Chapter 4: Frost Giants
The mounds of snow around Spider-Man began to rise, shifting and reshaping until hulking figures emerged from beneath them. One after another, frost giants stood tall, each towering over him with twisted expressions and weapons forged from solid ice.
"Frost giants? Loki, I think I preferred your magic tricks a moment ago," Spider-Man said as he sized up the icy brutes circling him.
"Rip him apart."
Loki flicked his scepter forward, and the giants lunged.
Spider-Man fired blast after blast from his repulsors. Each palm shot knocked one giant down, but another barreled toward him right on its heels. There were too many. Holding them back alone was nearly impossible.
They swarmed in close, forcing him to weave between swinging axes and crashing fists.
"Loki! Weren't you here for revenge? Why aren't 'you' the one fighting? Does sending frost giants to do the work really scratch that revenge itch?"
He ducked another blow and used the opening to vault away from a cluster of them.
"Or is the mighty second prince of Asgard afraid of little old me, so he's hiding behind his icy hired muscle?"
"Spider-Man, save your breath. Trash talk won't work on me a second time." Loki remained completely unfazed by Spider-Man's provocations.
Last time, Loki was just one step away from ruling Asgard. If he hadn't been provoked by Spider-Man at the crucial moment and released Thor, Asgard would have been under Loki's rule long ago. Loki had learned his lesson. He wasn't falling for the same trick again.
"Hey, big guys! You really okay being Loki's goons? He's the god of mischief. Nothing he promises is ever true. Whatever reward he dangled, don't buy it."
Seeing that his provocations weren't working on Loki, Spider-Man started trying to persuade the Frost Giants instead.
Unfortunately, the giants didn't react to his words at all. They only wanted to crush him.
"Spider-Man, don't bother. The Frost Giants won't listen to you," Loki called, sounding far too amused.
With diplomacy failing, Spider-Man shifted tactics.
"North Pole terrain… frost giants boosted in the cold… extreme regeneration… no matter what I hit them with, they pull themselves back together. I need a different approach," he muttered, dodging a swing that exploded a snowbank.
"The key to victory lies with Loki." Spider-Man glanced at Loki, who was observing the fight with amusement.
The giants pressed in with relentless force. Only his spider-sense kept him one step ahead, guiding him through the fury of attacks aimed to pulverize him.
He leapt onto the shoulder of one frost giant. The others immediately struck at him.
But their blows landed on their ally instead.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The unfortunate giant shattered into two pieces from the impact, and this time… the damage didn't heal right away.
"Huh. Their weapons are a perfect counter to their own bodies."
"Hey, big guy! Over here!" Spider-Man used the same trick again, taking advantage of the Frost Giants' large size to make them attack each other.
With their massive frames and slow reactions, they crashed into each other repeatedly, each strike chopping down their own numbers.
Loki's composure finally cracked.
"You fools! Look where you're swinging! Don't attack your own!" he shouted, voice rising with frustration.
But yelling didn't help. Frost giants were many things, but clever wasn't one of them.
Spider-Man zipped through the battlefield like a red streak. Each time he jumped off a giant, another ended up cleaved apart by its own allies.
Their numbers dwindled fast.
Down to five.
Down to three.
Until only two remained.
Spider-Man sprang away one final time. The last pair turned toward him… and struck each other's heads in perfect synchronization.
Crack!
Their skulls shattered into chunks of ice, scattering across the snow in heavy shards.
Spider-Man wasn't without injuries. Several cracks spread across the Iron Spider Armor, sparks skittering along the edges of the damaged plating.
What caught him off guard, though, was Loki's reaction. Just moments ago, Loki looked furious. Now his expression had gone calm again.
"Nicely done, Spider-Man." Loki clapped, though the cold curve of his smile made the praise feel like a threat.
His sudden shift put Spider-Man even more on edge.
Suddenly, the scepter in Loki's hand glowed brightly.
The ice fragments on the ground reassembled, reforming into Frost Giants, and this time, they were even taller, stronger, and radiated a bone-chilling cold.
Within seconds, an even more imposing group of frost giants towered over the battlefield.
"You thought beating those dullards meant you'd won? How naive," Loki sneered.
Spider-Man steadied his breathing, forcing his focus to sharpen.
Just as before, he maneuvered the Frost Giants into attacking each other.
This time, Spider-Man acted more swiftly, remaining calm and collected as he dodged the Frost Giant's attacks.
After a period of fighting, the Frost Giants once again turned into blocks of ice.
"Keep going. Frost giants come in endless supply." Loki's grin widened as his scepter pulsed again.
The ice re-formed… again.
Spider-Man took a deep breath. He knew that if he didn't come up with a solution, he would be exhausted to death in the Arctic.
Spider-Man observed the newly appearing Frost Giants and noticed they moved somewhat sluggishly.
Seizing the opportunity, he jumped onto the arm of a Frost Giant, and used its swinging motion to propel himself towards Loki.
Loki was taken aback when Spider-Man suddenly rushed over, but he quickly reacted and swung his scepter to block.
Spider-Man reached for the scepter, realizing it was the key to controlling the Frost Giant.
Loki reacted quickly, flipping himself onto the Frost Giant and wrestling the scepter from Spider-Man.
Loki was, after all, an Asgardian, and his physical strength was terrifying. Even when Spider-Man used all his strength, he couldn't take the scepter off for a while.
The frost giants lumbered toward them again.
Spider-Man dodged Loki's strikes while racing through possibilities. That was when he noticed the gem embedded in the scepter flickering with an eerie light.
That was it. The core.
He timed his move carefully, then yanked hard.
The gemstone tore free.
Instantly, the frost giants froze mid-motion… then collapsed into nothing but lifeless ice.
Loki's eyes went wide with disbelief.
"Looks like the show's over for you." Spider-Man breathed a sigh of relief, seeing that the gem was indeed effective.
The Iron Spider Armor was in tatters after the continuous battle.
"Is it?" Loki's expression changed as he lay on the ground.
Spider-Man's spider-sense blared like a siren, but he couldn't pinpoint the source of the danger.
That was when the gem in his hand suddenly emitted a blue light, and Spider-Man, caught off guard, suddenly collapsed to the ground, powerless.
"What's going on?" Spider-Man felt as if Hulk was pinning him down, and he couldn't move.