Night settled over New York like a held breath.
The city lights glittered below Stark Tower, unaware that something ancient and immeasurable stood among them, deciding whether to stay or go.
Rebecca watched the streets in silence.
Silvanna leaned against the glass beside her. Neither spoke at first. They didn't need to.
"You're leaving," Silvanna finally said.
Rebecca nodded. "I have to."
Silvanna didn't argue. She knew that tone — the one Rebecca used when a decision was already written into the fabric of reality.
"This world just stabilized," Rebecca continued. "If I remain here too long, other forces will feel it. Some will come out of curiosity. Others out of hunger."
Silvanna's jaw tightened. "And if they come?"
Rebecca turned, her expression gentle but unyielding.
"Then Earth becomes a battlefield it never asked for."
Vanessa found them on the balcony.
She hadn't meant to eavesdrop. She'd just… felt something pull her there. A faint warmth in her chest, like a low hum responding to Rebecca's presence.
"You're leaving again," Vanessa said.
It wasn't a question.
Rebecca knelt in front of her daughter, golden eyes softening.
"Yes."
Vanessa swallowed. "For how long?"
Rebecca smiled sadly. "I don't know."
That hurt more than any lie could have.
Juggernaut approached but stopped a few steps away, letting them have this moment. Even he understood there were some bonds strength couldn't bridge.
Vanessa clenched her fists.
"Are you leaving because of me?"
Rebecca shook her head immediately.
"No. I'm leaving for you."
She placed two fingers gently against
Vanessa's forehead.
"I can feel it," Rebecca whispered. "Something inside you is waking up."
Vanessa's breath caught.
"I didn't give you my power," Rebecca continued. "I wouldn't do that to you. But being my daughter means the universe… remembers you."
A faint shimmer flickered around Vanessa's hand—so subtle no one else noticed at first. The air bent, just slightly, like a heat ripple.
Silvanna's eyes widened.
"Vanessa—" she started.
Vanessa looked down at her hand, startled. "I didn't mean to—"
Rebecca closed her fingers around Vanessa's hand, steadying the ripple instantly.
"It's okay," she said calmly. "You're not losing control. You're becoming aware."
Rebecca stood and addressed Silvanna quietly.
"She won't be like me," she said. "She won't carry everything. But she'll have intuition—instinct. She'll feel imbalance before it becomes disaster."
Silvanna frowned. "That's still dangerous."
Rebecca nodded. "Which is why I'm leaving."
She looked back at Vanessa.
"You'll grow up human. You'll love. You'll fail. You'll choose who you want to be."
She brushed Vanessa's cheek.
"And one day, if the universe truly needs you… you'll know."
Vanessa hugged her tightly.
Rebecca returned it—just as tightly—her power dimmed, contained, focused entirely on that moment.
Tony observed from the edge of the room, arms crossed, saying nothing.
Bruce joined him quietly.
"She's making the right call," Bruce said.
Tony nodded. "Yeah. Doesn't mean I like it."
He glanced at the faint residual readings still fading from the sensors.
"She's walking away from godhood so her kid can grow up normal."
Bruce exhaled. "That might be the most heroic thing I've ever seen."
Rebecca stepped toward the portal Tony had reopened—this time stable, restrained, quiet.
She paused and looked back.
"At some point," she said, voice carrying softly, "the universe will try to involve you again."
Tony raised an eyebrow. "And when that happens?"
Rebecca smiled faintly.
"Don't call me."
Then her gaze shifted to Vanessa one last time.
"Live," Rebecca said. "That's the power I want you to keep."
She stepped through the portal.
It closed behind her without spectacle.
No shockwave.
No tremor.
Just absence.
The room felt… lighter.
But not safer.
Vanessa stared at where her mother had vanished, her chest humming softly—something new, something waiting.
Silvanna placed a hand on her shoulder.
"She loves you more than any universe," Silvanna said.
Vanessa nodded.
"I know."
Outside, the city continued on.
And somewhere beyond worlds, Rebecca resumed her silent hunt—leaving behind a daughter who would one day matter far more than anyone realized.