Reborn as the God-Emperor in Marvel

"You do realize, you're not part of SHIELD, right?" Nick Fury glanced at Solomon, who was sitting on a metal drum. The mage's legs were crossed, lifted away from the muddy ground. Even in the dim light, Nick Fury could see the brass buckles on Solomon's polished shoes. The rain had long since stopped, but Solomon still refused to let any mud splash onto his boots. "And now you're asking me to share SHIELD's surveillance footage with you. On what grounds?"

"Oh, spare me," Solomon sneered. "You SHIELD agents always think you guard your secrets tighter than a choirboy's backside, but we both know the truth. In front of me, SHIELD's security is weaker than Benedict XVI's resolve. Do you take pride in keeping secrets? You flaunt them over ordinary people. So, I have every reason to look down on you, because I know more about this world's secrets than you ever will."

"You little heathen, you really don't believe in God, do you?" Fury muttered while fiddling with his phone, still managing to keep the banter going. "I bet you've never even read the Bible."

"Believe me, I've read both the Old and New Testaments more times than you can count, especially the New Testament. At least it doesn't make me want to vomit as much as the Old Testament does," Solomon grimaced. "Abraham's sacrifice, the expulsion of Hagar and Ishmael—that's not piety, it's subservience. Subservience that the Sorcerer Supreme has always wanted humanity to escape from. Does God really have to meddle in family harmony? Why doesn't he just go create another world and a bunch of puppets in six days again? At least puppets don't rebel against their creator.

"Look at the so-called believers. Bishops fooling around with nuns, prostitutes crying out to God, the Pope selling indulgences, Puritans slaughtering with muskets and plagues in the name of God. Want me to go on? The people on this land violate their faith while claiming to be devout, fearing they'll fall into hell. If you ask me, believing in this nonsense is no different from heading straight to hell. There are more sects here than in Europe. Tell me, what the hell is Scientology? What about Baptists and Mormons?"

"Seriously? I didn't know you were this radical." Fury fixed his one eye on Solomon for a moment. "You're Jewish! What do you believe in?"

"I don't believe in anything. I follow order—Kamar-Taj's order. You know where I hear the name 'God' the most? Not in church, but in porn. That's right, I'm a lifetime member, registered with my senior brother's name." Solomon waved his hand dismissively. "And so what if I'm Jewish? You're Black, but I don't see you practicing Voodoo! I wasn't baptized, even though I was born in a church, accompanied by gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Get on with it; I don't have time for a theological debate."

"Alright. Agent Coulson followed my orders and didn't harm him," Fury said as he leaned in, holding his phone in front of Solomon. "Coulson, the guy you and Kamar-Taj messed with, had to go through an evaluation because of it. What do you want to see? Since Thor had his powers sealed, there's not much to report, other than him being more muscular. Damn, the guy is handsome. No wonder Jane Foster's all over him."

"If Coulson hadn't meddled where he shouldn't, I wouldn't feel the least bit sorry. If he comes again, he won't be leaving." Solomon swiped through the phone's screen and stopped on footage showing Thor, now confined in a temporary holding cell. After ordering his team to arrest Thor, Coulson had brought him here, where he was now under surveillance. But Coulson, having other matters to attend to, left Thor there for the time being.

"We can skip over what Kamar-Taj did to Agent Coulson. Let's focus on our Thunder God. Oh, he looks rather dumb." Fury zoomed in on Thor's face. He seemed to be staring off into space, completely expressionless, as though he had lost his soul. "Is this what you wanted to see? Are you planning to save this footage for future laughs?"

"Of course not." Solomon zoomed out again, watching Thor, still dazed. "Do you think, now that Thor's in this weakened state, any of his rivals might try to finish him off?"

"Are you saying Loki might strike?" Fury stood up abruptly, his voice tense. "When?"

"Not now," Solomon said, opening a portal and pulling out a steaming hotdog drenched in mustard. "They've been brothers for over 1,500 years. Loki's not cold-blooded enough to kill his own brother—not like the Allfather."

"So you're saying Odin is the ruthless one." Fury narrowed his one eye again.

"How else do you think Asgard conquered the Nine Realms and became a force that no one dares to cross in the universe?" Solomon shrugged, biting into his hotdog. "The Allfather is the supreme ruler of the Nine Realms. If you were to challenge him, you wouldn't even get the privilege of being executed by Gungnir. At least that would give you a quicker death."

"Hasn't Thor always led in battle?" Fury asked, now confused. "Then what brought him to this state?"

"Led in battle? Are you kidding? Thor has never experienced the kinds of wars the Allfather has. All he's done is clean up a few rebel forces, no different from dealing with roadside bandits." Solomon's tone implied a deeper meaning. Before this, he had likened SHIELD and the USA to rebel forces on Earth because, from Asgard's perspective, that's essentially what they were.

Of course, that was just another empty threat, one that would never be acted upon. Fury knew that. Both the Sorcerer Supreme and Solomon would fiercely oppose Asgard meddling in Earth's affairs. No one with any sense would ever invite Odin to return to Midgard.

"You understand, don't you? It's like those senators who send their kids to Ivy League schools to groom them for future control of their companies." Solomon swallowed the last bite of his hotdog. "Thor's the same way, except Asgard is built on military strength. The military is the foundation of Asgard. Thor, the Allfather, even the previous rulers of the Aesir, all grew up in military camps."

"Building legends, huh?" Fury remarked. "Can you please stop eating while we talk?"

"I missed dinner, you jerk! I gave up a romantic candlelight dinner with the most beautiful woman in the world to sit in the middle of this desert watching a big blond baby. Am I not working hard enough?" Solomon raised his voice. "If Thor didn't have such immense potential, I wouldn't be here."

"What do you mean?"

"Nothing." Solomon stretched and said, "Don't bother Thor tonight. Let things develop naturally. Jane Foster and Thor's relationship needs time to grow."

"Even after he knocked out my agents?" Fury asked, testing the waters. "Do you think Jane Foster might…?"

"Don't even think about it. There's no future between long-lived beings and mortals. Besides, the future queen has already been chosen. A hundred years from now, Jane Foster will be dead, and Sif will still be alive, not even with a wrinkle," Solomon said disdainfully, dismissing Fury's notion. Odin would never approve of an Earth woman like Jane Foster. 

Unless Jane could wield Thor's hammer, she was nothing more than an ordinary mortal in Asgard's eyes.

"I think you need to see this," Fury quickly changed the subject and handed the phone back to Solomon. "He's talking… to someone? There's no one in the footage!"

"He's here! Give me your gun." Solomon jumped to his feet, not caring about the muddy ground. "Give it to me, quickly!"

"Careful, it's loaded—"

"Shut up. I know how to use a gun!" Solomon took the handgun, swiftly checking the magazine, and then pulled a few alchemical bombs from his dimensional bag, placing them on the metal drum. After meticulously checking everything, he instructed Fury to start the car. "Don't ask why," Solomon said. "If you don't want to die inexplicably, just do as I say."

"What the hell are you planning to do?" Fury grumbled as he started the car. "Are you planning to kill someone?"

"I'm just giving someone a little warning." Solomon also asked Fury to keep switching between different surveillance feeds. Though it was an unreasonable request, Fury complied.

Suddenly, Solomon twisted his hand, conjuring sparks of orange-red light above the temporary research base. He tossed one of the alchemical bombs into the courtyard surrounding the hammer. Silver powder filled the air. Solomon raised the gun, firing at a moving shadow within the silvery cloud. After emptying the magazine, he threw another bomb down before closing the portal. The entire sequence took only six seconds. The agents in the base barely had time to react before the explosions and gunfire were over. Panic spread, as they feared another intruder might appear.

But nothing did. Aside from the small crater in the ground, nothing remained.

Solomon grabbed the metal drum and leapt into the passenger seat.

"Drive, drive, drive!" he urged. "Don't let anyone know it was us!"

"Then why the hell are you still carrying that thing?" Fury stepped on the

 gas, speeding through the desert, all the while grumbling because Solomon hadn't bothered explaining what had just happened. What was the warning for? Who was the target? Fury knew nothing.

"Because I haven't finished it!"

"Dammit... you owe me a proper explanation!"

"It was Loki." Solomon cast a spell. The black jeep drove through a portal and disappeared from the New Mexico desert, reappearing in a secluded alley in London. Fury wasn't fazed—he was used to Solomon's magic. He was just waiting for the mage's explanation.

"Loki is a magician, and a powerful one at that. He was invisible." Solomon continued, "When I opened the portal, I couldn't detect him with magic, so I used the alchemical bomb. As for the bullets, they were useless. To Asgardians, they're nothing. I just wanted to let Loki know that someone on Earth is watching him—nothing more."

"Just for that?"

"The Earth is the Sorcerer Supreme's domain, and Loki doesn't have a visa."

"Just for that?"

"It's a matter of sovereignty! Well, you're American, so it's no surprise you wouldn't understand."

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