Jotunheim, the realm of ice and storms, remained as bleak as ever.
Endless glaciers stretched across the frozen landscape beneath a ceiling of dark clouds that never seemed to move.
For the second time, the mysterious "information broker" arrived in the realm of the Frost Giants.
This time, however, he made no effort to hide.
A sleek spacecraft descended openly onto Jotunheim's largest ice plain.
The hatch opened.
Loki stepped out wearing a pleasant smile, seemingly unconcerned by the Frost Giants surrounding him.
Towering blue warriors watched his every move, but he treated them as though they didn't exist.
Escorted through the frozen wastes, he was eventually brought before Laufey, King of the Frost Giants.
Calling the place a palace was generous.
It looked more like a primitive cave carved from ice.
The walls were rough and jagged. The floor and ceiling were covered in frozen spikes and uneven frost. There wasn't a trace of elegance anywhere in sight.
To someone accustomed to Asgardian architecture, the entire structure looked barbaric.
Laufey lounged upon his throne and studied the disguised Loki below.
His voice rumbled through the icy hall.
"So you've returned."
His cold gaze narrowed.
"I sent a squad to Midgard. By the following day, all contact was lost."
"The passage you provided disappeared as well."
A cruel smile spread across his face.
"Now tell me. Why shouldn't I feed you to my pet?"
At those words, a massive reptilian head emerged from a cavern beside the throne.
The creature was nearly fifteen feet long.
It bared rows of icy fangs at Loki while clouds of frozen breath poured from its nostrils.
The cold vapor crystallized into delicate ice flowers before drifting to the floor.
Loki didn't even glance at it.
His smile never wavered.
"Then perhaps Your Majesty should ask why you sent such a weak force."
Laufey's expression hardened.
Loki continued smoothly.
"Asgard constantly monitors the Nine Realms. Midgard also possesses a protector of its own."
"The same secret route can't be used twice."
He spread his hands.
"By sending such a small force, you wasted a valuable opportunity."
Laufey let out an irritated snort and shifted lazily against his throne.
"Then tell me."
His eyes fixed on Loki.
"What information are you selling this time?"
Loki shook his head.
"None."
A faint smile crossed his lips.
"I'm here to propose a partnership."
"A partnership?"
"Exactly."
Loki stepped forward.
"If you're unwilling to commit your elite warriors to Midgard, then compensate with numbers."
"I'll provide one hundred soldiers."
"You send one or two squads of Frost Giants."
"Together, we'll capture Thor."
Laufey's eyes narrowed.
"And what do you gain from this arrangement?"
"You want to exchange Thor for the Casket of Ancient Winters."
Loki's voice remained calm.
"I want something from Odin's Vault."
"The Infinity Gauntlet."
The words echoed through the frozen chamber.
"Thor is Asgard's crown prince."
"Odin will accept the exchange."
Laufey stared at him for several moments.
Then a strange smile appeared.
"Will he?"
His tone carried an edge that made Loki's stomach tighten.
"As I recall, Asgard has another prince."
The Frost Giant king leaned forward.
"Do you think Odin would trade the Casket for him?"
For the first time, alarm flashed through Loki's mind.
Had Laufey figured it out?
Had his identity been exposed?
Outwardly, however, nothing changed.
The smile remained.
The confidence remained.
Only his clenched fist betrayed his tension.
"The other prince lives safely within Asgard."
Loki answered calmly.
"Neither of us has the ability to move an army into a fortress as heavily defended as Asgard."
He paused.
"But after three months of searching, I've discovered another secret route to Midgard."
One capable of transporting an army.
Laufey slowly rose from his throne.
The Frost Giant king towered over Loki.
His eyes were cold and unreadable.
For several long seconds, neither of them spoke.
Loki found himself looking upward.
Waiting.
Calculating.
Preparing for the possibility that everything had just fallen apart.
Then Laufey smiled.
A terrifying smile.
"An excellent proposal."
Loki relaxed internally.
Just slightly.
Laufey continued.
"I'll give you three hundred Frost Giant warriors."
"You will lead them into Midgard."
"If you bring Thor back here, then unless the entire army of Asgard marches on Jotunheim, no one will take him from me."
Loki inclined his head.
"Agreed."
The preparations moved quickly.
Three hundred Frost Giant warriors assembled across the frozen plain.
These weren't the poorly equipped raiders sent previously.
These were proper soldiers.
Battle-hardened warriors.
Loki nodded in approval.
Against the God of Thunder at full power, even this force would be insignificant.
Against a Thor stripped of his divinity?
It was absurd overkill.
Laufey watched from a distance as the spacecraft lifted off from the ice.
Only after it disappeared into the storm clouds did he finally look away.
A whisper escaped his lips.
"My son."
A rare softness entered his voice.
"I will make you the ruler of the Nine Realms."
Loki never heard those words.
Years ago, during Thor's disastrous expedition to Jotunheim, one of the Frost Giants had grabbed Loki's arm.
For a brief moment, his skin had shifted into the icy blue coloration of their race.
Laufey had noticed.
Since then, during Loki's previous visits disguised as an information broker, Laufey had quietly tested him several times.
Subtle applications of Frost Giant power.
Nothing obvious.
Enough to reveal the truth.
An Asgardian would have suffered frostbite.
Loki hadn't reacted at all.
That had confirmed Laufey's suspicions.
The lost son from the ancient war had finally returned.
Whether he realized it or not.
Meanwhile, Loki sat inside the spacecraft, completely unaware of Laufey's conclusions.
His thoughts were occupied by another problem.
The previous Frost Giant squad.
They should have been more than capable of dealing with a powerless Thor.
Yet they had vanished without leaving a trace.
Combined with what he'd overheard from Odin, Loki had reached a conclusion.
Midgard's protector had eliminated them.
That was why he'd gone to such lengths.
One hundred biomechanical soldiers.
Three hundred Frost Giant warriors.
This force wasn't really for Thor.
It was for Midgard's guardian.
As for handling Thor personally?
That was impossible.
Not while Odin remained awake.
The All-Father's gaze still loomed over the Nine Realms.
If circumstances had been different, Loki would have chosen a far simpler solution.
He would have unleashed the Destroyer and erased Thor directly.
Piloting the spacecraft himself, Loki guided it through the hidden passage connecting Jotunheim and Midgard.
Moments later, he arrived above New Mexico.
Snow drifted from the sky.
A blanket of white covered the desert landscape.
The town where Mjolnir had landed was long gone.
The Bureau had evacuated everyone under the cover story of a toxic gas leak.
Within a radius of hundreds of kilometers, only one settlement remained.
The Bureau's containment facility.
And it had grown dramatically.
The temporary structures that once surrounded the hammer had been replaced by a sprawling installation of stone and steel.
More than twenty buildings stood within its perimeter.
High-voltage power lines stretched across the landscape, feeding the facility's growing energy demands.
Layered defensive walls.
Watchtowers.
Patrols.
Security measures worthy of a national treasury.
Yet none of it mattered.
Using magic, Loki slipped through the defenses with ease.
Moments later, he stood in the very center of the complex.
Before him rested Mjolnir.
The hammer lay exactly where it had fallen.
Silent.
Unmoving.
Loki stared at it expressionlessly.
Then he glanced at the surrounding guards.
There was unmistakable disdain in his eyes.
He reached down and wrapped one hand around the short handle.
He pulled.
Nothing happened.
Mjolnir didn't move.
Not even slightly.
His expression darkened.
Using both hands this time, he exerted more force.
The result was exactly the same.
The hammer remained where it was.
Unshaken.
Immovable.
As though silently mocking his arrogance.
...
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