"Why would Loki lie to me?"
Thor looked stricken, the betrayal weighing on his face. He clearly hadn't expected that Loki, his brother—the one he trusted most—would deceive him.
Darren folded his arms. "Why else? To keep you from returning to Asgard and claiming the throne. Power struggles between heirs always get ugly."
Thor's shoulders drooped. "But I never wanted the throne! I never wanted to fight Loki."
"You might not," Darren said dryly, "but that doesn't mean Loki feels the same. And don't forget—he's just an adopted son. He has no claim to succession."
"What!"
Thor's eyes went wide. He stared at Darren as if he'd just heard the greatest heresy in all the Nine Realms. "You're saying Loki is adopted?"
Darren nodded. "Of course. You really didn't know? Loki isn't your father's blood."
Thor took a step back, his disbelief written all over him. "Impossible. That's impossible! You must be joking! Loki and I look practically identical—how could we not be brothers?"
Darren just stared at him. "…Right. Identical."
Sometimes it amazed him how someone could have muscles that big and yet a brain that soft.
"It's true," Darren went on. "Loki isn't your real brother. He's the son of Laufey—the King of the Frost Giants."
He wasn't making it up; the system's data confirmed every word.
At that, Sif and the Warriors Three froze. They weren't sure they were supposed to be hearing this.
Thor, however, wasn't convinced. He was about to argue when the sky suddenly split open with a thunderous roar.
BOOM!
"Someone's opened the Bifrost!" Sif exclaimed, eyes snapping toward the heavens.
Darren frowned. "You expecting company?"
"No," Hogun said quickly, shaking his head. "Loki is king now. We came here without his knowledge—only Heimdall knew we were leaving."
Before they could say more, Darren's comm crackled to life with Coulson's urgent voice.
"Darren! We've been attacked by some kind of armored entity! Heavy casualties—whatever it is, it's heading your way. Be careful!"
"Understood."
As he cut the line, the system chimed in cheerfully:
[Player Alert: Boss has spawned!]
[Objective: Defeat The Destroyer]
[Reward: Based on total damage dealt. The more you contribute, the greater the reward!]
The group rushed out of the pizza shop. In the distance, a towering silver figure strode toward them, each step rumbling through the ground.
"It's the Destroyer!" Thor blurted the moment he saw it.
"What the hell is a Destroyer?" Darren asked, frowning.
Thor quickly explained, "It's my father's war armor—guardian of Asgard's vault. Only the spear Gungnir can command it."
"And Gungnir," Sif added grimly, "is now in Loki's hands."
"Don't tell me," Fandral muttered, "he's using it to kill Thor?"
He didn't even hesitate before painting a vivid picture of a power-hungry foster son murdering his brother for the throne.
"Impossible!" Thor shouted, his voice echoing through the street. "Loki may lie, deceive, and… stab me occasionally—but he's still my brother! My good brother! He would never do this!"
The words had barely left his mouth when the Destroyer reached them.
With a deep mechanical growl, the metallic bars on its face split open, exposing an empty cavity that began to pulse with blazing light.
"Move!" Sif shouted.
They scattered—just in time.
BOOM!
A blinding beam of molten energy seared across the asphalt, leaving behind a massive crater still glowing with heat.
Everyone stared, horrified.
Darren took a long breath, eyes narrowed. "Maybe we should just hand Thor over. If Loki gets him back, maybe he'll stop the attack. He is his dear brother, after all."
Thor froze mid-breath, then turned to Darren, expression twisting with fiery indignation. "You're right. Loki has changed. He's no longer the brother I once knew! We must stop him!"
The others just stared at him.
Loki might not have changed—but Thor sure flipped faster than a coin.
"For Asgard!" Thor roared.
The Warriors Three charged without hesitation, weapons raised high as they slammed against the Destroyer's armor with every ounce of strength.
Their efforts did absolutely nothing. Not a scratch. Not even a dent.
Then—BAM!
The Destroyer's colossal arm swung once, and the three Asgardian warriors were swatted aside like rag dolls, sent flying dozens of meters before crashing into storefronts and parked cars.
Darren blinked. "Wait... was that Sitwell's car?"
Before he could confirm, Sif leapt high, her spear glinting. She landed squarely on the Destroyer's back, driving the weapon deep into the narrow gap at its neck. The spear punched through metal and bit into the asphalt below, pinning the armored giant to the ground.
But before she could breathe in triumph, the Destroyer's plates rotated with a harsh metallic screech—the back becoming the front in an instant. Energy surged violently at its core.
Sif's eyes widened. She didn't even think—just pushed off and dove backward.
BOOM!
The energy beam ripped past her, close enough to singe a few strands of her hair. She landed, breathless, weaponless, the heat of the blast still prickling her skin.
The Destroyer rose once more, tearing the embedded spear from its armor as its head swiveled toward Sif. The energy began building again, bright and deadly.
Then—
A sudden blast of orange-red plasma slammed into the Destroyer's flank!
BOOM!!
The explosion threw the massive armor off its feet, sending it skidding across the ground.
Everyone turned toward the source of the attack.
Not far away, a hulking military-green mech stood tall, steam hissing from its joints, a plasma railgun humming in its grip.
"What the hell is that?" Fandral gasped.
Jane and her friends were just as stunned. They'd been in New Mexico for days—they hadn't seen what had happened in Harlem.
The Destroyer began to stir again, armor glowing faintly from within. The mech's railgun charged once more, its orange light swirling into a single concentrated point.
BOOM!!
The next blast hit dead center, slamming the Destroyer back into the asphalt. The impact sent shockwaves of plasma and sparks exploding in every direction.
When the smoke finally cleared, the silver armor of the Destroyer was scorched, blackened in patches—but still intact. The monstrous frame rose again, unbroken, relentless.
Darren exhaled slowly, lips curling into a half-smile. "Well... this just got interesting."