Even though Blake was now incredibly tough-skinned, the hammer still left him dazed and disoriented.
It took him quite a while to regain his senses.
The lightning missed him, but the hammer landed squarely on his head, bouncing off before hitting the ground.
He hadn't provoked anyone, just swore a little oath. Did it really warrant both lightning and a hammer?
If Blake didn't know the origin of this hammer, he would have jumped up and cursed the heavens three times.
But right now, he wasn't in any position to mess with Asgard, especially with Odin still reigning.
Spitting out the sand from his mouth, he looked around to make sure everyone was okay.
Blake squatted down and quietly drew a large circle in the sand next to the hammer.
Inside the circle, he wrote two small lines of characters:
"May the whole family die if they randomly throw hammers!"
"May their wife always have her period!"
"Coulson, check if there were any planes passing through the sky just now. Agent Romanoff, contact Hill at headquarters; we need a team of professional scientists!"
Checking for planes was just a habitual formality. The hammer had been surrounded by lightning earlier, and now that it had dissipated, Fury could tell this wasn't just any ordinary hammer.
"Blake, what are you doing? Bring the hammer over here!"
Nick Fury, having been thrown to the edge of the pit, was now looking down and issuing orders.
Blake knew the hammer's backstory but decided to play along.
He grasped the handle with both hands and put all his strength into lifting it.
It didn't budge!
"Hey, boss, looks like you'll need someone even stronger!"
Five minutes later, the pit was littered with pieces of landing gear, metal plates, and the wreckage of the Quinjet.
The hammer lay there in the sand, looking as if it was so light it hadn't even sunk into the ground.
But even the Quinjet couldn't lift it.
"I hate things and situations that are out of my control!"
Nick Fury was visibly annoyed. Until S.H.I.E.L.D. personnel arrived, he had to have the local police cordon off the area.
He left Coulson in charge of everything there and hurried back for his meeting.
Blake, however, insisted that Black Widow stay with him.
If Mjolnir had appeared, Thor couldn't be far behind, right?
Given the usual pattern, if a superhero appeared, there should be a mission or an opportunity to earn points.
"Coulson, I bet you fifty dollars I know the origin of this hammer."
After sending Nick Fury off and letting Black Widow, who had driven all night, rest somewhere, Blake sat by the pit with Coulson, watching the police set up the cordon and chatting.
"You know about this?"
Whether it was the Tang sword or Blake's own abilities, everyone knew he had his little secrets.
A hammer fell out of nowhere, one that no one could lift, and it just so happened to hit Blake on the head.
Now Blake was betting on the hammer's origin. Coulson's mind raced as he considered if the hammer was somehow connected to Blake.
"I can 'tell fortunes,' remember? In Marbury Tony's mansion, who helped you find the plane!"
Blake reminded him with a smile, not to forget his unique talent.
Coulson rolled his eyes.
You still dare to bring up that time with the plane? Everyone knows it was you two who stole the plane and flew to the Middle East for a fight.
You can lie blatantly in front of a video, call yourself ugly, and smear excrement on your face.
Blake and Tony almost made him die of anger with their shameless antics.
"No more bets. You can talk if you want, but if you don't, then just wait here with me."
Coulson, reminiscing about not-so-pleasant memories, spoke haughtily.
Blake immediately understood what Coulson was thinking.
He moved closer, put his arm around Coulson's shoulder, and said, "Look forward, buddy. Forget those unhappy things from the past. At most, I'll tell you what's up with this hammer!"
"Go on!"
After all, Coulson was bored at that moment.
"A long, long time ago, in a distant realm of the gods, the Allfather Odin had a rather foolish son…"
Blake, using a tone like he was telling a bedtime story to a child, began to explain Thor's birth and the origin of Mjolnir to Coulson in detail.
He even pretended to perform some mystic calculations, explaining how Thor was stripped of his powers and exiled to Earth.
"Hahaha! You're saying this is Thor's hammer, and the handle is made from a branch of Yggdrasil? Blake, you remind me of those medieval charlatans who made a living off nonsense predictions." Coulson laughed heartily.
"If you're telling jokes to kill time, thank you, my friend. But if you're serious, I'll bet my hair on it!"
Coulson had been with S.H.I.E.L.D. for over ten years and had seen everything. In '95, he had even encountered Captain Marvel and the Skrulls with Nick Fury. How could he believe in the existence of gods?
The god of thunder, the Allfather, and even a Rainbow Bridge that can teleport across the universe—did they think agents didn't read mythology and didn't know this was Norse mythology?
"Are you serious?" Blake glanced at Coulson's hairline with some pity.
"Want to reconsider the bet? If you don't believe me, you'll regret it. Really, I never lie. When I lie, my heart races and I can't breathe!"
To Coulson, Blake's words were as meaningful as a fart.
"No, I'll never believe your mythology. I'll bet my hair. If I lose, I'll buy a hair-growth tonic. If you lose, Blake, you have to hand over all the money you made in Mexico as our funds."
Coulson was truly the next director of S.H.I.E.L.D., betting his precious hair for the organization's funds.
Blake gave him a thumbs up. "Deal!"
The S.H.I.E.L.D. team arrived quickly, with a large group arriving that afternoon.
Coulson directed them to set up a tent, covering the entire crater and the hammer securely.
One piece of equipment after another was unloaded from the vehicles to comprehensively monitor the hammer's various energy reactions, materials, and other information.
Once the tent was set up, they surrounded the area with barbed wire and set up various monitoring and defense measures.
Coulson set up a temporary office for himself. Along with Blake and the now-rested Black Widow, the three of them watched the monitors from the temporary office.
"Blake, it seems your calculations were off. That so-called de-powered Thor hasn't shown up," Coulson said with a smile.
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