'Seems like I have to change the plans for our date'
The vehicle was a standard S.H.I.E.L.D. SUV, it had great stability and was not too noticeable. James had considered buying something flashier, but realistically, he had no time to drive it and just leaving it in his temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. apartment in Washington is truly just a waste. The Quinjet certainly couldn't carry it.
They drove towards a more rural place with middle class and lower people go.
Local shops, a worn out basketball court, and ordinary people just hanging around the streets.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
"Since we have time before dinner," James said, pulling the SUV to the curb. "Let's go and have some fun."
Skye looked out the window at the old brick buildings and murals covering nearly every inch of the walls. "This doesn't look like a spot someone like you would take."
"There are many things you don't know about me," James replied. "Places like this give me the comfort of my old simpler life."
They walked towards several alleys in the maze of buildings where they soon reached a seemingly abandoned building. The sound of skateboards hitting concrete echoed off the walls. Portable lights were set up around handmade ramps, half-pipes and rails.
Skye grinned. "Is this even legal?"
"Probably not," James said.
As they entered the lot, a few skaters paused. They looked at James's expensive blazer and dress shoes with curiosity on why a guy like that would be here. A tall skater with a grease-stained hoodie stepped forward. "This a private spot, man. You look a little lost."
James didn't back down. "I heard this place has a sweet skatepark, it looks like it is. Mind if I take a run?"
The skater laughed. "You? In that suit? I doubt you could even skate. Skateboards aren't toys for richmen, buddy."
Skye braced for a confrontation, but James just smiled and took off his blazer and gaved it to skye. "I'll just have to be careful." He rolled up his sleeves and turned to a younger kid sitting nearby. "Hey kid, here's a couple hundred bucks, mind giving me your skateboard?"
"Oh heck yeah, I can buy a sweet new board with this. Go ahead man, take it."
James thanked him and stepped on the deck as he rolled into the concrete basin of the hidden indoor park.
The place wasn't small.
Industrial lighting hummed overhead. Graffiti covered the brick walls. Two angled ramps met at a raised corner(hip) in the center, connecting two slopes(banks). Rails cut down the staircase. Quarter-pipes framed the far wall, and a half-pipe towered at the back for those who had the skill for air time and speed.
James rolled forward, He rocked gently, checking the board's balance on the axles(trucks).
Then he kicked off.
Momentum built smoothly. He popped a clean kickflip to get used with the board and as a warm-up, wheels landing with a crisp clap of polyurethane against concrete.
With no hesitation and feel for the thrill, he rolled toward the hip.
With each kick his speed increased.
At the lip, he bent down, then jumped up with the board.
A frontside 360 over the hip.
The board rotated clean beneath him, Controlling himself in the air like a natural. For a brief second he hovered as everyone watched, then landed on the opposite bank like it was nothing as he gained more momentum.
A murmur spread across the park as everyone stopped to just watch him shred.
James didn't look at anyone as he focused on coordinating with Cortana.
He rolled straight toward the stair set.
Approaching steadily with eyes locked on the rail.
A pop kick up of the board lifting him, then rotating ninety degrees, and locked into a bluntslide on the handrail. Trucks grinding out sparks as it slid against metal going the full length with ease of balance.
He drops off clean on the other end.
The kid he'd borrowed from just stared slack jawed from his skill.
James rolled immediately toward the quarter-pipe.
Up the wall, a snap and turn as he dropped into a controlled Smith grind, back truck grinding on the edge, with the front truck hovering just hovering down in enough angle for the deck to also grind the edge. He held it for a long grind with his built up speed, and showing off like the trick was easy.
He dismounted smoothly down as carried the speed straight into the half-pipe.
Everyone in the building just can't help but stare from seeing a man who was in a suit suddenly shredding like a pro skater.
He went up the far wall ramp and did a blunt to fakie. Tail pressed into the coping, body suspended for a heartbeat before he dropped backward down the ramp, riding fakie without even glancing down.
Someone inhaled sharply flabbergasted.
James reversed direction, gathered speed again, and aimed for the final line.
He hit the incline, snapped upward, and the board lifted into the air.
Legs scissored as the board rotated 540 degrees.
A smooth, elegant Gazelle flip.
He caught it midair and landed dead center of the flat.
A smooth execution of the trick with no seen effort, as he just rolled-out.
He coasted to a stop near Skye, stepping off the board and kicking it up into his hands.
The park was silent for a moment.
Before an eruption of cheers and admiration for the awesome show.
The kid he'd paid looked like he'd just watched a legend come out.
Skye stared at him.
"…You've done that before?"
James shrugged slightly. "When I have time, I do a little bit of this and a little bit of that."
He picked up his blazer as she handed it to him.
"I told you I'd be careful."
"No you were not! I got scared you'd get hurt with some of those tricks." Skye fumed and puffed up her cheeks from his antics.
"Hey, I'm fine right?" James said as he gaved Skye a head pat to stop sulking.
The guy in the hoodie came and nodded with new respect. "Not bad, man. Those were some sweet moves you just did."
"It's a great spot. Here's a donation so you guys can keep the place running or upgrade it, I might come here again when I'm in the area."
Skye was staring at him. "You never told me you could do that."
"You never asked," he said.
After that, the tension broke as he offered her to learn how to skate, what started as a spectacle turned into a small session — James helped Skye through balance and foot placement on the deck while the locals shouted tips from the sidelines.
As the fun was over, they left the park waving everyone goodbye and turned down a narrow side street, they walked a few blocks under soft streetlights until the scent of broth and sesame oil reached them.
Skye glanced up at the sign.
"Soupy Dumpling & Fancy Cuppa Bubble tea," she read. "This one?"
James nodded. "Yeah, they make really good soup dumplings."
Inside, steam fogged the windows, bamboo baskets stacked behind glass and a few people talking in mandarin.
They sat in a small two-seater near the wall.
Skye picked up the menu and browsed through the selections. "Their food looks really good here, and the aroma of the place is just Mmmm."
James and Skye took a few minutes to browse the menu before making their orders.
"So, a [crab and pork, truffle and pork, scallop, the lucky six] soup dumplings three sets of each, and two spicy mapo tofu?"
"Yep! I can't wait to try them since you said they were good." Skye said in excitement since it's been quite some time since he had good chinese food.
"Alright then, if you wanna order more, no worries, I also got quite a big appetite." James replied back while smacking his solid stomach. "So how about the drinks? Do you want some bubble tea?"
"Yeah, also been a while since I had them, all the places we went on mission doesn't even have them, I miss my boba."
"What would you like?"
"A Brown Sugar Milk Tea, with pearls and extra extra sugar," she said being her favorite flavor.
James ordered an Assam Black Tea to the waiter too.
The warmth of the restaurant and overall ambience made the whole dinner comforting and enjoyable.
The bamboo baskets arrived stacked like towers. Steam escaped as the lid was lifted in front of them.
Skye carefully picked up a soup dumpling and supported the bottom with a spoon, the softness and springiness of the bun as the soup inside of it bounced yet did not leak through, She then bit a small hole and sipped the soup inside.
Her eyes turned to slits as she savoured every bite.
"…This tastes so good!."
James smirked. "Told you it's good, don't burn yourself though, soup is hot."
"I don't care."
She tried the truffle and pork next, then scallop, but her favorite is how colorful and pretty they made the dumplings on the lucky six. The mapo tofu finally arrived, a bright red oily sauce covering small cubed tofu sat on top of delicious looking noodles.
She took one bite and foodgasm once more from the intense flavour and heat.
"Oh my God. That's spicy, yet it taste so good"
"heh, can't handle a little spice." James teased her with a little smirk.
She glared at him, but also smirked. "It's spicy but not that spicy, I've had spicier."
She never expected this whole date to be so simple and enjoyable, she thought it would be something fancy that would flaunt his money but it was such a nice adventure.
They left the place and walked slowly, sipping from their cup of milk tea, turning into a quieter street filled with street art along the walls.
Skye stopped at one — a painted girl standing on a rooftop looking at a neon skyline.
"Do you always do this?" she asked quietly. "Find places like this?"
James shrugged. "I just liked doing quiet walks wherever my feet takes me."
She started looking at him in a different light, a blush was soon forming as she looked at him.
In their walk they came across a taco truck parked under a bridge. She pulled him towards it to have some awesome tacos.
Late at night, James drove Skye back to headquarters and stopped at the rear entrance of the plane.
They said their goodbyes, feeling reluctant for it to end.
After a moment of hesitation, Skye gathered her courage and kissed him quickly before slipping back inside.
The scene was slightly… out of place, with agents working everywhere, but he enjoyed it and did a mental pump for success.
Skye returned to the plane and went to her room, it still felt surreal. She stood in front of the dark glass of the sliding door, looking at her reflection.
Then she smiled.
James, meanwhile, drove away from S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters and returned to his apartment. Sleeping alone felt lonelyl—but replaying the date in his mind wasn't bad either. Skye was mixed-race, with the Chinese features he liked. And with her recent training, her figure had only grown more beautiful.
Thinking about it, he drifted off to sleep.
Cortana has always helped to keep him in peak condition when he wakes up.
Far away in the cosmos, Asgard was celebrating.
Under Thor's leadership, rebellions across the Nine Realms had been suppressed. Peace had returned.
To Earth, they would be considered nine separate planets. But Asgard still followed ancient traditions—armor and cloaks, swords and shields.
But Thor did not find true joy, even amid celebration, he missed Jane Foster on Earth. After a brief hesitation, he rose from the feast and left.
Lady Sif stepped forward.
"Have a drink with me."
It was a simple invitation. If things went differently, perhaps Asgard could be preparing for a royal wedding.
Thor declined.
He had something else to do.
He walked along the rainbow bridge and arrived at the Bifrost.
"You are late," Heimdall said calmly.
"Banquets take more time than battle," Thor replied as he approached, gazing into the endless cosmos.
As Heimdall prepared to look toward Earth, something unexpected occurred.
Jane Foster had disappeared.
A strange, unstable space—first discovered by local children—had drawn her in. Her assistant had traced it, and now Jane was gone.
Heimdall could see across the Nine Realms, but she couldn't be found
Her disappearance caught even him off guard.
Thor was sent to Earth.
Jane Foster had vanished in Greenwich, London.
An abandoned warehouse near the Old Royal Naval College had been sealed off earlier that day after reports of strange gravitational disturbances — objects falling sideways, debris floating upward, children claiming to see "invisible stairs."
Jane had gone in to investigate, but she never came back out.
When Thor arrived, it was not subtle.
The Bifröst struck the construction yard like a vertical storm of light, rainbow energy tearing through the London sky before collapsing inward with a thunderous crack.
The police officers already cordoned off the perimeter. Jane's assistant, Daisy Louise, stood near a patrol car, pale and shaken.
Thor stepped forward from the fading glow, armor gleaming, with Mjolnir in hand.
"Oh my God… Thor?" Daisy breathed out.
"Where is Jane?" he asked out.
"I don't know! She went inside — the gravity went crazy and she just… vanished!"
An officer approached cautiously.
"Sir, put down the hammer. This is a restricted site."
Thor turned slowly.
"Put down my hammer?"
The officer stiffened from his sight.
Daisy quickly intervened. "He's not dangerous! He's— he's with her! He's from New York, he participated during the invasion!"
Not everyone recognized him. The Battle of New York had felt distant to many, talks of it being fake and hearsays.
Thor looked toward the warehouse, sensing the lingering distortion in the air.
Something ancient had touched this realm.
And it had taken Jane.
Thor immediately thought of S.H.I.E.L.D.
He reached into his armor and searched for a folded note—something he carried every day, even into battle.
On it was a phone number James had once given him.
"If you come to Earth, call this."
There was only one problem.
Thor did not own a phone.
Thor said suddenly. "James gave me this number. But I do not possess your… hand device."
He handed her the note.
Daisy quickly pulled out her phone and dialed.
James was still asleep when his bedside phone rang.
He grabbed it lazily.
"Hello?"
"Uh—are you James?" Daisy asked uncertainly.
James sat upright instantly.
"Yes. Who is this? How do you have this number?"
"I'm Daisy Louise, Jane Foster's assistant. She's missing. Then Thor came. He told me to call you. There are police officers here, and they're asking him to put down his hammer."
Her thoughts were scattered, but James had already pieced it together.
'Thor: The Dark World.'
Thor is back on Earth with Jane missing. It could only be the convergence.
"Alright," James said immediately. "I'm on my way. Don't hang up. I'll trace your location."
He was already out of bed.
"Wait—that's it? Okay… okay, I won't hang up," Daisy muttered.
Thor leaned closer. "What did he say?"
"He's coming," Daisy replied quickly. Then she turned to the police. "Please don't provoke him! S.H.I.E.L.D. is on the way!"
"We have no idea of any S.H.I.E.L.D.," the officer said nervously. "The only thing we know is that you're trespassing on private property."
James moved quickly—washing his face and changing his clothes in mere seconds.
The Umbra Sentinel formed over him.
He pushed open a window and launched into the night sky.
"Cortana, contact S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters."
[ Connecting… ]
"This is S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters," Maria Hill's voice came through. "James, what's happening?"
"Maria, contact the U.S. military immediately. I'm flying at high speed to London. Clear the air space."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. has detected abnormal energy fluctuations in London and is preparing to investigate," Maria said. "Do you know the cause?"
"Thor is on Earth. Jane Foster is missing. He had someone call me. Also contact the British military and London police. Prevent any conflict, he's not in a patient mood with Jane gone."
"Copy that."