Chapter Seventy-Five: Loki’s Genes

Michael stepped through the portal and returned directly to his penthouse laboratory, where he began studying the genes of Loki and Thor.

During his research, he discovered that there was a reason Loki's constitution was so weak. Loki did possess Asgardian genes, but not in the way Michael had imagined. Loki was not a pureblood Frost Giant, but rather a hybrid, half Asgardian and half Frost Giant.

Why there was no reproductive barrier between the gods of Asgard and the Frost Giants was beyond him—perhaps, as the saying goes, sheer force worked miracles.

It was precisely this dual heritage that granted Loki his formidable talent for dark magic and allowed him to become a powerful sorcerer.

Michael recalled that Odin had only ever said Loki’s father was Laufey, never mentioning his mother. Perhaps it was an Asgardian maiden captured during the war, or maybe Odin himself had transformed into a woman to seduce Laufey.

Whatever the truth, it was this unique parentage that enabled Loki to disguise himself as an Asgardian and remain undetected for centuries. In fact, it might be inaccurate to call it a disguise at all—perhaps the Asgardian form was simply one of Loki’s true faces.

This state continued until the day Thor was tricked into going to Jotunheim. When Loki was seized by the Frost Giants, his Frost Giant bloodline awakened, protecting him from the cold, and for the first time, he realized he was one of them.

This revelation destabilized Loki’s mind, making him believe that all the injustices he had suffered were because he was not a true Asgardian, not Odin’s son.

And in fact, it was true—Loki could never ascend the throne. Even with all his schemes, he was always a step behind Odin.

Loki craved Odin’s attention, yet felt betrayed by him, leaving his heart in conflict and ultimately leading to the collapse of his composure and his enmity with Thor, setting the stage for the first Avengers.

One thing was certain: Loki truly harbored no love for his biological father, Laufey.

The divine genes Michael extracted from Loki’s body proved interesting as well. When injected into a lab mouse, the mouse developed the ability to create duplicates of itself.

Though these were mere illusions, it confirmed that Loki’s magical talent was innate.

The Frost Giant genes, on the other hand, proved more difficult to work with. Nearly all the mice injected with them died, and even the Decay Formula was of no use.

After repeated cross-species gene fusion experiments with dozens of mice, Michael failed to produce a single mouse with remarkable strength.

This, too, proved that there was no super-strength gene in Loki’s Asgardian DNA.

Of course, if Loki ever accepted his Frost Giant side, it was possible that he could awaken greater power. After all, Frost Giants were born to wield strength and cold, their natural advantages.

Unfortunately, throughout all the Marvel films, Loki never accepted his Frost Giant heritage, nor did he ever display real superhuman strength.

Instead, wielding the template of a sorcerer, he always tried to do the work of an assassin, only to end up beaten and suspended from the ceiling.

...

Elsewhere, Loki was desperately trying to escape.

At present, he was locked in a glass cage, strapped to a chair and utterly unable to move.

He had to act quickly, or his plan would fall apart. Once Thor regained the hammer’s approval, there would be nothing left for him.

The magic-suppressing handcuffs were indeed formidable, but they had one flaw—they were made of mundane iron. Had they been crafted from Uru metal, he would have been utterly helpless; foolish mortals had underestimated him.

Although Loki’s strength was mediocre, he was still an Asgardian, and far stronger than any mortal.

He strained against the cuffs.

Embarrassingly, the handcuffs didn’t break as he had imagined; not even a crack appeared.

Though Michael hadn’t used the finest metal, the cuffs were made of Carbenna alloy, a top-tier material strong enough for aerospace applications.

Without superhuman strength, the cuffs were unbreakable—Loki simply wasn’t strong enough.

After a moment’s hesitation, Loki began scraping the magical runes on the cuffs with his fingernails.

That wretched man had confiscated all his Uru daggers.

At this point, Loki’s fingernails were the toughest things on his person.

While he was at it, an agent, seeing Loki’s restlessness, patted him down once more.

To Loki’s humiliation, the man even squeezed his...

After what felt like ages, Loki’s hands were numb, his nails worn down and nearly bleeding, but at last he managed to scratch one of the runes.

He swore that, once free, he would send the Destroyer to kill this damned mortal.

And as for the man who had searched him—he’d tear him limb from limb.

The suppression array on the cuffs had been damaged; though only a small breach, it was enough for Loki to begin gathering magical energy again, albeit slowly.

He could only curse inwardly as he concentrated on absorbing power.

Finally, Loki had gathered enough energy. In a flash, he transformed, breaking free from the handcuffs.

“Motherfu—”

He pointed his staff at the guards, and in an instant, both were blasted away, left barely clinging to life.

...

Having vented his anger, Loki felt much calmer. He reminded himself not to act in haste, but to stick to the plan.

“You just wait!” he muttered.

Wasting no time, Loki waved his staff and vanished, reappearing in Jotunheim.

Here, darkness reigned and the air was icy cold, the mountains like swords piercing the heavens.

But for the Frost Giants, this was paradise—the chill and damp suited them perfectly.

Loki, however, had no affection for this place. Even after learning the truth of his birth, he could not see himself as a Frost Giant.

To him, Frost Giants were monsters from childhood fairy tales, horrors whispered before sleep.

He was an Asgardian, the god of mischief, Loki, destined to prove his legitimacy by claiming the throne.

Laufey, just wait to be the stepping stone for my ascent.

Loki stood before Laufey, staring at the blue-gray face with nothing but contempt.

Laufey gazed back at this Asgardian. Even as the second only to Odin, he could not discern the Frost Giant blood in this young man.

How bold, to come here alone—an intriguing character.

“Kill him.”

That was his thought, but this was Odin’s son. With Thor banished, only this one remained. If he died, Odin would have no heir, and once Odin was gone, the age of the Frost Giants would dawn.

Loki smiled coolly and said, “Will you disregard all I’ve done for you?”

Laufey waved a hand, signaling his followers to hold back.

“Oh, so it was you who led us into Asgard.”

Loki’s smile turned sly. “To be honest, I did it for amusement, to ruin my brother’s big day, and to free the kingdom from his foolish rule forever.”

“Tell me more,” Laufey said with genuine interest, beginning to appreciate this young man.