"Thor, we'll be staying here a little longer," Jane said softly as they stood beside the X-Jet. "We need time to study the astrophysics material your father gave us. We'll head back to New York in about a month."
She handed him a slip of paper. "That's my address. If you're free, come find me."
Thor took it like it was something sacred and nodded far too enthusiastically. "I will. I promise."
"All right," Erik cut in, clearly unimpressed by the electricity in the air between them. "Get on the plane. Everyone's waiting."
Thor squeezed Jane's hand, bent down, kissed it, and finally boarded the jet.
Once Thor was inside, Rowan turned to Isla in the cockpit. "We're clear. Take us back to the school."
With Mjolnir still immovable and his exile unchanged, Thor had no reason to stay in New Mexico. Without divine power, he was just a very strong man, and living indefinitely at Jane's place would only complicate things. Whatever they were now, it wasn't defined yet.
Steve Rogers was the only one who could lift the hammer, and once he left, Mjolnir wasn't going anywhere. After some thought, Thor had accepted Rowan's suggestion. He would stay at the school, learn restraint, learn patience, and learn what Odin had meant by peace. When the lesson finally settled, perhaps the hammer would answer him again.
The cabin filled with quiet, ordinary life returning.
Logan sat with a massive container of Asgardian wine cradled like a newborn, chatting with Steve. Betty and Bruce sat shoulder to shoulder, close enough that the tension between them felt almost indecent. Five years apart, reunited at last, and only recently free from fear. If there hadn't been other people on board, they wouldn't have bothered pretending.
Tony didn't wait. The moment they were back on Earth, he took off under his own power, already racing ahead to tear Asgardian schematics apart molecule by molecule.
The X-Jet cut through the sky and soon hovered over the school. Rowan lowered the protective barrier surrounding the grounds, and the aircraft descended smoothly into the underground hangar.
"Professor," Rowan said as he stepped off the jet, spotting Charles Xavier waiting nearby. "You're still up?"
Charles smiled gently. "I was asleep. Then I felt you return."
In truth, he hadn't slept at all. Rowan and the others had been gone too long for comfort.
Rowan gestured toward Thor, who was currently trying to convince Logan to share half the wine. "Let me introduce someone. Thor Odinson. Asgardian. The Thor."
Charles blinked. "You're joking."
"I'll explain on the way."
Rowan did. Everything. By the time they finished walking, Charles was silent for a long moment.
"So," Rowan concluded, "he's staying here for now."
Charles exhaled slowly. "I suppose even gods need guidance. Or at least structure."
Thor smiled at that.
Once Thor was settled under Charles's supervision, Rowan headed straight for the combat simulation wing. He hadn't slept, but exhaustion could wait.
He spent the entire night working.
By dawn, it was finished.
A wand formed from a branch of the World Tree, its core bound with remnants taken from the Frost Giant King's heart. It felt alive in his hand, heavy with purpose. He gave it an experimental flourish and nodded to himself.
"This feels right."
The alloy magic rings were efficient, convenient, clean. But they lacked something. A wand demanded intention. Movement. Ceremony. It made magic feel like magic again.
He raised it.
"Lumos."
Light exploded from the tip, far brighter than anything he'd cast before. Not illumination, but a miniature sun.
Rowan squinted. "That's… about twenty-five times stronger."
Strong enough to blind an unprotected person instantly. Satisfied, he stored the wand away and finally returned to his room. A shower, a bed, and darkness followed.
Just as sleep claimed him, the pain arrived.
White-hot. Familiar.
He barely had time to brace before his consciousness split again.
Memories flooded in.
Academy City.
Espers.
Misaka Mikoto.
Mass production.
The Level Six Shift.
Designation: Misaka 9981.
A world governed by science instead of magic. A city built entirely for research, education, and experimentation. Millions of students. Drugs, conditioning, electrical stimulation, and data-driven training to unlock abilities buried in the brain.
Most failed.
Level Zero.
The clone he now remembered being was one of many. Created from stolen genetic material. Grown in weeks. Educated by machines. Assigned a number instead of a name.
Two hundred thousand yen per unit.
Disposable.
The original plan had failed. Thousands of copies could not equal one true Level Five. So the experiment changed. The clones became fuel for something worse.
Rowan lay still as the memories settled.
Another world.
Another self.
Another debt waiting to be paid.
Sleep finally took him.