The moment Ethan Voss stepped out of Odin's shrine, he found Thor waiting for him outside.
The Asgardian prince looked troubled. His normally confident expression had faded, replaced by a heaviness that was hard to ignore. It was difficult to tell whether Thor was grieving for Loki's disappearance or worrying about the destruction of the Rainbow Bridge.
Without the Bifrost, returning to Earth was no longer simple.
"Ethan," Thor said with a sigh, "the Rainbow Bridge is damaged. We may not be able to return to Midgard for a long time."
So the real concern is Jane Foster.
Ethan silently mourned Loki's unknown fate for exactly three seconds.
"Thor, don't worry," he said calmly. "I have a way to return to Earth."
Thor's eyes immediately lit up.
"What method?"
"I have a secret realm," Ethan explained. "It connects to several portals. One of those portals leads directly to Earth."
He shrugged lightly.
"From here, I can also open a gateway into that realm."
Ethan did not bother hiding the truth. He was confident that Queen Frigga would eventually agree to cooperate with him.
The reason was simple.
She was a mother.
And a very good one.
If that was the case, then Ethan's main objective for visiting Asgard had already been accomplished. There was no longer any reason to hide the existence of his divine realm from Thor.
"That's wonderful!" Thor exclaimed excitedly. "Then let's return to Midgard immediately!"
Ethan shook his head with a faint smile.
"Thor, I think you should first discuss Jane Foster with your parents."
Thor frowned.
"What's there to discuss? This is my personal matter."
Ethan looked at him seriously.
"Thor, you are the future king of Asgard."
"Your personal affairs are also the affairs of Asgard."
He continued calmly.
"You've seen war on Earth during the past few days."
"The orders may come from rulers, but war affects the entire nation."
"The entire people."
Thor did not immediately argue.
The things he had witnessed in the Middle East had clearly left a deep impression on him.
He looked up at Asgard's blue sky and the golden city stretching across the horizon.
Finally, he nodded slowly.
"I understand."
"But my love for Jane Foster will never change."
"I will convince my father and mother."
"I believe you can do it," Ethan replied with encouragement.
Of course, he did not truly believe that.
In the future he knew, Thor and Jane would eventually separate.
And if Thor actually brought Jane to Asgard now, the story involving the Dark Elves might never unfold properly.
After Thor left, Ethan deliberately spent some time wandering through the streets of Asgard.
Life here was peaceful and comfortable.
Citizens strolled through bright marketplaces, musicians played cheerful tunes, and even public stage plays were performed freely in the streets.
One of the plays depicted Odin's youth.
It showed the legendary king conquering distant realms and subduing the Nine Realms during his rise to power.
The audience laughed and cheered happily.
But to Ethan—who had seen countless epic stories and exaggerated heroes in his previous life—the performance felt rather crude.
If this playwright lived in his former world, Ethan thought, he probably wouldn't even earn enough money to eat.
Before he could finish watching the play, a maid from Queen Frigga arrived and summoned him back to the palace.
To his slight surprise, Odin himself was also present.
The All-Father spoke first.
"If I agree to cooperate with you…"
"What exactly must Asgard provide?"
Ethan answered calmly.
"Asgardian technology."
"Even outdated technology from your civilization would still be extremely valuable on Earth."
"I suggest we begin with medicine."
Odin considered the proposal briefly.
"Very well."
Of course, Ethan's ambitions were far greater than simple technological exchange.
Technology was only a bridge.
A channel for communication.
Once that connection existed, future cooperation would naturally follow.
And one day, when Asgard faced crisis…
Ethan would be there to help.
What he truly wanted was far greater.
He wanted Asgard itself.
When Ethan finally returned to Earth, Thor did not accompany him.
Convincing Odin to accept a mortal woman from Midgard as his son's wife was clearly far more difficult than Thor had expected.
Back at Typhon Estate in New York, Ethan knew it was time to begin preparing for the next major event.
The Battle of New York.
Despite the unexpected twists along the way, Loki had ultimately followed the same path destiny seemed determined to give him.
Everything was moving toward the same inevitable moment.
Ethan had also heard something interesting from Alexander Pierce earlier.
Nick Fury had traveled to the Arctic recently and remained there for several days.
Ethan understood immediately.
Captain America was about to reappear.
Nick Fury was many things—ruthless, cunning, and extremely suspicious.
With the enormous power of the Tesseract within reach, and after witnessing the existence of Thor, the Hulk, and Ethan himself, Fury would never resist the temptation to harness that energy.
Once the Tesseract activated and its power fluctuated…
Thanos would notice.
And when that happened, Earth would fall into crisis.
That crisis would be the moment when the Avengers became legends overnight.
There was no way Ethan would miss that opportunity.
Of course, he could not steal the spotlight completely.
He had already overshadowed Thor in several events.
Perhaps it was time to borrow a bit of the Hulk's stage as well.
Ethan had been tracking Bruce Banner's movements for some time. According to the information he had gathered, Banner had moved from Canada to India.
Unfortunately, Ethan did not know the exact location.
Most of his intelligence came indirectly through someone else.
Agent Sitwell.
Yes.
The Hydra operative secretly embedded within S.H.I.E.L.D.
Ethan knew that S.H.I.E.L.D. had been monitoring Banner constantly. After thinking it over, he decided there was no reason to send his own people searching.
That would waste both time and resources.
After all…
Wasn't S.H.I.E.L.D. essentially Hydra anyway?
Why pay twice for the same service?
With that thought, Ethan picked up the phone and placed a secure call.
The first thing he said was simple.
"Hail Hydra."
After a brief pause, the voice on the other end replied in the same tone.
Ethan leaned back comfortably in his leather chair and crossed his legs.
"So, Sitwell," he said casually, "how's work going lately? Fury hasn't discovered you yet, has he?"
He continued speaking.
"I've noticed that far fewer agents have been coming in for serum adjustments recently."
"What's going on?"
Sitwell chuckled quietly.
"Mr. Voss, you must know that Director Fury has begun suspecting you."
"He originally wanted to cancel all agent transfers entirely."
"Fortunately, Secretary Pierce and I strongly opposed that decision."
"Even so, the number of agents transferred to you has been reduced significantly."
"Most of them are now assigned to field teams rather than management positions."
"Access to internal documents has also been restricted."
He sighed.
"It's becoming troublesome."
Ethan leaned back and sighed dramatically.
"That black scrambled egg is truly annoying."
"I worked so hard to build the Justice League, and he still wants to recruit my people."
"He's shameless."
"Does Fury think controlling the world's most powerful intelligence agency gives him the right to rob and threaten people?"
Ethan laughed softly.
"When you think about it…"
"He's not very different from us."
"He just wraps everything in the excuse of protecting the world."
"Hydra is simply more honest."
"Why bother pretending when we want to rule the world?"
"Everyone wants the same result."
"They just use different methods."
Sitwell laughed on the other end of the line.
"Mr. Voss," he finally asked, "did you call simply to complain, or do you need something?"
"I do need a favor," Ethan said.
"I've asked you before about Bruce Banner."
"Now I need his exact location."
"S.H.I.E.L.D. must have that information."
Sitwell went quiet for a moment.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. does have the data," he replied eventually. "But it's extremely classified."
"I can only access the city where he's located."
"The precise address is beyond my clearance."
"You'll need to ask Secretary Pierce for that."
Ethan stroked his chin thoughtfully.
"Has the Secretary encountered any difficulties recently?"
"As far as I know," Sitwell answered, "the Insight Project is progressing smoothly."
"That's all the information I have."
"Very well."
Ethan nodded.
"Then please pass along my thanks."
"Hail Hydra."
"…Hail Hydra."
.....
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