BOOM—!
A repulsor blast detonated straight toward Thor's face.
Several Iron Legion drones closed in from all sides.
Thor swung Mjolnir in a wide arc, deflecting the blast as sparks and lightning exploded outward.
"Tony! Wake up!" Thor roared. "You're attacking your allies!"
"I'm perfectly awake," Tony Stark replied coldly.
He spun in midair. Missile pods slid open on his shoulders, six Sidewinders streaking out in burning arcs toward Thor.
"Lorelei is perfection. She deserves everything I can give."
"You're insane… you're completely insane!"
Thor hurled Mjolnir skyward. Lightning webbed through the air, detonating the missiles before they could reach him.
The smoke hadn't even cleared—
WHOOOSH—!
A specially forged alloy arrow burst through the haze, aimed straight for Thor's throat.
Thor snapped his head aside. The arrow skimmed his cheek and buried itself in the wall, its shaft still vibrating.
In the shadows, Clint Barton stood with his bow fully drawn, eyes cold and focused.
"For my Queen," Barton said flatly, "my arrows are sharper than ever."
Thwip! Thwip! Thwip!
Three armor-piercing arrows fired in rapid succession.
One struck Thor's head.
One hit his left chest.
One slammed into his abdomen.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
All three bounced off harmlessly.
"Barton! She's controlling you!" Thor shouted. "Just like Loki did before!"
"I'm very clear-headed, Thor," Barton replied, fervor burning in his eyes. "I've never been more certain about who I love."
He followed up with high-voltage shock arrows. Electricity crackled across Thor's body, forcing a grunt from the god.
A dozen Iron Legion units seized the opening, dogpiling onto Thor, pinning him under sheer mechanical mass.
"Then I'll wake you with thunder!"
Thor roared. Divine power surged.
A colossal lightning column crashed down from the sky, punching straight through the tower's ceiling and blasting every Iron Legion unit off him in a storm of fire and wreckage.
Thor rose amid the lightning, a living war god.
He smashed Tony aside with one swing, then sent a bolt arcing into Barton as the archer tried to reposition.
Outnumbered—but unstoppable.
…
Bruce Banner had not joined the fight.
He remained at his station, hands flying across controls, making final adjustments to Ultron X.
Glass shattered around him. Thunder shook the room.
He didn't even look up.
In his world, only the Queen's command existed.
"Just one more step…" Banner muttered. "Energy coupling…"
"Damn it!"
Lorelei watched Thor tear through her defenses, her expression darkening.
Useless idiots. How could they fail to stop him?
Thor broke through the last line and strode toward her.
"Lorelei! This ends now!"
She rose sharply, unleashing her full power.
An invisible wave of enchantment slammed into Thor's mind.
"Kneel. Love me."
Thor froze.
That familiar pull returned—the desire to surrender everything just to earn her smile.
But then—
Mjolnir flared with blinding lightning.
"Ahh—!"
Pain snapped Thor fully awake.
"Useless, witch!"
Thor lifted the hammer proudly.
"As long as Mjolnir is in my hand—your magic means nothing!"
"Does it?" Lorelei snarled.
"My Queen! It's ready!"
Banner slammed the final switch.
"The device is online!"
Lorelei's eyes lit up—
But Thor was already charging, hammer raised to shut her down for good.
"Protect the Queen!"
Banner saw Thor closing in.
No hesitation.
"RAAAAH—!!"
The scholar vanished.
Green skin tore through fabric. Muscles swelled like living stone.
The Hulk emerged.
CLANG!
Hulk took Mjolnir's blow straight to the chest. The impact rocked him—but he held.
"Well done, my beast!" Lorelei laughed, stepping forward to stroke Hulk like a pet.
"You are my strongest warrior…"
Hulk turned his head.
Bloodshot eyes locked onto her.
"Don't… touch… Hulk."
Then—
SMACK!!
One massive backhand.
Lorelei was launched across the room, smashing into the wall hard enough to collapse half of it.
Silence.
Tony stared.
Barton froze.
Even Thor blinked.
"You…" Tony's faceplate snapped open in disbelief. "You hit the Queen?"
"You dared strike the Queen?!"
Barton screamed.
"Kill him!!"
Tony and Barton opened fire on Hulk simultaneously.
Explosions engulfed him.
Hulk roared louder, ripping an Iron Legion unit from the floor and hurling it back like a club.
Total chaos erupted.
Thor's mind raced.
Hulk hit Lorelei.
That made Hulk an ally.
"Well done, Banner!" Thor laughed, charging in. "Let's take them down together!"
He reached out to clap Hulk's arm—
Hulk grabbed Thor's red cape instead.
"Wait—Hulk? What are you—"
WHAM! BAM! WHAM!
Hulk smashed Thor into the floor again and again.
One crater.
Two.
Three.
The ground shattered beneath them.
Thor groaned as Mjolnir slipped from his grip, skidding several meters away.
Hulk tossed Thor aside and turned back to Iron Man.
Thor groaned, raising his hand.
"Come… Mjolnir…"
The hammer vibrated, lifting into the air.
Then—
"Look at me… son of Odin…"
Lorelei staggered upright, blood on her lips, hair disheveled—tragic, fragile, heartbreakingly beautiful.
She poured every last ounce of enchantment into Thor.
"No…"
Thor's eyes glazed.
He saw tears in her eyes. Pain. Injustice.
How could he hurt her?
She pointed at the incoming hammer, voice trembling.
"That hammer… it wants to hurt me."
"Make it go away."
"Yes… my love."
Thor pulled his hand back and roared at the hammer:
"Get away!!"
Rejection.
Mjolnir jerked in midair, lost its bond, and—carried by momentum—whistled past Thor's head.
CRASH!
It smashed through another window and vanished into the streets of Manhattan below.
Thor rose slowly, unarmed.
He turned toward Hulk—eyes burning with hatred.
"No one… hurts her."
With a feral roar, the God of Thunder charged bare-handed back into the melee.
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T/N:
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