Divine Call – Bridging Realms with a God’s Whisper

"Wait... so Peter actually spilled the beans about my true identity? And Happy too? He knows as well?"

Everything had finally been set into motion. Pepper had been comforted and sent away, leaving only Ned and Tony Stark in the living room. Accepting a soda handed to him by J.A.R.V.I.S., Ned took a sip before speaking.

"Of course. You have no idea how panicked Peter was after you disappeared."

Tony, masking his anxiety with his usual smug demeanor, replied:

"Maybe because you kept drilling him about the risks non-stop before vanishing. That kid held it together for a few days, but barely three days passed before he climbed into Happy's car, wearing his onesie, begging me to use every resource I had to find you. Naturally, if you want someone found, you need all the details, right?"

Ned nodded in understanding. He could see where Peter was coming from. After all, Peter was just a teenager—not even an adult yet. The fact that he'd gone to such lengths said a lot about his resolve.

"What about S.H.I.E.L.D.? Do they know about my situation?"

Tony nodded. "Nick Fury does. Only him. You see, while I have some resources, in cases like this, their spy network has the upper hand. So, after J.A.R.V.I.S. spent a week coming up empty, I reached out to Fury and briefed him on the matter."

"And what did Fury say?"

Tony sighed, his voice laced with mock amusement. "He said S.H.I.E.L.D. itself was having issues. Something big is going on internally. He's afraid to trust anyone within the organization. If it were just some monster we were hunting, he'd have deployed someone. But finding a high schooler like you? That's dangerous—could put you and your family in the crosshairs. So, it's just Fury who knows. Not even Barton or Romanoff are in the loop."

"S.H.I.E.L.D. is compromised?" Ned caught onto the most critical part of Tony's statement.

"Yep," Tony replied with a smirk. "Remember that S.H.I.E.L.D. strike team you took down? Fury insists he never gave them orders to engage the Avengers. Afterward, he used what little influence he has left in S.H.I.E.L.D. to investigate the matter… only to find nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Exactly. No traces, no evidence—nothing at all. And that's the problem. It means there's another force within S.H.I.E.L.D., powerful enough to blindside Fury himself. Who knows how deep it runs? Fury told me he's almost out of options. On paper, Barton and Romanoff are on classified missions, but in reality? They're lying low in New York. Fury's keeping them as his last line of defense."

"So, we can't rely on S.H.I.E.L.D. for help this time?"

"Honestly, even if we could, it wouldn't make much of a difference. At least we don't have to worry about them threatening us with nukes, right?" Tony shrugged nonchalantly.

"Fair enough." Ned stood, his demeanor suddenly serious. "Tony, how would you like to experience divine power? To communicate with a god, across vast distances?"

Tony's interest was piqued. "Oh? Go on."

"Heimdall!"

"Heimdall!"

"Heimdall!"

Coughing and out of breath, Tony Stark, clad in his armor with his helmet off, glared at Ned. "This is your brilliant idea of contacting a god across space?"

"Keep shouting. Heimdall can hear you. After all, we're Thor's allies on Earth. He won't ignore us." Ned's expression betrayed no hint of amusement—at least, not one Tony could detect.

"I'll shout three more times. If your so-called guardian deity doesn't answer, I'll use my repulsor to give you a Nick Fury haircut," Tony growled before turning skyward and shouting again, "Heimdall!"

"Heimdall!"

"Heim—"

"Midgardian, what is it you seek?" Heimdall's voice suddenly echoed in Tony's mind, startling him into silence.

Ned didn't miss a beat. "We need Thor to come to Earth. There's a critical matter we must discuss involving an imminent enemy and the Convergence."

Heimdall's gaze felt like a heavy weight on both of them, but Ned remained composed. As the Ancient One's favored disciple and a potential future Sorcerer Supreme, Heimdall couldn't afford to ignore him.

"I will relay your message to the prince and inform the All-Father," Heimdall replied, his voice directly addressing Ned.

"Thank you," Ned said.

"It is my duty."

"So... I'm basically your intergalactic phone, huh?" Tony grumbled after Heimdall's presence faded.

"No, of course not," Ned replied with a shake of his head.

"Then what was that?" Tony demanded. "I nearly screamed myself hoarse to call your 'guardian god,' and you're the one who gets a nice, friendly chat."

"Well... do you want to try next time?" Ned offered half-heartedly.

"..." Tony scowled.

Back in the living room, Ned sipped a fresh soda courtesy of J.A.R.V.I.S. and turned to Tony. "I'm still officially 'dead.' I'll need you to work some Stark magic to make me 'alive' again."

"I'll have J.A.R.V.I.S. take care of it," Tony muttered, clearly still annoyed. As he stared at Ned, he couldn't help but snap, "Aren't you leaving yet, Mr. Freeloader?"

"I'm not freeloading. I'm just borrowing a drink." Ned grinned, picking up a piece of fruit from the table and taking a bite. "Now this—this is freeloading."

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