Over the Centuries | Avengers

Khapter (14) Fjórtán ~ That Time Liv Explained Her Feathers

He was awake.

It took a bit of extra power when no one was looking, but I was able to heal him to the point of nothing looking suspicious.

Erskine was taken to a private part of a hospital in the area, put under heavy guard so that no one could see that he was still alive when he was dead to everyone else.

When one of the doctors looked at the work I did, they seemed impressed, starting to complement what a good job the doctor did, before finding out it was me, a female nurse who worked on Erskine before him. When that came out I had several doctors yelling at me about how what I did was "extremely dangerous" and that "I could have killed him" or even "made him worse".

I yelled back saying that I probably knew more than them, and they couldn't even see past their own misogynistic noses to see that I did a better job with second-rate tools than they would have done with the latest equipment.

They went very quiet after that.

Erskine woke up not long after the doctors took a proper look at him, and when he did, one of the first things he asked was that I became the head doctor for his case. This, of course, led to an uproar from his current doctor, but Erskine wouldn't have it. After a couple of yelling matches and signed papers, I was able to become Erskine's official doctor.

"Why?" was the first thing I asked when the door closed, leaving the doctor and me alone.

"Why what? Why did I ask you to become my doctor?" I nodded my head, walking over to sit in the chair placed beside his bed. "Between you and me, it's because I hate hospitals. I do not want to stay here longer than I have to, and I know that you have the power to help with that."

My eyes shot to his when he said "power".

"I don't know what you mean." I lied, looking him in the eyes to see if he believed it.

"Right, right. Of course. I would be interested to know, then, how you do it. Make your patients feel absolutely nothing at all when they should be in excruciating pain. Or, even, bring patients back from the dead." He gave me a pointed look.

I stayed quiet for a while, not knowing how to respond. He kinda backed me into a corner here.

"Liv, I understand you're wanting to protect yourself, but you saved my life. You can trust me with yours."

"I don't really know what to say," I whispered.

"How about you tell me your story? You know mine, I'm sure." I reluctantly nodded, as I heard his from multiple sources, including himself. "So, if you feel up to it, of course, I feel it's only fair you tell me yours."

"It's a long story," I warned.

"I have a long way to heal."

I huffed, standing up and walking the two steps to get to the bed, sitting on the edge of it.

"Give me your hand." I held my own out, Erskine putting his own in it a moment later. There was no hesitation—only trust.

I ended up telling him everything. From my home on Asgard, to my family, to my silly little cat Aria. She had been staying safe and protecting my cottage in Iceland. I sent illusions over every other night to check on her, and part of me believes Heimdall does as well. I told him about my friend, my Valkery, my sister's rise to madness. My fall.

Every once in a while I had to take breaks in my story, my emotions becoming too great.

I continued to tell him about my time here on Midgard, on Earth. I told him about the now rare visits my friend from home would give me. How a few centuries later, my mother welcomed a baby boy into the family, and about a century later adopted another.

He listened without interruption as I spoke of how I became a nurse, starting as a volunteer during the war before making my way up the ranks and to where the worst of the men would be. I ended my story when I met him and joined in his project for the Super Soldier Serum.

"If I may ask, what are your powers? How did they come to be?"

"I was born with some of them, the others were given to me by the Norns when my godhood was announced. I have telepathy, can teleport, summon objects, see creatures all across the nine realms, heal anyone and anything, and a bit more."

"You are leaving something out." Erskine pointed out.

I debated my next move, before coming to a decision and standing, letting go of his hand for a moment. I moved to the center of the room, right at the foot of the doctor's bed, and took my jacket off. Turning around so my back was facing him, I revealed the wholes in my shirt. Two slits right where my shoulder blades were.

"Just, please do not scream. Or pass out. That would be quite unfortunate."

"What are you doing?"

I didn't answer. Instead, I closed my eyes, seeing Erskin clearly through them as my back was turned, and unveiled my wings. Erskin's jaw appeared to have dropped on the floor, his eyes popping out of his head as he watched me stretch my wings. It had been far too long since they were last out in the open, and they probably needed some serious grooming.

"Marvelous," Erskine whispered. "May I?" He gestured his hand toward the multicolored wings. I turned around, eyes ceasing to glow as I moved to my original spot on the bed, my right wing coming up to lay on the doctor's lap.

"I have never seen anything like this. How, may I ask, are they all different colors, different shapes, and sizes?"

"They represent people. My people. A large majority of the feathers are representations of the people of Asgard, a smaller majority are my Valkery, and these five larger feathers," I pointed to the two raven feathers, one larger than the other, the two gold feathers, one thinner than the other, and the one large feather that was getting some grey spots.

"These are my family. My twin sister, Hela," I pointed to the larger of the two raven ones, this one having straight and sharp shaping. "My mother, Frigga." I pointed to the wavy gold feather. "My younger brother, Thor." I pointed to the thicker gold feather, it being a bit more straight than the other gold one as well. "My youngest brother, Loki." I pointed to the different raven feather, this one having a similar wave to my mother's. "And my father, Odin." I pointed to the graying feather. It was the longest out of all the feathers, truly showing his power and level of importance even through me.

"What about these ones? They seem to be growing." Erskin pointed to the two brown, one blond, and one grey feathers, each in the obvious process of growing.

"These two are the Starks. This wavier one is Olivia's while the other is Howard's. The grey one. Well, the grey one is you, doctor."

"How is it that we are on your wings?" He asked, obviously confused. "We do not share any blood, nor are we... what is it..."

"Asgardian." I filled in for him. "No, you are not. But you all have become very close to me. Because of that, you get a feather. My father said that each feather I shall get represents a person close to my heart. I may not even know the person, but their feather will still be here. The Asgardians are my people. That is why they all have a feather. Asgard is my home, the people are family to me."

"Does that mean you see the Starks and me as family? Seeing as we each have a feather?"

"Yes, doctor I suppose I do." I looked at his eyes, seeing them start to gloss over. "You all have been more of a family to me than my own during my time here on Midgard. It is no wonder you all have a feather."