68 Chapter 68: New Mexico.

While he is monitoring the development in New Mexico, Ryan got a call from a certain researcher.

"THEY ARE TAKING ALL MY RESEARCH AND EQUIPMENT!" A woman complained to him, then the voice changed to a man's. 

"Sorry to bother you, Mr. Knight. But something happened here. " Dr. Eric Selvig said. 

Ryan hears out the explanation. "Let me talk to the agent, " He notifies Dr. Selvig.

Near where Selvig parked his RV, he put the call on the loudspeaker and let the caller speak to the agent. He, Jane Foster, and Darcy Lewis are confronting the agents.

"Agent Coulson, Tony told me some things about you. Never thought you were a thief." Ryan said while Dr. Selvig is holding up the phone.

Phil Coulson shows a wry smile. The act of loading every piece of equipment Jane Foster had in the van stopped for a moment as the agents there heard Ryan's voice.

"Mr. Knight, this is for the safety of our country. We need the data." Coulson tries to explain himself, without giving out confidential information.

"ALL of Dr. Foster's experiments are sponsored by me. That means the data are partly mine. I don't think you need ALL of these just for a satellite that looks like a hammer, does it?" He insinuated. 

'He already knew', Coulson catches on.

"We can let Dr. Foster keep the backup. But we need the equipment urgently. " He made some concessions to make a good impression on Ryan.

"Let her keep her notebook too," Ryan added.

Coulson complied and returned her black cover notebook. "I will send you a list of all items we procured from Miss Foster. "

"More like a seizure, but you do you, Coulson" Ryan ridiculed, but his tone is joking. Phil shows a smile on his face.

The agents continue loading up the equipment.

"Jane, take me off speakerphone," Ryan ordered. The phone is handed to Jane Foster.

"What is going on? Why do you let them take my data away??" Jane asks angrily while putting the phone next to her ear.

"Calm down first. They are not the enemy. Your data will prove invaluable to them when researching what happened last night. If I don't let them take the equipment, they will take you instead." Ryan explained calmly over the phone.

Jane Foster got goosebumps. " But my equipment…" It's all specially built by her. It's not like she can buy others at Amazon.

"I've kept your blueprints. I can send new ones to you in two days. Is that okay with you?" He had been sponsoring Jane's research, so she had to explain what she used the money for. That's how Ryan got her blueprints.

"I was so close," Jane whined.

Ryan comforted her. "Who knows, maybe the answer will soon come to you. " Jane's research on the Dimensional Gate is very exceptional. 

He is looking forward to the results. But the research needed help from a certain exiled Prince who is escaping from the hospital right now.

Dr. Selvig takes the call from Jane Foster who is emotionally unstable. "Thank you. At least we can keep the data. Jane may not realize it right now, but you have been a tremendous help. " 

At first, Dr. Selvig wanted to email his acquaintance, Dr. Hank Pym as the latter had dealings with Shield. Luckily, Jane had straight away called Ryan Knight who she knows from the university. 

Otherwise, if she was caught, Selvig fears that she will never be seen again, like a certain Gamma-Ray Physicist.

Ryan is still speaking to them, even Darcy Lewis got to talk to him for a while. 

"No one would believe me if I said I was on a call with a billionaire. It makes them seizing my iPod worth it. " Darcy said. 

"Why would they seize your iPod? Just ask for it back before they leave. " Ryan advised.

But she realizes it is too late. The agent is already gone. "My iPod…" she said sadly.

Jane Foster isn't staying still. 'There is a witness that can tell us what it is like in the Einstein Rosen bridge. I need to go to the hospital before the black suits get to him.' She planned in her head.

"Let's go to the hospital!" She said to Dr . Selvig and Darcy. 

Not longer than 5 minutes Ryan hung up the call, he got another one. It's from Tony. The call is a holographic projection this time instead of a normal call. 

"I know where the 3 reactors are.  It's in North Korea. Or at least it was. "

The North Korean military had been claiming victims of Tony Stark's aggression and accused Tony of killing their soldiers. 

Tony is puzzled about that, so he checks. "One of the reactors is destroyed. 2 more are gone. The culprit had advanced technology and can develop their metal suit. Not that I called to accuse you or anything."

If Ryan wants a reactor, why will he tell Tony about the first 3 that he gets? He can just stay silent. Tony knows he didn't do it. 

"Any footage from the attack?" Ryan asked. 

"None. Whoever did this doesn't leave any evidence. The North Korean accused me of it as one of their soldiers speaks of red armor before he died. " 

It raises several concerns in the mind of the original Iron Man. What do they want to do with the arc reactor? Is it an enemy or ally? Can my suit go against their suit? 

Tony will shut himself up in the lab to upgrade his suit if he doesn't need to find the reactors. 

Shield already told Tony about Spymaster and was assured that the organization is on it. However, he is still stressed out about it. '

'Why is Vanko so troublesome?' He whined in his head. 

"You seem anxious Tony. When was the last time you got some rest?" Ryan asked. 

"What are you, my mother?" Tony is displeased. He hasn't been sleeping for almost 2 days right now trying to find the item. He is a little sensitive.

"Yes, dear. Mother needs you to rest first. If not, then I will make sure my daughter-in-law knows about it."  Translation:  He is going to tattle to Pepper. 

Tony got goosebumps and ended the call quickly. 

Ryan tells Pepper about it anyways. He texted the toddler's guardian and made sure the overgrown kid got some rest.

Pepper didn't disappoint. Tony got locked up in the house for a few hours.

Gwen just wakes up right now after he finishes his business. 

"Busy day?" She asks. She had been hearing conversations for a while. 

"Yes, but I don't want to bother myself with it.  Let's take a break. I want to take you someplace," He turned to her.

"Are you finally going to let me meet the 'extraordinary'?" She teases. 

"Correct!" Unexpectedly for her, Ryan said yes. 

"Wait... For real?" She is flabbergasted at first. Then she became excited. "Let me put on my dress first!" she announced.

Ryan informed the running girl, "casual clothes!" 

"How are we going to get there?" She asked after getting ready. She is wearing a long, white skirt and a green sweater. She also wears a white headband on her head. 

Ryan smirks. "Just hold on" He grabs her shoulder. 

"Grab on to what…??" She is puzzled. Just as she finishes the sentence, her eyes start spinning. 'No, the space is spinning'

When she realizes it, she is already in another place. She holds her forehead, dizzy with the transportation.

Ryan is surprised. "Nice job with your first time apparating. I thought you would puke." 

Gwen glared at him. "You should've warned me about that!" 

"I did, I told you to hold on." Ryan teases. Before she could argue, an orange dragon flew to their spot. Gwen is extremely shocked. Her eyes almost popped out of the socket. 

"Amazing..!" She exclaimed. Charizard stopped in front of Ryan. He pets the pokemon's head. 

"Can I?" Gwen asks nervously. 

"Sure. Be respectful. They can understand humans" Ryan guided Gwen by placing her hand above his. When Charizard was comfortable, he removed his hand and let Gwen touch it. 

"He is so warm." She said while patting the dragon's head. Other pokemon come to greet the duo. Eevee nudges her head to Ryan to greet him. 

The atmosphere is very tranquil until two hot ladies wearing a very skimpy, string-type bikini pass by. 

"Oh Mr. Knight, want to join us at the beach?" The woman asks while another grabs his arm and nudges her assets towards him. 

"The castle is gone! Make a new one. Please?" She tries to seduce Ryan to get what she wants. She knows that he is not the type of guy to be swayed by sexiness, but it's fun to tease people. 

Ryan's face paled. Not because of the magnificent buns, but the cold air emanating from behind him. 

"Sooo,... extraordinary huh," Gwen said coldly and with some underlying disdain. Her mind went to check back what type of things Ryan said about the island before.

Ana just noticed Gwen at the time. "Hey, aren't you, his girlfriend? You finally came!" The ex-assassin eyes widened and removed her body from Ryan. 

She walks to Gwen and does the same thing she does to Ryan. "Nice meeting you. I'm Ana." She introduced herself while nudging her body at Gwen. 

Gwen can feel she had no malicious intentions. That's just the way she is. She stops thinking dangerous things. Ana winked at Ryan. He breathes a sigh of relief. He is safe now. 

The islander quickly makes Gwen feel welcomed to the place. She got some greetings from many people everywhere she walked. Many kids are calling her Mrs. Knight, which makes her blush a little. 

Ryan introduced Gwen to various parts of the island. He came here today not only to introduce Gwen but also came to check up on something. 

He meets with Annika. "Where is Yelena?" He asks. Yinsen was in Somalia at the time.

"She is still following Natasha," Annika replied. Yelena's position is still in Russia. 

Annika added. "I know what you are afraid of, but trust her. She won't do something stupid" 

"I trust her. I just feel bad for her." Ryan clarified. 

To be so close to someone you desperately wanted to meet, but can never go and introduce yourself to them. Well, at least for now. 

Gwen is looking around excitedly. She talks with some of them and realizes who the islander is, and why almost all of them are girls. She still remembers the incident that shook the world. 

She walks around with Ryan and Annika while learning about the island. They pass by a training place before they get to the Great Hall. 

Park Shin is training the trio, Sive, Dotty, and Mia in swordsmanship there. There are other places to train in real combat, weight, meditation, and others. 

Park Shin greeted Ryan. "I got what you wanted. Do you only need a vial?" She just got back from New Mexico, where Ryan asked her to bring back blood samples from a certain visitor. 

"Yes, it is enough. What do you want in return?" Ryan is glad to have the sample. He can study the blood of Asgardian right now. 

"I want you to spar with me using a sword," Park Shin asks. 

The kids' trio quickly interjected. "Castle!! You should ask for the castle!!!" They yelled at Park Shin's stupid choice.

Ryan smirks. "No exchange," He said playfully. Park Shin is regretful. Her shoulder drops.

"What castle?" Gwen asks curiously. She had been hearing about a castle from many people. 

The trio then shows a sly smile. "Let us show you. The wonders of architecture. The class of the royalty. It's not there now, but we took a lot of pictures of it." 

If they can convince Gwen, it will be easy to make Ryan build another castle for them. Ryan can guess their intentions. He just let them be. 

He is planning to build one, he is making the blueprint right now. He just acts as if he didn't want to build it to make it a surprise for the islander. 

Park Shin and Ryan will spar later. He is too busy right now. He goes to the Great Hall while Gwen is spending some time with the kids. 

There is a team of women there waiting for him. They are a part of his plan to evacuate the town when the battle took place. He just doesn't know which town right now. There is a lot of town near the deserted place. 

"I need your help," he explained the current event to the girls.

… 

The exiled Prince is laying in a hospital bed. 

"Thor Odinson… you have betrayed the express command of your king." A broken memory replayed in his head, about a king who is disappointed in him. 

"Through your arrogance and stupidity, you have brought… to these peaceful realms and innocent lives to the horror… and desolation… of War!" He heard the statement over and over. 

He saw the King approach him and ripped off parts of his armor and cloak. 

"You are unworthy of these realms! You are unworthy of your titles!" The King's anger causes his throat to close, holding his voice from coming out. 

"You are unworthy of the loved ones…you have betrayed." He sees the sadness in the King's eyes. 

"I now take from you,... " His weapons were taken away from him by the king. 

"… your power. In the name of my father, and his father before, I, Odin All-Father cast you OUT!" He lost his armor and power. He was banished. 

"Haaaa" He woke up yelling. He tried to remember the time he got bested by an ordinary mortal, but all of it is in bits and pieces. The now mortal was injected with a sedative as he freaks out in the hospital. 

His butt hurt like it had been pricked. He tried to move, but his hand was tied to the bed. His strongest force couldn't release him from the shackle. He had to wiggle his hand out. 

Getting out of the hospital, he will meet someone special. And got hit by that someone's car again. 

'I need to prove that I am still worthy, then I can go back home,' the exiled prince thought. Now, he needed to find his hammer, in which his power is sealed, and reclaim his place in Asgard. 

****************************************

Author: I'm sorry for the short chapter.

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