"I'll go first."
Tony brought his palms together. A spark of blue arc-light flickered between them.
Clap.
A hemispherical electromagnetic pulse burst outward.
In an instant, the electronics of the dozens of Sakaaran fighters surrounding them short-circuited. Engines died.
Ships dropped from the sky like dead birds.
Tony had just learned it on the spot—Thor's trick, optimized.
Leon followed.
He raised one hand toward the surviving pilots scrambling out of their wrecked craft.
Pop. Pop. Pop.
Telekinetic pressure crushed them into red splashes across the metallic debris.
The remaining soldiers froze.
Those who hadn't yet exited their cockpits scrambled back inside in panic.
But Leon's Observation Haki had already sensed the flicker of killing intent in their hearts.
Even a trace.
That was enough.
Praise death.
Moments later—
Silence.
The air reeked of iron.
Valkyrie stared.
"Who… are you people?"
Thor stepped forward proudly.
"Thor Odinson, God of Thunder!"
Loki followed smoothly.
"Loki Odinson, God of Mischief."
Leon grinned.
"Leon Stark Odinson, God of Battle."
Tony blinked.
"…Tony Stark Odinson. God of Wisdom?"
The other three turned in unison.
"You don't have a seat."
"Excuse me?!"
Tony wiped imaginary sweat from his brow.
Valkyrie rolled her eyes.
Four lunatics.
All absurdly powerful.
Thor turned back to her.
"You haven't answered me. What happened to the Valkyrior?"
Valkyrie's expression hardened.
"There's nothing to say."
"I've already 'died' once. I won't be dragged back into Odin's family drama."
"If you still honor what the Valkyrior did for your father's throne, release me."
"Otherwise, kill me."
Thor faltered.
He looked helplessly toward Leon and Tony.
Loki, currently rummaging through scrap like a happy raccoon, was ignored.
Leon stepped closer, lifting Valkyrie's chin casually.
He examined her.
Dark skin.
Average build.
Nowhere near his "short-skirt legion" standards.
Hard pass.
"Thor," Leon said lazily, "we could just execute her."
Thor recoiled. "Absolutely not!"
"I finally find a surviving Valkyrie! I'm taking her home to Father!"
Leon tilted his head mischievously.
"Or… I could have some fun first."
He reached toward her deliberately.
Valkyrie—who hadn't flinched at death—visibly panicked.
"Stop! It was Hela!"
Silence.
"Your sister," she continued tightly. "Odin's firstborn. Hela, Goddess of Death."
Thor froze.
"…What?"
Valkyrie spoke steadily.
"You are not Odin's first child. Hela is."
"Before you were born, she was Asgard's sharpest blade. Conquest incarnate."
"Until her ambition outgrew Odin's control."
"She sought to expand war beyond the Nine Realms."
"Odin defeated her and attempted to banish her to the Void."
"She escaped."
"While Odin dealt with Muspelheim's uprising, the Valkyrior were sent to capture her."
Thor swallowed.
"And?"
"You've seen the result."
"Even away from Asgard, Hela grew stronger."
"She slaughtered nearly all of us."
"Only I survived—by accident. I fell through an unstable wormhole… and ended up here."
Thor's voice dropped.
"Where is she now?"
"Dead. Or sealed."
"But Odin rarely destroys what he can imprison."
"To truly kill Hela, you'd have to destroy Asgard itself."
The words hung heavy.
Thor stood stunned.
His lifelong identity—the heir to Asgard—cracked.
Meanwhile—
Loki, off to the side, was practically glowing.
So.
Thor wasn't the true heir either.
There had always been someone above him.
A legitimate firstborn.
Loki hummed cheerfully while digging through scrap.
Afraid you'll suffer.
Afraid you'll drive a Rover.
He couldn't help smiling.
In the end, they were both second choices.
One biological.
One adopted.
But neither the original successor.
He found an intact Sakaaran neuro-control device and tucked it into his dimensional pouch.
Ever since "borrowing" a Sling Ring from Kamar-Taj, Loki had awakened a hoarder's instinct.
If it looked useful—into the pocket it went.
"Hehehehe~"
A different kind of ship descended.
Elegant.
Ornate.
Not scrap.
A golden-robed elderly man appeared, smiling warmly from a floating chair, pushed by a muscular female guard.
"Welcome to Sakaar… my friends."
The Grandmaster had arrived.
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