Thor's figure emerged from the void, and the breeze he created stirred up several floating design drawings in the laboratory.
This is the heart of Frost City, Valeria's exclusive top-tier laboratory.
The entire space was ridiculously large, filled with a cold, futuristic technological feel.
Various complex instruments gleamed with a ghostly blue light, and robotic arms glided silently along tracks on the ceiling, carrying unidentified metal parts.
'Now that I've dealt with Hawkgirl, it's time to get down to business,' Thor thought to himself.
He came this time to let Valeria examine his two spoils of war.
However, he looked around but did not see that familiar little figure.
The laboratory was empty, with only the low hum of the instruments.
Where is he?
Thor's senses spread out instantly, and he quickly locked onto a life signal behind a row of huge holographic projection screens.
He stepped over.
He walked around the screen and saw a figure from behind.
A tall woman was standing in front of a sophisticated material analyzer, intently operating something.
Her smooth, shoulder-length blonde hair and the black-blue bodysuit that accentuated her perfect curves, with bright blue accents on the collar, gloves, and boots, gave her a sharp and futuristic look.
Thor stopped in his tracks.
'A stranger?' His first reaction was wariness.
This is Valeria's private laboratory, with the highest security level in Frost City. How could there be a woman he doesn't recognize here?
An intruder? Or Valeria's newest assistant?
Thor's muscles tensed slightly, ready to strike at any moment.
The woman's breathing was steady, like that of an ordinary person, but he wouldn't let his guard down because of that.
"Who are you?" Thor asked, his voice flat. "Where is Valeria?"
Upon hearing the sound, the woman stopped what she was doing.
She turned around, revealing a calm and refined face, her clear blue eyes carrying a hint of displeasure at being disturbed.
When she recognized Thor, her expression turned somewhat strange.
She didn't answer, but simply raised her hand and pointed to her face.
"Don't you want to know who I am?"
"..."
Thor was stunned.
That voice, that look, that tone of voice...
He carefully examined the tall, blonde, mature woman in front of him, who was at least 1.75 meters tall. He then recalled the image of the little girl who only reached his waist and had a "I'm the smartest and you're all idiots" look on her face.
'What kind of cosmic joke is this?'
Thor's expression froze; he even instinctively took a half-step back, looking as if he'd seen a ghost.
" Valeria?" he called tentatively.
"Otherwise what?" The blonde woman crossed her arms, raised an eyebrow, and a hint of amusement played on her lips. "Haven't seen you in years, have your brain been squeezed out by your muscles?"
It really is her!
Thor's eye twitched.
The last time he saw Valeria was several years ago, when she was a genius but conventionally beautiful little girl.
This is... a girl's appearance changes drastically as she grows up? It's a complete transformation.
"How come you..." Thor didn't know how to ask for a moment, "What brand of hormones did you take? The effect was so immediate?"
"I only removed the age restriction on my body." Valeria gave her a "you illiterate" look, walked to the control panel next to her, and pulled up a set of data.
"According to my calculations, a 21-year-old's body structure reaches an optimal balance in terms of energy, peak intelligence, and physical function, making it easier for me to conduct long-term, high-intensity research. A young girl's body has too many limitations; it should have been replaced long ago."
"... As expected of you, you can even treat your body as an upgradeable piece of equipment." Thor remarked, finally accepting the fact.
He suppressed his surprise, reverted to his usual nonchalant demeanor, walked up to her, and waved his hand dismissively.
"Buzz!"
An ancient stone chair covered with strange patterns appeared out of thin air and landed steadily on the ground. It was a replica of the Mobius Chair that was brought from the Justice League Dark universe.
Valeria's gaze was instantly drawn to it.
But Thor didn't give her a chance to examine it closely, flipping his hand over again.
A substance radiating platinum light appeared in his palm.
It has no fixed form, flowing like a liquid and dancing like a flame, exuding an ancient and vast aura, full of Infinity creativity and possibility.
It is the foundational element of the DC Universe — the Tenth Metal Origin.
The moment this thing appeared, the entire laboratory's alarm system was instantly triggered, a piercing buzzing sound echoed through the sky, and countless probes and weapons protruded from the walls and ceiling, aimed at the object in Thor's hand.
" Lumina, all off." Valeria's voice was unusually calm, but her eyes were fixed intently on the mass of Tenth Metal.
Those blue eyes, which always carried an air of aloofness and arrogance, were now burning with an unprecedented flame.
It is the flame of scientific fervor.
"This is..." Her voice even trembled slightly, almost imperceptibly.
" The Tenth Metal," Thor said succinctly.
"The origin of creation..." Valeria uttered these words almost as if in a dream. She stepped forward, like iron filings drawn to a magnet, almost sticking her whole body to Thor's hand.
She reached out her hand, wanting to touch it, but then suddenly stopped in mid-air, as if afraid that her touch would desecrate this sacred creation.
'They've taken the bait,' Thor thought with a smile.
To deal with a research fanatic like Valeria, no amount of money or power is as effective as a "toy" that is beyond her comprehension and can drive her crazy.
Just then, Thor caught a glimpse of the laboratory's rest area out of the corner of his eye.
Kara, with Flashpoint Universe black hair, sat quietly on the sofa, holding a cup of... milk tea?
Thor's gaze lingered on her for a second, then suddenly froze.
Something else was also lying on Kara's neat, short black hair.
A rolling, capsule-shaped creature, wearing a miniature version of Thor's suit, with an equally miniature red cape on its back, a small helmet with wings on its head, and in its hand... holding a hammer the size of a toothpick.
Thor's lips twitched violently.
'Why are these things everywhere?'
He felt his image was spreading like a virus throughout Frost City in a bizarre way.
He turned to Valeria, who was in a frenzy, and interrupted her spellcasting, "Hey, kid, you don't happen to have one of these too, do you?"
Valeria was engrossed in analyzing the data stream emanating from the Tenth Metal. Upon hearing this, she didn't even look up, but instead held up a few fingers with a hint of smugness.
"Of course, I have Thor Tuotuo, Spider-Man Tuotuo, Superman Tuotuo, Batman Tuotuo —all the popular ones, and they're even limited editions." Her tone was calm, yet it carried an air of Versailles.
Thor was speechless.
"Oh, right," Valeria said, a mischievous smile playing on her lips as she pointed to a petri dish in the corner of her workbench, "I have an even rarer one."
Thor looked in the direction she was pointing.
In the petri dish, there lay a Tuotuo dressed in a blue uniform with a "4" symbol on its chest, its body able to stretch and deform at will.
It seemed to sense Thor's gaze and even stretched its body, circling the petri dish once.
'... Mister Fantastic, Reed Richards.'
A scene instantly flashed through Thor's mind.
If Reed Richards knew that his own daughter had turned him into this adorable capsule, carrying him around every day, and constantly kneading and shaping him to observe the elasticity of his body after stretching...
I bet he'd get so angry he'd twist himself into an unbreakable China knot!