Loki sat atop the hundred-meter-tall Statue of Liberty on Liberty Island, just outside New York City, quietly admiring the blazing city across the harbor.
The torch raised high by the Statue of Liberty ended in cold metal.
The inferno consuming the city on the opposite shore, however, was very real.
His new master possessed divine power far surpassing even Odin's. After accepting that cosmic power and becoming one of his heralds, the first place Loki thought of was Earth—the place where he had suffered his greatest defeat.
To the Asgardians, Earth was known as Midgard—the center of the Nine Realms, the world Odin cherished above all others.
Nothing could bring Loki greater satisfaction than watching it be destroyed.
All he had ever wanted was to kill his brother, seize the throne, and earn the recognition of his father, Odin.
What had he done wrong?
Lost in those thoughts, Loki failed to notice the overwhelming bolt of lightning descending from the heavens the very next instant.
BOOM!
Thunder exploded across the sky.
The Statue of Liberty's raised torch acted like a gigantic lightning rod, drawing most of the tremendous electrical discharge into itself.
The blast electrocuted the unsuspecting Loki, sending his vision spinning as he tumbled headfirst off the statue and plunged straight into the water below.
Holding Mjolnir in one hand and carrying Gungnir across his back, Thor arrived at the battlefield a moment before Joey.
Wrapped in crackling lightning, the God of Thunder resembled a living storm.
Looking down at his younger brother floundering in the water, his eyes held both anger and disappointment.
"You have committed a grave sin, brother."
Midgard was one of the greatest treasures in Odin's heart. Every Asgardian knew it.
Yet Loki had brought Galactus here.
To Thor, that was nothing less than the ultimate betrayal of their father.
"I am not your brother!"
Mentioning blood ties only made Loki even angrier.
With a wave of magic, a Frost Giant over a hundred meters tall rose from the sea.
Its enormous hand blotted out the sky as it reached toward Thor.
"Have you already forgotten?"
"I told you before!"
"I am not even Odin's son!"
"I am no Asgardian!"
"I am a Frost Giant of Jotunheim!"
Another bolt of lightning split the heavens.
The Frost Giant standing above the sea was instantly blown apart.
Ice shattered into countless fragments while freezing mist exploded across the sky, sending towering waves crashing over the ocean.
The remaining electrical energy surged through the seawater.
Schools of fish floated lifelessly to the surface, their white bellies turned upward.
Among them floated Loki himself, unconscious, face-down in the water as bubbles drifted from beneath him.
Thor dove toward the sea, reaching for Loki's robes to pull him out.
"It would have helped if you'd remembered that water conducts electricity..."
"...brother."
Loki had never been a warrior.
If they fought seriously, he wasn't even capable of lasting a single exchange against Thor.
Even with the enhancement of the Power Cosmic, that remained true.
"I've always remembered."
As Thor drew near, he suddenly felt a sharp pain explode through his side.
With a muffled grunt, he realized a familiar dagger had already pierced his lower back.
Loki emerged from the surrounding sea mist, his illusion fading away.
The unconscious Loki floating in the water instantly dissolved into nothingness.
"I suppose you're the one who never learns..."
"...brother."
Loki twisted the dagger even deeper before casually reaching toward the Spear of Destiny strapped across Thor's back.
That action completely enraged the God of Thunder.
Thor hurled Mjolnir straight ahead.
Loki laughed behind him.
"Has the pain gotten so bad that you can't even aim properly anymore?"
Before he could finish mocking him, the hammer completed an entire orbit around Earth in the blink of an eye and smashed into Loki's back from behind.
"Urgh!"
From the unmistakable impact transmitted through Mjolnir—and Loki's startled cry—Thor knew with absolute certainty that he had hit the real one this time.
The hammer drove Loki straight toward Liberty Island.
One man and one hammer crashed through the base of the Statue of Liberty, blasting a massive hole before slamming into the ground beneath it.
"Get this thing off me!"
No matter how desperately Loki struggled, he couldn't move the hammer even an inch.
He was completely pinned beneath Mjolnir.
Crack!
Lightning struck once more.
Heavy footsteps echoed behind him as Thor slowly approached.
Pinned face-down beneath the hammer, Loki couldn't see Thor walking up behind him.
For the first time, unease crept into his voice.
He was even willing to surrender.
"Fine!"
"I give up!"
"So... was all of this nothing more than a joke to you?"
His hopeless younger brother treated every confrontation between them like a deadly game with a safe word.
Thor lowered the tip of Gungnir against Loki's throat and let out a weary sigh.
"By Odin..."
There had been countless times when Thor had been furious enough to teach Loki a real lesson.
Yet every time his younger brother begged for mercy, his resolve softened.
"When this is over..."
"...I'll settle the score with you once and for all."
After leaving behind those harsh words, Thor withdrew both Gungnir from Loki's throat and Mjolnir from his back.
"Get as far away from here as you can, Loki."
"My patience has its limits."
"As you wish... brother."
The moment he heard those words, Loki sprang to his feet.
Then, without the slightest hesitation, he spun around to launch a sneak attack.
"Ha! Foole—"
Thunk!
Mjolnir, already waiting for him, slammed straight into Loki's forehead with a dull crack.
Forged from unbreakable Uru metal, the hammer knocked the young God of Mischief unconscious on the spot.
Having finished the job, Thor simply shrugged.
"I knew it."
He knew exactly what kind of person his little brother was.
Whenever Thor said, "My patience has its limits,"
what Loki heard was,
"Try harder."
Landing a clean hit on the God of Mischief was notoriously difficult.
Getting Loki to run face-first into the hammer, however, was surprisingly easy.
With his troublesome brother finally dealt with, Thor estimated that Joey should have recovered by now.
He spun Mjolnir and took flight toward Galactus, preparing for the real battle.
He had barely left the ground when a brilliant flash of light illuminated the horizon.
At the edge of the city stood a gigantic silver-white Giant of Light, towering to nearly the same height as Galactus himself.
Galactus continued calmly operating the Matter-Energy Conversion Tower, reducing Earth's matter into pure energy.
Humanity's attacks meant nothing to him.
The distant Giant of Light, while potentially dangerous, had yet to make a move.
Watching the giant carefully avoid the fleeing civilians and the surrounding skyscrapers as he approached, Galactus even had the leisure to greet him.
"Ah..."
"A traveler from the distant Land of Light."
The one controlling the body now was no longer Joey, but Ultraman himself.
"You know who I am?"
Having traveled across countless worlds, Galactus possessed knowledge beyond the imagination of nearly any living being.
"Only a little."
"Scattered bits of knowledge."
"Certainly not as much as I know about the Kryptonian sharing your body."
The Devourer of Worlds had witnessed Krypton's destruction.
He had visited the homeworld of the New Gods.
He had even battled Darkseid upon Apokolips.
"There are countless planets in the universe that satisfy your needs."
"Worlds without intelligent life are beyond number."
"If all you seek is food..."
"...why must nearly ten billion lives pay the price?"
Ultraman still refused to abandon diplomacy.
He simply couldn't understand why a being as powerful as Galactus could be so utterly indifferent to life.
"We can help you find worlds that meet your requirements."
"Planets without intelligent civilizations."
"You may feed upon those instead..."
"...if you promise to leave this world in peace."
"Denied."
"My hunger is eternal."
"And I will never entrust my survival to others."
Galactus had appointed countless heralds throughout the ages.
Almost every one of them had eventually betrayed him.
To him, Ultraman's promise was no more substantial than a reflection upon water.
"Besides..."
"The existence of these mortals."
"Their emotions."
"Their stories."
"Their futures."
"None of it has any meaning."
"You, of all people, should understand that."
Once one had witnessed enough universes rise and fall...
Every story...
Every civilization...
Every life...
Became as fleeting and insignificant as drifting clouds.
Even this very situation—
A Kryptonian and his companions trying to save Earth from being devoured—
was hardly the first time Galactus had experienced such resistance.
All he intended to do was consume this Earth.
Across the Multiverse, countless other Earths existed.
What difference did the loss of one truly make?
Ultraman knew the negotiations had failed.
"I regret hearing those words."
"You possess wisdom and power beyond compare..."
"...yet you remain bound by instinct."
"I cannot imagine abandoning the possibility that love and peace might resolve this conflict."
Inside the Sea of Consciousness, Joey had expected this outcome all along.
He knew victory would be difficult.
Even so, his fists were already itching for a fight.
[I told you talking to him was pointless!]
[Switch with me!]
The Giant of Light's eyes briefly dimmed.
When they lit up again, the consciousness controlling the body had changed.
Joey reclaimed control.
Without hesitation, he lunged forward and delivered a powerful kick that sent the Matter-Energy Conversion Tower crashing onto its side, interrupting Galactus' energy intake.
"Still hungry?"
"Then eat this!"