Tony Stark dragged Pepper Potts straight into the master bedroom of the villa—and locked the door behind them without hesitation.
Meanwhile, Yamanaka Shinno, true to his motto of "never stand when you can lie down," had summoned a beach chair from downstairs and reclined under the sun, eyes closed, soaking in the rays.
As for the SHIELD female agents who'd arrived by helicopter?
These weren't the shy, easily flustered types.
The moment they disembarked, they each gave a flirtatious glance to the man standing in front of the floor-to-ceiling window—Wong—then changed into the swimsuits they'd brought along. Some indulged in the gourmet spread laid out on the lower level, while others dove freely into the pool.
Clearly, Tony Stark's villa was more familiar to them than their own backyards.
Which made sense.
SHIELD had its eye on Tony as far back as 2008. In 2009, Nick Fury himself had stepped in to guide him toward the discovery of the new element left behind by his father—part of his plan to recruit Tony into the Avengers Initiative.
If SHIELD satellites weren't monitoring this place 24/7, that would be the real surprise.
"Aren't you going to chat up the ladies? I seem to recall you don't have a fiancée or girlfriend."
Reclining with his arms behind his head, Shinno addressed Mordo, who had just walked up behind him.
"Supreme Sorcerer, I have little interest in such matters of the heart," Mordo replied with a polite bow before finding a seat.
Kaecilius followed closely behind and also sat down without saying much.
"You're a real man. I respect that."
Shinno arched a brow, a smirk playing at the corner of his lips.
Kaecilius's stoicism was understandable. Mordo, with his noble upbringing, clearly had enough of the playboy life in his youth and had since mellowed out.
As for Wong...
Hey, he was a man.
Liking beautiful things to lift the spirit—totally normal, right?
But if he really had zero interest in these stunning, vibrant women?
That would be alarming.
To appreciate beauty without letting your energy sink too low... to remain indifferent even as the women threw wink after wink, coyly curled their fingers in invitation—Wong's discipline was truly top-tier at Kamar-Taj!
"..."
Mordo scratched the back of his head awkwardly.
He could tell Shinno was teasing, but there wasn't much he could say in return.
Whoosh~ Whoosh~
The sound of something slicing through the air rang out once again.
A SHIELD-branded Quinjet hovered into place above the villa before vertically landing on a nearby helipad.
From the rear hatch stepped Nick Fury—bald head gleaming—and Agent Phil Coulson.
They immediately spotted Shinno reclining on a lounge chair, dressed in modern clothes.
And behind him sat Mordo and Kaecilius, clad in archaic robes, expressions stiff and unreadable.
A flicker of light flashed through Fury's one good eye.
He hadn't expected Tony Stark to get involved with this kind of company—mysterious sorcerers who usually avoided public appearances entirely.
And to top it off, they'd invited him to a party?
"I'm Nick Fury, current Director of SHIELD. It's an honor to meet you, Supreme Sorcerer."
Fury stepped forward with a formal, respectful air, clasped his hands together in the traditional mage's greeting, and bowed slightly to Shinno. He then repeated the gesture to both Mordo and Kaecilius.
The two sorcerers rose and returned the courtesy without much emotion.
SHIELD?
They were defending Earth long before that organization even existed.
"Had dealings with sorcerers before?"
Shinno casually summoned two chairs using his energy and gestured for Fury and Coulson to sit.
"Met two back in the 90s," Fury replied, sweeping his trench coat aside as he sat. "But they sacrificed themselves over a decade ago in a battle against a dimensional incursion. So yes, I have some understanding of Kamar-Taj and sorcerers."
His eye gleamed with sharp intelligence as he deliberately lowered his own status in the interaction.
His knowledge came solely from those two sorcerers, but that limited intel was enough for him to understand the significance of a Supreme Sorcerer.
This was an organization that defended Earth on a dimensional level.
Their numbers were unknown, but even the weakest among them wielded extraordinary power beyond what ordinary people could grasp.
That was why, when he received the sudden invitation...
He immediately approved vacation time for all the female agents on the guest list.
Still...
He couldn't help remembering what he'd found—or rather, not found—when he looked up sorcerers in SHIELD's database.
There were only scraps.
When he tried to dig deeper, the system responded: Access Denied.
Access denied?His access?
So who did have the clearance?
"You're not curious why I asked you here?"
Shinno looked at Fury with mild amusement.
When dealing with Tony Stark, this guy was all dominance and authority.
But now?
Humble. Respectful. Impeccably polite.
Fury didn't rise through the ranks on luck alone.
...
"I believe the Supreme Sorcerer will tell me when the time is right."
Fury pushed down his flood of questions and left the lead to Shinno.
Buzz—
An extremely high-level but subtle energy fluctuation spread from above.
Shinno raised a brow and motioned for Fury to wait a moment.
Taking a single step forward, he vanished through a dimensional rift—slipping out of Kamar-Taj's layered protective spells.
"... I didn't expect you to become the next Supreme Sorcerer."
The weary voice of Odin echoed in his ears.
The aging ruler of the Nine Realms had chosen to "knock" politely this time—instead of hurling Thor and Mjölnir down to Earth like in the old days.
"Life is unpredictable. I didn't expect it either."
"You've inherited the Eye of Agamotto. You've seen it, haven't you?"
"Would you like me to provide a little... extra trial?"
"That's exactly what I was hoping for. Asgard will remember this favor. You're welcome to visit us anytime."
Clearly, Odin was thoroughly exasperated with Thor.
Hearing no objections, he eagerly left Thor's "training arc" in Shinno's capable hands.
"I'll be sure to visit."
Shinno smiled.
With a wave of his hand, he opened a breach in the planetary defense barrier maintained by Kamar-Taj.
A beam of light from the Bifrost shot down, depositing Thor Odinson and Mjölnir in New Mexico before sealing up again.
Odin ended the conversation with a few polite words before disconnecting.
Shinno returned to the villa's rooftop without a word.
Before Mordo or the others could even ask what had happened, he made a slashing gesture.
Two golden, shimmering mirror images projected into midair—showing a cratered landscape, Mjölnir embedded in the ground, and Thor lying unconscious beside it.
Reclining once more, Shinno spoke lazily while watching the scene.
"Odin asked me to toss his son down to Earth for a bit of training."
"What should we do, Supreme Sorcerer?" Fury asked, eyes gleaming.
"Isn't SHIELD responsible for dealing with threats and anomalies beyond normal human capacity? You really need me to tell you how to handle a visitor from another planet?"
Shinno casually shoved the responsibility onto Fury.
He was the dignified, upright Supreme Sorcerer now. Getting his hands dirty wasn't his job.
The bloodline of the Asgardians...
The older they get, the more powerful they become. Their cells alone are fascinating.
Might be worth sending a sample to Orochimaru—see if he could whip up something useful.
As for Mjölnir?
Let SHIELD poke at it for a while.
If they could actually figure it out—
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Pls Drop some Power Stones
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