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"Midgard, I'm back!"
Thor, dressed in battle armor and gripping his trusty Mjolnir, slowly stepped out from the rainbow beam, his muscular form on full display.
"I want to see for myself—what's so special about this so-called new god Heimdall keeps going on about?"
At this point, Thor was still cocky and battle-hungry, untested by real failure.
His arrogance and love of combat drove him to Earth without hesitation when he heard Heimdall praising some human so highly.
He came despite Heimdall's protests—and even though his own father had forbidden him from casually traveling to Earth centuries ago.
"Don't worry, Father… Heimdall…" Thor muttered. "I'll prove myself today. I'll win easily, and this victory will seal my claim to Asgard's throne."
Today wasn't just any day—it was the day Thor was set to officially inherit the throne of Asgard.
"Hey, you—yeah, you, the guy pretending to be Thor. Drop the hammer!" Nick Fury called out, not the least bit fazed by Thor's dramatic entrance.
It did look cool, sure—but Fury was the Director of S.H.I.E.L.D. He didn't spook easily.
While giving Coulson a subtle nod to start clearing out the civilians, Fury kept his eyes on Thor.
"'Hammer'? Foolish human," Thor said, his tone full of contempt. "This was gifted to me by my father, forged from a dying star's core by the Dwarf King himself. It's called Mjolnir—the ultimate Asgardian weapon, summoner of thunder, symbol of our highest honor."
"And you dare call it… just a hammer?"
"And I am Thor, God of Thunder of Asgard! I'm not playing a role—I am who I say I am!"
Thor looked like he'd just been insulted on a deeply personal level, eager to defend both himself and his weapon's honor.
Bzzzzttt…
At the same time, Mjolnir flared up in his hand, sending out arcs of brilliant silver lightning, as if responding to the insult too.
"Okay, okay… you're Thor, fine," Fury said, trying to defuse the situation. "But right now, we need you to calm down, put the hammer down, and let us run a few checks."
As lightning crackled from the hammer, all of S.H.I.E.L.D.'s agents, including Fury, instinctively pulled out their guns and aimed them at Thor.
Fury's expression grew even more serious.
"What are those people doing?" someone asked.
Despite the heavy tension, a crowd of bystanders had gathered just outside the S.H.I.E.L.D. perimeter, peeking in curiously.
"Looks like a movie shoot. I got a quick look—it's got insane special effects. No green screens, either!"
One tall guy in the crowd, who'd managed to see the action, looked totally amazed.
"Yeah, I saw it too," another guy chimed in. "That actor in the armor? His hammer was shooting lightning! No clue how they pulled that off. Maybe a Tesla coil or something?"
"An Asgardian warrior never drops his weapon, not even in death!"
"Move it! I need to find that guy called Superman and settle this once and for all. If I'm late, I'll miss my coronation ceremony!"
Thor barked at Nick Fury and the others surrounding him as he raised his hammer, ready to take off.
"Stop! Drop your weapon immediately or we'll open fire!"
Naturally, Nick Fury wasn't about to let some unknown guy just walk away freely—especially not someone this powerful. No one knew what kind of chaos he could bring to Earth.
"Ugh, what a bunch of annoying pests!"
Being surrounded, blocked from leaving, and having all sorts of strange weapons pointed at him—Thor was seriously pissed.
Next second, he raised Mjolnir high into the air.
Thick, dark clouds instantly gathered above, blotting out the sky and casting a shadow over the whole area.
Lightning crackled within the storm, bolts arcing wildly. It looked like the freaking apocalypse was here.
"Crap, it's gonna rain! Better run home and grab the laundry!"
Some quick-thinking folks nearby immediately fled the scene.
CRACK!
A blinding silver bolt of lightning slammed down from the clouds, striking Mjolnir directly.
In that instant, arcs of electricity danced all around Thor's body. Paired with his shining silver armor, he looked terrifying—like a true god of thunder descending from the heavens. Just standing there, he gave off an aura that made people want to kneel.
"Ha! That should scare 'em off."
Back when Thor first came to Earth, this trick always worked like a charm. People would either drop to their knees and worship him, or run off screaming like their lives depended on it.
But he didn't realize that Earth had changed a lot in the past few centuries. Technology had advanced like crazy, and atheism had spread everywhere.
Even aliens weren't safe—they'd just get captured and studied in a lab somewhere.
And right now, every person around him was an elite SHIELD agent.
Even with the blinding lightning and oppressive pressure in the air, making everyone's scalp tingle like their hair was being yanked—
Well, everyone except Nick Fury, that is—
Not one of them backed down.
Fury knew this situation was turning bad—fast. He didn't hesitate.
"Fire!"
BANG BANG BANG!
Bullets exploded from every barrel, the agents' aim sharp as ever—especially at this range, there was basically no way to miss.
CLANG CLANG CLANG…
But all those bullets just bounced off Thor like they were hitting solid steel, sparks flying in every direction.
"You damn mortals…"
He hadn't really wanted to hurt anyone. His plan was to just scare them off with his godly thunder look. But instead of running, they came at him even harder.
And whatever kind of weapons they were using—they freaking hurt. For a moment, even Thor felt a stab of pain.
He'd had enough.
Thor might not want to hurt Earth's mortals, but he sure as hell wasn't going to sit there and let them beat on him.
(Well… whether he was smart about it is still up for debate.)
"For the glory of Asgard!"
With his godly dignity trampled by these mortals, Thor let out a furious roar. The lightning above became even more intense, raging like a storm out of control.
Then, he pointed Mjolnir—now glowing with electricity—straight at the bald guy in black.
As a seasoned warrior, Thor knew the rule: take out the leader first.
A blinding silver bolt of lightning suddenly shot toward Nick Fury, fast as hell and loaded with terrifying power. Fury barely had time to register it, let alone react.
In that split second, just before the lightning could hit and roast him into a human charcoal briquette…
A figure appeared behind him at inhuman speed, tackling him to the ground.
The lightning missed by a hair—literally—and still managed to make Fury's scalp buzz like crazy.
BOOM!
The bolt struck a bulletproof vehicle behind them, exploding it instantly.
But there was no time to check for casualties.
"You won't be lucky again!"
Thor had already raised his hammer again, pointing it at the two on the ground. The lightning on Mjolnir was building fast, ready to fire again.
"Cap! Catch!"
Just then, a voice shouted from the side.
A round shield cut through the air, thrown by Coulson, who had just returned. It flew in a smooth arc.
A second later, a figure rolled across the ground, leapt up, and caught the spinning shield mid-air—just in time to block the incoming lightning bolt.
After seventy long years—Captain America was back.
"....."