The agents moved first.
Orders were shouted, containment protocols activated, weapons raised with precise coordination. Energy signatures built rapidly as systems attempted to lock onto a target they had already failed to restrain once before.
Lord didn't look at them.
They weren't worth the attention.
Thor noticed that immediately.
"You ignore them as if they are beneath you," Thor said, his voice edged with irritation.
Lord glanced at him, calm but not detached.
"They can't affect this," he said. "So yes."
That was enough.
Thor stepped forward, shoulders squared, presence sharpening.
"If you continue acting without regard for this realm," he said, his tone firm, authority bleeding into it, "then I will stop you."
Lord met his gaze, steady.
"You can try."
Thor didn't wait.
He moved.
The distance vanished instantly, his fist already mid-swing, fast enough that the surrounding agents didn't even see it start.
Lord shifted slightly—just enough.
The strike passed close, the force behind it clear even without contact.
"Fast," Lord said, almost casually. "But too direct."
Thor didn't slow down. He turned into the next strike immediately, heavier this time, driving forward with enough force to crack the ground beneath them.
Lord raised his hand.
The space between them tightened.
Thor's fist slowed—
Then stopped—
Just short of impact.
Thor's expression hardened.
"What did you just do?" he demanded.
Lord shrugged slightly. "Adjusted the space between us."
Then he let it go.
The resistance vanished.
Thor's momentum surged forward—
And the punch landed.
The impact echoed outward, cracking the ground beneath Lord's feet. He slid back a step—just one—before stopping himself.
He touched his jaw briefly, more acknowledging than reacting.
"…Alright," he said. "That one had weight."
Thor stared at him, disbelief creeping in.
"You take a blow like that and treat it as nothing?" Thor said.
Lord let out a small breath, almost amused.
"It wasn't nothing," he said. "Just not enough."
Thor's expression hardened immediately.
"You stand before me and dismiss that?" he said, voice dropping. "I am Thor, son of Odin—God of Thunder."
The word hit.
God.
Lord stilled.
"…God," he repeated.
A quiet breath left him, sharper than before.
"I've heard that before," he said.
His tone shifted—not cold but edged now.
"People with power calling themselves gods," he continued. "It usually ends the same way."
Thor's eyes narrowed.
"You compare me to mortals pretending at divinity?" he said.
Lord shook his head slightly.
"No," he said. "I'm saying the title doesn't mean anything on its own."
That was enough.
Lightning answered Thor.
It formed instantly, drawn to him as if it belonged there, then struck outward in a blinding arc.
Lord didn't dodge.
The lightning hit.
The impact exploded across the ground, light tearing outward as the force carved through the space around him.
For a moment, everything disappeared in the flash.
Then—
It cleared.
Lord stood where he had been.
The energy around him shifted, dispersing the remaining current before it could settle.
He looked at his hand, flexing it slightly.
For just a moment—
Something flickered across his expression.
Recognition.
"…It's similar," he said quietly.
A brief pause.
"Not as refined."
Thor frowned, clearly not understanding.
Lord lowered his hand, looking back at him now with more focus than before.
"I've seen this before," he said. "Someone who actually held that domain."
The memory was brief.
A different world.
A different sky.
Lightning that didn't just strike—
But ruled.
"…Indra," he said under his breath.
Then he exhaled lightly, the thought passing.
"But this is close enough."
Thor's expression hardened again.
"You speak as though you've judged me already," he said.
Lord met his gaze.
"Not yet," he replied.
Then he stepped forward.
This time, he didn't avoid.
He engaged.
The space around Thor shifted slightly subtle, controlled.
A test.
A push.
Not to end the fight—
But to understand it.
Around them, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents held position, weapons raised, waiting.
None of it mattered.