A/N: I read in a description of Hel that she was balance between light and dark and so I see, my Hela going back and forth between light and dark in her personality, sometimes even within the same conversation. With her family, there is that level of familiarity so that she is going to say what she thinks and put her view out there and sometimes it may seem to have an unsympathetic tone behind it. She isn't going to be cold all the time; there is that light side; that capacity to love and care. My Hela is going to have less of a formal register in speaking than Thor and Loki. She's younger and she's been out of Asgard for a while and she associates with a variety of people/gods/beings compared to her elder counterparts and as she mentioned before, she's been to Midgard many times. She can have a biting tongue like Loki and sometimes will make light and jest about things that others wouldn't necessary joke about (can you blame her…she's surrounded by dead people most of the time) but then she might get serious again in the same exchange.

Sorry for the long notes, but I wanted to give you some insight into the character.

The explanation of Hel that I referenced can be found at: . .

Chapter 3

Steve had return from S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters and was brought up to speed on what was going on up to that point.

Hela return from the hallway from the guest bathroom and approached the group.

"Here, you need to eat something." Thor was motioning for her to sit at Tony's dining room table. She started with a bowl of soup. "Start slowly, niece." Thor patted her shoulder. Hela began eating. "You should be regaining your strength in no time."

Bruce came over to the table and began organizing items. He had an IV pole with a bag attached, several vials of medicine and various needles. "I can give you some pain medicine now but first I'll put this IV in your arm and we'll send some hydration and nutrients through it into your bloodstream." Hela nodded her head, not really paying that close attention to the meaning behind his words. When she realized Bruce had a needle in his hand as he reached for her arm, she jerked it away and shifted her body away from him at the same time while grabbing his wrist with her other hand. Bruce looked up at her; her eyes were wide and almost looked fiery.

"Hela, Dr. Banner means you no harm." Thor moved in closer.

"I'm not going to hurt you." Bruce said softly.

Hela let out a breath she was holding and let go of Bruce's wrist, settling back into the chair. "Sorry. Just a little uneasy around needles, lately. I'm okay."

Bruce explained to Hela the way the IV worked and she let him insert it into hand. She had another bowl of soup and then Bruce sent some morphine through the IV. Because of her weakened state, within a few minutes Hela started to feel the effects of the medicine and started to drift asleep. Loki moved her to the guest room that Pepper had readied for her. He had told the others that he would sit in the room to keep watch during the night.

Once Loki was out of the room, Steve asked Thor, "What's Loki's deal?"

"I don't understand your question."

Steve explained. "Why is Loki acting the way that he is? This is pretty strange behavior for someone who a year ago was trying to destroy the city and us."

"Like I said, Loki recognizes the impact of his madness and vengeance. I think more importantly this is his child that we are dealing with and it seems she has suffered because of his transgressions." Thor replied thoughtfully.

"Do you think he has changed?" Steve inquired.

"Loki has not really had the opportunity to demonstrate his change of viewpoint in actions yet."

"You said that Loki and Hela hadn't spoken in years. Did something happen?" Bruce asked.

Thor thought for a moment. "When our father announced a date for my coronation, Loki began to seem despondent at times. The coronation was a year away and we didn't notice it at first, but his jealously was beginning to build. He had created a scheme to disrupt the coronation. I didn't realize until much later that he had isolated himself from everyone including Hela. When he fell from the Bifrost I thought I had lost him. I had assumed that Death had claimed him that he was in the Underworld. I don't know if he had contact with her before he invaded your world, but he has been imprisoned in Asgard for the past year and I know he hasn't spoken to her in that time."

The groups went to their respective living quarters for the night; Thor of course, going down to Jane's apartment.

Sunlight poured through the window in the room where Hela had been sleeping. As she awoke she saw her father, the fallen prince of Asgard, sitting in a cushioned chair sleeping. She got out of bed; she was feeling much stronger than she had felt last night. She was still connected to the IV which looked like it had a new bag of solution hanging on the pole. She grabbed the pole as she walked over and kissed her father lightly on top of his head and then proceeded over to the large mirror on the wall. The tiny holes around her mouth were scabbed over. She could feel a stronger pulse of magic in her body and she reached hand up to her mouth and send a wave of magic through the area. Slowly the holes faded and disappeared leaving no traces of Thanos's attempt to silence her constant verbal prodding while he held her captive. She thought it best to wait a bit before healing her ribs, she didn't want to do too much too fast. She walked about to the main room with the IV pole rolling beside her.

Tony and Pepper were in the kitchen making breakfast.

"Good morning, sunshine." Tony called out. Hela looking around the room to see who he was talking to. "Are you talking to me?"

"Uh, you're the only one out there, so I think I am." Tony replied.

"Oh. Good morning. Thank you for your hospitality. I apologize for just appearing in your home. I should rather make my acquaintance with others in a different manner."

"Hey, you were in bad shape and I get it. I've been there. Here, have some French toast." Tony sat a plate of food down at the table and Hela made her way over. "Hey, your mouth….It's fixed."

Hela smiled. "Yes. I regained enough strength to heal it this morning." She sat down and began to sample the food that Tony and Pepper had prepared.

Steve, Bruce and Thor had made their way up to Tony's penthouse.

Thor approached the dining room. "Lady Hela, how are you this morning? You are looking well."

"Thank you. I feel well." Hela smiled at him. Loki made his way out of the guest room and sat on one of the chairs at the table. Hela and Loki smiled at each other offering no other greeting. Small side conversations were occurring not really focused on pressing matters. After about 10 minutes of this Hela turned to Thor. "So uncle, how is everyone in Asgard? Has the Allfather banished or exiled any family members lately? Anyone else been tossed into the abyss?" Hela said with a smile on her face.

Thor looked surprised, "Watch your words, child." The others stopped their side conversations and started listening to this exchange.

"Child?...Now uncle, you and I both know that it doesn't matter if I am a child, now does it? It didn't matter to the Allfather that I was just an adolescent when he sent me away to Hel, alone? Now did it?" Nonchalance was dripping from Hela mouth.

Hela took another bite of the French toast and turned to Loki. "What about you Father? What are your plans? Maybe you should go back your prison cell in Asgard. It might be best. You know, we can't have you getting captured and tortured again, then who knows which world you'll try to conquer next." Hela continued nonchalant in her tone, smirking as she talked.

"Hela, what nonsense are you speaking?" Thor was starting to get angered.

"Yes, nonsense indeed," Loki said with his mouth drawn tight.

"What do you mean, nonsense? Obviously, it was a biting comment. But..I mean..it was pretty straightforward."

"Hela, you are making no sense." Thor was looking hard.

"Wh- ?" Hela turned to Loki, a realization setting in. "You didn't tell him…..You didn't tell them?" Astonishment and confusion in her voice, she was shaking her head.

"Don't speak about what you don't know." Loki chided

"Didn't tell me what?" Thor rose from his seat.

"There is nothing to tell, Thor." Loki responded but glaring at Hela.

"The truth should be told." Hela asserted.

"The truth told from the silver-tongue is always seen as a lie."

"I know the truth."

"You know nothing."

"I was with her when you called out to her"

"What?"

"I was with her when you called for her to come to you"

Loki looked in disbelief.

"She was in Hel. You cried out for her. I was going to go with her to claim you"

"Who, Hela…who are you talking about?" Thor jumped in.

Hela never took her eyes of Loki. "Death." There was silence. "We went together to take you. We were there. We were so close. We saw you and what Thanos had done to you. He snagged you as you were falling into the abyss. And there you were, lying broken, beaten, tortured in body and mind and begging for Death after you truly realized that no one was coming for you. And then he took that despair, and he twisted it and molded it into rage and vengeance towards everyone else and then offered you a way out of that place and you took it. We were so close. I could almost touch you. She almost took you into her embrace. You would have been mine."

"Brother? Why didn't you tell me?"

"Don't. I don't need your pity. I made my decisions."

"Wait, it sounds like you are saying that Death is a person." Steve inserted himself into the conversation.

"Well, she's not exactly a 'person' more like an entity. She's my friend. Which makes sense; Death and the Goddess of the Dead go together." Hela looked at Thor. "You know it's a special kind of despair when you realize that no one will come and save you. Luckily, when Thanos captured me, I knew right from the start that I was on my own and no one was coming to save me." Hela stopped and stared at no particular thing. "I was used to it. It wasn't a new realization. I knew I was on my own. I had come to terms with that understanding long ago…when the Allfather sent me to rule Hel." She looked around at Thor and Loki. "Maybe that's why he sent me away, so I could learn that."

There was a few moments of silence after Hela's realization. Loki shrugged. "Or maybe he sent you away because it was foretold that you would lead an army against Odin by invading Asgard."

Hela pretended to be perturbed. "You're one to talk about things being foretold about them. At least I'm not supposed to bring about Ragnarok."

Loki smirked. "This is true, but you are going to essentially help speed it along." They both looked at each other and busted into chuckles.

Tony broke into this exchange. "Are you two joking around about ending your world? Should we be worried?"

Hela stopped chuckling and answered. "The prophesies given in our world are essentially like fortunes being told on Midgard. They are not really taken seriously except to those who are incredibly superstitious. My father and I have rather bleak prophesies surrounding us. I am to lead an army against Asgard and kill the Allfather. And my father is bring about Ragnarok; the end of our world."

"Yes, but this is not why you were sent out of Asgard, Hela." Thor said assuredly.

"No, of course not. When the Allfather saw how powerful I was becoming and what I had inside me….what I looked like when I used some of my power….that's when he knew my place wasn't in Asgard anymore. I have something inside me that I had to to learn to control. When that side of me is shown, it frightens a great many people. It is hard to gain acceptance when most of those around you are fearful of you and the 'monster' inside. I'm really powerful and it scares people what I can do. It didn't have anything to do with a silly prophesy. Hey..wait?" Hela looked to Loki. "Don't you need to have some more children? Aren't we are all supposed to align together to bring forth the end of the world." Hela had a huge grin on her face. Loki didn't look amused at the last comment and just shook his head.

"See, I told you this was a plan between the two of them. I knew they couldn't be trusted." Steve had an 'I told you so' look on his face.

"Relax, Capscicle, I think she's kidding." Tony said followed with an eye roll. "Wait! I've got it! My dad tried to take over the Earth and enslave all of humanity." Everyone looked at Tony with strange looks. "It's the name for the reality show." Everyone shook their heads and went back to their breakfast and their side conversations.

Bruce removed the IV from Hela's hand and she sent a pulse of magic through the spot and the puncture wound disappeared. She stood and went back to the guest room. She changed out of the borrowed clothing and put on the clothes she had conjured when she first arrived in Midgard. Her magic was coming back more and more strongly now. She sent pulses through her body and her broken ribs mended back together and the bruising on her arms and legs faded away. She looked at herself in the mirror and gave her reflection a smirk, admiring her work.

She walked back out into the main room with quickness in her steps. As she entered the room she made her way over to Loki, talking as she walked. "Uncle, I have to talk to my father."

She grabbed both of Loki's shoulders and looked at Thor. "I promise I will bring him back." Before Thor could respond, they disappeared.