"You dare mock me?!"
Loki roared, scrambling to his feet, fury twisting across his face as he glared at Senju Haruto. The freefall he'd just experienced had pushed his anger past its breaking point. Not even Odin or Thor had ever humiliated him like this—never once had anyone dared treat the God of Mischief so shamefully.
And now, his most pathetic, undignified moment had been laid bare before a mortal.
I am a god!
"And then what?" Haruto's tone was calm, detached, almost bored. His eyes held no trace of fear.
Loki, for all his arrogance, was far from omnipotent. He wasn't Odin, nor was he Thor. The only reason he'd been able to manipulate Erik Selvig and Hawkeye was because of the scepter in his hand—not because of any great divine power of his own.
Even if cornered, Haruto couldn't imagine Loki truly being able to harm him. A flash of gold—Loki vanished, then reappeared behind him, dagger raised for a sneak attack.
Haruto didn't even flinch. His body was far tougher than Thor's hammer, strengthened by an almost divine constitution—bones reinforced by sixfold sun energy and a rapid regeneration factor.
To him, Loki was just a third-rate god throwing a tantrum.
And Haruto made that perfectly clear with a single, effortless remark—spoken with the ease of someone who'd already decided how this would end.
"I am the Trickster God of Asgard!" Loki bellowed again, his voice echoing through the shattered room. "I am Loki! Your god! And you dare use stolen power to mock me?!"
His fury crescendoed into a roar. "By the honor of Asgard, I sentence you to death!"
Power erupted from his body like a detonation. Invisible energy waves spread outward, tearing through the air and obliterating everything in their path. The temporary building that served as Haruto's quarters could not withstand the force—it shattered instantly, collapsing under the explosion of divine energy.
At that same moment—
Agent Coulson was speaking with Jane Foster and Erik Selvig, who had come to demand Thor's release. He was listening to their carefully rehearsed excuses when a deafening blast thundered from behind him.
The ground trembled. Half the temporary complex disintegrated under the shockwave. The already stormy night became even more chaotic, rain lashing violently across the ruined site.
Jane and Erik froze, eyes wide, both thinking the same thing.
That power... it can't be...
Was it him?
Could Thor really be the God of Thunder after all?
Jane's mind went blank, her body locked in disbelief.
Coulson wasn't any better off. His thoughts spun wildly, calculating possibilities faster than he could breathe. Haruto, their so-called "magical consultant," was on-site—but Coulson was still in charge. And whatever had just happened, it was on him.
Especially with that hammer sitting nearby.
Ten seconds of stunned silence passed before Coulson snapped back to action. He grabbed his radio, barking orders for a situation report—and for someone to contact Haruto immediately.
But when the answer came, Coulson's heart nearly stopped.
"The explosion came from Haruto's room."
"What?!" Coulson's face went pale. A terrible premonition gripped his chest. Without another word, he stormed out, ignoring Jane and Erik entirely.
Every S.H.I.E.L.D. agent within earshot followed suit. The blast had been catastrophic—Jane and Erik were now the least of their concerns. They weren't even prisoners anymore; no one had time to guard them.
But Jane Foster wasn't the kind of woman who stood still and waited. The moment she realized this might involve Thor, she bolted after Coulson.
Erik tried to stop her, but it was pointless. All he could do was chase after her, hoping to keep her safe.
Meanwhile, Thor himself had felt the surge of divine energy ripple through the night.
His expression hardened instantly. Loki had arrived only moments ago—and now this?
The power was familiar. Far too familiar.
Fearing the worst—that assassins from Jotunheim had attacked—Thor rushed out, shoving open the reinforced door of his containment room. Under normal circumstances, his mortal body couldn't have managed it, but the earlier explosion had damaged the structure enough for him to force it open.
Seeing him escape, the guards stationed nearby immediately moved to stop him.
But even without Mjolnir, Thor hadn't forgotten how to fight. His years of training kicked in. Within seconds, the guards were disarmed and incapacitated, their attempts to restrain him utterly futile.
By the time Thor reached the open field outside, he saw Jane, Erik, and Coulson already there. And above them—hovering in midair—was Loki.
"Loki?!"
Thor's eyes widened. He'd guessed it might be his brother, but seeing him like this—floating, radiating divine fury—was something else entirely.
But what shocked him more was who stood across from Loki.
Not an assassin. Not a Frost Giant.
A man. A mortal man.
Senju Haruto.
"You know him?" Coulson asked, noticing the flicker of recognition and turmoil in Thor's eyes.
Thor nodded, his voice solemn but proud. "Know him? He's my brother. I've lived alongside him for fifteen hundred years."
"His name is Loki—the Trickster God of Asgard."
Coulson blinked, half skeptical, half awed. He could hear the conviction in Thor's tone, but it only made the situation harder to comprehend.
Jane and Erik rushed to Thor's side, relieved he wasn't hurt. Erik, however, understood the reality: even if S.H.I.E.L.D. had harmed Thor, there wasn't much they could do about it.
Still, Thor bore no hatred toward them. His focus was elsewhere—on his brother.
Loki was Asgard's new king now, ruler of the Nine Realms. Yet here he was, losing control, unleashing divine fury upon a mortal.
That wasn't the Loki Thor knew.
Without hesitation, Thor sprinted forward, moving between Haruto and Loki, shielding the mortal with his own body.
"Enough, Loki!" he shouted. "Have you gone mad?!"
Coulson, watching this unfold, was completely lost.
From Loki's reaction, it was clear the two men knew each other well—too well. But if this was Thor… why couldn't he lift the hammer?
Nothing made sense anymore.
And while confusion swirled below, Loki's rage only intensified.
He raised a single hand. Power rippled outward.
Thor was blasted backward in an instant, sent sprawling across the shattered ground.