-Broadcast-
Inside The Statesman, Thor stood alone in a small cabin, pouring himself a glass of Asgardian wine. The amber liquid caught the light as he filled the cup. He had already fashioned an eye patch for himself, a simple black leather covering that concealed his empty right eye socket—a permanent reminder of his battle with Hela.
[Looking at himself in the mirror mounted on the wall, he reached out slowly and touched his scarred cheek, his fingers tracing the path Hela's blade had taken. He still felt like he was in a dream, like none of this could really be happening.]
[Loki appeared silently behind him, his reflection materializing in the mirror like a ghost. Seeing Loki's familiar face in the reflection, Thor turned around to face his brother directly.]
"You deserve it," Loki said matter-of-factly, though his tone lacked its usual venom.
Thor managed a slight smile despite everything. "You know what? I suddenly feel like you're not that bad, brother! You came back, you helped save everyone!"
Thor looked at Loki warmly and picked up a small toy from the table while speaking—one of the little figurines the Asgardian children played with.
Loki tilted his head and smiled enigmatically, always keeping people guessing. "That's hard to say! Don't get too sentimental on me!"
Thor tossed the toy casually in his hand and said with genuine emotion, "Thank you, Loki! Really! If you were physically here with me right now, I would actually want to hug you!"
[As he said this, he threw the toy toward Loki, who reached out and caught it steadily in his palm. Thor looked at Loki, and his lips curled up slightly in satisfaction. The toy passed right through the illusion without disturbing it.]
[The scene pulled back to show The Statesman sailing through the vast emptiness of space, its engines leaving a faint trail of energy. The smaller Commander could be seen parked on top of the larger ship, magnetically attached. Apparently, Loki had piloted it to catch up with them after completing his mission in Asgard's ruins.]
Thor walked among the crowd of refugees, making his way through the ship's corridors. The people of Asgard recognized their prince immediately and made way for him respectfully, bowing their heads in greeting as he passed. Some reached out to touch his arm or shoulder—seeking reassurance, offering gratitude.
He walked steadily to the front of the crowd, where Valkyrie was waiting for him near the ship's bridge. She gestured toward the command area. "Your throne, my lord!"
Thor glanced at the captain's seat on The Statesman—a simple chair, nothing like the golden throne of Asgard, but it would serve. He slowly sat down, feeling the weight of leadership settling on his shoulders more heavily than any crown.
Loki walked over and stood beside Valkyrie, taking his place at his brother's side. Hulk, who was standing nearby against the wall, saw Loki approaching and subconsciously clenched his massive fists, still remembering their encounter on Sakaar.
Heimdall stepped forward, holding Hofund across his body respectfully. He asked the crucial question: "So, King of Asgard..."
Thor turned to look at his people gathered behind him—hundreds of faces, families, survivors. Seeing them all looking at him hopefully, waiting for guidance, waiting for their king to lead them to safety, he raised his hand and waved hello with a slight, reassuring smile.
[Heimdall then completed his question: "Where are we going? What is our destination?"]
Thor looked around at his advisors—such as they were. "I'm not sure, honestly! Any suggestions?"
[Valkyrie turned her head to the side, offering nothing. Heimdall raised an eyebrow but remained silent, leaving the decision to his king.]
Seeing that none of them had any immediate suggestions, Thor looked at Miek cradled in Korg's rocky arms. "Miek! Where are you from? Maybe we could go there?"
[Korg looked down at the small insectoid form and said sadly, "Oh! Miek is dead, man! I accidentally stepped on him to death on the bridge during all that chaos. I feel so guilty about it now that I've been holding him all day as a sort of memorial!"]
[At that exact moment, Miek suddenly shook his head vigorously, his antennae twitching, clearly indicating that he was not dead yet!]
Korg looked at him in complete surprise, his rocky face lighting up. "Oh! Miek! You're still alive! He's still alive! What a relief!" He paused. "Wait, what did you ask, man?"
Thor looked ahead at the viewscreen showing the stars helplessly. Then suddenly, a thought appeared in his mind—obvious, really. "We'll go to Earth! To Midgard!"
-Real World-
"Oh! Strange is going to be so confused when he sees this!" Rhodes laughed, imagining the Sorcerer Supreme's reaction. "Didn't you agree not to bring any more problems to Earth?"
At this time, the viewing group had already arrived in Niflheim via the Bifrost, materializing in the frozen wasteland.
Thor shrugged pragmatically. "But there's really no better place to go than Earth! They're our allies, and it's the only realm I trust completely!"
"Where is Hela?" Tony asked, flying out of the Milano wearing the Destroyer Mark 2. He looked around at the extremely desolate landscape—all ice, mist, and death. "This place is cheerful."
"She will be here soon! She can't ignore what's happening on the Bifrost—she'll sense us immediately!" Odin stood tall, wearing his battle armor that he hadn't donned in years. He was filled with complex emotions. He never thought that he would come to Niflheim voluntarily, returning to the place where he'd imprisoned his own daughter.
Sure enough, not long after Odin spoke, Hela was seen flying toward them rapidly, standing on a massive Sword of the Night Sky that carried her through the air like a dark surfboard.
"She's coming!" Captain Marvel, who was hovering in the air with golden energy crackling around her, was the first to spot the approaching figure. "Everyone ready!"
Hela touched down and frowned as she looked at the assembled Avengers who had appeared in Niflheim—her prison. She recognized everyone except the glowing woman flying in the sky—Thor, the Hulk in his human form, Tony Stark, the red-headed spy. But who was this golden warrior?
"Brother! It seems you've found a lot of helpers!" Hela landed not far in front of the group and sneered mockingly. "How many mortals did you need to bring to feel safe facing me?"
But then her eyes fell on Odin standing among them, and her expression shifted to genuine shock. "Father! You're still alive? I thought you were dead! That was the only way I could escape!"
Facing Hela's harsh, bitter words, Odin sighed softly, the sound carrying centuries of regret. "I am indeed dying—my time grows short! But I just can't bear to see you and your siblings killing each other! Your mother, Frigga, wouldn't want to see that either!"
Hela clenched her fists, and her entire body tensed with rage. "What right do you have to say that? You're the one who sealed me here! You're the one who abandoned me, cast me aside like I was nothing after everything I did for you! For Asgard!"
Although she had many questions she'd rehearsed over millennia—questions about why he'd stopped their conquests, why he'd betrayed their shared vision, why he'd chosen Thor over her—the moment she actually saw Odin in the flesh, the overwhelming anger in her chest overflowed. It devoured her reason instantly, and a Sword of the Night Sky materialized and shot toward Odin like a missile.
Thor moved with lightning speed. He stood in front of Odin protectively, grabbed the Night Sky Sword with one hand mid-flight, and crushed it to fragments with sheer strength. He stuck Stormbreaker into the frozen ground and jumped straight toward Hela.
"Sister! Do you really want to fight all of us? I am very different now than I was on the Celestial Screen!" Thor's voice carried both warning and plea.
Facing Thor's confident words, Hela narrowed her eyes, studying him with predatory interest. "Really? Brother! Then let me see what you're truly capable of! Show me this newfound power!"
After saying that, Hela raised her hand and a Sword of the Night Sky appeared, which she launched at him. Thor dodged it with casual ease, just tilting his head slightly to the side, the blade whistling past his ear.
"Tsk!" Hela curled her lips in annoyance, feeling more than a little irritated with Thor's show-off behavior. Two Night Sky Swords appeared in her hands, and she rushed toward Thor with supernatural speed.
Thor wanted to test how large the gap was between himself now and Hela in her less-than-prime years here in Niflheim—away from Asgard's power. So he deliberately left Stormbreaker stuck in the ground where he'd planted it.
As his mind focused, the powerful force of thunder immediately enveloped his whole body. Blue-white lightning crackled across his skin, his hair standing on end. The thickness and intensity of the lightning was far beyond what he'd been capable of on the Celestial Screen!
Hela rushed to him and stabbed forward with one sword. Thor did not dodge or retreat. Instead, he smashed the sword with one punch, his fist shattering the dark blade on impact. The powerful punch continued through and hit Hela's palm, but she caught his fist steadily, her strength matching his.
But then, before Hela could stab him with her second sword, before she could capitalize on holding his fist, Thor drove his knee up hard into her lower abdomen. The impact lifted her off her feet and knocked her away, sending her flying backward.
Hela executed a perfect backflip in mid-air and landed smoothly on her feet, sliding back several meters. Her eyes became serious, calculating. "It seems you've become much stronger, brother! Impressive!"
"Thanks to the Screen, I awakened to my true power earlier than my alternate self did!" Thor explained, his voice carrying across the frozen wasteland. "And I also have powerful friends to train with me—to push me to my limits!" He gestured to the Avengers behind him. "So my strength is improving day by day!"
"Really?" Hela narrowed her eyes and looked past Thor at the Avengers assembled behind him. Then she locked her gaze on Captain Marvel, who was shining with brilliant golden light in the sky above. "Is it her? Is she the one who trained you?"
Hela knew the general abilities of most of the Avengers from what she'd seen on the Celestial Screen, and she was very disdainful of most of them. Even the Hulk was just a mad beast in her eyes—powerful but mindless, easy to outmaneuver.
But she could feel a genuine sense of danger from Captain Marvel. Even though the woman was just flying in the sky and hadn't taken any hostile action yet, Hela's finely-honed sixth sense—sharpened by millennia of warfare—still told her that this woman was extraordinary, possibly even a threat.
"Stop this, sister! Please!" Although he had seen Hela's brutal behavior on the screen, had watched her slaughter the Warriors Three and terrorize his people, Thor still wanted to persuade her. He couldn't give up hope. "You have no hope of winning here! Not against all of us!"
Tony slowly flew to Thor's side, the Destroyer Mark 2's repulsors glowing. "She won't listen to you right now, Point Break! You can only reason with her after you've beaten her into submission! That's how this works!"
Hela glanced at Tony with interest and recognized him by his distinctive voice—the arrogant mortal who thought himself clever. But she felt puzzled that Tony wasn't wearing those gold and red toys he usually favored. This suit of armor looked very different, more imposing, and strangely familiar, as if she had seen similar Asgardian-style craftsmanship somewhere before.
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