The Avengers were preparing to leave.
Loki had been secured, and Thor stood guard while the others discussed what to do next. Tony was still arguing about Eli's hair.
Steve was checking damage reports on a tablet.
Clint leaned against a wall, exhausted.
Bruce sat quietly in the corner, rubbing his eyes like he hadn't slept in days.
But Thor's attention drifted toward Eli.
The young hero stood near the shattered window, staring out over New York.
Smoke still rose from parts of the city.
Thor walked toward him.
His footsteps were heavy but calm.
"Eli Keakabetse," Thor said.
Eli turned.
"Oh—hey."
Thor studied him carefully.
"You spoke earlier of becoming a Grand Celestial."
Eli rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"Yeah… that."
Thor crossed his arms.
"In my travels across the Nine Realms and beyond, I have encountered many beings of power."
His voice lowered slightly.
"But Celestials are not warriors who simply rise to greatness."
He looked directly into Eli's eyes.
"They are ancient beings… older than most stars."
Eli tried to keep his expression neutral.
"Yeah… I know that."
Thor tilted his head slightly.
"And yet you spoke the title as if it were a path."
Eli shrugged "Well… every warrior should have ambition, right? Besides, I like to think of myself as an unhatched Celestial." He said the words casually, even though he knew almost nothing about Celestials.
Thor paused.
Then he laughed.
A deep, booming Asgardian laugh echoed through the damaged floor.
"Indeed! When I was younger, I too believed I would become the greatest king the Nine Realms had ever known."
He placed a heavy hand on Eli's shoulder.
"Ambition is not a flaw, young warrior."
Eli smiled slightly "Good to know."
Thor's expression grew thoughtful again.
"But tell me something....Have you ever seen a Celestial?"
Eli hesitated. Then answered carefully.
"No… but I've heard of one."
Thor's eyebrows rose."Where?"
Eli pointed vaguely upward.
"In space. Far from here."
Thor nodded slowly.
"There are many strange places beyond Midgard."
Eli spoke casually, pretending it meant nothing.
"There's a mining colony called Knowhere."
Thor immediately stopped moving.
His eyes widened slightly.
"You know of Knowhere?"
Eli shrugged again.
"Just heard stories."
Thor looked out the broken window toward the sky.
"That place is… unsettling."
He turned back to Eli.
"It is said that Knowhere is built within the severed head of an ancient being."
Eli nodded.
"Yeah."
Thor lowered his voice.
"A Celestial."
For a moment, the wind blew through the broken tower in silence.
Thor studied Eli again.
"You are a strange warrior, Eli Keakabetse."
Eli laughed awkwardly.
"I get that a lot."
Thor smiled slightly.
"But strange warriors often change the fate of worlds."
He turned to leave.
"But take caution with such ambitions."
Thor paused before walking away.
"Power on the scale of a Celestial...comes with a burden few minds can bear."
Eli watched him go.
Then he quietly looked up at the sky.
For a brief moment, he imagined it.
The giant Celestial skull floating in space.
Knowhere.
A place where a piece of a cosmic god still existed.
A place he could smelt.
Eli smiled slightly to himself.
"Yeah…"
"Someday."
After leaving Thor, Eli walked over to Tony, who had just finished working on the system.
Tony held up a small chip and tossed it toward him.
"That's what you wanted, kid," Tony said. "I programmed and designed it to look more like one of those games young people like these days."
Eli caught the chip and looked at it for a moment before slipping it into his pocket.
I'll smelt this later, he thought.
He then walked toward the doorway.
Thor stood there with Loki restrained and gagged, the two of them still arguing with S.H.I.E.L.D. about custody of both Loki and the Tesseract.
Eli passed Natasha, who was leaning against a wall.
She noticed him looking her way and gave a small smile and nod.
Clint stood a few meters away, arms crossed.
Bruce remained near the corner, quiet and tired.
Eli stopped in the middle of the room.
Not too close.
Not too far.
Just enough for everyone to hear.
Across the room, Natasha Romanoff watched him carefully.
"So," she finally said.
"Where are you from?"
Eli paused mid-step.
He thought for a moment before answering.
"…Knowhere."
Natasha's eyes narrowed.
"We ran a global search on you," she said calmly. "Someone with your face should be easy to find. But there's nothing. No records."
Eli blinked.
"Of course you wouldn't find anything," he said. "I said Knowhere, not Earth. Though even if you searched Knowhere, you wouldn't find anything there either."
He shrugged slightly.
"I actually come from a system near it."
He had no idea if such a system existed, but he didn't want them thinking he was some kind of space pirate from Knowhere.
Natasha's eyes narrowed further.
"What do you mean?"
Eli pointed toward Thor.
"I haven't been there myself. I only heard about it from someone. But the Asgardian should know about it."
The other Avengers, who had slowly started paying attention, all looked at Thor.
Thor nodded.
"Yes. It is a place many light-years from Earth...A lawless place."
At that moment the door opened and Nick Fury stepped in, coat swaying slightly.
His one good eye scanned the room.
"And apparently," Fury said dryly, "it's now part of my briefing."
Natasha leaned forward slightly.
"Then why are you here?" she asked Eli.
Eli answered honestly.
"The Tesseract."
Every Avenger immediately became alert.
Tony's chair scraped as he leaned forward.
"…You want the glowing alien cube that just opened a portal for an invasion?"
Eli quickly shook his head.
"No! I don't want to steal it."
He had thought about smelting it earlier… until he remembered that inside the cube was something called an Infinity Stone from what he sow from the guardians of the Galaxy those things were extremely dangerous outside their containers. And a lot of dengarus people wanted those so he wanted nothing to do with them at least for now.
Thor studied him carefully.
"Then why seek it?"
Eli shrugged.
"I felt it."
Everyone stared.
"It's hard to explain," Eli continued. "I was flying through space when some kind of wormhole dragged me here, When I woke up near Earth… I felt this huge space-temporal energy spike...The Tesseract."
Tony crossed his arms.
"So you followed it."
"Yeah."
Natasha asked quietly, "And what were you planning to do with it?"
Eli answered simply.
"Teleport."
"To where?" Steve asked.
Eli smiled slightly.
"Knowhere."
Thor's expression immediately changed.
"You wish to travel there?"
Eli nodded.
"Yeah. It's the closest place I know where I can get a ride back to my system."
Thor spoke again.
"The Tesseract will not be used for such a journey."
Eli raised his hands peacefully.
"That's fair."
He then looked directly at Thor.
"But when the Bifrost is repaired…"
Thor tilted his head and said"…yes?"
Eli smiled.
"Can I get a ride?"
The room went silent.
Tony burst out laughing.
"You're asking the God of Thunder for an Uber ride across the galaxy."
Clint chuckled.
"Kid's got guts, I'll give him that."
Thor stroked his beard thoughtfully.
"To Knowhere…"
He looked at Eli.
"That is a dangerous place."
Eli shrugged.
"So was New York five hours ago."
That made even Steve smirk slightly.
Thor finally nodded.
"Very well. When the Bifrost is restored…I shall consider your request."
Eli grinned.
"Deal."
Across the room, Natasha continued watching him carefully.
Something about his story still didn't fully add up.
But as Eli passed her on the way out, she spoke quietly—low enough that only he could hear.
"Knowhere, huh?"
Eli glanced at her.
Natasha gave him a faint smirk.
"If you're lying," she said softly, "you should work on your poker face."
Eli blinked.
"…Noted."
She gave a small nod.
And for now…She let it go.