Knowhere
In the middle of an intersection between bars, clubs, casinos and some red light buildings. A beam of golden, almost rainbow colored light slammed down into the ground as a high pitched harmonic sound filled the air followed by a thump. When the light cleared two people stood there for a moment before a blonde haired man asked, "We've already searched all over, are you sure he can help us?"
"It doesn't hurt to try every option, brother." The black haired man said with a hint of mockery in his voice that the other man didn't catch.
The blonde haired man slapped the other man on the back affectionately as he said, "That's a good point, lead the way brother."
Loki shot a slight glare at Thor before they started walking towards a large building near the end of the street. It didn't look like much from the outside and people gave the place a wide berth when they walked past it. The two men approached what passed for the front door before Loki pushed a button and waited.
After a moment a hologram of a woman's head appeared before she asked, "How may I help you?"
"Prince Loki and Thor of Asgard are here to speak with the Collector."
"One moment please." The woman said before the hologram disappeared and a few moments later a massive blast door opened.
Thor and Loki stepped inside what could best be described as a one of a kind museum. Thousands of displays were set up to hold one of a kind items, creatures and even people. Each one either the last one in existence or the last of their species. Before they even reached the first exhibit, a pink skinned woman with pink hair and a white dress appeared with a smile on her face as she said, "Please follow me, the Collector will see you immediately."
"Thank you." Thor said enthusiastically with a smile as he moved to follow her.
She led them through the building and countless glass displays before they stopped in what looked like a seating area. It was raised partly above a large exhibit that showed what looked like a self contained ecosystem. Plants, animals and other things were going about their lives inside of it without a care about anything else.
Seated in front of some monitors that showed specific creatures inside the exhibit was a man in a fur lined cap. Underneath that he wore a mostly red colored jump suit, wild short cut white hair covered his head. He continued watching the monitors as he asked, "Beautiful, isn't it?"
Thor glanced at the exhibit as he said, "It's just some plants and animals."
The Collector's head snapped towards Thor as he asked in an almost manic way, "Just some plants and animals?!?"
The man stood up, his eyes wild like his hair as he pointed at the exhibit and said, "That entire thing was ripped from a world that no longer exists. It's from a world Galactus consumed over a thousand years ago."
"I guess that's a litt-." Thor started to say before Loki elbowed him in the stomach and added, "Very impressive. You'll have to excuse my brother, he doesn't appreciate most things unless it's a good fight."
The Collector smiled slightly as his eyes focused on Loki and he asked, "So I've heard… Now what can I help you with, princes of Asgard?"
"We're looking for our older sister, but so far we've found no trace. She is the goddess of death and a fierce warrior without equal."
Thor nodded as he added, "We've searched all over the nine realms and found no trace of her. Every major battle or place filled with death and destruction has been a dead end."
"We were wondering if you possibly heard anything about her through your contacts."
The Collector rubbed his chin as he said, "I would have heard about someone like that if they were traveling around…"
"Maybe they are in hiding?"
Thor shook his head as he said, "From everything we learned from our father, Hela isn't the type to hide."
"Then are you sure she isn't dead?"
"No, she is tied to Asgard with her powers. She cannot die unless Asgard is destroyed first. Even then, someone would have to be able to kill her afterwards."
The Collector reached out to the table next to where he was sitting and grabbed a glass of wine before he took a drink and said, "Unfortunately I don't think I'll be able to help in your search. I won't know about her, unless she makes a noticeable move and by that point I doubt if you would need my help to find her."
"You don't have a contact that specializes in tracking?"
"I do, but I don't think they'll be able to help you if she can already hide from Asgard's forces…" The collector said as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a card before he added, "But I recently received this from a contact I work with sometimes. She said the man who gave it to her claimed he was a problem fixer."
The Collector handed the black card with purple lettering over to Loki as he said, "It sounds like you have a problem, maybe he can help."
Loki glanced at the card for a moment before he asked, "Mind if we make a call?"
"Be my guest." The Collector said as he gestured to the side of the seating area where a computer terminal sat between some chairs.
Thor glanced at the card in his brother's hand as he followed him over and took a seat and said, "This is a waste of time."
"And running all over chasing random rumors wasn't?" Loki asked as he took his own seat and pulled up the galactic net and started to dial.
The Collector had his wine glass refilled by his assistant as the call started to ring before a moment later an error popped up for no video and someone said, "Hello?"
"This is Loki, prince of Asgard. Are you Ezekiel?"
"Yup, what can I do for you?"
"My brother and I wish to use your services, would it be possible to meet?"
"Sure." Ezekiel said before the line went dead as the call disconnected.
Loki frowned slightly and was about to call back when a silver colored portal ripped a hole through space and a black haired man stepped out. Each person reacted differently to Ezekiel's appearance in the room. The Collector's eyes widened and were filled with a slight hint of greed, while Thor's hand reached for his hammer at his waist. Carina, the Collector's assistant jumped in fright but didn't move otherwise.
Loki also didn't move or at least it looked like that on the surface, but in reality, he was an illusion and he was already positioning himself behind the man who appeared. Ezekiel glanced at the four people in the room as the portal snapped closed before he said, "I wouldn't do that if I were you."
"Who are you?" The Collector asked as Thor stood up and added, "Do what?"
"Your brother thinks I can't see through his illusions." Ezekiel said as he glanced over his shoulder and locked eyes with Loki who was invisible before he added, "As for who I am, you just called me."
"Ezekiel?" The Collector asked as Loki dispelled his illusion and was standing behind Ezekiel with his daggers in his hand.
Ezekiel nodded as he said, "Collector."
"Loki, Thor, it's nice to meet you." Ezekiel said as he looked at each person before he turned towards the only woman in the room as he said, "Miss. Carina."
Carina's eyes widened as Loki walked around to the front of Ezekiel as he studied him. Ezekiel studied him in turn before he said, "Not a fan of the gold, but the green looks good."
Loki studied Ezekiel for a moment longer before he said, "I'm royalty, wearing gold is a given for people like me."
Ezekiel glanced at Thor who also had hints of gold in his outfit before he shrugged and asked, "Looks ugly if you ask me… So what do you need me to do?"
"We're looking for our sister, can you help us find her?" Thor asked as he stepped next to his brother while the Collector quietly watched and drank his wine.
Ezekiel glanced between the two of them for a moment before he asked, "Why are you looking for her?"
Thor stepped forward slightly and said in a hopeful voice, "We wish to meet her and talk with her."
"And how much are you paying?"
"We will owe you a favor."
Ezekiel smirked as he eyed Loki and said, "Just a single favor from the both of you? That doesn't seem to be enough considering what you're asking me to do."
"W-" Thor started to say before Loki cut him off and said, "We just want you to find one person, that doesn't seem like a hard task."
"Considering the princes of Asgard can't find her with all the resources they have at their disposal… I think that you're trying to undercut what the job actually entails. It will be a lot of work to track down a single person who can hide from Asgard."
"Then name your price."
Loki shot a glare at Thor for speaking before he quickly added, "A reasonable price."
Ezekiel pulled out a paper and pen from a storage seal before he used one of the tables nearby to write down a list. After a minute he handed the paper to Thor as he said, "Get all of that for me and I'll find Hela for you. I'll even start looking today as a sign of good faith."
Thor looked over the list with a slight frown before Loki who was also looking at it said, "You can't be serious..."
Ezekiel shrugged as he said, "Some of that is needed if I want to draw her out, the rest is my payment."
"We will have it for you in a week at most." Thor said as he handed the paper over to Loki before he focused on Ezekiel and asked, "Are you sure that you'll be able to find her with that stuff?"
"Oh yeah, one hundred percent… But whether or not she wants to talk with you will be another story. I'll just get you in contact, everything else is out of my hands."
Thor nodded with a smile before his large hand came down on Ezekiel's shoulder as he said, "That is all we need my friend."
"Friends and we don't even properly know each other yet?"
"My brother is too easily trusting of people…" Loki said in an annoyed tone while he rolled his eyes.
"Which is surprising considering he has a brother like you." Ezekiel said in a joking tone as Loki's eyes narrowed.
Thor burst into laughter and slapped Loki on the back as he said, "I like him, he already knows you so well brother!"
Ezekiel smiled as he said, "In my line of business, it's good to know everything."