Loki had been too distracted, these last few days. The books the mortal girl had lent him had been welcome and oddly riveting, though their quality could hardly compare to the histories and songs in Asgard. But it had been a very long time since he'd let himself take the time to read anything, consumed as he was with his planning. It had been refreshing, to let himself out of the maze of his own mind for a little while. And it made him almost foolishly hopeful. The girl Lyra who had been called after him- Darcy had been right, he could not resist a soft spot for such- had not gotten what she wanted, but Loki had given up on that long ago. She'd accomplished her goal, and that was far more important. A trickster could win. That never quite managed to happen in any of his books back…back in Asgard. Not home, never home. Never home again you gave that up you ruined it you fool should have planned better should have been stronger more ruthless should have killed Thor when he was in chains pity will end you freezing them all would be so easy—
No. Loki had read, and it had been a small renewal, but he had left his mischief and his chaos sit idle too long. The mortals were already losing their anxiety, hoping that the strange malfunctions had finally ended for good. There hadn't even been any riots out of the usual the day before. So he would need something to catch their attention, something terrifying.
His little trick took far more of his magic than usual, and Loki felt more tired than he had since his last defeat as he viewed the fruits of his labor. It was worth it. The mortals insisted on storing their dead for days in cool buildings, in draining their blood and dyeing them into some poor facsimile of life. Then they buried them to let the bodies rot. It was disgusting. The few places he found that still cleanly burned their dead Loki let out of this particular madness. He had to encourage sensible practices if he were to rule.
Those that didn't…well. It was funny, the ones that he left a doppelganger behind to watch the show with. The looks on their faces—priceless. The screaming certainly let Loki know that the lesson had been well taught. He'd strewn their saved dead through the towns and streets and homes, some from the cool building with the fresh ones and some from the strange cemeteries they kept. Already in some of the hotter areas the flies were gathering, thanks to a small cantrip Loki left in place over each area to speed the rot. Let them see how filthy a habit it really was.
The fresh round of riots started in the places it had been day when Loki sprung his little trick, and they remained the worst. Loki supposed seeing a corpse appear in the middle of the street before their very eyes could do that to a mortal. They were oddly advanced in several ways—transportation, he supposed because Midgardian animals made such poor mounts, and communication—but the mortals seemed wholly unable to grasp even the simplest concepts of magic.
Their advancements in communications were the glory of this trick, and Loki was very nearly amazed to see that while they were quick in removing the bodies from the public eye the news reports on the matter only made it worse. First it was assumed to be the work of some lone group, but as the realization spread that it had happened everywhere people began to panic. Loki had no idea what a 'zombie apocalypse' was, but he was eternally grateful to the people who apparently believed in them. He'd never seen people try to arm themselves or hole up in their homes so quickly.
"Jane? Jane, are you okay? Can I come over?" Darcy was trying not to freak out as she called, but she could hear her own voice shaking. Damn her love of horror movies. Okay, so random dead bodies being…dead…wasn't exactly a zombie apocalypse or demonic invasion, but it was still weird enough to warrant a visit to the apartment of the dude with a magical hammer.
Of course, Jane lived in a different (and much nicer; stupid S.H.I.E.L.D. payscales) building. Which meant Darcy would have to leave her apartment and venture out into dead-body-land.
Crap.
It took her almost an hour to work up the courage to actually leave the building, and the only reason Darcy managed it was because Jane called again, worrying about how long she was taking. When she actually did make it outside, Darcy could have sworn she saw a CDC van (even though she would have no idea what one would look like). Even if she was just fooling herself with paranoia, there were more people out and about than had any right to be and most of them were running and yelling their heads off. Darcy saw one guy trying to bust through the windshield of some random car that was still rolling, pushing him along the asphalt and the driver honking inside. He was pulled off by a group of people, who just started laying into him. Sirens were sounding off everywhere, mixing with the car alarms to create a cacophony that was starting to give Darcy a headache already.
She started to turn and head back into her building when she saw someone across the street climbing over the gate into another building just as crappy as hers.
Right. She splurged on a taxi, amazed that there were ones even still running. Fucking New York. Riot at the drop of a hat, but the cabs were always running.
Loki had grown bored watching the chaos his trick had created. Midgardians apparently reacted to the unusual in the same way, no matter where they were: screaming, crying, and setting things on fire. Pack animals, really, the way they immediately grouped up against anything or anyone they could blame. Though Loki couldn't really think them pathetic for it; Asgardians had always done just the same. But it was all so very much the same and Loki grew tired of the show quickly.
He was tired, though, and couldn't pull another trick quite yet. Perhaps a visit to the mortal girl was in order. At the very least, her anger once she realized he'd been the cause of the corpses everywhere would be amusing.
It took Loki slightly longer than normal to find her, and he was surprised to find her at his brother's woman's apartment. He supposed she'd gone there to seek solace in the panic, and Loki felt almost disappointed in her for that. Loki debated a few more moments before slipping inside the apartment to observe. If Thor couldn't sense him when he was standing right in front of the oaf, there was nothing to worry about.
As soon as Darcy walked through the door of Jane's apartment, she was very nearly tackled by the older woman. "Darcy! I'm so glad you got here okay; I've been watching the news. It's mayhem out there."
Darcy wrenched herself free before she could pass out from lack of air. Jane looked like something right out of a Disney movie, all frail and fragile maideny-ness, but Darcy would not have been surprised to find out she wrestled bears in her free time. Then again, she sort of did. Except, like, a straight one. "I'm fine, seriously. I got a cab. Which, props to that cabbie. Dedication." Darcy looked around the apartment, confused. "Where's Thor? It's just not the same coming in without him exploding my eardrums."
"Lucky for you, Darce. Thor's been drafted into crowd control and cleanup. The Director's convinced it's a new villain. Big. As bad as Loki was before Thor defeated him." Jane turned as she spoke; leading her from the entrance, but Darcy was rooted to the spot. She felt like hitting herself. Duh! This had that flash bastard's prints were all over it. Which was a little obvious of him, but Darcy supposed he was sure he'd convinced S.H.I.E.L.D. that he was second-rate with a few escape tricks by now.
"Y-Yeah. It would have to be. They're some seriously sick freak, too." Hope you're listening, asshole. It was almost his nickname by now.
Jane chuckled slightly, and Darcy relaxed a bit. She'd been on edge ever since she'd turned on the news and called Jane, but if Jane was laughing things would be fine. "Aren't all supervillains? Come on, take a seat. It's been a while since I've seen you outside of work and the bar. I might start missing you if you keep being so antisocial." Jane sat down on the couch and patted a spot next to her. "Although maybe that's a good thing if I'm more worried about you getting out of the house than a new supervillain."
Darcy plopped down beside her, ever the less graceful one. "We're getting jaded, Janie. Next thing you know we'll be complaining about the weather while cars explode next to us." Darcy looked at the news on Jane's massive TV (bought at the insistence of Thor when he'd first returned and they'd moved to New York, who thought the people in the magic screens might like to stretch out some) and shuddered. "Can we watch something else? It was bad enough getting here, even though they'd cleared out the bodies. Just…so creepy thinking about it."
"Yes, of course." Jane quickly clicked off the news and turned to Darcy. "Do you want to watch something else? It's going to be a while before I let you leave, you know. Riots are bad news, and we're in New York."
Darcy grinned. "I know. Dare you to sit through Star Wars prequels with me. I still think you look like Padme." If there was one way to make Jane break out the booze, it was the prequels. Darcy had long been immune to bad movies, mainly so she could force them on Jane.
Jane groaned. "Yeah, right. I think I'd die if I had to wear the get-ups she did. Please, no."
"Whatever, they're pretty. Princess Bride?"
Loki rolled his eyes at the mortal women's sudden lackadaisical attitude towards the chaos. Pack animals: get more than one together and they're fine. These two would have the opposite reaction of most, with everyday being so full of monsters and heroes for them. He'd have to take it to heart; he couldn't let the rest of the mortals become so jaded if he was to keep them in line.
The 'movie' they chose to watch was…interesting, but Loki failed to see the apparent fascination in it. It must have been powerful, for the mortal women each seemed to know every line. He grew bored again, and went to search the residence.
It was not an opportunity he'd had before, or thought to take advantage of, and Loki was surprised by the evident banality of his brother's new existence. Thor had always been one for lavish decorations and spreading his possessions everywhere he could, as if to take ownership of as much territory as possible. But the apartment he and the mortal scientist shared was neat and seemed almost sparse. The most interesting thing about it was the strange plastic stars on the ceiling of the bedchamber, clumsily arranged in to the constellations visible from the palace on Asgard. Thor's handiwork was evident, and Loki was surprised that his brother had ever paid such attention to the night sky. He'd always thought the great oaf too drunk, tired from battle, or in the company of a woman to really appreciate it.
Really, the only hints to Thor's presence that Loki could recognize were an abundance of Midgardian simulated fighting games and a book he remembered from Asgard. It was a book of tales that Frigga read when he and Thor were still in the nursery. Loki can't resist a sneer. Thor had ever been a sentimental man, and this was proof. Still, he couldn't resist a flip through it, and there was something strange: one of the stories was missing, cut out so carefully that it was invisible except for the gap in page numbers. Checking the contents, Loki saw that it was 'The Winter King': Thor's favorite, about the war with the frost giants and how they fell. They should have been destroyed, Odin was weak would always be weak it was a favor. They should have hailed me as a hero and yet here I am thrown aside again but not for long Midgard will fall and soon I shall be my father's equal and then he will see…Loki dropped the book, realizing he had set it afire as is thoughts swirled. It was ash before it hit the carpet, and he stared at it a moment before disappearing.
Darcy had been gone an hour by the time Thor returned, having helped quell the last of the riots in the city. He looked exhausted, and Jane ordered him to bed with a kiss and a promise that she'd bring him a snack. Her poor warrior. He was in the bedroom for only a moment before he ran back out and grabbed her, yelling.
"Jane, how do you fare? Are you all right? Did he hurt you? Has he cast any sorceries upon you?" Thor's voice was panicked, and Jane could only shake her head until he calmed some.
"Thor, honey, what are you talking about?"
"Loki has been here, my love." He said it quietly, but Jane could already feel herself falling as she heard him.
"Oh." And she'd thought she was done with nightmares.
