Chapter 44. The Arrival of Nick and Tony

The next day, Noah exhaled slowly, dispersing the magical energy that surrounded his body, and dismissed the rune, concluding his night training.

"Hu~ Feeling stronger day by day—it feels great."

He reveled in the sensation of magic filling his body. The constant growth brought him immense satisfaction.

"What the heck happened here?"

Having just finished training and opening his eyes, Noah saw that the desert around the large rock he had been sitting on was now covered with green grass. A small oasis had formed around the stone.

"Is this... the power of the Resolve Rune? Magic infused with life energy caused the desert to flourish."

He guessed that during his night training, the rune's magical energy had dispersed, and the surrounding plants absorbed it, resulting in their rapid growth.

"Great, this is indeed the power of the Resolve Rune. I think I remember this rune can even resurrect people?"

Noah recalled a mention in the Ryze comics of a green rune possessing resurrection abilities. Perhaps this was the same Resolve Rune.

"I'll have to test it in the future."

Shaking off his thoughts, he looked at the green foliage and headed back to the SHIELD camp.

When he returned to camp, he saw Coulson and other staff members outside, clearing a large area. Approaching, Noah asked:

"Coulson, what's going on? Why is everyone so busy this early in the morning?"

Noticing Noah's return, Coulson replied:

"Noah, we're expecting the director. He said he'd come personally and should be here any minute now."

As soon as Coulson finished speaking, a black dot appeared on the horizon. Everyone turned to look, only to realize it wasn't their director.

As the dot grew closer, it became clear that it was Iron Man, Tony Stark, with a Quinjet appearing behind him, its optical invisibility feature deactivating.

The Quinjet smoothly landed on the cleared area, and Tony touched down beside it.

A familiar flourish of energy from his hands, and the classic Marvel superhero landing followed.

The rear door of the Quinjet lowered, and out came Nick Fury and Black Widow. This time, it was just the two of them.

Tony opened his faceplate and walked over to Coulson with Nick Fury.

"Coulson, long time no see."

"Mr. Stark, I must correct you: we saw each other just a few days ago in your lab."

Noticing Tony's intention to keep chatting, Nick Fury cut him off.

"Coulson, show us the item."

Nick spoke and glanced at Noah, nodding. Noah nodded back.

Why had Nick Fury come here? Maybe Coulson had told him about what happened, and Nick decided to intervene? Noah figured Nick had always been interested in extraterrestrial matters.

Tony noticed the brief exchange between Nick and Noah, growing curious about who Noah was. He secretly ordered Jarvis to gather information on Noah. Though Tony's voice was quiet, Noah still heard him but didn't give it much thought.

The group approached Thor's hammer, standing in the middle of the crater. Tony and Nick Fury looked at it with different emotions.

Tony looked at it with curiosity. He didn't believe in the existence of gods, but his scientific curiosity pushed him to explore new fields of knowledge. Nick, however, was concerned and troubled by the emergence of a new player, Asgard.

"So, this is Mjolnir?" Tony asked, gazing at it with interest. Then he stepped closer for a better look. Seeing that Coulson and the others didn't object, he approached the hammer. By this time, his faceplate was already closed.

"Jarvis, scan this hammer."

He asked Jarvis to scan the hammer, but the results indicated that it was unremarkable. From the outside, it appeared to be an ordinary hammer. Tony was puzzled, and after a moment of thought, he tried to lift it by hand.

"What the...?"

Tony exerted all his strength to lift the hammer, only to find that he couldn't budge it. This stunned him—he was wearing armor that granted him incredible strength. The fact that he couldn't lift the hammer seemed utterly ridiculous.

Not believing his eyes, he activated additional thrusters in his gauntlets, increasing the thrust and power to lift the hammer.

Even as a pit formed beneath his feet in the sand, the hammer remained immobile. He finally gave up.

"Damn, what kind of nonsense is this? It completely defies the laws of physics! If the hammer is so heavy, how is this tiny mound beneath it supporting its weight?"

He was bewildered.

"Because that's Mjolnir. Only those deemed worthy by it can lift it," Noah said, drawing Tony's attention again.

"Nick, are you hiring kids now? This kid is Noah—he's only 16, he should be in high school right now. Why'd you bring him here?" Tony asked, addressing Nick Fury. He had just asked Jarvis to find information on Noah, and Jarvis reported that Noah Lee, 16 years old, was a student at Midtown High School. Tony didn't know why he was here, but he couldn't understand why Nick would allow a teenager in such a dangerous place.

"Noah is our security consultant, and he's highly capable," Nick Fury responded, arms crossed.

Tony was about to argue but noticed something in the distance that silenced him and caught everyone's attention.

A rainbow beam descended toward the city.

"The Bifrost? Another arrival from Asgard?" Coulson asked, recognizing the Bifrost. Who could it be this time? Could it be Loki again?

"Damn, is that the Rainbow Bridge you mentioned? I'm going to check it out," Tony, intrigued by Coulson's words, eagerly wanted to see what Asgardians looked like. He had never encountered aliens before.

Without hesitation, he took off and headed towards the city.

Nick Fury sighed but quickly gathered Coulson, Hawkeye, Black Widow, and several agents. They boarded the Quinjet. Before taking off, Fury invited Noah to join them, but he declined, saying he'd fly on his own. He activated his suit, which immediately covered his body, and took off, leaving Nick Fury shaking his head.

"Yeah, his suit is impressive," Nick thought.

Aboard the Quinjet, Coulson radioed the agents stationed in the city to ask if they'd seen anything unusual.

"Yes, sir. I saw a warrior queen Xena, a Viking, Jackie Chan, and another dressed as Robin Hood. Is there a costume party in the city?"

"Keep an eye on them."

The three warriors and Sif had already arrived in the city, and their unusual attire attracted curious glances from the locals.

Meanwhile, at Jane and her friends' house, Thor was carrying a few plates of food and distributing them. After a night of conversation by the campfire with Jane, he had changed significantly. Externally, he remained the same, but his aura had become much calmer and more confident.

Eric, holding his head, entered the living room and sat down in a chair. He had drunk too much with Thor the previous night and had just woken up, feeling a headache. A plate of food appeared before him, which he took, thanking Thor.

Drinking with Thor last night, Eric had heard many of his revelations and had now changed his opinion of him. He no longer wanted to kick him out.

As they ate, Jane told Eric about many aspects of Asgard that Thor had mentioned. Eric argued that it would be difficult to prove these claims to the scientific community, and before she could respond, there was a knock at the door.

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