Chapter 48: Chapter 48: Women? They Only...

Pierce frowned deeply as he listened to his subordinate's report. Once the agent left the office, Pierce rubbed his temples, feeling a massive headache coming on. 

'What the hell is happening to the world lately?' 

First, a bunch of self-proclaimed 'superheroes' start popping up everywhere, followed shortly by high-tech supervillains. And now, literal gods were descending from the sky?! Although the subordinate's report clarified that the 'Asgardians' were technically just highly advanced aliens, it didn't make Pierce feel any better. 

Not at all! 

A 'Bifrost' that could double as a planet-killing superweapon? A 'God-King' capable of physically shattering planets? Was this truly the Asgard from Norse mythology? 

'It seems the imaginations of ancient humans were severely lacking,' Pierce thought grimly. 

Leaning back in his leather executive chair, Pierce carefully considered the situation. The World Security Council had just officially approved the construction of the Project Insight Helicarriers. However, they had only authorized the construction of a single prototype carrier to test its viability; the remaining fleet wouldn't be authorized for several years. 

Pierce clenched his fists. He hadn't anticipated so many catastrophic variables appearing before Project Insight was even fully operational. The global situation was rapidly spiraling out of his control. 

After thinking for a moment, Pierce pressed a button on his intercom. A few moments later, a bald, bespectacled agent walked into the office. 

"Sitwell, I need you to immediately input all available data on this 'Luke' into the Zola Algorithm. I need to know, definitively, if he will pose a threat to our plans." 

Jasper Sitwell nodded efficiently, tapping his earpiece as he walked out to execute the order. 

Pierce let out a long breath, trying to calm his nerves. 

Project Insight was terrifying, yes, but the true, horrifying core of the project wasn't the Helicarriers; it was the Zola Algorithm. 

By utilizing the Algorithm, HYDRA could proactively identify individuals who would pose a threat to their fascist regime in the future, allowing HYDRA to quietly assassinate them before they ever became a problem. 

Over the past few decades, HYDRA's Winter Soldier and covert strike teams had quietly eliminated tens of thousands of potential threats. But manual assassination was simply too slow. 

According to the Zola Algorithm, there were currently over twenty million people globally who would eventually resist HYDRA's new world order! 

Thus, Project Insight was born. 

It was simple, efficient, and brilliantly ruthless. A single Helicarrier could eliminate a million targets in a few minutes. Launch a few dozen carriers, and they could effortlessly eradicate every single annoying 'fly' on the planet! 

'Destiny is on our side!' Pierce thought, his fist clenching in absolute determination. 

Suddenly, a firm knock on the door interrupted his thoughts. 

Nick Fury strode into the office. He walked slowly toward Pierce's desk, his single eye fixed on his old friend and mentor. 

"I hear you're running a deep background sweep on Consultant Luke?" Fury asked calmly. 

Pierce froze for a fraction of a second. How did Fury find out so quickly?! But Pierce quickly smoothed his expression, realizing his mistake. Fury had eyes everywhere in S.H.I.E.L.D. 

"Why are you being so cautious?" Fury continued. "And why did you instantly classify his file at the highest clearance level?" 

Pierce stood up, calmly pouring a cup of coffee and sliding it across the desk toward Fury. 

Fury took a sip, his expression remaining completely unreadable. 

Seeing Fury drink the coffee, Pierce relaxed slightly. "The kid's background is too mysterious, Nick. First, he's closely tied to Howard's kid. Then he gets involved in the Hulk incident. And now he's somehow directly mingling with these alien 'gods'? I think he's a massive security risk. He has an agenda." 

Fury nodded slowly. "I've already conducted a thorough, psychological evaluation on him. My conclusion? He's not a threat to us. You can call off your investigation; you're just wasting resources. Instead of chasing ghosts, why don't you focus on extorting more funding from the World Security Council so we can finish building the new Triskelion headquarters faster?" 

With that, Fury turned and walked out of the office. 

Pierce let out a silent sigh of relief. He had personally mentored Fury; he knew exactly how brilliant and paranoid the man was. Fury was arguably the greatest spy on the planet. But for HYDRA, that brilliance was a massive problem. Fury was HYDRA's greatest natural enemy. 1

'I need to figure out a permanent solution,' Pierce thought coldly. 'Fury is a highly useful tool for managing S.H.I.E.L.D., but...' 

Remembering the Zola Algorithm's catastrophic threat assessment regarding Fury, Pierce finalized his decision. The tool had outlived its usefulness. Fury had to die. 

Outside the office, Fury stepped into a blind spot in the hallway. He discreetly spat a dissolved, broad-spectrum anti-toxin pill out of his mouth and tossed it into a trash can. 

'Trust no one.' That was the very first lesson Alexander Pierce had ever taught him. 

As Fury walked toward the elevators, his mind raced. 

Where exactly did Pierce get his intelligence regarding Thor? The moment Fury realized Thor was an extraterrestrial entity, he had strictly ordered Coulson to report directly and exclusively to him. The information was highly compartmentalized. 

So what was Pierce planning? Why had he secretly planted moles within Coulson's tactical team? 

Fury obviously didn't know Pierce was the head of HYDRA yet, but his unparalleled paranoia was screaming at him. He decided he needed to launch a covert, off-the-books investigation into his old friend. 

Standing in front of the elevator, Fury pressed the call button. The doors opened immediately. 

Seeing Agent Sitwell standing inside, Fury gave him a curt nod and gestured for the bald agent to step out first. 

Sitwell, entirely surprised to see the Director on this floor, maintained his professional composure. He offered a crisp salute before walking briskly toward Pierce's office. 

Fury watched Sitwell's retreating back with a highly suspicious glare before stepping into the elevator. 

Inside Pierce's office, Sitwell entered just seconds after Fury had left. 

"What were the results?" Pierce asked immediately. 

"The Algorithm confirmed it. Luke will not pose a threat to our plans." 

(Author's Note: Time is a concept that even the Ancient One cannot fully comprehend or see with absolute clarity. The idea that HYDRA's Zola Algorithm can perfectly predict the future is frankly ridiculous. Therefore, in this story, I am classifying the Zola Algorithm as a highly advanced 'Big Data' predictive model. It calculates threat levels based on past consumption habits, internet search history, banking records, etc. And considering Luke's search history is primarily filled with anime, gaming forums, and looking up Asian breakfast recipes... you get the idea.) 1

Pierce finally breathed a sigh of relief. The Algorithm was Dr. Zola's masterpiece; its predictive models had never been wrong. 

After pondering for a moment, Pierce ordered Sitwell to discreetly attempt to recruit Luke into their faction. 

Luke, completely oblivious to the fact that he had just inadvertently dodged a HYDRA assassination order by being a massive nerd, was currently sitting in his hotel room, happily grinding a mobile game. 

As for Thor? The idiot prince had stood in the rain, giggling like a lovestruck fool for half an hour, before finally remembering that he actually had a woman waiting for him back in town. 

Thor had quickly changed out of his muddy hospital scrubs, donned a set of civilian clothes (which still made him look incredibly muscular and intimidating), and practically flown back to town. 

As for returning to Asgard? Thor stubbornly claimed that since his father hadn't officially 'forgiven' him yet, he absolutely refused to return. 

'Bullshit! You aren't avoiding Asgard out of respect; you just want to stay on Earth to flirt with Jane!' Luke had thought, rolling his eyes. 

Suddenly, Luke's mobile game disconnected. 

"Hey, Coulson! Why did the Wi-Fi suddenly drop?!" Luke yelled. 

There was no response. Luke looked around and realized the hotel room had vanished. He had been forcefully pulled into the Mirror Dimension by his two cosmic bosses again. 

Odin looked exceptionally pleased. His idiot son had finally awakened his divine power without the hammer, meaning Odin could comfortably accelerate his retirement plans. 

"So, you still aren't going to recall Thor to Asgard? Are you still testing him?" Luke asked Odin, genuinely confused. 'Are you seriously just going to let him wander around Earth flirting with Jane for the next few decades?' 

"Thor's innate power has fully awakened. His divine strength will naturally grow over time, regardless of where he resides in the Nine Realms," Odin stated proudly. "As for testing him? Thor has already passed. To serve as the General of Asgard's armies, one only needs overwhelming strength and the ability to follow basic orders." 

Odin paused, a complicated look crossing his face. "As for the throne? I must now test Loki." 

'Wait, hold on. Your standards for Thor are really that low?! 'Able to follow basic orders'?!' Luke was speechless. But logically, it made sense. If Loki became King, Thor—who was fiercely loyal and deeply loved his brother—would undoubtedly follow Loki's commands without question. 

However, Odin's casual implication that he was genuinely considering leaving the throne of Asgard to a Frost Giant was shocking. 

Then again, if you raise a dog for a thousand years, you'll inevitably develop a deep, familial bond with it, let alone a sentient child like Loki. 

Luke didn't care about Asgardian politics. As long as Odin was willing to ride down on his eight-legged horse wearing the Destroyer Armor to save Luke in a crisis, Odin could make a literal Frost Giant the King for all he cared. 

Luke glanced impatiently at his disconnected smartphone. "Is there anything else you need, Your Majesty? I was in the middle of a ranked match, could we speed this up?" 

(Insert meme: Explaining to your parents that you cannot pause an online multiplayer game.) 

The Ancient One shot Odin a highly amused look. Odin sighed, reaching into his golden robes and pulling out an ancient, leather-bound grimoire. 

Seeing the book, Luke's eyes instantly lit up. It felt incredibly nostalgic, reminding him of the time the Ancient One casually tossed him a book filled with Dark Dimension coordinates like a wealthy tycoon handing out blank checks. 

"This tome contains the multiversal coordinates of numerous Dark Dimensions that Asgard has cataloged over the past several millennia," Odin explained. "However, given the passage of time, it is highly likely that many of these micro-dimensions have evolved into mid-tier realms or shifted their absolute coordinates. But there should still be plenty of viable targets." 

Luke eagerly snatched the book from Odin's hands, grinning from ear to ear. 

'Is there anything else you want to give me, Boss? I can wait all day!' 

Odin didn't say anything else. The Ancient One, taking pity on Luke's AFK teammates, casually drew a portal, signaling Luke to hurry back to his game before he got reported for throwing the match. 

Luke returned to his hotel room, and the game instantly reconnected. 

Ignoring his teammates aggressively pinging question marks at him in the chat, Luke typed a highly arrogant message: 

[Sorry, the Sorcerer Supreme and the King of Asgard just pulled me into a meeting to discuss cosmic security. Gotta go!] 

Luke immediately force-closed the app, ignoring the furious slurs undoubtedly filling the chat. He excitedly pulled out the ancient grimoire, pulled out his Sling Ring, and gave Baron Mordo a long-overdue phone call. 

"Get the combat mages ready. We're going hunting." 

Entering his own Dark Dimension, Luke watched Mordo lead a massive battalion of heavily armed Kamar-Taj combat mages through the portal. 

Feeling incredibly confident, Luke randomly selected a coordinate from Odin's book and attempted to open a portal. 

[Error: The selected multiversal coordinate is empty/invalid.] 

'Uh...' Luke glanced awkwardly at Mordo, who was staring at him with a highly serious, battle-ready expression. 

Quickly, before Mordo could ask questions, Luke tapped another coordinate. 

[Error: The selected multiversal coordinate is empty/invalid.] 

Luke cursed internally. 'Just how old is this damn book, Odin?!' 

Frustrated, Luke rapidly tapped ten random coordinates in quick succession. 

Surprisingly, seven of the coordinates successfully connected to active dimensions! 

Even better, five of them were harmless micro-dimensions completely devoid of hostile life, while only two were low-tier dimensions with active, hostile 'Lords.' 

Luke breathed a massive sigh of relief. Thank god there were only two hostile realms. He silently swore to stick to 'single-pulls' in the future; if he did a 'ten-pull' and accidentally opened a portal to a high-tier Hell Dimension, they would all be slaughtered. 

Luke immediately ordered the Shadowkhan to launch a full-scale invasion of the first hostile low-tier dimension, while ordering Mordo's mages to establish a defensive perimeter around the portal to the second hostile realm. 

Luke's personal strength had grown exponentially since his first dimensional conquest against Andrews. His elite Shadow army was now more than capable of independently conquering a low-tier dimension without his direct intervention. 

As for the second dimension? 

Mordo and his mages had already established a massive, interlocking magical shield generated entirely from pure dark energy. 

Because the shield was constructed from pure, unadulterated dimensional energy, its defensive capabilities were astronomical compared to their previous Eldritch magic shields. 

It looked incredibly intimidating. However, checking the energy consumption rate, Luke winced. It was burning nearly 5,000 Energy Points per second! At that density, the shield could easily tank a direct hit from a Star Destroyer's main cannon! 

After two hours of brutal fighting, the Shadowkhan successfully conquered the first dimension. Meanwhile, Mordo's team continued to flawlessly blockade the portal to the second dimension, completely trapping the hostile Lord inside. Luke even cast a massive 'Silence' spell on the portal, ensuring the terrified Lord didn't even dare to peek outside. 

Luke comfortably set up a lawn chair and completely slacked off, happily watching his subordinates do all the hard work. 

'Keep up the good work, guys! At this rate, my passive income will double by tomorrow!' 

After silently cheering his team on, Luke immediately redirected the victorious Shadowkhan army to launch an overwhelming assault on the second dimension. 

A few hours later, the severely outmatched Lord of the second dimension screamed a few generic villain curses and cowardly fled his realm, abandoning his territory to Luke. Luke was slightly annoyed that he couldn't kill the Lord and extract multiversal coordinates from his corpse, but he quickly ordered Mordo's team to begin looting the realm's artifacts anyway. 

Once the battlefield was cleared, Luke commanded his Dark Dimension to physically consume and assimilate all seven newly acquired realms. 

His total 'Mined Energy Capacity' instantly skyrocketed by nearly 3 million points! 

'So comfortable!' 

Watching his passive energy regeneration numbers fly off the charts, Luke was so happy he was literally giggling to himself as he stepped out of the portal back into the S.H.I.E.L.D. base in New Mexico. 

"Did something good happen?" Coulson asked. He was currently directing heavy machinery to physically excavate the entire crater—including several feet of bedrock—so they could airlift Mjolnir back to a secure S.H.I.E.L.D. facility. 2

"I did a ten-pull and didn't get a legendary drop, but the SR rates were fantastic," Luke replied cheerfully. 

"...?" 

Ignoring Coulson's utter confusion, Luke turned and walked toward the town. 

'What is wrong with him today?' Coulson wondered, but quickly turned back to his logistics problem. 

Luke happily strolled into Puente Antiguo. Almost immediately, he spotted Thor, dressed in tight flannel and jeans, happily shopping with Jane Foster. Trailing miserably behind them were Darcy and Erik, radiating the distinct, depressing aura of professional third-wheels. 

"Hey! Uncle!" 

Thor spotted Luke immediately and yelled across the street, waving enthusiastically. 

'This guy has absolutely zero social anxiety. He's a social terrorist!' 

Luke grimaced as every single person on the street turned to stare at him and the massive, screaming blonde man. 

Sighing heavily, Luke covered his face with his hand and walked over. 

"Hey, Uncle. This is my new friend, Jane," Thor introduced her warmly, completely forgetting about Darcy and Erik standing right behind her. 

"Hello," Jane said politely, though she looked highly suspicious. "Wait, didn't you say you didn't know Thor at the hospital? How are you suddenly his uncle?" 

"Because at the time, I hadn't officially become sworn blood-brothers with his father yet. So technically, I wasn't his uncle then," Luke answered smoothly, technically only answering the second half of her question. 

Surprisingly, his absolute confidence easily fooled the astrophysicist. 

"So, you guys are just window shopping?" Luke asked. 

"Yes! Jane is graciously educating me on the local customs of Midgard... I mean, Earth," Thor grinned like an absolute idiot. 

Luke sighed inwardly. Thor was completely blinded by the honeymoon phase of his first real crush. 

'No! As his Uncle, I cannot sit back and watch him fall into the trap of romance!' 

Luke gestured for Thor to step away from the group. "You want to learn about Earth's culture? Just walking around isn't enough. Do you want to experience a truly thrilling, modern combat simulation?" 

"Combat? Simulation?" How did those two concepts fit together on Midgard? Thor glanced back at Jane in confusion, but Jane was equally bewildered. 

Luke immediately marched Thor into an electronics store, bought him a top-of-the-line smartphone, downloaded a highly popular 5v5 MOBA game, and aggressively coached Thor through his first match. 

Ten minutes later... 

"CURSE YOU! HOW DARE YOU SLAY THE GREAT GOD OF THUNDER?! UNFORGIVABLE!" 

Thor roared furiously at the tiny screen, desperately trying to control the massive arcs of lightning violently sparking off his skin so he wouldn't instantly fry the fragile glass device. 

Jane had already cautiously backed away a solid ten feet, terrified that the random static electricity jumping off Thor would arc and electrocute her. 

Luke, however, nodded in absolute, smug satisfaction. 

'You are still young, Thor. You do not understand!' 

'Women? They only hinder your reaction speed!' 1

Completely ignoring the fact that Thor was nearly 1,500 years old, Luke smirked. What was the point of romance when ranked multiplayer gaming existed?! 2

Glancing at the exasperated Jane, Luke felt a tiny twinge of guilt, but he had intentionally sabotaged their date for a reason. 

Thor was an Asgardian. He could easily live for five thousand years. Jane was a normal human. If she was lucky, she'd live to be a hundred. If she was unlucky, she could get hit by a bus tomorrow. 

What kind of future did they really have? Their current 'love' was essentially just a temporary spike in biological hormones. 

(Though Luke honestly had no idea how an alien Asgardian and a human could even be biologically compatible enough to trigger hormonal attraction, he didn't care enough to research it.) 1

Right now, Luke just wanted to create some artificial distance between them. Let them cool off, play some video games, and seriously evaluate their feelings before making any rash decisions. 

Of course, if they truly, genuinely loved each other... well, as long as Thor respectfully called him 'Uncle' a few more times, Luke could easily solve the lifespan issue in the future. Once his dimensional authority grew strong enough, he could easily forge a demonic contract with Jane to grant her immortality. 

He couldn't do it right now, but Dormammu did it all the time for his zealots. There was no reason Luke couldn't learn how to do it eventually. 

As for Odin and the Ancient One? He was just their magical battery. What they did with the energy was their business. Maybe he could ask them to teach him some advanced lifespan-extension spells in exchange for a discount on his energy rates?