As Heisenberg finished speaking, Hill and Natasha exchanged a glance, both pressing their lips together helplessly.
"Alright, Boss, we never planned on relying on the President's cabinet for anything. Honestly, their only purpose is to fund us..."
Hill said this as she walked over to a nearby seat and sat down alongside Heisenberg.
Once everyone had settled in, only Matthew remained standing, his sightless eyes fixed on Heisenberg.
"Boss, so how should I respond to them?"
"Respond?"
Heisenberg shook his head dismissively.
"Why would you respond? Just pretend the call never happened. I have other plans for this war!"
He gestured toward Matthew.
"With or without their permission, New York is already mine. Do I need those politicians to approve of me owning my own things? If they disagree, they're free to take New York back... if they can! By the way, Matthew, your mayoral campaign. Lock it in before news of the aliens breaks. Right now, Asgard might not be able to hold back the Chitauri fleet. This war will eventually reach Earth. When that happens, chaos will make everything far more complicated. But in my plans, no matter where the war spreads, I need a peaceful, stable New York to serve as a showcase for the rest of humanity. So..."
"So I will be the mayor of New York by tomorrow, Boss," Matthew said, frowning. Even as he spoke, he turned toward the window, as if his blind eyes could already see the war unfolding in the heavens above.
"But I have to ask, Boss. Do you actually want the Chitauri to reach Earth? Is it because you want to see Asgard fail, or do you want to see humans suffer?"
"Haha! Matthew, your kindness has always stood out to me!"
Heisenberg laughed as he walked over and patted Matthew on the shoulder.
"Asgard's defeat and human casualties are not my goal. I only want humanity to truly feel the danger and the allure of the cosmos! Maybe you think that because I have the power but choose not to stop the aliens beyond Earth, it means I lack mercy. But think carefully. Do you really want humanity to rely on me to survive every crisis? Don't let my existence rob Earth's people of the chance to face danger and feel it for themselves. Don't let my existence strip them of the spirit to fight against death, to grow stronger and overcome powerful enemies. I do have the ability to stop them outside Earth's atmosphere, but to be honest, that is neither my responsibility nor my obligation. Of course, that doesn't mean I won't intervene. When the critical moment comes, I will end this war at the scale I want. That scale will bring damage, and some humans will die. But you, Hill, Natasha, all of you need to understand one thing! Without me, you would have to face it all alone! And the fact that I can reduce Earth's and humanity's losses through my plan is already a blessing for this planet!"
As he spoke, Heisenberg tapped his fingers on the armrest of the sofa. Immediately, the Ancient One projected a view of the starry battlefield for everyone present. Heisenberg spoke softly as the projection appeared.
"In the last five thousand years, Asgard has rarely lost a war, especially one on this scale. But this time, they will inevitably be powerless. The reason isn't that they've grown weak, nor that they've just suffered internal strife and an invasion by the Frost Giants. It's that their enemy is themselves!"
Heisenberg pointed toward the Chitauri flagship and said softly, "Loki might be a weak god, but we have to admit one thing: when it comes to dealing with Asgard, Loki is truly formidable! At this moment, Asgard is encircling the Chitauri fleet, but against Loki's cunning, that situation won't last long."
...
Meanwhile, high above in the heavens.
The legion commanders stood in the flagship alongside Odin, watching the seemingly endless expanse of Chitauri leviathans and biological fighter craft in the distance.
At that very moment, a burst of rainbow light flashed inside the flagship. As the radiance of the Bifrost faded, Thor landed right next to Odin.
Except...
"What the hell is this?!"
As soon as Thor landed, he reeked of alcohol. The overwhelming stench made every other commander pull a horrified face.
Odin, for his part, felt nothing but the urge to string his son up and beat him senseless. He had always known just how unreliable Thor could be, but every time he thought he'd seen the worst of it, Thor would find a way to sink even lower.
So Odin raised Gungnir and brought it down hard. A bolt of crackling lightning shot from its tip and slammed straight into Thor.
"Aaarghhh!"
Before Thor could even ask what was happening, the lightning jolted his mind clear.
As the electricity faded, Thor panted and grumbled irritably.
"Dad, seriously, was that really necessary? I know what I'm doing! Let me see... aha, someone's invading the Nine Realms! How exciting! Wait, Thanos's Chitauri army? That bastard had a non-aggression pact with us. Why is he marching on Earth? Could it be Loki? Fuck, it has to be that asshole. Bring me some wine, Dad. Just wait. After I finish this flagon, I'll go drag that bastard right in front of you..."
Bang!
Thor was struck dumb yet again by Gungnir.
"Take every war seriously, Thor!" Odin snapped sternly. But to a drunken Thor, the words might as well have been a gentle breeze.
"Of course I'll take it seriously, as long as you stop blasting me with lightning in front of my friends! Fine, just hold my drink for now. I'll finish off the enemy fleet and come back for it!"
With those words, the tipsy Thor stretched out his right hand. In an instant, a series of clanging noises echoed through Odin's flagship.
Moments later, Mjolnir flew into Thor's grasp. And the ship's repair crew immediately started patching the hull again. They were completely used to this by now. It wasn't the first time Thor had left his hammer outside the ship, and it certainly wasn't the first time the hammer had punched a hole straight through the vessel.
But this time was different. This time, as soon as the hammer touched his hand, Thor didn't immediately charge out to fight. Instead, our mighty God of Thunder's eyes flew wide open.
Countless images flashed through Thor's mind. Was this his Mjolnir? No... this was the Mjolnir of countless others! How many people had wielded his hammer? Was he still the only one worthy? And most importantly, that handprint on it...
"No!!!"
Alcohol clouded his mind. Thor crashed to his knees, clutching his hammer and wailing in pure agony.
The sight completely horrified the nearby commanders. Fandral, the Warriors Three, and Sif all rushed to Thor's side, lifting him up and demanding to know what was wrong. Thor, babbling incoherently, poured out his pain. As he spoke, he kept shoving the hammer into their hands. "Take it! Go on, try it! You'll definitely be able to lift it too! There are too many worthy ones! Way too many!"
Watching Thor utterly devoid of any fighting spirit, Odin nearly ground his teeth to dust. He slammed Gungnir against the deck and roared at the other commanders.
"Drag this damned fool outside the ship! Let him sober up in the void of space! And then, have our vanguard begin the attack!"
With that order, Thor quickly became the most conspicuous banner dangling from the Asgardian flagship.
At that exact moment on the Chitauri flagship, Loki was staring dumbfounded at the tactical projection. When he saw Thor hung from the Asgardian vessel, he froze for a solid five seconds. It was only when Supergiant spoke up beside him that he snapped out of it.
"Loki, focus on the plan. You need to depart now."
"Okay, okay, I'm going. I'm just so damn excited! What the hell happened to that bastard after I left? Hahaha!"
Loki laughed as he moved toward the fifteen leviathan landing ships. The Tesseract in his hand began to glow with a soft blue light. Before the light whisked him away, he gave Supergiant one last piece of advice.
"With the Chitauri alone, we have no chance of defeating my father beyond Earth's atmosphere. So after I leave, don't make battle your objective. Do everything you can to reach that planet which will become Odin's weakness! Odin now fancies himself a benevolent king. Once you head for Earth, his care for mortal lives will weaken him by at least a third. Defeating the enemy who once thwarted your master, isn't that the honor you desire most? So do exactly as I said. Abandon those damn Chitauri fighters. Hold the Asgardian fleet back, and let the decisive battle happen on Earth! Meanwhile, I'll sow enough chaos on Asgard itself to force Odin to split his forces, paving the way for your breakthrough, your landing, and our final victory. We will win, Supergiant!"
The moment he finished speaking, Loki vanished. The fifteen leviathans and the Chitauri soldiers aboard them waited silently for his coming summons.
As for Supergiant, after Loki departed, the blue-skinned woman clad in form-fitting white battle armor and a pure white cape let out a quiet, cold laugh.
"What you're planning isn't nearly as simple as you made it sound, Loki!"
She muttered to herself with a sneer.
"No matter how merciful Odin has become, he would never weaken his own power output out of concern for Midgardian lives. So, Loki, you simply want our forces to set foot on that planet. What's your real goal? Is it just because the Mind Stone is there? No, that's not your only reason. You have your own little scheme! But I like your plan. Bringing suffering to life, that's my absolute favorite thing. Especially making the planet that once thwarted Lord Thanos feel pain. Heh, I truly love that feeling!"
As she spoke, she linked her mind with the Chitauri control core. With her exquisite telepathic abilities, the Chitauri escort and fighter fleets immediately crashed headlong into the Asgardian fleet.
Brilliant beams of energy flashed without pause. Countless lives quietly faded away in the sea of stars.
But neither side cared. Not Asgard, not the Chitauri.
/-\
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