Chapter 36: Unable to Win, Coulson Had No Choice But to Call for Backup
S.H.I.E.L.D. demonstrated their superior operational efficiency, clearing the area with maximum speed.
In response, the people who had been treating the place like a large outdoor party cordially greeted the families of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and expressed their absolute obedience to all commands.
"Attention all units, Du Wa has also arrived in your area. Damn it, is this a coincidence?"
"There's even worse news. We couldn't trace that strange Rainbow Bridge that came from outer space, but we're certain it's closely related to that hammer."
"Based on a comprehensive analysis, we need to prepare. The God Race, who have been cut off from Earth for thousands of years, might be on the move again."
The department of S.H.I.E.L.D. held all sorts of miscellaneous information. No matter how bizarre an event, a comparison with the S.H.I.E.L.D. database could always turn up some clue.
"The legendary Asgardians? Thor's Hammer?"
Rushing over in a helicopter, Coulson was so worried he felt his hair was falling out, fearing he'd become the next Fury.
The appearance of the Rainbow Bridge and a weapon suspected to be Thor's Hammer attracted the attention of many interested parties.
S.H.I.E.L.D. had never been the only powerful organization on Earth. Similarly, they weren't the only ones with records pertaining to the various God Races.
While S.H.I.E.L.D. tried to establish a quarantine zone and surround Thor's Hammer, even more people were causing destruction, preventing S.H.I.E.L.D. from controlling the situation.
When more people tried to lift Thor's Hammer to no avail, everyone's interest was thoroughly piqued.
Perhaps... the hammer's owner really was *that* guy?
Amidst this chaos, Thor arrived. No chariot, no warhorse, no radiant glows or grand fanfare—just a pair of big feet churning at high speed.
In broad daylight, under the watch of countless eyes both seen and unseen, Thor once again became unrestrained. Laughing heartily, he took down innumerable agents with one punch each.
"Mjolnir, my hammer!!"
This blond-haired brute, even without his divine power, was unbelievably strong. Beating highly-trained agents was easier for him than beating up kids.
Considering that the physical constitution of an average Asgardian is three times that of a normal Earthling, it went without saying for Thor, the son of Odin and bearer of the All-Father's bloodline. With just his bare fists, he could beat down a whole bunch of superheroes.
In the vast base, numerous well-trained agents were shockingly unable to stop Thor alone, and a huge number of them were knocked down.
"This guy is Thor? Such reckless behavior, such arrogant actions... it's truly hard to believe this is a God who has lived for at least a thousand years."
Coulson arrived at the scene, assessing the performance of this son of Odin.
Besides being a good fighter, with his combat skills maxed out, there was really nothing special about him.
Should we just let him get close to Thor's Hammer? It seemed like a pity. They finally had an opportunity to study a mythical weapon, and they still hadn't figured out the secret of why Thor's Hammer couldn't be lifted by outsiders.
"Sir, he's already broken through the second line of defense. What should we do?" The supervising super-agent, Hawkeye, quietly drew his bow, aimed it at Thor, and awaited Coulson's command.
Coulson hesitated, just about to speak.
"Something else has broken in! It's incredibly fast!" an agent in charge of adjusting the monitors shouted.
The others hurriedly looked at the camera feeds, their expressions changing drastically.
They saw that the new intruder was a big one, its figure extremely burly. After grabbing an agent, it used a single fleshy tendril that sprouted out to instantly and completely absorb the person.
"An alien?"
"It's a Deviant! And a very powerful one!"
Coulson took a deep breath, his heart sinking to rock bottom. "Why is this damned thing here? It's supposed to be hundreds of kilometers away, being pursued by the Brotherhood!"
For a moment, Coulson suspected this was a trap, but he quickly dismissed the thought. He figured it was either an accident—this Deviant just happened to be passing by—or it had been drawn by Thor's arrival on Earth and had come here specifically.
The footage from the camera proved it was the latter.
This extremely strong Deviant, running at high speed on two legs, completely ignored Thor's Hammer and charged straight for the other end of the camp, towards Thor's location.
Along the way, anyone who tried to block it was instantly absorbed. Forget a corpse, not even bones were left behind. This exaggerated absorption ability made Coulson's eyelids twitch wildly, and he was utterly horrified.
"What in the world did Magneto feed this thing to make it so powerful in such a short amount of time?!" Coulson was both shocked and furious; this was no longer a monster they could handle.
He decisively called for backup.
Fury, upon receiving the news, was silent for a long time before finally saying in a deep voice, "Dispatching agents from S.H.I.E.L.D. will take too long. That Deviant will kill Thor first."
"If Thor dies, we'll all be in big trouble. Who knows what the situation in Asgard is right now, or what the All-Father Odin's attitude will be?" Coulson's face was grim.
The thought of that consequence made his heart pound wildly. He feared that the entire Earth would have to bear Odin's wrath.
Thor, however, was completely oblivious to this. His face was filled with ecstasy as he focused all of his attention on his hammer.
"Hahaha, I've found you, old friend!"
The thousand-plus-year-old Thor was still just a young man. His voice was sonorous, his body trembled with excitement, and he charged joyfully towards his hammer.
Just a few more seconds—let him reach the hammer, extend his hand, grab it, lift it—and he would surely regain his divine power and return to Asgard!
This damned Midgard, he didn't want to stay for another second!
But these mere dozen or so meters were like a natural chasm, because the Deviant had also arrived, tearing through the barrier first and charging in front of Thor.
"What is this thing?"
Thor stopped in his tracks, the hairs on his body standing on end as his powerful battle instincts sounded the alarm.
It was strong. This black, humanoid being blocking his path was extremely strong, at least not something he could easily handle without his divine power!
"Get out of my way! I don't care what you are, anyone who blocks Thor dies!" A savage glint flashed in Thor's eyes. He was not one for good tempers; if he could kill, he would never waste a single word.
In his past several hundred years of conquest, even when persuading enemies to surrender, he would only ask a single, brief question. If they didn't agree, he would smash their skulls with his hammer without a second word.
Thor jumped to the conclusion that this guy before him was trying to stop him from getting his hammer back.
Another fool lusting after a Deity's power, Thor thought. All I have to do is get around this guy, pick up the hammer...
And then... there was no "then."
(end of chapter)