The blonde's entrance snapped every gaze in the restaurant to the doorway. Men and women alike stared.
Even Thor's face went slack with a goofy grin. "Not bad. Only a beauty like this is fit to be Asgard's future queen." He strode straight for the door.
Garfield, Holland, and Harry all wore lovestruck expressions. Jones and Hans shot them a glare. "Pretty, isn't she?" they asked through clenched teeth.
Garfield and Holland bobbed their heads before they even thought—and the next second both yelped, clutching their waists.
Maguire only gave the blonde a glance, then lowered his head and kept eating. Gwen saw and felt a warm sweetness rise in her chest. Maguire really wasn't like Garfield and the others.
By then Thor had reached the blonde. "Miss, here to eat? I'm Thor. Care to share a drink?"
She smiled faintly, voice cool. "All right. But I only drink hard liquor."
Thor nodded like an eager pup. Jane huffed, marching up to him. "Do you even have money? Honestly!"
Thor's face went awkward. The blonde laughed. "In that case, I'll buy you a drink."
"That's wonderful!"
Seeing the scene, Jane snorted. "Fine, then don't hang around with us anymore. Go wherever you want." She stomped back to their table. But next to this mesmerizing blonde, a woman he'd only known three days didn't hold much pull for Thor; he followed the blonde to a table and sat.
Maguire and the others finished their meal and left the restaurant.
As the blonde clinked glasses with Thor, a shadow crossed her face. "Why is he here? Looks like this operation won't be so simple."
Out on the street, Garfield said, "Locals say a hammer fell from the sky two days ago, and no matter what they try, it won't budge."
Everyone agreed they should take a look. They piled into three big Suburbans and drove east of town.
There, a gaping crater split the ground. In its center lay the Thunder God's hammer—Mjolnir. Crowds milled around; a few stubborn types were still trying to lift it.
Just then several black Chevy Suburbans rolled up. A dozen men in black suits stepped out. Leading them were General Ross and Hawkeye. In short order, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents cleared the civilians away.
Meanwhile, after Maguire's group left the restaurant, the blonde said to Thor, "No matter what methods they've tried, no one can pick up this hammer."
Thor's eyes widened, a grin breaking across his face. "A hammer? Hahaha, excellent! We'll talk later—I'm going to see it!" He shot to his feet and hurried out. The blonde rose as well and headed for the door. Not far behind, Jane snorted but followed.
The blonde slipped into a nearby alley, just as a girl in a blue T-shirt walked by in the opposite direction.
By now Maguire's group had reached the crater. Parked nearby were the black Suburbans and a cordon of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents—General Ross and Hawkeye among them. Garfield and Holland glanced at Maguire. Gwen and the other women said, "Looks sealed off. We should probably keep our distance."
Garfield and Holland looked to Maguire for a call. He smiled. "Since we're here, we might as well take a look. I'll go with Garfield and Holland."
They headed toward the pit. Ross and Hawkeye spotted them immediately.
"Damn, the Hellblood Demon showed up here?" Hawkeye muttered. "S.H.I.E.L.D. never informed the Spider Alliance. All three of them came—what now? Whatever you do, don't cross the Hellblood Demon."
He leaned toward General Ross. "Those three are Spider-Men of the Spider Alliance. The one in the black suit is the Hellblood Demon. Do not provoke him."
Ross frowned. A soldier to the bone, he didn't brook being ordered around—but faced with Maguire's terrifying power, he nodded.
Maguire and the others stopped before Ross and Hawkeye. A few agents moved to question them, but Hawkeye waved them back from their own deaths.
Hawkeye addressed them: "Maguire, what brings you three here?"
Before Maguire could answer, Garfield said, "We're just tourists. Ran into this by chance. What are you doing here? Is there some danger?"
Hawkeye weighed his words. Director Fury had said to keep the Spider Alliance out of S.H.I.E.L.D. business. Best to keep it vague. "No danger. Just a strange hammer that turned up here."
Maguire nodded. "In that case, my friends are interested in the hammer. I'll have them come take a look—no problem, right?"
Hawkeye felt a bead of sweat. Could he say no? He had no desire to eat a slap. Ross said stiffly, "This is a special situation. It's not suitable for civilians to enter."
Hawkeye panicked and jumped in. "It's fine. Plenty of civilians have been here already."
Maguire shot Ross a cool look. Inwardly: Old man, you're not convinced, huh? Fine. We'll have a… friendly talk later.
He went to fetch Gwen and the others.
Outside town, Thor was hurrying along when a figure appeared in his path: green attire, twin long golden horns crowning his head—Loki, the Trickster.
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