Hela's POV (1,9k words)
I mean, I was being fair. Right?
Not only did I graciously offer to handle the cosmic fight without letting Earth get nuked in the crossfire, but I even spared them the trouble of stepping foot in my realm.
That's peak generosity right there. I'm literally giving up my home court advantage—and still planning to mop the floor with them. Honestly, I deserve a Universe Nobel Peace Prize or something.
But okay, let's be real for a second. The truth is, I'm a very responsable Queen. I started the gathering. All these humans and mutants, and mixed Inhumans in the crowd came here because of me as they will be my future subject.
And if any of them die while I'm hanging around, it'd look bad on me, like I can't even protect my own future minions. Terrible PR. That's definitely the only reason I'm keeping them safe.
Totally not because I want Mephisto and the rest of the Hell Gang to step into my little playground so I can serve them the full five-course beatdown they deserve. Nope. Purely reputation management. Pinky promise.
Now, let's talk about the Hanging Gardens of'Hel'. Before coming here, I gave it a little makeover. Or, let's say, a Hela-over. I mean, the place was already ancient and majestic, but that wasn't enough, I could enhance it while removing all the sign concerning the Babylon civilization and renaming it Hanging Gardens of 'Hel'.
So I upgraded it with all kinds of shady runes, magical enhancements, and extra evil decor. The result? The Hanging Gardens of Hel is exactly to my image.
Nobody really knows what this place does now. It's not like we're in the Type-Moon universe where attacking someone inside their magic fortress is a big no-no.
Mephisto and his emo little team were giving each other the side-eye, like,'Is this a trap? Did she have another trump-card?" And honestly? Good. I hope they're paranoid, then confident enough in their ability and enter.
To corner them, I cranked up the drama. I used my authority of the place and with a flick of my will, I turned the garden into a mega arena—I'm talking the size of a hundred football stadiums smooshed together.
Oh, and yes, I added spectator seats. Not just a few hundred. Two million. That's right. A whole audience for the greatest smackdown in underworld history.
Then, because I'm so nice, I used the Space Stone to teleport all the humans and mutants inside, each one seated perfectly. No family or besties got separated. I made sure of that. Again, fair Goddess stuff.
I stood up from my throne—slowly, of course, gotta have that main character energy—with Jean and Wanda flanking me like loyal queens-in-training. I told them through telepathy to keep it cool and dramatic. They nailed it.
Then I spoke, loud and clear, voice dripping with divine sass.
"This Queen accepts your challenge. But be warned—you have no idea what you're stepping into. When I win—and I will—your Hell becomes mine. And if you behave, maybe, maybe I'll let you be my hunting dogs."
Full taunt mode. No brakes.
And just to make sure they couldn't back out, I layered the implication loud and clear: if they didn't accept, they'd look like cowards.
And for Hell-Lords? That's worse than death. These guys live for fear. Their entire aesthetic is 'look at me, I'm scary.' No way they'd let some Earth mortals think they were running scared.
So yeah. I was being totally fair. And also, absolutely setting them up for destruction. But in style.
The Hell-Lords outside were appearently speechless, as well as the Ancient One who was with them thought I don't know why she seems surprised by something, I would ask her later.
—POV switch—
Finally, it was Blackheart—who'd been itching to snatch control of his father's realm forever, seeing the opportunity of taking someone else's realm before who stepped up with his usual cocky smirk that Hela remember from the comics.
"Hela, You are as arrogant as I heard of you, huh? But don't forget… Odin isn't around to protect you like before."
Then he chuckled darkly, confidence practically dripping from his voice. "Once we take you down, I'll lock you up and make you my personal slave."
Classic Blackheart. All ego, zero brain. Unlike Mephisto, he couldn't read the room—or the rising tension that clearly screamed bad idea.
Mephisto, for his part, kept his expression neutral. Yeah, he agreed—Hela was absolutely arrogant. But something about this whole situation felt...off.
He couldn't put his clawed finger on it, but his instincts were sounding alarms. Still, he was confident in his own power. He wasn't leading this parade of Hell-Lords for nothing. The only reason he even brought backup was because the intel said Hela had gotten her hands on the Space Stone.
Now, that wasn't something to take lightly.
If Hela had been bonding with the Space Stone for three years? He wouldn't even think about attacking her. But, supposedly, she'd only had it for a few days—so, best-case scenario, she could barely use its basic functions.
Still...
There was something else. The fact that she managed to leave Hel in her physical body? That meant she had some other trick up her sleeve. Maybe she'd somehow mastered Rune Magic—which, to Mephisto, sounded far-fetched. Or maybe she had an ally strong enough to undo Odin's runes.
Inside her palace, Hela heard Blackheart's little threat, but she wasn't mad. Definitely. She didn't let her mind wander to all the awful, creative things she could do to him. Nope. Not at all.
She just smiled—cool, amused, utterly 'unbothered'.
"Oh…" she said with that lethal charm of hers, "I don't even know how someone as weak as you convinced himself he could stand against me. Just don't be all talk. I hate being disappointed."
That was all it took to set Blackheart off. Full of himself and riding high on delusion, he led some weaks Hell-Lords toward the Hanging Gardens, like he was already measuring curtains for his new throne.
Mephisto watched him float ahead and didn't say a word. He'd known for a long time that Blackheart wanted to replace him. Seeing him march in front of the others like some new leader?
Yeah, that just confirmed it. But Mephisto didn't panic. He wasn't like the others. He saw himself as unique, irreplaceable. That kind of thinking? Dangerous... but deeply Mephisto.
The Ancient One, meanwhile, kept her calm as always. She was just relieved the fight wasn't going to take place on Earth. That alone saved her a migraine.
But what really had her curious was Hela's sudden expertise with Rune Magic.
She remembered Hela's visit to Kamar-Taj after all, it's exactly just seven days, asking for ancient books—specifically on magic. At the time, the Ancient One had figured it was just curiosity, a diversion. After all, Rune Magic was no weekend project.
Even someone as talented as he is would need years to get anywhere near mastering it. By then, the Ancient One figured she'd be long gone and Strange would be the one dealing with her.
But now, after observing the majestic palace, she could tell—it was absolutely drenched in rune enchantments. And the fact that Hela had physically returned from Hel? That confirmed it.
Somehow, impossibly, she had mastered Runes.
In just seven days.
The Ancient One found herself feeling... a little bad for the Hell-Lords. Poor souls had no idea what they were walking into. The runes in that place wouldn't just weaken them—they'd empower Hela in return. It was a one-sided slaughter waiting to happen.
Still, she followed them in. She wasn't here to pick a side. She just wanted to see the full extent of Hela's capabilities, just in case.
From everything she knew about the Goddess of Death, Hela wouldn't attack someone unprovoked—and certainly not her. At least… she thinks so.
As the group approached the Hanging Gardens, Hela's smile only grew wider—less like someone hiding her intentions and more like a warrior thrilled for the chaos to come.
She wore it proudly, the way only a battle-hungry Asgardian goddess could.
"You all better pay attention," she called out, voice rich with excitement. "Today, you'll learn what a real fight looks like. You'll realize just how weak you are—and maybe, if you're lucky, you'll understand that your power, your knowledge… isn't a curse. It's a gift. A gift to shape your own destiny. To protect what matters."
She wasn't just speaking to Wanda and Jean. Her words were meant for every mutant present, they are her future subjects and the better they accept their worth would only be to her benefits.
Floating forward to greet her uninvited guests, she didn't posture or pretend. She simply was. The Goddess of War. The Queen of the Dead. And right now? The woman with the biggest, baddest grin in the Nine Realms.
As soon as the Ancient One stepped inside—the last to enter—Hela sealed the Hanging Gardens off from the outside world. No one in, no one out. She didn't just use her authority as the owner of the place.
She also used space stone after all, her mastery of the latter is very good considering that it's already been seven years since took the latter due to the Hyperbolic Time Chamber, something Mephisto didn't know.
She knew exactly what she was doing. The trap was sprung. The game was on. And Hela? Hela was thrilled.
[Day Three Hundred Sixty-Nine: Reward – Evolutionary Adaptation.]
That's one of the four rewards she's gotten—and as far as Hela can remember, it came from the mutant Darwin. You know, the guy whose whole deal is literally evolving and adapting to anything life throws at him.
It's the same ability that let him boost his brainpower during an IQ test, survive in the vacuum of space without a suit, turn his body into some weird sponge-like thing—like he just stepped out of a cartoon—when hit by a nerve-targeting weapon, and most importantly… survive her.
Yeah, that's right. In the comics, Hela used her infamous touch of death on him—something that should've killed anyone—but Darwin? He went, 'Nah,' and adapted on the spot. Not just survived, but straight up evolved into a death god for a hot minute, complete with powers that mirrored Hela herself.
So now, on top of the Space Stone that lets her run off to wherever she wants if things get dicey, and her whole true immortality—well, technically agelessness—she's also rocking the ability to adapt to just about anything. Especially things that could kill her. Which kind of takes the whole 'immortal' title to a whole new level, doesn't it?
Anyway, the moment she cut off this place's connection to the outside world, all the Hell-Lords' faces shifted like someone just pulled the rug out from under them. No more energy coming in from their personal realms? Yeah, they felt that.
"Impossible, how did you do it?" Mephisto blurted out, clearly not expecting to get dunked on today. This was shaping up to be a huge problem for them.
Hela just gave a lazy shrug. "Don't overthink it. I don't have access to my Hel either, so it's fair. I just didn't want any of you trying to escape when things get real. You all look like the type who'd rather flee than die like warriors."
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I'm tired as fuck after burning so many braincells right now and having headache how to plan this fight, anyway, don't forget to vote please.