In a narrow alley in the Pest District of Budapest's Old Town.
The door was ridiculously small, without even a sign. There was just a handwritten wooden board nailed to the door frame, in Hungarian, that read "Gulaš" with a crooked bull's head drawn underneath.
When Thor pushed open the door, there was only one empty seat left in the store.
To be precise, there was no open space 30 seconds ago.
Ahead of them in line was a local middle-aged man, balding, with a beer belly, holding his phone and telling his wife, "I absolutely have to eat here today."
But halfway through the conversation, a thought suddenly popped into my head—that newly opened Turkish kebab place across the street seems to have good reviews, maybe I should try something different today?
Once the thought popped into his head, he couldn't stop it. The more he thought about it, the more reasonable it seemed, so he turned around and left.
Thor withdrew his Telepathy, his expression unchanged.
Sorry bro, there are only 20 available, and this last one is mine. Blame it on you for lining up before me.
Wanda was oblivious to the little incident; she was looking around the store.
In a space of less than 30 square meters, there were five tables, yellowed old photos and a few strings of dried chili peppers hanging on the wall, and behind the bar stood a hunched old woman with her white hair tied in a bun and her apron covered in grease, stirring a black iron pot with a wooden spoon.
Forty-seven years, we've used the same pot; the flavor is probably very authentic.
The two sat down at a table by the window, and before long, a young woman in her early twenties—probably the old lady's granddaughter—brought up two servings of stewed beef.
The thick earthenware bowl held a deep red broth that bubbled gently. Large chunks of beef were cut into pieces that didn't fall apart, while the potatoes and carrots were stewed until the edges were slightly mushy. The aroma of paprika, combined with the rich flavor of the beef bones, filled the air.
"Eat up." Thor handed over the fork, then brought it closer to his nose and smelled it. "It smells delicious."
Wanda took the fork, picked up a piece of beef, and put it in her mouth.
It chewed twice, then stopped, its green pupils suddenly lighting up.
The joy and nostalgia that shone through her eyes were undeniable.
"This taste..."
Wanda chewed twice more, swallowed, and stared at the bowl for several seconds.
"It's exactly the same place I ate at in Sokovia when I was a kid."
Her voice was very low, a natural softening reaction after being struck by a memory.
Sokovia, that small Eastern Europe country that has been bombed into ruins.
She and Pietro were born there, grew up there, lost their parents, and then lost their entire family.
But taste doesn't lie.
The proportion of chili powder, the length of time the beef is stewed, the subtle smoky flavor in the broth—these things are etched on the tongue, more stubbornly than any memory.
Thor didn't reply, but picked up his fork and took a bite.
It's really delicious.
The beef was stewed to perfection, chewy yet tender, with the sauce fully absorbed into the fibers, releasing juices with every bite.
The potatoes were soft and fluffy, the carrots had a slightly sweet taste, and the soup was incredibly rich. No wonder it's a decades-old establishment.
No wonder they dare to sell only twenty servings a day.
With this skill, even if you only sell five servings a day, let alone twenty, people will still line up.
Wanda ate very slowly.
A forkful of beef, a forkful of potatoes, and a piece of carrot—roll them up in your mouth along with the handmade pasta on the side.
His eating manners weren't elegant, but he was earnest, chewing each bite carefully.
Thor started eating as he spoke.
" Wanda, after you finish eating, would you like to go for a walk in the forest, or to the snow-capped mountains? Or perhaps to one of those secluded lakes?"
"The seabed is fine, the starry sky is fine too."
Wanda swallowed the food in her mouth and thought for a moment.
"Let's go to the bottom of the sea."
She poked at the potatoes in the bowl with her fork.
I haven't seen the sea yet.
Sokovia is a landlocked country with no coastline.
Later, he was experimented on by Hydra, then taken to Kamar-Taj by Thor, and then came endless training and battles.
For over twenty years, I've barely even been to the beach, let alone the ocean.
"OK."
Thor stuffed the last piece of beef into his mouth and wiped his hands.
After eating and drinking to our hearts' content, we paid the bill and went out.
The Law of Space were activated, and the two disappeared into the alleys of Budapest.
Amazon Rainforest.
The tree canopy blocked out the sun, but sunlight filtered through the leaves, scattering golden spots across the ground.
The air was humid and hot, carrying the scent of earth and decaying leaves, and in the distance, macaws were calling.
Thor pulled out his Polaroid camera and pointed it at Wanda.
Wanda was looking up as a blue butterfly flew past her nose, her whole body enveloped in green light, like a little elf who had wandered into a fairyland. Her black coat seemed out of place in the tropical humidity, but the expression on her face was relaxed.
Click.
The Africa savanna.
The field of vision was suddenly torn to its limit, the horizon drew an arc on the horizon, and golden waves of grass stretched to the end of the eye.
A herd of wildebeest migrated in the distance, the dust they kicked up turning orange-red in the setting sun.
Wanda stood on a protruding rock, the wind blowing her hair into a mess.
Click.
An unnamed snow-capped peak somewhere in the Himalayas.
At an altitude of over 6,000 meters, most people would faint from the high altitude, but Thor shielded Wanda with an energy shield to protect her from the cold and lack of oxygen.
The snow-capped peaks were dazzlingly white in the sunlight, while the sea of clouds surged beneath our feet.
Wanda squatted in the snow, reached out and caught a snowflake, watching it melt at her fingertips.
Click.
Lake Baikal.
In winter, the lake is covered with thick ice, beneath which lies water that is a deep blue to almost black, with an astonishingly high level of transparency. Standing on the ice, you can see the aquatic plants swaying dozens of meters deep.
Wanda lay on the ice, looking down, completely still, for a full two minutes.
Click.
The final stop: Australia's Great Barrier Reef.
The Law of Space automatically isolated the seawater one centimeter away from their bodies, forming a thin membrane of air, and that's how they walked into the sea.
The coral reefs in the nearshore area are so intensely colored they're almost unreal—orange, purple, fluorescent green, and magenta—piled up in clusters on the rocks on the seabed.
Schools of tropical fish dart among the corals, and sunlight refracts from the water's surface, creating dappled patterns on the sand.
Wanda slowed her pace.
She reached out to grab a cluster of staghorn coral, and just as her fingertips touched the edge, a palm-sized Joker darted out from the gap, nearly hitting the back of her hand.
Suddenly, even more fish swarmed around.
Five or six tropical fish of different colors circled around Wanda, rubbing against her fingers and her arm.
Wanda turned to look at Thor.
What's going on?
Thor glanced at the fish, then at the black sea urchins scattered on the seabed not far away.
I think I understand.
"They're asking us to help them feed them."
With a flick of his right hand, the Law of Reality materialized, and a half-meter-long iron rod and a pair of iron clamps appeared out of thin air.
He walked over, inserted the tip of the iron rod into the gap in the sea urchin shell, and gently pried it open.
The moment the shell cracked open, more than a dozen small fish appeared out of nowhere and swarmed forward to grab the food, creating a scene as chaotic as a cafeteria luncheon.
Wanda watched for a few seconds, then a flash of crimson energy appeared at her fingertips, and Chaos Magic conjured up an identical iron clamp.
She crouched down, pinched a sea urchin between her fingers, and pried it open, mimicking Thor's movements.
The movements were clumsy; the first attempt failed, and the second attempt used too much force, shattering the sea urchin shell in half, spilling its contents out.
But the fish didn't mind and swarmed in anyway.
By the time Wanda pried open the second one, her technique was much more skillful.
Thor stood beside him, quietly raising his Polaroid camera.
In the video, Wanda is crouching beside a coral reef, her black coat fluttering slightly in the water. She is using scarlet metal tongs to pry open sea urchins, surrounded by small fish scrambling for food. Her face shows a focused, childlike seriousness.
Click.
The two walked from the nearshore area into deeper waters.
Coral reefs are gradually thinning out, and the seabed topography is changing, with sand giving way to rocks and reefs. Occasionally, one or two larger fish can be seen swimming by in the distance.
As the light dimmed, the water's color transitioned from light blue to dark blue, eventually becoming a thick indigo.
The creatures in the deep sea began to act strangely—a swarm of transparent jellyfish floated overhead, several glowing lanternfish shimmered in the distance, and an octopus clung to the rock wall, its body instantly turning the color of rock when it saw the two approaching.
Wanda watched intently.
Just as Thor was about to tell her to turn back, something suddenly appeared within his perception range.
It was moving very fast, approaching in a straight line from the northwest, and the energy fluctuations it carried were not weak.
Three seconds later, a figure blocked their way.
Male, slightly over 1.8 meters tall, with dark skin, high cheekbones, and pointed ears.
Her upper body was naked, and her lower body was covered by a pair of green tight shorts, with a pair of small wings on each side of her ankles.
He held a golden trident in his right hand, its tip pointed at Thor's chest.
Namor, King of Atlantis.
His face was filled with hostility, and he rattled off a string of Atlantis words that roughly translated to, "How dare these surface creatures trespass into my territory!"
Thor's good mood, the lingering aftertaste of the Hungarian stew, the image of Wanda laughing as she pried open the sea urchin, and the satisfaction of accumulating a stack of Polaroid photos, were all completely ruined in an instant by this fish-man king in his underwear.
Before Namor could answer, he thrust his trident forward and used the force of the water to propel himself upwards.
Thor raised his right hand and lightly slapped the other side.
The Law of Space were activated simultaneously when the palm struck Namor's face.
Namor's body was swallowed by the spatial rift the instant of contact, and the next second, he appeared above the surface of the Sun, 150 million kilometers away from Earth.
Whether he can come back alive depends on his own abilities.
The Atlanteans were known for their incredible physical strength, so let's test just how strong they really are.
Wanda stood still the entire time, the crimson energy not even having a chance to condense.
She glanced at Thor, then at the spot where Namor had disappeared.
"... Who is that person?"
"A pervert patrolling the ocean depths in his underwear." Thor waved his hand dismissively. "Important."
He turned around and extended his right hand to Wanda.
" Wanda, how about I show you the scenery of the Nine Realms?"
Wanda looked at the outstretched hand.
Asgard, Vanaheim, Alfheim, Jotunheim... places whose names I've only read about in the ancient texts of Kamar-Taj.
She thought for a moment and nodded in agreement.
"Good."
The moment their hands touched, the light of the Bifrost exploded from beneath their feet, and the seawater was pushed into two walls by the energy shockwave, causing deep-sea creatures to scatter and flee.
A beam of light pierced through the sea and shot straight into the sky.