If you want to read ahead by 20+ chapters from here you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
[email protected]/Yggdrasil_Loki
….
Single-handedly!
With a total body count of one.
And now, this mad, calculating Monster had a leashed army of vicious, bloodthirsty giants at his beck and call. Heimdall harbored no illusions; Loki would be recognized by the Jotuns as their King not just in word, but in bloody deed.
The true reason for the Destroyer's presence in the observatory suddenly crystallized in Heimdall's mind.
The God of Deceit hadn't lied, the apocalyptic automaton really was keeping an eye on him, because even the dimmest Aesir wouldn't allow a witness to blab about intel of this magnitude.
However, that didn't explain why Loki had bothered to loop him in at all. Was it merely to issue the threat regarding the Rainbow Bridge? And why had he explicitly given Heimdall permission to tell the Allfather, Queen Frigga, or Thor?
Questions, questions, and more questions. But the absolute worst part was something else entirely...
This Mad Monster had returned to Asgard.
He had returned, and as if he hadn't just orchestrated a planetary coup, he was spending his evening reading bizarre Midgardian fairy tales to the little mortal girl he had brought with him...
Heimdall could not fathom what was happening, what the underlying logic was, or if there was any logic at all.
He desperately wanted to turn his gaze away, to stop watching, but he couldn't. What if this was just the opening gambit in another one of the dual-King's terrifying schemes? It was his Duty to continue observing.
Though, right now, what he wanted more than anything was a drink. To get blackout, staggeringly drunk.
To not see, not hear. Not remember. Not comprehend. Yes... the next time Volstagg dragged himself up to the observatory, Heimdall was going to ask him to smuggle up a couple of barrels of the strongest mead he could find.
Assuming, of course (Heimdall cast a wary sideways glance at the towering, spiked metal golem standing by the door), the Destroyer allowed him to drink it.
Meanwhile, in the plush guest chambers of the royal palace, King Loki had just wrapped up a thrilling narrative about a magically animated ball of dough rolling through a forest meeting talking animals.
For the last few minutes, he had been recounting the adventures of a certain honey-obsessed bear, a bear in whose bumbling, gluttonous traits one could effortlessly recognize caricatures of Thor and, quite pointedly, Volstagg.
"...and what the Rabbit thought, no one ever knew," the insinuating, dramatically inspired voice of the God of Mischief drifted effortlessly into the divine hearing of the Aesir sentry. "Because he was a very well-brought-up Rabbit!" Loki concluded the thought with profound feeling.
Heimdall ground his teeth together so hard his jaw ached. He couldn't shake the creeping, agonizing certainty that he, and specifically he, was being subtly and flawlessly mocked.
...
Loki:-
Having thoroughly enjoyed torturing the Guardian of the Bridge, whom I had deliberately left my mental shields open for, and whose strained reactions I was periodically peeking at through the Destroyer's visor, I double-checked to ensure Laura was actually asleep.
Satisfied, I slipped out of the girl's room, utterly unnoticed by Yuriko and Sarah.
Those two, to be fair, had passed out from sheer nervous exhaustion long before I even showed up, so only the little combat hamster had stoically waited up to receive her daily tribute in the form of a bedtime story.
However, the moment I stepped out into the gleaming, silent corridor of the palace, I... realized I was profoundly unsatisfied.
Because of the sheer, unadulterated stupidity of everyone around me, Heimdall very much included, I was now forced to carry the administrative and geopolitical weight of two entire planets. Instead of, say, enjoying a cultural evening surrounded by lovely ladies, eating french fries, or doing literally anything else pleasant and productive.
Why, in Surtur's name, was this my life?
In short, leaving the guest wing behind, I marched off to do some tyrannizing and dictating.
My very first royal decree of the night was to direct the gaze of our mighty Afro-Asgardian sentry toward the territories held by Thanos.
Oh, so this wrinkly, purple drama queen wants to halve the population of the galaxy? Well, I'm feeling generous.
I'll help him out! I'll start right with the logistical hubs where he draws his armies and resources. It's the perfect excuse to take my new "legions of terror" out for a walk.
And so, a very depressed Heimdall was currently ordered to start logging coordinates, fully aware that he was compiling target packages for Jotun raiding parties.
I could practically feel his physical pain through the cosmic ether, but the looming presence of the Destroyer was a fantastic motivator. He promised to have a comprehensive map ready in a month.
Yes, Thanos had a staggering amount of worlds under his thumb. But the first fruits of my labor would be ripe in just a couple of days.
And that was a good thing, because my very next step was to drag Thor out of his self-pitying exile and harness him back to the plow... err, I mean, gracefully return his rightful throne to him. Yes, let's go with that phrasing for the official chronicles.
True, before I did any of that, I needed to make an appearance before Frigga. She was genuinely worried about me, after all.
Plus, recounting my brilliant "knight's move" with Jotunheim while standing right next to Odin's sleeping form was going to be hilarious.
The main thing was making sure the Allfather didn't accidentally catch a stroke listening to it. Or suddenly decide that he needed to "wake up right this very second."
….
If you want to read ahead by 20+ chapters from here you can visit my Patre-on.
[P] [A] [T] [R] [E] [O] [N]
[email protected]/Yggdrasil_Loki