"Yeah, you weren't busy back when you were CEO," Carl said with open disdain. "Because all the work was done by Sister Pepper anyway. What exactly were you busy with?"
His expression was full of contempt. Tony was the textbook capitalist—if he wasn't busy, then clearly no one else in the world should be busy either. If he didn't work, then obviously no one else worked. Disgusting.
"Hey—what kind of look is that?" Tony protested. "That's called knowing how to manage. I was already the CEO—why would I need to do everything myself? Otherwise, what would be the point of being CEO?"
He tossed the apple in his hand to Carl and grabbed another one for himself.
"And you've got the nerve to criticize me?" Tony continued, firing back immediately. "From what I know, this office is being fully supported by Skye right now, isn't it? You're glued to that chair all day like super glue, not moving an inch. All the expenses are paid penny by penny with her hard-earned money. And you still dare to lecture me? You're the real kept man here."
"You're one to talk," Carl shot back without hesitation. "Aren't you living off Sister Pepper too? You don't work either—just mess around with your figurines all day. A full-on shut-in."
They were both living off their partners—why should Tony act like he was somehow superior?
The two of them went back and forth, enthusiastically tearing into each other over their respective experiences as "kept men," until Skye finally couldn't take it anymore.
"That's enough, both of you!" she snapped. "You're all rotten fish in the same pot—what's the point of complaining about the smell? Stop bothering me while I'm working!"
One shout from Skye, and both men immediately behaved.
That peace lasted less than five minutes.
Soon enough, the two of them had picked up game controllers and launched into another round of fierce competition—mentally about three years old, the both of them.
Right in the middle of their heated match, a familiar mechanical voice suddenly rang out.
[Ding—System mission issued. Please successfully prevent the invasion of the Dark Elves and restore peace to the Nine Realms.
Mission reward: Unlock Summoned Beast.]
Carl froze.
The system—long since classified by Carl as "missing in action"—had actually issued a mission.
"So you're still alive, System," Carl said, putting on a show of fake excitement.
[Ding—This system does not possess the life characteristics defined by humans. Therefore, it cannot 'die.']
"Tch. Boring. Talking to you is a waste of emotions."
Carl rolled his eyes, tossed the controller aside, and walked off to the side to examine the mission more closely.
"Stop the Dark Elf invasion and restore peace to the Nine Realms… What kind of mission is this?" Carl muttered. "The Nine Realms? I'm not a god—how am I supposed to manage all that?"
He immediately understood the core of the task. The Dark Elves, the invasion, the Nine Realms—this was tied directly to Asgard and the World Tree mythology.
More importantly, it involved the Reality Stone—known to the Dark Elves as the Aether. And to make things even more troublesome, Jane Foster had already absorbed it.
The Dark Elves planned to use the Aether during the convergence of the Nine Realms to travel between worlds, launching a full-scale invasion and ultimately ruling all Nine Realms.
Dark Elves. Nine Realms. This was clearly the plot of Thor: The Dark World.
And this battle wouldn't be confined to Earth alone. That meant reinforcements would be necessary.
Carl glanced at Tony—an excellent backup. Add Skye and the other two, plus Peter and Felicia. Captain America and Natasha could help as well. And of course, Thor himself, whose duty it was in the first place.
With this lineup, dealing with Malekith should be more than manageable.
It seemed he'd need to find an opportunity to tip Natasha off—let that one-eyed black-hearted egg at S.H.I.E.L.D. know what was coming.
---
Asgard.
After the failed invasion of New York, Loki—having failed to conquer Earth—was imprisoned. Though calling it a "prison" was somewhat misleading; it was nowhere near as harsh as one might imagine.
In fact, Loki lived rather freely, so long as he didn't leave his cell. Odin would even visit from time to time to talk with him, trying to guide him back onto the right path. It was less a prison sentence and more like house arrest.
Meanwhile, Thor was waging war in Vanaheim.
A rebellious faction there had risen against Asgard, and Thor had been dispatched to suppress the uprising.
The rebel forces in Vanaheim were not particularly strong. With Thor leading the charge, the Asgardian army pushed forward with overwhelming force.
At that moment, Sif was leading her troops in brutal combat against the rebels. The battlefield was chaos—fire and destruction everywhere.
Suddenly, the Bifrost descended.
Thor arrived like a god of thunder, lightning raging around him as he fell from the sky.
He leapt high into the air and smashed Mjolnir into the ground. A thunderous shockwave exploded outward, lightning surging in all directions. The surrounding rebels were thrown off their feet, their bodies engulfed in crackling arcs of electricity. None of them would survive.
"So this is what you call having everything under control?" Thor said as he stepped forward, patting Sif on the shoulder with a half-smile. "No wonder the place is in flames."
With Thor's arrival, the battle instantly turned one-sided. The rebels were driven back again and again, completely unable to withstand the might of Asgard.
Then, the sound of a horn echoed across the battlefield.
Both sides stopped fighting.
From within the rebel ranks, a towering stone giant stepped forward. The spiked club in its hands was taller than Thor himself.
"Your turn," Sif said, looking at Thor.
Clearly, this was the rebels' final trump card. They intended to settle things with a duel—winner takes all.
Thor approached the giant, gazing up at the massive stone figure looming several times his height.
"I accept your surrender," Thor said calmly. "There's no need for us to fight to the death."
The stone giant roared in response.
The surrounding rebels burst into laughter, mocking Thor's arrogance. In their eyes, Thor looked pitifully small before the giant—how could he even speak of surrender?
Thor laughed as well.
He began to spin Mjolnir.
Faster and faster it turned, until a whirlwind formed around him, lightning flashing within it.
Boom—!
Thor released the hammer.
Mjolnir shot forward and struck the stone giant squarely on the jaw.
In an instant, the giant's upper body exploded into countless fragments. Stones blasted skyward before raining back down to the ground. The mighty stone giant was reduced to a pile of rubble.
The rebels were terrified.
The being they had believed to be invincible hadn't even survived a single blow. Faced with Thor's overwhelming power, their will to resist completely collapsed. One by one, they fell to their knees and surrendered.
"Maybe next time, we should just take out the stone giant first," Sif muttered. "Would've saved us a lot of trouble."
She was filthy from head to toe, looking like she'd crawled out of the mud, while Thor had ended the battle with a single strike. The contrast was infuriating.
In the post-battle camp, Thor sat on a rock chatting with his companion, Hogun.
"Hogun," Thor said, "peace has largely been restored across the Nine Realms. This is your homeland. You can stay here, rebuild Vanaheim, and be with your people."
Hogun broke into a broad smile. "Thank you, Thor. That's the best news I've heard in a long time."
"No—I should be thanking you," Thor replied. "You followed me into battle after battle, never once returning home. Now that stability has returned, you deserve to stay."
The two clasped hands firmly. Their friendship needed no words.
With the war concluded, the Bifrost descended once more, enveloping Thor and the Asgardian warriors as it carried them back to Asgard.
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