"Damn it, what did you say?!"
"I said you're fired, get the hell out! Understand?"
The boss of the repair shop flung a few dollar bills into Thor's face, saying, "Sod off! Texan, this should be enough for you to find another dump to live!"
Thor could endure it no longer, he took a step forward, but the boss of the repair shop directly picked up a gun from the side. The dark muzzle pointed to Thor, saying, "Stop making trouble for yourself! You damned fool, don't think waving your fists will have any effect, you know what this is?"
Of course, Thor had seen human firearms before, he had seen agents in training when he had visited S.H.I.E.L.D., he knew how much damage these weapons could cause to ordinary people, and now he was no different from ordinary people, if he got shot, he would certainly end up in the hospital.
He stared hard at the boss of the repair shop, and in the moment the boss was about to start taunting again, he caught the opportunity when the boss tilted his head back, Thor kicked his wrist, followed by another kick to his stomach. A punch took down the boss, and then he wrestled him onto the ground, knelt down and started punching him on the neck.
The employees of the repair shop hearing the commotion came out shouting: "No! Thor! Stop..."
Several employees pulled back the angry Thor, among them an old man with a hunched back, saying: "Thor! For my sake, don't do this!"
"This damn bastard killed Benjamin! He also fired Lauren and John! He didn't even pay them!" Thor roared in anger.
The old man pressed onto Thor's shoulder saying, "Listen, Thor, I know you mean well, I know you desperately wanted to save Benjamin, but this is how the world works, we're like this..."
He turned around pointing to the knocked-out boss of the repair shop, saying, "He has money; he can hire lawyers, and even bribe the police. Once he calls the cops, you're done for, you understand?"
"Old White!"
"Quick, leave, Thor." Old White sighed and said, "We all know he's a bastard, a downright vampire, arbitrarily belittling our wages, assigning the tough night shifts to those he doesn't like, even threatening us with a gun…"
Thor looked at Old White; Old White had taken care of him since he joined the repair shop. The many technical issues that Thor didn't understand, Old White would always explain detailedly. Thor knew Old White was a good man.
But now, the wrinkles on this old man's face, appeared like cracked ground, the coarse lines of faded skin revealed his age, under the curly eyebrows, those pair of eyes were staring right at Thor, Thor could see the plea in his eyes.
"If there's trouble here and the repair shop has to close down, then we'll have nowhere to go, he issues our wages once a week, but if we don't work for three days in a week, he will not give us a penny."
"My grandson is still in school, he needs living expenses; my son and his wife don't earn that much money, Thor…"
"You're still young, and very strong, your body is in great shape, you can always find a physically demanding job, but we can't."
Old White turned around, surveying everyone around the room, and Thor looked at his colleagues with him. Most of them are not strong enough, some are skinny, long-term night and day inversion, irregular diet, had destroyed their health and changed their complexion.
"The people left here have nowhere else to go, Thor." The old man took out a few dollars from his faded work uniform and said, "I know he didn't pay you enough, I only have so much left too, take this money, go find a new job, don't make a commotion here, I beg of you."
Thor looked at him, silent for a while, then he walked over to the boss whom he had knocked out. The eyes of his colleagues watching him were somewhat afraid, as if fearing that he would suddenly act out.
They were squatting around the boss, somewhat timid, not daring to meet Thor's gaze, Thor knew in his heart, they too understood that they should not be defending this boss, but they had no other choice.
Thor didn't care for the boss on the ground anymore, he stepped over and moved to the place where the conflict had first taken place. He squatted down, picked up the few dollars thrown out by the boss, then he went back, handed the money to Old White and said, "You're right, I'm still young, I can find a new job, also I still have..."
Thor paused, saying, "… my brother can take care of me for a while, I can refrain from paying rent temporarily, you take this money, consider it my gratitude for you teaching me over this period."
The old man's outstretched fingers were both thin and rough, like branches of a tree that had lost all its leaves, his fingertips were trembling, not knowing whether it was due to being moved or simply due to aging,
He took the money, his voice choking a bit as he spoke, "I didn't want to do this… I really wanted to tell the cops that it was this bastard who killed Benjamin, he knew fully well that Benjamin had a poor heart, he knew that he was so exhausted from the continuous night shifts that he could hardly speak, yet he deliberately assigned him night shifts, had him doing the heaviest work, and we all know who did this…"
"But we can't speak out, or you could say, there's no use in speaking out, apart from losing these jobs, nothing will come of it…" The old man's voice was very sad, even a bit hopeless.
"Benjamin has a three-year-old daughter, she's adorable, I don't know how to face them…"
"But that's who people are here, we're all scoundrels, accomplices, Thor ..."
"If you can't leave here, you'll become like this too. Thank you, now go."
When Thor stepped out of the garage, the sunshine hit his face directly, making it nearly impossible for him to open his eyes. Under the intense midday sun, all the buildings had been coated with a dazzling halo. He shielded his eyes with his hand, taking in the street.
This place could hardly be considered a slum. In fact, it could even be described as prosperous. On this side of the street were several repair shops, leading up to a warehouse at the end. Opposite were several parked trucks, and on the far east side, a fire department.
Having worked here for a while, Thor knew that once the sunlight weakened towards dusk, the place would come alive. Everyone would cheerfully head to the diner for food - the drivers, the mechanics, the firefighters, all in small groups, gathering at the BBQ stand, chatting and boasting.
Thor also knew that this place was far better than Hell's Kitchen. Old White's son and daughter-in-law, despite not earning much, could just about fend for themselves, and their grandson, studying at Midtown High School, was promising.
Benjamin, who had died suddenly before, had a house, a wife, and a daughter. Most of the other employees at the garage also had their families. Although many were saddled with heavy loans, at least they had shelter.
As Thor strolled and brooded, he found himself back on the edge of Hell's Kitchen. Its streets were far less prosperous than where he worked, even somewhat shabby. He thought to himself, this is hardly the worst of it, just a bit further in, and he would be in the real hell on earth.
Thor wasn't sure how to describe his feelings. He had always thought he'd be on the side of righteousness forever. Yet seeing his colleagues, he could not blame them for not standing up to the garage owner. He could not ask more from them anymore; these were people already struggling just to live.
Suddenly, Thor began to ponder the sort of problems he had never thought of before. Some issues that flummox the majority of people in this world, such as, getting enough to eat, finding a place to live, affording to run a household.
Why would Thor ever have thought about these things in the past? Brave warriors hunted for him--roasted meat was always served before him, with fresh fruits in the basket and the purest spring water brought forth. He was the first to enjoy all of these because he was the future owner of Asgard.
Attendants in the Fairy Palace dressed him, the Butler placed a helmet on his head, the grand and spacious corridors of the Fairy Palace, which he had seen countless times and even grown weary of. Even the gems on the throne of the Father of All Gods he had looked upon with disdain.
Now, under the scorching sun, Thor looked down at his body. His chest and back were soaked with sweat, his legs were a bit sore. Having stayed up all night, he was a bit exhausted, sweat dripped down his forehead, sticking to his eyelashes. When it got into his eyes, it forced him to squint uncomfortably.
He didn't have any money, he couldn't even afford a packet of tissues. He glanced over at the nearby supermarket, which was cool and breezy inside. But when Thor looked down at his pants, stained with gasoline, he hesitated and chose not to go in.
He knew what would happen if he walked in. The shopkeepers would look at him with disdain, wishing he'd just hurry up and buy something and go. And if he couldn't pull out any money at that point, they would threaten to call the police.
Thor had never thought that being a person would be harder than being a god.
He had always believed that as the future owner of Asgard, he carried a great responsibility. He had to safeguard the Nine Major Kingdoms. There may be more enemies waiting for him to defeat in the future, there may be grander and more spectacular journeys waiting for him to embark on.
All the hardships he imagined were based on these circumstances, not standing on the roadside on a hot day, feeling embarrassed because he didn't have enough money to buy a pack of tissues.
He thought the matter that might generate anxiety and fear would be concerning the future direction of Asgard, not how to explain to Loki why he can't afford next season's rent when he gets home.
This led Thor to start pondering—were the merits and achievements he obtained in Asgard really due to his strength and righteousness?
Then why couldn't he deal with a vile garage owner now? Although he didn't have divine power or weapons and was just an ordinary human now, the garage owner was even weaker than him, yet Thor was still helpless against him.
What could he do? Call the police? But they wouldn't listen to him. Use his privilege, call SHIELD to have them arrest the garage boss? But what about the remaining employees? After the garage shuts down, where would they go to earn money to support their families?
The heat from the sun made Thor's head slightly muzzy. He had to retreat to the nearest shade and lean against a wall.
His back and knees were hurting. He wondered, why was his forward courage failing him? Why, when he sympathized with and pitied these people as a god, he could do nothing more than give them a few dollars?
For the first time, Thor questioned, if he becomes so useless without divine power and weapons, is he truly Thor, or is it his divine power and weapons that are?
Were the honor and achievements he was proud of, achieved by him or by his divine power and weapons?
If it was the former, then why couldn't he do anything after losing his divine power and weapons?