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From the very beginning, Kevin never intended to give Collector the real TemPad or the Time Stone.
As Star-Lord said, this thing is too dangerous, so it's safer to keep it in his own hands.
But Kevin didn't want to conflict with Tivan Group, and Collector had paid for the transaction, so taking it by force would be a bit too much.
So... Kevin thought of Kamar Taj's magic.
A spell that only the Sorcerer Supreme could use with the Time Stone.
Kevin called it 'Time Afterimage'.
It was a magic that created afterimages of objects using the Time Stone, making them indistinguishable from the real thing.
Previously, Kevin deliberately showed the Time Stone in front of Collector, which was actually to use magic, but unfortunately, Collector, this muggle, did not notice Kevin's little trick.
It was also from that time that the Time Stone and TemPad on Kevin's body all became afterimage props.
No matter if Collector wanted to exchange the tablet for Kevin's gem, or if Collector wanted to keep the tablet, it was not a problem.
Anyway, Kevin wouldn't give him any of them.
Doing this might be a bit cunning, but it's better than having this thing in Collector's hands and really causing a major timeline collapse in the future.
... Kevin, you really are...
Star-Lord, seeing the TemPad, was about to say something 'appreciative' to Kevin.
But Gamora stopped him, pulling the two and saying:
"Let's go, this place is full of Collector's people."
"Don't be so timid, Gamora, the more it is at this time, the more we have to act normal, this is my experience."
Star-Lord said this with a proud look.
Gamora rolled her eyes:
"Yes, as a thief, I really can't compare to you."
As the two talked, they entered their usual bickering state.
Kevin watched, shaking his head helplessly, but he didn't interrupt their couple's quarrel, following them back to the large spaceship that the Guardians of the Galaxy currently used as their base.
Although the TemPad was already in hand, how to use it and how to keep it still needed to be slowly discussed.
Because if this thing was not handled well, it could very likely cause a cosmic-level crisis, the Guardians of the Galaxy unanimously decided that this thing should still be kept by Kevin.
After all, Kevin and the Guardians of the Galaxy had saved this universe twice... no, three times, and he was also the strongest among everyone, so everyone would be very relieved for him to protect the TemPad.
Also, Kevin didn't seem to want to give up this TemPad, and if he didn't want to give it, no one else could take it.
After the ownership of the TemPad was decided, Star-Lord then spoke to Kevin about another matter.
"By the way, since you can bring your girlfriend over, it proves that you can bring us over too... right?"
After the meeting, Star-Lord secretly found Kevin and spoke to him mysteriously.
Kevin saw through this kid's scheme at a glance, and he flatly refused:
"I know what you're thinking, but don't even think about it. I have to pay a price to bring people across worlds. Do you think your status can compare to my girlfriend's?"
"Why not?! Kevin, we've been through life and death so many times! Do you really think I can't compare to your girlfriend in your heart?! That's really heartbreaking!"
Star-Lord acted out a painful expression with clumsy acting, which made Kevin get goosebumps all over.
Kevin didn't intend to continue arguing with Star-Lord and asked directly:
"Then, if I exchange myself for Gamora, would you exchange?"
Star-Lord's expression immediately became very strange, and he began to stammer:
"Uh, this... it's still a bit..."
"You see, my status in your heart can't even compare to Gamora, so why do you think your status in my heart can compare to Annie's?"
"That's not the same..."
"So you're trying to say that I don't love Annie as much as you love Gamora? Peter, you seem to have become very arrogant after gaining the power of the Celestial, shall we have a spar?"
Kevin's mouth curved upwards, and he began to rub his fists, preparing to teach Star-Lord a lesson.
Star-Lord saw that things were not good.
Let alone that he hasn't mastered the power of the Celestial yet, even if he did, this little power is simply insignificant in front of Kevin!
Didn't even his father Ego get suppressed by Kevin back then?
How could a second-generation god who didn't even have a planet Main unit fight against him?
If he were to fight Kevin, it wouldn't be a spar at all, it would be a one-sided beating!
So in less than a second, Star-Lord immediately changed his expression, turned around and left seriously, saying as he walked:
"Oh, right, I remember Gamora told me to fix the spaceship, I'm leaving first, we'll talk later when I have time."
After saying that, he ran away from Kevin in a flash, disappearing without a trace in a few seconds.
Kevin didn't chase after Star-Lord's fleeing back.
He had no intention of sparring with Star-Lord; he'd rather spend that time studying the TemPad more.
Although Kevin had the TemPad in hand, he had no intention of using it.
Because whether it was going back to a past timeline or going to a future timeline, the Time Stone in his hand could do it.
The true purpose of the TemPad was that it could connect different timeline branches, allowing people to travel between various parallel worlds.
And precisely because of this, Kevin didn't dare to use it casually.
After all, he hadn't read the manual and had no idea how to use this thing. what if he opened a portal to a parallel world and couldn't come back?
Kevin had figured out how to open the time portal, but he didn't know how to determine his current time and the time of his destination.
The TemPad was severely worn, and many of the button symbols on it had disappeared. Kevin estimated that even with a manual, he might not know how to use it, let alone now that there was no manual at all.
Therefore, this thing could only be left as is for now, and because it was a unique item, Kevin couldn't just disassemble and study it.
"But if it really comes down to it, I can only let Rocket or Tony study it."
Although the TemPad was precious, if it couldn't be used, it was no different from a mere display.
There were so many smart people in the Marvel Universe, Rocket and Tony should both be able to replicate new TemPads from the old one.
However, neither Rocket nor Tony were easy to deal with. If they knew that this thing could be used to travel through time...
God knows what kind of trouble they would cause.
Lending them the TemPad for research, this matter still needed further consideration.
The matter of the TemPad was temporarily concluded. With the item on Kevin, how he chose to use it was his own business and unrelated to others.
The Guardians of the Galaxy were still taking Annie and the twins to explore the universe. Annie had a lot of fun these past few days and gained a deep understanding of Kevin's friends.
A few days later, when it was time to leave, Annie was still a bit reluctant to part with the Guardians of the Galaxy.
From a young age, it was her first time in space, her first time seeing the cosmic cosmos, and meeting so many extraterrestrial beings.
As a native Earthling, Annie felt that no matter how long she stayed there, she probably wouldn't get tired of it.
But there was nothing she could do; Kevin said it was time to leave, so Annie could only follow.
Her dream now, besides being a good hero, was to be a good girlfriend to Kevin now, and a good wife to Kevin in the future.
Annie didn't want to do anything that would make Kevin difficult.
After saying goodbye to Annie and the Guardians of the Galaxy, Kevin settled Wanda and Pietro, and then prepared to return to the The Boys world to complete the engagement with Annie first.
However, unexpectedly, just before leaving, Kevin received news that Banner had actually developed the finished Compound V!
Upon hearing this exciting news, Kevin left Annie at Kamar Taj to wait for him, while he went to meet Banner and see the finished Compound V.
"This is... the Compound V that can make people lose their superpowers?"
In the biology lab Tony had prepared for Banner, Kevin looked at the green serum Banner took out and asked excitedly.
Banner, however, was not as excited as Kevin imagined. He said tiredly:
"Sort of, but because it has only been tested on mice and has not yet undergone formal human trials, I'm not entirely sure of the specific effects. I can only say that this initial version of the potion can indeed, to a certain extent, eliminate the superpowers of what you define as Supes."
"Are there any side effects?"
"That depends on the type of Supe."
Hearing Banner say this, Kevin's excitement cooled down a bit, and he looked up and asked:
"What do you mean?"
"You also said that some of the Supes you mentioned have bodies altered by the potion, for example, growing strange organs, or their entire bodies undergoing mutation...
"For these people, even if the serum removes their superpowers, the degree of reversal for the already mutated genes in their bodies is limited.
"A slight degree of alteration might be saved, but for Supes with too high a degree of alteration, even if they lose their superpowers, some of their organs might still be retained."
Banner tried his best to explain in terms Kevin could understand.
And Kevin also understood the meaning of his words.
"So..." He looked at Banner, "what if... there's a person whose head turns into a shark's head, that's its ability, but if they inject this potion, their other abilities might disappear, but the shark's head won't disappear, can I understand it that way?"
"That's pretty much it."
Banner nodded.
Then this was not the potion Kevin wanted at all.
When Kevin learned the truth about this potion from Banner, all the excitement in his heart vanished.
It's not that this potion is useless; at least it can make most Supes who maintain human form lose their abilities.
But Kevin's goal was to make those Supes whose bodies had undergone abnormal changes and were troubled by them lose their abilities.
Thereby achieving the purpose of promoting Vought.
And now, this potion could only be said to be half successful.
It still had flaws.
"Can the serum be improved further?"
After thinking for a moment, Kevin asked again.
Banner replied:
"Of course it can. I said this is just the initial version. Because you seemed very urgent, I created this serum. There will be a second and third generation later, but that will take time."
"It's alright, I'm not short on time now, Dr. Banner. I'll leave the future serums to you. On behalf of those Supes troubled by their abilities, I thank you."
Kevin formally bowed to Banner.
Perhaps Banner didn't realize, because he hadn't been to the The Boys world and didn't know how many people in that world were truly troubled by their trashy superpowers.
But Kevin knew.
Once the serum was truly successfully researched and could be mass-produced, then Banner would be the benefactor of those Supes.
Therefore, Banner deserved Kevin's thanks.
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