POV: Baldur
Puente Antiguo, New Mexico.
After the battle against the Destroyer.
2011.
The Destroyer lay inert on the street, so I withdrew my spear from its body. Thor, beside me, raised Mjolnir and attempted to destroy the robot, but I stopped him by holding his arm.
"He's no longer a threat. Let Amora take care of him," I said.
"You know best, brother," Thor replied, turning to Jane Foster, who stood next to the doctor.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Amora asked.
"No. This is something we must do alone," Thor responded.
"Just don't do anything foolish and come back to me quickly."
"Always," I assured her.
Amora bid farewell with a kiss and disappeared, taking the Destroyer with her. I turned and walked toward Thor, who was talking with Jane.
"Is this your usual look?" Jane asked, eyeing Thor's armor.
"More or less," he replied.
"It's a cool look," she commented.
"Unfortunately, we don't have time to flirt, Thor," I interjected, catching Jane off guard with my golden armor. She presumed I was one of Thor's friends.
"Jane, let me introduce my brother, Baldur, the God of Sun and Light."
"I'm delighted, Miss Foster. I've read about your research, and I must say you're on the right path. Perhaps you'd consider spending some time in Genosha to share your ideas."
"Of course," she replied, still somewhat in shock. It seemed she hadn't yet connected me to being the king of Genosha.
Few know that I am the same king who declared war against Nazi Germany. The current generation doesn't fear Genosha as much. In recent years, there have been attempts to encroach upon our territory, not only by Americans but also by other nations. They believe their technology rivals ours.
"We need to head to the Bifrost, there, we'll speak with our brother," I said to Thor.
All the warriors of Asgard prepared to depart when two black SUVs pulled up beside us. Some agents in suits emerged, among them Phil Coulson.
He looked at both of us, not a fool, and noticed the similarities in our armor. I suppose he guessed why I had saved him earlier.
"Excuse me. Your Majesty and Donald, I believe you haven't been entirely honest," Coulson said.
"This is Thor Odinson, Phil Coulson, my brother. Any attack against him is an attack against me," I stated.
"Understood, Majesty. We have no hostile intentions toward either of you."
"No need for hostility. We fight for the same cause: protecting this world. From now on, you can count me as an ally. And please return the items you took from Jane," I declared.
"Stole!" Jane interjected angrily.
"Borrowed. Of course, you can have your equipment back. You'll need it to continue your research," Coulson replied.
Jane was the only one who managed to track how Thor came to Earth, making her a valuable asset to S.H.I.E.L.D. I wouldn't doubt that she'll receive a hefty sum from the government to continue her research.
"We have to go, Thor."
"Would you like to see the bridge I mentioned?" Thor asks Jane.
"Of course."
Thor holds Jane by the waist, spins Mjolnir, and flies towards the place where the warriors came from the Bifrost. If it were to open here, it would destroy what's left of the city.
"Until next time, Agent Coulson, give my regards to the Widow," he tries to stop me, but I fly in the same direction Thor went.
"Heimdall, open the Bifrost!"
Thor keeps shouting towards the sky, waiting for the Bifrost to open, but it doesn't happen. He keeps yelling, and a few minutes later, the warriors, along with Dr. Selvig and Darcy Lewis in a car, arrive.
"He's not responding!" Thor explains to his friends.
"Then we're stuck," Frandal says.
"Heimdall!"
"Baldur, isn't there a way your wife can send us to Asgard?" Volstagg asks me.
"The magic to teleport a living being to another dimension is immense, and besides, Asgard is heavily protected. Even Amora would take hours to accomplish that."
"We don't have hours, brother."
"True."
But it seems like Heimdall managed to activate the Bifrost, as in the movies. The sky distorts like a tornado forming, and the warriors stand by my side as Thor bids farewell to Jane Foster with a kiss.
"I'll come back for you," Thor says as his final words. We are enveloped by a bridge of colorful light that takes us to Asgard. The Bifrost is as uncomfortable as ever. I only see colorful lights and can only feel the sensation of being pulled. The good thing is that the journey lasts only a few seconds, and when I come to my senses, I'm in a familiar golden room where I see Heimdall lying on the floor with his sword embedded in the Bifrost's control system.
"Take him to the healing chamber. Leave Loki to us," Thor orders the others.
The four warriors go to help Heimdall, while Thor and I fly through Asgard towards the royal castle. The city is just as magnificent as I remember. Unfortunately, I don't have time to reminisce. We enter the royal castle through one of the gigantic windows and go straight to our parents' quarters at the top of the castle.
As we pass through the door, I see Loki hugging my mother. He was the first to look at us with shock on his face, and my mother was the next to see us.
"THOR, BALDUR!"
I can only feel happiness in her voice as she hugs us. Thor is the first to break the embrace and go towards Loki, who is silent.
"Why don't you tell her, brother? How you sent the Destroyer to kill our friends and me?"
"What?"
My mother is one of the most incredible women in the universe, but she has a weakness for family. She has never been able to see our faults.
"I was just carrying out Father's final command."
Loki stands by Odin's bed, where Odin is unconscious.
"You lie very well, brother. You've always lied."
I continue to watch the dialogue between the two while holding my mother back so she doesn't get between them.
"It's good to have you back, brothers. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to destroy Jotunheim!"
He points Odin's spear, Gungnir, and fires a blast of Odinforce energy at Thor, who doesn't have time to defend himself. The blow sends him crashing through the wall of the room and out of the palace.
"And you, Baldur, are you going to try to stop me too?"
Loki points Gungnir at me and waits for my response.
"It's not too late, Loki. Please, lower your weapon."
Fearing for my mother's safety, I move away from her and keep my eyes on Loki.
"Then so be it, brother."
He shoots at me too, the magical power of Gungnir fueled by the Odinforce should not be underestimated. I defend against the energy blast by placing Sigel in front of me, even though the magical energy of the Odinforce is weak, it still hurts a lot. When the attack ends, I realize that Loki has disappeared from the room, he headed towards the Bifrost.
"Baldur, please, you have to stop them," my mother begs tearfully.
"Don't worry, mother. I'll do my best, but right now I need to help Father."
I walk over to the golden bed where Odin lies, wearing a white robe and his golden eyepatch. There's a layer of golden light surrounding his body, regenerating him, but it has no effect on him. Odin's sleep allows him to regain his magical energies. When he enters this state, he becomes vulnerable, but he also gains omniscience, observing everything that happens in the Nine Realms. For my father to return to a stable condition, he will need several years of sleep.
(Unfortunately, we don't have that much time, Father. Allow me to help.)
I place my hand on Odin's chest, using my rune Dagaz to transform and transfer my magical energy to Odin, recharging him. Energy is something I have in abundance. A few minutes later, I see my father's body taking on a younger appearance, but unfortunately, I can't give him enough energy to fully recover, that would take days. With the amount of energy I transferred to the Odinforce, he should be at forty percent of his power now.
"Baldur, how did you do that?" My mother, raised by witches, may not have great magical potential, but she certainly has more knowledge about magic in Asgard, second only to my Father and Loki. She understood what I did.
"I've had a long journey, Mother. I've seen many things and learned a lot too. He'll wake up in a few minutes. Now I have to prevent those two idiots from killing each other."
Hovering over the crystal road of the Bifrost, I see an explosion in the control room from afar. Thor and Loki fly out of the room and land on the crystal road. Loki almost falls into the waters below, but Thor tries to help him. When he tries to grab Loki's body to save him from falling, Loki disappears and reappears behind Thor, then plunges Gungnir right into his stomach. Thor retaliates by pushing Loki away, who then multiplies into several illusions that simultaneously attack Thor.
I land between the clones and Thor, releasing golden energy that destroys all of his illusions. The real Loki attacks me with Gungnir, trying to hit me in the chest, but I defend with Sigel. He certainly doesn't have the skill to fight using a spear, I on the other hand, have been fighting with one for centuries. With a quick strike, I hit his hand, making him drop Gungnir to the ground. I kick Loki, making him move further away from the Bifrost.
"Brother! We have to stop the bridge." Thor shouts and tries to approach the control room, but he can't get close because of the enormous levels of energy it's emitting. If this continues, the Bifrost will not only destroy Jotunheim but also take a good part of Asgard in the explosion.
"Look at you, the mighty Thor. With all your strength. And what good does it do you now?" Loki shouts from behind us.
I see Thor losing hope of being able to shut down the Bifrost, leaving him with only one option.
"What are you doing? If you destroy the bridge, you'll never see her again!" Loki also knows what Thor is about to do and tries to stop him.
"Forgive me, Jane."
Before Thor can make the first move on the crystal road, I extend my hand, and Mjolnir flies through the air towards me, landing in my hand. Thor looks at me with surprise written on his face.
"There is still hope, wait for me here."
I throw the hammer back to him and head towards the control room. As I approach, I feel the enormous amount of energy destroying my armor, but it causes no harm to my body. This level of energy is nothing for someone who can stand on the gravity of a black hole. In the center of the room, Heimdall's sword is frozen, a beautiful sight resembling an ice tree.
(Beautiful!)
I stand in the center of the room, holding the sword, and focus all my heat into it. This is not ordinary ice, but after a few seconds, it gives way and thaws. Quickly, I pull the sword with all my strength, removing it from the mechanism and shutting down the Bifrost, preventing it from destroying Jotunheim.
The Bifrost has been severely damaged, but nothing that a few repairs won't fix, it will be working again in no time. As I head towards the exit, I recreate my golden clothes. Outside, I see Loki on the edge of the crystal road with Thor in front of him, and beside him, Odin holding his spear and wearing golden armor.
"I almost did it, Father!" Loki cries to the two of them.
"For all of us. For you!" He says, looking at me.
"For the brother I loved most and lost because of the schemes of those Giants."
"It's over, brother. Let's go home."
I do my best to reassure Loki and make him surrender calmly.
"No, don't do this, Loki."
Odin shouts to his son, sensing something that I didn't. Finally, Loki looks at me and gives one of those smiles he used to give me when we were children.
"I'm sorry, brother. I didn't listen to you, and I went too far."
"NO!"
Neither of us is quick enough to catch Loki as he plunges into the waters of the waterfall, which carry him away from us.
support me at patreon.com/Lonely_Translator and read chapters in advance