Chapter 203: Bizarre Offer
The next thing Jon needed to do was to use The Seven's extensive intelligence resources to track down each corrupted superhero, one by one. Over the span of just one day, Jon's penalty points had reached over thirty thousand. Yet, it was still far from the one hundred thousand he needed to install a protective shield on the moon of his original world. It seemed unlikely he'd achieve this before the Battle of New York.
Jon wasn't overly concerned, though. After all, the New York battle would present an abundance of opportunities for him to gather strength, enabling him to be better prepared for the future clash with Thanos. He knew the moon shield wouldn't be enough to repel Thanos, considering that the Mad Titan would likely secure the Power Stone, Reality Stone, Space Stone, and even the Soul Stone before coming to Earth.
[Return countdown initiated: five, four, three, two, one... Initiate return.]
As the door in his mind reopened, Jon found himself once again returning to American Horror Stories world.
Since Jon originally traveled from there, it made sense that he'd reappear there. He skimmed through the settlement panel and was about to access the Universal Emporium when he noticed one last message at the end of the panel.
[You have already traveled through time and space in this world once. You cannot do so again.]
"What does that mean? That I only get one chance at missions here?" Jon wondered aloud.
It made sense, in a way. After all, the time flow of other worlds didn't sync with that of the Marvel universe. Though he spent considerable time in the other world, in the Marvel universe, perhaps only a short nap had passed.
If Jon were to simply stay in another world, hiding, training for years, and going through numerous quests, he could easily return to the Marvel universe overpowered—practically invincible on Earth. Yet, it seemed like the system had outsmarted him, closing this loophole before he could exploit it.
Jon then opened the Universal Emporium, finding that The Boys' section had been activated.
Compared to the offerings from other worlds, the items in this store were quite sparse. After all, the Universal Emporium sold unique items from each world—like magical artifacts, spells, and potions from the Harry Potter universe or high-tech gadgets from the Men in Black universe. But in the world of The Boys, the most unique asset was undoubtedly Compound V.
This, however, was a valuable asset to Jon. He could buy a substantial supply of Compound V and create his own army—a force not weaker than the Avengers. Conquering the world wouldn't be far-fetched, provided he had that ambition.
Now, Jon decided he had little reason to linger in this world and instead prepared to return to the Marvel Universe.
[Would you like to leave the American Horror Stories world now? Note that you may return by expending penalty points. Yes/No.[
"Yes!" Jon selected.
[Return countdown initiated: five, four, three, two, one... initiate return.]
Jon experienced the transport sensation once more, awakening in his own bed.
"Whew!" Jon exhaled. "How long has it been since I've been back? I kinda missed home."
He reached into his coat and retrieved a few vials of Compound V, studying them thoughtfully.
This substance wasn't something he would dare use on his family. From what he'd observed in The Boys' universe, Compound V was still quite imperfect—like a devil fruit with unknown consequences. It might grant incredible power, or it could lead to bizarre, deforming powers with significant side effects.
And the flaws of Compound V were even more apparent. It could even turn someone into a grotesque abomination—a mutant monstrosity. Sure, Jon had methods to potentially reverse such changes, much like he'd burnt away demon blood in the world of Demon Slayer, using dark magic on the Compound V before ingestion, and utilizing Hellfire to purge any negative reaction if necessary.
Yet, such an excruciating process carried inherent risks, and Jon wasn't willing to subject his family to that.
Thus, if he wanted to test Compound V on someone, it would need to be someone who trusted him implicitly, had good character, and whose relationship with Jon was solid.
The Punisher.
Jon suddenly recalled his old ally. If he wasn't willing to let his own family take on the risks, perhaps Frank Castle could be the ideal candidate.
Late that night, after confirming that both Annie and Ayla were fast asleep, Jon left his home and arranged to meet with the Punisher in their usual spot.
"You're late," Jon said, seeing Frank arriving leisurely. It was a phrase Frank often threw at him, and now Jon got to use it in return.
"Am I?" Frank checked his watch and said, "I'm actually five minutes early."
"But I've been waiting here for half an hour," Jon shrugged.
"Not fair. You can teleport here anytime you want, but you were always late before. I never said anything then," Frank retorted.
Jon found himself unable to argue against that, shaking his head in surrender. "Fine, let's get to business."
"Another kingpin you need me to take out?" Frank asked directly.
"Why must everything be about killing? Don't you get tired of it?" Jon replied, exasperated.
Frank remained silent.
"Alright, alright, to the point!" Jon said, pulling out a vial of Compound V.
"What is that?" Frank furrowed his brows, seeing the blue vial. His immediate thought was that it was some sort of new designer drug.
"Relax, it's not a drug," Jon assured him. "This is a new experimental serum I got my hands on, called Compound V. It can awaken superpowers in you. But... there's a small chance it might turn you into some sort of monster—like a guy with two heads, or six eyes, or something equally bizarre."
Frank hesitated, then asked, "And why are you showing it to me?"
"Because I want you to drink it," Jon said bluntly. "Think about it: you spend every day fighting crime and dodging the cops—so exhausting! But if you had superpowers, you could fly, be bulletproof... wouldn't that make things easier? Look how much I care about you! Don't waste my goodwill—go on, drink it!"