Frigga ended the communication, knowing that the path through Thanos was a dead end. This whole affair was a cascade of one mistake after another. She had no one to blame but herself for not being firm enough in the past. If she had insisted that Odin tell Hela the truth, this chain of events might never have happened.
"Frigga."
Frigga, lost in her worries, tensed as the gray-haired Odin, clad in his golden armor, slowly emerged from behind the throne.
"Odin?"
"What are you doing here?"
"I thought you went to Midgard?"
Frigga seemed a little flustered. She distinctly remembered Odin, because of Thor's prolonged absence, planned to break the peace treaty he had with Agamotto and personally go to Midgard. So how was he here now?
"You went to see Thanos," the elderly Odin replied, ignoring her questions.
"Odin, I—"
"Heimdall told me."
Frigga's planned explanation was immediately swallowed.
"Frigga, I told you I would handle this myself," Odin sighed, looking at his speechless wife.
"No, you'll die, Odin," Frigga knew her husband's physical condition better than anyone. The current Odin had forcefully awoken from the Odin-sleep, and his chances against a returned Lothar, who was already displaying immense power, were extremely slim.
Not to mention, after their last experience, Thanos would surely give Lothar the Infinity Stones he possessed to prevent history from repeating itself.
"Don't worry, Frigga, I won't die."
"Besides, we still have Thor."
"Don't forget, Thor's talent far surpasses mine as his father."
Pulling his wife into his arms, Odin gently rested his chin on her forehead, a smile on his face as he spoke of Thor. Having learned from his experience raising Hela, Odin had been very careful and successful in raising his second son.
"Odin..."
"Thanos and I are not on the same path, so, just wait for my good news, Frigga."
"After this business with Lothar is resolved, I'll have Thor officially take the throne of Asgard. The two of us will go to Vanaheim, to your home, and find a quiet place to live."
"I promise you."
"...Mmm," Frigga could only choose to believe him. It was a promise Odin had made.
"What about Hela?"
"I'll handle her. Trust me." Odin's gaze turned toward the ceiling of the grand hall. Behind the murals symbolizing the peace of the Nine Realms were the bloody massacres that Odin and Hela had once orchestrated.
His daughter, Hela, the Goddess of Death of Asgard, could not be released. It was a cruel decision, but Odin had no other choice. After over a thousand years of imprisonment, he was well aware of how much his daughter's personality would have been twisted. This was his mistake, and he would bear the burden, but he would do so alone. It had nothing to do with anyone else.
....
Earth, U.S. airspace, on board the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier.
S.H.I.E.L.D. Director Nick Fury sat in the conference room, listening to Coulson explain the details of Loki's invasion of the Dark Energy Research Facility to the members he had chosen for the Avengers.
The genius billionaire, former arms dealer, and now a new energy magnate—Iron Man, Tony Stark;
The American soldier, a former symbol of hope and now a recently awakened human from the "old era"—Steve Rogers.
There was also Dr. Banner, who transformed into the Hulk when angry, and S.H.I.E.L.D.'s own Hawkeye, Barton, and Black Widow, Natasha Romanoff.
Finally, there was an Asgardian consultant—Thor.
These were the members of Nick Fury's original Avengers initiative. And today, they were all assembled.
"Okay, so what you're saying is our enemy is an ancient monster that's been around since ancient Egyptian civilization?"
"I'm sorry, do you know how long ancient Egyptian civilization lasted? 3000 B.C.? Are you sure?"
Tony Stark, who was pouring a handful of blueberries into his mouth, pointed at the two stone statues on the screen behind Coulson, his demeanor as carefree as ever. A five-thousand-year-old monster?
"Five thousand years is just your Earth's way of measuring time."
"In fact, judging from the inscriptions on the stele, this Lothar should have been active around two thousand years ago, like my sister who I've never met, using the cosmic calendar as a conversion."
"That's not an unusual lifespan."
Thor, the God of Thunder, whom the king of spies, Nick Fury, had personally come to convince, and had almost been bamboozled by, corrected Tony Stark's statement.
"How old are you, then?"
"Sixteen hundred."
The blueberries in Tony Stark's mouth missed their mark, falling onto the conference table with a light clink.
"I have a question. Why would your sister and this Lothar have statues made of them by ancient Egyptians two thousand years ago? And why is your brother, Loki, involved with this Lothar?"
Dr. Banner, who hadn't yet become angry, calmly asked. If they knew the secret, creating a specific weapon against them might not be out of the question.
"I don't know. I contacted my father, and he wouldn't say."
"He just said for me to bring Loki back to Asgard."
Changing his mission from retrieving the Space Stone to bringing back Loki brought a deep sense of joy to Thor. A joy that his brother, Loki, was not dead.
"In any case, it's best we find Loki as soon as possible. Whether it's the Space Stone or Lothar, Loki is clearly the key."
The red-haired Natasha Romanoff brought up Loki's face on the screen.
"Also, we have no leads on this 'Black Quadrant' that Loki mentioned."
Thor, who never had much interest in poring over secret tomes, was completely unfamiliar with the term "Black Quadrant." The Centauri Galaxy was also very far from the Nine Realms ruled by Odin. Having never encountered the Centauri Galaxy in his entire life, Thor was naturally at a loss.
"So where is Loki's location?" Tony Stark's playful smile had disappeared from his face.
"The last known location was here." Coulson reached out and circled a location on the screen behind him. It was a location found through the tracker on Maria Hill.
....
At the same time, in the cosmos, The Other, having returned to the Black Quadrant base, respectfully approached Lothar. The latter was currently monitoring the raccoon that he had sent back to Xandar. The Xandarians had thrown it in jail with that space pirate, Star-Lord.
"Your Highness, Prince Lothar."
"Speak," Lothar said, leaning back in his chair without even looking at The Other.
"Loki sent word back. He has found the Space Stone and will soon be able to open a spatial portal."
"Your Highness Lothar, please prepare for your arrival."
"Oh?" Lothar raised an eyebrow, his gaze finally shifting from the surveillance video to his subordinate. The Other was beaming. Finally, after over a thousand years, he could once again celebrate the arrival and conquest of His Highness Lothar!
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