32

Today was not Coulson's day.

First, he had to deal with John Wick. Then, the base was breached. Now, someone was telling him that the man who single-handedly brought down his entire team was, of all things, a physicist.

"His name is Donald Blake?" Coulson repeated, barely able to hide his skepticism.

He wanted to ask Selvig, right to his face, if he thought he was an idiot. Selvig was spinning a story with a straight face, but the identification documents were obviously fake. Still, Coulson had to admire Selvig's commitment to the cover story. The man was explaining away SHIELD's security breach by claiming the perpetrator simply worked out regularly. It was nonsense, but delivered with such seriousness that it almost sounded plausible.

Despite the absurdity, Coulson found no usable clues in Thor's story. Letting the man go seemed like the best way to see what he would do next. Maybe it would lead to more information or reveal the people orchestrating things from behind the scenes.

If Coulson was supposed to believe that a guy who just exercised a lot could take down his team, he might as well believe that Captain America had been turned into a popsicle.

Coulson made a quick decision.

Selvig, meanwhile, thought his plan had worked. He had not wanted to get involved, but Jane Foster had begged him to help this mysterious man. So, Selvig went to the interview room to meet Thor, only to notice John sitting quietly in the corner.

Thor looked up and asked, "Who are you?"

John set down his empty mug and replied casually, "John Wick."

Thor shook his head. "No, that's not it." He studied John's face. "Do you know me?"

"I didn't before, but I do now," John replied with a small chuckle. "Your brother played quite the trick on you, didn't he?"

Thor, reckless as he might be, was not a fool. He did not relax at John's words but pressed further, "Loki used magic."

"He's not the only one who knows magic," John said, confirming Thor's suspicion.

"You are…"

"Donny, Donny, Donny!" Selvig burst in, cutting Thor off before he could finish. Thor wanted to ask more, but escaping was the priority, and Selvig hurried him out of the room.

As Thor glanced back, John had already vanished. Thor's doubts remained unresolved.

Upon leaving SHIELD, Thor retrieved Jane's confiscated notebook. Coulson watched them go, then turned to see John approaching.

"What do you want, Mr. Wick?" Coulson asked, his tone wary.

"Nothing much. Just an ordinary trip," John replied, smiling. "I'm on vacation."

"Are you leaving?" Coulson had originally hoped John would go, but now he was not so sure. "We still need to figure out why you're here."

"I already told you," John said, waving. A horn sounded outside the base, and a yellow taxi sped in, stopping right in front of him.

John opened the car door and looked back at Coulson. "Time for a real vacation."

The driver stepped on the gas, and the taxi zipped away, leaving the base behind.

Coulson pulled out his phone and called Fury. "He's gone, sir."

Nick Fury was not surprised. "He's as clever as his father," he said. "Let's hope he shows us a little magic and lets us figure out who he really is."

Fury set down the file in his hand. A photograph of an owl in front of the Wick family's London house slipped out. The folder labeled "Avengers Initiative" lay open on his desk. One name was finalized, with several other candidates under consideration.

In Asgard, Odin had fallen into the deep slumber known as Odin's Sleep. Now, Loki held the throne.

He rode the Rainbow Bridge and descended into Jotunheim, the land of the Frost Giants.

Their king, Laufey, finally learned who had sent assassins to Asgard. It was Loki, and his ambitions were clear. Loki proposed a deal: if Laufey helped him, Laufey could enter Asgard and kill the sleeping Odin.

The offer was tempting, and Laufey agreed. But Loki lingered, asking, "Your treasure, the Casket of Ancient Winters, is in Asgard, isn't it?"

Contact with a mysterious figure had left Loki uneasy. He needed to know what was behind this strange feeling.

"That's obvious," Laufey replied, looking down at Loki. "Odin stole our treasure. He is a thief."

"Is that so?" Loki paced, then pressed, "Besides those in Asgard, is there anyone else?"

Laufey's gaze sharpened. "What are you trying to find out?"

Loki watched Laufey closely. Jotunheim had once invaded Earth, trying to plunge it into an ice age. Odin had intervened, defeated the Frost Giants, and taken their artifact. But Laufey's reaction suggested there was more to the story.

"We're partners," Loki insisted. "Tell me everything. I need to know the truth."

Laufey hesitated, and the Frost Giant soldiers nearby tensed, ready for trouble. Finally, Laufey spoke. "There is only one Casket."

Loki let out a breath of relief.

"But…" Laufey's eyes grew distant. "It was divided in two. One is the weapon itself. The other is… the core."

To gain entry to Odin's palace and assassinate him, Laufey had no choice but to reveal a secret from the past.

During the war of aggression against Earth, Jotunheim was defeated by Asgard. Laufey, wielding the Casket, could not match Odin's might. But few knew the true reason for the invasion. Why try to turn Earth into an ice age? The barren lands of Jotunheim were already cold and desolate. The real goal was Midgard—Earth, the center of the Nine Realms—to retrieve the core of the Casket.

The Casket in Asgard's treasury was incomplete. Its divine power was greatly diminished because its core had been lost. Though still an artifact, it could not defeat Odin's weapon.

With the core, the Casket could transform into the Ancient Winter Coffin and freeze all of the Nine Realms. Laufey had once sensed the core's presence on Earth and tried to summon it but failed. Not long after Odin appeared, the core fell silent. For a thousand years, Laufey had waited for the core to reappear, but now he was losing patience.

"Perhaps the core was destroyed," Laufey said quietly. "There are powerful beings on Midgard who might have destroyed it. Or perhaps the core gained its own will and is hiding from us."

Either way, the Frost Giants' chances of finding it were slim. The core could only be used by one of pure royal blood, but Laufey's own child had died in that ancient war.

A complete Casket would allow the Frost Giants to rule the Nine Realms, but Laufey could not leave Jotunheim because Asgard's gatekeepers watched him closely. Only Odin's death would free the Frost Giants, which is why Laufey was so eager to cooperate with Loki.

After Laufey finished, Loki was silent, his mind racing.

"Maybe that person is…" he muttered, almost inaudibly.

He remembered his strange reaction when he met John and the legend that the core of the Casket could develop its own wisdom. Loki began to suspect that John was the core itself.

With this realization, Loki left Jotunheim, his thoughts a storm of suspicion and intrigue.

The next morning in New Mexico, John woke up in a hotel in Old Bridge. Even though it was the most expensive place in town, the rooms left much to be desired.

Standing before the mirror, John tapped his wand to his shoulder. His clothes shifted into a dark green velvet suit, and he fastened a pair of emerald cufflinks. He stared at his own reflection, a faint smile on his lips.

He stepped outside. On the lounge chair, the taxi driver was still waking up, looking confused.

"Why am I here?" the driver muttered.

"Because I want to give you another big tip," John replied, handing over a bill. The driver's doubts vanished instantly. He pulled out his wallet, now stuffed so full it barely closed. Whatever the reason, as long as he was paid, he would follow John anywhere.

John stood on the second-floor balcony, gazing into the distance.

The driver, curious, asked, "What are you looking at?"

"I'm watching the storm," John replied, his eyes narrowing to vertical pupils. In their depths, the image of a massive rainbow bridge, swirling with wind and light, was reflected.

"And the bridge," he added.

The driver shrugged, unable to see what John saw.

The hotel owner approached, beaming. "How did you sleep last night? We have breakfast available."

John nodded, slipped another bill into the owner's hand, and said, "Give my friend here a luxurious breakfast. He might be waiting a while."

The owner's face lit up at the sight of the hundred-dollar bill. "I promise he'll eat until he's stuffed!" he said, then turned to John. "And you?"

"Just a piece of bread, please. I'm heading out."

The owner was surprised to see a driver eating better than his employer, but he did not question it.

Outside Old Bridge, dust rose in the morning light. The Rainbow Bridge descended, leaving a complex circular pattern in the earth. Four Asgardian warriors appeared, come to find Thor and warn him of Loki's conspiracy.

"I didn't expect Heimdall to help us," one said.

"Hey, don't let him hear you!" another replied.

"I'm complimenting him," the red-haired warrior muttered.

The female warrior at the front rolled her eyes and led the way into town, the others following.

John, munching on a piece of bread, watched them walk past in full armor and shook his head. "Couldn't they at least change clothes?" he muttered. "Is Loki the only Asgardian with common sense?"

Their attire drew every eye on the street. Some thought it was a Renaissance fair, but John knew better. These were gods from Asgard.

He touched his chin, thinking, "I should be looking for Thor." The details of the story were a bit hazy, but he remembered enough to know these four were the real deal. If he had not sensed the same energy as Thor from them, he might not have believed it.

The hotel owner's daughter hurried over with a glass of milk, her cheeks flushed. She handed it to John and ran off, embarrassed.

John smiled to himself. "So young. People start dating so early these days. There really are big differences between cultures."

As he pondered his own age, he felt his mind drift elsewhere.

Elsewhere, SHIELD detected abnormal energy readings and began deploying agents throughout the town, searching for anything suspicious.

Under the Old Bridge Town sign, a small golden creature poked its head out, sniffing the air. Suddenly excited, it scampered into town on short legs.

A child brushing his teeth saw the little golden figure climbing past his window. His toothbrush fell from his hand, and his mouth dropped open.

"Mom!" he shouted, the universal cry of children everywhere when witnessing something unbelievable.