In the far Universe

Ebony Maw stared blankly into the darkness before him. This was far different than he had imagined.

He wanted to use the Space Stone in the Tesseract, activate some space teleportation, and send Loki to Earth. But where was that spatial power now? Ebony Maw was confused.

Loki, who had waited a long time, was also blinded. They had agreed to send him to Earth today, so he could start his plans.

"Can't make it work?" Loki walked over and asked directly.

The unreasonable Ebony Maw lost his temper. He could only mutter: "Could those Earthlings have mastered using the Tesseract?"

But he immediately shook his head - with their current tech, discovering the hidden Space Stone was nearly impossible. Could it be...

Ebony Maw glanced at Loki beside him: "Asgardian, tell me honestly. Is there truly no other reason for Odin's sons to go to Earth except banishment?"

Loki frowned. Thor being banished from Asgard had little to do with Odin - it was mostly machinations by himself, the trickster god.

Ebony Maw didn't hide it: "Originally the Space Stone was activated. But when I tried opening a space door, that power suddenly vanished. Did the son of Odin teach the humans to use the Tesseract?"

Loki immediately shook his head: "No way. If Thor really knew how to use the Tesseract, he wouldn't have hesitated to destroy the Bifrost."

Then Loki looked at Ebony Maw suspiciously: "Don't tell me your magic has issues, so you're trying to shift blame? If the plan is delayed, you know the consequences better than me!"

"I don't need an Asgardian lecturing me! The king's plan will go smoothly, I promise that!" Ebony Maw aggressively approached Loki. "Just wait, Asgardian! I'll keep waiting for you."

After speaking, Ebony Maw continued standing at the meteorite's edge, hands forming a triangle as he muttered strange words.

A faint smile tugged Loki's mouth, unclear what he was thinking. Glancing at the spectral scepter in hand, he sat aside: "Thor, I'll be the new king. Wait for me on Earth."

Light years away, at the broken Bifrost...

Thor stood gazing sadly at the black hole below. Beside him Heimdall was like a statue. "Heimdall, where is Loki now?" Thor asked after a while.

"Prince, you know Loki's abilities. Apart from confirming his safety, it's nearly impossible for me to locate him."

Heimdall wasn't lying. Being aware Loki had another name - the Nine Realms' number one mage! Although not too serious, Loki's mystic skills could compete with only Odin in all of Asgard. It wasn't simple to fool Heimdall's eyes.

Knowing what Thor wanted to ask next, Heimdall said: "Don't worry, she's fine too."

"Prince, I advise you not to hurry. Though Bifrost can't be repaired, it doesn't mean there's no other way to Midgard."

"What? You mean apart from Bifrost, there are other paths to Earth?" Thor looked at Heimdall disbelievingly.

Heimdall returned a meaningful look, and Thor understood immediately, turning to leave. At the same time, he shouted loudly: "Father!"

In Asgard's palace, it was as if Odin could hear Thor's cry through space itself. He glanced at the Frigga beside him with a smile: "He'll be back soon. Anything you want conveyed to him?"

"Going to Midgard again, his next enemy is not so simple." Frigga replied: "Without experiencing such things, the brothers cannot control Asgard in the future, or deal with the coming disaster."

Yet her face also held some strange expression: "But isn't playing with Midgard a bit much just to train them?"

Odin shook his head: "Midgard becoming the battlefield this time is because they grew too greedy, foolishly trying to study the Tesseract's energy - beyond their grasp."

"Don't worry. Midgard will get through this, and Thor and Loki will return to us again." Hearing Odin's explanation, Frigga nodded understandingly.

After a while, Thor rushed in excitedly, bowing respectfully to Odin: "Father! Mother!" At Odin's signal the princess withdrew, leaving just them in the hall.

"What do you need from me, Thor?"

Thor asked directly: "Father, I want to know if there are other ways to Midgard. I wish to return briefly, then come right back to Asgard!"

He quickly added the last part, as if afraid Odin would disagree. Odin pretended to ponder silently before speaking seriously:

"It's not impossible for you to go to Earth." Hearing Odin's agreement made Thor beam happily. "Truly Father?"

"Yes. But preparation will take time. Using dark magic to channel dark energy can teleport you to Earth. However, it's one-way only. You'll have to gather dark energy yourself on Earth to return to Asgard."

"How long to prepare Father!" Thor was thrilled - one-way trip, needing to gather energy... wouldn't staying on Earth a bit longer be even better?

Odin of course saw through this, but didn't expose it since Thor would rush back once there. "Go down first. I'll inform you when ready. Soon, don't worry."

Very excited, Thor hurried out. Watching him leave, Odin also relaxed slightly. Then suddenly, he felt as if a giant invisible hand had seized his heart. His face instantly paled, taking deep breaths before recovering.

Clutching his chest, Odin muttered: "Hela, are you about to break my seal so soon? Or is it that Mephisto..."

Somewhere in Hell, countless red flames burned. In their center, the disheveled, green-clad Hela coldly watched Mephisto before her.

"Hela, seems the day comes soon when you'll break that seal. Need my help to kill Asgard together?" Mephisto smiled.

Wrapped in dark chains, Hela looked scornfully at him: "You dare?"

"If not for begging me, you wouldn't have dared step into Odin's sealed land in Hell."

"Lord of Hell? How funny, hahaha..." Hela's laughter echoed through the sealed land. Despite his nasty temper, Mephisto didn't dare refute the ridicule.

Others might not know Hela, but Mephisto was very clear - this wretched-looking woman was the literal goddess of death. Odin's daughter, the Asgardian Death Goddess Hela.

During Odin's war with the Jotuns, without her, he would have lost. Later Odin exiled her, deeming her too murderous. He had led the elite Valkyrie forces to capture Hela together, yet they were completely destroyed!

Odin managed to seal Hela in Hell only through extreme effort. So despite her chained state, Mephisto did not dare act rashly with her. Annoying Odin was a small issue - accidentally freeing this murder goddess would be real trouble.

"Don't forget our deal Hela!"

"I loosened Odin's seal for you, you lent power to my slave. I've upheld my end, that should have alerted Odin already."

Mephisto's face soured. "Tell me how to unleash that weapon's power."

Seeing his fear of Odin amused Hela. "I didn't do a thing. As long as your slave stops fighting..."

Mephisto smiled, satisfied. "Very well. I wish you success breaking the seal first. Oh, one thing does still make me curious."

"Speak."

Mephisto regarded Hela: "Who requires you to risk Odin's notice by lending me your power? And to my slave at that?"

"Wait for my good news. This matter concluded, if you've still not broken the seal, I'll unlock it personally." Laughing loudly, Mephisto left the Sealed Lands.

Hela frowned thoughtfully. "Could he want to devour whose power..." After contemplating, only one possibility made sense.

Only then would Mephisto dare speak so boldly, personally unlocking Odin's seal. When Odin had sealed her, Mephisto didn't even dare come close. But Hela just sneered scornfully:

"No need to be reduced to asking your personal help in unlocking my seal. I have no use for it."

One of the jet-black chains binding Hela lightly shattered into pieces. The other chains shook along. "Odin, I'm coming for you now!"

"I am Asgard's...true king!" Hela's ruthless expression shattered all the chains instantly into iron fragments dissipating as black smoke.

NYPD Office

Holding a document, George hit the intercom: "Come in now! I have a very important task needing your personal handling."

Soon one of his most trusted men entered: "Chief, you called for me?"

"Take this to the state court immediately, apply for a search warrant on Oscorp and an arrest warrant for Norman Osborn!"

Taking the information, the subordinate glanced through and said excitedly: "Chief, you've gotten concrete evidence?"

George nodded: "It's gone on too long. Norman Osborn has been at large far too long - time for punishment."

"Yes, Chief!" Watching him leave, George finally felt lighter. So many major cases had piled up lately. Finally, there was progress on one.

But his expression was still uneasy. After all, Green Goblin lurked behind Oscorp. That power was obvious to all - Spider-Woman and Iron Man together couldn't beat Green Goblin initially. Their mortal police meeting him would be...

Food delivery?

"If only I could contact the Emperor..." George rested his chin on his hands, pondering how to reach the Emperor and enlist his help in capturing Norman Osborn too.

After thinking for a while, no ideas came of contacting the enigmatic Emperor. "One step at a time. Apply for the warrants first."

With Oscorp's capital, getting them approved wouldn't be fast. So George still had time to prepare.

Afternoon

The setting sun cast long shadows as Anna parked below Andrew's new residence, checking it matched Gwen's texted address. "This should be it."

Steeling herself with a deep breath, coldness entered her eyes: "Andrew... I must uncover today what your relationship is with the Emperor!"

To be continued...