Loki's POV

It was not often that he introduced himself as the god of mischief, and when the words simply rolled off his tongue, it felt rather odd. He'd never been quite accustomed to be calling himself "god" in Asgard, where all the other gods were greater than him. He suppressed a smirk that was suddenly building up in him – this was earth, he could easily manipulate people a whole lot more easily than in Asgard. Oh, this was going to be fun.

It should be very easy to manipulate one of these humans in order to get his ways.

So when the mortal so-called "Victoria" raised a blonde brow at him and laughed a dry laugh, he couldn't help but narrow his eyebrows at her. What was so funny about the truth?

The other mortal, Jane, gaped at her younger cousin in astonishment. Victoria laughed as well at her reaction.

"What? I mean, come on, Jane. You're buying this dude's crap?" she asked.

Loki's mind was currently trying to keep up with the blonde mortal's way of speaking, first beginning with dude, then with crap. What the hell were those two anyways? But he kept his mouth shut, obviously not wanting to make himself look like a fool.

"Vickie, he's Loki, Thor's brother-"

Victoria rolled her eyes and gestured to him. "Loki had red hair. This guy's hair is like Severus Snape. Minus the greasiness."

Loki stared open-mouthed at the tall blonde girl who had just spouted random nonsense about him. "Excuse me?"

"Tell me, what is the name of your brother Thor's real wife?" she snapped, leaning over him so that their faces were barely an inch apart. By now, the god of mischief was quite flustered at this girl's brazen attitude.

His green eyes trailed off to Jane's surprised form for a split second; she had stood in shock at her younger cousin's question.

"…Thor isn't married," he replied, after thinking for a few seconds. What was this mortal up to?

She straightened up at scoffed slightly, and then looked at Jane. "I thought Sif was married to your brother."

A dry laugh left the man's lips at the name of the goddess of war. Sif linked with Thor? Now that was something new. Sure, they were close since they grew up like siblings, but as husband and wife? Nuh-uh. Hell no.

"And pray where, dear mortal, did you hear of that?" he asked, tilting his head slightly to the side.

"Recorded in every single book and article that has Norse mythology in it says that. It was handed down from the B.C. years up to now," the blonde mortal replied. "But you imply it's wrong."

If Loki hadn't calmed himself down, he would've strangled this impudent young mortal. She acted – and had some features that mirrored Thor's. Quick, foolish, and hot-tempered.

"Then history has handed your generation lies," he said in a velvet-smooth voice. "Sif has always been Thor's fighting playmate. And nothing more. Or rather, I'm not certain, for Sif always had a secretive eye for my brother, yet it's positive that he doesn't notice, being the thick-headed idiot he is." The last few words came out a bit more bitterly than he expected.

Victoria folded her arms across her chest and glowered down at Loki. She looked at Jane. "What do you suppose we do? I don't particularly trust this guy, Jane."

Jane stared at him for a few seconds. "I don't…either. But we have to help him, Vickie. C'mon," she said softly, and then whispered something in the taller female's ear that was inaudible to Loki.

Much to Loki's surprise, Victoria's features softened until it almost looked the complete opposite than it was much earlier. She actually looked kind and friendly like Jane.

"Fine. Fine," she sighed, rubbing her temples. She looked at Loki with compassion that almost made his stomach writhe in slight regret. "You must be hungry."

I was rather shocked when he was able to get out of bed. At first I protested that I would've brought him food or something, due to some fractured bones and wounds, but he refused assistance and got up on his own. A thin smirk played on his lips when I stared at him as he removed the bandages I had made on his ribs. My mouth was hanging open as I ogled the scars and wounds on his pale flesh fade and become reduced to nothing.

He had stared at the menu for a few minutes before deciding on a pulled-pork sandwich. "You can order a whole lot more than that, I know you're hungry," I say quietly, without looking up from the plastic sheet. When he told the waitress what he wanted, I realized that he had ordered half of what was written on the menu. I was slightly glad that Jane had persuaded me to take her money.

"So…" I started, after the waitress waddled back to the kitchen. "Why did you end up here?"

He seemed to ponder the question over in his mind, looking into my eyes as if he was trying to detect something in me. Playing with the metal sporks a few seconds he replied, "To put it simply the bridge that connected Asgard with the other realms shattered."

My eyes lit up. "The Bifrost? But…isn't the Bifrost a rainbow? How can a rainbow break?"

Loki, or whoever this guy was, grew a smirk on his lean features. It annoyed me how suave and smooth this guy acted, as if he knew everything was wrapped easily around his features. "Yes, the bridge is the Bifrost," he said in his velvety voice. "And to the last two, yes and no, it is because it hangs over the side of a waterfall and light causes it, but is not necessarily a rainbow. You humans come up with the most amusing ideas."

I rolled my eyes. "I guess whoever wrote the Norse mythology was high on mushrooms at the time."

He smiled faintly, then asked "What else did it say about me?"

I thought for a little while, trying to remember what else I had read while I was working at Book Off. "Well, you were married in your teenage years to a goddess named Sigyn, and had four or so kids. You also had other mistresses." His eyebrows shot up as if in surprise. I stopped, because I knew the next few parts weren't that nice. Definitely not nice.

"…and then?" he prodded, his green eyes staring deep into mine. "Tell me, I won't bite."

"Um, you caused the death of Baldur, and as punishment, one of your little boys was turned into a wolf, and ate your other son. The entrails were used as chains to bind you to a rock, where an enormous snake hung over you, dripping venom. Sigyn held a bowl, catching the venom, but when it was full and she had to empty it, the venom would sting your eyes. You would cry and writhe in pain, causing the world to have earthquakes. After time, your bonds slowly loosened, so you escaped. Then when the world will end, you would rise with your children and destroy the gods, and destroy the worlds as revenge."

He was as still as a statue when I finished, only the blinking of his emerald eyes informed the world that he was alive. I squirmed slightly in my seat at the rather uncomfortable silence.

"I'm glad it's just a mortal fairytale," he said dismissively, the conniving smirk returning back to his pale face. "Although the last part sounds rather tempting."

I laugh ironically. I could definitely imagine this smooth-talking, attractive, and mysterious man wreaking havoc all over the place, but the thought that this same person was wearing Jane's bunny pj's wasn't adding to the Armaggedon idea.

"But…the part that you were an outcast among the Aesir…was that…true?" I ask tentatively, tracing circles on the table.

Loki's eyes focus steadily on mine and almost seemed as if he's piercing my whole being, and he's boring himself into my very soul, transferring an enormous deal of sorrow into my heart. "Yes. I have always been an outcast." He smiled. "You finally said something that was right."

I noted the bitterness that was in his voice, it matched his expression and his demeanor, and finally everything clicked. "I opt to guess that you know why."

"You weren't always a part of the Aesir." The sad, slightly cold smile widened on his face. "You were a frost giant, you ran away because the giants bullied you due to your size."

He laughed bitterly. "Not quite. Odin took me as a child as a means of uniting the Frost Giants and the Asgardians. Pathetic, really. Odin happens to kidnap me, while my real father made no attempt to take me back." Loki inhales deeply and gazes off into space. I suddenly realize how this guy is quite like me: our depression was painfully obvious to everyone, but we refused any help that was offered to us. We were both quite the walking mental case.

"So," he said out of the blue, "I got married to a goddess named 'Sigyn,' hmm?"

"That's what's they said, although it's pretty much false," I say with a smile. My eyes follow the fat waitress who's coming towards our table, pushing a dinner cart loaded with several trays of food.

"Do you know what the counterpart of Sigyn is in your language?" he asks, with a stupid "I-know-something-you-don't" smile. I shake my head.

The waitress, who had a look of complete irritation on her face, loaded the trays onto our table, crowding it up with steaming hot breakfast food. Loki flashed her a charming smile, to which she grew an unbelievably lovesick face and nearly swooned before going back into the kitchen.

"All right, c'mon, what does it mean?" I ask impatiently, squirting some mustard on my scrambled egg and toast.

The smirk on his thin lips deepened. "It's Victoria."