Levi didn't call Tony.
He didn't notify S.H.I.E.L.D., either.
Instead, through an encrypted channel, he left a single anonymous ssage on Coulson's secure terminal within S.H.I.E.L.D.'s internal database.
"Keep your people back. Don't let them throw their lives away."
The mont the ssage was sent, Levi vanished from the top floor of Stark Tower.
…
Puente Antiguo, New xico.
The afternoon sun should have been lazy and warm.
Instead, an icy dread had frozen the town in place.
Panic spread like invisible wildfire.
A tallic giant over three ters tall strode down the town's only main street.
Its body was sleek yet nacing, forged from dark, gleaming tal that reflected sunlight with a cold sheen.
The Destroyer.
It did not move quickly—almost thodically—but each step carried imnse force, leaving deep craters in the asphalt.
A pickup truck blocked its path.
With a casual swing of its arm, the one-ton vehicle was swatted aside like an empty soda can, tumbling through a storefront window in a cascade of shattered glass.
Sirens. Screams. Crying.
The townspeople scattered like disturbed ants.
Phil Coulson crouched behind a police cruiser, shouting hoarsely into his radio.
"All units—repeat, all units! Cease conventional engagent imdiately! Evacuate civilians now! This is not a drill!"
Nearby agents leaned out, firing assault rifles at the towering machine.
Bullets struck its smooth armor and ricocheted uselessly, clinking harmlessly to the ground.
The Destroyer didn't even acknowledge them. It kept advancing.
Its objective was clear.
Coulson's back was drenched in sweat. He had seen strange things before—but not this kind of incomprehensible, absolute force.
A na flashed in his mind.
Anthony Chen.
And then—
That anonymous warning.
"Fall back!" Coulson ordered. "All personnel retreat beyond the safety periter!"
Staying would accomplish nothing except adding bodies to the street.
…
At the far end of town, Thor drove a battered pickup truck barely holding together. The truck bed was packed with terrified townsfolk. Jane Foster, Erik Selvig, and Darcy Lewis were squeezed into the cab.
"What is that thing?!" Jane's face was pale as she glanced in the rearview mirror.
"Loki sent it," Thor said grimly, knuckles white on the steering wheel. "He's co to kill ."
He swerved sharply, narrowly avoiding a slab of concrete hurled by the Destroyer.
Thor slamd the brakes, jumped out, and shoved a little girl out of harm's way.
"You have to go!" he shouted at Jane. "I'll hold it off!"
"Are you insane?!" Jane grabbed his arm. "You're just a man now! You'll die!"
"I am the only one who can stop this," Thor said, pulling free. "This began because of . It ends with ."
He had no powers. No divine strength.
But he would not watch innocents die in his na.
Alone, he walked toward the tal colossus.
The Destroyer stopped.
Its smooth faceplate rotated open, revealing a hollow core glowing with molten orange energy.
It had identified its target.
"Brother!" Thor shouted into the scorching heat. "I know you can hear ! I know you hate ! Whatever wrong I've done—I am sorry! But these people are innocent! Spare them! You want —here I am!"
He spread his arms.
Closed his eyes.
…
Asgard.
Loki sat upon Odin's throne, clad in black royal attire, Gungnir in hand. Through the Destroyer's vision, he watched Earth with cold detachnt.
"How touching," Loki murmured. "Such brotherly devotion."
He raised the spear.
"Very well, dear brother."
He gave the command.
…
Earth.
The Destroyer's core flared.
A beam of searing energy erupted forth—aid directly at Thor's chest.
"No—!" Jane scread.
Coulson shut his eyes.
Just before impact—
A figure appeared.
Levi.
He stood before Thor and raised one hand.
[Spatial Curvature Barrier] activated.
The beam halted less than ten centiters from his palm.
It writhed like a serpent striking invisible glass, twisting violently—but unable to advance even a fraction.
The air sizzled.
Ti seed to stop.
Everyone stared.
Coulson's agents froze mid-motion. Jane and Erik stood stunned.
Thor opened his eyes—staring at Levi's calm, unmoving back.
"Long ti no see, God of Thunder," Levi said evenly. "Your Earth vacation seems eventful."
His fingers closed slightly.
The energy beam compressed inward, collapsing into a fist-sized sphere before popping out of existence like a burst soap bubble.
The Destroyer paused.
No protocol for this scenario.
It raised its massive arm and brought it down toward Levi's head.
Levi didn't even turn.
He lifted his other hand.
Boom.
The tallic fist t his palm.
Levi did not move.
Not even a crack ford beneath his feet.
A shockwave rippled outward, blasting dust and debris away.
"Decent strength," Levi comnted mildly. "Still weaker than Hulk."
At the mont of contact—
New data entered his mind.
[S-Class Ability: Adaptive Armor]
Description: Absorbs incoming attack energy, analyzes attack patterns, rapidly generates high-strength defensive structures.
"Interesting," Levi thought. "Mine."
The Destroyer recalculated.
Threat level: Maximum.
Its arms transford, splitting open into honeycomb-like energy cannons.
A storm of energy beams rained down.
Levi remained still.
Within one ter of him, space warped like rippling water.
Beams bent skyward, exploding harmlessly in clouds.
Others ricocheted into the ground, blasting craters.
So simply vanished—redirected to unknown coordinates.
None touched him.
"Finished?" Levi asked, faintly bored. "My turn."
He stepped forward—
And vanished.
Reappearing above the Destroyer's head.
Golden lightning crackled around his clenched fist.
[Infinite Rage]
He brought it down.
Crack.
A crisp fracture echoed across the town.
A visible crack ford in the Destroyer's uru-forged helt.
Then it spread—like a spiderweb—across its entire body.
Orange energy leaked from countless fissures.
Levi landed lightly beside Thor.
Behind him—
The Destroyer collapsed to its knees.
Its upper body exploded into fragnts of twisted tal.
Silence blanketed the town.
Levi picked up a piece of the shattered faceplate and held it before Thor.
"In Asgard, this is considered a top-tier weapon, right?"
Thor swallowed and nodded faintly.
"It has no will. No soul. Only orders." Levi crushed the fragnt in his hand like clay. "That's why it's fragile."
The tal crumpled effortlessly.
"You once possessed power far greater than this. But you used it for pride. For glory. What's the difference between you and it?"
Thor trembled.
The words shattered his last fragnts of arrogance.
He looked at the ruined town.
The frightened civilians.
Jane's tear-streaked face.
The twisted scrap tal at his feet.
Sha flooded him.
He finally understood.
His father had not stripped his power away.
He had been unworthy of it.
At that exact mont—
Far away, in the crater once sealed by S.H.I.E.L.D., Mjolnir vibrated.
With a ringing hum, it launched skyward—breaking the sound barrier as it streaked toward the town.
Thor felt it instinctively.
He raised his hand.
Mjolnir arced through the sky and slamd perfectly into his palm.
"BOOM!"
A pillar of lightning descended from the heavens.
His mortal clothes disintegrated.
Silver-scaled armor ford around him.
A red cape unfurled behind.
Thor, God of Thunder, had returned.
Levi nodded slightly.
Not a wasted lecture after all.
He turned to leave.
"Wait!" Thor called.
There was no arrogance left in his eyes—only gratitude and respect.
"Who are you?"
Levi smiled faintly, not turning back.
"Just passing through."
His figure faded into nothingness.
Leaving Thor standing beneath the clearing sky—hamr in hand.
He knew he owed that man a great debt.
And his next destination—
Was Asgard.
To settle accounts with his brother.
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