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“Where am I?” Erik asked as his eyes slowly blinked open and shifted into focus. He was lying on his back on a hard, cold surface, in some kind of cavern that was barely illuminated by candles. No walls could be seen, only the rough ceiling covered in stalactites and the large chunk of flat stone on which he and the candles had been arranged. All around him was darkness.“You are safe, Erik. Or should I call you Killmonger?” a woman's voice said. It was deep and sultry, but also powerful. Perhaps regal, even. Erik searched for the source and then remembered…He reached for his wound; the one that had killed him. But there was nothing there, not even a scar. Indeed, there wasn't a single wound on him anywhere, not so much as a scratch. The only marks on his skin were the scars he had placed upon his own body, each one a tally for someone he'd killed.“I was dead!” he declared incredulously.“There are worse things...” The voice purred from the darkness. “Come closer where I can see you.” he said, straining against the pitch black of the cave.A soft shuffle over his right shoulder drew Erik’s attention. Two glowing green eyes appeared in the darkness and moved forward into the meager light being cast by the candles. The eyes belonged to a woman with jet black hair and a smile like a threat. Her lithe figure was clad from neck to feet in a form fitting black number that accented the lines of her body in winding emerald green stripes. Only the caps of her shoulders were exposed, leaving all the details of her scintillating curves up to the imagination. By the way she moved and the confidence clinging to her like perfume, Erik knew she meant business. He recognized that swagger, and it piqued his interest.“Who are you?” Erik asked, a playful lilt in his voice.“I am Hela. The goddess of death.”“The goddess of death, huh?” Erik took in the information unflinchingly, as though she weren't the first deity he'd ever met. Stroking his goatee, he squinted at her accusingly. “Did you bring me back from the dead?” “Nooooo…” Hela grinned as she slowly stalked around him. “Mortality is so frail.”“Please tell me you made me immortal!” he laughed, swinging his legs over the side of the stone slab. Looking down, his eyebrows arched as he observed a lack of clothes on his person. “You definitely made me naked.”“Can't blame a girl for enjoying the view.” Hela shrugged and gave him a guilty little smirk.Erik leaned back on his palms, stretching out the muscular landscape of his torso, and then spread his legs just enough to give her a good view of his best features before saying, “well don't let me stop you.”“Little does.” she answered, pausing in front of him briefly for a good look, and then resuming circling around the large stone where he was seated. Erik craned his neck around to follow her, keeping his eyes locked on hers no matter where she might let her own gaze wander. Licking his full lips thoughtfully, he once again narrowed his eyes at her. “So what do you want from me, Goddess of Death?” Hela stopped her circling and came to rest in front of him, no more than an arm's length away. The look in her smokey eyes was pure trouble. He knew that look from staring in the mirror. It was the look he got right before he went on a mission, and the look he got as he carved another kill into his flesh. It was the need for blood and the promise of mayhem in it's pursuit.“You are not immortal.” She said, but that look, the thirst for destruction, still danced in her eyes.“But I could be, right?” Erik grinned. Her head nodded up and down.“If you help me, I will grant you immortality. I'm not even asking for your undying loyalty or servitude - although I won't refuse it…” she laughed.“Yeah, I bet. But nah, I'm nobody's...servant.” The word spat out of his mouth, dripping with disdain.“I suspected as much. Which is why I only ask that you help me kill one, little, obnoxious God. You don't even have to kill him yourself. Honestly I want to do that. No, just kill everybody around him who tries to get in the way. In exchange, I'll grant you immortality. Should give you plenty of time to get your own revenge on whoever,” her hand came up and slowly moved downward in a spiral as she spoke, “sent you down here. So what do you say? Do we have a deal?”Erik nodded his head in consideration and licked his lips again, sucking in his lower lip and slowly letting it slide free of his teeth. Immortality would give him a whole lot of time to get a whole lot of revenge. And if she could do that, what else could she do? What other power did she hold? More importantly, what did he have to lose at this point? Slipping off the stone slab, he closed the distance between them so that his bare chest was nearly pressed against her. Gently, he brushed a lock of her raven hair off her shoulder, and then rested his palm upon it.“And what do I get if I do more than just help you?” he asked, mischief reflecting in his own gaze now as he looked down into her eyes.“Try it and find out.” she said, grabbing his face in both hands, and pressed her lips to his. Their tongues lashed across each other hungrily, urgently, like one was the fire and the other the fuel. Erik wrapped his hands around her waist and spun around to set her on the stone slab, knocking several candles to the ground as he did and spraying his side with hot wax. The searing pain instantly excited him and, in his nude state, Hela just as instantly noticed. Her hand shot down, grabbing him just firmly enough to make him gasp and hold perfectly still, but not so much as to hurt. A low, sinister giggle rolled out of Hela as she lightly stroked his balls with her index finger while holding his shaft in the rest of her hand. Applying pressure at the base, she used her hand like a cockring so that every pump of excitement made him infinitely harder. With the other hand she traced her fingers across the raised scars dotting his entire torso.“So many gifts to me…” she marveled softly.“Nah, I did that for me. Nobody else.” He replied defiantly. Her eyes shot up to meet his and she let go of his now impressively swollen member.“You're plucky!” She said, amusement all over her face. With a wave of her hand, the black clothing hugging her figure began to fall away, like tiny petals peeling back and dropping off, until she was as naked as he. Copying his move from earlier, she leaned back on her hands and slowly began to part her legs until she sat spread eagle on the edge of the stone.They exchanged wide, toothy smiles.He was on her in a flash, knocking them both backward into the stone slab as he plunged deep inside of her. Digging her nails into his back, she wrapped her legs around him for leverage and began to rock her hips to meet him. His thrusts came savagely, crashing into her and scraping the small of her back across the rough surface, and her rocking motion only rubbed the flesh on her back raw faster. By the time he flipped her around to bend her over, there was a red stain on the stone. “So the gods can bleed.” He said, pressing the pad of his thumb into the raw sore as he grabbed her hips to pound her from behind. She growled and wound her hips against him in pleasure.“Sometimes it's fun to bleed…” she confessed, and reached back behind herself to grab his wrists in each of her hands. Once again she dug her nails into him, but this time she did it harder, pressing until she broke the skin. Droplets of blood sprang up around her fingertips and began to drip down his hands onto her hips. The effect was immediate, she felt him swell inside her as a shudder ripped through his body.Erik watched the blood trickle across the curve of her backside, savoring the moment and committing it to memory. It wasn't the blood per se that was getting him riled up. It was her. It was the unapologetic way she took what she wanted while still giving him everything he wanted, too. Hela made every other woman he'd been with seem timid and boring. She exuded a sort of feral sex appeal, and it was working for him.Standing behind her, he pushed deeper inside her, so deep he could feel both their bodies resisting, and ran his hand up her spine to pin her against the stone slab by the back of the neck. Slowly and deliberately he slid all the way inside her and then all the way back out. Again and again he moved in and out of her, never picking up the pace and hanging in the perfect place to keep her craving more without letting her crest into ecstasy. “Oh come ON, give it to me already!!” She half whined, half growled. He laughed behind her.“Made you beg.” He said with a triumphant smirk, and then let go of her neck with a rough shove as if to say, careful what you ask for.The first thrust crashed through her and slammed her hips into the sharp edge of the stone, sending a shock of pain through her that brought her pleasure into sharper focus by contrast. Hela couldn't remember the last time she was so...consumed. It was a sweet release from the suffocating grip of revenge that had taken over her every waking thought. The rougher and more primal he got, the more she forgot her worries and dissolved into the escape.Blood splattered everywhere from the wounds on his wrists, speckling both their bodies and leaving ruddy smears and handprints all over them and the stone slab. One perfect handprint covered Hela's right ass cheek from where Erik had slapped it; a move he quickly decided was not worth repeating after she threw him across the illuminated area and suspended him upside down three feet off the ground. The look on her face told him he'd better not do it again. But it was worth the strange way she had crawled inside his mind and made his skin tingle from ten feet away. It was worth it for the way she used her magic to milk his cock until he came while she watched. He didn't even care that it splashed across his face. It was all worth it when he flipped her back over to return that favor later and saw proof he had slapped the Goddess of Death’s ass.The candles had long since snuffed themselves out by the time they finished and they were perfectly content to stay there in the dark and breathe heavily for a while. Side by side, they lay in a tangle of limbs on their backs. Erik’s right arm reached under her left arm and out across her waist, and Hela’s left leg arched over his right thigh with her foot under his left leg. It wasn't cuddling so much as how they landed, but neither of them were in a rush to break the embrace.“That was pretty helpful.” She laughed in the dark. “Oh, we ain't done yet.” He said and sat up slowly, letting his right hand slide down between her legs. His fingers found the swollen nub of her clit and worked it gently. As her back began to arch slightly, he crawled around between her legs, still massaging her the whole time.Hela curled her toes and brought her knees up on either side of him, but his broad shoulders prevented her from squeezing them closed as her walls began to tighten and she came in slow, throbbing waves of pleasure. Still working her clit with his fingers, Erik lowered himself down to his stomach and seamlessly took over with his mouth, moving his fingers down to slide inside her. A moan of pure ecstacy filled the pitch black of the cavern as The Goddess of Death came again, even harder, letting loose with a powerful stream in her pleasure. Erik drank her in, holding her against his face so he could ride her the whole way. She twisted and writhed under his grip, gasping and whining as it began to cross over from pleasure into too much, but he held on tightly. Finally she couldn't take anymore.“Alright, alright!!” She sputtered and pushed him off her, panting and trembling from head to toe, but grinning wider than she had in a millennia. “I told you. I want to do more than just help you. I don't see a reason we can't be...you know,” he paused and chuckled in the dark. “We should be friends, don't you think? We could be good for each other.” Erik said. Hela didn't answer him right away. She sat in the darkness of the chamber and gathered herself. It was obvious he was angling for something. She knew what a manipulation looked like, and furthermore, she got the impression he wasn’t trying to be sly about it. It was like for him it was more of a formality, and that tickled her pink. He was special, able to distract and delight her like no one else. Even if he couldn't help her kill Thor, even if he died in the process… he definitely had his uses between now and then. “I think you're right.” She said, crawling through the dark until she found him and then climbed into his lap. “I think we could be very good for each other. Very good indeed…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

They had been walking through the dark in absolute silence for what seemed like hours. The only light illuminating their path was a ball of green fire burning in Hela's outstretched hand. She seemed to know exactly where they were headed, though Erik couldn't see how. It was like they were walking aimlessly, not even through tunnels or caverns or anything… it was just endless darkness.“Do I still need to be naked?” Erik asked, breaking the silence as much out of boredom as genuine curiosity.“I think the better question is: do you need clothes?” Hela responded, casting a glance over her shoulder at his bare ass and raising an eyebrow suggestively.“Why do you get clothes and I don't?” He teased. “Not like I wasn't enjoying the view for myself.”She stopped and faced him, lifting the flame in her hand to bathe his chiseled features in flickering emerald light. A wicked smile played in the corners of his lips as he stared back into her eyes and then lowered his gaze slowly. Biting his bottom lip, he reached out and traced the green lines detailing her bodysuit with his fingertips, letting his hands linger in some places longer than others.“What am I to you?” He asked softly as he trailed down the curve of her breasts.“You said we are friends, are we not?” She smiled at him, leaning her hip into his hand as it moved further down her body.“You make your friends walk around naked?” He asked.“You should see what I do to my enemies.” She laughed and reached her hand between his legs to grab him, quite literally, by the balls and pulled him toward her.“Understand this,” she said into his ear. “You walk, naked or otherwise, because I let you. You were dead, an unmoving, rotting heap of meat and bones. I restored you and you are here at my whim. So if I want you naked, then you will be naked.”The hint of anger smouldered in his dark eyes, though he didn’t act on it beyond the nearly imperceptible clenching of his jaw. She watched the muscles along his chin flex as he fought to quell his frustrations. He was being a good sport about it, all things considered. Kissing his cheek gently, she released her hold on his manhood and gave him a sympathetic look.“However,” she said standing back with a smirk. “If it means that much to you…”With a wave of her hand the shadows began to reach out and wrap themselves around his body. Black tendrils encircled the scarred muscles of his torso, hugging them snugly, and then wound down his hips and legs to do the same. When he was covered from the neck down, Hela threw the flame in her hand at him, catching him squarely in the chest. The flame exploded across his shoulders and down his arms, leaving green streaks in its path to compliment her own attire.“Tight!” He said happily looking down at himself, a new flame already in Hela's hand to light their way. She gave him an approving smile and started walking again.Soon they began to slow down and the air hung more thickly and danker. The scent of death was all around them, as well as something else. Something wild. Something like...“It smells like wet dog in here.” Erik said and scrunched up his nose.“Funny that…” Hela chuckled as they rounded a corner and found themselves in an open cavern being softly lit with more green flames. At the center, snoring aloft a bed of broken bodies and bones, was a giant shaggy black dog the size of a large bear, or perhaps a small elephant. As Hela approached, the great dog lifted her head and gave a long yawn before lazily looking over toward her mistress. When her eyes finally locked on Erik standing behind Hela, however, the dog's hackles raised and a rumbling growl shook the ground in warning.“Hush, Fenris,” Hela cooed softly and approached the dog large enough to be ridden by three men as if it were a yapping purse-dog. “He's...a friend.” She reassured her beast, stroking its muzzle lovingly. Fenris whined at Hela and then yawned again before leaning into her mistress’ embrace and nuzzling her face against Hela's chest.“Come say hello,” Hela said.Erik walked forward slowly, following Hela's lead, and offered his hand out like it was a strange puppy and not a giant wolf-dog that could devour him in one bite. Fenris looked uneasily from Erik to Hela and back, but then timidly leaned forward to sniff his hand.“It's ok,” he said softly. “I won't hurt you.”Fenris stood stock still for a heart stopping moment and stared directly into Erik's eyes. Her mouth hung right over his hand, and each hot breath she exhaled hit him in the face. He could tell she was making up her mind about him, calculating what trusting him was worth. Looking in her eyes he saw an old soul peering back, one that was loyal and wise, and when she looked in his she saw the respect he had for her. With a final sniff and a nudge of her nose against his palm, Fenris retreated back to Hela’s side.“I think she likes me.” Erik grinned as they crossed the cavern toward an oversized double door behind Fenris’ bed.“Well, she doesn't hate you.” Hela shrugged, as if to say that was good enough.“Nah,” he said looking over his shoulder and winking at Fenris when she looked back. The great dog shook her head and laid it down again. “She definitely likes me.”The doors opened to a hallway with other halls branching off it in three directions. Hela turned down the one to the left and lead him into a room with a large oak table in the center, and little else. It was enough to have only the table though, which spanned at least twelve by five feet and looked as though it took a whole tree to make. Giant sections of a great trunk made up three round supports spread evenly beneath the smooth, polished bisection of trunk comprising its top. Gashes and cuts, long since smoothed over by years of use, told of a violent past. This table had been in the crossfire of many battles, and no doubt been the birthplace for planning many more. Walking over, Erik glanced down and saw maps of various countries spread around haphazardly, as well as star charts, and maps to places he didn't recognize at all. Things were still in the early phases, he could tell. At the far corner, pinned in place by a particularly vicious looking dagger, was a sketch of a man with a strong jaw and only one eye. Judging by the multiple slashes through the paper, it wasn't the first time it had been run through.“Is that the obnoxious God you wanna kill?” Erik asked, cocking his head toward the stabbed drawing. Hela grinned.“It's a little obvious, isn't it?” she said, walking up to the drawing and tearing it free from the dagger. Fury shone in every crease of her brow as she glared at the image. He had no idea exactly what this God did to make her so angry, but Erik knew that feeling all too well.“You need an outlet for all that anger. It's not healthy.” Erik scolded playfully.Hela looked up, blinked at him once, and then threw her head back with laughter.“Do you really think you're in a position to judge?” She said, laughter still coming out of her in waves of gleeful disbelief.“I'm not judging,” he said as he began to walk around behind where she stood, still laughing with the sketch in her hand.“I'm offering sage wisdom, gained from personal experience.” he continued. This made her laugh even harder. She cast an incredulous look over her shoulder at him.“Sage wisdom? From you?? What could you possib-”Hela never saw him coming, and for half a second that actually concerned her. His fist was entwined tightly in her hair, pulling back her head to expose her neck before she could even flinch. Somewhere in the back of her mind she knew she was letting her guard down too much, trusting him too much, but she quashed her own better judgement as Erik dragged his teeth across her the soft flesh over her jugular.“If you don't find a healthy outlet, it builds up inside you,” he said in a low growl just below her ear.Wrapping his free hand around her body, he squeezed her breast almost too hard, making her suck in her breath sharply. The drawing slipped from her hand and fluttered to the floor where he stepped on it. Deliberately.“All that rage, all that anger, it builds and it builds...”His hand began to move down her stomach and between her thighs where he started kneading her through her clothing. A soft moan escaped her lips and she took a small step to part her legs a little for him.“It drives you crazy!” he said just a little too loudly, tossing his head back for emphasis.With a rough yank he pulled her hips back against him and pressed his growing erection into the small of her back. Between her legs, his hand continued to work its magic. Even through the clothing, he knew exactly where to direct his efforts for maximum payoff.“It makes you reckless.” he nearly whispered.Her breaths were coming faster now and he could feel slickness pooling on the other side of the fabric. A self-assured smirk peaked in the left corner of his mouth before he licked right below her ear.“Until finally…” barely the breath of a whisper now, his voice as soft as her desire was strong.Her legs began to shake as he pushed her lips apart through the fabric and rubbed against her swollen clit, scraping the fabric with his nail to send tiny vibrations through it.“You can't take it anymore,” he spoke clearly, startling her right before his teeth wrapped around her shoulder and bit down hard.Surprise mixed with sensations and pushed her over the edge, making her cum. He let her ride it, clinging to her by her hair and with his teeth as her hips bucked against his and she let out cries of pleasure. Against his better judgement, he let out a muffled chuckle and was pleasantly surprised when she laughed with him.Suddenly, his hand felt moisture, and the warmth of her bare skin pressed against him. His gaze lowered just in time to see the last of their clothing peeling back and falling away into nothingness, leaving them both totally nude. Without hesitation he shoved her roughly, face down across the table, and slid inside her. She was ready for him, wet and hot and aching with need. Need not just for the carnal pleasures, but also for the way he made her mind go completely blank. It had only been hours but she already craved the abyss within his touch where her thoughts couldn't reach her. She needed him to make her forget for a while.He pounded her from behind ruthlessly, gripping her so tightly that purple bruises began to form under his fingers on her hips and waist. As they filled the air with the scent and sound of their passion, Hela’s mind went perfectly blank, and she surrendered to ecstasy. Erik’s excitement grew watching her lose herself. While he didn’t know exactly what it was she was trying to escape, he knew he was her ticket to release. Grinning like the madman he was, he slowed for just long enough to make her whimper before crashing back into her again at an even harder pace.Maps and papers went flying as her hands sprawled out, searching for purchase to brace herself. When at last she gained traction, she pushed back against his thrusts, slapping their bodies together in loud, wet thwaps . Beneath them, the heavy wooden table began to scootch forward an inch at a time as he crashed into her, sending a deafening squeaking-scrape noise echoing down the hall and destroying any chance they had of keeping things quiet. Not that either of them cared particularly. When they both came, their roars could be heard out past Fenris’ den.“You need to show me that trick with the peel-away clothes.” Erik chuckled as they laid on the table in a sweaty heap. She laughed and gave his thigh a patronizing pat.“Maybe one day, if you earn it.”“If I earn it?!” He repeated indignantly.“Yes,” she confirmed as she got off the table. Sweeping her hands in front of her dramatically, shadows trailed up her body and formed her clothes. “So far all I really know about you is how much I like you naked. I made a deal with you to be a killer, not a lover.”“Baby, I'm a lover and a fighter,” he said with a cocky jut of his chin. Hela didn’t respond out loud but merely shook her head with a smile that seemed to say, whatever you say.“I'm not getting my clothes back yet, am I?” He sighed, and for half a minute she let him believe it before waving her hand to clothe him.“No, we'll get more done this way.” She grumbled begrudgingly.“Fair point. So what’s your play?” He asked as he hopped down from the table in one fluid motion.“I’m still working out those details,” she responded flatly and smoothed a map in front of her. He had been wrong earlier when he assumed she had only just started planning. It was clear to him now that she’d come up with several schemes already, and scrapped them all.“Show me what you’ve got. Maybe I can help?” he said sweetly. Walking behind her, Erik rested his chin on her shoulder to look down at the map. Her spine went stiff as his hands wrapped around her waist in a tender embrace. The closeness and familiarity were foreign to her and she didn’t quite know how to respond.“What are you doing?” She asked.“Making you like me.” He replied, and she realized he was telling the truth. That was his angle! If she liked him, she would hesitate to let him die, and he had already proven that all he needed was a split second of distraction to make a move against her. It was a clever ploy, and bold to be upfront about it. Peeling his arms off her, she stepped to the side and put a little distance between them.“I don't need to like you for this arrangement to work.” She said coolly.“But you already do.” He replied in the same cool tone and then bent down to retrieve the tattered drawing of Thor from under his foot. Placing it on the table between them, he calmly clasped his hands in front of him and squared his shoulders. “Tell me about this… God.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Far away across the cosmos, a spaceship lumbered its way through the black and starry landscape toward Midgard. On board, thousands of Asgardian refugees laughed and celebrated their good fortune to have escaped Ragnarok, the death of Asgard, and the Goddess of Death herself, Hela. At their lead, Thor, son of Odin, God of Thunder, lifted a tankard of ale to cheers and jubilation, but before he could place it to his lips a large hand clapped down on his shoulder and spun him aboutface.

“It is not over, Thor Odinson.” spoke Heimdall, his amber eyes focused a thousand miles away in his trance. “Your sibling is not done with you yet…”
~*~*~
“What do you mean he has no weaknesses? Everybody has a weakness!” Erik nearly shouted in frustration as he slumped down into a chair and glared at Hela. “Think harder.”

Hela stared at him in disbelief. Nobody spoke to her that way. At least, not without facing dire consequences. He was getting to familiar, too easy and careless with his words, and yet… she had to admit his frustrations weren’t misplaced. Despite a burning thirst for vengeance that occupied her every waking moment, she didn’t really know that much about her little brother, Thor.

“I don’t know! It’s not like we were close growing up! By the time dear old Dad had his little bundle of bouncing blond joy, I had long since been cast out. He’s closer to our adopted brother, Loki, than he is to me - and Loki’s tried to kill him a thousand more times than I!”

Erik looked up slowly, a devious smile arching its way across his face.

“Wait, he's close to your other brother?”

“Yes. I can't tell you why, he's not even... I mean he's A FROST GIANT!” Hela shouted in disgust and then pouted and crossed her arms. “He’s a little weasel, if you ask me, but for SOME reason he was deemed more--”

“I don’t care,” Erik cut her off as he rose to his feet. “Your relationship with him doesn’t matter. His relationship with Thor, though. THAT matters! Where is he now?”

“I don’t know,” Hela confessed and then squared her shoulders. “And mind your tone with me. I made you…”

“Yeah, yeah. And you can UNmake me, too. I get it.” Erik grinned as he planted a big wet kiss on her cheek. “But you won’t.”

That was it. She’d had enough of his attitude. With a squeeze of her right hand, the airflow in his throat clenched shut. Clutching at his neck, Erik turned and faced her with bugging eyes that did not understand. A cruel smile overtook her face as she watched him lower to his knees and paw helplessly at his chest and throat.

“You take too much for granted,” she scolded, looking down on him.

Rage burned in his eyes. She didn’t care, though. She didn’t fear him, but he needed to learn to fear her. Leaning down she placed her face next to his and whispered in his ear, “here’s a wicked little secret: you are not alive, so you cannot die, but you are not dead, so I can still make you suffer. This feeling? The way you're gasping for air and feeling like you're going to lose consciousness any second now? The primal fear that clouds all rational thought? I can keep you here. Forever.”

He was helpless down on the ground before her, resentment and hatred still churning in his steely gaze. If looks could kill, as the saying goes... It wasn’t enough for her, though. He could suffer more than that. She was only just getting started! Another wave of her hand and his clothing melted away into the shadows, leaving him exposed and breathless on his knees. That was a little better, but she still craved more. More submission. More regret. More compliance. Gold flashed from the caps on his bottom canines as he grimaced and fought against her. She clenched her fist harder and pushed him down onto all fours with her magic.

“Eyes down.” She snapped. The fury in him was palpable as he struggled against her power to give her one last unforgiving glance before she overcame his will and forced his eyes downward.

“Do you still want to make me like you? Do you still think you

can

??” She snarled and released him just enough to let him flop around on the ground like a fish out of water.

With quiet amusement Hela watched as his ribs rose and fell futilely and his mouth gaped open to gulp in air. He crawled around on the floor in a tight circle, gasping silently and throwing vicious looks her way in his attempts to force breath into his lungs. It made her laugh. Watching him struggle was almost as much fun as fucking him.

“You think I like you? You think I care?? You are NOTHING to me but a tool to be used for a purpose.” she spat and grabbed a fistful of his hair to lift his head up until he was on his knees again and looking up at her. “You exist for my pleasure; my use. You

belong

to me!!”

Erik starred up at the Goddess of Death and resigned himself. There was nothing he could do. She had him! His eyes closed placidly as he leaned into her grip and mouthed the single word, “yes.”

There. That was what she needed. Air rushed into his lungs as she released her hold on his breath.

“Say it.” she commanded.

“I belong to you.” he rasped.

“Louder.”

He took a deep breath, coughed, and then shouted, “I BELONG TO YOU!”

“Is that what you want?” she asked coyly, letting go of his locs.

“What do you think?” he asked, the cocky tone back in his voice despite it still rasping and sputtering from her chokehold.

Hela's brow wrinkled with confusion. Now it was his turn to smile. His head tilted slightly to the side as he looked up at her and fixed her with a piercing stare that left her feeling exposed, despite it being her who had him naked and on his knees. No words were spoken, only that stare that seemed to dare her to read his mind. It took a second for her to catch on. She was so engrossed in holding his gaze that she hadn’t looked down yet. But there, standing at attention between his legs, was the answer to her question.

“Now that you got me,” he purred, “what’re you gonna do with me?”

Shadows whipped out from the corners of the room and hoisted Erik to his feet, and then lifted him higher until he was suspended in the air by dozens of black tendrils. Coils wrapped around his arms and legs, leaving the bulk of his torso exposed. One wrapped itself around his mouth and between his teeth like a bit. Another wound around the base of his shaft, holding it out to Hela like an offering. Shivers went down his spine as she ran her tongue from base-to-tip and then looked up into his eyes.

“It seems to me that you don't…” she paused to find the right word. “You don't

respect

me as you should.”

A grunt that might have been a laugh if not for the gag in his mouth came out of Erik. Anger flashed in her eyes for the briefest of moments before it was replaced by inspiration. Running her hands over her head and down the back of her hair, she donned her horned helmet of war and looked up at him again. All the blood drained from his cheeks and his bowels turned to water in the pit of his guts as the Goddess of Death produced two black floggers from thin air. With a quick spin of her wrist, she whipped them around and slapped the ends against her boot, filling the air with sounds of heavy smacks. Another swing brought the tails past his face, so close he could feel the breeze off it. The final pass brought the very edges of the tails up across the tops of his thighs, and turning the skin hot where they connected. Another grunt came from behind the gag, but this time it wasn't from amusement. The muscles of Erik's jaw flexed as he clenched against his gag, a smile peeking out from the sides. Hela spun the floggers through the air in circles and slapped the tips of the tails across his thighs, stinging his flesh. When she suddenly came down with the full weight of the tails in a heavy thud against his flank, he growled in pleasure and went weak in his restraints.

Flicking her wrist, the magical shadow tendrils spun him around, exposing his back to her. Once more she began to spin the floggers, barely letting the dozens of leather straps lick the delicate flesh across his bare ass cheeks, occasionally bringing it down with the full weight. Moans and squirms of surprise and pleasure, reactions that would have infuriated her from anyone else, egged her on and kept her blows coming in a steady stream. She wanted to hurt him, and she wanted him to like it. If he thought he could make her like him without worshipping her first, he was sorely mistaken. The Gods only show favor to the pious, and he still needed to prove his devotion. When at last she stopped, she was panting and he was so drunk on pleasure his eyes had become glassy with a far away stare.

“We could be good for each other.”

The memory of his words echoed in her mind as she removed the gag from his mouth and lowered him so he was at her eye-level. His back, ass, shoulders, and thighs were all covered in hot red marks that were beginning to blossom into bruises, and he couldn't have been happier than he was right there, slumped in the hold of her magical restraints. Bliss, pure bliss, was radiating off of him as he floated through subspace. Reaching up she took his face in her hands and lifted his head to look at her.

“Do I give you what you need?” She whispered softly and began pulling him through the air by the shadows wrapped around his limbs.

“Yes,” he said back dreamily.

“Am I good to you?” She asked as she lowered herself to the ground and positioned him to look down on her.

“Yes…”

“Who am I to you?” she asked as she waved away her clothing and spread her legs. Licking her fingers first, she began to stroke herself, plunging her fingers inside and then rubbing the slickness they found around her nub. He looked her up and down and licked his lips slowly as though he could taste her on sight. Hunger gleamed in his eyes. He wanted her so badly and it was killing him to look but not touch.

“You're my Goddess.” He said.

The shadow tendrils lowered him gently to the ground and released their hold. Before him, Hela leaned back onto her elbows and let her knees fall open. Without being told, Erik dropped to his hands and knees and said, “let me worship you.”

Beckoning him forward with her finger was all the instruction he required. He crawled down and had his mouth wrapped around the sweet blushing flesh between her legs in a flash. Sliding two fingers inside her, he gently massaged against her g-spot while his tongue lapped across her clit. Hela moaned and arched her back to tilt her hips toward him, begging him with her body to give her more. In response he sucked gently on her clit and quickly flicked his tongue across it, bringing her to orgasm almost instantly. As aftershocks wracked her body with pleasure, he crawled up her body and slid inside her while the spasms still clenched her insides. The girth of him stretching against the tightness of her walls sent her back into the throes of ecstasy. Her hips jerked hard against his as she dug her nails into his back and let out a deep moan, coming again as he gently slid in and out of her.

“Yes,” he whispered, licking his fingers to rub them in small circles around her swollen clit. “Answer my prayers, let me know I move you.”

Every sensation blurred together into one bolt of lightning that shot through her core and dragged her orgasm out into several minutes of mind numbing euphoria. Moans turned to cries that in turn became screams. Leaning forward, he wrapped his lips around hers, muffling her with his kisses until finally her orgasm abated and they were left to kiss in a passionate embrace.

“I’mma prove my faith,” he smiled down at her. “I’mma use one of your brothers to lure the other, and then I’mma kill them both!”

Maybe it was what he said, maybe it was how he said it, or maybe it was the way he'd learned exactly where to stroke to make her cum on command. But when she came again, screeching like a bansidhe, it wasn't in the thoughtless abyss she thought she needed more than anything. It was something deeper, more vivid, and more enticing. This time when she came and he came with her, their cries mixing in a passionate cacophony, it was accompanied by a vision of the world burning, and Erik by her side.

“Very good indeed…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Knowhere
A film of grime coated every surface and glass in the dimly lit bar, including the chipped tumbler in Erik's hand. Every time he leaned against the bar, it left greasy, dark smudges on his white t-shirt and jeans. But he barely registered the cleanliness of the joint (or lack thereof) as he knocked back the shot and grimaced violently, much to the amusement of those watching. Whatever he was drinking was strong, much stronger than the whiskey he'd been told this drink resembled. Good. That’s what he wanted right now. He’d earned it! Tapping the bartop twice, he ordered a double and knocked that back just as fast, causing him to stomp his heavy boots several times and slap the counter. This stuff went down as smoothly as paint thinner.“Gimme two more, and a round for everybody up in here. This is A CELEBRATION!!” He shouted out to the entire bar. A roar of drunken applause from the two dozen or so patrons rang out as drinks were poured and everybody lifted a filthy glass in his honor.“What are we celebrating, friend?” Asked a wizened miner sitting a few seats down at the bar. His back and face were both sagging with age, and he looked to be covered in a layer of dirt so thick, he’d probably never wash clean again. Even the assumption that he'd ever been clean at all seemed like a stretch when considering the black lines of filth in every crease of his hands. The stench coming off of him didn't help either.But Erik pretended not to be disgusted. He grinned, knocked back another shot, and then yanked on the chain leash in his left hand. At the other end of the leash, a bound and gagged Hela gave him a wide-eyed stare of pure hatred. Laughing, Erik patted her on the head patronizingly and gave her hair a playful ruffle.“I caught me one helluva payday!!” Erik proudly informed the miner before knocking back the last shot.The miner smiled and gingerly took a sip of his drink before asking, “oh? Do tell!”“You see this nasty little vixen I've got here strung up like my pet on a leash?” Erik asked much more loudly than he meant to. Shit. I'm getting drunk… “Yeah, she's a little hard to miss.” The miner chuckled, displaying a mouth full more of bare gums than teeth.“Well! Lemme tell you a secret!” Erik slurred as he leaned in and shouted, “she's Hela, the Goddess of Death!! Sister to that Thor guy. Ya know, God of Thunder and all’a that? Got these magic chains that make her all weak and powerless. I'm taking her to The Collector for a FAT payday, and I'mma retire in style, baby! No more scrounging for me!”  The miner seemed extremely impressed and interested as he got up and moved into the seat closest to Erik.“I'd heard she was dead. Killed in Ragnarok.” said the miner, lowering his voice ever so slightly.“Nah, man. Don't believe everything you hear. My rule is: if you don't witness a body being laid to rest, then you don't know it's dead. That's how I knew Jon Snow was coming back.” Erik said.“Who?”“What?! Game of Thrones?? Man, I can't drink with you!” Erik yelled in offense and stalked out of the bar, dragging Hela behind him.The walk from the bar to The Collector's wasn't particularly long, but Erik was still mildly amused by how passively everyone around them accepted him walking down the street with a bound and gagged woman on a chain leash. It was like they were anybody else strolling along together. Most people didn't even look at them as they went by, and those who did looked so dead inside themselves they were clearly no threat. Good thing too since Erik needed a few minutes in the brisk air to clear his head. He hadn’t meant to get drunk, but that stuff had snuck up on him and he could feel his reflexes weren’t as sharp as they could be.“You know what?” He said stopping and turning to face her. “I want you to walk ahead of me, so I can keep my eyes on you...and that ass.”Her eyes narrowed menacingly at him, but she did as she was told.“Don't pretend you don't love this!” He whispered and slapped her hard across the backside, earning an even more vicious glare.When they arrived at the museum, The Collector greeted them enthusiastically with open arms and a bottle of something that smelled similar to whatever Erik had been knocking back in the dive bar. Shaking his head, Erik refused the drink, which neither pleased nor displeased The Collector. The eccentric white-haired man in the fur-trimmed coat merely shrugged and poured himself a drink.“I trust you traveled comfortably?” The Collector asked, making polite chit chat as Erik took in the surroundings with open curiosity. All around them were strange artifacts on display, creatures in tanks, and bookcases that spanned from floor to ceiling. A few things looked slightly singed and battered, like they’d been through some kind of war zone, and the scent of fresh paint hung heavily in the air.“You know what?” Erik began as he spun in a circle to look around the room. “It was my first time traveling through space so I don't really have a basis for comparison. It was just cool to be in a spaceship! Man you’ve got a lotta cool shit!”“Ah to be young again, when the universe was still shiny and new. You're lucky!” The Collector chuckled nostalgically.“Nah, but I'm about to get real lucky! You got everything ready?”“Oh yes, it's all set up right over ther--”The door exploded open behind them, showering the museum in splintered wood and metal shrapnel. Striding through the dust like a conqueror came a slender man with black hair and a golden helmet adorned with two great horns curving upwards. He was alone, and the look on his face told Erik he was pretty confident in that choice.“Sorry to interrupt, but I don't think my sister appreciates being treated like chattel.” Said the horned man.“Oh she's your sister? And you think you're here to rescue her? Is that it??” Erik challenged, his voice full of arrogance.“Well, adopted sister, but still family all the same…” the man continued as he began walking forward.“Who told you we were even here?!” Erik demanded, pulling a gun from where it had been tucked beneath the front of his shirt.The man laughed and and threw a dagger to knock the gun out of Erik's hands. His appearance shimmered for a second and then shifted into the old miner from the bar.“Don't you remember?” the visage of the miner asked. “You told me, in the bar.”“I know,” Erik smiled wickedly and then added, “Loki.”There was no time to react. Four barred walls sprang up around Loki and trapped him where he stood. Shock register on his face as he attempted to use magic to break free and it didn't work. Erik laughed loudly and clapped his hands together in victory.“I had that made for you.” The Collector said nonchalantly as he meandered toward Loki’s cage. “When Mr. Stevens here told me he had a way to capture one of the last Frost Giants… Well!! How could I resist?”Erik kept grinning at Loki. Without saying a word, he began freeing Hela from the chains wound around her upper body. They fell to the floor in in a din of clattering metal. Once freed, Hela untied the cloth gag filling her mouth and let it fall to the ground at her feet.  “So… you were never going to sell her to him?” Loki asked incredulously.Hela answered by way of kissing Erik passionately and then smiling at Loki.“I'm touched that you came to my rescue though, little brother.” She cooed playfully. “Honestly, I didn't think you liked me very much.”“I'm fickle.” Loki shrugged and then asked, ”so how much is this maleficent old codger giving you in exchange for my capture?”“Actually, you’re the payment to him.” Hela answered.“Payment? For what??” Loki asked, utterly confused.“You’ll see…” Erik teased. Wrapping his arm around Hela he turned his attention away from Loki and to The Collector. “Figure we got some time. We’ll be in the back.”The Collector merely tilted his head in a curt, but polite, nod of acknowledgement as Hela and Erik disappeared, and then turned his attention to Loki exclusively.“This can only end badly for you!” Loki spat from behind the bars.“Maybe.” The Collector shrugged. “Maybe not. I’ve lived a long time, seen a lot. I have no regrets. Can you say the same?”Loki’s shoulders drooped at that question.“It must be awful for you. Two Gods for siblings and neither one likes you.” The Collector went on as he started walking toward the hole in the wall where his front door used to be. Pausing in the center of the gaping hole to look at the damage he gave a light sigh and a flashed a weak smile at Loki. “But then… Who could blame them?”
~*~*~
In the back of the building, Hela and Erik attempted to get comfortable on a set of rickety old cots and one formerly-overstuffed chair that was, at best, only slightly-stuffed now. The storeroom was clearly not meant for long-term accomodations, with blackout material over the windows and only a single exposed lightbulb with a pull string dangling overhead. At least there was a small table with clean glasses and a decanter of something the smelled far less mind-altering than that swill from the bar. Erik poured them each a glass and offered one to Hela before taking a sip from his own. It was a juice of some kind, fruity and sweet with a tangy aftertaste.For her part, Hela was just happy not to be bound and gagged anymore. It wasn’t like it had hurt her, Erik was very careful, rather it had reminded her of all those hundreds of years locked and hidden away by her father, Odin. Absentmindedly, she rubbed at the spot on her wrists where the chains had held them together, engulfed by the unpleasant memories of her own past. Erik noticed at once and stood up, taking both her hands in his.“You know I never would have let him hurt you.” Erik reassured, his words still slightly slurred.“I know…” she said uncomfortably, still a bit uneasy with how close he’d gotten to her, but unable to hold back the giggle rising in her. “You’re drunk, aren’t you?”“Not gonna lie,” he said, dropping his head for a moment in playful remorse. “You gonna take advantage of me while I’m intoxicated?”She hummed thoughtfully and ran a finger over the stained white fabric of his t-shirt. Beneath the fabric, she could feel the bumps of his scars, each one a monument to to a life he’d taken. Her tongue ran across her upper lip as she closed the gap between them.“I hate these clothes on you.” she said.“So get rid of them.”With a wave of her hand, the fabric shredded all around him and flew from his body, as though invisible hands had torn his clothes off his body. Only his tan boots remained, halfway laced and hanging open at the tops. The feeble light from the bulb cast dark shadows outlining the details of his body, his collection of scars, the swell of his chest, and the taper from his shoulders down into his waist. Sucking in her breath sharply at the spectacle, Hela smiled and then beckoned him closer.“Did you enjoy leading me around on a leash?” she asked, pointing to the ground for him to kneel. He dropped to his knees and looked up at her.“Maybe I did,” he confessed.“Don’t get used to it,” she cautioned and grabbed a handful of his hair. “I’m not in the habit of submitting.”Erik said nothing as she waved her clothing off herself and placed his lips against her hip. At once he began planting soft kisses across her skin, traveling along the crease where her hip met her thigh straight to her center. As his tongue spread her lips apart, she wrapped her legs around his shoulders and forced him to lie down so she could straddle his face. This was no time for gentle foreplay or coy flirtations. Time was of the essence, and he needed to pay proper tribute to his Goddess before he went into war. He wasted no time in making her cum, lapping at her thirstily in his need to please her, to feel her respond to his touch. Her body shuddered as he ran his tongue along the opening of her hood, teasing the sensitive flesh of her clit with tiny, deliberate licks. Chills went up her spin as he gently suckled on her, kneeding that delicate flesh with his tongue until her breaths grew ragged and she fell to the floor on all fours, squirming in his grip as she came all over his face.Sliding out from beneath her, Erik kept his right hand on her back and spun around to slide into her while she was still bent over. Her hips pushed back against him and wound in circles, but he grabbed her by the waist and proceeded to set a deep, rapid pace. Sweat began to bead up on both them, running in rivulets down the creases of their bodies. The cold concrete of the floor almost felt welcome against her flushed skin when he shoved her down to lie beneath him. His boots went between her feet and shoved them apart roughly and his hands grabbed both her wrists in the left and her mouth in the right. She was splayed out and effectively gagged again, only this time she liked it. He drove deep inside her, slowly, letting the added weight of his body on her back rock the bones of her hips against the unyielding concrete floor.“You act like you don’t like this,” he whispered in her ear. She jerked against his grip to no avail. “You pretend like this isn’t exactly what you want, but…”His hand slid down from her mouth to around her throat where it squeezed just enough to make her feel like she was floating before letting go. This time his thrusts were more savage though, crashing into her and dragging her hips ruthlessly across the rough ground. She groaned and was rewarded with another squeeze that lit up her vision with dancing stars. Between her legs, Erik swam in a puddle of her arousal.“I know you’re loving every second of this, I can feel it.” He growled. A shudder ripped through his core as his own excitement neared a climax. Beneath him Hela chuckled softly and bucked her hips against him.“I am. Now prove to me how much you love it,” she purred.Erik didn’t need to be told twice. Scooping his arm around her waist he hoisted her upright and spun her around to face him. He picked her up in his arms and slammed her against the wall with a fiery kiss, pinning her there to slide back inside her. Her back arched with each stroke; her arms wrapped around his neck and his holding her legs around his waist. The kisses became fewer and farther between as their breaths became more labored and punctuated with more moans and stifled screams of pleasure. When at last he finished and collapsed to the floor beside her in a snoring, drunken heap, Hela was satisfied that he had enjoyed things just as much as she had.Leaving Erik to snore softly on the floor, Hela dressed herself again and slipped out of the back room into the museum. Loki had propped himself up in the corner of the cage and appeared to be talking to himself softly. He didn’t so much as look over when Hela approached, and for a second she thought perhaps he was ignoring her, but then she saw the telltale amber color of his eyes. Within a moment though his eyes shifted back to blue and he immediately registered her presence.“Come to gloat?” he sulked.“Maybe just a little.” she giggled. “Talking to Heimdall?”“Maybe just a little.” he said, mocking her tone but then getting serious. “Why aren’t you dead? Who is that savage beast of a man you’re...with?? And why can’t Heimdall see you??”Hela sighed and flashed an innocent smile before taking a seat opposite her adopted brother’s cage. Her hair was still tousled and the smell of sex clung to her. She knew how it looked, and she knew her brother wasn’t entirely stupid. Mostly, perhaps, but not entirely. Tilting her head to the side she gave him a look that said, do you really need to ask about the guy? “Alright fine, but what about Heimdall? Why can’t he see you?”“Heimdall cannot see me because I do not want him to. Did it never occur to you that I, older and far wiser than he, might have control over whether or not he can see me??”Loki opened and closed his mouth before muttering, “no, actually. It didn’t occur to me. But that still doesn’t explain how you survived Ragnarok! You should be dead!”Hela rolled her eyes.“Oh, little brother. You’re so adorably naive! If killing me were so simple, don’t you think Father would have done so to prevent my rising up again? Asgard is a people, not a place, and I draw my power from Asgard. By saving all those people, you effectively saved me. And besides, if that weren’t power enough…”She stood up and held her hands to make a circle around her belly. Right at the center of her stomach, a soft glow began to emanate. The light grew brighter and brighter until at last Loki could see a flame burning inside her.“You took the Eternal Flame inside yourself…” he said in disbelief, his already pale skin going even more ashen. She laughed and let the light of the flames fade back inside herself.“Now I’m the Goddess of Death AND the Eternal Flame. So I guess that makes me some kind of zombie queen.” She bobbed her head from side to side and considered the idea. “I actually rather like the sound of that…”“Alright but who’s the man? I mean I get what you’re doing with him, but who is he?” Loki asked her.As if on cue, Erik came striding out from the back room. He was still naked and wrapped in the largest scrap of his tattered t-shirt he could find, which still wasn’t much. Hela’s face lit up as he came directly to her side and wrapped his arm around her waist.“You’re naked.” Loki observed.“That happens a lot around your sister. At least to me. I think you’re safe though. She ain’t into that Lannister shit.” Erik said."No, not even Cersei can hold a candle to my sister…” Loki grumbled, trying to avert his eyes. “And you’re still naked! Please DO something about that!”"About that…” Hela said, getting to her feet to face Erik. “You weren’t naked when I found you.”“Oh I wasn’t, huh? You did that on your own I take it?” His smile told her he wasn’t in the least bit upset by this piece of information. She cracked a grin and ran her finger down the center of his chest.“Like I said: can’t blame a girl for enjoying the view. But no…” her hand went behind her back and came back holding a necklace made of what looked like long, pointed, golden teeth. “You were wearing this.”Erik took a step back and stared at the necklace in her hands with silent awe. He thought it had been taken from him before his body was laid to rest. It must have been! No way would T’Challa let him go to the Ancestral Plane with a Black Panther suit still on him, and yet… there it was, in her hands. Taking it from her, he carefully placed it around his shoulders, spreading the teeth out evenly along his collarbone.“A necklace? That’s IT?? Please tell me it comes with a pair of pants,  or a loincloth, or a fig leaf, at least!” Loki exclaimed and turned his back on the two of them.The smile that took over Erik’s face as the teeth began to unfold the nanites they contained and encase his body from the neck down in the golden Black Panther suit was priceless. Lifting his hands in front of his face, he extended the vibranium claws with a loud shink! and then retracted them again. He turned to Hela with gratitude exuding from every bit of his being.“Don’t thank me yet,” she said, lifting a finger to his lips. “Not until the job is done. I’m not sure even this suit is going to be enough to protect you.”“It won’t be!” came a booming voice from the gaping hole in the wall where Loki exploded the main entrance. There, red cloak flapping in some phantom wind, stood Thor, the God of Thunder. And he looked pissed!“‘Bout time you showed up!” Erik said as the helmet of his suit wrapped around his face to protect him. “I was starting to think you didn’t care enough to save your little brother.”“I didn’t. Not really.” Thor shrugged and then stepped aside to reveal Heimdall behind him. “But he kept nagging me.”Loki stared at his brother in disbelief and slumped down in his cage. Hela ran her hands over her hair to don her horned war helmet and then extended her arms quickly, causing two long black swords to appear in each hand. Beside her Erik extended his claws.“T’Challa? I thought we were alright now?” Thor said in confusion.“You know, you never did tell me if you prefered Erik or Killmonger.” Hela said to him.“How about you call me King and I call you Queen, and together we rule everything?” Erik suggested. The warmth that flooded her heart in that moment was unlike anything she’d ever experienced. Grabbing him behind the neck, she pulled him toward her and kissed the panther mouth of his helmet.“You always know just what to say…”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

The Collector stood before the gaping hole in his museum and heaved a great sigh. Inside he counted four Asgardians, three of which were bona fide gods, and one undead super powered human with god-like abilities in a nearly indestructible suit of vibranium. Part of the deal had been that the fight against Thor would take place outside the museum. Hela could use the museum to lure the Asgardian King, but she had to take the battle outside. Shifting the sack of produce and liquor in his arms he gave his head a shake of resolution and strode through the opening where his front door used to be.“Excuse me,” The Collector muttered as he pushed past Thor and Heimdall. They both stared at him quizzically, not quite sure what to make of the situation.The Collector walked over to a large desk and set down his parcel, then turned to the five individuals gathered in his establishment. They watched him in silence as he took a bottle from the bag and poured from it into a glass that looked as though it was kept on his desk for exactly such moments. Then he rummaged through the bag and pulled out what looked like a bright green plum with blue leaves still clinging to the stem. After a sip of his drink and a bite of his fruit, he pursed his lips and addressed everyone.“Do you think you could take this outside?” He began in an even tone. “It's just that I've finally fixed everything from the last group of heroes that came through here…” he gestured around the room and took another sip. “It was a mess.”“I have no quarrel with you, good sir!” Thor boomed and turned to go, but Heimdall cleared his throat and raised his eyebrows in Loki’s direction. Thor sighed. “But… you will set my brother free or we shall have one,” he added in the least enthusiastic tone possible.“Don't put yourself out on my account,” Loki scoffed.“It serves you right for what you did to Father! I should leave you here, you know that don't you??” Thor bellowed, shaking the rafters with his wrath.That was all it took for the brothers to begin bickering. On the other side of the room, Hela and Erik slowly backed out of the museum while they fought. Once they were back in the room with the cots and sad chair, they quietly closed the door and knocked out the window. As Erik offered his interlaced hands to his Goddess to give her a boost, she had a moment of hesitation. Their eyes locked.“I wish we had more time,” she smiled at him, running a finger down his chest. Behind the mask he gave a chuckle.“I thought you wanted a fighter, not a lover.” he teased. She laughed with him and then grew very serious.“You don't need to take on my brother, only Heimdall. He is formidable, but I believe you are moreso. Leave Thor to me. Please.”Was that a quiver to her voice?? Certainly the look in her eyes was one of concern. He opened the helmet of his suit and pulled her in for a kiss.“I got this. We got this!” he said, holding her close. “Now go!” And with that she climbed through the window.Putting his helmet on again, Erik took a deep breath and slipped back through the door into the museum. Loki and Thor were still arguing as Heimdall attempted to intervene. Now casually sitting on the edge of the desk, The Collector appeared to be genuinely entertained as he watched them all yell over each other.“That's not T’Challa, that's what I'm trying to tell you!! He's working with Hela! This is all a trap of some kind. Why can't you see that??” Loki pleaded through the bars. Thor rolled his eyes.“This isn't important…” Heimdall tried to interject.“Stark briefed me on the King of Wakanda as we approached Midgard. I've seen images, so I think I know what I'm talking about.” Thor scoffed, completely ignoring Heimdall. “Which, by the way, we'd BE in Midgard by now settling our people if YOU hadn't snuck off to go… what were you even going to do again? Rescue our psychotic, murderous sister?? What were you thinking, Loki?!”“I don't have to explain myself to you.” Loki all but pouted.“How did you even get here? I still don't understand that.” Thor grumbled.“He stole the Tesseract.” Heimdall said. “Didn't you, Loki?”Now Thor was paying attention to what Heimdall said. He glared at his brother with his one remaining eye, and balled his hands into fists. Loki turned his back on them both in a huff, facing Erik who was leaning against the back door like nothing important was happening. The anger on Loki’s face morphed into concern when he realized his sister was missing. Looking around frantically he spun back to his brother.“Where is Hela?” Loki asked in a panic.“None of your tricks now, Brother! Is it true you stole the Tesseract?” Sparks were beginning to shoot off Thor's closed fists.“No I'm serious, where is she??” Loki sputtered.“Do not change the subject!!”“I'M NOT!! I'M TRYING TO--” Loki’s voice trailed off as his shoulders slumped forward and his gaze shifted to behind where Thor and Heimdall stood. There, in the place he was staring, stood Fenris with Hela perched on her back.“You were asked to leave!” Hela sneered just as Fenris lunged forward and grabbed Thor's cloak in her jaws. Whipping her head to the side, Fenris swept Thor off his feet and into Heimdall, dragging them both outside into the street.“Would you believe they were just arguing this whole time?” Erik laughed as he came trotting out to Fenris’ side. Hela laughed and shook her head.“Amateurs. Let's see how well they fare without Surtur here to do their dirty work.”Looking up at Hela, Erik took in the sight of her lithe form poised for war. He imagined the way he would use his body to pleasure hers when this was all over; imagined the taste of her, the feel of her. Humming thoughtfully at the motivation, he licked his lips inside his helmet and tried to think about baseball.“I wish we didn't have to do this now…” Erik sighed, and then faced where Heimdall had fallen. “Oh well. Duty calls.”Heimdall didn't have time to do much more than roll out of the way as Erik's knee came crashing down where his head had been. Scrambling to his feet, Heimdall lifted his sword to face Erik. With a swipe, he swung the blade out at the catsuited man, connecting in the center of Erik's forearm. The suit absorbed the impact with a golden flash that rippled out along the nanites in a wave, but left him completely unharmed beneath it. Heimdall's brow furrowed together in consternation and swung again, harder this time. Again Erik soaked up the impact of the blow, though grunting a little this time. The suit protected him, but it didn't feel good. When Heimdall swung for a third time though, Erik leapt above the blade, spinning through the air to land a kick in the side of Heimdall's face, as well as transfer the kinetic energy his suit had been storing.The impact knocked the Asgardian fifty feet back and into a solid brick wall. Shaking his head, he staggered forward and then unleashed a flurry of blows with his sword. Every single one that connected with the suit set off golden ripples as the kinetic energy was stored. When Erik rolled to the inside of Heimdall's swing and landed a punch to the center of the Asgardian's chest, the amount of energy his suit released knocked them both backwards over a hundred feet. Erik immediately got to his feet again. Heimdall did not.Turning on his heel, Erik scanned for Hela and Thor. A horned Goddess astride a giant black wolf didn't seem like the sort of thing that would be hard to find, but for one heart stopping moment he couldn't. Panic gripped him as he scanned the grimy streets lit with neon looking for her. Finally a bolt of lightning lit up the sky on the other side of the museum and Erik took off running.He rounded the corner to find Hela splayed out on her back, struggling to get to her feet again. Further away, Fenris staggered around unsteadily. The only one on their feet and ready to go was Thor, and he looked just about ready to unleash another jolt of lightning. Electricity arched and crackled around Thor's entire body, illuminating the dimly lit alley with bright white light. Ignoring everything Hela had said about leaving Thor to her, Erik launched himself at the God of Thunder.Thor saw him coming. A one-eyed man, and he still saw Erik coming a mile away. The lightning bolt he unleashed was meant for his sister, but Thor felt justified in redirecting it at Erik instead. He was starting to think Loki was telling the truth that it wasn't T’Challa after all, merely some pretender. He'd had plenty of experience with pretenders to the throne himself and he had no patience for such things.The Golden Black Panther suit absorbed the kinetic energy of the bolt and then immediately expelled it back at Thor. It was designed to take hits from bullets and knives, maybe even a car, but not a full-strength blast from the God of Thunder. Erik flew backwards and careened into a concrete stoop, embedding himself a foot deep. His vision skipped back and forth like he'd been spinning in circles, so it was hard to make out what exactly was happening, but his ears worked just fine. He heard the sound of Hela’s voice roar in fury, and then he heard another roar, like a flamethrower. Like a really big, really powerful flamethrower. The next thing he knew, his field of vision was consumed in blinding light, and then darkness.Everything was dark.

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Erik’s eyes opened slowly and blinked in the dark. There wasn’t much to see from what he could tell. Just a soft glow of lights surrounding him on a cold, hard surface, and darkness all around that. He sat up and rubbed at his eyes, and then immediately shivered as cold air hit the warmth of his back. Once again, he found himself awakening totally undressed. His hands went to his neck to see if maybe the suit had retracted into the claws again, but there was nothing to be found. It was gone. Again.“Deja vu…” he muttered to himself and tried to slide over to the edge of the table where he’d been lying. An involuntary groan escaped his lips as his ribs crunched in protest. Past experience told him he felt at least two dislocations, and probably twice as many fractures.“Ok, that’s different…” he grimaced and gingerly touched at a hot bruise spreading across the entirety of his midsection.“You’re awake. Good. Stay here.” came a woman’s voice. It wasn’t Hela though. This voice was cold, almost robotic. As a large metal door slid open and filled the room with light, all he was able to catch was a glint off her bald head as she stalked out of the room.“Curiouser and curiouser,” Erik chuckled to himself and then immediately regretted laughing as searing hot pain shot up from his ribs.A few moments later the door slid open again and Hela walked through. By now Erik’s eyes had adjusted more to the darkness of his room. He looked up at Hela sheepishly as she came over to the side of the table where he was seated.“Did we win?” he asked.She slapped him hard across the face.“No thanks to you!” Hela spat, catching him completely off guard. He stared at her, the hurt openly displayed in his eyes. She didn’t care. Her hand came up and flew through the air to slap the other side of his face.“You idiot!! You reckless, stupid, idiot!!!” she screamed.Erik didn’t even try to defend himself. His eyes followed as her hands came down again and again, slapping his face until his cheeks burned hot as coals. Hela continued her assault, both physical and verbal, for several more minutes until finally he asked, “what happened??”“What happened? What happened?!” she fairly screeched as she grabbed a fistful of his hair and pulled his face close to hers. “I’ll tell you what happened: you ran in like an idiot - exactly like I told you not to do - nearly got yourself killed - exactly as I said you would - and robbed me of the chance to savor, truly savor, and enjoy the destruction of my terminally cheerful brother. And now, you’re going to make it up to me.”She dragged him off the table where he was seated and forced him down to his knees by brute strength alone, no magic. The amount of power in her took Erik by surprise as she yanked him downward and he had no choice but to go where she put him. Staring up at her, eyes full of remorse, he knew there was nothing he could say that was going to make this better. The look in her eyes, the fury radiating off of her, he knew there was no room for negotiation or even begging for mercy. Whatever happened next, he brought this on himself.A shadow raced across the floor toward him, looking like something out of a nightmare, and crawled up his body in undulating black tentacles. It wrapped around his legs and feet, and wound up along his sides to his arms where the tentacles interlaced behind his back and yanked his arms behind him so that his palms were pressed together, pointing downward. Muscles and ligaments burned in protest as the shadows pulled his arms tighter and tighter together, forcing him to stretch them backwards in ways he thought only twenty-something-year-old yoga instructors could manage. When he grimaced in pain, Hela grabbed his chin and ran the pad of her thumb over the goldcaps on his lower teeth before sticking it into his mouth and pressing down on his tongue to open his mouth wide like she was trying to force a pill down a stubborn dog’s throat. As soon as his jaw opened as wide as it could, more shadows came crawling up his neck to fill his mouth so he was stuck with it gaping.“Scream all you want, no one will hear you through that.” she said, gesturing to the massive gag as she walked around behind him and produced a small black dagger from thin air. Running the dagger down his spine, she pressed it into his flesh, leaving a shallow cut from the base of his neck to the small of his back. As he let out a muffled cry of surprise she leaned in and whispered, “but do scream because I will most certainly still be able to hear you.”Stepping back a few paces, Hela slid the dagger away and brought out a single tailed whip. The first swing cracked right next to his ear, leaving it ringing and his heart racing. The second crack sounded next to the other ear and made the ringing in stereo. The third though… the third licked across the place where his left ass cheek met the top of his thigh and Erik howled from behind the shadow gag in his mouth. Unmoved by his agony, she flicked her wrist, making the tendrils holding his arms behind him hike them up higher so that he had to bend at the waist to alleviate the stress on his shoulders.“They use this position during interrogations for terrorists,” Hela mused as she walked around to the front of him, letting the whip trail at her feet. “But I suppose you already knew that, didn’t you?”Another crack echoed off the metal walls of the room followed by Erik’s muffled wail from the whip connecting with the tender flesh of his inner thigh. His body went weak against the restraints for a moment and as his head dropped he saw blood springing up along the lash on his leg. But he earned this punishment. He hadn’t listened to her. Taking a deep breath, he straightened himself up and met her gaze.“Ooooh, there’s my plucky little soldier!!” she smiled cruelly at him and then hit the opposite thigh to create a matching mark. If he put his legs together, they would have made an arrow pointing down. Tilting her head to the side, Hela observed this and added three more lashes on each side to create a series of chevrons.Erik scowled and groaned a little as a rope of drool began to pour down his chin and tears leaked from his eyes. His world was spinning from the throbbing ache in his ribs, the burning in his arms, and the white-hot searing pain of the lashes between his legs. Every muscle in his body was beginning to tremble and he didn’t know where he ended and the pain began. It was all becoming a blur in his synapses and nerve endings. But he earned this punishment, he reminded himself. He hadn’t listened to her. Gathering all his strength, he bit down against his gag and pulled himself as upright as he could to meet her gaze again.“That’s right, fight for your dignity!” she laughed and then backhanded him across the face so hard his vision skipped for a second. “You won’t get to keep it tonight.”Sucking in a deep breath through his nose, Erik steeled himself again and jutted his chin out in determination. He had robbed her of the chance to see her brother on his knees, writhing in agony, and begging for mercy. Now he would make that up to her. He owed her that much.By the time she was finished whipping him, Erik was kneeling in a pool of his own blood and saliva. His head had long since dropped forward, and his hands had gone numb much faster than that. The best he could muster were short grunts of confirmation when she checked in with him periodically to make sure he hadn’t lost consciousness. When at last she released him from his restraints, he slumped down to the floor and fell to his side in the fetal position, wincing with each painful breath.As for his flesh…His back looked like raw meat, all bloody and torn. The raised scars of his body count were eradicated by the lashes that sliced across his skin in angry red marks. On his legs, more cuts scored his thighs and backside in neat little rows.There was no feeling left in his fingertips, and his jaw ached from being held as far open as it could be for so long. But when he looked up and saw his Goddess panting with exhaustion and a look of contentment on her face, it all became worth it.“I’m sorry,” he sputtered at last, face down in his own blood.“You should be!” she spat at him and gave his shoulder a kick so he splayed out on his back. An involuntary cry came out of him as his raw back made contact with the cold metal floor, but when he tried to move, tried to alleviate any of that pain, it only got worse. The more he tried to reposition his body, the more it felt like he was being torn to pieces, until finally he stopped struggling and simply laid there hyperventilating with tears streaming down his cheeks.“You ruined everything for me! EVERYTHING!!” she growled at him from above. “I had to scorch the earth, unleash the Eternal Flame and just burn everything! The entire damned Celestial head, just poof!! Up in flames. All so I could rescue you!! ”“You should have let me die…” Erik whispered.“I should have!” she agreed vehemently.“Forgive me, my Goddess, my Queen.”Hela’s breath caught in her throat. Looking down at him her eyes softened and she frowned a little. As good as beating someone within an inch of their life felt, suddenly this wasn’t satisfying anymore. All he had done was worry for her, care. No, he hadn’t listened to her, but he did rush in like a lovesick fool to save her. He did risk his life to give her a chance. He was willing to die for her.“Get up.” she ordered him.For the first time in well over an hour, his eyes opened, WIDE. He stared up at her incredulously and then terror took over his face. Smacking his lips together nervously, he shook his head.“Please,” he begged her. “Don’t make me move!”“Kings do not lie on their backs. Now get up!” she said flatly.This time when his eyes went wide they were filled with confusion instead of fright. He looked at her quizzically from down on the floor. Had she just called him a king? She had, hadn’t she? Blood-smeared gold flashed in his mouth as he grit his teeth together and pulled himself unsteadily to his feet to face her eye-to-eye.Once he was standing it only took a second for Hela to be on him. Though his flesh burned with each touch, he dared not shun her embrace. It was all he wanted, she was all he wanted. The pain dissipated as she hurriedly planted kiss after gentle kiss on his broken body, sending out a green glow across his skin with each one until every lash was closed and every broken bone mended.“The bruises you’ll keep as a reminder,” she informed him and then pressed her fingers into the purple mark spreading across his ribcage. He winced a little but still flashed her a big smile.“Bruises I can work with,” he said and then wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into a deep kiss.Scooping her up in his powerful arms, Erik sat her down on the edge of the table and continued to kiss her. Between her legs she could feel him growing steadily more and more aroused. But she couldn’t consummate her forgiveness yet. Taking his hand in hers, she pressed their palms together and looked deep into his eyes.“I made you a promise,” she said as their hands began to softly glow with emerald light.“But I didn’t listen…” he began to protest. She shushed him with a gentle kiss.“Thor is dead, and you did help me do it. That was the deal.” she said as the light began to overtake his entire body.It felt like electricity coursing through his veins mixed with the best buzz he’d ever had. All at once he felt strong and energized and ready to take on the world. The Heart Shaped Herb had given him heightened abilities but it was nothing compared to this! His vision became sharp and clear so that it could pierce through the darkest corners of the room, and his hearing amplified every creak and groan and imperceptible vibration that hummed around him. More than that he could see the magic coursing through the universe around him, how to pull against it and use it as he wished. It was intoxicating! He could feel the power coursing through his veins. Looking at her with a smile, he waved his hand in the air, holding one, singular image in his mind as he did. In response, her clothing melted away, just as she had done to him so many times before.With a wild laugh, he grabbed her roughly around the waist and slid the entire length of himself inside her with one powerful thrust. She was dripping wet already and aching for him, but the sudden entry took her breath away and made her back arch. The next thrust had her legs wrapping around his waist, and by the third her arms were around his shoulders so she could cling to him as he slammed himself in and out of her roughly.“I would die for you!” he growled in her ear, making her go weak.She bit her lower lip and whispered, “say it again.”“I would die for you!!” he repeated a little louder, grabbing her ass with both hands and pulling her down onto him so hard it knocked the breath out of her. “You’re my Goddess, my Queen!! I would do anything for you, Hela!! I belong to you!”Shuddering and gasping for breath, Hela clung to him as an orgasm spasmed through her core and set her body shaking. As she tightened around him and dug her nails into his back, Erik exploded within her, filling her with his hot cum. They were so caught up in each other, so blinded by their own pleasure, that they never heard the metal door as it slid open behind them, or noticed the light that filled the room from the hallway beyond. It wasn’t until they heard that same cold, robotic voice that they realized they weren’t alone.“You made a fucking mess.” Nebula scowled. “I’m not cleaning it up.”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

One Week Ago…
Nebula saw the explosion off the port bow, a fiery green ball of destruction that sent pieces of debris hurtling through the vacuum of space in every direction. For a moment she just watched from a distance with idle curiosity as the small mining spaceport known as Knowhere disintegrated before her eyes. She had been planning to stop there, but given what she was seeing, that seemed pretty pointless now. Heaving a sigh, she prepared to turn her vessel around when a silver glint caught her eye. Careening out of the flames and dust was a small, battered spaceship. It sputtered along a few hundred kilometers past the front of her ship and then the engine cut out and it started spinning, adrift and out of control.“Scans indicate three heat signatures,” the computer’s voice chimed pleasantly as Nebula ran a series of sweeps for weapons and lifeforms. Heat signatures could be either of those. Now her curiosity was more than merely idle. Hitting the throttle, she steered toward the drifting starship and prepared to board.It smelled like burnt hair and flesh when the airlock finally opened and let her enter the busted ship. Scrunching up her nose, she checked her gun to make sure it was loaded and ready before stepping into the hallway. Just because it smelled like everyone was dead already didn’t mean they actually were.“Hello?” she called out in a level voice as she walked cautiously down the hall. No answer. “Any survivors?” she asked a little louder.“Stop right where you are.” a woman’s voice ordered from behind her.Nebula stopped and turned on her heel, holding the gun at her waist, ready to fire. Before her stood Hela, slightly battered and singed, but otherwise looking unharmed from the world-ending explosion that had just taken place. Behind her, though… that was a different story.Lying on his back in the outstretched paws of an unconscious Fenris was Erik. Both the man and the great beast were sporting huge, weeping blisters and bleeding cuts, the poor dog looking to have gotten the worst of it with its flesh gnarled and twisted with burns in patches across its face. They were breathing, but every gasp for air sounded like it might be their last as they each struggled to suck oxygen past the swelling in their throats. The whistles and wheezes of their death rattles made Nebula twitch a little and shift uncomfortably.“They need medical attention.” Nebula stated.“Are you a doctor?” the haggard Hela demanded to know more than asked.“No, but I know a thing or two about battle wounds.” Nebula answered and lowered her weapon.“Then you will help us.” Hela informed her. ~*~*~ 
Now…
Nebula still wasn’t really speaking to either of them as they approached the slowly spinning blue and green orb of Earth. They had cleaned up their mess, or rather, Erik had fun playing with his new powers while Hela shook her head and pointed out the mop would have been faster, but Nebula was still mildly annoyed. Or maybe that was just her face. Neither Erik nor Hela was able to get a good read on the blue cyborg that had rescued them after the fight in Knowhere. So far, Nebula hadn’t asked for anything in return. Mostly she just scowled a lot and watched them with her cold stare.“What’s your deal, anyway?” Erik finally asked her.“What do you mean?” Nebula asked.“Why are you helping us?” he clarified.“Why not?” Nebula replied coldly and stalked over to the pantry to grab a bottle of amber liquid. She snapped the top off with her cybernetic hand and took a long draught. Her black eyes studied him from across the room, emotionless as the rest of her face. Nothing seemed to frighten or excite her. It seemed like her only two emotions were slightly annoyed and slightly disgusted.“But what are you getting out of it?” he pressed, unwilling to let it go.“You’re entertaining.” she shrugged and took another sip.“Excuse me?” Hela asked as she came into the room. Her expression was somewhere between gobsmacked and indignant. Erik smiled, grateful not to be the target of that look for once.“You have to admit, it’s pretty entertaining.” Nebula replied, completely unphased by Hela’s obviously perturbed look. “How often do you find a Goddess floating adrift through space, with her giant dog and her pet human? Except you’re not her pet, are you? You’re something else...”Erik squared his shoulders and met her steely gaze. Licking his lower lip thoughtfully for a moment, he considered how to answer the accusation - with his fists or maybe his new powers? - but Hela beat him to it. She walked over to his side and slipped her arm around his waist, pulling him close to her so she could kiss his cheek before looking back at Nebula.“Jealous?” the Goddess of Death asked, a hint of accusation in her own voice.Nebula cracked the vaguest hint of what might have been a smile and chugged the rest of her drink before responding, “I don’t care. It just adds to the entertainment.”The cyborg threw her empty bottle into a garbage chute in the wall and then stalked out of the room, saying, “we’re making our final approach. You should get ready.”“And you sure you’re down for this?” Erik asked as she passed him.Nebula stopped and looked him dead in the eyes. “I was built for this,” she said and then headed off toward the cockpit.“Are you ready, my King?” Hela asked with a playful smile. He grinned like a madman.“I was built for this, too.” he said and gave her a kiss. “Let’s go savor revenge!”The tension as they breached the atmosphere was thick, and it only got thicker the lower they went. Nebula’s ship came equipped with a stealth mode, designed by an alien race, and the working theory was that it should be able to fly under the radar of any Earth civilization. At least, the salesman had said it was superior to the likes of Earth technology. But that was all just a theory. Not a single one of them knew whether or not it would actually work.“There. Through the canopy. Just fly straight through it.” Erik said, pointing ahead to a dense crop of trees.Nebula gave him a wide-eyed stare before shrugging and hitting the throttle. “If you say so…”They passed through the treetops in a digital blur and then out into an open valley with a sprawling metropolis. The city was beautiful, a mix of futuristic technology and eco-friendly landscaping. Skyscrapers doubled as functional workplaces as well as arboretums, and beautiful murals in every color of the rainbow adorned their sides. In the dirt streets, colorfully dressed denizens bustled about in their daily lives, unaware of the alien spacecraft flying over their heads.“Guess the cloaking works.” Nebula said.“You sound disappointed. Why?” Erik asked.Nebula merely shrugged and tilted her head a little to the side.“You’re wearing that suit again. Why?” she asked.“You’ll see.” Erik grinned, and then instructed her, “just drop us off behind that hill and stay in stealth mode.”“Whatever.” Nebula sighed and swooped down to the hill to let them out of the ship.“Are you ready, my Queen?” Erik asked as he helped Hela onto Fenris’ back and then climbed up behind her.“Let’s go cause mayhem!” Hela purred and then spurred Fenris through the open cargo doors.Fenris hit the rolling grass hills of the Wakanda countryside and threw her head back in a happy bay of approval. She was fully restored, thanks both to Hela’s magic and Nebula’s medical bay, and she was ready to ride into battle. Stretching her legs for the first time in a week, the great wolf took off at a lope through a herd of antelope that looked absolutely terrified of her. Good , Erik thought. Nobody here would know what to make of them! By the time they crested the hill, several citizens had gathered to see why the animals were stampeding away from the open field, and a chorus of screams went up as the giant black dog came bounding toward them. War horns sounded and a sea of red armored bald warrior women came pouring out to form a phalanx.“Oh good. They ain’t wasting any time!” Erik smirked and deployed his Black Panther suit from the necklace. Leaping off of Fenris’ back, he soared through the air and landed about 50 feet away from the line of Dora Milaje who stood with spears ready.“Where’s your king?!” Erik screamed from behind his helmet.“YOU AGAIN?!” Okoye balked, recognizing his voice and the golden suit he had been put to rest in.Erik stood in the center of the open field and turned to face the General. She looked spooked, but still strong and ready to fight. He knew it would take more than a little scare to truly rattle her cage, but he still enjoyed the way she sucked in her breath sharply and uttered “umoya!”, the Xhosa word for “ghost”, under her breath when he removed his helmet and flashed her a brilliant smile.“I asked you a question: WHERE IS YOUR KING?!” Erik shouted.“I am here!” T’Challa answered as the Dora parted for him and allowed him to walk through. The King of Wakanda crossed halfway across the distance between the line of Dora and Erik before stopping. “What do you want, Erik? Must we do this again??”“You denied me my right as a Wakandan, as the son of N’Jobu!” As the words came out of Erik’s mouth, his suit began to shimmer with waves of gold as though it were absorbing impact after heavy impact. If T’Challa noticed, he didn't react.“You did not win your challenge! It is over, Cousin!” T’Challa nearly pleaded.“It’s over when I SAY it’s over!” Erik yelled, and the suit exploded off him in a shower of vibranium shrapnel that was more spectacular to watch than anything else. Beneath it he wore the black and green shadow suit Hela had given him in the catacombs the first night they met.“And your suit is basic!” he added with a snarl.From behind the front lines came a gasp and a cry of, “RUDE!”“SHURI!!! GET INSIDE!” T’Challa screamed over his shoulder.“Nah, Shuri! Stay right where you are. You got the best seat in the house to watch your broth--”He didn’t even get to finish the sentence. A stream of laser fire came blasting from behind where he stood, mowing down the line of Dora Milaje, and taking out half of the citizens who still lingered. Screams of horror and pain rang through the air as people scattered in a blind panic from the alien craft that was now hovering over where Hela sat astride Fenris. Gazing up, Erik held out his arms and gave Nebula a look of what gives?! as she exited the craft.“You were taking too long.” the cyborg shrugged as she came sauntering toward him.“I thought you were entertained?!”She shrugged. He looked to Hela for help. The Goddess raised her eyebrows and gave him a shrug as well.“I mean, it's only fair,” Hela said with a teasing lilt. “You robbed me, she robbed you…”“You are never gonna let me live that down, are you?” He asked with exasperation.“No.” She grinned and then donned her war helmet before throwing a black javelin through the chest of a blue-cloaked border tribe warrior running toward Erik's turned back. “Pay attention. War is dangerous.”“Kill now, flirt later.” Nebula scolded as she went running past to launch herself at Ayo’s back.Hela and Erik exchanged toothy grins and threw themselves into battle. Behind them, Fenris dispatched of a herd of war rhinos with unbridled joy. She tore them limb-from-limb, tossing the pieces into the fray to trip others and scatter the rest. Those that broke formation went crashing into the crowd of frightened citizens, crushing the bodies of any who were unlucky enough to fall. Chaos and panic spread like a wildfire, filling the air with the sounds and scents of death.“So many gifts to me!” Hela laughed as she slashed through three Dora Milaje like a hot knife through butter.“All for you, my Queen!” Erik called back. “I LOVE YOU!!”

----- CHAPTER BREAK -----

Time slowed as Erik's words echoed in Hela’s ears. I LOVE YOU!! She barely noticed the vibranium spear that brushed past her cheek, leaving the lightest scratch. I LOVE YOU!! A red armored Dora Milaje warrior came charging at her only to be knocked sideways by Nebula who came soaring out of left field. I LOVE YOU!!
I LOVE YOU!!
“ SNAP OUT OF IT!” Nebula screamed at Hela. “You're going to get yourself killed!”Hela came to her senses just in time to grab a blue-cloaked Border Tribesman by the throat, snapping his neck with one cruel twist of her wrist. Shaking her head, she banished the thoughts from her mind and replaced them with the singular goal of killing everyone who tried to oppose her or her love.
My love... my King...
“What is wrong with you?!” Nebula snapped as she caught a spear before it pierced through Hela's side.The Goddess of Death stared, slack-jawed and dumbstruck, unable to answer the simple question. Rolling her eyes, Nebula wrapped her cybernetic arm around Hela's waist and leapt up onto the nose of her spaceship. Setting Hela down with a huff, she slid down the windscreen and climbed into the cockpit, turning the laser turrets on the blue and red mob encircling Erik and T’Challa. Bodies fell like rain, splashing down into puddles of blood all around the Wakanda royals. Erik and T'Challa froze in place, ducking and hiding behind their hands in a futile attempt at taking cover. When the dust settled, only they remained standing.T'Challa fell to his knees, the helmet of his suit opening as the tears began to roll down his cheeks. In every direction, everywhere he looked, the slaughtered bodies of his subjects surrounded him. Though most were Dora and Border Tribe, several citizens had been caught in the chaos. The King’s shoulders slumped in defeat, shaking with silent sobs, and his eyes raced across the carnage, searching frantically.“Shuri?” He whispered, afraid to even try calling out louder for fear she wouldn't answer.“Oh I'm sorry. Did I kill your sister like your father killed my dad?!” Erik yelled as he kicked T'Challa to the ground.“Did I just destroy your fucking world?!” Erik continued as he kicked and stomped T'Challa exposed head. The blows stunned T’Challa long enough for Erik to create shadowy tendrils like the ones Hela had used so many times to string him up in the past. Pulling on the magic that controlled the shadows, he wound them around T’Challa’s limbs and then hoisted the king up with his arms and legs spread wide. With a tap of his finger on the silver teeth of T’Challa’s necklace, Erik retracted the Black Panther suit and carefully removed it before casting it aside and delivering a punch to T’Challa’s ribs that made him cough blood.“I learned some new tricks since we last saw each other,” Erik grinned as he pulled a black whip from behind his back and gave it a crack. “Lemme show you.”From her perch atop the spaceship, Hela watched in a daze as Erik edged the climax of his revenge on T'Challa and, by extension, all of Wakanda. Pride bubbled somewhere deep within her as she watched him not only master his powers so flawlessly, but also viciously taunt his nemesis, liberally rubbing salt in the open wounds he himself had just created. Past the pride though was something else, something she didn't quite recognize even though it felt like something she'd been needing all along.“I think I love him…” Hela muttered.“Seriously??” Nebula mocked from behind her.Hela turned and gave her a quizzical look. Nebula sighed and rolled her eyes as she walked over to Hela's side.“You're only just figuring that out? I knew when I found you on that ship. Granted, I didn't think he knew it, but I honestly thought you did. You seemed...smarter, I guess.”“He doesn't know.” Hela confessed, completely ignoring the insult in her bewilderment.“HELA! My Queen! I have a gift for you!!” Erik called up to her, grinning from ear to ear as he gestured to T'Challa lying face down in magical bondage.“Now seems like a good time to tell him.” Nebula shrugged and then took a seat straddling the nose of the spaceship before giving Hela a nod as if to say, “well go do it, already!”Jumping down to the ground, she strode over to Erik, shaking her hair loose from its helmet so that her raven locks blew freely in the breeze by the time she stood by his side. Her eyes shifted from the prostrate monarch at her feet up to the eyes of the man she loved. His gaze was intense, drunk on both love and revenge. His greatest enemy was as his feet and his greatest love by his side. All doubt fled from Hela's mind as she looked at him. There was no doubt he loved her, and even less that she loved him back.“A gift, my Queen. I robbed you of the opportunity to savor your revenge against Thor. Please.” He produced a long black sword from thin air and dropped to one knee to offer it to her. “Savor this revenge.”Her breath caught in her throat as she took the sword with hands trembling from excitement. Licking her lips in anticipation, she studied his face once more before turning her attention to T'Challa. The King of Wakanda was suspended face down in black ropes of magic, barely clinging to consciousness. Blood and sweat dripped down his face as he moaned pitifully before her. Looking over her shoulder, she saw Erik still kneeling, eyes wide with anticipation and excitement. She couldn’t help but smile as she turned back to T’Challa and circled around so she was facing Erik.Raising the sword high above her head, she looked Erik in the eyes and said, “I love you,” before slicing straight through T’Challa’s neck, decapitating him.“Oh kiss already!” Nebula shouted from overhead and then climbed up the nose of the ship toward the cockpit. ~*~*~ Once the king had fallen, most of the remaining citizens fled into the jungle surrounding Wakanda. Erik knew they would probably be back, but he didn’t care. For now, they had won, and all he was interested in at that point was finding a shower to wash off the battle grime.“I can actually smell myself. It’s nasty!!” Erik exclaimed as he wandered through the halls with Hela and Nebula.“You’ve smelled worse…” Nebula said.Hela raised her eyebrows and shrugged in agreement.“This is the most advanced civilization on the planet. There has GOT to be a shower!” he grumbled, ignoring them both, and turned a corner.“Here we go! That’s what I’m talking about!!” he exclaimed happily as they walked into a large spa.Mud baths and hot tubs were lined up in symmetrical configurations. Two deep pools of floral scented water steamed and bubbled on either side of them, with three individual mud baths next to each one. Just past those stood empty massaging chairs and tables, and a wall of frosted glass separated an open shower area further back.“I need a soak.” Nebula said to no one in particular as she walked over to a hot tub and proceeded to strip off her clothes and get in.“Won’t you rust or something?” Erik teased as she eased herself into the water.“That’s ableist,” she responded coldly and then leaned her head back on the edge of the tub and closed her eyes.With an impish grin, Erik grabbed Hela by the wrist and lead her back toward the shower area. As they entered, he snapped his fingers and turned on every showerhead so that it sounded like a waterfall and steam began to fill the room. A wave of his hand and their clothing fell away from their bodies. All it took from there was one look and they were splashing through the water to crash into the wall as they kissed. Hunger and need consumed them both as Erik pressed her against the wall and slid himself inside her from behind. Her hips bucked hard against his, urging him to pound into her, and her hands clawed behind herself at his hips to do the same.“Please,” she whispered in her aching desire.Grabbing a fistful of her soaking hair, Erik pinned her against the cold tile. A gasp escaped her as he grabbed her by the hip and kicked her feet apart roughly, forcing her to slide down until he was as deep inside her as could be. But he didn’t slam into like she had begged. He didn’t give her what she wanted. Instead he gave her slow, gentle strokes that teased with each methodic pass back and forth.“No no no,” she whimpered and tried to wriggle free so she could turn the tables.“I don’t think so,” he growled in her ear as the shadows crawled out from the corners of the room and wrapped around her wrists and ankles. Withdrawing from her completely, he took a step back and laughed as she squirmed in her restraints.“Oh I like this!” he chuckled and gave her ass a hard slap and then rubbed his hand in a circle across her ass cheek.“Erik,” she began to threaten but his hand came down in another smack and caught her by surprise as it then slid between her legs and inside her.“Don’t pretend you don’t love this!” he purred, pulling his fingers out and rubbing the slickness over her ass. “We both know you do.”He slapped her ass again and then slid his fingers back down to massage her clit. Her hands balled into fists as a soft moan came out of her and her hips slowly rocked backwards to give him better access. His laugh echoed off the tile followed by another slap across her backside, and another, and another, until her cheeks were both burning red and hot. When he slipped his hand between her legs though, he could feel how much she was enjoying every second. She was swollen and dripping wet, and when he plunged his fingers inside her he could feel the quakes of an orgasm threatening to send her over the edge.“Not yet,” he whispered in her ear, pressing up against her back to slide himself back inside her. “Wait for me.”“I don’t know if I…” she sputtered, her legs starting to tremble as soon as he entered her.“Wait for me,” he growled again pumping himself fast inside her.“I can’t…”“WAIT,” he commanded, delighting in the way her whole body shook inside and out at the single word.Hela bit her lower lip and balled her fists tighter, desperately trying to stave off the orgasm threatening to rip through her at any moment. Every inch of her was trembling from head to toe. Her body ached. Her loins ACHED. As his hand came up to wrap around her throat and squeeze until stars twinkled in the corners of her vision, she moaned one last protest.“Please,” she begged.“You. Will. WAIT.” he growled into her ear, knowing full well she couldn’t possibly.And she couldn’t.Her body went rigid and then began to shudder as ecstacy overtook all her senses and ravaged her body. There was no holding back anything anymore. She thrashed and screamed and ground her hips against him as she came harder than she ever had before. Even with his new godly powers, he struggled not to be knocked backwards from the power behind her pleasure. Clinging to her, he thrust himself in and out of her until he began to shake and cum with her.By the time they emerged from the showers, Nebula had moved from the hot tub over to a massaging chair. Slices of cucumbers covered her eyes and a brightly patterned towel was wrapped around her body instead of her bloodstained clothes. When she heard their bare feet come pattering out of the showers, she lifted up a cucumber to give them half a glare and then lowered it back onto her face.“What now?” Hela asked.“I don’t know. I mean… We took over Wakanda. Your brothers are dead. What else is there?” Erik smiled at her.“Not quite true,” came a smug voice from behind them in the showers.Erik and Hela spun around as Nebula ripped the cucumber slices from her eyes. Standing in the billowing steam was Loki. In his hand was the Tesseract.“Only one brother is dead.” Loki grinned. “And the other is a little pissed off.”