Under Loki's resentful gaze,
Damon casually equipped the "Loki Template."
He glanced at his new attributes—
and to his surprise, there really were some improvements!
Among his six core stats, his Intelligence had increased by 50 points,
bringing it to 200 total.
Not bad at all. As expected of a villain who lives by his wits—
his brainpower was definitely above the human average.
And that wasn't all.
Damon also inherited Loki's Frost Giant bloodline,
along with innate ice-elemental magic
and the divine arcana passed down from the goddess Frigga herself—
including Asgardian and Vanir spellcraft:
Astral Projection, Levitation, Summoning, Memory Reading, Mind Control, Invisibility, Shapeshifting, and Illusion Magic.
In sheer quantity of spells alone,
Loki wasn't any weaker than Mordo, Kamar-Taj's most gifted disciple.
He might not possess something overwhelming like Mirror Dimension,
but if those two actually fought,
the outcome would be hard to predict—
as long as Loki didn't drop his magic and resort to stabbing people.
The only pity was that this version of Loki
hadn't yet mastered the possession or shadow manipulation spells
seen in later stories.
He couldn't even teleport yet—
let alone conjure illusions on the level of Old Loki's city-sized mirage.
Meanwhile, Loki himself—completely unaware of Damon's analysis—
had put on a humble, submissive face,
a far cry from the arrogant trickster he was earlier.
It was almost unbelievable that this was the self-proclaimed King of Asgard.
Coulson and Hawkeye exchanged bewildered looks.
Who the hell was this guy?
He was acting like… a total idiot.
"Loki," Damon suddenly said in a cold voice,
"what exactly are you doing?"
Everyone froze.
Loki blinked innocently. "I—I wasn't doing anything?"
"Don't try your cheap invisibility and illusion tricks on me,"
Damon said flatly,
his eyes shifting toward the door.
"Your petty magic can't fool me."
The air shimmered—
and Loki's body materialized where moments ago there had been nothing.
Sweat gathered at Loki's temples.
He bowed deeply and gave a sycophantic laugh.
"Ahh, yes! Lord of Thunder, your vision truly pierces all!
My little tricks are nothing before your divine sight!"
The sheer pressure Damon exuded—
for a brief instant—made Loki feel as though he were standing before Odin himself.
No, even Odin might not see through his layered illusions this easily.
What in the Nine Realms is this mortal?!
"Enough," Damon said coolly.
"The next time we meet, behave yourself.
And don't get any funny ideas."
Loki's face turned red, then white,
and before he could reply, Damon vanished like smoke.
Coulson immediately gave orders to detain Loki.
He had a gut feeling this "King of Asgard" knew more about the hammer than he'd admitted.
"Loki," Coulson began, "we'll need you to come with us—"
"Are you kidding me?" Loki snapped.
"I can't beat him, but you think I can't beat you lot?!"
He flicked his sleeve,
sending a powerful shockwave that hurled several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents backward.
But when one of them pulled out a shoulder-mounted rocket launcher,
Loki scowled, muttered a curse,
and vanished again—this time slipping into invisibility,
not teleportation like Damon.
He didn't linger. He wasn't about to go find Thor either.
Instead, he ordered Heimdall to send him straight back to Asgard.
Coulson could only sigh and report in.
"Director Fury, the hammer's been taken—by Damon.
Also… another party appeared on site.
He called himself Loki, King of Asgard."
Meanwhile, at a small roadside diner near the desert town,
Thor was sitting at a table, chugging beer and tearing into a roasted chicken leg.
"Ha! Now that's a meal!"
Across from him,
Dr. Erik Selvig, Jane Foster, and Darcy Lewis
watched him eat with identical expressions of disgust.
"You're like some prehistoric Viking caveman,"
Darcy muttered.
Jane nodded in agreement.
Thor laughed loudly. "My thanks for the feast!
When I finish, I'll retrieve my hammer—
and as repayment, I shall help you reclaim your stolen data from those men in black!"
"Thor," Jane sighed, shaking her head,
"please don't provoke them. Those people are dangerous."
"Dangerous?" Darcy said indignantly.
"They stole everything—even our backup of the backup!
And the thirty songs I just downloaded!
I swear, I wanna punch those jerks in the face!"
"Darcy, enough about your iPod," Jane rolled her eyes.
"Let's focus on figuring out who they even are."
Erik frowned. "I used to know a scientist—
a pioneer in gamma radiation.
Then S.H.I.E.L.D. got involved… and he vanished.
If you run into them, don't fight.
I'll contact a colleague who's had experience dealing with those people."
Thor waved his hand dismissively.
"No need for all that!
Once I reclaim Mjolnir, I can strike them down with a bolt of lightning!"
Darcy snorted. "Yeah right. What are you, the God of Thunder or something?"
"Ah! So you have heard my tales!" Thor said proudly.
"Oh please," Darcy said, pointing to the TV on the wall,
"I was talking about him!"
On-screen, a news anchor spoke excitedly:
"Breaking news from New York City!
The God of Thunder has appeared once again.
Witnesses report he defeated a dark sorceress in the streets!"
The date on-screen read: May 31, 2012.
Thor froze, staring at the footage.
After a moment, he muttered,
"He's impressive… but I'm stronger. And better looking."
Darcy burst out laughing.
"Oh, come on! You're a riot—wait—oh my God. He's here!"
Thor blinked. "I told you, I am—"
Before he could finish, Darcy smacked him aside,
eyes wide as she looked toward the diner's entrance.
Damon had just walked in.
"He looks exactly like the guy on TV!" Darcy gasped.
Jane and Erik compared the screen and the newcomer—
and both nodded. "He really does!"
Thor leaned closer to a mirror,
examining his reflection beside Damon.
Then he shook his head in disdain.
"No. Not even close. He doesn't have the beard."
"Oh my God," Darcy squealed. "The God of Thunder is here!
He's walking this way!"
She hurriedly fixed her hair and forced her most dazzling smile.
"Hi! I'm Darcy Lewis! So, handsome—are you really the God of Thunder?"
Damon glanced at her—
and, well, he couldn't help but notice those.
White, full, absolutely perfectly proportioned.
Definitely G-cup territory—
better than Veronica's, even.
Great pair, he thought approvingly.
Smiling, he said politely,
"I'm Damon.
And as for the 'God of Thunder' you mentioned—
if you mean the one from the New York news…
that's me."
"Ah—wha—?" Darcy blinked.
She'd been joking!
He wasn't supposed to agree!
"But," Damon added, turning toward Thor,
"if you mean the Norse mythology one—
then he's your guy."
Thor puffed his chest out proudly.
Finally, someone who recognized greatness!
This man, Damon—he approved.
Just as Thor was about to invite him for a drink,
Darcy rolled her eyes.
"Him? Please. If he's the God of Thunder,
then I'm the Goddess of Thunder's wife!"
Thor: "...But I am the God of Thunder…"
~~----------------------
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