Loki refused to give up.
He grabbed Mjolnir again and pulled with all his strength.
Nothing.
The hammer didn't move so much as a fraction of an inch.
Not even a grain of dirt shifted beneath it.
A flicker of anger crossed his already dark expression.
Ever since learning the truth about his origins, Loki's view of his entire life had changed.
He was not an Asgardian.
He was a Frost Giant.
And once that realization had taken root, every perceived slight from Odin suddenly seemed to make sense.
Thor carried Mjolnir, a divine weapon forged from the heart of a world.
He wore armor crafted from Asgard's finest uru metal.
Armed with both, he had become the champion of the Nine Realms, celebrated by warriors and adored by the people.
Loki had received something different.
Magic.
Illusions.
Duplicates.
Invisibility.
Dimensional storage.
Concealment.
Useful abilities.
Powerful abilities.
But overwhelmingly supportive ones.
He had learned offensive spells as well, yet their battlefield effectiveness couldn't compare to the strength of Asgard's elite warriors, much less Thor himself.
Thor accumulated followers wherever he went.
Loki received little more than polite acknowledgment.
For years, Loki had blamed himself.
He had believed he simply wasn't trying hard enough.
Now he thought he finally understood.
He wasn't Odin's biological son.
Why would Odin ever invest in him the same way?
When prejudice takes hold, every memory becomes evidence.
Every coincidence becomes proof.
Loki was trapped in that cycle now.
He stared at the immovable hammer and spoke quietly.
"Just wait."
His eyes hardened.
"I'm the one truly suited to rule Asgard."
His voice became almost a whisper.
"I'll prove it to you, Father."
Far above the Bureau's secret facility, Loki's spacecraft remained hidden.
Inside the vessel waited three hundred Frost Giant warriors and one hundred Chitauri biomechanical soldiers.
Loki glanced at them and allowed himself a thin smile.
Then his body faded from existence.
Moments later, he vanished entirely.
The troops remained aboard the ship, waiting for the command to deploy.
Meanwhile, Loki traveled through another hidden route and entered Alfheim.
From there, he summoned the Bifrost and returned to Asgard.
The moment he stepped off the Rainbow Bridge, a familiar voice reached his ears.
"What exactly have you been doing?"
Heimdall.
The guardian's golden eyes remained fixed upon him.
"You've been traveling throughout the Nine Realms."
His expression was unreadable.
"And for most of that time, I haven't been able to see you."
Loki stopped walking.
Then he slowly turned around.
A faint smile touched his lips.
"What have I been doing?"
He chuckled softly.
"Stabilizing the Nine Realms."
His tone grew almost conversational.
"The mighty Thor has been exiled."
"The All-Father rarely leaves the palace."
"If rebellions break out, who's supposed to deal with them?"
He spread his hands.
"Someone has to maintain order."
"If I don't do it, who will?"
Heimdall stared at him.
His gaze never wavered.
He clearly didn't believe a word of it.
Unfortunately, suspicion wasn't evidence.
He couldn't see what Loki had been doing.
He couldn't prove any wrongdoing.
And Odin had issued no restrictions regarding Loki's movements.
In the end, there was nothing he could do.
Several seconds passed.
When Heimdall finally remained silent, Loki turned away and resumed walking.
He headed toward the highest structure in Asgard.
The royal palace.
The moment Heimdall was behind him, however, the smile disappeared.
His expression darkened.
His fists slowly clenched.
A bitter thought surfaced.
If that had been Thor, would Heimdall have questioned him like that?
No.
Of course not.
Officially, they were both sons of Odin.
In reality, they were treated very differently.
The unfairness gnawed at him.
Loki's emotions toward Odin had become hopelessly tangled.
There was gratitude.
Odin had saved his life and raised him as a prince.
But there was resentment too.
If Odin intended to treat him as a son, why had he always favored Thor?
What exactly did Thor have that he lacked?
The man practically fought every problem with his muscles.
Yet somehow he remained everyone's favorite.
The thought left a bitter taste in Loki's mouth.
Later, he returned to the palace aboard a flying vessel.
As he passed the corridor leading toward Odin's Vault, he slowed.
His eyes lingered on the heavily guarded entrance.
For a moment, he considered it.
Then he continued walking.
The Destroyer.
He had coveted it for years.
As a weapon, it rivaled Thor himself.
Possibly surpassed him.
Unfortunately, only Gungnir could command it.
And Gungnir remained firmly in Odin's hands.
Back in his private chambers, Loki stepped onto the balcony overlooking Asgard.
Stone buildings stretched across the continent below, illuminated beneath the realm's eternal glow.
With a wave of his hand, a water mirror materialized before him.
The surface shimmered.
Then images appeared.
The hidden spacecraft hovering above the Bureau facility.
Loki watched intently.
During his infiltration, he had discovered more than Mjolnir.
He had also found Thor's body.
Not that he believed Thor would stay dead.
Far from it.
If anything, he expected his brother to return to life at any moment.
And when that happened...
Everything would begin.
One command.
That was all it would take.
The Chitauri biomechanical soldiers and Frost Giant warriors would launch their attack according to his plan.
Whatever chaos erupted on Midgard afterward would have nothing to do with Asgard's innocent second prince.
The larger the disaster became, the more likely Asgard would be forced to intervene.
How many times could the Frost Giants attack Midgard before Odin finally responded?
Sooner or later, the peace treaty would become meaningless.
And when Asgard marched on Jotunheim...
Odin would remain behind to defend the realm.
Thor would be absent.
That would leave only one logical choice to command the invasion.
Loki.
If he led Asgard's armies to victory and destroyed their ancient enemy, the achievement would be impossible to ignore.
It would elevate him above Thor.
Perhaps even make him the foremost heir to the throne.
The thought brought a genuine smile to his face.
His eyes gleamed as he stared into the water mirror.
"Wake up already."
A cold laugh escaped him.
"My dear brother."
At that very moment, deep inside the Bureau's morgue, something stirred.
Thor heard a voice calling to him.
Again.
And again.
The dead God of Thunder opened his eyes.
Divine power surged through his body.
The bullet wounds that had riddled his corpse began repairing themselves.
Flesh regenerated.
Bones mended.
Life returned.
Moments later, lightning exploded outward.
The refrigerated morgue drawer shattered.
Thor emerged completely naked.
For several seconds, he stood there looking thoroughly confused.
Then reality caught up with him.
None of that mattered.
There was only one thing he needed.
Mjolnir.
This time, however, Thor was far more cautious.
Being shot to death by Midgardians had taught him an important lesson.
He was no longer the invincible God of Thunder.
Unfortunately, Thor remained unaware of one critical detail.
The facility was saturated with surveillance equipment.
On average, there was a hidden camera every few feet.
High-definition.
Crystal clear.
The system could probably track a mosquito crossing the room.
His resurrection immediately attracted enormous interest.
Rather than stopping him, Bureau personnel decided to observe.
They wanted him alive.
A living, self-resurrecting extraterrestrial was infinitely more valuable than a dead one.
Besides, they weren't worried.
Blonsky was stationed at the facility.
What exactly did Thor think he was going to do?
Turn the entire base upside down?
Thor carefully made his way through the facility.
To his surprise, the guards seemed to ignore him completely.
He took that as a blessing.
Excitement surged through him as he approached the impact site.
Then he jumped down into the massive excavation pit surrounding Mjolnir.
The area was crowded with advanced scientific equipment.
Sensors.
Scanners.
Experimental devices.
Every one of them focused on the hammer embedded in the earth.
Thor barely spared them a glance.
His eyes were fixed on Mjolnir.