Thor, of course, had no idea that a certain beautiful woman was sighing over his sudden departure.
Since the S.H.I.E.L.D. base wasn't far from town, Thor arrived at its perimeter shortly after. Unlike his previous plan to sneak in, this time he intended to enter openly.
"Who are you?" A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent quickly stepped forward and blocked his path.
"My name is Thor, and I wish to speak with your leader—Nick Fury," Thor replied after a brief pause. He chose not to say that he was the Prince of Asgard.
Now that he had lost his divine powers, he was just a mortal. Declaring his royal identity would only make him look ridiculous and pathetic.
Hearing the name of his superior, the agent didn't dare to delay. Seeing that this stranger could communicate clearly, he immediately radioed the base.
Inside the base, Nick Fury received the alert and looked at the surveillance footage.
"Isn't that... Thor?" he muttered, his one eye narrowing.
"What the hell? He's not breaking in under the cover of night?" Hawkeye Barton said, visibly surprised.
He had just finished watching that timeline video where he, Barton, had shot and killed Thor.
Sure, it was only one possible outcome among many—but the mere fact that such a possibility existed was enough to brag about for a lifetime.
Especially now that he was a father, he took great pride in this hypothetical achievement.
He'd already saved the video and planned to show it to his daughter one day. "Look, this is how your dad heroically took down a god."
After all, killing a god—even once in an alternate timeline—was a once-in-a-lifetime glory.
But because of that video, he assumed Thor would sneak in during the night. He hadn't prepared for a broad daylight visit at all.
And now here Thor was, in broad daylight, requesting to see Nick Fury face-to-face.
"Looks like things aren't playing out the way we thought," said Phil Coulson. "Clearly, the version of Thor who sneaks in and gets shot is just one possibility. This is the real Thor, and it turns out he does have a brain after all."
"We definitely made some assumptions," Nick Fury admitted with a nod. "Bring him in."
After a moment's thought, Fury decided to meet Thor personally.
Thor may have been a bit impulsive, and his presence might indicate involvement from higher powers, but Asgard was a very serious matter.
And avoiding it wasn't really an option.
To be honest, based on what Fury had read in the diary, Thor's arrival here—as well as Mjolnir's—was clearly part of Odin's grand plan to train and test his son.
This was Asgardian royal business, and if it were up to Fury, he'd stay far, far away from it.
But once you're involved, you can't back out.
What were the stakes? Well, in that other timeline, Barton had killed Thor with an arrow—and that led to Loki invading Earth with the Asgardian army. A full-blown war.
An extreme diplomatic crisis.
But the moment had arrived. Mjolnir had fallen to Earth again, and ignoring it was no longer an option.
Soon after, Thor was escorted into the base by a squad of elite agents.
"Welcome, Prince of Asgard, Thor," Nick Fury greeted him calmly.
"You people of Midgard... you know who I am?" Thor asked, visibly surprised.
This was the first time since being cast down to Earth that anyone had addressed him by his real name. The feeling was strange and almost nostalgic.
On Earth, only a few people from the mystical circles—mages and secret societies—knew of Asgard and its people. Among the general public, the name "Thor" was known only through myths and legends.
People wouldn't believe he was the real Thor. They'd just think he was crazy—pretending to be a mythological god.
So for Nick Fury to not only recognize him but also address him correctly—it was unexpected. Clearly, this bald-headed man was no ordinary mortal.
"Of course I know," Fury replied. "You're the legendary prince of Asgard, Thor. I'm the director of S.H.I.E.L.D.—Nick Fury. I assume you already knew that, otherwise you wouldn't have asked for me by name. So... what brings you here?"
"I suspect you don't fully understand the origins of the hammer you've found. I came here for that," Thor said seriously.
"I know. That's Mjolnir—your legendary weapon," Nick Fury replied.
He was very interested in this so-called "Mjolnir." If possible, he wouldn't mind keeping it and studying it for himself.
Over the years, S.H.I.E.L.D. had collected a number of artifacts with mythical or extraterrestrial properties, but none of them matched Mjolnir in terms of mystery or power. And certainly, none had caused this much trouble.
Given how complicated the hammer was turning out to be, Fury would've preferred to get rid of it.
"You actually know about it? Impressive, mortal," Thor said with a hint of appreciation.
This "braised egghead" knew more than Thor had anticipated. It made things a lot easier—he wouldn't have to waste time explaining everything from the ground up.
On the way to the base, Thor had rehearsed countless ways to explain himself, and he still wasn't sure any of them would work.
Yet now he arrived only to find that everything had already been understood.
It was... a little strange.
Why was it all going so smoothly? Almost too smoothly. He couldn't help but worry—was this all part of some trap?
After all, in another timeline, Barton had shot him dead without hesitation.
"We're the most powerful intelligence agency on Earth. So yeah, we know a bit about you," Fury said with a slight smirk.
Of course, he would never admit that most of their intel came from someone's mysterious diary.
"In that case... I want to reclaim my Mjolnir," Thor said. "Return it to its rightful owner. May I?"
If this mortal refused, he would have no choice but to retreat and look for another opportunity.
"Of course," Nick Fury said, nodding. "We Earthlings are known for our hospitality. We don't take what isn't ours. That hammer is yours—if you want it, you're welcome to take it."
He said all this with a perfectly straight face.
But inside, Fury knew that if not for the diary revealing how much trouble Mjolnir and Thor would cause, he would never have given it up so easily.
Still, for now, all he could do... was pretend to be magnanimous.
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