Thor collapsed on the ground and fell unconscious, not awakening even as night fell. In the darkness, several pairs of eyes set their sights on him. After a detailed observation, someone could not resist approaching where Thor lay.
These were a few ragged-looking fellows, their eyes gleaming with greed as they approached Thor, who remained unconscious.
"Is he dead?" one person kicked Thor, but seeing no response, his eyes lit up with joy, "What do you think? Should we sell his body? Could fetch a good sum..."
"No, this guy isn't dead!" However, someone soon noticed Thor's irregularity—not that Thor had awakened, but because they felt his breathing. After observing further, they heard the beat of Thor's heart.
"He's not dead? Then we must act fast, his clothes are worth a lot. Let's strip him and take him to the black market. He looks fit, just selling his organs could be worth a lot..." Upon hearing Thor was still alive, the people around him did not fear but grew even more excited and greedy, quickly deciding to make a profit off this mysterious man!
In just a moment, Thor's clothes were stripped off, and his bare body was taken to the black market, where he was sold to a shady middleman at a price satisfactory to everyone but Thor.
"What a great physique, such a body should not just be used for organ harvesting, it's too wasteful..." Once the people who sold Thor had left, the middleman looked at Thor's naked body, stroking his chin in thought.
Although he didn't know the true quality of Thor's body, the middleman already had several selling methods in mind. Selling Thor's organs would indeed make him a lot of money, but if there was a chance to earn even more, why would he pass it up?
"Hmm..." As the middleman was pondering, Thor finally woke up. Honestly, if it weren't for the situation with Robert studying the rapid power of Mjölnir, King Odin would not have thrown Thor out of the Bifrost so soon, causing Thor to land quite harshly.
After all, this Thor was no longer the God of Thunder; all his divine powers had been stripped by King Odin, including the basic physical qualities of an Asgardian. In his current state, Thor was at best a robust Earthling, who would definitely lose against a super-soldier. King Odin was indeed very strict in this aspect!
"You're awake?" Seeing Thor regain consciousness, the middleman showed no sign of panic; instead, he greeted Thor with a smile.
"Who... who are you?" Hearing the middleman's amiable tone and demeanor, Thor was immediately confused. He doubted if he knew this middleman, but that couldn't be, he had no recollection of this face!
"Forgot me? I'm your friend Harvey!" Harvey's eyes brightened as he spoke, which only confused Thor further.
"So, where is this? Alfheim or Nornheim?" Thor looked around, then down at his naked body, frowning slightly as he hesitantly asked Harvey, "Where are my clothes?"
"Uh..." Hearing Thor's question, Harvey finally showed a change in expression, sizing Thor up as he seemed to think Thor might have a problem with his brain, as he couldn't understand a word he was saying.
"What's wrong? What place is this?" Thor, seeing Harvey just staring at him, flashed a look of confusion and asked again.
"Oh, it's nothing. You must still be disoriented. Just sleep a bit more, you'll feel better after some rest..." Harvey regained his composure and gently reassured Thor.
"Not disoriented. I'm very clear!" Even though Thor was still somewhat sluggish, he now sensed something was wrong, especially when he saw a few coldly smiling men approaching him, and immediately became alert.
Even though Thor had lost all his supernatural powers, being a warrior for over a thousand years, he was still quite aware of malice.
"Get back!" Without any hesitation, Thor struck first, but as he swung his fist, he finally realized his current physical weakness, which momentarily plunged him into confusion.
"Trying to fight back?!" The nearby strongmen quickly grabbed Thor, pinning him down and jabbing a tranquilizer needle towards his neck.
"Boom!" Just in the nick of time, Thor's robust body still served its purpose. The strongmen couldn't completely restrain him, and as Thor struggled, he broke free and kicked the man holding the tranquilizer, sending him flying back!
"Yo, not bad! My men are all trained, and yet so many can't handle you. Looks like you're more valuable than I thought!" Harvey, seeing Thor's performance, was not only unfazed but even more excited. He looked at Thor eagerly and exclaimed, "We've struck gold this time!"
Hearing Harvey's words, Thor punched another charging strong
man to the ground, aiming to grab Harvey first, but more strongmen rushed towards him, eventually overpowering him and pinning him to the ground.
It must be said, despite being a warrior for thousands of years, Thor's combat skills weren't top-notch because, with the body of a god and Mjölnir, his fighting style was simply to throw the hammer and charge forward, lacking any finesse.
Otherwise, even now, with the strength Thor had lost, it wouldn't have been difficult to defeat the surrounding strongmen. Not to mention if Robert had such physical strength, or even Batman, Steve, or any of the Joker's men, they could have left this place unharmed!
"Who are you exactly? What place is this?!" Thor, pinned to the ground, angrily demanded answers from Harvey, "Do you realize what you're doing? I am Thor, son of Odin, and you are provoking a god!"
"Son of Odin? I might as well be the son of God, Jesus!" Harvey scoffed, looking at Thor dismissively, "But it seems you really are not too bright, which is great. Maybe you were abandoned by your family because of it?"
As a black market middleman, Harvey had committed countless heartless acts. Expecting him to respect or worship a deity was out of the question.
Moreover, to the ordinary human, Thor seemed like a delusional madman, whose only value was his decent physical condition...
"Pfft!" As Harvey spoke, a strongman jabbed a tranquilizer needle into Thor's neck. In an instant, Thor lost control over his body, his consciousness becoming hazy. However, compared to being stunned by lightning as the God of Thunder, being sedated was somewhat more tolerable...
"Heh, myths? Just tricks to fool people. Not to mention Odin, even if Jehovah himself appeared, how many bullets could he withstand? If he really is the so-called Thor, then he might be worth even more!" Harvey sneered, looking at the unconscious Thor, his eyes flickering with thoughts.
"But, this guy's physique is really perfect, stronger than I expected, and with his dimwittedness, he's indeed perfect merchandise!"
"Boss, I gotta say, even I'm tempted by his physique. I really want to try him out!" Some of the strongmen, moved by Thor's condition, remarked. They had exerted considerable effort, and several well-trained strongmen had almost failed to capture Thor, a testament to his strength, "Wonder how much he could fetch..."
"Cut it out in this barber shop! Go contact those who like to find test subjects. Describe how hard it was to capture this brainwashed soldier code-named Thor. Tell them his strength is no less than that of a super-soldier!" Harvey waved his hand, directing his men, "If they can't offer us a satisfactory price, then we'll just have to find another buyer..."
"Yes, boss!" One of the strongmen responded and went to make the call. Soon after, the parties negotiated a deal, and the unconscious, uncompromised Thor was moved out. As for his ultimate destination, that remained unknown.
"..." In the grand hall of Asgard, seeing Thor being moved, King Odin once again fell into silence. He had anticipated Thor's performance would be poor without his powers, but he hadn't expected it to be this bad.
"Superman, Thor is now in your... direction. If possible, I hope you can take care of him a bit..." After a moment, King Odin contacted Clark again. He didn't directly say Clark's name, respecting his title instead.
"Hmm?" Clark, hearing King Odin's words, looked towards Thor's location and then fell silent for a moment, unsure of what to say. Was this really the next king of Asgard? This naked man?
"You saw that. He has lost his powers and is no different from an ordinary Earthling..." King Odin's voice carried a hint of embarrassment, but he continued, "Thor is now on Earth and will need some care from you and the Ancient One."
King Odin had the means to restore Thor's powers, but that would render this ordeal meaningless. Only by facing real danger could Thor truly change.
And King Odin would ensure Thor's survival, but how Thor managed crises and received help from Clark and others was up to him; King Odin would not restore his powers just to assist him.
"Don't worry, I'll keep an eye on him..." Clark nodded after a pause, deciding to wait and see, despite feeling that Odin's method of training seemed problematic.
"Thank you!" King Odin sincerely thanked him. "If needed, I could forge a new Mjölnir for you, though it won't carry the same symbolic weight as the Asgardian God of Thunder's hammer..."
"A new hammer?" Clark was momentarily surprised, looking towards Robert, who was still studying Mjölnir. The unique
weight of the hammer might help Robert, but its other qualities were of little use.
Robert didn't usually use weapons, and neither did Clark or Kara; they all preferred using their fists. The only one who might need Mjölnir was Peter Parker, but Clark wasn't well-acquainted with him, so he didn't immediately accept.
"Let's talk about the hammer after Thor has successfully completed his trial!" Clark finally responded to King Odin, suggesting that if he could help Thor succeed, then accepting a new hammer as a reward wouldn't be too much.
"Good, when you and Thor come to Asgard, I'll tell you more about this matter..." King Odin detected Clark's intent and appreciated his orderly and kind demeanor as Earth's guardian.
"I always feel his method of training might be less effective than letting Robert help train him..." After ending the conversation with King Odin, Clark looked at the still-unconscious Thor, pondering a thought.
Clark hadn't seen Thor's earlier ordeal, but from what he observed of Thor's physical condition, dealing with those guys shouldn't have been a problem...
So, in Clark's view, perhaps what Thor needed wasn't just a change in character but also an enhancement in strength and a proper understanding, which were areas Thor needed to work on!
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