The Observatory felt different now. Quieter. Like, even the cosmic machinery was holding its breath.
Dean watched his teammates spread out across the crystal chamber, each dealing with what they'd just witnessed in their own way. Snow from dead Asgard was still melting off Valkyrie's armor, leaving dark puddles on the floor.
Nobody talked at first. What was there to say? Hey, sorry your entire world got eaten by nothingness?
Blink found a spot on the steps beneath the floating timeline crystals and started cleaning her cracked daggers. The sound of metal on stone echoed in the silence.
Khan slowly shrank back to normal size and slumped against a pillar, staring at her scorched scarf like it might have answers. The fabric was singed from fire demons, but she clutched it anyway.
Nathaniel perched on a railing, his armor still cooling down with little hissing sounds. He ran diagnostics without looking up, fingers dancing over holographic displays that painted his face blue.
Valkyrie paced. Back and forth, back and forth, like a caged wolf. Her eyes kept drifting to the windows showing stars that weren't hers anymore.
Dean exhaled slowly. The weight of it all—watching a world die, pulling someone from the wreckage—settled on his shoulders like a heavy coat.
"Okay," he said to nobody in particular. "That happened."
His system pulsed gently in his vision, and he couldn't help but check it.
[Karmic Battery: +25 Units]
[Action: Defended realm against extinction-level threat while saving a potential exile]
[Total Charge: 75/100 (Tier-0)]
Seventy-five points. Three-quarters of the way to something he still didn't understand. The number should have made him happy—they'd saved someone, fought the good fight. But all he could think about was everything they hadn't saved.
"Seventy-five," he murmured, then shook his head. Numbers felt stupid right now.
Curiosity got the better of him, and he opened his Power Share tab. Valkyrie's name appeared in the list, and he synced with her abilities out of habit.
[ALLY-BONDED: VALKYRIE (BRUNNHILDE)]
[ACCESS UNLOCKED: SHARED ABILITY LINK -- TIER-0: Asgardian Heritage]
New traits appeared in his vision:
Asgardian Durability (Tier-0)All speak (Tier-0)
He flexed his hand experimentally. Too hard—a small metal artifact lying nearby crumpled like tinfoil.
"Great. Asgardian strength doesn't come with an instruction manual," he muttered.
Then he heard something weird. Whispering. From a nearby crystalline artifact that definitely hadn't been talking before. And somehow, impossibly, he understood every word.
"Ancient Kree dialect?" he said, blinking in surprise. The artifact was basically gossiping about the last time someone had cleaned it properly. "That's... actually pretty useful."
A pause. "I really hope this doesn't include animal languages. I'm not ready to understand space pigeons."
"Thy gaze is heavy with thought. Speak it."
Dean turned. Valkyrie had stopped pacing and was watching him with those intense blue eyes.
He stood up, brushing off his pants. "Just getting used to the idea that people like you bleed for places you'll never see again."
She didn't flinch. Didn't look away. "A realm may fall, but oaths endure. Even across the stars."
Before Dean could respond, footsteps echoed across the chamber. Nick Fury emerged from the shadows beneath the main crystal, his coat billowing behind him like he was starring in his own action movie.
The team gathered around him without being asked. Even Valkyrie stopped pacing.
"You gave Surtur a choice he didn't expect," Fury said, hands clasped behind his back. "That's rare. For a god or a monster."
Blink wiped down one of her daggers. "We didn't win. We just delayed the inevitable."
Fury's voice was steady, matter-of-fact. "In a war where time itself is dying, delay is victory. You bought that world an extra few minutes. Some people got to say goodbye."
He turned to Dean, and his single eye seemed to look right through him. "Your power's versatility is something else. Evolving with every decision you make."
Dean nodded. "Every time I help someone, it grows stronger. Plus, I've watched a lot of anime, so creativity isn't exactly my weak point."
"Keep that attitude," Fury said. "You're going to need it."
Later, in the Observatory's resting chamber, artificial dusk settled over them. Nathaniel had configured the base controls to give them something that felt like evening—soft light, cooler air, the illusion of a day ending.
Khan sat next to Valkyrie on one of the crystal benches, holding out half of what looked like the universe's most depressing protein bar.
"It's terrible," Khan said cheerfully. "But it's yours if you want it. My Earth's Finest processed nutrition."
Valkyrie took it without comment, though Dean caught the tiny smile that tugged at her lips.
Blink approached him, holding one of her cracked daggers. The blade had a spiderweb of fractures running through it from the fight.
"Fix it," she said simply. "I know you've been watching how."
Dean took the weapon, feeling its weight. The cracks told a story—this blade had seen real battles, saved real lives. "Give me some time. I'll figure it out."
She nodded and walked away. No thanks needed. They were teammates now. That's what teammates did.
Later still, Dean found himself back on the ledge overlooking the Space.
His system glowed softly in the corner of his vision. [Karma: 75], pulsing with potential he couldn't quite grasp yet.
"Twenty-five more," he said to the empty air. "Then we find out what the universe gave me this power for."
Behind him, he could hear the others settling in for the night. Blink, humming some pop song from her world. Nathaniel's armor powering down with little electronic sighs. Khan's quiet footsteps as she made her evening patrol of the Observatory.
And underneath it all, the steady whisper of cosmic machinery, spinning new possibilities.
Dean closed his eyes. He wasn't tired yet, just thinking. About worlds that died and worlds that might still be saved. About the weight of power and the price of heroism.
About the fact that soon, they'd do it all over again.
"Bring it on," he whispered.
The universe, as always, said nothing back. But Dean was pretty sure it was listening.