Before Loki could even reach the Bifrost gate, Heimdall's voice thundered across the bridge.
"Loki!"
His grip tightened on the Hofund Sword.
"Why have you activated the Destroyer? Its duty is to guard Odin's Vault."
Loki didn't stop walking.
He showed no concern whatsoever over Heimdall's obvious suspicion.
Step by step, he advanced across the crystalline bridge, Gungnir resting casually in his hand.
"The All-Father has entered the Odin-Sleep."
His tone was calm and measured.
"Thor is exiled on Midgard."
"Asgard is at its weakest."
He gestured behind him.
"Just moments ago, Frost Giants infiltrated the realm and attempted to harm the All-Father."
"The Destroyer is necessary to defend Asgard."
Heimdall's expression didn't change.
"I saw no Frost Giants enter Asgard."
Though his eyes remained fixed on Loki, most of his attention was directed toward the towering construct behind him.
The Destroyer was no ordinary weapon.
Forged by the dwarves from the rarest materials collected throughout Asgard's history, strengthened by the blessings of the Aesir, and layered with powerful enchantments crafted by the Light Elves, it was one of the greatest weapons in the Nine Realms.
For ages, it had stood watch over Odin's Vault.
Loki himself was manageable.
The Destroyer was another matter entirely.
Loki stopped a few steps away.
At his command, the Destroyer halted as well.
Then Loki walked forward alone.
A pleasant smile appeared on his face.
His voice softened.
"That's because your all-seeing eyes still have blind spots."
He stood directly before Heimdall.
"There are things even you cannot see."
The smile widened slightly.
"For example..."
"Certain hidden paths leading into Asgard."
The instant the words left his mouth, a small blue chest appeared in his free hand.
The Casket of Ancient Winters.
Magic surged into the artifact.
A fraction of a second later, a tidal wave of freezing energy erupted outward.
Heimdall's attention had been focused on the Destroyer.
The attack came from point-blank range.
Too fast.
Too sudden.
There was no time to evade.
Frost engulfed him.
Ice spread across his armor and skin at terrifying speed.
To Heimdall's credit, he reacted immediately.
With a roar, he thrust Hofund toward Loki's arm, hoping to stop him before the Casket fully activated.
The blade advanced less than eight inches.
Then it stopped.
Ice consumed the weapon.
It consumed his arm.
His torso.
His legs.
His entire body.
Within moments, Heimdall was sealed inside a massive shell of ice nearly a foot thick.
Frozen in mid-strike.
A statue.
A prisoner.
Completely immobile.
Only after confirming Heimdall had been neutralized did Loki deactivate the Casket.
His skin had shifted into the icy blue hue of a Frost Giant.
He barely glanced at the frozen guardian.
Then he stored the Casket away.
Without another word, he turned and continued toward the Bifrost control chamber.
"Guard the bridge."
The order was directed at the Destroyer.
"Allow no one to pass."
The giant construct remained where it stood.
Silent.
Motionless.
Waiting.
Soon afterward, Loki departed Asgard aboard a flying vessel.
Using one of the secret pathways he had uncovered, he traveled directly to Jotunheim.
The Bifrost remained behind.
Its entrance guarded by two figures.
The frozen Heimdall.
And the Destroyer standing watch over the bridge.
Only half a day had passed in Asgard.
On Midgard, however, more than half a month had gone by.
March had arrived.
The attack on the New Mexico facility never reached the public.
The United Nations quietly suppressed all information regarding the incident.
Nearby towns were evacuated under various fabricated pretexts.
No one outside a handful of governments knew the truth.
The Frost Giant and Chitauri corpses attracted considerable interest among world leaders.
Unfortunately for them, the Bureau belonged to Drex Valen.
And Drex was proving even more untouchable than J. Edgar Hoover had ever been.
Hoover had founded the FBI and remained its director for forty-eight years.
His influence had become legendary.
Presidents feared him.
Politicians avoided crossing him.
Rumors claimed he possessed secret files capable of destroying careers at will.
His power had become so notorious that, after his death, legislation was passed limiting future FBI directors to ten-year terms.
Yet even Hoover couldn't compare to Drex.
Drex commanded six Hulks.
Any one of them could devastate an armored division.
And Drex himself possessed enough power to defeat two Hulks simultaneously.
His authority rested not only on political influence but on overwhelming personal strength.
There was very little the United Nations could do.
The Bureau collected every alien corpse.
Every fragment.
Every sample.
Then they continued expanding and fortifying the New Mexico facility.
No one objected.
Because everyone had seen the combat footage.
Soldiers armed with heavy armor-piercing rifles had barely managed to harm the Frost Giants or Chitauri biomechanical soldiers.
The lesson was obvious.
Humanity's greatest weakness wasn't firepower.
It was individual combat capability.
Human civilization possessed battleships.
Fighter aircraft.
Missiles.
Armored divisions.
But how useful were those weapons inside densely populated cities?
One missile could easily kill more civilians than the invading aliens.
That reality made organizations like the Bureau increasingly indispensable.
Far away, beyond distances that could only be crossed through dimensional travel, the Bifrost activated once more.
The rainbow bridge retracted from the void and returned to Asgard.
Loki stepped onto the platform.
Beside him stood King Laufey of the Frost Giants.
Behind Laufey marched his personal guard.
Twenty-two warriors in total.
Loki smiled.
"See?"
He raised Gungnir slightly.
"I wasn't lying."
"Odin has entered the Odin-Sleep."
"And Asgard is under my control."
Laufey chuckled.
Cold vapor escaped his mouth with every breath.
His gaze swept across the magnificent Bifrost platform.
He noticed Heimdall frozen in ice.
He noticed the Destroyer.
A weapon that had slaughtered countless Frost Giants throughout history.
Then his eyes shifted toward the distant golden palace dominating the horizon.
A faint smile crossed his face.
"So."
"Odin has fallen asleep already."
His voice carried an unsettling warmth.
"The last time we met, our conversation was far too brief."
His eyes narrowed.
"I've had over a thousand years to think about what I'd like to say to him."
"Fortunately..."
"It seems he'll have plenty of time to listen this time."
Loki raised his free hand.
Illusion magic spread outward.
In an instant, Laufey and his entire escort transformed into what appeared to be ordinary Asgardian soldiers.
No one would question them at a glance.
Holding Gungnir, Loki started walking toward the palace.
"Come."
He didn't look back.
"All you need to do is kill Odin."
His voice remained casual.
"In exchange, I'll return the Casket of Ancient Winters."
"You can take it back to Jotunheim."
Laufey smiled.
"You're trusting me rather easily."
"What if I decide not to honor our agreement?"
His gaze sharpened.
"And why not kill Odin yourself?"
"Wouldn't that be simpler?"
Loki laughed softly.
"No."
"The people of Asgard would never accept a king who murdered the All-Father."
He continued forward.
"But if Odin dies at the hands of Asgard's oldest enemy..."
His smile widened.
"That's another matter entirely."
"The Frost Giants already infiltrated the palace once."
"If they manage it again, people will blame negligence."
"Not me."
He spun Gungnir lightly in one hand.
"Afterward, I can replace the guards with men loyal to me."
"And when that happens..."
"I'll finally control the royal palace completely."
Laufey listened quietly.
As the disguised Frost Giants marched through the heart of Asgard beside the prince who had betrayed his own father.
The trap was almost ready to close.