Important disclaimer I might have forgotten up until now. I do not own Marvel, nor do I own the Nasuverse or anything related.

Now, on with the story.

Acquainting with Mjolnir

"I guess it is the real thing after all."

Shirou looked in awe at the hammer in his hand. It was sparkling with lightning, while glowing lines ran along its surface in a bright display of colour, a far cry from its previous, almost dormant state.

That wasn't the only thing that had changed however. Shirou himself had been subjected to a sudden change as well.

Shirou was now clad in armour, coloured silver and blue, with blue lines running across the limbs. He also wore a red cape, fingerless gloves, and boots of the same material as his armour. On his head was a helmet, with small wings sticking slightly up and to the side. Everything except the cape seemed made of steel at first glance, and beautifully reflected the light of the sparks that were generated by the hammer.

Unbeknownst to him however, it was much more than regular steel. His armour had been created from the material known to a select few as Uru, a metal forged by dwarves. Far more durable than any metal on Earth and capable of conducting Magic on an insane scale, it was beyond even the gods of Shirou's Earth.

The cape he was wearing was not made of Uru, naturally, but it was by no means inferior to the rest of the armour. Woven from threads made by Freya, holding countless enchantments in it, it was still a Divine Artifact of immense power. The armour and the cape, worn previously by Marvel's Thor himself, together formed one of the strongest battle-outfits of the Marvel Universe.

But not only the hammer in his hand and the clothes on his body had changed in appearance and form, Shirou himself had been altered as well.

When checking himself over for possible injuries from the lightning, he saw to his astonishment that his muscles had become bigger than before. Not overly so, but there was a noticeable increase in mass.

They felt much stronger too. Shirou did not know how to explain it properly, but his whole body felt improved somehow. It almost felt as if he was Reinforcing himself constantly, even though he was doing nothing of the sort.

He did not feel particularly Divine though. He had not become a god, despite what the inscription on the hammer had claimed. A good thing too, as changing into a Divine being would have complicated his life to a ridiculous degree. How would he ever explain that to Fuji-nee, Sakura, and Tohsaka?

He couldn't. There was no way he could have explained that, ever. So yeah, he was pretty glad he wasn't a god now.

There was no doubt though that the hammer had done something to him, and he would have to be very careful from now on until he had an idea what it had done exactly.

Actually, Shirou had to admit the hammer kind of worried him. Not just because it had suddenly imposed a significant change on his body without a single warning, but also because such a weapon was not something one would cast away without a second thought. If this was a Mystic Code, which seemed likelier and likelier, then its maker, probably a Magus, would almost definitely want it back.

Worse, on the off chance that it was truly Mjolnir, then Thor himself might be looking for it. Which would of course be disastrous, as a visit from an angry God of Thunder would create a lot of problems for this city, as well as for every city within a thousand kilometres or more.

As in, utter and complete destruction.

Whether the owner was a Magus or Thor didn't matter much in the end though. Either way, Shirou couldn't keep it. The hammer simply wasn't his. He was not Thor's heir to the best of his knowledge, nor was it right to take another Magus' property. He was not a thief.

The question was then what he was going to do with it. Naturally, he didn't want to take it home with him. That would send all kinds of wrong signals and might put Sakura and Taiga in danger as well when the owner inevitably showed up at his doorstep.

In the same vein, leaving it with Tohsaka was out of the question as well. That would just be shifting the problem to her, and there was no way Shirou could do that, either as a person or as a Hero of Justice.

Leaving it where it was would also be wrong. He'd already realised, well before picking up the hammer, that letting Magical Artifacts lie around could create many problems. If someone else found it, all kinds of unwanted things could happen.

But if he couldn't leave it here and he couldn't take it with him either, then that left him with no options.

"What am I going to do with you?" He sighed, addressing the hammer, though he expected no response.

Which was why he almost had a heart-attack again when the hammer vibrated softly in response, and he could almost swear the handle was pressing itself tighter into his hand.

He opened his hand by reflex to drop the thing, before choking on his breath when it remained firmly attached to his hand. Even trying to shake it off had no effect, as the handle kept clinging on to his palm.

Was it… was it trying to tell him that it wanted to come with him after all?

No, that was preposterous. A weapon could not think or convey messages, they were inanimate objects. Searching for hidden meanings behind an accidental discharge of some kind of magic that made it stick to his hand was a waste of effort.

At least, that was what Shirou wanted to believe, but another thought came to his mind unbidden, a memory actually, a memory of doing research and accidently stumbling upon a passage about object-sentience.

When certain items, like weapons, were crafted skilfully enough, were magical enough, and used often and hard enough, they could gain a limited amount of sentience. This usually manifested as a preference in users, or a bloodlust being permanently present in the weapon, but there were theories that this could go further.

All of it was only theory of course, written by a Magus who had never seen an example of object sentience herself nor had any reliable sources she could point to, but his father had told him to keep an open mind. After everything the man had seen in the Fourth Holy Grail War, he didn't want to rule anything out.

With that in mind, Shirou stopped trying to get rid of the hammer, closed his hand around the handle again, and brought the weapon to his face.

"Is there anything you wish to tell me?" He asked it, feeling glad no one was around to see him talking to a piece of metal.

For a few seconds, there was no answer, before the weight of the weapon seemed to increase in his hand and the hammer started 'humming', for a lack of a better word. It should have been a mostly meaningless occurrence, but Shirou felt like he understood what the hammer was trying to say. The message itself surprised him though.

"You wish to stay with me?" A hum of agreement. "But what about your previous owner? They will come looking for you, right?"

A saddened aura then surrounded the hammer, a feeling of mourning spreading out from it, very similar to how Shirou himself had felt after Kiritsugu had died.

Shirou closed his eyes in empathy for a moment, understanding what the hammer was trying to say. The previous owner had perished somehow.

Shirou couldn't really imagine how it was for a sentient object to lose its owner, but he reckoned it was like losing a father, or an older brother perhaps, something he could definitely empathise with. The pain Mjolnir was feeling was all too familiar to the redhead.

Still, knowing that nobody would come looking for the weapon did set Shirou at ease a bit. Fuyuki-city had been plagued too much by the Moonlit World already. It did not need disgruntled owners of amazing hammers added to the list. Not when said owner was a Magus and definitely not when it was a god.

Also, the fact that there was no previous owner made it easier to decide what he was going to do with the hammer.

"I suppose I will keep you with me." Shirou decided, as that was now the best option he had. "I can hardly leave you alone here after all. Maybe you can even help me in a self-appointed task of mine. You see, I want to become a hero-"

'BOOM'

At those words, as if they were a signal, another thunderclap sounded in the sky, lightning flashing across the clouds, and multiple lightning bolts hitting the ground all across town.

'… I really hope those didn't hit anyone.'

"There was no need for that!" Shirou sent a half-shocked, half-scolding look at Mjolnir. Maybe it was happy to come with him, but that was no reason to start acting so dangerously.

At least the hammer had the decency to look contrite about its actions after Shirou scolded it.

The clap did serve as a reminder for him though. He was still standing in the middle of the forest, in the dark of the night, in the middle of a storm, in a place where a Divine weapon had just come down. It was bound to have attracted a lot of attention, and if he didn't want to be seen, he should get the hell out of there. He could hold a calm 'conversation' with Mjolnir at home, where there was no risk of discovery.

So Shirou turned around on the spot and started jogging at a brisk pace, fast enough to quickly create distance between him and the scene of the event but slow enough for him to keep it up until he was home without completely exhausting himself.

There was a slight problem however. He was well aware how fast he was when jogging at a brisk pace, about twelve kilometres per hour, but right now, judging by how quickly he was shooting past the trees on either side of him, he was going faster, much faster.

It was like he was full-out sprinting. No, more than that, it was as if he'd Reinforced himself and then started sprinting, going faster than should be physically possible, even though he had not actually Reinforced himself and was in fact not putting that much effort into his running at all.

Was this an effect of the changes Mjolnir had wrought on him? An effect of the larger muscles? Was that how he could now run at an insane speed and still feel as if he could keep it up all day if needed?

If so, then he would really need to have a good talk with the hammer once he got home. Changing his aesthetics was one thing, but doing something that improved his physical capabilities to such an extent was something else entirely.

With his newfound speed, it only took him a minute to reach the end of the forest, barely a tenth of the time it would normally cost him to run such a distance, without him being winded or tired in the slightest.

It was here however that he encountered trouble on his way, and despite running at high speed, he somehow managed to screech to a halt just before leaving the forest, after which he hid behind a large tree, an oak tree, to be precise.

For there, just at the edge of the woods, a line of police-officers stood ready and waiting, watching the treeline for anyone trying to leave or enter the forest.

Shirou did not have to guess at their purpose. No doubt they had come because of the racket Mjolnir had caused during and after its descend and landing. It had been noisy and violent enough that he wouldn't be surprised if they thought someone had been setting off explosives.

The massive crater Shirou had left behind would probably only corroborate that theory.

This was a problem, a real problem. The line of officers was tight, and every corner was held under observation. The individual officers did not seem very watchful, but there were enough of them that sneaking past the line unnoticed would be a challenge nonetheless.

It was a surprisingly competent display from the police of Fuyuki-City, and Shirou wasn't sure how he was going to deal with it. He couldn't let himself be arrested, not with Mjolnir in his hand and his armour on, but sneaking past them was, as he'd realised before, nigh-impossible.

Perhaps he could create some kind of distraction…

Shirou was roused from his musings when Mjolnir suddenly started shaking violently, trying hard to grab Shirou's attention. Nonplussed, Shirou gave it his full attention, and the hammer capitalised on it to try and convey some kind of instructions to him. Through feelings and brief images, a procedure was laid out. There were several steps he had to follow, and if he did it correctly, he would be able to get out of the forest unseen, if Mjolnir was to be believed.

He couldn't discover exactly what effect these steps would have though. They seemed quite strange for a moment like this, but since he didn't have any better plans at the moment, he supposed there was nothing wrong with at least trying to follow Mjolnir's directives.

Heroes sometimes had to take crazy risks after all.

So, in accordance with what he saw, he released his hold around the handle, grabbing the strap hanging from the hammer instead. Then, he started spinning the weapon rapidly, Mjolnir becoming a blueish blur around his arm as it circled. Once it had gained enough speed, Shirou cocked his arm back, carefully aimed just above the horizon, and brought the arm forward again, as if throwing Mjolnir towards a distant enemy. Unlike while throwing though, he did not release his hold on the strap, holding on tight instead, just like Mjolnir had told him to do. While bringing his arm forward, he couldn't help but wonder what this was supposed to do-

"What the…?!"

Shirou could only just hold back a manly scream of surprise when he felt himself suddenly being dragged along with Mjolnir, straight into the air!

Literally, the hammer was ascending and taking Shirou with it, and for a moment, he feared he would end up slamming against the police-cars when he would inevitably come down again, closing his eyes in preparation for the crash.

When the expected clash didn't occur though, Shirou opened his eyes again. Eyes that widened in shock when he realised just what was going on.

"I'M FLYING?!"

It was all he could say, or rather yell. He was indeed flying, at least a hundred metres above the ground, sailing over the city like a true superhero. Mjolnir pulled him along as it sailed across the sky, seemingly unimpeded by gravity or air-resistance. The hammer was allowing him to fly, to actually fly without any machines or Magecraft.

A quick look back revealed that the officers had not seen him leave, as they were still standing around the forest, staring at it.

That sight made Shirou let out a breath of relief. He did not want police officers reporting that they had seen a man fly by himself. Even if everyone would write it off as a fantasy or perhaps a drone, it was still best not to carelessly endanger the secrecy of the Moonlit World.

With that possibility out of the way, Shirou turned his attention back to his current situation.

He was flying, that was undeniable, being pulled along by Mjolnir to sail through the sky, but he wondered if he could manoeuvre as well. It would be a bit difficult to get anywhere if he could only fly in a straight line all the time.

He carefully tried adjusting his course, bringing the hand holding Mjolnir a little to the right. To his delight, this actually resulted in his direction being altered, as he was now flying in the direction that he had aimed Mjolnir at.

It seemed he was still in full control.

The implications of this hit Shirou like a truck. Flight was an incredibly useful tool to have, and doubly so if one wanted to become a hero. It was useful for transport, for observation, for attacking from above, and it made him feel like an actual superhero.

"This is very impressive, Mjolnir." He complimented the hammer, no longer feeling ridiculous while talking to a piece of metal now that it had been proven to be sentient. "If you keep this useful, I will have no choice but to keep you. I don't suppose there's anything else you have in mind for tonight?"

For a few seconds, Mjolnir didn't react. Then it suddenly swerved to the left without any prompting from him, increasing its speed and dragging a surprised Shirou along with it. Despite his protests, the hammer did not stop or alter its course, flying straight to the edge of town. After a few seconds, Shirou gave up on protesting, deciding to see what Mjolnir had in mind.

He had sort of asked for it himself after all.

After a minute or so of flying, Mjolnir started descending again, rapidly closing the distance to the ground.

The hard, unforgiving ground, that was getting closer and closer every second.

Shirou, who remembered very well how Mjolnir's landing had gone the previous time, could not suppress a twinge of nervousness at this.

He didn't have to worry though. Before they hit the ground, Mjolnir slowed down enough for him to flip his legs under him and land securely on his feet, his knees slightly bending to absorb the impact, before he rose again, in perfect condition.

As they had still been falling fast enough to shatter his legs under normal circumstances, Shirou noted down 'improved durability' under the list of changes and new powers Mjolnir had granted him. At this point, he was barely surprised anymore.

It probably should have worried him a lot more that a strange weapon had done something to his physiology and had now dragged him away into the night, but for some reason, he felt he could trust Mjolnir. It also helped his instincts were telling him to go along with the hammer's wishes. While some might not consider that very convincing, Shirou's instinct had always been rather accurate. So if they blatantly stated nothing was wrong, then he would believe them until he was presented with hard evidence to the contrary.

Having landed safely, Shirou quickly scanned his surroundings, trying to find out where Mjolnir had taken him and what he was supposed to do there.

The sight was... rather underwhelming if he were completely honest.

He now stood in a deserted back-alley, located between buildings that looked like warehouses. This was probably an old trade-centre then, or a manufacturing-place, or perhaps a part of the city dedicated to the storage of goods.

Fuyuki-City was large, and there were many places that had once had a thriving industry but had fallen to disrepair recently. This looked like just such a place.

In the alley itself, he could see a few cans and containers, some cardboard boxes, and the obligatory amount of trash that belonged in any back-alley worthy of its designation. There was no sign of life, not even bugs, giving the alley a rather dead and deserted look.

"Why did you take me here?" Shirou asked the hammer, wondering what exactly he was supposed to do.

Said hammer did not respond to his inquiry, rather it had gone completely silent, no thrum or peep coming from it anymore.

Shirou frowned at the unresponsiveness, before he shrugged his shoulders. He was probably supposed to figure out what was wrong here himself, and fortunately, finding things that were out of place was his specialty. In fact, based on his poor results with Magecraft, it was probably the only thing he was any good at-

….SWORDS…(static)…(static)…Sword?...(static)…..clamouringbladesweaponsSWORD…..

"Ugh." He cradled his head at the sudden flash of pain that went through his head, a pain that felt as if something had stabbed into his poor brain from the inside, as if something in there disagreed with his earlier statement. A pain that went accompanied by an image, visible for a split-second.

Shirou massaged the bridge of his nose, cursing those stupid flashes of pain that plagued him sometimes, before he tried to make sense of what he'd seen during the flash.

Every time he had one of those sudden headaches, it was accompanied by an image. This time was no different. He always had trouble remembering what he saw exactly, but this time, the image had been clearer. He's seen something red, filled with shadowy forms and shapes…

...Swords…*$# #$#$%#$...

The memory slipped away before he could do anything with it, just like it had all the previous times.

Well, no matter, Shirou was sure he would find out someday what it all meant. For now, he had to go back to the task Mjolnir had set for him.

Deciding to check for any Thaumaturgy first, he took a deep breath through his nose, attempting to smell anything in the area that was not mundane.

No results. The only things he smelled were the normal scents one would find in a back-alley and the, now significantly less overpowering than before, scent of ozone and power from Mjolnir.

Shirou frowned again, wondering what he was doing here if there was no Magecraft involved.

Then he froze again, his ears perking up when he heard voices coming from somewhere in the alley.

He listened closely, and eventually tracked the sound down to the decrepit building at the far end of the alley. It had five floors, probably a basement as well, and from the lay-out and the look, Shirou guessed it had been a warehouse in the past.

It looked completely abandoned now, though it couldn't be, since Shirou could definitely hear faint voices coming from inside.

Someone had gone through a lot of trouble though to make it seem abandoned. No light came from inside, there were boards in front of the windows, and everything was covered in dust. To any outsider, it would have seemed like nothing more than a normal warehouse long past its glory days.

Shirou wasn't a normal outsider though, and he walked up to one of the windows, peeking through a small hole in the boarding, trying to discern where the voices were coming from.

The warehouse turned out not to be as abandoned as it looked. About two dozen gruff looking men were hanging around in the room behind the window, hard at work with all kinds of powders and fluids, either synthesising them or packing them into tubes or little plastic bags. It wasn't hard for Shirou to deduce that these people were probably drug dealers of some kind.

Was that the reason Mjolnir had brought him here? To deal with drug dealers and small-time gang-members? That seemed… not entirely right.

It wasn't that Shirou considered stopping them beneath him of course. He had hunted and apprehended criminals himself on a few occasions before, ever since Kiritsugu had deemed his skills adequate enough to hold his own against mundane crooks. No, the reason for Shirou's hesitance was more that he was surprised that Mjolnir would bother with mundane criminals.

The inhabitants of the Moonlit World, whether they be Magus or god, would never hunt criminals for the benefit of society. Magi were notoriously selfish people, only interested in reaching the Root, while gods were arrogant bastards who wouldn't be caught dead hunting mundane criminals.

That Mjolnir, a powerful, highly magical, maybe even Divine weapon, wanted him to do something about gang members was very strange and highly unexpected.

Not that Shirou was disappointed or unhappy with it though. The fact that Mjolnir seemed glad to support him in his desire to become a Hero of Justice was fantastic. Even if he didn't understand why it would bother, Shirou would gladly accept any help it would offer him.

Hammer and human were thus in perfect agreement. These criminals needed to be taken down.

Shirou would have to be cautious though. Going in and taking down these criminals would see him being branded as a vigilante very quick. He would after all be acting outside of the law, catching criminals while not being part of law enforcement.

Vigilantism was a punishable crime, so he would have to take care not to leave any traces around for the police to find and never implicate himself in his normal life, lest he might be arrested for his actions.

The risk of being arrested didn't faze him though. He had already planned on becoming a vigilante soon, and he knew and accepted the risks. All Mjolnir had done was move up the schedule by about a year, nothing more.

His mind made up, Shirou focused on the drug dealers again. There were more than twenty of them, and that were only the ones he could see through his window. Many more could be hidden elsewhere in the building, which meant they outnumbered him considerably. This required a plan, and to form a plan, he needed information first.

He pressed his hand against the wall of the building and did a quick 'Structural Analysis' on it. Feeling his Magical Power seep through the concrete and spread out through the entire building, he determined there were six storage rooms and precisely thirty-six people wandering around in the building, with the room Shirou was looking at included.

That should be manageable enough, as long as he took a minute or two to make a proper plan.

Mjolnir didn't like that though, and started acting up again, thrumming aggressively. The aura it gave of clearly conveyed the hammer was getting agitated, and that it wanted Shirou to go bust some heads at once, plans be damned.

That seemed like a foolish idea. He was outnumbered heavily, his opponents probably had all kinds of weapons at their disposal, and he had just undergone a significant change to his very being, the effects of which were still unknown to him. He might very well be overwhelmed if he wasn't careful.

Mjolnir insisted however, practically demanding that they went inside to fight the criminals at once. Apparently, Shirou should not waste time planning and should instead test his new capabilities right now, by trial of fire. The hammer promised it would compensate for any deficiencies on Shirou's part.

Faced with a demand from a possibly Divine weapon, Shirou could do nothing but nod in acceptance. If that was what the hammer wanted, then he would obey. If he used plenty of Reinforcement and every trick at his disposal, mundane and Magical, he should be able to win, even if his new modifications turned out to be useless.

But he should first put on a mask to conceal his identity. If he was going to be a vigilante, he should be unrecognisable. Seeing that he lacked a mask however, he just draped the cape over his shoulders and in front of his face to create a crude facial disguise.

Now he could begin.

The first thing he did was call the police, informing them about the shady, heavily armed people hiding in the abandoned warehouse. If things went awry, the police could reinforce him, and even if everything went perfectly, it was the police who would have to actually arrest these people, as Shirou lacked the necessary jurisdiction.

After the call was made, Shirou walked around the building to the main door, which was locked, as expected. Under normal circumstances, he would have Reinforced the lock until it broke soundlessly, but he decided to forego that in favour of a little experiment.

Not Reinforcing himself at all, he drew back his leg, braced himself, and then kicked the door, like those officers in police series. He wasn't sure what to expect, but he hoped it would be enough to break the lock.

It broke the lock alright. In fact, it broke the door completely off its hinges, sending it careening into the hall behind it. He had completely shattered the lock and the hinges with a single, unpowered, half-hearted kick.

Staring for a moment at the damage he had just done, Shirou decided then and there he would have to hold back a lot from now on, or he may actually kill someone by accident.

Shirou then stepped into the warehouse, for now hanging Mjolnir on his belt. With his newly discovered strength and with the hammer being a Magical weapon, he was quite sure it would be complete overkill if he were to use it in this situation.

Based on the sounds that came from the occupied rooms, he had properly stirred the hornet's nest. No going back now, he would have to see it through, lest these people started attacking others in their rage and confusion.

It was not just a sense of duty that drove him forward however. Shirou was actually looking forward to the fight, something Mjolnir agreed with wholeheartedly.

It might seem strange for someone like him to like fighting, but that was just how it was. Even though he aspired to be a hero that saved everyone, he could not deny that he found a certain pleasure in combat. Whether it was kendo with Fuji-nee, martial arts with his father, or catching muggers on the streets, it made some part of him feel, at least partially, satisfied.

Not as much as when he saved people, not nearly, but it was something, and he had long since accepted it as a part of him.

"GET HIM!"

Then the first opponents entered the hallway, and the time of contemplation was over.

"Let's see what you've got!" Shirou grinned, crouching slightly, ready to move in a split second.

Five men stormed in his direction, loudly yelling in indignation and anger. Four of them were armed with knives, but Shirou noticed one of them, the one furthest back, was carrying a gun in his hands.

The man with the firearm was clumsily trying to aim in his direction, no doubt hoping to deal with him quickly. It was clear to any onlooker though that he was unpractised with his weapon, and to make matters worse for him, his fellows constantly ran through his line of fire, preventing him from taking the shot at all.

Shirou was upon the first opponent in less than a second. The man lashed out with his knife, hoping for a quick kill, but Shirou grabbed his wrist, and then gently brought his other hand forward. He softly struck the man's chin. He made sure to put very little force behind the blow, the memory of the demolished door fresh in his mind, and then let go to see what would happen.

As he had expected, the reaction of the man's body was not at all in proportion to the amount of force Shirou thought he had used. He had struck the crook very softly, barely tapping him really, but the man was still blown backwards, rendered completely unconscious from the blow.

It seemed he would really need to hold back if he didn't want to get himself a body-count. Oh, and Mjolnir would not be used at all during fights like these. The hammer would probably reduce anyone he struck with it to a fine paste.

Shirou continued, filing this information away for later. Moving faster than a human had any right to, he disarmed the remaining three knife-wielders and tapped them into unconsciousness as well, using even less force than before. Now he had only the gunman left to defeat.

Said gunman was clearly scared out of his mind, having seen Shirou waltz over his co-workers as if they were nothing. With shaking hands, he desperately tried to aim at the redhead again, but before the crook could even blink, Shirou crossed the distance between them in a flash and took hold of his gun. Then he started squeezing.

The crook's eyes widened when he felt and heard the gun break and bend under Shirou's crushing grip, and with all of his attention on that, Shirou was free to knock him unconscious with a quick tap to the temple.

The gunman flopped to the ground like a puppet with its strings cut, and Shirou rubbed the back of his head in sheepishness. He hadn't meant to crush the gun like that, it had just happened when he tried holding it still so he could knock the wielder out. Another testament to his increased strength.

Five men were down, and thirty-one were left, divided over three rooms, assuming they wouldn't try to group up or escape. Hoping to prevent either possibility, Shirou quickly got back to action.

Upon entering the first room, which was the room he had looking into from the window, he took a split-second to confirm none of the people present had a gun in hand, before he struck them all down in quick succession.

He also took a few seconds to break every piece of equipment he could find in there into tiny pieces, though he left the drugs behind for the police to deal with.

In the second room, there were only a few crooks present. They were prepared and armed, but fortunately none of them had guns, only knives and batons. As such, Shirou easily dispatched them, before also taking down the criminals who had run out into the hallway while he had been in the room. That left only the third room to deal with.

Upon entering, Shirou saw that the interior of the third room was mostly the same as the others, with vials, bags and mysterious contraptions lying around everywhere. The people present didn't seem all that different either, gruff, shoddy, shaking because of the drugs they took, most of them armed with small weapons, and one of them armed with a gun.

No longer deterred by small weaponry, Shirou applied the tested and proven method of using the gunman's co-workers as shields, quickly taking down his opponents as he made his way towards the biggest threat.

The teen's eyes widened in shock however when the gun-wielding man started pulling the trigger at random, shooting multiple times despite the very real chance of hitting his fellows. Most of the bullets missed, but one of them was going straight for one of the other criminals, aimed right at the spine.

Seeing no other option, Shirou acted…

'Ping'

...

Silence.

Shirou stared for a few seconds. Then he mentally facepalmed.

When Shirou had seen the bullet fly at the back of the unsuspecting man, he had abandoned his previous course to jump in the path of the bullet instead.

Fully expecting to take at least a flesh-wound, it was with astonishment that he saw the little piece of metal bounce off instead, not even scratching his armour.

Again, facepalm. This was a very high-level Mystic Code; it wasn't all that strange it would be able to deflect a mere bullet.

Huh, a lot of the hero-impact of him jumping in front of the criminal to take the bullet was just lost, wasn't it?

Ah well, as long as everyone was fine.

Shirou glared at the shooter. It was bad enough that he was a drug dealer, but now he was also shooting at his own allies? That was really low.

On second thought, perhaps it was to be expected. These people were scum. Them shooting at each other was not an exception, but rather the rule. It was unrealistic to expect them to have any sort of honour in battle, or in general really.

Shirou whirled around, knocking out the criminals behind him with a few rapid taps. When they were down, he took four menacing steps towards the now terrified gunman and brought his fist down on the crook's head, not hard enough to kill or permanently impede, but sufficiently hard for a lot of pain when he would wake up. A big and long-lasting headache was the least of what this man deserved.

With the dishonourable gunman down for the count, the building had been cleared completely. He would just do one last check and then he'd get out of there before the police arrived.

"Trace on."

The familiar phrase indicated another 'Structural Analysis' being done on the warehouse. It confirmed that no one was left conscious, so Shirou was free to leave.

Just in time too, for when he left the building, he could hear police-sirens in the distance, rapidly coming closer. He couldn't take the risk of walking home, so he would fly instead.

Once more, he went through the motions, spinning Mjolnir around rapidly, before throwing it into the sky without letting go, and within seconds, he was flying again.

'I don't think I'm ever going to get used to this.' The redhead thought to himself, staring in awe and exhilaration at the city below.

The temptation to just fly around for a while was great, but, knowing that it was already very late, he set a course for his home nonetheless. Mere minutes later, he arrived at the Emiya-estate.

He came down in the backyard, landing as softly as he could. Sakura and he had put a lot of work in making the backyard presentable, and he wasn't about to ruin it by smashing himself against the ground when he didn't have to.

Once he had landed, Shirou walked back into his house, ready to call it a day and go to bed. It was already late, and he had a hungry tiger to feed in the morning.

That seemingly inconspicuous thought caused Shirou to stop mid-stride, his hands falling down his sides.

"Oh boy." He mumbled. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy."

How could he have forgotten!? Sakura and Taiga would be visiting! They would be coming by his house in only a few hours, to make and eat breakfast respectively.

That was a problem. That was a major problem! There was no way he could hide a sparkling set of armour and a sentient Mystic Code from them. With Fuji-nee's nosiness and Sakura being a rather perceptive person when she wanted to be, they would easily see through him, and Sakura at least would definitely recognise Magical armour and a Mystic Code.

"Mjolnir, I'm terribly sorry, but I have to hide you somewhere." Shirou spoke to the hammer, frantically looking around for a hiding place, until he settled on the shed. "I can't be seen with you or this armour. Sakura and Fuji-nee don't know I am a Magus."

Hiding the small hammer should not be too much of a problem, but the armour would be much harder to hide. Shirou supposed he could place it in a box or throw a blanket over it, but he wasn't entirely happy with-

His thoughts were interrupted when the armour suddenly began shining, before disappearing altogether in a shower of sparks, much like his projections after he dismissed them. One moment, it was there on his body, the next, it had disappeared as if it had never even existed.

Mjolnir hummed as this happened, before the mind inside the hammer reached out and touched Shirou's mind, making him feel nauseous for a moment. When the sick feeling subsided, he realised he'd gained control over the armour, being able to make appear and disappear at will now.

"Ah… thanks." Shirou said, not sure how to feel about what had just happened. At least it fixed his most immediate problem?

Now only the hammer itself had to be hidden away. He did not want to think about what would happen if Fuji-nee got her hands on it.

"Alright, I'll hide you now." Shirou told the weapon. "If you just stay still when other people are present, I can simply put you in the shed. Of course, if you know a better way to hide yourself, you are free to suggest it."

The hammer was silent for a few moments, before it began trembling hard and ripped itself from Shirou's grasp, flying upwards a bit. It hovered right in front of him, at eye-height, before shooting off again, right at Shirou's face.

Poor Shirou didn't even have time to think about evading before it was on him, yet just when it should have made contact with his forehead, the hammer disappeared. Not in a shower of sparks, not glowing brightly, it just blinked out of existence.

Blinking in surprise over the sudden development, Shirou looked around for the weapon-

PAIN

A blinding headache suddenly struck him, making him almost fall to his knees in agony. It felt as if someone had taken a dull knife, stabbed it in his eye and was slowly twisting it around, while at the same time someone else had set fire to his brain.

It was almost as painful as converting his nerves into Magic Circuits, and though his experience with that allowed him to stay rational even with the headache, Shirou really hoped it would be over soon.

Just as he thought that, the headache became even worse, and the images, the images that always came with the headaches, returned with a vengeance.

…..*******…..******….SwordhammerSword….Static….Static…PainStatic….Hillo*sw***ds…..

…Ap**tofhi*…..Swords…U******** ***** *****…..

The Hill again, the Red World. Filled with indistinguishable shapes and forms. Unchanged since coming into existence, except for one thing. A new oddity was present, something that should never have found its way there under normal circumstances, being far beyond Shirou's abilities to copy or possess.

Where everything around seemed unclear, hazy, and hidden from his sight, save for the odd number of knives and other small blades, the world itself seemed clearer now. A Red world, stretching in all directions, a sun on the horizon, either rising or setting.

More had been revealed, yet all had remained the same. Many things still waiting for their reveal, biding their time, waiting.

Yet one thing was undeniably different. A glaring change in the landscape.

Mjolnir, Greatest of Weapons, stood firmly on top of the hill, standing above all other weapons. The hammer was as clearly visible here as it was in the real world. No single spot was obscured or hazy. This was a weapon now fully present in this world, waiting for a command to come out again, should it be needed.

Then the headache ended, and with it, the vision. And just like all previous times, the memory slipped away from Shirou's mind, only a vague impression left behind.

What did stick with Shirou though was the image of Mjolnir, standing proudly on top of... somewhere. The hammer was apparently stored in his mind now. Upon realising that, Shirou had to pinch his cheek in disbelief, to make sure he wasn't dreaming. He hadn't even known such a thing was possible.

It was somewhat distressing that he now carried a mystical weapon in his head, but after all the events of tonight, he could not summon the energy to be truly worried. He'd just chalk it up to 'things to worry about tomorrow.'

…He could summon it back from his mind, right? It wasn't stuck in his head?

No, a quick check revealed that Mjolnir was waiting for but a command to come forth again, so it wasn't stuck, fortunately.

Really, it was much too late to deal with all of this, he should just go to bed. He had guests coming over soon, and he had the rest of the holiday to figure out what was going on.

Quite convenient, that holiday.

Author's note:

Well, that was rather difficult to write, but I think I managed properly enough for now. Again a new chapter, this one about Mjolnir and Shirou's first night out. (No ShirouxMjolnir shipping please, it was a joke).

I got the feeling some people wanted action, instead of slice of life and explanations, so I worked in a quick fight scene. Okay, it mostly was Shirou kicking ass, but it was at least action. It also showed Shirou is well beyond regular mortals now, though he'll be dealing with them much more in my story.

You might have noticed Shirou has not yet done anything magical, except quick 'structural analysis's'. This was on purpose, the next chapter will go into detail about Magic Circuits, Magic Cores, and Marvel Magic.

Not much else to say. Good night all of you.

Edited later for better flow and choice of words.

Omake:

Shinji Matou was still quite young, still in middle school, and not even old enough to have his voice truly crack. Despite that though, his inferiority and superiority complexes had already developed quite well for his age. He was unstable, unsure of himself, yet considered himself above nearly everyone else.

This evening, he was out seducing girls. It hadn't been long before he had found a few that were susceptible to his charm, as they seemed quite taken with him.

Yes, he could be charming when he wanted to be, that wasn't all that hard. Just throw around some confidence and smooth talk, and nearly everyone would be eating out of your hand.

This evening, he was using that talent of his to pick up two girls, a red-headed one and a black-haired one, who were, as said before, quite taken with him. He couldn't for the life of him remember their names honestly, and he really didn't care much.

He would not ever consider entering a serious relationship with a mundane girl however, despite what he might have been saying to them. He was a Matou after all, a member of a glorious lineage. Only another Magus would be good enough for him.

In the mean time though, he could amuse himself with these twits. At least they were pretty enough to have caught his eye.

"Do you really think we are the prettiest girls you have ever seen, Shinji-kun?" One of them, the red-haired one, asked, just as Shinji refocused his attention on them.

"Of course." 'not.' He responded, only thinking the negative after the sentence. "Truly, you are like flowers in a field. Princesses in the modern world. But that is to be expected, since I am talking to you right now. I would not deign to talk to lesser girls, you know."

"Aah, you probably say that to every girl you meet." The black-haired one responded, both her and her friend blushing.

"I assure you I mean it." He said, smiling slightly. Score for him. "If I am insincere, let lightning come from the sky to strike me down right now..."

'BOOM'

And as God would have it, a lightning bolt came from the sky at precisely that moment, striking down at Shinji Matou. It was not enough to kill him, or seriously harm him, but it was more than enough to knock him senseless.

The girls, who were not quite sure what had happened, took one look at the scene, before their Japanese instincts took over and they decided to just walk away. This seemed like trouble, and if there's one thing girls like them were good at, it was ignoring trouble.

Emiya Shirou did not know, and he would be ashamed if he did, but his lightning bolts had in fact hit someone.

Truly, they could not have found a better target this night.