Neither Darcy nor Eric's words caught Thor's attention. His eyes were locked onto the center of the temporary camp.
Because he could feel it—Mjolnir was there, waiting for him to reclaim it.
*BOOM!*
A sudden clap of thunder echoed across the sky, and raindrops began to fall, one by one.
Feeling a slight chill, Jane took out her binoculars, her expression puzzled. "Why haven't they moved the meteorite? Instead, they built a whole camp around it?"
"Because they can't move it," Thor said with a proud grin. "Only I can."
Jane turned to look at him, confused. "It? You know what it is?"
Thor nodded confidently. "Of course. It's my weapon—Mjolnir. You stay here. I'll be back soon."
Jane quickly grabbed his arm, her voice urgent. "Wait, you're just going to walk in there? Do you even know what you're up against? If they see you, they'll probably fill you with bullet holes!"
"Relax, I'll be sneaky," Thor assured her.
"Fine. Even if you do sneak in, how do you plan on getting out? That place is crawling with guards."
"I'll fly out," Thor said with a smirk before turning and heading toward the camp.
But he wasn't completely reckless. He used the rocky slopes for cover, carefully making his way forward.
Seeing this, Jane could only sigh in frustration and let him go.
*BOOM!*
Inside the camp, the constant flashes of lightning made the surveillance feeds flicker. The static interference blurred the images, but not enough to obscure the approaching figure.
"Boss, we've got someone coming."
William, who was in the middle of a card game, groaned in annoyance and put his cards down. "Nobody touch my hand. Tonight, I'm on a winning streak."
He got up and walked to the monitor, where he saw a man awkwardly crouching behind rocks, trying to sneak closer.
It took him a second to process what he was seeing. "Are you serious?" he muttered, barely holding back laughter.
"Ignore him," he finally said. "Boss said if anyone's dumb enough to try, just let it happen."
"Understood."
With that, William returned to the game—only to find his teammates shuffling the deck.
"Hey! What's going on? Why are you reshuffling?"
"Uh… we misdealt the cards."
"Yeah, we were short a card."
William narrowed his eyes. "You cheats! That was on purpose!"
Before long, the table erupted into playful bickering and laughter.
Then, a pair of red high heels appeared beside William. He looked up—first at a pair of long, pale legs, then at a slender waist, and finally at an impressive figure.
But when he saw the woman's face, his expression immediately shifted from casual to serious.
"Luna! I—uh… I didn't know you were here!"
Luna smiled, then glanced at Psylocke, who was standing nearby. "Adam had business in Washington, so he sent me to check things out."
William and Luna had both grown up in the Umbrella orphanage and joined the company at around the same time. Despite being younger, Luna had always taken on the role of the big sister, and many of the orphanage kids still called her that out of habit.
Since becoming Adam's assistant, the title had only become more fitting.
"Uh… I was just passing the time—nothing serious…" William muttered.
"Just don't make a habit of it," Luna said lightly.
"Of course, not a habit," William quickly agreed.
Luna then gave him a knowing smile. "And how's it going with her?"
"We live together—ouch!" William yelped as he felt a sharp pinch on his waist. He turned to Psylocke, confused, before realizing his mistake.
Psylocke was naturally more reserved about their relationship. She wasn't comfortable with openly discussing things like living together, especially in front of others.
Seeing her flustered expression, Luna chuckled. "Relax. No need to be shy. When you two get married, I'll bring a big gift."
Psylocke's face turned even redder, and she quickly looked away.
A moment later, one of the guards rushed over.
"Boss, that guy made it inside the camp—he's heading straight for the hammer!"
William sighed and smacked the guard lightly on the head. "Did you forget Ms. Luna is here? You should be reporting to her."
Luna held up a hand. "It's fine. This is your operation. I'm just here to observe."
Meanwhile, inside the camp…
Thor had miraculously slipped past the outer defenses, weaving through large containers and sneaking up to one of the tents.
Unlike ordinary tents, these were interconnected by sturdy metal frameworks, resembling a makeshift Mars base.
Carefully, Thor tore open a small opening and slipped inside, making his way toward Mjolnir.
Strangely, the guards seemed oblivious to his presence, allowing him to move freely.
*BOOM!*
The light drizzle had turned into a torrential downpour.
Soon, Thor reached the center of the camp.
There it was—Mjolnir.
A wide grin spread across his face as he stepped forward. At the same time, the guards finally seemed to take notice of him.
"Stop right there!"
"Hands in the air!"
"Stand down, or we'll open fire!"
..........
Meanwhile, at S.H.I.E.L.D. headquarters in New York~
*Knock, knock.*
Phil Coulson looked up from his desk. "Come in."
The door opened, and Natasha walked in, dropping a file onto his desk. Coulson didn't pick it up right away. Instead, he studied her carefully.
"I heard you haven't been eating properly. You okay?"
If there was anyone at S.H.I.E.L.D. who had been closest to Clint, it was Natasha. Even after two years, she still hadn't fully moved on.
Right now, she didn't look like her usual self.
Natasha forced a small smile and shook her head. "I'm fine. I just need some rest."
Coulson stared at her for a long moment before sighing. "Alright."
Ever since the last major crises, S.H.I.E.L.D. had suffered heavy casualties. The entire agency had been weighed down by an oppressive atmosphere.
A moment later, Coulson picked up the file and began reading.
______________________
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