"Oh—sorry."
Hearing the hesitant request, Clark quickly turned around and handed Mjolnir back to Thor.
"Hey … what's wrong with you?"
Thor accepted the hammer and asked in a slightly resentful tone.
Buzz—
Mjolnir immediately began to hum, struggling violently as if trying to escape Thor's grip.
"Okay, okay! My fault, my fault! I'll stop talking, alright?"
Thor hurriedly tightened his hold on the hammer and spoke soothingly.
Only then did Mjolnir calm down.
Phew—
Thor let out a long breath, then looked at Clark and extended his hand.
"You're strong. And you've earned Mjolnir's recognition—full of manly spirit. Would you like to be friends with me, Thor?"
Clark naturally accepted and reached out.
The two clasped hands firmly.
Lucas, however, watched Thor with a thoughtful expression.
"Lucas, why did you call me here?"
At that moment, a slender figure descended from the sky while carrying a chubby man—Supergirl Kara had arrived.
She had also brought Phastos with her.
"Sis!" Clark called out.
"So you're here too, Clark," Kara replied with a smile.
"You came late," Lucas said regretfully.
"Clark just put on an incredible show. You really missed it."
"Really? I've never actually seen Clark fight. That is a shame," Kara said, blinking.
"Don't worry," Tony stepped forward.
"I had JARVIS record everything. I've already sent it to your email."
"Thank you very much," Kara said gently.
Phastos frowned in confusion.
"Lucas, why did you call me? I still have unfinished experiments."
Then he glanced at Thor.
"Huh? Aren't you Little Thor?"
"?"
Thor froze.
By Earth's reckoning, he was over fifteen hundred years old—
and someone had just called him Little Thor?
He looked more closely at Phastos, and old memories resurfaced.
"Uncle Phastos!" Thor exclaimed, stepping forward and hugging him.
"How are Uncle Gilgamesh and Uncle Kingo?" Thor laughed.
"They're doing quite well," Phastos replied.
"But you Asgardians haven't been coming to Earth much lately, have you?"
"Yes… there were some matters we had to handle," Thor answered vaguely.
"Phastos," Lucas interrupted,
lifting the deactivated Destroyer from the massive crater.
The thing weighed several tons—no surprise, considering it was forged from uru metal.
"The Destroyer?" Phastos recognized it instantly.
"You're certain it can't be activated right now?" Lucas asked.
Phastos inspected it carefully, then nodded.
"The core runic array has been disrupted by overwhelming lightning energy.
Unless that's cleared, it won't activate anytime soon."
"Good."
Lucas turned to Thor.
"Until you finish stabilizing Asgard, I'll take custody of the Destroyer. Agreed?"
Though phrased as a question, his tone left no room for negotiation.
Thor was displeased, but considering Lucas's overwhelming strength, the damage already caused, and Asgard's current crisis, he could only nod.
"Fine. Let Uncle Phastos keep it for now. I'll retrieve it once Asgard's affairs are settled."
"What happened in Asgard?" Phastos asked.
"Do you need help? I could call Sersi and the others."
"No," Thor shook his head.
"I can handle it myself."
Phastos shrugged.
"As you wish."
He knew Asgardians well—their pride ran deep.
Thor had changed, but some things never truly did.
"Thor, Heimdall hasn't responded to our calls," Lady Sif reported urgently.
"What? Impossible!" Thor frowned.
"It's true," Fandral added.
"We tried several times while you were unconscious. No response at all."
Thor's voice dropped.
"Then Heimdall is in trouble."
And if Heimdall was incapacitated, the Bifrost couldn't be activated—
they had no way back to Asgard.
"Is Asgard very far?" Clark asked.
"According to ancient Asgardian records," Hogun said,
"Asgard is roughly 3,700 light-years from Earth."
"Even at full speed, an Eternal ship would take about two weeks," Phastos sighed.
"Even the Fortress of Solitude would need at least eleven days," Kara frowned.
Thor scratched his head.
"By then, everything would already be over."
"I have a solution."
Lucas suddenly spoke.
"I can get you to Asgard at a speed comparable to the Bifrost."
"What?" Thor turned sharply.
"How?"
Everyone focused on Lucas.
"But I have a few conditions," Lucas said with a smile.
"Say them!" Thor declared boldly.
"As long as you get us back to Asgard quickly, name your price!"
"First," Lucas said,
"you take me with you."
Thor paused briefly, then nodded.
"No problem."
"Second—let Kara try lifting Mjolnir."
Thor froze.
Clark's earlier stunt still haunted him.
But after looking at Kara—and weighing the urgency—he clenched his teeth.
"Fine. She can try."
"Good."
Lucas smiled.
"Third—once Asgard's crisis is resolved, you will persuade your father to give me one item from the royal vault."
"As compensation for our help."
Thor looked puzzled.
"You don't strike me as a greedy man."
"That's why I'm asking you to persuade, not decide," Lucas replied calmly.
Thor beat his chest.
"Deal!"
After Clark explained Mjolnir's nature, Kara still looked confused.
"Why do you want me to try lifting it?"
Lucas grinned.
"Let's just say… I want to settle a personal curiosity."