076. We Choose to Believe in Hope

Thor had no interest in investigating any of those oddities. The thing he wanted most right now was, of course, to reclaim his divine power. Jane understood this perfectly, so neither of them bothered to wash the dates; they booked a flight to New York overnight, wasting no time.

By now, news of a rainbow beam descending on New York—rumored to be an alien arrival—had flooded every corner of social media and the internet.

“That’s the Bifrost,” Thor explained to Jane with a smile. “It can take you to any of the Nine Realms.” The Bifrost had appeared many times in the legendary tales Thor once recounted about his exploits, so Jane was not unfamiliar with it. She had even seen it up close when Mjolnir first fell.

At this moment, Jane slipped into her scientist’s mindset, pondering the scientific explanation for the Bifrost—perhaps something like an Einstein-Rosen bridge, a wormhole.

Only now did she remember Professor Erik Selvig, whom she had left behind in Old Bridge, and Darcy Lewis, her long-faced assistant who doubled as driver, research aide, life manager, and even comic relief. Not just these two—she had also left all her equipment and research notes back there. Without them, there was no way she could continue studying the Bifrost.

With that, Jane decided to call Darcy Lewis, to check on their situation and perhaps brag a little about her own experiences. Had she ever heard of “a step to the stomach”?

As soon as the call connected, Darcy’s anxious voice came through. “Jane, where are you guys now? New York? Did you know, just now, another rainbow bridge appeared outside Old Bridge! We’re heading over to take a look!”

Darcy’s voice was indistinct, as if she were in a car, which reminded Jane of the night they first met Thor. That night, too, they’d been speeding after the rainbow bridge—and ended up hitting Thor with their car.

At that moment, Darcy suddenly let out a shriek on the phone, followed by the screech of brakes.

“Jane, I think I just hit someone again!”

Jane was tempted to say that Darcy had also been the one to hit Thor that previous night—so perhaps this was just routine for a menace behind the wheel, nothing to make a fuss about.

“Damn, I think I hit more people this time!”

On the other end, an exasperated Erik Selvig could be heard grumbling, “You just sent four people flying. You really ought to be driving a tank.”

The Bifrost. Four people?

Thor didn’t have time to dwell on it; his mind was entirely focused on his hammer. “Let’s get to New York—finding the hammer comes first!”

Boom!

Just then, a rainbow beam shot down from the sky.

That night felt strangely significant for America. The Bifrost, a phenomenon like a miracle, was streaking across the country, startling everyone. The final rainbow beam landed squarely in front of Thor—just a few hundred meters away.

Thor was at Los Angeles International Airport. Though it was late, the terminal was still bustling with travelers. The rainbow bridge landed on the tarmac outside, and as luck would have it, a C-40C official jet was right in its path. The Bifrost obliterated the plane completely; not a single soul aboard survived.

This particular jet was for official use—it wasn’t something any random person could board. At the very least, you’d have to be as formidable as a wicked old witch to qualify for passage. But now, whether you were a nobody or a big shot, it made no difference—all were reduced to ashes.

Yet neither Thor nor anyone else at the airport was interested in the ashes. Their eyes were fixed on what appeared on the runway after the Bifrost faded: a colossal iron giant.

“Whoa! Is that Tony Stark’s new armor? That is so cool!”

“Iron Man! Amazing!”

“Tony! Tony! I want to have your babies!”

Some of the onlookers, not understanding what was happening, cheered instantly. Iron Man was the pride of Los Angeles—just as Spider-Man was to New York.

Though Iron Man had suffered a minor setback at the Hammer Industries Expo, it was ultimately inconsequential. In the end, he and War Machine had teamed up to take down that scheming Russian from behind the scenes.

Well, at least that’s what the news didn’t say. The reports claimed it was Batman who did it, that he even defeated three Iron Men including Iron Man himself.

To the people of Los Angeles, this was obviously fake news—fabricated by New Yorkers to discredit Iron Man and boost the popularity of Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. They even went so far as to invent a Batman.

Whether Batman was real or not, nobody knew. No one came forward to claim the title, and the footage was always blurry—so people could say whatever they liked.

Anyway, Los Angeles refused to believe in Batman. To them, Iron Man remained the one true god.

So when they saw the giant iron figure touch down, their first thought was of their idol—Iron Man.

This was Iron Man’s first public appearance since the Hammer Industries incident, and the suit he wore was completely different in design, style, and color. What surprise would he bring this time?

Whether a die-hard fan or not, everyone watched the towering iron giant with anticipation, waiting for the next act.

Just then, the giant’s faceplate opened—but instead of revealing Tony Stark’s face, there was only a dark, empty hole.

So this wasn’t Tony Stark himself, but a remote-controlled drone?

Hammer Industries had unveiled drone Iron Soldiers before. Iron Man hadn’t tried this himself, but clearly, it was no challenge for him.

No wonder Tony Stark was a genius—he could even master drones!

As the crowd marveled at Tony Stark’s ingenuity, a ball of flame suddenly ignited in the darkness of the iron giant’s face.

“No, wait—!”

A sense of impending doom struck some, but it was too late.

A streak of fire shot from the iron giant’s face, slamming straight into a turning passenger jet. The plane exploded instantly into a massive fireball.

Screams erupted:

“Ah!”

“What’s happening?!”

“Run!”

“Help!”

Chaos. The entire airport descended into panic. The supposed Iron Man drone had, for no reason, attacked a civilian jet. This—

Who could possibly explain why this was happening?

How did that damn thing even manage to land safely?