"If it is your original body standing before me now, then this is indeed our first meeting in this timeline," Heimdall said formally, his golden eyes studying Elric with that unsettling all-seeing gaze. "As tradition goes, allow me to properly introduce myself."
He placed his great sword point-down and inclined his head respectfully. "My name is Heimdall, Guardian of the Rainbow Bridge and Watcher of the Nine Realms. I welcome your arrival to Asgard, Lord Elric."
Looking at Heimdall's genuinely respectful demeanor—not the polite-but-distant courtesy shown to foreign dignitaries, but actual earned respect—Elric couldn't help but sigh internally.
The clone indeed did a good job, I guess.
It made sense when he thought about it. His clone hadn't just been sitting around studying quietly for three thousand years. Let alone leading military campaigns alongside Hela against threats to the Nine Realms, the clone had personally provided countless magical theories and spell formulas to Asgard's royal library.
New enchantment patterns that improved their existing magic. Hybrid techniques combining different traditions. Entirely novel applications of runic magic that the Asgardians hadn't considered in millennia.
And for Asgardians—who respected strength and knowledge above almost all else, who valued warriors and scholars equally—the clone had naturally become quite a respectable figure in their society. A legend, almost.
That reputation, however, was mostly limited to high-ranking Asgardians. People like Heimdall, Odin, and the inner circle of the royal court.
Common Asgardians like Thor and Loki didn't know of Elric's existence at all, at least not in any detailed way.
Mainly because it might have caused complications in the future timeline—paradoxes, confusion, political issues. So most of Asgard's population, including the princes, only knew that a powerful man like Elric existed somewhere in Asgard's history. But what he looked like, what his actual name was, specific details about him—they'd been kept deliberately vague.
But after sending Elric to the past, after the mission had been completed, they naturally didn't need to hide his identity anymore. Or more accurately, they couldn't hide it.
Because when Elric had been sent back through time, because of his desperate struggle against the temporal displacement—fighting the magic even as it pulled him through the timestream—a huge magical explosion had occurred. A blast of energy visible across half of Asgard, impossible to conceal or explain away.
So taking advantage of that moment, they'd simply explained the truth to those who needed to know.
"Lord Hela was just here moments ago, asking about you," Heimdall said, his tone shifting to something more informal, almost conspiratorial. "And she's already started heading toward the spacecraft hangar to travel to Earth using conventional means."
His golden eyes gleamed with slight amusement. "Please hurry, otherwise she might already have departed. And I suspect you'd prefer to meet her here rather than having her arrive on Earth unannounced."
"What?!"
Hearing this, Elric couldn't sit still anymore, couldn't maintain his casual demeanor.
He directly started running toward the Asgardian spacecraft hangar, his enhanced speed carrying him across the crystalline bridge faster than any normal human could manage.
Running through the somewhat familiar yet unfamiliar scenery—streets and buildings he'd seen through his clone's memories but never experienced directly with his own body—he picked up his pace even more.
It would be huge trouble if Hela had already left Asgard. Massive, relationship-ending trouble.
The memories from his clone painted a very clear picture: Hela didn't take being avoided well. At all. And if she showed up on Earth, walked into his cabin, and found Wanda and Storm there...
He shuddered at the mental image. The catfight between Wanda and Storm had been bad enough. Adding Hela to that volatile mix?
There might not be an Earth left when they finished.
After thinking about it as he ran, Elric had decided to cut through the complexity and just meet with Hela directly. Face the music, as it were. And besides, he was genuinely curious about the traitor working with Thanos—whoever it was had deep knowledge of Asgard's movements and capabilities.
Meeting Hela was fine. He could handle that. They had history, even if most of it was technically experienced by his clone.
But he absolutely had to stop her from going to Earth. At least not yet. Not until he'd prepared the situation there, explained things to Wanda and Storm, maybe built a reinforced bunker to hide in.
That's why he'd directly blocked the Rainbow Bridge with spatial wards—to buy himself time.
Now, lying to Hela about why he'd blocked her access might lead to trouble in the future. Probably would, actually. Almost certainly.
But that was a problem for future-Elric to deal with. Present-Elric just needed to survive the next few hours.
Asgardian Spacecraft Hangar
Even before entering the massive hangar bay—a cavernous space filled with sleek golden vessels that could traverse the void between realms—Elric heard the familiar voice shouting loudly, echoing off the high ceilings.
"How much time is this going to take?!" Hela's voice carried that specific edge that meant someone was about to get hurt. "I need this ship ready by today! NOW!"
Poor engineers, Elric thought, almost feeling sorry for whoever was on the receiving end of her impatience.
He took a breath, put on his most charming smile, and walked through the entrance.
"Yo!" he called out cheerfully, his voice carrying across the hangar. "I didn't think you wanted to see me that badly. I'm very flattered, honestly."
The effect was immediate. The entire hangar seemed to freeze—engineers, guards, technicians all stopping mid-motion to stare at the interaction.
Hela spun around so fast her dark hair whipped dramatically. Her face flushed red instantly, a combination of surprise, anger, and something else she quickly tried to suppress.
"You know," Elric continued, walking toward her casually, "I thought after meeting you again, getting stabbed would make for a very pleasant reunion. Really sets the tone for our relationship."
Without saying a single word in response, Hela's hands moved with practiced ease. Two wicked black swords directly materialized in her grip, the Necroswords forming from her death magic in swirls of dark energy.
"You BASTARD!" she snarled, her green eyes blazing. "You dare to show your face here after blocking me?! After avoiding me?!"
"Okay, okay, I know your love for me is as boundless as the sea," Elric said, raising his hands in mock surrender but grinning widely. "And I'm deeply moved by—"
Her expression somehow got even more murderous, her face turning an even deeper shade of red that clashed magnificently with her dark aesthetic.
"Okay, okay, my bad!" Elric quickly shut up, recognizing genuine danger when he saw it. "I'll stop!"
For a moment, they just stared at each other across the hangar floor. Hela gripping her swords, breathing hard with barely controlled emotion. Elric with his hands still raised, that insufferable smile still on his face despite the very real threat.
Then Elric's expression softened into something more genuine. More real.
"Long time no see, Hela," he said quietly, the teasing tone fading into honest warmth.
A small, involuntary smile appeared on his face—not the cocky grin from before, but something softer.
The truth was, no matter how much he intellectually understood that this woman was incredibly troublesome, that she tried to stab him at almost every opportunity, that getting involved with her romantically would complicate his already complicated life even further...
In the end, even if he didn't count the three thousand years of memories from his clone—experiences that felt simultaneously like his own and like watching someone else's life—the three years that he personally had spent with past-Hela had been enough.
Enough to make her a very important person in his life.
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