Alan didn't speak. Instead, he stood there, surprised. He couldn't quite understand why Hela had suddenly become so flustered.
"I mean… that…" Hela quickly retracted the blade in her hand, shifting awkwardly as she stood before Alan.
"Ancient One and I have a deep connection. The Time Stone is important to her—and to all of you. If it fell into Thanos' hands, that would be a big problem, right?"
She was trying to justify her actions, hoping to convince Alan that she hadn't _intentionally_ left Asgard.
Alan, however, just gave her a look—one that clearly said _I'm just listening to you make excuses_.
"And then?" he asked.
He hadn't known Hela and Ancient One were _that_ close. Given Hela's prideful nature, there had to be another reason behind her actions.
To say she retrieved the Time Stone _purely_ to help the Ancient One?
Yeah, Alan wasn't buying it.
Perhaps out of jealousy, Wanda quietly stepped behind Alan and narrowed her eyes at Hela.
Now that she got a good look at her, she realized something—Hela's outfit bore an uncanny resemblance to Gwen's.
Meanwhile, Thor—completely ignored—had no clue what was going on.
And it definitely wasn't the right time for him to interrupt.
So, he simply set Mjolnir down on the moon's surface, sat cross-legged, and _waited for his chance_ to ask questions.
"I gave Thanos a brutal beating," Hela said. "So I think, for now, he'll shift his focus to Asgard instead of Earth."
Hela carefully glanced at Alan, trying to gauge his reaction.
But with that _mask_ covering his face, she had _no idea_ if he was angry or not.
Reaching out, she lightly poked him.
"Emperor, you're not mad, are you? I just knew the Time Stone couldn't fall into Thanos' hands, so I didn't think too much—I just ran off to Titan to challenge him one-on-one."
The moment _Thanos_ was mentioned, Thor could no longer sit still.
Especially when he heard that Thanos might _invade_ Asgard.
"Hela, are you insane? You _led_ Thanos and the Chitauri army straight to Asgard?! Do you _want_ to destroy everyone there?!"
Alan felt another headache coming on.
Hela had already dragged Angela into her mess, and now she was causing problems for Thor, too.
If _he_ was Angela, he'd probably have an even bigger headache right now—forced to _grit her teeth_ and _fake a smile_ as she _thanked_ Hela for putting Asgard in _serious danger_.
"I am the Queen of Asgard now. Why would I _destroy_ it?" Hela scoffed. "Asgard is stronger than ever before—Thanos _won't_ be able to defeat us!"
She was _confident_ about that.
If she weren't capable, she wouldn't have _dug a pit_ for herself, Angela, and Asgard.
"Our duel isn't over yet," Hela added, still unsure why Alan had suddenly appeared.
But right now, what she feared most—was whether Alan would _hate_ her for this.
"This _pointless_ drama ends here," Alan sighed.
He was the _Emperor—defender of _everything_.
And apparently, he was now the _middleman_ in a sibling feud, too.
"Hela, he is your brother. What do you gain by killing him?"
"You're already the ruler of Asgard. What threat does Thor pose to you?"
"If Thanos _really_ sets his entire Chitauri army on Asgard, _how many Asgardian warriors_ are you willing to sacrifice?"
"With Thor, you'd have a powerful ally."
Hela froze.
She had _never_ considered that.
To her, killing Thor was just a way to _make Odin suffer_—to make him weep bitterly for his favorite son.
To make him _regret_ ever sealing her away.
Because Odin should _never_ have done that to her.
...
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