NIDAVELLIR

The Fire Giants of Muspelheim tore down the buildings and structures, the factories and forges pulled apart, the pieces thrown at the armies of Nidavellir, crushing the dwergur as the huge pieces of metal came crashing against the ground. The dwergur pushed on, covering their advance with barrages of energy-blasts, advancing on the defensive positions of the invading army.

Vidar, Vali and Frey stood on the roof of a warehouse and watched the legions of dwergur charge their enemies, the giants standing in the midst of the ruins they had created, throwing debris of molten metal at the attackers.

"Their position is too strong" Vali said, resting his dwergur halberd against his shoulder, his armor and clothing torn and covered in sot. "The dwergur are loosing to many men."

"Aye" Frey nodded, leaning against his antler-shaped sword. "But the dwergur fleet will soon be here to bombard the giants. Then, Muspelheim will be forced further back."

"We need to keep up the pressure" Vidar said, his powerful weapon made of frost-iron held with both hands. "Pin them down, lock them in place. That way, when the Nidavellir fleet gets here, we will be able to blast them all to nothing but cinders. They must not be allowed to relocate."

Vali shook his head and frowned. "Many dwergur will die to make that happen."

Vidar simply nodded. "And many more giants will die thanks to their sacrifice."

"Terrible is battle" Frey said, reciting an ancient Vanaheim poem. "A most horrible thing. Upon the bodies of heroes dead, rests the crown of a king."

Vidar held his weapon ready. "To battle then."

XXX XXX

Surtur stood atop one of the burning buildings, looking out across the city that was the Nidavellir forges and warehouses, all burning and crumbling. The armies of Muspelheim and Nidavellir engaged in deadly battle amongst the ruins. He turned as two of his lieutenants escorted an unexpected guest before him; Surtur frowned at the sight.

"Malekith" Surtur growled with scorn. "Why are you here? I thought you were busy dying at the gates of Valhall."

"And I thought you would be plundering Vanaheim or Jotunheim by now" Malekith said. "Not engaged in a futile war with Nidavellir."

Surtur chuckled and went down on a knee to get closer to the Black Prince, his grin splitting his fiery red beard that covered his pitch-black skin. "Futile you say? Only if I was intent on conquering the unconquerable."

Malekith took a look around, at all the devastation, the towering walls of fire spreading far and wide, buildings collapsing every now and then, the sound of battle and the screams of the dying.

"All of this, simply to deny Nidavellir to come to Asgårds aid?" Malekith asked.

Surtur grinned, letting out a growl of a chuckle. "You are a fool, aren't you, little Svart Alfir. You thought you could destroy Asgård? You thought you had an alliance with Hel? That the Stone was yours to command?" Surtur got back on his feet, grinning wide. "You were a pawn in a web of deceit, a web spun by the great deceiver himself. A pawn to be sacrificed."

Malekith, his amber eyes almost shining with rage, frowned at the king of Muspelheim. "Loki" he snarled. "Loki set me up."

Surtur nodded. "Yes. He did. He has made sure that all armies that could stop him are now depleted, tired from battle, having suffered terrible losses. Including my own."

"Why then do this?" Malekith asked, his words a snarl. "Why help that foul creature?!"

"He made me an offer" Surtur said with a smile. "Engage the dwergur, let the warriors of Nidavellir and Muspelheim die. Plunder the stockpiles of Nidavellir and bring all of their weapons home with me to Muspelheim. And await Loki's eventual ascension to power."

"That's it?" Malekith wondered. "That was the offer?! That was the deal?!"

Surtur nodded. "And in return… he would kill Odin. He would destroy the Aesir, the Alfir, the Vanir, all of my enemies. All that would remain was a universe to loot and plunder. A deal I could live with."

"I could have offered you the same deal!" Malekith growled. "You know Loki can't be trusted!"

Surtur fell to a knee once more, leaning down towards the Svart Alfir. "As if I could trust you, Black Prince."

"You can trust this" Malekith said with a hiss. "Together, you and I could take advantage of the chaos that Loki has set in motion. Together, we could destroy him. When he thinks he has won, then he is the most vulnerable."

Surtur grinned and chuckled. "Funny… Loki said the same thing about you. And here you are, defeated."

Malekith's face twisted in a fierce frown. "He made one terrible mistake, however. He let me live."

The king of Muspelheim slowly nodded at this fact. "That he did… and it was indeed a mistake."

ASGÅRD

Algrim watched as the gates to Heminbjorg were smashed open and in poured hundreds of Einherjar, immediately engaged in melee with Alfir, Draugr and Frost Giants waiting in the courtyard. The brothers of Odin, Wé and Vali, together with Heimdall himself, the lord of Heminbjorg, were at the fore of the Aesir forces, taking the fight to the enemy with terrible wrath and deadly skill with the use of sword, axe and spear. Algrim turned and hurried to the great platform that carried the Bifrost, the stone ring covered in the mightiest runes known in the universe; there, four large Frost Giants slammed their clubs and axes against the ring with all their strength, trying to bring it down, chipping away one small piece at a time.

Wé came flying down from above, having leapt over the walls and towers, and landed in the middle of the large platform. Looking up, he was surrounded by close to thirty enemies from the worlds of Nifelheim, Jotunheim and Alfheim. One of them was Algrim.

"Kill Him!" Algrim growled.

As the enemy came at him, Wé made good use of his shield and sword, not to mention his superior strength. Algrim moved in a circle around the battle taking place right infront of the Bifrost, watching as Wé killed one enemy after the other, the blood of the slain spraying in great arches as his sword cut deep without any form of hinderance. Algrim turned to the giants that had previously tried to bring down the Bifrost, now waiting for the order to attack.

"Destroy the Bifrost!" Algrim demanded.

The four giants hesitated at first but then began to pound the ring of stone once more. The doors leading to the platform got kicked open, unhinged and sent flying; Heimdall stepping through, covered in the blood of his enemies. With a mighty warcry, he charged forward and jumped into the melee, joining Wé in the deadly maelstrom of parrying and striking with the use of sharp steel.

Algrim looked over his shoulder as a section of the ring was cracked by the giants, the Bifrost erupting with bright lights in all the colors of the rainbow, forked lightning shooting out at random, sending great showers of flaring sparks all over the place. It was almost destroyed, depriving Asgård of one of its most powerful weapons; the ability to teleport almost instantly across the universe.

"Keep at it!" Algrim growled at the giants and then turned his attention at the fighting. Algrim retrieved a black stone from his belt, a stone that had thin slivers of glowing gold across it. Looking at the glowing slivers, he spoke. "Elders of Elweden, guardians of Alfheim, I give to you my soul, my essence, for the eternal glory of Elvenkind!"

The stone erupted with a bright light, like a miniature sun. Algrim howled with pain and folded over, his body twisting and transforming in mere seconds, with every heartbeat, until he stretched himself out once more, having grown two feet taller, gained double his weight in muscle, his clothing and armor no longer fitting his body. Algrim, with a terrible growl, ripped his armor from his and tossed it to the side, revealing his amber eyes replaced with glowing embers, his purple skin lined with veins like glowing lava, fingers tipped with terrible claws and his mouth filled with sharp fangs.

Algrim bellowed like a mad beast and charged, slamming into Heimdall and the two of them flying a good five feet by sheer force alone from Algrims relentless attack. Heimdall struck Algrim over the head with the hilt of his sword and then kicked off from him; the Gatekeeper quickly came back on his feet, but not before Algrim slashed Heimdall with his claws, leaving deep cuts across Heimdall's face. Heimdall, teeth clenched tight, swung his sword with both hands and caught Algrim over the abdomen; Algrim let out a great roar of pain and then struck the blade of the sword with his clawed hand, snapping the sword in two. Heimdall tossed the hilt to the side and delivered a mighty punch across his opponents jaw, sending Algrim stumbling a few steps. But Algrim merely spat out the tooth he had lost from the punch, snarled like a fierce predator and leapt at Heimdall, slamming him to the ground.

EARTH

Fandral, Siv, Hogun and Volstagg stood and watched as the fifty Kronan warriors slowly advanced, line abreast, down the French countryside, an Aesir cargo-ship hovering above them, heavily modified to be able to perform as a marauding pirate-ship. Joining them were their allies from Midgård, who where far more impressed and nervous about the approaching enemy than Thor's companions.

"They're huge" a V-battalion agent said with the codename Nuklo.

"The bigger they are" Piot said, still remaining in his human form.

Lehnsherr studied the scene with great interest. "All of you, prepare yourselves. Today is a day of history. And our names shall never be forgotten."

One of the people from the Xavier Institute shook his head. "Man, all the things they've said about you is true, isnt't?"

Lehnsherr glanced at the young man. "Iceman I believe they call you, correct?"

"Correct" the young man in his early twenties said.

"Well, after today you will agree with everything I've ever said."

A woman in her mid-thirties, wearing the leather and Kevlar of the Xavier Institute was next to speak. "Give it a rest, Magneto. We're not impressed with your übermensch rhetoric."

Erik Lehnsherr merely smiled. "Jean, my dearest Jean. If we manage to defeat these aliens, when the ordinary humans could not, how are we not their superiors?"

The mutants of the Xavier Institute glanced at one another, quite annoyed by the talk of the man they knew as Magneto; but perhaps most of all, they were annoyed that there was some logic to what he was saying.

Magneto watched the approaching enemy. "If it's one thing the Nazis taught me, it is that there truly is a master-race… but it's not human. Not human at all."

Storm spat at the ground in disgust of Magneto's rhetoric. "Enough with all this bullshit. Let's get down to business."

Storm's eyes turned white as she held out her hands and looked at the skies. Overhead, clouds gathered and soon rain poured down as winds increased in strength, whipping up a terrible storm in just a few short seconds. Iceman stepped up and extended his hands, creating a huge area to become covered in perfectly flat ice.

Colonel Aubrey, codenamed Destroyer, was most impressed. "You know!" he called out to be heard over the storm. "I think we might actually stand a chance!"

EARTH ORBIT

The satellite was easily seen from the cockpit of the Stark Orbiter, the spacecraft that had been invented by Stark Enterprises and revolutionized mankind's space-program. Inside, the four astronauts that had deployed the satellite were monitoring the satellites various systems.

"SSC, this is the Stark Orbiter, we are green across the board."

"Copy that, doctor Richards" a voice said over the comm-unit. "All is green down here as well. Waiting for confirmation that the satellite is aligned and in position."

A woman in her late thirties flipped some switches at the station where she was sitting, strapped in to not fly around in the zero-gravity. "Satellite is exactly where it's supposed to be."

"Off course it is" a bald man growled, floating around in the middle of the spacecraft, looking out a viewport at the satellite in question. "I put it in place, damn it. If something's wrong with it, it wont be its position."

"Calm down, Ben" Reed Richards said, him too strapped into a chair by his work-station. "Satellite is in position, aimed directly at the continent of Europe. We're good to go."

The pilot of the craft was looking out from the cockpit, spying for anything moving out in space. "You guys don't find it creepy as hell that there might be actual UFO's flying around out here?"

"If there were" Reed said, "they would most likely have blown us out of the sky the moment we left atmosphere."

"Comforting thought" the only woman on the crew said, Sue Strom shaking her head. "That is sure to keep up morale."

"Why wouldn't it?" Reed wondered. "I just clarified that since we haven't yet been shot down, we probably wont be at all."

Ben Grimm frowned. "Until ground-control fires that badboy at the alien army on the ground. I think then the aliens will find not only the satellite, but this ship, a priority target."

"Ben does have a point" the pilot said, looking back over his shoulder. Johnny Strom, brother of Sue Strom, shook his head as he turned his attention back at the stars. "The moment we fire that thing, all hell is gonna break lose up here."

"Everyone just relax" Reed Richards said. "Everything's gonna be just fine."

Ben Grimm glanced at their stowaway, a spider having spun a web up in a corner of the cockpit. "Boy, did you chose the wrong mission to tag along on."

Johnny Strom turned to look at Ben. "Hey, don't jinx it, man. Spidey back there is our good-luck charm."

Ben smiled, looking at the spider. "Just hang in there. We'll get you back down."

EARTH

The crew of the Nidhugg carefully installed the new power-source to their already existing power-distribution-system. Careful not to make any mistakes, it was a slow process, but soon complete.

"You will have more power than the Jormungandr and Nagelfar combined" Loki said.

The man standing next to him was every athletes dream in terms of body-build; his body a marvelous spectacle of perfection. His hair was long, reaching his waist and pitch-black, his beard kept short and well-trimmed, hints of grey in it. The eyes, yellow like wolfs, were full of life and the lust for danger.

"How long until our army is ready?"

"Not long" Loki said. "Folkir age quickly. All we have to do is locate the mutants and the army is ready for you to be unleashed on Yggdrasil, Fenrir."

The athletic and bearded man turned his yellow eyes on Loki. "How can you be sure that they will fight for you, father?"

"Because" Loki said, "I will offer them what they could never possess on their own… Midgård."

"The Atlanteans will object, I think."

Loki and his son, Fenrir, now in his Aesir form, turned as they heard a familiar voice, watching as Hugin stepped out of the shadows.

"Well met, Hugin" Loki said. "What news then?"

The shapeshifter found a box to perch upon, hunched over with his elbows resting against his knees. "Asgård prepares to invade Alfheim. The Fire Giants are locked in battle with the Dwergur. And the Kree are waiting for the portal to open."

Loki grinned. "Good. Then everything is proceeding as expected. And what of Vanaheim?"

"Waiting" Hugin said. "Gathering their friends and allies, preparing to lash out when all others are weak."

Fenrir growled. "Njord aims to become king of all Yggdrasil."

"An ambitions fool" Loki smiled, holding on to his glaive. "So sad that I will be there to foil his plans. He might have succeeded otherwise." Loki then offered Hugin a glance. "What of the Atlanteans? Are they prepared for an attack?"

"Not at all" Hugin grinned and shook his head. "They have been so far removed from the dealings of the universe, even their own Realm, that they have no knowledge of what is going on, even at this very moment on their own world."

"Good" Loki grinned. "Then the Kree should have nothing to worry about. Tell Attuma that the hour of his ascension to kingship has come… as a Jarl under my rule."

"As you wish" Hugin said and climbed down from the box and returned to the shadows.

Once Hugin had left, Fenrir walked over to his father. "Can he be trusted, father? He was bold enough to betray Odin. Cold-hearted enough to murder his own brother. Why would he remain loyal to you?"

Loki chuckled and grinned menacingly. "He will remain loyal as long as it serves his purpose. I will make sure to make the most of his abilities while I can."

"And kill him as he turns on us?" Fenrir asked.

"No, Fenrir" Loki said and looked as his son with devious eyes. "I will kill him before that. Long before."

XXX XXX

General Ross and General Ryker both watched as the Kronan army was closing in on Unit X, as was everyone else in the command-room. Tension was so thick in the air you could taste it.

"If they fail" Ryker said, "all of Europe will get nuked before the day is over."

Ross nodded. "Yes it will."

"There will be chaos" Ryker said. "All out chaos. Carnage, war, famine, decease… millions of refugees. Civlization will be over as we know it."

Ross sighed, yet he nodded. "I agree."

"So what do we do?" Ryker said, almost whispering. "How do we defend the United States?"

Ross turned to look at his fellow general. "Super-soldiers?"

Ryker nodded. "Weapon X cant be reproduced as far as we know. There hasn't been any new development with Weapon X since the forties. The formula to recreate the serum that created Captain America was lost when Hydra tried to steal it. Hell, Tony Stark wont make any more of his suits, even if it meant saving the rest of the world. You know we need an alternative. And I'm not talking about Xavier and his god damn mutants. As far as I'm concerned, they're just a big of a threat as those damned aliens."

"I agree" Ross said as he took a look around to make sure no one was listening. "That leaves us with only one option. Doesn't it?"

Ryker nodded. "Banner."

Ross folded his arms over his chest. "We recreate the Banner experiment, under controlled situations, and build ourselves an army of big, green rage-monsters."

General Ryker glanced at his surroundings, suspicious of who might be listening. "I'll tell you a secret… Recreating that experiment… I already have."