Marvel: Starting as a Time Criminal, Stealing Powers

The sky was dark—only lightning illuminated the world.

Thor.

The new Thor.

The Four Warriors of Asgard stood frozen in shock. They could clearly sense the powerful aura emanating from the figure in the sky—an aura far more terrifying than Thor's!

It felt as if this was the real Thor—and the previous one had been a fake.

The Mjolnir in his hand was unmistakably real!

Inside the diner...

The three humans were stunned. In their eyes, there was nothing left in the world but the god floating in midair, wrapped in thunder and lightning.

As scientists, their worldview had been completely shattered. Everything they had believed in until now had been overturned.

Jane Foster suddenly recalled the events of the previous night—his voice and words:

"Who are you?"

"Thor."

He hadn't lied. Even the phrase "I came to help you" had been true.

Just like in the myths, a god had descended to save mortals in danger.

Daisy suddenly looked horrified and blurted out in a crazed voice:

"Damn it! That fake Thor—I almost slept with him last night!"

"A god! That's an actual god!"

"AHHH!"

As a former materialist, Erik wanted to rationalize it, to call this a powerful alien.

But the overwhelming scene before him shook his soul to its core—he couldn't bring himself to say it.

In the ruins...

Thor looked into the distance at the other "Thor." Shock flickered in his eyes, followed by a bittersweet feeling—relief that the people were saved, and despair that he had fallen so far. It felt as if the power of Thor had completely abandoned him.

Then he saw it—a blazing meteor streaking across the sky, obliterating the high-energy beam of the Destroyer.

With a deafening crash of thunder, Asgard's mightiest weapon, forged by Odin himself, was reduced to rubble—scattered into countless fragments.

As the lightning slowly faded, Agent Phil Coulson, who had witnessed the entire miracle, muttered hoarsely:

"Sir… I think I just saw God…"

A second of silence passed through the earpiece before Nick Fury's heavy voice responded:

"Maybe you're not mistaken... The Mjolnir we secured at the base—it just flew away, exactly as described in the myths."

Coulson murmured in return:

"I know. It's in his hands."

The storm clouds dispersed.

Russell descended from the sky and landed beside Thor.

He removed his divine armor and looked down at him.

Thor, battered and scarred, raised his head and said with a complicated expression, "You're Thor... I'm the fake…"

He couldn't help but speak the truth.

Russell, who had shed his disguise during the transformation, didn't respond directly. Instead, he said:

"The fixed star in the Jotunheim starfield actually died out 30 million years ago. That's why it's always winter there."

"Mjolnir is Mjolnir—but it's not just a hammer. The core runes etched onto it represent solidity, transformation, summoning, and divine energy storage."

"The dwarven forge was made from the core of a dying star."

"The reason they're called dwarves is because the Asgardians defeated their giant ancestors—and belittled them by calling them dwarves."

"Aside from illusion magic, Asgardian spells include elemental magic, witchcraft, and summoning arts."

"The World Tree isn't visible in our realm because it exists beneath the true dimension. It only appears under special conditions."

Thor was stunned. He hadn't expected Russell to know these things.

But Russell didn't comfort him. Instead, he delivered the final blow:

"You were never Thor… Not from the beginning."

"I'm taking this hammer."

He turned and left without even glancing back.

Thor remained there in a daze.

Sif staggered over, clutching her chest. "Thor… We should return to Asgard. You still have to expose Loki's conspiracy!"

As for the Mjolnir being taken away—she pretended not to see it.

After a few moments of silence, Thor shook his head.

"No… from today onward, Thor is dead."

"Maybe Loki really is better than me… At least he doesn't just indulge himself in pleasure while knowing nothing."

"Asgard doesn't need a reckless warrior like me."

Just then, hurried footsteps approached. Erik and the others rushed over.

They weren't fools—they understood now. This man was Thor… or at least, he had once been.

"Would you like to join us?" Erik asked.

Thor shook his head without hesitation.

He didn't even look at Jane. Instead, he stared at the distant S.H.I.E.L.D. agents.

He had finally figured things out. He would no longer exile himself.

Asgard, Bifrost.

Loki's once hateful expression turned quiet.

He suddenly couldn't bring himself to hate anymore.

Elsewhere… In a quiet room…

Polaris, whispering to the little wolf girl in bed, was suddenly startled.

She saw Russell step out of a swirling orange portal. He placed down a hammer made of shimmering silver—like mithril—and left in a rush.

The little wolf girl was puzzled. Why didn't Russell even glance her way or say a word?

Then she turned around—and understood.

Polaris, who had just showered, had changed into a fresh outfit. Although she was malnourished, she owned more nightwear than the little wolf girl. The two couldn't share clothes, and there was an obvious… gap.

Russell's eyesight had become terrifying—even his peripheral vision was sharp.

Polaris blushed with embarrassment. She hadn't expected Russell to return so soon—he had said he might be gone for days.

Yet not even two hours had passed before he was suddenly back.

The little wolf girl grinned mischievously.

"I'm seriously considering lending her one of my combat suits—for sparring next time."

Asgard. Timeline: July 8, 2011.

Russell walked out of another portal, his expression awkward.

Had the little wolf girl convinced Polaris to try on his T-shirt?

That pose she was in—way too coincidental. Way too seductive.

He admitted it: the distraction had caused him to miscalculate and jump back to the wrong day.

But it didn't matter.

Destroying the Destroyer hadn't caused a timeline branch—after all, it had been destroyed at this exact time in the original timeline.

Russell calmed down and looked over the entries plundered by the system.

[Destruction Ray (Purple)]

Derived from the high-energy beams of the Asgardian Destroyer.

[Incompatible with organic physiology detected. Mutating…]

[Extremis adaptability at 160%…]

[Mutation complete!]

[Heat Vision (Mutated)]

Emits powerful energy beams from the eyes with extremely high temperatures. Capable of cutting through metal, melting rock, and causing massive destruction.

Russell's face lit up with surprise.

He hadn't expected to receive an entry for killing the Destroyer—after all, it wasn't a living being. But not only had he obtained an entry, it had even mutated!

Out of the dozens of entries he currently possessed, only the Heart of the Forge had previously undergone mutation. This was the second!

The Heart of the Forge made him stronger every second. He had a feeling this new one wouldn't be so simple either.

Russell was full of anticipation.

Wait a second...

Why did this entry look so familiar? The more he stared at it, the more it resembled something from that universe—like DC's Superman.

"Hey, system, did you pay the copyright fee for this one?"

Russell chuckled to himself, joking aloud.

He'd loved Superman since childhood, and now that he had a similar heat vision ability, his mood was soaring.

At this point, Russell felt like he could cosplay as a budget Superman—high-speed flight, superhuman physique, and heat vision. The only problem was… if he ever tried saving a plane, he might end up looking more like Homelander than Superman.

Still, after the initial thrill, reality set in again.

Because, ultimately, he had failed.

Yes, he had saved hundreds of desperate people at the scene. He had even deliberately provoked Thor in an attempt to help him regain his resolve. But he hadn't completed the ritual required for the task [Save Desperate Beings].

He wasn't sure whether the number of people saved was too low, or if the scenario simply didn't qualify.

Still, Russell didn't dwell on it. No time to waste.

He turned his attention to the two remaining goals:

[Frost Dragon of Jotunheim]

[Defeat the Dark Invasion]

After some thought, Russell decided to tackle the Frost Dragon first.

No particular reason—just that it was time-sensitive.

Without hesitation, he took out the Time Pad, rewound time by three days, and stepped into the portal.

Asgard.

A grand ceremony was taking place inside the temple.

The Old God King would soon choose a successor between his two sons.

Of course, everyone already knew the answer.

After all, the second prince—Loki—was widely considered… useless.

Russell didn't dare get too close to the ceremony.

Even though Odin's power was nearing the end of his life cycle and he would die in about three years, his legendary spear Gungnir—said to never miss—was still a deadly weapon.

Besides, Russell had no reason to provoke Odin. Killing him by accident could cause a serious time branch, and completing this ritual would become even harder.

He thought back carefully. There had been no Frost Dragon in the Thor 1 movie.

So, this would require a bit of creativity.

The main story was still playing out as expected:

The Frost Giants from Jotunheim infiltrated the treasure vault through a security breach, only to be eliminated by Odin's Destroyer.

Thor, enraged, wanted to launch a full-scale attack on Jotunheim for Asgard's honor—but Odin promptly stripped him of his power.

That evening, Loki, having successfully manipulated events, returned to his bedroom in high spirits.

He could already envision the idiotic Thor falling out of favor and Odin eventually becoming his pawn.

But just as he stepped through the door, a calm voice greeted him:

"I've been waiting for you. I thought you'd be back sooner."

Loki wasn't alarmed.

This was Asgard, after all. No fool besides those Jotunheim brutes would dare cause trouble here. And even they would never make it this far.

He turned his head casually—then froze.

A strange man was sitting at his table, munching on his prized fruits, and smiling right at him.

Loki instinctively shuddered.

He didn't know why, but a deep fear welled up from within him. His face twitched involuntarily, and his surroundings felt… off.

The next second—

"Who are you?"

Loki asked in a calm voice, stepping further into the room. His face remained composed.

Russell chuckled:

"Still so predictable."

He snapped his fingers.

Suddenly, a burst of green energy flashed—and Loki was slammed to the ground at Russell's feet.

The smug Loki that had been standing there vanished in a shimmer of green light.

An illusion.

The real Loki, now sprawled on the floor, looked stunned.

He couldn't understand it. One moment he had been running outside, the next, he was here. How?

Still, there was no time to think.

RE—

Double strike!

Snap!

Russell withdrew his hand.

This scene had played out so many times, it almost felt like a time loop.

But what could he do? Every major plan seemed to involve Loki one way or another.

The only conclusion: this poor guy was just plain unlucky.

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