Of Gods, Machines, and Fossils
To Save the WorldThe newly renovated Im Tower stood proudly within the New York City skyline. Its grandeur exuded the same arrogance as its multi-billionaire owner but what it lacked in modesty, it made up for as secure position in the case of any and all potential threats to the human race.
Threats such as a divine being that crashed through her window demanding to know the whereabouts of her brother.
Now face to face with a muscular woman bearing a hammer that could conjure lightning from the sky, Nayeon took a sip of her third glass of whiskey as the goddess of thunder downed the entirety of the Jack Daniels bottle in a matter of seconds.
“I wouldn’t want to go against you in a drinking contest,” Nayeon muttered with a hand on her hips.
“Nay, you would not.” the goddess remarked in a tone that reminded Nayeon of the old Shakespearean plays her mother used to drag her to. “Now, Nayeon Im, I shall repeat this again. Where. Is. My. Brother.”
Each word was punctuated by a spark at Nayeon’s heels, but the genius only crossed her arms, unimpressed by the threat.
The mortal shrugged, haphazardly spilling her drink on the floor. “And I’ve told you before, I don’t know.”
Feeling her patience grow thinner each second she conversed with the infuriating woman, the goddess paced around the spacious room as she twirled her hammer at her side. She had to remind herself that humans were fragile and could easily break if she so much as tapped them. This Nayeon Im, was surely testing her restraint.
Keeping her voice level, the goddess finally tried again to pry answers from the mortal. “Heimdall himself assured me you were the one I’m looking for and the Bifrost led me to you. Either you are working with my brother or you have encountered him one way or another, but I will extract the information out of you through any means necessary.”
For all her pride and arrogance, Nayeon never backed down from a threat. Not even from a goddess.
“Look, I don’t know how they do things wherever you’re from,” she stepped forward and relished the fact that the almighty goddess was a few inches shorter than her, “But here on Earth, we do things a little differently.We file a missing person’s report, put a few posters up maybe, hire a private investigator. What we don’t do is blow a hole through a building, cause a city-wide blackout, and threaten people over a nameless, faceless brother and yet somehow you checked all of the above on that question.”
The goddess narrowed her eyes as she tapped Mjölnir to Nayeon’s chest, right on top of the active arc reactor that fed off a faint blue light through Nayeon's blouse. She hissed, “I don’t quite like your tone, Nayeon Im.”
Right when Nayeon opened to bark out another smart- comment, her savior arrived just in time to prevent an untimely defibrillation.
“Wait!” A third voice yelled.
Yoo Jeongyeon, wearing her signature red, white, and blue uniform, erupted through the doors with her trusty shield strapped to her forearm.
“Oh God,” Nayeon groaned, rolling her eyes, “Who invited the Girl Scout here.”
“Who are you,” the goddess demanded, throwing Nayeon away and shifting into a fighting position.
“My name is Captain America and I come intending no harm.”
The goddess doubted that a human could harm an Asgardian of her power in the first place, but she remained cautious. “How could I trust you?”
As an answer, Jeongyeon dropped the shield and put her hands up in surrender. The message was clear: she came in peace.
Glancing between the shield and new interloper, her stance eased slightly though her hammer remained ever at the ready. “Very well. I am Jihyo, daughter of Odin and goddess of thunder. I hail from a land known as Asgard.”
Meanwhile, while Jihyo monologued about herself, Nayeon walked over the shards of glass and metal to her own personal bar, grabbing two bottles of the hardest hitting alcohol she had.
“I am looking for
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