Before the Storm

Although Coulson had blasted Loki with an energy cannon before dying, it had been of no use. He had lost his life, while Loki had suffered little injury.

Coulson had devoted his entire life to S.H.I.E.L.D. Though he was an ordinary man, he had done the work of superheroes with a mortal body. He was someone worthy of admiration.

In another timeline, in Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., he had survived and become director, leading another group of heroes against villains from all walks of life.

He just did not know which timeline it was, or which Earth.

Thinking of this, Apocalypse took a Recovery Potion from his storage compartment and handed it to Coulson.

"Keep this potion close to you. If your life is in danger, drink it immediately. Sigh... I don't know if it can save you."

In the original story, Coulson had been ambushed by Loki and collapsed on the ground, barely able to move even his fingers. He might not have had the strength to drink a Recovery Potion.

Still, Apocalypse could not possibly personally protect a bystander like Coulson. This was all he could do. He hoped Coulson would be all right.

"Thank you, Mr. Tang."

Coulson gripped the Recovery Potion tightly. A powerhouse like Apocalypse would not joke with him about something like this. There had to be some meaning behind it.

Whether he lived or died in the future might depend on this potion.

It was just a pity that, with his mortal eyes, he could not see who the "person who would kill him" mentioned by Mr. Tang was.

Otherwise, he could have taken precautions in advance.

Since Coulson had received one, there was no reason not to give Hawkeye one as Black Widow's closest friend through life and death.

Apocalypse left behind two bottles without saying anything, then departed.

Leaving Hawkeye and Coulson staring at each other.

Especially Hawkeye, whose mind was filled with countless unanswered questions.

"Coulson, who exactly is he? He's so mysterious. When did Natasha find a husband like that? Is it real, or is it for a mission?"

"Barton, I'll submit an application to the director first. Since you've encountered him, you should be allowed to view his file."

After the report was sent to headquarters, an encrypted file quickly arrived.

Hawkeye read it from beginning to end, and cold sweat broke out across his forehead as he silently rejoiced.

No wonder Black Widow and Coulson had both asked whether he was dead or alive the moment they heard he had fought Mr. Tang.

If Mr. Tang had possessed even a trace of killing intent, ten lives would not have been enough for him.

At the same time, he could not help feeling happy for Black Widow.

"Natasha, perhaps he's the one fate intended for you. If you can solve the problem of having children in the future, your life will have no more regrets."

Apocalypse did not take Thor away, letting him have some time alone.

Though Odin's death was fake news, it was still a trial for Thor's heart and a chance for reflection. There was no need to deliberately shatter it.

In any case, someone would take him away soon enough.

Sure enough, not long after Apocalypse left, Jane, Daisy, and Eric arrived.

When Jane heard that Thor had forced his way into a military restricted zone and been arrested, she immediately panicked.

"That Tang Tianqi said he was Thor's friend, that they came together. The moment something happened, he ran off. Hmph..."

Trespassing into a military restricted zone could be treated as either a minor or major offense.

If handled lightly, it would be considered a misunderstanding. Civilians not knowing what the place was and wandering in by mistake was perfectly normal.

If handled severely, he could be treated as a spy and taken away for interrogation, with no telling when he would see daylight again.

Naturally, Jane could not allow Thor to be taken away.

After discussing it with Daisy and Eric for a while, they came up with a lame excuse.

They claimed Thor was a member of their astrophysics research team, a Princeton Ph.D. who had accidentally hit his head and was currently not thinking clearly.

The United States was generally tolerant toward scholars, so they hoped to muddle through.

To make it look convincing, they even deliberately made a fake ID badge and some hastily printed résumé materials.

Once everything was ready, they brought the fake documents to retrieve him.

Coulson struggled to hold back his laughter and asked, "Ms. Jane Foster, this Mr. Thor is a doctor from your team?"

"Uh... yes!"

"But why is he such a skilled fighter? More than a dozen of our elite soldiers couldn't stop him last night."

"Well... he likes working out. Yes, that's it, working out."

Watching the three scholars trying hard to appear calm, Coulson laughed inwardly.

He had no idea how they had come up with such excuses. Working out could let someone defeat more than a dozen elite soldiers?

"Hmm... I need to make a call and ask for instructions. Please wait a moment."

Coulson did not avoid them and dialed the number right in front of Jane, Daisy, and Eric.

However, he did not call Director Nick Fury. He called Apocalypse instead.

"Mr. Tang, a beautiful scholar named Jane Foster has come to retrieve that fellow named Thor. She even made up some lame excuses. Do you have any suggestions?"

Jane's face instantly turned red, and the three of them looked at one another.

"Let them take him. However, make a copy of their research materials. They'll be useful later."

"Understood."

In the original story, Coulson had gone to the town and taken all of Jane's materials.

He had discovered they were quite useful and later invited Eric to serve as a S.H.I.E.L.D. consultant to study the Tesseract.

Because of Apocalypse's arrival, Coulson's attention had been entirely drawn to the hammer, causing him to miss this part of the story instead.

Since Coulson had asked about it, Apocalypse took the opportunity to steer the plot back on track.

Coulson hung up and said, "You can take him away. However, in exchange, I need all of your research materials."

Daisy carefully asked, "Sir, was that Mr. Tang you spoke to just now named Tang Tianqi?"

"Yes."

"Yeah, it really was him. I knew he wasn't simple. Is he some important figure?"

Coulson said, "That... is not something I'm at liberty to discuss."

Jane said angrily, "Hmph, fine, don't tell me. I'll ask him face-to-face later. He's acting so mysterious. He must be up to something."

Daisy said, "Professor, I don't think Tang is a bad person."

Jane snapped, "You haven't even landed him yet, and you're already speaking up for him? Say another word and I won't let you pass your thesis."

In the original story, Coulson had forcibly taken all of Jane's materials and equipment. They were the fruits of many years of her research, so naturally she had strongly opposed it.

Though he had paid her, research materials meant far more than money to a scholar.

Now, he only wanted a copy in exchange for releasing Thor, so Jane and Eric did not react too strongly. It would not interfere with their research anyway.

Very soon, Coulson had his subordinates copy all the materials and arranged for Jane and the others to meet Thor.

In truth, Coulson had not imprisoned Thor. Thor was simply still grieving and unwilling to leave.

Jane's arrival soothed Thor's wounded heart.

When Jane heard Thor say that his father had died, yet he could not return for the funeral for certain reasons, she felt deeply sympathetic.

No wonder he had been acting so strangely these past few days. His family had suffered a major upheaval, leaving him somewhat dazed.

As they left, Thor passed by the hammer and gently stroked it.

"One day, I will prove myself and lift you again."

Coulson, who was seeing them out, said, "Buddy, when you come back next time, I'm not sure the hammer will still be here."

Thor froze. "What do you mean? Are you going to move it? No one but me can lift it."

"Someone has lifted it before," Coulson said blandly.

"Impossible!" Thor did not believe him.

Coulson shrugged and did not answer.

Thor did not know, which meant Apocalypse had not told him. Coulson could not be bothered to meddle.

"Could there really be someone on Earth worthy of Thor's Hammer? Did Father cast the hammer here because he was waiting for another destined person?"

Having just been struck by a lie, Thor had also become less confident.

This was a military zone, so it was not suitable to stay long. Jane pulled him away, intending to return to town first.

After Thor left, Coulson flipped through Jane's materials.

He was not a scientist, so after briefly organizing them, he sent them back to headquarters for professionals to interpret.

When he saw the information about that hammer, his pupils contracted!

Thor's Hammer?!

That hammer was Thor's Hammer?

Coulson recalled what Apocalypse had said—whatever kind of hammer it was, that was what kind of person he was.

Was the man they had just released the Thor from mythology?

No wonder the hammer was so extraordinary. Combined with Apocalypse's words, Coulson could already confirm the answer.

He immediately sent his discovery back to headquarters.

The materials regarding the hammer and Asgard had actually been casually collected by Jane.

Thor talked all day about Asgard and being Thor, so Jane had wanted to understand her boyfriend's interests and looked through some historical and mythological materials.

She had never expected those notes to eventually end up in Coulson's hands.

Before long, Nick Fury personally called. "Coulson, where is Thor?"

"He just left."

"How could you let him go?"

"Director, Mr. Tang instructed us to be polite to the hammer's owner. Although Thor currently seems to be an ordinary person, I did not dare forcibly detain him without authorization."

"Hmm..." Nick Fury pondered briefly. "You did the right thing. Since Tang knows his identity and has lifted the hammer, he probably understands what happened best. Follow his lead. Ask for his opinion before taking any action."

"Yes!"

Not long after Apocalypse returned to town, he received an enormous sum of money along with a message from Director Nick Fury.

Its contents were simple.

He was asking Apocalypse to intervene!

In the original story, this incident had only affected one small town and could not be considered a threat to Earth.

But Nick Fury did not know that!

Seeing that gods were involved, that the hammer had fallen to Earth, and that Thor had lost his divine power, all signs indicated that the mythical world was not peaceful.

With his cautious nature, he naturally had to make arrangements in advance.

There was currently no one on Earth more suitable than Apocalypse.

This time, they were facing gods. Their combat strength was difficult to assess, since the stories in mythology were too distorted to accurately judge the gods' true power.

Nick Fury only hoped that this monster, Apocalypse, possessed strength comparable to that of a god.

The town enjoyed two rare days of peace, with everything calm and quiet.

Overwhelmed by grief, Thor drank himself into a stupor every day, while Jane remained by his side.

But Apocalypse knew that once Loki, far away in another realm, finished handling his affairs, something major would happen immediately.