Queens. Lucas's Apartment.
"Patience is key," Lucas reminded himself. "If I keep stacking Bronze draws, I can turn them into Silver. Then Gold. Then Diamond. Eventually, I'll hit the jackpot."
"I have time. I have a Kryptonian lifespan. Even without yellow sun radiation, I'd live for centuries. With it? I'm practically immortal."
"I can outlive Asgard. I can outlive Thanos. I can play the long game."
"Time to recharge," Lucas decided. He walked to the balcony and launched himself into the sky, a streak of light piercing the clouds.
Malibu. Stark Mansion.
A courier from SHIELD arrived with a heavy crate. Inside was the diorama of the 1974 Stark Expo.
Tony stared at it. It was dusty. It was old. It smelled like the 70s—stale cigarettes and ambition.
"Jarvis," Tony said, his voice quiet. "Scan it. Create a digital model."
"Scanning complete," Jarvis replied. "1974 Stark Expo. Model rendered."
Tony walked around the hologram, manipulating it with his hands. "What does the layout look like to you, Jarvis?"
"It resembles an atom, sir," Jarvis noted. "The Unisphere is the nucleus."
"Exactly," Tony murmured. "My father wasn't building a theme park. He was building a diagram."
"Remove the walkways," Tony ordered, his hands moving like a conductor. "Delete the landscaping. Get rid of the trees, the parking lots, the exits."
"Use the pavilions as the framework for protons and neutrons."
The hologram shifted. The buildings dissolved, leaving only glowing spheres of light connected by energy bonds.
A new structure emerged. A perfect, stable atomic lattice.
Tony stared at it. It was elegant. It was impossible.
"A new element," Tony whispered.
"Proposed by Howard Stark," Jarvis confirmed. "Theoretically capable of replacing Palladium. But impossible to synthesize with 1970s technology."
"He was limited by his time," Tony realized. "He could see the future, but he couldn't build it."
"So he hid it," Tony said, a lump forming in his throat. "He hid it in a model of a city of tomorrow. Waiting for me to find it."
"Dead for twenty years," Tony shook his head, a wry smile on his face. "And you're still teaching me, Dad."
"Sir," Jarvis interrupted. "The element is theoretically sound. But we cannot synthesize it."
"Not with existing equipment," Tony corrected. "It requires a particle accelerator."
"Which I don't have in my living room," Tony looked around his pristine workshop.
"Time for some renovations," Tony grabbed a sledgehammer.
"Jarvis, mark the walls. I'm building a collider."
SMASH.
Tony swung the hammer into the drywall. He tore down pipes. He ripped up flooring. He turned his multi-million dollar mansion into a construction site.
For the first time in years, he wasn't building a weapon. He was building a legacy.
"Thanks, Dad," Tony whispered to the empty room.
New Mexico. SHIELD Crater Base.
Fury's helicopter touched down in a swirl of dust.
"Director," Coulson greeted him, shouting over the rotor noise. "Welcome to the crater."
They walked towards the command tent. The Hammer sat in the center of the pit, illuminated by floodlights.
"Report," Fury demanded.
"It's a bomb, sir," Coulson handed him a tablet. "Energy readings are off the charts. It's like a star compressed into a metal brick."
"If this thing goes off," Coulson warned, "New Mexico becomes a crater the size of Texas."
Fury looked at the photos. The inscription was clear.
Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.
"Worthy," Fury muttered. "What defines worthiness? Strength? Honor? A really good credit score?"
"We tried to lift it with a crane," Coulson said. "Crane broke. We tried to dig under it. Ground hardened. It's... stubborn."
"It's magic," Fury corrected. "Asgardian tech."
"Keep the perimeter secure," Fury ordered. "If Lucas is right, the owner is coming. And he might not be in a good mood."
"And Barton?" Fury asked.
"In the nest," Coulson pointed to a tower. "With a new bow. But he's... unsettled. The video spooked him."
"Good," Fury nodded. "A scared agent is a careful agent."
"Director," a tech shouted. "Movement on the perimeter!"
Fury turned.
A man was walking towards the fence. Blonde. Muddy. Looking like he just lost a wrestling match with a tornado.
"Is that him?" Fury asked.
"Matches the description," Coulson confirmed. "Great hair and all."
Fury narrowed his eye.
"Let's see if the video was a prophecy," Fury whispered. "Barton! Do not fire! Repeat, DO NOT FIRE!"
"Copy that," Barton radioed back, his voice tense. "Target acquired. Holding fire."
Thor reached the fence. He didn't smash it. He didn't roar.
He just looked... sad.
"Let him in," Fury ordered.
"Sir?" Coulson asked, surprised.
"He wants to try," Fury said. "Let him try. If he fails... we have leverage. If he succeeds... we have a God."