บท 49: Chapter 45. The Looming Battle
On the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard, Heimdall, the gatekeeper, stood guard day and night. According to legend, his magical eyes could see across the Nine Realms, helping Asgard detect any threats.
At that moment, he stood at the fortress exit, watching Loki approach from the other side of the Rainbow Bridge. Loki was angry, his face showing displeasure, and in his hands, he held the symbol of the King of Asgard—the spear Gungnir.
Heimdall knew Loki had come to accuse him of activating the Rainbow Bridge on his own to send Thor's friends to Earth. Earlier, as king, Loki had given orders forbidding anyone from leaving Asgard. Heimdall understood that his actions could be seen as treason, but he did not regret his decision. He had questions for Loki himself.
"Tell me, Loki, how did you bring the Frost Giants into Asgard?"
Without waiting for Loki to speak, Heimdall asked the question first. When he saved him from Noah's hands, he had already sensed something was wrong. After testing Loki, he received evasive answers, but given Loki's royal status, he could not delve deeper into the investigation. However, in secret, Heimdall continued his research and discovered that Loki had led the Frost Giants, knowing secret paths into Asgard that bypassed the Rainbow Bridge.
Realizing he was caught, Loki stopped pretending and openly declared:
"You thought the Rainbow Bridge was the only way into the kingdom? There are things that even you, with your abilities, cannot see. As king, I declare you a traitor to Asgard and strip you of your status as a citizen!"
"In that case, I no longer follow your orders."
Heimdall stepped forward, raising his sword, but Loki was quicker. He unleashed a wave of icy cold on him. Heimdall watched as Loki's skin turned blue, and his eyes reddened, adopting the features of the Frost Giants.
Locking Heimdall in an icy prison, Loki hid the Casket of Ancient Winters. He sighed in relief and returned to the throne. Before meeting Heimdall, he had already sent the Destroyer, his father's enchanted armor, to Earth, using Gungnir to command it to kill Thor and prevent his return to Asgard.
…
Meanwhile, on Earth, in a small town, Jane, Erik, Darcy, and Thor watched through a cracked glass door as four newcomers approached. The glass was webbed with cracks from their previous blows.
Thor beamed with joy at the sight of his friends. Erik and the others were in shock, especially Erik, who had just been saying that Jane's theories required evidence. And now, here it was before him.
They opened the glass door, and Thor hugged his friends warmly. Everyone greeted each other with joy.
Then Volstagg, the largest of the three warriors with a thick beard resembling a lion's mane, began introducing himself and his companions to Jane and her friends.
"Greetings. Allow me to introduce Lady Sif and the Warrior's Three."
Erik was still in disbelief. He looked at Jane, who smiled back, as if saying, "Well, do you believe me now?"
"My friends, allow me to ask you one question," said Thor.
"Of course, what do you want to know, Thor?"
"My father... is he dead?"
"What? Of course not, Thor. Your father is alive, just temporarily unwell, which is why Loki became the King of Asgard for the time being. And Thor, we are certain Loki is up to something. It was his tricks that sent us to Jotunheim."
The four friends exchanged confused glances at Thor's words. They couldn't understand how he had come to such absurd conclusions and hurried to tell him the truth, as well as express their doubts about Loki.
"Loki! What is he planning?" Thor sighed with relief, hearing the truth from his friends. A weight lifted off his shoulders. He had feared his brother's words might be true. Now, with the deception revealed, he felt a sense of relief, but also growing anger. Loki had deceived him again.
At that moment, while they were talking, Tony Stark was flying over the town. He spotted the trail left by the Rainbow Bridge just outside the city, marking the arrival of Sif and the Warriors Three, and headed deeper into the town, scanning the surroundings for the Asgardians.
Within seconds, he found what he was looking for. These people were not hard to spot. Tony made his way to the building on the town's main street, where he saw several people in medieval armor and four Earthlings. No, wait—Tony zoomed in. The one embracing the four Asgardians had to be Thor, as Coulson had told him.
When he landed, the people on the streets noticed. Seeing Iron Man, the bystanders first froze, then started cheering. It was Iron Man! Many people began to gather around, even stopping cars as drivers got out to see him up close.
The people inside the house also noticed the commotion outside and saw a man in a red-and-gold suit descending towards them.
"Oh my God, Jane, it's Iron Man! Quick, I need to take a picture and post this!" Darcy, seeing Iron Man, excitedly grabbed Jane's arm like a true fan.
Thor, having spent only one day on Earth, didn't know who Iron Man was, and the four Asgardian warriors certainly didn't either. They just looked at the crowd with curiosity.
"Jane, who is that? He seems quite popular," Thor asked, turning to Jane.
"Thor, that's Iron Man—Tony Stark. He's a brilliant scientist and a superhero, very famous," Jane explained.
Thor nodded, though he didn't fully understand what a superhero was.
Tony landed, waved to the gathered crowd, and said:
"Hello, folks. I appreciate the warm welcome, but I need you to step back. Please, no crowding here."
After saying this, he headed towards the house, not expecting any conflict.
"Looks like he's coming for us," Erik said. He didn't know why Iron Man was here, but he guessed that he was probably looking for Thor and his friends.
Indeed, Tony approached the house and stopped at the door. Sif and the Warriors Three grew cautious, sensing that this man in strange armor might be dangerous.
"Hello. You from Asgard?" Tony asked, standing before them and continuing to scan them through his helmet's interface.
"Yes, human. This is Prince Thor of Asgard. This is Lady Sif, and we are the Warrior's Three: Fandral, Hogun, and I, Volstagg," the large warrior Volstagg proudly introduced himself and his companions.
Thor and his friends were trying to understand why Tony had come when suddenly, more voices arose from the crowd.
"Look, in the sky! What is that?!"
"I know him! That's the new hero who appeared two days ago! I think he's called Storm Fencer. I saw a video of him."
"Oh my God! Is he teaming up with Iron Man? Are they in the same crew?!"
Another figure in a high-tech suit appeared in the sky—it was Noah. He had also arrived. Meanwhile, Nick Fury and his team landed outside the town in a Quinjet, activated the invisibility mode, and headed towards the scene.
Noah landed next to Tony. Tony glanced at this mysterious figure who had appeared the previous night. He hadn't had time to ask about him then, but now that they had met again, Tony was determined to find out who he was.
"Who are you?" he asked directly, his expression inside the helmet growing surprised.
"Mr. Stark, you saw me recently. Have you already forgotten?" Noah replied.
Hearing that voice, Tony instantly remembered the sixteen-year-old boy at the SHIELD camp whom Nick had called their security consultant. He was shocked. Nick had mentioned the boy was special, but Tony hadn't expected it to be this extraordinary.
"A wizard? Nice suit!" Thor, hearing the voice, also recognized Noah.
Tony hesitated for a moment, not knowing what to say. He had so many questions: Where did Noah get that suit? Did he make it himself? But before he could ask a single one, something strange happened again outside the town. A swirling cloud formation appeared in the sky, followed by a loud crashing sound.
"Volstagg, was someone else supposed to arrive?" Thor asked, recognizing the scene as a teleportation via the Rainbow Bridge, and turned to the large warrior.
"No, we came as a group of four," Volstagg replied, clearly not understanding what was happening.
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