A/N: Happy New Year y'all. Another year, another milestone, and another year closer to death. I'm starting the year with a banger so don't none of y'all say I didn't give you a New Year gift. 

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I was out testing the Space Stone like I have been doing for the past months and I could say that my progress was coming along swimmingly.

I had tried to stabilize the space barrier that I had erected the day before but I couldn't even hold it for more than two seconds after I did. Thankfully, it wasn't as bad as the strain I felt yesterday.

Whether it was because of the residual energy that was always in my system after each usage of the Tesseract, I am capable of recovering faster from the toll it exerted on me. I took it as a sign of my steady progression. 

With that same train of thought, extended use of the Tesseract was no longer as hard as it used to be. As long as I did not try to make a pebble out of space, it worked out fine but I was not doing that again unless I was sure of my safety against black holes or I am not in the area I fired that thing at. 

I was still in the middle of testing out when I sensed powerful energy signatures a kilometer away from my mansion from the runes and wards I had installed. 

They were in no way familiar with any of the people I've met so with a frown on my face as to who the visitors might be, I warped the Tesseract back to its storage before warping myself to the front of my uninvited guest. 

And lo and behold, I was met with the tallest person I've ever come face to face with. 

Long blonde hair atop a face that was oddly familiar to me. He wore some kind of form-fitting armor and had a thick red cape that hung from his shoulders. 

The others were a fat(?) red headed/bearded man, not as tall as the blonde, an Asian looking guy and a French(?) man, if his mustache was given credence. Lastly was the only female in the group but my senses told me that she didn't lose to any of the men here… Oh and someone that I was entirely familiar with, Loki. 

Thor, the Warrior Three and Lady Sif… Plus Loki. 

I withheld a groan as Thor marched forward, over a head taller than me, with a raised brow, hammer already in hand, as if he owned the place. 

"I will ask you this, human: Are you the one who slighted my brother?" He asked as he stood in front of me without any hint of caution or fear in his face. 

"If you mean your brother, I assume you are talking about Loki?" I could already see where this was going to go from a mile away. 

"You assume well but you still haven't answered my question." Being a gentleman was hard. You'll find that people hardly resort to talking a problem out, instead they opt for throwing names and fists. 

"He attacked me first. And besides I didn't do anything that would hurt him that much. All that happened was that he fell out of sync with his astral form. A tiny scratch if you will." I looked him directly in the eye, knowing fully well that all this was useless. 

"You lie. Your wretched attacks had hurt my brother badly and I seek recompense." Thor harrumphed. 

I reiterate my former statement. Arrogant Thor was harder to deal with than Trickster Loki. 

"Listen man, I don't have any compensation to give someone who wanted to hurt me."

"Do you know who you are talking to?" He asked me as he brought his face closer by an inch to my own. 

"Thor and Loki Odinson. Along with the Warriors Three and Lady Sif. Is that correct?" I replied. 

"Hahaha! So you do know of us. At the very least you are not ignorant… but I tire of all this. Answer me this Midgardian; are you going to comply or not?" He sported a smile that promised pain while I looked at him with disinterest. 

"I thought I made my choice very clear from the beginning."

He looked at me for a second and nodded to himself before turning around. "Very well." He hadn't taken more than a step before he flung his hammer at me but what he hadn't expected was for his hand to be stopped, held by the arm of the man he wanted to strike. 

"I've never fought a prince before, most definitely not a godly one. Don't disappoint now, Odinson." I didn't put much hope in the last part for obvious reasons but Thor seemed incensed at my words. 

"You will pay with your head for those words!" He dropped his hammer and caught it with his free hand before hitting me square in my face with that thing, and boy does that hammer hurt. 

I drew his hand that was still in my grasp forward and drove the elbow of my other hand to his face, making him stagger backwards but his hand was still in my hands so I drew him forward and threw his over my shoulders to slam at the ground. 

The others were startled at the sudden escalation and drew out their weapons as two people, Steve and Bucky, came out of sparkling blue portals in front of them. 

They didn't inquire about anything and rushed at the four people, leaving Loki alone for me to keep an eye on which would be a problem. 

Thor got up and twirled his hammer at impressive speeds which caused the sky above us to rumble as lightning crackled. He grinned at me and brought his hammer down causing lightning to rain down on me. 

Unfortunately for the God of Thunder, his smile was wiped away as he saw lightning crackling around the man who looked for the most part, unhurt. 

"That stung a little." 

… 

[Thor Odinson, God of Thunder POV] 

"That stung a little." I stood, rooted to a spot, in astonishment as the mortal man who Loki had claimed injured him, nourished himself with my lightning. 

What made me reel back in shock was the way the lightning around his form turned red as with his eyes. 

I could feel my body trembling… with excitement. 

Finally a worthy foe. One that would be added to the list of enemies felled by the mighty Thor. 

"Come!" I shouted at him as thunder roared, showcasing my excitement. 

"Well, whatever." He moved, faster than I could, but not that fast that I couldn't react. I swung my hammer at him, a hit surely given the speed he came at me with but… 

CLANG!! 

An axe appeared out of nowhere in his hands which he used to block my hammer. 

"Thine weapon shall crumble before my Mjolnïr." With the fury of a God, I brought my hammer on his weapon with all the force I could muster, hoping to break or crack his prided axe but all that I received was a boom of the air splitting as his axe stood strong. 

How did the Midgardians forge such a strong weapon? 

I halted such thought as I saw him spin his axe before slashing at me with it. I brought Mjolnïr to block it but this time, I found myself losing in the contest of strength as I sailed through the air before crashing into the hard floor. 

"You are strong, but at the same time pretty weak for a God. Why so?" The man asked, axe against his shoulders as he stared at me with an unbothered expression. 

Weak? Did he just call me, Thor, Odinson, future king of Asgard, a God, weak? 

"Did you just call me weak?" Mayhaps I misheard. 

"Yes. That's what I said." I looked at his blazing eyes and could see deep within them contempt. Not just for me, but for my friends also. 

"I see." Calm words left my mouth but I had never raged like this before. I stretched my hands and Mjolnïr found itself resting comfortably on my palms. I could also feel its rage. "He called us weak, partner. He called us weak."

I held my hammer up to the sky and drew upon the lightning at my beck and call and as if to mock me, the foul lightning around his form intensified. 

All it did was stoke upon the simmering rage that brewed within me with which I would bring down mine hammer. 

I slammed down my hammer and the sky was split asunder, worthy of the call of a god. 

Lightning danced and danced, joining together under my command and came down to strike the man who insulted me and my friends. 

I saw him erecting magic barriers as the lightning came down, but unfortunately it was too late. There was no escaping this one.

Smoke filled my surroundings but a wave of my hammer blew it away, letting me see the visage of the burnt-to-cinders man. 

"You were a worthy foe, but you were ill fated to come across me-" 

"Will you tone it down?" There in front of me was the man with smoke coming out of his body while his lightning still danced around his form, his hand outstretched with the glow of the barrier he erected. But the barrier wasn't protecting him, but rather his comrades who were fighting against my friends. 

"I'll give it to you, Thor. That last strike did hurt." He said but I had the feeling that he was lying, seeing as how he was fine after taking the full brunt of my lighting strike and at the same time protecting his friends and mine. "… But, that was reckless of you."

My instinct screamed at me to dodge but before I could heed, his axe had impacted Mjolnïr which I had brought upwards for a quick block, sending me deep into the ground. 

"… You just destroyed my lawn with your spark show." I heard his voice above me as a hand grabbed my head and flung me away from the crater I was buried in. 

I tried to use the force he threw me with to fly away but something caught my legs. A rope made of magic. 

I was disoriented because of the way the rope jerked me back so I didn't see when he approached me that close and summoned a staff out of a blue portal and slammed my head with it. 

"Enough!!" I refuse to be a punching bag, for a mortal no less. 

Instead of being on the back foot, a shameful scene for one such as I, an Asgardian prince, I rushed at him and threw my hammer. 

He dodged the flying hammer and rushed at me, probably thinking I was weaponless, but Mjolnïr turned around midair and flew back to me, aiming at his back. 

I had almost let a grin plaster on my mouth when he slid and Mjolnïr sailed above his head. If that was all he did then I wouldn't have been that surprised but he caught on to Mjolnïr and let it drag him to me. 

Usually everyone who I've fought would do their best to avoid my hammer but he… he… he hitched a ride with it. 

My brain blanked at that moment only for it to be jolted when staff met my head and caused blood to drip from my lips. 

This is it! 

"This is it! More! Fight me more, mortal man." This was a fight. Yes! Finally, a battle I can enjoy. One where the threat of losing would propel me to new heights as I awakened more power to defeat the unsurmountable foe before me. 

"I think I broke him." I heard his voice ringing in my ears. 

Don't be conceited in your thinking that you could break me. I don't know if I said those words aloud because he looked at me warily. 

Yes! Fear me. You might have broken a bone, and maybe a tooth, but you haven't broken me. 

"Allfathers! Give me strength!" The sky rumbled an answer to me. 

"Okay, now that's just cheating." He said. 

I was displeased at his utterance, how dare he? "You think I would cheat in a fair fight? How lowly do you think of me, Midgardian?"

"Oh. Oh! Sorry, I did not mean that." I see. 'Twas a mistake on his part. 

"What is your name, Midgardian?"

"Draul. Draul St. Cross."

"Very well then, Son of Saint Cross. Our battle will be legendary!"

"Oh boy, here we go again."

Hahahaha!

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