"On a gold bar in Texas, I recognized an ancient symbol, probably thousands of years old—Asgardian."
Hearing Thor's words, Captain America rubbed his chin.
"You said all the Asgardians were dead."
Iron Man voiced his own opinion: "Is it possible that one or more of them have returned?"
But for Thor, there was no need for speculation. In his memory, only one person fit these conditions.
"Especially an Asgardian who should have long been accustomed to escaping death—one could even say he's famous for it." Though Thor did not explicitly say the name, Captain America and the others immediately understood whom he was referring to.
The Norse god of fire, the god of lies—Loki.
And also Thor's brother.
After some thought, Captain America decided to inform the current President of the United States. However, the awkward part was that they had no news of this President's whereabouts.
Captain America turned his gaze toward Iron Man, hoping he could track down the Bat. But Iron Man could only shake his head.
Their so-called Bat President was a master of hiding his tracks—so much so that no trace of him could be found.
Even when Anthony was tasked with searching for any sign of the Bat, all his findings pointed to various psychiatric hospitals and clinics.
This left Iron Man utterly helpless. He couldn't possibly go from one psychiatric hospital to another, checking them one by one.
This was also a troubling matter for Captain America. He could only turn to Thor and say, "Thor, I share your concerns, but right now, there are some dangerous weapons in Wyoming that need to be secured. I need you to go there first, and then we'll deal with this situation."
"The Ultimate Squad is always by your side."
Thor looked at Captain America, nodded, and then flew off toward Wyoming.
"Senator Underwood, I think we shouldn't allow this President to continue letting those people act so recklessly." The voice on the other end of the phone was playful but did not overstep any boundaries.
"I'll talk to him. Don't worry. Perhaps we should try other methods." Bruce mimicked Underwood's voice in response to the person on the other end.
Meanwhile, Bruce's gaze had long since shifted away from the television, now fixed on the wide-eyed Senator Underwood beside him.
"Then I'll be waiting for your good news, Senator Underwood. Oh, by the way, an old friend of yours has arrived here. Maybe one day, you two can meet and have a proper discussion about America's future."
"I'll be sure to have a good conversation with him." As soon as Bruce finished speaking, the call was disconnected, with no intention of continuing the conversation.
"Who is he?" Bruce ripped the webbing off Underwood's mouth.
The highly adhesive webbing pulled out some of Underwood's unshaven beard in the process.
"Ah!"
The pain momentarily robbed Underwood of his self-control, causing him to cry out.
Outside the door, Secret Service guards exchanged glances, unsure of what to do.
Ultimately, they chose to pretend they hadn't heard anything, standing obediently outside the office, waiting for the two important figures inside to finish their business.
At this moment, blood dripped from Underwood's mouth where his beard had been ripped out.
He glared angrily at the Bat before him. If he could, he would have sliced and diced the man in front of him.
But clearly, that was an impossibility. The entire conversation he had just had was now in the Bat President's hands.
"Why should I tell you?" Underwood had already realized that he was finished. There was no need to betray the other person.
At the very least, that way, the other party could still cause enough trouble for America, creating more difficulties for this Bat President.
"Didn't you want to see America slowly settle and unify? Well, I'm telling you—it's impossible. As long as that person exists, America will never be at peace." Underwood had absolute confidence in that individual. After all, this was a man who could vanish into thin air, a man with god-like powers.
In the face of such a man, no matter how strong the Bat President was, he would still be restrained, unable to achieve all his goals.
"Rest assured, none of what you say will come true. I will find that man and bring him right before you." Bruce stared at Underwood, then delivered a punch straight to the senator's face.
In an instant, blood gushed from Underwood's nose. Unable to withstand the sheer force of the blow, he lost consciousness.
Bruce didn't leave through the door. Instead, he grabbed the webbing wrapped around Senator Underwood and leaped out of the window, vanishing into the night.
By the time the Secret Service guards rushed into the office, there was no sign of either man—only shattered glass scattered across the floor.
However, Bruce did not leave them in a difficult position. He had already notified S.H.I.E.L.D. agents to arrive in Washington and take control of the situation.
Before the Secret Service guards could even report the incident, S.H.I.E.L.D. agents had already arrived in Washington.
They took over security measures for all key personnel in the Senate's emergency meetings.
Although the Secret Service director was quite displeased, there was nothing he could say to a newly inaugurated President—especially one he couldn't even contact.
The senators, however, reacted more strongly. They couldn't understand why agents were now monitoring them.
To them, it was blatant surveillance.
They wanted a direct conversation with the Bat President, but unfortunately, all they encountered were S.H.I.E.L.D. agents with calm eyes and indifferent tones.
The summary of their response was simple: Everything they were doing was for the senators' safety, and for now, they could not leave.
If they wished to file a complaint, the only avenue available was to appeal to S.H.I.E.L.D.'s acting director—Carol.
Of course, some did try to complain, but Carol shut them down with a single sentence.
"The President has given the order—I have no authority to stop it."
Carol had already lost count of how many calls from senators she had received in recent times.
She had never imagined that the moment Batman took office, he would cause such a commotion.
It could be said that all senators in the current Senate had effectively lost their personal freedom.
This had been going on for a week.
During this time, the Ultimate Squad had also begun their operations.
Captain America had entered Detroit, completely liberating the city from David Seeger, the dictator who ruled over it.
He had also handed David Seeger over to S.H.I.E.L.D.
Meanwhile, the Western Coast Nation had officially announced its decision to renounce its so-called sovereignty and pursue the unification of America.
At this moment, Thor had been waiting in Wyoming for the Ultimate Squad for a long time, closely observing the events unfolding there.
However, today, things in Wyoming had begun to spiral out of control at an alarming rate.
"Captain, I've found the issue you were talking about. It looks serious," Thor quickly reported to Captain America.
"How serious is it?"
Captain America was well aware of how sensitive Wyoming was. The primary reason he had stationed Thor there was that Thor could suppress most rebellions in the shortest time possible.
Over the past week, Wyoming had been unusually calm—not at all like a place prone to uprisings. Instead, it seemed as if it had always been loyal to America.
But today, everything had changed.
"The army, Captain! They're preparing to invade! I—ah!!!"
Before Thor could finish speaking, a sudden sharp pain struck his head. He sensed a very familiar rune.
"Captain! The runes—I'm right! I don't know what's happening, but there are Asgardians at work here. I must find them! Captain, I will no longer be alone!"
Thor spoke excitedly, expressing his current emotions to Captain America, but the only response he received was a firm order of denial.
However, shortly after, Captain America could no longer hear Thor's voice. It was clear that the Norse warrior had removed their communicator.
Captain America quickly reported this information to S.H.I.E.L.D. Meanwhile, Carol finally received a communication from Bruce.
Though, strictly speaking, it wasn't actually from Bruce himself.
On the other end of the call was someone Carol was quite familiar with—Jessica, a former S.H.I.E.L.D. agent.
"That's the situation in a nutshell. Speaking of which, how is Senator Underwood doing now?" Carol rubbed her forehead, feeling overwhelmed by recent events.
"That guy? He's still screaming about impeaching Batman."
Jessica had no fondness for Senator Underwood. Ever since returning, he had been incessantly demanding Batman's impeachment and imprisonment.
If Bruce hadn't kept him around for his usefulness, Jessica would have thrown him straight into a New York prison to let him experience its unique 'hospitality.'
At this moment, inside S.H.I.E.L.D.'s Pegasus Project base in Wyoming, a man named Morez, with heterochromatic eyes—one red, one blue—appeared.
"Senator Underwood hasn't contacted us for a week now," said a man responsible for monitoring the senator and his associates, turning to Morez.
"He's been exposed."
Morez was utterly indifferent to Underwood's fate.
The moment Underwood missed their scheduled call, Morez had known something was wrong. Yet he had chosen not to retreat, confident that Underwood's ideology would prevent him from betraying them.
Underwood would rather watch America crumble into chaos than give them up.
At that moment, a man in military uniform approached Morez.
"Has your Hydra army assembled?"
"Eighty-seven percent, Morez. The rest are still retreating from remote areas," the military man reported solemnly.
"That's enough. What I gained from this device is my birthright—a terrifying weapon that will make us unstoppable."
Morez smiled radiantly as he looked at the device in front of him.
"We will advance along the mountains and split this nation in two. We will—"
Suddenly, Morez's expression hardened, and his smile vanished.
His gaze fixed on a certain point, unblinking.
"Leave. Now."
The military officer was clearly confused. "Sir?"
"Immediately!"
The moment Morez spoke, the military officer realized something was wrong and hurriedly left.
Meanwhile, Morez slowly walked through the display cases of the Pegasus base.
"We are alone now. Just you and me. You didn't bring any friends, did you? Not that fully armed, spiteful man, nor that patriotic warrior draped in red, blue, and white. How did you even fit in with them?"
"A god without immortality? A child without a family? A warrior without a kingdom?"
Morez spoke as he walked, though no one knew whom he was addressing.
But Morez knew.
"What if I could fix everything? Give you back all you lost? All you have to do is help me—no matter what, you must help me. It's in your nature."
As he finished speaking, a figure suddenly crashed through a display case, landing before him.
Thor, wielding Mjolnir, glared at Morez and roared, "I don't know how you did it! I don't know how you escaped death this time, brother. But in the name of our father, Loki, I will—"
The moment Thor uttered the name 'Loki,' Morez's face twisted into an indecipherable expression—a mixture of emotions, almost as if he felt wronged.
"Brother?" He repeated the word questioningly.
A sudden burst of blinding light erupted. Even Thor had to squint against the overwhelming radiance.
Before him, Morez had already changed.
His attire was no longer what it had been before. He now wore the garb of an Asgardian warrior.
"I am not your brother. I am your son. I am Modi—the last of Asgard. Your one and only god."
Now, he was no longer Morez. He was Modi.
Mjolnir crackled in his grip, radiating divine power, as he gazed down upon the powerless Thor.
"Kneel, Father. Kneel and submit."
(End of Chapter)
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