The situation had clearly spiraled out of Thor's control. Though his pride was wounded, he pushed down his rage and tried to appeal to Zeus, his voice urgent and sincere:
"Zeus, this is bigger than us. He's taken the children of Asgard!"
Zeus gave a dismissive shrug, lounging in his seat with complete indifference.
"You think we're what—god cops? Every god looks after their own, no more, no less. Asgard's problems... are Asgard's problems."
What a piece of work. That line had all the shameless apathy of a certain superpower at the UN.
Thor stared at Zeus, stunned and disillusioned. His voice was full of disbelief and bitter disappointment:
"Is this how gods fall? You were my hero. Zeus… you're afraid."
Zeus's brow twitched. He stood up slowly from his throne.
As always, the King of the Gods knew how to make an entrance—or in this case, an exit. Even walking down a few steps had to be a production. He swayed his beer belly dramatically and, somehow, managed to make even lifting his toga look like theater. Graceful? No. Flashy? Absolutely.
He stopped in front of Thor, face stern, voice low.
"Let's talk. First—yeah. I am afraid. Gorr has the Necrosword. That means he can kill gods. That's... not ideal.
Second, I know you want to do the right thing. I get it. But running around yelling about it just spreads panic. Panic is bad. We're safe here. You, my friend, are safe here. So take a breath.
Have some wine. Have some grapes. This is Omnipotence City. Anything's possible here.
Third—and this one's important—don't talk back to Zeus. If you listen to me, I might even let you keep your clothes."
Classic Zeus—weaponized ego with a sprinkle of passive-aggressive charm.
He knew full well that Gorr the God Butcher posed a real threat to them all. Yet instead of acting, he just holed up in his golden palace, indulging in pleasures, pretending that shutting the doors meant shutting out the danger.
And Thor—straightforward, hotheaded Thor—was the one poking holes in that pretty illusion. Zeus clearly wanted to cut a quiet deal. He didn't even wait for Thor's response. Instead, he loudly declared his forgiveness and theatrically summoned Thor's clothes back onto him.
With that, Thor's grand plan to rally a team of gods had completely collapsed. He tried to salvage what he could, switching tactics.
"If you won't help me, then at least lend me your weapon. Let me take the Thunderbolt to fight Gorr."
Zeus summoned the Thunderbolt with a dramatic flourish and immediately started showing off. Truth be told, it looked more like a cheap magic trick than anything impressive. And anyone watching could tell—this King of the Gods was no showman.
After his little display, Zeus casually tossed the Thunderbolt back onto his throne.
"No," he said loudly. "I decline."
Meanwhile, back in Asgard, Odin and Frigga were watching the whole thing unfold through the livestream. Frigga clenched her fists, furious.
"What a bastard. Zeus is unbelievable! No honor at all."
Odin scoffed.
"Honor? That's a foreign concept to him. He's just embarrassed. Made a fool of himself in front of the entire multiverse."
Frigga paused, then nodded.
"He brought it on himself. Still... poor Thor. This must have crushed him."
Odin's expression turned strange, his voice low.
"If Thor could learn even a third of that old fool's shamelessness, I might actually feel comfortable leaving Asgard in his hands."
Frigga rolled her eyes.
"Please. The last thing I want is Thor becoming Zeus. The Thor we saw in that future video? He was amazing. He hit rock bottom and climbed back up, found purpose again—through love."
Odin said nothing. That wasn't his idea of a worthy heir.
But in the current timeline, he didn't have much of a choice. Still, if there was even a sliver of hope to shape Thor into something more, Odin was willing to try—no matter how impossible it seemed.
Back in video, Zeus was still mocking Thor.
"Don't worry about Gorr. He's not getting to Eternity."
"Eternity?" Thor immediately latched onto the word.
Clearly, Zeus knew far more about Gorr's true objective than he was letting on.
Up in the viewing gallery, Jane leaned over to Valkyrie, curious.
"Eternity?"
Valkyrie nodded.
"It's at the center of the universe. A powerful, mysterious being. Whoever reaches it first gets a wish."
"A wishing well?"
Valkyrie gave her a look.
"He's called the God Butcher. What do you think he'd wish for?"
The answer was obvious.
Down on the main floor, Thor raised his voice, eyes blazing with urgency.
"If that's what he's after, then we can't waste time. If he makes it to Eternity—he could wipe us out. All of us. Zeus, we have to act!"
But Zeus still wasn't taking it seriously.
"He won't get there. He doesn't have the key."
Thor had finally had enough. He called them out—every last one of them—for cowering in their golden palace like cowards.
He demanded to be released, declaring that he would go after Gorr himself. He wasn't going to sit around while the children of Asgard were in danger.
Zeus, however, wasn't having it. Thor knew where Omnipotence City was. If Gorr captured him and got that information, the city would no longer be safe. Zeus immediately ordered his guards to detain him.
Thor was done waiting. He turned to Jane and Valkyrie—if diplomacy didn't work, then it was time to fight.
With the Mighty Thor, Valkyrie, and Korg backing him up, Thor broke free from the lightning binds that shackled his hands—using them as whips instead—and launched into battle.
The guards weren't ordinary, of course. When injured, their blood shimmered gold. Maybe they were strong. Maybe. But against Thor and his team, they were just cannon fodder.
Then Zeus moved.
Back on his throne, he hurled the Thunderbolt.
A single strike—and Korg's body was torn through.
Korg, whose stone body had always been tough as mountains, crumbled in an instant. He fell apart into a heap of rocks right in front of Thor.
Thor had lost many people. Too many. But this? This still burned.
He looked at the pile of rubble, grief turning to fury.
"ZEUS!"
"You're next, son of Odin!" Zeus roared, summoning the Thunderbolt again and throwing it with deadly precision.
But Thor caught it.
His eyes blazed with blue lightning. He focused, and his own thunder began to overwhelm the golden bolt in his hands. He turned it around and hurled it back—hard.
The Thunderbolt shot through Zeus's chest.
No one had expected it. No one thought Zeus would actually fall.
Thor stared at him, voice cold:
"That's what it sounds like when lightning strikes."
____
T/N:
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