"Cosmic Law Enforcement Bureau?"
"Yes."
Maria Hill wanted to laugh—after all, it sounded utterly ridiculous—but seeing Coulson's serious expression, she fell silent for a moment before saying, "But that still doesn't explain why you came to New York. The world is huge. Why is this Catherine so certain that the husband she's looking for is in New York?"
Coulson said, "A feeling."
Hill laughed. "A feeling, Coulson? You're a professionally trained agent. Anyone can act on a hunch, but we in law enforcement need facts, evidence."
Coulson listened to her lecture with a hint of helplessness. "You might not believe this, but New York's reputation has spread to the outer cosmos."
"Oh?"
"This male god Catherine is chasing once had a conversation with her. He said that if he ever returned to Earth, he'd definitely visit the Big Apple, especially the Statue of Liberty. He was interested in touching it. That's why, starting eight years ago, the security personnel guarding the Statue of Liberty doubled."
Hill was lost.
What did this mean? Was this so-called extraterrestrial god actually an Earthling from long ago, possibly even an American?
No wonder.
Over the past seven or eight years, federal investigation bureaus across the country had been working like they were on steroids, cracking missing persons cases at a rate of one per day.
But…
If Lake knew about this, he'd probably laugh his head off. Back when he and Catherine were whispering sweet nothings to each other, he'd casually mentioned the Statue of Liberty. He hadn't said he wanted to touch it—he'd said he wanted to blow it up.
But given Catherine's professional nature, he'd changed "blow up" to "touch" at the last second.
Compared to the bustling SHIELD New York Operations Command Center, Lake was currently enjoying a rather leisurely moment.
In fact, Lake was being led by Mikaela toward a Mexican restaurant set up on a nearby street corner.
Lake asked curiously, "Don't you have classes this afternoon?"
Mikaela shrugged. "Nope!"
Lake nodded. How blissful. Back when he was on Origin Earth, his days were filled with studying from the moment he opened his eyes until he closed them. After arriving in the Valoran Universe and enrolling in the Time Academy, it was more or less the same routine.
Of course, that wasn't the main reason he dropped out of the Time Academy.
Compared to Origin Earth and the Time Academy, wow, the people of America were practically bursting with happiness.
As Lake marveled at this, he waved a stack of hundred-dollar bills he'd just withdrawn from an ATM. "Alright, now that I've got money, I'll treat you."
Mikaela's eyes widened at the sight of the hundred-dollar bills fluttering in front of her. She grabbed Lake's right hand. "What are you doing? Are you crazy?"
Lake frowned slightly.
Mikaela snatched the stack of bills from his hand, stuffed them into her pocket, and glanced around warily. "Remember, oh great god, if you want to survive peacefully in Queens, there's one rule: never, ever, ever let anyone know you have money."
Lake let out a laugh. What was this, a lightning-fast slap in the face? He'd just been marveling at how happy people here were, and now it suddenly felt like they were living in a hellhole with that one sentence.
Lake said, "Mikaela, I'm a god!"
Mikaela rolled her eyes. "Right, a god who can be knocked over with a baseball bat. If that's how we measure divine strength, heh, then anyone on Earth could be a god."
Lake was speechless.
Could she stop bringing up the baseball bat? Lake was now absolutely certain that this incident would stand out as a glaring blemish in his otherwise illustrious history.
Lake sighed faintly. "Mikaela, when the stars shine upon me once more, you'll see what divine power I possess."
Mikaela pointed with her right hand at a blue 1982 Mustang parked by the roadside. "Can you lift that?"
Lake was a bit confused. "Why would I need to lift it?"
Mikaela shrugged. "No reason, just checking."
Lake assessed his current strength and then said, "Not right now, but when the stars shine upon me again, forget a car—I could treat your Earth like an actual ball and kick it around the galactic soccer field at will."
Assuming the Supreme Mage didn't show up, that is.
After Lake finished, Mikaela nodded and said, "Got it," then fell silent. But the corners of her mouth slowly began to curve upward.
Lake couldn't help but close his eyes.
If it weren't for Mikaela's kindness in taking him in last night and the promise he'd made, that expression alone would've earned her a one-way ticket to the underworld.
"Mikaela!"
"…Hm?"
"I'm a god. I demand you forget last night's memory involving the baseball bat. Otherwise…"
"Otherwise what?"
"I promise you'll become a god in the future, but I'm ordering you now—forget the baseball bat. If you don't, I'll grant you the most remote, most desolate star in the galaxy."
"…What does that mean?"
"It means that after you become a god, you'll live alone on the most isolated, most distant personal planet."
"But I'd still be a god, right?"
"…Yes, but it'd be the most barren, most boring—"
"No problem, as long as I'm a god."
Lake looked at Mikaela, who'd gone from last night's tension to this morning's shock to just now's confusion, and was now utterly speechless.
Mikaela's pretty face lit up. "I'm just a mortal. I don't understand the world of gods. But I assume even the lowest-tier gods can stay young forever, right?"
Lake couldn't quite follow her train of thought. "Of course. Longevity and immortality are the most basic privileges of a god. But it's the most remote, most barren planet—"
Mikaela shrugged. "All I want is eternal youth. As for the planet, it's mine, right? I'll just leave it there. No one would be dumb enough to steal from a god, would they?"
Lake froze for a moment. "Have I been a god for too long? Why do I feel so out of touch with the mindset of modern mortals?"
Mikaela pulled the stack of hundred-dollar bills from her pocket and handed them back to Lake. "You've got a chance now to sync your thinking with us mortals. Here's lesson one: in Queens, never take your money out."
Lake took the stack of Franklins and stood there, speechless for a long while.
Mikaela walked to the restaurant door and waved back at Lake. "Hurry up, I'm starving. You said you'd treat me, and I'm not holding back."
Lake was speechless.