Chapter 46: Thor's Grand Mobilization!
Thor is the god of thunder, not the god of hammers. Even if his divine power was stripped or sealed by Odin, Thor's body could still instinctively react to it.
Du Wa blasted Thor with the power of the Thunder God from Mjolnir, and just as expected, Thor woke up. His body, as if pumped full of hormones, began to heal at an accelerated rate.
Thor quickly inspected his body, looking at the healing wound on his chest and glancing inside.
"Don't worry, there's no Xenomorph. I took it out long ago." Du Wa pulled over a bullet-riddled chair and sat down in front of Thor.
"Is the war over? Where's Loki?"
"He escaped. He suffered a major loss right after arriving on Earth, so maybe he's learned his lesson. But his condition probably isn't good right now. Using so much magic must have taken a heavy toll," Du Wa said.
Thor breathed a sigh of relief. With someone as cunning as Loki, as long as he could escape, Thor didn't need to worry about the rest. He then fell silent, looking at the Hammer of the Thunder God in Du Wa's hands with a bitter taste in his mouth.
Though his straightforward mind didn't know the specifics of what had happened, just seeing Mjolnir being casually toyed with by Du Wa filled him with sorrow.
First, it was Magneto, and now Du Wa. He was speechless, having suffered a devastating blow.
"Midgardian, I challenge you." Thor stood up, looking reluctantly at the divine power rapidly fading from his body, and spoke with grim determination.
"For what reason, son of Odin?"
"You have shamed me. To an Asgardian, honor is greater than all else."
"How have I shamed you?"
"You used your followers to parasitize me."
"But I took it out again. Of course, the power I promised you is also gone. Isn't this the result you wanted? You helped Loki without counting the cost, and you succeeded. I ensured Loki's escape. As an Asgardian who holds honor as his life, as the son of Odin, is this how you repay your benefactor—by fighting him to the death?"
Du Wa wore a gentle expression.
He certainly didn't tell Thor that the method he'd used to help Loki escape was to team up with Magneto and gang up on Loki, forcing him to flee.
Thor's mouth opened and closed. He turned to walk out. "Fine, then I'll find a place to end my own life."
Du Wa nodded slightly. This was indeed something a person with Thor's character would do.
But the moment he moved, several doctors scrambled to restrain him.
"Wait, at least let us finish studying your body!"
"..."
Du Wa waved his hand, and several Xenomorphs shooed the doctors out. He then sent Raven out to clean up the corpses outside before speaking to Thor again. "I have witnessed your fearlessness in the face of death. But aside from that, you have not shown an ounce of the responsibility you should have as the son of Odin."
"What do you know! I have made a grave mistake. I am no longer the God of Thunder! And even Mjolnir has chosen you." Thor's face was filled with grief and indignation. His heart was truly like dead ashes.
The God of Thunder, who had been proud for over a thousand years, had never suffered such an indignity!
"You become like this just because you lost your divine power? You are the god of thunder, not the god of hammers. I've never heard of Odin ceasing to be the God-King just because he lost Gungnir and the Destroyer Armor. As a descendant of the God-King, even without Mjolnir, you are still a god, and a powerful divine power is dormant within your body," Du Wa said.
Thor would only awaken his true power during his decisive battle with Hela, evolving into the Mjolnir-less Thunder God 2.0.
Du Wa was giving Thor a nudge now, not caring whether it would be effective or not.
Thor fell silent, as if he had an epiphany. "Give Mjolnir to me. I think..."
"I don't care what you think. It's what I think that matters. Why would I give Mjolnir to you?" Du Wa gripped the Hammer of the Thunder God tightly.
Was he joking? He had just obtained this divine power. He could only temporarily confirm that this thing was a type of bodily energy, and by looking at the examples of the various divine races in the universe, he could confirm it was likely inheritable through genes. How could he possibly return such a good thing to Thor so easily?
"...Lend it to me!" Thor sounded pathetic even saying those words.
"No," Du Wa refused. "I will not lend a power that belongs to me to an outsider who has no value to me."
"The only reason you can lift Mjolnir is because you used that creature to parasitize me."
"...You're surprisingly sharp." Du Wa nodded candidly. This wasn't actually hard to guess, but for Thor to figure it out so quickly was quite surprising.
Du Wa pointed to his own chest. "According to your theory, my followers—the Xenomorphs—possess the ability to acquire a portion of the host's genetic material through parasitism. It was through a Xenomorph that I obtained part of your genes, thereby gaining Mjolnir's recognition."
There was nothing to hide. To put it bluntly, all sorts of bizarre news about him and the Xenomorphs were already flying all over the internet, with every kind of speculation imaginable.
After all, the whole world seemed to have suddenly become much more lively these days, with superhumans of all kinds making their debut.
Even if Thor, like in the original timeline, had a great awakening and lived peacefully as a mortal on Earth for a while, he would still be able to find information about Du Wa online and make a rough guess. Therefore, Du Wa had no intention of hiding it from Thor.
"What you mean is?"
"What I mean is, my body, for all intents and purposes, contains your bloodline. In other words, Brother Thor, Mjolnir ultimately still chose you. It's only because of you that it allows me to wield it," Du Wa stated frankly.
This wasn't shameful. He had failed when he first tried to lift the Hammer of the Thunder God, and Thor had seen it with his own eyes.
Thor felt his head buzzing.
"Let me talk about something you'll be interested in: Loki is likely still on Earth. He must be looking for an opportunity to negotiate with you. You can listen carefully, and then think about it." As Du Wa spoke, he turned his head to the side.
Thor looked over as well and recognized one of the Eternals. But immediately after, his expression changed drastically as he saw the Eternal's body convulse violently. Its chest burst open, and a Xenomorph drilled out.
"This!!"
"This is a Xenomorph. Of course, I can decide whether it needs to chestburst or not. It's a matter of a single thought." Du Wa extended a hand, and this newly born, petite Xenomorph displayed super speed, turning into an afterimage and instantly crawling onto his shoulder.
In just a few more hours, this little one would rapidly grow into a two-to-three-meter-tall mature adult.
Thor now truly understood how terrifying this creature was.
Acquiring a host's genetic material through parasitism... or rather, the superpower contained within their genes...
Thor couldn't help but look down at his already healed chest again.
If Du Wa hadn't taken that thing out, wouldn't he have also...
As for a bloody affair like parasitism and chestbursting, it wasn't a big deal to Thor. If there was anything to criticize, it would be chestbursting someone who had lost their combat power, but that wasn't a major issue either.
Thor himself was a hot-tempered, belligerent war-maniac. Before starting a war with an alien race, he might offer a word of surrender if he was in a good mood. But the problem was, before the war even started, the other side didn't think they would lose, so how could they possibly agree? As a result, Thor would just grab his hammer and go on a killing spree with a clear conscience.
And Hela was even worse, countless times more savage than Thor. The people she killed could fill the continent of Asgard.
To have raised such a pair of war-crazed offspring, Odin was truly skilled at raising children.
"I told you just now, I removed the Xenomorph immediately after the parasitism was complete. Otherwise, you wouldn't be alive right now."
"Don't be ridiculous. I wouldn't die even if a chestburster really emerged. Even if I lost my divine power and powerful self-healing ability, Loki would use magic to repair my body," Thor retorted.
Du Wa nodded. He believed that. Directly borrowing the power to repair a body from a deity of multiversal standing was something Loki's mastery of magic could likely achieve. He could completely create a new set of thoracic organs for Thor out of thin air.
But the price to be paid would be another matter entirely.
"Thank you for your candor. You are a despicable but thoroughly wicked warrior. At another time, we might have become friends, but now, I will not join your ranks. The God of Thunder—the former God of Thunder, the son of Odin—will not become your follower," Thor said, shaking his head.
He could understand the meaning behind Du Wa's words. This was a second chance for him to choose: if he wanted to get the Hammer of the Thunder God back, he would have to be subjected to parasitism by a Xenomorph again and become Du Wa's man.
The last time he had been willing to agree was because the situation was perilous. For Loki's sake, and with the resolve to seek death after the battle to preserve his dignity, he had consented.
Although the final outcome was not what he had expected—he was parasitized, but not completely, and he hadn't received the "power" from Du Wa that could help Loki on the battlefield—it left Thor feeling awkward, stuck in a state of limbo, not knowing what he should do.
But this time, it was absolutely impossible. He would rather be a mortal than lose what little dignity he had left.
"Thor, my brother, you should know, some things, once they happen, they'll happen countless times."
"Shut up! Even if you are a powerful individual of Midgard who knows many ancient and hidden secrets, you can't call me that! I am not your brother at all!" Thor leaped to his feet. "I told you, there will absolutely not be a second time!"
"You look like a lion whose tail has been stepped on, bristling with anger. Look at your messy hair. I'll give you some money later. Go to a store and buy a couple of bottles of shampoo. This is the beginning of you becoming a mortal."
If Thor still had his divine power, he could have just washed his body with it.
Thor stormed out of the dilapidated building, under the gazes of the Dum Dum Dugans next door.
Honestly, Du Wa could never figure out how many batches of Dum Dum Dugans the building next door had gone through.
"Major intelligence, Thor has left! Du Wa didn't stop him, nor did he send a Xenomorph to follow. This is our opportunity!"
"Report to Fury, quickly!"
The Dum Dum Dugans were instantly excited. A clever one was already figuring out how much money Fury should pay for this piece of news. The main body was extremely short on cash right now, and they, the clones monitoring Du Wa, had no idea what the main body was up to.
Not long after, under the dumbfounded stares of the Dum Dum Dugans, Thor returned.
"Mister Thor, what are you doing?" shouted a Dum Dum Dugan wearing an apron, dutifully selling raw meat.
Thor looked up at the building next door. Yup, from top to bottom, on every windowsill, several identical guys were perched, staring at him.
Bang!
Thor smashed open the battered iron door with a punch, causing the piece of scrap metal to give way and collapse with a crash.
"Welcome back, Thor Odinson. I assume you've spoken with Loki?" Du Wa sat calmly in his chair, not having even changed his posture.
"Yes. Things have changed."
Thor's eyes were already bloodshot, and faint tear tracks were visible on his face, which was filled with sorrow and self-blame. Still, he pointed grievingly at the building next door. "Just a heads-up, there's a bunch of idiots over there watching you. You should be careful."
"They're watching you, but your assessment is spot on. The professionalism of these agents is truly worrying. I wonder what the most elite batch of clones are busy with," Du Wa said with a sigh.
Thor looked left and right, dragged over a sofa that was missing half its structure, and plopped down on it, causing the frame-deficient sofa to collapse with a crash. But he clearly didn't care, immersed in a pain from which he couldn't extricate himself. "My father is dead."
"My condolences."
"I said, the Father of the Gods, the strongest in the Nine Realms, the master of Asgard, the God-King Odin is dead!"
"Yes, I heard you. What do you plan to do? Are you going to give me a detailed explanation of how my father is gone now?"
Du Wa pointed very seriously at his own chest.
Elektra, who had been steadying a Xenomorph while carefully using her newly grown legs, almost lost her composure upon hearing this. She stabbed herself hard with her broken blade and then put on a horrified expression.
Tears welled in Thor's eyes. "You just said you were my brother, that the bloodline of Odin flows in your veins."
"Just say it. What are you trying to express?"
"War has broken out. Loki has already rushed back to Asgard and will lead the army to resist the Frost Giants' attack." A thick trace of worry and resentment flashed in Thor's eyes.
He hated his own incompetence, which had indirectly angered Odin to death, and he hated Jotunheim for taking advantage of the situation.
But his biggest worry was, how could Asgard, having lost its Skyfather-level powerhouse, fend off the powerful Frost Giants?
Du Wa stroked his chin, observing Thor's expression. The grief was real.
If Hela had received this news, she would be dancing on Odin's grave in a heartbeat.
But the siblings had one thing in common: both were supremely confident that Jotunheim was trash. As long as they took the field, any number of Frost Giants that came would die!
But Thor was powerless now; he couldn't hold the line at all!
Thor finally stated his purpose.
"I know it's absurd to ask you for help, but I have no other choice... I hope to borrow an army from you! I want to return to Asgard with a powerful and loyal army to launch a counterattack on Jotunheim!"
(end of chapter)