Dante didn't initially notice anything strange about Hela.
He just assumed Hela was being her usual self, demanding his presence as her Queen.
That's why she plopped herself next to him in the room.
Dante didn't think too hard about that weird glint in her eyes either…
But the next day, when they actually showed up at the Parent Day event, Dante finally realized something was off with her.
And it was kind of a big deal.
Whatever it was, she had to have it.
Roadside balloons. Food from the stalls. Coulson's sunglasses. Fury's eye patch.
Fury didn't even get to blurt out a single "motherfucker" before covering his eye and running for dear life.
But it wasn't like Hela actually liked these things. It was just to satisfy her own…
Greed.
More importantly, she clung to Dante like duct tape on a broken drone, refusing to let him stray even half a step away.
The moment Dante made any unusual movement, Nightsword would flicker threateningly in warning.
If he still hadn't realized something was off by now, then frankly, he had no business being involved with the Emotional Spectrum. He might as well drown himself in a kiddie pool.
What had been just a subtle shimmer was now a thick, swirling orange mist in Hela's eyes.
The unmistakable color of Greed—Orange Light.
But unlike Ada , who radiated a dense purple aura, Hela's orange glow was still somewhat restrained. As an All Father-tier being, she was subconsciously resisting this ominous Emotional Spectrum energy, suppressing it inside her body.
Which was why she was only wanting things for now, not outright snatching them.
But suppressing her greed came with a cost, redirecting all that emotional pressure into something else.
In this case… Dante.
In short, Hela, self-proclaimed King, had never been more obsessed with possessing her Queen.
So when Dante used Black Magic to vanish and erase his aura, Hela snapped.
The person she valued most, the one she wanted to possess exclusively, had disappeared.
If Peter hadn't chanted her true name and let her lock onto him, Dante probably could've stayed hidden a little longer.
"Peter Parker, get outta here. What's coming next isn't something a high school kid should be around for…"
"Agent Dante! I can't leave you behind!!"
Peter went full character mode, like he was about to be separated from Dante on a battlefield between life and death.
"Get lost already!" Dante grabbed him by the collar and threw him out. "When I say go, you go. Why are you more wishy-washy than Barry Allen?"
After hurling Peter away, Hela barely gave the kid a glance before ignoring him entirely.
Her full attention zeroed in on Dante.
Possess. Take. Claim. Devour…
Greedy thoughts flooded her mind.
But she was a goddess, a real one. Could she really be overtaken by mere greed?
Hela descended from the air, her towering 7-foot frame and ridiculously perfect body proportions making Dante subconsciously swallow hard.
"He…"
Dante couldn't even get her name out before Hela, lowering her head, cut him off.
He was wall-slammed.
The wicked heavens…
She smelled amazing.
The clash of lips and teeth only fueled the greedy fire in her eyes.
Dante winced. Under Hela's intense attack, a small cut formed on his lip.
The scent of blood made the kiss even more feral, more visceral.
Given his current physical strength, only Hela could've managed that.
But Dante wasn't one to back down.
She bit him?
He bit back.
Not because he liked it. Nope. Just sheer refusal to lose.
Yeah. That's all it was. Refusing to lose.
…
"So, you good now?"
Dante let out a deep breath, wiping his messy lips.
Even though there was blood, the cut had already healed before a drop even hit the floor.
Meanwhile, the Asgardian goddess sat beside him on the ground, still savoring the intense, bloody kiss.
The Orange Light of Greed in her eyes had momentarily faded.
"Today… I don't know why, but my possessiveness surged—especially for you, my God Queen…" Hela leaned in closer. "It's like I couldn't stop… Did you use some kind of Black Magic?"
"Believe me, Hela." Dante rolled his eyes. "If I had that kind of Black Magic, I'd only use it somewhere private, just the two of us."
Before he even finished speaking, both of them instinctively turned their heads.
Walking toward them was a spirit body.
Hardly anyone at the event could see spirits with the naked eye. But in this corner of the Parent Day venue, the only two who could see her were Dante and Hela.
And they knew her.
"Agatha Harkness… You still exist in spirit form? Even after being corrupted by the Darkhold, you had the foresight to leave yourself a backup."
"You flatter me, Agent Dante," Agatha said, smiling in her ghostly form. "Besides that lunatic Constantine, no magician jokes around with their own soul. Even if they're corrupted."
Immortal soul. Agatha Harkness's ace in the hole.
In the comics, she even taught Wanda while in this form.
"You caused a major incident when you lost it. You should've fled. As long as you didn't show yourself, even I wouldn't have found you."
"Oh, I ran from Storybrooke Town right away. But then I discovered something… something I had to tell you."
Agatha stopped in front of the two of them, paused, then decided to stand beside Hela.
"When I was corrupted and orchestrated the Storybrooke Town incident… there was always an anonymous sponsor helping me arrange everything, including getting Hal Jordan to transport the Aether Particle over Storybrooke."
"And haven't you two noticed something?" Agatha's tone turned serious. "That so-called Grandet was the only person who died in Storybrooke Town, yet no corpse was ever found."
Dante blinked.
The aftermath had all been handled by Maria Hill. He hadn't really looked into it.
"So… what exactly are you saying?"
"If Catwoman stealing Fury's ride was meant to lure out the Star Team, then Grandet's presence was meant for Hela, the Goddess of Death." Agatha paused, watching their expressions. Seeing no reaction, she went on. "Grandet wasn't a native of the Storybrooke Universe. He was a bio-human, cloned using Mammon's blood as the core."
"Mammon, the demon of hell who governs the deadly sin of Greed."
"And his creator… is named…"
Agatha suddenly dropped her voice and whispered a name.
At the same time, over at the lawn buffet, Clark Kent was adjusting his camera, getting ready to snap a group photo of several familiar CEOs.
Bruce Wayne, Tony Stark, Oliver Queen all current contractors for the Federal Bureau of Investigation. A pretty decent cover, honestly.
"Oh, there you all are. I've been looking for you."
A bald man emerged from the crowd.
He politely shook hands with everyone present, including Clark Kent.
"My name is Lex Luthor. Pleasure to meet you all."
(To be continued.)
I just finished a fic I was working on and I'm thinking of starting another soon, so if you have any recs, drop them. Also, it's a new week, don't forget to drop more stones for bonuses xD
***
For every 200 PS = 1 extra chapter. Support me on P/treon to read 30+ advanced chapters: p-atreon.c-om/Blownleaves
(Just remove the hyphen to access normally.)