"Want to know the answer to that question? Simple. Just call Karl over and ask him."
Natasha spoke up directly. Whether it was really the Karl they knew, they would find out the moment he showed up.
With that, Natasha immediately called the office.
At the same time, Karl was lounging comfortably with his head resting on Skye's lap while she fed him pieces of fruit.
Wanda sat nearby with one long leg crossed over the other, Moguri curled up in her arms. The three of them were so bored they were practically growing mold. Out of the four of them, only Gwen had a proper job, spending her days doing research at Stark Industries' biological laboratory.
"So bored~~ How about…"
Karl reached out with wandering hands toward Skye's ample chest, only for Skye to shove a chunk of mango into his mouth, nearly choking him.
"Don't even think about it. Tonight."
Skye rejected him mercilessly. Full stomachs always led to dirty thoughts, and Karl was no exception.
Right as the two were messing around, Karl's phone rang. It was Natasha.
"Yeeaah~~"
Karl lazily answered, placing the phone on Skye's thigh and turning on speakerphone.
"Karl, come to the base immediately. Someone's here looking for you."
Natasha's voice was calm and steady.
"Who is it? Why do I have to go all the way to the base? It's so far away~~"
Karl clearly didn't feel like moving. Avengers Base was in DC while he was in New York. Not impossibly far, but definitely not close enough to justify getting up. Staying home with Skye and Wanda was much better.
"They came from another planet. They said they're looking for Karl. I assume that means you?"
Natasha replied.
Karl froze for a moment, then immediately thought of Quill and the others. They were basically the only aliens he knew.
"Quill and the others came to Earth? Why are they at Avengers Base?"
Karl quickly asked.
"So you really do know them? They're here at the base right now. Come over."
Natasha said. Everyone around her had heard Karl's reaction, confirming that the Karl Quill mentioned was indeed the same Karl they knew.
"Alright~~ I'm coming."
Karl replied lazily before hanging up.
Then he kissed Skye's thigh before finally sitting up.
"You two wanna come to Avengers Base with me? I'll introduce you to some friends."
"Friends? Those aliens Natasha mentioned?"
Skye and Wanda had both heard the conversation and were now curious about the so-called extraterrestrials.
"Yep. One of them's from Earth. The others are aliens."
Karl nodded. Technically, Quill was only half an Earthling, since he was the child of a human and a living planet, but close enough.
"Can we come? I wanna see aliens too."
Skye immediately perked up. The only aliens she'd met before were the Chitauri, Thor, Loki, and Malekith. Even though they had visited Xandar before, that was still only one planet among countless extraterrestrial civilizations.
"Sure. Good chance to introduce everyone."
Karl agreed without hesitation.
The group immediately traveled through the Chocobo Space and arrived at the base, where they met Quill and the others.
"Hey~~ Karl! Long time no see!!"
Quill enthusiastically hugged Karl. Beside him, Drax did the same. The massive brute's thought process was bizarre, but he was genuinely warm toward friends.
As for Groot, he still said the exact same sentence as always. Karl could understand the emotion behind it, though he still had no clue what it actually meant.
After everyone was introduced, Gamora was immediately dragged off by the overly friendly trio of Gwen, Skye, and Natasha, who started chatting with her about who-knows-what.
"Karl, actually, we came to Earth because we need your help."
Quill finally explained their purpose.
"Help? You guys run into trouble?"
The one who spoke was Tony.
That's right—after spotting Quill's ship via satellite earlier, Tony had rushed over the moment it landed at the base, arriving almost at the same time as Karl.
"Not exactly. We just picked up a huge job, and the few of us probably can't handle it alone. So we wanted you to come along. Of course, we'll split the payment with you."
Quill said. This mission was big enough that even after giving Karl a cut, they'd still make a fortune.
"What kind of currency do aliens use? Don't tell me it's still dollars."
Tony asked curiously. As one of America's top capitalists, he was highly sensitive to anything involving money.
"Of course not. Our currency system's pretty simple—Credits. The Galactic Federation uses unified personal credit accounts as payment. Makes management easier, and it's convenient for tracking criminals too."
Quill pulled out a device similar to a smartphone. With a tap, a string of numbers appeared on the screen.
No physical cash at all—just digits.
"Huh. So aliens aren't all that impressive either. I thought your money would be something high-tech."
Tony instantly lost interest. Turns out aliens also used digital currency. Nothing innovative there.
Though, to be fair, credits really were the simplest and most efficient system for interstellar trade—easy transactions, no physical money laundering, and ideal for tracking.
"So? Karl, this mission pays this much."
Quill gestured with his fingers.
Karl immediately understood.
This really was a huge contract.
"What's the mission exactly?"
Seeing Karl interested, Quill immediately activated a holographic projection displaying the mission details.
Sovereign Planet.
Eliminate an invasive parasite.
The mission itself sounded simple, but the name "Sovereign" immediately caught Karl's attention.
Wasn't that the golden people planet from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2? The place where Adam Warlock would eventually be born?
"Looks like Guardians 2 is starting…"
Karl thought to himself.
Though the timeline had clearly changed a little. During the battle with Ronan, Groot hadn't sacrificed himself this time, so he was still in his towering tree form instead of becoming Baby Groot.
[Ding~]
Suddenly, a familiar notification rang out in Karl's mind.
His expression instantly sharpened.
The long-awaited system mission had finally arrived.
[Ding~ Mission triggered.]
[Quill's Return to His Roots]
[Mission Objective: Help Quill successfully escape Ego's control.]
[Mission Reward: The Final Summon Beast — Dark Summon Beast, Odin~]
"??"
Karl mentally typed two giant question marks.
"System… what do you mean by 'final summon beast'? Did you eat Leviathan or something?"
[Ding~ Host, Leviathan is not among the Eight Summon Beasts in this category~]
The explanation somehow explained absolutely nothing.
Karl was completely baffled.
What did it mean "not among the summon beasts"?
Did DLC content suddenly stop counting as part of the game?
That was Leviathan they were talking about!
The Water Demon Beast whose size was second only to Titan, whose destructive ferocity surpassed even Ifrit's.
And the system just casually erased it with one sentence?!
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