Streetlights and Gods (Part 2)

"Good heavens, you've finally arrived." Natasha came out of the room with a terrible expression on her face; it was rare to see such a mix of anger and helplessness on this female agent's face.

"Oh, Captain Steve, what brings you here? Didn't I only call the Doctor?" Natasha had just closed the door when she turned around and saw the tall Steve. Steve said somewhat awkwardly, "Actually, the Doctor didn't come; only I came."

"Just you? Then how do you plan to deal with that mental patient? Don't blame me for not warning you, he really is quite ill." Natasha was clearly a little angry. She said, "A chauvinistic idiot, he's so stupid! He actually said I'm not strong enough??? He wants me to find a strong warrior to talk to him???"

"Didn't you let him experience the power of Black Widow?"

"You'll see when you go in." Natasha glanced back at the door and continued, "But I still have to say, try not to get into a conflict with him. Nick just called me and said he's very important and hopes the agent can communicate with him rationally."

"Don't worry." Steve pushed open the door, turned back to Natasha, and smiled. "I'm not that violent."

As soon as he walked in, he saw an extremely tall blond man pounding on the wall and retching. Clearly, Black Widow, who was quite angry with him, had given him some Anti-Wolf Spray.

Steve clicked his tongue. The S.H.I.E.L.D. Anti-Wolf Spray wasn't one of those low-powered products available on the market. Anyone with a nose would be disgusted if they were hit by it.

He pressed the earpiece in his ear and then said to the tall man, "Hello."

Hearing the noise, the man stopped gagging and turned around. He brushed his long blond hair behind his ear, looked Steve up and down, and then said in a muffled voice, "This one is not bad, worth a fight."

"Human! State your name! I am Thor Odin's son from Asgard!"

His voice was so loud that it gave Steve a headache, but he still smiled kindly and said, "My name is Steve, Steve Rogers."

Thor walked over, grabbed the railing in the middle of the room, and said, "That woman was so thin, and she even dared to call me a patient!"

He shook the railing and said, "Let me out, humans! You are showing disrespect to the future Ruler of the Nine Realms!"

"Let's not talk about that now." Steve looked Thor up and down and said, "Would you like to change your clothes?"

Thor was wearing a medieval suit of armor and a Helmet, but perhaps because he landed face-first, the Helmet was badly deformed, and the armor was in pieces. The lining of the armor had turned into tattered strips of cloth, covered in mud. Even a common soldier returning from a medieval battlefield might not be in such a sorry state.

Thor scoffed and said, "Heroes on the battlefield don't care about their appearance; they only judge by the heads of their enemies!"

Steve didn't understand the sentence because Thor's English was mixed with an Old English accent and some self-invented words from who-knows-where. It sounded like a transliteration of another language. Steve had only been asleep for a few decades, not thousands of years. This accent, which had been eliminated by the human language system, was really giving him a headache.

"Okay, can you tell me how you got here?" Steve spread his hands and said, "You suddenly fell from the sky, smashing a lot of houses. Your weapon is still occupying a family's yard. More importantly, because of your fall, 13 people are still lying in the hospital."

Thor waved his hand impatiently and said, "That's because you humans are too weak. You're not warriors at all, and you lack the will to fight to the death. In Asgard, it's either die or get up and keep fighting..."

Even though Steve only understood half of what was being said, his face still darkened. Captain America usually had a good temper and there weren't many things that could make him angry, but clearly, Thor had stepped on all his minefields.

He opened the door separated by bars and went inside. Actually, Steve wasn't as tall or as burly as Thor, but the two of them had a similar air about them. Thor obviously noticed this as well, and he asked, "It seems you're also a warrior, and one of the braver ones among humans."

Steve's expression had just softened a little when Thor continued, "But that's meaningless. When I came here a long time ago, I found that you only turn your swords against your own people. That's shameful in Asgard. Your achievements are nothing to boast about."

Steve took a deep breath and pressed his earpiece, saying, "Doctor Schiller, can we begin the examination? I'm afraid if we delay any longer, I might really lose my temper and punch him."

Schiller's voice came through the earpiece. "I'm afraid you'll have to be patient a little longer; his information is useful."

Thor stood in the room, hands on his hips, staring at Steve, and said, "What are you muttering about? Don't try any of those underhanded tricks! They're useless against the warriors of Asgard!"

Thor's voice was really loud, making Steve's ears ring, but he still asked the prepared question, "That hammer about 7 kilometers away is your weapon, right?"

"Yes, that is Mjolnir, born from the extinguished sun and the dwarven hearth! The branches of the World Tree gave it new life! The blessing of the All-Father gave it power!"

Steve skipped over the aria he couldn't understand at all and continued, "Alright, that's not important. I already told you, that hammer is still occupying someone's yard. If it's your weapon, please take it away immediately."

Thor opened his mouth, seemingly hesitant but too embarrassed to speak. Finally, he sighed and said, "Well, the great God cannot lie. I can't lift it."

"But isn't that your weapon?"

"The reason is complicated!" Thor sounded a little impatient. "I had a fight with the All-Father..."

"So you and your hammer ended up here?"

Steve paused for a moment and said, "I'll assume for now that what you're saying is true, and not the ramblings of a mental patient."

"The All-Father you speak of must be your biological father. After you and your father had a fight, he threw you out of the house..."

"The One question is, what does this have to do with Earth? What does it have to do with humanity? If they want to kick you out of their home, why throw you onto Earth when those so-called Nine Realms are so vast?"

Unexpectedly, this prompted Thor to open up and begin to complain, "I am the son of the All-Father, the Prince of Asgard, the future ruler of the Nine Realms, but at my coronation ceremony..."

"... Never mind, you humans wouldn't understand any of this anyway. In any case, I broke into Jotunheim and caused a ruckus, but so what?"

"... I can't understand it either. Even if he had just thrown me onto an ancient battlefield, why did it have to be this remote and desolate corner of Earth?"

Thor was clearly furious. He pounded his fist on the wall and yelled, "There isn't a single warrior here! He'll be bored to death here, and that'll satisfy him, won't it?!"

Steve finally understood why Natasha had that helpless yet irritable expression. The big guy in front of him had a mind like a steel rod, completely revolving around words like war, heroism, warriors, and the great Asgard. No matter what topic you talked about with him, it would eventually come back to these words.

Seeing Thor getting angry, Steve pressed his earpiece and said to Schiller, "You told me before that this was a mentally challenged alien, and I didn't quite believe it. After all, how stupid could a race that can travel in space be?"

"But now it seems that upgrading all abilities into muscles is also a way out."

Schiller's response came through the earpiece. "Indeed, if you don't have enough ingenuity to build a spaceship, you can just jump right up and land on Mars."

After saying that, they both laughed.

But Thor misunderstood this as a mockery, and he waved his arm angrily, saying, "Mortals! Even if the gods of Asgard have lost their power, it is not for you to laugh at them!"

Steve took a step back. Captain America clearly knew that engaging in a physical confrontation with this big guy at this moment was not a good option. He said to Schiller in the headset, "So what do we do now? He seems completely uncommunicative."

"Let's try some psychological therapy first. If that doesn't work, we'll think of something else. You can do this for now..."

Steve asked Thor, "It seems you don't understand your father's decision. Actually, I also think that sending you all the way here just because of one argument is a bit much..."

Thor felt like he had found a kindred spirit. He said, "I never thought that a human would understand me. Everyone around me said I was wrong. They all sided with Odin, but I didn't actually do anything!"

He let out a heavy sigh and said with a hint of complaint, "I've made so many contributions to Asgard and achieved so much in the past! But they seem to have completely ignored it all. Just because of one impulsive act, they threw me out and wouldn't even let me use my weapons. This is an insult to a warrior!"

"Is it possible that it's not because of this incident, but perhaps you and your father have a deep-seated grudge?"

Thor pursed his lips, seemingly reluctant to admit it, but he still said, "Actually, that's what I thought too. I noticed before that Odin was somewhat dissatisfied with me, but I thought that as long as I could achieve greater feats, he wouldn't be angry with me anymore..."

"I fought bravely on the battlefield, achieving numerous victories, yet in the end, he still treated me like this." His voice finally softened, sounding somewhat sorrowful. "He drove me from the home I had always protected, the place of my birth, the beautiful and sacred Asgard ..."

"Okay, but there's no use being sad now. Things are already like this, so what are you going to do?"

"I must get my weapon back first!" Thor said, quite distressed. "How can a warrior be without his weapon? It's a disgrace!"

"But Odin, in order to punish me, stripped me of all my divine power. Without divine power, I cannot lift that hammer."

Thor sighed and said, "He sent me to study on Earth, but I don't know what I'm supposed to learn. Even without my divine powers, I'm stronger than everyone here. Am I supposed to learn how to fight from these weak mortals?"

"In your opinion, was your father a very incompetent ruler?"

"Of course not!" Thor retorted loudly. "The All-Father is a very wise monarch. He has ruled the Nine Realms for so many years and has always been deeply loved. How could he be a foolish king?"

"Since he wasn't a foolish ruler, yet he made this decision, didn't you ever think he might have had some deeper meaning?"

Thor wore a pained expression and said, "Why are you all saying that too? I've had people talking about it for a while now, about pondering Odin's deeper meaning, that he must have other plans or schemes..."

"But that's not my job! Loki should be the one doing all that guessing; my brother is the best at it!"

"And me? I am a valiant warrior! A vanguard to bring glory to Asgard! I hate nothing more than waiting idly in one place, guessing every day without any results..."

"Like I said, things are what they are now."

"As you said, you have been stripped of your divine power and cannot wield weapons. There are neither your opponents nor your allies on this earth. You do not need to fight here, and even if you do not guess, there is nothing else to do."

Thor let out a long sigh and said, "Well, if that's what he means, then so be it. Take off your armor, throw your weapons aside, and be a mediocre mortal, living a boring life without any conviction or sense of honor."

"If that's what he thinks, then so be it. What's that word again? Right, a vacation... I'll give myself a vacation, away from the prosperous Nine Realms, to sprout and grow grass in this forgotten corner..."

Thor took a few steps back and leaned against the corner of the wall, looking somewhat dejected.

Steve sighed, pressed his earpiece, and said, "Every time I hear his description of Earth, I really want to punch him."

Then he said to Thor, "Since that's what you think, I think we can talk."

"What do you want to talk about?" Thor raised his eyelids slightly.

"First of all, you've lost your divine powers, so you must need to eat and drink, right?" Steve and Thor stared at each other. Steve said, "This isn't a homeless shelter. We won't provide food and lodging. You'll have to figure it out yourself."

"I am the Prince of Asgard! The guardian of the Nine Realms! How could you..." Thor began to shout again.

"Then you can try to see if this identity can help you find a job on Earth and support yourself."

Thor turned his head away and muttered to himself, "When I first came here, I noticed that humans are cunning and stingy. They only give Shepherd a single loaf of bread as his daily wage..."

"Moreover, the fall of you and your hammer damaged three houses and injured more than a dozen people. You have to compensate for these losses."

"Odin's meeting..."

"We can't reach Odin, we can only reach you. Anyway, although you didn't do it on purpose, it was still an accidental injury. If you can't compensate for this loss, you'll probably have to go to jail."

"Jail???" Thor raised his voice, incredulously saying, "I am the Prince of Asgard! How could you let the future All-Father go to jail?! That would be a stain on my reign, you damned mortals..."

As he spoke, he became agitated again, even raising his fist as if to attack Steve. Steve took a few steps back and said into the headset, "It seems that psychological therapy isn't very effective. Do you have any other methods?"

"Of course, give him a punch."

"Wait a minute, isn't this jump a bit too big?"

"It's nothing. This is just another therapy corresponding to psychotherapy, and it's also a backup plan for this communication. I call it physical therapy."

Steve stood on tiptoe a couple of times, then rubbed his wrists and said, "Is this really okay? Won't beating up aliens cause a diplomatic incident?"

"That's Nick Fury's problem to solve. You just need to figure out how much effort you're willing to put in."

"What percentage do you think would be a good offer?"

"My advice is absolutely right. Even without divine power, he still has a divine body that can't be damaged."

"Human... what do you want?" At this moment, Thor also noticed Steve's actions. He said contemptuously, "You don't want to exchange blows with the bravest warrior of Asgard, do you? Then I'll show you that gods are not to be trifled with..."

"Bang!!!"

Thor was sent flying backwards and embedded himself in the wall before passing out. Steve withdrew his fist and said, "What a weak god."

Just then, Natasha returned from her smoke break. As soon as she entered, she saw Steve standing in the room, while Thor lay unconscious to the side. The female agent gasped, "What happened? Is this what you did... with the psychotherapy?"

Steve turned around, smiled, and said, "... This is physical therapy."

Odin, who was watching this place at that moment:

:)