Daisy respected this old man. Uncle Ben might not have any special abilities, might not be able to make much money, and might not be much of a fighter, but his character was worthy of respect.
The old man's blood quickly soaked Daisy's shirt and pants red. Under Peter's and Wanda's expectant gazes, she could not simply say that she had no way to save him.
She would have to ask for help.
Knowing the history between Uncle Ben and Thor, Daisy immediately appealed to Asgard. This was an almost impossible problem on Earth, but it should not be especially difficult for Asgard. They most likely had a way to heal him.
The only problem was whether Asgard would grant her this favor. If Asgard refused, she would have to ask the Inhumans for help. Earth's current technology would have great difficulty saving Uncle Ben.
"Heimdall, I know you can see this! This old man once helped Thor. Can Asgard save his life?" Daisy shouted toward the sky.
Teleporting Uncle Ben to K'un-Lun and then to Asgard was impossible; the old man would never survive the trip. Thor had said that the Bifrost was not completely repaired either. Thor himself had stumbled and crashed around inside it until his head was covered in bumps before barely reaching Earth. Uncle Ben did not have that constitution even when healthy, much less now. Their only option was for Thor to bring some kind of miracle medicine down to save him.
One second passed, then two, then six. Just as Uncle Ben's breathing grew weaker and weaker, a seven-colored pillar of light descended not far from them. Thor walked out wearing scale armor and a red cape, hammer in hand.
He had not come alone. Frigga, Queen of Asgard, was with him.
Daisy hurriedly bowed. "Your Highness, thank you for your help."
Frigga was as gentle as ever. She patted Daisy on the shoulder. "I was not wrong about you. You truly are a warmhearted child who likes to help others."
"This old man is Thor's friend. As Thor's mother, it is perfectly reasonable for me to treat him. You needn't feel burdened by it."
Frigga looked again at the still-damaged city of New York. "Loki bears part of the blame for the destruction here as well. I am merely doing what little I can."
With that, she drew an ordinary-looking long table out of empty space. With a light motion of her hand, the blood-covered Uncle Ben was placed onto the table.
Silvery-white light flickered across its surface as runes appeared one after another. Daisy had studied runes and could understand some of them. They were words relating to treatment, healing, stopping bleeding, and similar functions.
Asgardians were very practical. They combined magic and technology extremely well. At Frigga's command, all the runes began rotating along a special path and stopped several seconds later.
A three-dimensional image of human anatomy appeared in the air above Uncle Ben. The bleeding points, the bullet's location, his heart, and his nerves were all displayed with perfect precision.
Peter's mouth fell open. The scene overturned much of what he had previously learned. Under normal circumstances he would definitely have blurted out something like "That's so cool!" or "Oh my God!" But Uncle Ben was at death's door, so Peter clamped both hands over his mouth, terrified that he might say something inappropriate and cause the other side to abandon the treatment.
"Don't worry. It'll be fine," Daisy comforted Peter.
"How is he? Is it serious?" Thor still felt a little intimidated whenever he saw Uncle Ben, but that did not stop him from respecting the old man. Uncle Ben had once helped him, and Thor would remember it for the rest of his life. Otherwise, Daisy's influence alone might not have been enough to persuade Odin to let the Queen and Prince of Asgard come to Earth to save a mortal.
Frigga pushed the obstructive Thor aside and inspected the bleeding points. Then she administered a large quantity of medicine to maintain Uncle Ben's basic vital signs before removing the bullet, cleaning the wound, and suturing it.
The procedure was not very different from human surgery, but it was safe and efficient. In less than five minutes, the operation was complete.
"Thank you for your help, Your Highness." Daisy hurriedly bowed again. Having the Queen of Asgard personally perform the operation was an enormous favor.
Was the surgery already over? Was his uncle safe? Peter hurriedly bowed as well.
"He is fine now, young man. His wound has healed. His body is simply a little weak." Frigga accepted Peter's thanks, then smiled at Daisy, put away her equipment, turned, stepped into the void, and returned to Asgard.
"Thor, aren't you going back...?" Daisy felt that Thor had not contributed much. What exactly had this guy come down here for?
Thor was very grateful that Daisy had helped Uncle Ben. He had not known Uncle Ben would be in danger, and Heimdall would not have told him merely because he saw it. Even if Thor had known, begging on his own might not have persuaded Odin. In the matter of Uncle Ben, both Daisy's and Thor's influence had been necessary. Odin's reputation as a stubborn old man was no joke.
When Daisy asked why he had come, Thor was vague, as though there were something difficult to say. He said that he planned to stay at Avengers Tower for a few days and would not return to Asgard yet.
Daisy did not care either way. She drove Uncle Ben home, then left Queens with Wanda amid Peter's and Aunt May's profuse thanks.
...
Avengers Tower was actually very boring. Aside from the occasional visit from Stark, who could at least chat with Thor for a while, there was nothing for him to do. Thor did not wear his distinctive armor and cape. He wandered through the streets of New York without knowing what he was supposed to do.
Odin acknowledged Thor's sense of responsibility, but believed he was still unqualified to receive the title of God-King. He was not ready.
Thor had once asked Odin what he still lacked.
The old man had given him a mysterious look and told him to find the answer himself.
What was he supposed to find? Wandering aimlessly through the streets was Thor's current predicament.
"Thor? You're Thor, aren't you? I heard you saved me!" While Thor stood there lost in thought, an elderly white man passed by, stared carefully at him for half a minute, then enthusiastically seized his hand and thanked him.
"Uh... you are?"
"Erik Selvig!"
"Oh, right, Dr. Selvig!" Thor finally remembered the elderly white man he had casually rescued. For a moment, he felt that perhaps he really had done a few good deeds.
The two got along very well. When Selvig learned that Thor had nothing to do, he invited him to go have coffee.
On the way, they happened to run into Selvig's colleague Jane Foster.
After talking with Thor for a few moments, Jane Foster realized that this handsome blond man was the person she had unexpectedly rescued back then. The two were not complete strangers after all.
Thor had been extremely dispirited that day. Now? Jane secretly observed him. He looked a little better, but only a little.
Thor also paid particular attention to this woman who could lift his hammer. In fact, it was not only Jane. He was curious about Black Widow and Lorna Dane as well, and Daisy went without saying. Apart from extraordinary beings like the Ancient One, Daisy was the only Earth woman Thor had encountered in all his long life whom his father Odin actually remembered.
After quietly asking Selvig not to reveal that he was Thor, the God of Thunder, Thor began chatting with Jane Foster about everything under the sun. He wanted to know what quality this woman possessed that allowed her to lift Mjolnir.