After calming down a bit, Jane suddenly realized—this was the center of the storm. She looked around and noticed that there were no buildings anywhere nearby.
"Where did he come from?"
"Ugh!" At that moment, the man lying on the ground suddenly gasped for air.
Jane saw him open his eyes, then raise his arms and sit up.
"Does he need mouth-to-mouth? I'll do mouth-to-mouth," Daisy said as she approached with the first-aid kit.
Jane looked around again and saw the man fall back to the ground. "Where did he even come from?"
Just as she finished speaking, the man took a deep breath, stood up, and staggered forward a few steps.
"Are you okay?" Jane couldn't help but ask with concern.
"Where's the hammer? Where is my hammer?"
"Yeah, we can tell you were hit on the head by a hammer—obviously," Daisy said as the man got up, clearly more concerned about finding his hammer than anything else. "I think he might have been faking it."
Once he stood up, Jane noticed a strange symbol on the ground.
"Oh my God, Erik—look at this!" she exclaimed, pulling out her notebook and quickly sketching with a pen.
"We need to act fast before anything changes."
"Jane, I think we should get him to a hospital first," Erik said, watching the man pace around in confusion.
"He's fine—just look at him. Doesn't seem like he's in any trouble at all," Jane replied, still focused on documenting the pattern on the ground.
"Heimdall, I know you can hear me! Send me back!" Thor called out to the sky after spotting his hammer.
"Jane, you still think he's fine? Is he hurt?" Daisy asked, eyeing the man with concern.
"Alright, if you want to take him to a hospital, I'll stay here," Jane replied after glancing at Thor again, starting to suspect something was off with his mind.
Apparently overhearing them, Thor turned and asked, "Which realm are you from?"
"This is New Mexico," Daisy said warily, her nerves kicking in at the sight of the hulking man. Afraid he might lash out, she pulled out a taser and pointed it at him.
But when Thor saw the taser, he began walking toward her.
"You want to threaten me, Thor, with such a tiny weapon?"
Seeing him approach, Daisy nervously pulled the trigger.
ZAP
Thor convulsed as the taser hit, then collapsed to the ground, unconscious.
Jane and Erik stared in shock, mouths wide open—they couldn't believe Daisy had just tased a man who had already been in a car accident and passed out.
"What?! He scared me!" Daisy said defensively, looking at Jane and Erik. "I didn't mean to—he scared the crap out of me."
There was nothing more they could do—for now, they had to take Thor to the hospital.
But just as they drove away, something hammer-shaped plummeted from the sky like a meteor, landing in the area near where their car had been parked earlier.
A loud explosion followed as the hammer struck the ground, forming a deep crater.
While on the way to the hospital, Daisy was still a little shaken. The guy they'd hit, even though Jane had tried to take control of the situation, was technically her responsibility as the driver. And then she tased him.
She had no idea how badly he might be hurt, and the more she thought about it, the more nervous she became.
So, after thinking for a bit, she took out her phone and sent a text to Clark. She knew his father was a police officer, and maybe Clark could give her some legal advice. She didn't know if she might go to jail over this.
Meanwhile, in a villa in Malibu, Tony's birthday party had just begun.
Watching Tony dance on stage in his Iron Man suit, Pepper Potts looked on helplessly. She didn't know what was going on with Tony lately—it felt like he'd given up.
Stepping outside, she saw Clark fiddling with his phone.
"Clark, why are you out here alone?"
"Eh, something came up. You know how noisy it is in there," Clark replied, waving his phone.
"Right… Clark, do you know what's going on with Tony? He's been acting really—" Pepper gestured vaguely, unable to find the right words.
"I know what you're trying to say," Clark replied. "But maybe it's best if Tony tells you himself. Oh, and I need to take care of something. Could you cover for me with Tony?"
Clark had just read Daisy's text and figured she might need help. If he suddenly showed up at her side, would she be touched?
He texted her back, saying he just happened to be in New Mexico and asked which hospital she was heading to.
Pepper could tell by the look on Clark's face that he definitely knew more than he was letting on, but he had no intention of saying anything further. After a quick goodbye, he walked away from Tony's villa.
Since there were people coming and going at the entrance, Clark didn't want to suit up and take off from there. Instead, he looked for a quieter spot.
"Hey, Clark, where are you going?"
Just as he was leaving, a vintage Audi A6 pulled up next to him. The driver leaned out the window—it was Rhodey.
"Rhodey? What are you doing here?"
"I couldn't help it—it's not like this is Tony's fault." Rhodey lifted his phone. Just then, it rang again.
"Take your call—I've got something to do." Clark glanced at Rhodey's phone screen and noticed the word "General" on it. He waved goodbye, then made sure no one was around, suited up, and shot into the sky.
"Awesome…" Rhodey muttered as he watched Clark fly off. But then he remembered—soon, he'd be flying too in his own Iron Man suit. The thought brought a smile to his face.
Then the voice on the other end of the phone snapped him back to reality.
"What did you just say?" the voice asked.
"Oh—nothing, sir. I guarantee Iron Man will be back on duty within 24 hours."
Ten minutes later, Clark had flown over 3,000 kilometers and arrived at a hospital in Pointe Antigor.
He called Daisy's number.
"Hey Clark—are you there?" Daisy's voice came through the phone, sounding relieved, like she'd found someone to lean on.
"Yeah, I'm here. Where are you?"
"We're at the admissions desk!"
"Got it. I'll be right there."
After hanging up, Clark activated his X-ray vision to find the admissions area—he didn't know where it was exactly.
But just as he was approaching Daisy, he saw a blond man burst out of a nearby exam room, knocking over several doctors.
"You cannot defeat the strong!"
As the blond man ran toward him, Clark calmly put a hand on the man's head and pressed him against the wall. Unfortunately, he used a bit too much force—and knocked him out cold.
"Oh my God!"
Daisy had just turned toward the reception desk and saw it all—the towering man crumpled to the floor like spaghetti under Clark's palm.
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