บท 289: PHASE 2 & Odin's Decision...

[JDEM Facility, Mojave Desert]

A helicopter landed on the helipad and after a few seconds, the door opened and Nick Fury came out of the helicopter. Just below the helipad two of his most trusted Agents, Agent Maria Hill and Agent Clint Barton were already waiting along with several more Agents.

Though the other Agents were standing at a distance so that they couldn't hear their private chat. Fury finally got down from the helipad greeted Hill and Barton. "Agent Barton, did you notice any change?" Fury asked and Barton simply shook his head.

"Sir, the Tesseract is completely stable… no sudden bursts of energy or radiation spikes" Barton said and Fury nodded his head.

"Good, it is better like that" Fury said and his head snapped towards Hill. "Agent Hill, what's the progress of Phase 2?" Fury growled out.

"Sir, you need to see it with your own eyes" Hill said with a smirk. Fury rose his non-existent eyebrow after he heard Hill's statement but decided to follow Hill.

Hill and Barton started to lead Fury inside and the other Agents decided to make themselves scarce since they were no longer needed. They were not needed since the beginning but since they were ordered to be here… they had to be here.

Hill, Barton, and Fury finally arrived in the underground facility. The people who didn't work in this underground facility working on Phase 2 didn't even know that a place like this existed. Most people saw this facility as the Tesseract research center.

Fury entered the underground facility and saw a giant cannon and he was somewhat impressed but he still didn't know what it did… if it was something good then he would allow himself to get awed.

"Sir, this is what the Scientists call 'Particle Cannon'. This cannon can or could destroy anything in front of it… there are still a lot of things we haven't tested. It almost vaporizes the target but it's still a prototype" Hill said in an excited tone but when she finished she didn't look too happy.

"Impressive… the money spent on the research team wasn't wasted" Fury said while staring at the cannon in complete awe now but then frowned. "Why is it still a prototype?" Fury asked pointing towards the cannon.

"Due to overheating… even though this is very impressive it can't be used for more than a second. If used more than that then it starts to melt due to heat" Hill said in disappointment.

The awe in Fury's eyes completely disappeared but he was still impressed. "Show, me how good it is" Fury said to Hill who nodded and led Fury to a huge control room. Some nerdy-looking guys were already in there.

"Fawley, this is Director Fury, why don't you show him what this cannon could do?" Hill said to a guy. The guy was a nervous mess… he immediately nodded his head like a woodpecker.

"Yes… yes…" Fawley said and started to type some commands on his computer. "Sir… do you have any preference for the target?" Fawley asked Fury who looked contemplative for a few moments.

"Try something really strong… something that isn't easily destroyed" Fury said in an indifferent tone.

"Sir, how about concrete?" Fawley stuttered out and pushed up his glasses. Fury simply nodded his head. Fawley pressed some buttons and a robot arm kept a huge chunk of concrete in front of the cannon. Seconds later, with a buzzing sound, the cannon started to power up.

The front of the cannon started to glow with blue light and some kind of blue stream was shot out of the cannon. The cannon shot the stream for just a second but it was enough… the concrete block was completely gone. Fury once again looked at the cannon in complete awe.

The cannon was already powered down and was currently smoking and the cannon was glowing red due to heat near several places. "I am impressed, but this needs more work" Fury said looking towards Hill who simply nodded her head.

"Sir, there is something more I needed to show you" Hill said and Fury gestured Hill to lead. Hill led him towards another part of the underground facility. Fury was surprised to see a shooting yard here. Hill walked towards the armory and after a couple of minutes returned carrying a futuristic-looking gun.

"This is what we have named, EM1 Model-S. This also works on the same principle that the Particle Cannon works but we have tuned down its power by a lot to avoid the overheating issue" Hill explained to Fury.

"So, what can it be used for?" Barton asked, he was not privy of anything that happened in the underground facility because he had to keep an eye on the Tesseract while the scientists were working on it upstairs.

He already knew about the Particle Cannon because Hill had called him during the first testing. He was surprised to see the Cannon's power when he first saw it in action. But this was the first time his eyes landed on EM1 Model-S. The gun looked really cool so he was interested. It wasn't a bow but he was a man so he liked cool things.

(Image Here)

"It is something simple but impressive at the same time" Hill said cryptically and Fury almost growled in irritation. Hill noticed Fury's irritation and decided to speak up.

"This is a sniper rifle but this is much better than normal rifles. There will be no bullet drop so you can even shoot someone who is miles away from you and there is no recoil" Hill said and pushed the gun towards Fury. Fury took the gun and Hill showed him how to turn it on…

Fury aimed down the shooting range and pulled a trigger. Fury didn't even feel anything… he would have thought that the gun didn't work if there wasn't a flaming hole right in the middle of the target mark.

Fury was really impressed and Barton was the next one to try the gun. He was also impressed with the gun. "Agent Hill, keep me posted if any progress is made… you too Barton" Fury said and left followed by Hill and Barton…

[Royal Palace, Asgard]

Thor was busy with his usual training when one of his father's servants arrived and told him that his father was expecting him. Thor was confused because of the sudden summons but he knew that he would never disobey his father again.

A couple of years ago he was taught a lesson by a Cosmic Entity and he would never forget that. The whole thing was completely etched in his mind and sometimes even now he had nightmares of that day… he wasn't afraid of those nightmares though… he was using those nightmares to fuel his drive to get stronger.

When he calmly thought about it after his father tore him down with words he understood what kind of mistake he had made. He thought that Asgardians were strong but in front of that being, he knew that he was nothing… he now knew what kind of threat he had provoked and he felt ashamed for it.

He also understood the insults and he knew that being was right. He needed a crutch to use his own powers, so he decided to improve himself… so that he could use his powers without his hammer. This was something he had to learn the hard way…

Thor finally arrived in the Throne Room and found his father sitting on the Throne. "You summoned me, Father?" Thor asked and seeing Thor, Odin got up from his Throne and came down towards Thor.

"Let's take a walk, son" Odin said softly, and Thor gulped loudly due to nervousness.

Thor nodded his head in understanding. "Of course, Father" Thor said and followed Odin.

For a few minutes, they kept walking through the halls and neither of them said anything. "Son, you have grown a lot" Odin said with a proud smile on his face.

"Father, I still have a lot of growing up to do and a lot to learn" Thor said in a humble tone and Odin's smile became a lot brighter after hearing his son.

"And that is the sign that shows that you have grown up a lot" Odin said proudly and patted his son on his shoulder.

"A couple of years ago you did something foolish and I was so disappointed in you…" Odin said in a low tone and Thor gulped down once again. "But, that foolish decision showed you your mistake and you learned from that mistake. You became humble losing all of your arrogance" Odin said with a smile on his face and stopped.

"I have never been more proud of you son and the changes in you tell me that it is time my son" Odin said with a reassuring smile on his face.

Thor lost his smile and looked at his father with concern in his eyes. "Father, time for what?" Thor asked Odin, Thor's voice was filled with worry.

Odin laughed and patted Thor's shoulder once again. "You are centuries too young to worry for me son but I feel touched because of your concern" Odin finished and smiled brightly once again. "It is finally time for me to step down son and hand the throne to you" Odin said with a proud smile on his face.

Thor gulped once again nervously and nodded his head. "If you think I am ready then I won't disappoint you father" Thor said in a determined tone and Odin nodded proudly at his son. What neither Odin nor Thor knew was that Odin's this decision was going to bring Ranganok…