I am a music education student who works at a newspaper as an investigative journalist. This is my first attempt writing something like this. Reviews are appreciated but not necessary. This story is set three years after the Avengers movie. I have been reading Thor comics since I was a child and it is just easier to model it after the simplified storyline. I do realize that this is one of many "Loki gets sent to earth" stories, but earth is the only planet I have ever lived on and therefor the only planet I can relate to. Besides that, in the comic, Loki spent most of his time in banishment anyway.

Disclaimer: I own no Marvel characters, but all other characters are mine and I will defend them like a bulldog.

Lovisa Anita Guadalupe De La Garza had never been a lazy person. Quite the contrary, she began her first job at fourteen and had not been unemployed since, but as she watched the clock count down until five, she couldn't help wishing it would speed up.

"…and that is why my family desperately needs this loan Ms. De La Garza."

Her eyes immediately refocused on the man in front of her. Thank goodness the clock was located on the wall behind his head; maybe he hadn't noticed her momentary lapse in professionalism.

"Of course the bank would love to help you Mr. –, "her eyes flicked to the sheet in her hands, "Edwards, but there is the small detail that your wife in unemployed and you are only bringing in an estimated twenty six thousand a year." The look on the man's face broke her heart and a war began to wage within her. 'Give him the loan and you may as well quit' one voice said. 'Deny him the loan and his three children will surely starve' said the other. She needed to be employed, but this man needed the money more.

"But you do have three children and have always been in good standing with this bank, so I will approve the loan on one condition," Lovisa said. The man's face was desperate.

"Anything!" Mr. Edwards replied.

"Your wife needs steady employment. It just so happens that the University I attended is looking for help in the custodial department. She may use me as a reference to obtain the position."

"Bless you!" Mr. Edwards cried. His eyes began to water as he reached for Lovisa to hug her. This was the best part of her job, helping those truly in need. She didn't require thanks, but in an often thankless profession the people who were in real need always showed gratitude.

He signed where she told him, initialed where she showed him, and thanked her again. As he left she glanced at the clock; ten after five. She was going to be late. She filed his paperwork quickly, shut down her computer, grabbed her purse and all but ran for the exit. The bank was closed so she only had to worry about the tellers seeing her running like a maniac in heels and dress pants.

"Lovisa!"

'Damn!' she thought as she turned around to see who had called her, and she swore again. It was the vice president of the bank, Brad Austin. He was good looking, to be sure. Thick blonde hair and hazel eyes, he ran every morning, so he was physically fit, but he was cocky and long winded, traits to be expected from the son of the president of the bank. It wasn't that she didn't like him, he was a good enough person in small doses, but she was running late and couldn't spare any time.

"Yes Mr. Austin, what can I do for you?" Lovisa asked, trying not to let her irritation show.

"I wanted to congratulate you on a job well done with Mr. Edwards. We always receive compliments that you're our nicest employee, even among the tellers," Brad replied, giving her his self-proclaimed award winning smile. "But what's the rush to leave? Surely we aren't all bad company. Maybe you would be inclined to throw some politeness my way and join me for a drink?"

"Well, Mr. Austin-," she began.

"Call me Brad," he interrupted. She was almost seeing red.

"Well, Brad, I was actually on my way to the goodbye party for my dear friend and longtime roommate Noel, so I can't join you for a drink tonight, I'm sorry," she turned away and began walking quickly, hoping he wouldn't match her gait, but like always he fell in step beside her. Sometimes having short legs was more of a disadvantage than having none. At least with none you could run over someone's toes.

"Your roommate is leaving, huh? Where is she going?" he was persistent. He was so used to getting his way.

"Whidbey Island, Washington, and she's very excited," Lovisa was becoming impatient. The door was so close, but she was honestly afraid that he would follow her to the bar.

They were out the doors now and he laughed, "Who in their right mind would want to leave Chicago for that dump? I've never even heard of it!"

That did make her see red. "For your information Mr. Austin," she spat, "Whidbey Island, Washington is a naval air base and is home to many men and women who fight for this nation." She threw her hand up and a cab almost hopped the curb to get to her. As she opened the door she turned back to him and was satisfied to see a shocked look on his face before telling him she would see him tomorrow as she climbed into the cab and closed the door. Ten minutes later, and twenty minutes late, she arrived at The Hole, a literal hole in the wall bar that she and her friends had discovered in college. It played great music, served great drinks, and had just enough grunge to make anyone feel at home; except for maybe Brad Austin. They were all there, at the usual table, and they smiled and cheered as she sat down.

"You're late!" Daniel declared as she sat her purse on the table. "You're late and you brought that Thing!" Everyone else laughed. Her freshman year of college she had purchased the purse that she used to this day. It was shaped like a koi fish, and was very lifelike. Daniel had been afraid of it the day she introduced her new purse, Ponyo, to the group.

"Damn fish! Always looking at me!" Daniel picked up Ponyo and turned him around.

" Honestly, dear, "said Joseph taking Daniel's hand and kissing it, "you need to overcome your fear. Ponyo will always be with us." Daniel and Joseph had begun dating her senior year in college; just a few weeks after Danny had come out of the closet. Their relationship reminded her of magnets; opposites attract. Daniel had been her male double at one point, loud and fun and vulgar; while Joseph was more refined. He wore tailored coats and dress pants as well as scarves no matter the weather. The two had hated each other at first, but after three years of friendship something else had bloomed. She turned to the other homosexual couple at the table, Brittany and Bex, who could not have been more alike if they tried. What they lacked for cohesion in appearance they made up for in personality. They were two sides of the same coin and were never without each other. They finished each other's sentences, had their own secret handshake, and Lovisa was pretty sure they could communicate telepathically. In fact, they were rubbing noses at the moment, and Lovisa felt a little awkward watching them, so she shifted her gaze to Miranda. Miranda was also a lesbian, but she didn't have another half. At one point she had been in love with Bex, but wasn't willing to tell her. It had been a sad time and Lovisa sat through many a therapy session with her. Their bond ran deep, but not as deep as her and Daniel's did. There was only one person left; Noel, her lovable roommate. Noel was a year younger than the rest of them, and had come to the group late, but they loved her no less. She was the only African American in their group of friends, which earned her the nickname Token. Lovisa didn't exactly understand why Noel had gotten that name and not her. She was technically the token Hispanic of the group, and she had been there longer, but she had been stuck with Lilly Pad, thanks to an old blind history professor at the University, and Latin Fire compliments of her jazz and concert band instructor, Mr. Bounds.

Noel was beautiful, with thick black hair that she wore in afro and big brown eyes. It was no wonder her husband had fallen in love with her. Noel was introduced to Private David Riley at the University one day when the young Private had joined the concert band in her junior year. Their love had blossomed and they were married three years later while she was pursuing her Master's degree. It had been a beautiful ceremony, and she had gone alone. And now that Noel was leaving to join her husband on his base, she would be alone again. It was almost enough to make her cry, but she stayed her tears and raised her glass.

"A toast to Noel! You came to us a silly freshman, and you're leaving a silly woman with a Master's. You came to us a chemistry major, and you're leaving us an accomplished viola player. You came to us a Burke, and you're leaving a Riley. May you always be happy, may you always be healthy, may you never be torn apart by tragedy," she tipped her glass in Noel's direction and she felt a tear run down her cheek. "Saltute!" she tipped back her glass and let the fuzzy navel glide down her throat. It was quiet for a moment as they all eyed her warily, until Daniel raised his glass.

"Cheers!" he shouted and they all followed suit. They all laughed, told stories, and became steadily more intoxicated as the night went on. Somewhere around ten Miranda asked her the question she knew they were all waiting to ask.

"So what now, Lovi?"

She knew what her friend was asking. Who was moving in next? Who was the next roommate? She sighed. They had all been her roommates at one point. It had started out with her, Daniel, Brittany and Bex, then Brittany and Bex started dating and got their own little love nest. Then Noel moved in. It had been the three of them for a while, Lovisa, Daniel and Noel, and it had been fun, then Daniel and Joseph started dating and mirrored Brittany and Bex. The Three Musketeers were no more. She was pursuing her Master's degree when Daniel had decided to leave the nest, and he stopped with his bachelors and got a job teaching high school band, which had been her dream as well. But fate is cruel, and because the band world was male dominated, she could not find work as a high school band director, so she got a job at the bank where she worked now. It was a double edged sword. While she made more money as a loan officer than she would have as a high school, or even college level teacher, she had a Bachelor's degree in music education and a Doctorate in conducting; her heart just wasn't in this line of work. She looked around at her friends. They had all gotten what they wanted. Brittany Porter was the lead percussionist of the Chicago symphony, Rebecca "Bex" Hamblin played piccolo and flute in the same symphony, Joseph Ecklecamp conducted the symphony, Daniel Neuner taught at a prestigious high school and Miranda Nichols peddled music related porn and other smut in her own shop. She shook her head and came back to the question at hand.

"I honestly don't know," she said, staring into her empty cup.

"Bitch you better figure it out! You can't be alone in that house by yourself!" slurred Daniel. He always got catty when he got drunk.

"What my more inebriated half means to say, "Joseph interjected, laying his huge hand over her comically small one, "is that we worry about you. That's all."

"Put an ad in the paper!" suggested Bex. Brittany nodded in agreement and said, "Can you imagine how many people would be on that! Rent free digs, I mean come on! Can't get much better than that!"

It was true. Her grandparents had bought the deed to the house and the land under it outright when they came to this country from people whose ancestors had once been prominent enough to own land back in the eighteen hundreds and had watched the Windy City spring up around them. Why they would sell to her grandparents in the nineteen sixties she would never know. As they owned the house and land, there was no rent to be paid, no mortgage to the bank, only amenities such as water and electricity. It was a deal better than any other in the Windy City, even with the developers constantly trying to get her out, but with such a great deal on the table it was sure to attract strange people.

"An ad in the paper?" she scoffed, "What if I wind up as a skin coat?"

"Skin coat?" Noel chimed.

"As in, some creeper flays me and wears my skin as a coat," Lovisa sometimes wondered why they were friends. Would it kill her to think like a serial killer for once?

"Lovi, dearest, "Joseph begged, "please do this for us, we can't leave you in that house alone with your demons."

"Besides, you could always interview people…thoroughly interview people," Miranda thought she was being helpful, they all did, but she was twenty six and it was high time she began living on her own. She voiced as much and her friends all looked each other, then at her. It was the same look. The pity look. The worried look. The look they reserved especially for her. She sighed. How had a night about Noel become a night about the demons of her past? She caved.

"All right, if it will make you all happy I will write up an ad and put it in the personals first thing tomorrow."

"No need. We have done it for you," Joseph said, producing a piece of paper from his satchel. "This is running in tomorrow's personals and every day after that until you have a new roommate."

There was nothing she could do. Everyone there wanted the best for her, everyone there wanted to see her safe, and most importantly, everyone else was bigger than her, with the exception of Brittany, who matched her five foot two inch frame. She took the paper and shoved it into Ponyo, moving him just enough that his eyes were seemingly looking at Daniel, who immediately began to curse and cry. He was beyond drunk.

"I think it's high time you got him home. He has school tomorrow," Lovisa commented. She was upset with her friends, but it wouldn't last long. They knew it and she knew it. They began to gather up their things, hugging and kissing Noel as they went. Her flight was in a few hours, and they would most likely never see her in person again.

She arrived home sometime around midnight, unlocked her door and looked around her kitchen. Most of Noel's things were gone, but a few things remained. Noel's dry erase calendar on the side of the fridge that matched hers hanging next to it, a few pictures here and there of the two together and with the gang, and her 'Hold me, I'm a fermata' mug in the dish drainer. It was all that was left. They had all left, one by one, and as she kicked off her heels and curled into bed all she could think was that she was truly and utterly alone. She began to cry. What did it matter if she were crying at twenty six if no one was around to see you? If no one stayed?

Across the solar system a stern father was punishing his younger son. He had threatened the very being of mankind and spent three years locked up as penance, but it had not done nearly enough to humble him in his father's opinion. It was almost as if, in the last five years, his oldest and youngest had switched personalities. It was now his youngest that was vain and cruel and cocky. If the punishment had worked for his brother, he reasoned that it could work for him too. He stripped him of his godly rights and powers; super human strength and durability, flight, and longevity. He grieved that that was all he could take from his youngest before exiling him to Midgard. His youngest was a genius and a master of magic. Unlike his brother, his powers resided in his mind, not a weapon, and no one, especially a father, could strip someone of their mind. The Allfather raised his spear and thrust the butt into his mortal son's chest, sending him flying off of the edge of the broken Bifrost. If there was one thing the Casket of Ancient Winters was good for, it was acting as a temporary Bifrost, although it never opened to the same sight. The Allfather bid Heimdall watch over his youngest.

"If Loki should wreak havoc, send for me," and he was gone. That left the elder brother. He was pained. He loved his brother, and he knew that this was best for him, but he grieved for him all the same.