Ben 10 RWBY Volume 2: Ultimate Omniverse

by The Omni-Remnant

Having returned from a massive adventure in the world of Remnant, Ben, Team RWBY, and the rest of their friends find themselves faced with new challenges at every turn on Earth. Be it villains old and new… or even things that they never imagined to be real. It's going to be a challenge unlike any they've seen before, but they're up for it. It's Hero Time! (Cover Art credit inside)

64. Mischief Makers

A/N: How's it going, everyone? It's Ben 10 RWBY time once again and… well, if I had to describe this chapter in one word, it would be; CHAOS! But, of course, considering that a certain God of Mischief is being properly introduced in this chapter, that's kind of to be expected. Chaos seems to follow Loki wherever he goes, after all. So, with that said, let's see what his whole deal is here, shall we? Prepare for another big one, because this is…

Chapter 63: Mischief Makers

…..

"LOKI!" Thor wasted no time in lifting his hammer and sending out a lightning bolt at the Trickster God, only for him to let out a woop and disappear in another burst of light. The Ministry members all ducked under the bolt, their hair standing up on end as Thor whipped his head around, demanding that Loki stop hiding. "Reveal yourself, you coward! You have a lot of nerve showing up HERE of all places!"

"Tsk-tsk-tsk. Oh, same old Thor. It's always swing first, ask questions later with you, isn't it?" With another POP, Loki appeared again, this time directly behind the heroes and the Thunder God. "My apologies, but if all of you had just easily trounced the giants and this other group, then where would be the fun in that?"

Ben's nostrils flared up, his lips curling into a snarl. "Fun? You think this is FUN?!" He stepped in front of Thor as he vented his frustrations. "You know what? I'm actually kinda GLAD you decided to show your face, Loki, because now I can tell you personally to KISS MY ASS for what you and your Jotunn pals are doing to my town!"

Yang's eyes widened at the sight of her boyfriend's anger. She had seen him ticked off before… but not to this level. 'Gotta admit, though… it's kinda hot.'

Still, Loki simply threw his head back and let out a; "Ha! Why you're all too welcome, Ben Tennyson!" The horned god floated up and reclined in midair. "Of course, it was no coincidence that I chose YOUR home town of all places to begin the process of creating an artificial Fimbulwinter…"

"W-Wait, an artificial Fimbulwinter?!" Gwen repeated, her expression etched with horror. "B-But… then that would mean…"

"Yes… he's trying to kickstart Ragnarök by force." Thor confirmed, causing a collective gasp to ring through the street. "I suspected that was his goal in creating this storm. Ever since he failed in killing my brother, Baldur, all those millennia ago, he's gotten it in his head that he can bring the calamity about through unconventional means…" He gave the trickster a deadpan stare. "When, in reality, his theories on how to do so are crackpot at best."

Loki's calm demeanor changed in a snap, sneering down to the Thunderer. "You and I BOTH know that Baldur was supposed to DIE that day, Thor! But no, Odin managed to pull a fast one on me by SOME miracle and caught me in the act!" He narrowed his eyes at his "nephew". "And then we both know what happened after that…"

"Hm, yes, you changed into a fish and then I caught you with the first fishnet ever invented. Then I strapped you to a boulder at the base of Yggdrasil, and there you sat with the threat of serpent venom dripping into your eyes for the rest of eternity… or what was MEANT to be eternity." Thor sent him a cheeky smile. "That was a good day."

The blond god spread his arms out. "And yet here I stand! Free from the chains you bound me in and free to cause chaos as I please once more!" Loki's smile widened as he lounged in midair. "I bet you're wondering how I escaped, hm?"

Thor was about to retort… but he realized that was actually something he couldn't easily answer. "…Actually, now that you mentioned it, how DID you—"

"LIKE I'LL EVER TELL YOU! AHAHAHA!" Loki guffawed as he floated back over to the Ministry, hovering directly above them while kicking his legs behind him. "The main point is I'm free and I'm looking to cause some mayhem while I'm here… as are these fine people, it would seem." He did a somersault before floating cross-legged in front of Cinder. "I must say, my dear, you in particular seem to be brimming with power. Who would you be?"

Cinder lifted her chin with confidence, attempting to keep a brave front even as she sensed the immense power coming off of this god. "I am Cinder Fall, the Fall Maiden of Remnant and second to the witch known as Salem."

"Ah, yes, quite fascinating." Loki complimented. "So, you're one of these "interdimensional travelers" I've been hearing whispers about…" He rubbed his chin curiously. "To think, there are other realms out there besides the Nine… well, how about I cut you and your little friends a deal?" He pointed up toward the ice crystal. "In exchange for my assistance in getting you all back up to speed, you keep them away from that crystal until midnight. Sound fair?"

"That… doesn't seem like such a fair trade, no." Mercury pointed out. "We were gonna beat 'em up anyway, after all."

The god's eyebrows perked up at that. "Hm… fair point." But, just as quickly, Loki clapped his hands together as a new plan formed immediately. "Ah, new deal! Keep them away from my Jotunn friends and the storm's epicenter and I will owe you a favor when next we meet."

"The God of Mischief owing US a favor?" Rojo said with an amused smile. "Gotta admit, that sounds pretty nice… but how do ya expect us to stop the hammer-wielding asshole?"

Loki waved the concern off quickly, though. "Oh, don't you worry your pretty little head about that. I've got my own little way of handling Thor…" He snapped his fingers and, all of a sudden, the earth below began to shake. From beneath the road, a large, stone hand came bursting out and immediately slammed down on the Thunderer, taking the heroes aback.

"THOR!" Nora immediately rushed in with Magnhild at the ready. "Don't worry, we're com—AGH!" Without warning, though, the hand suddenly lurched up and smacked her away, revealing Thor now embedded in the pavement. Within moments, another hand came exploding from under the earth and was followed by the massive stone creature that owned those hands… and it was a creature that was very familiar to Gwen.

"That's… that's a golem from Ledgerdomain!" The Anodite whirled to Loki in disbelief. "How did you get one of those?!"

As the massive creature with glowing green patterns pulled itself out of the ground, Loki chortled, answering; "My dear girl, any simple-minded creature such as this can be acquired so long as the summoner has basic knowledge of magics." He turned his nose up to the redhead. "And here I thought Anodites were supposed to be the smart ones when it came to the mystic arts…" Loki saw Gwen's eyes spark in frustration, which he handwaved with a scoff. "Psh, oh don't give me that. Not my fault you were born half-mortal. But, on that note, I'm going to go watch my brethren's progress. Ta-ta for now, everyone!" With a twiddle of his fingers, Loki POPPED out of existence once again, leaving the Omni-Hunters much angrier than they had been.

"Okay, it's official; that guy sucks." Neptune deduced.

Thor pulled himself out of the road, taking Mjolnir up with renewed vigor. "Tell me something I haven't known for centuries, boy." He planted his feet as he stared down the massive golem, which was glowering right back at him. "But don't worry, I've dealt with far worse situations before." He reared Mjolnir back, preparing to throw it. "Give me a moment and—"

"WAIT!" Gwen warned. "Don't do it—"

"Huh?" But it was too late. Thor had thrown Mjolnir with a concussive amount of force, the hammer flying straight through the golem's chest and making it blow up into several pieces that scattered everywhere. The hammer returned to Thor's hand, the thunder god left surprised. "Huh, well, that went easier than expected. Now, Miss Gwendolyn, what was that you were going to say?"

Gwen, however, was facepalming in exasperation. "Thor… do you think Loki would summon something do deal with you specifically if it went down THAT easily?"

The eyes of the Thunder God widened and he whipped his head around, seeing the bits and pieces of the golem returning together and reforming the monster. It gave out a low, hollow bellow as it charged straight for Thor, the god letting out a deadpan sigh. "Hah… should have guessed."

But, before any of them could do anything, a loud scream was heard behind the golem, catching its attention and making it spin around… right in time to see another hammer coming right for its eyes. "AAIIIIIEEEE!" Nora smashed Magnhild into the beast's right eye, knocking it out and making it stumble. She landed right next to Thor's side, spinning her hammer and taking a battle stance. "Don't give up just yet! There's gotta be a way we can beat it!" She focused on Gwen. "Right? I mean, there's gotta be a spell or something?"

"I mean, potentially, but—AAAAGHH!" Without warning, a ball of flame suddenly struck Gwen in the back, making her fall to the pavement.

"GWEN!" Kevin snarled and glared at Cinder, his hands morphing into an axe and a mace. "You'll PAY for that, you bitch!" He stormed forward and went to swing at the smug Fall Maiden, only for Rojo to blast him directly in the chest with Bloodstrike, the villains grouping up and surrounding Gwen.

Cinder herself placed her heeled shoe on Gwen's back, right onto the fresh burn. "Ah-ah, let's not get too hasty, shall we? In case you haven't noticed, I'm back to full strength, and Gwen here obviously isn't." She smirked down to the Anodite, who was glaring back with one eye open. "If I had to hazard a guess, I believe Loki actually transferred some of her energy to me, so I fully intend on honoring the deal we've made." She snapped her fingers and the Grimm began closing in on the heroes, barring their fangs as the stone Golem moved in on Thor and Nora as well. "None of you are going anywhere…"

…..

Across town, meanwhile, Rex, Weiss, Penny and Ilia were approaching Plumber HQ from the sky… or rather, what remained of one of the many entrances to it. There was now a massive hole in the street where a façade used to be, one that lifted up on pistons to allow Plumber vehicles easy access into the base. Smoke and fire billowed into the air from the now wrecked entrance, and several Plumbers laid on the ground surrounding it, unconscious and clearly injured. Thankfully, other Plumbers were starting to gather back in order to help.

"How in the world did the Ministry even find OUT about this entrance?" Weiss asked.

"My guess? Bashmouth must've sniffed it out." Rex concluded. "He probably had something that belonged to one of his "boys", and this was probably the way they were taken in." He and Penny landed, letting Weiss and Ilia off their backs before they immediately went inside. "Come on, we've gotta—"

*POW! POW!*

Ilia gasped, yelling; "DUCK!" The four fell to the ground as twin blue and purple beams shot straight over their heads, with a familiar set of deep, brutish laughter following. "Hmph… those voices…" The chameleon girl stood and pulled out her Lightning Lash as she watched Exo-Skull and Thunderhog emerge from the gate below, the mutants chuckling to themselves as they brandished their weapons. "Of course, YOU two would be left to guard the front door."

"Damn straight, girl!" Thunderhog boasted as he whirled his Thunder Mace around at his side. "Besides, Bashmouth's got more than enough muscle to work his way in there and get his crew outta there!"

"He and Subdora should be back any minute." Exo-Skull added, aiming his Exterminator machine gun at the teens. "And when they do, we'll present 'em with your corpses! AHAHA!"

Penny brought forth her Mechno-Crushers, hoisting herself up on the massive fists. "Highly doubtful that will happen." She glanced down to Rex and gave him a nod. "Rex, you and Weiss go in there. We will handle Exo-Skull and Thunderhog out here."

Weiss eyed the android with uncertainty. "Are you sure? We can help you—"

"It's okay!" Ilia insisted, whipping her weapon and charging it up with lightning. "We've handled these two before, we know what we're getting into." She gave the former heiress a dead serious stare. "Just make sure that everyone in that base is okay. And I. Mean. EVERYONE."

The message couldn't be clearer to Weiss in that moment. Ilia wanted to go into the base herself, but knew that Weiss would be better to go in to help deal with the powerhouse that was Bashmouth. The pain in her eyes was enough to tell her that, the chameleon girl clearly upset that she couldn't go to see if her crush was okay. With renewed resolution, Weiss gave her a single nod. "I understand. …I'll find her, Ilia."

"Please…" Ilia beseeched with a brief, sad look before focusing fully on Thunderhog. "Now go!"

Rex pulled down his goggles as his legs began to glow bright blue. "Already on it!" Within seconds, he activated his Sky Slyder and took to the air, scooping up Weiss in his arms before he got too high. With a burst of speed, the two were off, completely blowing past the rhino and warthog mutants. "Later, pendejos!"

"HEY!" Skull roared as he and his partner spun around, ready to blast their laser weapons again. "Get back here you—" CLANG! "AUGH!"

ZZZZZAP! "AAAAG-G-G!" Hog fell to his knees as a sudden jolt coursed through his body, right at the exact same time that Skull was brought down with the force from a pair of massive fists. The pig man snorted and whipped his head back toward Ilia. "Really?! Not even lettin' us do our job? Girl, you have no idea what you're… you're…" Hog's voiced was lost as his eyes locked with Ilias… and he saw the bloodiest red orbs he had ever seen staring back at him. Her skin had also darkened into a deep, charcoal grey, her hair and becoming pitch black.

"Shut. The hell. UP." Ilia's voice was dripping in venom as she approached the pig mutant, who shakily got up to his feet and held his mace up to try and deter her. But that didn't stop her slow, intimidating approach. "Attacking Bellwood was one thing… but going after Plumber HQ, where good people are trying to make a living and take shelter there?" Ilia snapped her whip, making it crackle and cast her form in light and shadow. "You've crossed a very fine line, Thunderhog."

"Indeed. And now…" Penny propelled herself into the air on the massive arms protruding from her back before exchanging them for her spiked, Block Buster boots, coming down in an extended thrust kick straight toward Exo-Skull's cheek. "Prepare to face our wrath!"

With a quick roll, Exo-Skull managed to dodge the attack, but only by just a split second. "GUH! God, you chicks are WAY too sensitive about this crap!" He raised his mini-gun and took aim at Penny. "But I know one thing; you'll definitely be more sensitive to THIS!" RAT-AT-AT-AT-AT-AT! The rhino man open-fired on Penny and Ilia, the latter leaping straight up into the air to avoid the bullets while Penny raised her arms, bringing forth her Floating Array Blades from her arms.

And then… the android pulled something off that Ilia wasn't expecting. The blades on each of her arm suddenly split cleanly down the edge of the blade and fanned out into two halves, creating fan-like structures on each of her arms. Then, with surprising speed, these "fan blades" on Penny's arms began whirling around and started generating bright green energy shields in front of her, making the bullets rebound and ricochet in different directions. Needless to say, Ilia was left stunned. "W-What the?!"

"What the—gah!" Exo-Skull brought his weapon to a stop when one of the bullets gazed his cheek, blood trickling down as he sneered at the android. "Grr, HEY! Since when the hell is THAT in your arsenal?!"

"Oh, do you like it?" Penny asked cheekily. "It's a new trick that Rex and I figured out yesterday during our training. He thought it odd that I had no defensive builds, so we decided to experiment with my current ones, and low and behold, I have had a shield generator this whole time!" She lifted up her propeller-like blades. "And my swords have a corresponding configuration, to boot! I call them… the "Protecto-Pellers"!"

Ilia brightened up at the revelation. "Penny, that's amazing! Why didn't you tell us?"

Penny wore a sheepish smile at that. "Well, truth be told, I was saving it for tomorrow's training spars. I wanted it to be a surprise, but—INCOMING!"

Spinning around, Ilia gasped as a certain mace was coming straight for her head, though she managed to duck forward into a somersault to avoid the weapon. It instead slammed into the street, though Thunderhog wasn't done. "Y-You don't scare me, little girl! I ain't about to get punked by you!"

"Pheh, attacking an opponent while their back is turned?" Ilia slung her whip and hooked it around the Thunder Mace, glowering at the pig man. "You're even more cowardly than I thought."

"SHUDDUP!" Hog yanked his arm back and pulled Ilia with his weapon, the girl lithely and acrobatically whirling above him with little problem. Hog grit his teeth and went to fire his visor beam again, but Ilia once again curled up and rolled away through the air, landing on both feet and sprinting at him with her whip at the ready.

"You're putting on a façade of fake bravery, Thunderhog!" Ilia yelled as she whipped her Lightning Lash at him. "And I'll prove it!"

Hog responded by grabbing the lash with his Shock Gauntlets, absorbing its energy without problem. "I don't think so, you bit—" THWACK! "GYAH!" But that's exactly what Ilia was hoping he'd do. Without stopping, Ilia leapt up and cracked Hog right in the face with her knee, sending him sprawling to the ground.

Penny watched this while avoiding Exo-Skull's incoming charges, weaving around the rhino man without so much as losing her balance. "Excellent, Ilia! Let your passion fuel your combat!" Using her Block Busters, Penny leapt up into the air, raising her arms up and making her new propeller blades spin. Now hovering straight above the mutant, she swung herself around so that she now faced downward, falling straight at Exo-Skull.

"AAH!" Skull let out a surprisingly high-pitched scream as he used his thrusters to get out of the way, Penny's Protecto-Pellers scraping the road as they spun. "Are you CRAZY?! Ya could've turned me into processed cheese!" Blasting forward again, Skull rammed into Penny's back, flinging her into a building across the street. "Some "hero" you are!"

"Oh, you would have survived." Penny assured unflinchingly as she got up from the hole she'd created. "That was simply meant as a distraction."

"For what—" WHAM! "GAH!" From out of nowhere, a pair of fists smashed into Skull's cheek, making him fall right to the road.

Standing over his body, Manny stood tall, glowering down at the rhino man. "That." He grinned to Penny and Ilia, the latter trying to drag Hog's own limp body next to his friend. "Sorry we're late. By the time we got Rex's message, we were across town already."

"Gah… no problem." Ilia struggled before suddenly feeling the load lighten in an instant, seeing Helen grab one leg while Alan handled the pig man's upper torso. "Hah, I'm just glad to see all of you. But we've got no time to talk. Rex and Weiss are down there and—" Suddenly, the ground beneath them shook a bit, accompanied by the sound of a soft explosion. Ilia suddenly grew pale very quickly. "…Oh no."

Once Hog was draped over Skull's body, Helen wasted no time dashing into the entryway. "I'm on it! Stay out here and keep guard!"

Alan sighed, putting his fiery hands to his hips. "Seems like that's all we're good for right now… not like we can't go help the God of Thunder or anything." BEEP-BEEP! "Huh? What the…" The four teenagers spun around at the sound of a car approaching them from behind, its headlights shining directly at them.

Even as they winced and covered their eyes a little, no one could make out who was driving the car as it pulled up. But once the vehicle's two occupants stepped out, Ilia's expression brightened into a beaming smile. "Hah, no way! What're you guys doing here?"

…..

Down below, Helen was zooming through the halls of Plumber HQ, which were now much more on fire than how she had left them. As she ran, she could see several agents down and out, some wounded while others were simply unconscious. There were medics on the scene, but the situation was, without a doubt, incredibly dire. 'Come on you guys, where the heck are you—' Helen's thought was cut off when she caught sight of a destroyed elevator shaft, and down below, the flickering of flames could be seen. That was definitely not a good sign. The Kineceleran girl readied herself before darting into the shaft at high speed, zipping down the wall before coming to a point where the shaft was caved in… and her eyes widened when she saw what was happening.

The inside of the prison system was like a warzone, the place nearly engulfed in flames. Thankfully, Weiss was already working hard to put them all out with her glyphs, but even then, that didn't stop the chaos happening around them. Three human males, all of them in punkish attire with skull face paint and stylized mohawks were whooping and hollering as they blasted their over-sized weaponry around the place, aiming specifically for those fighting against them.

"WOO-HOO-HOO-HOO!" Fisttrick shouted, throwing his head back in celebration. "Freedom, BRO!" His two thuggish pals yelled with him as they continued blasting at Six and Bobo, the pair dodging the blasts as quick as they could.

And, across the way on the other side of the room, Helen saw Rex and Bashmouth going at it, the Metallikanine practically chomping his way through Rex's Builds. "GRAAH! When're ya gonna learn that yer little chew toys won't work on me, kid?!" The fur on Bashmouth's hands solidified into armor before punching his way through Rex's BFS, forcing the EVO to double back.

"Grr… I'm not done, Bashmouth!" Rex pulled out his Block Party in response, the energy shields powering up. "You're not getting past me—" WHAP-WHAP! "Augh!" Rex's head seemed to snap one way and then the other, his cheeks rippling as if he were being slapped. This was enough of a distraction for Bashmouth to thrust his arm forward and grab Rex, slamming him against the wall. "GAH!"

"Tsk-tsk, not today, little tin toy." Next to Bashmouth, Subdora appeared, the thief wearing a snarky grin. "For soon, you shall truly know what it is like to taste the sting of defeat."

Helen was almost left speechless. This wasn't just an attack on the city… it really WAS an all-out assault. She was almost surprised at there being no other prisoners trying to make a break for it… but she could worry about something like that later. "HEY!" In a move so quick it nearly gave Subdora whiplash, the Kineceleran girl burst forward and slammed her tail straight into the Merlinisapien, sending her into one of the energy barriers for the prison cells and shocking her intensely.

Inside that cell, Vulkanus recoiled in surprise. "GAH! Hey, watch it!" The Detravite pointed at Bashmouth irritably. "And you! Don't just break the meatheads out! Let us ALL outta here so we can cause a REAL riot!"

Bashmouth growled and snapped; "Not gonna happen, ya thick-chinned idiot! Ain't gonna let loose the competition when there's work I gotta—AGH!" With the Metallikanine distracted, Helen took the opportunity to zip up and pepper his muzzle with a flurry of kicks, causing him to stumble back and let go of Rex.

"Ha! Now who's the idiot?!" Vulkanus laughed.

Rex landed in a crouch and Helen sped in next to him, her arm draping over his back. "You okay, Rex?"

"Hah, yeah, thanks for the save, Helen." Rex winked back. "Glad you got my message."

"What can I say? You'd be dog food without us."

"Hey! Gimme a little more cred than that. After all…" Rex brought out his Blast Caster once again, glowering at the alien dog beast. "I'm just getting started!" With his whip wrapping around Bashmouth, he unloaded everything in the Dynamo he had, directing an intense energy blast right into the metal-clad hound and making him howl in pain. "Helen! You go help the others! I've got things here!"

Helen herself was unsure… but that's when one of Fisttrick's fellow thugs came in to deal a blow with a pipe wrench in hand while she wasn't looking. Before she could even turn around to intercept, a large, spinning beast of light came in and smacked the thug away, uncoiling to reveal a certain white Boarbatusk. "I think you mean "we" got this, Rex." Weiss corrected as she leveled Myrtenaster at Bashmouth as Rex threw him into the wall. "Helen, go make sure the others are okay. We'll handle this."

That made Helen smile and nod in agreement. "Yeah, seems like you guys got this. I'll be back soon!" And like that, Helen was off like a shot down to a lower floor of the prison, where Six, Bobo and Fisttrick's posse had taken their fight.

"Helen!" The young Plumber spun around as she landed, hearing her name being called. There, just a few feet away, she saw Swift and Doctor Holiday both hiding behind a pile of rubble, the latter waving her down. "Over here, quick!"

Wasting no time, Helen sped over and immediately wrapped Holiday in a hug. "Doctor Holiday! You're okay, thank god!" She drew her attention to Swift next, giving her a soft smile. "And Swift… Ilia will be glad to know that you're okay."

That made the Aerophibian girl do a double take. "W-What? Is Ilia here?!"

"She's up top, standing guard with the others." Helen explained before eyeing the room again. "Dear god, I knew it would be bad… but I didn't think it'd be THIS bad."

"Believe me, it could always be worse." Holiday asserted as she loaded a clip into the Plumber rifle she was using, lifting it over the rubble to aim at Fisstrick's group. "Thankfully, it seems Bashmouth is laser focused on getting those three out in particular, so no other prisoners have escaped."

Helen's brow furrowed. "And the Relic? What about it?"

"I've been keeping a sharp eye on the elevator." Swift mentioned. "So far, no one's made an attempt to go lower than the prison level."

Letting out a sigh, Helen wiped her forehead in relief. "Well, that's good news at least… now, if you'll excuse me, I'm gonna go lend those guys a hand." And like that, she was off again, speeding toward Fisttrick and his teammates, who were still fighting Six and Bobo off with their massive guns.

"AHAHAHA! Bro, how stupid do ya gotta be to bring swords to a gun figh—GUH!" With a single strike to his back, Fisttrick toppled over, which gave Six the opening he needed. The green-clad agent rushed forward, swords in hand, and slashed through the massive laser canon as if it were a hot knife through butter. The now diced-up weapon clattered to the ground and Six raised his knee, cracking Fisttrick in the jaw and sending him flat on his back.

Six readjusted his tie and replied; "Apparently, not as stupid as you."

"Fisttrick!" Hoodlum and Crush bellowed before charging at the sixth-deadliest man alive. "You'll pay for that you—" THWAP-THWAP! "AUGH!" Just like before, the two goons were sent stumbling as something they couldn't see smacked their backs hard, where they were met with a certain EVO chimp jumping onto both of them.

"'Ey, ah, so I don't usually go for this sorta stuff, this is more o' the Chief's thing. But… for the two o' ya's…" Bobo took their heads in his feet-hands and cracked their heads together, knocking them out hard before sitting on their heads as they fell to the floor. "I think this can be an exception. Ya earned it by bein' a buncha assholes." He saw Helen pull to a stop next to them and he gave her a thumbs up. "'Ey! Had a feelin' you'd be 'ere, Wheels. How's it hangin'?"

"Hmph, could be better, Bobo." Helen sighed before raising a brow toward Six. "But… really? You couldn't get past some guys with giant canons?"

Without even flinching, Six responded; "I could have…" He gave Helen a brief smile. "But if I did that, their defeats wouldn't be nearly as humiliating if you hadn't done what you did."

Helen pondered that for a moment before nodding in agreement. "True, true. Can't argue with that…" She took a glance around the prison, seeing all of the scorch marks and fallen rubble everywhere. Helen couldn't help but sigh as Holiday and Swift approached. "Well, the fire's out at least… but god, this went down in a spiral surprisingly quickly.

"We were caught with our pants down, that's for sure." Holiday noted as well. "Not just by the Grimm, but by whatever that massive energy reading is in the center of town." The doctor went to Helen for answers. "You wouldn't happen to know what that is, do you?"

"Oh yeah, apparently, we're under attack by Frost Giants. The ones from Norse Mythology." Helen explained without batting an eye. "Don't worry, Thor's here to deal with them."

Everyone stared at her incredulously at that. "Uh… I'm sorry, could ya repeat that?" Bobo rubbed the inside of his ear with his finger, making sure it was cleared out. "Pretty sure the gunk in my ear's messin' with my hearin', because I'm pretty sure I just heard ya say we're bein' attacked by Frost Giants."

"And what was that about… Thor?" Six added.

Holiday leaned in as well. "As in THE Thor? In Bellwood?"

Helen nodded in confirmation. "Yep, pretty much. Though considering Hercules was in town just last week, you guys seem to be a bit more skeptical than I thought you'd be."

The EVO expert sighed. "Well, sorry, but the fact that this dimension's mythology is apparently REAL is still something we're coming to grasps with." Holiday rubbed a hand on her arm, feeling a bit of a chill. "Though I guess that's why there's been a cold draft lately…"

"We can worry about the cold later." Swift insisted, pointing upward. "Right now, we gotta worry about what's going on up top. We gotta get Bashmouth outta here before he causes even MORE damage."

"As backwards as that sounds, chicky's got a point." Bobo agreed, jerking a thumb toward Rex and Weiss brawling with the furry brute. "As much faith as I've got in the Chief an' Princess up there, that guy's got a snowball's chance in hell a' bein' taken down inside HQ without bringin' the rest o' the place down."

Six was quick to concur as well. "Right, so I say we—duck!" Six suddenly pushed Holiday's head down as a rusty metal pipe swung over both of them, with Swift and Helen doing the same as quick as they could.

Opposing them once again was Fisttrick, the mohawked ruffian having gotten back up and found a new weapon to use. "BAHAHA! You thought you could take us down THAT easy, bro?" Backing him up were Hoodlum and Crush, still armed with their hand cannons which were pointed down right at the three women, man and monkey. "Anybody ever tell you guys to keep your yaps shut when you're watchin' prisoners?"

"Well, excuse me, but the world is kind of at stake here." Helen snapped back. "We've got bigger problems than you bozos."

"Dude… harsh." Hoodlum grumbled before he and Crush charged up their blasters. "But hey, easy solution. Nothin' to worry about if you're dead!"

"Hmph, got that right, bro." Fisttrick popped his shoulder, readying his swinging hand. "Alright, let's—" *tap-tap* "Huh—AH!" Feeling a tapping on his shoulder, Fisttrick spun around and swung his pipe, only for whoever was behind him to duck at the last possible second. And then… TWACK! The figure delivered a straight uppercut right to Fisttrick's chin, knocking him back on the floor.

"AH! Hey, what the—AUGH!" Crush was cut off when he was suddenly grabbed by the arm by Six, who threw him over his shoulder and slammed him right into Hoodlum, bringing them both down on top of their leader.

Six dusted his hands off before his brow furrowed at Fisttrick's assailant. "And how did you get in here?"

Once they saw who the figure was as well, Helen, Swift, Holiday, and Bobo were left stunned by who it really was. In front of them stood a panting Kenny Tennyson, the redhead breathing hard after the quick and surprising succession of blows he had dealt the villains."Hah… hah… and THAT… was for ruining date night." He glared down at Fisttrick, not even acknowledging Six's question.

"Kenny?!" Helen exclaimed.

"Hey, Helen. Hey everybody." Kenny reached down, offering the Kineceleran a hand. "Hope we didn't miss anything—GAH! Hey!"

"I don't think you answered my question, Ken." Six pressed further, turning Kenny around by force to make sure he realized the severity of the situation. "HOW did you get in here? And more importantly, WHY are you here? This is the last place a civilian like you should—"

BAM! But the agent was interrupted when something came crashing into the wall directly next to them from above… and that something was Rex. Now embedded in the metal siding, Rex thrashed around to free himself, only to be met with Bashmouth diving down and crashing shoulder first into his gut, knocking the wind out of him. "YA THINK YER FUNNY, HUH?!"

Kenny yanked his shoulder away from Six, returning the scowl. "Maybe focus on what's more important right now rather than how I'm here? Besides, you'll get your answer soon."

Bashmouth roared as he pummeled Rex in the fact with his hardened fists. "Ya think you can try an' get one over on BASHMOUTH?! Yer dumber than ya look, kid! And THAT'S the bottom line! Because Bashmouth said—"

"Oh, give it a REST!" From behind, Weiss flew down on the back of her Queen Lancer, the wasp Grimm launching its stinger out to impale the Metallikanine and get him off of her boyfriend. However, just before the stinger reached him, Bashmouth spun around and caught it in his jaws, lurching around and THROWING the former heiress and her summon into the wall as well. The Lancer disintegrated immediately, with Weiss staring up wide-eyed as the alien approached her.

"I SAID… that's the bottom line…" Bashmouth retracted his metal claws, raising them over his head to strike. "BECAUSE BASHMOUTH SAID SO—WOAH!"

However, before he could, a large, glowing ethereal mass charged right into him and rammed him into the wall, leaving a massive dent in it. The mass itself… was actually a certain Manticore, one that Weiss recognized all too well. "You're being rather sloppy this evening, sister." A relieved smile graced the young Schnee's features as she saw her sister step up next to her, gazing down with a slight grin. "Let's fix that, shall we?"

"WINTER!" Weiss shot up to her feet, beaming happily. "H-How are you even here?!"

"Kenny and I saw the explosion just a few blocks away." Winter explained, her sword drawn as Bashmouth worked his way out of the wall. "And considering that I just got done dealing with a pack of Grimm, we figured that you all could use the help."

Rex, having finally pried himself out of the wall, was all too grateful to accept the help. "Hah, well hey, don't let me stand in your way. We can use all the hands we can get with this monster." He pointed over to Kenny as well. "And dude, nice sneak attack. Can't believe you took down Fisttrick like that!"

The redhead rubbed the back of his neck with a sheepish grin, glancing over to his girlfriend. "Heh, well, Winter's been driving me pretty hard this past week with my training, so I'm starting to pick up a few things… and some extra muscle, not that I'm bragging."

"Oh, please, Kenny, you deserve some recongntion." Winter smirked and winked at him. "You're improving very fast, and I'm quite impressed." She reached over and ran a finger along his chin. "Remind me to find a… suitable reward for you when this is all over." Seeing the goofiest, love-struck smile on her boyfriend was enough to make Winter giggle, but it didn't take her long to get back on track as Bashmouth burst out from the wall. "Kenny, lead everyone out of here. We'll deal with this one."

Kenny nodded instantly. "Right, let's go, guys!" He led Helen, Holiday, and Swift away as Bashmouth roared to the heavens, now extremely pissed off.

Six, however, stayed behind, bringing his swords out once more. "I'm not about to run now. I'll watch your backs."

"Much appreciated." Weiss struck a battle-ready pose, leveling Myrtenaster with Bashmouth. "Now, let's take him down."

"GRAAAGGH! I've HAD it with you little pieces of shit!" The fur on the Metallikanine's arms, legs and head all hardened into thick metal armor all at once, smashing his fists together in a show of dominance. "I'm gonna RIP ya'll limb from limb 'till yer nothin' but chew toys!"

Winter sneered as she ordered her Manticore forward. "Disgusting. I think it's time to put you down, right Weiss? Rex?"

"Oh, for sure." Weiss summoned her Arma Gigas, the suit of armor raising its sword toward Bashmouth. "You've been a very bad boy, Bashmouth."

Rex's arms glowed once again and he brought out his Bad Axes, ready to roll as well. "Yeah, let's put this perro back in its kennel!" With a collective battle cry, the two sides lunged forward, the battle resuming in earnest.

…..

Back in town, meanwhile, the standoff between the Ministry and the Omni-Hunters continued, with Cinder still keeping her heel firmly planted on the wounded Gwen's back. The heroes were left surrounded by Grimm and one massive stone golem, unable to do anything as the Fall Maiden held Gwen at blade-point, threatening to burn her to ashes at a moment's notice should any of them make a move. Beside the growling of Grimm, the heroes didn't make a sound… until a certain device let everyone know it was ready for used again.

*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP*

"Ah-ah, I heard that." Cinder summoned another fiery blade and pointed it at Ben, the hero clutching his hand in frustration. "Don't try anything foolish, Tennyson. We both know what will happen to your dear cousin if you do."

Ben scowled at her in response. "You are one sick, twisted individual, Cinder."

"Oh, please, I'm just trying to get by, like everyone else in this world." Cinder shooed off. "And if a god can make a promise to help US in the future, then I'll gladly take him up on his offer."

Thor responded with a sneer of his own. "You are FOOLISH, girl! Loki has not earned the epitaph of "Backbiter" for nothing! He is a swindler, a trickster god. What makes you think that you can trust one who is literally known as the "God of Mischief"?"

Cinder gave a simple shrug. "Because I have no doubt that he has seen us as fellow makers of mischief. After all, no matter what, we've made it our goal to muddle with these heroes' affairs in any way, shape or form, such is the command of our mistress."

"Yeah, what Cindy said." Rojo confirmed. "What the Boss Lady wants, she gets."

"This "Boss Lady" of yours… this must be the one called "Salem", correct?" Thor asked.

"That's her, yeah." Nora nodded. "And she's bad news. But it'll be even worse news if we can't get Gwen out from there!"

Gwen herself winced in pain as the wound in her shoulder bled, which was only exacerbated by Cinder driving her heel into it. "Gah… d-don't worry about me. You all need to go and stop the Jotunns before it's too late!"

Cinder glanced down in slight surprise. "You would forfeit your own life for the sake of this town? Hm, how amusing…" She pressed the tip of her blade against the wound, making Gwen cry out in pain. "But I think you forget that I hold your life in my hands, so don't think you can end things that easily."

"GWEN!" Kevin went to clobber Cinder mercilessly, only for Thor to hold him back. "LET ME GO! I'VE GOTTA—"

"NO, BOY!" Thor roared, making Kevin stop immediately. "We must not make any rash decisions. Miss Gwendolyn's life hangs in the balance, so—huh?" Just then, the Thunderer felt something pulse through the whole area, making his head snap up. It was… magic. Very powerful magic at that. Though he couldn't pinpoint the source directly, he could tell that it was coming fast. "Does… anyone else feel that?"

"I do." Raven muttered. "What in the world is that?"

Cinder also must've felt the pulses, the Fall Maiden whipping her head around. "W-What is that? Who goes there?!" But then, a chill went up her spine when she felt the powerful magic… directly behind her. She went to raise her blade and turn around… only to be met with a sudden explosion of mana energy, blowing her, the rest of the Ministry, the Grimm, and even the stone golem back. "GYAAAH!"

Gwen sucked in a sharp gasp of air as she felt the mana wash over her, the wound in her shoulder being healed at a very fast rate. The other Omni-Hunters were left unaffected by the blast… however, they were all staring at her with stunned expressions. No… they were staring above her? It was then that she suddenly realized that whatever was healing her… was placing a hand over her wound itself, and she could hear a frantic, apologetic voice;

"I am so, so, SO sorry I'm late!" Gwen's eyes snapped up, the young Anodite left astonished at the presence… of Charmcaster. The sorceress was pouring every ounce of magical energy into healing Gwen, and while the wound was already healing fast, it felt like the silver-haired girl was doing so a bit too desperately. "I-I was on the other side of the world when I sensed what was going on a-and I wasn't all that sure if you'd needed me since Thor was already here b-but when I sensed LOKI I knew that I HAD to get here s-so I came as fast as I—oof!"

Without warning, Gwen pushed herself up and slung an arm over Charmcaster's shoulder, pulling her into an awkward embrace. "Stop, please, you're rambling." Gwen met the young woman's gaze, giving her a smile. "I'm just glad that you made it here. We can use the help."

"But… I was late."

"And yet, you saved my life. That more than makes up for it. But, if you still feel guilty…" Gwen brought her hand up and chopped Charmcaster lightly on the forehead. "There, consider that your punishment."

Charmcaster rubbed her forehead with a soft sigh. "Hah, okay, okay, I get the picture. You're not going to hold it against me…" Slowly, a smile of her own appeared. "…I appreciate it."

"No, thank you for coming." Gwen got up to her feet, feeling her wound completely closed as she offered Charmcaster a hand. "Now, let's regroup, shall we? We've gotta beat back these Grimm and the Ministry."

With a short snicker, Charmcaster pointed up. "Hmhm, well, we won't have to worry about them for a little bit." Gwen and everyone else craned their heads skyward to see a massive, pink mana dome over their heads, giving them a wide berth that sealed them off from the villains and the Grimm. In fact, there were actually multiple layers of domes stacked on top of one another, just for added security. "They won't be getting through that for a while. We've got plenty of time to work out a plan."

"I see… but let me ask you a question…" Ben walked right up to Charmcaster and looked her dead in the eye. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't take you in for interrogation after the LAST stunt you pulled."

"Ben, SERIOUSLY?!" Gwen snapped, yanking her cousin around by the shoulder. "Right NOW?!"

"I meant after this whole mess is dealt with." Ben clarified. "Sheesh, I know Charmcaster can help, Gwen, but even if she DOES help us, she's still a wanted felon." The hero eyed the sorceress skeptically. "Her rap sheet is a mile long at this point, both for what she's been doing now AND what she did to us in the past."

Kevin folded his arms over his chest. "Yeah, Gwen, I know you two have some sorta quasi-friendship goin' on, but please tell me you didn't forget that she pretty much extracted our souls from our bodies to bring back her dead dad."

Charmcaster visibly winced at that, and it only got worse when all of the hunters and huntresses of the group spun toward her. "You WHAT?!" they echoed, prompting Yang to storm forward and slam a fist into her hand. "Alright, yeah, I'm fully on the train of not trusting this bitch."

Pyrrha's eyes narrowed at Charmcaster as well. "Yes, Gwen, he has a point. I can forgive a lot of things, but the fact that you have apparently forgiven someone who's essentially KILLED you is very suspect."

"I-I… I have no excuse." Charmcaster hung her head low as everyone's eyes bore into her judgingly. "I was so desperate to bring my father back to life that I took advantage of the trust that Gwen had placed in me… and in the end, the father I brought back to life disapproved of my actions anyway. He died again in order to undo everything I had done." The young sorceress pursed her lips, lifting her head to meet everyone's gazes. "After that, I felt so guilty for what I did, I retreated into Ledgerdomain for years to think on my actions… but then, recently, I had caught wind of something that concerned me greatly… Loki's escape."

"So you sensed it as well." Thor stepped forward, his own eyes harsh and glowing an intense blue. "And what did you intend to do from there forward? Did you catch wind of Loki's plans?"

"Yes, and I've been researching ways to prevent what he wants to have happen." Charmcaster continued, glancing between Thor and Gwen. "That's why I've been on my journey; to find the relics needed to prevent Loki from expediting the process to bring forth Ragnarök." She went back Ben and the others again, bowing her head. "As a way to make up for everything I've done in the past, I want to save this world from the destruction that Loki wishes to set upon it. I know you have no reason to trust me, Ben… but please, trust me on this if nothing else."

Ben was silent for a few moments after that, considering her words. However, when he began hearing the sounds of smashing and crashing outside, he glanced around to see the Ministry, the golem, and the Grimm working their way toward the center of the dome. The hero pursed his lips and let out a sigh, raising a brow toward Charmcaster. "You want to save our world from being destroyed by a mad god with goat horns?" With a resolute nod, Charmcaster stood her ground, prompting Ben to nod back. "Alright then, I'll believe you on this… but you've still got a lot to answer for from your past transgressions."

"I'll answer anything you want me to so long as we stop Loki and these Frost Giants from bringing forth Fumbulwinter. There's not much time left."

The Omnitrix bearer quickly agreed. "Right, so what do we do?"

Charmcaster raised a brow at him. "I think that'd be obvious…" She craned her head up toward the ever-growing ice crystal, which was now clearly visible over the buildings. "We need to destroy that, but it won't be easy. The Jotunns have likely made it so cold that its almost indestructible."

Ruby tilted her head. "Uh… isn't it just ice?"

"Not just ANY ice. It's ice that's being fueled raw mana from Yggdrasil itself." Charmcaster was visibly worried as she eyed Thor in particular. "I doubt that even Mjolnir alone could smash through it."

The Thunder God lifted his head confidently. "Hmph, we'll see about that, young lady. But, if you are so inclined, it's probably best if you come with me…" Thor's eyes shifted to Ben and Nora as well. "And that goes for the two of you as well. The Jotunns will certainly be all over us when we get there, so we'll need as much backup as we can get!"

Nora wasted no time in saluting him. "Yes sir, Thor, SIR! I won't let you down!"

"We're coming with, too." Ruby insisted, with Yang and Blake right by her side. "We'll help you take on those giants!"

"Hey, don't leave me outta this." Sun spun Ryui Jingu Bang around and stepped up next to Blake. "I ain't about to let you guys have all the fun takin' on those big guys."

Charmcaster raised her hand. "Alright, very well. But I think that'll be enough volunteers." She glanced up and saw the golem start to smash its way through the multi-layered dome, with the Grimm assisting it with their fangs and claws. "After all, we've gotta have others here to dispose of these things."

"Right, I'll handle the golem." Gwen said before going to Jaune, Pyrrha, Ren and Neptune next. "Can you guys hold off the Grimm while I do that?"

Jaune unsheathed his sword as his other teammates withdrew their weapons as well. "You can count on us, Gwen."

"Yeah, we'll handle 'em." Neptune added before eyeing the rest of the Ministry. "…And hopefully them, too."

"Don't worry, I'll lend a hand here." Qrow said as he joined the teens, resting Harbinger across his shoulders. "Probably better to leave me here anyways. Don't want my semblance to affect anything regardin' the whole ice crystal situation."

Raven then set her sights on Cinder, who was pelting the dome with increasing ferocity. "And… that leaves me to deal with her." The Spring Maiden's eyes snapped open and they flared with power, which made Charmcaster do a double take. "A bit of an old song and dance, but I'm no stranger to it." She gave the sorceress a stern eye. "Just make sure that no harm comes to my kids, alright girly?"

"U-Um… yes, of course, ma'am." Charmcaster took a deep breath, preparing her teleportation spell. "Alright, everyone group up and—"

CRASH! The last of the mana dome layers finally gave out, with Cinder belting out a cry of anger as she finally punctured through. Her eyes blazed with fury as she glared and pointed directly at Charmcaster. "YOU! Just who the hell are YOU?!"

The silver-haired girl blinked before giving Cinder a smirk. "Wouldn't you like to know?" It was then that she noticed a certain other redhead present, giving her a catty smile and a little wave. "Rojo! Is that you? Wow, the years have NOT been kind."

Rojo clenched her teeth at the familiar girl, the one who she had ONCE been teammates with. "Charmcaster?!" She lifted her gun as it charged up. "Perfect! You and I still got a score to settle!

"Oh, as much as I'd LOVE to duke it out with you, I'm afraid I've got more pressing matters to attend to…" The sorceress smirked at Cinder, twiddling her fingers in a condescending wave. "Until then, feel free to throw your little temper tantrum Miss… Ember, was it?"

"It's CINDER! GRAAH!" The Fall Maiden roared in rage again before lunging for the group… only for Raven to come in and practically tackle her away.

"Give her hell, mom!" Yang cheered on.

Charmcaster's eyes shined a bright purple, ready to cast the spell. "Alright, no sudden movements… Agamata Portentia!" With a snap of her fingers, she and half of the team were gone, leaving the Ministry utterly baffled.

Mercury, however, knew that there was no time to be left dumbstruck. "Dammit! They're going to the ice crystal!"

Cinder, who managed to hold Raven off by clashing her own blade with Omen, shouted out her next order; "All of you, go! You must stop them if Loki is to keep his deal with us!" She leapt back and began soaring through the air by controlling the wind. "I will keep Raven at bay! Just get to the crystal, NOW!"

"You heard her!" Emerald affirmed. "Let's—ah!" But before any of the Ministry members could move, Team JPR and Neptune were right on top of them, walling them off from going anywhere.

At the front of the pack, Qrow and Gwen stood at the ready. "An' where do ya think yer goin'?" the huntsman asked.

"Yeah…" Gwen's eyes glowed as her human form gave way to her Anodite one, the young alien hybrid floating up through the air with her power surging. "We're just getting started, after all…" She shifted her focus to the Ledger Golem and one of her long, hair-like tendrils shot out, puncturing its forehead and making it stop in its tracks. Before long, the green patterns on its body changed to pinkish-purple, and its attention shifted down to the Grimm surrounding it. "Now… ATTACK!"

…..

In the center of Bellwood, the four remaining Jotnar were hard at work, using their powers over ice and snow to keep the massive ice crystal growing. The entire area around them was also coated in a thick layer of ice, the buildings, streetlights and even many cars all frozen over. At the base of the crystal, the Yggdrasil roots emerged from a rift in the fabric of space. These roots surrounded the ice pillar while pulsating with raw, magical energy, amplifying the affects of the storm and the freezing process. "Soon, we will be at firing strength!" the lead Jotunn declared to his kin, as all four of them poured their ice magic into the crystal. "Once the crystal is overflown with power, it should blast forth a concentrated beam of pure ice energy into Midgard's atmosphere… and thus, Fimbulwinter shall begin!"

Another Jotunn cackled in delight at the thought. "HAHAHA! To think that Lord Loki would come up with such a genius plan! As expected for the fated hero of our people!"

Across from him, a portlier Frost Giant chortled to himself, his belly shaking like jelly. "Huhuhu… wonder if he can convince Surtr to finish up that massive sword an' then we can just lay siege to Asgard tomorrow? HA! Imagine the look on the All-Father's face!"

"HA! Now that would be hilarious." The final Jotunn commented before smirking wildly up into the cloudy sky above. "At this point, with Loki by our side, the Jotunar will FINALLY be granted the justice we deserve! Nothing could POSSIBLY go wrong—" VWOOM! "H-Huh?" Just as he said that, a bright flash of pink light appeared and blinded all four of the giants, before dissipating to reveal… the Thunderer himself.

Thor, with the Omni-Hunters and Charmcaster flanking him, scowled at the four Jotunns with Mjolnir at the ready. "…You were saying, gentlemen?"

The lead Frost Giant growled at the god. "NO! How did you… GRAH!" He pointed to his loudmouthed brother and shouted; "Nice going, you jinxed us!"

"I-I thought Lord Loki was taking care of him!" The giant pleaded.

"Hah, please, you should know by now that Loki's trickery cannot hold me back." Thor pointed his hammer at the giants, making them all flinch. "I'll deal with all of you later, though. Right now, there are more pressing matters to take care of. Ben, Charmcaster, to me!" He then nodded down to Nora with a small grin. "And Nora, I'll leave the giants to you and your friends."

"Understood!" Nora stamped her own hammer's handle on the ground, widening her stance in a take-charge sort of way. "Alright ladies—and gentleman—let's go!" With that, Nora charged into battle with Team RBY and Sun following her toward the giants, who were left confused as Thor and Charmcaster took to the sky.

Ben wasted no time in placing his hand on the Omnitrix, going for the most obvious selection. "It's Hero Time!" With one slap of the watch later, Ben had transformed into an old favorite… "HEATBLAST!" …and then took to the sky after the god and sorceress, approaching the ice crystal with high speed. "Okay, so how much heat is this thing gonna need to melt?"

Charmcaster waved a hand and summoned a magical glyph, which glowed pink for only a second before shifting into a fiery red. "At this point, a lot." She fired a concentrated beam of heat energy out at the crystal, which began steaming up and melting the moment it made contact… though it was slow going. "Like I said, the energy of Yggdrasil is what's keeping this going, so we have to give it everything we've got!"

"That, I can do!" Thor affirmed as he raised Mjolnir to the sky, a bolt of lightning striking it and charging it up considerably. "Let us—as you would put it—break the ice!"

…..

"Great pun, Thor!" Yang called out from below, jumping onto her sister's scythe before being swung at the fat, incoming giant. "C'mon ya big snowman! FIGHT ME!" The Blonde Brawler dodged the giant's incoming hand in midair before grabbing onto its arm, climbing up it before vaulting up and letting loose a volley of Fire Dust rounds right in its face. The Jotunn roared and doubled back at the sudden heat, its face burning quite easily. "Gotcha!"

With a double shot form her Ember Celica, Yang blasted herself directly into the giant's face and punched it as hard as she could, hearing a cracking sound in its jaw. The Jotunn fell to the ground, clutching its face as it roared in pain. "GYAAAAHH! Curse you! Curse you ALL!"

"Nice one, Yang!" Ruby called out, using her Semblance to bob and weave around another giant, only to pop back up directly behind and above it. With Crescent Rose in hand, the leader of Team RWBY shot down and swung her curved blade, opening a massive gash in the giant's back.

"GRAAAH! That hurt!" The Jotunn brought its spiked club down to smash her head in, only for Ruby to burst back into petals once again, darting around the giant's body. At every turn, she sliced open more wounds with Crescent Rose, these ones smaller, but no less painful. "AGH! GAH! STOP IT! Stand still, you little runt!"

Just then, however, the giant heard a loud battle cry approaching him from behind, causing him to spin around… and be met with a powerful explosive hit to the face. The Jotunn was sent sprawling, causing Ruby to come to a stop in confusion. "Uh… what?"

"Nice work, Ruby!" The young huntress looked up and saw Nora come in for a landing, giving her a wink. "Doin' quick damage was a smart idea! Gave me the perfect opening on that one!"

"Oh, uh, yeah!" Ruby said with slight confusion. "Really worked wonders, Nora."

"GYAAAAUUGH!"

Nora's eyes lit up as she saw the fat giant that Yang knocked over get back up, charging its way toward the Blonde Brawler. "Oop! Duty calls yet again!" She swung her hammer down and stood on its head, holding onto its handle before blasting herself straight into the fray. "Here I come, Yang! I'll help ya out!"

Yang did a doubletake at the sudden entrance, the Jotunn doing so as well. "Uh, Nora, I actually think I'm—"

"MINI-GIRL-THOR!" The fat giant bellowed as it met Nora's challenge. "I will slay you and THEN your full-sized counterpart!"

The Xiao-Long-Rose sisters simultaneously blanched at the… very odd statement. "Wow… these guys really ARE as dumb as they seem." Ruby commented.

Nora, however, was ecstatic at the giant's words. 'Yes, yes, YES! They see me as a threat! EXACTLY what I was hoping for!' With a wide, toothy grin on her face, Nora pulled Magnhild back as she closed in, letting out a war cry of; "YES! Fear me, giant! Have at thee!" The Jotunn went to crush her with his massive Morningstar bludgeon, but Nora simply hooked the head of her hammer around one of its spikes and swung herself up and over the beast, coming down straight above its head. "FOR ASGARD!"

KA-BOOOOM!

The fat giant wailed in pain as Magnhild collided with his nose, a grenade from within exploding on impact. Clutching his face, the giant fell to the road once again, thrashing his legs about. Nora, on the other hand, landed gracefully behind him, puffing out her chest with a proud smile. "HM! And that is how you do battle with Jotunns."

Yang and Ruby, however, were left taken aback. The giant seemed to be bleeding profusely, which was a little off-putting. "Uh… Nora?" Ruby piped up. "I-I don't think that's—"

"WOOOAAAH! Watch out!" Yang and Ruby ducked just as Sun came shooting over their heads, the monkey boy colliding back first into a nearby building. Thrown for a loop, Sun's head spun as stars danced in his eyes. "Wooooh… Did anyone get the number of that hand that smacked me?"

"Sun!" Blake shouted from across the intersection, fending off the loud-mouthed giant from before. Their blades clashed and sparked as their duel went on, but it was obvious that the cat girl was at a massive size disadvantage. "Gah, are you okay?!"

"Y-Yeah, I'm good…" Sun shook his head, getting himself back on track. "Don't worry, I'm comin' back—h-hey!" From out of nowhere, Nora rushed past the blond boy, pushing him past with her shoulder. "Nora! What the heck are you—"

"Don't worry, Auntie Nora's got this!" the redhead replied in a deep, guttural growl.

Sun was left utterly perplexed as Yang and Ruby took to his sides, all three of them staring after the Pink Dynamo in concern. "Does she seem a bit… off to you guys, too?"

Yang folded her arms over her chest, staring after Nora with a peeved expression. "A bit MORE than just "off", if you ask me. She's almost acting like she's a completely different person." She glanced over to her sister in concern. "You don't think… she's actually trying to KILL these guys, do you?"

"What? No! Nora KILLING something?" Ruby shook her head. "Way outta the question! But…" Her silver eyes went back to Nora again. "She might be trying a bit TOO much to impress a certain someone now that I think about it. You saw how she was back at the house, right?"

The Blonde Brawler pursed her lips at that. "Yeah… she's been following Thor around like a puppy since he got here… this might not end well."

Back with Blake, she was still on the backfoot, the giant cackling above her. "HAHAHA! You mortals have NO idea what you're getting yourselves into! Once the crystal completes its formation, we shall inherit Midgard for ourselves!" He nudged his head to the buildings surrounding them. "And this town will be the perfect outpost for us to begin our plans for storming Asgard as well! HA! This idea is fool-proof!"

"…Has anyone ever told you you're bad at keeping your mouth shut?" Blake deadpanned, using her Semblance to create a shadow clone of herself and then disappear into the nearby ally. The giant's blade cut straight through the clone, leaving him confused until Blake reappeared behind him, landing on his head and kicking him in the back of the skull. "Also, you really don't know what karma is, do you?"

"GAH! Grr… I know what that is!" The loud-mouth exclaimed. "It's those little dangly dash things you put in the middle of sentences, right?"

"W…W-What—NO! That's a comma, you frost-brained—" But Blake cut herself off when she saw Nora come bursting straight up from behind the giant, raising her hammer over her head as her teal eyes gleamed in the night. "…Oh no, NORA!"

The giant spun around… just enough for the hammer's target to change. Instead of hitting him in the back, Magnhild struck the giant in the elbow, and a sickening CRACK could be heard but a moment later. "GYAAAH!" The giant screamed as its arm fell to its side limply, falling to the ground to cradle it. "GAH! Dammit! Is THIS comma?!"

Nora landed in front of him, raising her hammer and making him flinch. "Nope! But I'm about to put an Exclamation Point ON YOUR HEAD!" But before she could do so, Yang, Ruby and Sun all dove in and held her back, much to her surprise. "W-Wha—hey! Come on, guys, I've got them on the ropes!"

"Nora! THINK about what you're doing for a second!" Ruby shouted.

"Yeah, calm down, girl!" Yang implored as well. "You're WAY more off the wall than usual!"

"Well, yeah, the point is to STOP them, isn't it?" Nora stopped struggling and turned to her teammates, putting a defiant hand on her hip. "I'm just going for the most effective solution; the way Thor would do it! …At least without the whole "killing" part."

The giant gave a sigh when he heard that. "Hah, good. At least you're not totally heartless."

"I'll just leave that part to Thor if he wants."

"Wait, wha—" KONK! "AUCH!" With an unexpected swing, Nora knocked the loud-mouthed giant out with her hammer.

Sun and Blake gawked incredulously at the redhead's actions, the Faunus couple still trying to process what was going on in her head. "Nora… this really isn't like you." Blake pointed out. "You're being very callous to these Jotunns, don't you think?"

"Yeah, and you're taking them on all at once, too." Sun affirmed. "I mean, usually you'll just laugh and make jokes at an enemy's expense, but this is WAY different. Kinda scary, honestly."

In response, Nora pouted and folded her arms, facing away from the others. "Well, how else am I supposed to earn his respect?" she muttered.

Ruby raised an eyebrow. "W-Wait, who's respect? Thor's?"

"Uh, duh!" Nora threw her hands up in the air. "I've only been dreaming of this meeting for WEEKS now since I first heard about him!" She craned her head up to the Thunder God above, who was currently busy smashing striking Mjolnir against Yggdrasil's roots, hoping to pry them off of the ice crystal. "He's everything I thought he'd be, too… but when we first met, I totally choked and fainted right in front of him." Nora clenched her hands around Magnhild's handle in determination. "That's why I'm working so hard to impress him. To make sure he sees that I'm NOT weak, and that I can be taken seriously as a Valkyrie."

The four teens stared at their friend in shock, her words resounding through them… but Sun was still confused. "Wait, so… you're worried that he'll judge you just from his first impression of you?" Nora responded with a silent nod, but even from his angle, Sun could see a sense of doubt upon her brow. …And he couldn't help but laugh. "HA! Wow, okay, now I KNOW that something's wrong with you."

Nora spun around, eyes wide as she screamed; "Say WHAT?!"

"Sun's right. Way to be self-conscious there, eh?" Yang went up and slung an arm around Nora's shoulders, giving her a smirk and a little wink. "Nora, I've known you for almost a year at this point, and I can safely say that the Nora Valkyrie I know isn't THIS insecure about herself. She's loud, bombastic, has a heart of gold… and a crush on her best friend, but everybody knows that."

A blush immediately crept onto Nora's cheeks. "H-Hey!"

"And I mean everybody."

"HEY!"

"Well, it's true!" Ruby argued, but gave her a sympathetic smile nonetheless. "Point is, you don't have to overdo it when it comes to impressing Thor, Nora. It's pretty obvious that he doesn't think any less of you for fainting in front of him." The Hooded Huntress thrust a hand toward her redheaded friend. "After all, if he did think less of you, would he have insisted that you come along with us in the first place?"

Nora glanced to the side, twiddling her fingers. "…Probably not." With a small sigh, Nora relented and lowered her head. "Guys… you're right. I way overdid it with the whole "Serious Valkyrie" thing." She rubbed her neck sheepishly. "I guess I just… wanted Thor to like me right off the bat, you know?"

Blake smiled in understanding, placing a hand on Nora's shoulder. "Nora, I'm sure that Thor DOES like you, but for who YOU are on your own. You don't have to pretend to be something your not and take on an enemy all by yourself." The catgirl took up Gambol Shroud and gave Nora a resolute nod. "That's what you've got teammates for, right?"

Slowly but surely, Nora's lips curled back into a grin of her own and she nodded back. "Yeah, you're right, Blake. Again, sorry for going overboard there."

"Ah, water under the bridge." Yang ensured, smacking her fists together as she, Ruby, Blake and Sun all prepared their weapons. "Now look alive, we've got company." Across from them, all three of the previously downed giants were now back on their feet. They were very much worse for wear, but they were all still ready and willing to fight, the loud-mouthed one even freezing an ice cast over his broken arm to keep it in place.

"Alright, NOW I'm mad!" said giant lifted his bludgeon with on hand, hefting it over his head. "You twerps are goin' DOWN!"

"…Heh, I'd like to see ya try." Nora widened her stance, taking up Magnhild once again as her friends all prepared to engage the enemy. "Alright guys, let's take 'em to the cleaners!" With a collective battle cry, the five teens and three giants charged at one another, meeting in the middle for their clash to restart.

…..

Back up in the air, though, Thor, Charmcaster and Heatblast were favoring less than positively. It seemed that, no matter how much ice they seemed to melt, the water would just instantly freeze back into the crystal and reconstitute and undo whatever progress they had made. No matter if it was by heat, or even just smashing the crystal, it eventually just reformed bit by bit without fail. At that point, the Pyronite was beginning to get impatient. "Alright, just what the HELL is this thing made out of?! This CAN'T be just ice!"

"That's because it isn't!" Charmcaster reiterated, taking a brief breather before continuing her heated assault on the crystal. "Like I said, it's being fueled by Yggdrasil's magic. Why do you think Thor's focusing his strikes on the roots of the tree?"

"Indeed!" Thor aimed Mjolnir at another root and blasted it with electricity, making it writhe and retract from the ice… only for another one to grow right back a second later. "Gah… but even then, Yggdrasil's magic is immense and unprecedented. It's being awfully stubborn about this shard of ice."

Suddenly, a deep, bellowing laugh caught the trio's attention, bringing their eyes down to see the lead Jotunn still at the base of the ice tower, mocking their efforts. "BAH-HAHA! Yes, Thunderer, go on ahead and keep struggling! Now you know what it was like for our ancestors centuries ago!" He stomped his foot on the ground and made another pillar of ice rise from beneath him, bringing him up to their level. "For eons, you have been the bane of the Jotnar's existence, Thor. But now, the Frost Giants shall lead our glorious race to be the ones on top for a change!"

Thor sneered and snapped; "Oh, please! If anything, YOU are causing more harm for your race than good. The Earth Jotunns are likely ashamed to be associated with you."

"THEY are the foolish ones for remaining allies with Asgard!" The lead giant retorted. "How is it fair that THEY prosper the most while we're forced to remain in the cold?!"

"Because you KILL PEOPLE!"

"So?!"

Heatblast couldn't believe that this argument was happening. "So?! What do you mean "so"?!" He shot out a blast of fire at the giant, making him double over and screaming at the burning pain. "Do you giants have ANY sense of morality or are you really that stupid? Because at this point, I'm willing to believe either! There's a REASON why you and that asshole, Loki, are outcasts from the realms, and it's because you're freaking EVIL."

Right at that moment, though, a certain voice spoke up once again. "Oh, evil is such a strong word…" *POP* Everyone spun around in time to see Loki appear right at the ice crystal's spire, lounging just above the tip top and wearing a malicious grin. "I'd say we're more… determined than anything else. To seek vengeance on those who've wronged us for centuries."

Charmcaster let out a gasp and backed away, and Heatblast was left stunned when he saw genuine fear in her eyes at the sight of the trickster. "L-Loki…"

"Ah, the new girl in charge of Ledgerdomain!" Loki's smile widened, steepling his fingers. "I had thought I sensed another surge in magical energy… too bad you're far too late…"

Thor's grip on his hammer tightened, pointing it at Loki. "I've just about had it with your games, Loki! Face me now and—"

"Oh, this is hardly a "game", Thor." Loki countered, rearranging himself so that he was floating up straight with his hands extended out. Around him, the snowstorm began to increase in intensity, forcing Heatblast and Charmcaster to cover their eyes. "This… is RETRIBUTION! A reckoning for Asgard that has been LONG overdue! Soon, Fimbulwinter will begin, and soon after, so will Ragnarök! The gods and other inhabitants of the realms shall PAY for exiling me to the pits of despair, bounding me in chains and leaving me to my endless suffering with only my exhausted wife left to give me reprieve!"

Heatblast narrowed his eyes at the trickster god. "Uh, no offense, guy, but that really sounds like a YOU problem. As in, YOU caused your OWN problems!"

Loki's lips curled into a snarl as he screamed; "SILENCE!" He snapped his fingers and fired a beam at the hero, which Charmcaster managed to reflect with a shielding spell. The beam bounced off the shield and hit a road sign… which then turned into a potted plant. Loki took a sharp breath through his nostrils and exhaled, attempting to calm down. "No matter… no matter…" His smirk reappeared soon after. "Because now, it's time for the REAL fun to begin."

As if on cue, the very core of the ice crystal began glowing with an powerful, blue light, shining out in all directions and taking everyone by surprise. Down below, the fighting between hunters and giants was brought to a halt by this blinding light, allowing all of the Jotunns to gather around the crystal once more to praise it. "Yes! YES! It's finally happening!" The lead Jotunn raised his fists in victory. "Now begins the endless winter of discontent! BRING FORTH… FIMBULWINTER!"

"NO!" Thor flew in through the blizzard of snow and ice with Mjolnir raised, ready to strike down the ice crystal with his most powerful hit yet. "FOR ASGARD!" KA-CHAM! A bolt of lightning struck just as his hammer collided with the crystal, shattering the ice in several different directions… but only the top part. The bottom was still intact, as was the core and the roots surrounding it. And as a result, the ice crystal regrew within moments, much to everyone's dismay. "…H-How?"

Loki threw his head back with a happy, yet maddening cackle. "AHAHAHAHA! You FOOL, Thor! Don't you see? You were doomed from the start!" He pointed to the rift where the roots were coming from. "The only way you'd be able to possibly stop the freezing process is if you destroyed the entire ice crystal AND shoved the roots of Yggdrasil back into the rift in one fell swoop!" His grin twisted into one of pure joy and malice, sending a chill through everyone. "And at this point, there's no way that even MJOLNIR could pull that off! Just admit it, nephew, you're finished! AHAHA—"

*fwoom-fwoom-fwoom-fwoom-fwoom*

"W-What? What is that?" Loki's ears perked up at a strange sound that managed to break through the storm. It sounded like an object whirling through the air, and it was awfully close. "Does anyone else hear that?"

In truth, everyone did hear it, but no matter where they looked, they couldn't pinpoint its source. …That is, until Sun thought to crane his head up, and it was there that he saw it. He thrust a finger up to the heavens, yelling; "That, up there!", which made everyone crane their heads skyward.

There, spinning through the air at rapid speed… was a long stick of some kind. …Or, more accurately, it would've been appropriate to call it a rod since it appeared to be made out of metal, shining in what little moonlight that was visible. Though curiously… it was spinning DOWN from the sky instead of up, and the very ends of the rod seemed to shine brighter than the rest of it. But it's what happened next that left everyone baffled. The staff… stopped in midair… in a vertical position, directly over the ice crystal and Loki.

The trickster god's expression fell in deep concern. "W-What in the—AH!" Loki screamed as, in a split second…

*WOOM*

*KRA-CHAAAAMM!*

The rod let out a mysterious hum noise before it suddenly grew and expanded in the blink of an eye, crashing down directly onto Loki, the crystal, AND the tree roots as it became an immensely tall iron pillar. The hunters below, Ben, Charmcaster and even Thor let out yelps of surprise as this happened, all while Loki screamed as the ice shattered completely around him. The pillar's growth also had the added effect of pushing the Yggdrasil roots right back down into the rift from whence they came, the Frost Giants all scrambling to get away to avoid being crushed. And Loki himself ended up crashing right into the pavement, the god wincing as his head spun in circles.

In the end, however, the massive ice crystal was gone, and in its place was a massive, red iron pillar with its tips ended in large, golden clasps. In fact, now that it was much bigger, everyone could see that it more resembled a large cudgel, its clasped ends outfitted with massive spikes all around them.

…..

And they weren't the only ones who saw the massive pillar suddenly appear. The battle between the Ministry and the Omni-Hunters had been put on pause as their sights went up to the structure that appeared from seemingly nowhere and crushed the crystal in one fell swoop. Cinder, for her part, was left utterly slack-jawed at the sight. "W-What? What the hell is THAT thing?!" She snapped her head over to Gwen, who was flying in the air and had a better vantage point of the pillar. "Is that another one of your Thor's tricks?!"

"No." The Anodite replied. "Thor doesn't have a giant pole of any kind."

"Then… what is it?" Raven asked, genuinely curious herself.

Just as Gwen was about to start speculating… when her Plumber's badge suddenly started going off. She summoned it with a wave of her hand and answered immediately. "Hello? Grandpa?"

"Gwen, pumpkin, please tell me you're seeing what I'm seeing." Max replied, his voice filled with awe as he no doubt stared at the pillar from his point in town.

"Oh, I see it… though I don't know if I believe it." Gwen shook her head and decided to change the subject. "But let's not focus on that. Are you okay? How's everything at HQ?"

Max sighed at the question. "Well, the good news is that no one's made an attempt to steal you-know-what yet, but the bad news is that—" BOOM! Gwen gasped and her head snapped toward the other end of town, where another plume of fire and smoke could be seen rising up. "GAH!"

"GRANDPA! Are you—"

"Fine! But we just got a BIG problem!"

…..

Back at the entrance to Plumber HQ, Max was currently staring at a scene that he sincerely hoped he wouldn't have to. Rex, Weiss, Winter and Six had all just gotten blown out from the entryway, the four of them landing on their feet, but definitely seemed worse for wear. What's more, he saw Weiss' Arma Gigas and Winter's Manticore both get blasted out after them, the summons both dissolving into nothing within seconds. Coming out from the depths of the Plumber base, Bashmouth leapt onto the street, carrying Fisttrick, Hoodlum, Crush, and the unconscious Subdora all on his shoulders.

Ilia and Penny had grouped up with Max, the two staring at the scene in shock. "This… cannot possibly get any worse." Ilia muttered.

"Please, do not jinx us." Penny pleaded as she brought out her Mechano-Crushers. "For now, let us aid our friends!" Ilia quickly nodded and took out her Lightning Lash again, going to intercept Bashmouth and the others.

"BAHAHA! Now THIS is what ya call a break-out!" Bashmouth whooped.

"You said it, Boss!" Fisttrick approved. "Let's pound these guys, BIG TIME!" But then, he took notice of Exo-Skull and Thunderhog… and he couldn't help but smile widely at them. "BRO! No way! You guys got Bebop and Rocksteady, too? CHOICE!"

The rhino mutant sighed as he shook his head. "Whatever, I'm done tryin' to split hairs about that. GRAH!" He lunged up to his feet and immediately started coming to blows with Manny, despite the fact that he was already in energy cuffs. Skull took advantage by lacing his fingers together and then swinging his arms at the Tetramand hybrid, throwing him across the street. "Let's blow this pop stand!"

Hog stood up as well and delivered a kick straight to Alan's back, sending the young Pyronite back a bit. "Yeah, mission's pretty much done at this point anyway."

"You guys ain't going anywhere!" Alan thrust his arms out and let forth a stream of fire from his palms, only for Hog to roll out of the way and grab his Thunder Mace with his teeth. "HEY! Don't you idiots know when to give up?!"

The mutants rushed over to group up with the other villains, with Crush and Hoodlum quickly helping them out of their energy cuffs. "Not exactly, kid!" Hog retorted. "Not too sure what's goin' on in this town tonight, but I do know this; we gettin' away scot-free here!"

…..

"This isn't looking good, Gwen!" Max exclaimed, making the Anodite bite her lip. "Is Ben with you? We could sure use your help getting this dog under control!"

"He isn't, but I can get him there soon." Gwen replied as she commanded her stone golem to smash the final Grimm, reducing it to nothing but black smoke. "Tell everyone to hang in there, we'll be—huh?!" Her attention was garnered by the massive iron pillar once again as its top clasp began to glow brightly, its golden hue practically lighting up the entire town.

"Oh, great!" Mercury threw his hands into the air. "What could it possibly be THIS time?!"

He got his answers shortly after as the golden light concentrated right at the top of the pillar… and then went blasting out in all directions as a massive wave of light energy, which dissipated what remained of the snowstorm, clouds and all. And, in addition, it brought an instant warmth to the entire town, melting the snow within mere moments. "WOO! Holy crap, that'll get ya goin'!" Neptune exclaimed.

"W-What is this?" Pyrrha muttered. "How is this happening?"

Ren was trying to make sense of all this himself when something caught his eye. The full moon was now on display high in the night sky… and there was something directly in front of it. "Hey! Up there!"

Following his line of sight, the group were left surprised when they saw a tall, strong figure floating high in the air, standing with their arms crossed… and their tail swinging from side to side. And the second that Gwen saw that tail, things began adding up in her mind. 'A floating guy with a tail, a massive iron pillar, and seemingly overpowering magic…' The Anodite's lips curled into a grin at her realization. "Well… I'll be a monkey's uncle."

…..

Loki, on the other hand, was absolutely livid when he saw that silhouette against the moon. And it only got worse when he heard the high-pitched, unmistakable chitter that was that damned laugh that egged him on mockingly; "EEEEEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!" It was like a worm in his ear that he so desperately wanted to get out. Not many in the Norse pantheon could match his wit or his knack for trickery and deception. …But the same could not be said for OTHER pantheons, and this deity was one that ALWAYS got under his skin. He could never out-mischief this one, much to his dismay.

"You… YOU!" Loki screamed, pointing up to the floating figure. "You DARE to show yourself here?! I have half a mind to shove that metal pipe of yours down your THROAT!"

"EEEEEE-HEE-HEE-HEE-HEE!" The silhouette cackled again before extending his hand and making the massive pillar float up from the rift, which closed the moment it was out. It shrunk back down to its original size and flew into the man's hand, where it became clear that it WAS, in fact, a weapon, one that was still longer than its owner's whole body.

And, now that the glowing staff was in his hand, the teens could make out a few more details, though still not many. He seemed to be wearing armor-mail across his whole upper body, which shined brilliantly in the night. They couldn't make out his facial features, but they DID see a pair of intimidating, glowing red eyes, and on top of his head were a pair of long, red… tassels? Feathers? Whatever they were, they were quite the fashion statement. But, just as they were taking in his features, the tailed man erupted into a golden light and then darted off toward the west, his chittering laugh echoing through the night.

Of course, it didn't take long for Loki to fly after him. "GET BACK HERE! You SCREWED me over, you insolent ape! I will TEAR you asunder!"

As they stared off after the trickster god and the unidentified deity, Sun couldn't help but tilt his head curiously. "Huh… wonder who that guy was?" He turned to the girls, who were all staring at him disbelievingly. THEY had all come to the conclusion of who that "guy" was… which left them baffled that SUN didn't seem to notice. "Guess he had to help and run, huh? Think he and Loki got some beef?"

"…Sun?" Ruby raised a finger. "You DO know that was probably—"

"Ah, Ruby, don't." Blake halted her friend, shaking her head. "He'll figure it out eventually."

Heatblast, Charmccaster and Thor wasted no time in coming back to Earth, the three left just as surprised as the others. "I have to admit, I didn't expect to see HIM make an appearance." Charmcaster said with a sigh of relief.

"Heh, no kiddin'." Heatblast commented, smirking toward the God of Thunder. "Lemme guess, you must've led him here, eh? I had a feeling that you guys must've had some sorta "Strong Guys" club in the godly world, but this all but confirms it!"

Thor smiled and gave a laugh. "HAHA! Well, while I won't deny that claim, Ben Tennyson, I must inform you that I had NO idea that he was set to make an appearance here." The Thunderer stared off into the distance, chuckling to himself. "Though, then again, given his nomadic lifestyle, that doesn't surprise me too much. …But I will say, I'm not exactly impressed that he stole my thunder."

"HA! Another good one, Thor!" Yang grinned, giving an approving thumbs up.

Sun couldn't help but raise a brow in confusion, though. "Uh… guys? You got any idea who that was?"

"Why of course!" Thor replied. "It's none other than—"

*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP-BEEP*

Just then, a loud beeping started coming from the Omnitrix, its hourglass-shaped core flashing green. "Oops, sorry, gotta take this…" In a flash of light, Heatblast changed back to Ben, pulling his watch up and speaking into it. "Gwen, what's the situation?"

"Ben, we've got BIG problems back at base." Gwen replied, her voice filled with worry. "Grandpa Max and the others are having major trouble holding off Bashmouth and his crew. They're out in the street and fighting one another right now, you NEED to get there!"

The hero clenched his jaw at the news. "Dammit. Alright, we're on our way. Thanks, Gwen." He hung up and set his gaze upon his team with a furrowed brow. "You heard her, guys, we've gotta head out, now."

Yang pointed over to the remaining Frost Giants, who were all quite visibly angry and gearing up for another assault. "But Ben, what about them? We can't just leave 'em here."

"You don't need to." Thor interjected, taking Mjolnir up once more. "I shall remain here and deal with these ruffians once and for all." He nodded down to the teens and young sorceress seriously. "All of you, head to your base. Your friends are the ones who desperately need your assistance right now. I'll catch up with you later. Oh, and Nora…" The Pink Dynamo perked up as Thor gave her a wink of assurance. "Give 'em hell for me, eh?"

Nora could feel a massive weight lift off of her in that moment. Her idol was entrusting her with something for him… and she wouldn't disappoint. "Hm, I will, Thor. And don't worry…" She returned the wink, nudging her head over to the Jotunns. "We softened them up for ya."

"Oh, I have no doubt about it." Thor pointed off down the street. "Now go, take care of this "Bashmouth" once and for all." With one last shared look, the hunters, hero and sorceress grouped up once again as Charmcaster cast her teleportation spell, making them disappear in an instant. Once they were gone, Thor popped his neck and flipped his hammer, raising it up to summon another lightning bolt to charge it. "Hmhm… so, the Monkey King is here in Bellwood. This just gets more and more interesting by the minute." He slowly turned around and began trudging toward the Ice Giants, who were charging at him with their weapons raised and mouths wide open. "But for now… it's time I properly get to work."

…..

A/N: To be continued… and yep, Loki certainly ISN'T the only mischief maker in town! Why do you think the title of this chapter was plural? Those of you with keen eyes managed to catch him the moment he showed up two chapters ago, but indeed, Mr. Pima Wen himself has graced Bellwood with his presence (don't tell him I called him that). Even gave the heroes a helping hand with that persistence hunk of ice and shoving Yggdrasil's roots back where they came from! Still, seems he can't stay long if he wants to get Loki outta town… but HAS he truly left? Those who know the pilgriming primate know that he's got SEVERAL ways to screw someone over, after all.

But, in another twist, Charmcaster's back! Yeah, considering the presence of both Loki, Thor AND the massive power emanating from the area as a whole, it makes sense that she'd want to come and help. Especially considering that, the last time we saw her, she was particularly interested in searching museums for Norse runes. Though it would seem that her apparent break-ins were for a more selfless purpose considering she's been searching for relics to help prevent Loki's plans… though of course, she still has much to answer for.

Speaking of, yeah, not surprising that Loki's trying to expedite the process of Ragnarök through alternative means. Apparently in this world, Baldur's death was prevented and he was imprisoned for his attempt on the god's life. And now that he's broken out, he's on track to try and bring about the fall of Asgard and the other realms. That is quite concerning, to put it lightly.

But oof, seems Nora might've overdone it a bit when it came to battling the Frost Giants. Of course, it's expected that they would do everything they could to stop them from going through with their plan, but… well, Nora wasn't exactly acting fully like herself. Though considering her feelings about wanting to impress Thor, it's at least understandable. But that being said, her friends reasonably don't want to see her acting so callous, and thankfully their words got through to her. She doesn't need to ACT like Thor to impress him, after all.

Meanwhile, as all this is going on, the Ministry continue to execute their own plans in the background, with Bashmouth successfully breaking Fisttrick and his boys out of prison. Of course, Rex, Weiss, Six and even Winter are holding them off as best as they can, but unfortunately, Bashmouth once again proves to be a tough nut to crack. Metallikanines and their enhanced durability can be incredibly annoying. …But hey, at least Kenny managed to sneak in an uppercut on Fisttrick. Winter seems to be making quite a bit of progress with him already!

So, will the incoming assistance from Ben and the others be enough to help? Or will Salem once again get one up on our heroes? We'll have to wait and see… NEXT TIME! Until then, thank you once again for reading, everybody, and I'll catch you later. And of course, as always, stay safe out there!