At the Bifrost Bridge fortress in Asgard, Heimdall, the Guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, stood guard day and night. Legend has it that his magical eyes could pierce through the Nine Realms, allowing him to detect any enemies threatening Asgard.
At this moment, Heimdall stood at the exit of the fortress, watching Loki approach from the other side of the Bifrost Bridge. Loki was coming aggressively, with an unfriendly expression, carrying the Eternal Spear, the symbol of the King of Asgard.
Heimdall knew Loki was coming to question him for privately activating the Bifrost Bridge to send Thor's friends to Earth. After all, Loki had previously issued a death order as king, forbidding anyone from leaving Asgard. Heimdall knew his actions constituted treason, but he didn't regret it, for he had some questions to ask Loki in return.
"Tell me, Loki, how did you bring the Frost Giant into Asgard?"
Before Loki could speak, Heimdall questioned him first. When he rescued Loki from Noah's hands last time, he noticed something was off. However, when he probed Loki, Loki brushed him off. Due to Loki's current status as king, Heimdall couldn't delve deeper, but he investigated secretly. Then he discovered that those Frost Giants were indeed brought in by Loki, and Loki knew secret passages that could enter and exit Asgard without using the Bifrost Bridge!
Seeing his secret exposed, Loki stopped pretending. He laid his cards on the table.
"Do you think the Bifrost Bridge is the only way in and out of the kingdom? Some things, even with your extraordinary talent, you cannot see. As king, I declare you are no longer a citizen of Asgard due to your treasonous acts!"
"Then I will no longer obey you."
Heimdall finished speaking and made a gesture to swing his sword, but before he could, he was enveloped by a white chill. It was Loki, who had taken out the ice box (Casket of Ancient Winters), and before Heimdall was completely frozen, he saw Loki's skin turn blue and his pupils turn red, the features of a Frost Giant.
After freezing Heimdall, Loki flipped his hand, concealing the ice box. This was one of his signature tricks, being able to hide items on his person.
Loki let out a long breath and then returned to the throne. Before meeting Heimdall, he had used the Eternal Spear to send his father's armor, the Destroyer Armor, to Earth. Loki had given it orders: he didn't want to see Thor return to Asgard, and he wanted Thor killed on Earth!
Meanwhile, on Earth, in the town, Jane, Erik, Daisy, and Thor watched the four people outside the glass door. The glass door had just been cracked by the Asgardian Four.
Thor's eyes showed surprise; he didn't expect his friends to come looking for him. Erik and the others were dumbfounded, especially Erik. He had just said that for people to believe Jane's theories, there must be evidence. He didn't expect the evidence to appear as soon as he spoke.
The group pulled open the glass door and entered, and Thor happily opened his arms to welcome his friends. The group joyfully embraced.
Then, Volstagg, the plump, heavily bearded one of the Three Warriors who looked like a lion, began to introduce himself to Jane and the other two.
"Hello, allow me to introduce, this is Lady Sif, and we are the Three Warriors."
Erik was still a bit shocked and glanced at Jane, who smiled back at him, as if to say, "Now I'm proven right, aren't I?"
"My friends, allow me to ask you something first."
"Of course, what do you want to ask, Thor?"
"Did my father pass away?"
"What? Of course not, Thor, your father is still alive, just temporarily unwell, so Loki temporarily became the King of Asgard. Also, Thor, I think Loki definitely has a conspiracy. It was Loki who reported our trip to Jotunheim."
The four looked at each other after hearing Thor's words. They didn't know where Thor had heard such an absurd piece of news, so they told Thor the truth and also expressed their opinion of Loki.
"Loki! What on Earth do you want to do?!"
After hearing the news from the four, Thor breathed a sigh of relief. The huge stone weighing on his heart finally lifted. He had been somewhat afraid that what his brother said was true, but now knowing that Loki was deceiving him, he felt relieved. However, he started gritting his teeth again; Loki had actually lied to him.
As the group chatted, Tony flew over from a distance. He saw the Bifrost Bridge's mark left by Sif and the Three Warriors when they landed outside the town from the sky. Then he flew into the town and began scanning it, trying to find the Asgardian visitors.
A few seconds later, he got what he wanted. The whereabouts of those people were not hard to find. Tony saw them directly in a house directly in front of the town's intersection: several people wearing medieval armor, and inside, four Earthlings. No, Tony zoomed in. The one embracing the four Asgardians should be the Thor that Coulson mentioned.
As Tony entered the town, he was immediately spotted by the people on the ground. Passersby saw Iron Man, first stunned, then screamed. This was Iron Man! As soon as Tony appeared, many people started gathering around, and even passing cars stopped, then people got out to watch intensely.
Inside the room, the group also looked outside and saw a person in red and gold Iron Man Suit slowly descending from the sky.
"Oh my gosh, Jane, it's Iron Man! Quick, quick, I want to take a picture and post it!" Daisy saw Iron Man, excitedly pulling Jane's hand, looking like an excited fangirl.
Thor had only been on Earth for a little over a day, so he didn't know who Iron Man was, let alone the Asgardian Four. They just looked at the crowd gathered outside, a bit curious.
"Jane, who is that? He seems very popular." Thor tilted his head and asked Jane.
"Thor, that's Iron Man Tony Stark, a genius scientist, a superhero, very popular."
Thor nodded, though he didn't quite understand what a superhero was.
Tony landed, waved to the surrounding crowd, and then said:
"Hello, friends, I'm happy for your welcome, but I need your cooperation now. Please don't crowd here."
After speaking, he ignored them. Tony felt that there shouldn't be a conflict with the other side later, so he walked directly towards Thor and the others.
"He seems to be looking for us." Erik said. He didn't know what Iron Man was doing, but he thought it was highly likely he was looking for Thor and his friends.
Indeed, they watched Iron Man walk over and stop at their doorway. Sif and the Three Warriors became alert; they felt that this person in strange armor looked somewhat dangerous.
"Hello, are you Asgardians?" Tony stopped in front of them, the display inside his mask frantically scanning the people in front of him, while Tony asked the question.
"Yes, Earthling, this is the Prince of Asgard, Thor, this is Lady Sif, and we are the Asgardian Three Warriors, Fandral, Hogun, and I, Volstagg."
Hearing someone inquire about their identities, the plump warrior Volstagg enthusiastically introduced himself. He seemed to have a hobby of introducing himself, probably proud of his identity and honor, liking to tell others his name.
Just as Thor and the others were wondering what Tony wanted, exclamations came from the crowd outside again.
"Quick, look at the sky! What is that?!"
"I know him! The new hero who appeared the night before last?! I think he's called Swift Wind Swordsman, I've seen videos about him."
"Oh my gosh! Do he and Iron Man know each other? Are they part of the same team?!"
Another person in high-tech armor appeared in the sky, it was Noah, he had also arrived. Nick and the others had landed the quinjet outside the town, then activated stealth mode after getting out, and were now heading this way.
Noah landed next to Tony. Tony looked at this Mysterious Man who had appeared the night before last. He hadn't had time to ask before, but now he had encountered him. Although he didn't know what the other party was doing, it didn't stop him from asking about the other party's identity.
"Who are you?"
A simple and clear question, and then Tony showed a shocked expression inside his mask.
"Mr. Stark, you just saw me, did you forget?"
Upon hearing this voice, Tony immediately remembered the 16-year-old kid at the camp earlier, the kid Nick said was S.H.I.E.L.D.'s security consultant's child. He was a bit shocked. Nick had said that the other party was not simple, but Tony didn't expect it to be this not simple.
"Wizard? Your outfit is very good."
Thor heard the voice and also recognized Noah.
Tony, on the side, was at a loss for words. He had many things he wanted to ask, such as where the other party's equipment came from, whether he invented it himself, and so on.
However, before Tony could ask his questions, changes occurred outside the town again. A swirling cloud appeared in the sky outside the town, followed by the sound of a heavy object landing.
"Volstagg, is there anyone else who hasn't arrived?"
Thor recognized this as the scene of a Bifrost Bridge Teleport, then asked the plump warrior next to him.
"Ah, no, only four of us came." Volstagg was also confused.
"Everyone, something incredible is coming."
Noah knew what was coming; it was his mission target, the Destroyer.