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New Mexico.A dusty little town in the middle of the desert.
The sunset painted the sky blood-red, and the dry wind whipped up sand and dust, slamming it against the sides of an old, run-down motel.
Inside Jane Foster's makeshift lab, an argument was heating up.
"I told you already, I'm Thor Odinson! God of Thunder from Asgard!" the tall, blond man slammed his hand on the table, eyes blazing with frustration and pride.
"I've been banished here, but my divine power will return!"
"Enough!" Jane rubbed her temples, clearly exhausted.
"I don't know if you're high or just seriously delusional, but if you keep talking like this, I'm calling the cops!"
But Darcy Lewis's eyes were sparkling with excitement as she leaned closer to Thor. "Wait, you're saying you're the Thor? Like, the one from Norse mythology? That's so—"
Thor clenched his fists, looking anxious. "If only Mjolnir were here…"
And then—
BOOM!
A loud crash shook the ground outside as rocks and debris scattered everywhere!
A dark figure dropped from the sky and slammed into the earth with a heavy thud.
The dust started to clear. Jane and Darcy rushed to the door.
Standing there was a man in sleek black exo-armor, its design sharp and intimidating. A golden "S"-shaped emblem gleamed coldly on his chest under the dim light.
His face was calm and stern, and his eyes glowed faintly with a trace of gold.
Thor immediately stood up straight, eyes locked on the newcomer, full of caution. "Who are you?"
Jiro's gaze swept across the room and landed on Thor.
"I believe you," he said in a deep voice. "You're Thor, son of Odin."
Thor froze—then broke into a huge grin. "Finally! A Midgardian who actually gets it!"
Jane stared wide-eyed. "Wait, are you serious right now? You believe this guy—"
Jiro ignored her completely and walked straight up to Thor. "I need you to take me to Asgard."
Thor frowned. "Mortals can't enter the realm of the gods."
"I'm not a mortal," Jiro replied calmly, then grabbed Thor's shoulder with one hand.
"Besides… don't you want your hammer back?"
Thor's eyes flickered with hesitation, but it was quickly replaced by determination."Fine! I'll take you there! But first—I need to get Mjolnir back!"
Jiro nodded. The next second—
BOOM!
A sonic boom echoed across the town!
The two of them shot into the sky like rockets!
Jane and Darcy stood frozen, staring blankly at the sky, completely stunned.
In the middle of the desert.
S.H.I.E.L.D.'s temporary base.
Agent Coulson stood in front of a monitor, frowning deeply.
"Sir! We're getting another energy reading—right near the hammer!" a tech reported urgently.
"Raise the alert level!" Coulson ordered immediately. "Everyone to your positions—we might be looking at our target!"
But before he could even finish speaking—
BOOOOM!!!
The roof of the base exploded!
A black shadow came crashing down like a meteor, blasting through all the defense layers and slamming straight into the ground right next to Thor's hammer!
Dust filled the air. Alarms blared like crazy.
"Hostile attack! Hostile attack!"Agents swarmed the area, guns drawn, aiming straight at the figure in the smoke.
As the dust cleared, Jiro let go of Thor and calmly looked around.
He'd done that on purpose—he'd already heard the conversation between Nick Fury and Tony.
You wanna act cocky? Fine, then don't expect me to play nice either.
Thor, on the other hand, couldn't care less about any of that. His eyes were locked on the hammer lying on the ground.
"Mjolnir!" He rushed forward, grabbing the handle and yanking with all his strength—
Not even a twitch.
Thor's expression froze.
"No… no way…"
He kept pulling, harder and harder, his muscles straining, veins bulging on his forehead—but the hammer stayed put, like it was fused to the Earth itself.
"Why…? Father, have you really abandoned me?!"Thor collapsed to his knees, voice hoarse with grief.
Jiro stood quietly off to the side, not interfering.
He knew—Thor had to go through this if he ever wanted to truly awaken.
But S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had already surrounded them.
"Don't move! Hands on your head!"Dozens of guns were now aimed at Jiro and Thor, as Coulson stepped forward, looking serious.
"Gentlemen, you've trespassed into a S.H.I.E.L.D.-controlled zone. Please cooperate with the investigation."
Jiro glanced at him and said calmly, "Step aside. You can't stop me."
Coulson narrowed his eyes. "Wanna bet?"
Before the words had even finished leaving his mouth—
Every agent opened fire at once!
Bullets rained down like a storm!
Jiro didn't even blink.
Ting ting ting!
Every single bullet stopped an inch from his body, like they'd hit an invisible wall—then clattered uselessly to the ground.
The agents stared, completely stunned.
"I said… you can't stop me." Jiro took a step forward.
The ground trembled.
A bio-energy field pulsed outward.All the agents suddenly felt like the air had been sucked out of the room. They couldn't breathe, their legs went weak, and they could barely hold their guns.
Coulson broke into a cold sweat, but he still tried to hold it together."Prep the energy wea—"
Before he could even finish the sentence, the agents had already stopped breathing and collapsed to the ground—dead before they hit it.
Coulson was left speechless, staring in shock—when suddenly, the sky above the desert twisted.
A swirling green vortex opened out of nowhere.
The Destroyer Armor slowly stepped through.
"Oh, my dearest brother," came a mocking voice from within the vortex.Loki's figure appeared, holding the Eternal Spear, smirking with smug amusement.
"Look at you, crawling on the ground like a bug. Even humans can pin you down now."
"You're pathetic, Thor," he added with a sneer.
Thor jerked his head up. "Loki! Father—he..."
"He's dead," Loki cut him off, eyes glinting with false sorrow. "Because of your reckless actions, our father is gone."
Thor staggered back, like he'd been struck by lightning."No... that's not true…"
Jiro stood back and watched, wondering how Thor could even fall for this obvious manipulation.
But he didn't say anything. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the Destroyer Armor, which had slowly stood upright not far away.
"Loki!" Thor suddenly shouted in anger. "Why did you bring the Destroyer to Midgard?!"
Loki spread his hands elegantly."Why else? I'm just cleaning up your mess, dear brother. I am king of Asgard now, after all."
The Destroyer's faceplate opened, and blazing energy began to gather inside.
"Watch out!"Thor instinctively threw himself at Jiro to shield him—but landed on nothing.
Jiro had already vanished.
A second later, he reappeared right in front of the Destroyer.
"You talk too much."His voice was ice-cold.Then he whipped his leg out in a roundhouse kick.
BOOM!!!
The Destroyer was split clean in half—starting from the head—by a single brutal kick!
Its blazing energy core was suddenly exposed… and in the next instant, it got vaporized by Jiro's heat vision!
Back in Asgard, Loki stumbled back a step, eyes wide with shock."This can't be… That's Odin's Destroyer!"
At the same time, the sky abruptly darkened.
Storm clouds gathered around Thor like a whirlpool, lightning crackling wildly within them.
"Loki!!" Thor's furious roar echoed through the desert, booming along with the thunder. "You're lying!"
A bolt of lightning struck straight down—right on Thor!
In the blinding flash, his body began to change.
His red cape flapped in a wind that wasn't there, and Mjolnir flew into his hand all on its own.
When the lightning faded, Thor had returned to his full God of Thunder form, lightning sparking around Mjolnir in his grip.
Jiro folded his arms."Really? You wait until the enemy's gone before transforming?"
Thor gave an awkward cough."Uh… what can I say, it's about the drama."
Loki's illusion started to fade, his final expression a mix of shock and rage."You really think this is over? See you in Asgard!"
Thor raised Mjolnir high."Heimdall! Open the Bifrost!"
A pillar of rainbow light shot down from the sky, engulfing Jiro, Thor, and the Destroyer's wreckage all at once.
When the light faded, they were standing inside the golden palace of Asgard—surrounded by dozens of armed palace guards, all pointing spears at them.
"Welcome home," Jiro said, raising an eyebrow. "Looks like your brother's been planning ahead."
Thor gripped his hammer tightly, crackling with electricity."He always does."
At the far end of the hall, Loki stood in front of the throne, holding the spear Gungnir, face dark with anger."Take them down."
The palace guards roared and charged forward.
Golden light flared in Jiro's eyes."Perfect, I could use a warm-up."
"....."