Renzo and Heimdall sat opposite each other.
"Are you going back to Asgard?"
"Yes. The God-King has cleared the obstacles for us. We will return and make Asgard prosperous again. That is the God-King's wish..."
"But I would like to ask you for a favor," Heimdall said sincerely, leaning slightly to the side. His golden pupils shone as if reflecting countless star maps. "Please bring Thor and Loki back. They are in Muspelheim. Surtur has imprisoned them."
"Surtur? That fire giant?" Renzo was a little surprised. Wasn't Surtur just an experience package for Thor? What virtue or ability did he have to capture both princes? Even if Loki's close-combat magic stabs were ignored, how could Thor have been imprisoned?
"It is not too late. Surtur has been severely injured by the God-King and is currently weakened." Heimdall called the residents of the Aesir together and activated the Rainbow Bridge, sending them back to Asgard first.
"Call your friends. Do you need me to send them to Earth, or will they stay with you?" Heimdall glanced at the idle Carter. Dr. Banner finally stood aside without restraint, but he had also heard many of the shortcomings of Asgardian parents. It was much more interesting than Tony's experiences, at least enough that he would not fall asleep.
"Send them back to Earth..."
"I'll follow wherever the boss goes!" Carter interrupted Renzo before he could finish and spoke sincerely.
"That's too dangerous. We're going to the legendary Muspelheim. That's where Thor's broken sword is." Renzo disagreed with Carter's statement. In his opinion, this was indeed a little too dangerous for a Kree child.
"Renzo, I think he's right. Thor is my friend too. I can't know he's in danger and ignore it." Dr. Banner stepped forward, his tone firmer than ever. "We need to rescue Thor, because we're Avengers."
"And is this Surtur more dangerous than Thanos?"
"Fine..." Renzo had no choice but to agree to their request. "Dr. Banner, make sure your beast can come out."
"You also raised a beast?" Carter looked at Dr. Banner in surprise.
"He's very well-behaved," Dr. Banner nodded. "Well, not that well-behaved."
"That's best." Renzo smiled, and several people boarded the spacecraft. "Heimdall!"
Heimdall waved his hand, and the Rainbow Bridge crossed the universe in an instant, wrapping around the spaceship. In the blink of an eye, the ugly spacecraft left Vanaheim.
"Hope nothing goes wrong."
...
Muspelheim.
Loki once again escaped the pursuit of a group of magma monsters. Panting, he canceled the illusion attached to his body. The violent rise and fall of his chest showed that his mood was far from calm at this moment. To be precise, it had reached its peak.
"Heimdall... I must make Odin kill him!" Loki had already thought of a hundred ways to humiliate Heimdall. He would seal his eyes with illusions, send his portrait to every household, and throw his divine sword into Thor's bathtub... Oh, that bastard Thor did not take baths.
"Ugh..." Loki squatted on the ground in pain. He was a Frost Giant, and his strength would only be at its strongest in Jotunheim. On the contrary, in Muspelheim, which was full of lava and high-temperature volcanoes, Loki only felt that his body was about to melt, turn into a puddle of ice water, and then instantly evaporate.
Suddenly, the Rainbow Bridge fell from the sky and landed directly in front of Loki. The impact almost knocked him away.
"Heimdall... I knew you wouldn't give up on me..." Loki ran toward the Rainbow Bridge excitedly. He should have realized it earlier. Heimdall had come to pick him up. There could not possibly be any fool who would also be transported to this place where even birds did not bother to shit.
Loki excitedly hugged the Rainbow Bridge. To his surprise, he actually touched something solid. This had never happened before. Well... the shape of the Rainbow Bridge looked a bit like... a spaceship?
Boom!
The spaceship landed in Muspelheim with a clatter. The ugly yellow-black ship was like a beaten ping-pong ball, bouncing back and forth across the scorching ground and smashing into several huge rocks. Magma spilled out from the shattered stones and splashed onto the hull, burning small holes through it.
After crashing through eight rocks, the twisted spacecraft finally came to a slow stop.
Boom!
The jammed door was kicked open, and Carter passed straight through Renzo's body, ran to the back of the spacecraft, and began vomiting.
"Fortunately, he held it in." Renzo looked at the bent-over Carter with some disgust. "Maybe I should have used the Space Stone and asked Heimdall to tell me the coordinates."
"To be honest, he didn't hold it in." Dr. Banner wiped his hands on someone's clothes in disgust. "He vomited on the seat, and it splashed onto the pilot's seat."
"The bad news is that the bridge seems to be scrapped. Sparks are flashing on it. It may not be repairable."
Renzo looked at the hull that had almost been destroyed by the collision. "Actually, even if the bridge weren't damaged, it couldn't be repaired."
"That's probably true..."
The two looked at each other and stood there, not knowing what to do.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!"
Carter yelled in horror and ran back in panic, pointing at the rear of the spacecraft. "There are monsters! Monsters!" After saying that, he hid behind Renzo, and Dr. Banner quietly shrank back as well.
"Get out!" Renzo directly split the spacecraft in two, but there was no trace of anyone.
"I thought it was hidden well..." Renzo narrowed his eyes, slowly lifted into the air, and flew in the direction Carter had pointed. Sure enough, he saw a figure looming beneath the cover of volcanic ash, but its physique did not look like that of a fire giant. It did not seem much taller than him.
"Ugh... ugh..." The figure climbed up from the ground with difficulty. The thick dust made Renzo unable to see his face clearly, but the outfit made his identity easy to recognize.
"Loki?" Renzo wondered why this guy was here and how he had escaped after Thor was captured.
"Humble human! You'd better explain why the Rainbow Bridge sent you here instead of sending me back. Also, tell me whether Heimdall is dead."
Loki felt endless anger rising in his chest. He was so furious that his true Frost Giant appearance was revealed. His cold blue face was filled with rage, and two flushes suddenly appeared on his cheeks.
"Hi!"
Dr. Banner brought the Kree boy over. "I saw that you two seemed to be having a good chat, so I came over." Dr. Banner forced a smile and greeted Loki. "Long time no see. Your look... is very unique... really..."
Loki lowered his head. The clothes on his body had long since been ruined, burned open in several places. It was difficult to connect him with the elegant second prince from the Battle of New York.
"Stay away from me. I don't want to see you."
Loki stretched out his hand to block Dr. Banner and could not help stepping back. "You had better keep your beast chained, or I might do something dangerous."
Loki shook his sleeves, and two daggers appeared in his hands. He stared fiercely at Dr. Banner, preparing to stab him.
"Where's your brother?" Renzo slapped Loki's dagger away, looking at this guy, who still seemed young. No wonder he was the God of Mischief.
"We're here to save him. Heimdall told me you were here."
"Just you?" Loki dismissed them with contempt, glancing over them disdainfully. "A green monster, a blue human, and a red-faced weirdo? Add Thor, and your colors are brighter than the Rainbow Bridge."
"Where is the green monster?" Carter looked around, not knowing who he was talking about.
"I want you to save me. I want to return to Asgard, now!" Loki opened his arms and shouted toward the sky. "Take me back, Heimdall!"
...
Sure enough, there was no response at all.
"Heimdall? Heimdall! I know you can see this! Send me back right now!" Loki shouted angrily and stamped his foot several times, but still received no response. "I'm angry! Heimdall! Odin will not forgive you! I will report you to my father—"
"Odin is dead..." Renzo said coldly.
"I will tell my father..." Loki turned his head instantly. "What did you say? Say that again!"
"Odin is dead." Renzo truly said it again. After hearing it, Loki immediately lost control of his emotions. He raised his dagger and stabbed Renzo, but it passed straight through his body.
Loki refused to give up and continued waving the dagger wildly. "How dare you insult my father!"
"What he said is true. Odin is dead. Heimdall said it himself." Dr. Banner could not help stepping forward to comfort Loki.
"Get away!" Loki stabbed at Banner with a backhanded strike. He could not hear anything now. All he could think about was his father.
"Impossible... He is Odin, King of the Nine Realms. He cannot die! You're all lying to me! You just want that fool Thor to ascend the throne! You colluded with Heimdall to deceive me!"
Loki shouted out of control and attacked Dr. Banner like a madman, only to be knocked down by Renzo's punch. A bright red fist mark appeared on his handsome face.
"Odin is dead. Don't you understand? Stop acting like a child and go rescue Thor. Then you can return to Asgard!"
Renzo stepped forward, grabbed Loki's long hair, and dragged him toward Surtur's palace. Seeing this, Banner and Carter quickly followed.
Banner felt as if every step he took was on scorching asphalt. The soles of his shoes were almost falling apart. The high temperature made sweat pour uncontrollably from their foreheads, and their thin clothes nearly stuck to their sweaty bodies.
Loki was dragged away by Renzo like a dead dog. His butt and back rubbed against the uneven ground. Hot pebbles and raised stones scraped sharply across his skin. Every stretch of ground he passed left faint traces of blood.
Loki's expression collapsed, and he let anyone do as they wished. After his dearest mother, the father he admired most had also left him. Why... why had so many tragic and unsatisfactory things happened one after another in just a few years?
He could not imagine anything in the world more devastating than the death of both parents.
"I don't think she's a god..." Carter whispered into Dr. Banner's ear.
"It's 'he,' not 'she,'" Dr. Banner corrected. "And he's an evil god, a Frost Giant, different from the gods you saw before."
"Really? I thought he was a woman. He's so good-looking..." Carter said in surprise. "Cross-dressing?"
"I don't mind cutting off your mouth and feeding it to the shoe elves before Surtur hammers me into a puddle of meat paste, then giving your head to the gnomes hiding underground. They like 'wisdom.'"
Loki finally could not help speaking. He stared viciously at the blue-skinned child. "Say your name, and I will curse your homeland!"
"Ah!"
Carter was so frightened that he shrank behind Dr. Banner and covered his own mouth tightly, covering Dr. Banner's mouth at the same time, for fear that the scientist would reveal his name.
"He's lying to you. In fact, he only knows some harmless illusions, and they're not as lethal as Thor's smelly soles." Renzo spoke with a straight face, let go of Loki's hair, and released him.
"You are no match for Surtur. Thor was defeated even with his precious hammer. A giant hundreds of meters tall, with lava and fire flowing all over his body, can easily trample you to death!"
Loki mocked their overestimation of themselves. How could a group of humble humans defeat the enormous fire giant? "The underworld does not welcome outsiders."
"You can't even defeat his pet. You will be burned into a pile of ash by the dragon's flames, then scattered by the wind across this filthy land, never to reincarnate for all eternity!"
Loki grinned with an evil smile, seeming to have forgotten the news of Odin's death and returned to being the frivolous God of Mischief.
"A dragon? There's a dragon here? Oh my God, this is simply a milestone discovery in the history of science!" Dr. Banner asked in disbelief. He had never seen a dragon before. Maybe he had, but if so, Hulk had been the one controlling the body.
Loki was stunned. These mortals were braver than he thought. He had believed this would scare them away, but looking at the excitement of the two of them, he felt as if he were the clown.
Roar!
A dragon's roar came from the castle not far away. Then a pair of huge gray-red wings climbed over the top of the castle. A pair of enormous dragon eyes were like sharp swords. Smoke sprayed from its nostrils as it stared straight at them.
"Here it comes." Loki stood up gracefully and made a gentlemanly gesture. "Please begin your performance."
Roar!
The giant dragon instantly recognized Loki. It raised its head and roared, fanning its enormous wings. Its ferocious teeth seemed ready to tear them alive as it swooped toward them at extreme speed.
"Leave it to me. You go rescue Thor." Dr. Banner walked forward, rubbed his hands, and spoke calmly.
"Well, are you sure that big guy is willing to come out?" Renzo asked.
"I'm sure. In fact, he is extremely excited." Banner turned his head and showed a simple smile.
Carter looked around, not understanding what riddle the two of them were speaking in.
Within a few breaths, the giant dragon approached them. Only a few dozen meters separated them now. Seeing its bottomless mouth open wide and its sharp teeth descend, Carter was so frightened that he almost collapsed to the ground.
"Come on, Hulk!"
Dr. Banner closed his eyes.
Just as the dragon's teeth were about to close over Dr. Banner's head...
Boom!
The giant dragon flew away like a kite with its string cut, its head twisted toward the sky in a strange posture.
"Yes! Hulk!"
The little green giant raised his arms and cheered excitedly.
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