Meanwhile, in the far-off realm of Asgard, a sealed chamber held a massive glass coffin at its center. Inside lay a white-haired old man, eyes closed, his face almost gentle. But one must not be fooled by appearances. This was the king of the Aesir—the All-Father, Odin.
Odin's body slept, yet his spirit still sensed what transpired beyond. The instant Mjölnir was raised by Gwen far away, Odin felt it in Asgard. "The hammer has been lifted? By whom? Thor?" Perhaps Thor had finally awakened to his path. The thought warmed the old father's heart. He did not know it was not his good son who had taken up the hammer.
Earth. Mexico. Rosa.
Thor and the blonde woman were drinking themselves numb at a bar. "What's your name?" Thor asked. The blonde was about to answer when a deafening peal of thunder tore across the sky. Thor's expression changed. Someone else had lifted Mjölnir? No—he had to see for himself. Whoever raised the hammer would have power equal to his own.
The blonde's eyes also tightened. Thor sprang up and rushed outside. Watching his back, she murmured, puzzled, "Then this guy isn't Thor? What's going on?" She hurried after him.
Not far from Rosa, a massive steel shipping container had been parked and left under guard. Inside, a hulking figure crouched; even kneeling he stood over two meters tall. Muscles bulged like a prehistoric beast. A huge round helmet covered his head. In front of him, a man in a black leather coat drew on a cigarette. A phone began to ring. A cold voice came through the speaker: "I'm en route to the hammer's location. Get the big guy over there now—we can't let Thor or any other organization get it. Also, tell him something he'll care about: that black-suited punk he hates is here." The call cut off.
Hearing the message, the man in the black coat frowned. The giant rumbled from the container, voice buzzing like an engine. "Victor, I'll help you. I'll tear that brat in half."
Back in Asgard, Loki had also sensed Mjölnir being drawn from the earth. "The hammer's been taken… Has my brother regained his power? No. I have to move now." He headed down toward Asgard's underground vault.
At the crater, Gwen—armored in thunder—stared at herself in disbelief. "What's happening? How did I become like this? Maguire, what is going on?" Panicked by the world turned upside down, she trembled.
Maguire's voice was gentle. "Don't be afraid, Gwen. You've simply received the power of the Thunder God. You can feel it, right? The hammer answers you—and so does the lightning."
The others were slack-jawed. "Gwen's a superhero now."
General Ross and Hawkeye, though, looked grim. By regulation, someone who'd awakened power like this had to be brought back to S.H.I.E.L.D. for evaluation. Mishandle this, and Maguire might just kill them both.
A figure came running—Thor. He reached the rim, saw Gwen in the thunder armor, and froze. His hammer… lifted by a young woman… who had become the Thunder God?
"That's my hammer," he blurted. "Could you return it to me?"
Gwen glanced at Maguire. Maguire snorted. "Because you say it's yours, it's yours? Beat it."
Thor flushed with anger, but without his powers he wasn't Gwen's match. He swallowed his temper.
A rainbow pillar crashed from the heavens. Thor's eyes lit up. "The Bifrost—someone from Asgard! They're here for me?"
What strode out was a towering body of dark, gleaming metal, a blank faceplate with narrow eye-slits: the Destroyer.
Maguire's eyes narrowed. So Loki had made his move. But the hammer had already chosen its bearer.
Everyone around the pit tensed. Maguire shouted to Garfield and Holland, "We're getting Jones and Hannah out of here first." He turned to Gwen. "We're pulling back to town. Move!"
They sprinted for the vehicles. The Destroyer's head turned—fixing on Maguire's group. General Ross, ever the brawler, had already transformed—now the Red Hulk, he hurled his massive frame straight at the automaton.
Seeing the Destroyer arrive, Thor understood: someone wanted him dead. Otherwise the Destroyer would never have come. He stared, stunned, as Ross changed from an ordinary man into a giant monster.
Maguire and the others gunned the engines toward town. From far off, a colossal figure charged at full tilt—bearing down on their convoy and slamming toward the lead car.
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