For this eighth (8th) of March, I do not wish you "happy day", but I hope you a life where you are always treated with respect, where you feel protected every time you go out in the street. A life where your holidays end in special memories, I wish that in your life you have fulfilled dreams, healthy and real loves, that you always surround yourself with people who add to you, not subtract from you. I wish you days full of self-love and self-learning.
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~~~Sanctuary, somewhere in the corner of the universe~~~
"My lord," a sinister and cold voice drove away the eerie silence that spread across the open space above a desolate planet, the owner of the voice, a male being with grayish skin and a lithe body, wrapped in a tight silver armor, with a dark cloak covering his body, approached up to a golden throne, which was occupied by a huge, purple-skinned, frightening-looking being.
"What is it Corvus?" The being sitting on the throne asked in a bored tone, not caring to look at the being speaking to him, "My lord Thanos, I have pressing news from the Nine Realms." Corvus did not mind his lord's lack of interest in him, for him, serving him was more than enough, and without waiting for an answer, he continued with his report.
"Midgard, or Earth, has managed to repel an attack from Asgard, a newly appeared kingdom that has managed to expel Odin and his force from the planet, getting them to return to Asgard humiliated, furthermore, it seems that Midgard is no longer part of the Nine Realms, independent of the Asgardian yoke."
Upon hearing the news, Thanos straightened up on his throne and glared at Corvus Glaive, "How truthful is this?" Corvus, upon being branded a liar, prostrated himself further, "It is all verified my lord, the new realm is called Xandar, apparently it was hidden from the human eye for millennia, and only now have they come to light."
"Xandar," the word came out of Thanos' mouth with a spiteful tone, "have any connection to the Xandar Empire and the Nova Corps?"
The Universe was divided into several sections, and many of them were controlled and conquered by large intergalactic empires, the closest to Earth were the Asgardians, who from Asgard, controlled the Nine Realms.
From the Brood, a race of insectoid parasites. The Chitauri, a large hive-minded race oppressed by Thanos. The Symbionts, who controlled much of the Universe from their planet Klyntar where no light could reach. The Kree. Xandar, with its Nova Corps force. The almost extinct Skrull. The Spartax Empire and the Shi'ar.
These were all races that had enormous control spanning galaxies and sectors of the universe itself, so their combat power, strength, and technology light years away from Earth, so the idea of an Earth realm managing to defeat Asgard in direct combat, with Odin present, caught the attention of Thanos, who was quite interested in this Xandar.
"No my lord, as far as I know, Xandar of the Nova Corps has no relation to Xandar of Earth, although it is not known exactly, they have been hidden for millennia, perhaps it is a branch that settled on the planet in the past," Corvus responded with some resentment, he resented the fact that he didn't know the answer, and instead was relying on assumptions.
And that didn't sit well with Thanos, "So you don't know exactly," he said 'calmly', though then a huge pressure fell on Corvus' body, causing him to crash to the stone floor, "you had better bring me truths, and not assumptions, or it will go badly for you."
"Yes, my lord, I will, I will go to Earth myself to investigate, I assure you."
~~~Asgard~~~
"This is absurd, there is no mention of Hell in any book in our father's library!" a frustrated Thor threw the book he was holding towards a bookshelf, but before the book hit the furniture, it stopped in mid-air. "My prince, please I beg you to treat the books with care, they are priceless tomes," the woman acting as a sort of librarian said in a soft but stern voice, and using some sort of telekinesis, she drew the book towards her.
"Thank you, Imelda, I'll make sure my brother here behaves himself," Loki, a mediator by nature, intervened before the situation got even more complicated, which earned him a grateful look from Imelda.
"You have to behave yourself, or she will remove us from the library and won't allow us in anymore, unless until father wakes up and forces her to let us in, you know how she is, sometimes she gets very... Possessive with her books." Loki said once Imelda was gone, leaving the two brothers alone.
"We've been buried in here for two damn days now, and we haven't made any progress, at this point, I'm starting to believe Hell doesn't exist and... Hela is locked up somewhere else," Thor said frustrated, running his hand through his greasy, tangled hair.
"Well, we can ask Mother, maybe she knows, she knew about the Hela thing all along, I don't think she doesn't know where Hell is, that way we'll be even quicker to free her," Thor thought to himself, taking in the idea, and from the looks of it, he didn't dislike it.
"Although you know, how do you think she'll react to seeing her replacements? I mean, Father locked her up years ago... I don't know how many years ago and, she must be hurt, I would be, the betrayal, that must hurt, and well, being out there alone, I don't think it's a pretty experience, what if she's crazy?"
Loki stared at Thor with his mouth open, staring at him for full seconds without snapping out of it, "That... That was the smartest thing out of your mouth, you know, you should go back to Xandar to get another beating, so maybe you'll get smarter."
Thor grimaced, as he clenched his fist, "If you don't shut up, I'll break those pretty teeth like I did that time when we were kids." Loki grinned, taking Thor's threat as a game.
"Although you know, I have another idea, mother may be a powerful witch, but, she doesn't know everything," Thor narrowed his eyes, "what do you mean" Thor asked, which caused Loki to sigh, "and so much for your intelligence."
"Ouch!" Loki groaned, as he took a right from Thor, "Well, I deserved it, but I mean Heimdall, he sees everything... Literally, and no doubt he was present when Father locked Hela in Hell, he of all people should know where that damned place is, he can even help us free her."
"Not a bad idea," Thor expounded cheerfully, getting up from the chair and looking around, seeing a large window, he took momentum and jumped, reaching the window, "what are you doing?" Loki asked confused, looking down at Thor from below, "Come on, or are you planning to walk?" Thor asked, urging Loki to reach him.
Loki shook his head, only to have his body scatter like frost, only to appear next to Thor, "You're not planning on hugging me, are you?" Loki asked in disgust, "Yes, what else did you expect?" Thor said without seeing the bad, then grabbing Loki without warning and swinging Mjolnir, to the point where it whirred, stopping spinning and propelling himself skyward with a Loki attached to his waist.
It didn't take them long to reach the observatory, Heimdall's lookout post, where Heimdall spent all his time, was at the end of Asgard, connected to the city by a colorful bridge. Here, Heimdall could observe most of the happenings in the Nine Realms and beyond, while serving as the guardian of the Bifröst.
"Heimdall, my friend!" Thor did not hesitate to approach Heimdall and hug him, not caring if Heimdall agreed or not, "we need you to help us free Hela, our sister, Asgard needs her," Loki, unlike Thor, was not about to waste time, and quickly stated the purpose of his visit.
Heimdall looked at Loki with a confused look, but Loki spoke before he did, "Don't play dumb, you see everything, and you must know that Father has already told us all that we should know, so tell us what you know, you of all people know the danger that Asgard is in now that father is asleep, so don't turn a blind eye and serve Asgard."
Heimdall sighed, "Odin made me promise never to tell you, but since Queen Frigga told you, I'm fine with not having to take the blame anymore, Hela was a brilliant, strong, powerful woman, she single-handedly conquered over five worlds, her army of undead was unstoppable... As was her greed for war."
Heimdall approached a podium where there was a slot, then unsheathed his sword and threaded it into the opening mechanism of the Bifröst, "Their father couldn't control her, or just wouldn't, and locked her in Hell, at the cost of the Valkyries life, that was a hard blow to Asgard, that day she lost her sword, and her army, Odin employed the Bifröst to lock her up, and the Bifröst is her way out, so I ask you, are you sure about this? "
"Completely," both Thor and Loki said at the same time, and Heimdall nodded, "May Buri protect us," Heimdall said to himself, activating the Bifröst, and thus, painting a new picture for Asgard and the Nine Realms.