Saturn

"So you're saying... you actually saw it?"

When the Ninth Special Service Division arrived to clean up the takeover scene, Ivan, the agent leading the team, immediately grew alert. This moment was what everyone had been dreading. They were up against aliens—beings they didn't understand, which made everyone uneasy.

Their only source of information was Leila, a witness who had experienced the aliens firsthand. She could only tell them that the aliens were powerful. Really powerful. But she couldn't explain exactly how strong they were. The one thing she was sure of was that if these aliens decided to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth, it would be nearly effortless. In other words, humans wouldn't stand a chance against them right now.

However, Leila was clear that this would be the case only if humans faced the aliens alone. She had no idea how the superheroes from another world would fare against the aliens. She didn't even know if the ancient gods would stand a chance, making it impossible to say who was stronger or weaker.

Everyone wanted answers now. Could they handle the aliens? How strong were these aliens?

Charlie, a representative of the Avengers, was there, speaking for the team. He paused, thinking carefully. He knew that if they were honest, Thor could probably scare away any alien with a few hits from his hammer. Charlie knew that one of the reasons the Avengers were so well-funded and supported was because of the fear of alien threats. If people believed the aliens were easy to defeat, it might make it harder to get resources for planetary defense in the future.

So, instead of revealing everything, Charlie decided to leave out the part where Thor's strength was overwhelming. He simply explained that the alien had been sneaky and ran off as soon as they confronted it. He warned everyone that this alien was strong and recommended they stay on guard, especially around the core.

Charlie wasn't exaggerating. In the short encounter they had, he'd gotten a sense of the alien's strength. If it hadn't been for their team's quick response, the alien could have done a lot of damage to Earth.

While Charlie was talking, he noticed Thor standing off to the side, his hammer planted on the ground. Thor stood there, arms crossed, smiling.

"So… if we can lift this hammer, we can join your… Avengers?" Shadow asked, speaking through Felix's body, eyeing the hammer with interest.

"Of course!" Thor laughed. "And not only that, whoever lifts it would get my cloak, the power of Thor, and the throne of Asgard!"

Everyone became excited. They'd all seen how powerful Thor was, but his hammer didn't look like much. Surely, it couldn't be that hard to lift. Even if it were made of some super-dense alien material, the ground underneath it wasn't even dented. Some of the group even had special abilities. They figured it wouldn't be too hard to lift a single hammer.

One by one, they tried.

Shadow was the first. He started with Felix's body, then switched to the Phantom. When that didn't work, he tried a new approach, saying that since both bodies were technically him, they should count as one person. Thor just smiled and didn't argue, but no matter how much they strained, the hammer wouldn't budge.

Everyone else took their turn, but the hammer stayed firmly in place. Finally, Thor held out his hand with a smirk, and the hammer flew right into it.

Thor spun the hammer in his hand with ease. "You're all fine fighters, but unfortunately, you're not worthy," he said, laughing.

Thor swung his hammer around, showing it off like it was his prized possession. The hammer was famous in the superhero world. Originally, it was said that only Thor could lift it, but eventually, they discovered that others could lift it too.

Seeing Thor's display, Charlie rolled his eyes and focused back on the mission.

"Don't worry," Natasha said. "We'll handle the rest of the organization members. And we're still addressing the infection issue. Soon, the infection will be under control, and we're ready to contain it fully… though we'll need some support from the Ninth Division."

Ivan shrugged. "No problem. You know who to call."

"Then, the only question left is… where did that alien go?"

…

Meanwhile, deep below the ocean's surface…

The alien envoy floated in the darkness, his eyes shut as a strange energy surrounded his body, quickly healing his wounds.

He had heard stories about these superheroes from his allies. But when he arrived on Earth, he assumed humans were weak and that these so-called superheroes were no big deal. After all, his organization's saints thought of themselves as invincible. They always talked about how powerful their god was and how superheroes were just playground bullies—only good for taking down weaklings.

Because of this arrogance, the envoy had dismissed the superheroes as a real threat. He had been so focused on his mission that he'd underestimated his opponents. But now, after today, he realized how wrong he had been. He remembered the feeling of Thor's hammer—the force, the thunderous power—and felt a shiver of lingering fear.

This mission would be much harder than he'd expected. Fortunately, he had a backup plan.

The envoy's eyes snapped open. In the deep water, his gem-like eyes glowed a dark green. Nearby, a large shark, drawn by the scent of blood, swam closer. But as soon as the alien's eyes glowed, the shark sensed danger, trembled, and quickly swam away.

"Let's see how this goes," he thought to himself.

Meanwhile, far away on Saturn, countless pairs of eyes blinked open in the darkness, as if awakened from a long sleep. They began to stir and move, sensing the call of the envoy.

The envoy now understood that he couldn't defeat these superheroes alone. If he wanted to secure the descent core, he would need an army.

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