Hello and welcome to chapter 11. This chapter was a lot of fun to write, although I must admit that writing from Liv's prospective is my favorite. I do need to start experimenting in writing from the Avenger's view, which does happen in this chapter. Next chapter will be about the holidays, because how could you not include a Christmas special with Finland in the story! I still don't own Hetalia or the Marvel franchises but please enjoy this chapter anyway!
Chapter 11
A Reluctant Friend
It was any other normal day, the 'Nordic Five' was walking on their normal route home. The day before winter break and just two days after Francis and Toni had been released from their prison in Stark Towers. The five joked, talked about their day, homework, tests, and teachers. They had planned to get together for coffee tomorrow as the start of Winter break. Tino pulled up his white scarf after blowing out a breath of frozen air. "Winter's here full force," the Finnish boy stated "But at least Christmas is nearly here."
"It'll be a cold one," Emil agreed, pulling his hat down to cover his frozen ears. The sun was already getting low, Berwald's after school club ending late while the rest had waited for him. "Maybe the rest of winter won't be so bad if you would knit me some mittens, Livvy!" Matthias exclaimed, throwing his arm around his almost girlfriend. As Liv jabbed him in the side and he lay withering in pain on the sidewalk as two strangers in long coats appeared down the street, strangers the Nordics paid no attention to.
"Not a chance you dense Dane," Liv replied, watching him blankly. "I could make mittens for us!" Tino suggested, clapping his hands together, "My mother has been teaching me how to sew and knit lately!" At that moment Berwald pulled Tino into a hug, daring the others to challenge him, he had recently been trying his best to woo the small Finnish boy in time for Christmas. "That would be nice of you Tino," Emil replied, starting the group forward again as Matthias stood.
"I could buy the supplies if you need me to," Liv offered. "That would be great, Liv. Maybe I can teach you how to knit too," Tino replied. They reached a small side street, the long way around to their homes when Liv paused, glancing at the strangers, it was a way they usually went to get coffee or a snack on their way home. "Why don't we go this way today?" she questioned, stopping the rest of the group. The other four looked at each other, Emil checking his watch.
"I don't know, Liv. We were already late leaving and going that way will add twenty minutes. Won't Chiara get mad if you're late?" Matthias asked. Liv shrugged, again glancing at the approaching strangers, she couldn't get her friends involved in this, she just couldn't, not with their…
"I heard that there's been a lot of trouble down that way too, Liv," Tino added worriedly. "Yet, there will be more trouble here, now!" Emil was startled, seeing the fist flying at him from one of the strangers who had been 100 feet away just a second ago. The youngest of the five barely had time to blink or realize the wave fear washing over his body.
In a split second, Liv was suddenly there, blocking the punch. The rest of the group had turned, ready to fight as Liv was forced back from the punch, tumbling to the ground. "Liv!" Tino shouted, held back by Berwald from running to her aid, past the enemy that had suddenly appeared, separating Tino, Matthias and Berwald from Liv and Emil.
"I'm surprised, Oliver didn't mention you'd be this strong," the first attacker teased, staring down at Liv and Emil. "What do you want?" Liv snarled, standing up and pushing Emil behind her slightly. She couldn't even put her hate for the Puppetmaster into words. "Ah, but you see, it's more like what our bosses want, you can understand that, can't you Mage?" the second attacker replied.
"Oh, and what do these bosses of yours want?" Matthias asked, standing protectively in front of Berwald and Tino. "It's simple, you come with us, and no one gets hurt," the first man said, still eyeing Liv. The youngest United World member held up her hands in the universal sign of surrender. The first attacker grinned widely. "Now, leave them alone, they don't have anything to do with this," Liv ordered.
"That's funny, I meant my boss wanted all of you, and if you all come quietly then we won't have to hurt any civilians," the second attacker replied. Liv's hands dropped to her side, a dark look crossing her usually monotone expression. "If you four see an opportunity, please run," she requested, the attackers turning to her curiously. "Surely you can't expect to take us bo-!" The first attacker was interrupted as Liv lashed out, kicking him in the face, the crunch of his nose breaking echoing in the empty streets.
"Why you little!" Attacker 2 growled, lunging at Liv. The teenager jumped up, gracefully landing, bringing down her full weight on the man's back. Liv pushed Emil towards Berwald, Tino and Matthias, although she was dismayed when she saw a third person walking towards them in the same suits as the first attackers.
With her loss of focus, Liv did not register the first man approaching her until it was too late. A painstakingly similar sound to his nose breaking erupted from her leg. Liv screamed out, falling down in an instant, pain coursing through the now fractured limb. "Liv!" Tino cried out, trying to lunge past Berwald and Matthias to get to the fifth Nordic. "I'm okay, Tino," Liv responding, shakily standing up, barely touching her left foot to the ground as pain seared throughout her body. It's a good thing she was used to such pain. "You four need to get out of here, now."
"Do you honestly think you can still fight us in that condition, it's three against one," the new arrival stated. "Not for long, you see I just called the Avengers and United World," Liv replied, smirking slightly as she waved her cellphone. The first two men instantly growled deeply at the mention of the two teams. "She's lying, fools. The signal jammer took care of her little cellphone," the third man smacked the other two on their heads.
Liv's smirk faded instantly, she needed some way to get word out to the Avengers or UW. She couldn't keep fighting for long and her friends were in danger. She had already tried to surrender, and she would have, if they didn't want her friends too, she wouldn't have had to endanger them anymore. But if Liv went down, there was the possibility that the others would try to fight and get hurt.
If only they had been closer to Liv's home, then the UW would have already been out, ready to fight. The only way Liv could possibly get out of this would be to warp reality, but her friends were in her range. Suddenly she felt a comforting feeling wash over her, as though a summer wind blew in the midst of winter. Without even looking she knew who now held her up, she wasn't at their meeting place on time, and so Troll had come looking.
If only her mythical companion didn't detest fighting. Young one, how may I help? The great voice echoed like thunder in her mind. Get Arthur, Spectrum, or have Flying Mint Bunny tell him where we are, please, hurry, Liv thought back. With a nod of his great head the troll had vanished. But, distracted by her thoughts, the three had found their opening and Liv immediately found herself kicked back into one of the surrounding brick walls. She felt a sharp pain in her ribs and the breath was knocked out of her as she coughed up a small puddle of blood on the dented street. She got up again, immediately taking another hit as her friends called out to her in horror, all of it a blur. After that the hits came continuously and Liv gradually lost track of time as the three attackers ganged up on her.
As the third ambusher held her up by her hair, allowing her to kneel, he hummed in disappointment. "I hope we didn't hurt her too bad, the boss still has use for her. She should give us the proper upper hand," he muttered, "Why don't you two grab the rest of the kids? We have to get out of here in case UW realizes something it up." "Don't touch them," Liv croaked out, the world spinning around her. "Oh, you still have a little bit of fight left in you, guess we'll just have to weed that out right here," the third attacker laughed before jumping back in pain and dropping Liv.
The UW member could feel herself dropping until strong, protective arms caught her. "Matthias, you guys were supposed to run," Liv said weakly, looking up into the face of her savior. "Shh, don't talk now, Liv. Tino, get to work on her, we'll hold them off," Matthias ordered, gently setting her on the ground and rolling up his jacket as a makeshift pillow. Turning her head to the side, Liv could see the blur of Matthias, Berwald and Emil planting themselves in between Tino and her and the attackers.
"So you kiddos also had some fight in you, huh? Shouldn't be too hard to take you down anyway, a little more fun for us," the first attacker growled with pleasure. The first attacker took a step forward and instantly ran into something invisible, his nose breaking once more. "Mr. Kir- Spectrum!" Tino cheered, halting Liv's healing, as she had ordered them to never display their powers unless there were no people from SHIELD around, she disliked the thought of her friends being forced to become agents.
But now the blond haired leader of UW stood beside the powerful Russian hero. Both of them holding one or two grocery bags. "Stay back, comrades, we will handle them, da," Ivan said, a blade appeared in his free hand instantly, forged out of ice and shadow alike. The three attackers gulped instantly, defiantly fearful of facing two of the strongest UW members. "What should we do?" Attacker Two asked Three, One still clutching his bloody nose. "Retreat for now, we should have grabbed the Mage when we had the chance, boss will not be happy."
In a split second the three had disappeared, and only the UW members were left with the kids. Already the Nordic Five were crouched around Liv who had passed out with relief once Arthur and Ivan had arrived. "Did you at least get a diagnosis ran, Tino?" Emil whispered as the two UW members searched the area for any more attackers, leaving the teens in once of Arthur's barriers. "Her leg is fractured, two broken ribs, three bruised, no prominent internal damage but minor cuts and bruises all over as well," Tino informed.
"We should get her to a hospital," Matthias sighed, burning with rage at the thought of her injuries. "We have proper medical supplies at Rome's house, you children do not need to worry," Spectrum replied, walking up to them and dismantling his barrier, "Why don't you four get home?" Before the teenagers could protest, Matthias felt a light tug on his sleeve. He looked down to see Liv holding onto his sleeve tightly. "I guess that settles that, we'll be taking Liv home, it's the least we can do," Matthias said.
He gently lifted Liv up in his arms bridal style, his jacket now settling onto Liv like a blanket. Arthur opened his mouth, but before he spoke Ivan was walking around the corner and taking in the sight. "Let them come, Spectrum, they are Liv's comrades they have as much right as us, da," Ivan turned around, beginning to lead the group towards Chiara's pent house. With a sigh, Arthur trudged after them wearily.
"You didn't get the girl?!" one Oliver Kirkland growled, glaring at the three useless pawns who knelt before him. "She called United World somehow," Attacker three responded, his voice quiet. "You idiots, I told you that she could see magical creatures, she probably had one of them deliver the message to my worthless counterpart. Always foiling our plans, if only we could have taken her, then The Crime Lord would finally be on my side," Oliver snarled, he threw a wineglass of red liquid across the room, and the three henchmen flinched when it shattered.
"Relax, Olly," a voice suddenly interjected into the seething British rage of a man. "Meltdown, how nice of you to join me," Oliver growled, resisting the urge to roll his eyes at the red eyed man before him. "You should be happy I'm here. I expected your plan to fail, which is why I got Triple L to get me an update on their next move. The kid your after is going to be ready for the taking come December 25, that's when I'm planning to make my move, so you in?"
"The only way we're going to be able to split our forces is to have teams of equal power, and with the same support. Anyone with Liv is clearly going to have the advantage, seeing as how she can trick people, and see their weaknesses. We need someone who is unpredictable," Arthur pointed out. "Do you have any suggestions?" Captain America asked. "I do."
The group turned at the monotone voice to see Liv using both of her crutches as she hobbled into the 'meeting room.' "Liv, you shouldn't be up," Chiara immediately fretted. Behind Liv was the rest of the Nordic five, each looking worriedly at Liv. "I'm sorry, Miss Varges, she wouldn't listen to us," Tino sobbed. "I'm fine, will one of you take them home, I don't want them to get attacked again?" Liv asked, looking across the Avengers and United World.
"I can," Alfred replied, standing up, "I won't let them get hurt Liv. Tell the others what you need to, but fill me in when I get back. C'mon kiddos." The Nordic five were caught in between staying with their fifth or leaving and getting out of the way for hero business until Liv nodded. "I expect you to take good care of my precious friends Alfred. And I'll be back at school after winter break, don't worry about me," Liv encouraged.
"Livvy!" Matthias burst out in tears, hugging his almost girlfriend (really they were so close to dating, Matthias wished Liv wasn't so oblivious), "Make sure you're back after break ends, or else I'll never buy you coffee again." Berwald dragged the other teen off of his injured friend, nodding curtly at her, not one for words while Tino hugged her. "When this is all over, I'll teach you how to knit!" Tino declared, letting go of Liv and joining the other two by the door.
Emil stepped up in front of Liv, fidgeting with the hem of his shirt. "Thank you for saving me, Liv. I-I, um be safe, and if you need anything, call us," Emil hugged her gently, whispering, "Please, call us, you know we can help you." Emil released his older sister figure and smiled, joining the Nordic four as they left. After the Nordics had left, Liv used her crutches to hobble her way over to the couches and sat down, rubbing her sore ribs and sighing in relief. Even after Tino's healing job, everything would still be sore for a bit. "So what's your plan, Liv?" Gwen asked, unable to take her gaze off the youngest member, disappointed that she wasn't early enough to help her.
"Some of you make not like what I'm about to say, but I think it is going to be our best option," Liv began, making eye contact with each of the Avengers. She sighed, preparing herself for the soon onslaught of debate. "I think we should recruit Loki to hel-." "No. When you said idea I thought you had a good idea. Recruiting reindeer games is not a good idea," Stark replied. "He tried to kill us," Bruce added, "and take over the world!" "Not to mention he mind controlled me!" Clint added.
"It makes sense," Captain America intercepted, taking a direct hit from the glares of many Avengers, "For all we know, they outnumber us. The 2ps could take control of us at any second, and we wouldn't be able to tell. With Francis and Antonio down, and Liv injured we aren't at full power. Maybe Loki could give us some insight. Thor? What do you think? He is your brother after all."
Silence spread across the room, all eyes turning to the Norse God who had been quiet since Liv's suggestion. "Loki will not cooperate with us," Thor stated, "However, young one, if you believe you may get my brother to work with us, I will give you a chance." "Thank you Thor. Let's get going, we need to hurry before the 2ps decide to attack again."
Thor was weary of taking the young, injured mortal to see Loki. He had never seen it coming, Loki had, after all, tried to take over the world. Even if Loki agreed to come along, by some sort of miracle, the Avengers would be hesitant to work with him, making this seem like an even worse idea. Thor really shouldn't have agreed to take this young mortal.
There were already walking down to the prison, after a long debate with Odin about taking Loki out of his cell. Alas they had won, Thor's last resort at stopping the mortal had failed. Thor thought about dragging the young one away, away from it all, the battle, and the danger. He figured she'd been the one to go through the most since the two teams began to work together.
"Ah, Thor, welcome to my humble adobe! May I get you anything? A drink? A snack?" Loki sneered as the two heroes came into his view. "It is not my fault that you are in here, brother," Thor replied. Liv's presence went understandably unnoticed, Thor just hoped he could keep it that way. "You are no brother of mine! I was going to be king before you came along and ruined my plans! The crown was mine and you stole it from me!"
"It was not yours in the first place," Thor thundered back, "You will never know what true happiness is like if you continue down this road!" "Who says I want happiness," Loki snapped, "All I want is-!" "Excuse us for a moment, Thor," Liv said clearly, interrupting Loki. Thor looked at the mortal in confusion before looking back to his brother, who had crumpled to the ground, his eyes still open. The asgardian, expecting it, caught Liv as she began to fell, her eyes wide open as she stared at Loki. A warm summer breeze flowed through the prison.
"-Power!" Loki proclaimed. He looked around in confusion, his broth- rival no longer stood before him. In fact, he was no longer in his cell, nor anywhere he had ever visited before. The trickster looked down to his feet, standing in a soft bed of tall grass and flowers. "Where am I?" he muttered. "You are in a world of my own personal creation, Loki," a soft voice replied. Loki looked around, finally pinpointing the voice from a small mortal girl.
One of her legs was wrapped in bandages, and her head also had a bandage looped around it. She had long golden blond hair, and icy eyes to match the color of a frost giant's skin. She looked as powerful as an asgardian yet as frail as a mortal all wrapped up into one. "What do you mean a world of your creation? Mortals do not have such an ability," Loki replied.
"Most humans don't, but those who do have special powers have the ability to protect others. Which is exactly why I am here today," the girl replied. Loki laughed at her reply, surly this girl wasn't as dense as other mortals. "I tried to take over you planet and you expect me to protect something? Get out of my sight, mortal, before I destroy you," Loki scoffed.
A breeze ruffled through the field and Loki was almost pushed over. He saw but a faint glimpse of some large entity by the side of the girl. "You must know of alternate dimensions, we are facing trouble from one such dimension currently. We are in need of someone with your expertise at this moment before they make another move," the girl continued, taking no notice to Loki's comment.
"What's in it for me?" he questioned. "If these second players take over this dimension, I doubt they'll give you the crown of Asgard. Not to mention, Thor is bound to have an alternate self, wouldn't it be enjoyable to punch him in the face?" she asked. Loki couldn't resist it, he grinned, the idea of punching Thor in the face, and not being imprisoned for it, that was just too good to pass up.
"I like the way you think. What's your name? If we're going to be working together, it's only fair that I know it," Loki replied. "Well most know me as the Mage, but you may call me Liv, Liv Boldevick. It's a pleasure to be working with you," the girl, Liv, held out her hand, something Loki knew to be an Earth traditional greeting. And so he took her hand, "I'm looking forward to our partnership, Mage."
