Outskirts of Puente Antiguo, New Mexico-
-June 2, 2010, 0900h local-
"Donald Blake? That's what they came up with?" Naruto asked incredulously.
"It's Dr. Foster's former... acquaintance." Phil replied after a slight hesitation for finding a neutral term.
"An ex? Identity theft on your ex. That's just cold..." Naruto commented with a slight chuckle. "Wait? You guys already made a portfolio for Foster?"
"She's already on our radar due to her association with Dr. Selvig..." Phil explained. "We just have to bump her up the list."
"And they say big brother ain't real. The conspiracy theorists are getting more things right by the day..." Naruto exaggeratedly groaned out. "and with the US military hoping to dump Area 51 to some poor schmuck, they'll just get off in their pants in their excitement."
"That's something I don't ever need to hear. Besides, there are no aliens in Area 51..." Phil answered. "It's just a testing ground for advance tech from all branches of the military. We even borrow the place from time to time."
Naruto gave Phil a deadpan stare.
"I know. All the aliens are either pooled up in hidden communities or living incognito like me..." Phil raised an eyebrow at Naruto's assertion. "Ok, not me, but you get the point. Even you guys have a half-dead blue alien in storage."
Contrary to Naruto's expectation, Phil only did a slight widening of the eyes and increased heartbeat.
"I'm not even going to question how you know about Project Tahiti, but I'm more curious about these aliens living on the planet. We need to do a threat assessment and registration."
"Are you sure? Cause if you start poking in the hornet's nest, I'm not going to help you guys out. I know with some of those people..." Naruto suddenly got a eureka moment. "Come to think of it, one of the guys in my poetry class, and yes, I got a poetry class. I need to woo my girls every now and then. Anyway, one of the guys in my poetry class has a similar signature with our resident God of Thunder. Only considerably weaker."
"Moving past the fact that you're practically whipped..."
"Hey! Have you seen Nat!? She's basically a BDSM queen!" Naruto tried to defend himself, but Phil ignored him.
"Can you contact your alien friend? We need every information we can get."
"Sure. I would love to..." Naruto answered with a shrug. "But you won't have any time to waste. We got more incoming." He continued while pointing to the sky, opening up for another wormhole.
Phil quickly pulled out his radio and barked out orders.
"I want four QRT's ready to go in three minutes. Two more QRT's to the town, just in case..." Phil jogged towards the designated parking lot of the temporary base. "Overwatch 1 and 2 report."
"Base, we've got Xena, Jackie Chan, Robin Hood, and an upsized Gimli coming in for the renaissance fair." One of the guys in the groups watching the town replied.
"Since you'll just be hanging out here with nothing to do, so why don't you go to the town and wait there. In my experience, this kind of situation always bottoms up." Phil said to Naruto, who decided to follow him.
"Really? I hope whatever you guys meet kick your collective balls. I might just have some fun again." Naruto replied with a feral grin before disappearing.
-Outskirts of Puente Antiguo, New Mexico-
-June 2, 2010, 0945h local-
Naruto had been waiting in the diner for almost thirty minutes with his eye activated. He already saw Phil retreat from the venerable army of fifteen feet tall, metal-clad, laser-shooting behemoths. The army was already making its way through the desert towards the town. He could already feel his blood boiling, expecting a huge fight.
Naruto was also watching the small group of Asgardians, scientists, and an intern talking or catching up, completely unaware of the looming threat. Although the Asgardians look capable enough, but he doubts their capability to fight the walking tanks. Maybe they could take on one of them, but a hundred, highly unlikely.
Only one of the giants entered the town while the rest closed off any exits. Thor and his group quickly noticed the intruder, a testament to their training and instinct. That's why they're called Sif and the Warriors three.
Volstagg, one of the strongest and toughest Asgardians, not of the Royal Family. Famous for never slowing down in a fight even after receiving hit after hit and endless appetite
Fandral, the best fencer and most flamboyant fighter most would ever see. Daring and courageous to a fault, especially to women.
Hogun, the quickest and most agile in their group. Silent and lethal, preferring to hit weak points and critical hits than taking enemies head-on. He reminds the nine realms how deadly are Vanir's under their pacifist interior.
Finally, Sif, the deadliest Asgardian not of the legendary Valkyries. Her goal in life is reestablishing the ancient and honorable group of female warriors.
"A Destroyer..." Thor said barely above a whisper. "Why is it here?"
Jane, Darcy, and Erik also saw the metal behemoth walking towards them.
"A destroyer? What's that? That doesn't sound good?" Jane asked question after question, but Thor's eyes remained glued to the destroyer. Good thing Sif still had her presence of mind to answer.
"The Destroyer is a weapon created near the end of the Frost Giant War. The culmination of Dwarven ingenuity and Asgardian magic. Made of Uru, an indestructible metal capable of holding a near-infinite amount of magic. They were explicitly designed to destroy and never be destroyed..." Sif explained, still not taking her eyes off the weapon. "It was so effective that it's used for Asgards security and King Odin's personal vault. It was so terrifying its power that the nine realms practically begged Odin to never let them out of Asgard ever again."
"And now it's here." Darcy deadpanned.
"And now it's here." Sif repeated.
"Jane, Darcy, Erik. You need to get everyone as far away from here as possible." Thor said in a serious tone.
"What are you gonna do?" Jane asked, concern.
"He's going to fight with us just like old times!" Volstagg boisterously interjected.
"No. I'm weaker than any Asgardian. I'll only be in the way, or worse, get one of you killed. But I can help get these people to safety—a distraction for the Destroyer at the very least." Thor countered.
"Then you'll need some time." Said Hogun.
"And you'll have it." Fandral continued.
"For Asgard!" Sif shouted.
"" For Asgard!"" The Warriors Three reciprocated before all of them charged the Destroyer.
Volstagg, in an amazing feat of physical characteristics, led the pack in the charge. However, the Destroyer was having none of that. Its faceplate opened up and fired a concentrated beam of fire not unlike a laser. Volstagg got hit dead on blasting backward toward Fandral. Fandral, for his part, tried to catch Volstagg, but the apparent difference in size did not do them any good, and they just plowed down the road towards a parked car, totaling it.
Hogun just jumped over the barreling ball made of his friends and used both of his maces to hit the back of the Destroyer's leg, but the impact barely fazed it. Sif immediately followed up by throwing her elongated spear straight through the Destroyer's chest. Hogun pulled the protruding spear and struck it gain from behind, effectively pinning the Destroyer to the ground. Even in its 'vulnerable' state, Sif didn't let up with her assault, using her sword to slash and stab the Destroyer's 'weak' points.
However, the Destroyer isn't out for the count, not by a long shot. The multiple plated rings making up the Destroyer did a complete 180, changing it from a bent down to a bent up position. In its new position, it can fight more effectively.
The Destroyer pulled the spear from its chest and swung it to Sif, who defended using her shield. What she didn't expect was for the Destroyer to use her spear to pierce through her shield as well as her harm. Hogun's quick reflexes saved Sif from further injuries since he pulled her back.
Volstagg used his considerable size to tackle the behemoth, hoping to put it down on the ground, but it was able to brace itself. The toe of the destroyer dug into the asphalt as it was pushed backward by Volstagg. The Destroyer was about to pierce Volstagg's back with the spear when Fandral disarmed it using his sword.
"Friends! We're going to retreat! The town is empty!" Thor shouted towards the group.
"Empty! How could it be empty!? I just saw some a few minutes ago!" Sif replied through gritted teeth.
Thor approached Hogun and Sif.
"I don't know. Nevertheless, we must leave. Midgard is not capable of defeating a destroyer, as we are right now." Thor explained. "If Loki is indeed controlling the Destroyers, we must deal with..." He wasn't able to finish his statement when he heard Jane's scream.
"Thor!"
Thor quickly turned around and saw the Destroyer's open face pointed right at him. With a quick move, he took Sif's shield and blocked the concentrated fire sending him to the ground. The Destroyer quickly disabled Volstagg and Fandral with a strike to their heads before marching towards the downed Thor. Hogun and the injured Sif tried to stop the lumbering giant, but they were quickly set aside with a swing of its arm.
But the time bought by his friends was enough for Thor to stand up, although a little shaky on his legs.
"Brother, whatever I have done to wrong you, whatever I have done to lead you to do this, I am truly sorry..." Thor said while looking at the Destroyer. "But these people are innocent. Taking their lives will gain you nothing. So take mine and end this."
The Destroyer stared down at Thor before firing a prolonged fire blast, bathing him in flames. It took a minute for the Destroyer to stop, leaving Thor in a crater with slightly charred skin and shallow breathing. It gave Thor one last kick in the ribs before turning around, this time to Jane.
Jane didn't even saw the Destroyer walking towards her until it was too late as her eyes were practically glued to Thor's dying form. When she noticed the Destroyer, its faceplate was already open and staring right at her, only a few seconds from being barbecued. However, that never came to pass as a fast-moving object struck the Destroyer at its face causing it to miss Jane completely.
The object headed straight to Thor's raised hand, causing multiple lightning strikes to hit him as it reached his hands. His injuries quickly healed, and his armor seemingly formed over his body out of lightning.
Thor rushed towards the Destroyer and did multiple heavy swings causing it to stagger. The sky suddenly darkened as Thor pulled back to prepare for another big hit. He swung hard and struck true as lightning struck the Destroyer sending it flying. It caused the building it landed on to collapse on itself. Everyone watched the structure for any sign of movement. After two minutes of silence, they finally released a sigh of relief.
"Oh. My. God." Darcy exclaimed.
"So, is this how you normally look?" Jane asked as she approached Thor.
"More or less." Thor answered with a small smile.
"It's a good look." Jane continued while eying Thor.
However, they were snapped out of their atmosphere by a shout from a familiar voice.
"Hey! Lovebirds! It ain't over!" Everybody looked towards where the voice came from and saw a blonde guy wearing a suit. The same guy Thor and the others saw in the diner.
"Blondie!" Darcy exclaimed.
"Hello to you too, intern, and my name isn't blondie. I'm Naruto. But as I said, it ain't over." Naruto pointed at the end of multiple side streets.
That's when they saw dozens of Destroyers making their way towards where they were. At the same time, the previously downed Destroyer was standing up from the ruins of the building.
"How many did your father built?" Darcy fearfully asked.
"A thousand and one." Thor answered.
"How many are here right now?" Darcy asked again.
"Maybe a hundred."
"Fuck."