A Burden of Thoughts

Chapter 5

"We won't let you take Asgard," Thor had growled in response to Hela's answer.

"Oh really? And what makes you think you can stop me? You don't have your poor hammer," Hela asked, grinning in contentment.

"Damn..." Loki muttered, but no one had heard the young prince.

Thor looked taken aback for a quick moment, before once again speaking up.

"I don't need my hammer. It was used to focus my powers, it wasn't the source of them."

Hela chuckled, pulling her hair back, revealing a tree-like helmet forming over her head. "You're a smart one aren't you?"

"I don't take myself to be," Thor replied in exasperation.

The Goddess Of Death looked at Thor in amusement, as if challenging him to see if he could truly control his significant, noteworthy powers. Thor seemed to catch on.

"Is that a challenge?" He asked, his voice tainted with the hint of amusement.

2 swords appeared in Hela's hands as she slowly made her way toward the God of Thunder. Thor seemed unmoved by the act as the familiar sound of thunder rung above them. Dark, devilish-looking clouds began to roll in.

Thor's closed fists began to spark with lightning, and soon, both of his eyes were a blue-ish hue, tiny sparks of lightning igniting from them. Loki hadn't seen his brother do such a thing without his hammer before, so it caught him off-guard.

Instantaneously, sharp swords seemed to launch from just above Hela's head, heading straight at Thor, who performed a corkscrew in mid-air, the lightning deflected the incoming objects.

Hela chuckled, "Adequate."

Thor formed his hand into a fist and slammed it into the ground, creating a shockwave that knocked both Hela and Loki back.

Loki scoffed as he regained his sitting position, "Brother, are you trying to kill me too?" 

Thor, his powers still activated, turned to his brother with a slight chuckle, his lips curving up into a smirk. "Apologies, Loki."

 "Oaf.," Loki muttered under his breath, but his older brother hadn't heard him due to the ongoing battle. 

Thor charged at the Goddess of Death, fist raised. Once his fist made contact with her, his powers seemed to suddenly fail, much to his confusion. Hela had a grip on his fist, and it was immobile, as if it were frozen.

"It isn't possible..."

Hela instantly chuckled, using her free hand to brush away some of the hair from Thor's face. "Darling, you have no idea what's possible."

The Goddess moved her hand to Thor's neck, lifting him into the air, a sword materialized in her hand, and soon, he felt immense pain in his abdomen, grunting.

Thor found himself being thrown onto the damp ground just in front of his brother, panting in exhaustion from the sudden amount of strength he used.

"Brother, are you alright?" Loki asked.

Thor took in a deep breath before speaking. "Yes...I believe so..." He breathed out.

He got himself back to his feet, but he didn't get far before the Goddess of Death kicked him across the face, causing him to spin and land face-first on the ground with blood trickling down the corners of his mouth.

Hela lifted her foot and placed it on Thor's back, making him incapable of getting back to his feet. She put the point of the sword to his back as well, grinning in amusement.

"Ouch..." He groaned.

"Don't hurt him!" Loki eventually broke in, his eyes wide in fear for Thor's safety.

Hela looked up, her frown curling into an evil-like smirk as she spotted the young prince, who was now on his knees. "Why shouldn't I?"

Loki was silent for a few moments, biting his lip.

"He's my brother," was his reply after about a minute.

Thor grunted, struggling under the Goddess's force of pressure on his back.

He tried calling for his hammer, but he had forgotten that figure that hopefully never returns had easily shattered it like glass. It was impeccable.

Hela just burst out laughing, as if Loki himself was just one of the most hilarious jokes on the face of Asgard.

Thor felt bad for his brother, as he understood that no one understood his brother as he did. Thor understood how people had treated his brother so badly and he just wanted to be his equal.

"Shut up.," Thor warned, his eyes narrowed in vexation. 

Loki's gaze drifted to the ground and stayed there, until the Goddess asked, "Or what?"

Thor's lips curved into a sinister-look of a smile, lightning erupting from his body and blowing the Goddess off of him.

"AH!" Hela yelled in surprise as she made contact with the ground, back-first.

Thor got to his feet, but before he even took a step, he fell onto his knee.

He felt hands grip his shoulders and pull him up, turning his head to see Loki standing there with a small smile.

Thor pats his shoulder, "Thank you, Brother."

Loki gave a curt nod in reply.

They both turned to the Goddess, Thor the first one to approach her.

Hela looked up, her dark green eyes piercing Thor's, forcing him to glance downward for a moment.

"You know, my hammer wasn't destroyed.." Thor admitted with a grin as he held out his hand, and Mjolnir was summoned.

Hela's eyes widened, "But I destroyed it- I mean..."

Loki and Thor glared at each other in confusion and realization.

 "YOU attacked us?" Loki asked, looking as surprised as Thor was.

The Goddess laughed, making a clicking sound with her tongue before answering. "In the flesh." She grinned, it was a disturbing grin.

"Go back to where you came from," Loki sneered.

Hela laughed, "Well, you really haven't seen the end of me."

Suddenly pain shot through Thor's body and then all he saw was darkness.