"That's what it sounds like when lightning strikes."
Thor had caught Zeus's bolt with his bare hands—and then, in a blink, hurled it right back. The crackling lightning lanced straight through Zeus's chest like it was nothing.
The moment Thor spoke, Zeus fell from his lofty throne.
The entire scene left audiences both inside and outside the screen stunned.
"Wait, that's it? Zeus is just... dead? I mean, I hate that narcissistic, sleazy clown too, but he's still the king of the gods—he got one-shot like that?"
"Sure, Thor got stronger after the whole Thanos thing, but this strong? Strong enough to just fry Zeus on the spot?"
"Honestly, Zeus's death felt lazy. That wasn't a king of gods—that was some washed-up circus act."
Thor's thunderous strike taking down the almighty Zeus brought a collective sigh of satisfaction from many viewers.
Whether seeing it from their own perspective or imagining themselves in Thor's shoes, no one liked the greasy, pompous show-off that was Zeus. And yet, people were confused. After all the build-up—the way Zeus strutted around like king of all gods, even being Thor's own idol—this was how it ended?
Come on, really? That's all Zeus had?
Of course, not everyone was convinced.
In Asgard, Queen Frigga frowned. "Thor's grown stronger, yes... but not that strong. There's no way Zeus should've gone down so easily."
Most mortals assumed Zeus was toast—his chest was blown wide open, after all. How could he possibly survive that?
But Frigga knew better. Gods didn't die that easily—especially not one like Zeus. Even so, losing in front of so many witnesses couldn't just be chalked up to underestimating his opponent, could it?
"That old fool planned it," Odin muttered sourly. "He used Thor."
Frigga looked doubtful. "You're saying Zeus staged the whole thing? But why? Getting beaten by Thor like that... it's humiliating—in front of all those gods!"
Odin gave a dry chuckle. "Do you really think that old snake still gives a damn about dignity? If he didn't 'die', as king of the gods, he'd have no choice but to join Thor's war effort. He'd be dragged onto the front lines against Gorr. And if that happened? One wrong move and he's actually dead."
"But now? He 'dies' at the hands of a rebellious Thor in front of everyone. If Thor wins, Zeus can take credit—'Oh, it was my weapon that helped him defeat Gorr.' But if Thor loses? No one can blame Zeus. After all, he's 'dead'. He's already done his part. All the responsibility lands on the reckless, disobedient son of Odin."
Odin let out a weary sigh and muttered under his breath, "If Thor could learn even a fraction of that old bastard's cunning... he might actually make a halfway decent king."
Frigga shook her head. "No, Odin. I'd rather Thor never grow up... than become that dirty and deceitful."
Odin wisely shut his mouth at that. Pushing the conversation any further would lead straight to a marital crisis.
On the screen, the footage kept rolling.
Thor watched as Zeus tumbled from the throne. He didn't even stop to check whether he was dead—he just turned and ran to a nearby pile of rubble, calling out for his friend.
Thankfully, the stone-man was still alive—barely. Just a face left, but a face that could still talk. That was enough.
Now the only goal was to escape.
During the chaos, Valkyrie had strapped the talking rock face to the back of her head. It gave her an extra set of eyes and could also help summon the goat ship.
In the end, their goat-drawn craft stomped across the Rainbow Bridge to pick them up. The group made their getaway—and not without loot. They brought Zeus's golden bolt with them.
Just then, the screen froze. A new question popped up:
[Question: Will Gorr the God Butcher reach Eternity?]
[A: Yes
B: No]
In the mysterious eternal space, Stephen had already begun adjusting to this strange, quiz-show reality. He frowned and said thoughtfully, "From what we've seen so far, Gorr needs the Bifrost to get to Eternity. Which means... he'll have to take the axe."
"He's not gonna succeed," Thor declared, slamming a fist into his palm. "I'll stop him. Even without backup—we've got this. Don't forget, I've got Zeus's lightning bolt now!"
Deadpool, leaning lazily nearby, waved a finger. "Whoa whoa whoa, easy there, Point Break. Don't get cocky. The guy kidnapped a bunch of kids, okay? That's not a villain move, that's a trap. He wants you to come looking for him. Even a brain-dead Asgardian golden retriever could figure out he's setting you up."
Thor shot him a look full of distaste but didn't even dignify it with a response. "The answer's B," he muttered. "No way Gorr gets there."
Elsewhere, Hughie leaned close to Billy. "Hey... what do you think the answer is?"
Before Billy Butcher got himself zapped for hitting -3 points, Hughie hadn't been taking this game too seriously. But after watching Billy writhe under electric punishment, he figured now wasn't the time for jokes. He still didn't know who was behind this messed-up quiz show, but if they wanted to avoid more shocks, they'd better just answer properly.
The three of them were skating on thin ice—one wrong answer and the electric shocks were waiting.
Billy looked at him, trying to maintain his tough-guy exterior. But the second he remembered the pain from before, his fingers gave an involuntary twitch. After a short silence, he sighed and gave in—for now.
"Go with A. That mouthy bastard makes a good point."
Hughie nodded. Of everyone here, Billy was the only one he sort of trusted.
The countdown began. It was a simple true-or-false style question, making it easier than previous ones. A few participants scrambled to hit the buzzer.
Billy Butcher beat them to it.
Sitting at -3 points, he couldn't afford to mess this up. If he got it wrong again, the next punishment wouldn't just hurt—it'd fry him.
So, when it came time to answer, the infamous Butcher licked his dry lips and growled like a man about to walk into hell:
"I pick A."
Thor rolled his eyes. "Figures. You'd rather trust that guy than me? Hope you enjoy the next round of shocks, mate."
As the timer ticked down, the others cast their votes. In the end, only Thor chose B.
Everyone else chose A.
____
T/N:
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