"Another myth," Nick Fury muttered, rubbing the bridge of his nose.
He’d come into this conversation expecting the impossible. Ancient gods, supernatural forces, things SHIELD’s science division would rather pretend didn’t exist.
Still...
First came world-creating Titans. Then the Elemental Lords. Now Norse mythology.
At least this one was familiar.
Evenson shrugged. "Most myths don’t appear out of nowhere. A lot of them are distorted memories of real events. The so-called gods really did visit Earth a very long time ago. The Norse legends are based on those encounters. The details got warped over the centuries, but the broad strokes aren’t far off."
"How much do you actually know?" Fury asked. "Not the legends. The truth."
"Enough to be useful," Evenson replied after a moment’s thought.
Fury gestured for him to continue.
"In the legends, the Nine Realms are connected by the World Tree, Yggdrasil."
"In reality, the Nine Realms do exist, but Yggdrasil isn’t literally a giant tree. It’s better described as a unique cosmic structure linking several worlds together."
"The only races that have visited Earth, as far as I know, are the Asgardians and the Frost Giants. They traveled using the Bifrost."
"And why did they come here?" Fury asked.
Evenson’s answer was a single word.
"War."
The room fell silent.
"The Frost Giants arrived first. They intended to remake Earth into a world suitable for their own kind."
Fury frowned.
"Meaning?"
"They wanted to plunge the planet into a permanent Ice Age."
Melinda finally spoke.
"Permanent?"
Evenson nodded.
"The Ice Age wasn’t enough for them. They wanted Earth frozen forever. Odin, King of Asgard and ruler of the Nine Realms, refused to allow it. He led the Asgardian army to Earth, fought the Frost Giants, and drove them back."
Fury leaned back.
"So humanity owes Odin a thank-you card."
"If the Frost Giants had succeeded," Evenson said, "there probably wouldn’t have been a humanity left to thank him."
Fury let that sink in before changing topics.
"So. Can you confirm that the hammer is actually Mjolnir?"
"Not completely."
"How do we verify it?"
"Answer a few questions."
Evenson folded his arms.
"People have tried moving it, haven’t they? And nobody could. Not because it’s too heavy."
Fury nodded.
"Before Coulson secured the site, the crater turned into a local attraction. Plenty of people tried pulling the sword-from-the-stone routine."
"They all failed."
"Our physicists also calculated its expected mass from the impact crater and analyzed its atomic structure. It shouldn’t weigh nearly enough to stay that firmly planted."
"A pickup truck should have been able to drag it out."
"Instead, the truck lost its rear axle."
"Then it’s almost certainly Mjolnir."
Evenson continued.
"Odin forged it from the heart of a dead star."
Melinda raised an eyebrow.
"A dead star?"
"The collapsed core of one," Evenson clarified. "That’s why it’s nearly indestructible."
That explains surviving atmospheric reentry without a scratch, Fury thought.
"When Odin gave it to Thor," Evenson continued, "he enchanted it."
"Whosoever is worthy shall possess the power of Thor."
Only those deemed worthy can lift it."
"Worthy?" Fury echoed.
To him, it sounded like a security code.
If someone knew the password, the problem disappeared.
"Any idea what qualifies as ’worthy’?"
"No."
Evenson answered honestly.
"And to be honest, the enchantment doesn’t always make logical sense."
He couldn’t help smiling.
"Think about it. Put the hammer in an elevator. The elevator goes up."
"So... was the elevator worthy?"
Even Melinda fought back a smile.
Fury sighed.
Not the answer he’d hoped for.
Still, disappointment wasn’t useful.
He shifted directions again.
"You said the Asgardians defeated the Frost Giants here."
"They saved humanity."
He watched Evenson carefully.
"Did they actually care about humanity... or were we just collateral beneficiaries of a war they were already fighting?"
Evenson considered the question.
"I’d call them friendly."
He paused.
"By Asgardian standards."
"They live for roughly five thousand years. When you’ve personally watched civilizations rise and fall, it’s hard not to develop a certain... perspective."
Fury understood immediately.
Imagine proudly telling an Asgardian that your nation had thousands of years of glorious history.
The Asgardian might simply reply:
"Yes. I remember. I visited during your Bronze Age."
That kind of conversation would end very quickly.
Suddenly Evenson slapped his forehead.
"Oh, right!"
Fury and Melinda instantly tensed, expecting some forgotten prophecy or world-ending revelation.
Instead, Evenson pulled out his phone.
"Sarah? Yeah, could you find Claire for me?"
Fury stared.
Was he seriously making a personal call right now?
"Tell her I probably won’t be online tonight."
A pause.
"The reason?"
Evenson glanced at Fury.
"Tell her I’m helping a paranoid middle-aged guy with an exorcism."
Fury’s eye twitched.
Paranoid middle-aged guy?
Was that supposed to be him?
He glanced at the clock.
It was barely past noon.
"You know," Fury said dryly, "we weren’t planning to feed you dinner."
Evenson slid the phone back into his pocket and shot him an equally flat look.
"What, do I strike you as someone freeloading meals?"
Then his expression became serious.
"I need to go."
"Go where?" Fury asked.
"The hammer site?"
Evenson nodded.
"Yes."
"Why?"
"Because Mjolnir belongs to Thor."
"If the hammer is here, then Thor is somewhere on Earth."
His face hardened.
"And judging by the circumstances..."
"He’s probably in bad shape."
Then another thought surfaced, and his expression changed.
"I almost forgot something important."
"What?"
"Thor isn’t just any Asgardian."
"He’s the Crown Prince of Asgard."
Evenson looked directly at Fury.
"Tell me something."
"Do you know what happened at Sarajevo?"
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