EVERMORE ─ marvel

IV. The Sword Of Surtur

Chapter Four
Liam

I've gotten used to a lot of weird things over the past five years, but this morning was something else.

I woke up at the break of dawn alone in bed, with a note on Stevie's pillow addressed to me. The note read:

Went to the lake with Uncle Alex, be back by the time we need to leave. Love you. — Stevie

My first thought was: why is he at the lake and why Alex is with him? I got my answer when I dragged myself out of bed, put some clothes on, and went to the lake. The first thing I saw when I arrived was Khari, who was standing near the lake's edge with a blanket wrapped around himself. He saw me and gestured for me to come closer, and I did, appreciating when he wrapped part of the blanket around my shoulders.

"What—" I cut my own question off when I saw two giant octopuses sitting in the lake, currently bathing themselves in the water. I've been around shapeshifters for five years now, I've lived with them, spent a majority of my time with them, and yet I still find myself occasionally having moments like this. Moments where I take a step back and recognize how strange all of this is.

I knew immediately which one was Stevie and which one was Alex. Alex was slightly bigger than Stevie, and somehow they both still had the same attitude, held themselves the same way. Alex was strategically covering himself in water, his huge slitted eyes looking tired and grumpy. Stevie was splashing around in the water like a kid taking their first bath, his eyes filled with glee. He nearly fell over when he saw me standing there, his tentacles sloshing around as he moved closer to me. He extended one out and gently touched my cheek, I had to keep myself from flinching from how cold, slimy, and wet he felt.

"Hey, Babe." My voice sounded groggy. Stevie didn't seem to mind, he appeared to have smiled. He and Alex splashed around for another half an hour before they shifted back into their human forms. I helped Stevie readjust his vibranium leg and get out of the uproar of waves, still splashing from the momentum they caused when they shifted back.

"Why?" Is all I asked.

Stevie shot me a grin. "Lets see how those fire demons and dragons do against water."

They didn't dry off when they got out, they just walked to the Avengers base soaking wet. Even now aboard the Guardian's ship, they're still very damp. I hope they know what they're doing. I hope we all know what we're doing.

"The Sword of Surtur rests in Surtur's chambers inside Mount Ymir," Thor informs us as we travel to Muspelheim. He was put in charge of this mission by Soroya and Sam. "It is heavily guarded and surrounded by a pool of lava."

"How is the sword still around?" Quill questions. "Didn't this Surtur guy use it to destroy Asgard."

"No. Surtur had two swords, one to destroy worlds and the other to control his army. The former he used to destroy Asgard, the latter is what we're trying to retrieve before the Kree do."

"How guarded are we talking?" Wanda inquires.

"Hundreds of creatures inside and out of the mountain; lower fire demons, fire giants, and of course dragons."

I sneak a glance at Stevie, and despite everything, he still looks excited to see a dragon. He actively tries to hide it though, biting his lip to keep from smiling.

"Wanda, Bruce, Strange and I will take care of the Muspelheim forces, the rest of you focus on the Kree. Of our forces, only a few of you can fly, which is critical for getting over the lava pool, so which one of you is going to handle getting the sword?" Thor asks.