"If you are done observing, let's quickly move on to the information about your mission."
"Are you sure you will win?" Harley asked, still thinking about the painting he had just seen.
"Of course we will," Tony said with confidence, "four stones are on Earth, three in Leonardo's hands, one in Strange's. We monitor any entry to the planet in case they try to infiltrate. The Power Stone is in Thanos's possession according to Gravik, and we do not know the location of the Soul Stone, but even if Thanos found it, it would still be four against two, so we have the advantage. Not only that, the best blacksmiths in the universe, the only ones capable of creating the gauntlet, are in Nidavellir under Asgard's protection," Tony explained.
"Doesn't that depend on Laplace's Demon joining the fight? I heard he prefers not to get involved," Harley asked cautiously.
Tony laughed naturally. "Kid, that would be even better. You don't know Leonardo, if he doesn't interfere, then it means there is no need."
"And the gauntlet... are you sure that only in Nidavellir can they forge one? I heard that without the gauntlet having so many stones is useless, since there is no other tool capable of withstanding the power of six stones."
"Don't worry about that, there is no one else in the known universe who can do it, we confirmed it with the Nova Corps. Well, besides me of course," Tony replied before changing the subject. "Anyway, don't worry about these things, they are problems for others, like me. Let's talk about your mission instead."
While they continued talking, they arrived at a meeting room with several seats arranged in a circle around a table. The emptiness of the place made it look a bit strange to Harley, but even so his eyes were shining with excitement.
"Oh my God, is this the Avengers meeting room? I suspected it when you brought me to the Avengers base instead of SHIELD. Is it a joint mission?"
"Almost," Tony replied, cutting off his illusion. "The cooperation will be between SHIELD and Asgard. You only complete one mission."
At that moment, a projection activated from the center of the table. A strong, blond man of striking beauty appeared.
It was Thor.
"Tony! It has been so long, what have you been doing?" he spoke with emotion and nostalgia.
"The usual, revolutionizing Earth's technology and all that. What about you? Is being king fun?" Tony said with his usual arrogance.
"We are about to stop Ragnarok!" Thor replied, as if he had been waiting for that question. "We found traces of Surtur. He appears to be heading to Het, a planet full of volcanoes and fire, and it also possesses magical properties. If he manages to reach it, it will be difficult to defeat him."
"But... wouldn't that only matter if he stays there?" Tony asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Correct. No matter how invincible he is, he is restricted to that planet, billions of light years away from Asgard and unable to cause Ragnarok. A simple mission," Thor answered cheerfully. Ragnarok had always bothered him, and he had spent years searching for Surtur to prevent it. Now that he had found him under such favorable circumstances, he could not be happier.
"Even so, you should not underestimate him," Tony said seriously.
"I know what worries you, Tony. The specific conditions of Het that benefit Surtur are difficult, if not impossible, to find. And Surtur is heading in that direction as if he already knew about its existence. Someone must have given him the information. Even if we do not know who, we will be cautious," Thor answered, noticing the change in Tony's tone.
"But you also cannot be too..."
"Too cautious, I know. Sending most of Asgard's army would be suicide, and perhaps that is what they want. We will divide our forces evenly and prepare methods of travel between one point and another almost instantly. You should not worry about the plans, Tony. Asgard has Loki for those things," Thor interrupted.
"Alright. If you are sure, let's move on to the important topic," Tony said, shrugging.
Thor nodded and finally looked at the other person in the room.
"Oh! Young blood on the battlefield. It reminds me of my childhood. You must be Harley Keener. Tony talks a lot about you."
Harley froze, not knowing how to respond. After two years as king, Thor had developed an aura of nobility and wisdom, almost imperceptible to those close to him, but impossible to ignore for those who did not know him. Not only that, added to his fame as one of the strongest Avengers, he was even more intimidating.
But Harley had also received training, so after a few seconds he finally spoke,
"Y-yes. Harley Keener, SHIELD agent, level 5 operative, Avenger candidate," he answered nervously, adopting a military tone.
"Good. Only seven seconds. Not bad. Level 5... I heard that newly graduated agents are usually level 4. Just like Tony said, you are quite outstanding.
But let's not talk about that. Let's move on to your mission.
Three days ago, Amora the Enchantress escaped from prison and went to Earth. Capture her."
Harley remained silent, waiting for Thor to say something else, but silence was the only answer.
"Is that all?" he finally asked.
"That is all. Well then, Harley Keener, Tony, until next time."
With those final words, Thor's projection disappeared from the room.
Harley turned to Tony, looking for an explanation.
"They told me it is part of the test for you to figure it out on your own," Tony commented as he left the room.
Harley followed him, still trying to get more information about the mission, but Tony did not answer and simply shook his head every time Harley insisted.
Eventually, once back on Earth, Tony and Harley separated. One left through the air, the other remained on the ground, confused.
With no other choice, Harley sat on a bench in a park to analyze the situation, thinking about what he should do.
After reflecting for a while, he realized what he had overlooked.
Technically, he is already a SHIELD agent. He had forgotten because Tony had revealed that, in reality, he is not yet, but from the perspective of the test he should not know that. Therefore, he is considered an agent.
Once he understood that, he discovered the real objective of the mission. They had already trained and evaluated him many times before, so this time the purpose was not to measure his abilities.
They wanted to see how well he knew how to use them. There are many people capable of using a weapon, but who never dare to pull the trigger.
And Harley's weapon was not just his training, but SHIELD itself and its resources.
So the first step was to head to one of SHIELD's bases whose location he knew and obtain information about Amora the Enchantress.
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+17 chapters in advance on Patreon.
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(just delete the hyphen)
80 power stones = 1 extra chapter (cumulative)