The fact that Heimdall's all-seeing vision could no longer track the Frost Giants filled him with unease.
For centuries, his sight had been one of Asgard's greatest strategic advantages. Now there was a blind spot, and he had no idea how it had been created.
As a result, he devoted a significant portion of his attention to Thor's situation on Midgard.
The prince was currently a corpse lying in a morgue.
If the Frost Giants or some other enemy faction took advantage of that vulnerability, the consequences could be disastrous.
As he contemplated the problem, a familiar figure approached.
Odin.
The All-Father leaned slightly on Gungnir as he walked, pausing to catch his breath before speaking.
"Still haven't discovered how the Frost Giants are avoiding your sight?"
Heimdall shook his head.
Instead of answering directly, he brought up another concern.
"Should we send someone to check on Thor?"
There was a brief pause.
After all, the Prince of Asgard was currently resting among the dead in a Midgardian morgue.
The thought alone bordered on sacrilege.
Odin slowly shook his head.
"No."
His voice remained calm.
"Midgard has its own protector."
"I have already informed her that a hidden passage exists between Midgard and Jotunheim."
His single eye drifted toward the distant realm of Earth.
"She will handle it."
"I have also asked her to keep watch over Thor."
"There is no need for us to interfere."
He tightened his grip on Gungnir.
"Our priority is elsewhere."
"We must determine whether similar hidden passages exist within Asgard itself."
His expression darkened.
"Until Thor returns, the Frost Giants must not be allowed to breach our defenses."
Again, his gaze lingered on Midgard.
Then he fell silent.
On Earth, the United States military was extremely interested in assisting the Bureau against any future Frost Giant incursions.
Drex Valen declined.
Politely.
Firmly.
He wasn't even interested in borrowing Apache helicopters anymore.
The Bureau needed its own weapons.
Its own military assets.
Its own logistics.
Otherwise, every deployment would require asking another organization for support.
There was a world of difference between possessing a sword and borrowing one.
The other permanent members of the United Nations Security Council were equally eager to participate.
At the moment, no comparable organization existed elsewhere.
That made the Bureau uniquely important.
Fortunately, Drex already had a solution.
Magneto.
If anyone could rapidly manufacture advanced military hardware, it was the Master of Magnetism.
Convincing him wasn't easy.
Fortunately, Drex had something Magneto wanted.
"I'll make you an offer."
Drex sat across from him calmly.
"Any mutant criminals we capture will be detained by the Bureau."
Magneto remained silent.
Drex continued.
"If you help me, I won't authorize the cure injections."
That got his attention.
Magneto considered the proposal for several moments.
Then he nodded.
"Deal."
Just like that, one of the world's most feared mutant terrorists became Director Drex Valen's personal master engineer.
With Drex providing designs, materials, and technical concepts, Magneto's abilities effectively replaced an entire industrial corporation.
Watching him work was astonishing.
"His precision control is incredible."
Drex observed the process with genuine appreciation.
Magneto effortlessly manipulated hundreds of metal components simultaneously.
It was multitasking on a level that bordered on absurd.
The only thing Drex found strange was Magneto's obsession with simply throwing metal objects at enemies.
Why rely so heavily on metal projectiles when manipulating magnetic fields directly offered so many other possibilities?
Still, that was Magneto's business.
The first prototype was completed less than thirty minutes after construction began.
The speed was ridiculous.
"If I had more raw materials, I'd finish them even faster."
Magneto sounded almost offended that anyone might doubt him.
One assembly run had been enough.
He already understood every component.
Given sufficient resources, he could manufacture missiles, ammunition, and virtually every supporting system entirely on his own.
Not that he cared.
Magneto had little interest in conventional weapons.
In his eyes, mutants should rely on mutant power.
That was one reason Drex trusted him so much.
There was no concern about intellectual property theft or secret weapons programs.
Magneto simply wasn't interested.
Unfortunately, he also seemed determined to ignore one important truth:
Humanity's greatest evolutionary advantage wasn't intelligence.
It was tools.
Magneto, for all his brilliance, was stubbornly overlooking that fact.
The new helicopter received an appropriately aggressive name.
The Murder Hornet.
Each side of the aircraft featured a short wing fitted with two hardpoints.
Every hardpoint could carry a nineteen-tube 70mm rocket launcher.
The rockets themselves were known as Venom Rockets.
Designed as armor-piercing high-explosive munitions, they were specifically intended for exceptionally durable targets.
Given the Bureau's line of work, overkill was considered a feature rather than a flaw.
The helicopter's primary anti-armor weapon was even more impressive.
A missile system known as Satan.
Each missile cost approximately seventy thousand dollars.
Expensive.
But powerful.
Compared to the Hellfire missile, the Satan missile boasted superior range, guidance accuracy, electronic countermeasure resistance, reprogramming flexibility, and destructive capability.
Its maximum range reached eight kilometers.
That allowed the helicopter to engage targets from beyond the effective range of virtually every known mobile anti-aircraft system.
The warhead was also substantially more powerful.
More importantly, the Satan missile utilized semi-active laser guidance.
Target designation could come from allied aircraft or ground forces.
After launch, the helicopter was free to maneuver, seek cover, or engage additional targets.
Multiple missiles could even be fired simultaneously at different enemies.
The tradeoff was increased operational complexity.
Successful deployment required coordination.
Still, the advantages were undeniable.
A fully loaded Murder Hornet could carry twenty Satan missiles.
In theory, a single sortie could eliminate twenty main battle tanks.
Mounted beneath the nose sat another monster.
A 35mm autocannon known as the Terminator.
The weapon featured adjustable firing rates.
Six hundred twenty-five rounds per minute under normal operation.
One thousand rounds per minute at maximum output.
Muzzle velocity exceeded eight hundred meters per second.
The turret could rotate extensively in all directions, allowing tremendous firing flexibility.
Internal ammunition capacity reached two thousand rounds.
Its primary ammunition type was a dual-purpose high-explosive armor-piercing shell.
The rounds could penetrate light armored vehicles and attack the weaker side and top armor of main battle tanks.
Against personnel, the lethal radius extended approximately five meters.
The most impressive feature, however, was its integration with the pilot's helmet.
Through the helmet's targeting system, pilots could engage targets far off the aircraft's flight axis with remarkable ease.
It dramatically increased combat effectiveness.
Although roughly the same size as an Apache helicopter, the Murder Hornet was significantly heavier.
That was intentional.
Drex had instructed Magneto to increase the density of the aircraft's armor plating.
The result was a dramatic increase in durability.
The downside was obvious.
Weight.
An Apache engine would never have lifted it.
Fortunately, Drex had already developed a far more powerful powerplant specifically for the aircraft.
Not a jet engine.
Something better suited to a heavily armored attack helicopter.
Magneto didn't object to any of it.
Raw materials arrived by the truckload.
Hours later they had been transformed into missiles, ammunition, armor plating, and finished aircraft.
Within a matter of hours, the Bureau went from having virtually no dedicated military assets to possessing a highly capable independent armed force.
Twenty Murder Hornets launched together.
Their engines roared as they crossed the sky toward New Mexico.
Surprisingly, radar systems failed to detect the new aircraft during transit.
To avoid unfortunate friendly-fire incidents, however, every helicopter prominently displayed the insignia of the Human Supernatural Strategic Defense, Attack, and Logistics Administration Bureau.
Just in case anyone got nervous when an entire squadron of heavily armed gunships appeared overhead.