Jane knelt beside Thor's charred body, her hands trembling as she clutched his lifeless form.
Tears streamed freely down her face.
"Loki," she sobbed, her voice breaking.
"You colluded with the Frost Giants, you stole the throne, and now you've murdered your brother. Odin will punish you."
Sif let out a primal roar of anguish, shaking with fury.
Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg gritted their teeth, their eyes burning with rage.
Thor had been their brother-in-arms, their prince, their future king — and now he lay broken before them.
But Loki?
Loki merely smiled.
A slow, cruel, triumphant smile.
He looked down upon them with all the contempt of a king regarding worms.
"Whether Thor lived or died doesn't matter," he said casually.
"Asgard, under my rule, will be stronger than ever. It's a pity you won't live to see it."
He raised the Eternal Spear, the symbol of Asgard's kingship, and pointed it forward.
"Kill them all," he ordered coldly.
The Giants of Jotunheim roared in response.
Their gray, frostbitten bodies crackled with savage energy.
The ground itself froze beneath their feet, ice spreading outward like a living tide, turning the town into a winter graveyard.
The air grew so cold that breath turned instantly to mist, and even the sky seemed to dim.
With bloodthirsty howls, the giants charged.
Sif, Fandral, Hogun, and Volstagg didn't hesitate.
They had no fear of death.
They were warriors of Asgard — born to fight, born to fall with honor.
"For Asgard!"
"For Thor!"
Tagg's messy hair flew wildly in the bitter wind as he brandished his massive battle axe.
Sif and Fandral drew their blades, charging into the oncoming tide of giants without hesitation.
The clash was brutal.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Metal clashed against frozen flesh.
Swords tore through icy hide.
Blood — blue and steaming — sprayed across the frozen ground.
High above, Loki opened his arms wide, basking in the moment.
He savored it.
The chaos.
The carnage.
The helplessness of his enemies.
He relished seeing his foes fall, the mortals scatter, the very land itself frozen under his reign.
Thor's death was the crowning jewel.
The betrayal complete.
He was king now.
King of an Asgard rebuilt on blood and frost.
From a shattered SUV, Phil Coulson peered through his telescope.
His gloved hands tightened.
He had seen a lot in his career — aliens, superhumans, monsters — but this?
This was something else entirely.
"We're hopelessly outgunned," he muttered.
The cold was already creeping into his skin, ice frosting over his eyebrows and eyelashes.
They were still outside the town's center.
If they'd been closer, they would've been frozen alive within minutes.
Coulson made a quick decision.
"Get Jane out of here," he ordered.
Two agents immediately rushed forward to pull Jane — still sobbing over Thor — to safety.
"You're just going to let them do this?" Daisy demanded, furious and heartbroken.
She clenched her fists, helpless rage flashing in her eyes.
Thor had died right before her.
She couldn't just run away.
"I'm sorry," Coulson said, voice grim.
"But this is beyond us. This is... family business now."
Thousands of meters away, Daisy could only watch the battle rage, biting her lip hard enough to draw blood.
"Ugh. Typical FBI," she grumbled sarcastically.
Coulson didn't bother correcting her.
Let her think that.
Better than explaining that even S.H.I.E.L.D was utterly outmatched.
He adjusted the telescope again — and froze.
His lips curved upward slightly.
"We can't stop this," he said quietly, "but maybe... she can."
"Huh?" Daisy blinked.
Before she could react—
Boom—!
A thunderous roar split the frozen silence.
A gigantic hunk of twisted, shattered metal crashed down from the sky like a comet.
It smashed into the ice just outside the town square, sending up a tsunami of shattered frost.
Shards of ice sliced through the air like razors.
One shard streaked past Loki, slashing a shallow line across his cheek.
The God of Mischief wiped the blood absently.
Then, slowly, he smiled.
A twisted, dangerous grin.
He turned to see her.
Bella stood atop the crater, wind tugging at her black and crimson jacket.
The black inner lining hugged her form perfectly, and her thigh-high boots planted firmly in the frost.
Her blonde hair whipped wildly in the icy gales, her emerald eyes cold and emotionless.
The Destroyer lay ruined behind her — frozen, shattered, useless.
Bella's presence burned hotter than the sun even in the heart of this frozen nightmare.
"You," Loki said with venomous familiarity.
He remembered her clearly.
The one who tore through his carefully laid plans with raw, terrifying power.
His gaze darted briefly to the destroyed Destroyer — the weapon Odin himself had forged to challenge the Celestials — and for the first time in a long time, true fear gnawed at the edges of Loki's mind.
She had torn apart the Destroyer.
Alone.
Without hesitation.
Bella's eyes swept the battlefield once — the Frost Giants overwhelming the Asgardian warriors, Jane weeping over Thor, Coulson's agents struggling to protect civilians.
She exhaled softly.
This wasn't her fight.
The Destroyer was her goal.
The rest?
Collateral.
Boom—!
Another rumble shook the sky.
Bella's ears twitched slightly.
She tilted her head, listening.
A sigh escaped her lips.
"Why does he always show up at the wrong times?" she murmured.
Loki frowned slightly.
Before he could wonder what she meant, a flash of red and gold streaked across the sky.
With a burst of roaring jets, a gleaming figure descended from the clouds.
A metallic titan, hovering effortlessly above the frozen battlefield.
Iron Man.
The helmet peeled back, revealing a familiar smirking face.
"Whoa," Tony Stark said, surveying the battlefield casually.
"Weirdos, frost monsters, and a power-hungry cosplay prince."
His gaze shifted toward the Frost Giants battling the Asgardians.
He let out a low whistle.
"Gotta admit..." he said with a grin.
"I like this party."
Bella chuckled under her breath.
Loki scowled deeply.
The game was changing again — and not in his favor.
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