Leading the group was a beautiful woman with a fierce, curly mop of hair and thick, black-rimmed glasses, Dr. Jane Foster. Behind her lumbered a tall, blond, immensely muscular man, easily over 1.9 meters, whose sheer physical presence seemed to steal all the oxygen in the room.
Following them were another blonde woman, young and slightly bored, and a middle-aged man who was almost completely bald, Dr. Eric Selvig.
The blond, muscular man—Thor, the newly grounded God of Thunder—looked at everything around him with an almost childlike, profound curiosity. The flickering neon lights, the plastic-coated menus, the small, laminated salt shakers—everything was an object of alien fascination.
The middle-aged Dr. Selvig, constantly worried about the state of his scientific reputation, kept shooting puzzled, exasperated glances at Thor, who was still wearing borrowed clothes that didn't quite fit.
Jane Foster, ignoring the strange looks they were attracting, was the first to walk briskly to the front counter. She called out with a familiar, weary cheerfulness, "Izzy, bless you! We need two boxes of sandwich pastries, two of your famous cinnamon swirls, and four cups of that classic, ridiculously sweet milk tea. We're starving."
Leo, sitting quietly in a booth and looking entirely too clean for this dusty town, watched the entrance and chuckled internally. Yes, the whole crew is here. It was Thor and Jane, along with Dr. Eric Selvig, and their energetic assistant, Daisy.
The entire population of the small restaurant, which consisted mostly of local farmers and truckers, was staring at Thor—the strange, loud man who had fallen out of a freak storm a few nights ago and then made a spectacular escape from the local hospital just last night.
Even Leo, the detached observer, kept his gaze fixed on the man known as Thor, even though he was currently just an exceptionally strong, hungry mortal.
Daisy, the political science major, immediately grabbed a booth seat and started stacking up the pastries as soon as they arrived. As a senior in college who was interning and driving the mobile lab this year, she was far more focused on the immediate concerns of eating, drinking, and securing fun than on cosmic radiation.
"Thor, you've got to try this sandwich—it's amazing. It's got everything in it. And this milk tea, it's a classic here; they mix in three different kinds of sugar."
Leo, spotting the one empty seat and deciding to introduce himself, smoothly walked over with his own half-finished milk tea in hand. "Hey everyone, do you mind if I sit down here for a second? The other tables are a little crowded."
He sat down calmly, filling the last empty seat at their large booth. The four occupants saw that he was just a surprisingly well-mannered, clean-cut child with a backpack, and no one refused the request.
"Hey kid, I'm Daisy." Daisy, always gregarious, smiled at him. "We've been stuck in Old Bridge Town for two months now, and I haven't seen you around. You look like you just flew in. Where are you from, anyway?"
"My name is Leo." Leo offered a friendly, genuine smile. "I just arrived from New York today. I heard some crazy rumor that a massive, ancient-looking satellite or something crashed down in the desert nearby, causing a huge energy spike. Have any of you heard anything about that?"
Eric, Jane, and Daisy exchanged rapid, meaningful glances. Was he talking about the incident that landed Thor in the hospital and led them to the Bifrost reading?
Thor, completely oblivious to the subtle tension he created simply by existing, didn't pay much attention at first. He was too busy ripping into the sandwich and eating the cake in front of him with pure, ravenous gusto. Even a banished god in a mortal body would feel the gnawing hunger that came from extreme physical shock and power loss.
"Child, what did you say your name was?" Jane asked, intrigued by his question about the satellite.
"My name is Leo. And actually, Mr. Selvig, you look incredibly familiar. I think I've definitely seen your academic information online. You're Dr. Eric Selvig, the renowned Doctor of Astrophysics and Astronomy, right?"
Leo gave Daisy a quick nod and focused his smile on Dr. Eric. He remembered his significance not for his academic achievements, but as the future, unwilling puppet of Loki, the scientist who would eventually open the giant portal over New York City.
Eric hadn't expected the child, who couldn't be older than ten, to know his identity, let alone his specific field. He adjusted his glasses and replied with a slightly proud smile, "That's right, young man. It seems you're quite fond of astronomical theory."
"Yes, very much so. I've been paying close attention to the research regarding the Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory for a while now, and I've always firmly believed in its existence," Leo elaborated, making the words sound utterly commonplace.
Jane Foster, momentarily stopping her own cautious bite of pastry, smiled slightly and glanced conspiratorially at Daisy. "See, Daisy? Look how even a child knows about the Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory—the foundational concept of our work—and you're still mostly confused by it."
"Hey! I know what it is now, thank you very much! Although I only found out the technical details this morning. My major is political science, which primarily deals with people who don't know the difference between 'there,' 'their,' and 'they're,'" Daisy grumbled playfully, taking a long sip of her milk tea. "But let me ask you, Leo: have you been reading Norse mythology lately?"
"As a matter of fact, I have."
"Well, don't you think the Einstein-Rosen Bridge theory—that shortcut through space-time—is quite similar to the Rainbow Bridge, the Bifrost, in those old books?" Daisy asked, finally connecting a theoretical dot herself.
Dr. Eric frowned even more, clearly thinking Leo and Daisy were making a ridiculous joke out of serious science, trying to connect ancient myths to modern physics.
Thor glanced over, his mouth full of cake. Having just become a mortal and remembering his recent glorious past, he still carried the deep-seated pride of a God of Asgard. He was somewhat disdainful of explaining these divine concepts to mere mortals, especially a child, though he did soften his gaze slightly for Jane.
Jane, however, was keenly focused. She glanced at the cartoon version of Norse Mythology sticking out of Leo's bag a few times, then turned her gaze back to Thor, her scientific curiosity suddenly overpowering her confusion.
"Look, I know you won't tell me your real name, but how exactly did you get into that storm cloud? That vortex was a massive, localized electromagnetic anomaly that defied every known law of physics. It looked like an actual bridge, Thor."
Daisy looked at Thor, who was still eating heartily, looking like a man who hadn't eaten in a decade, and added, "Also, you just ate an entire box of sandwiches, two of the pastries, and half the cake. How are you still this incredibly hungry? I'm legitimately worried about your metabolism."
Thor had, indeed, almost consumed all the pastries prepared for four people.
Daisy, noticing the sudden depletion, took a few remaining pieces and protectively placed them in front of little Leo.
Thor finished his slice of cake, then triumphantly drained the last sip of his milk tea. He looked at the paper cup in his hand, a strange expression of satisfaction and admiration crossing his face.
"I like this drink. It is a wondrous concoction!"
"I know! It's awesome, isn't it?" Daisy said with a broad smile; these were her comfort foods.
Thor, suddenly deciding he needed more of this "wondrous concoction," boomed, "Another one! Bring me another!"
With the casual, unquestioning arrogance of a King's son accustomed to servants, he threw the empty paper cup in his hand directly onto the floor, where it was meant to smash or at least be discarded by an unseen hand.
A small, impossibly fast hand shot out, catching the flimsy paper cup that was about to hit the tiled floor and shatter the remaining liquid contents. The cup was gently and silently placed on the table, intact.
"That's not exactly how things work here, Thor," Leo said, his voice calm but firm, not a trace of reprimand, but simple correction. "If you want another drink, you just ask the person at the counter. Smashing the cup is generally not a good habit in a public place. It's rude to the cleaners."
Leo looked directly at Thor, who was sitting there contentedly, still completely used to the lavish etiquette of Asgard.
"Thor, what are you doing?" Jane finally snapped out of her bewildered daze and shouted at the blond man, her face flushing with embarrassment.
Daisy stared at the intact cup, then glanced at Leo, who was calmly sipping his own tea. The sheer speed and grace with which the child had acted made her wonder if he wasn't even more mysterious than the thunder god himself.
Dr. Eric also turned his full gaze onto Leo, his scientific mind struggling to reconcile the impossible quickness with the boy's seemingly normal appearance. Everyone hadn't even reacted to the motion, but Leo had already caught the cup—an unbelievable feat of reflexive control.
Thor, looking at the suddenly angry Jane, smiled broadly, completely unrepentant. "It tastes good, Lady Jane. I would simply like another cup. I meant no harm, only to summon another drink."
"Okay, well, please stop breaking things, okay? This is a small, quiet town, not a Viking tavern!" Jane pleaded, rubbing her temples.
"I assure you, I shall attempt to remember the customs of Midgard." Thor stared intently at Jane, his eyes filled with a deep, almost puppy-like affection.
Leo's eyes, however, subtly gleamed with a faint, imperceptible golden light—an almost undetectable resonance of his stored energy. He focused his gaze on Thor, his power flowing, attempting to penetrate the layers of his physical and mystical being.
Leo wanted to see, truly see, the difference between a being called a 'god' and an enhanced 'man.'
His preliminary scan showed that Thor's raw muscle strength, bone density, and connective tissue fortitude were indeed far, far beyond those of ordinary people—easily a few dozen times stronger. This proved that even Thor, who had been completely stripped of his magical powers and banished by the Allfather, was a person with outstanding physical, biological qualities.
But Leo didn't see the expected, deep-seated power of lightning. Thor's body was just like the perfectly constructed, powerful physique of a cosmic strongman.
His focused gaze moved upward to Thor's head, where he saw a faint, humming layer of brilliant electric light enveloping his brain stem and penetrating deep into the cognitive center.
A small, tightly coiled ball of pure, raw lightning energy could be seen curled up inside, vibrating with incredible intensity. Countless flashes of stored electricity were flowing within it, but not a single ounce of power could leak out. It was as if the core was blocked and locked by a powerful energy shield or a divine seal.
However, when Leo tried to pass his own subtle golden energy through that protective shield—to analyze the inner workings of the godly energy—he was suddenly, absolutely blocked.
The golden light in his eyes intensified, his focus deepening, but he still couldn't penetrate the lock. Under his microscopic, energy-reading vision, the shield seemed to be covered in countless glowing, incomprehensible patterns—like the carved runes of an ancient, cosmic language. Although he could see them clearly, he couldn't understand or parse their meaning.
Daisy, seeing the momentary, strange intensity in Leo's eyes, waved her hand casually in front of his face. "Leo? Hey, you okay? You just zoned out for a second."
Leo blinked, the golden light disappearing instantly. He laughed off the strange moment. "Sister Daisy, I'm fine. Just thinking about the Bifrost a little too hard."
Just then, a loud murmur of discussion arose from a nearby table—a group of locals, having just returned to town.
"They say a giant satellite has crashed right out in the desert, right near the old military testing ground."
"Yeah, they've got the whole area locked down tight. We were having a great time driving our ATVs out there when the FBI—no, wait, I think they were something else—showed up and kicked everyone out."
Jane gave Leo a strange look, connecting the dots in her own scientific mind. She quickly turned back to the locals. "Excuse me, sir, is it true that some sort of structure crashed? Did it look metallic?"
"That's right, ma'am."
"What exactly did that satellite look like? Was it big?" Dr. Eric asked, his pen poised over his napkin.
"I don't understand these fancy things, but it's very heavy. I mean, no one—not even the ten strongest guys in the county—could move it an inch. It was just sitting there, half buried in the sand. And it looked like some kind of ancient, metallic hammer."
Thor's head snapped up. His eyes, which had been dazed with mortal hunger, suddenly flashed with a fierce, familiar light. He put down his fork, turned, and bolted for the door, knowing exactly what this 'heavy satellite' was.
"Don't bother, mate. It seems like the whole army and those mysterious government agents came in when we left," the passerby called out to him, but Thor ignored him completely.
"Wait up, Thor!" Jane shouted, grabbing her bag. "We need to get eyes on that anomaly now!"
The others followed immediately, including Leo, who also stood up, grabbing his backpack. The time for local cuisine was over. It was time to check on Mjolnir.