"The word around town is you lost a war."
The sudden presence of another in the dark cell caught Loki off-guard. He did his best to look as if his body wasn't sagging against the cold metal wall behind him and his arms weren't painfully numb in their chains. It wasn't as convincing as he hoped but the ferocity with which he glared made up for what menace his harnessed and weary body lacked.
"And so you've come to make a mockery of me. Is this the punishment my dear family has chosen for me?" Loki's words were sharp, filled with bitterness and hate.
The stranger stepped into view, though his black leather garb was hard to distinguish from the dimly lit dungeon. "I assure you, I mean no disrespect. As a matter of fact, I admire you."
The restrained prince wasn't willing to give into flattery too quickly. "Who are you?" The demand sounded disdainful and cold.
Loki's guest feigned shock. "You mean you don't know?" He held his arms out and smiled. "Take a guess."
Loki made no attempt to guess. He remained still, glowering at the other. Their eye contact was broken a moment later when the stranger felt something on his leg. A large serpent was making its way up and around his calf. A swarm of scorpions and several more snakes moved over his boots, threatening him with their lethal looking fangs and stingers. At first, the stranger jumped back and attempted to shake them off, but then seemed to gather his senses.
He calmly, though clearly slightly agitated, smirked at Loki. The stranger snapped his fingers and the swarm was engulfed in gold fire before it vanished. "For a prankster, you're awfully serious. But maybe I can fix that." He flicked his wrist and the chains restraining Loki shattered and his shackles clanged to the floor.
Loki fell to his hands and knees, wincing at the sudden impact on his stiff muscles. From the ground, Loki looked up at his visitor. "Who are you?" This time the question seemed respectful, cautious even.
"Ares. God of War." He held his hand out for Loki, helping him into a standing position. "You have potential, Loki. No matter what the rest of them say."
"You may overestimate my potential. It seems that an ant has better chances of achieving my goals than I." Loki rubbed his pained shoulders and stretched his back.
"Oh, come on. Don't beat yourself up about it. Everybody loses their first time. You just have to get back up on that warhorse and smite those bitches! Am I right or am I right?!" Ares must have realized that his enthusiasm wasn't catching on. He continued in a more serious tone, "What do you think about adding Warlord Prince to your title? Or Ruler of Earth?"
Ares watched the thought sink in, planting itself like a seed and then twining and entangling itself until everything else is blocked out.
A smile twisted its way onto Loki's lips. "Let's start a war."