"Point is—you've got time. Not much. But enough," she said. "If you want to stay in control of anything when Earth fully awakens? You need to recruit. Now. Build loyalty before they build warbands."
Then came the sound of a throat clearing.
And the universe quieted.
Parker hadn't moved.
But now they looked at him.
He stood slowly, casual in a way that made every immortal cell in the room flinch.
His voice? Light. Polished. Almost amused.
"I saved Earth," he said, like it was a weather report. "Gave it a gift. The Awakening. A chance to fight back, should something—anything—try to take it again."
He glanced upward, as if addressing some vast, silent thing coiled in space.
"But you know humans," he continued. "Complicated. Selfish. Hilarious. Beautiful. Dangerous. All wrapped in one. You never know when one… or a few thousand… decide they're done with the planet and want to take it out with them."
He shrugged.
