All drones were easily dealt with and taken out so they wouldn't explode and injure other people - and all those previously injured people were either already fine or so minimally wounded that regular paramedics could easily take care of them. Only one person died, he was hit by a missile away from Kal's line of sight and splattered apart. No amount of healing could revive that guy and the elf was reluctant to reveal his prowess for rebirth to the humans with Hydra still out and Fury watching.
As such, Kal was watching the final fight between Whiplash, better known as Ivan Vanko, and Iron Man fighting alongside War Machine.
And as expected, the fight was a snoozefest on the level of two Gnomish apprentices duking it out with their latest passable inventions, just with a little more of a light show as opposed to the regular misfired explosions that were found in Gnomish engineering.
"You lose," Ivan spat with a manic laugh as he started the self-destruct sequence, but before he could get it off, a magical arrow landed in his throat.
Kal casually walked over and quipped, "Nope, he doesn't. All drones have been taken care of. No casualties among the civilians save for a few cuts. You die having achieved close to nothing. And you're a lunatic for involving children into your schemes."
Two more arrows took out the explosive charges of the Whiplash suit, and Rhodes aimed his suits' repulsor at Kal. The elf didn't want to give the villain the satisfaction of knowing he even managed to take a single life.
"Please tell him that I'm a friendly. I know I just killed a guy, but to be fair, he had it coming," Kal quipped while looking at Stark.
"Why are you here?" Stark asked as pointed the arm of Rhodes' armored suit down to the ground.
"To collect on my debt? Nah, I'm kidding. You know I know stuff. I was here to help out," Kal non-explained with a casual shrug.
"You may be kidding, but I bought the house next to mine for you. It's getting renovated as we speak. Can't hurt to have a man of your... abilities living close-by. Give Happy a call, and he'll give you the keys when you're in Malibu the next time," Stark assured with a smile. "Not sure he got them here in New York now..."
"You got an apartment for me in Queens or Brooklyn I can crash?"
"Uhhhh, Jarvis?" Stark asked, and the voice in his suit replied for all to hear, "*I have taken the liberty to permanently buy out a penthouse suite at the Marriott Hotel under the name Bettany, Sir.*"
"There you have it. Is that alright with you?" Stark cheekily inquired.
"If you're fine with taking care of the room service bill permanently?" Kal shot back just as cheekily.
"Do it too much, and I'll take back some of the boxes filled with metals and precious stones I put in your new home in Malibu," Stark countered with a roll of his eyes.
"Thanks," Kal said with a wink and waved his hand.
[Skill used: Lifebloom]
"What the-"
Kal didn't hear the full curse of Stark as he ran away with another Shadowmeld, Stealth, Shadowstep combo.
— — —
Sitting in his new penthouse at the Marriott Hotel, Kal pondered his near future. The plot of the next movie he remembered, the Avengers' movie, wouldn't be for over a year.
"I'll definitely take Klaue's Vibranium. I'll likely need either that or the Uru to make passable replicas of the two infinity stones next year. The Tesseract has enough space stone energy stored from the millennia it housed the stone to give off the same energy frequency for decades, though getting Loki and Thor back after the Chitauri invasion is gonna be a doozy and a half that I'm not sure it can do without the real stone. My Jewelcrafting is good enough to get the stone out and put the replica in without compromising the Tesseract I believe..."
As he finished one consideration for the immediate future and pondered the next, Kal took a sip from the water he had ordered. "The mind stone isn't needed for anything other than making Vision a reality. Ultron can still happen with an imprint of the infinity stone that will help jumpstart its creation... I guess Vision will either not be born or he will be a weakened version without the full power of the mind stone."
"Do I care to participate in any of the Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. plots? Probably not. Especially because I barely remember any of it. But Hulk this week, I could help out there if it does happen. I can't fix Banner because the mutation is his new normal, and the rest is a mental problem. But I can kill Sterns. If there's a person in this universe that can develop a virus that can threaten me, it's that big headed super brain with a degree in bioengineering… I should get rid of Abomination, too, if I can't help it. No need to wait for him to somehow get a secondary mutation from the comic books and become an actual Hulk copy instead of the cheap knock-off…"
The elf tapped his fingers rhythmically on the armrest of the couch.
"I should make my own Infinity Gauntlet. But since I'm not a blacksmith, I'll have to make it a crown or a very big necklace. Possibly five rings as a set? Eh, I have time. And enough Uru to try all three options."
Suddenly, someone knocked on the penthouse's door. Kal stood up and opened the door as a fair faced brunette brought in a trolley with his food.
"Fury really works fast. Isn't this beneath you, Agent Hill?" Kal asked with a wry smile as the woman pushed the food he ordered into the room.
The agent stilled for a moment before she shook her head with a defeated sigh.
"Fury told me you would likely make me. But he didn't tell me you would know my name," Hill wistfully breathed out.
"Did you bring something to eat for yourself? I don't mind the company. I'm sure you have much to ask like those before you," Kal offered with a smile as he took the food and brought it to the table himself.
He pointed for Hill to sit, and she didn't take long to close the door and take the offered seat.
"Go ahead," Kal ordered as he took his first bite of the two steaks on his plate.
"Your kind needs more nutrients than humans?"
The elf slowly chewed his food and explained after he swallowed, "A more romantic person would have thought since I know so much that I ordered this much food so you'd have something to eat yourself."
"Agent Romanoff was very adamant that a honey trap would not work on you," Hill stated with a raised brow.
"Yeah, but Black Widow is too methodical in her approach. I don't begrudge it, but it's not what I seek in a mate."
Hill coughed the moment she heard the blunt remark but stayed silent otherwise.
"And yes, I do need to eat more than a man with a similar stature as my own from what I observed. But my physiology allows me to eat with longer intervals between meals if necessary," Kal generously explained after another bite.
"You've appeared on Earth together with... Thor Odinson, correct?"
"Indeed. Though we didn't come from the same place, we did arrive at the same place. I do not know why."
"Why do you know so much about Earth? Our culture? Our secrets?" Hill asked as a follow-up.
"Mana is in everything. Mana knows everything. As it is in me, it is in the air. It has always been and will always be. Mana has all the answers," Kal explained with a mysterious smile.
"So 'mana' told you? Really?" Hill asked with a disbelieving expression.
"I'm a man of sword, bow, and magic. Do I look like someone who will hack your computers without leaving traces behind for you to find? It would not explain my knowledge of the future either."
Hill was in disbelief and despite the low probability of what the man in front of her said to be true, she still asked, "Can you tell me more about the future of this world?"
"I won't. And not because I don't trust you or Fury but because I'm doing my best to make sure every ideal outcome will happen," Kal calmly explained as he continued eating.
"How can you be sure you're not making a mistake in your calculations?" Hill countered with a frown.
"Lady, I know I look like a man fresh out of his teens, and I'm an infant compared to the leaders of my race, but I'm still a good four centuries old, technically. And I spent those many years getting groomed by the elites of my home. Elites that have honed their diplomacy and statesmanship for twice as long as this planet's first recorded civilizations are old."
Hill ignored her bewilderment and calmly asked, "Your race is that long-lived?"
"One of my most respected teachers, Tyrande Whisperwind, has been the leader of the night elves for over ten thousand years since the Sundering. Her husband Malfurion Stormrage and co-leader of the night elves is so old, he was the very first druid of our race after learning under the tutelage of a demigod in an era that ended in what we call 'War of the Ancients'. That should tell you how old we can grow."
"Demigod?"
Kal lifted his brow as he chewed another bite of his food.
"Really? That's what you get caught up in? That in a world where magic exists that demigods are real? Trust me, there are gods in this world also. Your people met Thor. He has the potential to be one of the most powerful beings in this reality."
Both sat in silence as the elf continued eating.
"I'm not sure I can wrap my head around that," Hill eventually admitted with a sigh.
Without stopping to eat, Kal raised his hand and gently pointed it in Hill's direction.
[Skills used: Nature's Cure, Lifebloom, Mark of the Wild]
"Believe in magic now?"
Hill touched her skin in wonder as she felt better than she ever felt. Taking deep breaths, she even unbuttoned her blouse and looked at her stomach - apparently checking for a recent, aching wound after peeling away a bloodied bandage. It had disappeared, the familiar pang of hurt was gone.
"I'm inclined to believe you," the agent admitted with a wry smile after she checked her body for problems.
Kal continued eating leisurely as he eyed the beautiful agent up and down.
"What are the limits of your healing? Can you cure cancer? Aids?"
Kal looked at Hill like she was stupid for a moment and asked, "And I know what aids and cancer are how?"
"Oh… I thought you knew," Hill sheepishly chuckled. "You did know about HYDRA and all of our names…"
"Bring me a few people that I might be able to test your theories on a week from now in Los Angeles. You have my number to give me directions. From what I gather, I cannot cure mental problems, mutations, or other genetic alterations. Muscles can be reknit and regrown, but their strength has to be trained or retrained on its own. Especially if the wound is old. Viral infections are no problem, especially in the early stages," Kal lined out.
"So you can't fix what the body thinks is 'normal'?"
"Yep, that's correct. Very astute Agent Hill."
"Fury told me you wanted your secrets to stay secrets. You're much more forthcoming than I had imagined..."
Kal was still eating as he shrugged, "You're rather pleasant. And there's still quite some stuff I haven't told you. Who knows? Maybe everything I've told you has been nothing but nice to hear half-truths."
He leaned forward in his chair and whispered, "If it's Thor, you can read up on it in history books. My story isn't quite so easily looked up in this world, I found."