Sensational preparations

Step one, don’t die as soon as she saw Hela, achieved. Step two, think of some way to actually stop her, still ongoing.

No, Sylvie amended, as she ducked past a staring guard into her old chambers clutching at her breasts, better to change that: step two, get some clothes. At least she had Asgard to come back to now.

Sylvie looked around the room for a brief moment - it was empty, uninhabited. There was a bed, an empty wardrobe (because of course), and little else. But at least there was a door behind her to shut.

Deep breath. Then she took out her TemPad, and set the co-ordinates for the oh-so familiar Midgard. Whatever, she didn’t care about creating more variants, so long as she avoided another Hela. Get some clothes in her usual way, and in the process, hopefully get some idea of how to save this timeline from Hela. And how to get away from Hela.

She came out in an apartment building, glad of the relative privacy; she quickly surveyed the room she was in, and once she saw it was empty, let herself relax. She could listen, and wait for someone to get back, and then she could worry about what she was doing.

She was in some sort of study. There was a table, some bookshelves filled with heavy-looking textbooks. She was rather unsurprised that there was no wardrobe.

Hela couldn’t read her mind - couldn’t affect anything outside the stones’ own universe. It made sense. But even getting her to another timeline, while it would weaken her, it wouldn’t be enough. Hela herself was from another universe, but her clothes if nothing else were compatible with the stones. And absolute control over them meant doubling their mass, and throwing anything she could imagine at Sylvie. And even failing all of that, the stones themselves could be manipulated - she could generate mass, power…

Even without the stones though, just her powers wee dangerous. She’d need to, what, drop Hela off naked in the TVA? She’d be powerless there but, well, easier said than done.

Though it wouldn’t be the first time.

She heard movement; Sylvie looked around the study quickly, glad to see there was only one door. She stumbled over behind the door, hiding her body behind her hands.

Someone was in the apartment. Sylvie held her breath, keeping silent. Well, she had wanted clothes, and stealing seemed to be all she did these days. She waited, listening, poised to peer out the room if whoever it was out there stopped moving.

Then the door opened. A woman, with curly black hair, walked past her without looking back; Sylvie quickly threw herself at her, hand grasping the side of her neck. The enchantment went into effect easily, offering her only the briefest of glimpses into a slightly bewildering mind.

The woman was in a semi-formal suit - white blouse, and suit jacket, with smart pants. One by one, they came off, the jacket left folded over the back of the chair, then the shirt undone by button, revealing her cleavage and a bizarrely bright green bra. Her pants went down her legs, her shoes kicked off, baring matching panties.

Jennifer, her name was. Jennifer Walters. As she was obliviously stripping, Sylvie snuck forward to pick up the discarded garments, quickly bunching them in front of her chest.

Jen tugged her panties off first, revealing a patch of dark hair, and as Sylvie was putting those on, she unclasped her bra and slid off the straps. A second later, and she squeaked, crossing her arms across her chest - then she squeaked again, and dipped one down to cover her crotch.

“H-huh?” she squealed, as Sylvie began to take her clothes. “Who are- wait, seriously? There can’t be more than a few chapters left, how did you find time for me to cameo? Ugh!”

Jennifer fidgeted, apparently still processing her sudden nudity. Sylvie gratefully fastened her bra, and slid on the blouse, leaving it undone as she went to pick up her pants.

“I mean seriously, if you’d actually written this a little faster, I wouldn’t have even been an option,” Jennifer grumbled. “Hey!”

She lunged for Sylvie suddenly, as Sylvie finished doing up her pants; Sylvie caught her arm as it turned green; she did a double-take, but enchanted easily enough, sending the newly-green Jennifer to walk back against the wall, hands on her head, her bare butt suddenly ridiculously well-toned.

“Oh come on!” Jennifer muttered. “Doesn’t even make sense for me to be She-Hulk in this timeline. Weirdos.”

Sylvie ignored her, pulling the blazer on. Well, the TVA could probably prune this branch safely enough, this far out - Hela herself would be untouched. And hey, another person to add to the TVA’s nude cells, like so many before. Like…

Sylvie paused. Then, grimacing, activated her TemPad.

She left the nude Jennifer behind, bare against the wall and awaiting pick-up.

There was only one way to stop Hela - she needed to lose her powers, to lose the stones, and/or to lose her ability to wield any of them. Sylvie could only think of one place in all her journeys that seemed able to do anything close.

Hela couldn’t read her mind. She could do maybe one thing, if it was fast.