"Walk with me," Fury said, not wasting time as his trench coat billowed in the wind.

    Liam fell in step beside Fury as they moved toward a nearby SHIELD tent set up as a command center. Inside, a large holo-display projected satellite footage, surveillance feeds, and various reports. Agents bustled around, gathering intel and coordinating operations. Fury provided him images of the hammer and also images of Thor and Warrior Three.

    "I assume you know what the hammer is," Fury said.

    "I know what it represents," Liam said.

    "Then you''re up to speed," Fury said. "We have located Thor, but from what we have gathered, he''s not at full strength. He was stripped of his powers and banished here. SHIELD secured the hammer he came with, which is embedded in a crater about twenty miles from here. No one''s been able to lift the damn thing."@@@@

    "Is Thor detained or something?" Liam asked.

    "No. After he barged in that place, he was let go. But we are keeping an eye on him from afar. It was also from the surveillance that we came to know the origins of the hammer, his exile, and his loss of divinity—or whatever they call it."

    "I''m not seeing a problem. He is an exiled prince, so what?" Liam asked, unsure why he had been called.

    "After Thor was allowed a normal life, three more unusual men showed up. We are calling them the Warriors Three. They came and seemed to have delivered him some bad news," Fury said.

    "Hmm... Seems manageable. What''s the real problem?" Liam asked.

    "Loki. Thor''s brother. He came down not long after the Warriors Three got here. His arrival wasn''t exactly diplomatic," Fury said.

    "Warrior of Ancient Humans... Welcome to our humble abode. If this were Asgard, I would have welcomed you with fine wine from the cellars of the Golden Palace. But alas, I don''t have that privilege anymore," Thor said, stepping forward. From the corner, one could see they had been busy with lunch, and the Warriors Three were causing quite the ruckus.

    Food and wine were what they lived for all their lives, so they couldn''t curb their enthusiasm here either. But Liam was taken aback too when Thor addressed him as "Ancient Humans." Then he realized that Thor actually had respect in his eyes when he looked at him.

    Mind you, Liam hadn''t shown his face to Thor yet and was still masked.

    "You know me?" Liam asked.

    "No," Thor shook his head. "But I can feel the power of a warrior emanating from you," Thor replied.

    Liam promptly walked in while Fury was stopped by Jane. She had met him before, and he was also the reason why she lost all her equipment, which hadn''t been returned yet.

    "Fury, give her back the equipment," Liam said, while Fury''s shoulders slumped. He wanted to protest, but there was nobody who would listen to him now. He could only nod and stay in his car.

    He needed to give back the equipment SHIELD took. It wasn''t useful to them anymore.

    "Join us, warrior... Let''s feast!" Volstagg said.

    "Uh... Hello. For safety purposes, I am not able to lift my mask. People call me Wraithborn, so you can call me that. I thank you for the invite, but I am here for business. I want to understand what Loki means by starting a war against Earth," Liam said. This made the happy atmosphere die down instantly.

    "See, now you''ve killed the vibe," Darcy Lewis said, as snarky as expected.

    "My brother..." Thor lamented. "He has a deep hatred toward me. He hatched a conspiracy, killed Laufey in the Golden Palace, and pinned the blame on me. And now he has teamed up with the Frost Giants, having provided them with false proof that I killed Laufey. Asgard can''t attack Midgard since my father is still alive, but if the Frost Giants attack, Midgard will have a hard time defending itself."