Chapter Eight
Zy'aire

Livy. The babies. For several moments that was all I could think about. The image of her sitting in our bedroom, her water broken, panic coursing through her, made me forget about the battle that would start any moment. It was just her, her face, our children, and the knowledge that soon I would be a father.

And then the ships appeared. Dozens of them, flanked by creatures straight from hell and dragons right out of fairytales. They couldn't get through the barrier, they tried their damndest to. But I realized as I watched the Kree and Vanir open fire on the barrier, and the dragons and fire creatures burn it with hellfire, that the barrier may be strong, but it won't hold them off forever, and we can't just wait for it to finally break. I ordered one of the barrier's sections to be opened up, just one, and that's when everything changed.

This isn't like the last battle we fought. Last time, the world erupted in dust and smoke, the sky was lit only by the laser blasts of Kree ships, and the ground was a Pollock painting of blue and red blood. Now the Kree only make up maybe a quarter of the forces fighting. Vanaheim's forces make up maybe two quarters. Most of the forces are from Muspelheim. There's no dust and smoke, no colorful lasers lighting the sky, no blood caking the ground. There's only fire. In the streets, the fields, the forest, the homes, the buildings. All of it is burning. Wakanda is burning.

Uncle Khari and I have taken shelter in the debris of a burnt down house. We had been fighting off Kree soldiers when one of the dragons appeared and has been scorching the street ever since. Only a few of our soldiers made it to shelter in time. Most are dead. We didn't even hear their screams as they died, the fire killed them before they even knew what was happening. I guess that's a mercy at least. They didn't have to feel their skin melting off their bones, their bodies become nothing more than ash.

These dragons are tearing up the city. Wanda has been trying her best to deal with them, as have the Masters of the Mystic Arts, but they're far too strong. I would call for reinforcements, but there's none to call. All our forces are spread thin as it is between here, Alfheim, and Jotunheim, and we didn't have enough time to gather up all of Earth's armies to fight Njord's lackies. It would take them hours to get themselves ready and make the trip here. And we may not have hours. We just have to fight and hope Naomi and Kieran's coups will be successful.

"Jo, how's Livy? How are my sons?" I ask into my beads.

"All three are fine. Aunt Shuri and Ana have started the c-section, everything is going smoothly."

"Do you have a shield up?"

"I have a forcefield around the entire room, but it hasn't been needed yet. We're underground, those bastards are only concerned with you guys on the surface."

"Keep me updated, Jo. I mean it, I want you to tell me what's going on every five minutes."

"Roger that, sir." She says, giving me a mocking soldier impression. I would find it amusing if I wasn't two seconds away from being melted.

"Have you heard from the others yet? Anyone?" Uncle Khari asks, wiping sweat from his brow. I don't know why he even bothers, both of us are drowning in it from the fire's heat.

"A brief message from Uncle Alex and Uncle Bucky. Alfheim and Jotunheim are under attack too. Nothing from Vanaheim or Hala."

He places his hand on my shoulder, pressing his forehead against mine. "Give it time. Naomi and the others will stop this."

For all our sakes, I hope so.

-

Liam

"Lee, go check on the queen!" Bucky orders, shooting down another Vanaheim soldier.

Stevie and I were inside the throne room with Queen Verena when the fighting started, and Njord's forces quickly infiltrated the palace. I ordered her to hide in the bunker under the large tree in the room while Stevie and I fended the soldiers off. Bucky joined us soon after. But there's too many of them. Kree, Vanir, fire demons, and three large dragons. That's what we're up against. If it was against just the Kree and the Vanir I think we would have better odds, but the creatures from Muspelheim out number us not only in numbers, but also in strength. We've barely made a dent in their army. I don't think we can last much longer against them.

I find the queen in the bunker where I left her, unharmed, completely safe. Or as safe as she can be. I jump down into the bunker and shut the door behind me, asking in a breathless voice: "Are you okay, your majesty?"

She nods once, trying to keep her composure, but it isn't working. She's terrified. "I'm fine. You shouldn't be here, you should be out there fighting. Let your father and boyfriend defend me and the palace."

"I need to protect you—"

"Our people need protecting more than I do," She reaches forward and grabs my hands, a tenderness pushing past the fear in her eyes. It reminds me of how my mother looks at me. How Soroya looks at me. "You have the blood of the ancient ones in you, Liam. You have tremendous power, the power of the sun. You are needed elsewhere. Go. Show them all what happens when they threaten Alfheim."

She squeezes my hands once then releases me, gesturing towards the door to lead me back to the battle waging above. I give her a single nod then do as she commands, leaving her behind in the bunker and running back towards where Stevie and Bucky still fight. "Keep fending them off, I'll be right back."

Stevie suddenly looks alarmed. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm going to go show them what they're dealing with."

Stevie clearly doesn't like this idea, but nods, kissing me briefly, but passionately. "Don't get killed."

I wink at him. "I won't."

"Good luck, son." Bucky says with a nod, tossing a knife into the chest of a fire demon.

A giant hole has been made in the wall of the palace, so I use it as my way of escaping. The battle waging out here is even worse than the one in there. Our forces are being slaughtered, homes are being blasted apart, and the fire...the fire is burning everywhere. The wild life that thrives here, the beautiful forests, the lush grass, the meadows, the flowers, they're all being reduced to ashes. I can feel the life being sucked from them, I can feel them dying. I can feel them burning.

I make a run for the forest, that's where so much of the fighting is taking place. Kree, Vanir, fire demons, Skrulls, Avengers, Asgardians, Nova Empire soldiers. They all clash in a fight with each other as much as with the smoke building from the fire. No one can see more than a few feet in front of them, the only light comes from the fires set to the trees and the city beyond. For now the dragons are occupied, Stephen Strange and the other Masters of the Mystic Arts are holding them down. But they won't be able to hold them long. None of our forces will be able to hold any of them off long. We're too outnumbered, too outmatched.

I finally make it to the forest. It's so hard to see if the people around me are friend or foe, but I am able to produce a small light in my hands that allows me to see a little better. It's a trick I learned from the queen. I get the attention of a group of Skrulls, and I have to yell in order for them to hear me: "Cover me! I have a way to fix this!"

They nod, making a protective circle around me as I sink down to my knees, shutting my eyes. I take a moment to pray to Shiva; to beg for the queen's faith in me to be justified, that I will be able to give our side a fighting chance, that Naomi and Kieran will be able to stop all this. Then I get to work. I place my hands on the ground, feeling the blades of grass slip between my fingers, and open myself up to anything I can find, anything that's still alive. The grass, the roots, the trees, the vines, everything. All of it. I grasp onto them with my powers and I will them to move, to bend, to grow, to reach. When I'm here on Alfheim my powers are ten times what they are on Earth or any other planet, here I don't just control the wild life, I become them, I move and grow and bend with them. I see light behind my closed eyelids and know that the light is from me. I can feel the light, feel it tingle and shimmer beneath and outside of my skin, feel it grow and change as much as the plants I'm controlling does.

I open my eyes and see that the battle around me has halted, all eyes falling onto the wild life surrounding us, the wild life that seems to now have a life of its own. The grass has reached to several feet in the air, as have the roots from the ground. The vines from the trees and buildings are coiled snakes waiting to strike the moment I command, the trees have their branches arched back in anticipation. With a battle cry to rival the movies, I let the plants loose on Njord's forces. Soldiers are bound up and brought to the ground by the grass and roots, vines lift them off the ground and fling them into the air, the trees snatch them up with their branches and trap them, leaving them all confused and helpless. Our forces take advantage of the situation and begin cutting down the soldiers who are bound and attacking the ones who manage to escape.

"The forces here in the palace have fled, I think they might be heading for you." Stevie warns me in the coms.

"I can't handle it."

"Lee—"

Before I can argue with him any further, those forces he mentioned arrive, which includes three fire giants, one of which comes barreling towards me. The Skrull soldiers around me shoot at the monster but he cuts through them like paper. I shoot my hand out towards him and vines wrap around his torso and arms, pulling him away from me and towards one of the towering unburnt trees. The vines don't hold him long though, with a harsh tug he breaks through them, reaching me in a couple strides. He grabs onto my outstretched arm and yanks me off the ground, flinging me across the battlefield.

I land yards away with a hard thud, a scream releasing from my mouth which has nothing to do with the fall. When that giant grabbed my arm, I think he dislocated my shoulder and elbow. My left shoulder is much higher than it's supposed to be and my elbow is bent a way it really shouldn't be. I try to move my left arm and let another scream, which draws unwanted attention to me. A couple fire demons notice my mutilated arm and head right for me. I try to get myself up, but I can't manage it with the injured arm, so instead I call upon my powers again to help me get out of this, but nothing happens. Nothing. Not even a blade of grass moves.

I resort to crawling away from the incoming fire demons, digging my right hand and feet into the ground to pull me along, knowing it won't make much difference. Just as the creatures are about to reach me, they're stopped by a rhino. One fire demon gets impaled on the rhino's horn, two others get trampled, and the last one is shot down by Bucky, who has just made it into the forest. Once the threat has been eliminated, both head over towards me, Stevie staying in rhino form to protect us while Bucky begins to inspect my arm.

"If you're here whose at the palace?" I ask through gritted teeth.

"Valkyrie," Bucky responds, trying his best to be gentle with my arm, but even the slightest touch makes me want to scream. "I've dislocated various body parts before, I know how to reset them. I'm gonna do the elbow first and then the shoulder. I want you to take a deep breath for me, Lee, this is gonna hurt like hell."

I nod, doing as he says and taking in a deep breath, bracing myself for what's to come. Bucky grabs onto my bicep with one hand and my wrist with the other. He twists my wrist away from me, there's a click, a yell from me, then he lets go. Now onto the shoulder. He places one hand on the top of my shoulder and the other grips onto my forearm. He pulls on my arm, presses on my shoulder, lifts my arm up, then a popping noise and scream come out of me at the same time.

Bucky lets go of me and helps me to my feet, rubbing my back soothingly. "You won't be able to use the arm anymore, you gotta let it rest or else you'll pop it back out again."

"I can't just abandon the battle." I argue.

"You can't use your powers right now, you're in too much pain, so staying out here makes you a liability not an asset. Do you remember what I told you during the last war? When I told you to stay with Stevie?"

I shut my eyes and sigh. "A good soldier knows when to fight and when to rest."

"Exactly. I'll get you back to the palace, you can stay in the bunker with the queen. Stevie and I will stay out here in the forest."

Stevie as if on que appears beside me in human form, giving me one of his cocky, dorky grins. "We totally got this covered, go rest."

I kiss him gently, whispering against his lips: "Go kick some ass."

His grin widens as he steps back, then he shifts into a tiger and runs into the smoke covered battlefield around us, growling loudly as he does so. As Bucky helps me brace my arm with some vines and leads me back towards the palace, he tells me in a soft and prideful tone:

"You were absolutely amazing out there. We saw you from the palace windows, you looked like a shining star."

"I wish I could have held out a little longer. Maybe we could have won this battle."

"Maybe, but what you did helped give our side a fighting chance. You should be proud. I know I am."

I never get tired of hearing him and Soroya say things like that to me. "Thanks, Bucky."

When we finally reach the palace it's mostly empty of Njord's forces, allowing us to quickly make it to the semi safety of the throne room. Just before I reach the bunker though, I wrap my good arm around around Bucky's shoulders and squeeze him tightly.

"Be careful."

He returns my hug, his metal hand cupping my nape as he says in an assuring tone: "Always."

-

Alex

I charge at a fire demon and impale it with my horn, tossing it's body across the battlefield towards an unsuspecting Kree soldier. I shift into a white wolf, allowing me to blend into the snowy terrain as I pounce on a Vanaheim soldier a few feet away, digging my teeth and claws into their back and shoulders, leaving them screaming from pain and terror. From behind me I sense someone approaching me, I sense their adrenaline and their scent, a scent I'll never forget as long as I live. Kree. I retract my claws from the Vanir soldier and use his body to launch myself backwards, over the head of the Kree soldier rushing at me. I land a few feet behind him, shifting into a rhino again to impale the bastard and send him flying into one of his friends.

Our forces are greatly outmatched. We would be outmatched against the Kree and Vanir alone, but with Muspelheim's hellions and three dragons added to the mix, we're about to be seriously S.O.L.

I hear my Kimoyo Beads beep and I peer down at them to see my sister calling me. I tap on my beads to answer, dodging a blast from a Kree blaster.

"Alex, are you okay? Has the fighting started on Jotunheim too?"

I dive for a fallen Nova Empire soldier's blaster and use it to shoot down the Vanaheim soldier who shot at me a second ago. "Nah we're just chilling, having some drinks, having a few laughs."

"You'd think your sense of humor would take a break during a literal battle."

"My wit doesn't take a day off, sis. And as much as I love you and love talking to you, is there something more pressing then obvious questions you already know the answers to?"

"We're on our way to face Yon-Rogg, Naomi is doing the same with Njord. We wanted to check in and see the state of the three planets we're trying to save."

I somersault across the snowy terrain and dive out of the way of a grenade of some sort. "Considerate of you."

"Alex." Soroya warns.

"Just kick that guy's ass already, I'm sure the others have told you that we're greatly outnumbered and these dragons are about to cook us and eat us alive."

"We'll try our best to hurry."

One of the dragons, who have been dealing with Carol for a while now, has slipped away from her and is hurtling right towards us.

I hear myself gulp. "That's comforting. I'll try not to get barbecued in the mean time."

"Be careful. And good luck." She says, hanging up just in time for me to shift into a hawk and fly away from the dragon's trail of fire.

-

Josephine

"How is Zy doing?" Livy asks for the millionth time. She's numbed from the chest down, her stomach cut open behind a large curtain, with our aunt and friend digging around her insides for her babies. All while a war with aliens and dragons is going on outside.

Just your average Thursday.

I've been standing a few feet away from her trying to keep my forcefield intact, which takes a certain level of concentration. While I do this task I've been checking in with Zy via our Kimoyo Beads. Livy and Zy are both relentless about updates about each other, not seeming to care that the other might be busy with, you know, childbirth and a war.

"Zy, are you good?" I ask him for the millionth time.

I've kept him on the phone pretty much since the battle began. He pants before responding. "Yeah, yeah I'm fine. One of the dragons has been taken care of, I'm leading a troop of Skrulls and the Dora Milaje towards the armory where the Kree are concentrating a lot of their fire. Uncle Khari was with me, but he decided to take some of the Jabari to the streets to fend off the soldiers attacking peoples homes."

"Is he okay?" I ask, praying to Hanuman and Bast that the answer will be yes.

"A Kree soldier got too close and sliced his face, but the wound isn't deep and didn't hurt anything important. He was bleeding a lot though, but that's probably because it was a large cut. It's diagonal from his left cheek to his right temple."

"He'll be fine," Ana assures he and I from the operation table. "He may have one hell of a scar though."

"As long as it isn't serious than I don't think he cares," I say, my body sagging in relief at hearing her reassurance. "Livy and the babies are fine, nothing much has happened yet."

"And you're all safe?"

"Yes, my forcefield is holding. We're safe."

"Keep me updated."

"Ten-four."

With that conversation done for now, I refocus on the forcefield, pumping in a bit more juice as I hear the rumble of one of the dragons flying above the lab. No forces have ventured down here yet, but even if they did, I know they're no match for my shields. That's not even me being arrogant. My shields stayed in tact when met with Aunt Jade and Carol's Danver's powers. Njord's goons are child's play compared to that.

"How much longer will this take?" I ask no one in particular.

"Not long now." Aunt Shuri assures me.

"Have you picked out names?" Ana asks Livy. She sounds genuinely curious, but I think she's only asking to try to distract Livy from worrying about Zy.

Livy nods, blinking away tears. "Yeah, but I don't want to give the reveal until Zy gets here."

In all the chaos of the battle I didn't stop to think about how Livy doesn't have really any of our family here for the birth of her kids. Her parents aren't here, her husband, her brothers. Not only is she terrified something will happen to everyone, but she's going through one of the biggest events in her life pretty much by herself. She must feel so lonely.

I make my way over towards her and grab onto her hand, squeezing it tightly. "I'm here." I assure her, knowing that doesn't make the situation anymore bearable.

She smiles up at me. "I'm grateful that you are."

"Everyone will be fine, and I know the moment things are solved, they'll come here to see you and the twins."

Livy nods, her efforts to blink away her tears becoming undone. "I feel so selfish wishing they were here with me, I know they're needed elsewhere and what's going on is bigger than me, but..."

"Oh my darling," Zy's voice cuts through the room. I had forgotten I still had him on the phone. "I'm so sorry."

A couple of her tears fall down the sides of her face, splatting onto the operating table. "Don't be, baby, please, just focus on the bat—"

A grunt and a gasp from Zy cuts her off, making both of us freeze and strain our ears to listen. A few seconds pass and there's another gasp, though this one sounds different. It sounds like someone whose nearly drowned and is now struggling to draw breath into their lungs. The sound is ragged, guttural. It makes my stomach twist.

"Zy, baby, what's happening? Are you okay?"

Another gasp, then his voice comes in clipped words: "Fire giant—h-hit me—into wall—c-can't b-breathe."

Livy's gaze hardens and she asks in an almost robotic tone: "Does your side hurt? Right where your ribs are."

"Y-yes."

"When you hit the wall you probably broke a rib and that rib has punctured your lung, that's why you can't breathe. You need to get off the battlefield and get to a doctor. Right now."

"Bring him here," Ana directs, her eyes on me. "I can help him."

Livy nods adamantly. "Yes, yes, Jo go get him."

"No—need you—more."

"Stop talking dumbass," I say, already forming a forcefield around me. "I can keep the shield up around the lab and still come get you."

"Hurry." Livy urges me.

With a nod to her, I lift myself off the ground and lower the forcefield surrounding the lab enough to slip through it. I've kept two forcefields up before at the same time, but never with distance between them. I've never tested the boundary limits of my powers before, but I guess it's too late now. I'll just have to keep focusing and not get distracted. Easier said than done of course, there's goddamn dragons flying around outside.

With a determined sigh, I soar up out of the safety of the lab below into the chaotic battle above, heading towards the armory to save Zy.