The Upstate Compound – Perimeter Airspace
The sky split open.
At first it was just a streak faint, golden, cutting across the afternoon clouds like a wound in the heavens. Then the roar followed.
Deafening.
Every alarm in the Compound went off at once.
"Incoming object massive energy signature! Gravitational distortion detected!"
Friday's voice rang through every comm channel in the compound.
Tony was already moving.
"Evacuate outer fields! Power up shields! Rhodey, get in the air! I need mass medical triage set up and ready!" He snapped his helmet into place. "Dumbledore I'm going to need sorcerer backup."
"On it!"
Rhodey's War Machine suit screamed past seconds later, repulsors burning white.
The Statesman tore through the clouds like a dying whale half its hull aflame, engines sputtering. Massive panels of alien metal peeled away, crashing into the surrounding forests like meteors.
"Friday, deploy landing drones! Divert re-entry vectors!" Tony barked, chest plate sealing into place. "Get me a lock on Thor's signal!"
"Lock acquired. Energy levels unstable. He's manually stabilizing the core."
Tony grimaced. "Of course he is."
The Sky
Tony blasted upward, heat shimmering around him.
The Statesman loomed like a falling star vast, burning, beautiful in the most terrible way.
"Thor!" Tony's voice crackled through the comms. "You better be alive up there, Point-Break!"
Static then a booming, too-loud laugh.
"Alive, aye! For now! The engines are dying, but I can still steer her! Where do you want this magnificent corpse, Stark?"
"Anywhere not on my facility!"
"You have a very small planet, you know that."
"Yeah and I'd like to keep it that way!"
Tony banked hard, firing stabilizer drones in a wide arc beneath the ship's belly. The drones latched on, repulsors burning blue, slowing the descent by fractions.
It wasn't enough.
"Friday, get me every ounce of power from the east grid!"
"Rerouting energy. Warning shields will drop for forty-five seconds."
"Do it!"
Groundside – Medical Triage Zone
Stephen Strange stood amid organized chaos, robes whipping violently in the gale.
Rows of med-sorcerers and paramedics braced beneath field wards. Stephen lifted one hand, golden sigils flaring outward like shields as burning debris streaked across the sky.
"Containment wards active!" he shouted. "Stabilize the crash vector!"
The Statesman's shadow swallowed the ground.
Thor's voice thundered through the comms again strained now.
"Brace for impact!"
The ship hit the earth with an apocalyptic roar.
Shockwaves ripped through the compound, hurling dirt and flame skyward. Energy barriers flared gold and blue, holding back most of the destruction
Barely.
When the dust settled, the sky burned, and the forest smoldered in molten streaks.
Moments Later
Tony slammed down in a controlled landing, armor scorched.
"Friday, status!"
"Structural integrity of the compound: seventy-nine percent. Casualty report pending. The Statesman is intact barely."
Tony turned toward the smoking wreck. The sight hit like a gut punch the once-proud Asgardian ark now broken, bleeding light.
Stephen appeared beside him through a shimmering portal, cloak snapping in the heat.
"You always bring the most dramatic guests, Stark."
Tony exhaled. "You're welcome. They crash elegantly."
A metallic groan cut through the smoke.
The ship's hull burst outward, molten edges glowing and through it strode Thor Odinson, cape torn, one arm bloodied, grinning like a man who had just arm-wrestled death and won.
"Man of Iron!" he bellowed, voice carrying even over the fires. "You have no idea how glad I am to see you!"
Tony raised a hand. "Buddy, I'm not hugging you if you're radioactive again."
Thor laughed, loud and warm. "It is only mild radiation!"
Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. "Wonderful. Glowing gods. Just what we needed."
The Aftermath
Behind Thor, Asgardians poured from the wreck warriors, healers, civilians, mothers clutching children wrapped in torn golden cloaks.
Medics and sorcerers rushed forward.
Doctor Helen Cho's voice cut cleanly through the chaos as drones ferried stretchers past.
"Severe frostbite on deck two survivors! Possible radiation exposure get detox units ready!"
Stephen moved instantly, weaving stabilizing wards across the wounded while barking orders to the sorcerers.
Tony coordinated tech teams portable generators, translation links, automated med-bays snapping online.
For the first time, the two men moved in perfect sync.
Science and sorcery, locked into rhythm.
Rhodey landed beside them with a heavy thud.
"Good news most of the engines didn't blow. Bad news you've got a god-sized refugee crisis in your backyard."
"Yeah," Tony said quietly, eyes tracking the crowd. "I know."
Thor clasped Tony's shoulder, solemn now.
"You have my thanks, Stark. My people live because of you."
Something cracked behind Tony's sarcasm.
"Then let's make sure they keep living."
Evening – The Compound Courtyard
By nightfall, the fires were out.
The compound fields glowed with tents and containment domes. Asgardians rested beneath human-made stars.
Tony stood at the edge of it all, armor open, hands on his hips. Stephen joined him silently, both watching the camp flicker like embers in the dark.
"Three thousand lives," Tony murmured. "And counting."
Stephen glanced sideways. "You did the right thing, Tony."
Tony huffed a tired laugh. "Funny. Feels like I just volunteered for another war. And I don't even know where to start keeping this out of the media."
Stephen's gaze lingered calm, knowing, dangerous in its understanding.
"Maybe. But at least this one, you didn't start. And we both know the media they prefer flashy gossip. I'm sure a genius like you can give them something shiny to chase."
That earned a small, weary grin.
"Give it time."
From behind them, Thor's laughter rolled across the fields loud, alive mixing with the hum of tech and the murmur of the living.
For the first time in a long while, Tony Stark let himself breathe.