Drex Valen was the Director of the Divine Sword Bureau.
Not a symbolic director.
Not a bureaucratic figurehead.
When he gave an order, people obeyed it.
Immediately.
So even though the hammer was clearly an unknown extraterrestrial object with enormous strategic value, Coulson still carried out Drex's commands without hesitation. Evacuations began across the surrounding area while Thor was finally allowed access to Mjolnir's containment zone.
Thor practically exploded with excitement.
He tore through the quarantine barriers and leaped directly into the crater, grabbing the hammer with both hands.
For a split second, he smiled like a child reunited with his favorite toy.
Which, honestly, wasn't far from the truth.
Thor still lacked maturity.
Far too much of it.
To inherit Odin's throne and become king of Asgard, he needed suffering, humility, and experience. At present, he was basically an overpowered war god with the emotional stability of a reckless teenager.
Then the smile vanished.
Mjolnir didn't move.
Not even slightly.
Moments later, Thor collapsed to his knees in the crater, roaring upward into the storm as Bureau agents cautiously moved to restrain him again.
"Director... what happened to him?"
Nick Fury had rushed to the site the moment he realized how serious the situation was.
And arrived just in time to witness a thunder god having an existential breakdown in a muddy crater.
"You don't need to interfere anymore," Drex said meaningfully. "Just watch."
That night, the atmosphere in the small town felt strangely heavy.
Rainwater still dripped from rooftops.
Neon bar lights reflected off wet pavement.
Thor sat slumped at the counter beside Dr. Erik Selvig, radiating misery powerful enough to depress nearby furniture.
Selvig had dragged him there mostly to calm him down.
Alcohol helped.
Sometimes.
"You probably don't understand," Thor said quietly. "I ruined everything. Every decision I made was wrong."
For the first time in his life, the God of Thunder looked completely lost.
"In all my thousand years... I have never felt so uncertain about what comes next."
He didn't cry.
But the expression on his face resembled a giant abandoned golden retriever trying to understand why its owner never came home.
At that moment, Loki arrived.
Just like in the original timeline.
An illusion projection.
A carefully staged performance.
Unfortunately for him, Drex saw through the disguise immediately and spent the entire conversation silently enjoying the show.
Loki explained the situation with convincing sorrow.
After Thor's attack on Jotunheim, war had erupted between Asgard and the Frost Giants.
Odin, weakened by age, had confronted Laufey personally. Though victorious, he had suffered catastrophic injuries and eventually died from them.
Now Loki sat upon Asgard's throne.
But the Frost Giants continued pressing the attack, threatening endless bloodshed unless peace could be negotiated.
And Laufey had demanded one condition.
Thor's permanent exile.
Loki claimed both he and Frigga had agreed.
Thor didn't even try to argue.
Because deep down, he believed everything was his fault.
The invasion.
The war.
Odin's death.
His exile.
All of it traced back to his arrogance.
Even when Loki assured him that Odin had never hated him, Thor's grief remained crushing.
Still...
Something had changed.
For perhaps the first time in his life, Thor truly understood responsibility.
Maybe every hero needed tragedy before they could grow.
Thor lowered his head.
"My father tried to teach me. Again and again. But I never listened. I was too stubborn... too stupid."
Selvig sighed softly.
Recognizing your mistakes was already progress.
"The important thing," Selvig said carefully, "is figuring out where you go from here. You can't undo the past, but you can decide the kind of man you become next."
Thor listened silently.
"Think before acting. Listen to the people who care about you. Even when what they say hurts."
Thor pressed a hand against his forehead.
Funny.
He used to hate hearing lectures like that from Odin.
Now he would've given anything to hear them again.
"Thank you," Thor said quietly.
"No need to thank me," Selvig replied while sliding another drink toward him. "I'm mostly doing this for Jane."
Thor blinked.
Selvig studied him carefully.
"Whatever you are... crazy, delusional, alien, whatever... I've seen the way Jane looks at you."
And more importantly...
He'd seen the way Thor looked back.
Earnest.
Sad.
Lost.
"I swear to you," Thor said with absolute sincerity, "I would never harm her."
Selvig slowly nodded.
"Good."
Then his expression flattened.
"Drink your beer and leave town tonight."
Honestly, the two of them were having completely different conversations without realizing it.
Meanwhile, far from Earth...
Loki stood within Jotunheim.
The frozen realm of the Frost Giants.
Everything had started here.
Thor's invasion.
His exile.
Loki discovering the truth about his birth.
Though Loki refused to acknowledge himself as a Frost Giant, the revelation had shattered something inside him.
He was Loki Odinson.
Not Loki Laufeyson.
He refused to accept anything else.
"Kill him," Laufey demanded coldly.
After everything Loki had done, the Frost Giant King still wanted Thor dead.
Loki fell silent.
Truthfully, despite everything, he didn't actually want to kill Thor.
Thor was reckless.
Immature.
Completely unsuited to ruling Asgard.
But he was still Loki's brother.
And yet...
Thor also couldn't become king.
Loki genuinely believed only he possessed the intelligence and vision necessary to rule Asgard properly.
Only him.
"Forget Thor for now," Loki said suddenly. "Would you like to kill Odin instead?"
Laufey immediately became interested.
Loki offered him a secret passage from Jotunheim directly into Asgard, one that led straight toward Odin's chambers.
In exchange, Laufey would assassinate Odin.
Afterward, Asgard and Jotunheim would part ways peacefully.
Loki would remain king of Asgard.
Laufey would remain king of the Frost Giants.
Simple.
At least on the surface.
What Laufey didn't realize was that Loki never intended for Odin to die.
He wanted to prove himself.
To show Frigga and Odin that he possessed the strength and resolve worthy of becoming king.
Loki still deeply loved his mother.
Still desperately sought Odin's approval.
The Destroyer armor and the Gungnir spear were his true weapons.
Once Laufey entered Asgard, Loki intended to kill the invading Frost Giants himself.
Then he would activate the Bifrost and annihilate Jotunheim entirely.
A demonstration of loyalty.
A declaration of worthiness.
A son begging his parents to finally acknowledge him.
Back on Earth, Coulson sat across from Thor inside a temporary holding facility.
He tried to sound as friendly as possible.
After all, both Thor and Jane already hated him.
"We'd like to ask you a few questions," Coulson said carefully. "Nothing hostile. We're just trying to understand the situation."
Thor stared at him silently.
Outside, thunder rolled across the night sky once more.