Chapter 30: Coulson on the Move (Part 1)
Sherlock spent nearly half an hour explaining to the insurance company that he wasn't joking, that a hammer had truly fallen from the sky and smashed his raptor to pieces.
However, the operator on the insurance end refused to believe him, at one point thinking Sherlock was a young person who had stolen his parents' phone to play a prank.
A hammer falling from the sky? The operator would have believed it if Sherlock had said a dud missile from a U.S. experiment fell, or even if Iron Man had fallen and smashed his car.
A hammer? Heh, if I believed that, then I'd really be a hammer.
This was the operator's truest thought deep down.
Sherlock pleaded and argued with the operator for a long time before finally getting them to agree to come and take a look. After all, no matter what smashed it, or if Sherlock intentionally damaged it, as a member of the insurance industry, as long as Sherlock reported it, it was necessary to investigate to confirm whether he was committing insurance fraud.
Hearing the man on the other end of the phone, despite his continued disbelief in Sherlock's ordeal, agree to send an investigator, Sherlock finally breathed a sigh of relief.
He quickly gave his location, and for accuracy, Sherlock even put on his helmet and used Jarvis to pinpoint and report the latitude and longitude before contentedly hanging up the phone.
After that came the boring wait. As long as the insurance company came and saw his now-shattered beloved car, Sherlock was sure to get the insurance payout.
Although he felt a little reluctant to part with his beloved car, Sherlock still felt it was worth it, even a little Happy, when he thought about being able to get a brand new raptor through the insurance.
As for the time spent waiting for the insurance company, Sherlock said it was impossible to be bored. Didn't he still have the Meow-Meow Hammer to keep him company?
Although he couldn't lift the genuine Meow-Meow Hammer in front of him, this didn't stop Sherlock from experimenting with his magic on it.
After some experimentation, Sherlock was surprised to find that not all of his magic was applicable to the Meow-Meow Hammer. Conceptual spells like Wingardium Leviosa and Scourgify left the Meow-Meow Hammer no room to resist.
However, when it came to spells with physical attributes, like Incendio or the Severing Charm, the Meow-Meow Hammer was completely immune, although Sherlock had minimized the range and power of the magic to preserve the scene.
After all, these U.S. insurance investigators are comparable to the FBI; if even a small detail is off, they will refuse compensation. Sherlock didn't want to say goodbye to his brand new raptor just because of a little boredom.
Of course, Sherlock didn't dare to test more powerful Black Magic on the Meow-Meow Hammer. After all, there was only one of these, and according to the plot, Thor still needed the Meow-Meow Hammer to regain his divine power and restore his essence as Thor.
Sherlock couldn't guarantee that if the Meow-Meow Hammer really couldn't withstand his Black Magic and was damaged, Thor, still a Thor, would be able to defeat the Destroyer sent by Loki as in the original story.
Aside from these two types of magic, Sherlock was not without gains. The biggest gain was that his library now contained a replica of the Meow-Meow Hammer, created using Geminio.
Although this replica was merely a high-quality imitation with the Meow-Meow Hammer's appearance, Sherlock had touched it carefully, and even the tactile sensation was off, but as a collectible, Sherlock was still very satisfied.
Besides this collectible, what surprised Sherlock the most was that the Meow-Meow Hammer could not resist his Transfiguration. Although the Meow-Meow Hammer would transform into the object Sherlock desired according to his Transfiguration, its duration of transformation was undoubtedly cut by more than half compared to other objects.
Moreover, for some unknown reason, the Meow-Meow Hammer could not be Transfigured into living beings. Every time Sherlock tried to turn the Meow-Meow Hammer into a real 'meow-meow' hammer, it ended in failure.
Not only that, Sherlock also discovered that even if the Meow-Meow Hammer's appearance was changed by Transfiguration, some of its inherent characteristics remained. For example, Sherlock still couldn't lift the Meow-Meow Hammer even when it was Transfigured into a feather.
Despite this, Sherlock felt very satisfied. Imagine, during a battle, Sherlock suddenly intervenes and turns Thor's Meow-Meow Hammer into a small red flower.
Although this small red flower looked incredibly delicate, as if it would break at any moment, in Thor's hand, it was just like the real Meow-Meow Hammer, slaying gods and Buddhas alike.
For his allies, it would just be a bit amusing, but for his enemies, it would be extremely damaging and even more insulting.
As long as Thor truly allowed Sherlock to Transfigure it, the Meow-Meow Hammer, while maintaining its original attack power, would also inflict 100% mental damage, comparable to the torment of being sunk by a mantis shrimp in online jokes before his transmigration.
After experimenting with a series of spells, Sherlock lay idly on the ground, sunbathing while imagining Thor wielding a small red flower and wreaking havoc during the Battle of New York.
Just thinking about it made the scene seem too beautiful, a little eye-watering.
Just as Sherlock felt himself about to fall asleep due to the warm sunbathing, he heard a very faint roar of an engine.
After confirming three times that he hadn't misheard, Sherlock sighed at his lost nap, sat up with a roll, and looked in the direction from which the sound came.
A small-looking vehicle appeared not far from the horizon. Its creamy yellow body looked unusually miniature, and its engine roared continuously.
After watching for a while, Sherlock confirmed that the approaching car was a Beetle, a model that could be called an antique car. He guessed it was the insurance agent he had called earlier.
The Beetle wasn't fast, and after waiting for a good while, it finally arrived in front of Sherlock and swayed to a stop. From the Beetle's small interior, a big Fat Man emerged, comparable to Happy.
Sherlock even feared that when the big Fat Man got out, the Beetle wouldn't be able to bear the weight and would fall apart on the spot.
After a while, the big Fat Man wiped the sweat from his forehead as he approached Sherlock and extended his chubby hand.
"Hello, I'm your insurance investigator, Frankie Burke. Here's my business card. I heard your car was smashed by a hammer?"
Sherlock took the business card and then pointed to the scene behind him. Frankie Burke then looked over, and with just one glance, Frankie Burke's mouth couldn't help but twitch wildly.
Damn it, he originally thought Sherlock was making a ridiculous joke, but he never expected the ridiculous thing to be reality!
However, what was even more ridiculous was that Frankie Burke, after trying for a long time, couldn't pick up the Meow-Meow Hammer from the ground. This situation made Frankie Burke feel like it was truly 'ridiculous's mom opening the door for ridiculous,' utterly ridiculous.