[A/N]: The second goal for this week is 400 PowerStones. Comment, vote, and share if you're enjoying the chapter.
Jay sat in silence with Domino after teleporting the Cameron siblings back to Surfer's Paradise. The Savage Land base felt quiet. Too quiet. The waterfall crashed behind them, and Pterodactyls called in the distance. But inside, neither of them spoke.
The weight of what they'd just done sat between them heavily.
Jay stared at his hands. Heather's powers settled inside him. Now a part of his arsenal.
Domino's hand found his and squeezed.
"Even though we've got good intentions," she said quietly, her voice softened, "even though millions, hell, billions maybe, will benefit from this whole thing. It's still heavy as hell asking a sweet girl like Heather to give up her powers. To give up part of who she is."
Jay held her hand and squeezed back. "This never gets easy, babe. No matter how many times I've taken powers from people, the guilt stays. You just learn to carry it and live with the weight pressing down on you every damn day."
Domino hummed and leaned against him. Her head on his shoulder. They stayed like that. Minutes passing, but neither moving.
After a long moment, Jay stood.
"You rest here for now. I need to meet with Master to finalize the ritual proceedings."
Blue light flashed, and he was gone.
Kamar-Taj
Jay materialized in the ritual chamber. The space hummed with ancient power.
The Ancient One knelt before one wall, writing Sanskritic symbols in patterns of 108 words. Each character glowed with mystical energy as her brush moved. Connecting and forming intricate mandalas that pulsed with barely contained force. The air tasted like ozone and incense. The kind of magic that predated written language.
Sensing Jay's arrival, she turned and smiled.
"I trust you convinced Ms. Heather to agree?"
Jay's expression was heavy, and his shoulders tight. "The girl was too eager to help people. Even though it hurt, even though I could see her breaking inside, she gave up her power after listening to my plan. Watching her make that choice, taking what she offered, it was..." He stopped and shook his head.
The Ancient One stood and moved to him. Her hand settled on his shoulder with understanding in her ancient eyes.
"Well, the ritual's preparations are almost complete. But you still need a medium to open a portal to Gaea's domain. And take it from my experience, without Franklin's power, you're still not ready to handle the raw force of the Space Stone, which to use to open a portal to an Elder God's domain."
Jay heard this and felt the truth of it. He'd been incredibly powerful with Franklin's reality-warping abilities. Almost untouchable.
"Well, it's a good thing the one month's time is finnaly up."
The Ancient One's expression shifted as concern bleeding through her serene mask. "Please, this time don't antagonize the Allfather too much! You've already threatened his wife and humiliated him in front of his entire court. Push any further and even Odin's patience will break. And when an Allfather's patience breaks, worlds burn."
Jay laughed. The sound carrying more bravado than confidence. "I'll be on my best behavior. Scout's honor."
Blue light enveloped him as he vanished.
The Ancient One stared at the empty space, sighed, returned to her symbols and prayed quietly that her student's definition of "best behavior" wouldn't start another war.
Royal Court of Asgard
Jay appeared at the center of the royal court. Right in the middle of a meeting between Odin and his ministers. The moment reality folded around him, warriors reacted. Weapons pointed, spears raised, and bodies moving toward the intruder with trained precision.
Jay sighed and lifted his hand to snap his fingers.
"HALT!"
Odin's voice didn't rise, but the command carried weight that made reality itself pause. Everyone froze mid-motion. Warriors with spears raised. Ministers with mouths open. One courtier caught mid-stumble. All held perfectly still by the Allfather's Odin Force pressing down on them like a physical weight.
But the intruder moved freely. Unaffected and looking around at the frozen tableau with growing amusement.
Only then did they recognize him. Jay, the mortal who'd humiliated the Allfather. Who'd brazenly demanded payment and blindside-robbed him and threatened the Queen herself. Their collective hatred was palpable even through the enforced stillness.
Jay, seeing their frozen positions, their twisted expressions, their weapons pointed uselessly at him, laughed. "HAHA! I really needed this, Allfather! Thanks! Your hospitality has certainly improved since last time!"
Odin's jaw tightened as a vein pulsed in his temple. "Everyone, leave!"
The court emptied. Warriors backing out and ministers scurrying. No one wanted to witness whatever came next. As the doors boomed shut, only the Allfather and the mortal remained.
Jay, seeing them finally alone, grinned. "Queen Frigga isn't here to greet me? And where's my dear friend Thor? I was hoping for the whole family reunion experience."
Odin studied Jay. His single eye seeing beyond flesh, beyond power, into the fundamental nature of the being before him and confirming what he'd suspected. That wellspring of power inside Jay. He had been hiding his true strength during their first encounter very cleverly. The kind of deception Odin himself would employ.
He thanked the Norns he hadn't taken rash action back then. This mortal was dangerous, even diminished.
"Your antics last time caused my wife to fall ill with grief, and now she's resting in her chamber. As for Thor, since the Bifrost has been repaired, he's busy going around the Nine Realms to stabilize the upheaval that's been caused by its destruction and by your broadcast to the whole Cosmos."
Jay nodded but impatience bled through his casual demeanor. "King Odin, last time you made a promise to me. I have come to claim it now that the month's deadline is finally up."
Odin stood from his throne and slammed Gungnir against the golden floor. The sound rang like a bell, and space folded.
Both were teleported instantly.
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