Thor's "Little Trouble"

The old air conditioner in the small-town motel droned away, blowing the damp smell of mildew throughout the room. Lin Mo lay on the creaking wooden bed, staring at the yellowed water stain on the ceiling—it looked like an eagle with its wings spread, somewhat resembling the emblem on Hawkeye's quiver. Ted snored thunderously in the neighboring bed, still clutching half a piece of unfinished beef jerky, probably dreaming about his cousin Dale's barbecue.

Outside the window, the wind hurled grains of sand against the glass with a soft rustling sound, as though someone were gently scratching it with their fingernails. Lin Mo turned over, picked up the remote, and switched on the television. The screen was full of static. After fiddling with it for a while, he finally found a clear channel broadcasting local news.

"...At three o'clock this afternoon, police arrested a blond man suspected of assaulting an officer on Pepper Town's main street. According to witnesses, the man attempted to break into a S.H.I.E.L.D. restricted zone. After being refused, he clashed with patrolling officers and punched straight through a police car door..."

A photo of Thor appeared on the screen. His messy blond hair clung to his face, fury filling his blue eyes. His hands were locked in specialized handcuffs, yet he was still struggling relentlessly. Lin Mo's heart skipped a beat, and the wristband on his arm vibrated softly. [Asgardian Royal Family energy fluctuation detected. Moderate intensity. Currently suppressed.]

"This idiot." Lin Mo could not help muttering a curse. He had seen Thor standing beside Mjolnir last night, his eyes full of unwillingness. He had not expected the man to end up at the police station after just one day. With that explosive temper of his, Thor definitely would not behave himself in a cell—he might be snapping iron bars or splitting the interrogation table in half right now.

The footage switched to the entrance of the police station. Several officers were gathered around a smashed police car, discussing it animatedly. The hole in the side was large enough to fit a basketball through. "...The man claimed to be 'Thor' and said he would summon lightning to strike down the entire town. Police suspect he may be mentally unstable and have applied for a psychiatric evaluation..."

"Mental instability?" Lin Mo frowned. If Thor really got sent to a mental institution, when would Asgard's people ever find him? Without Thor's hammer, without someone capable of lifting it, what would happen to the future Battle of New York? He did not want to get involved in matters this big, but neither could he stand by and watch a key figure get locked away as a lunatic.

"Ted, wake up." Lin Mo nudged the man in the next bed. "Get up. We've got something to do."

Ted groggily opened his eyes, mumbling, "The barbecue isn't done yet." Only after seeing Lin Mo's serious expression did he reluctantly sit up and rub his eyes. "In the middle of the night? What are we doing, stealing Mjolnir?"

"Something simpler than that." Lin Mo pulled a dark jacket from his backpack. "We're going to get someone out of the police station."

"Get someone out?" Most of Ted's sleepiness vanished at once. His eyes widened like saucers. "Are you insane? We're tourists, not prison-break convicts! Besides, who are we getting out? That blond lunatic?"

"He isn't crazy." Lin Mo put on his jacket as he spoke. "Trust me. Letting him out won't hurt us." He did not explain Thor's true identity—telling Ted, We're going to rescue Thor, would only make him think Lin Mo had an even worse mental problem.

Ted was still hesitating when Lin Mo had already pulled open the door. "You don't have to come. I'll go alone. If the police catch me, remember to let Aunt May know."

"Fuck! You're forcing me into this!" Ted cursed as he jumped out of bed and grabbed his pants. "If my cousin finds out I'm breaking someone out of jail, he'll break my legs!" He kept muttering as he dressed. "I never should've come to this dump with you. New York was perfectly fine, but no, we had to come save some lunatic..."

Lin Mo ignored his complaints and began planning the route in his head. The town police station was at the end of Main Street, a two-story red-brick building with iron bars on its windows and two officers guarding the entrance—the same ones from the news footage. With his current Physical Enhancement and Phasing Ability, sneaking in would not be difficult. The hard part was getting Thor out without exposing himself.

When the two slipped out of the motel, the streets were deserted. Only the streetlamps cast dim yellow halos across the sandy ground. Ted followed close behind Lin Mo, his steps trembling. "I'm serious, are we really doing this? Maybe we should forget it. That lunatic can stay locked up. What does he have to do with us?"

"When he summons lightning and fries the whole town, it'll have something to do with us." Lin Mo lowered his voice and turned into an alley leading toward the police station's rear entrance. Several trash cans were piled at the far end, reeking of spoiled meat. A few stray dogs, startled by their footsteps, raised their heads and watched them warily, low growls rumbling in their throats.

Lin Mo stopped, took out the leftover beef jerky from that morning, and tossed several pieces over. The dogs immediately pounced on the food and ignored them. "See?" he said to Ted. "Even dogs know who their friends are."

Ted swallowed but said nothing. He only gripped the folding knife in his hand tighter—the one Lin Mo had told him to bring "just in case," though it would be completely useless.

As expected, there was little security at the police station's back entrance. Only a flickering streetlamp illuminated the rusty iron door. Lin Mo activated his Phasing Ability, and his body instantly became translucent, like a shadow melting into the night. "Wait here. I'll go take a look," he told Ted, then stepped through the iron door and landed soundlessly in the courtyard.

Several police cars were parked in the yard. One of them did indeed have a huge hole in its door, with specks of blood still clinging around the edges. Lin Mo held his breath as Dynamic Vision automatically activated, sharply catching the silhouette moving behind a second-floor window—a night-shift officer holding a coffee cup and yawning.

He moved along the wall toward the main building. His Phasing Ability let him pass easily through the glass doors and enter the police station lobby. The desk officer was slumped over the counter, sleeping soundly. Drool trailed from the corner of his mouth and spread a small wet stain across the incident log. The clock on the wall pointed to two in the morning, its ticking especially clear in the silent lobby.

Based on the news footage, the cells should have been in the basement. Lin Mo headed down the stairs, every step as light as a cat's paw touching the ground. He had barely reached the stairwell when a loud crash of tables and chairs rang out, followed by a man's roar and startled shouts from officers.

"Again! You cowards don't even dare arm-wrestle me?" Thor's voice boomed louder than it had outside the restricted zone during the day, making the walls tremble faintly.

Lin Mo quickened his pace and phased through the basement's iron door. The sight before him made the corner of his mouth twitch: Thor was locked in the innermost cell, arm-wrestling two police officers through the bars. The table had already been twisted crooked, one leg bent upward at an unnatural angle, on the verge of collapsing. A young officer stood nearby filming with a camera, shouting excitedly, "Come on! Break his arm!"

This is the real lunatic, Lin Mo muttered inwardly. He circled behind the cell, where there was an air vent large enough for a person to crawl through. Activating his Phasing Ability, he passed through the metal grate of the duct and dropped into the shadows outside the cell.

Thor was pinning one officer's arm against the table, a smug smile on his face. "Do you see? This is the strength of Asgard! You mortals—" Before he could finish, he suddenly sensed something and sharply turned toward where Lin Mo was hiding. His blue eyes gleamed strikingly beneath the dim lights. "Who's there?"

Lin Mo's heart tightened, and he quickly held his breath. Could Asgardians sense energy even while someone was phased? He saw Thor's brow furrow. Just as Thor was about to rise, Lin Mo hurried out of the shadows and put a finger to his lips.

"You?" Thor recognized him, surprise flashing through his eyes. "The mortal who could resonate with Mjolnir? What are you doing here?"

"Getting you out." Lin Mo lowered his voice and pointed at the lock on the cell. "Don't talk. Just cooperate."

The two officers were baffled by their conversation and stood up with their batons raised. "Who are you? How did you get in here?"

Lin Mo ignored them. The power of Physical Enhancement erupted in an instant, and his fingers shot toward the cell lock like lightning. It was an ordinary pin tumbler lock, no more difficult to him than a toy. There was a soft click, and the lock opened.

"Move!" Lin Mo pulled open the cell door and growled at Thor.

Thor froze for a moment, clearly not expecting it to go so smoothly. He looked at the open cell door, then at the dumbfounded officers, before suddenly bursting into laughter. "Good lad! Interesting!" He shoved aside an officer blocking the way and followed Lin Mo toward the vent. As he passed the two officers still standing there in shock, he even patted one of them on the shoulder. "We'll have another match next time!"

Lin Mo led Thor through the vent and phased through the metal grate back into the yard. When Ted saw them emerge, he was so frightened he nearly fell onto the ground. "My God, you actually got him out!"

"Stop talking and run!" Lin Mo grabbed Ted and bolted deeper into the alley. Thor followed close behind with long, powerful strides, not even remotely winded.

Only after reaching a safe area did Lin Mo stop to catch his breath. Thor studied him, then suddenly grinned. "Why did you save me?"

"Because you shouldn't have been locked up in a place like that," Lin Mo said. It was the truth. No matter how reckless Thor was, he was still the hero who would protect Earth in the future. He should not have ended up in such a miserable state.

Thor raised an eyebrow, a complicated emotion flashing in his blue eyes. "You know who I am?"

Lin Mo hesitated for a moment before nodding. "Thor, prince of Asgard."

Ted's mouth fell open beside them. The folding knife slipped from his hand and clattered to the ground. "Th-Thor? You mean Thor from the myths?"

Thor proudly puffed out his chest. "It appears my fame has spread throughout the Nine Realms."

"Quit showing off." Lin Mo said irritably. "Now isn't the time for this. What are you planning to do next? S.H.I.E.L.D. and the police are both looking for you."

"I'm going to reclaim my hammer." Thor's gaze became resolute. "Without it, I am not Thor. And I cannot return to face my father."

"You can't take it." Lin Mo remembered the previous night's scene. "Mjolnir is sealed by Odin's power. You can't lift it right now."

Thor's face instantly darkened. "How do you know?"

"I can feel it." Lin Mo pointed at his wrist. The vibration of the wristband had weakened, but that sense of resonance remained. "Mjolnir is waiting for someone 'worthy' of it, and right now, you aren't."

Thor fell silent. His golden hair shone softly under the moonlight, and for the first time, he showed a vulnerable expression. "You're right," he said quietly. "I was too reckless. I thought strength was everything. In the end, my father stripped me of my divine power and cast me into this world of mortals..."

"It's good that you know you were wrong." Lin Mo patted his shoulder, not expecting this Asgardian prince to have moments of self-reflection. "Maybe you should first learn how to be a mortal before thinking about being Thor again."

Thor lifted his head and looked deeply at him. "You are a strange mortal." He turned toward the desert. "I will prove to you that I am worthy of my hammer."

"Hey, where are you going?" Lin Mo called after him.

"To find somewhere to contemplate life." Thor's voice drifted back from afar as his figure quickly vanished behind the dunes. "Thank you, mortal. I will remember you."

Lin Mo watched the direction in which he had disappeared and let out a breath of relief. At least the future Thor had not truly been sent to a mental institution.

"So... so we just dealt with an actual god?" Ted still had not recovered. Even his voice trembled.

"Something like that." Lin Mo picked up the folding knife from the ground and shoved it back into his hand. "Come on. Let's go back and sleep. We still have a ride to catch tomorrow."

By the time they returned to the motel, dawn was already breaking across the horizon. Ted collapsed into bed and immediately fell asleep. This time, he slept especially deeply, probably because he had been scared half to death. Lin Mo, however, was no longer sleepy. He sat by the window and watched the desert sunrise, golden sunlight spilling across the dunes like flowing honey.

The wristband suddenly vibrated. [Host has established a positive interaction with the Asgardian Royal Family. Physical Enhancement synchronization rate increased by 5%. Current rate: 53%. New effect unlocked: Energy Perception (can roughly determine the intensity and properties of nearby supernatural energy).]

Lin Mo smiled. He had not expected rescuing Thor to improve the synchronization rate. It was an unexpected bonus. He tried using the newly unlocked Energy Perception to scan the surroundings—the motel owner's energy was ordinary, Ted's carried a trace of exhaustion, while the energy from the distant S.H.I.E.L.D. restricted zone was like a mass of rolling dark clouds, thick and oppressive. Mjolnir's energy was hidden at the center of those clouds, like a beating heart.

"Interesting," Lin Mo murmured. This trip to New Mexico had yielded more than he had expected.

The next morning, while Lin Mo and Ted were having breakfast in the motel dining room, they heard police officers at the neighboring table talking. "...That blond lunatic escaped in the middle of the night! Someone opened the cell lock, and the cameras didn't capture anything. It's like the place was haunted!"

"He must've opened it himself. That guy is freakishly strong," another officer said. "The chief has already requested help from S.H.I.E.L.D. They'll probably catch him again soon."

Lin Mo paused with his coffee cup in hand, the corner of his mouth curling upward despite himself. He glanced at Ted. The guy had his head down, burying himself in pancakes and pretending not to hear anything, though his ears were as red as boiled shrimp.

"This coffee's pretty good." Lin Mo took a sip and looked out the window. Several more S.H.I.E.L.D. vehicles had appeared on Pepper Town's main street. Phil Coulson had probably already learned that Thor had escaped. He wondered whether that agent would trace it back to him.

"Finish up and let's get out of here." Ted suddenly looked up, his voice very low. "I keep feeling like someone's watching us."

Lin Mo followed his gaze. A man in a black trench coat stood at the dining room entrance, looking in their direction—it was Hawkeye! He held a thermos, seemingly waiting for someone, but his eyes occasionally flicked their way, with a faint, unreadable smile on his lips.

"Don't panic. Eat." Lin Mo put another strip of bacon on Ted's plate. "He's just enjoying the show."

Hawkeye watched them for several minutes before turning and leaving. Lin Mo knew it was both a warning and tacit approval—S.H.I.E.L.D. had likely figured out that he had rescued Thor but had no intention of pursuing the matter. Perhaps Phil Coulson believed that letting the reckless Thor leave the police station was better than having him cause trouble inside it.

"Let's go." Lin Mo set down his coffee, picked up his backpack, and said, "Back to New York."

As they took a taxi to the station, Lin Mo gave the distant blockade one final look. Under the sunlight, Mjolnir remained embedded in the rock, like a silent oath. He knew his connection to this place was not over. When Thor truly understood what it meant to be worthy of Mjolnir, he might return.

Ted leaned against the car window, dozing off as he muttered, "I'm never coming back to this godforsaken place." Lin Mo smiled but said nothing. Some experiences, even dangerous ones, were worth cherishing.

At the very least, he could brag to Peter—he had not only met Thor, but had helped him escape from a police station. That was far cooler than street magic.