Chapter 181: Chapter 181: Kidnapping Thor (Third Update)
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"I'm not angry, I'm not angry. I already have the Eternal Spear, and I'm the King of Asgard. I don't need to care about a broken hammer!"
Loki took a few deep breaths, ending his scrying spell.
He had intended to watch Thor make a fool of himself but ended up becoming the joke instead.
It's important to understand that Mjolnir is, in the divine realm, an exclusive artifact for the heir to the throne. It had always been wielded by his older brother, Thor. Loki had tried numerous times to lift it, but he had never succeeded.
Now, with Thor losing his divine power and unable to lift the hammer, a mere mortal had easily done so.
Could Loki possibly be inferior to a mortal?
"Forget it. The big picture is more important."
Originally, Loki had planned to go down and deceive his foolish brother a little more, pushing him to despair so that Thor would never think of returning to the divine realm. However, upon noticing that Thor was surrounded by a few troublesome mortals, Loki changed his mind.
He now felt that his top priority should be to visit Jotunheim and find the Frost Giant King, Laufey, to proceed with his next plan.
As long as he could eliminate Laufey, who was behind Odin's assassination attempt, before the Allfather awoke from his slumber, and then use the Bifrost to completely destroy Jotunheim...
Then he would become the great hero of the entire divine realm, earning the recognition of all the gods and the approval of Odin and the Queen.
---
On Earth, George saw Thor sitting on the ground, hugging his knees, looking despondent. He asked Steve to lift Mjolnir first and decided to take everyone to the nearby town while they waited for the arrival of the Warriors Three and Lady Sif.
At that moment, an RV suddenly drove up and stopped beside them.
Three people emerged from the vehicle, with the leading woman walking over and asking Thor, still sulking on the ground, "Thor, are you... okay?"
It turned out that Jane had been thinking about Thor ever since they parted ways in the lab. Thor's words about the hammer piqued her curiosity, so she decided to come and see him.
Professor Erik, like a concerned father, couldn't leave Jane alone and followed her with Jane's student, Darcy.
"I'm fine, Jane, just... a little..."
Thor stood up, looking like he might break any moment.
He had originally hoped to repay Jane, for whom he had developed a fondness, once he regained his godly powers. Now, that hope was shattered.
"Professor Erik!"
"Dr. Banner! Dr. Betty!"
At that moment, Erik, Banner, and Betty recognized each other. They had once been good friends and had worked together on research. However, since Banner had turned into the Hulk, and with General Ross and S.H.I.E.L.D. constantly hunting him, they had lost touch.
"Ah, you're Iron Man, Tony Stark, and you're the Angel! I know you both!"
Darcy, a university student who had come along for extra credit to follow her mentor, Jane Foster, screamed in recognition, pointing at Tony and George.
Just last night, she had seen a video on Facebook of Iron Man and the Angel battling machine soldiers in Queens, and now she was meeting them in person. The impact on a university student was unimaginable.
"Angel? What Angel?"
George was momentarily stunned but then realized the nickname the public had given him.
"Huh, you look so much like Captain America, and your shield—could you be Captain America? Isn't Captain America dead?"
When Darcy noticed Steve behind George, she screamed again.
"And what about me?"
Wolverine stepped forward, and Darcy blinked.
"I don't know you!"
Only the world where Wolverine is injured fits.
Darcy surely knew of Wolverine from the X-Men comics, but that was just in the comic world, not real life.
If Wolverine had unsheathed his adamantium claws, Darcy would have recognized him immediately.
"Since we all know each other, let's head back to the town and talk slowly," George said, waving his hand. The group began heading back to Old Bridge Town.
---
That evening, at the temporary house rented by Jane, the group was analyzing why Thor couldn't lift Mjolnir.
After ruling out a few possibilities, they reached the same conclusion.
George spoke for the group, addressing Thor:
"From all our analysis, your father Odin didn't really exile you to Earth as a punishment. He was testing you.
He believes that as the ruler of the divine realm, one must possess compassion and cannot resort to war and violence to solve problems.
So, once you understand this, you might be able to lift Mjolnir."
"Then why can this guy lift Mjolnir?"
Thor pointed at Steve, and George explained,
"Because he possesses noble and pure qualities, his heart is full of justice and kindness."
"Then why can't they?"
Thor gestured towards Tony and the others. Tony and the group all turned their heads away.
George chuckled,
"Everyone has their own flaws. They just aren't as pure, myself included."
"Actually, I don't quite agree with this conclusion. I've always believed that I am a person of noble and pure character."
Tony shrugged, showing his disagreement.
At this moment, Darcy made a comment,
"A noble person wouldn't say that about themselves. Sorry, I didn't mean anything by it."
As soon as Darcy realized she had just made a remark about Iron Man, she quickly covered her mouth.
Seeing this, everyone burst into laughter.
Thor looked at Mjolnir, which Steve had placed on the table, and sighed,
"Actually, the past couple of days, I've been thinking that my previous ideas were too radical. Not everything should be solved with war, but I still don't fully understand what Father meant."
"It's okay, Steve is a teacher at our school. You can stay with us for a while and ask him more questions."
George saw this as an opportunity to subtly persuade Thor.
If Thor didn't awaken as quickly as in the original story, then after this incident, keeping him at their school for some time wouldn't be a bad idea.
At least in the future, if he wanted to go to Asgard or retrieve something from there, it would be much easier.
"We also have a professor named Charles at our school. Maybe he can help you understand what your father meant."
Tony casually teased,
"Hey, Thunder God, I recommend a book for you, called War and Peace. Maybe reading it will give you some enlightenment."
Thor immediately turned to Jane and asked,
"Do you have that book here?"
"I don't have it, but we can download the electronic version on Darcy's tablet so you can read it for now."
Jane hesitated before replying.
Darcy immediately objected,
"No way! I still want to catch up on 2 Broke Girls tonight. The town bookstore has that book, though. We can buy it tomorrow."
As George watched the group laughing and waiting for the arrival of the Destroyer the next day, something unexpected happened in the divine realm.
Loki, worried about delays causing complications, decided to act earlier than planned.
"Heimdall, Asgard no longer needs you!"
Taking advantage of Heimdall's moment of surprise, Loki used the ancient power of the Winter Coffin to freeze him, then opened the Bifrost with Odin's Eternal Spear, allowing the leader of the Frost Giants, Laufey, to enter.
(End of chapter)