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Helheim was a mostly gray realm. The sky was usually clouded and mists hung to the trees and fields until late in the morning. It was also unspeakably big, and therefore unspeakably repetitive. Moss-covered woods reached across kilometers, and then slowly abated to moss-covered shrubbery and finally to leagues upon leagues of fields with moss-covered stones. Here and there you could find a little settlement inhabited by the Geste, the small folk native to the Realm, or find little bone fields placed by Helas of time past to serve as an army, should the need arise.
The palace Eljudnir sat alone atop the highest peak of Helheim, with long and tortuous steps leading up to it. On the other side of the mountain, the Afterworld Gates stood between their pillars, always open for new souls to cross, and always glowing orange. The river Gjoll cascaded from the top of the mountain, running to the left of the Gates. Near the Gates, a bronze statue of a fierce warrior guarded the entrance of a covered bridge, which crossed the river and led into a small island with a building in the middle.
Hela decided to not bother with the steps, just choosing to appear in front of the main gate.
"Good morning, um... Are you Olf or Alf?" she asked the gatekeeper.
"Olf, Princess. My brother'll start his watch this afternoon."
"I'm terribly sorry. After all these years I still can't tell you apart."
"Please, Protector," he said, opening the gate. "It's an honor to both my brother and I to even be remembered by you. Do you seek audience with the King?"
"Yes."
"He's tending to some problems on Northern Niflheim, but he should be back by early evening. Your chambers are ready and servants will be sent with food and drinks."
"Thank you, Olf. Have a nice day."
"At your service, Protector."
o.o
Hela wandered slowly through the palace, spreading her senses outward to learn who was still in the place. It seemed the Master at Arms was still away tending to matters in Northern Niflheim, but he was so since five years ago; what was new was the two new Counselors were missing too, and hadn't they been appointed about five years ago? Hela sighed; she just hated when her darkest assumptions seemed to fit the reality so closely, but to be fair she should have acted long ago. She had grown complacent. Now the only thing left to do was damage control. At least she had enough time to set the stage properly.
She entered her room and clapped her hands, surveying her surroundings. Most of the things Hela possessed there she wouldn't definitely need, and the rest she could replace with something else, so she just settled with her book about herbs and animals of Alfheim until the food was brought. It was a hearty stew, full of vegetables cooked until they were indistinguishable from one another and big pieces of meat and marrowbone. Helheim had no cuisine to speak of, but their meals were always more than hearty.
When she was done, Hela cut some bread and spread the marrow carefully, picking out the paper that came hidden in it before sprinkling some salt and biting gladly. She unfolded the paper.
The horror awaits in Northern Niflheim as the souls cry out for help, it read and left Hela looking thoughtful. At this point she was fairly certain that everything was worse than she thought.
She should have paid more attention, she should have got her spies sooner. She should have so many things, but it was too late for that. There was still time to act, though, and plenty of time to bash herself for failing her kingdom after she succeeded.
She twirled the paper around her fingers, her eyes lost in the distance.
You can never be too careful, a woman from London resounded in her head. She sighed and grabbed the saltshaker. She sprinkled the paper and ate it; it tasted like marrow and salt, with and aftertaste of ink. She downed it with beer.
I should have listened to you long ago, she thought to the woman, and prepared to start moving the pieces.
o.o
Hela sat at the table in the Counsel Room, second chair to the right of the head of the table. In front of her, two maps were displayed, one of Yggdrasil and one of Vanaheim; they were being held open by books. Next to her there was a notebook and a pen – so much better than quills and scrolls, she thought – and she was immersed in a enormous book about magics and tricks and spells to disappear and conceal.
So immersed she was, she didn't hear King Livamjo enter the room. The King stopped just shy of the table and watched her. His face was blank, but his eyes shone with some kind of weird light. He was completely still and gripping his scepter tightly.
Hela passed a page.
"Child," Livamjo said, and Hela jumped on her chair. She scrambled to stand up and bow.
"My King."
Livamjo walked deliberately toward the head of the table and sat down. His two new counselors hurried to their seats – one on his right, one on his left – and sat down, turned slightly to her. They all stared for a few seconds too long.
"What news do you bring me, in such a short time? It was just two days earlier that you left us."
Hela looked to the ground, frowning. "I have been to Asgard yesterday, my Liege, and while I have not found certain evidence of my father being there – there is too much leftover magic from his time living there – I have found some tomes that might be useful." She placed her hand on the big book in front of her. "With this I'll be able to narrow down the search. I had thought of starting right here in Vanaheim. It is a specially powerful place, and the spell will echo in all the realm. After it's cast, all I will need is a simple search spell."
The King nodded, but his eyes weren't focusing on the map. "How long will it take?"
"I need a whole day to prepare the spell, but after that it's a matter of minutes."
"Very well. Show it to me."
Hela handed him the book, opened in the page with the spell.
"I may take some time. You can leave," he ordered to the present. "Not you, though, child."
The counselors retired from the room. While the King focused on the book, Hela summoned another, this time one about searching spells.
When Livamjo put down his book, Hela raised her head.
"What will happen if this proves unfruitful?"
"We'll have to consider the possibility of my father seeking refuge outside of Yggdrasil." Livamjo reached out and took one of the books holding the maps in place; a side rolled up. "It's known for certain he had dealings with beings from outside Yggdrasil, and there are even rumors of him allying with all kinds of unsavory people." A shiver ran down her spine, "but I doubt father went back to them. He failed them, and they would have already put him on the Helbooks."
"I could not agree more." He was flipping through the little book slowly. "The outside of Yggdrasil have all kinds around it. It is said there is no rules but the ones decided by the strongest." A thick, long silence fell around them, as Livamjo kept flipping through the book, page by excruciatingly slow page. "Tell me, child, where does this book come from? I don't remember it in my library."
"It was a gift. It's one of my childhood favorites, and the Allfather saw fit to give it to me."
"When?"
"Yesterday. I was... um, surprised, should I say, by this gift. I thought I had fallen out of his favor after our fight." Livamjo nodded encouragingly. "I thought we could never speak to each other civilly, but yesterday he just... asked for my forgiveness." She chuckled sadly. "Maybe he's just feeling old and lonely."
"How so?"
"He was... a little strange yesterday." She avoided Livamjo's eyes. "He said... he said he was sorry, and he hugged me." She wiped at her cheek. "But I think I... Grandmother's gone, and uncle Thor's living on Midgard, and Father's been disowned long ago. It's just... I never thought he could rid of his pride in such a way so as to ask for forgiveness, instead of pretending something didn't happen. That is new for him," her voice cracked a little. "Excuse me, my King, but I'm feeling a little unwell. May I...?"
"Of course." He handed her the little book and she left the room.
If there was a smirk under her tears, nobody saw it.
o.o
Hela spent the rest of the day in her room, ostensibly grieving, or maybe brooding, but for all practical purposes she didn't left the room and nobody bothered her except to bring her food. It suited her perfectly. After midnight, she snuck out. She went to a nondescript tree in a nondescript forest, took a deep breath and walked under the roots.
The problem with branchwalking was that a single wrong turn or a step out of place could lead to a fall through the nothingness, or even worse, the Void, and she wasn't experienced enough to do it without a second thought like Loki did. And all that without taking into account that Helheim's root just twisted into itself. There was just one way out of the Realm; the rest just led to different parts of it. A feint to her right, a jump over the reaching horrors waiting to drag passersby, a little light in there and she appeared under the shrubbery in East Helheim. She had taken a wrong left.
"Dammit."
She dived into the root again and this time took two rights. Now Hela appeared in a crack in the ice of Northern Niflheim. She just sat there, letting her senses tell her what was happening outside.
Bile rose up her throat and she clenched her fists and jaw. What was happening outside was beyond loathsome. She felt like howling and rampaging at this insult. Instead, she gritted her teeth. She just had to wait for a single day. She left the place through the roots, but this time, when the horrors tried to drag her, she blasted them into oblivion.
She eventually reached her room, and collapsed on all fours. She started to dry heave, once, twice, three times, until it finally subsided. She rose with weak knees and wiped her face. Tomorrow, she thought.
o.o
The next day, Hela rose with the sun, had a nice breakfast at the kitchens and a pointed chat with the personnel she trusted most, and departed before seeing a single hair on Livamjo's head. She didn't trust herself near him.
She teleported to Midgard, in one of the bigger cities in the whole Realm. She decided to draw as little attention to herself as possible, so she wore a black dress, and turned her cape into a green and red shawl. The particular problem with this city was that the last time she had seen it, it was destroyed and Chitauri corpses littered the streets. With the lack of rubble and the people going about their daily business, she found herself lost. She entered a shop and approached the counter.
"Excuse me," she said to the cashier. "Could you tell me how to get to the Avengers Tower?"
"Tourist?" the woman said with a smile.
"Yes."
"Take five blocks that way, and then one to your left. You should see it from there."
"There is a police cordon around them, though. You'll have one hell of a time getting close to them," an old man with his hair slicked back and tinted glasses chipped in.
Hela sighed. "Well, I'll try my hand nonetheless."
"Well then, I hope you're lucky," the old man said and left.
The cashier shrugged after him and leaned conspiratorially in the counter. "May I ask you something?"
"Sure."
"Who do you wanna see?"
"Un...," she cleared her throat. "Thor."
"I knew it! You're from London, aren't you? He put quite the show back there, and he was so brave fighting those ugly things."
"You tell me. I was in a flat down the street from the battle. I could see those creatures running around and heard the clatter and smashing. It was terrifying, let me tell you."
"Oh my. Were you ok?"
"Yes, thank God. But I was so scared. I just thought that maybe, you know?, I could thank him, not in person, but maybe a letter or something. Anything, really."
"The best of luck for you then. I really hope you get to thank him."
"Thank you. Very much." Hela smiled at her and left the shop.
o.o
She stopped a few meters from the cordon and surveyed her surroundings. There was a small path where Stark employees could pass, but they needed to show their passes. There was two options now: throw subtlety out of the window and walk in on full Helheim garb, or appear directly in the building. She clapped her hands and started, appearing in the first floor bathroom. The key to a successful infiltration, she recalled from old memories, was looking like you belonged there. She conjured a paper printed with some graphs – bar graphs, she couldn't stand pie ones – and walked purposefully toward the elevator. She could sense her uncle somewhere in the top floors, above the 90th.. She was about to push the button when she saw there was a problem.
This elevator went was far as the 85th floor. She got out and revised her plan.
Hela went around the ground floor, conjuring different piles of papers and files to seem as inconspicuous as possible. Not a single elevator went further up then the 85th floor. The elevators to what appeared to be the Avengers personal quarters must have been private.
But she remembered this Stark man was fond of cars, so he should have had a parking place for himself. If he had a parking place for himself there probably was a personal elevator that led to his and his companion's personal rooms, above the 85th floor. If she found Stark's personal parking lot, she would find an useful elevator. She conjured a purse and got into the elevator again. She examined all the basement floors buttons and pushed one randomly.
The elevator opened into a parking lot. Maybe today was a lucky day.
Hela walked toward the exit, her strides rhythmic and unwavering. She searched all along the parking lot; nothing was in plain sight, but there was a hidden entrance. She just appeared on the other side.
o.o
"Sir, there appears to be a security breach in your garage." JARVIS voice resounded through the workshop.
"Why are you telling me this, JARVIS? I'm a busy man. And I know you know the protocols, I installed them myself," Tony asked his AI.
"I think you might find this interesting, Sir. She didn't force the door or my protocols; she teleported from one side to the other."
Tony practically jumped from his stool. "Give me a live feed, JARVIS. And my gauntlets. Threat level?"
"Presumed to be high, Sir." JARVIS pulled up a screen following the stranger. "Subject's vitals are within normal parameters but she appears to be neither human, mutant nor Asgardian."
Tony took a quick look at the screen and then did a double take. "Is she really taking the elevator, JARVIS?"
"It appears to be so, Sir. She is headed towards Mr. Odisson's floor. She has also changed the song being played. It is now Sioux City Sue by Zeke Manners, and she is singing along."
Tony put on his suit's boots, opened a window and flew up.
o.o
Tony was frantically trying to explain to Thor what was going on, but the Asgardian just took a look at the screen with the streaming of the trespasser and smiled broadly, so Tony just stopped completely.
"Am I missing something?" he asked.
"Do not worry, Stark. She's just my-" the elevator pinged open and Thor rushed toward it. "Niece!" he said, opening his arms.
"Uncle Thor. It's nice to see you after all this time." Hela walked into his hug.
"It has been a long time. I'm glad you came to visit."
"If only it were as easy as a vis..." She poked her head around Thor's arm and stared at Tony, who had approached them. "Um, hello?"
"Hey. Hi. How did you enter my Tower and change my music?"
Thor rolled his eyes.
"Magic," she answered.
"Tony, this is my niece Hela. Hela, this is my friend Tony Stark. He is also a crafter, in metal and engineering."
Tony shook her hand and paid attention, really paid attention to her, and he saw her black hair, and green eyes, and her stance and that shade of green in her shawl...
His eyes opened the tiniest bit.
"Wow, Tony Stark," Hela said. "I wish I weren't so hurried with this matter, because I'd love to have a chat with you." Hela nodded and Tony lifted an eyebrow. "I mean, how did you resolve the problem with the joints in your armor, Tony? Because I use a overlapping system, like scales but actually strips, but they have the nasty side effect of pinching." She conjured her armpiece and bent it. "See? Right here is the problem." She bent and unbent it in from of his eyes.
Tony took it from her hands and examined it, one eye on the device and the other on her. "You did it yourself?" Hela nodded. "How do you open it?"
"Here." She caressed a specific part and the whole piece opened.
"Wow. Is it pressure sensitive?"
"Yes. It's a marvel, isn't it? Too little or too much pressure and it remains in place."
He started fussing over it. "I'm hooked."
"Oops, sorry, Tony." Hela scratched her neck. "Actually, not at all. So can we have that conversation?" She looked thoughtful for a moment. "Of course, when I'm a little bit less worried with trying to save the Nine Realms."
"Yeah, sure." He kept his eyes on the armpiece. "You sure you'll be alright, Sons of Anarchy?"
Thor nodded.
"Can I keep this?" Tony asked Hela.
"Of course. Inspect it to your heart's content."
Tony smiled and took the elevator. "JARVIS, change the music back."
"Niece," Thor said.
"Sorry, uncle. I just... didn't want him to judge me right away."
Thor sighed and put a hand on her shoulder. He led her to the table. "They won't, as long as it is within my means to stop it."
"I know, and I thank you for it. But I also know it's completely understandable if they do. Father did, after all, destroy a good part of Manhattan."
He took her hand across the table and they remained silent for a while.
Hela sighed. "Well, enough of this. As much as I would love to sit down and brood, this is not the time. That's not the reason why I'm here." Thor perked up. "I'm afraid, uncle Thor." she stared at him. "I fear King Livamjo is planning something bad, something nefarious. There is something going on on Northern Niflheim. There are strange energies coming from there. He's also trying to keep me away from Helheim, with all manners of ridiculous tasks."
Thor frowned.
"I know he's hiding something," she continued.
"Have you spoken to my father about your fears? What did he say?"
"I'm not sure. He said he'd look into it, but I don't think he really planned to do it." She looked defeated.
"What would you have me do? Would you like I speak to Father again on your behalf?"
"Thank you, I'd like that. But mostly, I just wanted you to know. I have a bad feeling, I have had for some time. I think there are dark times ahead for Helheim."
Thor squeezed her hand and opened his mouth to reply when a flash of light distracted him. "That was the Bifrost," he said instead and stood up. The door leading to the connecting deck flew open and Fandral ran in, looking left and right. "Fandral!" Thor called him
"Thor, my friend! I'm sorry to come here bearing dire news. I need you to come with me."
"Why? What happened?"
"The Allfather. He has been attacked by King Livamjo in the middle of Asgard, and then the coward fled to Helheim."
Thor whipped around and looked at Hela, but she only gawked at Fandral. "No," she bit out and made a gesture. She then stared at her hand in disbelief and repeated the gesture, once, twice, three times. "He blocked Helheim. I can't get in."
"Then come with us. We'll need you."
They rushed outside and Heimdall opened the Bifrost for them.