The woman was peculiar. Not in a bad way, but not in a good way either. She seemed extremely serene in this place, as if she was simply taking her morning walk.

He was still carefully staring at her, ready to react to the slightest move she would make.

"I was not sent by anyone" She answered calmly "I end up here every time I want to. I don't know who is the "he" you mentioned."

She slowly started to sit down. Quite small, even for a woman. Short, curly dark hair. Brown eyes. Suntanned skin.

"Where do you come from, then? And how did you get here?" He rapidly asked.

"I come from Australia, on Earth. Can I ask you some questions too?"

"From Midgard?!" He exclaimed, deliberately ignoring her request.

At first, he could not believe it. How could some mere humans travel between universes simply because they want to? Then, he remembered his encounter with this Earth sorcerer with a red cape and some sparkling teleportation rings. Not really something he was keen on recalling, as he had been trapped and ridiculed so quickly by this petty magician. But he had realized that there were beings with powerful psychic powers on this planet.

"Midgard…" The woman said "I like the sound of it. Why do you call Earth this way?"

She was casually sit now, while he was still standing above her. Either she was unbelievably good at hiding the marks of surprise, either nothing in the entire universe (and beyond) could possibly impress her. This reminded him the despicably casual attitude of this so-called Sorcerer Supreme and irritated him even more.

"I want more details." He ordered, with a cold and fierce voice "What is this place?"

She smiled. She even seemed genuinely happy to speak to him. And, by Hell, so was he, but she must never know it.

"I cannot give you many details about it. I do not know much about this area. I have not even found a proper name yet. What you see of me now is just a projection of my mind. My body is still on Midgard, as you call it."

"So, Midgard has its own mages now, but with as little knowledge as possible of what surrounds them." He concluded.

The woman shrugged.

"I do not know what you refer to as a mage. But I agree with you, I still have a lot to learn about this place. I would like to know your name, please."

He decided to sit as well. Talking with his head down was becoming uncomfortable. Of course, why not having a sort of friendly chat with some eerie woman in an inter-dimensional trap? It all made perfect sense.

"My name is Loki of Asgard, God of Mischief. You may have heard about me." He added, with an ironical grin.

His interlocutor paused for a moment. She was not shell-shocked, as he assumed she would have been, but was visibly recalling something.

"Indeed. I was sure to have seen you before, but I did not remember when and where. You destroyed half of New York with a reptile-like alien army a few years ago, didn't you?"

She might as well have asked him what the weather was like. Loki fought against his growing desire to punch her in the face out of frustration.

"I meant no offense." She added, as if she had guessed his intention "It was just that I briefly heard it on the news and that was the end of it. The people of Earth acted as if New York was its one and true symbol, which it clearly isn't. However, I must say that I am not a great fan of you killing hundreds of people. Do you have some other world domination plan up your sleeve?"

"The Earth does not interest me anymore." Said Loki "And I did not end up here because I wanted to. I am looking for a way out and you will help me."

"How could I?" Answered the Midgardian "Your situation is strongly different from mine. As I said, I can access this place while my body is still on Earth. On the other hand, you seem to be trapped here, body and soul. I am only a visitor without any power. I cannot open dimensional portals or anything of the kind."

Loki clenched his fists. Apparently, she was sincere. At first, he was so relieved to meet another living being in this desert area that he had suddenly thought everything was going to be solved. How stupid of him… But that did not mean giving up. He had to learn more about her.

"If you call yourself a visitor without any power, why do you come here then?" He inquired.

"Because I like it. Such a neutral and quiet atmosphere is difficult to find on Earth."

The Asgardian burst into a cynical laughter.

"A neutral and quiet atmosphere… Indeed, our situation is strongly different. I suppose that having to stay here forever with no way out would make you reconsider your appreciation!"

Loki was starting to despise her. What did she want to prove, with this disinterested and standoffish attitude? She was ignorant and pretentious. Quite simply, she only deserved his contempt.

"I agree." She said "And I see that you do not like me, which makes us even. It is a shame since you probably are the single inhabitant of this entire dimension."

Now she was the one with a cold smile on the face. Loki immediately felt an irrepressible wave of panic across his mind. She was right, after all. He would better not discard the only potential help he had.

"Have you heard of the Tesseract?" He asked.

He instantly saw a light of renewed interest in her eyes and felt truly relieved.

"Is it a device?"

"Indeed. A very powerful one. It allows its wielder to open portals and wormholes in and between dimensions."

The woman remained silent for a moment, thinking about what he just explained.

"Hm. If this Tesseract is the only thing that allows to go in and out of this place, I do not know how you could escape it. For now. You must be a very powerful being if whoever-its-wielder-is chose to imprison you here."

Loki restrained a smile.

"There is a reason why I am called a God."

She did not answer right away. Loki could almost see her thoughts moving in her mind. She was clever, undeniably. This was the reason why he decided not to mention Thanos. He could not trust her.

"I cannot guarantee anything." She started "But I know how to take advantage of the very few things I learnt about this place. I will help you."

Loki was perplexed. All along their conversation, she had never shown any sign of sympathy towards him and now she declared to help him? This did not make any sense.

"You seem overwhelmed with gratitude." She sarcastically noted.

"I certainly am suspicious. You do not seem to have any particular interest in aiding me, and yet you vow to do so."

"Well, indeed I am not the charitable type of person. I am not vowing anything. But that does not mean I am cruel either. If it reassures you, I have two specific reasons to help you. First, no matter what I do, each time I will want to come back to this place, you will be there, so gone will be its neutral and quiet atmosphere…"

She was really starting to enjoy herself now, and Loki did not like it. At all.

"Second, when I first accessed it, I was not immediately able to go back to Earth. So, I have more or less been in the same situation. It would be quite hypocritical from me not to advise you, wouldn't it?"

"Absolutely."

Loki could not resist. Although he did not appreciate this strange Midgardian, he was glad to have someone to talk to. And fortunately, that someone was not as dumb as most of the humans he had met before. Yet, being completely dependent of someone else was beyond irritating. Most of all he knew that, sooner or later, she would have to return to her physical body, leaving him alone again in this white void. But he would rather spend all his life here than ask her to stay a little longer.

"Who are you?" He abruptly asked "What kind of powers do you possess?"

She stared at him. In her brown eyes were shining some thin reflects of gold.

"I already told you. My body is not different from the one of any other human on Earth, but my mind is not limited to the physical world. It is a state everyone can potentially attain with intense practice, but very few are aware of it. One man is especially known for his abilities. His name is Doctor Strange."

She stopped when she saw Loki smiling. And then, for the first time since their encounter, she looked surprised.

"You are a good liar." Said the Asgardian "Trying to derive my interest on someone potentially more powerful than you, good idea. You are different from other humans. So, I ask you again: what powers do you possess?"

The amazed look on the woman's face disappear. Her eyes were now shimmering with amusement.

"You are one difficult to confuse, God of Mischief!" She acknowledged "I will certainly not get bored with you. I guess if you really want to know… Prepare to wait, because I will not tell you. At least, not now."

At this moment, she sounded like a child taunting his younger sibling to catch up his favourite toy. Was it the same person who travelled between dimensions looking for peace and tranquillity?

"Watch your tone." Threatened Loki "You could regret it."

"I could very much indeed." She assumed "You are dangerous. Perhaps I should leave you here, where you will not bother anyone, and find myself another neutral and quiet atmosphere."

Her arrogance was getting so much on his nerves that, before he even considered his gesture, Loki grabbed her neck to raise her above him.

In fact, Loki would have grabbed her neck to raise her above him. But his hand only met emptiness. She had not lied about this. He was only seeing a projection, without any physical support. He definitely should not underestimate her. But his anger had gotten the upper hand, he was defeated, imprisoned, ridiculed…

And yet, the scornful remark he expected never came. She had not moved and was curiously fixing his hand, still traversing her throat.

"I did not mean to laugh at you." She said "Even though, you must admit, you do not make things easy. It is not my fault if you ended up here at the first place."

At least, she had the decency of not asking again why he had been imprisoned here, Loki thought. He slowly lowered his arm. What was the point of that, anyway? What would he have done if he had been able to hurt her?

"I have to go, now." She immediately added "I will come back."

She looked away from him.

Now was the moment he expected.

Loki waited for her to make the first move. He did not know if it was going to work, but he had to try. Even a non-physical entity could serve as a channel for his magic. It all happened in a second. She disappeared. And Loki's spell followed her, grabbed her, found the way out. All happened so fast that he did not have the time to see her reaction. He did not feel sorry for her. He did not have to be. The only thought that crossed his mind was that he still did not know her name.

And Loki opened his eyes.

A wooden ceiling.

Unbearable heat.

Those were the two things that struck him as soon as Loki opened his eyes. He was lying on his back, inside a house made of wood, where it was unbearably hot. So far, nothing truly abnormal. Maybe he could move now.

He slowly rose up and looked around him. The place was small but overflowed with stuff. Daylight entered by two windows on his left. The equipment was the strict minimum: a corner kitchen with a table and two chairs, shelves fixed on the wall where a dozen of large boxes were carefully organized, a small coffee table with books piled up on it, and an uncomfortable couch, on which he was currently sitting. Loki staggered a little when he stood on his feet. Something was not right. He felt extremely ill-at-ease, and he knew that it was not because of the heat. A quick glance at his hands confirmed his suspicion.

They were not his.

The God of Mischief took a deeper look at his arms, his legs, his chest.

He was her.

Well, more exactly, in her. He was trapped inside the Midgardian's body. Was his voice even still his?

"How ironical." He said out loud, immediately realizing that he had spoken with the human's voice as well.

Then, Loki thought, from one prison to another. How ironical, indeed. What had happened to his body? Was it now inhabited by the woman's soul?

Loki felt a fit of rage burning in his chest. For a few seconds, when he woke up, he had thought that the nightmare was over, and that wherever he was on Earth, he was going to find his way out. How stupid he was…

He took a few nervous steps inside the cabin. The air was incredibly dry. Looking around for water, his eyes caught a strange detail on the shelves in front of him.

There where something moving in each box. He came closer, intrigued.

Oh, better and better. Snakes. A Midgardian woman with mysterious psychic powers and eleven boxes containing snakes, what else could he expect?

Loki was found of snakes. He had even turned into one a couple of times, including a trick he played against his older brother when he was a child. Good old days. But why was the woman collecting them? Most of them were sleeping peacefully, enjoying the sun rays. Only one appeared tensed, as he was nervously moving. Out of curiosity, Loki took the large box off the shelf and put it on the table. Its sides were translucent, blurring the figure of the snake. Loki carefully took off the lid to have a more precise image.

He literally heard the fangs chatter close to his ear, only avoiding the bite due to a prodigious reflex. He dropped the box, from which the little brown snake had sprung up like a devil, and took a few steps backwards. The reptile was contracted into an 'S' shape, mouth gaping open and ready to strike again.

"Stop!" Ordered Loki.

The snake did not react to his command. The god immediately felt a gaping fear within his veins. He could not use his powers. Worst, he realized that he did not even feel his magic. It was not like in the white void, where he was still in possession of his abilities but had no mean to use them whatsoever. Which meant…

Which meant that he was completely human. Defenceless. Mortal.

And that a single bite of this creature could possibly kill him.

When the snake made a sudden move towards him, Loki caught the kitchen knife he had spot on the counter and threw it right to his neck, nailing the animal to the floor.

His breadth was jolting. Loki stood in the middle of the cabin, incapable of looking away from the twitching little body.

How stupid he was…

He slowly passed his hands on his face. Only then did he notice that they were shaking. So that was how it felt, to be human. Being so weak that even something as tiny as a snake could end his life.

His throat was dry. Yes, he recalled, humans could not survive long without water either. He opened the closets surrounding him, and finally fell on a water bottle, inside a tiny white cupboard. He drank avidly. The water was blissfully cold and it felt like the best thing that happened to him since he was trapped by Thanos.

Once the bottle was empty, he decided to take a closer look at the body he inhabited. The door on his right gave way to a small room containing a shower and a sink, with a mirror on top of it. He had given little attention to the Midgardian's physical appearance during their conversation. The clothes she had put on were light and very simple, and she (he?) was bare-foot. Her body was rather muscular, for a woman, and well-tanned by the sun. Her face was harmonious. Had Loki not been in such a desperate situation, he could have found some charm in the Midgardian's figure.

Being in a woman's body was not completely new to him, as he had already changed his appearance, but he had never experienced the body of another. Feeling deprived of his powers terrified him. He could not stay like this. He had to find a way to be truly himself again.

His thoughts were so conflicted that he did not manage to establish a proper plan. He searched the house for any kind of clue that might indicate his position.

Australia, he recalled, that was the name she had pronounced when he asked where she was coming from. What was it? A city, a region, a country? Then, Loki found a paper pinned to the wooden wall next to the entrance door. On it was hand-written a list of meaningless words.

OKA mail truck, Oodnadatta: Wednesday 11 AM, Friday 10 AM.

The only thing he understood was "truck". What did OKA mean? What was Oodnadatta? And what was a mail?

Loki angrily punched the wall and felt a wave of pain in his hand. Of course. Fragile humans…

What should he do, now? Where should he start? And why, by Hell, had he rush to steal this human's body without knowing anything about her?

Loki felt a paper under his foot, which must have fallen when he hastily grabbed the kitchen knife. He picked it up. The hand-writing was strongly different from the one pinned to the wall, much harder to read.

Hi Elisa,

Hope you're okay. Guess you must be in Witjira by now. Just wanted to thank you for last time. Don't hesitate to pass by when you'll come back. Door always open!

Take care,

Archie.

At last, he knew. Elisa. Loki wondered if it made a difference for him, to know the human's name. Probably not, he tried to convince himself. And yet, he could not help fighting a small accusing voice in his head. Had he killed her? Had he condemned himself by the same occasion? Judging by the tone of this letter, this Archie was not her lover but maybe one of her friends. Although Loki had the appearance and the voice of Elisa, it would not be difficult for someone who knew her a little to notice a difference. Without any physical or magical power, and almost zero knowledge of his situation, he was done for.

Loki pulled himself together. He would not give up so easily. This trap was far less terrifying than the one he just escaped from. He resolved to take at least a look outside.

When he opened the door, he was physically struck but the heat. His feet were aching, his head was spinning and the sun was so bright that he could not see anything for several seconds. He took a few uneasy steps and contemplated the landscape surrounding him. Sand, trees, bushes and rocks. No sign of any other human presence. If the main intention of Elisa was to be forgotten, then she doubtlessly succeeded.

A strange melody pulled him out of his reflexion. He came back inside the house and realized that the music was coming from a small rectangular device that humans called a phone. They managed to do an incredible number of things with that. The screen indicated "Archie T.".

Great, Loki thought. What should he do now? But the music stopped, and, although Loki had not touched the phone, a man's voice began to speak.

"Elisa, this is Archie. I'm sorry but this is really urgent now, I need you right away…"

Loki did not hear the rest of the sentence, because in the blink of an eye, he was surrounded by whiteness and silence.

Loki the God of Mischief. He had a suitable name. Even though she knew that she would return to her body, the humiliation of having been so bluntly outrun was stuck in her throat. At least, she could take a look at her new frame.

He (she?) looked like a normal man, but only from the outside. She felt… Incredibly powerful. The god's physical force must be at least ten times bigger than a human's. His clothes were strange too, made of a more resistant kind of fabric. Did she also have his voice?

"I did not see that coming." She said, and she chuckled at Loki's deep and cold tone.

What was he up to with her body? She could not help but worry a little. If he had so easily found a way to get his soul out, maybe he could actually take his body back to Earth, or wherever the Hell he came from. But that also meant taking her back, so no matter what he did, she would be here. And it would not be easy to get rid of her.

Despite being anxious, she was not angry at him. Being trapped in Whatever-its-name was unpleasant, to say the least. No wonder why he had so suddenly tried to run from it. Although he did not look like the type of person to punch his way out, she understood how fed up he was with this place. Additionally, their first meeting had not been so friendly. She had always been accused of being arrogant, but now she had found a sizeable challenger.

"So, this is how it feels like, being a god." She solemnly declared.

There was something else. A non-physical force that she could not reach. Something dormant, which could be as destructive as creative. Not only did he have super human strength, he also had immense powers. She tried to recall the fragments of news she heard after Loki's attempt at invading Earth with the help of the Chitauris (was it the right name?) but everything had been focused on the powerful Avengers. As if no one thought useful to describe their adversary, since he was already defeated. This was one of the main reasons why wars would forever be waged, Avengers or not. Consequently, she knew almost nothing about what Loki was capable of. The good thing was, neither did he about her. He did not seem to be even aware of her existence (why would he?), and his disdainful attitude because of her human condition gave her a clear advantage.

Alright, she had to go now. Loki was certainly going to suffer even more when he would be back but she did not care that much.

And she opened her eyes.

Suggested end song: Trust, Jeanne Added.