Thor withdrew his futile lightning strikes and gripped Mjolnir tightly, his eyes fixed on the blur that was Quicksilver. He had already realized that, against an opponent whose speed defied human perception, trying to land a hit through sheer might was pointless. His only chance was to read his enemy's attack and strike in the instant of vulnerability that followed.
"Thor's at a huge disadvantage. We need to find a way to help him," said Captain America, watching from beyond the Scarlet Witch's shimmering crimson barrier. To an observer, the fight below — raging amid the snowy forest beneath the cliff — might look like an even match, a one-on-one duel of gods. But in truth, the battlefield was far from fair.
Hydra's heavy cannons lined the cliff behind the barrier, and Wanda's immense magical field limited Thor's mobility. Even his power of flight — one of his greatest advantages — was utterly useless here.
"Marcus," Steve called over the comms, "you got any ideas?"
"I'm working on it, Captain," Marcus replied calmly.
But before any plan could be set in motion, Quicksilver struck.
His body blurred into motion — a streak of blue lightning tearing through the battlefield. In an instant, he was upon Thor. The Asgardian reflexively raised Mjolnir to defend, but the speedster's form passed through him like a ghost, leaving behind nothing but a fading afterimage.
Then — crack! — a sharp pain struck the back of Thor's head. He spun, swinging Mjolnir in a wide arc, unleashing a crescent wave of lightning that lit up the entire forest. Trees shattered, snow burst into steam, and the ground burned beneath the fury of the storm.
But when the blinding light faded… Quicksilver was gone again.
Another afterimage.
A second later, a blow from behind sent Thor staggering forward. He turned and slammed Mjolnir into the ground, shaking the snow and soil — but his hammer struck only emptiness.
Quicksilver was everywhere and nowhere, his laughter echoing through the swirling blizzard.
"Come on, Thunder God! Try and catch me!"
Thor's eyes flared with rage. He hurled Mjolnir once more, the weapon cutting through the air with earth-shattering force — but Quicksilver's smirk didn't even waver. He sidestepped at the very last instant, the hammer passing harmlessly through yet another flickering blur.
Then the storm turned blue.
The wind howled, forming a spiraling tornado that surrounded Thor, made up not of air — but of dozens of Quicksilvers flickering in and out of vision, each one a mirage of motion.
Before Thor could recall Mjolnir, the assault began.
A sharp left hook to the jaw sent his head snapping to the side.
An uppercut followed immediately, lifting him off his feet.
Before pain could even register, a two-handed strike crashed down, driving his head deep into the snow.
The entire combo took less than half a second.
As the storm of blue light dissipated, Quicksilver stood tall, breathing heavily but grinning in triumph. At his feet lay Thor, battered and dazed, his armor cracked and dented from the flurry of blows.
"Well," Quicksilver panted, stretching his shoulders. "Guess that's one-nothing."
He turned his back to the fallen god and shrugged mockingly. "Puny god you are."
Mjolnir, returning through the air, struck the ground beside its master with a dull thud. Thor didn't reach out to catch it. The hammer simply rested there, half-buried in the snow.
Speed — that was the deciding factor. Thor outmatched Quicksilver in every other aspect: strength, endurance, and divine might. But none of that mattered if he couldn't even touch his enemy.
And this battlefield — bounded by Scarlet Witch's barrier, watched by Hydra's cannons — had turned all of Thor's advantages into shackles.
He was a god trapped in a mortal cage.
But gods do not fall so easily.
"Thor!" Captain America's voice thundered across the comms. "Get up! I know you're not finished yet!"
Having fought beside Thor for years, Steve knew the Asgardian's pride and tenacity. This wasn't the end. The Son of Odin would never be defeated so easily.
Dark clouds rolled overhead, swallowing the light. The wind howled louder, scattering the snow in violent whirlwinds.
Then — a blinding bolt of lightning split the sky.
It pierced the crimson barrier and struck Thor's body with a roar that shook the mountains. For an instant, the world turned white.
"BOOM!"
When the glare faded, Thor was standing again — his armor reforged, glowing with divine power. The metal plates that had been shattered moments ago flew back to his body, sealing themselves in place as arcs of electricity danced across his frame.
The storm bent to his will.
The lightning bowed before him.
And the air itself trembled with his rage.
Had Wanda's barrier not contained the shockwave, half the forest would have been ripped from its roots.
That was the power of the God of Thunder — to call upon the storm itself, to command the fury of the sky.
"Do you hear me, mortal?" Thor's voice boomed across the battlefield, his eyes glowing with pure white light. "You face the son of Odin — the Heir to The Throne of Asgard, the God of Storms and Thunder! Do not think you can mock a god without consequence!"
The Sky themselves answered his roar. Black clouds churned, and lightning flashed like the wrath of creation. A colossal thunderbolt crashed down, brighter and more violent than before, aimed squarely at the fleet-footed speedster.
Scarlet Witch reacted instantly, throwing her arms wide as crimson energy flared from her fingertips. The two forces collided — red chaos magic against white-blue lightning — erupting into a storm of power that shook the mountains and lit up the sky.
The shockwave hurled snow and debris in every direction, forcing even the soldiers outside the barrier to shield their eyes from the blinding light.
Thunder and chaos raged against each other — neither giving way, neither prevailing.
And through it all, Quicksilver stood near the heart of the storm, his smirk undimmed.
Because he knew one thing: Thor could only strike where lightning could reach.
And lightning, for all its power, could never catch what was already gone.
As Thor raised his hammer once more, summoning the next bolt, Quicksilver's body blurred into motion again — a streak of blue light darting toward him faster than thought, faster than thunder.
This was no longer a duel between man and god.
It was a clash between lightning and the wind.
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T/N:
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