He paused, and his tone became serious.
"Mavuika, are you okay?"
Mavuika laughed softly.
"What do you think?"
There was two seconds of silence on the other end of the phone.
"...Fine," Tony's voice returned to its usual lazy tone.
"Right, who could hurt you? Regardless, Banner and I are coming over now. Wait for us."
"Now?"
"Yes, now. I'm already on the way. Banner is beside me. We'll be there in twenty minutes."
The call hung up.
Mavuika looked at the phone screen and shook her head helplessly.
Thor poked his head out of the kitchen, holding a box of ice cream.
"Big sister, who was on the phone?"
"A friend."
Thor's eyes lit up.
"Is it the friend you said built the Flamestrider?"
"Yes."
"Great! I want one too!"
Loki walked in from the balcony, put down his phone, a faint smile on his lips.
"Tony Stark, the mortal who publicly admitted to being Iron Man? Interesting."
Twenty minutes later
The doorbell rang.
Mavuika went to open the door.
Tony stood at the door, wearing a deep blue suit jacket over a black T-shirt, the Arc Reactor on his chest faintly visible through the fabric.
His hair was neater than the last time they met, and the dark circles under his eyes had faded—it seemed the New Element was working well.
Banner stood behind him, wearing a grey hoodie and glasses, looking much more energetic than when he was at Tony's Villa.
"Mavuika." Tony strode in, looking her up and down.
"Hmm, you really do seem fine. Worried for nothing."
Mavuika stepped aside to let him in.
"I told you, I'm fine."
Tony walked into the living room and then stopped.
Thor was sitting on the sofa with a box of ice cream, spoon still in his mouth, looking at him curiously.
Loki stood by the window, arms crossed, with a half-smile, his emerald eyes flickering with a light that made Tony instinctively wary.
Tony's gaze swept over the two and then turned to Mavuika.
"Why are there two more people in your house?"
Mavuika walked in, her tone flat.
"My brothers."
Tony froze for a moment.
"Your brothers?"
"Yes." Mavuika pointed at Thor.
"Thor." Then she pointed at Loki, "Loki."
Tony's eyebrows shot up.
He looked at Thor—the Blond strong man was standing up from the sofa, still holding the ice cream box, looking just like an ordinary American boy fresh from the gym.
Then he looked at Loki—the black-haired man leaned elegantly against the window, wearing a dark green shirt and black trousers, exuding an aura that was hard to define.
"Thor?" Tony repeated the name. "Loki?"
Banner stood at the door, also stunned.
"Wait," Tony raised a hand.
"The Thor you're talking about, is it that Thor? The God of Thunder? The one flying in the sky with a hammer?"
Thor grinned, put the ice cream box on the coffee table, and strode over.
"You've heard of me?"
Tony looked at The Hand he held out, hesitated for a moment, and then shook it.
Thor's palm was wide and powerful, the grip strength just right—not reckless like before; it seemed Mavuika had already taught him.
"Of course I've heard of you," Tony said.
"norse mythology, Thor the God of Thunder, son of Odin the King of the Gods, Mjolnir the hammer... you're very famous in human myths."
Thor's eyes lit up.
"Really? I'm very famous?"
"Extremely famous." Tony nodded, then looked at Loki. "And this—"
Loki bowed slightly, the smile on his lips carrying a hint of cunning.
"Loki, God of Mischief. I assume I'm in your myths as well."
Tony's lip twitched slightly.
God of Mischief, God of Pranks...
But the person in front of him looked more like an elegant noble.
"Prince Loki." Tony nodded, his tone carrying a hint of caution.
Loki laughed softly.
"No need to be nervous, Mr. Stark. Although I am the God of Mischief, I don't like playing tricks on friends."
Tony raised an eyebrow.
"We're friends?"
Loki glanced at Mavuika.
"You are Big Sister's friend. Therefore, you are my friend."
Tony was silent for a second, then smiled.
"Fine, I like the sound of that."
Banner finally found a chance to speak.
He walked in from the door, looking at Mavuika with a complex expression.
"Ms. Marvica... you... you are..."
Tony looked at him, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.
"Oh right, did I forget to tell you about Mavuika's identity? Let me re-introduce her..."
"Ms. Marvica, Asgardian, eldest daughter of Odin, sun goddess."
Banner opened his mouth, then closed it.
He had lived in Tony's Villa for so long, met Mavuika several times, had meals together, even watched movies together.
He had always thought she was just—well, not ordinary, but at least within the human realm—a person with superpowers.
But the sun goddess?
"You..." Banner spoke with difficulty.
"You are a god?"
Mavuika laughed softly.
"Asgardians are not gods, just a race with longer lifespans and greater strength. You mortals consider us gods, but we never think of ourselves that way."
Banner stood frozen in place.
Thor walked over and patted his shoulder; the force made Banner stumble.
"Don't be nervous, mortal!" Thor grinned.
"Big sister has lived on Earth for hundreds of years. She likes it here. Since you're her friend, you're my friend too!"
Banner looked at Thor's bright smiling face, then at Loki's elegant bow, and finally at Mavuika's calm gaze.
He took a deep breath.
"Okay. I need some time to process this."
Tony walked over and patted his shoulder.
"Don't think about it, Banner. It took me a long time to process it when I first found out too. You'll get used to it."
He sat down on the sofa, crossed his legs, and looked at Mavuika.
"Getting down to business, I've heard about the Kingpin situation. The Purple Man, The Hand, dozens of ninjas—you handled it all alone?"
Thor chimed in: "Not alone! I was there too! I took down at least twenty!"
Loki said dryly from the side: "You were beaten bloody by that Black Sky and almost died."
Thor's face turned red.
"That was because I didn't have my hammer! Now that the hammer is back, I can take on a hundred!"
Tony watched the two bicker, a slight smile on his lips.
"What about Kingpin?" he asked. "I heard he was caught by S.H.I.E.L.D.?"
Mavuika nodded.
"Fury sent people. He should be in a detention cell somewhere now."
Tony curled his lip.
"He deserves it. Running rampant in New York for so many years, he's finally gone down."
Banner said softly from the side: "I heard the Purple Man under him controlled a girl for months. Her name is Jessica Jones, and she's currently receiving treatment at S.H.I.E.L.D."