8.1 Delaying the Executioner
The town of Puente Antiguo was silent, the civilians and the Asgardians watching in stunned disbelief as the Golden Man faced the Destroyer.
Ronin, now in his full Super Saiyan state, felt the exhilarating rush of power. The 5x Gravity was now nothing; he felt light enough to soar, strong enough to shatter mountains. He knew he couldn't destroy the Destroyer—Thor had to do that—but he could humiliate it and buy time for the final, necessary sacrifice.
He rocketed forward, his movements leaving golden streaks in the air. He used the martial artistry of the Crane School and Turtle School, blended with pure Saiyan force. He delivered a series of rapid, focused blows—strikes aimed not at power, but at displacing and disabling. He slammed a Ki-infused kick into the Destroyer's torso, sending the colossal weapon skidding down the main street, its feet digging trenches in the asphalt.
The Destroyer finally managed to fire its massive beam, but Ronin met it head-on, not with a blast, but with a simple, open palm, focusing his Ki into an instantaneous Force Barrier. The white energy deflected into the sky, leaving Ronin unscathed, standing in a pillar of golden light.
He was showing off, using the Destroyer as a punching bag, demonstrating a level of power the Asgardians had never witnessed in a Midgardian. This display was deliberate: S.H.I.E.L.D., Asgard, and Loki all needed to know that Earth had defenses outside of their scope.
8.2 The Sacrifice and the Redemption
The display of power had achieved its goal: it bought Thor the time needed to accept his worthiness.
As Ronin stood poised, ready to launch a finishing blow (that would only temporarily disable the weapon), the depowered Thor stepped forward, his eyes full of sorrow and resolution.
"Ronin, stop!" Thor yelled, stepping into the firing line.
Ronin stopped instantly, letting the Super Saiyan aura momentarily dim as he turned toward the true hero.
"Brother," Thor addressed the Destroyer, his voice ringing with pure, humble sacrifice. "Whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever offenses I have given you, I beg you... take my life, and end this madness!"
Ronin watched, his heart heavy, as the Destroyer obeyed its master's command, retracting the blast and delivering the fatal backhand. Thor was thrown violently to the ground, his life seemingly extinguished.
But as Ronin was about to launch himself into a final, protective fury, the miracle happened.
A silver streak of light tore across the sky. Mjolnir, recognizing the pure selflessness of its master's sacrifice, slammed into Thor's hand.
Lightning erupted. The golden light of Ronin's Super Saiyan form was momentarily overshadowed by the blinding, divine power of the God of Thunder. Thor was restored.
Ronin allowed the golden transformation to fully recede, his hair snapping back to black. The battle was no longer his.
8.3 The Aftermath and the Gate's Dividend
Thor, now wielding the full force of his power, turned to Ronin, giving a quick, firm nod of respect—a silent acknowledgment of the aid provided. He then unleashed the full might of Asgard on the Destroyer, shattering the construct with a furious barrage of lightning and hammer blows.
With the Destroyer defeated and the immediate threat neutralized, Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three prepared to return to Asgard.
Ronin used this chaotic departure—the swirling Bifrost energy and the mass confusion—to execute his own exit strategy.
"Aether, cloak us entirely. Vanish now."
Ronin's suit absorbed the light, and he flew out of the quarantine zone, heading back to his Brooklyn lab.
System Notification: Major Heroic Action (Protecting Asgardian Allies and Midgardian Civilians) achieved. Super Saiyan Transformation (Controlled) stabilized.
Gate of Babylon: Access Level 5 Unlocked. Divine Constructs and Reality-Shifting Artifacts now available. New Artifact: The Eye of Foresight.
Back in the quiet, pressurized confines of his lab, Ronin recovered. The battle had been brutal, but the dividends were massive. He had stabilized his Super Saiyan power and earned the Eye of Foresight.
He activated the obsidian pendant, integrating its powers with Aether. He then focused it on the distant, dangerous future.
"Aether, threat assessment: Loki's next major move," Ronin commanded.
The Eye spun a web of causality, focusing on a single image: the Tesseract, radiating vast, blue cosmic energy.
"Prediction: Loki will return via a portal activated by the Tesseract. The target will be a major metropolitan area. Probability of a large-scale alien invasion: 99.9%," Aether reported grimly.
8.4 The Two Anchors and the New Quest
The world was reeling. S.H.I.E.L.D. was panicking over the "Golden Man" and the "Hammer-Wielding God." Ronin, meanwhile, had to return to his life.
Gwen Stacy was his steady pulse. She had watched the news reports, analyzing the impossible healing of the "Golden Man" and was already sketching designs for bio-regeneration technology.
"I need to meet people working on this kind of biological acceleration, Ronin," she told him passionately. "If someone can heal like that, the science is out there."
"I'll help you look, Gwen," Ronin promised, knowing her future path was now dangerously close to his secrets.
Felicia Hardy was thrilled by the chaos. She met Ronin on a high-rise scaffold, wearing a new, customized leather suit.
"You're a legend, Ronin! The Golden Ghost! S.H.I.E.L.D. is losing its mind trying to track you," Felicia whispered, her hand finding his. "I want to be right there when the real chaos starts. We're partners, remember? I'll find the secrets, and you provide the defense."
His romantic life was now intertwined with his heroic identity, forcing him into a tightrope walk of deception and love.
Finally, Ronin focused on his most critical task: Wanda Maximoff. He activated the Eye of Foresight and commanded Aether to run a continuous, low-level surveillance of Sokovia, tracking the faint, powerful energy signature of the Mind Stone and the nascent Scarlet Witch.
He knew the Loki invasion—the Battle of New York—was coming soon. He had to be ready to intervene, not just in the fight, but in the aftermath, when he could finally track down the Hydra base and rescue the two young twins who held the key to his next cosmic confrontation. His preparation was complete; the time for action had arrived.