Chapter 27: A Taste of Cheesy Burgers and Surveillance

The sun dipped lower over the Malibu coast, casting a golden hue over Tony Stark's sprawling villa. The terrace buzzed with activity as Max stood over the grill, flipping thick patties of ground beef sizzling in the heat. Smoke wafted lazily toward the ocean, while the smell of melting cheese teased the appetites of everyone nearby. Max, Tony, and Pepper were gathered around, sharing small talk over the sound of crackling meat and the clinking of glasses.

Max had taken over the grill with surprising ease. It was one of Tony's more extravagant purchases—state-of-the-art, of course—but Max seemed to handle it like an expert chef.

"You know," Tony called over, lounging in his chair with a cold drink in hand, "you've officially taken the title of 'grill master' away from me. I'm not sure how I feel about that."

Max glanced over his shoulder with a grin, flipping another burger. "Don't worry, Tony. You can keep the title of 'guy who makes things explode'."

Pepper, sitting next to Tony, stifled a laugh. "I'd call that an accurate description."

"Hey!" Tony feigned offense, pointing his drink at Max. "Explosions are a fine art. Besides, I make plenty of things that don't blow up. Like this grill, for example."

Max just chuckled as he assembled the burgers. He passed one each to Tony and Pepper, setting them down on the table with an array of toppings and condiments. The food looked perfect—each burger topped with a gooey slice of cheese, nestled inside a soft, toasted bun.

Tony took a bite, nodding approvingly. "Not bad, Max. I might actually have to give you a pass on the 'guy-who-stole-my-grill' thing."

Pepper smiled as she added a few extra tomatoes to her burger. "You can't argue with good food, Tony. You'll just have to accept that Max has hidden talents."

As the three of them settled into a comfortable rhythm of conversation, Max's phone buzzed in his pocket. He glanced at the screen, seeing a message from one of the Widows stationed on the Storm Chaser.

"Excuse me," Max said, stepping back from the table to answer.

"Go ahead," he said into the phone, his tone suddenly serious.

"Sir, we've intercepted information about a major S.H.I.E.L.D. operation in New Mexico. It's big. You'll want to take a look."

Max nodded, thanking the Widow before ending the call. When he returned to the table, both Tony and Pepper were looking at him with curiosity.

"What's going on?" Tony asked, his burger momentarily forgotten.

"Something's happening in New Mexico," Max replied, sitting back down. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s got a significant operation running. Might be worth keeping an eye on."

Tony's eyes lit up with interest. "S.H.I.E.L.D., huh? Always something exciting with those guys. You think it's serious?"

"Hard to say," Max admitted. "But I'm going to find out."

He turned his attention to the AI that was ever-present in Tony's life. "Jarvis," Max said, "can you tap into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s surveillance feeds in New Mexico? Let's see what we're dealing with."

"Of course, sir," Jarvis responded smoothly.

In moments, a monitor on the terrace wall flickered to life, showing a live feed of a S.H.I.E.L.D. base hastily constructed in the New Mexico desert. On the screen, familiar faces came into view—Dr. Erik Selvig stood talking to a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents. Behind him, Jane Foster and Darcy Lewis watched the proceedings nervously.

Tony leaned forward, clearly intrigued. "Selvig? What's he doing there?"

"Whatever it is, he's knee-deep in it," Max muttered, watching intently.

Selvig, looking somewhat harried, was addressing Agent Coulson. "His name is Dr. Donald Blake," Selvig said, gesturing toward Thor, who stood nearby, still in his mortal disguise. "He's, uh… a friend of mine. A colleague. We've worked together for years."

Coulson raised an eyebrow, clearly not convinced. "A colleague, huh?" He glanced at the other agents. "Run a full background check on this Dr. Donald Blake. Let's see what comes up."

Max smiled to himself, knowing exactly what the agents were about to find. Jarvis had already ensured that the profile they'd prepared would be discovered by S.H.I.E.L.D.'s search.

Moments later, the agents huddled around their computer screens, typing furiously. As soon as the profile for "Dr. Donald Blake" appeared, the agents exchanged confused glances.

"Sir, we have a match," one of the agents called out to Coulson. "It's… unusual."

Coulson strode over, glancing at the monitor. The profile was extensive, detailing a man named Donald Blake—physician, martial arts enthusiast, and author of highly unusual fiction. Everything seemed to check out, yet there was something off about the whole thing.

"Dr. Donald Blake," Coulson muttered, reading aloud. "Former physician, psychiatric issues, believes he's the Norse god Thor…" He trailed off, frowning deeply. "What the hell?"

Clint Barton, standing off to the side, snorted. "Guy's delusional. Or he's pulling the best con I've ever seen."

Selvig blinked rapidly, his confusion growing. "Wait, what? What profile? What's this about Donald writing… what did you say?"

Another agent piped up, scrolling further down the profile. "Apparently, he's an author too. Writes… let's see… Boy Love novels?" The agent stared at the screen in disbelief. "Wait, what?"

Darcy, who had been quietly observing, couldn't suppress a laugh. "Oh my god. Thor, is that you? Secretly writing romance novels under an alias?"

Jane Foster looked equally confused but shot Darcy a stern look. "Darcy, not the time."

Thor, standing nearby, overheard everything. His expression shifted to one of utter confusion. "What is this madness? I have written no such tales!"

The agents weren't done yet. One of them pulled up a file that contained several illustrations. "Uh… we've got pictures," he announced, his voice tinged with disbelief. "And they're… well…"

Coulson leaned in to look, his eyes narrowing. The images on the screen depicted Thor and Loki in rather compromising positions. In one, Loki was embracing Thor from behind, both of them dressed only in swim trunks. The style was unmistakably romantic—bordering on explicit.

"Well, this is… enlightening," Coulson said dryly, his gaze shifting toward Thor, who was quickly turning red with embarrassment and anger.

In Tony's villa, the reactions were immediate. Tony nearly spat out his drink, laughing hysterically as he pointed at the screen. "Oh, this is gold! Thor the romance novelist!"

Pepper, for her part, looked more bemused than anything, though she couldn't help but smile at Tony's reaction. "I think we've officially seen everything."

Max, sitting calmly, simply watched as the chaos unfolded. "Selvig looks like he's about to pass out," he remarked.

Back on the screen, Selvig was flustered, trying to piece together what was happening. "I… I don't know what this is! I never said anything about… novels or… what did you say, swim trunks?!"

Coulson, still keeping his cool, glanced between Selvig and Thor. "This is all very… interesting. But I'm going to need more than a bizarre backstory and some questionable art if I'm going to let this guy walk free."

Unbeknownst to everyone, Loki was nearby—watching the scene unfold from the shadows, invisible thanks to his magic. As he read over the shoulder of one of the agents, his eyes widened in disbelief.

When he saw the excerpt from the supposed "romance novel," his shock turned to fury.

"Thor's heart pounded as Loki drew closer, dressed only in a towel. Loki's arms wrapped around Thor's chest, pulling him close. Thor's breath hitched, and—"

With a sudden burst of rage, Loki clenched his fist. The monitor displaying the passage shattered into pieces, sending glass scattering across the floor. The agents jumped back in surprise, looking around for the source of the sudden destruction.

Thor, still oblivious to Loki's presence, simply glared at the wreckage. "That's what you get for spreading lies about me!"

In the villa, Tony was doubled over with laughter, wiping tears from his eyes. "I think… I think I love this guy even more now. Thor, the literary genius."

Max just shook his head, a small smile tugging at his lips. "S.H.I.E.L.D.'s going to have fun explaining that one."

As the situation in New Mexico devolved into further confusion, Max leaned back in his chair, satisfied that his little prank had gone off perfectly. Loki might be furious, Thor might be embarrassed, but to Max, it was all part of the game. And he wasn't done playing yet.