Night, Titan's Seventh Prison.
"I am Thor, the God of Thunder! You mortals who blaspheme against the gods will pay the price!"
In the corridor, Thor's furious roar echoed for a long time, forcing the guards to activate the soundproof mode, sealing those obnoxious noises inside the room.
Several passing guards glanced at Thor, who was gesticulating wildly behind the glass, looking like a mute, and couldn't help but sneer.
"Hah, is this supposed to be a god?"
"Hahaha, what a terrifying god!"
"Yeah, we're so scared, hahaha."
The guards laughed wantonly and then wheeled a cart carrying Thor's hammer right in front of his eyes.
"Bastards! Did you hear what I said?!"
"Give me back Mjolnir! What are you going to do with it?!"
Thor watched helplessly as the hammer on the cart got farther and farther away. He raised his hand to summon it, only to be paralyzed by a powerful electric shock the next moment.
Zzzzz-
Thor collapsed to the ground, twitching, and after a while, slowly propped himself up against the wall.
"These damned people, how can they take my hammer?"
He gritted his teeth but didn't dare to use force again.
Behind him, Jane Foster spoke calmly with her eyes closed.
"A hammer that can be hung on the wall, what do you think that means?"
Hearing this, Thor turned back to look at the familiar face, and the anger in his eyes eased slightly.
"Jane, you still haven't told me why you—"
"Actually, you should know we never had anything between us," Jane Foster interrupted.
She opened her eyes and slowly exhaled.
"The situation is different from what we imagined. Killing people or destroying the sanctuary won't allow us to join the Exile Journey; we might have been wrong from the start.
And even if we do join the Exile Journey, as criminals, we won't be allowed to carry weapons. The chances of failure are high."
Loki, who was lounging nearby, stretched and said casually, "Maybe this is just a prank."
"No, this must be a test from Father," Thor said with certainty.
Loki rolled his eyes. "A test for what? To have us killed by Thanos again? Besides, Father's divine power has already disappeared; he couldn't possibly gather us here."
These words instantly shattered Thor's last bit of hope.
He sat on the ground, despondent, "Yes, Father is gone, and our home is destroyed."
"So what if it's destroyed? There's nothing worth remembering there anyway," Loki said indifferently.
"What did you say?"
Thor roared, "You, that was our home! You are my brother; it was your home too."
"I'm not your brother."
"You are."
"I'm not."
The two continued to argue, while several Steves in the corner silently plugged their ears with their fingers, clearly annoyed.
Zzzzz-
Suddenly, a virtual screen appeared in the room, and the guards outside announced loudly.
"You're in luck. The Exile Ritual is being broadcast live worldwide, and you can watch this grand ceremony."
"The Exile Journey has started?"
Thor and Loki immediately stopped arguing, and everyone looked up at the figures on the screen.
In the grand palace, countless Titans were kneeling in prayer.
The massive stone mill, which resembled an altar, slowly turned, and among those familiar figures, the group was shocked.
"That's the old Captain. He actually managed to get a spot in the Exile Journey," Natasha said with a smile.
Several Steves exchanged puzzled looks.
"How did he manage that?"
"Who knows!"
"Wait, what's that guy holding?"
Suddenly, Loki pointed at Old Steve on the screen, looking surprised.
"That's your hammer!" he said to Thor.
"I see it."
Thor stared in disbelief at Old Steve holding Mjolnir, shaking his head repeatedly.
"Impossible! How could he be worthy to lift Mjolnir? It's impossible!"
The usually calm Jane Foster suddenly seemed to realize something.
She muttered, "They took the hammer to give it to that Captain... So that Steve is... Could it be him?"
She seemed to have a guess.
But with so many variants in the multiverse, she couldn't be sure.
"And Tony, he made it too," one of the Steves said enviously.
Another Steve sighed in relief, "Carter also joined the Exile Journey. She must be able to come back to life."
"That big lizard sure is lucky."
"And that red-and-blue Spider-Man, that skinny guy is standing alongside Thanos. What are they planning?"
"Isn't Thanos a criminal? He doesn't seem like it; he even gets to carry weapons."
"What are they holding? Is that a sacred artifact of Titan?"
"What's that light?"
"It looks like the portal used by the sorcerers of Kamar-Taj. I've seen it before. So that's it; the altar will transport them to the Exile Grounds."
"Look, some contestants are trying to sneak into the portal."
"They got bounced back."
"Why is that? Does entering the portal require another condition?"
As the group disappeared into the portal, the viewers' expressions grew more complicated.
At the same time, they heard the system prompt announcing eliminations.
...
M78 Planet.
"Whew~~"
In the bone-chilling wind of the desolate land, a purple portal slowly opened, and Charlie and his group stepped onto a dark landscape filled with giant rocks and enormous skeletal remains.
"So, this is the Exile Grounds?"
Old Steve surveyed the surrounding bones and rocks, the decayed smell seeping into his nose, making him uncomfortable.
Infinite Tony raised his hand, releasing a swarm of nanodrones that swiftly scattered in all directions.
Thanos glanced at the hammer in Old Steve's hand, his curiosity piqued.
"That hammer can only be lifted by that guy," he remarked.
Old Steve raised Mjolnir, a nostalgic look in his eyes.
"Yeah, only he could lift it. I wasn't bad at acting back then, either."
Infinite Tony chuckled, remembering that moment as well.
Behind them, Charlie, Lizard Parker, and Carter each carried a Captain America shield.
It helped that there were quite a few "America's Asses" among the contestants this time.
Thanos, holding his double-edged sword, pointed to the faint sunlight in the distance.
"Our goal is there. Once we reach it, I can find a way to save Titan."
Charlie asked, "Since there's a portal, why not just transport us there directly?"
Thanos shook his head, "It's not possible. The predecessors of Titan tried many ways, but none could bypass this journey."
"Alright, we'll protect you and get you there," Old Steve said, starting to stretch.
Infinite Tony sighed, "I never thought I'd see the day where we'd have to fight to protect Thanos."
As soon as he finished speaking, the massive skeletal remains not far away trembled, and the ground began to shake. A terrifying giant whale slowly burst through the earth, shattering the bones, and countless dark shadows emerged from the ground, as if the whole land had come alive.
"That's... the Chitauri army!" Old Steve exclaimed, never able to forget those creatures.
"No, something's different. They haven't been transformed into bio-weapons yet."
Charlie looked thoughtfully at Thanos's back.
The reason why Thanos's Chitauri army in the future had so many giant biological weapons might be because of the Exile Grounds.
The original Chitauri planet didn't have these giant apes and whales.