章 263: Chapter 263: The Octagonal Plum Blossom Shining Silver Hammer!
Thor's peculiar behavior drew a chorus of jeers, and realizing that his recent petty actions seemed even more embarrassing compared to Clark lifting the hammer, he could only muster a strained smile to hide his inner awkwardness. At the same time, he addressed Clark: "Uncle, you're back."
Nodding slightly, Uncle Clark responded indifferently: "Don't be nervous. Although I can lift your hammer, I can't win its approval. So in terms of qualifications, I'm no different from you, pretty much like an elevator."
In front of others, Clark still gave his great-nephew enough face. While speaking, his gaze fell on two people sitting in a corner.
They were a young man and woman, both looking around twenty years old, handsome and beautiful respectively.
The man was burly, his features bearing a striking resemblance to Hank Pym, though his hair was a distinctive silver-white.
The woman had long golden hair, above-average looks, and a fiery figure. She was dressed in a red leather coat, now staring curiously towards Clark with wide, intrigued eyes.
What really caught Clark's interest wasn't the silver-haired man's resemblance to Hank Pym or the red-dressed girl's stunning figure, but something about their aura felt strangely familiar to him.
Where had he experienced such an aura?
"Clark." As Clark's thoughts drifted into memories, Captain America timely stood up, introducing them: "These two are from Daisy's clan. After awakening their powers, they initially had some misunderstandings with the League, but that's all in the past now. Their abilities are very powerful, and they've accepted my invitation to join the Avengers."
Speaking, Captain America patted the silver-haired man's shoulder and said with a smile: "This is Pietro Maximoff. His power can be summed up in one word: Speed! He's so fast, he surpasses human limits. His codename is Quicksilver."
"And this beautiful lady is Wanda Maximoff. Her abilities are also formidable, though I can't explain them clearly – let's just say they're impressive. In the Avengers, her codename is Scarlet Witch. Interestingly, these two are actually twins."
Quicksilver! Scarlet Witch!
Hearing these names, memories from the quantum realm resurfaced in Clark's mind.
During his initial trial with the Ant-Man suit, before encountering Dormammu in the quantum realm, he had seen two energy forms and a cheeky red figure.
Their aura matched perfectly with those two energy forms!
Could it be that Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch's powers originated from those energy bodies from a parallel universe?
Following this logic, could the parallel universe being devoured by Dormammu be one where the X-Men exist?
Also, in the X-Men stories, Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver are siblings, but in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, they are twins – could this simply be because Quicksilver moved faster in reincarnation?
And about that cheeky red figure…
"Clark, is there a problem with them?" Nebula, noticing Clark's unusually distracted behavior, immediately showed a strong hostility towards the siblings and asked Clark for an explanation.
Snapped out of his reverie by her question, Clark realized his reaction had been quite rude and quickly explained: "Nothing, I just remembered something. My apologies for being impolite. Also, welcome to the Avengers!"
With a single sentence, he defused the awkwardness and swiftly changed the subject: "To welcome our new members, let's continue our previous game and lift the hammer together."
Hearing this, Thor's smile, as blooming as a chrysanthemum, instantly drooped: "Uncle, that game is over."
"No!" Clark directly shook his head, showing no face for Thor this time: "The hammer lifting game has just begun. You already have a hammer, so you don't need to join this. Go play over there."
Saying so, he conjured a hammer similar in size to Mjölnir, placing it on the table and announced: "This is a divine war hammer, forged by Eitri the Dwarf King in Nidavellir on my way back from outer space. I've named it 'Octagonal Plum Blossom Shining Silver Hammer'."
As Clark spoke, everyone's gaze fell on the hammer in his hand. Although similar to Mjölnir, it was slightly larger. The head was octagonal, each facet featuring a meticulously crafted five-petal plum blossom.
However, like Mjölnir, this "Octagonal Plum Blossom Shining Silver Hammer" seemed unremarkable at first glance.
Then, Clark continued: "Because it was forged using Asgardian secrets, the requirements for its wielder are extremely stringent."
Listening to this, everyone guessed this might be another hammer that no one could lift.
Clark smiled slightly and added: "Actually, compared to Thor's Mjölnir, its requirements are a bit lower. As a token of gratitude for your contributions to the Avengers, whoever can lift it can claim this divine weapon!"
Black Widow looked at Clark with a playful gaze.
On the surface, Clark seemed generous, offering a potentially power-enhancing divine artifact as a reward. However, the underlying message was clear – only a leader has the right to reward others.
With this seemingly casual gesture, Clark once again subtly positioned himself as the real leader of the Avengers.
Moreover, it seemed no one objected. Even Tony, owing Clark for healing his chest wound, was unlikely to contend with him for power.
So, was Clark's leadership position in the Avengers now unshakeable and uncontested?
As Clark placed the hammer on the coffee table and gestured for everyone to try, the men looked at each other. Hawkeye was the first to step up, attempting and failing to lift the hammer, then casually returning to his seat for a beer.
Hulk, Tony, War Machine, Quicksilver, Luke Cage, Muria, Daredevil, Hank Pym... each tried and failed, now doubting Clark's claim about the hammer's lesser requirements.
As all male heroes had their turn, leaving only Captain America and the female heroes, attention converged on Captain America.
If he also failed, it would be the women's turn to shine.
Under intense scrutiny, Captain America stepped up, grabbed the hammer handle, and pondered whether to give the women a chance.
As he contemplated, his hands exerted force, pulling up and pressing down, counterbalancing each other, leaving the hammer unmoved.
Observing Captain America's posture, Nebula suddenly remarked: "That man has a really nice butt!"
Her comment drew everyone's attention to Captain America's rear. Caught off guard by her surprising statement, his grip slipped, accidentally lifting the Octagonal Plum Blossom Shining Silver Hammer.
Clark chuckled at Nebula's comment. Everyone knew about Captain America's impressive chest muscles, but Nebula's remark revealed his equally notable glutes – perhaps best described by the phrase 'front bulge, rear curve'.
Holding the hammer, a stunned Captain America heard Clark say: "Congratulations, Captain. It seems you and this 'Octagonal Plum Blossom Shining Silver Hammer' are fated. It's imbued with air magic, capable of unleashing powerful air shockwaves and explosions. Experiment with it to understand its uses."
Clark then raised a toast to Captain America's impeccable character, which everyone joined.
After the toast, Clark presented a metal staff: "This doesn't require a test. It's specially crafted for Muria."
"This is a token of gratitude for Muria, my earliest ally who protected my family during my nine-year absence. This Ruyi Jingu Bang is for you, Muria!"
The second divine weapon was given to Muria without objection. They were superheroes, after all, not prone to baseless jealousy.
Especially since Clark's reasoning was sound – during his absence, Muria had indeed stood by Hank Pym's side, protecting Clark's family.
Of course, others like Matthew of The Hand also contributed significantly in the shadows.
But Matthew wouldn't compare himself to Muria. He had already received the most precious gift from Clark before the Battle of New York – the gift of sight. For a blind man, what could be more precious than a pair of bright eyes?
After distributing the divine weapons, the party resumed its celebratory mood.
Thor, realizing he couldn't outshine Clark, sat down with his girlfriend, Jane Foster, preferring her company over the rough men.
"Would you like something to drink?" a staff member asked Thor, seeing him approach the bar with an empty glass.
Thor proudly showed his Asgardian flask: "I have special Asgardian mead, beyond mortal taste."
Just then, an old man with a grey cap happened to pass by. Hearing Thor's boast, he stopped and said: "I'd like to try some of that."
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