Resurrection

Chapter Five: Another One Bites the Dust

Chapter Five: Another One Bites the Dust

Everyone in Valhalla felt the ground shake, which was strange since there were never any earthquakes.

Hela rushed to her throne and pressed a button on the bottom of the left armrest. A giant screen of pure magic appeared, covering at least sixty feet all around its perimeter. An image of Wakanda in ruins appeared on the screen. The land was filled with six-armed alien and Wakandian warrior corpses. Those who were still standing were slowly being cut in half as the Snap turned them to dust.

Loki, Sigyn, Hela, and the three boys watched in horror as several Avengers fell. First, it was Bucky with a confused cry of "Steve." Then it was Wanda, Groot, T'Challa...

Upset cries were heard as more and more people were reduced to ash. The screen cut to a scene on Titan, Thanos' home planet.

Tony Stark was standing there, bleeding through his armour as the Guardians and Doctor Strange disintegrated. Soon it was only the teenage boy, Tony, and the blue alien Loki recognized as one of Thanos' adopted children, Nebula.

"Oh no!" Hela cried. "Not Peter!"

"Peter?" Sleipnir asked.

Hela pointed at the screen. "Spider-Man, also known as Peter Parker. He's only fifteen and already an Avenger. I've been tracking his progress because his uncle Benjamin asked me to make sure his nephew was safe," Hela explained.

Sleipnir nodded and turned back to the screen. Flakes were starting to flake off of Peter. He collapsed into Tony's arms, crying, "I don't want to go."

Tony hugged Peter, an upset look on the billionaire's face was the only sign that he was scared. Peter cried into Tony's shoulders until even he flaked away.

It was too much to handle. Hela shut off the screen and turned away to hide her tears. Loki stared where the screen was, his green eyes shining with unshed tears. The scenes he just watched were too emotional.

"I can't believe it! That stupid son of a bitch just wiped out half of the universe's population!" Jormungandr shouted and started swearing and kicking the pillars.

Hela clamped a hand over her mouth, tears streaming down her pale cheeks. "I don't believe it. After all these years of planning and doubt from me, he finally managed to collect all six Infinity Stones," Hela whispered so quietly that the others had to strain to hear. "It's my fault. I should have told him to stop. He did this for me, but I never told him I didn't want millions dead. It disrupts the natural order of life and death."

Fenris placed a hand on his younger sister's shoulder. "Sis, I know now might be the best time to ask, but I thought Thanos wanted to wipe out half the universe because of depleted resources?"

Hela wiped her eyes and nodded. "Yes, that is one of his intentions. He's also in love with me, so apparently he thinks that if he kills half of the population, I'll end up liking him and he gets to achieve a perfect balance," Hela explained.

"Great!" Fenris threw up his hands in frustration. "Just what we needed. A homicidal, murderous, OCD Titan!"

"OCD?" Sleipnir raised an eyebrow. "Probably more like a perfectionist."

"It doesn't matter," Loki said. "What matters is that Valhalla is going to be in chaos with the flood of souls coming in."

Hela gasped and reached for her phone. She typed in the phone number for the Reapers' headquarters. Someone picked up on the first ring.

"Hello? Vincent, great it's you. We have a problem...Yes...What?" Hela paused as Vincent continued talking. "No...Can you come over to the throne room?"

A flash of white light blinded everyone but Hela. As the rest of the group stood, blinking dark spots out of their eyes, Hela looked expectantly at Vicent.

"What's wrong?" Hela asked.

Vincent cleared his throat before explaining. "After the Snap, we expected a wave of souls to come in. Valhalla's too quiet. No souls have entered, especially the ones affected by the Snap."

"That's impossible!" Hela cried. "All living beings go to either Valhalla or Helheim when they die."

"Unless their souls get trapped somewhere. That's how things like vengeful ghosts happen," Loki added. "They get trapped in the Veil, the area between life and death."

"I know, but there were billions of souls that were killed. Most souls cross through, or at least a few would," Hela said.

"None have, not even one, my Queen. It is a peculiar situation," Vincent said.

The whole group was astonished. Nothing like this had ever happened before.

"Billions of souls...lost. Restless. They'll never be at peace," Hela muttered almost to herself. "This isn't how death works! Death doesn't...No!"

Loki gently grasped Hela's arm and led her to her throne. She plopped down on it with a heavy sigh. "It-it's not normal! Th-that evil, murderer disrupted the natural order!"

Hela lunged out of the throne, knocking Loki off-balance. "I'm going to find those souls and hunt him down and kill him where he stands! Maybe then he'll understand never to mess with DEATH!" Hela growled, her face twisted into an ugly mask of pure, cold rage.

Everybody took a quick step backward, away from Hela. Black fire shot up around Hela's hands, gray smoke curling up towards the ceiling.

Maybe he was stupid for going near Hela when her rage had summoned her 'death touch,' but Loki still took a step towards his daughter. (The 'death touch' was a powerful force that only Hela possessed. She could kill anyone and anything with a single touch, reducing the victim to a pile of dust and sending their soul straight to Valhalla for judging).

"Hela," Loki whispered so only Hela could hear. He placed a hand on her arm, slowly pushing her arm down. "Now is not the time to get angry. There is a time and place for that, but rage blinds warriors; and because of that, they tend to lose in battle. We'll find the souls and then, we'll deal with Thanos. I want him dead too, believe me, but we can't let our emotions lead us into a fight that we are bound to lose without thinking first."

The fire slowly fizzled out. Hela sat back down on her throne, exhaustion taking over.

"I'm sorry, Dad. It's just—"

"I know," Loki said.

Hela waved her hand towards Vincent. "Send your best reapers to go search for the souls in the Veil," Hela ordered Vincent. "If you can't find them, don't continue. I don't want to lose you as well. Your lives are important. If it's too dangerous, turn back. This is just a search party, not a chance to act like a hero."

Vincent bowed and disappeared, blinding everyone again.

"We'll find them," Loki said.

Hela ignored her father. "Go rest up. All of you. I have a team of people watching Thanos' every move. We need to be prepared, since our time for revenge may be closer than we think."