Jane, her brow furrowed in a mix of scientific urgency and personal confusion, chased after Thor the moment he bolted out the door. "Wait, where are you going now? We have a mobile lab full of research to do!"
"Fifty miles to the west of here, Lady Jane," Thor replied confidently, striding down the dusty main street without looking back.
"But why? Why are you suddenly heading toward a government lockdown zone?"
"I go to reclaim what is rightfully mine," Thor stated simply.
"You own a satellite? An ancient, metallic hammer-shaped object that fell from the sky?" Jane asked, struggling to keep pace.
Thor finally paused and turned slightly, his deep blue eyes holding a profound depth of memory and sorrow. "It is not what these simple Midgardians call a satellite. It is much, much more."
"Whatever it is, the government seems to think it belongs to them and is now locked down by an entire military operation. Are you just planning to walk into an army base and take it?" Jane asked, utterly bewildered by his arrogance.
"Yes!" Thor responded, his smile returning, full of the boundless confidence of Asgard.
"Listen, if you take me there now—if you let me document what is happening—I will tell you absolutely everything you want to know about what you saw in the sky, what you call the 'Einstein-Rosen Bridge.'"
"Everything?" Jane breathed, her eyes widening, her scientific need overriding all common sense.
"Once I retrieve my hammer, Mjolnir, you will get every answer you seek, and a new universe of understanding will open to you," Thor promised, his voice earnest and commanding.
Daisy and Dr. Eric finally caught up to them, panting from the chase. Daisy squinted, trying to recall the strange word. "Meow-what? What did he just call it? A 'Meow-Mew'?"
Eric, completely exasperated by Thor's nonsense and Jane's obvious attraction, grabbed his star student by the arm and pulled her aside. "Jane, stop this immediately. Do not be fooled by this man's theatrics."
Jane pulled away, her eyes blazing with conviction. "You saw it yesterday, Eric! The energy readings, the impossible weather patterns! This isn't a coincidence. We need to know what's in that crater, and he's the key!"
"I'm not talking about the crater, Jane. I'm talking about him," Eric stressed, glancing dismissively at Thor. "He has paranoid delusions. Listen to what he's saying: 'Thor's hammer,' 'Thor the God of Thunder,' 'Rainbow Bridge.' These are simply stories I used to read to my children!"
"I'm just giving him a ride to the site, that's all! A simple act of scientific research assistance," Jane retorted, trying to plaster a defensive smile on her face.
"He is dangerous, Jane. And he's mentally unstable. You saw him try to smash the coffee cup—he doesn't understand basic societal rules." Eric stared hard at Jane, genuinely worried that his most prized student was throwing away her career for a handsome, delusional oddball.
Jane looked at Eric's resolute, fatherly expression and struggled with her warring feelings. While her heart was racing for the tall, charismatic stranger, Eric was a genuinely good mentor.
It was at that moment that Leo smoothly walked up to Thor, injecting himself into the tension. He spoke quietly, but with an underlying steel that caught Thor's attention.
"Thor, I have to be honest. You were beaten up by hospital security guards last night. How many armed men do you think you can take down with your current physique? Do you genuinely believe you have a chance to get close to Mjolnir when it's surrounded by a military camp?"
Thor puffed up his chest, his pride instantly wounded. "I am Thor, the God of Thunder! As soon as I merely get close to Mjolnir, I will regain my full divine power. No petty mortal on this planet can defeat me then!"
Leo laughed, a light, genuine sound as he looked at Thor, who remained as arrogantly confident as ever despite his utter lack of power.
Leo, who stood several tens of centimeters shorter than the banished god, rolled up the sleeves of his casual shirt.
"How about we make a bet? A simple test of strength, right here. If you win, I'll personally transport you to the exact spot where the 'Meow-Mew' Hammer fell, and I promise you, nobody—military or otherwise—will stop you from reaching it. How about that?"
Thor looked down at the child standing in front of him, and a mocking smile spread across his face, full of condescension. "Child, even Hercules—the supposed champion of Midgard—could not best me in an arm-wrestling match. You, a mere mortal child, wish to compete with me in strength? That is an insult to your own species!"
Jane seized the moment to make her final decision. "I'm sorry, Thor. I can't give you a ride. Eric is right; this is too risky."
Thor looked at Jane's conflicted expression, then gave a confident, dismissive nod. "Then let us part ways, Lady Jane."
He took Jane's right hand gently, brought it to his lips, and kissed the back of her hand, looking deeply into her eyes. The gesture was pure, archaic European charm, instantly melting Jane's resolve. Dr. Eric frowned, looking like he might explode, and Daisy simply watched the incredible drama unfold.
"Farewell, scientist."
Eric, successfully leading the two women away, urged them forward. "Let's go back to work, before we all get arrested for loitering with a madman."
Leo watched them go, then turned his attention back to Thor, ready for the contest.
"So, ready to accept that 'taste of failure,' Thor? You clearly have no horses or functioning vehicles to ride here, so I'm your only hope."
Thor glanced at the small, sturdy stone table set up outside the restaurant for al fresco dining. He cracked his knuckles, a wide, challenging smile on his face. "Although you are but a child, I can still allow you to experience the crushing finality of defeat, little man. Let us begin."
The two men—the massive, blonde, muscle-bound god and the small, fair-skinned boy—clasped hands together over the table.
Thor didn't even consider the possibility of failure. After all, he hadn't lost a genuine contest of strength in centuries.
He exerted a moderate amount of pressure with his right hand, expecting Leo's arm to instantly give way.
But he couldn't budge Leo's surprisingly fair, small arm. It was like he had grasped a hard, unyielding metal rod anchored directly into the ground. Leo's expression remained calm and completely composed.
Thor's initial surprise turned to frustration, and he couldn't help but increase his strength dramatically, gritting his teeth.
Unknown to Thor, Leo's current strength rating stood at 22 points, an astonishing level that far surpassed the peak limits of the human body, potentially even exceeding Captain America's physical abilities at this moment.
It was a latent, superhuman power that Thor, stripped of his divine essence and sealed by his father's powerful magic, could not possibly overcome.
In the end, even with all his mighty, mortal strength focused into that one large hand, Thor couldn't bend Leo's little arm an inch.
Instead, Leo, with minimal visible effort, increased his pressure and smoothly pressed Thor's large hand down onto the rough stone table. Thump.
Thor instantly let go of his hand, rubbing his wrist with a look of stunned frustration. He felt utterly vacant. This was the first time in hundreds of years, since before he was a renowned warrior, that he had lost any kind of physical contest. He reasoned, of course, that he was only so weak because he had been sealed and stripped of his divinity.
As soon as I retrieve Mjolnir, he promised himself fiercely, I will remain the number one warrior of the Nine Realms, Odin's son, and Thor!
Leo discreetly gauged the effort required for that victory, confirming that Thor's current raw strength was indeed below twenty points—meaning the strength of even a peak human athlete like Captain America would likely surpass Thor's banished power at this moment.
He patted Thor gently on the shoulder. "Come on, let's go. Jane and the others should be coming to find us soon, but we need to beat Coulson there."
Thor stood up, the loss forgotten, his focus fixed on his hammer. "Why would they come back? They refused to assist me. And who is this 'Coulson' you keep mentioning?"
"Who is Coulson? He's the guy who gets all the paperwork and cleanup done for S.H.I.E.L.D., the organization currently stealing all of Jane's research," Leo explained vaguely. "You'll get a chance to meet the people from S.H.I.E.L.D. very soon, Thor. Just follow me."
Leo, relying on his map knowledge and the general direction Dr. Eric had left in, began walking briskly out of the town. Thor, his pride surprisingly intact, simply followed after him. He wouldn't risk walking fifty miles alone after being so easily bested by a child; Leo was clearly something more than a mere Midgardian boy.
Meanwhile, Jane and her two companions returned to their rented house and lab trailer to a scene of absolute chaos.
More than a dozen men in crisp, intimidating black suits and tactical gear were systematically carrying out every piece of research equipment, documents, hard drives, and components from their car and their small, makeshift lab.
"You can't do this!" Jane rushed forward, stopping one of the agents who was carrying their custom atmospheric particle counter. "You have no right to touch my life's work!"
Agent Coulson, stepping forward as the calm, professional overall commander of the operation, addressed the enraged scientist.
"We are investigating a security threat incident involving classified extra-terrestrial energy signatures," Coulson said, his tone perfectly measured. "We need to access your records and atmospheric observation data to ensure national security."
"'Access'? You're not 'accessing' anything; you're just stealing!"
Coulson smoothly pulled out a certified check from his inner jacket pocket and handed it to Jane. "This should more than make up for the inconvenience and, shall we say, 'borrowing' of your equipment."
Jane angrily crumpled the check in her hand. "You can't buy replacement parts for my sensors in any digital store—I make most of them myself! That money is useless!"
She rushed to the trunk of their car, grabbed a crucial black notebook, and held it defensively. "This is the original log! I'm sure I can do something new with this, Mr.... Agent."
"I am also confident that I can now successfully sue your organization for gross infringement of private interests and illegal seizure of property," Jane threatened, her voice shaking with rage.
Coulson looked at Jane with a professionally practiced expression of bland sympathy. "I'm sorry, Miss Foster, but we are simply doing our job. We are the good guys."
Dr. Eric, seeing that Jane was hopelessly losing the argument against the highly trained operative, finally pulled her back and calmed her down, realizing they were utterly powerless against this covert force.
Coulson, having secured all the belongings and loaded them into unmarked vans, gave a final, polite smile to the three bewildered scientists. "Thank you for your cooperation."
The three could only watch helplessly as Coulson and his team drove away into the desolate landscape, taking Jane's life work with them.
In the empty research lab, stripped of all equipment, data, and materials, the silence was deafening.
The three scientists sat forlornly on the second-floor observation platform, watching the beautiful, orange New Mexico sunset, feeling utterly defeated and lost.
"Dr. Eric, Miss Foster, Sister Daisy, are you all right?"
Leo walked upstairs, having just arrived at the house, and called out softly to the three people upstairs.