Loki's Little Witch [en]

chapter 23. ragnarok

"Ragnarok? What is that?"

Stephen Strange inquired, breaking asgardians' heavy silence, making his husband's gaze shift from their son to the man with the shiny golden eyes, who barely managed to open his mouth before the sound of faint flashes, which soon materialized into a round, orange portal, manifested before them, instantly alerting the warriors.

Unlike the midgardian men, who only needed to see that unmistakable head of red hair pass through the portal to rush towards her. Strange's eyes welled up as soon as he held his daughter's face in his hands, covered in a few scrapes and cuts, just as Peter's did, who couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

Just as her green eyes did, grateful that it wasn't too late.

"Thank god," Strange whispered, as Wanda's gaze shifted to Tony, after he grabbed her hands roughly.

"What the hell were you thinking?!"

"Are you okay? Are you hurt?" Stephen asked, completely ignoring Tony and instead scanning his daughter from head to toe, bringing his hands to her belly before his eyes met hers, "Mordo?"

And all it took was a small nod, for Tony and Stephen to understand it was all over. That the man who had turned their lives upside down, who took away what they loved most in this world, who wanted to hurt their little girl, would never threaten them again.

"It's over," Wanda confirmed, "Mordo is gone."

She added, as a faint smile played on her lips, while she looked away from her parents for the first time, searching for the pair she so longed to see.

"Is everyone alright?" she inquired, as the smile on her face fade and got replaced by a frown as she couldn't find him in the crowd, "where's Loki?"

The silence that answered her was enough to strip away the momentary relief she had felt, letting anguish and confusion seize her all over again in an instant.

"Oh, dear," the dark-skinned man in gleaming golden armor spoke, unable to conceal a sorrowful snort, "this isn't over yet. Odin kept her locked away all these centuries, but now that he's gone, she's back. And she's bloodthirsty for revenge."

"Who?"

"Hela. The Goddess of Death. Thor and Loki's sister," Heimdall answered without hesitation, "she has no mercy. She will not spare the life of anyone who doesn't bend the knee to her."

"We will fight her," Fandral, the most impetuous of the Warriors Three, jumped into the conversation, "she will be no threat to the Einherjar."

The Guardian shook his head heavily, "no, you don't understand. It's too late. She's already here. She draws her power from Asgard. As long as Asgard stands, she will be immortal. This is the only way."

"No, Heimdall," the dark-haired asgardian shook her head, "there has to be another way. We can't start the Ragnarok."

"The Ragnarok already started. What we must focus on now is evacuating as many people as we can before it's too late."

The asgardians' distress was so intense that Wanda could feel it slipping into her, along with that fluttering in her stomach that made her lift her gaze toward the palace.

Something was happening.

"They'll help you with that," the redhead said firmly, taking the sling ring from her fingers in a swift move, handing it to Stephen, "I have to help Loki."

"What?!" Tony spat, grabbing her arm again.

"No, it's too dangerous," Strange added in unison.

"They gave their lives trying to protect us," Wanda replied without missing a beat, "we have to help them. We owe them. That's why we're fighting for. So we can end this. So we can go home."