A flicker of anger crossed Zenkichi's face. He had warned the man before — if he ever appeared in his sight again, there would be no mercy. Last time, the threat had been enough to make the other party back down.
Yet here he was.
The sheer audacity made Zenkichi's expression darken.
"I didn't know you were with S.H.I.E.L.D. This is just a misunderstanding," Loki said smoothly, his voice carrying that trademark slyness.
But his smirk told a different story. The so-called God of Mischief wasn't fooling anyone — he knew exactly what he was doing.
Zenkichi didn't bother wasting more words on him. Instead, his gaze shifted to the one causing the real damage — Ice King Laufey.
"Enough," Zenkichi said coldly, his voice cutting through the chaos. "Stop."
Laufey didn't even acknowledge him. The frost-wielding tyrant continued pouring out a wave of glacial power, freezing steel in seconds, burning out S.H.I.E.L.D.'s circuits, and shattering machinery like fragile glass.
They weren't just challenging S.H.I.E.L.D. — they were spitting in his face.
And Zenkichi wasn't about to let that slide, not here, not in his own base of operations.
Before he could act, the sound of a door opening behind him drew his attention. Black Widow, Hulk, Captain America, Thor, and the others stepped onto the deck, their eyes narrowing at the destruction before them.
"What's going on?" Natasha's voice was sharp, scanning the scene.
"These guys came here looking for trouble," Zenkichi replied simply.
"Then let's deal with them," Hulk growled.
The team's response was unanimous — no hesitation, no room for diplomacy. Even Steve Rogers, who carried himself with a soldier's restraint, wasn't about to entertain peace talks when the enemy had attacked their home turf.
It had been too long since some of them had seen real combat, and now blood was in the water.
Ice King Laufey finally stopped his destruction, turning to face them. His eyes glimmered with disdain.
"Just you?" he sneered. "Pathetic. Weaklings."
Hulk's massive frame began to swell as his rage ignited. "What did you just say?" he roared, stepping forward, ready to let the frost-wielder feel what true anger meant.
Laufey's expression didn't falter. "I won't repeat myself, trash." His voice dripped with arrogance. "I am not of this world. I am a god. And none of you — no mortal — is fit to be my opponent."
Then his gaze shifted, and something in his demeanor changed. His eyes fixed on Thor.
"…You?"
Recognition flickered in Laufey's stare.
In his mind, this didn't make sense. Thor — a fellow god — standing with these humans against him? The All-Father's halls in Asgard were already buzzing with news that Thor was dead. And yet here he was, not only alive, but fighting alongside mortals.
It was incomprehensible to him.
Why? What reason could there be?