The closing ceremony of the Stark Expo ultimately turned into a fireworks show.
Ivan Vanko's drone army appeared right on schedule. War Machine was hacked, his guns turned on Tony Stark. The scene was chaotic—but the outcome was more or less what Levi had anticipated.
Using the backdoor password he had provided, Natasha rebooted War Machine. Tony and Rhodey—two armored tin cans—joined forces and took down Ivan Vanko in his final-form suit. Ivan tried to take everyone down with him by triggering a self-destruct sequence, but that too was neutralized.
Hammer Industries was finished. Justin Hammer went to prison. Stark Industries' stock dipped briefly—then surged back higher than ever.
Levi's bank account gained a few more zeros.
He sat in his office, New York's night skyline stretching beyond the floor-to-ceiling windows. On television, Tony and Rhodey were receiving medals from Congress, grinning like heroes.
Everything was unfolding according to the script he had written.
Then his private phone rang. Encrypted line. The caller ID showed a one-eyed skull icon.
"Fury, I thought we agreed—you don't call me unless it's important," Levi said evenly as he answered.
"There's a situation." Nick Fury's voice sounded tired, with a trace of restrained irritation. "Something fell from the sky."
"A meteor? An alien ship?" Levi asked casually.
"A hammer." Fury paused. "A hammer that no one can lift. It landed in New Mexico and left a massive crater. Our people have secured the site."
Levi's hand froze midair with his coffee cup.
A hammer. New Mexico.
He knew exactly what it was. Mjolnir.
"So?" Levi asked. "Doesn't S.H.I.E.L.D. have plenty of strong guys? Let Coulson give it a try—I heard he's been lifting lately."
"Not funny." Fury's tone hardened. "We tried towing it with trucks. The chains snapped. It's like it's rooted into the earth. More importantly—we found a man."
"Tall, blond, dressed like he walked out of a Renaissance fair, claims he's the God of Thunder?" Levi finished for him.
Silence lingered on the other end.
"…How do you know?" Fury's voice was wary.
"Lucky guess." Levi took a sip of coffee. "Things that fall from the sky usually call themselves gods. Last one did too."
Fury didn't pursue that.
"We need your help. Figure out who he is. What that hammer is. Coulson's on-site—he needs a consultant."
"My consulting fee is expensive."
"Same terms as always."
"Deal."
After hanging up, Levi stood and walked to the window.
Thor. A real god—though currently stripped of his power and reduced to a mortal. Still, Asgardian blood flowed through him. A body forged over a thousand years of war was a weapon in itself.
[Asgardian Physiology].
That ability—
He was definitely taking it.
…
New Mexico's desert nights were bitterly cold.
A massive crater was surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D. fencing and temporary structures. Floodlights turned night into day. At the center of the crater, an ancient-looking war hammer stood embedded in the earth.
Locals had turned it into a spectacle. Pickup trucks lined the perimeter. Barbecues sizzled. Beer bottles clinked. Someone had even started a betting pool on who could lift the hammer. The air smelled of grilled meat, cheap alcohol, and sand.
Phil Coulson stood outside the temporary command center, temples throbbing as he surveyed the chaos.
The air behind him distorted slightly.
Levi appeared out of thin air.
"Good evening, Agent Coulson. Quite the party you've got here."
Coulson jumped, then quickly composed himself. He was getting used to Levi's godlike entrances.
"Mr. Chen," he said with a professional smile. "Welcome to New Mexico. Things are… complicated."
"I noticed." Levi's gaze shifted toward a heavily guarded medical tent. "Our 'God of Thunder' is inside?"
"Yes. Extremely uncooperative. Keeps demanding his hammer back. Claims he's Thor, son of Odin." Coulson adjusted his glasses. "Medical scans show human structure—but bone density and cellular vitality far exceed normal limits. He's like… a perfect human specimen."
"Take me to him."
Inside the medical tent, the scent of disinfectant lingered.
A towering man nearly two meters tall lay strapped to a reinforced hospital bed. Long blond hair. Muscles like sculpted stone.
Thor—stripped of his power, yet none of his arrogance.
"Release me!" he roared in heavily accented English. "You mortals dare imprison Thor, son of Odin?!"
Levi regarded him like one might observe a lion in captivity.
"A god?" Levi smiled faintly. "One who can't even break a hospital bed?"
"You mock me?!" Thor's eyes blazed. "When I reclaim Mjolnir, you will know the wrath of a god!"
Levi ignored him.
He casually placed a hand on Thor's shoulder, as if testing muscle tone.
"Impressive build," he remarked.
The moment contact was made—
A dense, weighty sensation flowed from his palm into his bones. His body didn't grow heavier—it grew denser. Muscles compacted. Structure reinforced.
Done.
[Asgardian Physiology] acquired.
"How is he?" Coulson asked quietly.
"Nothing extraordinary," Levi said with a shrug. "Just a strong guy. Maybe a fitness trainer. Or an actor."
Thor nearly choked in outrage.
"You ignorant mortal!"
"Let him cool off." Levi turned away. "I'll examine the hammer."
…
At the crater's edge, Levi looked down at Mjolnir. Ancient runes shimmered faintly across its surface.
"Many have tried," Coulson explained. "No one's moved it. A local man named Stan Lee even tried towing it with his pickup. Ripped the truck bed clean off."
Levi nodded and descended into the crater.
Agents paused their work to watch. Everyone knew this mysterious consultant was someone Fury treated with extreme caution.
Levi crouched before the hammer.
The runes read:
Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.
"You can read that?" Coulson asked, astonished.
"Enough." Levi stood. "It's a qualification system. Not a strength test."
Under dozens of watchful eyes, he reached out and gripped the handle.
The camp fell silent.
Inside the medical tent, Thor stared at a surveillance monitor, smirking in contempt. Only he and his father Odin could lift Mjolnir.
Levi grasped the handle. It was cool. Heavy. He felt a powerful will rejecting him—Odin's enchantment.
But then—
His newly acquired Asgardian blood resonated faintly. So did the cosmic energy he carried from the Space Stone.
The enchantment hesitated.
It recognized something.
Levi didn't strain. He simply lifted.
Mjolnir rose smoothly from the earth.
No thunder. No lightning. No dramatic storm.
Just like picking up an ordinary stone.
The entire camp froze.
Beer halfway to lips. Tongs paused mid-flip. Mouths hanging open.
Coulson's professional smile shattered into pure shock.
In the medical tent, Thor's smirk collapsed into disbelief.
He watched a "mere mortal" lift the hammer he considered an extension of his own being.
Worse than failing himself—
It implied Odin had found someone more worthy.
Levi weighed Mjolnir in his hand. Power flowed subtly through him. If he wished, he could summon lightning from the sky.
He didn't.
After a brief inspection, he placed the hammer gently back into the ground.
"Nice toy," he commented.
Then he walked out of the crater beneath stunned stares.
"Mr. Chen…" Coulson stammered. "You… you just—"
"Souvenir inspection," Levi interrupted. "Nothing dramatic. Now, let's discuss the god."
He glanced toward the medical tent.
"Keeping him locked up won't help. I have a suggestion."
"I'm listening."
"There's an astrophysicist nearby. Jane Foster. Perhaps we hand 'Thor' over to her for observation. Consider him… a special astronomical sample."
Coulson processed quickly.
It would calm Thor, remove him from S.H.I.E.L.D. custody, and allow indirect monitoring through Foster's team.
Efficient.
"I understand," Coulson nodded. "I'll arrange it."
"Good." Levi smiled faintly. "And remember—call me only if the sky falls again."
With that, his figure vanished into thin air once more.
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