Smith's fist struck the Destroyer's neck joint with devastating force. The enchanted metal buckled inward, denting visibly under the impact. For a moment, Smith felt satisfaction—the structural weakness was real, the damage was done.
Then, before his eyes, the dent smoothed out. The metal flowed like liquid, restructuring itself, the damage erasing as if it had never existed.
What—
The Destroyer's counterattack came immediately. Its massive fist swung with terrifying speed.
Smith caught the punch, his hands intercepting the blow. Then another strike came. And another.
Clang. Clang. Clang.
The sound of flesh meeting enchanted metal rang out like hammer strikes on an anvil. Smith blocked each attack, but his frown deepened. The Destroyer was getting stronger. Each punch carried more force than the last, the construct's power ramping upward with no apparent ceiling.
Thor destroyed this thing with one hammer blow? Really?
Smith backflipped away, creating distance. His hands came together at his side, energy gathering between his palms. Blue-white light coalesced into a sphere, growing brighter with each passing second.
The Destroyer's faceplate opened in response. Red light gathered in the furnace-like interior of its head, building to critical intensity.
"KAMEHAMEHA!"
Smith thrust his hands forward, and a massive beam of concentrated ki erupted forth—pure destructive energy compressed into a column two feet wide.
The Destroyer's thermal beam launched simultaneously.
The two attacks collided at the midpoint between them. Instead of exploding on impact, they locked together—opposing forces grinding against each other, neither able to advance.
Smith roared, pouring everything into the attack. His aura flared white-hot around him, his combat power surging to its absolute peak: 2,899 points.
This still isn't my limit, Smith thought grimly. If I had time to charge the Special Beam Cannon, I could hit 4,290. But charging takes time, and there's nobody here who can hold the Destroyer off long enough.
Smith pushed harder, channeling every ounce of power into the Kamehameha. The beam swelled, forcing the Destroyer's attack backward inch by inch.
The contest of power reached its breaking point.
BOOM.
The explosion was cataclysmic. A mushroom cloud rose from the collision point, expanding upward and outward. The shockwave radiated in all directions with bone-shattering force.
Sif saw it coming. "Shield wall! Protect Thor!"
The Warriors Three and Sif formed a defensive line, raising shields and channeling their divine power into a barrier. Thor grabbed Jane, pulling her close and covering her with his body. Behind them, Darcy and Dr. Erik crouched low, using Thor and the warriors as shields.
The shockwave struck like a physical wall.
Even with their combined power, even with divine enchantments strengthening their defense, the Warriors and Sif were blown backward. Their feet left the ground, their bodies ragdolling through the air before crashing into debris twenty yards away.
But they'd absorbed the worst of it. Thor, Jane, Darcy, and Erik tumbled less violently, bruised and battered but alive.
Coulson and his team had no such protection. The shockwave hit their vehicles broadside, flipping the SUVs like toys. Agents tumbled through the air, some still strapped into seats, others thrown clear. They landed in broken heaps, blood streaming from cuts and contusions.
Sitwell dragged himself from the wreckage, his face covered in blood from a gash across his forehead. "That's... that's beyond anything..." He couldn't finish the sentence, shock overriding his ability to process what he'd witnessed.
Coulson pulled himself upright using a twisted bumper for support. "We don't even know what that thing is," he said, his voice tight with pain. "Whatever it is, it's matching Smith Doyle blow for blow."
Behind the Destroyer, every structure within two hundred yards had been obliterated. Buildings reduced to rubble, cars compressed into metal pancakes, asphalt ripped up and scattered. Only the battle's location at the town's edge had saved the rest of the community from annihilation.
Sif struggled to her feet and ran to Thor. "Are you hurt?"
Thor lay on the ground with Jane still sheltered beneath him. "I'm fine. You four absorbed most of the impact." He looked at his friends with gratitude. "Thank you."
Sif glanced at the woman in Thor's arms—noted her, cataloged her importance to Thor, filed it away for later consideration. Right now, survival took priority over romantic entanglements.
As the smoke cleared, the Destroyer emerged from the epicenter. Completely intact. Undamaged.
Smith stared at the construct with barely controlled fury. He'd seen divine light flickering across its surface during the Kamehameha's impact—runes activating, enchantments reinforcing, protective magics absorbing the assault.
There's no way, Smith thought with absolute certainty, that my full-power Kamehameha is weaker than Thor's hammer strike. No possible way.
The math didn't support it. Nappa with a combat power of 4,000 could destroy a city with a single attack. Smith's current output exceeded 2,800, and his Special Beam Cannon could reach over 4,000. Thor couldn't level a city with one hammer blow. Only with Stormbreaker, years from now, would Thor command that level of destructive capability.
Which meant the runes weren't just defensive. They were being actively controlled.
Odin, Smith realized with cold clarity. You're cheating. You're secretly powering up the Destroyer to make this "test" harder.
Fine. If the Kamehameha wasn't enough, Smith would escalate. The Special Beam Cannon—properly charged—would pierce through even divine enchantments.
He turned to the Asgardians struggling to their feet. "I need someone to buy me time. I need to charge a more powerful attack."
Sif and the Warriors Three exchanged glances. They'd just witnessed Smith's most devastating technique bounce off harmlessly. How could they possibly hold back something that could withstand that level of destruction?
Thor stepped forward. "I'll do it."
"Thor, no!" Sif's voice carried desperate urgency. "Your power is gone! You'll be killed!"
"Hogun, Fandral, Volstagg—" Sif turned to the Warriors Three. "We go together. All four of us."
They raised their weapons, preparing to charge despite knowing they faced near-certain death.
Thor grabbed Sif's shoulder, stopping her. "You've done enough. All of you have fought beyond what anyone could ask."
Sif pulled away from his grip. "No. We came here to bring you home, and we'll die doing it if necessary." Her voice carried absolute conviction. "Today's story will be told for a thousand years. 'The Warriors of Asgard who died protecting their prince on Midgard.'"
Thor placed both hands on her shoulders, looking into her eyes. "Live, Sif. Live and tell the story to your own children. That's an order from your prince."
The Destroyer, having assessed the situation, resumed its assault. A thermal beam lanced toward Smith's position.
Smith dodged at the last possible instant, the beam missing him by inches. The construct's speed had increased dramatically—enhanced by those same runes, moving at velocities that rivaled Smith's own.
Smith brought his right hand to his forehead, two fingers extended. Energy began gathering at the focal point, building slowly but with exponentially increasing power. The air around him crackled with electricity. His aura pulsed with each heartbeat, visible distortions rippling outward.
This was the Special Beam Cannon—slow to charge, but capable of piercing anything. Even gods.
Thor turned to the Warriors Three. "You must return to Asgard immediately. Stop Loki before he does something that cannot be undone."
Volstagg's face was stricken. "What about you?"
"Don't worry, my friend." Thor's smile was sad but determined. "I have a plan. I can stop the Destroyer."
"How?" Fandral demanded. "You have no power! You'll be—"
"Trust me," Thor interrupted. "I know what I'm doing."
Jane broke from the group where Darcy and Erik had been holding her back. "Wait! Thor, what are you doing?"
No one answered her. They all understood, even if she didn't.
Thor walked toward the Destroyer with steady, measured steps. His voice carried across the ruined street, calm despite the certain death he approached.
"Brother. However I have wronged you, whatever I did to drive you to this point—I'm sorry. Truly and deeply sorry."
Asgard - Throne Room
Loki sat forward on the throne, his consciousness splitting between his physical body and the Destroyer's perspective. Thor's voice reached him clearly, carried through their mystical connection.
"But these people are innocent," Thor continued. "Sif, the Warriors Three, Jane and her friends—they've done nothing to deserve your wrath. Killing them brings you no honor, no glory. It accomplishes nothing."
Thor stopped walking, standing alone in the open street. Defenseless. Vulnerable.
"If you need to kill someone, kill me. I'm the one you're angry with. I'm the one who failed you."
His voice dropped, carrying weight that Loki felt even through the Destroyer's sensors. "End this, brother. Please."