The Bifrost Observatory – Asgard
Arthur stepped through the portal into chaos.
The Observatory was a marvel of engineering and magic, a domed chamber of gold and bronze that seemed to contain the entire cosmos within its walls. Stars wheeled overhead, impossibly close, their light filtering through crystalline panels that hummed with power older than human civilization.
None of that mattered right now.
What mattered was the battle.
Thor had already engaged, Mjolnir singing through the air as he crashed into the nearest Frost Giant with the force of a thunderbolt. The creature went flying, ice-armor shattering, and Thor was already pivoting to the next target before the first had hit the ground.
Sif fought weaponless but undaunted, having seized a fallen Frost Giant's ice-blade and now turning it against its former allies with brutal efficiency.
The Warriors Three had formed a defensive triangle near the chamber's entrance, protecting each other's flanks with the instinctive coordination of warriors who had fought together for centuries.
Volstagg swung a massive piece of debris like a club, each impact sending a Jotun sprawling. Fandral had recovered a fallen Asgardian guard's sword and wielded it with his usual deadly grace. Hogun fought with his bare hands, and somehow that seemed even more dangerous than when he'd had his mace.
And at the center of it all stood Heimdall.
The Gatekeeper of Asgard was everything the legends claimed and more. He towered over even the Frost Giants, his golden armor gleaming despite the frost that crept across the Observatory's walls. His sword carved through attackers with mechanical precision. Each swing felled an enemy. Each step created space. Each movement spoke of millennia of combat experience.
But even Heimdall had limits.
Arthur counted ten Frost Giants still standing, and these weren't ordinary warriors. They moved with coordinated precision, attacking in waves, never giving Heimdall a moment to reach the Bifrost controls. Their ice-armor was thicker, denser than the creatures he'd read about. Elite guards, perhaps. Laufey's personal retinue.
That explained why Heimdall hadn't been able to answer Thor's call. He'd been fighting for his life.
Arthur raised a hand, sparks of eldritch energy forming around his fingers to join the fight.
BOOM.
It was a distant, heavy sound, like a mountain cracking in half.
It came from the end of the Rainbow Bridge.
From the Golden City.
From the Palace.
"Father!" Thor's voice cut through the battle's din. His face had gone pale, Mjolnir frozen mid-swing. "The palace.."
"Go!" Heimdall's voice was deep as oceans, commanding despite the chaos around him. "Your father needs you! We shall finish matters here!"
Thor hesitated for a single heartbeat, torn between the fight before him and the danger to his family.
Arthur made the decision for him.
He apparated to Thor's side, grabbed his arm, and focused on the magical signature he'd memorized the day before. Loki's signature. The feeling of the God of Mischief's power, distinctive and unmistakable.
The world twisted.
They reappeared in the throne room of Asgard.
—
The King's Bedchamber – Moments Earlier
The room was silent save for the rhythmic breathing of the Allfather, who lay suspended within a cocoon of golden energy.
The Odinsleep.
Laufey, King of the Frost Giants, stood over the bed. Ice crystallized in his palm, forming a dagger of ultra-dense frost.
He looked down at his ancient enemy with three thousand years of hatred burning in his crimson eyes.
"It is said you can still hear and see what transpires around you," Laufey whispered, his voice like grinding glaciers. "I hope that is true. I want you to know your killer's face. I want you to feel the cold take you."
He raised the dagger.
"And I want you to know that your death came at the hand of Lau—"
A beam of golden energy slammed into Laufey's back.
The Frost Giant King was blasted across the room, crashing through a stone pillar with enough force to crack the marble floor beneath him. He groaned, blue blood seeping from the wound, ice already forming over the damaged tissue as his body fought to heal.
Loki stepped from the shadows, Gungnir in his hand, a look of twisted triumph on his face.
"Your death came by the son of Odin," Loki declared, savoring the moment. This was it. The moment he proved himself. The moment he saved the King and destroyed the monster.
"Son of Odin?" Laufey laughed.
It was a wet, rasping sound.
Loki's eyes narrowed. He fired again, intending to finish what he'd started.
But Laufey was ready this time. The Frost Giant rolled aside with surprising agility, and the beam struck the wall behind him, blasting a crater in the ancient stone.
"You strike with a stolen weapon, boy." Laufey rose to his feet, ice spreading over his wounds like living armor. "But you lack the conviction to wield it properly. I can smell your fear."
He lunged.
Loki tried to bring the spear up, but Laufey was fast. He caught the shaft of Gungnir in one massive hand, wrenching it aside, and backhanded Loki with a fist like a block of granite.
The God of Mischief flew across the room, crashing into a pillar hard enough to crack the stone.
"You are weak, boy," Laufey growled, stalking toward him. "You were weak when I left you to die in that temple, and you are weak now. Odin's weapons cannot change what you are. Cannot change what you have always been."
"I am NOT weak!" Loki screamed, scrambling to his feet. He leveled Gungnir at Laufey, and this time emerald energy joined the spear's golden light - his own sorcery layered atop the weapon's power. "I am the rightful King of Asgard!"
"You are a runt." Laufey closed the distance with terrifying speed, seized Loki's arm, and squeezed. The God of Mischief cried out as bones ground together, nearly dropping Gungnir from nerveless fingers. "A discarded thing that should have perished in the snow."
He threw Loki across the room.
The trickster crashed through a pillar, stone and ice shattering around him. He lay groaning in the rubble, Gungnir still clutched in his fingers but his strength clearly flagging.
Laufey turned back toward the sleeping Allfather.
"Now," the Frost Giant King said softly, "Odin dies."
CRACK.
Thor and Arthur materialized in the center of the chamber.
For a single frozen heartbeat, everyone stopped. Thor's eyes swept the room, taking in the scene with growing horror. Loki on the ground, battered and bleeding. Odin's sleeping form, frost creeping across the protective barrier. Laufey standing over his father with murder in his eyes.
"What—" Thor's grip on Mjolnir tightened. "What is happening here?"
"The Frost Giant came to kill Father!" Loki shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Laufey, quickly trying to salvage his narrative. "I stopped him!"
Thor's expression darkened, rage flooding his system. He turned to Laufey. "You dare threaten my father?"
"Thor, wait." Arthur stepped forward, "This is not as simple as it appears."
"Silence, mortal!" Loki snarled. "You have no place in the affairs of Asgard!"
"Think about it, Thor." Arthur kept his voice calm, reasonable. "How did Laufey reach the heart of Asgard without Heimdall seeing him? The Gatekeeper watches all. Someone would have had to let him in. Someone with access to hidden paths. Someone who knew the palace's secrets."
He gestured toward Loki, who had gone very still.
"Your brother invited Laufey here. The plan was elegant. Let the Frost Giant King get close to Odin, then kill him at the final moment. A staged rescue. Loki saves the Allfather from the monster, proves himself a hero, secures his claim to the throne beyond all question." Arthur's gaze fixed on the God of Mischief. "But you missed your shot, didn't you? Couldn't kill him cleanly. And now your entire scheme is unraveling."
Thor's expression flickered through confusion, then denial, then finally settled on sick understanding. He looked at Loki and saw the guilt written across his brother's face.
"Loki," Thor said softly. "Tell me he speaks falsely."
Loki said nothing. His jaw was clenched, his eyes bright with something between fury and desperation.
Laufey laughed, a deep, rumbling sound that echoed off the golden walls.
"The mortal speaks true, son of Odin. The runt came to me with honeyed words and promises. He offered the Allfather's life in exchange for peace. For recognition." The Frost Giant's smile was cruel. "He played us both for fools."
"ENOUGH!" Loki screamed.
He fired Gungnir wildly, a massive blast of golden energy tearing through the chamber. Thor deflected it with Mjolnir, but the explosion threw dust and debris everywhere, momentarily blinding them all.
When the air cleared, Loki was gone.
Arthur caught a glimpse of green cape disappearing over the balcony's edge.
"Thor!" Arthur shouted. "Go after him! Stop whatever he's planning!"
"I cannot leave Father unprotected!" Thor's gaze moved between the balcony and Odin's bed. "Laufey is still—"
"I'll handle the Frost Giant."
Thor stared at him. "Arthur, he is the King of Jotunheim. His power—"
"—is something I can manage." Arthur met Thor's gaze steadily. "Trust me. I've been wanting a proper battle since I saw the scene of you knocking the Destroyer around. Let me have this one."
Thor hesitated for one final moment. He looked at Arthur and saw the same certainty he felt before his own battles.
"Fight well, Arthur Hayes," Thor said. "Guardian of Midgard."
Then he spun Mjolnir, building momentum, and rocketed off the balcony in pursuit of his brother. Lightning crackled in his wake as he disappeared into the golden sky.
Arthur watched him go, then turned to face Laufey.
The King of the Frost Giants loomed over him, nine feet of ancient hatred and elemental power.
"You send away your only ally to face me alone." Laufey tilted his head, ice crackling across his skin as he drew on his power. "Either you are very brave, or very foolish. Which is it, mortal?"
Arthur rose into the air, levitating until he was eye-level with the Frost Giant King. Golden sparks swirled around his hands. The air around him shimmered with gathering power.
"Why don't we find out?"
He raised his hands, and the battle began.