...
"Donald," Phil Coulson said calmly as he stepped up in front of Thor."I've always felt like you weren't telling me the whole truth."
"You know something?" Coulson continued."We're fighting for the same thing — protecting this world."
Thor, who understood at least a little about how S.H.I.E.L.D. operated, took two steps back and stopped beside Jane Foster before speaking again.
"If you return everything you took from Jane," he said firmly,"then you will be my ally."
"Stole," Jane snapped immediately, clearly still furious about it.
"Borrowed," Coulson corrected smoothly, taking one look at the obvious tension between the two and moving fast to defuse it."You can have all your equipment back. You still need it for your research."
With that promise secured, Thor lost all interest in the mortal who had once given him nothing but bad memories.
"Jane," Thor said, standing tall and every bit the god again,"would you like to see the Rainbow Bridge I told you about?"
"Of course," Jane replied.
She instinctively glanced toward a certain armored man nearby, hesitated for a moment… then nodded.
Watching Thor wrap an arm around Jane and casually Biu—! straight into the sky like Coulson didn't even exist, Phil could only sigh.
Maria Hill, who had her own assignment, merely exchanged a look with Ryan before boarding a sleek transport and vanishing just as quickly.
That left Coulson staring up at a very large problem.
"Angel Baron?" Coulson said dryly, eyeing the dark-gold armored figure."I didn't realize angels came with noble titles."
"Before today," Ryan Cole replied calmly from within the Angel Armament,"would you have believed Thor or Odin actually existed?"
Coulson paused.
"…Fair point."
Then he glanced toward the direction Thor had vanished."Angel Baron, your weapons aren't registered. I'm going to need you to come with us."
Ryan shook his head."Pass. That wasn't part of my deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. Besides, I'll be leaving soon. Your boss already knows."
Coulson didn't push it — it was clearly a probe.
Just then, Agent Jasper Sitwell received an urgent update from one of his men.
"…What?" Coulson blinked after hearing it."The Destroyer was stolen?"
"Yes," Sitwell confirmed with a nod."Umbrella took it."
Coulson's expression darkened."I'll report this directly to the Director. For now, leave it."
"Understood," Sitwell replied. His rank was lower, and he knew better than to argue.
Though they'd tried to keep the conversation discreet, Ryan heard every word.
After confirming with Star Spirit that the "package" was already en route to his lab, and that he was no longer needed here, Ryan didn't bother sticking around.
Especially after Jane ultimately chose Thor.
Any vague thought Ryan had about developing things further with her evaporated instantly.
Not that Jane Foster was a bad choice — plenty of screen time, famous actress — but between her looks and age, she wasn't really Ryan's type.
And besides, she wasn't exclusive to this franchise.Ryan had… better options.
Still, watching a girl he could've had get scooped up stung a little.
So when he returned to his territory and Star Spirit confirmed Thor and the others had returned to Asgard via the Rainbow Bridge — and then vanished entirely — Ryan couldn't help but feel a bit smug.
After all, the only thing that could make Thor miss an appointment like that…
…was the Rainbow Bridge being destroyed.
The only lingering question was Loki.
Had the Trickster God followed the original timeline and come to Earth — or had Ryan's interference altered his fate entirely?
That curiosity was quickly replaced by something far more tangible.
Four vials of divine blood.And the remains of the Destroyer.
The blood-drawing equipment Maria Hill had delivered earlier hadn't actually infused Thor with divine blood at all.
What it delivered instead was a specially engineered virus — created using Thor's own blood samples.
Given that Thor was Asgardian, Ryan hadn't trusted ordinary viruses to do anything.
And he'd also wanted to test whether his own Godblood Serum would work on a so-called "pseudo-god" like Thor.
So he'd blended a small amount of Godblood directly into the virus.
The effect worked — just not the way he expected.
The unintended side effect?
The Destroyer getting smashed into scrap.
According to the original plot, Thor defeated the Destroyer quickly — but the armor itself remained mostly intact.
This time, however, Thor had literally hammered it apart.
Whether that was due to the Godblood-enhanced virus or something else entirely was still unclear.
Ryan felt a twinge of regret — reverse-engineering that thing would've been priceless.
Still, it wasn't a total loss.
After handing portions of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif's blood samples to Star Spirit for analysis, Ryan stood alone in the lab and drew four crimson droplets into his body with a flick of his fingers.
The change came quickly.
"…That's it?" Ryan muttered.
Staring into the mirror — now wearing Lady Sif's face — his expression was nothing but disappointment.
After absorbing Sif's blood and adjusting his genetics into an Asgardian template, Ryan finally gained a deeper understanding of the so-called gods.
Either the MCU Asgardians had been massively nerfed…or blood absorption alone simply couldn't reveal the full truth of a higher alien species.
Beyond enhanced strength, speed, reflexes, regeneration, digestion, and durability…
They weren't that impressive.
After sequentially transforming into each of the Warriors Three and personally testing their abilities, Ryan confirmed it.
Different strengths, sure — and a few unique physiques — but overall?
Low value.
Disappointing.
Still, with these blood samples, Ryan's plans involving Asgard finally had a workable foundation.
Given that Asgard likely hid far more power than what the films ever showed, Ryan wasn't stupid enough to go knocking on their gates now.
Instead, he turned his attention to the Destroyer wreckage.
Compared to Asgardian blood, this pile of metal was far more valuable.
Even shattered, the materials alone were worth it.
Unfortunately, the destruction was too thorough. Even after Star Spirit performed full-spectrum scans and reconstruction modeling, reverse-engineering the manufacturing process remained impossible for now.
Even so, in his deal with S.H.I.E.L.D. — or more accurately, Nick Fury — Ryan had paid very little and gained a lot.
Perhaps because of the HYDRA intel he'd casually dropped earlier, S.H.I.E.L.D. left him alone for a while.
Instead, Ryan received a message from Tony Stark.
"I've got to say, Tony," Ryan laughed while touring the half-emptied mansion,"you're unbelievably stingy."
"You said you only wanted the house and land," Tony snapped, face dark."The fact I left you the furniture and data center is already generous."
"Fair enough," Ryan shrugged."Not like I need your toys."
Tony bristled instantly."Toys? If my Mark suits are toys, then what the hell is your bird-man armor?"
"It's not bird-man armor," Ryan corrected cheerfully."It's Angel Armament."
Then, grinning, he added,"What? Feeling salty? Want a rematch?"
"I'll—"
Before Tony could finish, JARVIS cut in through his earpiece.
"Sir, I must advise calm. You did, after all, just lose your mansion."
Tony:"…Damn it."