Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

My name is Magnus Chase. I'm sixteen years old. This is the story of how my life went downhill after I *almost * got myself killed.

My day started out normal enough. I was sleeping in the sidewalk under a bridge in the public garden when a guy kicked me awake and said:

“Wake up. Quick. They're after you.”

By the way, I've been homeless for the past two years.

Some of you may think “Aw, how sad.” Others may think, “Ha, ha, loser!” But if you saw me on the street, ninety-nine percent of you would walk past me like I'm invisible. You'd pray, “Don't let him ask me for money.” You'd wonder if I'm older than I look, because surely a teenager wouldn't be wrapped in a stinky old sleeping bag, stuck outside in the middle of a Boston winter. “Somebody should help that poor boy!”
Then you'd keep walking.

Whatever. I don't need your simpathy. I'm used to being laughed at. I'm definitively used to being ignored. Let's move on.

The bum who kicked me awake was a guy called Blitz. As usual, he looked like he'd been running through a dirty hurricane. His wiry black hair was full of paper scraps and twigs. His face was the colour of saddle leather and was freckled with ice. His beard curled in all directions. Snow caked the bottom of his trench coat where it dragged along his feet- Blitz being about five feet five- and his eyes were so dilated the irises were all pupil. His expression was a mixture between alarmed and determined. I had never seen him like this before.

“Who's after me? Wait, what are you-”

Blitz grabbed me by my shoulders as he basically forced me to stay awake. I didn't want to be awake. My sleeping bag was warm that day and I didn't mind sleeping in a little more.

“There's no time for explaining. You need to get somewhere safe.”

Needless to say I was extremely confused. What was he talking about? Somewhere safe? Where was I supposed to go?

“What the- what's gotten into you? Hey- wait!”

I tried to fight back as my friend pulled me out of my sleeping bag and took me by the wrists. Then, he looked straight into my eyes, looking more determined and worried than I'd ever seen in my life. He spoke slowly, as if trying to make me understand as clear as possible. “Magnus, I need you to trust me. Hearth and I will handle this, but you need to hide.”

“No! You need to tell me whats going on.”

“And you need to listen to me!” He shook me by the wrists. It was the first time he ever yelled at me. “Dangerous people are after you, searching through every corner of this goddamned city as we speak. And if you don't get moving, they eventually will. So, please, go and let us handle it.”

Suddenly something clicked inside of my brain.

“Dangerous people... You mean as in-?”

“I promise I will explain.” Swore Blitz as he let go of my wrists. “Just not now.”

I nodded and let out a weak “Okay.” Then I packed my stuff and started to mix myself with the rest of civilians, running through dark alleyways.

I hated running. I hated hiding. I hated those two combined. Because for the mayority of my childhood I hadn't done anything else. After my father died at the hands of the Wolves, my mother and I jumped city through city, identity through identity, to scape the people that had shed my father's blood. From 6 years old up until 14 I had done nothing but run and hide to scape the Wolve's bloodlust. I was hoping I never had to do it again. Destiny had other plans for me, apparently. Because from what I understood about this situation, the Wolves were after me again.

But why now? How did they find me? All my legal documents had been altered by my mother, and I have been a nobody living on the streets for the past 2 years. It's not like I was making any legal transactions to my name or anything.
And how were Blitz and Heart conected to this anyway?

I had too many questions. And I knew I wasn't getting answers any time soon. So I just kept running, until I found myself in front of a familiar building: the family mansion.

My mother had two brothers: uncle Rodrick and uncle Randolph. I speak to none of them. I don't know much about them. But my mother always warned me about uncle Randolph and how I should never talk to him, 'cause even if he seems harmless, he's a dangerous man (but who isn't in my family to be honest). So I never got too close to the family mansion, since it's technically his. I had no intention in breaking in now either to ask my long lost uncle for help. I just wanted to pass right past it, and keep running like I had been told.

Again, destiny had other plans for me.

Behind me, a deep voice said “Hello Magnus.”

I nearly jumped out of my shoes. Standing right behind me, hands in his pockets, was a barrel chested man with a skullcap of short grey hair and a couple facial scars. He wore a black cashmere overcoat over a dark wool suit. I had only seen him in family pictures, looking a lot younger and happier, but I still recognised him instantly.

“Randolph.”

He inclined his head a millimetre. “What a pleasant surprise. I'm glad you're here.” He sounded neither surprised nor glad. “We don't have much time.”

“M-much time before what?” I managed to ask. He seemed to ignore it.

“You're sixteen today, aren't you? Happy birthday, by the way. I would've gotten you something, but I'm in quite the rush.”

Happy bithday to me? I guess? Whas it January 13? Honestly, I had no idea. Time flies when you're sleeping under bridges and eating from dumpsters. I couldn't care less about my birthday in that moment either, I was being haunted by the people that made me an orphan.

“If that's all you have to say to me, I need to get going.”

Before I could even turn away, Randoplh stopped me. “No! Magnus we need to talk. I don't want them to get to you. Not after what happened to your mother.”

A punch in the face would've been less painful.

Memories from that night spun through my head like a sickening kaleidoscope: our apatment building shuddering, a scream for a floor below, my mother-who had been paranoid all day- dragging me towards the fire scape, telling me to run. Men with tatooed claw marks in their necks teared the door open. My fingers slipped off the fire-escape railing and I fell, landing in a pile of garbage bags in the alley. Moments later, the windows of our apartment exploded, beching fire.
My mom had told me to run. I did. She'd promise to find me. She never did. Later, on the news, I heard that her body had been discovered from the fire. The police were searching for me. They had questions; signs of arson; the lack of any information about me in the system; neighbour's reports of shouting and a loud crash from our apartment just before the explosion; the fact that I'd run from the scene.

Ever since that night I've been hiding, living under the radar, too busy surviving to properly grieve my mom, wondering if the Wolves would find me one day and finish the job.

Now, after all this time, Unlce Randolph wanted to help me. Yeah, right.

“You don't know what happened to my mom. You never cared about either of us.”

Randolph looked hurt at my statement.

“I pleaded with your mother.” He said. “I wanted her to bring you here, with me, where I could protect you. She refused. After she died...” He shook his head. “Magnus, you have no idea how long I've looked for you, or how much danger you're in.”

“I'm fine.” I snapped, though my heart was thumping against my ribs. “I've been taking care of myself pretty well.”

“Perhaps, but those days are over.” The certainty in Randolph's voice gave me a chill. “Not anymore, now that they know you're still alive. You scaped them once, the night your mother died. They won't let you scape again. This is our last chance. Let me help you, or you won't live through the day.”

My mom had given me one clear message: Never go to Randolph, don't accept his help. And yet, the longer I listened to him, the more terrified I got, and the more desperately I wanted to hear what he had to say.

“I don't need your help. I don't want-”

“I know about the Wolves.”

That stopped me.

“I know who they are, why they are after you and your family, our family. I can answer all your questions, if you let me.”

“How-”

“Magnus, there's so much I need to tell you about your parents, about your father and his connections to the criminal world...”

I didn't want to give Randolph any leverage. Living on the street had taught me how dangerous leverage could be. But he had me hooked. I *needed * to hear this information. Judging from the appraising glow in his eyes, he knew.

“Yes, Magnus. Your mother's murder, why she refused my help, your father's business partners... It's all connected.” My unlce looked around with paranoia flaming in his eyes. “They'll be here soon.” He warned. “We're running out of time.”

“By them you mean the Wo-”

A sound like thunder interrupted my words. A bullet. It flought past my unlce, but it was clear he was the target. I turned around to find my friend Blitz holding a gun, Hearth was behind him with a knife in his hand. Hearth ran to me and grabbed me by the wrist, yet, he didn't look at me, his vision was fixed on my uncle, just like Blitz's.

“What the fuck.” I spat out. “Since when do you have a gun?”

“You two again. Don't make this harder than it already is.”

My uncle sounded angry, his voice got a couple octaves lower. It made my skin crawl.

“No. We're taking him with us. For good this time. He will soon be out of reach for you and those bastards you work for.”

“Oh, really? Last time I checked those little punks weren't exactly making safe moves.” Said Randolph, mockingly.

A whole squad of men emerged from the alleyways around us. Most of their heads were shaved, they were full of scars and had countless weapons in their hands. They all had a mark tatooed in the side of their necks: claw marks. They were Wolves. My uncle was one of them.

My uncle's eyes lit up with a terrified glimmer. “It's too late.” He whispered, low enough for me to hear it. “I'm sorry, Magnus.”

“You...”

“We have to get out of here, Magnus.” Said Blitz, holding his gun with a tight grip.

I had no complaints. Hearth and I started running as Blitz shot at the Wolves and dodged their bullets. Suddenly, Hearth fell to the ground. I screamed and saw his left foot covered in blood. I tried to get him up since he was still concious and Blitz helped me.

The next thing I know, a shot of pain runs through my veins. I looked down to find a knife inserted a little under my ribs. Then, something hit my head (probably the back of a gun), and everything went dark.

…

There it is! The way I almost died! And before you ask, yes, it hurt like Hell. But I suppose you want to know what happened after that.

I woke up in a warm bed in a strange dark room I had never been in before. It smelled faintly like blood and sanitary alcohol. Everything was a mess; the courtains were patched up, the floor was dirty with bloodstains too old to try and wash out, the desk was full of unorganiced papers and medical inventory...

For a moment I wondered if I had died, then I checked the pulse point on my wrist to find my heart beating correctly. My head hurt and I was pretty sure my head was wrapped up, as well as my lower chest, where I had been stabbed.

As I came back to my senses, I overheard a conversation happening in the other side of the room.

“You should have brought him to us way sooner, not wait 'til last moment! What if we hadn't gotten there in time? What if he died?!”

The voice of an angry girl (with an accent I couldn't exactly place) I had never heard before made it's way through my brain. It felt like nails scratching a blackboard.

“He wasn't ready!” Argued a familiar voice. Blitz.

“And he isn't ready now either! But now we don't have a lot of time, do we?”

Silence fell upon the room for an instant. Then, the girl talked again. “We could've started training him. Introduce him to this world. But you were following your mother's wishes of keeping him away from it.”

“My mother made a promise to her brother and sister in law to keep him away. It's not my mother's idea, but the way his parents wanted it to be.”

As all of this conversation I was really not catching up with happened, Hearth's eyes landed on me as he peeked through the door. He tried to warn the others but they were too busy arguing about family drama.

“Well it was stupid.” Said the female voice. “And now we have to train him in a rush to make sure he can defend himself for whats coming- Hearth what do you want?!”

Hearth dragged the girl's arm until she was in front of the door, then gestured to me. The redhead placed her eyes on me and it felt like getting stabbed again. She wore a deep green cargo coat and leather fingerless gloves, her fiery hair was held back in a low ponytail. Something about her screamed determination and power, she was intimidating without even trying. The two knife cases strapped to her thighs were probably helping.

She let out a small “Oh.” as she came to the realization I had been awake the whole time.
Blitz peeked out of the door aswell and he looked absolutley mortified.

“What exactly is coming that I need to learn to defend myself in such a rush?” I asked, tone as monotone as I could make it.

No one dared to answer me. Finally, Blitz came forward. “H-how are you feeling?”

“My chest hurts and my head is spinning a little.” I deadpanned. “Now answer my question.”

The unknown redhead sighed and brought her fingers to the bridge of her nose. “...Okay. I'll try to keep this short and simple. My name is Mallory Keen, and I'm part of a squad called 19 Warriors. We are a gang that is at the same time part of a bigger organization called Valhalla. Our mission is to protect the streets of Boston from the control of the Death's Cruise.”

That was a lot of information that half-concussed Magnus was having difficulties to process. I tried to cling onto the unknown terms and words to make a sense out of them, or atleast pick one to ask Mallory about. “Death's Cruise?”

“The bigger organization the Wolves belong to.” She explained. “Magnus Chase, we are looking forward to recruiting you.”

My head stopped working and trying to make sense of anything at that statment. I think it must've been visible because it felt like physical damage. I slowly let out a simple “Why?”

“To keep you safe.” She answered, crossing her arms over her chest.

I stared at her incredulously. “Then why haven't you done that before?”

She let out a sharp laugh and looked over to my Hearth and Blitz. “That's something you should ask your friends here.”

Blitz looked even more moretified than before. Hearth didn't look much different. They looked at eachother, fighting over a silent 'who's doing this?'. Blitz lost.

“Magnus, you parents never wanted this for you. We've been protecting you for this past two years under *their * orders. They made my mother swear-”

“Yeah, yeah, I heard that part. What does your mother-that I reciently found out that you have, by the way- have to do with any of this?”

He sighed and tried to come up with the courage to say the following: “...Because my mother and your father were siblings.”

It actually took me a couple seconds to put that together, but if you want to judge me, I dare you to try to process all this information when your brain feels like smashed potatoes. “...You mean... we're cousins.”

“Yes. I'm sorry I haven't told you before, but if I had, I would've needed to unpack *a lot* of stuff.”

Confusion ran through my veins faster than any painkillers they had given me. I wanted to stand up, and go for a walk to let all of this settle down in my head, or maybe just to run away as fast as I could from all of this and never lay a foot on Boston again. 'Hadn't my mom told me to run in difficult situations?' I thought. But as soon as I tried to get up, a sharp sensation forced me to stay in place.

“Don't try to move. You aren't fully healed yet.” Mallory warned. She got close to me and slowly inspected my bandages. “You could've died, ya know? You're lucky we know some good doctors that will ask no questions, or else you would've been fucked.”

“How great. I got a murder attempt as a birthday present.” I said, as Mallory kept on inspecting the bandages on my chest.

'Wait. Today is your birthday?' Asked Hearth.

“I was surprised too.” I admited. “Apparently, today is January 13, wich means I turn sixteen. I can't say I'm thrilled about it.”

“But- that's something important! Many cultures consider sixteen to be the age when you first step into manhood!” Argued Blitz. But I really couldn't care less about it. And it showed in my expression. “Tell you what- Give me thirty minutes, I'll be right back.”

Right after that, Blitz left the apartment. Mallory shook her head in dissapointment. I wanted to do the same thing but I might've started nosebleeding. I turned to her with hopes of getting answers to my 100+ questions.

“Why is my uncle after me? Why is he with them?”

“He's a wolf. He's after you because it's bosse's orders. As to why his boss wants you dead, well, you're a loose end. Your father was a spy for Valhalla, one day he found about something he really shouldn't have, and well, you know what happened. After that, you and your mother became loose ends. They killed her, and they reciently found out you're alive, so they're hunting you down.”

“Why would they think I was dead to begin with?”

“Because when your mother died, they assured you had too. Someone in the wolves confirmed they had killed you and burried your body so it was never found. Hell, they even brought a knife with your blood, that's how they prove the work is done. As to why a wolf had chosen to protect you, I aint got a clue. But you better thank that guardian angel because the miracle they pulled out their ass has been keeping you alive for the past two years.”

I slowly let that sit. A wolf? Had chosen to protect me? Why? I had never met any of them, and I didn't know anyone who could've been one at the time. Just as I was getting answers, only new questions appeard, and they got progressively weirder.

I let my head hit the pillow and allowed myself to stop thinking for a little while when suddenly a hurricane appeared through the main door. And by hurricane I mean a very smiley Blitz holding a seven-eleven plastic bag.

He came into the room and got a chocolate frosting cupcake out of the bag along with a big birthday candle. He put it in the cupcake and Mallory lit it up with her lighter. They awkardly sang to me as Hearth signed. It was a strange feeling. It was the first time I had done anything like this in two years. And it was cheap, and awkward, and mildly chaotic. But strangely conforting.

Inmediately after I blew the candle with one wish in mind, or maybe it was more like a pleading to whoever would listen (even though I'm an atheist):

Please, just make things easier for me.

Chapter Text

It took about a week for me to heal completely. I felt like I was going insane in that apartment, Blitz and Hearth would sometimes come to visit, or even Mallory, but for most of the time I was alone with my thoughts and pains. It belonged to Valhalla, as some sort of shelter for wounded members. It explained why all the rooms had hospital beds and smelled like death and illness.

Mallory came to get me on a tuesday afternoon and I said my goodbyes to Blitz and Hearth, knowing I wouldn't see them again in a while. We got inside a bus and didn't hop off until the very last stop, I wondered if we were even still in Boston. The periphery of the city was dark and gloomy, full of apartment blocks that looked old and in need of serious renovations.

We stopped in front of what looked like a scrappy hotel? motel? I wasn't sure. But they definitively rented rooms there, there were two recepcionists with a case full of keys hanging in the wall behind them. They looked like they couldn't care less about their jobs to be honest, they were probably trained to ask little questions about what happened in the building and just hand out keys. Mallory greeted them and only got a look of acknowledgment in return. We took the elevator to the 9th floor and Mallory said:

“Well, welcome to the Hotel Boston Lake, though that's a cover name. In the organization we call it Hotel Valhalla. Here you'll meet the rest, they're probably in the common room.”

I felt an uneasy feeling crawl through my stomach. I decided to blame it on my very much healed stab wound instead of recognising I was really nervous. Finally, the doors opened in front of us, and after walking through the hall into the common room, we encountered two teenagers laying around, one of them was almost asleep.

“Magnus, these are Gunder and TJ. The other two members of 19 warriors.”

The other two members? Does that mean they are the *only * other two members? Mallory had lied to me, they weren't a squad, they were hardly a trio. I mean, its not that I expected 19 people, but this was... underwhelming. I tried to hide my shock and disapointment.

The boy on the brown leather sofa introduced himself as TJ. He wore a blue jacket and black denim pants, that accentuated his already slim figure. His hair and skin were almost as dark as his eyes. His face was all dirty and he had deep eye bags, yet, he was smiling softly.

The other boy was Gunder, and he didn't even bother to introduce himself or even look at me as he got confourtable on the black puff sofa. It was honestly hard to believe he was our age, he looked at least twenty-something with the beard and long hair. He looked like a viking time traveller. I wasn't sure if I found it funny or intimidating.

“So... it's just you three?” I finally asked.

“Well, actually... Where's Alex?” Said Mallory, looking around.

“Not here, as always.” Answered Gunder, in a mildly annoyed tone.

“Sometimes I forget she's part of the gang.” Admited TJ. “She's hardly ever around.”

“Yeah, she's kind of a free spirit. But that's not news to us. We all know how she is.” Said Mallory, trying to get her partners to stop complaining.

“Well, we could really use some of her help right now.” Argued Gunder.

“We could use some help in general.” Added TJ throwing an arm over his head.

“And that's exactly what I brought here. We need more people. And I've got new flash right besides me.” Said Mallory, pointing at me. TJ and Gunder eyed me with skeptical looks. I didn't know what to do. The whole situation was kinda awkward from my point of view. I was reciently healed, trying to get my shit together as I discovered my family's connection to mafias and gangs, and the only people that could help me seemed to not want me there. Just wonderful.

“And what exactly can he do?” Asked Gunder frowning his eyebrows. “Because from what I heard he's a charity case in need of our protection from the wolves, and we already have enough shit to deal with because of them to take in another one of their targets.”

“We'll teach him how to fight. Or atleast defend himself.” Stated Mallory, leaving no room for arguing.

“He doesn't look like a fighter.” Said Gunder. And he was right. I'm many things, but I'm not a fighter. Whenever I got in trouble in the streets my first insctinct is flight, run away, evade conflict. Even if I hated it. You can put a deadly weapon in my hands and I won't know what to do with it. I just wasn't made that way. Wich is kind of ironic, considering the violence and fierceness that runs in my family.

“Do you know first aid?” Asked TJ out of the blue.

I did. My mom had teached me first aid and more during our years on the run. Said my dad teached her first. “I do. Why?”

“Well, I was thinking we are in need of a medic. Someone to assist us after fights, because, all due respect Mallory, but you aren't exactly carefull with stitches. Or wounds of any kind.”

The girl shighed but agreed. I would become the gang's healer, but I still needed to learn how to defend myself and there was no arguing that. I wasn't exactly thrilled about becoming the gang's personal doctor, but it honestly felt more fitting.

Mallory and I sat down with the others. “So why exactly are you in trouble with the Wolves?” Asked Gunder. “Is it debt? Drug dealing? Maybe stepped into their territory on accident?”

“His unlce's after him, he's one of them.” Replied Mallory on my behalf.

“Ohhh, family drama. We got plenty of that 'round here.” Said TJ, gesturing his hand around.

“Apparently, my father was a spy here in Valhalla. He stumbled across some important information about the Death's Cruise and they killed him.” I explained.

“I'm sorry for your loss.” Said TJ, his expression softening.

“Don't worry, that was years ago, I was very little. It hardly hurts anymore.” I took a deep breath to continue the rest of the story, because *that * was an open wound. “My mom and I ran away, but two years ago, the Wolves found us. I scaped. She didn't.”

“And now they found you.” Guessed Gunder. “They aren't going to stop until they get you. There's nothing Loki hates more than an unfinished job.”

I supposed Loki was the boss of the Death's Cruise, since I did know the name of the Wolve's leader. It had been carved into my brain after years of hiding in fear at the mention of it.

Fenrir Helcraft.

I had never seen him in person. I hoped I would never need to. The simple thought of it sent shivers throughdown my spine. I still remembered what his voice sounded like that night I heard from the fire scape.

Mallory must've seen me thinking too hard, so she interrupted me. “But you'll be fine. We'll protect you and teach you.”

I nodded. Still, there was a scratch I couldn't reach as I went through the memories of my birthday. If my uncle was after me, then why did it sound like he was trying to warn me?

'I don't want them to get to you. Not after what happened to your mother.' He said.

...Why did he apologise when the rest of the Wolves appeared?

'Its too late. I'm sorry, Magnus.'

“There's still something that doesn't click.” I said. “My uncle is trying to kill me, right?... What if he isn't? That night, he was trying to warn me. Telling me how he didn't want me to end up like my mother. He said he wanted to help me.”

“Lies.” TJ interrupted. “Everyone knows the disciples of Loki are quite silver-tongued. He was probably distracting you, buying his buddies time. Don't think too hard about it.”

“No, thats not it...” I argued. And suddenly, the last part of the puzzle in my mind clicked. It was so obvious it basically hit me like a frying pan on the nose, threatening to give me another concussion. Seriously, how did I not put this together before? “Mallory, you said someone in the Wolves informed the rest I was dead. It was my uncle, wasn't it?”

“Uhm... It could be. I'm not sure. That's information the Wolves are keep close to their chests, again, you're an unfinished job and they don't like failiure.” Said the redhead.

Who would've said it? My creepy uncle my mother always warned me about was the one that actually kept me alive for two years after her death. I didn't know guardian angels came in the shape of shady family members.

After that, we chatted some more, about more trivial things, and about the training I was going to get from each of the warriors. We stablished some sort of schedule. On monday afternoons, I would train with TJ how to aim and shot guns. Apparently, he had the best aim in the team. I was hoping he could lend me some, or share it by bluetooth. On wensaday mornings, I would train with Mallory hand-in-hand combat, and she would also teach me how to use knives. Needless to say I was terrified. I don't think I need to explain why. And on thursday mornings I would get lessons on how to handle axes from Gunder. You probably think is an unusual weapon, but the Wolves and Valhalla members seemed to love it.

Later, they showed me the way to my room. As we walked through the hall, I distinguished the room doors of my new partners. Mallory's had her name carved on it, probably with one of her daggers, and right under her name, she had the letters 'MAC', wich I wasn't sure what they meant. Then, TJ's, that was plain and simple with a 'knock before entering' sign sticked to it. Gunder's was next, he had an axe hanging from the door handle as some sort of silent warning of what they would find inside. Delightful.
And finally, a fourth room with a huge 'DO NOT ENTER' written in pink and green graffity spray. There were also several stickers attached to it, the kind you find in the street, sticked to traffick signals or streetlights. I remembered they had mentioned the existance of a fouth member, but they seemed to not be around often, for the displeasure of the most of them. As I walked past the *very decorated* door, I wandered just what kind of person was... Alex? Was that it?

I opened the door to my room. It was quite small, I was pretty sure that if I were bigger I could touch the walls with my arms open. I had a clean bed with white seets and a nightstand with a lamp, a desk with a (visibly unconfourtable) wood chair, a wardrobe and a safe-deposit box (they knew the residents needed a place to hide freaky stuff).
It was simple and modest, no one would give this more than 3 stars on Trivago. But considering I've been homeless for the past two years, it was gift from heaven.

As I organised the *very small* amount of things I had with me, I found something on a drawer of the wardrobe. It was a kit: toothbrush and paste, small shampoo and body soap, towels, socks a couple sizes too big, and a pack of cigarretes with a lighter. I was kinda confused by the last item since its not part of the usual stuff a hotel gives away. I supposed one of the warriors must've put it in there and I was right, I found a letter from Mallory saying that she didn't knew if I smoked or not, but she supposed that if I did, I could really use some right now.

I don't usually smoke, mind you. Cigs aren't exactly cheap, and if I couldn't afford food, I didn't have the priviledge to think about those kinds of addictions. But it is true I've been given a drag or two from friends in the streets. So I took the pack and the lighter.

There was a window next to the bed that led to the fire scape. The last thing I wanted was to sit on the fire scape, for obvious reasons, so I just opened the window and sat on the frame. I got a cigarrete out of the packet, lit it up, and took a drag. The smoke filling my mouth was a strange and almost unpleasant sensation, but I felt better when I blew it away, forming a grey cloud in the sky that dissolved in seconds. The moon was hidden under other clouds.

For the time I held the cigarette in my hand, I did not think, I focused on the smoke and nothing else. It was exactly what I needed. Bless you, Mallory.

Chapter Text

The next morning I woke up as soon as sunlight hit my face. Actually, I'm trying to blame it on the annoying fireball in the sky when I know damn well I couldn't sleep much during the night either. The uneasy feeling that came over me the moment I stepped into the elevator hadn't let go of me yet and it was starting to piss me off. I didn't get it, this was the okay-est state I had been in a long while but at the same time, it wasn't? Everything was disorienting and I felt like I had been given a compass but had no idea how to read it.

Last night, sitting by the window with a cig in hand I had allowed myself not to think of anything. But then I had to go back to reality and let anxiety crawl all over me. I prayed my atheist prayers that my birthday wish would come true.

I took an early shower and actually enjoyed it, because for the first time in years I didn't have to rush it for the next one to use it. Still, I had to put on my dirty clothes again. I needed to buy new ones, or at least get this ones clean.

Mallory knocked on my door around 7 am, and I was already dress and ready to go. We waited for TJ and Gunder since the mysterious fourth member was apparently still sleeping, and we went down to the dining hall for breakfast.

It was a buffet, it had a little bit of everthing, more or less. Three or four kinds of cereal, milk and lactose-free milk (being a gangster doesn't save you from being lactose intolerant), yogurts, a bowl with apples and bananas that were half-rotting, sausages, boiled and scrumbled eggs, beans, cheese, ham and three kinds of juice. The 19 warriors started picking out their breakfast and I did the same. I considered many options, but in the end I just picked a bowl of cocoa puff cereals and a decent-looking banana.

As we walked into the dining area, I observed many of the Valhalla members devouring their breakfast like it was their last meal on earth, and the scary part was, that it might actually be. These people were risking their lifes daily, they could be killed today, tomorrow, or maybe years from now, but they all shared the common fear of death. Of the uncertainty of it. In fact, uncertainty and fear were the undertones of the atmosphere.

I looked around. Most of the members of Valhalla were older than us, and frankly, really intimidating. Some of them stared at me like I had grown a second head, others like I was a wounded animal about to be devoured by predators. I did my best to ignore them.
I noticed that the people sitting at the tables were arranged by age groups.

“Squads are classified by age?” I asked Mallory as we made our was through the loud dining hall, I almost had to scream for her to hear me, and she was a couple steps away from me.

“Yes, it's a generational thing. Bosses think we work better this way, with people we understand and can relate to.” She explained. “Also, most of the adults here don't like us. They wouldn't want to mix up with us.”

“Why?”

“They think we are too young to be here. Too unexpirienced. In their eyes, we're always at risk of becoming a burden. Though, some of the adults are new to this world too. And we've never caused any trouble... Well, at least not more trouble than they have.” She corrected herself.

“We're 19 warriors because our age range goes up to 19 years old.” Explained TJ, giving his apple a good bite.

“Oh, I get it now.” I said, honestly.

We sat on a table by a window. I focused on my cereal while TJ and Gunder argued over something I couldn't bring myself to care about, then someone grabbed my shoulder from behind and I almost jumped like a scared cat.

“Well, well, well. Who's the new guy? You didn't tell us you had a new scout, captain.” Said a nasal, unbearable-to-listen-to voice behind me.

I turned around to see a blonde guy the size of a russian war tank with a short beard and pure golden hair. He wore a brown leather jacket and blue navy jeans, and he was about twenty-something.

“Go away, Viktor.” Said Mallory, with a I'm-not-in-the-mood-for-you-asshole voice.

He grinned widely at those words and thightened his grip on my shoulder. TJ sighed in desperation while Gunder held his knife in a way it didn't look like he was cutting sausages anymore. I was scared and unconfourtable.

“My, my. I hardly said a thing and all of you already look like you want me dead.” The bastard was enyoing himself, indeed.

“Don't tempt me to give in to my wishes.” Said Mallory, putting her hand on the knife case strapped to her thigh.

“Ignore him, he's not worth our time.” Said TJ, trying to stop the incoming bloodshed. “And you,” He pointed at Viktor. “leave us alone. He's none of your concern.”

“Right, he's none of my concern. He's more of your *problem *.” The way he put emphasis on the last word make me want to punch him. Hard. “Aren't you tired of taking in charity cases?”

“Isn't our job to keep safe those who are threatened by the Death's Cruise? You might wanna reconsider your moral standpoint, Viktor.” Suggested Mallory, with an icy smile.

“Yeah, but that doesn't mean we need to recruit them all.” Argued the asshole, with the same icy smile. “I thought yall had enough with that problem child -what was his name again? Alex Fierro? Yeah, a child of Loki, none the less. You could've basically invited the enemy over, but you didn't care, because he was 'in need of protection'.”

My eyes widened at that. Alex was the child of the Death's Cruise boss? He only got more and more mysterious. Also, why did some people refer to Alex as he, and others as she? I wouldn't be surprised if Viktor was just a transphobic asshole misgendering Alex, but then why would Mallory say it aswell?

“That's enough.” Mallory warned. “You have no idea of what Alex is like.”

“Do * you*? Because for what I see, he's never here. And the only times he is, he's causing you unnecesary trouble. He might still be working with the Wolves in secret and none of you would give a damn.”

“He's not. He's proven more than enough times that he's trustworthy. So fuck off.” Intervened TJ.

“Ok, fine, don't come crying at us grown-ups when this wittness protection program of yours explodes in your faces.” Said Viktor, finally letting go of me. I watched as he walked away proudly, like he had done the bravest, most corageous thing by picking on us. The need to kick him in the nuts only intensified.

“He says that like he's a senior member. He's hardly 26.” Mumbled Gunder, going back to his sausages.

“On top of no one taking us seriously, we have to deal with assholes like him. I'm too tired for this.” Whined TJ.

“I agree, it's too early in the morning to deal with this bullshit. Let's just finish our breakfast and get going.” Declared Mallory. Nobody argued.

As I ate my cocoa puffs, my mind kept on spinning around the same subject: the fourth member of the squad being a child of the enemy. And him being connected to the wolves somehow, but at the same time needing protection from them and the rest of the Death's Cruise.

“Is Alex really...?” I began.

“Loki's child? Yes. But that's all I'll tell you, the rest of the information you must get it directly from him.” Answered the redhead.

“That's kinda not fair. He might aswell never get any information. You know he tends to keep this kind of shit close to his chest.” Complained TJ for my sake.

“And thats exactly why we aren't telling him. If Fierro wants, he'll tell him about his past, we won't do it behind his back. You know how he handles betrayal.” Said Mallory. And that finally made all of us shut up and finish our breakfast.

After we finished we all went upstairs. I found my room nice and clean. I silently thanked the hotel staff because I really didn't feel like making the bed. I only got a couple minutes of rest before Mallory came into the room and asked “Ready for training?”

I was *not * ready for training. It went as terribly as you can imagine. She knocked me to the ground, multiple times, and even though she didn't hurt me much, I still felt sore by the end of it.

“You overthink your movements. I understand you're trying to figure out where is best to hit, but you're wasting too much time in analysing. And you're also too defensive. If the little hits you throw come in late because you overthink, then you have no chance of getting out alive. Even if you make sure to protect yourself and curl into a little ball like a headghog, its not enough. You need to attack at some point.” Mallory gave me feedback while she offered me a hand to lift me from the ground. “I guess we have to work on that. Step by step.”

We took a break to drink water. I sat on the floor as I recovered my breath and Mallory grinned while looking at poor tired and defeated me. Suddenly, Gunder enters the room with the grace of a wild bear.

“Mallory, where the fuck did you put my axe?!” He yelled.

Mallory looked irritated, she held the bridge of her nose and said: “First of all, like hell would I know! You're old enough to be responsible for ya shit! Second of all, wich one? You have like 15.”

“You know which one!” Gunder said. “The one I left in your room a couple weeks ago, with the blackwood handle. You said you would return it, but you didn't.”

Like a building mirror, they reflected eachothers angry energy, leading to the discusion to get more and more heated for no apparent reason. I was pretty unconfourtable having to watch them argue like a married couple on the verge of divorce.

“I don't know, maybe it's still in my room! It's your shit, you should be worrying about getting it back, not me!” Mallory argued.

“No, it's not in your room! I already checked!” Stated Gunder.

“Who the fuck gave you permission to go into my room you viking wannabe?!” The way she stressed the last words made me want to laugh as I sipped my water.

“No one! And I don't need it! I don't need you, or your help!”

“And yet you came here to bother me!”

“Yeah, so what?”

“So admit it, you just can't stand being away from me!”

“So what if I do?!”

And by this point they were arguing a couple inches from eachother, and it was starting to sound a little bit too much like flirting for my liking. On top of being unconfortable, I was now also confused. It felt like watching a rushed enemies to lovers show where they're both grumpy assholes looking for any excuse to yell at eachother and then kiss, so I tried to make myself noticed by “accidentally” dropping my water bottle. They seemed to finally realise there was someone else around, got embarassed, and cut the shit.

“...Look in my wardrobe, it's probably there.” Said Mallory, a little flustered.

“Okay, fine.” Gunder replied, in the same condition as the redhead. He left the room and Mallory and I were alone again.

“Let's get the knives. I'll teach you the basics, ya know, just in case.” She announced. And deep down I wished she would go back to arguing with Gunder. And I did for the rest of the lesson.

After the training I needed bandaids in a couple fingers and a good shower. After lunch, TJ came knocking at my door.

“Hey, dude! If you got nothing better to do, I was thinking you really need to go shoping for clothes, and probably a phone since all Valhalla members require one. So I was thinking about taking you to the mall.”

“Oh, okay. Just give me a minute!”

We took the bus to the city centre. I asked TJ about if Valhalla owned any cars or if we all were forced to use public transportation. He said Valhalla does own other vehicles, but none of the 19 warriors have licenses, and even if they did, they wouldn't let them have them. Silly me for forgetting how little the adults like squad 19.

When we got there, we went into the first clothing store we found. I really couldn't care less about brands or anything as long as it was cheap. TJ insisted the organization was paying for everything and I could pick any store, but I still didn't wanted to spend much.

As we walked through the store, TJ kept on bringing up conversation. “So, how was training with Mallory?” He asked.

I sighed and asked: “Can we change the subject?”

He laughed lightly at that. “She gave you a hard time I figure.”

“Understatement. Have you seen my fingers?” I showed him my poor fingers all wrapped up in bandages. He laughed again. “I'm pretty sure I have bruises in my ass from her sweeping my legs and falling on it.”

“And she's holding back.” TJ added, still laughing. I didn't want to think of what it would be like sparring with her when she's not holding back.

Then, I remembered when Gunder came in during our break, and curiosity won the fight against my awkardness in my brain. So I asked TJ, “Also, are Gunder and Mallory a thing or...?”

“Oh, I suppose you have wittnessed one of their fights.” He assumed, and I nodded. “Yes, they are together, but they're always on-and-off. Right now they're fighting, and maybe next week they'll be shamelessly making out in the common room. It just how they work. I stopped trying to understand it a long ago.”

I hummed and dropped the subject. I couldn't imagine how a relationship like that could work out, but TJ sounded like despite the fights and inconsistency, they always come back to eachother and are happy about it. So I decided to do like TJ and just don't question it. In my opinion all relationships were complicated in their own way. I had never been in one, mind you, and didn't think of getting in one soon either. But I had met some couples my age on the streets, and they almost never ended up well. In fact, the healthiest relationship I knew were Blitz and Hearth. Even when I was not interested in dating, I sometimes wondered if I would also have someone like they had someday.

I went back to my shopping. I grabbed some basics: (white,green and grey) t-shirts, a couple simple hoodies, a flannel shirt, two pullovers, sweatpants, jeans, a beanie, fingerless gloves (TJ insisted they were pretty useful), socks and underwear. It wasn't cheap, but it covered all I needed.

Then, we went to the mobile store. I got a Samsung Galaxy 'cause any modern Apple model was over our budget. TJ said Valhalla would assign me a phone number and I shouldn't give it away lightly (not like I was planning to either).

After that, we went to the hotel, talked in the common room for a while, went out to grab dinner because Gunder hated the menu for that night in the hotel's restaurant, and I smoked off another cigarrette from the packet Mallory gave me before going to sleep.

The next morning I woke up in a rush because I hadn't set an alarm yet, and I * actually slept* this time, wich I was greatful for. I took a quick shower and put on my new clothes. I picked a shirt, a hoodie, jeans, and the pair of fingerless gloves. I went out to the hall to find my hallmates waiting for me, and together we went down to have breakfast. Once again, mysterious fourth member was not present, apparently, he didn't even spend the night in the hotel.

We had breakfast in peace this time, Viktor and his friends only looked at us funny, like they had during breakfast the other day. After that, I got ready for training with Gunder.

“There it is, this is the lightest one I've got!” He said as he put the axe in my hands. It was heavy, but it was bearable. Or so I thought before trying to lift it up. Gunder chuckled at my laughable attempts to swing it and try to keep control over it, but everytime I made it swing, the innerce would pull me with it. I spun around and almost fell to the floor many times.

“I don't think I'll ever be able to handle this.” I stated, tired of being pulled around by a damn viking weapon.

Gunder laughed. “Yeah, you're right. Maybe trying to teach you how to use it was a bad idea, but I can teach you how to defend yourself from one.”

I inmediately pictured Gunder swinging the axe at me while I tried to dodge it. Considering how terribly I had done dodging Mallory's fists, I was horrified at the idea.

“Or maybe I'll just risk death if I ever encounter someone with that weapon. I feel like that will save us time and energy.” I offered.

“I don't think you're in the position of taking risks like that. If I can lower the chances of you getting killed, then I will, that's what we're here for.” Said Gunder, taking the axe away from me. “At some point you'll be all alone out in those streets, and I can assure you it's nothing like you've lived before. Especially not now, all things considered.” The way he said the last sentence made me feel like there was something I didn't know, *something important *.

“All things considered? Am I missing something?” I asked.

“I must admit these streets have never been safe, they couldn't be with so many mafias around. But there was some sort of equilibrium. They- the Death's Cruise- controlled the nights and night activity, we controlled the days, made sure no one was hurt under the sunlight. Of course, we had disputes, the Wolves have always been cruel and brutal and Loki has always been the insane fucker he is. But it was never this hostile.” He made a small pause. “Ever since our boss, Odin, has been missing for the past few months and the Death's Cruise found out, doing our jobs has been a lot harder.”

I tried to process all of that, some parts started to make sense, like the fear I had sensed in the dining room, but I still had questions. “Missing as in 'he left to do some mafia boss stuff overseas and he'll be back' or 'we have no idea where he is, he could be dead by now'?”

“The later.”

Oh we were fucked.

“For how long has he been missing?”

“Six months.” He replied. “Loki found out three moths ago. We did our best to keep it hidden, but I guess you can't lie to a liar.”

“I still find three moths to be impressive.” I said, and I meant it.

“It didn't do much, except buy us some time before Loki decided to take advantage of it. Because, what would he do if not use it against us?” He asked sarcastically. “Trying to get work done past sundown is a complete nightmare, the Wolves hunt the streets and destroy everything in their way, they don't even try to hold back anymore. That's why we come back so tired sometimes. Many of our men have been found dead under the moonlight. The tension between organizations only grows, Loki and his inner circle have threatened the Valhalla executives many times. Hell, we're two steps away from a war! We're all reaching our limits, and the worst part is that that's exactly where Loki wants us! That sick fuck... if I ever get my chance to wrap my hands around his neck I will make sure to regret eveything he's done.”

I could see the murderous glimmer in Gunder's eyes, and the deep grief he felt at the same time. I was sure he had lost many partners to the hands of the Death's Cruise, all that rage and sadness mixed up only made him ache for revenge. I knew what the feeling was like. I knew it well. It came and went for the past two years. Maybe even more. Maybe it all started with my father. The only thing I was certain of, if I ever laid my hands on Loki too, I may not be a fighter, but I would make sure he paid.

“Me too.” I simply said, no louder than a whisper.

“Maybe some day we'll be able to put an end to this, but I don't think that day is anywhere near close.” Sadly, I agreed. This was the beggining of a long journey. And even though I was kinda right, I was also a little wrong.

After training I went back to my room, I tried to skip luch because I really wasn't hungry, but my hallmates insisted “I could really use some proteins.” After that, I was just chilling in my room when Mallory came knocking at my door. It susprised me, so I asked what did she want.

“Your friends are here!” She yelled from the other side of the door.

I opened the door and asked: “Blitz and Hearth?” I was going to try to contact them as soon as I was assigned a phone number, actually. What was going on? I had no clue.

“Yep. They're in the common room. Asked to borrow you for a while. I let them.”

“I'm not an object, I can make my own desitions.” I said.

“I was joking.” She deadpanned and whispered something about me having no sense of humor. “Don't make your friends wait.”

I went out to the hall and walked into the common room to find Hearth and Blitz talking to eachother, sitting on the brown leather sofa. They stood up right when they saw me. Blitz smiled in a mix of awkardness and fondness, Hearth just looked happy to see me again.

'How's everything? Not too overwhelmed?' Hearth asked.

“No, I mean, not anymore.” Hearth lifted an eyebrow at that. “At least not as much as before.” I reassured him.

“That's good. We were actually going to wait until you were a little bit more settled with... well, all this. But, my mom insisted she wants to see you as soon as possible. Says she needs to talk to you and give you something important. I'm not sure what it is myself.” He said, rubbing the back of his neck. He seemed skeptical with the whole thing even though we were talking about his own mom.

“Oh, fine then.” I agreed. “I don't think I've ever seen her, maybe in old family photos, but I don't remember her. Aunt Freya... Is there something wrong?”

Blitz sighed and said, “No... Not really. It's just... My relationship with my mom has never been easy. I love her and all, 'cause she's my mom at the end of the day, but it's still complicated. She's a little...” He looked as if he tried to look for the correct word. “Diffcult? I don't know, our family is insane, Magnus. Not matter where you look in the family tree, no one is completely sane.”

“You don't need to swear on it.” I replied. “But that logic includes us.”

“I know. Do *you* think you're completely sane?” Blitz asked, arms crossed and a mocking expression in his face.

And giving it a second thought, I had been close to losing my shit many times to call myself 'completely sane'. “Okay, maybe you're right.” 'It runs in the family' was a phrase I was not expecting to think about so much.

We left the hotel and went into a nearby parking lot where Blitz got out a key. When he pressed one of the buttons, one of the cars lights lit up: a black, brand-new, BMW. I looked at Blitz, then the car, and then Blitz again.

“You had a car this whole time?!”

“Being homeless was just an act to keep you safe without anyone finding it suspicious. So, yes, I have a car. And a house.” He explained, climbing into the car. “Also, I hated having to look like a homeless person. I was made for high couture, not literal clothes from the garbage.” He added.

“You had a car this whole time?” I repeated.

Blitz sighed, tired of my shit. “... Yes, Magnus. I also have a mom and she's your dad's sister, try to keep up and get in the car.”

Hearth and I got in the car. The ride was silent for the most part since if I spoke, Hearth who was sitting in the front passenger seat couldn't read my lips and we don't want to keep him out of conversations. I observed the streets of Boston from the car window, the sunlight sometimes struck my eyes so I tried to cover the sun with my fingertips. Car rides had never been quiet and calm like this, not ever since my dad died. When I was homeless, the only rides I got were from the police, and I always managed to scape one way or the other. With my mom, the times we had a car, there was this feeling of running away, of fear. But this was nice enough. A little strange considering I'm going to meet my aunt that I've probably seen once when I still wore diapers. But still, nice enough.

Blitz parked in front of an old apartment block. We climbed out of the car and Blitz got out the keys to the main door. It wasn't obvious, only people who had known him for a while would notice he was nervous. We did. But I had no idea what to do about it. I didn't know how to confort him because I didn't know what his relationship with his mom was like either. Well, I was about to find out. We took the elevator and Blitz pressed number 4.

'Relax' Signed Hearth. Blitz breathed in and seemed to feel better when Hearth took his hand and squeezed it lightly.

The elevator doors opened. Blitz took the keys again and opened the door. The first thing that hit me like a slap to the face, especially my nose, was the strong smell of tobacco and cat food. The second thing to welcome me was, in fact, cats. A brown and white one that was clearly too fat, and a black slim one with yellow eyes that looked like was judging my soul. Blitz closed the door behind us making sure the cats were still inside.

There were too many cats. Too many. Everywhere I looked there were either cats or cat toys. Blitz's mom-my aunt-was a crazy cat lady. Wonderful.

Hear me out, it's not like I don't like cats. I'm not exaggerating. I like them in a *normal * amount. My Aunt Freya did not have a normal amount.

Blitz took off his coat and left it at the entrance, so did Hearth, so I did the same. “Mom?!” Blitz called out.

A femenine voice replied from the other side of the apartment. “Come in, Blitzen!” Wait, what had she just called him? Oh, that name was something to bring up later. “I'm in the kitchen! I'm making smashed potatoes, in case you wanna stay over for dinner!”

Blitz made a sign for me to go first into the corridor, they would follow. As I walked through it (trying no to step on felines), I saw many pictures hanging off the walls, some of them were wedding photos, in almost all of them the same girl was the bride, but the groom was different in every photo. One of the photos was bigger, and the bride's smile was wide, in the rest she wasn't smiling at all. Almost all the pictures of weddings centered the same person, except for one, in wich I recognized my mom in the wedding dress and my dad besides her. I felt something flip in my stocmach. I hadn't seen a picture of my dad in years.
There were also family pictures, in one or two of them I appeared in my mother's arms or sitting on my dad's lap as a toddler. The feeling in my stomach only got worse. There were more pictures but I decided to stop looking and focus on the kitchen and the woman inside.

She turned around with a big smile, but it dropped along with the spatula she was holding the moment she saw me. Her clear blue eyes shimmered with something indescriptible and I swear I could see tears forming in the corners of her eyes. Golden sunlight filled the kitchen She slowly approached me and held out her hands as if to cup my face, but then thought it over. She just stood there, repressing the urge to hold me or cry, or both at the same time as she said very slowly:

“You look just like your father.”

And that's all it took for me to feel the tears coming too. And she noticed, because she then did what she had stopped herself from doing moments ago and offered me the most understanding of smiles I had never ever seen.

I don't know what got into me in that moment. I'm not a hug person. Or a touch person in general. I'll blame it on the hell of an emotional rollercoaester the past week had been, all the memories and family members coming back after years of being burried. I'll blame it on the pictures on the walls and the way Freya reminded me of my dad. But I pulled her into a hug. She hugged me back. And maybe. Just maybe. I let a tear or two slip out. I don't think anyone noticed.
Freya was crying. I had no idea of how Blitz and Hearth were reacting to this scene but I didn't care either.

I wiped my tears and pulled away. She lightly stroked my cheek with a sad smile while she wiped her own tears with the other hand. She took a deep breath to pull herself together. I took a better look at her. She had long, wavy blonde hair in need of a good brush. She kept the front bangs from getting in the way with floral pins. She wore a sage green skirt that fell down to her ankles, and a turtleneck jersey of the same colour. Her clothes were full of cat fur. She smiled and said:

“Enough of that. I'm so glad to finally meet you, Magnus. It's been so long you probably don't remember me.”

“Not really.” I confessed, smiling lightly.

“That's fine. That's what you're here for, amongst other things. Now, please sit down. Do you want coffee? Tea, perhaps?” She offered as I sit down in the small kitchen table.

“Tea would be fine.” I said.

“Okay! Blitz, honey, help me with the tea... Ugh, I can't find the pot!” She ordered her son, he just nodded and helped out Freya. “What kind of tea would you like? I have vainilla, earl gray, camomille, caramel, wild berries, pomegranete, floral-”

“Whatever you think is fine.” I cut her off as the list seemed to be never-ending.

“What about you, darling?” She asked Hearth.

'I'm fine with anything too. I trust you tea choices.' He replied and sat down with me at the rounded table.

“Aww, thank you, dear. You're always so nice.” She said with a big smile. “Unlike some grumpy ones over here.”

Blitz glared at her mom and she waved it off as a joke. Once Blitz and Freya were far enough I decided to mess around with Hearth a little: “Seems like your mother-in-law loves you. How lucky.”

'We aren't married.' Argued Hearth, a little flustered.

“Yet.” I replied. “You've been dating for what, three years? Maybe more? The real question here is why aren't you married yet.” I clearly meant it as teasing. Hearth did not like it.

'Shut up and and drink your tea.'

“But it isn't even here yet.”

'Then just shut up.'

I chuckled and left him alone. Freya and Blitz came back with four cups of tea and biscuits and sat down with us. It was a sweet vainilla and cinnamon tea. It was really good, the biscuits could be better though. I drank in silence for a few moments. And it was almost conforting. Almost.

“I guess I have some explaining to do.” Started Freya. She did. I wasn't expecting any explanations coming soon, but I needed them. I nodded.

“Where do I begin...” She put the cup down after a brief sip and breathed in deep. “You're probably wondering why I didn't take you in after your mother died. It's not that I have a lot of space around here, but I understand that you would've prefered to sleep on the couch than on the street. The truth is, your parents made me swear I would keep you away from this world under any circunstances.”

“I know that. It's all right.” I reassured her.

“Then you understand that working for Valhalla, I could not take you in.”

“You work for Valhalla too?” I asked.

“Yes, of course. I used to be a spy, like my brother. But I quit after he...” She almost choked on the memory. “You know. After that, I started working in a more administrative area. Still, I couldn't risk having you so close to the criminal world. Also, you had been reported dead. So, I thought that maybe, having Blitz there to protect you... I was a fool, wasn't I? You ended up here anyway, and I could've saved you some suffering.” She looked almost in the brink of tears again.

Imagine how fucked up a situation has to be for homelessness to be the better option.

“I don't blame you, for any of it. You were just keeping the promise you made to my parents, you thought it was the right thing to do, the best option to keep me safe. And Blitz and Hearth did a good job taking care of me.” I smiled warmly at them, they smiled back. “I understand it was a hard desition to make.”

“Still, I feel like I could've done more for you.” She said, looking down at her cup.

'Don't be so hard on yourself.' Hearth reassured her, then turned to me. 'Do you remember all those christmas gifts we said we stole for you?'

“Yeah, how could I not? It was one of the only nice things that happened during christmas.”

'It was always her doing.'

I turned to Freya. “Is that true? You bought the christmas presents?”

“Yes, I did. Blitz and Hearth always helped, but it was my idea. Wanted you to have something nice, at least once a year.”

I smiled. Turns out, I had two guardian angels. Well, more like a guardian angel and a Santa Claus. “You didn't need to, but thank you. Seriously.”

“How could I not do that? You are my only nephew. The last thing I have from my brother...” That sentence felt like critical damage. It hurt her too, judging her expression. “Well, that's not entirely true. I have something else, but from now on, it will be yours. That's what I called you for.”

She stood up, went into the living room, and got something out of a desk drawer. She came back and handed it to me. “Your father wanted you to have it. It's a family relique. It passed generation through generation, and now it belongs to you.”

It was a black leather case. I opened it and found a beautiful golden knife that looked quite new considering how old it probably was. “I'm terrible with knives.” And it was true. It's not that I didn't want it, but I still had bandaids in my fingers from the last time I got close to one.

“Oh no, don't worry. Your dad was also terrible, he didn't use it. No, he wasn't the fighting type.” Another thing I got from him. She laughed briefly. “Like father, like son.”

I smiled briefly. I held the golden knife in my hands.

“Frey used to call it Jack, for some reason. Said it fit.” First, who names a knife? (you know what? this is the least weird thing a family member of mine has ever done, who cares.) Second, it didn't look like a Jack at all. Okay maybe I'm even worse than my father.

I put it back in the case and thanked my aunt.

“You don't have to thank me. It was always yours. It was just waiting for you to come and get it back.”

We ended up staying for dinner. I used Freya's phone to call Mallory so she didn't worry about me getting kidnapped or something. As we were sitting and enjoying the food, I decided it was time for Blitz to be teased a little.

“So... Blitzen, huh?”

He shot me a look that said: 'please don't start with that.'

“It's a family name!” Said Freya. “I always quite liked it. It has a lot of history you see. Oh, wait! Do you wanna see Blitzen's baby pictures?”

“Oh I'd * love to*.” I smiled widely and could see Blitz mouthing the words 'little bastard'. I regret nothing. Hearth and I spent 15 minutes making fun of him for the pictures and Blitz sat there looking like he was rethinking his life choices the whole time. Sometimes I can be a little shit, but just sometimes. And I intend no harm, I promise.

We helped clean up, and at some point, Blitz and I were left alone while Hearth helped Freya with the dishes.

“Maybe this questions comes off as rude, but, what is wrong with your relationship with your mom? She seems to love you loads, at least for what I could judge.”

Blitz sighed. “She does love me. But... Have you seen that man she has so many pictures of?” I nodded. He appeared in the first wedding photo, where she looked young and happy, unlike the rest of them. “Well, that's her first husband. The only man she ever truly loved. He died in a car crash two years after they gor married. She never got over it, and probably never will. And I don't blame her. She was head over heels and fate took him away from her.” I felt sympathy for my aunt. My mom felt like that too. It was devastating to watch her cry herself asleep, especially the first years, when I was just a kid and didn't know what to do. “The rest of the marriages were convenience marriages, because she was almost broke at many points in her life. I'm the result of one of them.”

“The truth is, my mom never really wanted me, she wanted something to keep them together. Something that would keep them bounded even if they divorced. She never took the time to raise me, she didn't know how to. She didn't want to be a mom. Tired of her caring about me but not caring enough to properly raise me, I went off to live with my father a-after their divorce...” The mention of his dad made him stumble over his own words.

“That's why my realtionship with her is so bittersweet. I feel like some sort of receipt, a consequence of my mother's economic issues.”

He kept on using those words. Result, receipt, consequence. I hated it. I wanted to hug him and tell him to stop thinking of himself like that. But I only could bring myself to say: “Don't say that.”

“It's true.” He said, looking defeated and way too tired.

“So what? That doesn't mean that's the only thing you are. It doesn't dictate your worth. So stop acting like it does.”

He didn't say anything to me, just stared at me with those big shiny black eyes, they held something I couldn't exactly describe.

“...And what about you dad?” I asked.

“He was a good jeweler and craftsman, one of the best I'd dare to say.” Was. That's why the mention of him weighed on his tongue. “As a father, he was fine. Better than Freya, though that might not be saying much. Living with him was easy. He didn't fully support me with the whole fashion thing, but he was there when I needed it. I miss him.”

I summoned the courage to ask: “What happened to him?”

“You aren't the only one who lost someone to the Wolves, Magnus.”

It hit me. Hard. Because hearing all of this about me and my dad all day was probably hell to listen to when you've lost your own father too. He also had to deal with Freya... And on top of that I didn't make it easy. I inmediately felt the need to apologise.

“I'm sorry. For everything.”

“Don't say stupid things, kid. Don't worry. I knew what was coming. It's fine.”

“It really isn't.”

He kept silent for a moment.

“You're right. It really isn't. But you can't do anything about it either, can you?” We both stared at eachother in silence. “Let's go, Magnus. We have to take you back to the hotel, it's getting late.”

Chapter Text

Saturday morning Mallory gets a call from the Valhalla executives about a new job. The Death's Cruise would be getting a new supply of shady designer drugs to sell at exclusive raves and bussiness-related events. These drugs would arrive in a black van around two in the morning by the hands of an independent distributor.

This wouldn't usually pose as a threat to the organisation. Loki's people have been dealing drugs for years. The problem here is that some of these drugs were so experimental, they decided to test them first. And Loki being Loki, had tried them on innocent civilians at local parties to create the most chaos and rise fear amongst the population. The subjects went insane after the substances were slipped into their drinks. Some of them would strip naked, try to harm themselves or others, lose conciousness, or even get homicidal urges and act upon them.

Loki and his subordinates were probably delighted with the results. Valhalla knew they had to be stopped. They researched the labs where the drugs were created and blackmailed the scientists into giving them information about the distributors.

Now it was our turn. Along with another two sections, we would dismantle the operation and take the drugs to a Valhalla superior. Easy.

Or maybe not. Because the Wolves would be there like guardian dogs to protect the drugs and make sure no one got in the way.

“We need the *whole * team for this operation.” Stated Mallory. It was obvious she was saying it because of the mysterious fourth member called Alex hadn't been seen in days.

“We could really use her help, after all, she knows-” TJ cut himself suddenly while looking at me. My second day here they said they would keep Alex's secrets from me because she keeps things like that close to her chest. I was okay with that. But it was still a little annoying.

“Where is she? Do we even have an idea where she could be?” Ask Gunder in an annoyed tone. There was another question I had about Alex and that was the way they refered to her. Or him. Everyone seemed to switch the pronouns from time to time and I was confused as to why.

“As of now, I have no idea. But I know where to find her on weekend nights.” Said Mallory. “Now get some rest, it's gonna be a long night.”

And like that, we left the common room. I slept -or tried to- for most of the day. I smoked off another of Mallory's cigarretes as I looked at people doing their people things on the street like I once used to when I was homeless. It wasn't a super fun activity but it was better that overthinking again.

I also made a small kit to carry around now that I was the one in charge of healing anyone after a fight. I took my father's knife just in case too.

At 12:30 we gathered on the hotel entrance and then walked through the dark streets of Boston that were now territory of the enemy.

We left the hotel 30 minutes before the rest of squads to find Alex Fierro. As we walked I felt the need to ask:

“Why do you keep changing the way you refer to Alex?”

“Oh. I forgot to mention, she's genderfluid.” Mallory replied. “She uses both she and him, it kinda depends on the day. But don't call her 'they' unless you want her to kick you. And I promise you she's not exactly gentle.”

Genderfluid. I heard of it a couple times before, but never met anyone who actually was. I didn't really get it, I suppose I never felt that way. I duly noted Mallory's advice to not get my ass kicked by the mystery member.

We walked down a tunnel filled with graffity art. And when I say art I mean it. It wasn't the usual ugly signs done in a hurry with black or red. Graffity artists had done amazing jobs with their drawings, making of the old abandoned tunnel a place filled with flashy colours and drawings that gave it a second life as an art gallery.

When we got out, there was someone working with graffity cans in the back of an abandoned building.

They had dyed curly green hair with black roots, a black leather jacket with green and pink patches everywhere, black cargo pants decorated with patches aswell, and black military boots with mismatched laces (you guessed it, they were green and pink).

My hallmates were right, Alex Fierro was quite the unique individual.

She was wearing a pair of electric green headphones and was whispering some song as she painted. Knowing Alex wouldn't hear her, Mallory threw a rock at the girl.

She turned around looking pissed but dropped it the second she saw us. She slowly took her headphones off.

“What are you doing here?” She asked.

“We have a job. We need your help.” Said Mallory.

“Can't you see I'm busy?” She replied, pointing at her work-in-progress.

“It's important. We're gonna dismantle a drug operation, you know what they've been doing with that shit lately.”

She hums and turns to look at me. I felt the air leave my lungs as she slowly approached me, inspecting me with a couple of mismatched irises.

“Who's the newbie?”

“Magnus Chase.” She flinched at the name and I didn't know why. I think only I noticed that. “Maybe you would already know him if you spent more time at the hotel.”

She started walking in circles around me, her gaze never leaving me and making me extremely nervous. I felt like I was being observed by a wild cheetah, her feline eyes inspecting me carefully. “You know I find the place boring, I prefer to be around as little as possible. Also, I've been busy taking side jobs that my sister assigned me because I'm the only one who dares to actually face the Wolves.”

As she walked around me I took a closer look into her image, she wore black leather fingerless gloves, a green turtleneck under the jacket, an industrial piercing, an eyebrow piercing, and very fitting makeup. She wore green and pink eyeshadow, her eyelashes were also coloured, there were hints of glitter and blush. I also noticed a tatoo peeking out of the turtleneck, it didn't look like a claw, but like a snake. It was Loki's mark.

“Well, this involves the Wolves too. A new supply of drugs is arriving tonight and you know those fuckers will be guarding that shit with their lives. We need your help. You know why.” Insisted Mallory.

Finally, Alex took her eyes off me and faced Mallory. “Fine. I'll do it.”

Mallory nodded and we all started walking to where she led us. As we walked, I felt Alex's gaze on me. It scared me and confused me deeply. Have we met before? I was pretty sure I hadn't seen her before, I would remember.

We arrived to the entrance of a parking lot. Not many cars were parked there, and most of them had their windows tinted and looked too expensive for how poor the neighbourhood was. It was obvious what kind of bussines happened there.

The other two squads were already hidden around, ready for the moment the Death's Cruise people appeared and the black van showed up. Gunder and TJ hid behind a big white van while Mallory, Alex and I hid behind a black slim car.

Three tall and bulky men appeared from the right corner of the parking lot. Behind them, a shorter guy with a suspicious gym bag. The shorter man looked at his watch, his eyes were big with huge black irises and his frontal teeth were bigger, like a rodents. He was ugly and his voice was equally as ugly. “This motherfucker is always late. And fucking expensive. If his mercancy wasn't as good as it is, I would get rid of him on the spot.”

“Who's that?” Whispered Mallory.

“They call him Ratatosk. He's an info dealer and a runner. That bag's for sure full of money.” Answered Alex. “If tonight we're getting rid of anyone, I hope it's him. He's a gossiping little bitch.”

“And the other three are Wolves, I suppose.” I whispered.

Both Alex and Mallory nodded. They looked like Wolves. Short hair, deadly weapons in hand, dressed in black, white and navy blue. The Wolve's signature colours.

A black van approached the four men and stopped in front of them. A men dressed in all black stepped out. Ratatosk and the distributor engaged in a conversation no one could care less about as we waited for a signal. I held Jack close.

A single shot fired against the van, breaking a lateral front window, marked the beggining of the chaos. TJ fired hiding behind the van, while Gunder waited for the right moment to come out swinging. The older squads fired their guns too, and it didn't take long for the Wolves to attack back.

I covered my head with my arms as I heard shots get closer and closer to us. Mallory, Gunder and Alex looked at eachother and nodded. I didn't knew it yet, but I was about to presence the most badass fight I had ever watched.

The first one to come out was Mallory, knives in hands and that fierce look in her eyes. She dodged the bullets and went straight for Ratatosk. The guy pulled out a knife and fought back, leaving the bag full of money on the floor. One of the Wolves tried to attack Mallory but TJ shot him just in time. Gunder and Alex came out after, Alex went straight for the Wolves with the help of other Valhalla members. Gunder helped out Mallory but then noticed the distributor was trying to leave with the drugs and tore his leg open.

“Magnus! Take the packets! They called for backup, we need to get'em before more Wolves show up!” Mallory yelled at me from the other side of the battlefield.

“Go! I'll cover you!” Reassured me TJ, never letting go of his gun. “If anyone tries to get close I'll shoot'em!”

I must admit I was feeling useless hiding behind that car, not really knowing what to do. But now that I had to go and get involved in that whole mess, I was scared. I couldn't keep on hiding, I had to prove myself worthy.

I took Jack and ran, trying to not be percieved as I ran towards the drugs. In the trunk of the van there were many packets all wrapped up in black tape and labeled with dates and scientific terms I didn't understand. I took them all and stuffed them inside my jacket.

Just when I thought I could leave unharmed, one of the Wolves approached me, I held out my knife terrified 'cause I had no idea how to use it. But then he yelled out in pain and fell to the ground. Behind him was Alex Fierro, with a bloody knife in hand. “I told you to not pay attention to him you fucker!”

The man got up and tried to attack Alex, but she pulled out a different weapon, two metal pieces attached by a long metal string. She tackeled him to the ground, wrapped the cord around his neck, and pulled... I think I'll spare you the details of that. Then, she turned to me and yelled: “What are you looking at?! Get outta here before more Wolves show up! Find somewhere safe and take TJ with ya to protect you!”

I was good at following orders. I got out of there running as if the devil was chasing me at told TJ to come with me. We got as far as we could, but close enough to still keep an eye on Alex and the rest, and hid behind bushes. TJ still held his gun. “You got the drugs?”

“Yes. It's all in here.” I looked down at my jacket. He nodded and took out his gun to fire from the distance.

Mallory and Gunder had finished the job with Ratatosk and took the bag of money. Alex was fine, but the rest of our people were slightly or badly injured. Some of them run away to stay safe.

Backup took no time to arrive, four women and men in motorcycles and a black car. A single man got out of the car. He looked especially intimidating. He looked down on our warriors as if he was the one that allowed them to keep on breathing. I had never seen him in my life. Yet, I recognized him.

Fenrir Helcraft, leader of the Wolves.

TJ and I stopped breathing. Everyone froze under his presence. Everyone but Alex Fierro.

The Wolves started attacking and only she attacked back inmediately. Gunder and Mallory were soon cornered. TJ did his best to aim from the distance and actually hit one of the Wolve's legs, the couple took care of the rest, but Gunder was injured in his left arm.

Alex fought beside other warriors against Fenrir and other two Wolves.

Gunder and Mallory ran towards us, the viking held his injured arm tight as it spilled with blood. “Magnus, quick!” Called out Mallory. I got out my medical supplies, and between leaves and branches I put bandages on his arm. “You got the stuff?” She asked.

“Yeah, don't worry.” I replied.

“Are you ok?” She asked Gunder.

“Yes, I've been through worse.”

I peeked out of the bushes for a second and saw Alex running towards us, garrote in hand. But I felt my soul leave my body when I saw Fenrir aim at her from behind. Before I could yell for her to watch out, he put down the weapon and went to help out his injured partners. I was confused, yet relieved.

“Is everyone ok?” Alex asked.

“Yeah, Gunder took some damage but everyone else is fine.” Said TJ.

She nodded and turned to me. “You're welcome for saving your ass back there.”

“Ah- Y-yeah, thank you.” I spat out.

We went back to the hotel, exhausted and bloody. Mallory took the drugs and decided to take them to the executives in the morning along with the money. I walked towards my room with the need to crash into my bed, but then someone took the back of my jacket and stopped me.

“From now on, I'll be training you too.” Said Alex.

“Why?”

“What do you mean * why*? You don't think you need extra training? You weren't even holding the knife right.” She laughed at me. I kinda hated her for doing so, but she was right.

“Fine.”

“We start tomorrow.”

“Tomorrow??”

“You got anything better to do, newbie?”

I shook my head.

“Thought so. Tomorrow at six on the rooftop. Don't be late.”

I sighed and opened the door to my room. I've never fallen asleep as easily as I did that night.

Chapter Text

“Do I really need to go?” I asked, rubbing my eyes, relying on the door frame for support.

For some context, it was nine in the morning and I was still tired from last night's mission. It made sense, I fell asleep at four in the morning, wich left me with about five hours of sleep and my whole body feeling sore. Usually this wouldn't be much of an issue, I got by under worse conditions when I was homeless. What bothered me was the reason.

“It's just a formality, is it? I didn't do much anyway.” I complained.

“A fomality?! Frigg herself wants to thank us *personally * for the job we did last night and you call it a formality?! It's the first time we get an aknowledgement from an executive!” Said TJ, acting like I had said the most insane thing to ever cross the human mind.

I don't think he could sense it, but I *really * didn't care. And it was pissing me off. I wanted to go back to bed.

“Also, what do you mean you 'didn't do much'?! You're the one who took the drugs away from the Wolves!” Said Mallory

“Yeah, 'cause you told me to. It wasn't my idea, it was your leadership.”

“And you fixed Gunder's arm.” Pointed out Mallory.

“I don't think healing a half-deep cut is impressive.”

“Who cares? It was your first mission! You didn't just do your job as a healer, but also took the fucking mercancy and the wolves never found you! I don't think you understand just how many people chicken out in their first job and never come back. Most people in their first mission wouldn't have done half the shit you did. You were really brave, Magnus. And you may not be a fighter, but sometimes a fighter is not what we need.”

Ok, that praise did get to me a little bit.

Ok, maybe more than a bit. Those words hit me because she made me feel like I belonged. Like I finally fit in the slightly disfunctional team that the 19 warriors were. Like I had a purpose. I was useful. And I didn't want to admit it just yet but it felt good.

But still, it was too fucking early in the morning and I didn't want to get out of my room to go get thanked by a woman I didn't knew and couldn't care less about.

“Still, I'm too tired. Couldn't we just move it to this afternoon? She must understand we're tired after a mission like this.”

“Already tried. Frigg is a busy woman. And we have to go, all of us. No exeptions, I'll have to deal with Fierro later.” Mallory said it as if she was already hearing Alex complain and it was getting on her nerves.

I sighed and accepted the fact that I needed to get ready to meet an all-high and mighty executive of the organization. The bosse's wife, apparently. I bet they're soulmates, because rumours say she also tends to go missing and doesn't show up to many events. Maybe its a Valhalla thing, disappearing without a word.

Everyone was really hyped. The other two squads we worked with were also ready for Frigg's presence, all of us grouped up in the hotel's hall. As always, the adults ignored us, choosing to act as if they're the only ones in the room.

TJ was making sure his outfit looked right, Gunder checked his axe and hair for the fith time, and Mallory looked strangely stressed out. Alex looked like she was about to fall asleep (honestly relatable), she didn't even bother to do her makeup, and she was wearing the same cargo pants as last night, but with a flashy pink and black sweater instead. She looked like Mallory just pulled her out of bed, wich was probably the truth. As for me, I was leaning against the wall behind me, with the outfit I picked out in a rush and eyes that screamed 'I wish I was sleeping'.

When a tall redhead woman entered the room everyone went still. It felt like a hundred warriors just crossed the front door. No one moved, no one dared to. Her defiant blue eyes were like sharp ice, cutting and freezing everything they came across. Her curly hair was styled into a single braid and a couple strands framed her face. Dressed in mostly brown and green, she had knife cases attached to her armbands and guns peeked out her pockets. She looked like an adult version of Mallory. A little too much so.

“My warriors, I know I've been gone for a long time. It's common knowledge my husband's missing too. I want to use this moment to apologise too, but I'm afraid I can't give you and explanation, at least not yet. Still, the circunstances haven't stopped you from fighting for what's right. So now that I'm back, I want to thank the warriors in charge of taking down the last operation myself. All of you honour the spirit of Valhalla and in the name of all executives, we are extremely greatful.”

Her voice was firm and she spoke with security. A natural leader, everyone felt drawn to her words.

“Squads 36, 42 and 19. Thank you for your service to Valhalla. This drug issue had been bothering us for way too long. Though, there's still work to do. We won't rest properly until Loki's defeated for good.”

By 'defeated for good' I understood she meant dead. And I strongly agreed.

“Well then, my warriors, you're dismissed.”

Even though she said that, no one left the room. She saluted some warriors and engaged briefly in conversation with them. Then, she turned to Mallory and the girl freezed. All of us did, in fact.

“Word says you and another partner of yours killed Ratatosk and your newest scout was the one that took the drugs away from the distributor's van. Is that correct?”

Mallory blurs out a “Y-yes, it is.”

Then, Frigg gets close her and puts an arm on her shoulder. She says something, low, but not low enough for the ones around them to hear. “You're a great leader, Mallory, I'm proud of you.”

And to that, she answers, “Thanks mom.” And all our eyes go wide.

When Frigg leaves, we still are looking at our leader, surprise painted all over our faces. As the rest of the squads left, Mallory snapped at us.

“What?! You were whining and bitching about how bad you wanted to go back to bed and now you just stand here? Get out.”

“Frigg's your mom?” Asked TJ, unable to erase the confusion off his expression.

“Say it a little louder for everyone to hear, idiot.” Mallory shushed him and kicked him in the head.

“Why didn't you tell us?” Asked Gunder, disoriented.

“First of all, you never asked. Second of all, it's not that relevant. Third of all, there's a reason we want as little people knowing as possible.” She explained.

“What do you mean it's not relevant? I find it to be quite relevant, you know?!” Argued TJ. “Your mom's literally our boss. Everyone's boss around here.”

“Wich leads to point number three.” Said Mallory. “What do you think everyone would think of me if they knew I'm the daugther of one of the most important people in this organization? I already bear the stigma of being young, I didn't need any extra reasons for needing to prove I'm worthy of the position I hold.”

Knowing how they behave, the rest of the warriors would call her a nepo baby and try to prove she's only here for being Frigg's child. Even though most of the warriors are children of higher ranks (like myself), they would be ruthless with Mallory.

“...Also.” Her voice turned to a whisper. “Odin's not my dad. And I wish I could say I happened before they were together, but it's not the truth. That marriage has some... issues. And it only makes sense they want to hide those.”

Alex chuckled under her breath, bitterly. It hurt to think that Mallory thinks of herself as a marriage issue. It kind of reminded me of how Blitz calls himself a 'reciept' and a 'consequence'.

We left and in the way upstairs I approached Alex. “Why did you laugh back there?”

“I didn't laugh, I just found it ironic.” She replied.

“Why?”

“Because it frames perfectly the difference between her mom and my dad. Loki has many children and is married, but doesn't care one bit that everyone knows he has children outside his marriage. In fact, most of his high ranks are his spawn, and he shows them off with pride. Sometimes, he calls us his 'investments' or 'projects' and says he only had us to have heirs to his organization.”

It truly was disturbing. Anything related to Loki was disturbing. “Ok, first of all, that's gross. Second of all, who would ever marry Loki?”

“His wife Sigyn is blind. Literally, she's blind. She got injured in a fight years ago and now she can hardly see anything. Also, she doesn't seem like much of a talker. I don't know, I never met her. She's always locked away in her apartment, laying on her bed and extremely depressed.”

“I would also be depressed if I was married to Loki.”

“Yeah, that. And also becuase the only two children she had joined his father and one of them ended up killing the other. And then killed himself.”

Wow, just when I thought a family couldn't get more horrific. And to think mine doesn't look so tragic when compared.

“Let's drop the subject. Talking about my father makes me want to vomit. Are you ready for training later?” She asked. And truth is I wasn't.

“Not really.”

“Too bad.”

The rooftop was a cold place. Duh. It was fucking january in Boston. I asked Alex to go inside but she insisted in doing it outside, said I should learn to not let the cold distract me. Bold of her to assume I wasn't already used to the cold.

“What exactly are we gonna do?” I asked, rubbing my hands that were partially covered by the fingerless gloves.

“Spar.”

“I already practice one-on-one combat with Mallory.”

“Yeah, but she holds back.” And it was the truth. I noticed. “I won't. Because no one under the Death's Cruise orders will. If you get hurt you can patch yourself up and you'll be good as new.” I found the patch reference quite ironic considering most of her clothes are full of pink and green patches. Maybe this is the way she deals with anything broken. Patching it up with something pretty and moving on. Her clothes did look pretty. Wait. Why was I thinking about this anyway?

“First we warm up, then to the count of three, we start. No weapons involved, at least not yet.” I did not want to think what it would be like with weapns involved. I'd seen her decapitate someone like she did it every friday.

“One.”

“Two.”

“Three.”

She stayed true to her word. She didn't hold back, not one bit. And everything hurt. She was fast and slick, like a snake. But also ruthless and aiming for the most damage as possible. I didn't have time to react. Still, she didn't try to push me to the ground, she kept me on my feet so I had the chance to fight back, but I could sense she was running out of patience.

I remembered Mallory's words. You think too much. You're too defensive. You have to attack at some point.

The next time she tried to punch me I dodged it, grabbed her arm and kicked her leg with my knee for her to lose balance. But of couse I didn't do it hard enough and she used the contact as an advantage to finally throw me to the ground.

As she glared down at me she was smirking widely. I breathed heavily and started to feel an asthma attack coming so I stayed down.

“Too rough for you?”

As I couldn't speak, I just held up my hand using an universal sign anyone could understand plenty.

“Yeah, well get used to it. After you rest we'll be doing that again... By the way do you have an inhaler or something? I don't want you to die on me right now.”

“Do I look like I h-have the money t-to buy one? I just need to breath calmly so I don't get an a-attack. Give me a minute.”

She didn't respond. After I stopped feeling like I was about to die I got up to drink water and found Alex Fierro staring at me. Like she saw something I couldn't reach when looking at me. It send shivers down my spine.

She snapped out of it soon enough.

“You ready for round two?”

I went back to my room feeling like a truck run over me, stopped to see if I was hurt, then went backwards to run me over again. I didn't even care about dinner. I collapsed into my bed, pretty sure the next morining I would be covered in bruises. I just hoped Alex's knuckles hurt the way my whole body did.

Chapter Text

Training on monday wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be. TJ was a softer mentor than Mallory or Gunder, and definitively softer than Alex. I guess I was also more familiar with the weapons and techniques.

You see, my mom used to sleep with a gun under our pillow sometimes, when she felt danger was near. I also saw her shoot a couple times, and she tought me the basics in case of an emergency. The day we actually had an emergency there were no longer guns in the house, we had put our guard down for a while.

I had no problems with understanding the mechanism, the problem was I had shitty aim. TJ set five empty cans and I only shot one out of pure luck.

“You should practice. Keep this one.” He said as he gave me a handgun. “You can come here to practice whenever you want.” We were training in a clearing in the middle of nowhere. Even when it wasn't half as cold, I think I prefered the damn rooftop.

I was eager to go back to the hotel as quick as possible to take a shower since I hadn't had the time that morning. But when we got to the hotel we found Mallory, Gunder and Alex looking stressed out in the common room. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't the usual kind of stressed, it was the kind only inminent danger causes. The “oh we are so fucked” kind of stressed.

“What's going on?” Asked a very concerned TJ.

“You haven't heard? The entire hotel is fucking losing it right now. And for a *reason*.” Said Gunder, his leg bounced up and down.

“No we haven't. We just got back from training. What happened?” I replied.

“The executives have major proof to believe the Death's Cruise finally came forward with their plan.” Mallory's tone was dark and carried an aura of doom to it. She sat on the couch looking at her feet, elbows on her knees and hands pressed tightly together. I had no idea what was happening, what that plan was about, but I already knew we were damned.

“You don't mean...?” Started TJ with a weak voice.

“Yes. I'm afraid so. Once they have enough support from companies and goverment officials, they'll execute the plan.” Stated Alex, arms crossed over her chest, staring at the wall in front of her.

“And what kind of proof do they have? Hadn't Loki already retired the idea?” Asked TJ, looking annoyed and worried at the same time.

“He has been making sketchy calls to high ranks in the goverment lately, one of the spyes said so.” Explained Mallory.

Even when I understood this plan would bring death to us all and the next few months would probably be a nightmare and all that, I was still very confused becuase I was the only person in the room who didn't know a thing about the plan.

“I feel like I'm missing something here. What's the plan about? What are they gonna do?”

Everyone suddenly looked at me, the same hoplessness in their eyes as before. After a second of silence, Mallory decided she would be the one to get into the mess of explaining that rabbit hole.

“Loki has been planning to take over the country for as long as he's been in the underworld scene. Apparently all the territory he posseses is never enough. He wants to cause as much damage as possible.” Sounded very Loki-like. “For years he threatened Valhalla and the goverment with executing a complex plan that would mean the death of millions of people. He created the Death's Cruise for the only purpose of creating a network of contacts for this project alone. But it had been a decade since he last threatened anyone with it so we thought he finally let it die down. Apparently, he didn't. And now he's actually serious about it.

To keep it short, he wants to use counterfit currency to bring the country down and then put one of his peers in control, and make the crisis even worse.”

I understood everyhting until she got to that last sentence. I may sound like an ignorant here, but I had no idea what counterfit currency even was. And it showed in my face. So Mallory explained inmediately.

“Counterfit currency is a warfare weapon used way before axes and swords. If you bring a good amout of well-made false currency into an enemy country, the value of that currency will drop due to the increase of money in the circulation, leading to inflation. By skillfully fueling distrust in a country's economy, it's possible to destroy said economy and make a nation fall. And Loki being Loki, will make it the worst he possibly can to sink us into misery.”

It was hard to comprehend at first, but I slowly started to understand. For those who aren't economy experts like myself I will summarize it quickly: Basically, if you trick a country into believing it has more money than it actually does, the economy will shatter to pieces. Easy. And also a very Loki thing to do, tricking a whole ass country into it's own doom.

“And how does he intend to do that?” I asked.

“He'll brive a goverment official into doing so. There are many options, but there is this especially shady man in the economy department that I have not doubt Loki will try to go for. That would be Mr. Alderman.”

Wait. I had heard that surname before. Was it...

“Once he infilters the counterfit currency into the system, he'll try to get the support of companies to give him resources and votes for his candidate.”

“How would companies profit from the crisis? Shouldn't that harm them too?” I asked.

“Big companies always profit from crisis, Magnus. It's the time when people are desperate to work even if it's for the minimun wage. And anyway, he won't tell them about the crisis, he'll offer those rich fucks power and a bite of shady business.” Answered Alex grabbing her pack of cigarettes as she walked towards the window. God I needed a cig too, but I was too awkard to ask Alex.

“We'll do everything in our power to stop him, but I'm afraid he's more powerful than he's ever been.” Said Mallory, going back to her hoplesness once again.

“Does this plan have a name or do you just call it 'the big bad plan'?”

“They call it Ragnarok.”

Well, that's one pretencious and dramatic name if you ask me. But what was I expecting from Loki anyways?

“By the way, Mangus, your friend called.”

Someone called me? Shit. I forgot to charge my phone, it was probably dead by now, like most of my family. (I know, I know, I need therapy but it's too expensive and this is cheaper.)

“My phone's dead. What did Blitz want?”

Yes, I assumed it was Blitz because I don't have many friends and I highly doubt it was Hearth, for obvious reasons.

“He told me Hearth wanted to meet you tomorrow at the 'usual place'.” By usual place I assumed it was 'Amir's fallafel' place, wich I was eager to go because they serve the best fallafel in the world (don't try to prove me wrong on that one) and I haven't tried decent food in a while.

“Did he say what for?”

“No. He just said it's important.”

I nodded and watched Mallory go with Gunder and TJ. Alex was halfway through her cig by the window. I didn't realise I was staring until she glared at me for doing so.

“Do you want a cig?” She asked after she let the smoke float away from her lips.

“Yes, please.” I said, almost whispering. After all that information, I needed the nicotine to help me put my mind back into place. I know I was becoming dependent on the substance, I know it's not good (don't smoke kids, don't be like me and look for good coping mechanisms instead of something that causes cancer) but I allowed myself to have one vice, one addiction. Just one.

I walked towards the window and sat on the doorframe like Alex was doing. She handed me a cigarette and I put it on my lips. Just when I thought she would pull out a lighter, she got close to me and lit my cigarette with hers. My heart dropped. Because she was so close and I could see the details of her brown and honey eyes. She had freckles. Had she always had freckles? I didn't know, but they were light so it made sense I didn't notice before. It didn't last long but she was just too close.

Why was I panicking so hard over this? It was a completely normal gesture. She probably just didn't want to pull out the lighter again. Totally normal. I just hoped my face didn't show any signs of my panicking.

We smoked in silence until she finished hers and flicked it out the window. She got up and with two fingers to her temple, said “Later, Magnus.”

“Thank you, by the way.” I stopped her to say.

“You don't have to thank me, just know you owe me one now.”

I was totally fine with that.