A violent gust ripped through the forest—
BOOM!
Mjölnir smashed straight into Loki's chest, launching him skyward like a rag doll.
Thor caught the hammer mid-flight with a heavy spin, eyes burning. Loki crashed through a pine and hit the dirt hard enough to rattle the ground.
Coughing, Loki staggered upright, his usual smirk twisting into venom.
"Thor, you muscle-headed fool… Strength is all you have. You can kill, but can you rule? You can't even manage Asgard properly—what makes you think you can govern the Nine Realms? When Father dies, the throne should pass to me, not some idiot with a hammer!"
Thor's voice boomed back like thunder itself.
"You've no kindness in you! If you were king, the realms would burn. Come home before I have to knock sense into that skull again!"
Loki sneered.
"You never change—still resorting to brute force!"
Energy surged from the tip of his scepter, blasting straight at Thor.
Mjölnir whirled, deflecting the beam in a clash of light and sound. Thor lunged, pouncing like a wild beast—
CRACK!
Another hit sent Loki flying again.
"If you won't come quietly," Thor growled, "I'll beat you half to death and drag you there myself!"
Before he could charge again, a fiery streak cut across the battlefield—Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, wrapped in a cyclone of flame.
"Let's heat things up, lightning boy!"
Thor roared as fire enveloped him, his Asgardian skin blistering under the sudden blaze. He grabbed Johnny by the neck and flung him skyward like a comet.
Mjölnir rose.
Thunder answered.
Bolts cracked down as Reed Richards' elastic arm stretched out, snagging Johnny before the lightning could pulverize him.
The thunder struck instead—
BOOM!
A crater bloomed where Johnny had been seconds ago. Smoke rolled across the clearing.
Loki smirked.
"I'll let them play with you, brother!"
And vanished into the forest's shadow.
Thor turned to chase—but Ben Grimm, The Thing, was already charging like a boulder with legs.
Thor hurled a bolt; Ben took it head-on. The lightning scattered harmlessly across his rocky hide.
"Electricity? Cute!"
He barreled through Thor's defense and sent the god crashing backward.
Thor rebounded instantly, hammer flashing upward. Mjölnir slammed into Ben's chin—
CRACK!
The giant rock-man reeled, airborne. Thor leapt, spun, and kicked him square in the chest, sending him tumbling.
Reed and Johnny closed in.
"Man, this guy's no joke!" Johnny hissed, flames swirling tighter.
"He's a literal god, genius," Reed replied.
Thor, unimpressed, raised Mjölnir high.
"Boring!"
The sky darkened. Hundreds of lightning spears formed around him, shrieking with raw power.
He descended like judgment itself—
THOOM!
Thunder cascaded down in an explosion that swallowed the battlefield whole. Reed, Johnny, and Ben were blasted away, silhouettes tossed like leaves in a storm. A thirty-meter crater smoked where Thor landed, kneeling at the center, chest heaving.
When he finally stood, Loki was gone.
He frowned. "Those three are being controlled… I can't kill them."
Meanwhile, somewhere deeper in the forest, Loki sprinted through the trees like a hunted fox.
He skidded to a halt.
Two figures blocked the path—Ryuuto and Susan Storm.
Loki's eyes narrowed.
"You again? You people just don't quit."
Ryuuto grinned, hands in his pockets.
"You really think I'd chase you without a plan? I knew you'd toss those three at Thor. So while you were busy showing off, I cut through the forest to intercept."
His eyes glinted.
"Now, hand over the scepter."
Loki chuckled darkly.
"You want this? Many have tried. Whoever holds this scepter commands others—mind and body. If you want it, little man… come and take it."
"Susan!"
Ryuuto barked. In an instant, Susan's invisible force field snapped into place, trapping Loki.
Had Ryuuto not said "Alive," she might've just formed the barrier inside his body—a move that would've made Loki explode from within. The power she wielded was terrifying when used right.
But Loki's expression didn't change.
"Oh dear," he mocked, "seems you caught my afterimage."
Susan's eyes widened.
"Not his real body—just a projection!"
Loki's grin widened as his illusion began to fade.
"Farewell. We'll meet again soon enough."
His laughter echoed, and then—silence.
Ryuuto's jaw tightened.
"Tch… slippery bastard."
He flashed through hand-signs.
"Ninjutsu: Shadow Clone Technique!"
Poof! Poof! Poof!
Fifty clones appeared, surrounding the forest.
"Fan out!" Ryuuto commanded. "Find that snake and bring me the scepter!"
"Yes, sir!" the clones shouted in unison before scattering in all directions.
Thunder still rolled faintly in the distance. The hunt wasn't over.