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Chapter 11
It's A No Brainer
They stood wide eyed at the spectacle that happened before their very eyes; if they had any doubt about Hela's sudden outburst at calling the cat her father was now diminished – what they were speculating now in their minds was;
"What the hell just happened?" Asked Tony as he stomped his foot at the green fire that licked at his foot, only to have it creep up his pant leg at incredible speed.
Hela snapped a finger and the fire were suddenly extinguished, not a single trace left, not even a trail of smoke, "Forgive me, I simply got too excited and rushed in, I forgot…"
She trailed off apologetically, her voice strained with disappointment.
"That doesn't tell a lot, doesn't it?" Clint resounded this time, eyes scanning the charred floor.
"When I was banished," Taken! Hela thought bitterly, hating the lie made to be truth in history and myth, "My father was cursed into never holding me in his arms again, even until the time I had to leave, he never…"
Hela's voice was shaking and her delighted eyes turned into one that of sorrow, longingly gazing at the cat who stirred sleepily in the doctor's hand. She hated how she was so close, and yet so far away from what she truly yearned for. The manifestation of the curse being a hard slap in her face about the reality she lived in – the one she feared of ever seeing when she closed her eyes and drifted off, the happy, and ultimately the sad memories that plagued all of them.
"My father promised he'd see me in my realm when his time comes," But it had been a lie. He needed to compensate for their painful goodbye, to assure her. She never got to hug him when she left; she tried, the other gods knew she tried but the barrier stood in her way, burning away on her rapidly healing flesh. She could never tell if it was the pain from the flames searing on her skin or the desire to cling to her father for last time and epically failing that screeched out of her mouth, her screams leaving her throat raw until she was further and further away from him – her last memory of him was his face that told her to be strong, that he would be with her in time, but she knew.
They had long since darted off their destinations in various areas of the common floor, Tony quickly motioning towards the coffee machine, Steve and Bucky awkwardly looking on while they forcefully tried to enjoy their sweet treats, admittedly famished from their sparring session.
Clint and Bruce sitting on lounge chairs opposite each other while Hela sat on one of the couches, her hand tentatively reaching to and fro the sleeping form of the cat on the other end. Sparks were flying whenever she flicked her fingertips close enough to activate the shield; tentative swipes, that was all – she made sure not to cause another rupture of energy to ravel throughout the room, but that didn't prevent the green flame from running up her arm from time to time, though she didn't really seem to mind.
"The curse," Bruce began and cleared his throat, avoiding eye contact, embarrassed about what happened the other day, "Does it affect him?"
Hela shook her head and straightened her back as she squeezed herself further into the plush sofa, knees to her chest hugging herself close, wiggling her stockinged toes while contemplating her answer, eyes locked on the floor, "It's a destructive repelling force with a very specific target, which makes it worse."
"Is there any way to get rid of it?" Steve joined in, taking a seat himself.
Thor decided that very moment to make an entrance, his purposeful strides taking him towards his Pop Tart stash in one of the cupboards, completely unaware of the situation.
"Only if it was lifted by its caster," She replied, her hands clenching into fists over her knees.
"Greetings my friends, and dear niece," Thor beamed jovially, walking over to them, only noticing this time their grave expressions, "Has something happened?"
"We found Loki," Tony called over the barstool he was perched on, a mug of piping hot coffee in his hand, "Or Hela did."
"You found him?" Thor breathed, alarm and relief washing over his features, "Where is my brother?"
When Hela didn't make a move to respond or to regard Thor in the slightest, everyone turned their eyes on Thor then the sleeping feline. Thor knotted his brows in confusion and took a while until the gears in his brain finally got a move on to figure out their gestures, and when he did, he gasped out in shock and scooted over the cat.
Thor got on one knee and inspected the cat closely, "Odin's beard, how could I have not noticed?!"
Hela shook visibly and quickly got to her feet, hands balled into fists on her sides, surprising the team members present in the room. She took a few calming breaths and quietly sat down, biting her lip in frustration and maybe even anger before she moved to speak, "Of course you couldn't have. You never did."
"But…" Thor drawn out, his voice a breathy whisper, even for his usual booming voice.
"You think my father failed you," Hela breathed out, eyes looking out and far away, "But the truth is that you and Odin failed him. You were both so easy in condemning him as a traitor when you did nothing but to make him feel inadequate. It was ironic how the God of Lies had lived with his entire life based on a lie. Or maybe it had been fitting – but it was truly unfair to mark of him as evil when he only acted out his rage and disappointment."
Thor got up to his full height and reasoned out, "I know not what you speak, Hela. If my brother has convinced you-"
"Convinced me?" Hela turned to him now, eyes hard and angry, "He couldn't even speak to me if he wanted!"
"You have seen what he's done," Thor tried again, "Tried to kill me, my father – went out of his way to invade Midgard, and even made me believe he's died before my very eyes. I know you love your father but I'm afraid he's already far gone."
Averting her eyes away, Hela looked at Loki's feline form and sighed, "What do you propose to do now, Odinson, kill him?"
"I did not-" Hela cut him off again.
"Then what did you mean exactly," Hela elaborated further, "Because obviously you can't have him running around plotting evil schemes. And prison's won't work either, trust me."
"I do not know," Thor admitted in defeat.
"Of course you don't, you're all muscle, no brain" She chuckled without humour, the other Avengers however, snickered with gusto, "For a would-be King you are truly hopelessly pathetic; though I do suppose that's why my father is fond and loves you so…"
Thor looked sad and dejected for a moment until he digested Hela's word, confusion settling on his face. He moved to speak but couldn't utter a word.
This time Hela smiled, "Be the best brother you can be this time around. If my theories prove to be right, we might have a shot at making things better, for all of us."
"I admire your fighting spirit my niece, but I," Thor started, lost for words once more as he sat down next to the cat, drowned in his thoughts.
There were only a few who noticed Natasha arrive and when she spoke up, some did look a bit startled, "How sure are you about this?"
Hela raised a cocky brow and smirked, "I have many great halls, but none of them has room for errors."
Hela was now back in her posh Manhattan penthouse, exhausted from keeping herself calm throughout the day, having been on a rollercoaster of emotions in practically one sitting.
When she got to her living room area, the lights were dimmed save for the orange glow from the bar and the bright lights from the buildings outside. There she found one figure perched on the arm rest of her sofa, the other leaning on the glass panes overlooking the city's skyline – both men sporting very smart and very stylish dark suits, each holding a glass of wine in hand.
"I wasn't expecting either of you until next week," Hela made her way over to them, scooping up the glass already filled for her as she took a seat across them.
"Well hello to you too," The taller, and more muscular of the two spoke, flashing a grin showing off his pointy incisors.
The other man swirled his wine on his glass, the rich scarlet liquid creating a vortex before he took a sip and walked over to Hela, giving her a pat on the head, "What he means to say is we finished early."
Hela curled her lips into a smile, which in turn was responded to by smirks. There in the midst of the darkness, shone three very identical green eyes staring at each other.
Author's Note: And there you have it! Hmh, maybe we could play a guessing game who these mysterious men are? Or maybe not. Hahah.
Well, tell me what you guys think about this chapter, I'd certainly want to hear from you. And thank you to all those who already fave'd and followed!
Until next time. Keep on supporting!
