It had been a week since Ororo and Anna had made their "debut," and Jupiter sat cross-legged on his bed, staring at the glowing tablet screen in front of him. Both of them had gone viral, news clips, interviews, blurry phone videos, entire threads dedicated to analyzing their powers and how they appeared out of nowhere. "Apostles of Jupiter," they were being called. The phrase had spread across social media like wildfire, half awe and half confusion.
He scrolled absently through the latest coverage. A photo of Ororo and Ghost Spider fighting side by side made him pause. Ororo was smiling, laughing even, in the middle of battle, wind whipping around her like she owned the sky. Apparently, the two had become fast friends after cleaning up what was left of the Sinister Six's mess.
He didn't say it aloud, but he was definitely jealous.
In his previous life, he'd been a massive Spider Man fan, watched every movie, read the comics, even debated which version was strongest. Now, he was sitting here, a literal god, and Ororo was hanging out with a Spider Verse character while he wasn't. He exhaled through his nose, setting the tablet down beside him with a faint thud. "Unbelievable," he muttered. "I plan, and she gets to team up with Ghost Spider."
Still, something good had come out of it. Their emergence, two apostles appearing in completely different corners of the world, had sparked global curiosity. The internet was flooded with questions. Who is the god Jupiter?Is this the Roman god Jupiter reborn?How is he different from Zeus? Religious scholars, historians, and conspiracy theorists were all arguing about him. His name was everywhere.
And that wasn't just good for his ego, it had a very real effect.
He pulled up his interface, the glowing blue text hovering above his palm.
Template Identified: Lostbelt Zeus [Ω Class Machine God]
Assimilation Progress: 83.7%
Basic Assimilation: Divine Core of a Chief God – Rank A
83.7% Assimilated of Proper Human History Zeus
Jupiter smirked. "Eighty three point seven," he muttered, leaning back against the wall. "Guess I'm catching up fast." The progress felt good, reassuring even. Every percentage meant his connection to the divine grew stronger, his understanding deeper. But that same progress came with a shadow.
The higher his assimilation climbed, the louder the cosmos became. He could feel it, attention, divine awareness, something old and powerful brushing against his existence. The other gods were beginning to notice him.
He frowned slightly, the thought sobering his pride. "If they're starting to wake up, then we don't have time." His gaze flicked toward the ceiling, as if staring through it toward the stars. "Zeus won't ignore this much longer. And when he moves… it won't be subtle."
He rubbed the back of his neck, thinking. He'd told Ororo and Anna to stay cautious, to avoid drawing too much attention, but it was already too late. They were all over the news. The entire world knew their names. And if humans knew, then so did the divine.
He needed allies. Real ones.
Jupiter stood, stretching slightly as he paced the small room. "I need to reach Thor," he said quietly, the name carrying a certain weight. Out of all the gods he could approach, Thor was the most reasonable, or at least, the least likely to try vaporizing him on sight. If he could convince Thor, then Asgard might follow.
That was the best path forward. A dangerous one, but still the best.
–––
Jupiter sat comfortably in Charles Xavier's office, legs crossed, posture casual. The professor's calm composure, however, cracked slightly as he repeated what he'd just heard. "You'll be doing what?"
"I'll be going to a school in the city for a few weeks," Jupiter said lightly, flashing an amused grin. "Thought I'd let you know, just in case one of your students decides to tag along or vanish mid-class. Wouldn't want anyone thinking I abducted them." He waved a hand dismissively, as if this were nothing more than a grocery run.
Charles exhaled slowly and pinched the bridge of his nose, already feeling the start of a headache. "You do realize that you draw attention wherever you go, yes? It's not exactly easy to explain when a self-proclaimed god shows up in the middle of New York."
"That's kind of the point," Jupiter replied, leaning back in his chair. "The more visible I am, the faster certain people, or rather, certain gods, notice me. It saves me time."
"Ah, efficiency through chaos," Charles muttered dryly. "Truly divine."
Jupiter only smirked.
After a pause, Charles's tone softened. "Speaking of your… divine messengers. After you sent Anna to Nepal, she's been spending almost every waking moment in the Danger Room. She said she's trying to get stronger."
Jupiter blinked, his expression unreadable for a moment. "I see." He stood slowly, slipping his hands into his coat pockets. "Show me."
Charles gave a small nod, maneuvering his wheelchair toward the door. "Follow me."
They made their way through the hallways of the mansion, the quiet hum of distant voices filling the air until they reached the elevator that descended to the lower levels. The metallic doors slid open, and Jupiter stepped inside, glancing down at the professor. "You know," he said, "for someone who calls this a 'school,' you've got more advanced tech down here than most governments."
The elevator opened, revealing the gleaming silver walls of the sublevels, cold, clinical, yet undeniably impressive. Charles led the way down the corridor as the sound of metal sliding and energy bursts echoed faintly from beyond.
"I didn't know you had all this under here," Jupiter said, his tone a mix of curiosity and faint amusement as his eyes traced the panels and heavy blast doors. "You could start a small war with this setup."
"Let's hope it never comes to that," Charles replied, his expression solemn. "The Danger Room exists to prepare them for the worst. Not to start it."
"Preparation and war are two sides of the same coin," Jupiter murmured, his voice low but thoughtful. "You prepare long enough, and one day you'll realize you've been fighting all along."
Charles didn't respond, only gave him a quiet look before turning back toward the heavy training room doors. The faint rumble of combat simulations grew louder.
"Anna's in there?" Jupiter asked.
"Yes," Charles said quietly. "And she's not holding back."
The steel screens slid open with a hiss, revealing the scene inside. Anna was mid-flight, hair whipping wildly, arcs of lightning crackling faintly around her arms as she struck at multiple drones. Her movements were sharp, precise, and far more refined than when Jupiter had last seen her. Every hit landed with calculated power; there was no wasted motion.
Jupiter watched in quiet surprise. She had taken the fragment of divinity he'd granted her, the pseudo authority he'd woven into her soul, and made it her own. He expected her to grow stronger, but this was different. She wasn't just borrowing his power anymore. She was evolving it.
He could sense it clearly now: a faint divinity radiated from her core, raw but stable, like a heartbeat echoing in the air. She was crossing the line between mortal and divine, a nascent Apotheosis. If he were to quantify it using the Fate profile system, her divinity would already be a B rank.
"I'll talk to her," Jupiter said finally, breaking the silence.
Charles nodded once, his gaze following Jupiter's. "She's been pushing herself harder every day. Just… be careful how you phrase things."
"Don't worry, Professor," Jupiter said with a faint grin, "I'm good with words."
Charles gave him a look that suggested he doubted that entirely, but said nothing as he shut off the simulation. The holographic drones froze, then disintegrated into motes of light. The room dimmed.
Anna blinked, confusion flashing across her face as she landed lightly on her feet. "What the—why'd everything stop?" she muttered before spotting Jupiter approaching.
Her expression shifted instantly, irritation melting into a grin. "Well, if it ain't the man himself," she said, brushing a strand of hair from her face. "Hey, sugar. You come to check up on me?"
Jupiter chuckled softly, folding his arms. "Something like that."
Anna tilted her head, brow raised. "You got that look. Don't tell me I broke somethin'."
"Not exactly," he said, his tone casual but edged with interest. "You kinda swallowed my connection to you."
Her eyes widened. "I did what now?"
Jupiter gestured vaguely, trying to simplify what even he knew was a complex divine phenomenon. "Your body absorbed the gift I gave you. Instead of channeling my power like before, you made it your own. You're not borrowing divinity anymore, you've created your own version of it."
Anna blinked, trying to process that. "So… lemme get this straight. You're sayin' I went and turned into some kinda mini god without even meanin' to?"
"Pretty much," Jupiter said, smiling faintly. "A pseudo divine entity, technically. If someone looked at you with the right kind of vision, they might mistake you for the vessel of a god, or a demi god in your own right."
She stared at him, lips parting slightly. "Well… that's new." She laughed lightly, rubbing the back of her neck. "Guess that explains why my powers've been actin' up lately. Feels like I could tear the sky open if I ain't careful."
Jupiter smirked. "Yeah, that would do it."
For a moment, silence lingered between them, filled only by the faint hum of the machinery around them.
"But that's not what I came to talk about," Jupiter said at last, his tone shifting back to casual. "I wanted to let you know I'm heading to New York. There's someone I need to meet."
Anna frowned slightly. "New York? You mean that place that's always gettin' attacked by somethin'? You sure you ain't just lookin' for trouble?"
Jupiter grinned. "Trouble tends to find me either way. Might as well pick the battlefield."
She huffed a small laugh. "Guess that's fair."
"While I'm gone," he continued, his voice softening, "I want you and Ororo to watch each other's backs. You two are gonna draw attention, especially now that you're both making waves. The gods will start to notice."
Anna's expression sobered. "You think they'll come after us?"
"I think they'll come after me," Jupiter admitted. "But you're part of my circle now. That makes you a target by association."
Anna crossed her arms, her earlier grin fading into something far more resolute. "Then let 'em come. Ain't the first time someone's tried to take me down."
Jupiter couldn't help but smile at that, a quiet, genuine expression that came from something deeper than amusement. "That's what I like to hear," he said, the pride in his tone subtle but unmistakable. He turned slightly, glancing around the now-silent training room, the faint smell of ozone still lingering in the air. "Keep training, Anna. If you keep at it, you might become one of the Dii Consentes, or, more commonly, an Olympian."
Anna's eyes flickered with surprise, then something softer, hope, maybe, or awe. "An Olympian?" she repeated, almost to herself, as if trying to picture what that meant. She slowly took off one of her gloves, her movements deliberate.
Jupiter noticed immediately. Without a word, he removed his own glove, understanding the gesture. When her hand brushed against his, the faint hum of power between them pulsed gently, a reminder of the bond that connected them, divine and human all at once.
"So," she said quietly, her voice carrying a hint of wonder beneath her usual confidence, "I'll be just like you?"
The question caught Jupiter off guard. It wasn't the words themselves, it was the way she said them, like the idea of being like him meant something more than power. It stirred something he hadn't felt in a long time.
"Kinda," he replied after a pause, his voice lower, more thoughtful. "You'd become a genuine god, yeah. It'll just take time. Maybe a long time. Or maybe you'll adapt faster. You've already surprised me more than once."
Anna smiled faintly at that, but instead of stepping back, she leaned closer. Their foreheads met lightly, her temple pressing against his. The gesture was unplanned, instinctive, almost humanly intimate despite everything divine surrounding them.
Jupiter stiffened slightly, not because he wanted to move away, but because he didn't know how to react. This closeness made him feel unsteady in a way that nothing else had.
He tried to play it off, keeping his tone steady even as his heart beat faster. "You really don't do personal space, do you?" he said with a faint, amused exhale.
Anna grinned, her voice soft but teasing. "Not when I'm curious."
If Jupiter was being honest with himself, he hadn't anticipated this at all. In truth, he wasn't sure how to handle it. He hadn't had a moment like this since before his death in his previous life, back when he was just a nervous middle schooler with too much imagination and not nearly enough confidence. That life had ended just two years after his fourteenth birthday, and the version of him that had existed back then wouldn't have even known how to hold eye contact, let alone handle something like this.
Now, though, with the weight of divinity behind him, everything felt both familiar and foreign. The confidence he carried wasn't born from experience, it was something he built, piece by piece, a mix of necessity and instinct. Half bluff, half belief. But right now, standing this close to Anna, he wasn't sure which side of him was winning.
She pulled back slightly, her eyes meeting his. "You look like you're thinkin' real hard for once," she teased lightly, but there was warmth in her tone. "You okay?"
Jupiter smiled faintly, forcing himself to relax. "Yeah," he said softly. "Just… remembering something." His gaze drifted for a moment before he murmured, "Now you've got me contemplating. Such an annoying tease." His hand brushed against her hip, half to steady her, half to pull her away, but it lingered just a second longer than it should have.
Anna's lips curled into a half smile. "Oh, you like it," she said, tilting her head. "Don't act like you don't."
Before he could reply, a cough echoed through the room. Both of them turned, and there was Charles, looking like someone who'd just walked in on a conversation he regretted overhearing.
"Maybe you two should be somewhere more private," Charles said, his tone a careful blend of dry amusement and polite disapproval.
Jupiter laughed quietly, letting go of Anna and stepping back. "Why did you have to ruin our great moment?" he asked, half teasing, half genuine.
"Because I'd rather not feel responsible for whatever follows," Charles said with that faintly weary sigh of his.
"Yeah, yeah," Jupiter muttered, shaking his head before turning toward the door. "I'll see you later, Anna."
"Yeah," she said softly, still smiling, though a little downcast. "See ya."
He gave her one last glance before leaving. The moment lingered in her mind longer than she wanted to admit, his warmth, that look in his eyes that always seemed to carry more than he said aloud.
Jupiter didn't think about it much once he was gone. He rarely did. Feelings, to him, were puzzles, things to be understood, not lived in. Even with Anna, even with Ororo, his mind dissected affection like it was a theory he couldn't quite prove.
He landed outside his house, the quiet of the night meeting him like an old friend. As he pushed open the door, Sprite was already there, leaning on the armrest of the couch, eyes glued to the TV.
"Yo," Jupiter greeted casually.
"Yo," Sprite echoed, not looking up.
"You intend to stay longer?" Jupiter asked as he walked in, pulling off his jacket.
That got her attention. She raised an eyebrow, expression guarded. "Why, you want me to leave?"
"What? No, of course not," Jupiter said, holding up his hands defensively. "Actually, I was gonna ask if you could stay a bit longer. And I mean a bit longer as in the rest of the year."
Sprite blinked, frowning. "What?"
He scratched the back of his head. "This year's gonna be busy. And Mom's gonna be here alone. I don't want that. So, I was hoping you could stay. Keep her company, keep an eye on things."
Her expression softened, though she tried to hide it. "You're serious."
"Yeah," he said quietly, meeting her eyes. "You're the only one I trust enough to ask."
She looked away, exhaling through her nose. "Damn. You really know how to make it hard to say no, huh?"
He smiled faintly. "I try."
"Fine," Sprite said, pretending to be reluctant. "But if I'm staying that long, you're buying the snacks."
"Deal," he said, chuckling.