Lynn didn't go to New Mexico.
He had told Coulson everything he needed to: where Mjolnir came from, Thor's exile, the threat of the Destroyer, and the need to evacuate. As a sorcerer who could open portals, if he really wanted to intervene, saving a few people from Asgard's Destroyer wouldn't be impossible. But that would be going a little too far.
Thor needed this trial. He needed to experience the frustration of being unable to lift the hammer, no matter what he did. But as long as Jane was there, Thor would have a reason to step forward and die for others, then regain Mjolnir's approval on the brink of death.
Lynn would only get in the way if he went. He had done what he could; the rest was up to Thor himself.
He spent a few quiet days at the Sanctum. Wong cooked vegetarian dishes for several days, and he ate them. Just as he was starting to think that, in another couple of days, he would open his mouth and bleat, he got a call from Tony.
"Stark Tower. Downstairs! Get over here, now!" Tony's tone was as uncompromising as ever. He hung up as soon as he finished, without so much as a hello.
Lynn looked at the darkened screen, slipped the phone into his pocket, picked up the car keys from the coffee table, and headed out. He had no intention of taking a portal. The weather in New York was beautiful today, sunlight filtering through the gaps in the roadside trees and casting dappled patterns of light and shadow across Bleecker Street. It wasn't the kind of day to use magic to get around. He got into the old sedan Wong had found who knew where and drove slowly through the streets of Manhattan.
He spotted Stark Tower from a distance. Its curved glass facade reflected the New York skyline, and the enormous "STARK" letters recently installed at the top shone dazzlingly in the midday sun.
Tony Stark was leaning against a pillar at the building's entrance, phone in hand and sunglasses pushed up onto his forehead, wearing his signature "I've been waiting a long time and I'm very unhappy" expression. He had on a dark gray casual jacket over a V-neck T-shirt. Standing outside his own building, which had yet to officially open, he looked like a bad-tempered boss waiting for a late employee.
Lynn parked by the curb, got out, and walked over at an unhurried pace.
"Do you know how long I've been standing here waiting for you?" Tony pulled the sunglasses off his forehead and pointed one of the arms at Lynn, his voice full of more than ten minutes' worth of pent-up irritation. "Do you know how much money I can make in one second? Do you know how many good ideas I could have come up with in that time? You have a portal!"
Lynn stopped in front of him, put his hands in his jacket pockets, and spoke in a calm tone that was the complete opposite of Tony's agitation. "You know, don't wind yourself so tight. Slow down once in a while. Otherwise, you'll miss a lot of scenery and beautiful things."
Tony opened his mouth, then closed it. He looked at Lynn as if he was about to keep complaining but had suddenly run out of words. After a two-second pause, he looked down, folded his sunglasses, and hung them from his breast pocket. When he looked up again, his expression had gone from "I waited over ten minutes, you bastard" to a silence that suggested Lynn had struck a nerve he didn't want to admit to.
"All right, you have a point." He slipped his hands into his pants pockets and jerked his head toward the building's automatic doors. "But I didn't bring you here to discuss philosophy today. Come with me. I've got a surprise for you."
Lynn followed him into the lobby on the first floor of Stark Tower. It was completely empty: no reception desk, no plants, no sofas, just exposed gray concrete pillars and a wooden floor still covered in protective film. It was a building that had just been completed but hadn't yet been fitted out.
"Where's the surprise?" Lynn looked around and gestured at the empty space as if to say, "Are you kidding me?" "I know your building wasn't finished that long ago, and you don't even have a reception desk yet. Are you going to tell me you called me over just to help you pick a decorating scheme?"
Tony had already reached the elevator. He pressed his palm against the panel, and a blue light scanned his palm print. The words "top floor" lit up on the panel. "All right, stop examining the place. Come on!" The elevator doors slid silently open, revealing a car bathed in soft, cool-toned light. Lynn stepped inside, leaned against the handrail, and watched the floor numbers climb one by one. When they reached the top floor, the doors slowly opened, spilling the soft, cool light outward.
Lynn instinctively narrowed his eyes, then opened them. Beneath his feet was a polished white floor, so smooth it reflected the soft glow of the concealed light strips in the ceiling.
A full wall of floor-to-ceiling glass brought the entire view of Midtown Manhattan indoors. The green expanse of Central Park spread out in the distance, and farther away, the Hudson River shimmered with flecks of gold. Pale gray walls were accented with metallic lines, giving the place a minimalist style that still felt warm.
A set of floating leather sofas stood in the center of the living room. There was no visible support beneath them; they simply hovered quietly a few centimeters above the floor. A ring of pale blue light glowed around the edge of the glass coffee table, marking its holographic sensor area.
The walls were lined with concealed storage cabinets. The seams between their doors and the walls were nearly invisible, and a pale blue sensor-lit border appeared only when they needed to be opened. When the doors slid open automatically, they revealed Tony's record collection, several rows of hardcover books on technology, and a row of smart devices that looked as though they were still in their packaging, all neatly arranged.
A few streamlined metal sculptures dotted the space. A solitary green plant stood by the window, its long, slender leaves spreading out and adding a quiet touch of green to the white and pale gray surroundings. In one corner was a smart dimming system controlled by JARVIS. The curtains, lighting, and indoor temperature were all adjusted automatically by a sensor array embedded in the ceiling.
Tony led Lynn farther inside at an unhurried pace, stopping at each functional area to introduce it in a tone that tried to sound casual but completely failed to hide his showing off. "Smart controls throughout the place, connected directly to JARVIS. The curtains, lights, and temperature all adjust automatically. The sofas have magnetic levitation bases-the same technology we use in the lab. They're more comfortable than helicopter seats. The concealed kitchen's over there. The countertop is nanoceramic; you can cut on it without leaving a mark. The bedroom's over there. I'm not showing you that. It's my private space."
Lynn looked at Tony's face, which had "come on, praise me" written all over it, then at the floating sofas' magnetic bases, the glowing sensor ring on the holographic coffee table, and the record collection neatly arranged in the concealed cabinets. He thought about the house he was still waiting for. Every time, Tony said it had been "ready for ages, just being decorated," but Lynn still hadn't seen so much as a photo of the place.
"You really know how to enjoy yourself, Tony." He leaned against the edge of a floating sofa's magnetic base, folded his arms, and wore a classic Lynn-style sneer. "Smart controls throughout the place, floating sofas, nanoceramic countertops, concealed cabinets. You put so much thought into getting your own place just right. Could you spare some time to get me the house you promised? I'm not asking for much! I was wondering what you'd been so busy with lately. Turns out you've been busy designing and decorating your own new home. I haven't even seen a floor plan for mine."