Hero blinked, dazedly. They couldn't see anything. Not really. Everything was, at best, a haze of lights. Did they just hear their name..?
"Hero."
They blinked again, trying to clear their vision with no success. Even in their state, the voice sounded familiar. And it didn't sound like that of their current jailer.
Hero winced and made a sound of pain as someone touched their arms— their wrists. It wasn't even Supervillain's fault that their wrists hurt as much as they did. It was from Hero's own struggle with the restraints.
But then the restraints fell away and the absence of pressure on the bruises was wonderful. Hero sighed as they slumped forward in the wooden chair.
Unfortunately, the relief didn't last long as their rescuer heaved them out of the chair. Hero choked on a sob as pain radiated through their body once more, but they didn't have the strength to fight it as they were lifted up into someone's arms.
Hero felt their hair hastily pushed out of their face and the pain flare as whoever was holding them readjusted to have a more secure grip.
"Hero, can you hear me? Look at me. Hero."
Hero really did try to focus on the face floating above them. The vague haze of colors was even more familiar than the worried voice surrounding them. Black hair... dark skin... a flare of green...
"Villain..?" Hero's voice was hoarse and quiet. They regretted speaking immediately, throat sore from screaming...
"Yeah, it's me. I've got you. I'm getting you out of here, okay?"
Villain had more words to say. Hero heard them distantly as the colors faded... Their eyes slipped shut... Everything went dark and the pain faded into oblivion.
Summary: After Hela makes a vital mistake, she must team up with you, her enemy, to save Asgard.
Warnings/Notes: None. This was meant to be more of a Goddess of Life x Death thing but I got off track. Also non evil Hela for the win she just needs love
Word Count: 2458
It wasn’t unusual for there to be… minor battles in Asgard when days were long.
As the Goddess of Life, you watched over the living and tried to keep as many as you could that way. You loved all life and life loved you. From people to animals and even plants, you were their guardian.
Odin had brought you in as a counterpart to his feisty daughter Hela; the Goddess of Death. She had been raised during his days of conquest and bloodshed and now struggled to adapt to a life of peace. Oftentimes she took her frustrations out on the people of Asgard, especially those that tried to control her. Odin hoped you would be able to talk some sense into his daughter, or, at least reverse the damages she had done.
She hated you. You were her enemy, her rival, the one person ruining everything she tried to achieve. You healed those she wounded and comforted those she hurt. If she broke a window you would have it fixed. You even revived the flowers she stepped on in the gardens.
You didn’t hold the same hatred, though. She amused you in a way. Her relentless anger and inability to do anything but hurt. It was funny, yet sad. You didn’t mind cleaning up her messes and you knew she couldn’t harm you, but the biting remarks she always muttered when you were around sometimes hit their mark.
Today had been your usual routine: Hela got angry at her dressmaker for even suggesting she wear a dress and left them barely hanging on; you healed them with ease and sent out applications for a new employee. She skipped dinner and you hung out with her younger brothers, and then spoke with Odin.
He was getting worried. His plan was that eventually Hela would tire of you dousing her fire with water and settle into a calmer life, but every time you bandaged the wound, she would tear it open further. She was getting more dangerous. It was only a matter of time before she did something that not even you could heal.
You were on your way back to your room when you passed Hela’s. The door was slightly ajar and you could hear footsteps across the stone floor. She was talking softly, too soft for you to decipher. But before you could get closer, she sensed you and a dagger pierced the door, slamming it shut and nearly slicing your cheek.
“Goodnight, Hela,” you sighed and went to bed.
But your sleep was disturbed by the sound of an explosion outside. Immediately, you sat up and your door burst open.
One of the guards came running in. “We’re under attack!” He exclaimed.
Your heart dropped. “By who?”
“I don’t know, I’ve never seen them before. They’re like these… like these dark shadows. Wraiths, even. They can’t be killed with weapons.”
As you snapped your fingers, your armor appeared. You followed the guard out. “Is it Hela’s doing?”
“That’s what we thought at first. But she’s nowhere to be seen. If this was her, she would be at the front lines.” The guard grabbed your wrist. “Where are you going? We need you!”
“Even if this isn’t her doing, she’ll know how to fix it.” You assured him. “Work on getting the survivors somewhere safe. I’m going to find Hela.”
The guard looked uncertain but did as you said, running one way.
With your powers, you flew through the air. You found the shadows could be temporarily stopped by blasting them with light, but they grew back like tentacles. You would need to destroy the source.
You flew to one of Hela’s hideouts. She had no idea you knew its location but you had followed her one day to the place. It was a small nook in the nearby caves, almost pitifully small for a princess, but on rough days, Hela liked to curl up and fade from the world.
“Hela!” You landed with a short glow of light, then entered the cave.
She flinched when you came in and then turned her head. She was hunched over, knees to her chest and head resting on them. “Come to gloat, Y/n?”
“What? No. Hela, what did you do?”
Hela scoffed. “Why does everything have to be my fault, huh? Why does every single thing I do have to be changed? A single rock out of place is not going to kill people.”
“But these wraiths will.” You sat in front of her, getting right into her personal space. “I need you to tell me what happened. They’re destroying Asgard.”
For the first time, Hela looked slightly frightened. Though that fear wasn’t for the reason you thought. With a heavy sigh, she pressed the bottom of her palm into her eyes. “If I tell you what happened, my father will banish me.”
“He’s already trying to banish you, Hela. I’m not going to tell him that you caused this… not if you help me fix it.” She seemed genuinely surprised at your words. “I need you to tell me what you did.”
“I heard my fathers advisors speaking, they were going to discuss banishing me once and for all next week. So… I thought this would be my last chance to stop them, to make a name for myself and do something that not even you could repair.” Hela finally spoke.
You sat quiet, listening.
“I enlisted the help of the wrong people. They were going to fight with me, just to take down the stables and render the army useless. The plan was I would give them some of Asgard's treasure and in turn I would have a position of power. But they turned on me.” Hela finally admitted. “I… I gave them the way in, and now they’re not going to stop until all of Asgard is destroyed.”
Now you understood why Hela was hiding.
You always pitied her. Her actions were only a result of how she was raised and instead of being helped, she was always punished. Nobody was ever happy to see her. She was never celebrated. That was what she truly wanted, just some recognition rather than being Odin’s awful daughter. If this truth got out, she would be banished without a second thought.
“Then help me.” You offered her your hand. “Help me get rid of the wraiths. Your father will see you as a hero, instead of the enemy.”
“I’m still the enemy. One good deed won’t fix thousands of wrong ones.” Hela muttered. “They know what I’ve done.”
“But they don’t.” You insisted. She ignored your hand so you grabbed it and shook it a little. “Hela, please.”
Hela didn’t look convinced. Once her mind had been set, it would take a lot of begging for her to change it.
With a heavy sigh, you pulled her out of the cave. “Asgard needs you, Hela. I know you and this place have had problems recently but I know you love it too. They don’t know you caused this, and they never will either way. Either you can live in peace afterwards or you can die with the rest of us. Hela, please. We need you.” You softened your voice, practically begging. “I need you.”
A strange emotion flitted over her green eyes. Nobody had ever… needed her before. Ever. They always needed someone to get rid of her. Though she quickly masked that vulnerability with a soft smirk. “It’s nice to see you begging me.” She huffed. “Fine, I will help. But we are not friends. I still hate you.”
“I can live with that.”
“Better hope you can live at all.”
You each exchanged a glance before racing back to the battle.
The wraiths were moving quickly. Half of the guard was down and more was soon to fall. You ran around and healed as many as you could, blasting shadows with light. Eventually you cast a light shield around the civilians and began fighting with the soldiers.
Hela was doing the same. Her blades were one of the few things aside from your light that could kill the wraiths, since they were as dead as the creatures themselves.
The two of you made a good team. Within minutes you had advanced quickly. You watched as Hela lifted off the ground and to the dark shadow in the sky where the leader stood.
You did ground control while Hela fought above. When you heard her shout in pain, you shot as much light as you could at the cloud. And with your combined power, the leader finally gave in.
The dark shadow exploded. All around you, wraiths melted into ash and shadows simply vanished. The remaining soldiers cheered and civilians ran to each other and embraced. You were so busy healing that you almost didn’t notice what was falling from the sky.
It was Hela. Unconscious. Not visibly wounded but the shadow had hurt her more than you thought.
You flew up and caught her, slowly lowering her to the ground. The crowd around you gasped in fear but your relief to see Hela made them feel the same.
“Hela,” you murmured, kneeling down with her upper body in your lap. You felt her skin. She was always cold to the touch, but now she seemed even colder, paler, yet darker. “Hela, wake up.”
Nothing. Not even a breath.
You didn’t think she could die. She had been proven immortal thus far, and as long as Asgard existed, she couldn’t technically die. But she could sort of fade, you supposed. The shadows had invaded her body in a way never seen before.
Slowly, you rubbed your hands together until they began to glow with a warm light. You pressed your hands over your heart and the whole kingdom held their breath.
Hela started coughing. You turned her head and she coughed up some black ash, gasping for breath. And then she noticed your light and you holding her. She tried to pull away but fell back into you.
“What are you doing?” She rasped weakly, slapping your arm. “That was supposed to be my… my big send off. Die as a hero, or whatever you all say.” Hela coughed again.
You helped her sit up, rubbing her back. “Well… I didn’t want you to die. You saved Asgard, Hela. You deserve to be recognized for that.”
“Bullshit.” Hela muttered.
“You’re not the villain here, Hela.” You whispered. “Please. Don’t try to be. You saved everybody.”
Hela noticed the crowd that had gathered, it was as if the whole kingdom was here. She had never been watched by so many people in an… approving manner. They weren’t heckling her or glaring or even running. They were just standing and watching with grateful expressions.
If she was alone, she would have cried. But she refused to make a fool of herself in front of everybody. She tried her best to sit up without you, and when it rendered her coughing again, she huffed. “Get me out of here and heal me, won’t you?”
“Okay.” You rolled your eyes with a little grin.
It took a day or so for Hela to heal. Your light chased the shadow out of her, though her body was unused to such warmth and life that she was weakened once again. Everything was thrown off balance. She hated it. You thought it was sort of cute.
When she finally healed, she didn’t stray further than her chambers. It wasn’t like she could go out and cause havoc for fun again. She didn’t think she could go out at all. She had tried, and when a young child came up to happily talk to her, she freaked and fled back inside.
You found her hiding in the kitchen by the door, wrapped in a black robe to disguise herself. Her hand was on the doorhandle but she couldn’t bring herself to open it.
“Need help?” You joked gently, reaching to open the door but she slapped you again.
“Don’t,” Hela hissed. “There is a man out there.”
“A man?”
“He’s been sending me letters; and roses; and chocolates.” Hela sounded utterly appalled. “I feel like a school girl being stalked.”
You laughed. “He likes you, that’s cute.”
“I do not like him.” Hela muttered. “I let myself get rescued by the enemy once and suddenly I am everybody’s dream girl. Thor and Loki keep teasing me. I used to have power, Y/n. Now I cannot leave my own castle.”
You almost pitied her. Almost.
“Do you want me to tell him to go away?” You smirked.
“Yes.” Hela crossed her arms. “Tell him… that I prefer the company of women, and that he may shove the gifts up his ass.”
You did as asked, minus the last part. You would never have said it anyway, but as you told the man that Hela preferred women, the implication of your words clicked in your head and you suddenly had to get back inside.
“Do you really prefer women?” You asked once the door was closed. “Or was that just to get him to go away?”
“Both.” Hela sighed. “Don’t seem so surprised, Y/n. I simply do not believe a man could hold up to my expectations.” She looked you up and down in a way that told you all you needed to know, and then turned to leave.
“Wait!” You grabbed her wrist. She bristled. You let go and instead patted her hand awkwardly. “Now that you’re free to leave… you should go out with me. I mean–not like that. I mean come outside with me. Enjoy the city as a person, not a villain. There’s this wonderful little meadow over by the theater.”
Hela’s jaw dropped. “What?”
“I want you to come on a walk with me.” You finally decided. “We can grab lunch, maybe even see a show.”
“Why?”
You shrugged. “Because…? I want to?”
Hela frowned. “You just want to see me get swarmed.”
“No.” You reached over and pulled the hood of her robe up, covering her face. Then, without thinking, you brushed her hair out of her face. Her skin wasn’t as cold as you remembered it being. It was… sort of warm. “I’m serious. I want to spend the afternoon with you.”
She seemed genuinely baffled, if not a little flustered by your touch. And when she finally snapped out of it she lowered her eyes and sighed. “...fine.”
“Really?”
“This doesn’t mean we are friends.”
“Understood.” You nodded and pushed the door open.
Hela shook her head. “Ladies first.” She gestured with a faint smirk.
You just smiled and grabbed her hand, then went through the door.
ectoberweek25
day 7- harvest
summary- the Infinite Realms is too quiet
ao3
ectoberweek25 masterlist
The Infinite Realms is too quiet. It had started to feel a bit off a week ago. There were less ghosts coming through the portal, which Danny had been thankful for at first. It gave him time to focus on his homework. But then he had grown suspicious and gone to investigate in the Infinite Realms. It had felt quieter than normal, but Danny hadn’t been able to find anything off.
Danny is in the Realms again, and there are no ghosts anywhere. Danny flies deeper into the Realms, checks several islands, but still there’s no one around. He’s beginning to feel a bit creeped out. Usually by this point he would have been swarmed by blobs.
He keeps flying deeper into the Realms, losing track of time. By the time he becomes aware of himself again, he’s in a part of the Realms he isn’t familiar with. He frowns. He can’t quite remember how he got here.
But now that he’s thinking about it he can feel something tugging at him, like an invisible current pulling him deeper into the Realms and farther from the portal.
He squints, he thinks he can make out something in the distance. He flies closer, tilting his head to the side. It almost looks like depictions of black holes he’s seen. He flies a bit closer.
“Kid!” Someone shouts. “What are you doing!?”
He turns. Embers waving at him. He flies over, and Ember grabs him, dragging him away.
“What do you think you were doing?!” Ember asks as she continues to drag him away.
Danny frowns. “What do you mean?”
Ember glances at him, incredulously. “Can’t you feel it?”
“Feel what?” Danny asks, letting her drag him along.
“The Pull.”
“What?”
Ember pauses, sighing and turning to face him fully. “I guess I can’t really blame you.” she says with a frown. “I doubt anyone’s told you, and who knows how halfa biology works. Most ghosts are born knowing this kind of stuff.” She runs a hand through her hair and it flares hotter. “Look.” She starts again. “Every hundred years, the Core of the Realms needs to replenish its energy which it gets from concentrated ectoplasm.”
“Ghosts.” Danny says, eyes wide.
“Exaclty.” Ember says. “Honestly, this is the first time I’ve seen it. But from what I’ve heard it normally only pulls in blobs and some of the non-sentient animal ghosts. Everyone else knows to avoid the Pull.”
“Except for me.” Danny says, wrapping his arms around himself.
“It’s not your fault, babypop. Most of us you hang around with haven’t been around long enough to actually see a Harvest take place. That’s why there’s no one around. Everyone’s waiting it out in their lairs. Though,” she says, crossing her arms with a frown, “Clockwork should have told you with how often you visit him.”
Danny rolls his eyes. “If I ask, all he’ll say is ‘all is as it should be.’”
“Probably. But you should avoid the Realms for the next few days. Now one will be starting any trouble until it’s over.”
“Thanks, Ember.”
“No problem, babypop.” she says, punching him lightly in the shoulder. “No one wants anything bad to happen to our favorite ghost boy. What would we do without if we didn’t have our favorite fighting buddy?”
Danny rolls his eyes, but grins at her. “I don’t know. I guess you’d have to find some other ghost to bother.”
“Never, you’re the only one for us.” Ember says, clutching a hand to her chest dramatically.
Danny snorts. “Well,” he says looking in the direction of the Pull, “I’ll see you in a few days then.”
Ember salutes him with a grin before flying off.
Danny looks back one more time before heading back home to the portal.
