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"Hmm? Looks like not everyone on Earth is as weak as I thought."
Holding Mjolnir, Thor looked at Captain America standing tall with his shield, unfazed even under the pressure of Thor's thunderstorm. For a moment, Thor actually looked a little impressed.
"But in the end, humans are still just humans. You'll never match a real god!"
In the next instant, his eyes hardened.
The lightning from Mjolnir surged, becoming even more wild and violent.
Under this storm of power, even people standing several meters away could feel the sheer intensity of the energy surging through the air. All they could do was back away and leave the battlefield to the two superhumans.
But even though Captain America was known as the peak of human potential, the man who could go toe-to-toe with anyone—
The fact remained: he was still human.
Under the intense, raging storm of lightning, even a sturdy shield could only block and absorb so much of the electrical current.
But the sheer force behind the attack kept slamming into his body, pushing him backward step by step.
His feet left deep gouges in the ground as he was forced back.
"Ah…"
Steve Rogers—Captain America—gritted his teeth and held his ground. His powerful will kept him standing, even though his body was being pushed back nonstop. His spirit never wavered.
"Impressive! Human, your willpower is truly something else. You're worthy of being my opponent."
Seeing Cap hold his own under such a relentless assault moved Thor more than he expected.
"But now, I'll show you—no matter how strong your will is, it can't make up for the overwhelming gap in raw power!"
Thor, now getting serious, stopped using his lightning powers. Instead, he slowly gripped Mjölnir with both hands, eyes locked onto Cap with burning determination.
"I could say the same to you," Cap shot back. "Humans don't bow to any so-called gods. That was true decades ago—and it's still true today!"
Clenching his ever-reliable shield in one hand, Cap felt like he'd returned to the battlefields of the past, full of resolve.
"Enough talk. Since I can't find that so-called Superman, guess you'll do for a warm-up!"
Thor didn't hesitate anymore. He leaped several meters into the air and swung Mjölnir down hard at Cap.
Cap reacted in an instant—just as the hammer came crashing down, he raised his shield to block it.
BOOM!
The moment Mjölnir struck the vibranium shield, a deafening blast erupted.
A shockwave exploded outward, ripping through the area and flipping several nearby cars like toys.
But unlike what we've seen in the movies, Thor didn't get knocked flying by the shield's rebound force.
Instead, both of them staggered back a few steps—then launched at each other again. Hammer and shield clashed over and over in a fierce, no-holds-barred battle!
Meanwhile…
While Thor and Cap were going head-to-head, things were heating up in a quiet lab out in the suburbs of New York.
The lab was buzzing with excitement. Dozens of tech enthusiasts and a few media reporters had gathered to witness what was being hyped as the greatest invention of the century.
"Ladies and gentlemen, you're lucky to be here today—because you're about to witness history."
"This experiment, and all of you here, will go down in the record books!"
At the center of the modest-looking lab stood a slightly overweight middle-aged man dressed in simple clothes. But his voice was full of confidence.
"Energy—has always been the bottleneck holding back human progress. Like the famous 'wooden barrel theory' says, the shortest plank limits the whole thing. And for humanity, that's always been energy."
"But today, you'll witness a turning point in human history. A moment that will change everything."
"After this, humanity will no longer fear energy shortages."
"You'll witness the birth of a new kind of power—safe, sustainable, and possibly everlasting. Energy that will provide cheap electricity for everyone!"
Dr. Otto's face lit up with an unstoppable smile, brimming with confidence.
"Now, let me introduce my assistant—"
As he spoke, he slowly walked over to a nearby device covered by a cloth. Without any flair, he yanked the cloth away.
"Whoa… what the heck is that?"
Gasps echoed through the room. Everyone except Peter Parker stared in awe at the strange mechanical rig—with four long, metallic tentacles.
"Peter, you don't look surprised at all," Gwen whispered, standing next to him. She was interning under Dr. Otto but had never seen this device before.
She was clearly amazed, and a bit confused as to why Peter looked totally unfazed.
"It's just a set of robotic arms. What's the big deal?" Peter replied coolly.
Sure, if this tech had existed in his old world, it would've been a groundbreaking invention.
But in the Marvel Universe, where insane tech is everywhere, this just wasn't that impressive.
"These four robotic arms were built specifically for today's fusion experiment," Dr. Otto explained. "They're resistant to extreme heat, magnetic fields, and radiation."
As he talked, he slowly took off his shirt, revealing his pudgy upper body, and stepped in front of the rig.
Then, the mechanical arms powered up. A spinal-like harness attached itself to his back, fusing with his spine in a slow, deliberate movement.
At that moment, Doctor Octopus was born.
"…Yikes. That thing looks painful."
Even Peter had to admit—Dr. Otto was going all in. The man was nearly obsessed, pushing himself to the edge for the sake of this experiment.
You have to understand—those mechanical arms aren't just strapped onto the skin.
The device used to secure them goes deep into the spinal nerves. That's the only way they can be controlled by thought alone.
"Peter, do you think Dr. Octavius can really pull this off?"
Watching what was happening in front of her, Gwen suddenly got a bad feeling in her gut. It wasn't her spider-sense, but it felt even more alarming.
She just had this sinking feeling that something might go wrong.
"I've got a weird feeling about this," she muttered.
Peter said that, but his face looked calm, like he wasn't worried about anything going sideways.
"Everyone, keep your eyes wide open, because the grand finale is about to begin!"
At that moment, Otto—now transformed into Doctor Octopus—had walked up to the laser ignition device.
"Oh, and a big shoutout to Oscorp Industries for generously donating the rare element—tritium!"
As the mechanical arms carefully placed the rare element called tritium into the center of the ignition chamber, an invisible magnetic field snapped it into place. It began to float and spin rapidly in midair.
"Buckle up, folks. It's showtime."
Otto put on his sunglasses and pressed the ignition button.
In the next instant, several laser beams hit the tritium dead center.
The extreme heat instantly activated it, and a brand-new miniature "star" began to bloom at the heart of the device.
"Whoa... is that, like, a man-made mini sun?"
Even though the searing heat and intense radiation were completely contained by a magnetic shield, everyone watching still couldn't help gasping in amazement.
"Sorry, Gwen—I've got to go do something real quick."
Just as Gwen was still stuck in that uneasy feeling, Peter suddenly spoke up beside her.
"Peter? What's going on?"
Gwen tried to stop him, but Peter was already walking away without hesitation.
"Damn it…"
She stared at Peter's retreating figure, then turned to glance at the dazzling "star" in the machine.
In the end, Gwen didn't go after him. Instead, she stepped back, moving behind the crowd and slipping off into a corner where no one could see her.
"....."