Thor and Captain America (5/5)

Let’s turn the clock back one minute.

Captain America was sprinting at full speed.

The two masses of lightning in the sky grew clearer and clearer. One was a hammer, while the other was unmistakably the chubby Director Wang.

The Super Soldier Serum could amplify everything about a person, including judgment and intuition.

He was certain that mass of lightning was Director Wang!

Captain America thought to himself.

Director Wang was a good man, and I owed him a huge favor… No, several huge favors!

He was fighting the hammer, so I should go help him!

I just don’t know if I can catch up.

It’s fine. Whatever Director Wang does, I’ll do too—just a little slower!

He ran with all his strength when he suddenly saw Director Wang unleash his might. The cluster of lightning around the hammer exploded, and then…

It turned into a streak of light and flew toward him?

Would he die if that hit him?

Captain America instinctively raised his shield and assumed a defensive stance.

Boom!

A thunderous roar rang out, accompanied by the earth shaking.

A terrifying shockwave sent Captain America flying dozens of meters before he crashed heavily onto the ground.

If not for the Vibranium Shield absorbing most of the kinetic energy, he would have been seriously injured even if he survived.

Good thing it didn’t hit me.

The shockwave alone was this powerful. If it had struck me directly, I’d probably have died for sure. Even the Vibranium Shield might not have been able to withstand it.

Suppressing the pain throughout his body, Captain America hurriedly got up.

When he saw the scene before him, he was dumbfounded.

A massive crater had appeared not far away!

At a glance, the circular crater had a radius of at least five hundred meters, and its depths were impossible to see.

This wasn’t a hammer hitting the ground.

It was clearly a meteorite striking Earth!

Of course, the scale was not quite that immense. This was the middle of nowhere, so aside from the tremors, it should not have caused much of an impact or any casualties.

That’s good… Captain America was slightly relieved.

Bzzzt! Bzzzt! Bzzzt!

The communications disrupted by the thundercloud storm resumed, and Black Widow’s voice came through. "Captain Rogers, I saw something crash near you. We could feel the tremor ten kilometers away. How are you?"

"I’m fine, Natasha," Captain America quickly replied.

Only then did Black Widow relax. "The Quinjet is damaged. Barton requisitioned a car, and we’re heading over to meet you now. Secure the area. Don’t let anyone approach."

Requisitioned?

Was that really okay?

The thought flashed through his mind before Captain America ended the call.

Holding his shield, he walked to the deepest part of the crater and saw a hammer.

"So this is what was fighting Director Wang?"

Captain America was curious. He cautiously approached, then reached out, gripped the hammer’s handle, and lifted it with a tug.

The next moment, a majestic voice rang out in his mind.

"Whosoever holds Thor’s Hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess Thor’s Power."

Boom!

Captain America found himself seemingly standing in a world of lightning.

Countless bolts of lightning continuously struck down, yet they did not harm him at all. Instead, they entered his body.

Before him, an old man clad in golden armor, wearing a golden helmet, and holding a golden scepter gradually faded away. There seemed to be a trace of surprise and helplessness at the corners of his mouth.

It felt as though only an instant had passed. Everything vanished, and he returned to reality.

Looking at the war hammer in his hand, he felt something strange.

This hammer seemed to have grown from his hand, moving as naturally as his own arm. He had only ever experienced that feeling with the Vibranium Shield before.

That was a shield he had used for years, one with which he had long reached the ultimate state of unity between man and shield!

And now, this hammer and I…

Have become one?

Was this another form of betrayal?

A feeling of intimacy flowed from the hammer into his body, followed by a thought.

There was no sound.

It was not any language he knew.

Yet he understood its meaning and learned everything he needed to know.

"It’s Thor’s Hammer?"

"And I’ve become Thor?"

"I can control storms and lightning through Thor’s Hammer?"

An unprecedented sense of absurdity surged into his heart, and Captain America subconsciously raised the war hammer.

The sky suddenly churned with wind and clouds as vast amounts of lightning struck down from all directions, converging on Thor’s Hammer.

Electrical snakes slithered over the hammer and his body. Not only did they cause no harm, they brought an indescribable thrill, even better than being in love with Carter.

This… this was too unbelievable, wasn’t it?

A powerful desire entered his mind from Thor’s Hammer.

Captain America suddenly understood.

He had met the requirements of Odin’s Enchantment and gained the qualification to wield Thor’s Hammer, but he had not yet gained Thor’s Hammer’s approval.

In the hammer’s view, although he met every condition, his talent was lacking. He himself had no ability to control lightning.

Unlike the genuine Thor, who had been born the god of thunder, Captain America could not unleash Thor’s Hammer’s full power.

In the hammer’s terms, when he wielded the hammer, the hammer was the main force, while when Thor wielded it, Thor was the main force.

The gap was enormous.

And how much power it could unleash also depended on whether the hammer was willing to cooperate.

Then cooperate!

Whatever you want to do, I’ll let you do it!

Captain America did not think much about it. He instinctively threw the war hammer, only realizing afterward that something was wrong.

That wasn’t right!

What Thor’s Hammer had meant just now seemed to be…

To hammer someone?

That thought carried anger, resentment, and intense displeasure.

And there seemed to be only one nearby person capable of making it unhappy.

"Director Wang… he won’t be in trouble, will he?"

Old Wang was not at all surprised that Captain America could lift Thor’s Hammer.

As a super soldier and America’s national hero, he indeed possessed enough strength, noble enough character, and the spirit to sacrifice himself for others.

No one was perfect. Captain America had flaws in that regard too; he was no saint.

But compared with the current Thor, Captain America was clearly nobler and more willing to sacrifice himself.

The reason he had not lifted it in Avengers: Age of Ultron was actually to spare Thor some embarrassment. Captain America was an excellent actor.

Humanity had never lacked people of noble character. During wartime, heroes far more numerous than Captain America had emerged. Even in peacetime, there were countless heroes. Too many people in the Marvel Universe could lift Thor’s Hammer, and who knew what Odin had been thinking…

That wasn’t important.

Thor had never been some god of hammers.

He was actually the god of axes…

Darcy drove while Erik sat in the passenger seat. Old Wang and Jane sat in the back, watching Thor continue playing dead while they chatted—

Mostly, Old Wang was satisfying Jane’s ravenous curiosity by telling her about myths, the Nine Realms, and everything else.

Jane listened with her cheeks resting in both hands, her beautiful eyes seeming glued to Old Wang. Even her taste in men had changed. She kept feeling that chubby men were so handsome.

"The Nine Realms are actually nine planets in the universe, or rather, nine realms. Earth is one of them. The Asgardians call it ‘Midgard,’ meaning the ‘Central Kingdom.’"

"The Nine Realms are scattered throughout the universe, separated by distances measured in light-years. Every world is protected by mysterious forces. Earth, for instance, has the Three Sanctums. The same mysterious force links the Nine Realms together—the so-called World Tree."

"There are actually many ways to travel from one world to another. The simplest is the Bifrost."

"The Bifrost is actually a stabilized wormhole, equivalent to an interstellar portal. Of course, it is not merely a portal. It also possesses the power to destroy everything, a power even greater than Odin, the Allfather."

"Odin’s scepter and Gungnir, as well as Heimdall’s divine sword, can all open the Bifrost… Odin was the one who sent Thor and Thor’s Hammer crashing down to Earth earlier."

Old Wang spoke eloquently, and Jane’s mouth slowly fell open.

Looking at Thor still playing dead at their feet, Jane gently shook her head. "I still can’t believe he’s the Thor of legend. He looks more like a homeless man."

"He is a homeless man, one personally exiled by Odin," Old Wang said with a smile.

Fate was truly strange.

Originally, Miss Jane had had the chance to fall in love with a down-and-out prince, become the Queen of the Nine Realms, and perhaps even replace Thor as the new Thor.

But now, that was completely impossible.

Jane was very interested in Thor, but only as a research subject.

Those beautiful big eyes of hers kept sneaking glances at him instead…

"Hm?"

Old Wang suddenly looked in a certain direction.

"What is it?" Jane, who had been staring at Old Wang the whole time, immediately saw both surprise and mockery in his expression.

"Nothing. Something just needs a beating."

They were still far from town.

What if fighting here accidentally destroyed the car?

And it would be easy to hurt the people beside him too.

So…

"Little Red, it’s up to you."

Whoosh!

A cheerful thought entered Old Wang’s mind.

The small cowhide belt detached from his waist, transformed into a crimson ribbon, and flew into the distance.