The surface of the enchanted water mirror suddenly rippled.
It was as though someone had thrown a stone into a perfectly still pond.
Concentric waves spread across the mirror before vanishing entirely a second later.
Loki froze.
Then he turned.
A woman dressed in elegant royal attire stood in the doorway.
The Queen of Asgard.
Frigga.
"Mother."
The lingering magic dissipated from Frigga's palm as she lowered her hand.
"Loki," she said gently, "I didn't teach you magic so you could use it to eavesdrop on your father."
Loki immediately offered an explanation.
"I was only trying to find out when Father intends to bring Thor home. After what happened in Jotunheim, the Frost Giants won't simply let things go. Asgard needs him."
Frigga crossed the room and stopped in front of him.
She raised a hand and gently cupped his cheek.
There was something almost pleading in her expression.
"Loki, you and Thor are brothers. You must stand together and protect Asgard. Can you do that for me?"
Loki looked into his mother's eyes.
Then he reached up and covered her hand with his own, pressing it more firmly against his face.
"I will, Mother."
His voice was sincere.
"Thor and I will protect Asgard together."
A warm smile appeared on Frigga's face.
Loki smiled as well.
But the moment she left the room, the smile vanished.
His expression hardened into its usual guarded mask.
Quietly, he spoke to the empty chamber.
"I can protect Asgard on my own."
His eyes narrowed.
"I'll prove it."
Night soon fell over Asgard.
Under the cover of darkness, a lone figure departed from the royal palace.
A sleek flying vessel slipped away toward the distant mountain ranges and disappeared into the night.
Many hours later, the craft returned just as silently.
Throughout the entire journey, neither Heimdall nor anyone else noticed its passage.
It was as if the vessel had never existed at all.
Far away in the frozen realm of Jotunheim, where endless glaciers and towering mountains of ice stretched beyond the horizon, King Laufey met once again with the mysterious information broker he had worked with several times before.
The last intelligence he'd purchased from the man had allowed several Frost Giants to infiltrate Asgard's defenses and reach Odin's Vault.
Though the intruders had ultimately been annihilated by the Destroyer guarding the treasure chamber, they had still managed to get inside.
That alone had been valuable.
This time, the broker brought even more interesting news.
Thor.
The prince who had rampaged through Jotunheim.
The warrior who had slaughtered countless Frost Giants.
According to the information, Thor had angered Odin, been stripped of his power as the God of Thunder, and exiled to Midgard.
Laufey was ecstatic.
If Thor remained within heavily defended Asgard, revenge would be nearly impossible.
But Midgard?
A weak, insignificant realm.
And if Thor truly no longer possessed his divine power...
It was practically a gift from fate.
After paying a hefty price in rare frost iron, a resource found only in Jotunheim's frozen wastelands, Laufey received Thor's approximate location.
More importantly, he was given a method for reaching Midgard while avoiding Heimdall's all-seeing gaze.
After the broker departed, a mocking smile spread across Laufey's face.
"Odin."
His voice echoed through the icy hall.
"It seems your precious Asgard isn't as united as you'd like everyone to believe."
His eyes filled with hatred.
"So quickly, and someone already wants your son dead."
Frost crackled across his clenched fists.
The air around him grew colder.
Turning toward the vast frozen palace, he shouted:
"Send several warriors to Midgard immediately."
His command echoed through the hall.
"Confirm whether Thor has truly lost his power."
He paused.
"And test this so-called method for bypassing Heimdall's sight."
A cruel grin appeared.
"If it works, plenty of people will be interested in buying it. We can trade it for something useful."
Laufey hadn't fully trusted the information broker.
That was why he wasn't sending elite warriors.
If it was a trap, losing a few ordinary soldiers wouldn't matter.
But he had already begun preparing.
If the intelligence proved accurate, he would dispatch his best warriors to Midgard, capture Thor, and use him as leverage.
In exchange, he intended to demand the return of the Frost Giants' sacred artifact.
The Casket of Ancient Winters.
The relic Odin had locked away inside Odin's Vault.
Back on Earth, construction around the hammer site continued.
The Bureau had discovered a frustrating problem.
The hammer couldn't be moved.
Attempts to lift it failed.
Attempts to excavate the surrounding ground failed.
Even when the earth beneath it was removed, the hammer simply dropped back to the ground and remained completely immovable.
After numerous tests, the Bureau made a decision.
Rather than transport the object, they would build a fortress around it.
The mysterious artifact would be contained where it stood.
Late that night, two red lights suddenly appeared in the darkness roughly forty feet beyond the perimeter.
The watchtower's searchlight immediately swung toward the source.
Brilliant white light cut through the night and illuminated a massive blue humanoid.
Its body was covered in frost.
It looked almost like an enormous blue creature pulled straight from a freezer.
The thing roared.
"RAAAAGH!"
Rows of razor-sharp teeth gleamed beneath the spotlight.
The thunderous sound echoed across the desert and carried through the nearby town.
"A monster!"
Several soldiers shouted.
Though startled, none of them panicked.
Anyone joining the Bureau already understood that strange and dangerous encounters came with the job.
If anything, many of them found the situation exhilarating.
Their hearts raced with excitement.
The creature charged.
Its massive strides carried it directly toward the military compound.
As it ran, ice rapidly formed along its arms.
Moments later, two jagged blades of frozen crystal extended from its forearms.
The creature clearly wasn't just passing through.
The soldiers stared in disbelief.
Wherever it stepped, frost spread across the ground.
Its body generated weapons from living ice.
It looked like something that belonged in a science-fiction movie.
"Open fire!"
Communication clearly wasn't an option.
The soldiers responded exactly as trained.
With overwhelming force.
The Bureau equipped its personnel for worst-case scenarios.
Their rifles fired large-caliber rounds, and the watchtowers housed anti-materiel sniper rifles operated by dedicated marksmen.
Gunfire erupted.
A storm of bullets slammed into the Frost Giant.
The impacts staggered it repeatedly, forcing it backward.
Its dense muscles were torn open as round after round buried itself deep into flesh.
The giant hadn't even managed to retaliate when a deafening crack split the air.
BOOM!
A 12.7Γ108mm anti-materiel round struck its head.
These weapons were designed to destroy armored vehicles, aircraft, fortifications, and other heavily protected targets.
They punched through bulletproof glass and body armor with ease.
A Frost Giant's flesh, no matter how resilient, was nowhere near as durable as steel.
The giant's head exploded instantly.
The body collapsed into the dirt.
Silence followed.
Then the soldiers moved.
"Stay alert!"
Hand signals flashed between squads.
Personnel spread out into defensive positions, rifles trained on the darkness.
If one monster had appeared, others might not be far behind.
Three-man teams cautiously advanced toward the corpse.
Weapons raised.
Ready for anything.