Loki, Lord of...
"... and with the convergence of planets complete, all of Loki's memories and power shall be restored," the Enchantress warned the warriors that surrounded her.
"And doubtless he will be here not a moment later, full of fire and fury," Thor said gravely. He wasn't looking forward to fighting his brother, for all Loki's crimes against him, Loki was still his brother and that was a bond he could not break. Hopefully they could capture him without any serious injuries on either side.
The sky over Asgard took on an emerald hue as the spheres aligned, causing Thor and the cohort surrounding him to tense up as they prepared for battle. After a couple of minutes of absolute silence, the sky returned to its normal color and everyone looked around dumbly.
"Where is he?" Thor asked.
The Enchantress raised her hands and began to chant, the mist from the edges of the Bifrost gathering in front of her to form a picture of a young man dressed as a cowboy on a stage, dancing around a pole.
"Is it some kind of battle ritual?" Thor asked curiously.
Loki's shirt was tossed into the crowd of cheering women while they watched, before he whipped off his belt.
"I don't think so..." Amara the Enchantress offered, eyeing Loki's oiled up pecks.
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Xander gathered up the money around his feet and walked back stage. He'd been nervous as hell going up there in front of an audience, but the fear had quickly faded once he'd started dancing. Or maybe, the memories of being Loki had something to do with it. Really, looking back at things, it all made sense now. He was the father of Fenrir, of course the Alpha Primal would have chosen him as a host. Breaking prophecy and splitting the slayer line? As a god of chaos, wrecking prophecies was his bread and butter and splitting the slayer line... That should not have occurred.
Resurrecting Buffy was well within his power, but she should have been powerless as there was only one slayer spirit and she was empowering the next slayer. Ah, well, something to investigate later. The love spell called upon Aphrodite and she was probably still holding a grudge against him, which he could admit was perfectly understandable, he'd been a complete dick to her back then. Yes, looking back, he could see why things had happened as they did, gods and spirits acting as they had because they'd sensed his inner nature, which the Hellmouth had hidden from everyone, even himself. However, now he was off the Hellmouth, so the question was... what should he do now?
"Not bad, kid," the owner told him. "I've rarely seen a first timer do half as well. The beginning was a little rough, but you got into the swing of things soon enough. Have you considered making it a regular thing?"
Xander shook his head. "I plan on seeing all fifty states, and I can't do that from a stripper pole."
0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0
Xander examined the old fashioned leather doctors bag he'd gotten from the pawnshop. It had seen a lot of new life and death in its time which made it perfect for his purposes. Luck had been with him as he'd also discovered a set of sterling silver sewing needles with black silk thread and a cartoonish looking steel bear trap as well.
A bit of careful stitching, an invocation to his adopted mother and daughter later...
"I have watched way too many Disney movies," Xander said, dropping the last of his possessions into the leather bag before it snapped shut. "But they did have some great ideas," he admitted as he picked the bag up.
The world flickered aound him and he found himself standing in a dark basement, surrounded by a pentagram drawn in blood with a wave of fire roaring towards him. Being a god of fire, this was less than effective. Xander drank the fire then touched himself and his possessions, allowing the fire to completely obliterate the pentagram around him.
"Quick question," he said, as the fire died down. "Who summoned me and tried to set me on fire?"
"He did it!" a red robed cultist yelled pointing at what appeared to be a wizard with an old west theme.
Xander looked around once more, taking in the dozen or so black robed cultists, the young woman naked and chained to a wall next to a naked young woman with her heart ripped out, and made a snap decision. "I don't approve of sacrificing people, especially when it's used in an attempt to enslave me." Xander reached into his bag and drew out a sword. "I'm going to guess the lone cowboy over there is here to rescue the damsel, and give him a hand."
The chained up woman laughed as the wizard muttered the word cowboy, just before a large man in chainmail burst on the scene wielding a sword. Naturally, the first thing he did was attack Xander, while the cultists took flight.
"Can someone unchain me?" the girl called out as Xander found himself hard pressed by the Knight despite his inhuman strength and speed.
"I'll do it as soon as I get a chance," Xander promised, wishing he's trained more in sword wielding.
The knight redoubled his efforts while reciting hymns in Latin.
"That is rather impressive breath control," Xander admitted, "but, I've got better stamina than you." He let the Knight drive him back circling to the right, until he was in front of the girl. Snapping his fingers, he raised a wall of flame, causing the knight to leap back and allowing Xander a chance to snap the chains and freeing the young lady while the other flickered and vanished along with her chains.
"Here," Xander said, handing her his shirt, before spinning around to defend against the knight who had extinguished the flames using a Latin phrase and a vial of holy water.
The knight paused as he saw Xander protecting the girl. "I take it their attempts to summon the Father of Lies failed then?" he asked.
"You'll have to be more precise," Xander said, "that name has been used on a number of beings."
"The Greatest of God's Angels who Fell from Grace," the Knight said, being careful not to use any names.
"Never been an angel, never fell from grace, unless you count pissing off my father... Huh, there are some similarities. Anyway, no, I am not a part of that pantheon," Xander assured him.
The wizard returned and said, "Through no fault of my own, the building appears to be on fire. I suggest we continue this discussion elsewhere." He quickly stripped off his leather duster and handed it to the young woman to cover up with.
The four of them quickly exited the building, Xander holding the fire back while the wizard kept the air clear.
"So who did they summon?" the young woman asked as they fled the scene. "I mean, I tricked them with a glamour and they still managed to summon someone."
"Yeah, but you used a glamour of yourself, giving it some substance," Xander said as he considered it. "How much are you willing to bet you're down a pint of blood right now?"
"Rookie mistake," the wizard said as they ducked into a parking garage as the fire engine's siren sounded in the distance. "The closer something is to reality, the more of a connection it holds."
"I was a bit busy trying to save my own life," she complained.
"I know and I'm not faulting you for it, I'm simply using this as a teaching opportunity," the wizard explained.
"Can we get some formal introductions?" Xander requested.
"You first," the wizard snapped out.
"Okay, I'm Xander Harris, just graduated from high school and was on a road trip when I got summoned here, wherever here is," Xander replied.
"Just a high school student?" the wizard asked sarcastically.
"No one is 'just' anything," Xander replied. "Anyway I said I'd just graduated."
"I'm Molly carpenter," the damsel introduced herself.
"I'm Michael Carpenter, her father," the Knight said proudly.
"And I'm Harry, Harry Dresden," the western themed wizard introduced himself.
"It's nice to meet you all," Xander said as they stopped beside a beat up multicolor Volkswagen and a wood paneled station wagon. "Can anyone send me back to where I come from? I was supposed to pick up my car from the mechanic and check out of my motel room when I was summoned."
"I thought you were some mystical being from legend," Molly said.
"I probably count as that," Xander said with a shrug, "but in this incarnation I'm a D+ high school student who's trying to go on a Jack Kerouac type road-trip before I have to join the rat race."
"Meaning you remember your last incarnation and if I'm any judge it was a Named one," Harry said.
"You would be right," Xander agreed. "However in this life I'm not, so who can send me back to California?"
"California?" the three chorused.
"Dude, seriously?" Xander asked. "What, the accent didn't give me away?"
"I thought it was a ruse to disguise your origins," Michael admitted, retrieving a pair of cargo's for Molly to wear.
"Nope, Cali boy, born and bred," Xander said. "Never even set foot outside my home town until after graduation. I've only got a couple months of freedom before I have to return, so..."
"It'd probably be easier to just buy you a bus ticket," Harry said. "The quickest would be a trip through the Never-Never, but a bus would be easier."
"The What-What?" Xander asked.
Harry turned to stare at him. "You don't know about the Never-Never?"
"Not in this life or the last one," Xander replied. "I take it from the way you're talking about it that it's common knowledge?"
"The land of the fae, just a step away, and with paths that lead everywhere," Molly said, returning Harry's duster.
"I may be farther from home than I thought," Xander admitted. "I don't suppose you guys know a quick route to the Bifrost bridge?" he asked hopefully.
The three turned to stare at him.
"Is that a no?" Xander asked. "Because I'm getting a serious 'No' vibe here."
Typed by - Sitheus Maximus / Ipsith
Whooo! Xander-is-Loki-in-Dresden-verse! Yey! So many possible Shenanigans!
