Stark stared at Thor with a look that practically screamed, Are you messing with me? But the thunder god's face wasn't joking. Coupled with his strange behavior today, Tony had no choice but to believe it.
"Wait, hold up—you're saying… you can't get home? Like, you're lost?"
Thor gave a heavy, brooding nod.
Normally, Asgardians traveled between realms using a device known as the Bifrost—essentially a kind of hyper-advanced spatial transport system. From Tony's perspective, it was one hell of a wormhole generator. When the Bifrost activated, it weakened the barriers between realms and used its distinct rainbow energy to transport travelers across the cosmos.
Thor, however, insisted it was "magic"—a thing far beyond Earth's science.
At the center of that magic system was Heimdall, guardian of the Bifrost, wielder of a god-forged sword that could open gates across dimensions. Heimdall was fiercely loyal to the Asgardian throne and a close friend to Thor. Thanks to his all-seeing eyes and the ability to hear every voice in the Nine Realms, Heimdall could respond instantly to a call for help.
Honestly, he sounded a lot like an all-seeing surveillance AI—just with more muscles and better cheekbones.
But the system wasn't flawless. Heimdall wasn't omnipotent. He could be overwhelmed, distracted—or, in worst-case scenarios, outright captured. When that happened, the Bifrost stopped working.
Which, apparently, was now.
"He always hears me when I call," Thor said with quiet dread. "But lately, he's been silent. Which can only mean one thing—something's gone wrong in Asgard."
Tony took a step back so he could look up at Thor without craning his neck too hard. Was Thor always this tall, or was Tony just short?
"So… you want me to help you go back home?" Tony asked, arms crossed.
"Oh boy. Now this is new. Last time we talked, you were treating Earth tech like caveman toys. Now suddenly you're Team Science?"
Thor's face darkened. He hated that this was happening. He had no faith in Earth's gadgetry—mostly because those gadgets usually caused the problems he ended up fixing. But right now, his only hope was the Avengers.
Seeing Thor's uncomfortable silence, Stark gave him a friendly slap on the arm. "Relax, Point Break. I'm just busting your chops. C'mon—lemme show you something special."
He led Thor into the depths of Avengers Tower. Down. Further down. Even further down.
Thor frowned. "We've descended at least fifty meters. Where is this lab of yours?"
"You'll see," Tony said smugly. "After the whole Hulk-smashing-my-lab incident, I reinforced the base. Now this place can take a hit from three Hulks at once. You could drop a moon on this place and it wouldn't budge."
Thor forced a polite smile. He didn't care about reinforced walls or Tony's latest ego trip. All he wanted to know was—could Stark get him back to Asgard?
Tony waved his hand. A holographic display appeared, showing swirling energy signatures and mathematical equations that made Thor's brain hurt.
"After you showed us how the Bifrost works, I got curious," Tony explained. "I studied the energy pulses it emits, mapped them, and discovered they resonate in a pattern that links Earth directly to Asgard. Or rather—links Earth to all Nine Realms."
"Because of Yggdrasil," Thor interrupted. "The World Tree—"
"Uh-uh." Tony raised a hand. "Save the mythology for your bedtime stories. I don't do Norse bedtime rhymes. I deal in data. And the data shows me this: the Nine Realms are connected by invisible points of intersection, and Earth—our Earth—is the central node. That gave me an idea."
He tapped the screen again.
The ground beneath them shifted.
A massive mechanical platform slowly rose from the floor, covered in heavy plates, glimmering coils, and a ridiculous number of glowing lights.
"Behold," Stark declared proudly, "my newest invention."
"…That big metal beast is your solution?" he asked dubiously.
"Hey! Don't give me that look, Goldilocks," Tony said, mock-offended. "This thing is designed to punch through dimensional boundaries. All I need is a strong enough energy source, and to find the thinnest point between Earth and Asgard. You go in one side, pop out the other, and boom—you're back in the land of golden goblets and broadswords."
Thor examined the machine with increasing suspicion. He clearly didn't trust it.
"Alright, alright," Tony shrugged. "Stop staring. I'll have JARVIS and the satellites start scanning for dimensional weak points. Shouldn't take more than a few days."
"…Thank you, my friend," Thor said, placing a hand on Tony's shoulder.
For the first time in a long while, the god of thunder looked genuinely relieved.
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