Chapter 75: Hela Breaks Into The Avengers Alliance! Make Friends With Wanda! [1]
----
After being forcibly teleported to the Avengers base by Lorien, Hela looked around. She hadn't noticed anything out of the ordinary yet, but the next moment...
"Beep beep beep beep~~~~!!!!"
The intelligent system of the Avengers base blared alarms! "Boom boom boom~~~!" Large floor-to-ceiling windows began dropping alloy gates, sealing off the interior of the base for protection.
Hela glanced at her surroundings. She instantly knew she had arrived in a dangerous place. With a swift motion, she donned her cloak and summoned the Night-sky swords into her hands.
Then, superheroes began appearing one by one at the Avengers base. Oddly enough, only Natasha, Vision, War Machine, and Wanda showed up. The others were absent.
As the many other superheroes had left the base, Natasha, holding a gun, stepped forward with the others and demanded, "Who are you, and why are you invading the Avengers base?"
War Machine, who had just wrapped up a press conference and hadn't yet left, glanced at the report from the base and cautioned everyone, "This person appeared out of nowhere. She might be magical. Stay alert."
War Machine also raised his dual machine guns. But Wanda looked at Hela with a strange sense of familiarity.
"What's wrong, Wanda?" Natasha, always vigilant, immediately asked when she noticed Wanda's frown.
"Nothing," Wanda replied, but she couldn't shake the feeling. "I think I sensed Lorien's presence just now."
Wanda wasn't wrong. Hela had indeed been sent by Lorien's power. Upon hearing Wanda mention Lorien, Hela curiously asked, "You also know him?"
As soon as those words left her mouth, the Avengers exchanged glances. Natasha stepped forward and asked cautiously, "Him? Please state his name."
"Lorien ," Hela replied.
The Avengers knew exactly who she was talking about. Natasha and Wanda exchanged another glance. The team wasn't sure if Hela's knowledge of Lorien was good or bad. What if she was an enemy? Although Lorien was an odd character who didn't always follow the rules, he had always been on their side. But the world was full of surprises—what if Hela was someone who didn't like him?
After thinking it over, Natasha decided to stand down but remained cautious. She put away her gun and said, "You know Lorien? How does that relate to your invasion of the Avengers base? State your reasons clearly, or leave immediately."
Hela, with her wisdom, quickly deduced that this group of people likely knew Lorien well, maybe even were close to him. If she attacked, it would be akin to attacking Lorien's friends, which would make it impossible for her to seek his help later.
So, after some thought, Hela decided to de-escalate. She put away her Night-sky swords, changed into her leather jacket, and smiled. "Lorien sent me here. The teleportation didn't go smoothly, and something went wrong. But I don't know why he sent me—maybe to get to know you better, and him?"
As expected, upon hearing that Lorien had sent her, the Avengers lowered their weapons. Hela's actions in putting away her weapons first also indicated her lack of hostile intent, which further eased the tension.
Fortunately, Hela had changed her appearance—her hairstyle, clothes, and makeup. Otherwise, even with her words, the Avengers would have found it hard to trust her. After all, appearances do matter in making first impressions.
But Natasha remained wary. "Please identify yourself. And what was Lorien wearing today? What kind of car was he driving?"
Hela thought for a moment, then replied, "My name is Hela Odinson, from Asgard. Lorien's car is red, and he was wearing a black coat and a white shirt."
She didn't know the exact make of Lorien's car, but she knew its color. And as for his clothes, she remembered distinctly from when Lorien had approached her earlier that night. She could even recall the fragrance on his clothes—the elegant scent of wildflowers from his laundry detergent.
"Odin's son? Hela, you're from Asgard!" War Machine and Natasha Romanoff immediately reacted. She was from the same place as Thor!
"Who are you to Thor?" Natasha Romanoff asked.
"Thor?" Hela replied, "He's my brother."
Natasha frowned in thought. She hadn't heard anything about Thor having a sister. But she had asked all the necessary questions, and Hela had shown no intention of fighting. They couldn't just stand around indefinitely.
After exchanging glances with the others, Natasha came to a decision. Those who agreed to let Hela in nodded, while those who disagreed remained still. In the end, everyone nodded.
"Alright, you can come in," Natasha Romanoff finally said.
Hearing this, Hela smiled. She followed the Avengers into their base. As she observed her surroundings, she noticed that whenever there was a mention of Lorien, everyone seemed to look to Wanda first.
So, as they walked, Hela casually remarked to Wanda, "Lorien is an extraordinary man, don't you think?"
The group halted once again, surprised by her words. Wanda scrutinized Hela closely. "What are you trying to say?"
Realizing she might have struck a nerve, Hela quickly backtracked. "Oh, nothing. I mean he's powerful, very capable."
Hela wanted to gather as much information as possible about Lorien and build a good rapport with his friends. That was the strategy she had learned in her previous experience as a war leader.
Wanda nodded, seemingly satisfied with Hela's explanation. "Yes, Lorien is fantastic. He's the best man in my life."
Hearing this, the group resumed walking and chatting.
"Please, Wanda, if you keep expressing your love like that, we're going to get jealous," someone teased.
"It's true," Wanda said with a smile.
Hela nodded to herself. It seemed that Lorien wasn't emotionally detached—he respected and cared for the people around him. But Hela couldn't help but think about the other women in Lorien's life. In her view, the strong could indeed have multiple partners—strength was the ultimate measure of worth. If you were strong enough, you could do as you pleased.
So, what's wrong with having multiple wives, as long as you loved them all? That only made you an excellent man, capable and charismatic, a prized resource among many women.
At this thought, Hela gave Lorien another high score in her mind.
Following the group further into the Avengers base, Hela continued to gather information while silently formulating her plan to win Lorien over.