IT SURPRISED NOVA that she had never visited Svartalfheim before, as she would have certainly described herself as a curious woman — she never said no to an adventure, and she had spent years discovering every hidden gem of Asgard, yet she had never stumbled upon the portal that had delivered her and her companions to the dark realm where their boat continued to glide atop the grim ruins, silently through the thick air.

          "What I could do with the power that flows through her veins", Nova let out a dreamy sigh whilst eyeing Olympia, now somewhat conscious as Thor was showering her with attention and affection. The brunette stood in the middle of the small ship with Loki by her side — a sight which continued to terrify both Thor and Olympia. They were a dangerous mixture, a toxic combination, one that would undoubtedly end in chaos and destruction, so seeing them so cozy with one another was not the most pleasant of things to witness.

         "It would consume you", Thor blurted out curtly, his fear of the newly discovered team veiled with the merciless tone. Nova, for one, only rolled her eyes at the lame offer of consumption.

          "Or it would find a flattering home in me, considering I'm no weakling", she retorted dramatically with a haphazard gesture at Olympia, which didn't go unnoticed by Thor, even if he didn't opt to say anything as he rose to his feet from his wife's side.

         Instead, he stared at Loki, who glared back in threatening defiance, and somehow Nova's remark served as the fuel to ignite yet another argument between the two men. Scoffing, utterly unimpressed, Nova unfolded her arms from her chest and walked over to Olympia who was resting on the other end of the boat. "Men, am I right?" she mumbled in disappointment, mostly to herself but it didn't stop Olympia from acknowledging her with a weak chuckle.

         With a huff, Nova lowered her axe nearby, and the gesture earned something of a relieved sigh from Olympia, who scooted aside on the small bench to allow room for her sister. Reluctantly, Nova took a seat next to her and licked her lips before steering her stare over to Loki and Thor, their spiteful words at one another hanging in the air.

         "They love to argue, don't they?" Olympia pointed out matter-of-factly, a slight nudge given to Nova who instantly glanced down at the poking elbow before returning the incredulous stare to Olympia. But, rather than offended and disgusted, she was just truly surprised, and that same bewilderment deepened when she saw how devoid of life the blonde had become with the Aether sucking her energy out. Her skin was sickly pale and the hopeful smile on her lips was nothing short of faint and drained, and yet, she kept on going and fighting. Nova supposed that in that sense, they were more united than the opposite.

         "We did that a lot, too", she pointed out dryly before looking back to Thor and Loki, but when Olympia didn't comment anything, she turned to her once more. "But like them, we used to care about each other, too", she added, unsure if she meant for the words to help or hurt. It was no exaggeration that she was bitter and vindictive, but Olympia was washed out of all negativity as she observed Nova with curiosity and heartfelt care. Of course, she wasn't fooled so easily — she had already learned how brutal Nova could be, but at the end of the day, she was still her sister and for that, she was willing to try.

        "I'd really like to hear stories about us once we get out of this mess", Olympia suggested with a faint smile, only for Nova's own lips to curve the other way around — she wasn't sure if she wanted to be upset about Olympia not remembering a thing, or disgusted by the endless warmth and positivity her sister beamed with.

        "Unless you die", Nova noted with an attempt at a smile, and while the words certainly destroyed Olympia's own, the brunette made sure to give her knee an encouraging clap. Perhaps she wasn't as terrible as Nova had built herself to think, but that didn't mean she had been swayed from her goal of taking the throne with Loki.

         The thought of the man steered her attention back to the bickering two pushing each other by the edges of the ship with their voices booming throughout the eerie realm. Despite the ongoing fight, the sight of Loki pushed Nova's lips higher and her stomach did an unexpected flip as she leaned back in her seat and crossed her arms over her chest. As far as teammates went, she might have been more used to having none, but she definitely felt like she had struck the jackpot with the God of Mischief.

           "You know, I can see the way you look at him", Olympia whispered with a voice that wasn't quiet at all, but Thor and Loki's arguing ensured that Nova was the only one to hear — and accordingly, her head was snapping over to Olympia with her smile long gone and her sharp eyebrows knitted together in annoyance.

         "Oh, please do elaborate", Nova feigned enthusiasm as she sealed her hands together and tilted her head to the side to mimic Olympia's habit of doing the same, but for once, her heavy-handed sarcasm didn't bother Olympia. Instead, she mustered a smug smile through the state of near-death and shrugged.

         "It's the same way I looked at Thor when I first got to know him", she pointed out with her lips pursed together, and the innocently spoken words were enough to shut Nova up. She wished to come up with some sort of smart reply, but knowing it would have been a dead giveaway to how defensive she was when it came to Loki, she simply huffed and turned away from Olympia who laughed victoriously. "Look, I'm not saying he's the ideal boyfriend, but I think he might feel the same way", she continued in satisfaction, and with a pent-up breath, Nova cast her eyes down at her hands and prayed for the red tint in her cheeks to melt away.

         She was unfamiliar with all of it but ignorance would have been blissful. To have Olympia throw it all in her face where she couldn't swat the ideas away were forcing her to lift a mirror up to her heart and slowly and unwittingly identify the feelings storming within.

          Perhaps she did care about Loki more than she was willing to admit, breaking her rule of having no weaknesses, but when she locked eyes with Loki across the boat and her heart soared in her chest, she wondered if it could have been a strength, after all. Only his company and the endless stream of adoration were enough to make him feel like a queen, and it gave her the confidence that soon enough, she truly would be one and the only story worth telling would be hers.

—————

         THE UNLIKELY QUARTET of Asgardians — only some literally — stood at the edge of a dark cliff and watched the litany of Dark Elves unloading from the grand ship resting on the black sands below. Striding through the dark ground, the infamous leader known as Malekith and his army, including the large monster that Nova and Loki had faced in the dungeons, held the Amodei's attention as she narrowed her eyes at the view. She was rarely one to cower in the face of slim odds, but right now, juggling everything from a legion of enemies to having her own plan with Loki was pushing at her nerves.

         But, she would have never admitted that.

          "Well, I don't know about the lot of you, but I'm a second away from bursting with excitement. Can we go now?" she was the first one to speak, twirling her axe as a sign of willingness to go into battle already. Even with the possibility of losing looming over her shoulders, the thought of slaying dozens of Dark Elves with her favorite weapon was more than satisfying, not to mention enough to nudge her lips into a pleased grin. In the end, her determination always overcame her troubles, and she didn't doubt that once she'd get to shed blood for the first time in ages, the nagging idea of being soft and vulnerable would vanish.

        Nodding in agreement, Loki turned over to Thor and lifted his cuffed wrists in the hopes of being freed from the chains, only for Thor to eye him suspiciously. "You still don't trust me, brother?" Loki inquired in amusement, a hint of faked hurt audible in his smooth-talking voice and his face painted with a similar, playful shadow. Nevertheless, knowing it was crucial to their plan, Thor reluctantly reached over to unlock the chains and sighed.

         "Would you?" he offered, turning away from Loki as the man rubbed the irritated skin on his wrists before a malicious smirk crossed his face.

         "No, I would not", he muttered, and after a deliberate glance at Nova who smiled back, he was whipping out the dagger he had managed to smuggle with him and drove it through Thor's stomach. With a deep groan, the man toppled over, prompting a gasp from Olympia who ran towards her husband only for Nova to intervene by grabbing a fistful of wavy, blonde hair while Loki kicked Thor over the cliff. As he rolled down the dark sand and the other brother followed from behind with a dramatic speech ready to go, Nova pushed Olympia forward with her iron grip barely faltering.

         "Move", she delivered a simple, curt command, showing no remorse as she guided Olympia down the hill with her. It felt finally good to do so, even if it was all an act to deceive the Dark Elves — it was the perfect middle ground of releasing some of the anger that had built up over the years while never actually hurting the reigning queen enough to make an enemy out of the royals. Not this way, at the very least. All her life, she had stood in the shadow of her big sister, and now, she got to kick her around and be the superior Amodei, and there was no feeling quite like it.

          Dragging Olympia to where Malekith stood with Thor at his feet and Loki nearby, Nova was all smile, which only widened when she shoved the queen onto her knees. Even when the weakened woman groaned in pain, no one but Thor hoped to help her, but his intentions were quite literally cut short — when he reached for his magic hammer, Nova swung her axe through the air and brought the sharp edge down to Thor's wrist where his hand smoothly sliced off. Mjölnir ceased its gradual flow and Olympia wailed in despair at the sight of her husband suffering, both of them writhing on the ground as Loki and Nova exchanged pleased looks. It had been a while since they had played this game where no rules applied, and even now, it was hardly in reality, but enough for a spark of warm nostalgia to course through Nova.

         "Look out—", Loki began suddenly, his smile wiped away, and when Nova made a hasty spin around with her axe in tow, she found Olympia pushing herself up to her knees with her hand open. Worthy just like Thor, she was able to summon Mjölnir in a way that caught Nova off-guard, leaving her barely any time to react as she watched the hammer fly over to Olympia and listened to the distant roll of thunder above them.

         Rather than using it to knock Nova down, however, the blonde threw the hammer over to her, and the youngest Amodei's immediate reaction was to take it. But, since she was not worthy — if anything, the very opposite — Mjölnir sank straight to the ground and pulled Nova down with its immense power, pulling a grunt from her as she landed on the sand with her arm caught beneath the impossibly heavy weapon. She tried to push it off as well as squirm away, but when she proved to be stuck and Olympia cackled victoriously, Loki was stepping in to grab the queen and present her to Malekith as the latter finally approached them.

         "Malekith!" Loki roared in a way that sent shivers down Nova's spine, his eerie voice directed at the haunting creature footing himself before the odd group of four — two of them reduced motionless on the ground. Half of Malekith's face had been burned off, which Thor had confirmed to be his doing after the bastard had killed Frigga, and for once, Nova nearly smiled at the king. She knew that Loki's mother had been one of the very few he truly cared about — of course, she was now a part of those he silently valued. "I am Loki of Jotunheim and I bring you a gift."

         Joining Thor and Nova on the ground, Olympia stumbled onto her knees as Loki's venomous tone slashed through the hot air. "I ask only for one thing in return. Good seats from which we may watch Asgard burn", he continued with determination and a deliberate gesture at Nova. Following his lead, Malekith and his army all turned to the huffing and puffing brunette battling against Mjölnir, but once all the eyes landed on her, she waved her fingers in the air with a smirk sweeping past her lips.

          Quiet and scary, Malekith said no word as he lifted Olympia from the ground with powers Nova couldn't fathom, her eyes simply widening as she watched Olympia float in the air. Slowly but surely, the Aether began to exit her body as one big flow of red liquid, all of which Malekith made sure to extract from the queen of Asgard before freeing her. As her drained body fell with a thud and the Aether remained in the air between them and Malekith who was preparing to welcome all the magic into his own form, the ragtag team of frenemies recognized it as a sign of moving onto the next step of their plan.

         "Loki, now!" Thor shouted from where he was lying on his stomach, and once he had lifted his cut hand, Loki struck him with his magic to repair the seemingly dismembered limb, and the intact hand encouraged Mjölnir to leap back to its owner. As the almost nonexistent weight of the hammer that had been impossible to shift, nonetheless, escaped Nova, she sighed out in relief and prepared to scramble up to both feet.

         Instead of letting her pick up the fight where she had left it, though, Loki rushed over to Nova and shielded her body with his own, just in time for Thor to aim Mjölnir at the red substance in the air. A wave of crackling lightning bolts erupted from the weapon and perfectly in unison with the loud explosion that shook the entire realm, Nova's heart jumped all the way up to her throat as Loki enclosed her in a tight embrace. A shiver ran down her spine, sheer adoration lighting her skin on fire as she clutched onto Loki's jacket and locked eyes with him, both of them forgetting about the moment around them for one fleeting second with their lips barely inches away and his hands resting on both sides of her head.

         Maybe she did look at him in some unspoken way.

        Once the dust settled, however, Nova noticed the red shards created in the explosion forming the same liquid Thor had tried getting rid of. The sight earned a gulp from her, and quick to note the shades of disbelief and shock she was good at hiding in the darkness of her eyes, Loki rolled off of her but remained next to her on the sand where they both watched the situation unfold. The Aether, seemingly indestructible, returned to where it had been mere seconds ago, and no longer willing to waste time, Malekith widened his arms and let the power surge through him. All of the alien energy rushed towards him, and at last, into him, and the unexpected twist earned uncomfortable groans and hums from all four of them.

          "Well", Nova cleared her throat as she faced Loki with uncertainty, her hand still placed on his chest, "got a plan B, sweetheart?"

»»»

Took me a while to get this chapter out, and I feel like it could have used some more editing but here we go (: This was super packed with action, and the next one will be too, but I do really like writing Nova and Olympia's strange relationship + Nova's lil crush on Loki (':

I hope to finish the next one soon, thank you for reading! x