Thor couldn't shake the feeling that he was trapped in a nightmare.
Just yesterday, he had still been the noble Prince of Asgard, even on the verge of being crowned the next king.
He should have been basking in the respect of ten thousand, receiving their devotion and their cheers.
He should have been lifted toward the throne by countless raised arms, crowned with garlands woven by the fairest maidens at the feast of his ascension, drinking the wine brought by every warrior who came to congratulate him, watching them bow their heads before him and swear their loyalty.
That was how it should have been.
Because he was born an Asgardian prince, born a god destined to become King of the Nine Realms!
But now, everything had turned to nothing.
He had been exiled by Odin, the All-Father. He had lost the throne, lost his divine power, and even lost his beloved Mjolnir!
Losing his power was one thing. What truly infuriated him was that on this backwater planet, not a single person had even heard of his great name.
These mortals showed him no respect at all. They wouldn't even call him "Thor, God of Thunder"!
"The gods are unjust," he thought.
How many victories had he won for Asgard over the years? How many glorious battles had he fought?
Yet now the King of Gods had cast him out, just because he had chosen to wage war on the Frost Giants.
In Thor's eyes, his father had truly grown old.
The ruler who once commanded the Nine Realms and conquered across the cosmos was gone. In his place stood a timid old man.
Cowardly and afraid, even allowing the Frost Giants to disrupt the coronation ceremony without daring to strike back, letting Asgard become the laughingstock of the Nine Realms!
Thor refused to accept it.
He wanted to return to Asgard and demand an explanation from the All-Father. He would make Odin understand that Odin was wrong!
Then he would raise an army and invade Jotunheim, wiping out every Frost Giant and restoring Asgard's glory!
But first, he needed to reclaim his hammer.
Thor kept walking through the wilderness.
Before long, the blazing sun overhead made him unbearably thirsty.
After losing his divine power, he was barely any different from an ordinary man. He felt thirst and hunger, couldn't resist harsh weather, and if he stayed under the scorching sun too long, he could even suffer heatstroke and pass out.
Fortunately, this kind of life wouldn't last long.
Not long ago, he'd learned Mjolnir's location from a small town. Those ignorant Midgardians had mistaken it for a fallen satellite and even dared to covet Mjolnir's power.
But Thor wasn't angry.
Because he knew that aside from him, no one could lift Mjolnir!
Meanwhile.
Steve and Coulson arrived at the site where Thor's hammer had fallen.
After passing the simple protective fence made of temporary supports, Steve finally saw the extraterrestrial fallen object.
"So it really is a hammer," he said, finding it absurd.
In front of him lay a finely made short hammer. The square head was embedded in the soil, and it did look heavy.
But…
Steve swept his gaze around and looked at the size of the crater.
"If it's really so heavy that nothing can lift it, shouldn't it have made a crater way bigger than this?"
"That's what confuses us too," Coulson said mildly.
Around the hammer, several pieces of precision equipment had been set up.
Steve stepped closer and studied it carefully. The handle was short, and there was a leather strap at the end.
But if that strap were made from the hide of some creature, it should've been burned away during atmospheric entry.
Now Steve couldn't help wondering what kind of person would fight with such a small hammer.
The instant he saw it, he'd already started thinking about how to use a weapon like this effectively in combat.
"Our instruments have confirmed it doesn't emit any radiation harmful to humans," Coulson said. Seeing Steve's interest, he encouraged him. "Give it a try, Captain."
Steve nodded.
He still had some confidence in his strength, and he did want to see whether this hammer was really as unbelievable as people claimed.
He reached out and grabbed the end of the hammer.
The next instant!
Bzzzt!
A sharp electrical sound rang out.
Coulson pressed a hand to his earpiece. "What's happening?"
"We've got an intruder!" Brock's shout came through the comm.
Coulson turned his head toward Steve. At this moment, Steve had already let go of the hammer. With one smooth motion, he pulled the shield off his back and strapped it onto his forearm.
Steve was about to ask which direction the intruder was coming from, when the door to the temporary base was smashed open.
A blond, muscular man charged in, swinging his arms wildly.
He was even bigger than Steve. When he barreled forward, he looked like a bear.
"Mjolnir!"
Thor spotted the hammer on the ground at once. His face lit up with pure joy, as if he'd seen his lover, and he lunged toward it.
In that moment, he could already see the future. Reclaiming his power. Marching on Jotunheim. Being welcomed back by Asgard's people and crowned king once again.
"Stop!" Steve stepped between Thor and the hammer.
He stared at the strange man who had suddenly appeared. The guy wasn't even wearing a shirt, and his muscles looked like they'd been carved from stone.
Only then did Thor finally notice there were other people here.
"Move," he snapped, flicking a glance at Steve. Disdain and anger bled through his eyes. "Do you even know who stands before you?"
In Thor's view, all of Midgard was Asgard's territory, and all Midgardians were, by rights, Asgard's subjects.
And he, as an Asgardian prince, deserved courtesy and respect from everyone.
"I don't care who you are," Steve said, moving Coulson behind him while taking a fighting stance. "But I suggest you don't do anything stupid."
That ignited Thor's fury.
This hateful Midgardian. Not only did he refuse to bow, he even dared to fight back?
"Very well, Midgardian!" Thor roared. "You have angered Asgard's prince, Thor Odinson!"
He looked Steve over. "You seem like a warrior too. Different from the ones I knocked down just now."
"But standing before you is Asgard's bravest warrior!"
"Feel the wrath of the God of Thunder!"
With that, Thor lunged at Steve.
Even without divine power, his warlike nature hadn't changed, and his mastery of combat hadn't disappeared.
He swung a heavy punch at Steve.
Smack!
The world spun.
Thor collapsed onto the ground, dizzy and seeing stars. His eyes went blank as he stared up at the base's ceiling, and for a moment he honestly couldn't tell if he was still dreaming.
"Hah…" Steve let out a breath. His gaze shifted between the shield on his arm and Thor on the floor, and he said, genuinely surprised:
"Such a weak god."
Author's note: Severe writer's block. Even though this is Thor 1's plot, I still want to write something a little different. Exhausted.
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