Chapter 126: Not Yet Becomes Now
The faint bands of prismatic light above Puente Antiguo strengthened into a blinding glare.
On the edge of the desert, the scorched mark beneath Thor began to glow.
"Clear the transport zone!" Hill shouted, waving the remaining S.H.I.E.L.D. agents back.
Tony Stark stepped up to the edge of the light. He shoved the heavy case containing the Plumber Multispectrum Analyzer into Ethan's hands.
Tony stepped to the edge of the glowing mark and handed Ethan the analyzer case. Behind him, his drones continued circling the Destroyer debris while Merlinbreaker recorded the forming bridge from the Earth side.
Thor turned to Jane.
They stood together at the edge of the glowing mark. Jane looked up at him, her eyes searching his face. "Will you return?"
"I will find a way," Thor promised. He didn't pretend to know how, but the conviction in his voice was absolute.
He leaned down, and they kissed once. There was no long, tearful goodbye. The urgency of what was happening on Asgard hung heavily over them.
Thor stepped back and walked into the center of the glowing mark.
Ethan stepped onto the scorched earth beside him.
Hill stopped at the barricade. "Are you going too?"
"Asgard sent a royal weapon to Earth," Ethan answered. "I intend to speak with whoever is still in charge."
Before the blinding light descended, Ethan quietly anchored an emergency spatial tether directly to the New York Sanctum, ensuring he had a one-way exit if the bridge failed.
Thor looked at him, remembering their conversation outside the diner.
"You said you would visit Asgard," Thor said. "Not yet."
Ethan watched the sky tear open above them. "This is now."
The Bifrost crashed down, swallowing Ethan, Thor, Sif, and the Warriors Three in a roaring column of light.
The transit ended with a massive, echoing boom.
Ethan's boots hit solid metal. He stood inside a vast, domed structure overlooking a glittering golden city. It was his first real look at Asgard. Towers stretched toward the sky, waterfalls cascaded into the void, and dense layers of ancient magic ran through the very foundation of the realm.
He took it in for exactly one second before turning his attention to the immediate threat.
The receiving ring had been badly damaged. Ice covered the floor and climbed halfway up the golden walls, while cracks spread across the archway leading deeper into the observatory.
Heimdall stood beside that archway, one hand pressed against the wound in his side and his sword planted against the floor for support. He had broken free long enough to open the bridge for them, but the effort had left him barely standing.
Thor crossed the chamber immediately. "Heimdall. My father?"
"Odin lives," Heimdall answered. "Frigga remains with him."
Relief passed across Thor's face, but it lasted only a moment. "Where is Loki?"
Heimdall looked toward the sealed inner chamber. "At the heart of the observatory. He holds Gungnir and has taken the bridge from my command."
The analyzer inside Ethan's case began sounding an alarm. He opened it and found the Bifrost drawing power in a continuous stream. This was not a normal transport cycle. The bridge had been locked onto one destination and left open.
Thor looked toward the sealed chamber. "Midgard?"
Ethan followed the direction of the energy through the analyzer. "Jotunheim."
Heimdall forced a damaged viewing panel to life. The image above it showed the Bifrost striking the frozen realm, splitting vast fields of ice and driving deeper with every passing second.
Thor stared at the destruction. "He means to finish the war I began."
He spun Mjolnir and launched himself toward the inner control chamber.
The corridor ahead was already twisting under the strain of the sustained Bifrost. Ethan opened a portal beyond the damaged section, directly into the chamber containing the main control dais.
Sif and the Warriors Three rushed through. Ethan followed, while the injured Heimdall remained behind at the receiving ring.
The crystalline bridge was shaking violently when Ethan stepped out of the portal.
At the central control point, Loki stood alone. Gungnir was locked firmly into the mechanism. Behind him, the sustained, blinding beam of the Bifrost was pouring out into the void, directly toward Jotunheim.
Thor landed heavily on the bridge a second later, Mjolnir in his hand.
"Turn it off, Loki," Thor demanded.
Loki turned.
He saw Thor, fully restored in his silver armor. He saw Sif and the Warriors Three standing ready. And he saw Ethan standing right beside them.
Loki's surprise vanished when he saw Mjolnir in Thor's hand.
"You should have remained on Midgard," he said.
Thor moved ahead alone while Ethan stopped beside Sif and the Warriors Three.
Thor took a slow, heavy step toward the control mechanism.
Loki's jaw clenched. He reached out, drawing Gungnir free from the console with a sharp scrape of metal, and leveled the spear directly at his brother's chest.
Beneath their feet, the bridge shook violently again. Through the open, roaring view of the Bifrost, a frozen mountain on Jotunheim split cleanly in half beneath the sustained beam, collapsing endlessly into the growing rupture.
Thor tightened his grip around Mjolnir as Loki raised Gungnir between them. Golden energy gathered around the spearhead, spreading across Loki's armor while the bridge continued shaking beneath their feet.
"This ends now," Thor said.
Loki's eyes remained fixed on his brother. "Yes. It does."
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