POV: Third Person
Outer Space.
Day of the Invasion.
Four meteorites hurtled toward Earth at high speed. It's not uncommon for this to happen; several small rocks are constantly attracted by Earth's gravity. But this is different; these meteorites are larger than normal and seem to be controlled by someone.
Before the meteorites entered Earth's orbit, a humanoid flew out from Earth towards the meteorites at high speed. These meteorites had long been detected by the Avengers' Base.
The base didn't possess any weapons; it was built that way to prevent those on the ground from causing trouble. In fact, they didn't need any; any of the beings present at the base were considered nuclear weapons. So none of them cared about not having orbital weapons.
Thor, pulled by his hammer, was about to collide with the largest of the four meteorites, but as he approached, two of the surrounding meteorites flew forward, firing at Thor. The two meteorites were no match for Mjolnir.
When the two collided, they exploded into small pieces of rock scattered throughout space. Thor wasn't harmed by this attack, but he halted his advance, allowing him to be hit by the third meteorite, which was destroyed with a blow from Mjolnir, but this was just a distraction. The largest of the four simply ignored Thor and shot even faster towards Earth.
Thor spun Mjolnir and shot after it, but it was too late; the fourth meteorite had already entered Earth's atmosphere, igniting due to friction. Thor couldn't do anything now; if he destroyed the meteorite, it would break into several pieces that would cause even more damage to Earth.
He had no choice but to follow it.
The meteorite crossed the ocean towards a large expanse of land. And when it was about to hit the ground, the location where they were became visible. Tokyo, Japan. The place it was about to hit was bustling, with hundreds of buildings everywhere, many of them with flashing lights and advertisements. It was in the center of this lively and populous city that the meteorite crashed.
"BOOOMMM!!"
Even though it wasn't a huge meteorite, it was enough to cause serious damage miles away from the impact site. Cars, people, and everything near the impact site were thrown into the air. The shockwave destroyed several buildings that collapsed.
It was a scene from the end of the world, with only the screams of panicked people and the noise of cars heard after this disaster. And above all this was Thor, looking angrily at the center of the several-kilometer-wide crater. He spun his hammer and shot towards the center of the crater, which was occupied by a being.
Thor didn't even bother to look closely at him; consumed by his fury, he attacked from above. The humanoid noticed this; he tightened his weapon, and a force field enveloped his body.
Mjolnir struck right on top of his head followed by lightning. Neither of the two pierced the force field, but the lightning illuminated the entire area, dispersing all the dust.
After attempting an unsuccessful attack, Thor calms down a bit and pays attention to his enemy. A humanoid two meters tall, with an entire body composed of gray rock, he was bald, and had gray eyes as well. The only thing he was holding was a golden axe with a long handle. The gray being looked around, as if evaluating a product.
"It's a shame; if he hadn't personally marked this planet, I would very much like to conquer it," he speaks for the first time.
"BOOOM!"
He only hears the sound of thunder as a response. Thor leaps towards his target once again, restarting the battle.
The gray giant finally seems to notice him. He doesn't move, but his golden axe glows, creating a shield of energy around him.
"BOOOOMMM!"
When Mjolnir struck the energy barrier this time, the sound echoed like thunder, the brute force of this blow was much greater than the previous one, throwing his opponent backwards and slamming his back against the crater wall.
Finally, the Gray Stone Giant's gaze became more serious. He got up and attacked Thor.
The golden axe and the hammer clashed. The strength of both seemed to be matched, as they both recoiled at the same time, but this didn't discourage Thor, it only made him attack again. This time he spun Mjolnir and threw it at his enemy, who spun his axe, hitting the hammer and sending it flying away.
Thinking he had rid himself of his enemy's weapon, the Gray Giant attacked Thor unarmed. The blow came from above, attempting to cleave him in half. But Mjolnir had already returned to Thor's hand, catching the giant by surprise. Thor gracefully dodged the axe, then struck the Gray Giant's chin with Mjolnir.
Thor felt as if he were hitting hard rock; his blow, with all his strength, only made his enemy take a few steps back.
"Yes, he said this planet would be a challenge, so he sent four of us."
"Stop chattering like a child; let's fight already. I won't rest until I destroy you," Thor said for the first time.
This is one of the rare occasions when Thor is truly furious. The monster in front of him just killed thousands of people, and he could do nothing but watch. His anger was understandable, and his mood began to be represented by the lightning emanating not only from Mjolnir but also from his body.
The Stone Giant then attacks; unlike the previous attacks, he stomps on the ground, causing the earth to ripple like water. This effect began to spread, and soon the entire crater was undulating. This caused Thor to lose his balance and halt his attack.
Then waves erupted around him, the ground attacked him. Earth and mud enveloped Thor's entire body as he spun Mjolnir trying to free himself from the mud, but it stuck to his body like glue, pulling him into the ground.
"I consider it mercy to die by my own hands rather than those of my Master," the Giant said, observing Thor's attempts to escape.
Thor, already beginning to despair with his legs engulfed by the ground, began firing lightning from his body in all directions. The lightning pierced through the layer of earth and mud but couldn't dislodge it from his body.
"When you reach the next world of your religion, know that it was Terrax, the Tamer, who sent you there," proclaimed Terrax, smiling.
"It's clobberin' time!"
When the situation was getting worse, someone yelled from above. Terrax looked up to see an orange rock falling towards him. Terrax thought it was a simple enemy attack, so with a swing of his axe, he activated his force field. But then he realized it wasn't an orange rock falling towards him; it was another being that hit his shield from above with both hands, using them like a mallet.
"BOOM!"
Like Thor's attack, the Thing managed to destroy Terrax's energy shield, causing him to recoil a few steps. As soon as the other orange Stone Giant landed on the ground, he attacked again with his fist. Terrax dodged the blow, which didn't have much speed; he kicked the Thing, making him step back, then he spun his golden axe horizontally at waist level. The axe made of unknown material managed to crack the stone of the Thing's abdomen in a streak but did not pierce his skin or organs.
The Thing felt nothing from this attack and advanced, punching Terrax squarely in the face. Then he delivered the second and third blows to Terrax's face, causing him to retreat a little with each blow. When Terrax touched the crater wall, the Thing grabbed his head with both hands, pulled it back, then forward, hitting his nose with all his strength, and then let go.
Finally, the Thing stopped his attack to check the state of his enemy; he was still leaning against the crater wall, his eyes closed, even after so many blows. There was no sign of injury on his face.
"Is that all?" Terrax asked, opening his eyes and looking at the Thing.
"My turn!"
As promised, Terrax attacked at a speed faster than the Thing could defend, first releasing his axe and punching him in the face, then hooking his neck, and then punching him in the stomach, making him bend over. Terrax then joined his hands above his head and lowered them towards the Thing's bent back.
"BOOM!"
Before the blow could land, thunder roared, and the lightning followed, striking Terrax's face, causing him to lose his grip and retreat a little further. Thor had broken free.
"I had forgotten about you," Terrax says to Thor.
Terrax then extends his hand with the palm facing down, and the ground begins to tremble. Thor, who had suffered from his powers before, knows what to do. He rushes over to Thing, who was recovering from the blow, grabs his huge, thick stone hand, spins his hammer, and uses the momentum to fly out of the crater.
"BOOM!"
The center of the crater explodes like a volcano, unlike the typical lava and smoke eruption. Rocks, earth, and mud explode into the air, only to fall back into the center of the crater.
Thor lands with Thing on the ground, both of them rising to their feet and looking at their enemy who floats out of the center of the crater with his axe ready for battle.
"Come, entertain me a little before the arrival of the Destroyer," Terrax says.
POV: Baldur.
Avengers Base, Earth Orbit.
A Little Before Terrax's Arrival.
The arrival of one of the heralds was anything but subtle, four meteors heading our way. I could have destroyed them, but my focus was on another part of the plan, so I left Thor to deal with them.
Thor couldn't stop them before they reached Earth. Another expected outcome after assigning three reinforcements to him; I focused on the other three invaders. One was a being surrounded by fire, flying at high speed, another enveloped in pure white energy, very different from the last, who resembled a shining silver star.
The three heralds separated and flew to different points around the globe. I didn't bother to stop them either; hardly any of the Avengers could fight in space. And even if I fought alone and managed to defeat the three, I would be too depleted to fight their leader.
This is a battle where losses cannot be avoided. Only minimized during the fight, and everything must be done to win.
"Alice, give the order, ask the Avengers and the Fantastic Four to greet our visitors."
"Yes, sir, but what about the fourth enemy, sir?" my AI asks.
"Unfortunately, this is not an enemy they can handle, so leave that to me."
In front of me, four holographic screens display images of four different places around the world. The fourth enemy was now above Paris, unlike the other three. The silver-clad man on a board didn't seem to want to torment the people below. He just watched them, perhaps with pity.
support me at patreon.com/Lonely_Translator and read chapters in advance