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*****
Boom!
Once again, the Cursed Warrior was smashed to the ground by Clark's punch.
The brute strength he prided himself on wasn't worth a thing against Clark.
Before the Cursed Warrior could even rise, Clark descended from the sky and landed right on top of him. With a cold expression, Clark's boot pressed down hard on his skull, driving his upper body straight into the ground.
The Cursed Warrior stubbornly tried to lift his head.
Clark raised his foot again and stomped mercilessly.
Bang!
The Cursed Warrior's head was shoved back into the dirt like a carrot being rammed into soil.
He tried to rise again—
Boom!
Several stomps later, the Cursed Warrior finally gave in. He lay there motionless, utterly subdued, completely unable to resist Clark's overwhelming might.
Clark arched an eyebrow and turned his gaze toward the battlefield.
The Dark Elves who had poured out from their mothership were now clashing with the Avengers.
Not far away, "Thor Bruce" and "Hulk Tony" stood at the roadside, their expressions complicated as they watched the fighting.
"Why aren't you going?" Tony nudged Bruce with his elbow, whispering.
Bruce tilted his chin toward the panicked crowds on the street. "This situation isn't suitable for Hulk."
If Hulk came out, the collateral damage would be worse than the Dark Elves themselves.
Besides, there weren't that many enemies, and they didn't seem particularly strong. Steve and the others could handle it.
"…Then why aren't you going?" Bruce asked suspiciously.
Tony stroked his chin and gave Bruce a look reserved for idiots. "Didn't you just say it yourself? If it's not suitable for Hulk, then it's not suitable for me either."
As far as Tony was concerned, by the time his Iron Man suit arrived, the fight would already be over. No point in jumping in now.
Bruce: (???)
Eat crap, you shameless bastard!
Seeing Bruce's expression, Tony fell silent for a beat before asking, "Wait… were you just cursing at me?"
"Of course not!"
Bruce shook his head seriously. "I am Thor. Thor never lies."
The two men looked at each other, both moved as if they had just found kindred spirits.
Meanwhile, the Dark Elves were locked in battle with Steve and the others.
Although none of the Avengers had their full gear with them, the Dark Elves weren't much of a challenge.
Especially for Wanda and Pietro—the Dark Elves were laughably weak in their eyes.
At that moment, Pietro noticed one Dark Elf carrying a strange-looking bomb at his waist. Curiosity flickered in his eyes. Before the elf even realized what was happening, Pietro had swiped the device, pressed the switch, and placed it back in the elf's hand before darting away.
The Dark Elf looked down to see the bomb in his palm blinking with red light. He let out a sharp scream.
Buzz!
The device detonated—but there was no fiery blast. Instead, it released a terrifying gravitational pull. It wasn't a bomb at all, but a miniature black hole.
The Dark Elf didn't even have time to resist before being sucked inside.
Seeing this, Pietro whistled in shock and shouted, "Watch out for their bombs!"
Just as the warning left his lips, the Cursed Warrior beneath Clark triggered the explosive at his own waist.
In an instant, another micro–black hole appeared. Its horrifying suction force distorted the Cursed Warrior's body.
Clark snarled, launching himself skyward and breaking free of the gravitational pull with brute strength.
A second later, the Cursed Warrior was swallowed whole.
Clark raised an eyebrow at the sight.
Good thing that thing didn't go off directly on him—otherwise, things could have gotten complicated.
Turning his body in midair, Clark flew straight toward the remaining Dark Elves.
Within seconds, the battlefield was cleared.
The Avengers glanced at the chaos left behind on the street. With police swarming in to restore order and assist the civilians, the team slipped away quietly.
They were dressed far too ridiculously to be recognized here, let alone risk exposing their identities.
As for Mike and Thor…
When the Avengers saw the Dark Elf mothership vanish into the distance, they simply smiled and shook their heads. No worries there.
After so many incidents, they trusted Mike more than they trusted themselves.
And in truth…
Mike's battle with Malekith was entirely one-sided.
Though the Aether was powerful, Malekith was not a worthy wielder.
Thor, piloting the captured ship with Jane awake and guiding him, flew it through one of the Convergence's spatial anomalies, bringing them to Svartalfheim, the Dark Elves' homeworld.
Boom!
With a deafening crash, Mike blasted Malekith clean through the hull of the ship, sending him flying outside.
Mike blurred, instantly pursuing him. His eyes flared, beams of heat vision striking Malekith midair and slamming him into the ground, carving a massive crater.
Malekith groaned in agony as black-and-red crystalline energy churned around him, like a storm waiting to be unleashed.
"Shhh!"
Mike descended from above, fist clenched.
Malekith barely managed to raise his arms to shield himself.
Bang!
Mike's punch hammered into his guard, driving him into the earth. The ground rippled outward like waves before exploding apart.
Suddenly, the storm of black-red crystals burst forth, engulfing dozens of meters in an ominous shroud.
On the ship, Jane gasped.
"Is he going to be okay?"
"He'll be fine."
Thor's voice was steady, his confidence absolute.
Jane thought back to Mike's earlier display of strength and muttered, "I should've guessed… anyone who could be your boss could never be an ordinary man."
Thor chuckled, tapping at the controls before casually grabbing the hand of a dead Dark Elf and pressing it against the console. At once, the display flashed with a dangerous red light.
"What's happening?" Jane asked nervously.
"I activated the ship's self-destruct," Thor said calmly.
Jane stared, stunned, as Thor tossed Mjolnir to smash a hole in the hull. Wrapping an arm around her waist, he caught the hammer as it returned and said, "Hold on tight."
The next instant, they soared out through the breach, landing a safe distance away.
"This ends now."
Watching Mike and Malekith's fight from afar, Thor spoke with certainty.
And right on cue, the black storm vanished. Shards of red crystal drifted down from the sky like dying embers.
Mike stood there, holding a crimson gem in his palm.
"This is the Reality Stone?"
He glanced at it before tucking it neatly into his dimensional pocket.
Achievement unlocked: Two Infinity Stones acquired.
He hadn't gone out of his way to collect them, yet somehow he already had two.
Looking toward Thor, Mike raised his hand and called out, "It's done. We—"
Boom! Boom!
Explosions erupted as the Dark Elf ship went up in flames before his eyes.
Mike froze, staring at the wreckage collapsing in fiery ruin.
"What the hell just happened?!"
His hand shook as he pointed at the burning debris, gritting his teeth at Thor.
Thor grinned brightly. "I set it to self-destruct! Destroyed the whole thing completely!"
Jane tugged at Thor's arm and whispered, "Um… Mike looks really angry. Wasn't he planning to—"
"It's fine. He's just a little… emotional!" Thor said with misplaced confidence, patting her hand.
Whoosh!
Mike appeared before him in a blur, seizing Thor by the collar and shaking him violently. "I was planning to keep that ship! Take it on a trip! You owe me a spaceship!"
Thor's face blurred from the furious shaking.
Watching this, Jane couldn't help but chuckle.
"Stop!"
Thor finally shouted. When Mike halted, he clutched his spinning head and groaned, "Didn't you tell me to fly it?"
"I said fly it, not blow it up!" Mike roared, heartbroken.
The moment he saw the Dark Elf mothership, he had already planned out his future vacation routes.
And now? Gone. All of it.
Thor looked confused. "But… don't you have portals?"
"Does a portal give you the feeling of travel?"
Mike cast a mournful look at the burning wreckage, his heart bleeding.
"You should've said something earlier…" Thor muttered under his breath—then quickly shut his mouth when Mike's eyes flashed red.
"Now's not the time for this!" Jane interjected. "The Convergence is ending. The spatial anomalies will disappear!"
"Let them," Mike muttered weakly, waving a hand. "Asgard has the Bifrost."
And besides, he could open his own portals anytime.
Thor puffed his chest and smiled proudly at Jane. "Now you'll get to experience the Rainbow Bridge."
Jane's eyes lit with excitement.
Thor raised his hammer and shouted, "Heimdall!"
A dazzling beam of light engulfed them, and in the blink of an eye, the three vanished.
They reappeared inside a magnificent golden hall.
"Heimdall!"
Thor nodded to the gatekeeper standing at the center.
Clad in golden armor, eyes like dawn filled with starlight, Heimdall gripped the great sword that unlocked the Bifrost.
"Welcome back, Thor," he said in his deep voice, moving to close the bridge.
"Wait!" Thor called out. "Send us back to Earth."
The Dark Elves were dealt with, and he still wanted time on Earth.
Heimdall hesitated. "I suggest you take your girlfriend to the medical wing first. Make sure no trace of the Aether lingers—it could harm her."
Clearly, he had seen everything that had transpired.
Thor winced, realizing his oversight. Looking at Jane apologetically, he said, "Sorry. I should've thought of that."
Jane shook her head quickly, eager. "No, take me to see Asgard! Please!"
Her curiosity had already swept her away—she couldn't wait to explore.
"Then let's go."
Thor smiled, holding her hand as they walked off.
Mike: "…"
Seriously? Just leaving me here?
He shook his head with a laugh, then turned to Heimdall. "It's good to see you again, fearless guardian."
Heimdall blinked, then smiled faintly and nodded. "And you as well, Mr. Kent. Do you need me to send you back?"
"Yes, please." Mike smiled. Thor and Jane could stay, but he had to return quickly—Gwen and Clark would be worried otherwise.
Heimdall raised the sword to open the Bifrost—but just then, a familiar figure strode in.
"Wait! Mike!"
"Loki?"
Mike stopped, surprised. "Long time no see."
Looking over Loki, who was strutting proudly like a peacock in full display, Mike raised an eyebrow. "Seems like you've been doing well."
"Heh." Loki chuckled, then said, "My father wants to see you."
Father?
So this version of Loki had changed quite a bit from the one in the original tale.
"Wants to see me?" Mike arched an eyebrow, leaning in. "Whisper it—what's it about?"
"I don't know." Loki answered quietly, then straightened proudly. "But you should feel honored!"
"Oho?" Mike smirked. "If it's 'an honor,' then it must be trouble."
Turning to Heimdall, he said, "Send me back."
Heimdall hesitated. "But the All-Father—"
Mike's eyes narrowed. With a sly grin, he pulled out a card and opened his own portal. "Goodbye, gentlemen."
Without a second thought, he stepped through.
What, they wouldn't send him? He'd just send himself.
"Hey! You—"
Before Loki could finish, Mike waved a hand and the portal vanished.
Loki and Heimdall stared at each other in silence.
Then Loki suddenly burst out laughing.
Though his time on Earth had changed him, giving him clarity about what truly mattered, the thought of seeing Odin get snubbed like that still filled him with delight.
And it made perfect sense—only Mike could pull something like this off.
The more Loki thought about it, the prouder he felt. After all, he had lived under the same roof as Mike. That made them friends. Which meant if Mike humiliated Odin… so did he.
The thought alone made him beam with joy.
Meanwhile, far away, Odin sensed Mike's departure from Asgard. He muttered under his breath, "Cunning fellow."
He really had intended to seek Mike's help.
After seeing how Mike had reshaped Thor and Loki, Odin had become very interested in his… "reforming" ability.
Unconsciously, he thought of another child.
If he handed her over to Mike for "reform"…
The idea stirred an unexpected sense of anticipation in him.
But now Mike had left without giving him the chance to ask.
Odin sighed quietly.
Being a father was no easy task.
(End of Chapter)