Hela
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Loki didn’t even get the chance to take a steadying breath before he was nearly run through.
He had a split second to duck and a spear snapped through the space he had been, slammed into the ship and it tilted alarmingly from the blow. Inside, Banner yelped and the children screamed, but it didn’t topple.
Thor had batted away a similar attack moments before and now ran forwards, leapt from the hill and skidded down the last few steps at the bottom, Brunnhilde even further ahead than him, a battle cry bellowing from her lips as she sprinted at Hela.
Loki took that steadying breath. Then was running too, pounding towards the edge of the hill, jumped and landed, felt the unstable pile of bodies and broken masonry sliding beneath him and rode it, hit the bottom, continued without breaking stride.
The Valkyrie reached Hela first, Tyrfing swung up from a low guard to slice for her torso, and was blocked. But the move had been a feint and the sword twisted with Brunnhilde, round to the other side only for her target to have disappeared. Spun, a stab from Hela which she blocked and another attack-
Thor launched himself up, hammer raised above his head and he smashed down, flinging all his strength into the blow only for it to be held back with barely a stumble. Counter and Hela’s fist slammed into his chest, sending him tumbling. She pressed, arm now holding a greatsword and she sliced down, so fast even his Jötunn eyes only saw a blur.
But Loki was there.
He slid, on his knees, hands up, knives in a cross. The ice cracked on impact as her strike hit and his arms trembled.
It bore down on him for a moment, then up for another swing but Thor had got to his feet and Loki rolled away, the stone which Hela hit instead shattered.
She whirled, a mad snarl on her face as she turned on the older brother, sword slashing for him, blocked by his hammer and she feinted, changing direction into a stab for his chest. Thor batted it aside, stepped in for a knee strike but one of Hela's hands had let go of the weapon and now held a knife, was swinging forward-
Brunnhilde charged, Tyrfing sweeping down from over her head and that knife was used to block it, Thor was safe to swing again.
Loki aimed, icicles sprayed from his fingers and none struck, glancing off moving armour which slithered into just the right place.
Hela whipped around, sent the other two flying back with a wave of her hand, black metal shot up from the ground, slammed into them.
“You disgusting-!”
“Fuck off,” Loki snarled, swept his arms and a wave of ice rushed at her. At least Asgardian spells translated well into the more instinctual format of the freezing magic that now flowed through him.
Hela tried to bat it away, a hammer of black an extension of her arm as she swung it through the rush of ice. But it moulded around, letting her weapon pass through then continued on. Just as it reached Hela, the hammer became a shield and Loki's seiðr smashed into it, pushing her back as her boots dug into the rubble. Then faded away, unable to manoeuvre round the shield.
She didn’t get the opportunity to retort; Thor and Brunnhilde were on her again, one swinging for her legs while the other aimed for decapitation. Hela managed to twist away, her headdress knocked a blow aside and she was swirling in, swords in hand and stabbed for them. Blind side turned to Loki, he sprinted in, summoned a wall of ice at her back and leapt over it, turned mid-air and landed between his allies, thrust a spear he held with both hands towards her.
Hela threw herself backwards, hit the conjured wall and snarled.
Black metal flooded over her chest milliseconds before his attack could land, the spearpoint was too fragile to pierce it and Loki felt his weapon shatter, dropped it and backstepped, only just avoiding a counter which sent a solid pillar towards his chest.
The other two, however, were stabbing at her in a pincer movement and Hela managed to avoid Thor, but not Brunnhilde. Tyrfing bit deep into her side and she hissed, whipped round, not bothering with a weapon and her fist slammed into the Valkyrie’s face. She stumbled, but blocked the following attack and then all three were thrown back, pillars flinging up from the ground to slam into them.
But there was no respite, not for any of them.
Before Loki could stand, something black, sharp and fucking fast blurred in his vision and he rolled, only just avoiding a blow to the chest. Instead, it speared into his shoulder and he gasped, bit back a scream. Above him, Thor and Brunnhilde were also struggling to their feet, both having avoided the attacks on them by similar spears. Shafts of black metal trembled where they stuck up from the rubble. Hela bore down on Loki, but before she could finish him off there was a furious yell, hammer swinging for her head. She twisted, blocked Thor and slashed at his stomach with the other hand. And he wasn’t there to take it, at her side in a flash and his face twisted into an enraged snarl, weapon blurring towards her side.
Loki tried to rock up, sit, but the spear skewering his shoulder and stuck in the broken masonry beneath wasn’t dissolving like the others had. He hissed, glared in Hela’s direction, winced as Thor took a particularly strong blow on his guard.
After a moment to steel himself, Loki grabbed the spear and yanked it from where it had lodged itself in one swift movement. Flung it aside with a shout, squeezed the wound, purple blood gushing from the hole in his body. Bone was visible. A moment of barely being able to see and then Loki came back to himself, a sheet of ice sealed off the wound and he gasped, panting on the floor.
He’d been there too long.
Hela wasn’t so inexperienced that he could afford mistakes.
A poleaxe was swinging for his neck.
Loki flinched back, tried desperately to scrabble out of its path.
Fortunately, Thor appeared from seemingly nowhere and his hammer struck out, held in both hands. The poleaxe bit deep into the wooden handle and he was shoved back, feet digging into the rubble.
Behind Hela, Brunnhilde swung Tyrfing for her again and Hela was forced to abort, couldn’t press further against Thor and twisted, a shield grew from her forearm and held it up. Tyrfing scraped across it. Leant forwards and shoved, sent Brunnhilde flying.
Loki managed to stand, wounded arm hung limp and Thor made to reach out, but a crack stole his attention.
In his grip, yet another hammer was crumbling.
Hela laughed, turned to him, Brunnhilde cursing, a spear buried through her thigh, lodged in the rock beneath.
“I don’t have a…” Thor whispered, letting the handle fall from his fingers.
Hela raised an eyebrow, angular face mocking. The cut on her side had already healed, leaving only a slit in her bodysuit.
Thor was staring at his hand, the crumpled brows and trembling fingers familiar, but in a mirror, not on his brother!
“Snap out of it!” Loki hissed, hands iced over, seiðr ready and waiting to be formed into weapons of all kinds.
Hela advanced, Brunnhilde struggling in the background, screamed when she tried to sit up.
"Our father has abandoned you, little Princes. He knows who is strongest. Why, do you think, that daddy dearest has not swooped down from his golden palace to save you? I am the Queen of Asgard, Goddess of Death and you shall kneel.
"Remind me," She smirked, "What were you the Gods of, again?"
Thor blinked, the usual self-confidence seemed completely gone, "I can't… I don't have Mjolnir…" He whispered.
"Since when were you 'Thor, God of Hammers'?!" Loki reached out and grabbed his brother on the shoulder, a gesture he was usually on the receiving end of, "This is no time for doubt."
"But I'm not strong enough! I don’t have magic or ice or-"
"Bullshit," Loki didn't know he'd spoken until the crass word was out, "You are the Crown Prince of Asgard. You are the fiercest warrior this Realm has ever known including into the Conquest days. You are my brother," That last part was snarled, vicious and protective and certain, "And you do not give up."
Loki didn't wait for his words to be processed but turned back to Hela, who was staring at him with something close to wariness.
Behind him, an ominous rumble.
That wariness became fear.
Loki grinned, let his sharp teeth show, "The God of Thunder," He gestured sweepingly to his brother, "And the God of Chaos at your service," He dipped into a mocking bow.
Hela's eyes were wide. Lightning crackled overhead.
"When do we start?"
Something tangibly shifted. Static shivered through Loki's body and he resisted the urge to look back at his brother. He could feel the air coming alive as thunder rumbled through Asgard. Something about the Realm's very presence seemed to light up.
Which was when a bolt of electricity shot past Loki's head.
At the same moment, distant explosions began to grow closer and he twisted - getting caught in the strafe of a Chitauri skiff would not be good.
But that wasn't it.
From the direction of the crashed Sakaarian orgy ship, he could hear angry, wordless screaming.
When Loki turned to look, it was Banner, hands tight on the turbo laser controls and swinging it towards Hela. Retribution for the spear through Brunnhilde's thigh, most likely.
However, it, in combination with Thor's surprising amount of magic, snapped Hela from her shock.
A wall of metal shot up, blocked the bolts. When the first one struck, a groan and the patch of metal glowed red. Didn't melt.
Loki glanced at Thor and stared.
His remaining eye was filled with blue, the socket a crackling ball of arcing white, electricity sparking from his shoulders and burying into his skin, seemed to make him glow. Hands wreathed in lightning and a grim expression in place, the broken hammer lay forgotten.
But Thor didn't have a strong enough connection to Yggdrasil. Not for magic like this!
What if it wasn't Yggdrasil itself?
Loki cocked his head, watched as his brother pounded forwards, electricity raining down around him, flooding up from the rubble to embrace him and reached.
Not to Yggdrasil, but to Asgard, for the innate energy that had always been there.
He hadn't done this before. Would it work? Loki could sense the stream of glowing seiðr Thor was automatically pulling to him from the ground beneath their feet.
But he was the Crown Prince.
Loki hesitated, blankly watched Hela furiously attempting to dodge and weave away from Thor.
Then he dove into the web of energy, searched and searched until…
Asgard.
The Realm Eternal welcomed him and that power - that power which Thor had wielded since he was born - flowed into him.
Loki, Prince of Asgard, felt flames crackle over his figure. Felt them lick his skin with burning burning heat but not harm him. Felt how the Realm itself filled his form with pure seiðr.
God of Chaos alright; who had heard of a Frost Giant wielding fire?
Below, Hela was flung back, lightning crackled after her and she smashed into the towering black wall, now glowing almost white. Banner's furious yells were entirely buried by the reverberating explosions.
Loki grinned, leapt.
Landed beside his brother.
Thor turned to him, then his eyebrows shot up, "I didn't know you could-"
"That's because I couldn’t," Loki smirked, "Do you even know how you are wielding seiðr right now?"
"But you figured it out?"
"Just a matter of being Asgard's Prince."
Before them, Hela was stumbling upright, blades bared and eyes narrow, "You fools-"
Loki put a finger against his lips, the universal gesture for shushing an unruly child and flame bellowed from his mouth.
It leapt across the distance, closed in on Hela but then that cloying black, wrapping around his seiðr.
Loki just smirked, the gout of flame immediately curled away, into nothing, "That won't work on me again."
She snarled, a hail of knives flung at him with the sweep of her arm. Time to test how hot his fire could get.
Thor rocketed past, barely a thought spared to the projectiles and Loki stood still, then, with a mocking flourish, summoned a wall of flickering blue-white. Even a few metres away, it seared him. In the eye-watering heat, Loki squinted to see the knives - bubbling and then completely molten in the flames.
Hot enough to melt conjured metal, then.
Good.
Loki continued his way down, steady, letting the flames lick at him.
For so long, he’d thought that Thor’s power came from Mjolnir - Thor had too, apparently. And to find that a similar power was available to him… Too little, too late for his bitterness, but not too late to help save Asgard. Hopefully.
And Hela was sending shards of black, barely fully formed at him. Two, the only ones which would have hit, were melted. Gouts of flame sprung up with barely a thought, engulfed them and he smirked. The conjured wall was evidently taking her concentration away from the fight.
Thor didn’t let up. If anything, the attack on Loki only enraged him.
A yell, lightning arced down from the overcast heavens and struck Hela.
Surely, she was a toasted stick of bones and spite?
But, no stench of burning flesh and the brothers were ready when she sprung from the flashing pillar of electricity.
Hela had been caught off-balance. No longer.
In a whirl, she was upon Thor, swirls of metal keeping the lightning from touching her. A punch, aimed at her stomach and she whipped away, turned on a pin and smashed her heel into the back of his head, sending him sprawling to the floor. But, before she could stomp down on his head, Loki was there.
He crossed the metres in an instant, fire spread in a trail behind him. Launched into Hela, knives became a spear held in both hands and he drove it into her side, blue-white flames licked along the blade and extended before it.
As was to be expected, Hela batted him aside, but hissed when the heat hit her. Thankfully, the momentary distraction gave Thor enough time to roll back upright, away from her and into a more cautious stance. Even with the might of Asgard herself behind them, it wasn’t the time to get cocky. Or anything other than incredibly careful, actually.
Loki spun, the ice reformed in his hands so the spear’s point was on the opposite end and shoved it towards her gut. But she had backed off and there was a sword heading for his kidneys. Probably would have sliced through his spine. Loki twisted away, felt the blade dig into his side and grimaced, but was stabbing for her neck before he could feel the pain, flames in a wreath about his arm.
He never struck, a foot slammed into his chest and he had a moment of freefall, before bouncing along the rubble. Loki snarled, felt the wound ice over, tumbled to his feet and was sprinting back to the fight.
Thor had taken up his position, lightning crackled across his whole body and lanced across to Hela, each time redirected to harmlessly pass into the ground.
A moment to think as his brother held off the enraged twisting mass of black blades. Loki cocked his head, pulled the swirling, bright, burning energy to him, and felt it coalesce in his palms.
Seconds later and he barrelled into Hela.
Hands up, towards her face, close as he could get. Twin pillars of fire shot out, scorched at her head, but hit nothing. Loki knew the next move would be daggers in his stomach and he twisted away, felt Thor do the same and they were coming back round.
Without direction, fire leapt from his hands, from the cracks in the rubble beneath his feet, from the clouds above, which lanced lightning down.
The mixture of flames and electricity hit her, flung Hela tumbling in a crackling blue and snapping red flurry. Only a few metres and she landed on her feet, digging into the broken masonry. But it was a vast improvement to getting beaten into a pulp with nothing to show for it.
At which point, blackened and with wisps of hair escaping her headdress, two of her broke off. Shimmering, liquid metal at first. Then solidified. More.
Loki snarled, “That’s my trick.”
“Well,” Thor said with a forced cheery tone, “At least we know what to do.”
“Hers don’t disappear when you hit them, brother.”
“Oh… Yeah.”
Loki sighed. Readied himself.
Even more came into existence, that slightly frazzled, slightly scared look evaporated. Became smugness, then the laughing, manic warlord they had grown to know and hate.
Being on the receiving end of a multitude of illusory enemies wasn’t as fun as casting them.
Hela gestured. All of them.
They seemed to shimmer, moving effortlessly and fluid. Loki tried to stare at the one which he knew to be the original but… It was impossible.
When they finally stopped, the two opposing forces stared each other down. To an outsider, to Banner, sitting in the ship, it must have looked like the elements of nature versus some form of overly-dramatic black, clone army. One side with only two, one with branches of lightning flowing from him, the other a pillar of flame. And Hela, at least twenty of her, amassed across from them, no more than thirty metres away.
It felt as if the battlefield held its breath.
Explosions still echoed in the distance, and most likely no-one knew what was about to happen. But that didn’t quench the vague feeling of importance.
Loki sighed, ran a hand through his hair, “Let’s get this over with.”
Apparently, his two siblings agreed.
Hela rushed towards them, a mass of bodies, each with a spiked head, arms ending in swords and daggers and spears.
The brothers ran to meet her.
Thor forged ahead, a thunderous yell blasted from his throat as he leapt, lightning arced down from the heavens and hit his back, arced out towards the inky stain of lookalikes. Loki hung back, fire snarled up him, whipped the air into fierce wind and when the wave came close, it exploded outward.
Bodies flung back, some melted, parts of their faces bubbled and writhed. Others, hidden behind their comrades, flooded in and Loki batted first one, then many more away. Sliced at metal, kicked and sprayed gouts of flame.
Suddenly next to him, the imposing height of his brother and they fought back to back, one throwing punches, the other flinging knives and fire.
Loki ducked a sword and whipped away, twisting to counter but there was something else sweeping for his legs. A swift step to the side and he pulled on Asgard, flame engulfed not only him, but everything too close. Liquifying metal and he dodged a collapsing figure of molten black, felt the splat of heavy droplets against his boots.
Behind him, the wordless dull thuds as Thor worked his way through the constructs. Being metal, they were more susceptible to lightning than the true Hela was, apparently.
Another close call as a spear launched itself at his gut. Loki tried to bat it away, but didn’t manage to redirect it enough, felt the cool bite into the side of his stomach. A hiss of pain, accompanied by yet more flame crackling out, leaping over the rubble and biting at metal legs. To his back, Thor sensed something was wrong, whipped around and then the world exploded into arcing white. Thunder growled and the nearest constructs which weren’t melting into the broken stone were pierced by snarling forks of snapping electricity.
Loki grasped at his stomach, choked on a pained yelp as he tried to stand upright.
“Lo?” Thor held him, “ Lo-”
“I’m fine,” He said, splayed his palm over the wound and felt it ice over. How many holes did he have in his body, now? All just from this fight? “We need to finish this. Quickly.”
“I’ve been trying.”
“I know.”
The short reprieve hadn’t been just for them, and when Loki stopped leaning on his brother, it was to a replenished crowd of Hela.
But this time, they were close enough that he didn’t have time to truly prepare before being thrown back into the fight.
A moment was all it took for the tidal wave of cold metal to sweep him away. Loki desperately twisted, ducked, flung himself out of the way of those biting blades. Each move took him further from Thor.
But then he wasn’t far.
Thor was right in front of him.
Didn’t make sense; Thor had been behind him.
Loki hesitated, a moment, his sword poised to slam into the fake-Thor’s chest, but then said Thor smashed him over the head with a distinctive hammer. Loki stumbled back, woozy and automatically dropped down, the swish of something going over him with force.
Sprung back up, only for the army of Hela to have disappeared.
Loki blinked. Turned, sweeping the battlefield and-
Thor was fighting… Thor?!
No.
It was impossible to tell which was which, the lightning encompassed both, and each threw the same punches, knee jabs, used their hulking figures in just that way which made it his brother.
They couldn’t let this fight continue any longer.
Loki’s stomach ached. His shoulder throbbed and he could lift it, but not without wincing. And on top of those most recent wounds were innumerable bumps and scrapes and probably a fractured rib or two. Adrenaline could numb his pain, but it wouldn’t completely stop it, or halt the stiffness in his muscles after hours of unending battle.
At his hip, the Casket of Ancient Winters hummed.
Before Loki could consider his actions, the box was in hand and he gasped, felt the chill spread through his bones, felt the powers of Jötunheimr and Asgard at his fingertips.
“Hela,” He said.
Neither stopped. Both glanced in his direction, but didn’t even pause. Still rolling away from punches, throwing lightning and with no time to react. Perhaps one Thor tried to push the other away, but it was lost in the whirling electricity.
Loki was left holding the Casket. Useless.
Both figures of his brother seemed to be sagging. Soon, one would be too exhausted to block a punch, dodge an elbow strike, brace enough for a kick. And then it would be the end of his brother. With Hela’s experience, she would be the one to hold out the longest, even with the raw might of Asgard herself lent to Thor.
However.
A bang.
Loki glanced in its direction, close enough for the deafening slam of sound to break through his stupor.
The wall Hela had conjured was crumbling. Behind it, framed by the hole punched through it, Banner’s face was twisted into a snarl, flushed red in rage.
It was enough of a distraction that Hela made a mistake.
Her foot didn’t land perfectly on the top of a broken stone, but slid down into the crack and what appeared to be empty space.
Loki was just high enough, looking down on enough of an angle that he saw as the air burst into swirling colour, then black engulfed it. Hung like suspended oil.
A vita.
Somehow, a vita had been blown from the palace, landed right there.
Loki just grinned.
Without hesitation, holding Hela’s too-familiar gaze, he unleashed the Casket on her.
Ice combined with fire in a destructive rush. A stream of blue, deep and light and swirling snow hit her. The illusion fractured, disappeared and those eyes faded back to a shade which wasn’t Thor’s.
“How…?” She whispered.
Loki’s grin became wider, teeth sharp, “Your footwork is shabby.”
Ice crept up further, locked her in.
The wall she conjured collapsed completely, disintegrated.
Evidently, the spear keeping Brunnhilde did, too.
Just as Hela’s face began to frost over, her teeth chattering pathetically, a sword sliced through her neck.
With a thud, her head dropped onto the rubble.
“That’s for murdering my lady, you fuckwit!” Brunnhilde snarled, kicked the severed head with enough force to send it spinning away, bouncing along the broken remnants of Asgard.
Loki heaved in a breath when his lungs started to burn for air and dropped the Casket. He dropped too, after stumbling a few steps to Thor’s side.
Moments later, they sat side by side. Thor reached out, clasped his shoulder.
Loki considered for a moment, then threw caution to the wind, shuffled closer and bumped his side against Thor’s, staring at the half-frozen, very-dead body of their sister.
At which point, Banner scampered up to them, two children in tow.
“Holy shit,” The mortal whispered in an awed voice, “Thor, I didn’t know you could-… Loki, how did you-…”
“Magic,” He replied without as much malice as intended.
No matter that they had defeated Hela. Hela, who had been as much a victim of Odin and Thanos as Loki. The true threat still ran rampant.
In the distance, a reverberating thud, so deep it rattled his bones but was barely audible.
After a moment, he glanced at it, only to see the palace collapsing.
A sense of imposing doom descended on their small band.
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