A/N: This is pretty much a more emotional version of Hela's defeat, based on headcanons about why Thor looks like the adopted one. I love Hela, I love this movie, but in hindsight and with those headcanons in mind, I feel like Hela and Loki deserved more interaction, and Hela a little more depth. So here it is in a one-shot that I stayed up way too late writing considering I'm waking up early to watch GMA for that Infinity War trailer. I hope you guys like it!
Loki fled Surtur, racing for the ship. It would take him some time to reach his prophesied size, but heat was already swamping the room and the Eternal Flame was spluttering wildly. More importantly, he had to get back to Thor and Valkyrie. They were both formidable warriors who could kick his butt in under a minute, but Hela was in her own league. She had destroyed Asgard's army by herself – stuck in this treasure room, Loki had no idea if the people he'd decided to fight for were even still alive.
He jumped into the pilot's seat and powered it up. It sputtered and died. Don't do this to me now. Flattening his hand against the console, he focused his magic on the mechanics within. They were broken and drained after what the pleasure ship had been through to get here, but with a little nudge here and a spurt of energy there…
The engine growled to life. With a shudder, it lifted heavily into the air. Loki steered it back the way he'd come, navigating through buildings in an effort to conceal his approach. When he inevitably had to fly through open space, he gunned it, shooting the ship forward as fast as it would go.
Thor.
His brother was on his knees, struggling to stand. Valkyrie was on her stomach, dragging herself towards her weapon. In all her creepy, black-antlered glory, Hela was stalking towards the pair. Loki couldn't see her face, but he knew she was leering at them, toying with them before killing them.
Loki angled the ship to fly straight over the bridge, locking the controls in place. Then, praying he hadn't lost too much physical ability while lounging around pretending to be Father, he jumped out the back.
He landed directly between his two siblings, sticking what Thor's human friends would call a perfect superhero landing.
"Loki, no," Thor rasped. "Get out of here!"
"Aw, brotherly love," Hela cooed, her voice sickeningly sweet. But Loki heard bitterness beneath her mocking, the bitterness of a scorned child. He knew it too well.
"We can still come to an arrangement," he offered. Still, he held his hands out, both to tell Thor and Valkyrie to stay back, and to keep his magic ready.
Hela snorted. "Are you trying to appeal to my soft, sensitive side, little one?"
Loki swallowed down irritation and a sarcastic comment about being taller than her. "We all have one, sister."
She conjured a wicked sword and attacked. Loki dodged her first blow, abandoning his normal daggers in favor of his own sword. He blocked her next swing, but the curved hooks on her weapon caught his. She yanked it from him. He staggered, and she grabbed his wrist, tugging him towards her. She kicked his leg to make him spin around, and then she was clutching him close, her sword pressing into his throat.
"I can get rid of your soft side," she hissed into his ear.
Loki struggled, trying to break free of her grip. He grabbed her sword arm and shoved it away from his neck. In a heartbeat, she conjured a knife and stabbed it between his ribs. He gasped in pain.
"No!" Thor roared, lightning surging around him. But he couldn't shoot Hela without hurting Loki.
"Think about it," Hela said enticingly. "Me and you, ruling the universe. I could even make you my equal, little brother. No more envying our entitled brother."
"Tempting," Loki told her. He could see the horror on Thor's face at the word, the anger on Valkyrie's.
Truly, it was tempting. With Hela as a conqueror, worlds would fall to their rule. Loki would ever more power than even Thor had ever dreamed of. No one would dare attack him, or try to use him, or even mock him. He would be feared and revered and could order as many massive, shiny gold statues of his regal self as he wanted.
"But," he went on, "I'd be more tempted if you hadn't just stabbed me."
Conjuring another dagger, he stabbed it backwards. It wouldn't hurt Hela, he knew, but the blade in her side surprised her. She loosened her grip, distracted just enough for Loki to push the sword away and dive to the ground. The impact sent agony ricocheting from his stab wound, stars bursting across his vision. Thor covered him, shooting a bolt of lightning at Hela.
Snarling, Hela flung a group of weapons at Thor. He flattened himself to the ground to dodge. While he was down, Hela grabbed Loki by the throat, lifting him up.
"From what Skurge told me, I'd hoped you would be stronger," she said, confusion accompanying the annoyance in her expression. "Asgard's top sorcerer, not afraid to defy Odin and try to conquer other worlds. You sounded smart, too."
Loki kicked out, landing a solid blow on her gut. She dropped him. He wobbled as he landed, hissing in pain. Reluctantly, and quickly before he could think better of it, he pulled the knife from his side and clamped a hand over the spurt of blood, focusing his healing magic on the wound.
"Look," Loki started, "I get it."
"Oh, spare me your sentiment," she moaned, rolling her eyes.
"Sentiment is necessary," Loki shot back. Despite his healing efforts, he could feel blood leaking from beneath his hand. His knees trembled and he shifted to keep his footing. Thor rose, holding his hands out to appease Hela, and moved forward to help hold Loki up.
"Everything Skurge claimed about you was wrong," Hela sneered. "You're as weak as the rest of our family."
"Maybe I would've agreed a few years ago," Loki said, glancing at his brother. "But Thor here has a point: Ruling isn't all it's cracked up to be. Sure, I had Asgardians catering to my every whim, but it gets boring after a while. The only challenges are trying not to go broke and making sure everyone has enough food and whatnot for you to still have a kingdom to rule. And if you're alone, being at the top of the food chain is just plain lonely."
"What do I care about being lonely?" Hela snapped. "I was banished for well over a thousand years – I understand lonely. And I don't care."
"Don't you?" Loki challenged. "Why recruit Skurge, then? It wasn't for his brilliant intellect or outstanding battle skills or riveting stories. You and I both know you would've gotten here just fine without him."
"Every queen needs an executioner."
"You're the Goddess of Death. You are the executioner, Hela."
She opened her mouth to retort, so Loki just waved a hand, cutting her off. "Fine. Why try to recruit me, then? You would've happily killed me back on Earth. You could've killed me many times on this very bridge. And yet, I'm still alive. Why?"
Rage burned in Hela's eyes. "Do you want to die, baby brother? Is that it? Because, as you said, I am happy to oblige."
Thor started to growl, lifting a hand to electrocute her, but Loki knocked it down. "I want to be loved, Hela. That's all I ever wanted. You want that, too. You had that, with our father, and you were ready to do anything to impress him. Even genocide."
"He cast me out!" Hela shot back, stepping closer. "I was a tool to him, nothing more."
"No, you weren't," Loki said. "Aren't you curious why we look so much alike?"
"You're adopted," Hela said dismissively. "You could look like anyone. Besides, Thor and I are only half-siblings."
"There's more to it than that," Loki said. "I'm a Frost Giant, sister. The first Asgardian I ever touched was Odin, and I turned into what he wanted most. You, Hela. He was the key to my survival, and to get to his heart, I turned into you. Right down to the black and green color scheme."
Hela paused at that. She blinked, memories flickering through her eyes. She even seemed to tear up a bit. Loki found himself pressing against Thor, wondering if that's what he had looked like during all those fights with his brother.
"I hated Odin too, Hela. He picked me up hoping I would one day be a peace offering to the Jotuns. He lied to me for over a thousand years. And then, like you, he locked me up for being deadly in my ambitions. But, for better or worse, he loved us both."
Loki held his hand out to her. "We're not so different, you and I. Just put the sword down and maybe we can be the family he would've wanted us to be. Please."
For a moment, Hela looked tempted. Her sword wavered. Her antlers seemed to droop. Slowly, oh so slowly, her empty hand started to reach for Loki.
Then Surtur burst from the palace in all his mountain-sized, er, glory, roaring and smashing and burning and yelling about how he was Asgard's doom.
Hela whipped her sword up, fire returning to her gaze. "You were just stalling!" she screamed, lunging forward.
"No, wait-" Loki tried.
Valkyrie, who had been kneeling tensely behind the brothers, jumped for them, tackling them to the ground. Thor blasted Hela with lightning. She went flying, crashing into the water below. A moment later, she came surging out, heading straight for Surtur. For her doom.
"No!" Loki screamed, staring after her.
"Loki, look at me," Thor ordered, taking hold of his face and turning it so Loki had to look him in the eye. "I love that you tried, I really do. Our parents would've been proud. But you can't save everyone, brother." He stopped, then added, "And don't you dare, even for a second, think that your inability to save her means I feel the same about you. Understood?"
Loki couldn't tell if his chest was heaving from the wound or emotions or both, but he nodded. "Got it."
"Good. Let's get out of here, then," he said, helping Loki to his feet.
"Hulk!" Valkyrie yelled. "We could use a lift right about now!"
Terror spiked through Loki as he watched the beast thunder towards them. He ducked against Thor, and was relieved when he felt his brother gripping him protectively. A moment later, held against Hulk's green chest, they were hurtling through the air to land on the ship.
"Can you heal that yourself?" Thor asked once the doors were secure and they were flying away.
Loki peeked beneath the hand still clamped over the wound. The bleeding was stopping, and the internal damage wasn't too bad. "Yes," he answered. "I just… need some peace and quiet."
Thor nodded, pulling Loki's arm over his shoulders. "Let's find you some."
They hobbled off, stopping in the first room they found with a bed. Loki flopped onto it, panting, and focused on healing. Thor sat at his feet, resting a hand on Loki's leg as if still not quite believing that he was really there.
"Here," Loki said as he finished on his wound. "Let me see your eye."
Thor helped him upright. "Hold still," Loki ordered, cupping Thor's head with one hand, "and close your other eye." He hovered the other hand over his missing eye, doing what he could in a flash of green light. He cleaned it up, removing some of the scarring and ensuring it wouldn't get infected.
"There," Loki murmured after a few moments. "All you need is a gold eyepatch, and you'll look just like Father."
Thor snorted out a laugh, but his thank you was sincere. "You really aren't Hela, Loki, whatever similarities you two may have."
"I know," Loki sighed. "I just… It would've been nice, saving someone like me."
Thor smiled, patting the side of Loki's face. "I'm just glad you're safe, brother."
A weight lifted off Loki's shoulders at the contact. "I'm glad you're safe, too, Thor."