"All right. Be careful," the professor said calmly. "I'll stay here. The school will be fine."
He didn't question Rowan's decision. He trusted Rowan's judgment, and more importantly, his ability. While Rowan's telepathic strength still lagged behind his own, the way Rowan combined his various talents made him far more dangerous overall. Even if things went wrong, getting away wouldn't be a problem.
"Thanks," Rowan replied.
"It won't take long."
Rowan stood, murmured a spell, and vanished with a soft displacement of air.
The professor assumed Rowan was heading out to recruit a new instructor, someone to ease the school's growing burden. That was partly true.
But Rowan had another reason.
The Hulk.
A being whose strength scaled endlessly with rage. In magical terms, he was practically a living mythical creature, something that could flatten giants and probably wrestle dragons into submission. If that kind of existence left behind anything usable…
Hair, for example.
Rowan needed better wand cores.
He now maintained three separate bodies across different worlds. Curiously, each of them outperformed his original form. Same base power. Same magical potential. The difference lay in amplification.
One wand granted overwhelming enhancement. Another artifact provided moderate gains. His current wand, however, barely improved anything at all.
Upgrading it was no longer optional.
"Another power," the professor murmured, watching the empty space where Rowan had stood. "Or perhaps… another form of magic."
He had long since realized that not everything Rowan did could be explained as mutant abilities. Especially after accidentally glimpsing the folders labeled "study materials" on the school servers. Still, he chose not to pry.
Some truths didn't need to be spoken aloud.
Rowan wasn't as gentle as he appeared. But he wasn't cruel either. If he had been, he could have abandoned them all long ago.
The professor had spent much of his second life questioning his past decisions. Wondering whether being too trusting of humanity had led to catastrophe. Whether harsher choices might have spared his people from extinction and experimentation.
There were no answers. Only regrets.
So he stopped choosing.
From now on, those decisions would belong to Rowan. As long as Rowan didn't cross certain lines, he would follow.
After all, without Rowan, none of them would be here at all.
Rowan reappeared near Stark Tower in Manhattan.
He wasn't familiar with the area, and this was the one landmark he knew well. After cloaking himself, he unfolded his wings and flew toward Grebin University.
"No military yet," he muttered after circling the campus. "Ross hasn't moved."
He cast a tracking spell.
"Show the trail. Bruce Banner."
Landing quietly, Rowan followed the glowing path to a research building. He climbed to the third floor and knocked.
"Hello? Anyone in there?"
A couple of minutes passed before a short, middle-aged man in a blue shirt opened the door.
"I'm busy," the man said curtly. "If you're a student, come back during office hours."
"I'm not here for you, Dr. Sterns," Rowan replied. "I'm looking for Dr. Bruce Banner."
The reaction was instant.
Sterns stiffened and tried to shut the door.
Rowan caught it with one hand and stepped inside, gently but firmly pushing past him.
"Dr. Banner," Rowan said, settling onto the couch as if he belonged there, "you can come out. I'm not with the government. Not the military either."
There was a pause.
Then Bruce Banner emerged from behind the curtain, with Betty close at his side. Both of them watched Rowan warily.
"Who are you?" Banner asked. "And how did you know we were here?"
"My name is George," Rowan said easily. "I'm the headmaster of the Academy for the Gifted."
"As for how I found you," he added, smiling faintly, "if I want to find someone, I can. That's my ability."
Banner frowned. "I've never heard of any academy like that."
"That's fine," Rowan said. "Sit down. I'll explain."
He snapped his fingers.
The water dispenser whirred to life. Four cups filled themselves and floated neatly onto the table.
"Tea, coffee, or something stronger?"
All three scientists stared.
"That's… not a trick," Banner said slowly.
No one answered him.
Because they all knew the same thing.
Whatever this was, it wasn't magic-show nonsense. And it definitely wasn't normal technology.