Chapter 46. The Four from Asgard and Tony vs. The Destroyer

"What is that creature?" Tony asked, zooming in on the display with JARVIS's help. He saw a massive, fully armored entity descending the Rainbow Bridge. He couldn't immediately make out what it was.

"The Destroyer?! Loki sent it here!" Volstagg exclaimed, instantly recognizing the approaching enemy.

"The legendary armor in which King Odin led his conquests," added Hogun, one of the Warriors Three, a dark-haired man with a ponytail, in a calm tone.

The Destroyer, upon landing, began to slowly and heavily march towards the town.

"Are we really going to have to fight this monster?" Fandral, a blonde with a mustache, asked nervously as he watched the fearsome creature. Its appearance and reputation commanded respect and fear, especially considering it was Odin's armor.

At that moment, a commotion arose among the crowd. Several agents in black suits pushed through, led by Nick Fury, followed by Phil Coulson, Clint Barton (Hawkeye), Natasha Romanoff (Black Widow), and a few other agents.

"What's going on? Who's this newcomer?" Nick Fury asked, glancing at Tony and Noah. He had just arrived and didn't know what had happened with Thor and his friends, but he noticed that the newcomer wasn't their ally.

"Don't ask me, I don't know anything," Tony shrugged, as he didn't understand Asgardian matters and couldn't identify the new threat.

"Director Fury, right now, the priority is to evacuate the civilians. A serious conflict could arise," Noah warned. He remembered the scene from the movie where the passersby weren't standing around like they were now. He feared that one shot from the Destroyer could lead to catastrophe.

Nick raised an eyebrow and ordered his agents to begin the evacuation. People started to realize that danger was approaching and began heading to safety, leading their loved ones away.

Thor, observing the evacuation, took a deep breath and said to Jane, "Jane, you need to leave here too."

"What about you? What are you going to do?" Jane asked with concern, understanding that he wasn't planning to leave.

"Of course, Thor will stay and fight alongside us," Volstagg said.

Thor approached his Asgardian friends and said in a serious tone, "Listen, friends, I'm just a mortal now and could become a burden to you in battle. But I can help evacuate people."

"If you stay, then so will I," Jane declared.

Tony couldn't stand this scene any longer. "Alright, keep up your melodrama. I'll go deal with this guy," he said, soaring into the air, heading towards the Destroyer.

"What's a melodrama?" Thor asked in surprise.

After that, he and his friends began helping the townspeople evacuate. The Warriors Three and Sif exchanged glances and headed towards the Destroyer. Noah didn't rush in; he wanted to assess the situation first, as events were now different from the film since Iron Man and Nick Fury hadn't originally appeared at the scene.

Tony quickly flew to the Destroyer, hovering in the air before it. He decided to try talking.

"Hey, big guy, get out of here and back to Asgard. Or else you're going to regret it," Tony said, balancing in the air with the help of his repulsors and staring at the Destroyer.

The Destroyer stopped, turned towards him, and began slowly opening its faceplate.

Tony thought his threat had worked and was just about to speak again when JARVIS urgently warned him.

"Mr. Stark, something is wrong. There is a high energy reading up ahead," JARVIS reported.

"What?!" Tony exclaimed, noticing that the Destroyer's opened faceplate was empty. No pilot? He wondered, then saw the creature's face start to glow.

Sensing danger, he quickly altered his trajectory with the repulsors on his hands. Suddenly, a powerful beam of light shot past him, making him break into a cold sweat. If he'd been caught by that beam, the consequences would have been catastrophic.

"Damn, what is this thing?!" Tony shouted angrily, opening his shoulder plates and launching dozens of mini-missiles, which, leaving white trails in the sky, raced towards the Destroyer.

The missiles hit the Destroyer, causing a series of explosions and shrouding it in a cloud of white smoke. Tony lost sight of it, but suddenly his screen turned red, and he barely managed to dodge another laser beam that shot through the smoke.

At that moment, a rough voice sounded: "Midgardian, I'll help you!" Volstagg, one of the Warriors Three, rushed forward with an axe in hand and struck the Destroyer.

A loud metallic clang echoed as the Destroyer raised its hand to block the axe. Volstagg shook from the impact, but he didn't leave a scratch on the opponent. In the next second, the Destroyer threw him back, and Hogun and Fandral caught him, skidding a few meters from the force of the blow.

"Look here!" Tony yelled, as his laser hit the Destroyer, forcing it to take a few steps back. He then landed on the ground, deciding it would be easier to shoot repulsors from the ground.

On the ground, he immediately opened fire with both hands and launched all his rockets at once. Under the onslaught of attacks, the Destroyer began to retreat, and the Warriors Three rushed into battle, using their weapons. Although the Destroyer was incredibly durable, the combined efforts of the team forced it to back away. Every time it tried to shoot its laser, Tony would disrupt its aim with his plasma shots, causing the laser to hit houses and cars, resulting in powerful explosions.

Tony and his new allies quickly established teamwork.

"Director, are we not intervening?" Clint Barton asked, watching the battle from afar.

"We don't have heavy weaponry, and intervening could make things worse. Don't worry, Noah hasn't entered the fray yet—he has a plan," Nick replied, noting that Iron Man and the Asgardians' attacks were making the Destroyer retreat but not dealing significant damage. Their agents only had a few pistols.

"Director, I can attack with the Quinjet," Natasha suggested.

"The long-range attack might hit our own. Let's wait," Nick decided.

Under the relentless attacks, the Destroyer retreated to one of the houses. Suddenly, Sif leaped from the roof, holding a long spear. Using the force of her fall, she pierced its chest. The weapon, forged by Asgard's finest craftsmen, was incredibly sharp and went through the Destroyer entirely.

Sif smiled, but at that moment, the Destroyer began to rotate, turning toward her, and its face glowed again. She didn't have time to dodge, and just as the laser was about to strike her, lightning struck the Destroyer's head, interrupting its attack.

"Thor?!"

Sif and the Warriors Three, seeing the lightning, thought Thor had returned. But, turning around, they saw not Thor but another person in a high-tech suit, wielding a lightning-shaped weapon. It was from this weapon that the lightning shot out.

Thor, far off, evacuating the residents, saw this scene. It reminded him of Mjolnir and the times when he fought with it. But now, he didn't know when he would be able to lift the hammer again, so he put those thoughts aside and sent the last group of residents to safety.

"Jane, you should leave too."

Once everyone was evacuated, only the agents and a few of Jane's acquaintances remained. Thor turned to her.

"What about you?"

"I'll stay here. My friends are still fighting, and behind the Destroyer, likely stands my brother, Loki. I want to try to stop him."

"Then I'll wait for you here, Thor."

On the battlefield, Noah finally joined the fight, knocking the Destroyer's head aside with his electric blade. Then he landed in the center.

"Finally joined us? I thought you were eating popcorn and watching us fight," Tony shouted when he saw Noah.

"Don't worry. I saw how well you were handling things and didn't want to interfere. I wouldn't mind some popcorn, but everyone ran away, and there's nowhere to get it."

Taking advantage of the moment when the Destroyer was distracted, Sif pulled out her spear and backed away. The Asgardians gathered together.

"Thank you," Sif thanked Noah, glancing at the now-rising Destroyer.

The Destroyer got back on its feet, its chest cavity, pierced by the spear, already healing. Its face showed no emotion, as it was merely armor. But behind the armor stood Loki, who recognized Noah by his voice. He remembered how Noah had embarrassed him that night and ordered the Destroyer to eliminate him.

The Destroyer's face glowed brighter than before. Noah, seeing this, stopped the Asgardians who were preparing to attack and began gathering energy himself. At that moment, the Destroyer and Noah released powerful laser beams that collided in the air, causing a massive explosion. Several houses around the epicenter were destroyed, and debris scattered across the area.

While everyone was stunned by the attack, Jane suddenly cried out: "Thor!!"

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