Asgard, a place of wonders—not just because of its magic or gods, but because of the endless internal conflicts within Odin's family, which nearly prevented Asgard from realizing any of its so-called cosmic power.
All of Asgard was always caught up in the turmoil between Thor, Loki, and ultimately Hela. The internal strife of the royal family eventually led to the destruction of the entire Kingdom of Asgard.
A brother trying to kill another brother, the same brother protecting the other, a sister trying to kill their father, and then the brothers teaming up to destroy everything…
In short, apart from the absence of incest, Asgard's situation was as chaotic as the messy affairs of Zeus in Greek mythology.
A melodramatic family drama.
When Odin stripped Thor of his power and exiled him to Earth, it was, in Blake's view, like a wealthy father trying to make his son grow up by cutting off his credit cards and sending him to live in a small village—a Marvel Cinematic Universe version of a "tough love" reality show.
And Blake's role in this mission was like that of a director on such a show.
Except Blake wasn't as soft-hearted, and Thor wasn't as selfish or unreasonable—he was just a bit foolish.
But stepping into Odin's line of sight without sufficient strength to protect oneself was like a small business being noticed by a world-class corporation: either you leverage their resources to thrive, or you get swallowed whole by the giant.
Knowing all the plotlines in this world, Blake weighed his options and decided to accept.
Late at night, Blake sat alone on a small hill, quietly stargazing.
He wondered whether to follow the plot or think of some clever way to help that foolish boy calm down first.
"Hey! It's rare to see you so quiet. So, how's the view tonight? Are the stars beautiful?"
Black Widow appeared behind Blake without him noticing, holding a bottle of wine and two glasses.
"If I had a choice, I'd choose to keep my eyes on you rather than the stars," Blake said with a smile.
"Sweet talker. You've earned yourself a drink!"
Black Widow sat down with a grin, poured two glasses of wine, and handed one to Blake.
"To the stars above!"
"Alright, to the stars!"
They clinked their glasses lightly.
"That guy's awake. He didn't try to escape, didn't scream or shout, just sat there stupidly. Is he really the legendary God of Thunder?"
"He sure is, no doubt about it!"
Blake glanced at Black Widow beside him. Today, she was still wearing her trademark black jumpsuit, but her face lacked its usual seriousness and sternness.
Instead, there was a rare calm, a touch of endearing softness that made her seem more lovable than usual.
"Are you about to ask me how I know all of this?" Blake said with a smile.
"Oh? And if I did ask, would you tell me the truth?" Black Widow took another sip of her drink.
"That depends on which identity you're asking as—are you the famous Black Widow from the world of spies, or my friend Natasha?"
Blake responded with a knowing smile.
"I've been locked in a red room with a group of little girls ever since I can remember. The only way to survive was through shameful training and killing each other," Black Widow said, not directly answering Blake's question, but instead quietly sharing her past.
"So, from a young age, I learned not to trust anyone around me. Gradually, I could see through those who harbored ill intentions towards me, smiling at me while hiding daggers behind their backs."
"Since I first met you, you've always been unserious, rarely speaking the truth. But I could tell from your eyes that you meant no harm."
"So, how you know what you know doesn't concern me at all. Whether as a partner or a friend, I know I can trust you."
"My past is something I don't like to think about, and I don't want to bring it up. So, I won't force you to reveal your secrets. Honestly, I just came here tonight to look at the stars with you and chat."
As Black Widow spoke, she rested her head on Blake's shoulder.
In the first half of her life, all she knew was training, killing, targets, and enemies. It wasn't until she met Hawkeye and joined S.H.I.E.L.D. that she began to feel like she had companions she could trust.
But no one had ever made her feel the way Blake did. He started as a target, then became a friend and partner, but more than anything, he was a man.
He was someone who allowed her to put aside missions and everything else, to simply face him as a woman.
This feeling was common for most people, but for Black Widow, it was very special. She cherished it deeply.
"You look pretty slender, but your shoulder's not bad," she remarked.
"Do you like it? You can lean on it for the rest of your life, but only this side. You know, I'm such a charming man, others will inevitably fall in love with me, and I'm too kind-hearted to reject a beautiful woman. I have to leave them a little hope, right?"
Blake was immensely satisfied with Black Widow's response and began to talk nonsense again, as was his habit.
There was no topic too grand or too trivial for him to discuss.
Black Widow just leaned against him, quietly listening to his nonsense. The slight smile on her lips showed that she enjoyed this feeling.
Under the moonlit night, with a woman, tall tales, and strong wine…
The two of them sat quietly together for half the night. Though nothing physical happened, their hearts grew closer to each other.
It felt wonderful, fulfilling.
So the next morning, Blake woke up feeling refreshed and energized.
He got up early, ready to wait for Dr. Erik Selvig, Jane Foster's mentor, to come pick up Thor.
In the movie, Thor had crash-landed on their car, and while everyone thought he was crazy, Jane Foster felt an instant connection with him and chose to believe what he said.
If everything went as expected, they should come today to take Thor away.
Blake waited from early morning until noon, but instead of seeing anyone come for Thor, he received a video call from Tony.
"Blake, I heard you guys found a strange hammer in Mexico. Is it fun? If it is, I'll come take a look too. By the way, check me out—do you notice anything different?" Tony said, purposely zooming out to show his upper body.
Blake stared for a while and finally noticed that the arc reactor in Tony's chest had changed—the light inside had become a blue triangle.
*******************************************
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"Indeed, bad guys do live longer. Congratulations, Tony, you've officially made it onto God's blacklist! Though for me, that's bad news—I've had my eye on the cars in your garage for quite some time."
It was satisfying to think that his small butterfly effect had helped Tony overcome his palladium poisoning earlier than in the original timeline. However, he wasn't sure if this change would still allow Rhodey to get his hands on a suit of armor and become War Machine.
"You're a complete jerk. Sharing good news with you was a mistake. When are you coming back? Are you waiting for this hammer business to wrap up?"
After bantering with Tony for a bit, Blake suddenly seemed to remember something. He walked over to a secluded spot and, with an air of secrecy, said to Tony, "I need to ask you something, Tony. You're the only one who can help me!"
"You look so sneaky, it reminds me of a thief. Did you catch some kind of…man problem? If so, I can't help you there, buddy! After all, I'm in excellent health, very strong. You should probably ask Banner, though—he took some medical courses, I think."
Tony looked at Blake's secretive demeanor with disdain.
"Shut up, you perverted scoundrel. I'm in perfect health, thank you very much. I just went to Mexico, you know, and I brought back a lot of money from those drug lords. I opened an account at a Swiss bank."
"I set it up in one of their houses. You know, Zurich has a lot of banks. I wanted to ask you which one is the safest. I'm thinking of moving the money."
Blake glanced around to make sure no one was listening, then whispered into the phone.
"That's it?"
Tony looked disappointed, as if he was expecting some big secret.
"Watch your attitude, Tony. I'm a billionaire now, too—three billion dollars, three billion! Good lord, I don't even know what to buy first. A mansion? A yacht? Do you have any good suggestions?"
On the screen, Tony Stark looked at Blake with a mix of disdain and condescension.
"I thought you had done something big. Three billion dollars, and you're making a fuss? UBS. It's the Union Bank of Switzerland, a merger of two major banks. As long as you see those three letters on the bank's website, it's reliable. Anything else?"
Tony didn't say it outright, but Blake could almost hear the word "pauper" in his tone.
"Tony, I admit you're incredibly rich, but three billion dollars is no small amount anywhere. I think you should respect me a bit more. Do you even understand what three billion dollars means?"
Blake was riding high, having solved his financial problems in this world permanently. With a fortune in his pocket, he was feeling proud and defiant—he couldn't tolerate Tony's condescending attitude.
"I'm not sure, my friend. Three billion dollars—it could be the value of a Stark Industries contract with the Department of Defense, or just a minor fluctuation in stock prices. I'm not really sure. You know, I don't really pay attention to the numbers in my bank account."
"Motherf—!"
Blake angrily hung up the phone. This was the pinnacle of humblebragging. There are levels to being a billionaire, and he'd have to be crazy to bring up money in front of Tony Stark again.
"Excuse me, is everything alright?"
"Am I not okay? Do you need something?"
Someone nearby spoke, and Blake instinctively responded irritably.
He turned his head to see a scruffy old man—it was none other than the genius astrophysicist Erik Selvig. This guy had a pretty high appearance rate throughout the Avengers series: Thor 1 and 2, and Avengers 1 and 2.
In the first Avengers movie, he was the one controlled by Loki to develop a device that used the vast energy of Stark Tower to scientifically stabilize the Tesseract, opening a portal that allowed the Chitauri army to flood into New York.
Blake's attitude startled the old man, who nervously replied in a small voice, "I have a friend... he's a bit... you know... not quite right in the head. He went missing yesterday, and I heard he came here. I wanted to ask if you've captured him. If you're with them..."
Dr. Erik Selvig pointed to the sign over the large tented camp behind him.
"Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement, and Logistics Division. Bit of a mouthful, isn't it? Yeah, that's us. And if your friend is the one who's been going around claiming to be the God of Thunder and the son of Odin, then you've got the right guy."
Erik Selvig quickly nodded in agreement. He was only here because Jane Foster had begged him to come and get Thor; otherwise, who in their right mind would want to deal with a mysterious intelligence agency?
"Alright, your friend seems pretty unwell. Don't forget to take him to a doctor when you leave. Hey, you!"
Blake called over a guard.
"Go notify Agent Coulson that the friend of that crazy guy from yesterday is here to pick him up. He'll know what I mean."
He pulled Erik Selvig aside to wait and made some small talk, but quickly lost interest. These genius scientists were often awkward in conversation, slow to respond unless the topic was their specialty. People like Tony Stark, who were both extraordinarily brilliant and genuinely fun to be around, were rare indeed.
After a short while, Coulson arrived, flanked by two guards escorting Thor. Ever since failing to lift the hammer last night, Thor had been in a daze, not speaking, just staring blankly.
"Thor, are you okay? Jane asked me to bring you home."
Whether it was the familiar voice of Dr. Selvig or just hearing Jane's name, something seemed to awaken in Thor. He looked up, and a spark of life returned to his eyes.
"Did you come to take me away?"
"Yes, Jane is waiting for you outside. I'm here to take you back!"
Thanks to Blake's heads-up, Coulson didn't ask Dr. Selvig for any ID and simply let them go. It made the fake IDs they had stayed up all night creating a complete waste of effort.
However, after Dr. Selvig left with Thor, Coulson discreetly ordered an agent to follow them.
*******************************************
You can get access to early chapters on patr*on.
If you like my work and you want to support me then you can become my patron on patre*n.
My patr*on account is S_Pandey_0170
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