After absorbing the power within the Casket of Ancient Winters, Adrian Cross felt that this trip had been more than worthwhile.
Originally, he’d only planned to meet Thor and, while he was at it, destroy the Destroyer from the original plot to earn some Points.
Now, however, he’d clearly gone above and beyond.
Not only had he obtained the Casket of Ancient Winters, he’d even captured Loki.
“With things like this, the Destroyer won’t be coming.
All I need to do is wait for Thor to regain his divine power, and I should be able to complete this plot event and earn another batch of Points.”
“Add that to the 200 Points I saved earlier, and I’ll definitely have enough to exchange for an Ice-type Legendary or Mythical Pokémon…”
“This is going perfectly.”
Just thinking about it made Adrian Cross immensely pleased.
As long as Odin didn’t come looking for trouble over the Casket of Ancient Winters, his handling of this entire incident could practically be called perfect.
“I’m a fucking genius!”
With that thought in mind, Adrian Cross confidently pushed open the doors to the laboratory’s medical area.
“Adrian, you’re here.”
As soon as Adrian Cross arrived, Coulson walked over to greet him, with Hawkeye following beside him.
“I heard you finally chipped Thor out of the ice?”
“Yeah.”
Coulson nodded and led Adrian Cross toward the center of the medical area.
Adrian Cross immediately spotted Thor, who had only recently been freed from the ice and was still looking extremely pale.
However, there was also a woman beside Thor, taking care of him.
“That’s Jane Foster, an astrophysicist…”
Coulson quietly explained beside Adrian Cross.
“She apparently knows Thor and volunteered to take care of him.”
Although Coulson said nothing more, the meaning behind his expression was obvious to anyone.
There was definitely something going on between those two.
“Hmm…”
Adrian Cross glanced at the woman named Jane but said nothing.
“Cough, cough…”
Seeing Adrian Cross arrive, Thor forced himself upright.
Adrian Cross had originally assumed that the hot-tempered God of Thunder would want another fight with him.
Instead, Thor looked at him solemnly.
“They told me your name is Adrian Cross?”
“I’d prefer it if you called me Adrian Cross.”
“Very well.
Adrian Cross…
thank you.”
Adrian Cross looked at Thor in surprise.
“It’s nothing.
Saving you was just something I did along the way.”
“I’m not thanking you for saving me…”
Thor shook his head, then looked toward Loki, who was lying on a bed in the distance.
“I’m thanking you for not killing Loki.”
“You…
still consider him your brother?”
Adrian Cross was genuinely surprised again.
“He may have done something wrong, but he’s still my brother.”
Thor, the ultimate brother complex, said it with absolute conviction.
“I’ll take him back to Asgard and let Father judge him personally.”
“Take him back to Asgard?”
Adrian Cross narrowed his eyes.
“You’ve figured out how to regain your divine power?”
“More or less…”
Thor glanced toward Jane Foster, who was watching him with obvious concern.
“A man who knows only how to fight and has nothing he wishes to protect cannot become a king.”
“I think…
that’s what my father was trying to teach me.”
Seeing Thor like this, Adrian Cross understood.
Unless being frozen had somehow damaged Thor’s brain, the God of Thunder probably wasn’t far from regaining his divine power.
“Get some rest.”
Adrian Cross casually left him with those words before walking over to Loki’s bed.
“Bi-bi!”
Celebi, which had been faithfully guarding Loki since yesterday under Adrian Cross’s orders, immediately flew over to him.
It chirped eagerly, its expression practically screaming—
I did a good job, right?
Praise me!
“You did very well, Celebi.”
Adrian Cross naturally wouldn’t refuse such a tiny request.
He reached out and gently stroked Celebi’s head.
“Tini, tini!”
Victini, which had been curled up asleep on Adrian Cross’s right shoulder, immediately made its presence known.
It pounced toward Celebi, trying to steal Adrian Cross’s hand for itself.
“Bi-bi!”
“Tini, tini!”
The two little Pokémon immediately started squabbling again.
Adrian Cross, meanwhile, looked down at Loki, whom Celebi had wrapped in bandages like a mummy.
“Try to understand.
You’re the God of Mischief, after all.
Who knows when you might suddenly escape?”
“With that monster watching me, who could possibly escape?”
With only his face exposed, Loki muttered helplessly.
“You should know that I’ve never seen a magical creature that powerful.”
“Celebi won’t appreciate you calling it a monster.”
Adrian Cross glanced at Loki.
“Thor just said he’s taking you back to Asgard to face your father’s judgment.”
“…That sounds like him.”
Loki didn’t seem surprised at all.
“Never knowing to eliminate a threat completely—Thor has always been that foolish.”
Hearing the characteristic tsundere remarks of this hopeless brother complex, Adrian Cross felt thoroughly disgusted.
Why couldn’t these two brothers ever be honest with each other?
Adrian Cross immediately decided to leave this place and its bizarre atmosphere behind.
But just then—
He heard the ground begin to tremble.
At the same time, a strange sound came from the sky.
When Adrian Cross went outside to see what was happening, the first thing he spotted was Nick Fury’s bald head.
“What are you doing?”
Adrian Cross looked at the battle tanks, military aircraft, and large number of soldiers behind Fury.
“Starting a war?”
“…”
It would have been better if Adrian Cross hadn’t asked.
The moment he did, Fury felt his blood pressure skyrocket.
He genuinely wanted to grab Adrian Cross by the collar and roar into his face—
Who the hell do you think caused all this?!
After learning that Adrian Cross had somehow left Thor frozen solid and Loki wrapped up like a mummy, Fury had no choice but to inform the Security Council, which had been closely monitoring the entire incident.
And once the Security Council heard about it, they nearly exploded.
Two princes from an extraterrestrial kingdom had arrived on Earth, and within a few hours, S.H.I.E.L.D.
had somehow reduced one to an icicle and the other to a bandaged mummy?
How could that possibly be acceptable?
Nick Fury had immediately received a vicious reprimand.
The military had even demanded that Adrian Cross be brought before a court-martial.
Fury certainly did.
Adrian Cross wasn’t his subordinate in the first place!
Their relationship was purely cooperative.
More importantly, Fury knew perfectly well that if those military idiots actually dared to cause trouble for Adrian Cross, every last one of them would probably end up as chew toys for his three summoned Pokémon.
As for how much the unlucky Director had ultimately been forced to give up to settle the matter…
That was better left unsaid.
“These soldiers were sent by the military to protect Thor and Loki.”
Fury forcibly suppressed his irritation as he spoke.
“And to show off Earth’s military strength while they’re at it, right?”
Adrian Cross glanced at Fury and immediately pointed out the real purpose behind all those tanks and aircraft.
“…You know how it is.
Those old fossils on the Security Council don’t exactly have a strong sense of security, especially when it comes to something like this.”
Fury looked seriously at Adrian Cross.
“Then once they learn the truth, they’re going to feel even less secure.”
Adrian Cross told him plainly.
“None of this means anything against Asgardians.”
Tanks?
What a joke.
Thor could smash one from three-dimensional into two-dimensional with a single swing of his hammer.
Ordinary bullets could hit his divine body without even injuring him.
“They’re really that powerful?”
Fury’s expression became even more serious.
He could tell Adrian Cross wasn’t joking.
“Of course.
You have to understand that the average Asgardian lives for five thousand years.
They already possessed an advanced civilization back when humanity was still living in primitive societies.”
“Besides, at least for now, they don’t harbor any hostility toward Earth.
So you don’t need to overthink it.”
Adrian Cross spoke casually.
“You said it yourself.”
Fury shook his head.
“For now.”
The two continued chatting as they walked into the laboratory.
But just as they stepped through the entrance—
BOOM!
The ground shook violently once again.
Adrian Cross frowned and looked at Fury.
“You brought even more tanks?”
“…No.”
The instant Fury answered, both men realized something was wrong.
They immediately rushed back outside.
And then…
They saw a brilliant beam of light shining in the distance.
Beneath that light, a group of figures slowly emerged.
Blue, ridged skin.
Pointed ears and sharp fangs.
Crimson eyes.
And gigantic bodies that stood nearly three times the height of an ordinary person.
The moment their enormous feet touched the ground, ice began spreading beneath them.
The surrounding temperature visibly plummeted.
Adrian Cross recognized them immediately.
They looked exactly like Loki had when he’d wielded the Casket of Ancient Winters.
They were—
Frost Giants.