home planet as I am, Earth wouldn't be in its current fragile state," Clark commented with a slight jab at those who roamed the universe, neglecting their hometown. Then he added, "In fact, I've already given a small amount of these special substances to SHIELD and SPEAR, but in such scarce amounts that they shouldn't cause any trouble, right?"

Carol shook her head, knowing all too well that once these rare materials reached big organizations, it wouldn't be easy to get them back.

However, she still cautioned, "For safety's sake, it's best if Earth classifies these substances as illegal contraband, at least to show a stance."

Clark nodded in agreement, quickly sending the information to his clone on Earth, instructing him to handle the matter.

Getting SHIELD and SPEAR to return the substances might be difficult, but making them take a stand should be straightforward.

Shaking her head, Carol added, "Regarding your claim that I don't care about Earth's development, I just want to say there are many planets in the universe suffering disasters. Compared to them, Earth is relatively stable."

Clark stood firm, "So what? I will always remember that before being a part of this universe, I am firstly an Earthling."

Carol looked at Clark seriously and said, "Different paths…"

Clark decisively finished her sentence, "Do not make plans together!"

Seeing the conversation turn into a stalemate with no intention of becoming friends, Monica sighed in resignation. "Aunt Carol, I want to join you in maintaining peace in the universe, but…"

"You want to spend some quality time with this little guy, right?" Carol said with a smile, "I heard that the scenery on Xandar is nice. I'll go there for a few days. If you want to join me, come find me there after three days."

As she spoke, Carol's body glowed brightly, ready to zoom away in a flash.

"Wait a minute," Clark called out as Carol was about to leave. "Your outfit reminds me of some guys who came to Earth to cause trouble two years ago. They wore similar clothes, just different colors. One particularly arrogant guy got his head chopped off by me. His body was given to Nick Fury for dissection."

Carol received a positive impression from Clark (+2689).

Hearing about Yon-Rogg's death, Carol didn't say much. Her feelings for him were complicated, even to herself.

Originally taken to Hala and brainwashed into a Kree warrior, she spent six years with Yon-Rogg. It's false to say there were no feelings, but it's also nonsensical to claim any fondness, especially considering the Kree Empire's deceit.

She didn't exactly hate him either.

Maybe it was because of this indescribable emotion that she let Yon-Rogg go alive in the end.

Now hearing about his death from Clark, Carol felt a slight melancholy. Shaking her head slightly, she said without looking back, "If Earth really faces trouble that you can't handle alone, you can contact me. Fury knows how to reach me."

With that, she turned into a streak of light and disappeared.

"You wimp, why are you so disrespectful to Aunt Carol?" Monica watched Carol disappear into the starry sea, then turned to Clark, "Aunt Carol is a hero, and her heart is broader than many superheroes."

Clark stubbornly shook his head, "That's exactly the problem. Her heart is too broad. My priority is Earth's interests. I might help others if I can, but I won't confuse priorities."

Pausing a moment, he added, "In the end, our fundamental ideologies clash, just like we said earlier."

"Different paths, do not make plans together."

Caught between her closest relative and her most admired idol, Monica felt helpless.

Shaking her head, she decided not to dwell on this frustrating issue anymore. Changing the topic, she asked, "It's been years since I've properly helped you. Now that we're here, how should we spend our reunion?"

"Like before, playing with your little ding-ding?"

"If you bring that up again, I'm really going to get mad!"

"Okay, okay!" Seeing Monica's feigned anger, she jokingly asked, "Tell me, is there anything I can help you with?"

Clark shook his head, "No need for help. But after my recent power surge, I've had little experience fighting against peers or stronger opponents. If you're free, let's spar and practice together over these three days."

"That's a good idea," Monica smiled. "Let's spar first, and then play…"

Seeing Clark's expression turn sour, Monica quickly changed her tactic, "You got distracted!" In the middle of her sentence, a beam of light shot towards Clark's chest.

Clark deflected the light with his sword and launched a counterattack. A sparring match between aunt and nephew thus began in earnest.

...

In the vast depths of the universe, a huge spaceship floated in the star field. The size of this ship alone could rival large cities like New York on Earth.

Whether it was SHIELD's Helicarrier or SPEAR's aerial fortress, they were mere ants compared to it.

This massive spaceship, named Sanctuary II, was the flagship of the Mad Titan Thanos, also housing his nearly permanent throne.

Inside the ship, Thanos sat proudly on his floating throne, listening to the latest news from his subordinates from the neighboring star of Nidavellir: "Among the captives we just caught, one had just left the Void. He's a star smuggler. Corvus Glaive got some recent information about Prince Clark from him, which might be helpful for your grand plan."

Clark, newly emerged in the cosmos, had gained fame through a battle in the Void, stepping over the corpse of Ronan to build his fearsome reputation!

Just like people calling Thanos the Mad Titan and Ronan the Accuser, Clark had a nickname more renowned than his own – the Prince.

"Oh?" Interested by the news from Nidavellir, Thanos asked, "What's the news?"

With utmost respect, his subordinate answered, "Three days ago, a strong figure entered the Prince's shop and then mysteriously disappeared. In the following three days, neither that mysterious figure nor the Prince appeared again. However, a new person was identified in his shop, confirmed to be the Asgardian warrior Sif."

"Hmph!" Upon hearing the report, Proxima Midnight at Thanos' side scoffed, "The Prince now possesses two Infinity Stones, surely carrying them with him. His disappearance means the Stones are gone too. This doesn't seem like good news for us."

"No!" Thanos disagreed, "The woman with the Prince might know something about the Stones. Besides, if we control them, we can set a trap and wait for him to fall into it."

Proxima Midnight was puzzled, "What if the Prince doesn't care about them?"

Thanos' other subordinate, Ebony Maw, answered instead, "Then we lose nothing, right?"

Thanos nodded approvingly at Ebony Maw and ordered, "Go to the Void!"

___________________

(Support with power stones, comments or reviews)

If you guys enjoy this story, In support me on Patreon and get access to +200 advance Chapters

Read Ahead

Patreon.com/INNIT