From what Heimdall said, Thor did not learn just how powerful Darkseid truly was, but he could tell that even if the Earth's pantheon were at its peak, they probably wouldn't be able to stand up to Darkseid.
With this kind of strength, Thor, of course, would not be like the reckless Thor from the past, thinking that his own power could match Darkseid's. Instead, Thor thought that if Darkseid was this strong, then his subordinates should be at least somewhat capable, right?
After all, when Darkseid invaded Earth during the Age of Gods, he couldn't possibly have only had Darkseid and the Parademons, could he? Thor had already seen the level of the Parademons with the Avengers. They were certainly formidable. Without weapons, the Asgardians would probably not have an easy time defeating them.
But currently, Earth's weapons were strong enough to break through and kill Parademons, which suggested that Parademons could still be considered expendable cannon fodder in some ways.
Perhaps Parademons were fine against normal planetary civilizations. Even the Kree Empire, a top-tier galactic civilization, couldn't withstand the seemingly endless onslaught of Parademons, especially since Darkseid had tools like the Boom Tube to make their assault even more effective.
But this was the situation with Parademons against civilizations without powerful beings. If the invading civilization had gods or other powerful beings, then there would likely be other levels of strength between Darkseid and the Parademons. After all, it wouldn't make sense for Darkseid, the leader, to be the only one holding off all the strong individuals, right?
"Really looking forward to it!" Thor thought to himself, a gleam in his eyes. He couldn't defeat Robert, and fighting Kara was a tough battle. But could Darkseid's subordinates be any stronger than those two?
"Your Highness..." Heimdall, seeing that Thor wasn't scared but was instead becoming eager, sighed helplessly. He could still justify keeping an eye on Earth's situation and monitoring Thor's safety while talking to him, but if Earth actually went to war with Darkseid, Heimdall would no longer be able to keep an eye on Earth.
More importantly, Earth was currently under spatial lockdown, and the Bifrost could not reach it. If Thor was in danger, Heimdall wouldn't even be able to help.
"No need to persuade me anymore. I'm not some reckless rookie. I have it under control," Thor interrupted Heimdall, clearly annoyed. "If you've found Darkseid or the Wasteland Wolf, tell me. If not, cut the link."
Thor wasn't in the mood to hear Heimdall rambling on. If he hadn't thought that Heimdall's eyes might help locate the Wasteland Wolf, he would have severed the communication already.
"Sorry, I haven't found Heimdall or the Wasteland Wolf, but there is a woman flying toward you," Heimdall replied, sighing lightly.
"A woman? Alright, I got it." Thor frowned and immediately cut off the transmission, looking suspiciously in the direction Heimdall had mentioned.
"Ugh..." Meanwhile, in Asgard, Heimdall sighed helplessly. Before Thor went to Earth, while Heimdall wasn't of the same rank, the two had a close relationship, even calling each other close friends, equal to the Four Guardians of the Immortals.
Unfortunately, after the brainwashing and various events on Earth, Thor had become very indifferent to feelings of friendship and family. In terms of emotions, he had become more like a god, more like a ruler, than even Odin, the King of the Gods.
While this change might be a good thing for the future of Asgard, Heimdall, who knew Thor so well, was reluctant to see him lose the traits that made him human.
"Thunder and Storm powers?" Meanwhile, in the direction that Thor was looking, a power that Thor knew all too well was rapidly approaching—a power similar to his own.
Thor wasn't surprised that someone on Earth had abilities like his own. After all, it wasn't just one person who could lift Mjolnir. Thor had already sensed a similar power from Mary when he was at the Avengers' base.
Thor knew that if he had fought Mary when he first arrived on Earth, he would have definitely lost, and even after being brainwashed, he wouldn't have been able to defeat her. Only after gaining some of his rune powers was he able to fully overpower her.
Now, the woman flying toward him seemed to have a similar aura to Mary. However, her control over the storm powers wasn't as strong—probably about the same level as Thor when he first arrived on Earth...
"Who are you?" Thor asked suspiciously, narrowing his eyes as he looked at the black-clad woman flying toward him.
"You don't know me? Well, I suppose you haven't been around much lately. Where have you been?" The black-clad woman, hearing Robert's words, flashed a hint of dissatisfaction in her eyes but quickly smiled. She looked at Thor and asked softly.
"You know me? Who are you really?" Thor's face darkened as he heard the woman speak so familiarly. Lightning crackled around his eyes as he asked in a low voice.
"No wonder you're called Thor, the God of Thunder, just like me. We both wield the power of lightning," the black-clad woman smiled without any change in expression, replying cheerfully. "But your title is quite impressive. You use a divine name directly. Unlike me, I'm just called Storm Woman—no special name. Don't you think I should have a mythic thunder goddess name too?"
"Storm Woman?" Thor furrowed his brow and his Mjolnir started to crackle with lightning. He was getting impatient. "I'll ask you one last time—how do you know me?"
"Just like in the records, you're still as impulsive as ever. But no matter how impulsive you are, you'll have to behave in front of me..." The Storm Woman's lips curled up in a greedy smile as she eyed Mjolnir. "And that hammer... it looks good to me. But before that, I'd like to see the so-called God of Thunder kneel at my feet."
"You're asking for death!" Thor's eyes flashed with a cold glint. It didn't matter if this was the current Thor or the brainwashed Thor from before—such insults would never be tolerated. Thor couldn't understand why the Storm Woman had such confidence, especially given her weak strength.
"Counterattack... the Divine Realm... betrayal... God of Thunder..." Just as Thor was about to strike and kill the Storm Woman, she muttered a string of strange words, which made Thor hesitate.
"Success!" When she saw Thor hesitate, the Storm Woman's expression lit up with excitement. She looked at Thor eagerly and shouted, "Great! With your help, my status in the Black Cloak Vigilante team will rise even more. If you're as powerful as the records say, that is! But for now, hand over your Mjolnir..."
With a hum, as her words fell, Mjolnir shot toward the Storm Woman. But when she reached out to grab it, her body was instantly slammed to the ground by the weight of the hammer. She was left struggling and confused, unsure of what had just happened.
"Let go of me! What's going on? Why is this hammer so heavy? Thor, did you do this? I order you to let me go!" The Storm Woman's voice filled with panic as she desperately tried to command Thor to release her.
"You wanted Mjolnir, didn't you? I gave it to you. If you can't lift it, who else can you blame?" Thor sneered as he walked over, looking down at her disdainfully. "So your trump card is this brainwashing voice? You're one of Hydra's agents?"
"Are you okay? Impossible! Hydra's brainwashing can't be removed. Even if you woke up, as soon as you hear that voice again, you should fall back under my control..." The Storm Woman's voice grew fearful as she realized Thor was not under her control.
"Honestly, Hydra's brainwashing abilities are impressive, even more so than the initial uses of the Mind Stone," Thor nodded approvingly.
Having been controlled by the Mind Stone himself, Thor knew its effects. If someone was freed from the Mind Stone's control, they would return to normal. But Hydra's brainwashing was different—though Robert had forced his two consciousnesses to merge, leaving traces of its influence.
Even now, with the Mind Stone's power gone, traces of Hydra's influence still lingered in his mind.
"How... how did you do it?" The Storm Woman began to calm down as she heard Thor's words. Her voice shifted from panic to a desire for understanding. She had also been brainwashed by Hydra.
"First, tell me who you really are. I mean, what's your official identity, and what's your connection to Hydra?" Thor asked, his eyes narrowing.
"I'm Storm Woman, a member of the Black Cloak Vigilante team and also part of the Watt Group..." The Storm Woman took a deep breath and explained, "Not all members of the Black Cloak Vigilante are from Hydra—many belong to various official organizations or are independent agents. When I saw the data about you running around, I came to find you, intending to use you to increase Hydra's influence."
"Tell me more about the connection between Hydra and the Watt Group," Thor asked, raising an eyebrow. While he wasn't familiar with the Watt Group or the Black Cloak Vigilante, he guessed this information was important.
Before
the Storm Woman could answer, the sound of footsteps came from behind. The moment Thor turned around, he saw a familiar figure.
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