After finishing the matter in London and having a sweet lunch with Jane, Alaric returned to New York, to the Sanctuary.
"Where's Clea? Isn't she practicing magic anymore?"
Alaric saw only Amora and asked in confusion.
Amora stood up and leaned into Alaric's embrace.
"She's in her room."
"What's wrong with her?"
"Maybe she got scared when she saw how close I am to you." Amora smiled.
"…Alright." Alaric smiled awkwardly.
"Anyway, we should be more careful around Clea."
Alaric also thought Amora was being a bit too affectionate and didn't consider that Clea was present.
If they were alone, Alaric wouldn't mind, he'd actually be quite pleased.
But since Clea was in the house, it was better to behave more normally.
"I understand." Amora nodded and didn't press further.
After all, three people under the same roof have to be mindful of appearances.
Still, it remained to be seen whether Clea would react after hearing her method.
Amora was honestly looking forward to it!
All in all, Amora didn't mind if Alaric had other women, one more or less didn't bother her.
But Clea was so young, she naturally had to come after her in the pecking order.
As for Jane… Amora said she'd wait until she met her.
"Where were you just now? Did some new enemy appear?"
"I was in London." Alaric sat on the couch and explained.
"London? To see your girlfriend Jane?" Amora raised an eyebrow.
"There was an earthquake. Jane called. I went to check what was going on and found something interesting."
"What?"
"Have you ever heard of the Celestials?" Alaric asked with a smile.
"Celestials?! They're coming to Earth!?"
Amora jumped in shock and stared at Alaric in disbelief.
How could she not have heard of the Celestials?
Those were the stories she grew up with!
Because in those stories, besides the Celestials, the main character was Odin, so many in Asgard knew of Odin's feats against them.
At the same time, they knew the Celestials were extremely powerful. Odin once barely managed to stop them with nearly all of Asgard's might.
"Yes, they haven't come yet."
"You mean, they'll come one day in the future? Why!?"
"Because one Celestial is sleeping deep within the Earth." Alaric said with a hint of a sigh.
"What!? There's a Celestial here!?"
"It's over, it's over! The Celestial Group will definitely come now!"
"Alaric, what are we going to do? Should we go to Asgard for help from the All-Father?!"
Amora was utterly panicked, she felt like Earth was finished.
Instinctively, she wanted to go back to Asgard to seek Odin!
Because Amora believed only Odin had the power to stop them!
"Don't panic. As long as I'm here, nothing will happen." Alaric reassured her.
"Can you defeat the Celestials?!"
Amora's eyes suddenly sparkled, and she looked at Alaric with expectation.
"Even though we haven't fought yet, I think I can. If Odin could, so can I."
As long as the Celestials weren't on a multiverse level, Alaric's current strength was more than enough to stop one.
Even if not, Alaric could forcibly use the powers of the Vishanti, Dormammu, and the Infinity Stones.
If even the combination of those three wasn't enough, then Alaric would ascend to the multiverse level and try again!
"You're stronger than Odin!? Oh my God! You're so powerful!"
Amora was completely thrilled.
"More than enough."
Alaric nodded.
"Alaric, you're back!?"
When she heard voices, Clea came out of her room, and then saw Amora clinging to Alaric.
Her joyful words were suddenly cut off.
"Ekhm, I'll just go downstairs to check something."
Amora straightened her hair, got up, and found an excuse to leave.
"Clea, have you learned any magic?"
"Hmph! More or less!" Clea huffed sulkily.
"Alright, keep working hard."
Over the next few days, Alaric stayed home and kept a low profile, while the outside world was buzzing.
Because countless reporters wanted to interview Alaric, but no one had the right connections or knew where exactly he lived.
Otherwise, they'd have been camping outside the sanctuary long ago.
And since they couldn't find Alaric, Tony once again became a big star and the main topic.
Especially the story of the Avengers team, which was now known worldwide.
But this time Tony rarely appeared on camera, trying to keep a low profile, retreat, and seriously develop his suits.
Because he felt that this time he looked like a fool and was even controlled, which really stung him as a superhero!
Tony was deeply ashamed and decided to make a huge spectacle next time.
Because of that, he worked almost nonstop on developing new series of armors.
At the same time, he invited Banner to permanently move into Stark Tower so they could develop the Hulkbuster armor together.
Two scientists, both geniuses, found common ground, like kindred spirits.
Especially Banner, who was very grateful to Tony for his trust. He didn't see him as a monster or just the Hulk, but as a friend and fellow scientist.
The two of them worked together perfectly.
After about a week, Stark Tower welcomed a guest.
"Thor? What are you doing here?"
"No, I'm not here because of trouble. I came to deliver something."
Thor first greeted his two friends, then got to the point.
"What is it? Do you need our help?" Tony asked, puzzled.
"Don't worry, I'm just delivering something."
Thor said and opened two boxes in his hands.
One was the Tesseract, the other the Mind Scepter.
"Didn't I tell you to take these back to Asgard to be sealed? Why did you bring them here again?" Tony asked, stroking his chin in thought.
"It's Father's, Odin's order. Since my uncle is on Earth, they can be better protected here from those who might want them."
"Wait, wait. You're saying Alaric is stronger than your father Odin?" Banner asked in surprise.
"That's right!"
"This is roughly what Father said: my uncle has completely surpassed him. That's why he sent me to deliver an invitation for him to come to Asgard when he has time."
Although Thor didn't fully understand Odin's reasoning, he completely trusted Alaric.
"I came, looked for uncle, didn't find him, so I came to you to make arrangements."
"Can you give this to my uncle for me? Bifrost is repaired, I need to go urgently to calm the chaos in the Nine Realms. I can't stay long."
"Uh… isn't that… a bit risky?" Banner hesitated.
Tony looked at the Tesseract and Mind Scepter, and his eyes lit up.
"Banner, what do you say we take a little look before we give them to Alaric?"
Tony and Banner suddenly became very serious.
"If my uncle agrees, no problem. If he doesn't, then you better not." Thor said honestly.
"Don't worry, we'll just take a quick peek!" Tony replied immediately.
"Alright then."
Thor said, closed the boxes, and shortly after flew away, since he needed an open space to summon the Bifrost.
Tony and Banner put them away carefully.
"Don't worry, I know where Alaric lives." Tony added.
After Thor left, Tony and Banner looked at each other.
"Shall we begin?" Tony winked.
"Let's do it." Banner nodded with a smile.
And so the two scientists, with two Infinity objects in hand, very determinedly set out to just take a quick look before handing them over to Alaric.