For Hela, it felt like she had been waiting outside the Hospital Wing for information on her sister for hundreds of years. It was one of the most painful and anticipated waits she ever had to go through in her 1,839 years of living. Finally, healer Saida came out of the room, blood clearly on her clothes, and Hela immediately stood with Falcon holding her hand but the healer offered a smile as she said, "my Queen, she'll be fine".

Hela let off a sigh she didn't realise she was holding. Falcon smiled and said, "I told you".

Saida continued and said, "the blade's been safely extracted, I've managed to stop the bleeding and all the internal damage is repaid. The arrow wound to her leg is healing nicely and has been stitched and I have explained to the matron here not to give the Princess any potions as it could affect her recovery. The poison, however, is still in her system and I have slowed the process down, but I must return to Niflheim to make the antidote".

"Can we see her?" Hela asked.

Saida nodded and before she could say anything, her Queen practically ran past her into the wing. A bed was at the end of the room, different to the rest as the others were against the wall while this one was in the centre at the end where the windows were. Hela knew it was moved during the surgery so Saida, and presumably the matron Madam Pomfrey, could move around the bed. Most of the blood was cleared away but Hela quickly glanced and saw the sheets and bloody clothing the matron was trying to hide. Walking to Dahlia, Falcon let go of Hela's hand as he stood back next to Saida and glanced to Akio, who stood against the wall near Dahlia's bed and nodded to the soldier.

As Hela sat down on the bed next to her sister, she dropped Dahlia's wand and necklace next to her and grasped her sister's hand, she couldn't believe how deathly pale she was and it didn't help that she was now wearing a white gown. She knew her sister would have lost a lot of blood but the paleness in her cheeks, Hela only ever saw people like that when they weren't far from death. Hela kissed Dahlia's hand then asked Saida, "when can she be safe for travel? When can she return to Niflheim?"

"With the antidote administered regularly, I would say she can return in three days. That is if nothing interferes with her recovery, milady".

"I'm opening a portal in two hours for some of our soldiers to come through and make camp. Can you make the antidote in that time or do I have to open another portal?"

The light elf thought for a moment before she nodded and said, "the timing should be fine".

Hela then simply waved her hand and the portal opened, hearing Madam Pomfrey gasp at the sight, but Saida simply curtsied before stepping into the portal. Hela didn't watch as she closed it but she could sense new people entering the room and when she looked, she saw headmaster Dumbledore and Professors McGonagall and Snape.

"Headmaster," Madam Pomfrey said as she looked between the group of professors and the people from Niflheim.

Hela stood from the bed but stayed stood in front of her sister, as did Falcon and Akio who stayed to the side but had a hand on a hidden blade. He may not have been noticed by the others immediately but if danger occurred, he would be the last face they saw before Falcon collected their souls for Niflheim.

"It seems that a great secret has been revealed tonight, one that Dahlia has been keeping to herself. I believe introductions are in order," Dumbledore said taking a step closer but Falcon held up his hand to stop him and Hela was the one to step forward then, an emotionless mask now showing.

"I'm well aware what Thor has been teaching about realms and has made it known that I rule the realm of Niflheim. Of course, many of what he has been teaching has been from the point of view of an Asgardian, so not entirely true. I am Hela, Queen of Niflheim, Goddess of Death, daughter of the Liesmith Loki, god of mischief and lies, sister of the great wolf Fenrir, the Midgardian serpent Jörmungandr and the witch Dahlia. This is Falcon, also known as Death, my second in command," Hela gestured to Falcon then to Akio, "Akio, the head commander of my army, soldiers and guards. I would say it's an honour to meet you, Albus Dumbledore, but it really isn't".

While Dumbledore stayed stood straight with his head held high, both Professors Snape and McGonagall glanced to one another. Not thinking that they just met Death himself among other things and were both wondering why the Queen of Death said Dumbledore's name with such hate.

"My sister goes to school here, of course I am aware of all of your names. Severus Snape, Minerva McGonagall, and Albus Dumbledore, all members of the Order of the Phoenix, including the founder himself," Hela said, answering the question that no one voiced on how she knew Dumbledore's name.

"Have I done something to offend you?" The headmaster asked.

Hela looked between the group of professors and Falcon, not believing what she was hearing. Even Falcon, though he masked it, was surprised by the question. Hela eventually said, "by the Norns, you're being serious. You don't see what's wrong, do you? For starters, your lack of trust in those people around you, those willing to risk their lives for the cause of taking down Voldemort and yet, you don't tell them exactly what's going on, even those closest," Hela gestured to the two professors which made both look confused. "You left my baby sister on a doorstep in the middle of the night with just a letter, with people I know Lily wouldn't want to be looking after her daughter. Yes, I did my research. You keep secrets from my sister when it is her life on the line, you didn't even tell her that there is a prophecy about her, which is why he wants her dead. You had a professor walking around the school with Voldemort on the back of his head for a year and you didn't realise and if you did, you didn't care. You placed traps that are supposed to protect an object that three first years could break. You allowed my sister to participate in a tournament that could kill her, it almost did and it caused Voldemort to return to a physical form. Time and time again, my sister and her friends have shown to figure things out before even you did. But the thing that goes against you the most is that if my father hadn't discovered that my sister was alive, that she didn't die that night in Godric's Hollow, my sister would now be a puppet and you the puppeteer. You would have manipulated her into believing that sacrificing herself for this war is the right thing because that is what you want. A sacrificial lamb. I'm delighted to tell you that you're not getting that. My sister knows what's going on, she knows what's happened and how Voldemort survived all this time. Unlike you, I don't keep secrets from her..."

"Albus?" McGonagall questioned after a moment of silence, but Dumbledore stood still watching Hela and his gaze drifted to the unconscious Dahlia.

Hela knew in that moment that Dumbledore's Order was now split. Even if they didn't know it, two members, his right-hand woman and the spy, now doubted his honesty. Even if they never told anyone, they would now doubt everything he said. They would find themselves questioning whether every action was the right one and would subconsciously be trying to figure out the secret of Voldemort's survival.

"And here comes earth's mightiest heroes," Hela said sarcastically without trying to break her mask as the Avengers, minus Thor, entered the room. "Please come in, it's not like I have enough people in here I don't want to see".

"How is she?" Bruce asked with what seemed to be concern.

"She will heal," Hela answered bluntly, "with the antidote for the poison, she will heal and then be transported to Niflheim in a few days".

"I do not think that is wise," Dumbledore advised.

"Your opinion does not matter to me," Hela said immediately, "you only want her here because of the prophecy. I will tell you this, my sister and I will defeat Voldemort, he will die along with the rest of his followers. Your only concern should be the safety and security of the students and others in your world".

"Death is not the answer to everything," Dumbledore advised.

Hela almost scoffed as she shook her head and said, "it is when they're willing to kill everyone, including their own blood if it means succeeding. It is if they're willing to slaughter children just because they're not pure-blood. You may tell your Order, your little soldiers, to not kill but don't fool yourself into believing that you can win this war without killing. Don't fool yourself into believing you could have won the last one if it wasn't for Lily's sacrifice, and that was when everyone knew he was evil. Your own Ministry doesn't believe you now. Why would I leave my sister here with you?"

"And she's safer with you?" questioned Clint. "Someone who abandoned her?".

Hela almost clenched her fists in anger but knew not to show her true emotions, "I would never abandon her".

"Oh really," Clint said taking a step forward and noticed that Falcon and Akio did the same.

"Clint," Natasha said warningly, not wanting Hela to use her powers on the man she loved, not after watching what she did to Thor.

Clint said accusingly, "clearly, you can travel between worlds, we've got evidence and sightings of that for years. Clearly, you have protection and an army and magic but yet, you couldn't be bothered to protect your sister after Voldemort attacked. You left her with relatives that abused her. Who kept her locked in a cupboard, called her freak. She didn't even know her own name when she started school. Why would she be safe with you?"

Abused, the single word screaming in Hela's mind. Her emotionless mask fell as she turned sideways to look at her beloved sister. Abused they said. Now it all made sense in her mind. Although the looking glass may never have worked when finding her because they believed she died, Lily's parents had also checked on their eldest daughter and her family and had never seen Dahlia present. It was a question that pondered on all of their minds when they discovered Dahlia was staying with them, but they were in such bliss they didn't want to ask. Now it made sense. If what the archer said was true, if Dahlia was locked in a cupboard, maybe all the times they checked on Petunia over the years Dahlia was out of sight, locked away.

"You didn't know," Natasha said, seeing not only the Queen's reaction but also Falcon's. He moved closer and placed a hand on her arm, as if to comfort her.

Tony then shrugged, even though Hela couldn't see and asked, "how could you not know? We know it was clearly covered up but like you've said, you're a goddess".

"Get out," Falcon commanded immediately but formally said, "you've been informed about the Princess's condition and the plans to take her back to Niflheim. Anything more and the Queen will have you informed. Leave now". Falcon then nodded to Akio who moved forward to escort them out, willingly or not, as Falcon said, "stand guard. If they need the matron, she shall be informed".

Akio gave a single nod, understanding his command and luckily, the Avengers and the professors left without resistance and Madam Pomfrey returned to her office to the side. They could all clearly tell that the sisters needed to be together, but Falcon wasn't going to leave the woman he loved with the news that her sister was abused.

As soon as the door closed, Hela broke. Tears flooded, streaming down her cheeks, and her knees broke. If it wasn't for Falcon quickly catching her, gathering her into his arms, she would have fallen. "How could I not see it?" She sobbed, "how could I not protect her?"

"You didn't know, she didn't tell you. How could you?" Falcon said, holding onto her waist tightly.

"Papa...papa warned me before I saw her again that it seemed like she questioned people's feelings towards her. That she was insecure. That she didn't believe him at the beginning when he said he loved her. I even asked her when she came to Niflheim about it, but she didn't want to tell me. We thought it was because we weren't there, that Petunia still held some hate for Lily, so she never felt loved and blamed us for it, but we never imagined abuse".

Falcon just held her in his arms as she wept and told her the only thing he knew would bring her comfort. "It's okay, she's safe now. She's here and she's safe".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Following Ake through the Asgardian palace would have been a lot simpler for Loki if one, the palace wasn't on high alert for his escape which meant the corridors were filled with guards and two, if he had full access to his powers so that he could disguise himself. Since Loki was placed in his cell, he knew there would be no simple way of escaping. After all, the dungeon did hold some of the nine realms' greatest villains and for that, you needed a little more protection than guards and your average walls. Knowing that the generator that kept the cells locked up tight was of the same design as the ones that created the shield around the palace in case of an attack, Loki knew that continuous energy to it could cause it to shatter. Of course, they could sense any magic used so it had to be small amounts spread over time. During the years he had been doing it, he could slowly tell that the wards were weakening but he knew they wouldn't break for at least another year of continuous use. That plan, obviously, went out of the window when Loki felt Dahlia's pain. He needed to get out and he needed to do it now.

Odin knew his weakness though: his children. Odin knew he wouldn't leave without Fenrir as Loki didn't know if he could get back into Asgard to find him. Odin may be wise but he was illogical when it came to the prophecy. He would act quickly, sending someone to see if Loki had discovered where Fenrir was and just as Loki predicted, he sent one of his inner circle, Ake, and from then it was simple.

What Loki didn't anticipate though was the amount of magic and energy needed to get out of the cell and to take down the group of guards who quickly came when they heard the commotion. He was weak and he knew it but he couldn't fail. He made a promise to Dahlia, to Hela, even to Lily, that he would find the boys and be a family again. He made a promise to himself. One member of that family was now gone but he would still keep his word, he would unite his family.

Loki followed Ake through the palace, hiding in alcoves or behind statues when Ake looked around, clearly making sure he wasn't followed. The foolish man was clearly more concerned about getting to his destination than looking properly. Going deep beneath the palace, past the armoury, the vaults, the dungeons, until they came to the very bottom of the palace which was basically old storage for artefacts from other worlds. Following him through the halls, he came to the end with Ake facing the wall and for a moment, Loki thought he may have been caught but Ake reached up to a part of the wall and pushed it. It opened and revealed a staircase.

Loki couldn't believe it, in all of Asgard his son was hidden beneath the palace itself. He had searched and searched but he never found the hidden passage. Acting quickly, he moved to the stairs before the wall closed.

Loki heard as he walked down the steps, following the torches pinned against the walls, "What are you doing here?" A voice he had rarely ever heard. The voice of Tyr, one of Odin's most trusted commanders. Loki could count on both hands, and still have fingers to spare, the number of times he had seen Tyr since his children were taken. Tyr had a part to play in trapping his eldest son in chains; he only had one hand, the right having clearly been torn off, Loki recognised the marks on his skin. He knew it was Fenrir that did it and it brought a smirk to Loki's face every time he saw the man because he knew that his son wouldn't go down gently. He wouldn't, even as a child, bow down to anyone who hurts him or his family.

"Loki has escaped from his cell. The King wants to know if the beast is still contained," Ake said.

Tyr grumbled, "he believes the Liesmith will come for the beast".

Loki looked around the rocks he was hidden behind and saw Tyr pick up a whip from his waist before entering a small doorway, leading to a dark cave.

"Where is he? Is he gone?" Ake asked with a hint of panic and Loki could hear a sword being drawn and a whip being whipped at the ready.

He clenched his fists, about to storm in and kill both men if they laid a hand on his child but he heard Tyr respond to Ake, "be vigilant, the beast isn't as foolish as people would believe".

"BEHIND YOU" Ake shouted and Loki heard the rattle of chains and growls of his beloved son.

He was running to the entrance before they could harm Fenrir but it was too late. The whips that Tyr held was wrapped around Fenrir's front right leg, blood already seeping through the whip. He managed to sneak behind Ake and snapped his neck before the soldier even knew it was coming, too preoccupied by the monster before him. The sound of his demise, however, caught the attention of both Tyr and Fenrir. Tyr, knowing that he couldn't fight on two fronts with just one hand, dropped the whip and drew his sword. He took a few steps back to have a clear sight of both father and son as Loki picked up Ake's sword.

Fenrir was the first to strike, lunging forward to attack but Tyr swished his sword and striked Fenrir, cutting the wolf from a couple of inches above his eye down to the middle of his cheek. It caused his left eye to become bloodshot and his vision hazed as he stepped back. Loki swung his sword and it connected with Tyr's, Loki wasn't surprised that Tyr was an impressive fighter. He was one of the guards in charge of seeing that Thor learned everything he needed to in order to become a great warrior. It was one of the reasons that Odin picked him to help trap Fenrir and keep guard. The fight didn't last long as their swords crossed. Fenrir threw the whip off his leg and from far away, he pounced. Loki barely saw him coming, barely saw anything as he flung himself to the ground, moving out of the way of his eldest child.

It was only when he looked up from the ground did he see his son devouring Tyr's head. He only saw the headless body drop to the floor as it was spewing blood along the cave floor and as his son turned to him, his eyes red from his wolf form, his black fur was sticky around his jaw and neck from the head dripping blood in his mouth. The head then dropped and Fenrir howled in victory. Loki stood, leaving the sword on the floor and the corner of his lips began to turn into a smile.

However, the smile didn't last as long as Loki had hoped as his son stopped howling and began to take small threatening steps towards him, growling. Loki took a few steps back as he held up his hand and said, confused, "Fenrir, it's me," not knowing why his son would attack him. He tried to do magic, to make the torches shine brighter if his son couldn't see him clearly, but it didn't work. "Fenrir...it's me...it's your father".

Fenrir seemed to hesitate for a moment, his growling stopped but he continued to come forward. Loki felt like smacking himself in that moment, his son hadn't seen him since he was a child, for over a thousand years he hadn't seen his father. Was it a possibility that he could have forgotten him?