Chapter Thirteen: Soul Stone Rescue
"Where are we going? Are you Asgardian? I've never really met an Asgardian, but you look like one," Peter Parker asked, his questions jumbling over each other as he asked them breathlessly. He had been talking nonstop since their battle with the bear-like creatures.
Hela turned to look at the teenage Avenger. Normally this much talking would annoy her, but Norns, he was an adorable sweetheart!
"We are going to Valhalla. From there, I will take you back to Earth. And yes, I am Asgardian," Hela answered.
"Really?! Are you related to Thor?" Peter asked, his cute brown eyes shining with excitement.
"Yes. He's my uncle. Loki is my dad," Hela said and surveyed the area. She could see nothing but sand. Where was the portal to Valhalla? Surely her brother and dad would've opened it by now. She had sent out the signal; she was sure of it.
"Wait," the soldier known as Bucky Barnes caught up with the two. He held up a hand, the human one, Hela noted. "Loki has a daughter? The Loki that attacked New York?"
"Yes," Hela said a little too harshly. Bucky took a step back. Hela tucked a loose lock of hair behind her ear and glanced behind her. The group of Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy were trailing closely behind, all of them on high alert for more attackers. She noticed T'Challa eyeing her closely, so she turned back towards Bucky. "It's complicated."
"How is it complicated? Did Loki send you?" Bucky pressed. "Can you be trusted?"
"Loki is dead!" Hela shouted, losing her temper. "I want revenge on Thanos for killing him and trapping everyone here. Trust me or not, I'm your only way out of here. It would be highly recommended that you don't make me even more upset than I already am!"
Bucky wisely stayed silent, but he moved to position himself protectively between Hela and Peter.
A green-skinned woman jogged up to Hela's side. She looked concerned. "I never knew that Loki had a daughter," the woman said.
"Nobody does," Hela replied dryly, still on the lookout for signs of a portal opening.
"I knew Loki. Well, I saw him from time to time. I assume you know what my father did to him?" the green woman asked.
Hela raised an eyebrow. "Your father? You mean Thanos, right?"
"Yes. Adopted father." The woman shrugged. "He kidnapped me and raised me as his own. I'm Gamora, by the way."
"Hela, and yes I knew. That's why Thanos needs to be taken down."
"Thanos mentioned something about a woman he was in love with. He called her 'death,' and she had black hair. You seem to fit his description," Gamora pointed out.
"Unfortunately, I do. And he made a mistake of doing so."
"I know that your father is innocent," Gamora said. "I want to believe that you are too."
"Thanks?" Hela said. Seriously, where was this portal?
"Is there still a chance at beating Thanos?" a dusty-blonde-haired man asked, his red leather jacket fanning out behind him from the hot wind.
"My intel says that he broke the Gauntlet after the Snap. As far as we know, he can only use one Stone at a time. That gives us an advantage," Hela explained.
"Good," the man smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. He seemed distracted.
Hela stopped walking. She stared up into the sky. "Come on! Dad? Sleipnir? Open the portal!"
"What's wrong?" Gamora asked.
"The portal isn't opening," Hela explained and paused. Dust swirled through the air as several creatures made their way over a hill. Hela saw Bucky reach for Peter and pull him closer.
Hela summoned a sword into her right hand. Something was off about the newcomers. "We have incoming!" she shouted.
The group tensed up and stood in a battle-ready stance. The well-trained heroes watched as the creatures grew closer. Four figures rose from the dust.
A voice rang out from the distance. "Have no fear! Your time has come to meet death. We will not tolerate prisoners escaping."
"Dammit," Hela swore. She knew that voice. The last thing they needed was the freaking Black Order showing up.
"Back off and leave us alone, you dumb pieces of shit!" the man in the red leather jacket shouted.
"Peter Quill!" Ebony Maw stepped forward, looking as ugly and disgusting as usual. He had his hands folded into a steeple; his feet never touching the ground as he floated over to the group. "We must thank you for allowing us to accomplish our goal."
"You can stick your thanks up your shriveled ass!" Peter Quill called back. Gamora stuck out an arm and pulled him back into the group.
"Shut up for once!" Gamora hissed. "Talking back only makes it worse."
True Hela thought, but a distraction by talking was probably their safest option. As a child of Loki, she was born with a silver tongue. She stepped forward. "I thought you were dead," Hela said to Ebony Maw, trying to dissuade him from attacking the group.
Ebony smiled. The other supposedly dead members of the Black Order stood around him. "Hela. Nice seeing you here. I must admit, I never thought you were one for 'rescue missions.'"
"Guess it's a day for surprises," Hela snapped back and raised her sword. "Now, I'm only going to say this once. Back off or die!"
"Oh, technically we are already dead," Ebony Maw continued in his stupidly soothing voice.
"Are you? You could always be deader. Like, so dead that your filthy soul is stuck in Helheim, where it belongs, forever."
Ebony Maw motioned with a wave of his hand, and the Black Order attacked.
Well, as if this day could get any worse.
Hela lunged forward and sank her sword into the nearest member of the Order's, Ebony Maw, chest. He whispered a few words which caused Hela to scream and let go of the sword to clutch at her head.
"Thanos' lover, hm. Trying to betray him, aren't you?" Ebony pulled the sword out and tossed it to the side. Bucky shot him, but the bullets had no effect. Ebony waved his hand, sending Bucky flying into a nearby sand dune.
"Get out of my head!" Hela ordered. She struggled to stand up, but a wave of telepathic magic pushed her back down.
She dimly noted that the others had split off into smaller groups and were taking on the other members of the Black Order, all of which were outnumbered but still beating the heroes.
Gamora jumped and swung her sword at Ebony's head. Ebony ducked and yanked on the woman's leg, swinging her down into the ground, hard.
Hela shook her head in an attempt to get Ebony's grasp on her brain off. She reached for her sword, but Ebony kicked it away. He pulled on her hair, forcing her to look up.
"My master will be pleased to hear that we captured his lover," Ebony crooned.
"I'm hardly his lover. Never even kissed the guy, let alone do the dirty with him," Hela growled, her green-gray eyes flashing dangerously.
"He will still be pleased. You will come with us so you can be reunited with your future husband." Ebony Maw pulled Hela to a standing position. Hela gasped as her hair was yanked harshly. "Anything that you want to say before we leave?"
"Yeah," Hela whispered in a low voice. "Go to Helheim!"
The young Asgardian twisted in Ebony's grasp and gripped him by the head. Black energy surged from her hand into the alien's skull. Ebony Maw screamed as the energy burned through his body, causing black light to stream from his eyes and open mouth. His body started smoking, and in a blink, exploded into a pile of ash.
The remaining members of the Black Order stopped their assault on the heroes and watched their teammates disintegrate. Proxima Midnight even took a small step away from Hela.
"Anyone else who wants to stand in my way?" Hela taunted, her sword gleaming in the hot sun.
The heroes stood in shock at the Asgardian girl. Most of them had looks of terror and awe on their faces.
"How in the world—" Peter Quill began but cut himself off. He shook his head in confusion. "Thank goodness that you are on our side. Imagine what you could do Thanos. You can do that to Thanos, right?"
Hela ignored Peter Quill's question and focused on the Black Order.
"Like I said before, back off and leave us alone!"
This time, nobody challenged her...by themselves. Fueled by rage and the loss of their comrade, the Black Order attacked Hela from all directions. The heroes were too stunned to react as the Goddess of Death was unfairly outnumbered and seemingly overpowered by three other aliens. Hela fought with all her strength, blocking blows with her sword and natural flexibility. Despite being stabbed through the chest by Proxima Midnight's weapon, Hela still stayed on her feet. After a few long minutes of defense, Hela switched to the offense; her immortality kept her safe and invulnerable. She planted a hand on Black Dwarf's head and powered up her magic. As she slowly dissolved Black Dwarf, she fought off Proxima Midnight with her free hand.
Black Dwarf growled and tried to shake off Hela, but the girl's grip was too strong. Within seconds, Black Dwarf was nothing but a pile of ashes. Corvus Glaive swung his glaive at Hela's neck. Most people would be decapitated with a swing of that much force, but the sharp weapon only stunned Hela. Hela spun around and yanked the glaive from Corvus. She held it up, the point aimed at the married couple.
Corvus Glaive stepped in front of his wife. Proxima glared daggers at the Asgardian girl. Both aliens were infuriated about getting beaten by a, not even, teenage girl.
"You can't kill me. My life force is connected with my weapon," Corvus Glaive jeered.
Hela glanced at the weapon in her hands. "Oh, you mean this thing?" She twirled it in her hand and thrust it at Corvus. The point sank in deep, causing the alien to stumble backward. He would have fallen if Proxima wasn't there to catch him.
"You fool. You gave him the only thing that his life is tied to," Proxima laughed and held up her husband.
"Are you sure about that?" Hela asked innocently. As Corvus wrapped a hand around the hilt of the weapon to pull it out, Hela dove in to wrench the weapon out and used it to slice at Proxima. Proxima fell and clutched at her wound, black blood pouring out from her side.
"Corvus! Assist me!" Proxima shouted but was cut off as she turned to ash. Corvus screeched in rage as his wife of many years die in front of him. Hela turned around faster than Corvus could react and plunged the glaive up, to the hilt, into the alien. Black smoke swirled around the weapon and into Corvus. His body went slack as the magic took over, disintegrating his body faster than the speed of sound. Soon, the weapon and himself were gone.
Hela stepped back from the pile of ashes. She was tired from using her 'death touch' so often. She teetered in place and was caught by Gamora before she hit the ground.
"You saved us," Gamora whispered.
"Not entirely. We still need to get out of here," Hela replied, black spots dancing in front of her eyes.
"How did they get here? I thought they were dead?" Sam Wilson asked.
"I don't know," Hela said. Gamora lowered her to the ground. Hela rubbed at her eyes and pushed sweaty strands of hair from her face.
"I am Groot!" said Groot. The adorable tree creature presented a yellow flower to Hela. Hela took it gratefully and smiled.
"At least they're gone," Peter Quill added.
Hela held the flower in both hands; the flower somehow giving her some energy. A yellow light shone from the center of the petals. Hela sneezed as the pollen drifted away in the wind. She hauled herself to her feet and muttered ominously: "This battle is far from over."