Jupiter gazed up at the sky, eyes tracing the fading streak of energy that marked Anna's departure. The horizon was still tinged faintly green from her aura, shimmering against the clouds before it vanished completely. His expression softened for a moment, almost contemplative, before the usual calm, calculating edge returned.
"Now," he murmured under his breath, "I need to talk to Thor."
The thought hung heavy in the air. It wasn't said with the eagerness of someone preparing for a reunion, but rather the resignation of someone who knew the path ahead would be complicated.
Thor.
It wasn't lost on Jupiter how strange that sounded. A god, not from his pantheon, but one who might be the closest thing to a kindred spirit in this world. Thunder and lightning, storms and skies, they shared a dominion, a title, and perhaps even a burden. But similarities rarely meant kinship. If anything, it meant rivalry.
Still, he needed him.
He turned his gaze toward the horizon again, eyes narrowing slightly as his thoughts grew heavier. "If Zeus from this world is anything like the one from the Lostbelt, then he's not going to tolerate my existence."
There was a faint crackle of lightning across his fingers, as if his body reacted to the thought itself. The very idea of another Zeus, one already established, powerful, worshiped, and territorial, made things complicated. He knew enough of Marvel's pantheon to understand what would happen once Olympus realized another self-proclaimed king of the gods was walking the Earth.
Conflict was inevitable.
"Once he notices me, he'll come," Jupiter muttered, his tone quiet, certain. "And when he does, Olympus will follow."
He took a slow breath, rubbing his thumb against his knuckles as though deep in thought. "I don't even know how many gods this Olympus has, or what state it's in, but it won't matter. I'll need allies."
The word allies felt strange in his mouth. He wasn't used to needing them. Not really.
And yet, this world was different. The divine here was fragmented, diminished, and the mortals were louder, more daring. Even gods needed strategy to survive.
"Thor's my best bet," he finally said aloud, more to himself than anyone else. "If I can reach him, convince him I'm not here to conquer his skies, maybe he'll bring me to Asgard. Then I can speak to Odin."
His lips curved into a faint smirk, though it didn't quite reach his eyes. "Convincing Odin to ally with me against Olympus, though, yeah, that'll be annoying."
He could already imagine the All-Father's piercing gaze, his endless caution, and the way he'd measure Jupiter like a threat before ever seeing him as a potential ally. Gods didn't trust easily, least of all those who'd already seen pantheons rise and fall.
Still, Jupiter wasn't one to shy away from the challenge.
He let out a small, amused breath, rolling his shoulders as faint streaks of lightning rippled across the clouds above. "Guess I better start figuring out how to get Thor's attention."
His tone shifted slightly, more casual, more human for a moment. "Hopefully, he's less of a headache than the rest of his family."
There was a pause, the faint hum of thunder echoing in the distance, before Jupiter smiled faintly to himself.
"Though knowing my luck," he muttered, turning toward the direction of the city again, "he'll probably try to hit me with that hammer first."
Ghost-Spider ducked just in time, narrowly avoiding a crushing fist from the rhino who charged at her with the subtlety of a bulldozer. She jumped back and landed lightly on the wall, arms spread for balance. "Wow, big guy, you almost hit me. Didn't know you were learning how to punch," she teased, flicking a web toward his face. "But your aim is pretty bad, baby steps, I guess."
Rhino snarled, charging again. Ghost-Spider leapt over him, shooting webs at both of his arms and yanking them upward, forcing his own fist into his jaw. He staggered, letting out a grunt as he hit the ground. "See? That's the horrible aim I was talking about. How did you hit yourself, man? You're dressed like a rhino, yet you're hitting yourself. Don't tell me you're as dumb as one too."
He roared as he rose to his feet, shaking off the blow. "I will crush you, you puny spider!"
"Really? Again?" she said, springing into the air, spinning mid-jump. "Didn't we do this yesterday? No new tactics?" Her words cut off midair as her spider sense flared. She froze, unable to move. A massive hand grabbed her, lifting her off her path and flinging her straight into Rhino.
Pain exploded across her body as she slammed near the side of a building, but she twisted midair and landed on her feet, rolling away to put distance between them. She looked up, catching sight of a new figure descending from the sky. "So you do have new tricks," she muttered through gritted teeth, squaring her shoulders.
"Not just new tricks, girly," came a calm, taunting voice. A bright flash of electricity streaked toward her, and she barely twisted out of the way. Falcon hovered in the air beside the figure, wings catching the light of the sun.
"You got damn right!" a second voice shouted as Ghost-Spider barely dodged a concussive blast that shook the ground beneath her. "Not the cowboy and the overcharged nightlight," she muttered under her breath, recognizing the attackers.
Her gaze widened as she realized the final piece of the puzzle: Doctor Octopus, mechanical arms spinning and reaching outward to corner her. "Wait… you guys all teamed up to face me?" she said, voice steady despite her rising panic. "Isn't this kinda sad? A whole bunch of grown men ganging up on one girl?"
Her words carried a sarcastic bite, her usual bravado masking the nervous tension building in her stomach. She crouched low, readying herself, spider-senses tingling in every direction. Each movement, each incoming attack, demanded precision. They were coordinating now, working as a unit, and Ghost-Spider knew she couldn't afford a single mistake.
"Bring it," she muttered, spinning a web line underfoot, eyes darting between Falcon in the air, Rhino charging again, and Doc Ock's whirling arms. "Let's see if teamwork really beats skill."
Her heart raced, adrenaline sharpening every sense. Even as she dodged, flipped, and weaved through the onslaught, her mind raced. They were fast, stronger, smarter together, but she had the advantage of instinct, agility, and unpredictability. Every move she made was calculated chaos.
"Who said one girl can't handle a whole team?" she whispered to herself with a sly grin, launching herself toward the nearest attack with a flurry of webs.
Ghost-Spider flipped through the air, letting her webs snap tight against Rhino's charging horns, pulling herself up and swinging over his head. She kicked one arm of Doc Ock aside mid-spin and landed lightly on the rooftop edge, breathing steady despite the pounding of her heart. Falcon dove past her, wings cutting through the wind as he fired a precision strike toward the building. She ducked, letting the blast strike the wall just a hair above her head.
"Not bad," she muttered under her breath, shooting webs to entangle one of Doc Ock's mechanical arms. She yanked hard, trying to throw him off balance, but the other three were closing in faster than she expected. Rhino had recovered, his eyes locked on her, charging with a terrifying roar. Falcon swooped low, firing again, while Electro's bolts crackled unpredictably across the rooftop.
She darted to the side, narrowly avoiding a lightning strike that scorched the tiles where she had just been. "Okay… okay, keep moving," she whispered, letting instinct guide her. She tried looping behind Doc Ock to take out the arms individually, but Falcon caught her angle, forcing her to vault higher.
Rhino slammed into the wall beside her, bricks scattering as she swung away with a web line. She twisted midair, aiming to kick back at Rhino, but he anticipated it this time, moving just in time to deflect her. "Argh!" she growled, landing awkwardly on the rooftop, nearly sliding off the edge.
Her chest heaved as she spun, realizing the team had started to box her in. Doc Ock's arms came at her from multiple directions, Electro's lightning zipped unpredictably, Falcon kept her in check from above, and Rhino's brute strength pressed her forward. She darted left and right, flipping over the edge, but every escape route seemed planned, every tactic countered.
"This… this isn't working," she muttered, webbing out only to find it shredded by Electro mid-flight. She landed with a thud, spinning to face all four of them. She was exhausted, her movements slightly slower than usual, her breaths coming fast.
Rhino charged again, and she barely leapt over him. Falcon swooped low, forcing her to land on a narrower part of the rooftop. Doc Ock's mechanical arms clamped the ledge behind her, and Electro fired a massive bolt that made her stumble forward. She rolled to regain balance, only to feel Rhino's fist slam into her side, sending her sprawling onto her back.
"Okay… not great," she muttered through gritted teeth, pushing herself up onto her elbows. She could see all four of them closing in, each attack coordinated, no gaps for her to exploit. Her usual confidence faltered slightly.
"What you gonna do now girl?" Shocker sneered, his grin wide as he eyed her cornered position.
"Let's just crush the spider," Rhino growled in his heavy Russian accent, stomping the ground as he advanced.
"Ah, ah, why would we do that when we just caught our prey? Let us enjoy it," Doc Ock interjected, his mechanical arms twitching in anticipation.
Just as he finished speaking, a bolt of lightning shot from the sky, hitting Rhino square in the chest and sending him crashing into the rooftop with a resounding thud.
The others looked toward Electro, expecting him to be responsible.
"Hey, don't look at me. It was her," Electro said, pointing upward. A woman with long white hair and dark skin floated above them, her eyes glowing faintly.
"Another hero? Great, now we have to deal with him too. Sandman, deal with her," Doc Ock barked, clearly annoyed.
Sand formed a massive arm, swinging toward her, but she moved faster than he could react, dashing down and scooping Ghost-Spider up to safety.
"Damn, she's fast," Sandman muttered, reforming from his own hand. "Now we have to deal with two, this is great."
"Just be careful, we don't know what abilities she has aside from lightning," Doc Ock said sharply, and the others nodded.
Ororo held Ghost-Spider steady against the side of a building, her calm aura grounding her. "Are you alright?" she asked.
Ghost-Spider nodded, her breath catching slightly. "Yeah, thank you. You really saved my ass back there."
Ororo's eyes flickered briefly skyward before returning to the girl in her arms. "I shouldn't be the one you should be thanking. I was merely sent here by the god Jupiter. It is him who you should be thanking."
Even as she spoke, Ororo knew the truth. Even before Jupiter had made her an apostle, she would never have been able to intercept the attack and save Ghost-Spider with such precision and speed.
"Like the Roman god? Has the Roman god taken an interest in me?!" Ghost-Spider asked almost excitedly, her tone jumping between disbelief and fascination. "Wait, so like— the gods are real? Does that mean he really cheated on his wife? And did all that stuff? Oh my god, that's insane! Do they all just hang out somewhere? Like a divine club or something?"
Ororo blinked, her expression remaining calm as she watched the girl continue her rapid-fire questioning. For someone who'd just barely escaped getting flattened by Rhino, Ghost-Spider's energy was almost impressive.
"I'll answer your questions after we deal with them," Ororo said evenly, her eyes flicking toward the man made of living electricity as he surged back into the fight. She raised her hand slightly, her gaze sharpening. When she looked at Electro, it wasn't just sight anymore, it was comprehension. She could feel the charge that made up his body, the unstable flow of power flickering through him like a heartbeat made of lightning.
"Found ya!" Electro shouted, his grin wide as he launched a massive bolt of energy toward them. The attack roared through the air, then suddenly disintegrated into harmless sparks mid-flight.
"Huh? What jus—" He didn't get to finish. The current that carried him through the air collapsed instantly, and he dropped like a stone.
Ororo descended in a smooth arc, catching him before he hit the ground. Her touch was calm, steady, but the moment she absorbed his energy field, the storm inside her crackled faintly, the air humming with quiet tension.
"It seems your lightning wasn't enough this time, Electro," Ghost-Spider said, landing beside her with a smirk as Ororo lowered the unconscious villain. Ghost-Spider quickly shot a web, wrapping him up tight before he could recover.
Before either of them could speak again, another concussive blast tore through the air. Both women leapt aside, the ground where they had stood erupting in a plume of debris.
"Two girlys," Shocker sneered, lowering his gauntlets. "One that doesn't know when to shut up—" he glanced at Ghost-Spider "—and then my type of lady," he said, looking Ororo over with a grin.
"One that's about to be dead," Falcon added, swooping down fast, his wings slicing through the air as he tried to grab Ghost-Spider off the ground. She rolled backward and flipped away from his reach.
"This is getting super creepy, Shocker," Ghost-Spider shot back, webbing toward a lamppost to swing around him. "Don't tell me you're the type to be a cowboy and a pedo—that's not exactly a great combo."
"What the hell are you talking about?!" he barked, firing off another concussive blast, which she narrowly dodged by twisting mid-air.
"See, denial," she said between flips. "Classic guilty move!"
"Why don't you shut up?" Shocker growled, firing another shot from his gauntlet.
"Because it annoys you," she grinned, flipping back toward Ororo's side, "and that's my favorite part."
Ororo glanced at her briefly, a faint smile ghosting across her face despite the chaos around them. "Focus, Ghost-Spider," she said softly, her tone carrying the authority of thunder. "They're regrouping."
"Yeah, yeah," Ghost-Spider muttered, webbing up a chunk of broken concrete. "Guess playtime's over."
Across from them, Doc Ock's mechanical arms retracted slightly, their metal claws twitching with restrained anticipation. "You've made quite the mess, ladies," he said, voice low and deliberate. "Now let's see how long you can keep it up."
"Do you think you can handle two?" Ororo asked just as from the building she was floating by she was hit by a hammer of sand. Ororo floated back slightly from the blow but was otherwise unharmed. "It seems she's more durable than we thought," Doc Ock murmured. "Rhino, Sandman, deal with her quickly."
Just as he said that, Rhino rushed out from the building he had been sent through. Running through the city with no care for civilians, Ororo didn't hesitate to save anyone in his path. She could feel the sand coming for her again, but the air around her intensified, forming a sharp field of wind that dispersed every grain before it could reach her.
Rhino stopped running and turned toward her with a grin. "Now you have to deal with me."
Ororo glanced between him and the man of sand. "You aren't a problem." The first strike hadn't been meant to injure, but this time she wasn't holding back.
She raised her hand, dark clouds gathering overhead. For a moment, the air went still—then she dropped her hand. Lightning followed the gesture like judgment from above, a bolt more powerful than any she had conjured since the sentinel. It struck toward Rhino with deafening force.
Before it could connect, Sandman moved his arm in front of him, intercepting the strike. His arm hardened instantly, the texture turning to stone as the lightning coursed through him. "She's too powerful!" Sandman grunted, his voice strained. "We need to get to the beach, now!"
Rhino didn't hesitate. He gave one last glare at Ororo before bolting down the street, his massive frame tearing through cars and streetlights, while Sandman reformed beside him, shifting into a rolling wave of grit as they retreated toward the coast.
Ororo quickly gave chase, her body cutting through the air like a streak of silver blue light. Part of her wanted to finish the fight right there, but the other part, the one that had carried the burden of leadership for years, knew she couldn't risk it. There were too many people below, too many lives to protect. She hoped Ghost Spider could handle the others long enough for her to end this quickly.
As she descended toward the shoreline, she could feel the storm responding to her emotions, lightning rippling through the clouds, thunder rolling like her heartbeat. She was still unfamiliar with the new level of strength Jupiter had given her; her control was sharp, but the raw output of her power felt unpredictable.
When she finally reached the beach, the sight made her tense. It was crowded, families, children, tourists all staring in confusion at the chaos spilling from the city. Ororo took a steadying breath, then projected her voice with enough authority to make the wind itself obey.
"Everyone leave the beach immediately! This area isn't safe!"
Her voice echoed across the sand, and though some hesitated, the urgency in her tone pushed most to flee. As the crowd scattered, Ororo focused her attention on Rhino, who was charging straight toward her. She moved first, a blur of motion and wind. Lightning flashed as she struck him head on, the impact sending him flying backward into the ocean with a thunderous crash.
The water hissed and bubbled around him. He'd be fine, she told herself. A creature like Rhino wouldn't go down that easily.
"You ruined everything!" Sandman's voice roared from behind her, the sound heavy with anger and frustration. "We had a plan, and now I'll crush you the same way we were gonna crush that spider freak!"
Ororo turned just in time to see him growing, massive, monstrous, his body expanding until it towered over the shoreline. The sand that had once formed his shape now spiraled like a living storm, and in moments, he stood the size of a kaiju, his voice shaking the very air.
She froze for a brief second, realizing the truth, he had been leading her here the entire time. The open terrain, the proximity to endless sand, it was perfect for him. She hadn't seen it. She'd been too focused on keeping civilians safe, too afraid of losing control of this newfound strength.
The realization stung, but there was no time for regret. The wind picked up, swirling around her as she lifted into the air, lightning flickering at her fingertips. "You won't touch another innocent," she said quietly, determination sharpening her tone.
Lightning in the sky became even more intense as Ororo closed her eyes, trying to remember that exact feeling, the divine, almost overwhelming sensation of when Jupiter had guided her hand and shaped the storm alongside her. That lightning had felt alive, charged with something beyond her comprehension, a power that wasn't just weather but divinity itself. Now, she tried to do the same, to breathe in the storm and let it answer her call.
The thunder roared again, deep and rolling like the growl of some ancient beast. Sandman wasn't waiting. His massive form twisted, and he sent a spiraling tornado of sand straight toward her. The air shimmered with grit and debris, a storm of dust and power that could have buried an entire block.
But as the thunder grew louder, the air around Ororo began to shift. The wind didn't just blow, it obeyed. It swirled around her like a living shield, a barrier of cutting air that tore through the sandstorm as if the elements themselves had turned against him.
Sandman narrowed his eyes, frustration flashing across his massive face as his attack was shredded to nothing. "You think a bit of wind is gonna stop me?" he shouted, his voice rumbling over the crashing waves.
Ororo didn't respond. Her focus was absolute now. Both of her hands rose slowly toward the heavens, her body glowing faintly with white-blue light. The air around her crackled, her hair floating in the static.
"You don't understand what you're facing," she said quietly, her voice calm but carrying with unnatural weight.
From below, Sandman's enormous hand surged up to crush her midair. She didn't move. The hand collided with the barrier of air and was instantly torn apart by the winds roaring around her. The pieces scattered like dust.
Sandman snarled, reforming the limb and slamming it down again, but this time, the clouds above broke. The lightning that followed wasn't normal. It didn't flicker, it hung in the air, threads of pure energy stretching between the storm and her outstretched fingers.
"This is Jupiter's lightning…" Ororo whispered, feeling that divine current pulse through her again.
For a moment, she could feel him, not his presence exactly, but a faint echo of his power, like the memory of warmth in the middle of a storm. She wasn't just commanding nature anymore. She was channeling something that had once been beyond her reach.
The sky exploded.
A colossal bolt of lightning descended, striking Sandman dead center. The impact sent a shockwave that shattered windows for blocks, the beach lighting up like day. His roar turned to a scream as the electricity coursed through his body, glassing portions of the sand beneath him, fusing parts of his form into hardened, molten rock.
When the light finally faded, Ororo hovered above him, breathing hard but steady, her eyes glowing faintly. Sandman struggled to reform, chunks of his body falling apart, his voice weak and fading.
"What... are you?" he rasped, barely holding himself together.
Ororo looked down at him, expression unreadable. "Someone who serves the god of the sky," she said softly, before the last spark of lightning in her hand faded into the air.
(I didn't mean for this chapter to be this long. I was hoping for around 1K words for each perspective, 1K for Anna and 1K for Ororo, but that's not how it turned out. So I guess the next chapter will be an Anna chapter!)