"Thor! We've finally found you!"
The three brave warriors of Asgard walked toward Thor with enthusiasm.
"Wow, you even got yourself a cute girlfriend?"
"Girlfriend?! What are you talking about? I'm not—don't say that!"
Kagura immediately protested, her expression showing disbelief.
"Do you Asgardians have such wild imaginations?"
"It's been a long time, my friends. I never expected you to come visit me in Midgard. This lady here is Kagura Hitomi, my newly acquired little sister," Thor said, joyfully hugging his loyal subordinates.
"I'm glad to see you, but you should understand—you shouldn't have come here."
"Why?"
One of the three warriors, asked.
"Thor, we've come to bring you back home," he continued.
"Home?" Thor's expression grew serious, his disbelief evident.
"You know I can't go back. My father, Odin, passed away because of my mistakes. I've lost my right to be the king of Asgard. I am forever exiled here…"
Upon hearing this, the three warriors exchanged uncertain glances, as if their conversation was happening on different wavelengths.
"Thor…" Lady Sif patted Thor's shoulder.
"Your father, the Allfather Odin, is still alive."
"…What?" Thor froze.
"But Loki came to see me. He said Father died because of my recklessness, and because of that, I've been exiled here forever. Even if I regain my powers, I can't return to Asgard…"
"Oh, looks like dear brother got tricked again." Kagura muttered lightly, her voice filled with sarcasm.
"My brother has fooled me a thousand times, and yet I still treat him like my first love. Heh."
"Loki! It's always Loki!"
General Fandral interrupted, his voice filled with anger.
"Loki forged Odin's death and seized the throne of Asgard. He's secretly colluding with the Frost Giants to overthrow all of Asgard!"
"That's right."
Sif nodded, continuing, "Thor, Loki wants to keep you locked here forever. He even ordered Heimdall, the guardian of the Bifrost, to close it so we couldn't bring you the truth."
"Is that so?" Thor frowned, his face now serious as he seemed to connect the dots.
"Loki… what does he want?"
"Thor, we need to get back to Asgard and confront Loki face-to-face. That way, everything will come to light." Fandral urged.
"Come on, Heimdall should be able to hear our call, so…"
Before he could finish, the Bifrost suddenly descended again.
A rainbow-colored beam shot down, accompanied by a swirling vortex of energy, landing just outside the small town.
The intense force created a massive wave of dust across the desert, sending everything flying in its wake.
As the dust settled, a gigantic metallic giant appeared.
The giant was about five meters tall, with a dark, spiked metal body resembling an unknown alloy, and it had the imposing, sturdy shape of a warrior.
"Thor…" Just then, Tony Stark arrived, tapping Thor's arm.
"Is that thing one of your Asgardian guests?"
"No…" Thor's expression became grim.
"That's the Destroyer, a guardian of the Asgardian vault. It's from Asgard, but it's not here as a guest."
"Why would something guarding your vault be here?" Tony Stark asked.
"Did you steal something precious from your vault?"
"It's Loki. Loki wants to wipe us all out."
"WTF? That sounds terrifying."
Tony said, pulling out his phone and activating his portable Iron Man suit repair system.
"You guys are having family drama that's spilling over onto Earth, and now it's threatening us. Thor, you owe Earth big time."
"I understand. I'm deeply sorry for all of this." Thor said, sincerely.
"It's all my fault. I'll find a way to make it right."
"That's right!" Fandral added, confidently.
"Although the Destroyer is strong, we have the invincible Thor!"
"Invincible… Thor?" Tony Stark quipped.
"I thought the guy who'd be called 'invincible' would be a little greener."
"Mr. Stark, we need to evacuate this town or there will be heavy casualties."
Kagura said, "Also, I've contacted Mr. Wayne. Support from Rhodes Island Industries is on its way, but I'm not sure we can defeat alien weaponry."
"Don't worry. Even alien creations have to obey physics." Tony Stark said.
"Hitomi, you go take shelter, and make sure to bring Pepper and Happy. Leave this to me."
"Got it." Kagura nodded, backing up as she opened the communication link in her sunglasses.
"Cortana, activate the 'Halo' transport ship currently on patrol nearby. There's no time to prepare proper gear, just drop the anti-armor modules and experimental energy-neutralizing shields."
How could I just watch Iron Man go into battle and run away first?
Mr. Stark, though you don't know it yet, I'm also a superhero!
"Master, the energy-neutralizing shield system is still in development and requires a lot of theoretical calculations. It's not advisable to equip it immediately."
"Cortana, a wise person once said, sometimes before learning to walk, you just have to start running."
"Command confirmed, Master. Coordinates locked. Airdrop support will arrive in 7 minutes."
"My friends, I've been exiled and lost my divine powers. Right now, I'm just a mortal."
Looking at the approaching Destroyer, Thor turned to the three warriors of Asgard.
"I'm sorry, I might not be able to help much. I might even slow you down, but I can help evacuate the civilians in this town."
"Don't worry, Thor. We'll defeat it." Fandral said as he readied his star hammer.
The other warriors also drew their weapons.
"No, wait a second. With all due respect," Tony Stark interjected.
"Right now, evacuating this town is more important. You guys, dressed in cosplay, should focus on protecting your prince first, and help guide the civilians to safety."
As he spoke, a giant mobile metal crate rolled out from behind the hotel.
"Let the tin cans handle this."
"Mortal, you might not understand what you're facing!" Fandral warned.
"If we can't stop the Destroyer, this town will be wiped off the map!"
"I'm fully aware of that."
Tony Stark stood in the open metal crate, as the portable Iron Man suit repair system automatically assembled his Mark VI armor.
'Ding!'
The golden mask clicked into place, and Iron Man stepped out of the maintenance bay.
"But Earth is our home, and we must protect it."