"Gravity parameters stable. Spatial anchor locked."
Jane Foster stood in a white lab coat, data pad in hand, her eyes focused and sharp.
"Interstellar jump experiment. September 24th, 2014. Attempt number 226, Group Two."
"This test is meant to verify connection stability. No specific coordinates have been set. The system will randomly capture an active spatial node and establish a link."
Under her direction, dozens of Vought technicians moved around a massive circular device, adjusting consoles and energy conduits.
"Professor Selvig, how are the phase readings?" Jane called out.
Not far away, Erik Selvig was hunched over a control console, wildly waving his hands in excitement.
Ever since the Battle of New York—when the Mind Stone's scepter had "opened his mind"—the professor had lived in a constant state of manic brilliance. His mental state hovered on the edge of chaos, but his scientific thinking had never been sharper.
"Perfect! Absolutely perfect, Jane!"
Selvig's face flushed red with excitement as he waved a homemade device that looked suspiciously like a repurposed scanner.
"With the Asgardian data you brought back, the theoretical model of the Bifrost is finally complete! We don't need cosmic events like the Convergence anymore!"
"We can create wormholes ourselves—artificial ones! Controlled ones!"
Jane's eyes lit up.
She turned toward a towering man hauling a heavy lead container across the test site.
The man wore a simple gray work T-shirt. His massive biceps stretched the sleeves tight as he casually carried a coolant tank weighing several hundred kilograms—like it was a grocery bag.
Thor.
Once the God of Thunder.
Now… the lab's senior logistics specialist.
"Thor! Pour the coolant into Slot Three," Jane ordered.
"Got it, boss."
Thor responded instantly. He walked over, grabbed a valve that normally required hydraulic tools, twisted it open with one hand, and began dumping the coolant into the chamber.
When he finished, he walked back toward Jane—looking exactly like a giant golden retriever waiting for praise.
"Anything else you need, Jane?"
"Not right now. Stand back. Don't get hit by radiation," she replied without looking up.
"Radiation can't hurt me. I'm a god," Thor chuckled.
But he still obediently stepped behind the safety barrier.
He watched Jane with a mixture of admiration and quiet melancholy.
Ever since she had lifted Mjolnir and become Lady Thor, she had changed.
She had become more confident.
More radiant.
Meanwhile, he—the former wielder of the hammer—felt… somewhat unnecessary.
"Even if I'm just a porter now… I'll be the best porter in the universe," Thor muttered, clenching his fist in determination.
Jane's voice suddenly echoed across the entire facility.
"All personnel move behind the shelters!"
"This is the first attempt at interstellar jump testing!"
"Countdown begins now!"
"Ten… nine… eight…"
As the countdown progressed, the giant metal ring began humming with deep vibrations.
Blue arcs of electricity crackled across its inner frame.
"…Three… two… one! Activate!"
Selvig slammed the red ignition button.
"WHUMMMMM—!!!"
The entire space seemed to groan.
A massive surge of energy blasted into the ring, twisting the air at its center until it formed a hexagonal honeycomb-shaped light barrier.
The jump point.
A gateway connected to some unknown coordinate in the universe.
"Energy output stable! Spatial curvature rising!" Jane shouted while watching the data.
"50%… 70%… 90%!"
Suddenly—
"BOOM!"
The center of the ring tore open like fabric ripped by invisible hands.
A swirling black vortex nearly five meters wide appeared out of nowhere.
"Readings are normal! The wormhole is stable!" Selvig shouted excitedly.
"We did it! We opened the gate!"
"Wait…" Jane frowned.
"Something's wrong."
Thor immediately stepped closer, alert.
"What do you mean wrong?"
Selvig's face suddenly turned pale.
"This gate… it's two-way."
"…Two-way?" Jane blinked.
"It's overlapping with another coordinate—something moving extremely fast!"
"You mean someone else is using this jump point?!" Jane said.
Selvig stared at the energy monitor.
"Look! Something's coming through!"
"It's performing rapid consecutive jumps!"
"Shut it down! Close the gate!" Jane shouted.
"Too late!"
"BANG—!!!"
The hexagonal light barrier suddenly expanded outward like an overinflated balloon.
A small spacecraft—patched together with mismatched panels and covered in scorch marks—burst out of the portal.
The ship smashed into the ground.
It bounced.
Rolled.
Sparks shot from its failing engines as it skidded across the test field, smashing through equipment before finally grinding to a halt in a cloud of dust.
Silence.
The ship sat there smoking.
Cooling systems hissed.
"That's… an alien ship?" Selvig muttered while examining it.
He had seen enough alien tech by now that the shock barely registered.
"Doesn't look like a military vessel," Thor observed.
"The design… looks more like Ravager tech."
Jane didn't hesitate.
She raised her right hand and clenched it.
"Mjolnir!"
From inside the laboratory building, the hammer responded instantly—rocketing through the air and slamming into her palm.
Thunder exploded.
Lightning erupted around her as silver Asgardian armor formed across her body.
A red cape unfurled in the wind.
Lady Thor, Jane Foster—had arrived.
Beside her, Thor looked at his heroic girlfriend… then down at his empty hands.
He glanced around awkwardly.
Finally—
He grabbed a massive industrial wrench from a toolbox.
Charging forward, he planted himself in front of Jane like a shield.
"Stay behind me, Jane!"
Jane immediately shoved him aside with the hammer.
"Move, idiot! Watch yourself!"
At that moment—
The spaceship's hatch twisted with a loud metallic groan.
"CLANG!"
The door was kicked open from the inside.
Three figures stumbled out through the smoke.
The first was a blue-skinned alien wearing a dark red trench coat.
A red metallic fin—like a rooster crest—ran across his head.
Yondu Udonta bent over and immediately vomited a pile of multi-colored alien fluids.
"BLAAARGH—!"
Beside him stood something… unexpected.
A raccoon.
A raccoon walking upright.
The creature wore a tactical vest and carried an energy rifle bigger than its entire body.
Rocket Raccoon shook his head violently and started cursing.
"Oh, hell…"
"That was a terrible damn idea!"
"Seven hundred jumps?! My nipples feel like they've been stretched down to my knees!"
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