"Well, now that we got those out of the way, let's see that Thunder God's Hammer for ourselves!" Li Yue saw that everyone fell deep into their thoughts after he finished speaking, so he couldn't help interrupting them.
"How are we going to get there?" Captain America was the first to speak. He was also very interested to see what this Thunder God's Hammer looked like.
"I'll go get the plane," Natasha said.
"No need. We'll take the 'faster route,'" Li Yue stopped Natasha, laughing.
Natasha turned around and looked at Li Yue in surprise. What kind of transport would be faster than a plane? Is it Stark's new technology?
Everyone had their eyes glued on Li Yue, curious about what he would do.
Li Yue stood up from the sofa and walked next to Natasha. Everyone watched expectantly as he drew a circle in the air with his right hand.
A few meters in front of Li Yue, a circle of sparks and light formed, its center obviously showed a different place.
"This is the 'faster route.' Let's go!"
Li Yue led the way and walked into the circle of light. Tony was the first to react; he had known that Li Yue had teleportation ability, but this portal was a first. He was deathly curious, though he maintained a calm facade as he walked towards the glowing circle, not forgetting to mock Natasha and the others.
"Are you just gonna stand there like deer in the headlight?"
Natasha, Coulson, and Captain America shook off their surprise when they heard Tony's provocation. After seeing Tony safely crossing the circle of light, they followed suit one after another.
Captain America was second to enter, with Natasha and Coulson close behind him. Right after Coulson passed through, the glowing blue portal slowly shrank until it disappeared, its last few blue sparks blown away by the wind.
They looked around, surprised to find that they were standing on a hill that overlooked some kind of construction site.
Coulson immediately recognized them. This was the encampment built by SHIELD's agents in New Mexico to secure the impact site.
"So we got to New Mexico from Tony's villa, just like that?"
Everyone gawked around in disbelief. Each of them had seen their share of incredible feats and scenes, but they still had their breath taken when they were transported thousands of kilometers away by a glowing circle in the air. If they hadn't experienced it themselves, they would never believe it was possible!
...
"Coulson, I think you should explain the situation to them," Li Yue shook Coulson out of his daze, noticing that a group of armed agents was approaching them.
"Leave it to me, Mr. Li Yue."
Li Yue's reminder returned Coulson to his senses. He quickly stepped forward to meet the agents.
"I'm Coulson. Drop the alarm!" Coulson ordered, showing his ID.
A man approached Coulson. He was dressed in black, with a bow and arrow in his hand: it was Hawkeye.
"Sir, how did you get here?"
Hawkeye was a little curious. He hadn't heard nor seen any vehicles being used. How could they come here so stealthily?
"Let's talk about this later. Take us to that hammer first," Coulson brushed the matter aside as Li Yue and the others walked towards them.
"Yessir, this way!"
The group arrived in front of the hammer, led by Hawkeye. It was surrounded by heavy fortifications.
"Is this the hammer that you can't lift?" Tony was the first to speak.
"Well, you're welcome to try!" Natasha retorted without any hesitation.
Tony wasted no time and walked straight to Mjolnir, stretching a little along the way.
"Sir? Aren't you going to stop him?" Hawkeye didn't know Tony, so he deferred to Coulson.
"No need!"
...
Tony walked right in front of Mjolnir and rubbed his hands. He placed one hand on the handle and pulled with all his might. He quickly found that he needed both hands, but even using all his strength, the hammer didn't budge from its place.
In the end, Tony failed.
"Well well well, the famed Iron Man might not be so great after all. He couldn't even lift a hammer," Natasha mocked Tony, who walked back to the group, defeated.
"Jarvis, activate Mark 7 for me. You know what, bring F-HK2 as well. Target my position," Tony ordered Jarvis through his phone, unwilling to acknowledge Natasha's mockery.
...
Captain America felt his hands itch after seeing Tony fail to lift the hammer. This was the weirdest thing he had ever seen yet, and he couldn't help but be excited to try as well.
Captain America walked right in front of the hammer. Unlike Tony, he didn't do any stretch. He instead directly grabbed the hammer, gradually increasing his strength until he used all the muscles in his body.
As Captain America slowly increased his strength, Li Yue's sixth sense noticed the electrical energy flashing from the hammer, as well as the slight change in the weather pattern in the sky.
The electric arcs became visible as the Captain used his full strength. A soft breeze blew through the area as dark clouds slowly gathered in the sky.
Nobody else really noticed; their attention focused on Captain America's form. Coulson's eyes were shining, expectant. He really hoped that Captain America could lift the hammer. Li Yue said that whoever lifted the hammer would wield the power of Thor, after all.
However, this phenomenon only lasted for a few seconds before dissipating. The electric arcs on the hammer faded, and the surrounding fell into silence.
In the end, Captain America was still unable to lift the hammer. Li Yue wasn't clear on the reason. It clearly responded to the Captain, but perhaps the current Captain America was still not qualified to lift it.
"All that thunder with nothing to show," Tony whispered to himself. He was a little jealous. Where were those abnormal phenomena when he tried?
"Mr. Li Yue, aren't you going to try?" Coulson was disappointed that Captain America failed, but he then turned to Li Yue.
Li Yue knew that he definitely couldn't lift it (don't even think about it!), but Coulson's question gave him an itch. He slowly approached Mjolnir.
Li Yue grabbed the handle with both hands and slowly pulled. His body was stronger than Captain America's: he could easily lift ten tons of stones. But despite using all his strength and planting his feet firmly on the ground, the hammer didn't react at all.
Li Yue felt a little discouraged. He already knew he wouldn't be able to lift it, but experiencing it was a different matter.
When Li Yue was about to give up, he suddenly had a flash of inspiration. He had only used his physical strength. Why not try using his superpower?
Li Yue channeled the blue space energy from his inner reservoir, visibly flowing slowly through his arms and hands.
Right as the blue energy touched Mjolnir, the hammer suddenly shot above Li Yue's head. He no longer felt any resistance from it, which almost made him fall to the ground due to the excess strength. Fortunately, his reflex was quick enough to balance himself.
As Li Yue raised the Mjolnir, dark clouds immediately filled the sky, accompanied by bursts of lightning and thunders. A bolt of lightning as thick as an arm struck the Mjolnir, flowing through Li Yue.
The sight shocked everyone in the vicinity. They took a step back, not daring to approach Li Yue. The sight of Li Yue inside the blinding light filled everyone with surprise and disbelief. Was this the power of Thor?