In the round glass room originally prepared to hold dangerous creatures like the Hulk, Loki and Thor, the Asgardian brothers were now confined. Both huddled in a corner, like kittens just pulled from water, seeking warmth they couldn't find. Mjolnir's defection—abandoning Thor for a mere mortal—had shattered the worldview of both gods. Loki, the ambitious one, now felt that ruling the world and becoming a new king was no longer appealing. As for Thor, he was heartbroken, his soul shaken.
Dr. Bruce Banner looked at Natasha Romanoff, who now stood gracefully in her Lady Thor armor, as if he had just discovered a new continent uncharted on any scientific map.
"So anyone who can lift this hammer gains Thor's power?" Banner asked, his eyes gleaming with curiosity. "However, what are the specific requirements to lift this hammer? And do you get a set of Nordic armor along with the hammer?"
"I don't know either. Kurohane just handed it to me," Natasha replied, shrugging. There was a slight smile on her lips, a mix of confusion and satisfaction. "Anyway, I can lift it. As for this armor, I don't know either." Natasha wasn't lying. She truly didn't understand what had just happened, but she had to admit, she was somewhat reluctant to part with the hammer in her hand. That power, it was intoxicating.
On the other side, Tony Stark shed his Iron Man suit, changing into casual clothes. After all, his main task now was to find the Cosmic Cube with Dr. Banner and, no less importantly, to study Loki's scepter. That mind-controlling scepter was too bizarre, too dangerous. He hoped to find a way to break mind control through their research. After all, Clint Barton, Dr. Erik Selvig, and a host of others were now under Loki's control—they had to be saved.
"Do you want to try it too, Banner? By the way, I couldn't pick it up even in the Iron Man suit," Tony said, his tone a mix of wonder and slight annoyance. "It was as if the thing was stuck to the Earth. Even with X-ray scans, no issues were found. It's just an ordinary hammer, at most the metal used hasn't been discovered on Earth."
Tony motioned for Natasha to put down the hammer so the big green guy could try. Natasha first glanced at Kurohane, who had changed into his combat attire, and after seeing Kurohane nod, only then did she reluctantly set Mjolnir down. The armor on her body also vanished in a flash of light.
Dr. Banner's eyes lit up. He also wanted to try if he was qualified to lift this hammer. Or perhaps, this power from another planet could even help him cure his Hulk "illness"!
Banner, dressed in a white lab coat, immediately walked to Mjolnir's side and gripped the hammer's handle with both hands. But he couldn't lift it at all. Eventually, Banner's skin even began to emit a faint green glow. Only then was he pulled away from Mjolnir's side by Kurohane, narrowly avoiding an unintended transformation crisis.
"Fortunately, I'm not the only one in the entire team who can't lift this hammer," Tony began, letting out an exaggerated sigh of relief. "Dr. Banner, this is the kind of weapon that we, the intellectuals, can use—"
Before Tony could finish his sentence, he saw Captain America Steve Rogers had picked up the hammer from the ground. Only Thor's armor didn't appear on him, but he really lifted it!
Tony was shocked, gaping. "Incredible!"
"You're right, Tony!" Dr. Banner nodded seriously, looking at Steve, who felt an explosive energy within him. "Perhaps the simpler one's mind, the more likely they are to lift this hammer."
Kurohane also watched these people play with the hammer with a smile. He had read Thor's information long ago, including how Thor found his hammer when he was studying in the Kamar-Taj library, how he defeated the Destroyer armor, and how he returned to Asgard. All in all, it wasn't much different from the movie plot, except it took longer for him to find his hammer, because after Kurohane picked up the hammer, Odin, who was feigning deep sleep, stirred again. So the hammer didn't land in its original spot, but was later found by S.H.I.E.L.D. for research and investigation.
They had to research it! Previously, it could only be considered an alien meteorite landing. But now Kurohane, a S.H.I.E.L.D. celebrity, was gone. They had to find Kurohane. This matter was not only noted by S.H.I.E.L.D., more importantly, Hydra also took it seriously!
But until Thor picked up the hammer, they didn't discover anything significant. Even when Agent Coulson finally tried to ask Thor about Kurohane's whereabouts, Thor said he had never met such a person at all. This made Kurohane's whereabouts an unsolved mystery, and they researched other things.
Because of Thor's appearance, S.H.I.E.L.D. generally realized that there were enemies beyond Earth, thus further advancing research work on energy weapons, and Hydra, which had long known about the existence of aliens, was even more delighted. After all, the weapons they researched had yielded results 70 years ago when Red Skull was still around. So now, throughout the Helicarrier, there were a large number of weapons powered by the Cosmic Cube's energy, and Kurohane had seen all of this using his Super Vision.
"Friends, I have a new discovery," Kurohane clapped his hands, drawing everyone's attention. His tone was serious, breaking the relaxed atmosphere. "S.H.I.E.L.D. has done some truly excessive things behind our backs, otherwise, it wouldn't have attracted Loki's attention. If it was just an accidental portal opening, Loki himself couldn't possibly conquer Earth. And as expected, I found a weapon prototype for a certain energy weapon."
Kurohane drew a circle in the air with his hand, then reached in and pulled out a black box from within the portal. He opened the box, and inside was a pistol with an extremely exaggerated design. It was clearly not something to be taken lightly, its caliber was extraordinarily large!
"Perhaps you don't know what this weapon means, but my teacher told me," Kurohane said, his eyes implying a heavy burden. "When this weapon appears, it means Earth is ready for interstellar warfare! You know, Aliens who can master interstellar travel technology..."
Kurohane suddenly remembered something, tilted his head, and looked towards the room where Nick Fury was held. After thinking for a moment, he found a blind spot. On this Helicarrier, was there a Skrull?! If there was indeed a Skrull, should he just pull it out now?
Tony noticed Kurohane's strangeness and nudged Kurohane's side with his hand. "Keep talking, what do you mean by stopping halfway?"
"I think, perhaps we should bring in two key witnesses," Kurohane decided, a mysterious smile returning to his lips.
"Key witnesses?" Tony and Banner exchanged glances.
Moments later, Nick Fury, his face dark with fury, and Thor, who was still heartbroken, were brought in. Seeing the new energy weapon placed on the table, both of them instantly became enraged!
"Why are you researching this kind of weapon!" Thor roared, his voice thundering.
"It's because of you! Your power is too strong, we must have a way to counter it!" Nick Fury retorted, his eyes blazing.
"How dare you question your guardian like this?" Thor shouted, taking a step forward.
"Bastard!" Nick Fury snapped, no less loud.