While Damian was watching Bruce create a mess,
On the other side of the country,
Jane was having breakfast with Thor, Darcy, and Erik in the backyard.
The atmosphere was a bit uncomfortable, especially due to the looks Erik was giving Thor, who wasn't supposed to be there.
Thor also avoided the gaze awkwardly since last night he got carried away and ended up falling asleep. When he woke up, they invited him to breakfast, so he couldn't leave.
At that moment, several kilometers away, the Bifrost opened, and four people in ancient clothes and armed with weapons appeared.
"Now, which way should we go?" asked a fat, red-haired man as he looked around.
"The nearest village seems to be in that direction, let's go," said Sif before starting to run at great speeds.
The three men who came with her exchanged glances before running after her.
A few minutes after they left, several black cars arrived, surrounding the area and analyzing the strange marks on the ground.
"Why is there nothing here?" Coulson asked, furrowing his brow.
"Sir, there seem to be very deep and recent footprints," said an agent approaching Coulson and showing him.
Coulson looked at the direction of the footprints and saw that they led to the village.
"Record the marks on the ground, and we'll come back. Send someone to check if any strangers have arrived," Coulson said, leaning against the car and watching the scientists take photos and collect samples.
The group of four Asgardians arrived in the village and looked around.
"How will we find him?" Fandral, a blond man with a rapier, asked.
Sif looked around before approaching a guy walking down the street.
"Hey, have you seen a tall, rude, blond guy? He must be new in town," Sif said, intimidatingly staring at the man without much effort.
"Uh, yeah, he's more or less as you describe. He's with the scientist Jane. His house is straight down this street at the end, it's a house with a lot of glass, so it's easy to recognize," the man said, a bit intimidated by Sif's stoic expression.
"Thanks," Sif nodded before gesturing to her friends to follow her.
The group of four attracted a lot of attention due to their attire and weapons as they headed toward where Thor was supposed to be.
They walked for a few minutes until they reached a house that matched the man's description.
Sif stepped forward and knocked on the door gently. They waited for a few seconds, but no one opened the door.
Volstagg began to walk through the garden and tried to look behind the house while the others waited in front of the door.
As he circled the house, he saw four people eating and a blond head caught his attention.
"Thor!" Volstagg shouted before running toward the four people at the table.
Everyone at the table turned with surprise to see a huge, red-haired man carrying an axe running toward them.
Darcy and Erik got up, dropping what they were holding as they moved behind the table.
Upon hearing Volstagg's shout, the three at the door also approached running.
"My friends," Thor said with a cheerful smile as he saw them, hugging each one with a smile.
The four Asgardians were surprised by Thor's calm demeanor; he seemed like a completely different person.
Erik and Darcy had expressions of disbelief as they wondered if these were just four more crazy individuals or if they were actually living with the god of thunder.
Seeing this, Jane sighed, and her last doubt about Thor's identity dissolved as she looked at the bracelet on her wrist, softly glowing.
It was one of Damian's gifts, designed to warn her of potentially dangerous beings. She couldn't help but smile slightly, wondering what Thor would think if he knew his bracelet didn't consider him potentially dangerous.
"It's impossible," Erik muttered, trying to deny it.
"I apologize for the interruption, Lady Sif and the three warriors," Volstagg said, introducing himself and his friends.
"It brings me great joy to see you, but why have you come?" Thor asked with a peaceful smile.
"We came to take you back," Fandral said, looking at Thor with puzzlement.
"You know I can't return. With my father's death, I should stay on Earth," Thor said, shaking his head.
"Thor... the Allfather is still alive," Sif said, looking at him doubtfully.
"What?" Thor said after a moment of silence, his blue eyes seeming to flicker with lightning as a thunderclap sounded in the distance, and the previously sunny weather turned cloudy.
"There's no way," Darcy murmured in disbelief as the sky suddenly clouded over.
At that moment, everyone was drawn to the screams of people looking at a mini tornado with rainbow lights appearing in the distance.
"The Bifrost," Sif said in surprise.
"Could it be Loki?" Volstagg wondered.
"It seems something followed us," Fandral said, serious.
Jane quickly went inside before returning with binoculars and looking into the distance.
"It's a silver-armored figure with spikes on the shoulders," Jane said, handing the binoculars to Thor.
"The Destroyer," Thor said before looking at his friends.
"We must evacuate these people quickly," Thor said, looking at Erik.
The village was small, with probably only a few hundred people living there. Given that they knew Jane was a scientist and with the strange tornado and subsequent explosions, it wasn't too difficult to convince everyone to evacuate temporarily.
Seeing the chaos, Jane couldn't help but wonder if she should ask Damian for help. However, looking at Thor's four friends who seemed strong, she doubted it would be necessary.
"Jane, you should leave too," Thor said, his concern evident.
"I'll stay as well. I'm not as defenseless as I seem," Jane replied with a faint smile.
At that moment, heavy footsteps were heard in the distance. When everyone looked in that direction, they saw the giant armored figure walking toward them. It was already a few meters away from the village, so the four warriors exchanged glances before hiding among the houses, waiting to ambush it.
Thor looked at the situation with frustration. He was worried about his friends' lives, but without his powers, he would only be a burden.
Volstagg peeked his head out from behind a house and saw the Destroyer approaching Thor, so he signaled to his friends.
As soon as the Destroyer got close to him, Volstagg ran at high speed before turning and swinging his axe at its legs.
The wind whistled with the axe's movement, and the surprised Destroyer was knocked down.
Hogun, one of the three warriors with an Asian appearance, immediately ran to Volstagg, and together they tried to immobilize the Destroyer by pinning its limbs to its back.
Both grunted as they struggled to keep the Destroyer immobilized, while people continued to evacuate.
Sif jumped onto a roof, extended her spear, and leaped onto the Destroyer, thrusting her spear through its neck. The spear dug deep into the concrete, helping to contain it.
"That wasn't so hard. Perhaps the legends about the Destroyer are a bit exaggerated?" Fandral asked.
"That was under the Allfather's control. Loki probably won't be as skilled," Sif said, looking at the armor doubtfully.
Loki, who was in Asgard, became very angry upon hearing them, and he used even more magic to control the Destroyer.
The Destroyer struggled, breaking free from their hold before standing up.
The metal creaked as the spear was slowly pulled out.
"Damn," Volstagg cursed before receiving a blow that sent him flying through a house.
Sif, Fandral, and Hogun quickly began attacking the Destroyer from different points while dodging its strikes. The Destroyer, slightly slower than them, was hit without being able to defend itself.
However, they didn't seem to be causing any real damage.
Loki, growing impatient, started using more devastating attacks, causing the Destroyer to fire a concentrated beam from where its face should be.
Sif quickly grabbed a car and threw it at the Destroyer's face to get its attention, while Fandral and Hogun went to check on Volstagg.
Sif zigzagged quickly between the rooftops, dodging the Destroyer's beam.
"Are you alright?" Fandral asked Volstagg, who groaned as he slowly got up.
"It hits hard," Volstagg said, standing up and stretching his back.
"We're in trouble. We can't harm the Destroyer, but it can eventually eliminate us," Hogun said, concerned.
"We don't have another option. We must defend Thor," Fandral said, shrugging before running back to help Sif.
When they reached Sif, they saw her holding up the Destroyer's beam with her shield.
Sif was constantly being dragged along the ground before finally being thrown off, landing near Thor, Jane, Darcy, and Erik.
The shield in Sif's hand was melted, and her arm had several burns.
"Sif!" Thor shouted before running to her and cradling her in his arms.
Fandral, Volstagg, and Hogun began distracting the Destroyer so that Thor could retreat, but they were slowly losing ground until they were hit.
Seeing the Destroyer walking toward them, Thor took a deep breath before making a decision.
"Take care of her," Thor said, handing Sif over to Jane and Darcy.
"What are you going to do?" Jane asked, worried. The situation didn't look good. She had already sent a message to Damian, but she didn't understand why he hadn't arrived yet.
"Don't worry, I have a plan," Thor said, smiling at Jane.
Jane was momentarily stunned, as Thor's smile reminded her of the last smile her mother gave her, reassuring her that everything would be fine.
Thor advanced toward the Destroyer until they were a few meters apart.
Seeing this, Jane left Sif with Erik and Darcy. Before Erik could stop her, Jane ran toward Thor.
"Brother, why are you doing this?" Thor asked a hint of sadness in his voice.
Loki, in Asgard, heard Thor speaking to him in that manner and couldn't help but close his eyes, a maelstrom of emotions swirling within him. With his eyes still closed, he ordered the Destroyer to fire a beam at Thor.
He wouldn't let sentimentality stand in the way of his plans and ambitions.
Just as the Destroyer's head was opening to fire, Jane reached Thor, ready to absorb the attack for him.
Jane counted on the defensive objects she had on her body, confident that they could withstand the attack. If not, at the very least, they should alert Damian to the situation.
Thor opened his eyes in shock as he saw Jane positioning herself to protect him. As the nearly charged beam was about to hit him, Thor immediately embraced Jane and spun around, taking the attack on his back.
Jane's eyes widened in surprise as she saw Thor looking at her while the attack was about to hit. While she was touched by his willingness to sacrifice himself for her, she also thought he was an idiot. She could endure the attack. Panicked, she tried to break free from his embrace, but the beam had already been fired.
At the same moment, the hammer in the crater vibrated violently, and the stone beneath it cracked before the hammer flew into the air.
Thor could feel the heat on his back, and as the beam was about to hit him, a hand appeared out of nowhere and stopped the attack.
When the beam halted, a young woman with blue hair was staring at her hand, which was slightly burned but quickly healed.
"It's been a while since I felt pain," Monica murmured, looking at her hand with a mischievous smile.
Jane, who was still in shock, couldn't help but feel relieved to see Monica arrive. Although her smile made her nervous.
Loki, in Asgard, stood up immediately, witnessing the impossible event that had just occurred. His emotions were in turmoil, and he didn't know whether he was angry that Thor hadn't died or relieved.
Jane didn't have time to say anything before her vision blurred, and she appeared several meters away from Thor just in time to see the hammer flying into Thor's hand.
Thor looked at the hammer in his hand in awe, initially thinking he would never hold it again.
Multiple lightning bolts struck him, and he felt as if a weight had been lifted from his shoulders. His armor formed around him as he felt his powers returning.
"Father," Thor murmured, his smile faint.
"How bad must I have been for you to be forced to teach me in this way?" Thor thought, looking at the great rune on his hammer.
Thor looked up and stared at the Destroyer. Thunder sounded in the sky as he spun his hammer, and he saw Jane safe with a mysterious woman. Seeing Jane talk to her with a smile, he assumed she was a friend.
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Guys, I'm sorry about the previous chapter, for some reason it didn't get published and I realized it last night.
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