"Hi," Harry said casually as he arrived on Asgard with Hela walking in just behind him, the portal closed behind him as everyone turned to face him. They all stared at him and Hela, some even with open mouths. "so… what's up?" Harry asked as if the very woman that he fought in this place wasn't behind him.
"Harry," Thor spoke, a pained look on his face. "what is happening right now?" He asked with forced calmness.
"I honestly do not have an answer that you'd like." Harry openly admitted.
"Why is she back?!" Brunnhilde demanded, adopting a fighting stance.
"Peace, peace, can I just have a bit of peace for five minutes?" Harry sighed. "I'm too tired for this shit. I just fought the goddess of death before being dragged with her back to what was apparently her home for Merlin knows how long, and let me tell you all, it was terribly horrible."
"Try staying there as long as I have." Hela snorted.
"Thanks but no," Harry politely refused. "my grip on sanity is spider-web thin as it is."
"Harry, you mind explaining why you brought her back to Asgard?!" Thor blurted out.
"I made a deal with her," Harry began. "and I…"
"And you expect her to honor your deal?!" Loki's exasperated voice cut Harry off.
"You can't trust her!" Brunnhilde agreed. "She's evil and cruel and…"
"And everything I was once considered to be," Harry interrupted. "let me tell you all a fact that you should remember. Monsters are not born, they are created. I'm not making excuses for her, but let's be honest, Odin messed up with her."
"Are you kidding me?!" Thor hissed. "You bring her back and now you're blaming my father and…"
"Thor," Harry cut him off, rolling his eyes as he did so. "your father, as far as I am aware, has been responsible for three different children. Let's see, first, we have Loki, the 'god of mischief' who has parental issues that are at least ten miles high when stacked and he tried to enslave an entire planet. Then we have you, a guy who was pretty much a massive, chaotic dickhead before Jane got to you. Oh, and let's not forget the fact that Odin banished you to another planet which is not something a parent should do, good reason or not."
"He banished me to another realm." Hela pointed out in a sour voice.
"Yeah, I'm getting to you, wait a sec." Harry continued. "I should also point out that he was purposefully willing to let Jane die because he didn't believe that her life held the same value as any Asgardian, which is funny given that the guy preaches peace and companionship."
"You know, I'm starting to like you," Hela commented, staring at Harry.
"Thanks," Harry nodded to her before continuing. "and then we have Hela," Harry paused to gesture to Hela. "one of the few people that I've met that are as fucked up as I am, though the jury is still open on that one."
"Harry," Thor sighed. "I admit that my father was far from perfect but…"
"Far from perfect? Far from perfect?!" Hela roared, not even noticing the other Asgaridan's tensing up. "He was as close to perfect as he was to me! He demanded excellence from me! Trained me as early as possible and told me my purpose was to be his weapon! I aimed myself where he told me to! All your wealth, all your gold, power, and strength, none of it would be possible without me! And what did he do?! As soon as I was no longer perfectly in his control he sent her and her companions after me!" Hela shouted, pointing to Brunnhilde. "Do you think you needed to fight me?! On whose orders did you fight me?!"
"You killed all of us!" Brunnhilde shouted angrily.
"And why do you think that was?!" Hela shouted back. "I was Odin's most powerful fighter and he knew it, yet he sent you after me. Either he overestimated you and underestimated me or you were meant to be nothing more than a distraction or a decoy!" She paused and took a deep breath, silently delighting in the shocked look that the Asgardians appeared to be sharing. "And after all of that, once he was ready, I was banished to Hel, I've spent so long in there. I tried every trick I could think of to get out, but I couldn't. And then, when I come back, I find out that Odin had wiped me from history. ME! Erased my very existence, as if I was nothing, as If all I had ever done was a dark history that he wanted to hide. Perhaps he had since then become a great king and ruler, but that doesn't change what he's done any more than it changes what I've done. You all want to accuse me of being a monster, and perhaps I am, but who turned me into one? Who told me what to do and when to do it before aiming me where he wanted?"
"I…" Thor began but trailed off as Frigga gently laid a hand on his arm.
"Let it rest, son," Frigga said, silently shaking her head. "she's right."
"Mother?!" Thor gasped, a shocked look on his face.
"Your father was far from a perfect man," Frigga said, a lone tear dripping from her eye. "he got better, definitely, but he was far from perfect. It was only when he improved that I had agreed to marry him." She turned to Hela, an apologetic look on her face. "I know this might not mean much, if anything, to you, but I apologize to you for what my late husband did."
"And that's a good place to start!" Harry quickly spoke up before Hela could reply. "Now, I…" Whatever Harry was about to say was cut off as Hela suddenly let out a cry of pain before dropping to her knees. "Damn!" Harry quickly kneeled alongside her. "The spell, it won't let you stay on Asgard for much longer."
"Well," Hela grunted and climbed back up to her feet with Harry's help. "it's not like I will be staying here much longer anyway."
"What is that supposed to mean?" Thor asked.
"I'm taking her with me to Earth," Harry answered on Hela's behalf.
"Harry!" Thor gaped at him. "You can't be serious!"