A dead silence.
A silent, deadly hush.
Whether it was Loki or Strange and the others, they couldn't help but feel a primal fear as their eyes fell upon Hela's expressionless face. It had nothing to do with power; it was pure biological instinct.
Forcing down the tremor in his heart, Loki, who felt he had underestimated Hela's power, took another step back, completely hiding himself behind Superman, as if this would give him a sense of security.
"I like this gift very much."
Hela's face was as cold as frost. She didn't even look at Loki, her gaze fixed on Mera's face.
"I'm glad you like it. It was worth all the trouble to bring her from another universe to meet you," Loki said, still hiding behind Superman, his voice still filled with a chilling honesty that twisted the knife.
Hela clenched her fists, the veins on the back of her hands bulging. Now she finally understood why Lothar's embrace had felt so practiced before. She had wondered who that person was. Who would have thought it was a little tramp from another universe?
"Back then, Lothar rampaged through Asgard, killed Heimdall, and destroyed the Bifrost. My father, for the sake of Asgard, used the power of the Space Stone to banish Lothar to another universe. In that universe, Lothar met her, the princess of a royal undersea family and later the Queen of the Seas—Mera."
Hiding behind Clark, Loki embellished everything he knew and told his story in a dramatic fashion. Cutting out the parts he didn't want and adding a little artistic flair. It was classic Loki.
Lothar, the Son of the Titans, became a full-blown scoundrel, and Mera became a homewrecker.
Among the audience of this "Lothar's Inter-Universe Romance," everyone but the icy-faced Hela looked at each other, not knowing how to react.
How could a cold, emotionless man like that have two women fighting over him? And they're both queens? Are queens blind these days?
Strange and Tony Stark, two former players in the romance game, clearly understood the thoughts reflected in each other's eyes.
As for Gamora, who was still bound by the Sorcerer Supreme's cloak, her expression was even stranger. She never would have thought that her cold-faced, deadly "cheap brother" was actually a ladies' man.
"I really do like your gift," Hela said. "So, your death will be a dignified one."
In her rage, Hela had already sentenced her meddling brother to death. To come back now just to rub salt in the wound was truly unforgivable.
"Only if you can kill me," Loki said, fearless as he hid behind Superman. Why had he gone to so much trouble, even serving as Darkseid's pawn to guide the Apokolips army? It was all for Lothar.
"With those two?" Hela's hands began to glow with Asgardian divine power, and the aura of Yggdrasil, the World Tree, radiated from her.
She was the one who had changed fate. She had averted the destruction of Asgard and the destiny of Ragnarok. Even though this land wasn't Asgardian, Hela's power was still far beyond normal comprehension.
While Clark could knock out Hulk with one punch, so could the current Hela. And compared to Clark and Mera, who were cosmic immigrants without a place in this universe, Hela, as a native, had every advantage.
The power of Clark and Mera would be suppressed by the cosmic rules here, but Hela's would not. The playing field had shifted, and the outcome seemed obvious.
"You can try," Loki said, not bothering to hide the challenge in his eyes. His goal was to enrage her and watch Mera and Hela tear each other apart. Then, he would be the one to get the last laugh, capturing both of Lothar's "mistresses" and killing them in front of Lothar. Only then would his revenge feel complete.
"Excuse me, I hate to interrupt under these circumstances, but... we can team up, Lady Hela," Stephen Strange said, surprising Tony Stark, Pepper Potts, and Bruce Banner.
"Don't look at me like that," Strange said. "You know what the duty of a Sorcerer Supreme is. Loki's actions have crossed a serious line."
Stephen Strange's face was grim. As a Sorcerer Supreme, it was his responsibility to protect Earth from dimensional monsters. An inter-cosmic invasion was a higher-level threat than those monsters, and Strange couldn't ignore it.
"Besides, if it's two-on-two, I can hold off that man while you go for Mera and your brother. It's a win-win, isn't it?"
Without waiting for Hela's consent, Stephen Strange took a step forward. A magical circle spun in his palm, and its crimson light reflected in Superman's gray eyes.
"This is my fight. Stay out of it," Hela said. Brushing her hair back in her signature fighting style, she threw her arms out, and two long swords appeared and slammed into the ground, blocking Stephen's path.
"Who said it was two-on-two?" Loki asked, a cruel smile spreading across his face.
Did they really think he would just bring Clark and Mera to deal with her after all his trouble to destroy a magical nexus and lure Hela here? Of course not. His goal was to capture her alive to use her to torment Lothar.
"What?" Hela asked with a frown.
As soon as Loki spoke, several other unfamiliar figures appeared in front of her.
"Allow me to introduce you," Loki said, clapping his hands and poking his head out from behind Clark. "Flash, Barry Allen."
"Batman, Bruce Wayne."
"Wonder Woman, Diana Prince."
"And him, Cyborg, who can control all mechanical lifeforms in the world."
Cyborg landed last, controlling a towering Ultron. The already-damaged New York Sanctum crumbled into a pile of rubble.
"Ultron?!" Tony Stark and Bruce Banner, who knew Ultron best, immediately recognized the massive machine Cyborg was controlling, even though the reconstructed Ultron was a hundred feet tall. They recognized that iconic head.
"In another universe, they formed a Justice League that has defeated countless powerful enemies."
"Now, Hela," Loki said, his voice full of glee. "Let's see how long you can last against them." He waved his hand and watched the wary Hela.
The powerhouses of the Justice League had no intention of fighting one-on-one. Sticking to their principle of "no holding back on evil villains," they rushed forward as a group.
BOOM!
Hela's hastily summoned energy shield shattered under the combined force of Superman's heat vision and Flash's vibratory palm strike. Hela herself was sent flying back on first contact, crashing into the rubble of the Sanctum!
Whoosh!
Wonder Woman, silent and swift, threw her golden lasso, which wrapped around Hela's ankle and yanked her forward.
Mera, her incantation complete, pointed her trident at a furious Hela.
BOOM!
A column of water, solidified and condensed, shot into the sky, instantly turning a rebuilding New York into a coastal town hit by a tsunami!
Dammit!
Hela gasped for air, her chest rising and falling rapidly as she barely dodged the attack. Right behind her was Stephen Strange, who had just dropped his own magic shield.
"It's no use."
"Stand down, Hela."
Loki, full of swaggering pride, pushed Clark aside and looked at his sister with a playful expression. He hadn't managed to gather the whole Justice League, but this group would be more than enough to take down Hela. His goal was to capture this woman alive and use her to provoke Lothar.
"What?" Hela asked.
In response, Hela nocked an arrow on a bow, her expression cold and determined.
Whoosh!
The golden arrow split into seven, flying like a guided missile toward the six members of the Justice League and the traitor Loki, all controlled by Darkseid. The condensed water around them began to freeze from Hela's emanating energy, and the entire city of New York turned into a city of ice sculptures.
"You want to capture me..." Hela said, dropping the bow. She floated in the air, her arms spread wide, as countless weapons manifested behind her.
"...You've still got a long way to go."
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