Shin didn't believe that the Ancient One intended to stop Wanda and her brother from following him, but he couldn't guess his true motive.
Trying to strategize against someone who could see the future was just asking for trouble. Even if Shin had the power to interfere with the timeline, he wasn't operating in secret. The Ancient One could still deduce some of his actions based on his influence on others.
However, if he couldn't see through his plan, then so be it. He didn't mind bringing along two siblings. It wasn't a big deal anyway.
Taking out a smartphone, Shin checked the recent news and said, "It's probably because of this."
As he spoke, he zoomed in on a photo showing Thor's hammer, Mjolnir, and handed the phone to the twins.
"The God's Hammer was discovered in New Mexico? The legendary Hammer in the Stone? Whoever lifts this hammer will become the king of America? What kind of nonsense is this?" Quicksilver grumbled after reading the article.
Shin rolled his eyes. "Americans just like to play things up. If I'm not mistaken, that should be Thor's hammer from Asgard, his weapon."
"Because no one can lift it, these rednecks in New Mexico decided to joke that it's the Hammer in the Stone."
"Asgard? Thor's hammer?" Wanda repeated, a bit bewildered. Then she added helplessly, "Okay, I can understand mutants, and now there are sorcerers… but gods too? What's next? An alien invasion?"
"This is just the beginning. If you can live another twenty years, you'll see a lot of things you've never imagined," Shin replied with a wave of his hand.
In the next two decades, Earth would face the Battle of New York, Dormammu's invasion, the Dark Elves' attack, Galactus' attempt to devour the planet, the arrival of the Mad Titan, and half the universe would be erased with a snap.
And that's not even counting the possible rise of Professor X nearly killing everyone, the Sentinels annihilating humanity, and countless other catastrophes. Compared to that, a hammer falling from the sky was nothing.
"After hearing all that, I've lost any hope for the future," Wanda sighed. "I really don't know what else could go wrong."
"Alright, enough talk." Shin pocketed the phone. "Let's go find that hammer that dropped."
"That hammer can you lift it?" Quicksilver asked in surprise. "Didn't you say it's Thor's weapon? Won't that attract Asgard's attention? I don't want to fight gods."
"I honestly don't know if I can lift it," Shin said, rubbing his chin.
If it was purely a matter of strength, unless he became a true Superman, he might not be able to lift it.
But he still had the powers of the Munch-Munch Fruit. If he absorbed the hammer, who knew what would happen? Could he become the true God of Thunder?
"So, what the Ancient One wants us to do is find this hammer?" Wanda asked.
"No, not the hammer. What she wants us to find is its owner, Thor of Asgard," Shin replied plainly.
And how did he know that? It wasn't that the Ancient One had told him directly. It was because more than a month had passed, and Mjolnir was still lying in the wilderness of New Mexico.
In the original timeline, it took Thor less than a week to recover his worthiness and lift the hammer again. For it to be sitting there this long, something must have gone wrong.
Clearly, the butterfly effect had struck. Thor was missing, and without the right push, who knew how long it would take for him to reclaim the hammer?
"Going to find a god? Honestly, if you hadn't trained in Kamar-Taj, I'd say you were insane," Quicksilver muttered.
Shin ignored him and turned to Wanda. "Wanda, can you use a portal yet?"
Wanda frowned. "Sorry. The power of chaos is a lot harder to control than regular magic."
In other words, no portal.
"Well, looks like you can't learn the most useful and iconic Kamar-Taj technique." Shin sighed. "There are no cars around. Are we really flying over there using ninjutsu?"
As he spoke, he casually patted Wanda's shoulder. Her face turned slightly red, she was about to say something but suddenly felt her body lift gently off the ground.
Quicksilver blinked. "What kind of power is this?"
But Shin didn't respond. He simply tapped Pietro's shoulder as well and in an instant, all three of them were airborne.
"Alright, let's move."
…
"Is this where the so-called Thor's hammer landed? Why does it look like a military base?"
Quicksilver hovered in the sky, staring at the scene below, barricades, tanks, and a whole lot of armed soldiers.
"It's standard procedure. This pretty much is a military base now," Shin explained.
"Humans aren't totally clueless. If I'm right, this is SHIELD's operation. They specialize in dealing with extraterrestrial events and superhuman activity. SHIELD is a government-backed agency they have tons of agents."
"Okay, okay, so how do we find Thor's hammer and Thor himself? Isn't Thor powerless now? What if SHIELD captured him or worse, dissected him?" Quicksilver asked.
"No need to worry. Odin only sent him down to suffer, not to die," Shin replied with a grin. "There's a man in Asgard named Heimdall he can see through all Nine Realms. I don't know if he's quite as omnipotent as he claims, but he can monitor everything happening on Earth."
"Thor is still the crown prince. Heimdall's eyes will never leave him."
"Sounds like a cosmic-level peeping Tom," Wanda said dryly. "Anyway, back to the question, how do we get into this military base? Blow it up? Or do we have Pietro steal the hammer? Not that he can lift it."
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