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"Pā!"
The sharp sound of the slap echoed through the abandoned factory grounds.
Jane's palm had landed squarely against Jack's cheek.
For several seconds, everything around them seemed to fall silent.
Even the nearby police officers appeared momentarily stunned. Darcy's eyes widened, and Ian stood frozen where he was, staring at Jane and Jack as though he had suddenly witnessed something completely unbelievable.
Jack slowly turned his head back toward Jane.
His fingers touched his cheek.
Then he looked at her.
"You gave me a slap."
His voice was surprisingly calm.
But beneath that calmness was a dangerous smile.
"This price will be very big."
Jack had never expected Jane to slap him the moment they reunited. He had imagined many possible reactions—crying, anger, questioning him, perhaps even hugging him.
But a slap?
That was certainly new.
Jane, however, wasn't frightened.
She looked at him with a mixture of disbelief, anger, and relief.
"Sorry. I had to confirm that you were real. Today has already been filled with too many strange things."
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"I am naturally real. I am Wu Yang."
Hearing that familiar shameless tone only made Jane angrier.
"It really is you, you super-big swindler! Why didn't you look for me?"
She raised her hand again and swung it toward his face.
This time, Jack caught her wrist before her palm could reach him.
He looked at her hand and then back at her.
"Do you know what serious price you'll have to pay for slapping me?"
"I don't know, and I don't want to know!"
Jane struggled against his grip.
"You're a big swindler! You appear whenever you want and disappear whenever you want. I waited for you. I looked for you. I cried because of you, but you never appeared!"
The anger in her voice was obvious, but Jack could also hear the pain hidden underneath it.
For more than a year, Jane had carried those unanswered questions inside her.
Where had he gone?
Why hadn't he returned?
Had he forgotten her?
Had everything they experienced in Puente Antiguo meant nothing to him?
Those thoughts had tormented her far more than she wanted to admit.
Jack suddenly pulled her into his arms.
"Then I'll make you understand what the price is."
"You... What are you going to do?"
Jane's eyes widened.
"Wu..."
Before she could finish, Jack kissed her.
Jane froze.
For an instant, her mind became completely blank.
She hadn't expected this at all.
Her hands instinctively pushed against his chest, trying to create some distance between them.
But Jack held her firmly.
At first, Jane resisted fiercely.
She had been angry with him for so long. She had told herself countless times that when she finally saw him again, she would make him pay for disappearing.
Yet the longer she remained in his arms, the weaker her resistance became.
The anger inside her slowly mixed with relief.
He was alive.
He was actually standing in front of her.
The person she had spent so long waiting for had finally returned.
Her hands gradually stopped pushing him away.
Instead, they slowly wrapped around his waist.
Not far away, Darcy stared at them with her mouth hanging open.
"My God... I haven't misread this, have I? Jack and Jane are kissing."
Ian looked equally stunned.
He had only recently become Jane's intern, yet within a single day he had somehow encountered the most infamous person on Earth and watched him kiss his supervisor.
His understanding of the world was beginning to collapse.
Jack and Jane, however, had completely forgotten about everyone around them.
The police, Darcy, Ian, the abandoned factory—all of it seemed distant.
Eventually, Jack loosened his hold.
The two separated, both breathing slightly heavily.
Jane's eyes were bright.
Her emotions were complicated.
There was embarrassment, anger, shyness, anticipation, and beneath all of it, a faint happiness that she desperately wanted to hide.
Jack looked at her with an evil smile.
"So, Jane, how does it feel?"
"You big swindler!"
Jane's breathing was still uneven.
"You bullied me and took advantage of me. I won't forgive you."
"Really?"
Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Don't you think about me?"
"No! I don't!"
Jane immediately shook her head.
"I don't think about you. I would never think about someone as shameless as you."
Jack smiled.
"'I waited for you and looked for you. I cried, but you never appeared.' Those words were just said by who?"
Jane's face immediately turned red.
"It wasn't me."
She lowered her head.
"I didn't say that. You must have experienced an auditory hallucination."
Darcy finally gathered enough courage to approach them.
"Wu... Wu Yang..."
Jack turned toward her.
"Darcy. Long time no see."
Darcy swallowed nervously.
She couldn't help remembering everything she had heard about Jack.
Humankind's Public Enemy.
A man capable of destroying entire organizations.
Someone who had openly challenged governments and even killed the President of the United States.
And now he was standing right in front of her, casually holding Jane as though they were an ordinary couple.
"Please don't destroy this place."
Jack waved his hand.
"Look at you. You're talking as if I'm some kind of killing devil."
He glanced toward Jane.
"Relax. With Jane here, I definitely won't destroy anything."
"This... makes me feel relieved."
Darcy forced an awkward smile.
Jane pushed against Jack's chest.
"Let me go, you big swindler."
Jack looked innocent.
"Jane, what exactly did I deceive you about?"
"You are a swindler!"
Jane's expression became angry again.
"Back in Puente Antiguo, you said you would come to see me. More than a year has passed!"
She glared at him.
"You big swindler. Super-big swindler."
Jack sighed.
"You don't know what happened to me."
His expression became slightly more serious.
"After I left Puente Antiguo, I went to Asgard."
Jane's anger faded slightly.
"Asgard?"
"Yes."
Jack nodded.
"I fought Odin and the others there. I was seriously injured and eventually had to flee Asgard."
Jane stared directly into his eyes.
"Is this real?"
"Afterward, I fell into the southernmost sea area of South America and was rescued."
Jane's eyes suddenly widened.
"I understand."
A memory flashed through her mind.
"So that spatial fluctuation back then was caused by you?"
She looked at him carefully.
"Pepper and I went there at the time, but we couldn't find you."
Jack nodded.
"I know. I heard from Pepper that it was simply bad luck that prevented you from finding me."
His smile softened.
"But this time, I won't leave you again."
Jane's heart trembled slightly.
Then another name came to her mind.
"Pepper?"
"Yes. She was kidnapped a few days ago. I went and rescued her."
"So that's what happened."
Jane lowered her gaze.
Even after hearing his explanation, a small bitterness remained inside her.
"Even if you were seriously injured, couldn't you have looked for me after all this time?"
Jack's expression became helpless.
"That serious injury left me unconscious for about a year."
In reality, it had only been eight months, but Jack wasn't particularly concerned about the exact number.
"A year?"
Jane looked shocked.
"Such a long time?"
"Yes. There were times when I almost thought I wouldn't wake up."
Jack's voice became softer.
"But deep in my subconscious, I knew there was a girl waiting for me. I couldn't die."
Jane's heart tightened.
She didn't want to show how much those words affected her.
Jack continued.
"After I woke up, there were too many things I had to deal with. That's why I couldn't come to see you immediately."
He looked directly into her eyes.
"Jane, I'm really sorry."
Jane remained silent for several seconds.
She studied his expression, trying to determine whether he was telling the truth.
Finally, she sighed.
"Fine. Your reason is good."
"Because it's the truth."
Jack smiled.
"Jane, we met again."
Jane looked at him for a moment before speaking quietly.
"I heard from Pepper that you also had other women."
Her expression became slightly gloomy.
"You really are something. What are you planning to do with me?"
Jack was just about to answer when Darcy interrupted.
"Are you two going to continue this conversation?"
She pointed toward the police vehicles.
"Because I think we're about to get arrested."
Jane immediately pushed Jack away.
"You wait here."
She looked at him seriously.
"This time, you cannot disappear again."
Jack smiled.
"I won't."
Darcy took several cautious steps backward.
Jack noticed.
"Darcy, am I really that frightening?"
"No, no. You're not frightening."
Darcy answered so quickly that it was obvious she was lying.
Jack merely shook his head.
He wasn't particularly interested in Darcy.
His attention soon returned to Jane.
Jane walked toward one of the police officers.
"Excuse me."
The officer looked at her.
"Are you Jane Foster?"
He pointed toward Ian.
"Do you know that person?"
Jane nodded.
"Of course. He's my intern."
She paused.
"Actually, he's my intern's intern."
Ian's expression became awkward.
The police officer looked toward the abandoned factory.
"This is private property. You are all suspected of illegally entering the area."
He reached toward Jane's arm.
"Please come with me to the police station."
Before Jane could respond—
Bang!
A dark-red energy suddenly erupted from her body.
The powerful force struck the police officer and sent him flying backward.
At the same time, Jane herself was shaken backward by the force.
She stared at her hands in shock.
A faint dark-red glow lingered around her body.
"What...?"
Darcy's expression changed.
"Jane?"
Jane looked around in confusion.
She had no idea what had just happened.
Yet somewhere deep inside her body, something had awakened.
Jack's expression also changed.
He stared at the dark-red energy surrounding Jane.
That power was familiar.
Too familiar.
His eyes narrowed.
"Jane..."
She looked at him.
"What is happening to me?"
Jack didn't answer immediately.
Above them, the sky suddenly rumbled.
Thunder rolled across the clouds despite the strange absence of any storm.
Far beyond Earth, in the darkness of space, a gigantic alien battleship slowly moved among the stars.
Something had awakened.
Something ancient.
The Aether had found its host.
And Jane Foster had just taken the first step toward becoming part of a conflict far greater than she could possibly imagine.