"It is not that. It's about your new friend, Tony Stark."
At that, Thor's expression suddenly darkens. "Ah yes. Do not think I did not see what you tried to do earlier with him by the way. I know that he upset you when he called you gorgeous, but you must understand that Midgardians are different. You shouldn't have tried to harm him just for paying you a compliment."
Gritting her teeth, Sif has to resist the urge to give Thor a good solid smack for that. In her experience, men were the same everywhere. And being a man, Thor didn't know what the fuck he was talking about. But… she needed to look past that for the time being so she could raise her concerns with her Prince.
"Surely you saw how strong he was, your highness. That wasn't normal. This 'Tony Stark' is strange… he's not like the other Midgardians."
She hopes to see Thor's brow furrow into thoughtfulness as he heeds her words, even as rare as such a thing tends to be. Alas, it's not to be. Instead, Thor's eyes light up and he suddenly grins.
"Ah! Yes, I'd noticed as much as well. Do not fret, Lady Sif. I have already figured out the secret of Tony Stark. You see, Midgard has moved away from the use of kings and monarchies in the last few hundred years."
Wait, what? Sif blinks at that, furrowing her brow. If they no longer had Kings and Queens, how in the name of Yggdrasill did they ever get anything done?!
" I know, it ' s strange. But they rely on this system of governance known as democracy these days. However, as you ' ve noticed, Tony Stark is special. He is no mere Midgardian. No, Sif… he is a hidden king in a world that now persecutes them!"
He… what? Sif leans back at Thor's enthusiasm, a little nonplussed. How… how did that work exactly? And how did that explain why Tony Stark was so much stronger than a Midgardian should be? Sif opens her mouth to voice this to her Prince, but before she can…
"Thor, buddy. We've got incoming again. And this time I don't think it's friendly."
Every eye in the area turns to Tony Stark, who suddenly looks very serious. He flicks his fingers and through what Sif can only assume is magic, creates an illusion in the air that shows a stretch of the desert outside. Her eyes widen along with Thor and the eyes of the Warriors Three as they all behold The Destroyer stomping towards them.
"Recognize it, I assume?"
"The Destroyer! But Loki would never… no, I suppose the proof is right in front of my eyes. Damn it all, she's gone too far!" At hearing this, one of the blander Midgardians suddenly begins speaking into a device, and several more Midgardians stream towards the exit of the facility. Everyone else follows along, including Sif and Thor's shield-brothers.
The Destroyer is no laughing matter, but together they've all fought bigger monsters than it before and prevailed. Only… they'd always done so with a fully powered Thor at their side.
The Destroyer stomps up to the perimeter of the Midgardian Base and stops there, even as Midgardians array themselves before it. The bland one goes to step forward and speak, but Tony Stark puts a hand on his shoulder and shakes his head.
"Let Thor handle this one, Agent."
Sif narrows her eyes at that. Thor is in no position to handle anything and these Midgardians had better be prepared to help! Belatedly though, she realizes Thor is already stepping forward. "Sister! Cease this foolishness! You already tried to trick me once with your lies. I will not believe our father to be dead, not even if you produced his head right this moment! I will not believe he has passed from this world until I have proven myself worthy of Mjolnir once more and regained my powers so I can return to Asgard and verify it myself! Moreover, I will not believe Mother wishes me to remain in exile indefinitely until she herself tells me so with her own lips, no matter how it might hurt!"
Holding his arms out like an utter fool, Thor seems to be trying to talk sense into Loki. Sif could have told him that would never work. The crazy bitch had never been the type to listen to anyone but herself and very rarely her and Thor's mother.
"There's no point to any of this. Call off The Destroyer! Father will awaken from the Odinsleep soon enough, and he will pass judgment on us both for our transgressions! Do not make this any- sister… are you even listening to me?" Huh? Sif blinks before realizing what Thor is talking about. It's kind of hard to tell because The Destroyer's 'face' is just a pair of rather large dark eye sockets. However, now that she's paying a bit more attention, she realizes that The Destroyer isn't even looking at Thor, despite Thor ostensibly being the reason Loki sent it. Instead… instead The Destroyer is looking directly at the Midgardian Tony Stark. And it's beginning to glow.
"Oh shi-!"
The Destroyer's face opens up and an orange-white fiery beam of destructive energy comes blasting out, taking Tony Stark directly in the chest and blasting him back through the entrance of the base that they'd all just come piling out of.
"TONY!"
The man's lady wife screams and races back in after him, while the other Midgardians react in one of two ways. The ones who are armed with Midgardian Weapons begin to fire upon The Destroyer, including an archer of all things that is apparently on the roof of the large Midgardian Base. The ones who are unarmed all scream and duck for cover, racing to find some place to hide.
Sif, of course, rushes forward along with the Warriors Three. Thor still stands out in the open and they have to protect him from The Destroyer's wrath. However, they're too slow. At the attack on his new friend, Thor roars and rushes forward despite his powerless state.
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