New Mexico, the site where Mjolnir had fallen.
What had originally been nothing more than a barren stretch of desert had now been transformed into a laboratory and military-controlled zone, with all unauthorized personnel forbidden from entering.
The laboratory itself was undoubtedly neither sophisticated, impressive, nor particularly high-end.
At least, that was what Coulson thought.
The entire facility consisted of little more than simple scaffolding, temporary shelters, and several layers of chain-link fencing.
It perfectly embodied three fundamental principles: security depended on watching, alarms depended on shouting, and temperature control depended on walking around.
Today in particular, Coulson had discovered one enormous problem.
The laboratory didn’t have a roof!
“I swear, after today I’m going to make whoever designed this laboratory survive alone in the desert for ten days.
Let him find out what it feels like to get completely drenched by a downpour.”
Torrential rain poured over Coulson.
Even the famously good-natured agent couldn’t resist making a rare threat.
“I agree with you, but right now you might want to give me an order.
I’ve already got that guy in my sights.”
A deep male voice came through Coulson’s radio.
“Just say the word, and he’s dead.”
The statement undoubtedly sounded a little boastful.
After all, in rain this heavy, even a precision rifle could suffer from reduced accuracy.
“Wait a little longer, Barton.
Someone will be here soon.”
Coulson, however, didn’t doubt him in the slightest.
Because the man speaking was one of S.H.I.E.L.D.’s elite agents—
Hawkeye, Clint Barton.
Forget a little rain.
Even in a Category 5 hurricane, this master archer could probably use the wind itself to put an arrow exactly where he wanted it.
Coulson turned his attention back to the fight below.
On one side were two S.H.I.E.L.D.
guards assigned to protect the laboratory.
On the other was a handsome, muscular blond man wearing a white T-shirt.
It was worth mentioning that Coulson had personally watched the man break through the perimeter fencing, knock down more than ten guards along the way, and charge straight toward Mjolnir.
“You mean that guy called Adrian Cross?”
Hearing Coulson’s words, Barton sounded somewhat puzzled.
“Coulson, do you know who he is?”
As a Level 9 Agent, Barton had received the notification from headquarters.
But he had no idea who this special representative with full authority was supposed to be.
“Can’t tell you that, Barton.
That’s Level 10 classified information.”
Coulson shook his head.
“Fine.
But are you sure he can even get here?
In weather like this, even a large aircraft would—”
Barton abruptly stopped speaking.
As a master archer, he naturally possessed extraordinarily sharp eyesight.
That was, after all, where his codename Hawkeye came from.
So even in the middle of a pitch-black night beneath torrential rain, he could clearly see…
A gigantic silhouette seemed to flash between the gaps in the storm clouds!
“Coulson, there’s something in the sky—”
Before Barton could finish, another voice suddenly came through the communications channel.
“Hey, Coulson.
Can you hear me?” Get faster updates on novelping.com.
“I can hear you, Adrian.
But you’re using the group channel.
If you want to contact only me, you need to switch to the private channel.”
Coulson immediately recognized Adrian Cross’s voice and hurriedly responded.
“Where are you right now?”
“Up in the sky.
You guys might want to brace yourselves…
There could be a little turbulence in a moment.”
“What?”
Coulson had absolutely no idea what Adrian Cross meant.
In the sky?
A little turbulence?
What the hell was he talking about?
“What I mean is—I didn’t bring a change of clothes, so I need to stop the rain first.”
Stop the rain?
Coulson became even more confused.
Barton had absolutely no idea what the other man was talking about either.
A few seconds later, however, they understood.
“ROOOAAAR!”
A heaven-shaking dragon roar erupted across the night.
And Hawkeye witnessed an unbelievable sight with his own eyes.
An enormous beam of light blasted out from within the storm clouds.
In an instant, the dark clouds blanketing the entire sky were completely dispersed!
BOOM!
The beam streaked far into the distance before an enormous shock wave began spreading outward.
The temporary shelters throughout the laboratory creaked violently.
Both Barton and Coulson were forced to duck as water droplets blasted through the air around them.
Then the shock wave finally passed.
The torrential downpour stopped instantly.
And from between the rapidly dispersing clouds, a massive dragon slowly revealed itself.
“That’s…
the dragon from Manhattan.”
Unlike Coulson, Barton knew nothing about Adrian Cross.
Seeing Rayquaza now left him completely stunned.
And as the dragon slowly descended, the oppressive presence radiating from its enormous body made Barton instinctively tighten his grip on his specially made bow.
But then…
“Hey, Coulson.”
Adrian Cross jumped down from Rayquaza, with one tiny Pokémon perched on each of his shoulders.
Barton could only blink.
“Adrian, you certainly have a…
unique way of making an entrance.”
Coulson looked at the experimental equipment that had just been blown all over the place by the shock wave and forced out a smile uglier than crying.
“Can’t be helped.
I didn’t know it was raining this hard here.”
Adrian Cross shook his head.
“Besides, these clothes are designer.”
After casually chatting for a moment, Adrian Cross turned his attention toward Thor in the distance.
Taking advantage of the chaos, Thor had already dealt with the two guards who had been distracted by Rayquaza.
Now he was staring directly at Adrian Cross.
Are you a witch from Vanaheim?”
“…”
With just one sentence, the Crown Prince of Asgard convinced Adrian Cross that a significant portion of his brain was probably composed of muscle.
When Adrian Cross didn’t respond for a long moment, Thor only became more convinced of his own conclusion.
As the Crown Prince of Asgard, Thor had naturally visited Vanaheim before.
It was one of the Nine Realms and the homeland of his mother, Queen Frigga.
The witches there who wielded magic often raised magical creatures.
Dragons, for example.
Chimeras.
Or powerful multi-headed serpents.
Celebi and Victini perched on Adrian Cross’s shoulders only reinforced Thor’s conclusion.
Celebi in particular looked, in Thor’s eyes, very obviously like some sort of “fairy.”
As for Adrian Cross’s appearance, Thor wasn’t surprised by that either.
The witches’ magic allowed them to transform into countless forms.
Turning into a man was perfectly normal.
So Thor immediately became delighted.
Ever since his father Odin had exiled him to this world, this was the first time he had encountered someone “familiar.”
And given the friendly relationship between Vanaheim and Asgard, this person would undoubtedly be a valuable ally now that Thor had lost his divine power.
So Thor greeted Adrian Cross with complete familiarity.
“Hey, witch!
Standing before you is the son of Odin, Crown Prince of Asgard, Thor Odinson, God of Thunder.”
“I have come to reclaim my weapon.
In accordance with our alliance, I ask that you assist—”
Thor never got to finish.
His vision suddenly blurred.
A sharp pain struck the back of his head.
Then everything went black, and he collapsed face-first onto the ground.
“Adrian, what are you…?”
Coulson stared dumbfounded at Adrian Cross, who had suddenly appeared behind Thor and knocked him unconscious with a single punch.
“It’s fine.
That much force isn’t enough to kill this guy.”
Adrian Cross casually waved a hand.
“Take him inside the laboratory and keep him isolated.
Make sure you observe his behavior closely.
It’d be best to install some surveillance and listening equipment too.”
“…Understood.”
Although Coulson couldn’t quite understand why Adrian Cross was doing this, his basic professionalism as an agent made him carry out the order.
“Rayquaza, head back for now.”
After the unconscious Thor was dragged away and placed in confinement, Adrian Cross recalled Rayquaza directly into the System Space.
Watching the enormous dragon simply disappear left Barton staring wide-eyed.
Once everything was arranged, Adrian Cross smiled at him.
“Agent Clint Barton—’Hawkeye,’ right?”
“Hello, Adrian.”
Hawkeye nodded.
He was a proud man by nature, but everything he’d just witnessed had already made Adrian Cross’s strength abundantly clear.
Not only was Adrian Cross the master of the dragon that had unleashed the storm in Manhattan, but he was clearly a superhuman in his own right.
In front of someone like that, even Barton couldn’t bring himself to act arrogant.
“I want to take a look at that hammer.”
Adrian Cross glanced toward the center of the facility.
“Take me to it.”