Abandoned

Hel watched Thor with fascination as he paced his new room. Back and forth he went, like a tiger trapped in a zoo exhibition. It seemed the longer he paced, the angrier he became.

"This isn't about you , you know..." she purred, "It's about your dear old daddy...although," she paused, stepping toward him; close enough to poke at his nose with her fingertip, "you didn't make the situation any better . You could have helped your brother at any time. I know everything that happens in Asgard. I've seen the way you treat him- like he's your subordinate."

Thor forced himself not to back away as Hel stood nose-to-nose with him, staring into his eyes.

"You're pathetic and weak, uncle . It's why you always had to throw that hammer around. Deep down, you know you're no better than the common citizens. There's nothing inherently special about you."

"SHUT UP !" Thor couldn't stand the sound of her voice for one more second. His fist struck the wall beside him, making bits of the marble turn to dust.

"Ah, there's that notorious temper..." Hel laughed, completely ignoring his demand.  "I imagine it has gotten you in a fair amount of trouble, has it not?"

She didn't wait for him to answer. Instead, she continued taunting him.

"Banished from Asgard for calling Odin an old fool and a coward..." she made a tutting noise with her tongue, and Thor clenched his teeth to keep himself from lashing out at her again, knowing that was exactly what she wanted. He almost admired her for her sharp tongue until he remembered where she had inherited it.

"Well, you may as well make yourself at home. I'll not let you walk away from here until I get exactly what I want."

That reminded Thor of Loki as well.

"Thor wouldn't be in this situation if it hadn't been for me- for my actions. I should go help him," Loki muttered.

Bucky shook his head.

"No fucking way, man. I swear, I'll fight you."

Loki narrowed his eyes, wondering if the soldier was serious. Bucky looked like he'd resolved to die for his cause, and Loki couldn't imagine why.

"You do realize that you would lose that fight, yes?" Loki asked.

"Yes, but I have confidence that I could hold you off for a little while at least."

Loki rolled his eyes, scoffing at Bucky. "I am a--"

"Yeah, yeah you're a god. I know. I'm a neurotic brain-washed super-soldier with homicidal tendencies. No one cares. All I care about is keeping you safe. You're my friend. Thor can handle himself. And none of this is your fault. Stop blaming yourself, Loki."

Hel had spent the better part of the last few hours telling Thor exactly what she thought of him. She was in the middle of a particularly nasty rant when she suddenly stopped, held her hand up as if to silence everyone else in the vicinity, and grinned almost evilly.

“At last.”

Thor watched as she strutted toward the gate, transforming before his very eyes from the withered and disgusting being who had been yelling at him to an ethereal goddess.

“Hello grandfather. We’ve been expecting you.”

Thor tried to move toward the gate, but he soon found that he was completely paralyzed. He tried to call out, but no sound came. He was truly worthless.

“Where is my son? What have you done with Thor?”

Odin bellowed, advancing on Hel as if he was going to attack her at any moment. Hel didn’t seem fazed. She merely smirked, pointing toward where Thor was currently standing; seemingly frozen in one of her spells.

“Let him go , Hel! I command--”

“You,” Hel poked at his chest, still smirking, “have no leverage over me anymore, All-Father ,” she rolled her eyes at the last words. “You’ve already done your worst to me. It is I who have the power now, so you had better listen to what I have to say.”

Hel paced in front of Odin, examining her own fingernails in a cold, calculating manner that set Thor’s nerves on edge.

“Let me see… first, you cast my brothers out of Asgard because you were afraid of them. Not because they had actually harmed anyone, but because you thought they might hurt you .”

Odin started to speak, but Hel held up her hand once more.

“No. I’m not finished. Then you cast me out, making me the ruler of Hel because I didn’t look like I belonged in your realm. Did you ever stop to consider that I might be able to change my appearance? After all, I am Loki's daughter.”

She shifted once, twice, three times right in front of him- appearing first as a little girl, then as a horrifying half-woman, half-skeleton, and last as an old woman.

“But no matter. I think I’ve made this place quite homey.”

“What do you think, dearest uncle?” She spoke over her shoulder to Thor, whom she knew could not respond.

Once again, Odin tried to speak, but Hel shushed him with a finger to his lips.

“You see, Thor is dead, but you could change that. All you have to do is make a vow right here, right now.”

She pulled what appeared to be a golden scroll from nowhere and casually handed it to Odin.

“You must vow to leave my father alone . Stop meddling in his life. Stop trying to control him. Stop finding reasons to execute him simply because he doesn’t fit your ridiculous ideals. You must cease all contact with him immediately, and you must sign this in blood . If you break this vow, Thor becomes mine forever. ”

At first, the All-Father looked incredulous, but Hel wasn’t in the mood for his arrogance. She jerked the contract from his hands, stalked over to where Thor was trapped, and pulled a sword seemingly from thin air. Holding it steady at Thor’s throat, she glared at Odin.

“I can paint this contract with his blood if you like.”

Loki was actually worried about his brother. He thought Thor should have returned, and he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was terribly wrong.

“Just let me go to Asgard. Speak with Heimdall. He’ll know what’s going on.”

Bucky could hear the desperation in Loki’s voice, and it made him feel sick, but he couldn’t risk letting Loki leave. Thankfully, Tony put his foot down before Bucky had to say anything more.

“No. Asgard isn’t safe for you right now. Hell, Asgard isn’t safe for any of us right now. Thor is on his own. Besides, exactly how many times has he stood up for you or pulled you out of harm’s way in the last century?”

Loki didn’t have an answer for that. His relationship with Thor had been incredibly strained, and if he examined it closely he could finally admit that it wasn’t all his fault.

“Stop! I’ll do it. Just...put the sword down, Hel,” Odin barked.

Watching from inside his bodily prison, Thor honestly had no idea if his father would yield to her demands, and that made him think .

Had Loki been right about him all along? Was Odin really as selfish and manipulative as Loki claimed? Did his father really love him, or was it his mother who had kept him safe all those centuries?

He watched as his father snatched the scroll away from Hel and pulled a small dagger from his own belt. Odin glared at Hel, then looked up at Thor with an unreadable expression before swiftly slicing his palm with the blade and allowing a few drops of his blood to dribble onto the scroll.

Hel smirked as the scroll glowed bright white for a moment, sealing the vow. It hung in the air between them, completely suspended, twisting and turning as if mocking the All-Father before Hel took it once more.

For one horrible moment, Thor thought she was going to go back on her word, but within seconds he felt the air around him shift and he could move again.

He took a few tentative steps toward his father.

“Welcome back, Uncle Thor,” she mocked, “I trust you’ll use your next life a bit more wisely.”

“And you ,” she pointed a finger at Odin, “do not even speak my father’s name.”