Thor frowned as he looked at Kaecilius. This opponent was far stronger than expected. And those words he'd spoken earlier...
Does he know me?
He thrust out his hand to summon Mjolnir back to his grip. The hammer shot toward him, but it wasn't alone. A thick beam of concentrated energy followed it, the kind of attack Iron Man favored, except this one was easily three times the diameter of anything the current Iron Man could produce.
He barely had time to register the threat before the beam slammed into his chest. The impact sent him flying backward across the mirror dimension until he crashed into its boundary.
Watching from the sidelines, Mario couldn't help but grin. He knew Kaecilius was holding back, if he'd gone all out, Thor wouldn't have hit a wall. He'd have been smashed through fragments of Mirror Dimension itself.
Thor roared. "I'm going to rip you out of that metal coffin!"
He started to worry about a sneak attack from Mario and shot a quick glance in his direction.
Mario sat comfortably on a cobblestone block, a handful of sunflower seeds in one hand, watching the fight like it was prime-time entertainment. He showed zero intention of joining in.
Thor gripped Mjolnir tight and began spinning it rapidly, generating a violent storm. Lightning crackled and thunder rumbled all around him.
Unfortunately, being underground severely limited his access to natural atmospheric power. His strength was noticeably diminished.
He charged forward.
He flew backward.
He got tied up.
His assault was blocked by Kaecilius' energy beam. Seeing this, he called down even more lightning, forcing it through the layered magical arrays of Kaecilius' armor. It was clear he was now fighting at full power, holding nothing back.
"Energy level: 78%"
"Energy level: 82%"
The numbers kept climbing.
"Energy level: 180%"
Hearing the armor's automated voice report the rising energy levels, Kaecilius' smile grew brighter. When building the armor, he'd finally understood why Mario had specifically insisted Tony include an energy absorption module.
"Well, I suppose it's only polite to return the energy."
Unlike Mario, he believed in reciprocity. Borrowed power should be returned with interest.
The energy beam from his chest suddenly tripled in thickness. Twin beams erupted from his palms as well, all three converging on Thor's position.
Thor's charge was halted midair. Then he was blasted backward with overwhelming force.
Credit where it was due, Thor's physical endurance was extraordinary. At this stage of his development, his defensive capabilities far outstripped his offensive power, easily by two full tiers.
But before he could stabilize himself in midair, dozens of glowing magic circles materialized around him. From each one lashed out a golden magical whip.
Mario's eyes lit up as he watched, completely forgetting about his sunflower seeds.
"That kind of magic is amazing! Why can't I learn it?"
Dozens of creative applications for magical binding whips flashed through his mind, most of them wildly inappropriate.
If the Vishanti knew what he was thinking right now, they'd probably sit him down for a very uncomfortable conversation.
The magical whips pulled taut, leaving Thor no room to maneuver.
Clearly unwilling to accept defeat, he struggled violently. But with dozens of whips holding him fast, he could barely twitch anything except his waist. All he could do was unleash a furious verbal assault at Kaecilius. "I was careless! Let me down if you're so confident! Fight me properly!"
Inside his armor, Kaecilius remained unmoved by the taunting.
You think just saying you were careless makes it okay?
His attack was far from over. Two glowing magic circles appeared at his wrists.
As he channeled his full magical power, countless transparent shards materialized around Thor. They were barely visible except for the distorted edges where they warped space. These weren't ordinary projectiles. Even with Thor's godly physiology, there was no conventional defense against that kind of attack.
Thor might not have been the sharpest weapon in Asgard's armory, but in that moment, he understood he was finished. Still, he wasn't worried. He had one final trump card.
Seeing that the battle was over, Mario put away his sunflower seeds, brushed the shells from his hands, and walked toward Thor. He glanced at Mjolnir in Thor's hand.
"What's wrong? Not feeling so tough now?"
If looks could kill, Mario would have been incinerated, electrocuted, and impaled about a thousand times simultaneously.
"HEIMDALL!" Thor suddenly roared.
Nothing happened.
A few seconds passed in silence.
The Bifrost is broken.
More than a thousand years of habit wasn't something he could unlearn in just a couple years.
When Mario heard Thor shout Heimdall's name, he instinctively looked up at the ceiling too, half-expecting to see the rainbow bridge appear.
Back when it was operational, Thor had used the Bifrost like a cosmic taxi service. One yell, and no matter which of the Nine Realms he was in, he'd be whisked home instantly.
A few seconds later, Mario came back to his senses. This wasn't his original universe. The Bifrost here was still shattered. He looked at Thor.
"What are you planning to do? Do you want to make an enemy of all Asgard?"
"Nah," Mario said, still smiling. "I just want to play a little game with you."
His gaze fell on Mjolnir. "Here's the deal. If I can't lift your hammer, I'll let you go, and I'll even restore Loki to his original condition. But if I can lift Mjolnir... I'll still let you go. But forget about Loki recovering."
Thor actually laughed at that. "Only those deemed worthy by Mjolnir itself can lift it."
"Really? I don't believe that for a second."
Mario turned to Kaecilius. "Let him down."
All the magical whips and spatial shards vanished instantly. Thor fell from his position but made no move to attack. He simply rolled his shoulders, stretched, and stared at Mario. Then he placed Mjolnir on the ground and stepped back a pace. His meaning was clear: Go ahead, and try.
Mario chuckled and pulled out his trusty diamond pickaxe. "See, in my world, we only care about mining levels, not Odin's blessings or worthiness tests. Mjolnir's made of Uru, right? My pickaxe can handle way tougher materials than that."
He didn't even bother with a torch for this time. He simply tapped the ground beneath Mjolnir with his pickaxe, breaking the ground it rested on. The hammer fell into his inventory.
He pulled it back out and tossed it up and down in his hand, testing the weight.
Thor stood frozen. His brain refused to process what his eyes were showing him.
"You lose."
Before Thor could respond, Mario lifted his foot and kicked him in the chest. The stunned god stumbled backward two steps, straight into a portal that had materialized behind him.
The portal snapped shut instantly, cutting off Thor's cry of protest mid-shout.
Kaecilius stepped out of his armor, looking at Mario. "Why did you take his hammer?"
Mario tucked Mjolnir into his inventory. "Don't you think messing with him is kind of entertaining?"
Kaecilius looked at him silently.
---
Inside the Quinjet, the portal opened again without warning. Thor came flying through it.
"NO!"
He barely managed to steady himself before the portal vanished right in front of his eyes. He cried out in anguish and collapsed to the floor, the scene reminding him painfully of the days when he was exiled.
Rogers and Tony exchanged glances.
Tony said, "So this 'god,' did the enemy knock him around until he ended up brain-damaged like his brother?"
Rogers shot Tony a look, then walked over to Thor. That's when he noticed something wrong.
Mjolnir was missing. Thinking of his own lost shield, he couldn't help but feel kinship.
He patted Thor on the shoulder. "All right, let's head back first. I have a feeling they'll show up again."
He avoided mentioning Mjolnir, just as he wouldn't want anyone bringing up his own absent shield.
---
Before long, the Quinjet landed on the Helicarrier's deck.
Everyone disembarked, some of them carrying Loki. The mission could technically be called a success, they'd captured the culprit. But they'd clearly been outplayed by a third party.
Not only had Rogers lost his shield, but even Thor had lost Mjolnir.
They brought Loki directly to Fury's office. He had been reviewing the transmitted video footage of the entire encounter.
Looking at Loki's vegetative state, he frowned. "What's his condition? Any chance of recovery?"
Natasha replied, "No signs of recovery so far. We'll need more advanced equipment to run a full diagnostic."
"Then get him to the medical bay immediately for examination." Fury's eye swept across the assembled Avengers, settling on Rogers. "Captain, you fought them. What's your assessment?"
Everyone in the office except Thor turned to look at Rogers.
After a moment's consideration, Rogers said, "Their goal was very clear: Loki's scepter."
"They're powerful. But I got the feeling they didn't mean us any harm. Honestly, it felt like they were toying with us."
Tony immediately interjected, "You mean they think we're their entertainment? Like pets doing tricks?"
Rogers didn't answer.
At that moment, Thor lifted his head and looked directly at Fury. "Their goal must be the Tesseract. We have to find it before they do."
Fury's frown deepened. "How can you be certain that's what they're after?"
Unlike in the original timeline where he'd been angry, Thor spoke calmly this time. His recent loss had apparently taught him some restraint.
"You've been studying the Tesseract. Using it to develop weapons. That activity sent a signal out into the cosmos."
"What kind of signal?"
"A signal that Earth is ready for advanced warfare."
Tony, who had never fully trusted Nick Fury, had been using J.A.R.V.I.S. to hack into S.H.I.E.L.D.'s systems since boarding the Helicarrier. Hearing Thor's words confirmed his suspicions. He turned toward Fury.
"Oh, oh, oh... Director Fury, so you're the one who rang the dinner bell for every hostile force in the galaxy. Funny how you never mentioned building weapons of mass destruction when you recruited me for this little team."
Rogers' expression hardened as well. "The Tesseract should have stayed at the bottom of the ocean. What you're doing now, how is it any different from what Hydra did back in my time? Why are you doing this?"
Seeing the growing anger around him, Fury showed no guilt. He simply raised a hand and pointed directly at Thor.
"Because of him!"
"Do you know what happened when a god and a man in armor fought each other? A single battle between those two wiped out an entire town. We had to find a way to defend ourselves. Our weapons and trained agents... against beings like that, we're children with water pistols."
The team fell into silence. Without the Mind Stone's influence amplifying their emotions, nobody lost their temper.
Rogers looked at Fury. "It's clear that Earth isn't ready for this kind of conflict."
Fury met his gaze without flinching. "We can't just sit around waiting for the enemy to show up before we start preparing."
Thor interrupted the brewing argument. "The problem is retrieving the Tesseract. An alien army is waiting in space for the portal to open. And that man, he'll definitely try to get his hands on it too."
The external threat refocused everyone's attention. Fury began issuing orders.
"Stark, Banner's in the lab monitoring global gamma radiation signatures. I want you assisting him to track down the Tesseract's location."
"Thor, nobody understands your brother's condition better than you. Get to the medical bay, see if there's any chance of recovery."
"Everyone else, prepare for combat operations."
Nobody objected this time. The sense of crisis had become too real to ignore. As the others filed out, Rogers remained behind.
"Captain, something else on your mind?" Fury asked.
Rogers looked uncomfortable. "Do you happen to have a spare shield I could use?"
Fury's expression didn't change, but there was a long pause before he responded. "...I'll see what we can find."
---
Deep beneath Central Park, Mario and Kaecilius sat at a table across from an unexpected guest.
"This tea... it feels familiar," the Ancient One said softly, taking a sip.
"Of course. This was a gift from you, well, the you from our universe. She was so enthusiastic about it that refusing would have been rude. Not just the tea either. She also sent over a set of rosewood furniture. Though I can't help feeling something's still missing from the collection..."
Mario looked at the Ancient One.
She saw right through his shameless fishing expedition but maintained her serene expression. The fact that her counterpart in another universe had been so generous suggested a close relationship. But she wasn't about to be manipulated into matching that generosity.
Instead, she turned to Kaecilius, and her expression softened.
"Kaecilius, your fate has changed. I don't know whether that's beneficial or detrimental... but from what I observe now, you've found your own path."
Although he knew this Ancient One wasn't his teacher, Kaecilius still bowed respectfully. "Yes, Sorcerer Supreme."
He hesitated for a moment before continuing. "I can sense dark power within you."
Before his strength had grown significantly, his own teacher had already severed her connection to the Dark Dimension. He'd never noticed the taint before. But standing before this version of the Ancient One, he could clearly feel the presence of Dormammu's influence.
The Ancient One smiled gently, showing no defensiveness. "Power itself isn't inherently right or wrong. What matters is that you stay true to your heart. You're far more exceptional than my own disciples. If it were you, I would never have needed to choose Strange as the next Sorcerer Supreme."