Uncle Fengxian~

Tønsberg, Vestfold og Telemark County, Norway.

New Asgard was here. Tønsberg, Norway's oldest city, sat on the western shore of the Oslofjord. It had witnessed the great battle between the Asgardians and the Frost Giants, and the Tesseract had lain dormant here for over a thousand years!

Lin Xu appeared atop the highest point in New Asgard, riding Grani and holding Gungnir.

Feeling the winged horse stirring restlessly beneath him, Lin Xu reached out to soothe him. "See? This is New Asgard!"

Just then, a rumble of thunder sounded, and the entire sky grew pitch-dark. A beam of seven-colored light descended from the heavens, landing on an inconspicuous house by the shore.

A figure burst out of the house and flew to Lin Xu in the blink of an eye.

The newcomer had a "burly" build, long hair draped over his shoulders, a beard tied into little braids, and eyes of different colors. He held a battle-axe flashing with the power of thunder, and his red cape snapped in the wind. Only his armor seemed a little ill-fitting.

It was Thor, who had been somewhat reluctant at first.

"Who are you?"

Thor was puzzled. He had never seen the man before, yet a strange but vaguely familiar divine power emanated from him.

The weapon in his hand was indeed Gungnir, but its aura was somewhat different from what Thor remembered. The winged horse beneath him looked rather like a descendant of his father's mount.

But Thor clearly remembered that when they released Surtur, the winged horses hadn't evacuated in time. They should have been destroyed along with Asgard!

Lin Xu didn't answer Thor's question directly. He looked around New Asgard and asked instead, "Where's Odin? Is he dead? Looks like he must be!"

"Who are you, really?"

Thor tightened his grip on Stormbreaker, his gaze growing grave. This was all so familiar. More than five years ago, just after his father died, a woman had appeared here and asked some similar questions. Then she had crushed his Mjolnir.

He already had an older sister. Surely he wasn't about to gain an older brother too? Would Stormbreaker survive?

"My name is Fengxian Borsen!"

"Absurd!"

Thor: I'm dumb, not stupid...

"My father had only two brothers, Vili Borson and Ve Borson. As for you, I've never seen you mentioned in the ancient texts, nor did Father ever speak of you."

Thor's voice gradually grew quieter as he spoke. He had remembered his sister again. If Odin hadn't mentioned her before he died, and if his death hadn't broken her seal, Thor might never have known he had a sister...

"Hahaha, why do you think he never told you?"

"...But your bloodline, your race..."

"I never said your grandmother Bestla gave birth to me." (The giantess Bestla, Odin's birth mother.)

Lin Xu: Hmm, I never said I was Bor's son either. Fill in the blanks yourself.

Thor fell silent. A great many thoughts went through his head in that instant.

Perhaps his grandfather had once had a child behind his grandmother's back, but couldn't openly acknowledge him. His grandfather felt he owed him, so whatever his father had, Fengxian should have too: a weapon, a warhorse... but not the throne.

"You..."

"Don't worry. Your father is your father, and you are you. I won't drag the younger generation into my personal grudges!"

Hearing that, Thor breathed a sigh of relief. He already mostly believed him. After all, winged horses were only close to the royal family, and that Gungnir, though not quite the same, couldn't be faked. His only question was:

"Your age?"

"Hmph, that old bastard Odin tricked me! He changed the Bifrost's incantation without my knowledge, effectively exiling me to another universe!"

Nine parts of what Lin Xu said were lies and one part was true. As he spoke, a wistful look appeared on his face.

"In another universe, I joined Kamar-Taj and practiced the mystic arts under Agamotto's guidance. At last, I returned, but time flows differently in each universe... I came back too late. Asgard... Sigh!"

"Neigh~ Neigh~" Grani neighed twice as he listened.

Thor, who had taken an elective in Pegasus language, understood! [Asgard! Home!]

At that moment, Thor felt utterly ashamed~

Five years ago, he had inherited Asgard's throne. Asgard had been destroyed, and every living creature on it was gone: the winged horses, the giant wolves, the ravens, and Toothgrinder.

Asgard's army had been wiped out. Half its people had died during Ragnarok, and Thanos had slaughtered half of those who remained. His younger brother had died, his good friends had died, and his fiancée Sif was missing.

As he saw it, he was a failed Wong.

"I already know what happened. It wasn't your fault. You did very well, child!"

Lin Xu urged the winged horse forward and patted Thor on the head, trying hard to hold back his laughter.

Thor looked up in surprise at those words, both... his one eye red. Even Lin Xu's mouth, which was struggling not to smile, looked to him like an expression of relief.

"...Uncle Fengxian~"

Thor's "uncle" was so full of genuine feeling that Lin Xu could no longer keep a straight face. He hurriedly dismounted to hide it.

"All right, show me around New Asgard as it is now. And you need to wash that hair and lose some of that belly."

Thor watched Lin Xu turn Gungnir into a folding fan, while the winged horse transformed into a fat orange cat and snuggled into his arms. Thor froze for a moment. He remembered that his father had also liked turning his winged horse into a kitten.

They really were brothers!!

"Okay~"

Avengers Compound

Natasha lay back in her chair, looking at Steve Rogers across from her. "If you're here to tell me to face life with a positive attitude, I'll smash this sandwich in your face!"

Captain America smiled helplessly. For the past few years, he had been doing much the same thing Sam did at the veterans' club, counseling people with psychological problems. By now, it had become something of a habit.

"Sorry... force of habit..."

Click~

"I don't like sandwiches. How about a cheeseburger?"

The lights suddenly came on, and a familiar voice rang out. The two turned to see Tony standing there in a suit and polished shoes, hands in his pockets, looking thoroughly smug.

"Tony?" they both said.

"I imagine neither of you expected me to show up. Well, I didn't expect it myself."

Tony walked into the room and, seeing their surprised expressions, grinned and stepped aside to reveal a somewhat awkward Scott behind him.

"I also brought you someone you wouldn't expect."

"Scott?" That was Captain America.

"Ant-Man?" That was Natasha~

"Tony, how did you do it? Was he the only one?"

"I think you've misunderstood. This little elf girl didn't disappear because of Thanos. I just happened to rescue him."

Tony also turned back to Scott and said, "I'm not a prince, so don't get any improper ideas about me."