The Weight of Immortality - CH - 76

Hela had always known that working closely with S.H.I.E.L.D. and Stark Industries would eventually lead to questions about her past. While she had meticulously kept her true nature hidden from most, there was only so much she could do to mask what she was. Among mortals, she was different. Stronger. Smarter. More resilient. And with Thor’s recent arrival and his casual reference to her being Asgardian, the people around her had begun to piece together the truth.

Agent Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow, was perhaps the most observant of them all. She had seen the way Helena Black moved, fought, and reacted. No human could possess such reflexes, strength, or knowledge of warfare. And now, with Loki’s capture, Natasha’s suspicions had only grown.

As she observed Hela in the helicarrier, standing next to Tony and Bruce while they monitored Loki’s containment chamber, Natasha finally voiced her thoughts.

"So, a princess, huh?" Natasha remarked casually, crossing her arms.

Hela, who was watching the monitors, barely reacted. "If you’re looking for a tiara, I’m afraid I left mine in another universe."

Tony smirked. "Knew there was something regal about you. You’ve got that ‘too good for all of us’ aura. Like Thor, but, you know… competent."

Hela sighed. "I’ve been on Midgard for years. I’ve fought alongside you. Nothing’s changed."

Natasha narrowed her eyes. "Hasn’t it? You’ve worked for S.H.I.E.L.D., advised Stark Industries, and defended this planet as if it were your own. But why? Why stay here?"

Hela turned to her fully now, meeting her gaze. "Because I choose to. Because Midgard gave me something Asgard never could—freedom. Here, I am not a prisoner of my past. Here, I can build my own future. Isn’t that reason enough?"

Natasha studied her for a long moment before nodding. "Alright. But if you ever decide to take over, just give me a heads-up."

"Noted," Hela said with a smirk.

Tony, who had been silently enjoying the exchange, clapped his hands. "Okay, great, our Asgardian legal consultant isn’t about to go full dictator. That’s a win. Now, can we talk about the god of mischief in our floating prison cell?"

Bruce, who had been watching the conversation from the side, finally spoke up. "Loki isn’t just here to cause chaos. He has a plan. And if we don’t figure it out soon, we’re all going to regret it."

Hela walked through the dimly lit corridors of the S.H.I.E.L.D. Helicarrier, her heels clicking against the cold metal floor. The place was bustling with agents moving back and forth, preparing for whatever contingency plans Director Fury had set in motion. But none of that concerned her right now. Her task was simple—interrogate Loki and extract whatever information she could.

As she approached the heavily guarded glass cell, she saw him—Loki, the so-called God of Mischief, sitting languidly on the metal bench inside, his hands resting on his knees, wearing that infuriatingly smug smile. He was dressed in his Asgardian garb, though his signature horns were missing. His green eyes flickered with amusement as he took in her appearance.

He lounged as if he were a guest in a palace rather than a prisoner. Every attempt Fury and the other agents made to interrogate him was met with sarcastic remarks and thinly veiled threats.

"You think keeping me here will change anything?" Loki smirked, tilting his head. "I am a god. Your chains mean nothing to me."

Nick Fury sighed as he watched from the control room. "He's not gonna talk. We need something else."

Natasha Romanoff, standing beside Fury, kept her sharp gaze on the screen. “He’s stalling. He knows something we don’t. If we break him, we’ll know where the Tesseract is.”

“Well, well,” Loki drawled, tilting his head. “And who might you be? Another one of Fury’s pets, here to prod and poke at me?”

Hela didn’t react immediately. She simply stepped closer, her hands folded behind her back. She observed him for a few moments before finally speaking, her voice smooth and composed.

“I am not one of Fury’s pets,” she said coolly. “I am here because they need someone who can see through your lies.”

Loki chuckled, leaning back against the wall. “Oh? And what makes you think you have that particular talent, dear interrogator?”

Hela smirked. “Because I know you better than you think, brother.”

Loki’s entire posture stiffened for just a fraction of a second. It was so brief that most wouldn’t have noticed it—but Hela did. His smirk faltered before he quickly recovered.

“Brother?” he repeated mockingly. “I have no sister.”

Hela raised an eyebrow. “Are you so sure about that?”

Loki leaned forward, his expression shifting into something more serious. “If this is some ploy to rattle me, it’s an unoriginal one. I know Odin’s lies. I know what he’s hidden. And I know that I have only one sibling—Thor.”

Hela stepped even closer, now just inches from the glass barrier separating them. “Odin’s lies are deeper than you think,” she said, her voice almost a whisper. “You were not the only one he kept secrets from.”

Loki narrowed his eyes, scanning her face as if searching for any trace of deception. “If what you say is true,” he said slowly, “why would I not know of you?”

Hela exhaled through her nose. “Because Odin locked me away. Just like he discarded you. But unlike you, he feared me. He knew what I was capable of, and so he erased me from history.”

Loki’s lips pressed together, his mind clearly racing. He was good at deception, but so was she.

“Let’s say for a moment that I believe you,” Loki said, standing up now, his interest piqued. “What do you want?”

Hela crossed her arms. “It’s not about what I want, Loki. It’s about what you are planning. You came here to conquer Midgard, but you know this world is beneath you. So tell me, what is it that you are really after?”

Loki smiled, but this time it lacked the usual arrogance. It was colder. Calculated.

“You assume I will simply tell you,” he said. “That I will spill all my secrets because you claim to be my sister.”

Hela smirked. “Oh, I don’t expect you to tell me anything willingly,” she said, turning her back on him. “But I also know you, Loki. You like to talk. You like to boast. Sooner or later, you’ll reveal everything just to prove how clever you are.”

Loki chuckled, shaking his head. “And here I thought Midgardians were the only ones with such amateur interrogation techniques.”

Hela turned her head slightly. “Who said I was done?”

Loki barely had time to register her words before the glass of his cell rippled with dark energy. For the first time since she arrived, Loki looked uncertain. The magic she was using was unlike anything he had seen before.

“You… are not like the others,” Loki admitted.

Hela smiled darkly. “No, I’m not.”

For the first time, Loki realized that perhaps he had underestimated his so-called sister. And that was a mistake he would come to regret.

"Step aside," she commanded, walking toward the cell.

Fury raised an eyebrow. “And what exactly do you plan to do?”

Hela smirked. “Something I’m quite good at.”

Inside the cell, Loki's expression changed slightly as he saw her approach. He recognized power when he saw it, and there was something about this woman that made him uneasy.

Hela gave a dark smile. “ But I’m not here for a family reunion. I need information.”

Loki leaned forward, feigning curiosity. “And what makes you think I’ll just hand it over?”

Hela’s smirk deepened. “Because I’m not going to ask.”

Before Loki could respond, Hela reached out with her magic, her fingers barely grazing the glass. Her eyes glowed a dark green as she dived into Loki’s mind with Legilimency.

Loki’s eyes widened in surprise before he clenched his jaw, attempting to resist. But Hela was not someone easily pushed out. She had spent centuries honing her abilities, and her strength in mind arts was second only to Harry.

Hela found herself standing in a vast, dark void filled with fragmented memories. She could see flashes of Loki’s past—his childhood, his jealousy toward Thor, the moment he learned of his Frost Giant heritage. But she didn’t need those memories. She pushed further, deeper, until she reached the core of what she was looking for.

A sinister presence loomed over Loki’s mind, wrapping around him like chains. It was not Loki’s own will that had led him here—it was someone else’s. And then she saw him.

Thanos.

The Mad Titan’s visage loomed over Loki like a shadow, his influence seeping into every corner of Loki’s thoughts. Hela could feel the overwhelming compulsion placed upon Loki’s mind, forcing him into servitude. His free will was buried beneath layers of control, but deep inside, she could sense Loki’s resistance, his anger, his desire to be free.

“Thanos,” Hela murmured. “So, you’re the one pulling the strings.”

She dug deeper, ignoring Loki’s pained screams echoing in the mindscape. More images flashed before her. Plans. Strategy. The Tesseract. And then, another vision—one of Agent Barton, accompanied by a group of S.H.I.E.L.D. operatives, preparing an attack.

Hela’s eyes snapped open.

Loki gasped, his body jerking violently in his restraints. His usual arrogance was gone, replaced by a moment of true panic.

"You—how—?" Loki panted, his hands trembling as he realized what had just happened.

Hela smirked, stepping back. "You're not as untouchable as you think."

She turned to Fury and Natasha. “Loki is under Thanos’s control. He’s not acting on his own. If we break that control, we may have an ally instead of an enemy.”

Fury’s face hardened. “And how do you suggest we do that?”

“By killing him,” Hela said flatly.

Loki's eyes widened, and Natasha's hand instinctively moved toward her weapon.

Hela rolled her eyes. “Relax. I was joking… mostly. But there is something else. We have an incoming attack.”

Fury straightened. “What kind of attack?”

Hela turned toward the monitors. “Hawkeye. He’s coming—with a team. They plan to break Loki out.”

Natasha’s face darkened at the mention of Barton. “Damn it.”

Fury sighed. “Well, at least we know what’s coming.”

Hela crossed her arms. “We have two choices. Prepare for the attack and defend the base, or use it as a trap.”

Fury smirked. “I like the way you think.”

As alarms blared across the helicarrier, signaling an impending breach, Hela watched Loki carefully. His mask of arrogance was slipping. He had been exposed, his secrets laid bare. And now, for the first time, he knew what true fear felt like.

Hela knew she had no choice—she had to take Loki to Harry. Only Harry had the power to remove the mind control Loki was under. But there was a significant problem: Loki was currently being held in a high-security SHIELD facility, surrounded by some of the best-trained agents on the planet. Breaking him out wasn’t just difficult—it was near impossible. And Hela had no intention of making enemies out of SHIELD by staging a direct rescue mission. The last thing they needed was an international manhunt for kidnapping an intergalactic prisoner.

With this in mind, she decided to call a meeting in the lab, where Tony Stark and Bruce Banner were already deep in conversation. The two scientists were exchanging animated war stories about Captain America—Tony with his usual sarcasm and Bruce with his reluctant amusement. It was a rare sight, seeing Bruce so relaxed, but that was quickly overshadowed by the looming problem at hand.

Outside the lab, chaos was already unfolding. As the battle on the helicarrier raged on, Loki’s plan to escape was in motion. The facility shook with the sounds of alarms blaring, and SHIELD agents scrambled to contain the damage. However, the most pressing concern for the team inside was Bruce himself. He looked noticeably uneasy, his grip tightening on the edge of the table.

“The last time I Hulked out things didn’t end well,” Bruce muttered, running a hand through his hair.

Hela, understanding his predicament, took a decisive step forward. “You don’t have to be here for this fight,” she said firmly. “Go and rest in my apartment. We’ll handle Loki’s men.”

There was a moment of silence as the team processed what she had just suggested. Every single person in the room expected Bruce to protest. The scientist was used to being at the heart of the action, despite his aversion to transforming into the Hulk.

But instead of arguing, Bruce’s face lit up in surprise—and relief. “That actually sounds... amazing,” he admitted.

Hela’s apartment was no ordinary place. It was filled with all kinds of magical relics, ancient texts, and mystical artifacts—many of which Bruce had been itching to study. A place like that was far more appealing than staying aboard a flying deathtrap, especially with the imminent risk of transforming into the Hulk in a confined space.

At her command, a soft trill echoed through the room, drawing everyone’s attention. The Phoenix, which had been perched on Bruce’s shoulder the entire time, let out a melodic cry and stretched its wings. Until that moment, most of the team had assumed the bird was just an ordinary, albeit impressive, pet. But now, as the air around the Phoenix shimmered with golden energy, realization dawned on them.

Hela gestured to the Phoenix. “Solace, take Bruce to my apartment.”

The fiery bird took flight, glowing with an intense golden-red aura. Before anyone could react, a burst of flames engulfed Bruce, and in the blink of an eye, both he and the Phoenix vanished from sight.

The stunned silence that followed was quickly broken by Tony, who threw his hands up in exasperation. “Oh, come on! Banner can’t just have a firebird teleport people and expect me not to want one!” He turned to Hela, his eyes lighting up with excitement. “Where do I get one? Seriously. I need a bird like that. Think about it—red and gold, matches my suit, and I wouldn’t even need to book flights anymore.”

Hela rolled her eyes, ignoring Tony’s antics. There were more pressing matters at hand. With Bruce safely away, it was time to deal with Loki’s forces.

“Enough,” she said, her voice carrying the weight of authority. “We have work to do.”

The team immediately snapped to attention. The battle wasn’t over yet, and Hela had no intention of letting Loki slip through their fingers.