Let me show you a new way Chapter 016

“Energy output normal…”

“Fluctuation stable…”

In another secret S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory, Jane Foster and Erik Selvig were making various measurements around the Tesseract.

Ever since the Tesseract began to show anomalies, Nick Fury had called physicist Dr. Selvig within two days. With him came Jane Foster.

Upon their arrival, the two immediately began to study the Tesseract. They compared the data recorded by the instruments previously with the current data, and were surprised to find that the differences were very significant.

“Are you sure this is the same object?” Dr. Selvig asked Nick Fury, holding two inspection reports. “The form of energy expression, the frequency of fluctuations, and the reaction to external matter are all completely different from before.”

Nick Fury peered at it with his one eye, realizing he understood nothing but the letters. Even so, he could tell that the data graphs on the two reports were vastly different.

“You mean the Tesseract might have been swapped?” Nick Fury asked, frowning.

“I can’t be sure of that. After all, we don’t understand the Tesseract at all. Perhaps this change is a normal phenomenon? But after this change, the devices you previously made that utilized the Tesseract’s energy can no longer function. We must redesign and modify them,” Selvig said.

“Can the current Tesseract still utilize its energy?” Nick Fury asked. This was his main concern: whether the Tesseract’s energy could be extracted and used.

“I won’t give you a hundred percent certainty, but it should be possible. Although the form of expression has changed, the internal energy is still very abundant. Theoretically, it can still be utilized,” Dr. Selvig nodded, explaining in a cautious tone.

“Alright, then you’d better hurry. I’ll take care of the funding,” Nick Fury said, then strode away as usual.

Dr. Erik Selvig stretched and sighed, “There’s always endless work to do! Jane, get ready to work, Jane? Jane?” Dr. Selvig called out loudly.

Beside the Tesseract, Jane Foster’s face was pale, her eyes vacant, staring at the Tesseract in front of her.

Ever since she went to the S.H.I.E.L.D. restricted area with that self-proclaimed Thor mental patient, she felt that something had changed within her.

When she arrived there, she could feel something calling to her. The strong winds and lightning no longer terrified her, but felt as close as friends. ②

But she didn’t like this feeling. She thought she might have gone crazy, perhaps infected by that mental patient.

But after coming here, for some reason, she felt a certain call again and couldn’t help but listen.

[Command—locate habitable worlds!]

A giant planet, covered with countless craters, with terrifying flames erupting from them year-round. Alien semi-mechanical beings, like locusts, swarmed out from that giant planet, greedily plundering countless worlds.

[Command—harvest organic matter!]

[Command—process organic matter!]

[Command—reorganize organic matter!]

The alien creatures captured the native beings on a planet, completely disregarding any morals, as if those intelligent and emotional beings were merely experimental materials. The native beings were infected by a special technology, eventually becoming exactly like those terrifying alien creatures, merging into their ranks and expanding their army.

[Command—]

Finally, the perspective slowly moved upwards, and a humanoid life form, body like rock, came into view. He had a giant body several meters tall, expressionlessly watching countless lives die. His eyes gradually turned crimson.

[All for Darkseid!] ③

Crimson rays poured out, incinerating Jane Foster into ashes. ④

“Jane!!!” Dr. Selvig slapped Jane Foster on the shoulder, and Jane Foster screamed uncontrollably.

“Hey! Calm down, calm down! What’s wrong with you?” Dr. Selvig desperately shook her, gradually bringing her back to consciousness.

“I… I’m not sure.” Jane Foster looked terrified. She desperately tried to recall, but what she had just seen quickly vanished like a bubble, leaving only endless fear in her mind.

Then, a strange roar echoed in her mind. Jane Foster felt a strange pain in her head, and a pair of fiery crimson eyes seemed to appear in her mind, staring intently at her.

[I am en-tropy.]

[I am death.]

[I am Darkseid!]

“Jane! Jane! What’s wrong with you?” Dr. Selvig hurriedly helped her, not knowing why, but she had suddenly gone limp and was falling to the ground.

“I’m fine, I’m fine.” Jane Foster barely waved her hand, forcing herself to signal that she was alright.

“No, this won’t do. You’re pale and sweating cold. I have to give you a day off. You need to rest or something!” Dr. Selvig shook his head and pushed her out of the laboratory.

“Hey! I’m fine! I’m fine!” Jane still didn’t give up, but in this laboratory, Selvig was in charge. Because of his insistence, Jane could only reluctantly leave.

However, as she walked, she tried to recall what she had just seen, but besides fear and despair, she couldn’t remember anything.

“Alright, alright! Maybe I really need to go get some ice cream and relax a bit!” Jane Foster patted her pale face and left the experimental base.

————————————

“Jarlson! Jarlson! Sigurd Jarlson? Where did he go?” On a construction site, a man holding a list shouted loudly.

“I’m here!” a man replied. He had strong muscles and messy blonde short hair. He waved his construction helmet in his hand, shouting and signaling to everyone. ⑤

“Put on your hard hat!” the man with the list roared. Seeing Jarlson quickly put on his helmet, he nodded in satisfaction and distributed the wages according to the list.

Jarlson, who had received a large sum of money, did not go to a bar to drink like his other co-workers. Instead, he went to a library alone, opened a book on Norse mythology, and read silently.

“Thor?” A soft voice with a hint of surprise sounded. Jarlson turned his head at the sound, and a woman looked at him with surprised eyes.

“Jane… is that you?” Jarlson said hesitantly.

“Where did you go? S.H.I.E.L.D. told me you disappeared from the brig, Thor, what happened?” Jane Foster asked eagerly.

“Don’t call me that name anymore…” Jarlson, or rather Thor, shook his head. “My name is Sigurd Jarlson now.”

Thor, God of Thunder, Son of Odin, future King of Asgard.

What a resounding name, what a glorious history!

But now, none of that existed.

He had lost his hammer, and his father had fallen into slumber.

Now, he was just an ordinary man.

“Uh…? I… I don’t quite understand.” Jane Foster stammered in response.

“It means I’m just a normal person now. I’ve lost my hammer, I’ve lost my powers. I can’t do anything now,” Thor roughly pushed Jane away, turned, and left the library.

Jane Foster stood there, pale-faced, staring blankly at the departing Thor.

————————

The next day, a secret S.H.I.E.L.D. laboratory.

Jane Foster arrived at the laboratory early in the morning and began her routine checks. She had become silent, and her face was not as cheerful as usual.

“Hey! You still look terrible. I think you need more rest.” A few hours later, Dr. Selvig couldn’t stand the strange atmosphere anymore and asked with concern.

Unfortunately, Jane didn’t appreciate it. She simply walked to the instrument without a word, silently checking the data.

“What’s wrong with you? You seem strange. Have you seen a doctor?” Dr. Selvig asked.

“I’m fine!” Jane Foster shook her head, seemingly not wanting to discuss the topic, only wanting to immerse herself in work, using it to numb herself.

Then she found that some data was wrong.

“The Cube is reacting!” Jane Foster suddenly looked up and shouted loudly. The blue cube emitted ominous fluctuations and a buzzing sound. “This thing is vibrating space!”

Alarms blared in the laboratory, and all personnel sprang into action. The information was quickly sent to Nick Fury.

“It’s opening a spatial wormhole, it wants to escape!” Jane Foster shouted loudly, constantly observing the data on the instruments.

“Jane, don’t be impulsive, don’t do anything extra,” Dr. Selvig shouted, but as usual, she didn’t listen to Selvig.

“We must stop it, otherwise this cube will escape to a place we can’t find, and if its energy erupts, it will cause a disaster for the entire Earth.” Jane Foster shouted loudly, and activated the instrument, trying to interfere with the cube’s operation and stabilize its energy.

“Don’t be impulsive, we haven’t finished studying this thing, it’s too dangerous!” Selvig shouted loudly. The sound of the Tesseract grew even louder, making it impossible for them to hear what was being said.

“Boom—” Accompanied by a deafening noise, a white glowing spatial portal appeared around the Tesseract ⑥. A fierce suction emerged from it, creating a tornado-like scene in the room.

“I must stop it, if its energy goes out of control, it will cause a very big crisis!” Jane Foster shouted loudly. She moved her feet little by little, resisting the immense suction of the “Tesseract,” gradually approaching it, and forcefully pressed the emergency release button.

The instrument encasing the “Tesseract” opened, and the “Tesseract” fell out of the instrument, rolling twice on the ground.

The small blue cube rolled on the ground, making a strange crisp sound, and the surrounding strong winds also disappeared.

Jane Foster let out a long breath, turned her head to look at Dr. Selvig, and showed a relaxed smile.

“See! It’s fine!”

Then she lost consciousness.

Behind her, the “Tesseract” began to vibrate wildly again, and an extremely strong suction suddenly appeared. The cube turned into a black dot, and Jane Foster was sucked into it in an instant, along with a large amount of scientific instruments. Those instruments, weighing several tons, exploded with a roar and were compressed by the black hole’s powerful gravity, all being sucked into that tiny black dot.

This suction lasted for less than a second.

Then, as if satiated, the black hole began to tremble again, finally exploding with a bang, and Jane Foster’s mangled body flew out of it. Her body at this point was barely recognizable as human; a large chunk of muscle had been ripped from half her face, exposing her mandible, her left leg and right arm were severed at the root, and her remaining intact left arm and right leg showed charred bones. All the skin on her body, except for half her face, had been burned away, but there was no blood on her, because the blood had evaporated the moment it splattered out.

But she was not dead.

In her chest, her heart was still stubbornly beating.

One beat, two beats.

①: All for Darkseid, the slogan of Apokolips. Darkseid is one of the major villains in the DC universe, with his power fluctuating across various works. When strong, the entire Justice League isn’t enough for one of his hands. When weak, he can be repeatedly beaten into the ground by Superman.

②: In the comics, Jane Foster has been Thor.

③: This segment is from the animated movie [Justice League: War], where Cyborg sees Apokoliptian brainwashing data through the Mother Box. I highly recommend this animation; I feel its plot and pacing are much stronger than the Justice League movie. It’s available on Bilibili.

④: Darkseid’s red eyes: Omega Beams. They are hyped as incredibly powerful, but ultimately fail to kill any named heroes (and even if they do, they can come back to life).

⑤: A classic pose of an Ultraman host.

⑥: A Boom Tube opened by a Mother Box.