Overall, people were definitely surprised that the solar system had suddenly gained another planet, but in the end, it was not that big a deal.
Life went on. People still ate, drank, and carried on like normal.
That suddenly appeared Earth became the favorite after-dinner topic on both worlds.
Of course, some people with way too much time on their hands started asking whether the two Earths, facing each other from afar while orbiting the sun, might crash into each other someday, especially since the distance between them did not seem all that great.
Even the scientists did not have a great explanation for it. All they could say was that some mysterious force seemed to exist between the two Earths, keeping them from colliding.
After hearing that, people just accepted it.
From that point on, physics textbooks no longer stopped at the four fundamental forces. There was now a fifth one, the unknown mysterious force.
Some people even claimed that on the very night that line was added to the textbook, horrifying noises came from Newton's grave.
As for Jovian's father, Nolan was busy dealing with the problems created by having two planets to manage, which meant he had no time to worry about anything Jovian was doing. The workload had instantly doubled, and Nolan was already overwhelmed. He had even said outright that if another one or two planets showed up, he would not be able to take it.
None of that was something Jovian cared about.
Compared to the long-term development of Earth as a whole, he still had far more important business to handle.
"System, open the MCU main-universe timeline."
With a wave of his hand, the entire massive timeline of the MCU unfolded before him, starting with Iron Man and stretching all the way to Spider-Man: No Way Home.
A warning from the system echoed in Jovian's mind.
"Warning: Master, you have already disrupted the progression of the MCU. You also indirectly destroyed a single universe, causing an X-Men: Apocalypse universe to lose its future completely."
"Your actions have seriously affected cosmic order. Because of this, some of the divine beings in the MCU are already watching you. Please act with greater caution from now on."
"The gods in the MCU are pretty petty."
Jovian grumbled to himself.
"All I did was run off with an Earth and keep a Phoenix Force fragment that maintained the life and emotions of a single universe. That Phoenix Force was practically handed to me on purpose under the Watcher's guidance. Was all this attention really necessary? Seriously…"
He complained that the cosmic rule-makers in the MCU were too stingy. He had barely even started taking advantage of things before they were already keeping an eye on him. It was seriously hurting his work schedule.
"Select the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 universe for me."
After searching through the many movie worlds from Iron Man to Spider-Man: No Way Home and beyond, Jovian finally picked the universe he needed to enter, the one from Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
After all, in the Marvel Universe, outer space was a lot safer than disaster-ridden Earth.
Compared to Earth, where Odin liked to spy on people whenever he felt like it, the Ancient One kept mystical surveillance over the whole planet, Dormammu was always waiting for a chance to invade, and Stan Lee, the omniversal supreme being who could arm-wrestle the One-Above-All, wandered around doing whatever he pleased, the worst thing space usually had to offer was the Mad Titan Thanos. So Jovian did not hesitate for a second and chose the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 universe.
More importantly, that universe held something Jovian wanted badly. If he could get it, it would save him an enormous amount of effort on the road ahead.
"As you command, my master…"
The moment Jovian selected the universe, the system opened a portal for him and created a gateway into the world of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2.
In the black vacuum of space, a figure slowly appeared in the silent void.
"Now then, let's see where exactly I am, and what my next move should be."
Jovian floated in the cosmos. His body had long since become capable of ignoring every form of radiation in space.
"First, let's figure out what point in time I've arrived at."
With that thought, his body vanished from space.
On the other side, the Guardians of the Galaxy were in the middle of an intense battle against an Abilisk, an alien beast that looked like some kind of giant octopus.
Countless energy blasts burst through the air like fireworks.
But despite the Guardians' relentless assault, the octopus-like monster was completely uninjured. It clearly had terrifying durability.
"Take this, you oversized freak!"
A helmeted man ignited his jet boots and shot forward, slamming a flaming kick straight into the creature.
There was a soft smack.
The helmeted man immediately realized his kick had felt like striking a sponge. It had done absolutely nothing.
"Fuck!"
"I forgot this thing's soft-bodied. Physical attacks aren't exactly the way to go."
The man in the helmet cursed the moment he realized his attack had been useless.
At the same moment, one of the creature's tentacles lashed out, wrapped around him, and hoisted him into the air.
"Star-Lord got hung up?"
Rocket Raccoon looked at the man dangling in the air, his eyes flashing.
"Perfect! While the monster's distracted by Star-Lord, let's hit it!"
Rocket shouted loudly, convinced this was the perfect time to attack.
"Hey! Are none of you even thinking about saving me?"
Star-Lord shouted down at his teammates from the air.
"Compared to saving an idiot like you, attacking the monster is obviously the better use of time."
A beautiful woman with pale green skin flashed forward with a blade in hand and instantly sliced off one of the creature's tentacles before turning toward the Star-Lord hanging in the air.
"Gamora, that hurts my feelings!"
Star-Lord looked at the beautiful woman and felt a sharp pain in his heart.
Well, not that sharp. He was used to it by now.
Just as the group was bantering while handling the massive octopus monster with practiced ease, a thunderous roar came from above, and a godlike man in a white-and-black battle suit descended from the sky.
Everyone looked up and froze.
"Need a hand?"
His face was hard to make out because of the intense light around him, but even from the outline of his features alone, everyone could tell this was a top-tier handsome man.
"Heh, thanks, but as you can see, we've got this completely under control."
Still tangled in the air, Star-Lord forced out the coldest laugh he could manage. Faced with someone taller, stronger, and better-looking than himself, he immediately felt pressure and chose sarcasm as his defense.
But before he could finish, crimson-gold light burst from the godlike man's eyes and instantly tore the rampaging monster clean in half.
"What the fuck?!"
Rocket stared in shock.
"Laser eyes. He's got laser eyes."
After watching the man kill, with a glance, the monster they had been fighting for hours without finishing off, Rocket could not help blurting out his admiration.
"Hey, brother, who made those eyes for you? I want a pair that cool and stylish too."
Rocket walked up to the man and asked.
"I was born with them, little raccoon. Nobody made them for me."
The man stood with his hands behind his back and answered Rocket with a smile.
"I'm not a little raccoon, I'm Rocket Raccoon!"
Rocket immediately corrected him.
"Sure, little raccoon. Got it, little raccoon."
The man smiled again.
Rocket was speechless. He really wanted to ask whether this huge, handsome bastard had ever heard the word manners.
"Hey, brother!"
Now that the monster was dead, Star-Lord dropped down from where he had been hanging, shook the slime off himself, and stepped in front of the imposing stranger.
"I'm Star-Lord. Not sure if you've heard the name. The thing you just killed was our target, and the bounty on it belongs to us…"
Star-Lord raised an eyebrow and made sure to establish ownership of the prize.
"I know who you are, Star-Lord. I've heard your name. Your exploits are pretty famous. By the way, my name is Jovian. Nice to meet you."
Jovian took the initiative and held out his hand.
Of course Jovian knew who Star-Lord was. A man with the body of a god and the mind of an idiot, one of the MCU's most famous dumbasses, a legend among legends, the man fans joked had punched Avengers: Endgame into existence.
Star-Lord's mood instantly transformed after hearing that. All the annoyance he had been feeling over Jovian being taller, handsomer, and generally more impressive vanished on the spot. Now the more he looked at Jovian, the more likable he seemed. He quickly reached out and shook his hand.
Their hands only touched briefly before separating, mainly because Jovian was worried that if he shook hands with Star-Lord for too long, stupidity might be contagious.
"You're too modest. Your name echoes across the entire omniverse."
Jovian shook his head. Star-Lord was being way too humble. There probably were not ten men in the omniverse who could remain this sincerely idiotic every second of their lives.
"My God, brother, you really know how to talk. Starting today, you're my brother. Anybody got a problem with that? Of course your opinions don't matter, because the captain has spoken."
Star-Lord was feeling himself now. He planted his hands on his hips and proudly addressed the others.
"Hey, can I hit him?"
Rocket watched Star-Lord strut around and looked ready to smash a shotgun into his skull.
"Quit talking, little raccoon. This is our moment of triumph!"
Star-Lord puffed out his chest and walked forward like a complete idiot.
"Don't take it personally. He's always like this… stupid."
Drax the Destroyer looked at Jovian with his usual blunt honesty and pointed at Star-Lord.
"I know."
Jovian's lips curled into a smile. Some people were just born happier because they were idiots, and Star-Lord belonged in the highest class of that species.
The group followed Star-Lord all the way into a palace. Inside were Sovereign everywhere, all of them with gleaming golden skin.
"This is actually pretty interesting."
Jovian stood at the back with Drax and Rocket, watching Star-Lord and Gamora negotiate with the golden people.
"That's enough. Give us the payment you promised, and we'll leave immediately."
After listening to Star-Lord waste an absurd amount of time saying nothing of value to the Sovereign ruler, Gamora finally lost patience and coldly addressed the High Priestess on the throne.
Ayesha gave Gamora a disdainful glance, clearly looking down on her. Then she flicked a finger.
Several soldiers immediately walked over carrying a burlap sack.
They opened it, revealing a face so heavily modified by machinery it was barely recognizable.
Apparently the entire universe not only spoke English, it also loved stuffing people into sacks.
"Nebula…"
After seeing who was inside, Jovian gave her a second glance and quietly shook his head, feeling a little regretful. If Nebula had never been turned into a machine, she would absolutely have been a stunning beauty on a level that could rival the Scarlet Witch.
But that regret only lasted a moment. He was not interested in that.
He only wanted to know when his real prey would show up.
"Star-Lord, who are your parents?"
Ayesha looked at Star-Lord and asked.
"My mother was from Earth. My father, I don't know."
Star-Lord shook his head. For all he knew, his father might have been some nobody.
"Your father is no ordinary being. I can see unusual power in you. You are a very strange kind of hybrid…"
Ayesha's eyes flickered as she stared at him, clearly sensing something out of the ordinary.
"Powerful. Reckless…"
There was a dangerous gleam in her eyes now, as though she wanted to see straight through him.
Everything that followed happened more or less the way Jovian already knew it would. Rocket accidentally said something stupid, causing a huge reaction among the Sovereign, and some of the guards even raised their guns and aimed at him. Thankfully, Star-Lord managed to smooth things over just enough to get them through it.
Then the Guardians, with Star-Lord leading the way, took Gamora's sister Nebula and headed back toward their ship, successfully starting the journey home.
Jovian stayed in the rear the entire time. He had deliberately lowered his presence. All he wanted was to hitch a ride with Star-Lord and the others so he could go kill Star-Lord's dad.
"Sir, please wait a moment. I can see something unusual in you."
But just as everyone was preparing to leave, the Sovereign High Priestess suddenly stopped the group.
"I already told you, I don't know who my dad is!"
Star-Lord turned around impatiently and looked at Ayesha.
"I'm not talking about you. I'm talking about him."
Ayesha ignored Star-Lord and raised a finger, pointing straight at Jovian.
In an instant, everyone turned to look at him, including Star-Lord and the others.
Jovian had become the center of attention.
He had been planning to board the ship with everyone else, but now he felt all those eyes gathering on him and raised a brow slightly.
See? That was exactly the problem with being this handsome. No matter how hard he tried to hide himself, he just could not suppress his overwhelming charisma. It was exhausting, honestly.
He let out a sigh.
"So, you stopped us for a reason?"
Looking up at the High Priestess on her throne, Jovian asked the question calmly.
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