Chapter 215: Meow-Meow Hammer Appears
When morning came, everyone gathered at Tony Stark's villa for a reasonably substantial breakfast. The group activity's second day had begun.
It was around 8:30 AM. They'd arrived at midnight. Eight and a half hours had passed.
Not a single person looked tired, which for an outside observer would have been alarming. Even Eriri, who'd been in the group for the shortest time, had a constitution so far beyond ordinary that a sleepless night left no mark on her. The veteran members — Kaguya, Tatsumaki, the others — could push through ten consecutive days without rest. Whitebeard, Ryū, and Yukari operated without sleep for a month as a matter of course. One of the quieter benefits of genuine power: the body's demand for rest diminished to near zero, and the time that ordinary people spent unconscious could be redirected toward other things.
Ordinary people who tried to maintain this schedule would simply die.
"JARVIS — give me a rundown of anything interesting in recent news."
Tony, having just finished a technical discussion with Wolffy about a new armour project, turned to his AI system. "While you're at it, today's weather. Anything strange or unusual, list it all. Let's see what's been going on."
"Of course, Mr. Stark. Today's New York forecast is clear skies, with approximately forty-three percent probability of partial cloud cover after noon. No precipitation expected in the next several days."
"In news: last night at 21:14, an unidentified superhero dismantled a small criminal organisation in Queens and rescued two injured hostages. Internet users have given him the nickname 'Chrome Dome.'"
"The day before yesterday at 13:00, an armoured truck was hijacked by unknown individuals, with significant cash losses. No suspects identified."
"In recent days, a hammer has fallen from the sky near a small town in the western United States. Local residents have attempted to lift it, including with crane equipment, without success. The area has been quarantined by S.H.I.E.L.D. Shall I access their database for more detail, sir?"
"…"
Tony's expression froze for a moment.
A hammer. Fallen from the sky. Immovable.
That rang a bell.
The group Admin had mentioned something about this. Few days ago, maybe?
Hammer… hammer… hammer—
Wait.
Tony had asked Ryū about how his world's storyline was supposed to play out. The broad strokes of the Avengers and what came before. He'd been briefed.
He worked his jaw slightly. "That can't actually be the Thor 1 plot, can it?"
His gaze went to the Chat Group without him consciously deciding to.
I'm Rolling In It: @RawrSoFierce — Admin, Admin, small development.
I'm Rolling In It: You remember what you told me about the Marvel Thor? I just got news — a big hammer fell from the sky a few days back and landed in some town, and S.H.I.E.L.D. has the area locked down. Is this the Thor 1 storyline you mentioned?
RawrSoFierce: AAAA can't land the combo, just got completely combo'd out, this is rough—
RawrSoFierce: Hm? Big hammer? Fell from the sky? That's a hundred percent Thor.
I Am Thor, God of Thunder!: Is the Admin calling for me? I also have a hammer!
RawrSoFierce: emmm… no, not you. Go play games with Josuke, buddy.
I Am Thor, God of Thunder!: Oh. Woof!
Kaguya-sama: I think I follow what's happening even though you two are being vague. A thunder god named Thor has appeared — one with the same name as Thor-dog, but the actual mythological variety?
I'm Rolling In It: Seems like it, though I'm not certain.
Edward Newgate: Gurararara! Just go take a look! This is a sightseeing trip anyway — when something interesting happens, you go see it! Don't you agree, young Stark?
I'm Rolling In It: The "young" in that sentence is something I want to object to, but then I compare my age to Whitebeard-ojii-sama's and I genuinely am a child. This is painful.
RawrSoFierce: So we're going to go see the Marvel thunder god?
"…"
Downstairs, Ryū had just lost a round of the side-scrolling fighting game to Yukari and was sitting with a thoughtful expression.
He hadn't expected the Thor 1 storyline to activate already.
Right — he'd seen the post-credits scene of Iron Man 2, where S.H.I.E.L.D. Agent Coulson walks up to a crater in a desert. That crater would be the impact site of the hammer. Mjolnir.
The Chat Group had two Thors. The one currently asking if someone was calling him was the Shiba Inu. The other was the actual Asgardian.
He briefly entertained the question of whether the Shiba Inu could lift Mjolnir.
RawrSoFierce: One of the major Marvel leads — thunder god Thor — has just made his appearance. If anyone's interested, we can go check out the attraction. Or the deity. Whichever framing you prefer.
I'm Rolling In It: Uncle Tony is absolutely signing up. Admin said that guy's going to be a teammate of mine eventually. If someone's going to be Uncle Tony's teammate, they'd better be worth it.
Edward Newgate: Gurararara — a thunder god! Now this is interesting. Count this old man in.
Eternally Seventeen: A deity from another world~ How intriguing~
I Am Thor, God of Thunder!: I don't know what you're talking about but I want to come too!
Admiral Kizaru: Oh my~ Everyone's going? I'll tag along~
WolfKingOfQingQingGrasslands: A field trip? The Wolf King is attending!
I'm Rolling In It: In that case — should I arrange transport? Or do we fly? Though that might be a bit conspicuous—
Eternally Seventeen: No need for all that. I'll open a gap.
Tony stopped. Then processed this.
Right. The Yukari-senpai with the ability to open spatial corridors. He'd been told about it. Getting across the continental US in no time at all — the logistics practically solved themselves. You just needed the dimensional coordinates of the destination and she could navigate there.
Obviously there were limits. She wasn't going to casually open a corridor to Asgard from Earth at her current level. But continental travel on a single planet? Well within range.
The group is full of genuinely exceptional people. And then there's me, sitting in the middle.
Not for much longer, though. Once Wolffy and I finish the collaboration project — mid-tier combat, easily. Mini-heavyweight of the group.
An additional consideration surfaced: S.H.I.E.L.D. had the area secured. A large group of people with no traceable identities showing up near their perimeter was going to create a situation. He should probably make a call first.
Also — if Ryū's briefings were accurate — the current S.H.I.E.L.D. had significant personnel overlap with a specific terrorist organisation operating internally. The percentage of actual S.H.I.E.L.D. agents versus infiltrators was not reassuring.
Tony shook his head slightly and turned to JARVIS.
"JARVIS — contact the S.H.I.E.L.D. head of operations. The big bald one. Nick Fury."
"Of course, Mr. Stark. Connecting now — please stand by… Mr. Stark, Nick Fury is requesting a video call. Shall I accept?"
Tony nodded. "Put him through. If we don't sort this out first, someone might accidentally dismantle the entire organisation, and that would be awkward."
The virtual display activated.
A large bald head filled the screen.
Black eye patch. Expression that radiated authority without effort.
The resemblance to a very expensive braised egg was, objectively, quite strong.
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