Chapter Fifty-Three: Two Comedians from Asgard

Thor, we’ve found the ones trying to steal the Cube—they want to activate the Cosmic Cube, and my people are stopping them right now!

Somewhere in Mexico.

The moment Thor took the phone from Jane Foster, Nick Fury’s voice came through, blunt and urgent.

“What? These mortals dare covet the Cosmic Cube!”

Loki, who was munching on a Mexican taco beside him, immediately stood up. His scepter appeared in his hand.

He had sensed the Cube’s spatial coordinates before, but upon arriving on Earth, found only a lingering energy at the scene, as if someone had played a trick on him.

He was furious.

Loki had never been the one to be fooled; it was always he who toyed with others, never the reverse.

Now, with the Cube’s whereabouts revealed, his mind stirred with new schemes.

“Loki, we must retrieve the Cube—it belongs to Asgard. The mortals’ misuse will only bring disaster…” Thor failed to see the hidden gleam in his brother’s eyes.

“Indeed, Thor!” Loki quickly changed his attire; the antlered helmet materialized, and the familiar Asgardian armor enveloped him.

“Oh, I thought only Thor could transform!” Jane Foster, witnessing this spectacle, was amazed.

“In theory, our whole family possesses such power…” Thor replied, then abruptly raised his hand. In the next instant, a fierce wind swept from afar; without turning, he caught the approaching flash. As the light faded, Mjolnir rested quietly in his palm.

The mighty power of thunder surged over him, enveloping his body in brilliant, blinding light. In Jane Foster’s eyes, Thor shone like a blazing beacon, as if he were aflame.

When the glow receded, Thor’s form had utterly changed—he now wore Nordic armor, blue lightning crackling and flashing around him, as if he were the very god of thunder from legend.

“Jane, we must go see for ourselves!” After his transformation, Thor raised his brows and winked at Jane Foster.

The pride on his face was unmistakable.

“Let’s go. We have no time to waste!” Loki rolled his eyes.

He had spent days with Thor—between the couple’s endless displays of affection and the Mexican turkey tacos, he was nearly sick.

When he returned to Asgard, he would certainly play a trick on Thor.

No, whenever the opportunity arose, he would.

Thor glanced at Loki, shaking his head with helpless amusement. Then, as usual, he spun the handle of Mjolnir twice in his hand.

Electricity flared around him as he soared into the air, grabbing Loki, and flew toward New York.

Five minutes later.

A brilliant flash of lightning pierced through the glass dome of S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters, setting off alarms across countless instruments. Thor, clutching Loki, landed before Nick Fury.

Nick Fury’s solitary eye glimmered, barely restraining the urge to draw his gun and put a hole in Thor’s forehead. He gritted his teeth and welcomed the Asgardian heir.

“Welcome to New York, heir of Asgard, mighty Thor, god of thunder.”

His words served a purpose, but Thor neither noticed the subtext nor cared.

---

Nick, where are the people you mentioned?

“People? What people? The ones you’re looking for are all on the screen.” Nick Fury pointed at the display, which showed a cloud map and a chaotic brawl unfolding on Broadway. “The Cube you seek is with that woman who looks like a spider. I believe you’re familiar with her.”

“Natasha?” Thor recognized the face of Zazela.

He’d met her before in Mexico, thanks to Jane.

“No, she isn’t Natasha, but I’m sure she knows something about the Cube.” Nick Fury gave his assessment, distancing himself from responsibility and easing Thor’s concerns.

Loki’s gaze flickered.

This one-eyed, charcoal-skinned man was nothing but trouble.

“Loki, we’re going over.” Thor didn’t give Loki a chance to refuse—he grabbed him and blasted through the ceiling, flying out.

Watching the fresh hole in another wall, Nick Fury pressed down his urge to draw his gun and roar.

“Director.” Hill’s hands froze over the instruments.

“Write up the report: S.H.I.E.L.D. suffered an inexplicable attack, heavy losses… We need funding support.”

“Yes, sir.”

For a dramatic and attention-grabbing entrance, Thor had a brilliant idea.

He raised Mjolnir high, summoning thunderclouds to the clear sky. Lightning crashed down onto his hammer, cloaking him in crackling electricity.

He then plummeted into the battlefield, hammer still wreathed in lightning, smashing it against the ground.

“Witness the power of the god of thunder, mortals!”

Electric serpents danced; masses of subterranean spiders, metal debris, and shattered building remnants were hurled into the air by the current.

The field was cleared.

Wiccan and Grommash, who had been staging a fake battle, immediately ceased their fight.

Seeing the combatants forced to stop by his arrival, Thor was quite pleased with himself.

“Mortals, I come from Asgard. I have a question for you.”

“Hey, Thor, watch your tone.” Loki, ever ready to undermine him, sensed the position of the Space Stone through his scepter and eyed Kel’Thuzad and Roald.

His brow furrowed; things were not so simple.

“Thor, be careful. Someone here may be controlling the Cube.”

When a fight was needed, just let Thor handle it—that was Loki’s tried-and-true method.

Loki used his beguilement skill.

Thor’s intelligence had not been certified.

---

Intelligence –10.

He was instantly enraged. “What? These mortals…”

“Who is he? Where is Asgard? The master brought in a new actor?” Wiccan signaled Grommash with his eyes.

“No idea. There’s no such place in the orc territories, but he looks powerful.” Grommash replied with an equally meaningful look.

“Should we fight?”

“Let’s continue.”

The two resumed their battle.

If this hammer-wielding fellow was sent by the Lich King, they’d ignore him; until there were new orders, their own mission took precedence.

If he wasn’t, then why bother with him?

Such was the pure logic of Wiccan and Grommash.

“Hey, mortals, I’m speaking to you. You stand before a god from Asgard!” Thor, seeing the two strongest fighters ignore him amidst the chaos, felt slighted. As a warrior, his honor demanded respect when facing worthy opponents.

Wiccan and Grommash’s disregard infuriated Thor; he raised Mjolnir for a warning strike, while Loki, sensing the Space Stone’s direction, prepared to act.

“Thor, stay here. I’ll be back soon.”

Loki found his target and vanished, decisively leaving Thor behind.

“See? Those two aren’t on our side.” Grommash and Wiccan exchanged knowing glances at Thor and Loki’s movements.

Wiccan gave Grommash a signal.

“Never mind where they’re from—let’s take down the strongest one first.”

“Agreed.”

Grommash acknowledged immediately.

“Mortals, it seems you do not know whom you face. Let me enlighten you: you face the son of Odin, the god of thunder from Asgard!”

“For Asgard!”

With Loki gone, Thor felt relieved. Now he wouldn’t have to worry about protecting him in combat. Facing Grommash and Wiccan, he raised his hammer.

Soon, two thunderous roars rang out across the battlefield.

“For the Scourge!”

“For the Lich King!”