Chapter 13: Big Sh*t Gets His Due

As the Bifrost took Minn-Erva and a bruised Loki back to Asgard, Thor remained behind on Earth. Knowing he'd soon return to Asgard for an extended "stay-at-home" period, he resolved to trigger as many tasks as possible to keep him busy later on.

Foremost in his mind was the famed original six Avengers. Seeing Natasha's young potential had shown him that even heroes not yet fully developed could trigger valuable missions. The majority of Earth's major events hadn't happened yet: Captain America was still frozen, Banner suppose to be in his 20's, maybe he is in some university finishing all his studies, if this is the MCU then Banner will only become hulk in 2011 and Hawkeye were off the radar, and finding him would be next to impossible. The only figure standing out in the crowd was Tony Stark.

Tony, however, wasn't yet the Iron Man of the future. Instead, he was in his most insufferable phase—arrogant, narcissistic, and, aside from his wealth, devoid of redeeming qualities. No one but Thor could imagine that this egotistical playboy would one day become a mortal hero worthy of the gods.

Thor managed to get an appointment to meet Stark through a backdoor connection with S.H.I.E.L.D., trading a vital piece of information as leverage.

"Steve Rogers is alive… and so is the Red Skull." The first half had Nick Fury practically jumping with excitement, but the second half nearly made him lose his composure.

Thor had added that last part just to mess with him.

Their meeting was scheduled for that afternoon. However, Stark got distracted by a model at lunch and completely stood Thor up.

Left hanging.

Absolutely ghosted.

Big sh*t, I swear on the Bifrost, if it weren't for the fact you'll save us all one day, I'd personally ship you off to the Far East to work as a monk!

In that moment, Thor suddenly understood why Killian had wanted Stark dead so badly.

"Ding! Congratulations, host, you have triggered an Iron Man-related mission: 'Iron Man Forever'—After the Killian incident in the future, Stark will consider abandoning his identity as Iron Man. Later, when the world faces crisis, Stark dons the armor again, ultimately giving his life with a final snap of his fingers."

Mission Objective: Prevent Iron Man from retiring, Keep him in the Avengers forever. Mission Reward: Improved Extremis formula. (Maya Hansen passed all the Extremis data to Tony before her death, which Tony later refined. The improved Extremis formula is safer, with reduced strength enhancement but a massive boost to self-healing capability, minus the risk of overheating and explosions.)

Note: This is an open mission with various possible solutions. Explore creatively!

Thor's eyes widened in surprise. A mission related to Iron Man had appeared—without even meeting him!

Pondering it, Thor realized that although he hadn't actually met Stark, there'd been some interaction, if you could count being stood up. Mission triggers seemed capricious, like how Carol's task only activated after Ronan's defeat, or Natasha's mission began with their first meeting.

Yet, this mission's objective left Thor uneasy.

And a bit confusing…

In fairness, the reward was fantastic. The Extremis serum was one of the "Big Three" superpower enhancers, alongside the super-soldier serum and Wakanda's heart-shaped herb. And Extremis, unlike the others, could be mass-produced. While it offered smaller boosts in strength after refinement, it granted an extraordinary healing factor. As Asgard's prince, Thor could practically raise an army of Wolverines!

But the mission itself presented problems. It involved two main steps. The first was preventing Stark from retiring after the Killian incident. That part was easy. No matter how strong or dangerous Killian was, he was just a threat to regular humans. Thor could intervene before the Mandarin incident even happened.

The real challenge lay in the second part active Avanger meaning he can't also die from sacrificing himself—stopping Stark from snapping his fingers in that final sacrifice. Now that was no simple feat.

Thor had already resolved to end the final war in Wakanda, maybe even kill Thanos early to change their fate entirely. But all of that would delay this mission for decades… two decades too long.

Besides, it's one thing to take down Thanos, but what chance does Extremis stand against the Mad Titan?

Thor's resentment toward Tony deepened. The man was annoying enough, but this task was turning into a nightmare.

Could it be that the Marvel universe's leading figure—Tony Stark—had earned himself an exclusive mission that was impossible to complete?