Hi guys! Here's the next chapter! This one's a bit longer to make up for the update delays! I've started classes up again, and in between, THAT, work, and my kid's school, it's been hard to dedicate time to writing. Anyways, this wraps up Ragnarok for the most part. Next chapter….well….I think you all know where things go from here. Thanos is coming…..and I'm not sure I'm emotionally ready for it. Anyways….I suppose I should let you get through this one first! As always, I claim no rights to anything Marvel! With that, enjoy! Xoxo-NickyLynn
Tessa was pulled from the darkness she had fallen into by a forceful shake. As her senses began coming back to her, and she could hear Thor's worried voice calling her name, she took note of how drained she still felt and let out a groan. "Ugh. Five more minutes." She grumbled as she tried smacking his pestering hand away.
"She's fine." Came Thor's annoyed sigh.
"She feels like she was just hit by a bus…..or twelve of them." Tessa shot back at him as her eyes began to cack open, peering up at him through narrowed eyes.
"Well, I need you to rally, because we're home." He told her, smacking his hand against her arm a couple of times.
Tessa let out another groan as she pushed herself back up, sitting up on her elbows to look around at everyone. "Everyone good?" she asked them, knowing it had been one hell of a ride through the wormhole, even with her added protection. When she noticed Bruce nodding back at her with wide eyes, she let out a sigh as she finished pushing herself up. "Good. Next alien planet we have to escape from, you're taking the lead." Tessa told Thor as she shuffled past him to look out the window, dropping her hand down on his shoulder as she did.
Sure enough, laying on the horizon like a golden beacon was Asgard, though the normally bright and stunning city had a darkness eating away at it. Smoke was rising into the sky, and the normally bustling streets were remarkably bare.
"I never thought I'd ever come back here." Valkyrie muttered out as she flew them closer into the city.
Bruce unbuckled himself from his seat and walked up beside Tessa, finally able to look upon Asgard for himself after years of hearing Thor and Tessa go on about it. "I thought it'd be…..nicer." he commented with furrowed brows as he took in the realm of Gods and Gold. When Tessa looked over at him with a raised brow, he backpeddled over his words. "I-I mean, not that it's not nice." He tried to amend. "It's just….on fire." He said, thrusting his hand out towards the billowing smoke.
"Yeah, well, one sibling denied reigning over the realm, another tried to transform it into a living shrine of his ego, and now the other tries burning it to the ground." Tessa noted with a tip of her head. "Historically, the Odin line has been pretty good at fucking things up for Asgard." She said before turning her head to find Thor giving her a blank look. "What?" she asked him.
"She's not wrong." Valkyrie said then, causing Tessa to point down at her for emphasis.
"See?" she threw back at Thor to which he just rolled his eyes to. "So, let's go un-fuck our home, shall we?" she said, motioning a hand towards the windshield. "There's a team name for you. The Un-Fuckers." She said with a snort of laughter.
"That's a terrible name." Thor told her with crossed arms and a drawn in face.
"Oh, because 'The Revengers' was the pinnacle of creativity." Tessa tossed back with a roll of her own eyes.
"I'd rather be an Un-Fucker than a Revenger." Valkyrie said over her shoulder.
"Ha!" Tessa exclaimed victoriously, smiling over at a grumpy Thor.
"Alright fuckers, so what's the plan here?" Bruce said loud enough to interrupt their squabble.
"Heimdall has most of the population gathered up in the old safety caverns built in the mountains." Thor said, pointing to the small point off in the distance.
"And by the heat signatures I'm picking up, it looks like Hela's on the move towards them." Valkyrie said then, manipulating the holographic display of the area, pulling up a large group of red moving away from the palace in the direction of the mountain.
"Drop me off at the palace and I'll draw her away." Thor told her seriously.
"I'll take you down and the two of us can draw her away together." Tessa told him with a nod.
"No." he refused. "The people of Asgard are our main priority. I want you with them. Get them to the bi-frost so they can escape."
"And let you get yourself killed going after Hela alone?" Tessa asked him, not liking the idea of him being on his own.
"The people trapped in those caves are all that matter." Thor told her. "You're right, we have a habit of fucking things up for them, so we're going to do whatever it takes to make sure that doesn't happen."
"Because we're the Un-Fuckers?" Tessa asked with a grin.
"I'm not calling us that." Thor told her in with another roll of his eyes.
"Party pooper." Tessa told him before turning towards Valkyrie. "Why don't you swing around to the east end of the palace." Tessa told her. "I'll bring Thor down and make a quick stop at the armory before meeting you back here."
"Whatever you say, Princess." She responded, swinging the ship around towards the vacant end of the palace.
"Alright Thor." Tessa said then, reaching over to latch onto his forearm. "It's a long jump so…deep breath." She warned before wrapping her powers around them and transporting them through space. When they touched down in the armory, Thor stumbled out of her grasp, sucking in a gasp of air as he reoriented himself. "I told you to hold your breath!" she admonished with a roll of her eyes.
"I did hold my breath!" Thor shot back at her. "I swear you're doing that on purpose." He said, trying to shake off the discombobulation.
"Oh, for the love of God, you're as dramatic as Loki." Tessa told him in exasperation as she strode forward to search for what she came for.
"What are we even doing down here?" Thor asked as he watched her walk around the vault with furrowed brows.
"Looking for a weapon." Tessa told him with a shrug. "We've got to have something down here that will give us some fire power on that ship." She explained as she continued searching. She pulled open a large wooden crate then, and although it wasn't what she was necessarily looking for, she found her eyebrows shooting up in approval. She reached down and pulled out one of the sets of clothing, unraveling it to reveal a pristinely preserved uniform that had once been used by the Valkyrie. The blue and gray tones reminded Tessa so much of her trademark catsuit that she had grown used to that she couldn't help but grin down at the material in delight, especially considering the flamboyant Sakaarian clothing she had been stuck in for the past two weeks.
"What about this?" Thor asked, pulling Tessa's gaze back over to him. She turned and the large gun he had held up in his arms made her eyebrows shoot up higher and her grin to widen.
"That'll work." She said in approval, looking down at the massive weapon that very much looked like it belonged on the side of a warcraft.
"Good, let's out of here before Hela can make it to those caves." He told her with a nod.
Tessa let the top of the crate drop back down as she stepped over to him. "You want me to bring you up anywhere?" she asked with a lift of her chin.
"No, I don't want you zapping me anywhere else." He told her, pointing a finger in her direction. "I think I'll just stick to walking, thank you very much."
"Baby." Tessa said with a roll of her eyes as reached over and motioned for the gun in his hands.
"Careful, it's very heavy." He warned as he handed it over to her. Tessa took the gun from him with one hand, before easily lifting it up and resting it on her shoulder. "You know, I'm not sure if I should find it offensive or not that you consistently doubt my ability to do things." She told him with an arched brow.
"It's not that I doubt you, Tessa." He told her seriously. "I just worry for you."
Tessa's eyes softened at him. "Yeah, well I suppose that's what older brothers are supposed to do, isn't it?" She said, finding that despite everything, she was still immensely lucky to have him in her life. And not only in it, but supporting it. "I worry about you too, Thor." She told him honestly. "Be careful with Hela." She then told him, her face dropping down seriously. "I'm kind of depending on you to be there for me after all this, seeing as one day it'll just be us left." She told him with a sad smile. "So just….make sure you make it out of this fight in one piece, yeah?"
Thor swept forward then, pulling Tessa into him as he hugged her, careful to avoid bringing the gun too close too him. "Don't worry." He told her as she snaked her free arm around his large frame. "I've no intention of going anywhere anytime soon." He promised as he pulled away, looking down at her with a wide smile. "I'm afraid you're going to be stuck with me for many years yet."
"Wouldn't want it any other way." She told him with a grin as she stepped away from him, ready to bring herself back outside where Valkyrie and Bruce were waiting. "I know I may not say it much…" she said then, eyes sweeping over him. "But I love you Thor, I hope you know that."
"And I, you, Sister." He responded, the smile on his face stretching even wider.
And with that, Tessa teleported out of the armory, bringing herself back outside. She landed on a balcony, and when she caught sight of the ship waiting for her, she brought herself up to it, landing back inside. "I brought you a present." She said to Valkyrie, pulling the large gun from her shoulder to drop on the floor of the craft with a loud clunk.
Valkyrie's eyes dropped down to the gun before they landed back on Tessa. "Well at least we have some fire power on board now." Valkyrie commented in approval. "Now let's go un-fuck this realm."
Tessa smirked over at her, finding that she was quickly growing to like the woman. "Right, well, first things first." Tessa said then, pulling out the bundle of clothes she had still tucked under her arm. "Might want to look away Bruce." She said as she began pulling off the layers of silk fabric wrapped around her.
Bruce looked over at her in confusion before he realized what she was doing and quickly spun around, a flash of red shooting across his face. "Do you have to do that here?" he asked as he kept his back turned to her.
"Bruce, I've seen you naked more times than I can count." She scoffed, mind drifting back to all the times he had reverted back from his Hulk form. "Besides, I've had things shoved up in places you wouldn't believe for far too long." She said as she liberated herself from the uncomfortable clothes, and instead slipped into the uniform.
"I don't really think I needed to know that or picture that." He complained as he began rubbing at his forehead, physically trying to scrub the image from his mind.
"I did." Valkyrie commented then, pulling Tessa's gaze over to her to find her looking back with a smirk. Tessa raised a brow as she finished dressing herself, unable to stop the smirk that lifted up her own face. "So, our people still hunkered down in that mountain?" she asked, pulling her long hair out from under the collar of her suit as she stepped over to the others.
"No, actually." Valkyrie responded as she swiveled around to pull up the displays. "Looks like they're on the move."
"Where to?" Tessa asked, looking down at the hologram in curiosity as she finished adjusting her clothing.
"The bi-frost." Valkyrie informed her, zooming in on the mass of heat signatures moving across the bridge.
Tessa's brows furrowed down as she studied the image. "If that's our people…." She said, pointing down to the mass beginning their journey across the bridge. "Then what's that?" she asked, moving her finger to the large mass blocking their escape.
"Something tells me nothing good." Valkyrie said with a shake of her head. "Good thing we have a gun."
After some insistence from Tessa, Bruce took control of the ship then, flying them towards the bi-frost as Tessa helped Valkyrie attach their newly secured weapon onto the ship. Once it was locked into place, Bruce called back to them, drawing their attention back outside. "Found those people we're supposed to be helping!" he yelled back over the roar of the wind.
Tessa hung her head out the open door, holding onto the top of the ship to hold herself in place as she leaned out to get a good view of the bridge below. Sure enough, the fleeing Asgardians were all moving quickly across the bridge, but unfortunately, there was something blocking their path. A very large something. "What is that?!" Tessa yelled out as she took in the massive black wolf-like creature standing in between her people and the dome of the bi-frost.
"That's Fenris!" Valkyrie shouted back. "He's Hela's pet. She must have resurrected him!"
"Pet!?" Tessa repeated in disbelief. "Hela has a giant fucking wolf as a pet?!"
"Don't worry." Valkyrie said, cocking back on the gun they had installed. "We have giant fucking bullets."
She began firing down on the beast as Bruce swept them around to face the palace once again. The line of bullets tore into the creature, effectively pulling its attention off of the defenseless population and onto them. When Tessa's sight landed on the other end of the bridge however, she realized the wolf was not their only problem. "You guys deal with him!" Tessa shouted, looking from Valkyrie over to Bruce quickly. "I'll work on the army coming in from the other side."
She teleported herself out of the ship then, dropping herself down in front of the mass of bodies marching their way across the bridge. Her eyes swept over the faces standing off against her, and her heart went racing. "Zombies." She muttered to herself as her eyes swept over the skeleton army filling the bridge. "An army of actual zombies. How could this day possibly get any stranger?" she groaned before shaking her head and stepping forward. Her eyes landed on the man standing in front of the army of undead and her face dropped down. "Oh Squirt, you really know how to pick sides don't you." She called out to him.
"It's Skurge." He corrected as he, too, took a step forward.
"So, what's the plan here, Skip? You just plan on slaughtering your own people?" she asked, throwing her hand out behind her to the sea of trapped people. "Is this how you get your thrills? Killing innocent women and children?"
"I just want the sword." Skurge said, holding his hands up like he meant no harm.
"Yeah, that's not happening." Tessa said, letting a wave of power roll though her, casting her in a blue glow.
"Aw, Princess." Skurge called out with a smirk. "Do you really think you have a choice?"
"Make your move, let's find out." Tessa shot back at him, bracing herself for a fight.
Skurge looked over his shoulder then, and as his eyes fell back on her, the mob behind him moved into action, rushing out towards her in a sea of swords and bones. Tessa sprung into action and began letting out blast after blast, pushing back as many of the dead soldiers as she could. Unfortunately, Tessa's powers were still not back to where she would like to them to be after all the exertion she had put into their escape from Sakaar, but she pushed on none-the-less, reaching out and sending as many of them as she could over the edge of the bridge.
No matter how many she seemed to push back, though, there were always more, and they soon began sweeping past her, the people behind her doing their own part in trying to fight them off with whatever weapons they had managed to escape with as well. More of them pushed past her than she would have liked, and she with a roar of anger, she let a surge roll through her that lit up the area in a bright light. She managed to catch several of the undead warriors in the blast, causing them to practically disintegrate under the energy she let loose. As the blast died back out, a shrill yell behind her caught her attention, and she spun in alarm to find a woman trying to fight off one of them, a small child clinging to her leg in terror. Tessa latched onto their attacker with her powers, using them to pull the skeleton apart, bones flying off in every direction as she forced him apart. She caught eyes with the woman who gave her an appreciative nod before she spun back around, knowing she had to stop any more from getting past her.
Drawing in a deep breath, Tessa whispered a silent prayer to both Frigga and Odin, before letting her powers run through her full force. She pushed the energy out at the line of enemies running at them once again, pouring it into a wall that she erected in between them and her people. She steadied herself as she continued pouring enough power into the shield for it to hold, keeping it strong and stable. The army of zombies slammed into it, bringing their fists and weapons down on it as they tried to push past it. Tessa could feel the vibrations of them trying to break through, but she kept her shields strong, refusing to let another one of them past.
She braved a quick look over her shoulder, trying to figure out how things were going on the other end, only to find Fenris still standing, the ship down and smoking, and more enemies than she thought had gotten past her pushing through her people. Her eyes snapped back over to the wall she had held in place, her arms beginning to shake ever so slightly as the number of amassing warriors grew, along with their attempts at taking the shield down.
A wave of panic rolled through her then as she realized she could not hold the shield forever, knowing her energy was already running dangerously low. Her eyes swept over the Asgardians behind her again, their screams of fear echoing through her mind. She drew in a breath, trying to steady her increasing heartrate as she sorted through her, admittedly low, possibilities. Movement out of the corner of her eye caught her attention then, and she turned her head to find a massive flying vessel pulling up beside the bridge.
Her eyes landed on a very familiar face, standing in the opening on the side of the craft, and the smile that split across her face was impossible to stop. She turned her attention back to the growing crowd fighting to get past her shield, and with renewed determination, used the shield to push back as much of them as she could. She sent the wall out like a bulldozer, making sure to push it was far back as she could, several of the dead fighters being thrown from the bridge, before she let the power fade away. She then teleported herself back several feet over to where Heimdall was standing, having been fighting off his own foes. "It's good to see you Heimdall." She told him with a nod as everyone began rushing onto the large ship as Loki stepped off, clearing out the bridge as he pushed through the crowd, moving to where she and Heimdall were standing.
"Not as good as it is to see you, I assure you." Heimdall told her before turning towards an incoming Loki. "Welcome home." He told him. "I saw you coming."
"Of course, you did." Loki responded before his eyes landed on Tessa. "Sorry I kept you waiting." He told her, his eyes trailing from the sea of enemies beginning to reform, back over to her.
Tessa's joy in that moment was unrivaled. She stared over at him, dressed in his fighting attire and iconic horns, and was, for the first time in her life, happy to have been proven wrong. "I can honestly say that I've never been happier to see you, Loki." She told him with a wide smile.
"Yeah, well, what can I say?" he told her, holding his hands out to the side "I have that effect on people."
Tessa rolled her eyes though her smile only grew. "It's going to be dangerous you know." she said with a raised brow, motioning back towards the army of reanimated corpses. "These guys aren't really keen on stopping and it's not like they're afraid to die."
"Well, luckily someone once told me that just because you fear something, doesn't mean you have to run from it." He told her. "Turns out I've found something more important to fight for than just keeping myself alive." He said, relaying back the words she had told him on Sakaar.
"No more running?" she asked him hopefully.
"No more running." He told her with a nod.
"Well, then welcome to the team." She told him with a lop-sided grin as she turned back around to face the oncoming wave of warriors. She drew on her powers again and readjusted her stance to take on more of them as Loki summoned daggers into his hands, the two of them side-by-side in their stand against the undead forces.
As soon as they were close enough, Tessa lunged into action. She grabbed onto as many of them as she could with her powers, crushing their bodies in on themselves before dropping them as she moved forward. She threw her fists out at every form she encountered, using what remained of her energy to add a little extra force behind her hits as she slammed into them, sending them either flying over the edge, or crumpling to the ground in shattered heaps of bones. One after another they came after her, and yet she didn't stop. She continued throwing out hit after hit, all the while knowing Loki was right along side her.
When she spun around to kick out at one of the bodies behind her, she caught sight of Loki pushing his way through the mob as well. There was a glint of a blade coming down on him from behind that caused her stomach to drop and in an instant, she was in between him and the creature trying to run him through with his blade. She shot out a surge of energy that sent the creature flying back, knocking several others down as he went crashing into them.
"You now, I like this." Loki said as he swiveled around, looking down at her like he was enjoying himself. "You and me, joined in battle." He said, sending his dagger out before it embedded into yet another warrior.
"Yeah, it's a lot different when you're the one doing the saving, isn't it?" she shot back at him as she brought up a small shield around herself, blocking a sword that was slicing through the air towards her head. She pushed her powers out and took hold of the blade, pulling it from its owner with a sharp tug that sent it flying into her own hand. She slashed out at the weapon-less creature, cutting the body in half before kicking it away from her. She felt her fingers brush up against something then, and as her eyes dropped down to the blade in her hands, her stomach rolled. "That's gross." She muttered as she forcefully pried the bony hands still clinging to the hilt away, throwing them to the ground with a shudder. "I'm not sure how my life spiraled so out of control that I'm stuck fighting a horde of literal zombies…but I'm over it!" she yelled out as she went moving through the sea of bodies again, her stolen blade cutting down one after another.
"Where's Thor?" Loki yelled out in question as they continued fighting. Just then, a blinding light tore through the sky, pulling everyone's attention to it. It was impossible for their eyes not to be drawn to it, for shooting through the sky was the largest, brightest bolt of lighting that Tessa had ever seen. It cracked down through the air, colliding with a balcony on the place, sending the entire side of the structure shooting off into rubble as a boom shook through the air.
Tessa watched with wide eyes before her gaze slid back over to Loki. "Found him." She deadpanned before one of the creatures swinging out behind him caught her attention. She wrapped her powers around Loki and pulled him over to her, so the creature ended up swinging his sword through empty air.
Loki looked down at her in surprise as he regained his balance. "Thanks." He breathed out in relief.
"Perhaps you two should worry less about your brother's adversaries and more about ours." Heimdall told them as he swept past them, driving his sword though yet another one of Hela's minions.
"Right." Tessa said, taking a step away from Loki as she swung her stolen sword around in an arch. As she moved forward again, her eyes caught sight of Thor shooting through the air towards the bridge, bathed in crackling energy and a grin pulled up her lips. She, Loki, and Heimdall tore through the sea of foes from their end as Thor began taking them out from the other side, effectively trapping the quickly dwindling army between them. Bruce had managed to transform back into Hulk and seemed to have pulled the giant wolf into the water below. And Valkyrie, having sent out a round of fireworks from the grounded ship, was cutting through the stranglers which split off over in her direction. Their team, it seemed, was actually gaining headway, and a fresh wave of hope filled Tessa will renewed determination.
As Tessa managed to get closer to Thor, she pushed her powers back out and wrapped them around the last line of creatures standing between her and Thor. With a tight squeeze of her hands, their bodies crushed in on themselves before she dropped her hold and they all fell in piles of crushed bone and armor. She locked eyes with Thor now that no enemies stood between them, and her smile faltered.
"You're late." Thor said before she could say anything, casting his gaze over to Loki as he and Tessa strode over to him, everyone out of breath.
"You're missing an eye." Loki shot back with raised brow.
"I thought I explicitly told you to stay in one piece." Tessa said, a frown pulling down her mouth as she studied the bloodied eye socket.
"You try fighting the Goddess of Death and see how many body parts you lose." He shot back at her.
Tessa's eyes snapped behind Thor's shoulder then, movement catching her eye, and her frown deepened. "About that…" she said, motioning towards Hela who was striding towards them, seemingly unfazed by Thor's impressively strong attack. "The Wicked Bitch of the West is back."
Thor turned to follow her line of sight and his face dropped down as well. "I think we should disband the Unfuckers." He said as he, Loki, and Tessa stood side-by-side to face Hela.
"Hit her with a lightning blast." Loki said, motioning a hand towards her as he turned to look over at Thor expectantly.
"I just hit her with the biggest lightning blast in the history of lightning, and it did nothing." Thor shot back at him before turning to Tessa. "Try hitting her with one of your blasts!"
"If she didn't go down from that," Tessa said, casting her arm out towards the destruction caused from Thor's bolt of lightning. "What makes you think I can stop her?" she asked with a shake of her head. "Besides, my reserves are running a little low here." She told them, casting her hands out to the side. "And so long as Hela remains on Asgard, her powers will only grow. So, other than just blowing up Asgard, I'm short on ideas."
Thor seemed to contemplate that a moment before he spun around to face her again. "What if that is the answer!" he told her seriously.
"Wait, what?" Tessa exclaimed, turning to give him a look like he had lost his mind.
"You want to blow up Asgard?" Loki asked in disbelief.
"What if this whole thing wasn't about stopping Ranarok, but causing it?" Thor asked, looking between the two. "What if that's what my dreams have been telling me?"
"Let me get this straight." Tessa said in shock. "You want to release Surtur upon Asgard….upon our home….and just let him Hulk-out on it?"
"You said it yourself….we can't stop Hela so long as Asgard stands and her powers only grow." Thor told her. "Besides. Asgard is not a place….it's a people." He said, gaze sweeping back to the people still boarding the ship behind them. Tessa's eyes moved to follow his, the thought turning over in her head before her gaze landed back on Hela who was almost upon them. "It's the only way." Thor pressed.
"Okay." Tessa relented with a sigh before turning to Loki. "What do you say? Want to help me unleash a giant fire demon and bring on Ragnarok?" she asked, not really liking the idea but knowing it was all they had.
"It's a bold move." Loki said, looking from Tessa over to Thor. "Are you sure about this? Because you know there will be no going back." He told them. "This will change everything."
"Whatever happens…" Tessa said, holding out her hand towards him. "We'll at least have each other to pick up the pieces and figure it out." She said before looking back over to Thor. "Together."
She felt Loki's hand slip into hers after a moment, but before she turned her attention back to him, she gave a nod to Thor. "Keep her busy." She told him. Thor returned the nod before she turned her gaze back to Loki and in a burst of energy, teleported them back towards the palace.
"This is madness." Loki said as they came out in the weapon's vault under the palace.
"Yes, it is." Tessa breathed out as she looked over at him. "That's why I brought you." She told him with, smacking the back of her hand against his chest. "Right up your alley." She said before stepping away and moving through the long hall.
"This is madness, even by my standards." Loki said in retort as he moved to keep up with her.
"I don't like it much either, but it's the best idea we've got." She responded as her eyes swept over the objects lining the corridor. "Now help me look for the crown."
She and Loki moved down the hall, past all the relics, before Tessa found what they were looking for. "I've got it!" she called out as she rushed up to the crown. She scooped Surtur's crown up into her hands before turning back towards Loki who was only now rushing up to her as well. "Now what do I do with it?" she asked him, looking down at the skull with furrowed brows.
"Now," Loki said, pulling it from her grasp into his own. "We cast it into the eternal flame." He explained as he moved further down the hall towards the flame that always burned. Tessa followed closely behind, stepping up beside him as he came to a stop in front of the large bowl of fire. He stepped forward and dropped the skull down into the flames, Tessa watching in apprehension. "With the eternal flame…you are reborn." He said as he stepped back towards Tessa.
Tessa's hand snaked out and latched onto Loki as the ground under them began shaking and the flames burned brighter. "Yep, time to go." She said as the skull began to take form once again. She took herself and Loki out of the vault then, getting them as far away from the palace as possible as Surtur rose from the dead once again.
When they came back out on the bridge, they found Hela towering over Thor and Valkyrie, menacingly stalking her way over towards them as they tried to scramble away. "HELA!" Tessa yelled out as dropped her hold on Loki and stepped forward, pulling Hela's attention over to her in surprise.
"And here I thought you had run off with your tail between your legs." Hela said, a smirk pulling up her face as she turned away from Thor to face her.
"This is over!" Tessa told her, taking a step closer.
"Oh, is this the part where the baby sister tries to stop me?" Hela called out in amusement, a laugh bubbling up from her throat. "Well, go on then, fight me if you dare!"
"No." Tessa said with a shake of her head. "You're the Goddess of Death." Tessa said as she stepped forward once more. "And I'm….just me." Tessa said, lifting her hands up to the side. "No, I'm woman enough to admit that that's a fight I wouldn't win." She admitted. "Luckily for me, though, I don't have beat you." she told her with a grin. "He'll do it for me." She said, tilting her head back to the palace.
Just then, the palace was consumed in a fiery explosion, Surtur rising from it like the harbinger of death he was. Hela's eyes snapped up to the massive fire demon as he let out a loud roar that shook through the realm. "No!" Hela breathed out in dismay, having not expected them to resort to something so drastic.
"Asgard's all yours!" Tessa shouted over to her as she back peddled her way back to Loki's side. "Or, you know, whatever's left of it by the time he's done." She said in satisfaction.
Hela's eyes fell back down onto Tessa and the anger in them was clear as day. "You-!" she began to spit out, but before she could get more out, Thor had gotten back up and struck her with another bolt of lightning. The blast hit her and the part of the bridge under her feet cracked out and crumbled away from the force of it, sending Hela dropping down to the water below.
Tessa took hold of Loki and brought them to the other side of the now gaping hole in the bridge, dropping down next to Thor and Valkyrie as they stood watching Surtur wreak havoc upon their world. "We're fulfilling the prophecy." Thor said with a sigh as the demon swung his massive sword through Asgard, nothing but a trail of destruction being left behind.
"Hmm." Loki said, tilting his head in agreement. "Father's gone for five minutes, and we go and completely destroy his kingdom."
"Thor was right." Tessa said then, her eyes drifting over to the large vessel moving safely away with their people on board. "It's not the golden palace that defines Asgard's worth. Our people are safe and that's all that matter." She said resolutely.
Thor nodded in agreement to that. "Surtur destroys Asgard…he destroys Hela…so that our people may live. But we need to let him finish the job, otherwise-" he began before a loud roar sounded behind them and a green blur streaked through the sky.
Everyone looked up to find Hulk soaring over their heads, aiming for Surtur with a yell of anger. "Hulk, no!" Tessa yelled out in a panic. She reached out with her powers and grabbed hold of him, stopping him mid-air. "For the love of God don't smash!" she yelled out as she began pulling him back down onto the bridge.
When Hulk dropped down onto the bridge, he spun around, waving his hand behind him to the enormous fire monster. "But big monster!" his deep voice complained, looking back at her in confusion.
"Yeah, I know, but we want the big monster to destroy things!" Tessa yelled back at him with a roll of her eyes. "Now, come on, we have a ship to catch!"
"But-" Hulk said, looking back and forth between Tessa and Surtur.
"Come on, big man!" Valkyrie called out to him then. "Our fights over!" she told him, waving him over to them. Hulk let out a frustrated huff but stomped his way over to them none-the-less.
Tessa's eyes swept up to Surtur one last time, the flames growing under him quickly consuming everything. She looked back over to Thor before her eyes slid onto Loki. "Let's get the hell out of here." She said with a sigh.