"Don't be in such a hurry, my old friend. That guy earlier, to prevent humanity from becoming a threat to him, used my powers to detonate all the nuclear weapons.
The world may be a lot safer now, but it's also at its most sensitive. I guarantee there are quite a few people watching our every move.
So, if we just disappear for a while, we can avoid a lot of unnecessary trouble."
On this point, Charles wasn't wrong. Because of Apocalypse, the whole world was in a delicate state. And this world didn't only have mutants—it also had all sorts of other superpowered beings.
So, the government and the media wouldn't keep their eyes on them forever. After all, New York had already been wrecked several times, and mutants had nothing to do with that.
"Fine, we'll go with your plan."
After hearing Charles's reasoning, Magneto had no real reason to object. In the end, he could only agree reluctantly.
After all, his youngest daughter was still alive—he didn't want to return to a life of hiding and fleeing. And to live freely, he needed this friend by his side. So, he could only grit his teeth and go along with it.
All in all, because of the previous battle and with Nick Fury's explanation, the governments had cooled off for now.
After all, Charles and Magneto had once again joined forces. Any group facing those two together would feel hopeless.
And with the world's nuclear arsenal depleted, countries were secretly restarting production and expanding stockpiles. So, for the time being, no one was jumping out to stir up trouble.
"Hoo... hoo..."
Tohka had no idea how everyone else was reacting. At the moment, she was back in her room, lying on her bed and snoring away. After all, the cleanup work wasn't her problem.
Honestly, she even felt a bit sorry for Egypt. Though, in fairness, while they lost three pyramids, they did gain a much larger and more luxurious one.
Whether it had any archaeological value, Tohka didn't care. It had been built by a guy from thousands of years ago—surely that made it special.
The next morning, Tohka groggily crawled out of bed and turned on her computer.
Looking at the news reports, the world was in a frenzy. Rumors were everywhere, and Tohka couldn't help but laugh—gods, ghosts, and monsters were being blamed left and right.
But all the leads pointed to that epic battle in Egypt. Unfortunately for the public, Apocalypse had cleared the area when rebuilding the pyramid, so no one outside of the core group really knew what had happened.
"Wow, that was so cool, Tohka! Did you hear about what happened in Egypt? That battle looked amazing!"
In the classroom, Spider-Kid excitedly rushed over to Tohka. He didn't know exactly what she'd gone through, but something told him she had been involved. After all, she'd vanished right when the nuclear situation hit Earth and only reappeared after the whole thing was over. His instincts said she had definitely played a part.
"Mm, it was alright. Good thing you didn't go, though—otherwise you probably would've ended up as cannon fodder."
Tohka wasn't joking. As things stood, Spider-Kid would've been dead meat if he'd gone. She couldn't say for sure about the future, but she definitely wouldn't bet on him surviving against Apocalypse.
That battle had left her shaken just thinking about it. Apocalypse was way too powerful—so much so that even with all of them combined, they couldn't break through his shield.
If it hadn't been for her inversed self or the Phoenix showing up, who knew what would've happened?
"Really? Next time something that awesome happens, be sure to invite me!" But Spider-Kid wasn't fazed at all. On the contrary, he was super enthusiastic and begged Tohka to include him next time.
Tohka looked at him speechlessly. Compared to the mature Spider-Man in the movies she'd seen, this kid was still way too green.
But maybe that was a good thing. If he were like the movie Spider-Man, Tohka wouldn't know how to talk to him.
"You... fine, let's go to class. Good luck, by the way."
Tohka gave him a tired glance and didn't bother continuing. According to superhero logic, every hero had a string of villains to deal with.
And since Spider-Kid was always swinging around New York, he had definitely made a lot of enemies. His peaceful days were probably numbered.
"Hello? Yeah, it's me… okay… I'll head over now."
Ignoring Spider-Kid, Tohka headed to class. But just then, she received a call from Nick Fury asking her to stop by after school—they had something to discuss.
Tohka didn't even hesitate to agree. After all, she was quite interested in the Tesseract. And her school life was pretty relaxed.
As for college, she wasn't concerned. America's Ivy League was wide open to her.
All she had to do was ask Tony, and he'd definitely find a way. Of course, she was just thinking about it. Of course, that was just a thought. She still wasn't sure if she actually wanted to go to college.
"Tch, seriously."
Spider-Kid watched as Tohka walked off while still on the phone. He had no idea what she was up to. But his attention was quickly diverted by someone else entering the room—a red-haired girl.
"Hey there, Mary Jane."
The two immediately hit it off. Ever since getting his powers, Spider-Kid had become much more confident. The nerdy bookworm vibe was completely gone. He even started showing off at school.
And with his decent looks, he was now just as popular as Harry. Naturally, his relationship with Mary Jane was getting closer and closer.
Tohka could only sigh and mutter in her head, Damn it, everyone's got someone except me.
Of course, if she really wanted, she could have suitors lining up around the block. After all, she wasn't just a beauty—she was also the heiress of a ridiculously rich family.
"I guess this is the place. Seriously though, why'd he set up the lab in New York? Shouldn't it be on that flashy flying battleship of his?"
After school, Tohka once again donned the armor Tony had made for her. While its combat power wasn't much in her eyes, it was super useful in the city.
At least she'd never gotten lost with it on. After some twists and turns, she finally arrived at a very well-hidden location. It was so discreet that even from the air, it was nearly impossible to spot.