All was timeless and silent for a moment as Loki weakened, instantly. Blood gurgled from the entry and exit wound as Utgarda removed his ice-clad fist with a sickening squelch. Loki fell to his knees, fighting to keep his eyes open. He held himself up with his bloody hands. His strength fading, he slowly assumed his Jotun form, conserving the energy. His blood now appeared a sickening black.

Only three point four two seconds had passed.

Everybody reacted differently. Bella; glanced back the way she had come. More Jotuns, more than she could count, they were streaming onto the roof. She looked back at Loki, and while holding back her fear, she looked beyond him, to the device, and knew exactly what she needed. Sif and the Warriors Three; they fought the oncoming tide with great tenacity, slashing at their enemies at close range. Destroy the warriors and the threat ends. Thor; he screamed in rage and swung his hammer with all his might at Utgardaloki. Kill him and the threat ends.

Utgardaloki waved his hand, still wet with Loki's blood and the hammer fell to the ground, all momentum gone. Thor, this time, yelled in anger, and he charged towards Utgardaloki, hammerless as more of his warriors seemed to appear in a blue, icy mist.

Bella narrowed her eyes, seeing her opening. She used the smokescreen to crawl over on her chest, closer to the device. She needed that spear. But it was not there. Utgardaloki wielded it. He put a foot on her back and before she could reach her own weapon, the blade pierced through her skin. It even sliced neatly through her partially titanium clad backbone. She gritted her teeth. She may be dying, but she would not give him the pleasure of hearing her scream

She fell not two feet from Loki in a pool of blood, and in her last conscious moment, she instinctively reached for him. He stared into her eyes as the last spark faded. He saw fear in her eyes one moment before they went blank, staring back at him.

He pulled himself up onto his hands and knees, trembling. Despite his fading vision, he saw something through the ice. Mjölnir. As the warriors clashed in a blaze of electronic hisses, steel and ice, he kept his eyes on only one thing. He was going to kill Utgarda, and no one was going to stop him. He clutched one hand to the wound in his chest. Only a few more feet . . .

"Thor!" Sif yelled, getting his attention, "Look!"

Thor did as he was told, and saw Loki's hand curl around the handle. He felt a twinge of panic, and only fought to get over there more.

Whosoever holds this hammer, if he be worthy, shall possess the power of Thor.

Loki fought to stand, not sure if it was due to Mjölnir grasped tightly in his bloody hands, extreme blood loss or both.

If he be worthy . . .

If he be damned worthy . . .

Come on, Loki. You can do this. This is your day of triumph! Today! Nothing will stop you! You are worthy!

After the most agonising moments of his life, Loki lifted Mjölnir off the ground. He mustered all his strength and stumbled towards Utgardaloki, who was staring at the sky, admiring the rift that he had just created. He heard the others gasp, and he could feel their eyes on him, but he didn't care. He mustered all of his remaining strength and will to swing the hammer over his shoulder and bring it down on Utgardaloki's skull.