Lothar and Hela left.
They were decisive, not the slightest bit hesitant. It was as if Earth held no allure for him at all.
The distinctively designed Lothar's ship, under the control of Woz, left Earth and initiated a space jump, leaving behind a mess for the Avengers to handle.
"It's over..."
Bruce Banner, slumped on the ground, had a bitter look in his eyes. The now-ruined city of New York, filled with dead bodies, was the gift Lothar had left them. As the smoke cleared, sorrow was etched on everyone's face.
"S.H.I.E.L.D. will coordinate with the New York City government to begin reconstruction."
"Assuming there's still anyone left in the city government to stand up and lead the effort," Natasha Romanoff, who had almost died at Lothar's hands, stood with her hands on her hips, biting her dusty lip. Looking around, her eyes were filled with confusion. Among everyone present, she was arguably the one who had lived the longest and seen the most. After all, Steve Rogers had been frozen in the ice for decades.
She had believed that nothing could make her feel this powerless, but now she realized she was terribly wrong. The Earth's proud defenses were like paper dams against Lothar, broken with a single push.
"I'll handle the reconstruction."
Tony Stark lay against a broken stone pillar. The cold touch on his back helped him focus on analyzing everything that had happened today. Among them, he was the only one who could manage this. He had the money and the artificial intelligence J.A.R.V.I.S..
"I'm going back to Asgard."
Thor, who had been silent for a long time, staggered to his feet, his eyes filled with determination.
"Going back to die?" Tony Stark's gaze was sharp.
"What did you say?"
"If you want to go back and die, I won't stop you. Don't forget, your sister went 'home' with Lothar." Tony heavily emphasized the word 'home.'
"What do you mean? My mother is still in Asgard, you know that?!" Thor's expression turned hostile. He never liked this earthling from the moment Nick Fury brought them all together.
"I know. Of course, I know."
"That's why I said if you want to die, you can go back." Tony Stark showed no fear, straightening his back and meeting Thor's gaze.
"I won't stop you. They won't stop you. No one will stop you. You can go now, right this way." Stark gestured, clearing a path. His sarcastic tone made a vein throb on Thor's forehead.
"Wait, wait. Now is probably not the time for us to be fighting, you two."
The tattered Dr. Bruce Banner, the so-called Peace Doctor, had to step in and play peacemaker. A painful defeat had exposed the hidden conflicts within the alliance that Nick Fury had hastily assembled.
"Hela is your sister, and Lothar's relationship with Hela seems to be out of the ordinary."
"We can't go to Asgard right now, Thor, not until we have a way to counter Lothar." From a soldier's perspective, Steve Rogers chose to side with Tony Stark.
Thor clenched his fists in silence, then punched the stone wall in front of him. Even a fully-armored Odin had died at Lothar's hands. Thor truly had no chance. Impotent rage was the truest description of Thor's feelings at that moment.
Boom!
A second later, another golden-haired figure descended from the sky, landing in front of Tony Stark and the others. This time, however, it was a woman.
....
The Nine Realms, Asgard.
The warriors, led by Queen Frigga and the Bifrost guardian Heimdall, were fully armored. Their defiant stance made Hela clench her fists as she stepped off Lothar's ship. These were the elite Royal Guards. Hela recognized their uniforms, which she herself had designed all those years ago.
"It seems Asgard doesn't welcome your return." Lothar, speaking from a position of comfort, watched the woman with the complicated expression across the Bifrost.
"Shut up," Hela snapped without looking back.
Having set foot on Asgardian soil once more and having finally replenished her power after a thousand years, Hela's clothes were no longer tattered. But the fragmented state of her heart wouldn't be repaired anytime soon.
Heimdall and Frigga. The two people standing against her were both people Hela knew well. One was the guardian of Asgard who had practically watched her grow up. The other was her mother—not her birth mother, but a mother in every sense of the word.
"Step aside."
"Odin is dead. Don't force me to kill you both." Returning to Asgard, to her rightful place, had become Hela's obsession.
"Leave here, leave Asgard, Hela."
"This was your father's command."
"You are not fit to be a queen, Hela."
After a long confrontation on the Bifrost, Frigga finally spoke. Their reunion after a millennium was a bittersweet one. The daughter she had once loved was now her enemy, standing on the opposite side of a bridge.
"No, Mother," Hela shook her head.
"I am the one who deserves to be queen."
"Now, step aside."
A final glimmer of hope lingered in Hela's eyes. If Frigga were to step aside now, their relationship might still be salvaged.
"This was Odin's decision, Hela. No one can defy it." Frigga shook her head. At her signal, the Royal Guards drew their bows.
"But he's already dead," the last flicker of hope died in Hela's eyes.
"No, he lives on in our hearts forever." Frigga shook her head. The moment she finished speaking, a volley of arrows flew toward the figures on the other side of the Bifrost.
Cling, cling, cling!!!!
An invisible wall rose up just an inch from Hela and Lothar, deflecting every single arrow. It was the Crystal Wall, a Vanir magic that Frigga had taught Hela long ago.
"Lothar, you can go back."
"When I've dealt with Asgard, I'll come find you in the Black Quadrant."
Hela closed her eyes, taking a long breath to calm the turmoil in her heart.
"...Whatever," the indifferent Lothar glanced at Frigga and the others across the Bifrost, then turned to leave.
"Lothar!"
Hela's call made him stop just before boarding the ship. "What is it?"
"Thank you."
Hela opened her eyes, her expression serene once more, and tied her hair back for a fight.
"...Boring." Lothar sneered, then boarded the ship without looking back, leaving a final message for Hela.
"When you come find me, remember to bring back the reflection paper you owe me."
"My father is asking for it."
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