Loki was too good at stirring up trouble, and Rowan wasn't even sure if he could scare him off. But it didn't matter. If Loki caused a New York-level incident like in the original timeline, so be it—Rowan would fight back.
Even though Nick Fury and Tony Stark were wary of Rowan, fearing his power could one day make him a terrifying villain and a massive threat to Earth, Rowan remained oblivious to their concerns. After all, he was now a well-known superhero—Superman.
From a superhero's standpoint, Rowan didn't feel the need to intervene prematurely.
"Damn it, this Earthling... this mortal... how could he—?"
In Asgard, Loki was trembling. He had never imagined someone could be this powerful.
His brother Thor couldn't do this. This kind of raw physical strength, sheer brute force—it was monstrous.
He was a god, and even gods couldn't do what this "mere mortal" just did.
How could this be possible?
Loki was practically sweating cold bullets. Fortunately, Thor was still frozen and couldn't get in his way.
But the real trouble was only just beginning.
Back on Earth, a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had begun transporting the frozen Thor into a containment facility. At the same time, others were already rushing to collect fragments of the Destroyer armor.
"This is my trophy. You think you can just take it like that? I don't think so," Rowan said coldly.
Nick Fury and the others were a little embarrassed. They were used to simply confiscating whatever they wanted—most people couldn't oppose them. But Rowan was different. He wasn't just a Superman-level powerhouse—he was also a time traveler.
That made him uniquely dangerous, and no one dared to ignore him.
"How about this—$100 million. One billion per day if you want," came Tony Stark's voice over the comms.
He flew in awkwardly from a distance, one of his thrusters clearly damaged, making his flight unsteady.
He was increasingly envious of Rowan—someone who could fly without tech, just by relying on raw power.
"As long as you agree, the $100 million will be wired to your account immediately," Tony added.
Everyone looked at Rowan.
He didn't hesitate for even half a second. "Deal," he replied.
Just like that, Rowan agreed. He already had over $10 million to his name—enough for basic financial freedom. But with $100 million, he was officially among the world's rich.
And the deal was entirely legal and transparent. He had no guilt about it.
Rowan wasn't the scientific type of superhero. Even if he kept the Destroyer armor fragments, they'd be useless to him. Plus, he'd probably end up facing political pressure from Asgard.
Though Rowan suspected that even S.H.I.E.L.D. didn't expect to get much out of studying the armor. Given the vast technological differences between systems, it was a long shot anyway.
After Rowan gave his approval, everyone breathed a sigh of relief.
But then another problem arose: how to unfreeze Thor.
The frost from the Casket of Ancient Winters wasn't ordinary—it was absolute zero-level cold. That's how it froze a god like Thor instantly.
It wasn't something you could thaw with a hairdryer.
"Let me handle it," Rowan offered. He walked over to the ice block and casually slammed his fist into it.
Boom!
With a deafening roar, Rowan shattered the ice, but he controlled his strength perfectly—Thor remained unharmed inside.
As the ice shards scattered in all directions, Thor began to stir. His divine power started to circulate again, healing the frostbite at astonishing speed.
Rowan was impressed. Though Asgardians weren't on par with all-powerful mythical gods, their physiology was still far superior to that of humans.
It was like seeing an ultimate version of what humans might evolve into after tens of thousands of years of technological development.
If a regular person were frozen at absolute zero, even if you thawed them, they'd die—cells destroyed, body ruined.
But Thor? A few moments later, it was like nothing had happened.
Thor quickly expressed his gratitude to Rowan. Even though he'd been frozen, he hadn't lost consciousness—just mobility. It had been humiliating to be fooled by Loki again.
"Thank you. I owe you one," Thor said, surprisingly in fluent Chinese.
"You speak Chinese?" Rowan asked in surprise.
"Of course. The Chinese pantheon is one of the major god systems," Thor explained. "We've dealt with each other before—not just them, but other pantheons too."
He shrugged. "Learning the languages of different cultures and even planets is part of royal training. Asgard has a full curriculum for crown princes. It's a required course."
"Other gods?" Nick Fury frowned. This was the first time Thor had openly mentioned the existence of other pantheons—and it confirmed Nick's earlier suspicions.
Especially regarding the Chinese deities. The Divine Spear Bureau—China's supernatural agency—had long shown signs of backing from otherworldly forces. Nick didn't know the details, but now he could deduce some things.
"There really are other gods..." Tony Stark muttered, rubbing his nose.
He had always been a staunch atheist. If he hadn't seen gods himself, he'd never believe in them. By Western standards, with his arrogance and womanizing, he'd be destined for hell.
But did it look like he was afraid?
Not at all.
Still, now that he'd seen gods with his own eyes, even Tony Stark was feeling slightly nervous.
Maybe there was a higher power out there.
Amen. Please don't smite me.
Rowan wasn't surprised. He had always known there were other gods operating in this world. In his past life, he'd seen hints of them throughout the Marvel Cinematic Universe and various TV shows.
There had always been shadows of other deities—active, watching, interfering.
It was never just a single pantheon.
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