Chapter 143

  The next five days passed quickly.

  Alexander spent most of them with Julia. Dinners became routine, each one at a new location while exploring the station. One afternoon, she’d convinced him to try a zero-g sport that pitted three teams against each other in a strange mixture of dodgeball and space soccer. It required a combination of cunning strategy and physical prowess, not to mention exploiting the natural gifts of many of the aliens that played it.

  They won, barely, and only by cheating.

  Which was also part of the game.

  It was easy between them. Comfortable, despite the weight of circumstances and their strange reality still lingering. They were taking it slow, but things felt natural between them anyway. They’d already talked about how they’d stay in touch once they returned to Earth. The details would work themselves out.

  The UEG military contingent had arrived three days ago, more than a week after the crisis had started. With all the gates either closed or engaged in peaceful negotiations, they hadn’t found themselves needed. Regardless, the UEG negotiated the permanent placement of a superhero unit on the station with the Galactic Council.

  Kipleth, the Station Master, had delivered on his word. His people had dropped off the shield emitter technology at the ship one day when he returned from another evening with Julia. The package came with the complete specifications, technical documentation that went far deeper than anything he’d expected, and even included three sample emitters in varying configurations.

  The technology was sophisticated, elegant in its design. He’d spent much of the following day studying the principles before Julia had finally dragged him away from his workbench.

  It would take time before he worked out how to scale the emitters down for personal use. Or up, to be incorporated into the Sleipnir’s defense systems. Perhaps even for the lair. But he was confident he could manage the energy requirements either way.

  Felix and Maya were nearly inseparable for days after the medical center discharged her. He introduced her to Grimnir with the delight of a kid bringing home their best friend, and despite expecting some awkwardness, Maya had turned out to be almost as charismatic and easygoing as Augustus. She’d fit in naturally at the two lunch events Grimnir put together, easily connecting with crew and supervillain alike.

  Felix mentioned to Alexander after a few days that Maya was thinking about returning to Earth. She’d been working security on The Nexus for many years now, but she was asking about what Earth was like these days, whether it had changed much since she left. She wasn’t ready to go now, but the idea was there.

  And Felix hadn’t asked yet, but Alexander had a feeling Maya might find her way to joining the steadily growing chaos that was Grimnir. One day.

  Annie spent most of her time with Cash. Alexander wasn’t entirely sure what to make of their growing friendship, but he’d chosen to take the high road rather than return fire for her relentless teasing about Julia.

  Meanwhile, Augustus spent the remaining days meeting up with the military superheroes and wizards from the Empire of Stars gateway. From what Alexander gathered, Augustus had even traded magical knowledge with some of the more stubborn archmages.

  Talia rarely left the ship, even while it was being worked on. If it were anyone else, Alexander might have been worried, but she had thrown herself into organizing their knowledge about powers, the System, and their study of early improvements into lessons following his proposal of a training course for their new members.

  Of course, knowing Talia, he was half expecting to find out the entire thing was ready any day now.

  As for the crew, they had shore leave while the ship was being worked on. Every member of the crew opted for patience regarding their quest reward. Gilly, too. The decision was too important to rush, and the promise of a serum motivated even the most impatient to wait.

  For the rest of Grimnir, it was less an act of patience and more a worry about how to optimize their free skill. As with everything System-related, they were facing a lack of information and transparency, but each of them understood that the reward could give them a considerable boost in ability.

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  All they had to do was figure out what kind of skill might best suit them, and how to game the System into giving them exactly what they wanted. The one positive was that there didn’t seem to be a timer on when they could claim it.

  Alexander was leaning toward something that would give him the ability to multitask more efficiently. Managing the empowered drones, wielding each of his powers in combat, flying, Hyperawareness, and cycling or faux-cultivating Electrokinesis throughout his body via the Core… was simply too much at once. Switching between options kept it manageable for now, but he wanted more.

  They’d agreed to work it out after returning home. Still, it didn’t stop most conversations from turning to theorycrafting options.

  The ship repairs had finished that morning. Carmen reported the Sleipnir fully operational, the ablative armor replaced and several modifications made to ensure the vessel no longer matched its original design exactly. They were small changes, but enough to make identification less certain if anyone came looking again. The Nexus had covered the costs as promised.

  Which meant it was time to leave.

  An hour later, Alexander stood outside the Sleipnir’s docking tube. The area had filled with people who’d come to see them off. Maximilian stood near the front with Julia beside him. Draven, Cash, and Raelene had gathered nearby. Hjordis towered over most of the group, flanked by Sven and Lars. Mirror stood slightly apart, but kept close to the Throne of Scales.

  Alexander crossed the short distance to Julia. She met him halfway.

  “I’ll be looking forward to hearing from you,” he said, cupping her face.

  “I’ll message you when we get back. Try not to get into too much trouble.”

  “No promises.”

  They stayed like that for a moment, just looking at each other. Then he leaned in and kissed her gently. She kissed him back, one hand coming up to rest against his chest.

  Someone whistled. Loud and sharp.

  Hjordis.

  Alexander pulled back, smiling despite himself. Julia’s cheeks had colored slightly, but she was smiling too.

  He glanced around and realized the others had already finished their goodbyes. Annie stood near Augustus, grinning like she’d just won something. Talia was already waiting by the tube, along with Felix in his natural form.

  They were all watching him.

  Alexander looked back at Julia. She squeezed his hand once more before letting go, and they walked together toward the waiting group.

  He stopped in front of Hjordis first. The warrior woman stood with her arms crossed, with the same intense expression he remembered from combat.

  “Thanks for the lesson. I’m glad I got to meet you,” Alexander said, then nodded toward Sven and Lars. “All of you. Feel free to reach out if you ever need an assist, and you don’t mind a supervillain’s help.”

  Hjordis’s expression softened. She held out her hand.

  Alexander took it.

  She nodded once, then released his hand. Sven raised a hand in farewell. Lars gave a small nod.

  Alexander turned to the others. Maximilian, Cash, Draven, Raelene. Julia had moved to stand beside them.

  “It was fun fighting alongside you again,” Alexander said.

  Cash grinned. “So what are you billing us for this time?”

  Alexander smiled. “Nothing this time. I stuck Councilor Marcus with it.”

  Laughter rippled through the group. Even Maximilian’s mouth twitched, the closest thing to a smile Alexander had seen from him.

  Alexander held out his hand to Maximilian.

  The Dragon Lord shook it firmly.

  “I’ve been thinking about the prophecy,” Alexander said.

  Maximilian raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

  “I understand we can’t stop what’s coming,” Alexander continued. “But I’ve been wondering if we can’t at least stack the deck a bit. We might not know who’s going to become one of these so-called divines, but maybe we can make sure certain people won’t.”

  Maximilian studied him for a long moment. Understanding flickered across his expression. “It might work.” A pause. “Of course, we have no way of knowing if the predictions have already taken that into account.”

  “Nothing is ever certain,” Raelene said. “The future isn’t fixed. It’s just that some things are far more likely than others.”

  Maximilian glanced at Raelene. “We also don’t know the timeline, but we’re working under the assumption that we only have somewhere between six months and two years.”

  Alexander nodded. “Well, it was just a thought.”

  He headed to where the rest of Grimnir were waiting, then turned back.

  “We should meet up on Astra Omnia when this thing starts happening for real,” Alexander said. “Share notes. Coordinate.”

  Maximilian shared a look with Hjordis. “We’ll reach out.”

  Alexander nodded, smiled at Julia one last time, then followed the others onto the ship.

  The airlock cycled closed behind them with a heavy thunk, the familiar hum of the Sleipnir’s systems around them.

  Carmen stood waiting in the main corridor, arms crossed.

  “Flight plan’s filed,” she said. “We’re cleared for departure whenever you’re ready.”

  Alexander looked around at the others. Annie was still smiling about whatever had amused her during the goodbyes. He had a feeling he’d be hearing about it soon.

  “Good. Let’s head home.” Alexander turned back to Carmen. “We just need to take a little detour along the way…”

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