The words of Little Herta weren't exactly sharp, yet everyone felt a phantom weight of suffocating pressure.
Transcend the laws of physics? It sounded simple enough, but in practice, it was essentially asking them to abandon the entire worldview they had spent a lifetime building.
Forget scientists like Tony and Banner—even Thor couldn't truly wrap his head around it.
Little Herta, however, didn't give a damn whether they understood or not. She was simply performing her routine duty of singing the praises of Madam Herta's brilliance.
"If you've made your choices, you're free to leave."
As she spoke, Little Herta turned her gaze toward Thor. "Madam Herta mentioned she was looking for you earlier. While I doubt you'd be so bold as to forget her words, I'm reminding you anyway."
"I remember," Thor replied, his lip twitching. He couldn't help but feel like he was being used as some sort of cautionary tale for the "slow" students.
He was straightforward, sure, but he wasn't brainless, and his memory worked just fine.
"Madam Herta is likely still busy," Tony chimed in as a reminder.
Thor was about to say he already knew that, but before he could speak, the hiss of the heavy doors sliding open echoed through the room. A familiar voice followed close behind.
"I figured you'd all be here."
"Miss Asta?"
Rogers looked at the newcomer in surprise.
They were well-acquainted with the pink-haired girl. At first, they'd mistaken her for a typical interstellar traveler, only to discover later that she had quite the prestigious background.
As their understanding of The Blue deepened, the sheer weight of her status became clearer.
It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say she was the most powerful person on The Blue, save for one.
After all, even a lead moderator's influence depends entirely on whose community they are managing.
Ever since Earth had handed over the "planetary criminals" from the UN Security Council, they hadn't seen much of Asta. It made sense; she wasn't just managing a single country or even a single planet. It was only natural for her to be swamped.
"I've told you, there's no need for the 'Miss' stuff. It always makes me feel like I'm talking to Arlan," Asta said, waving her hand with a smile at Rogers' greeting.
"Then... Lead Researcher Asta?"
"You aren't staff members of the Space Station, and we aren't exactly strangers," Asta replied. "Just call me Asta."
Without giving them a chance to decline, she jumped straight to the next topic.
"I just got back from Kree-space. I heard from one of Herta's puppets that Madam Herta asked Prince Thor to deliver a message."
The Kree?
The Avengers recalled the name. It seemed to have been Asta's original destination; she'd mentioned in passing that her itinerary involved traveling to the Kree Empire to sign a peace treaty.
"Ah," Thor said, the realization dawning on him. So that was why she'd come.
He didn't think much of the errand itself, but he was a bit hung up on the titles. "I don't even know what message I'm supposed to carry yet. But if we're calling you Asta, then stop with the 'Prince Thor' business. Just call me Thor, like they do."
Asta nodded gracefully. "Fair enough."
She continued, "Madam Herta only has eyes for her research; she's never cared much for diplomacy. Asgard and The Blue have always maintained good diplomatic ties, so her attitude toward Asgard tends to be... casual."
The Avengers finally caught the subtext. No wonder Asta had rushed over.
Indeed, Herta's treatment of Thor was basically that of a glorified messenger boy, lacking any of the solemnity usually reserved for a prince.
While a lot of that had to do with Thor's own personality, it was still a potential diplomatic incident.
Given Madam Herta's prestige, Asgard likely wouldn't call her out on it, but that didn't mean there wouldn't be some lingering resentment.
Thinking of this, the Avengers' respect and goodwill toward Asta and The Blue climbed significantly.
In a universe where power usually meant bullying the weak, finding someone with immense backing who remained humble was rare—not just in deep space, but in any society or team.
"Isn't that a good thing?"
Thor, however, wasn't overthinking it. Unlike Earth's endless red tape, he believed in the rule of the strong—otherwise, he wouldn't have driven Odin to such fits of rage back in the day.
In his subconscious, the strong had the right to be either magnanimous or temperamental. In his eyes, Herta was on the same level as his father; naturally, she held a status higher than his own.
Moreover, Thor was easygoing by nature. Herta wasn't an enemy, but a long-standing ally. He was more than happy to cooperate.
Besides, he still needed to keep testing the Simulated Universe so he could get his hands on the Herrscher of Thunder's Core.
Seeing no trace of dissatisfaction on Thor's face, Asta breathed a sigh of relief. "I'm glad you understand. As for the message Madam Herta wants delivered, how about I bring it before King Odin personally a bit later?"
"Works for me. I'll let Heimdall know."
Thor had no objections.
Neither of them brought up the specifics of the message yet. After all, this was Herta's territory; Thor wasn't crazy enough to have Heimdall peer into this specific spot.
"Since we're all settled, should we head back?" Tony suggested, seeing the conversation wind down.
"Sure, I'll go with you."
Since she needed to use the Bifrost, Asta naturally had to head to Earth.
After saying goodbye to Little Herta and picking up Arlan, who was waiting at the entrance, the group returned to Earth via a quantum portal.
Having just exchanged their rewards for upgrades, everyone was itching to explore their new potential.
They didn't waste much time on small talk, parting ways to test their newfound power. Once the crowd had thinned and only three remained, Thor finally found a moment to pull out his phone.
Lately, he'd been spending a lot of time on Earth, which meant keeping in touch with his girlfriend, Jane. While he wouldn't see her today, he still needed to reply to her messages.
However, a message from a few hours ago made Thor's brow furrow.
Jane: [Thor, I've found something strange.]
Jane: [The gravity and space here are acting up. The last time I saw phase readings like this was back in New Mexico.]
Jane: [Do you have any idea what's going on?]
New Mexico. Now that Thor understood more about Earth, he knew that was where he'd first crashed when he was banished. Since Jane had mentioned it and was asking him, she clearly suspected this was tied to him—or rather, to Asgard.
He didn't understand the principles behind Earth's technological parameters, but Thor's gut told him something was wrong.
He had a bad feeling about this.
"Uh... Asta, something's come up..." he said hesitantly, staring at the screen.
Asta didn't look surprised. After all, the reason Herta had sought out Asgard in the first place was that she had sensed this coming.
"Is there trouble? If you don't mind, Arlan and I can come along."
--+--
T/N: I have a Patreon! Webnovel will get 2 Chapters Every Day, and advanced chapters will be uploaded on Patreon.
It may not seem worth it now, but maybe in the future. Who knows!
[email protected]/AspenTL
If you guys wanna check it out.