Jane Foster was a brilliant scientist. Meeting a man who might actually be Thor, the Norse god of thunder, was already hard enough to believe. Fortunately, she could at least rationalize it with scientific explanations.
But the young man in front of her? The things he was saying made her seriously wonder if she had just stumbled upon a group of lunatics.
"Trust me, not too long ago, I felt the same way as you do now," Tony said with a knowing smirk.
He recognized the look on Jane's face immediately. He had gone through the same disbelief himself.
"So, it's just… unbelievable," Jane murmured.
"It's nothing," Ethan said. "From the perspective of many civilizations in this universe, Earth today isn't much more advanced than humanity was two thousand years ago."
His words were blunt, but the weight behind them was undeniable.
Tony frowned. "That's an exaggeration."
"Maybe a little," Ethan admitted. "But it's still the truth."
Hearing Thor echo this sentiment made Jane pause. She wanted to argue, but against two people who had actually seen these other civilizations? She had nothing to counter with.
Tony, still a little irritated, simply sat off to the side, brooding in silence.
Ethan turned to introduce Arthur.
"Who's that?" Jane asked.
"There's no need to go into details," Ethan said. "Thor probably wouldn't recognize him anyway, and Jane… well, you might not even see me the next time I visit, so it's not really relevant."
Arthur didn't seem to mind the vague introduction. He wasn't particularly interested in explaining his identity to strangers.
Thor shifted slightly. "So, what did you come to talk to me about?"
"I just want to learn more about Asgard," Ethan replied. He had already given his own introduction earlier. "I've traveled to many worlds, learned from different civilizations, and integrated that knowledge to make myself stronger."
Thor nodded. "I can tell you some basics, but I'm not exactly a scholar… I'm just a warrior."
"That's fine," Ethan reassured him. "Even if it's just stories, customs, or general knowledge about the universe, it's still valuable."
The conversation unfolded naturally. Even Tony, Arthur, and Jane were completely drawn in by Thor's descriptions of Asgard and the Nine Realms.
Tony, in particular, started picking up on technological details hidden within Thor's seemingly casual remarks. Indirectly, he was gaining insight into higher civilizations. This new information helped him open doors to possibilities he had never considered before.
Time passed quickly. Before they realized it, the sky had begun to brighten. They had talked through the entire night.
Despite the initial tension, everyone had grown comfortable around each other. Jane even invited them all to breakfast.
However, when her assistant, Darcy, came into the room and spotted Tony Stark sitting casually at their table, the situation spiraled out of control.
Her shriek was loud enough to wake the entire town, cutting through the morning air like a siren.
The sheer volume of it jolted Dr. Selvig out of his hangover, sending him rushing in with wide eyes, thinking some kind of disaster had struck.
After another round of introductions, Selvig ended up sitting numbly in a chair, his face blank with disbelief.
Darcy, meanwhile, perfectly embodied what it meant to be an enthusiastic fangirl.
As she bombarded Tony with a barrage of overexcited questions, he simply smirked and shot Ethan a look, clearly enjoying the attention.
Seeing that the situation was getting a little out of hand, Ethan decided to regain control.
"Thor," he said casually, "you should eat something."
"Why?" Thor asked, puzzled.
"Because you'll need your strength for what's coming next," Ethan replied.
Thor frowned. "Something's about to happen?"
A woman in love was always quick to sense when something was wrong. Jane immediately caught onto the ominous undertone in Ethan's words.
"Remember what I told you yesterday?" Ethan asked.
"You said you didn't believe what my brother told me," Thor recalled, narrowing his eyes.
"And what do you think I meant by that?"
"I don't know," Thor admitted, his confusion evident.
Ethan simply pointed to the sky. "You'll find out soon enough."
Thor followed Ethan's gaze. When he saw the unusual activity in the sky, realization dawned.
"The Bifrost?" he muttered. "Someone's coming?"
"Let's go," Ethan said, standing up.
This was the main reason he had stayed here all this time. He knew Loki would send the Destroyer after Thor, and the ensuing battle would wreck the town.
While Ethan wasn't exactly a hero, he had no interest in seeing innocent people get caught in the crossfire.
He had planned ahead, sticking close to Thor so he could influence the battlefield's location. Now that he had learned what he wanted, he would lead them to fight in a barren wasteland outside of town—far away from any casualties.
"The location is a bit far," Jane said, already grabbing her keys. She was fascinated by the strange lights in the sky and wanted to see what was happening firsthand.
She also dragged Dr. Selvig into the car before he could protest.
"By the way," Ethan added, "tell Coulson to keep his agents away from the area. And if necessary, start evacuating the town."
"Why? What's happening?"
"Possibly a battle between gods," Ethan answered nonchalantly.
Thor's companions arrived not long after they left the town. They were overjoyed to see him and wasted no time exposing Loki's deception.
"So, Loki really did lie to me," Thor muttered, glancing back at Ethan.
Ethan had a complex expression.
Thor now knew his brother had deceived him. Which meant that Ethan had been telling the truth.
Thor felt conflicted. On one hand, he didn't want to believe Loki would betray him like this. On the other, Ethan's warning had been accurate.
Before Thor could process his emotions, the Bifrost activated again.
This time, it wasn't a friend arriving.
At the same time, several S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles pulled up, and Coulson immediately approached Ethan.
"So, what's our plan here?" Coulson asked.
"We sit back and watch," Ethan replied.
"What? That's it?" Coulson frowned.
"Yes," Ethan said, gesturing to Arthur. "Remember what I told him yesterday?"
Coulson's memory was sharp. He recalled Arthur relaying a message from the Ancient One.
"You mean the warning from…?"
"Exactly."
Coulson's expression shifted as he put the pieces together.
"You're saying… all of this is part of Odin's plan?"
"Yes," Ethan confirmed. "This is Odin's doing. We're not meant to interfere… and frankly, we're not qualified to. Just sit back and enjoy the show."
Everyone present lacked the authority to intervene. The only beings who could were well aware of Odin's intentions and they had no interest in interfering.
So, they watched in silence as the battle unfolded.
First, the Asgardian warriors fought the Destroyer… and were promptly overpowered.
Then, Thor willingly walked up to the Destroyer, offering himself as a sacrifice in exchange for his comrades' safety… only to be swatted away like an insect.
Jane, panicked, turned to Tony for help.
After all, he was Iron Man.
But Tony remained still, unmoving under Ethan's silent warning.
As a result, Ethan could practically feel Jane's opinion of him plummeting into the negatives.
Even when Mjolnir finally flew into Thor's grasp, restoring his godly powers, Jane still shot Ethan cold glances.
"Forget it," Ethan sighed.
It seemed his fate was to remain single. No matter which world he ended up in, he always seemed to end up annoying the women around him.
After the Destroyer was reduced to scrap metal, Ethan approached quietly, opening the Book of Inheritance to scan its remains.
Tony had the same idea, instructing Jarvis to record all the energy fluctuations for future study.
Coulson noticed what the two were up to. Instead of interfering, he discreetly distracted the Asgardians, buying them time.
"For once, being a temporary S.H.I.E.L.D. advisor is actually useful," Ethan mused.
Meanwhile, Thor bid farewell to Jane and returned to Asgard to confront Loki.
And just like that, the Destroyer was left behind.
"This thing seems abandoned," Ethan muttered, shaking his head.
No matter. His trip to the Marvel Universe had been far more rewarding than expected.
And now, Fury wanted to meet him.
Even better? Fury had hinted at information regarding the Tesseract.