Chapter 24: Double, Double, Toil and Trouble!
Crowds grew as the pandemonium spread throughout the casino. Word of the big jackpot being hit traveled quickly.
Tony turned to Loki. "Did you…."
Loki smirked.
"Oh my gawd! I can't wait to tell my buddies!" Walter grabbed Tony's arm. "Can I borrow your cell phone? Mine's dead and I gotta call at least one of them. They can start looking."
"Looking for what?"
"A nice place on the bayou we can live in," Walter sighed dreamily. "I've been hopin' one day to be able to afford a place to live. Now I can, and I can have my friends too."
Loki smiled smugly at Star. "A worthy cause," he hissed in Stark's ear. "And besides, someone had to win it eventually, correct?"
Stark's eyes narrowed, "Well, you did not need to meddle, did you?"
He suddenly realized he was talking to empty space.
"LOKI!" Tony shouted. "Where the hell did he go now?"
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Loki groaned as he realized where they had appeared. "Asgard? Really? Are you crazy…"
"Who are you talking to?" Thranduil asked.
"The Norns," Loki replied.
"Nordstroms?" Barton's voice piped up. "Are we back in Central Park? I can't say as I recognize this area."
"What is a nerd storm? Do we need to take shelter?" Tauriel asked, peering up at the clear blue sky.
"No… not nerds. Nerds are geeks… or a candy… depends on who you ask. I'm talking about Nords… as in Nordstroms, it's a department store, where you shop for clothes and stuff," Barton replied.
"Well, we have clothes, and this is definitely not Central Park. Who else is with you?" Loki asked. His eyes darted around, scanning to ascertain precisely where in Asgard they were. He finally sighted the city in the distance.
"Uh, just me. Seem to have been separated from everyone else," Barton answered. "What are you looking for?"
"Asgardians," Loki replied. "And if they find me, well, let's just say the experience might not be pleasant. Follow me." He moved swiftly away from the distant city.
After they had walked for an hour, Loki finally stopped. "We ought to be fairly safe here…" His voice trailed off. "Where is Heimdall?"
"I do not recall him being with us when we appeared here," Thranduil replied.
"We seem to have lost Stark as well," Tauriel added.
"Well, that at least is a plus," Loki remarked. "But if Heimdall gets back to the Bifrost, he'll find me here for certain. Damn! Of all places to send me to, they had to pick Asgard. Why?"
"Why?" Loki's voice echoed in the air.
Urd chuckled. "So the trickster dislikes being tricked?"
Verdani paused in her task, the threads she was spinning rested lightly upon her lap. "I would say he does. What shall we do next?"
"I think you should swirl the waters some more," Skuld cackled. "I honestly have not enjoyed something so much since we sent Thor to Midgard."
Urd nodded and bent over the small bowl of water that lay at her feet. Putting her finger in it, she stirred the water vigorously. "There! That should mix things up a bit more."
Her two sisters joined her as they peered into the bowl, watching in fascination as the water began to bubble ever so slightly.
Loki felt the ground begin to shake. "What the hel!" The forest of Asgard disappeared. "Now where are we?" His eyes tried to focus, but he finally realized that wherever he was, it was pitch black.
"Loki?" Sif's voice broke the silence.
"Sif?" Loki clenched his fists, concentrating. He opened one palm and a small light appeared. He discovered they were in a cave. Spying a torch resting in a scone on the wall, he grabbed it and a spark flashed from his other hand igniting the torch. Light flooded the room.
"Well, this is interesting," Thranduil's gaze swept through the cavern. "This appears to be part of the mines of Moria. We seem to have returned to Middle Earth."
Loki sighed softly. "Much nicer than Asgard."
"Not really," Tauriel replied. "This place is infested with orcs." Drums began to boom as she finished speaking. She pulled out her bow, preparing to defend them. "Would that your son was here, he knows the paths through here fairly well."
"He has been here?" Thranduil asked.
"Yes, father, I have," Legolas stepped into the room. "How did we all get here?"
"As long as Thor isn't here, I don't care," Loki replied. He looked around to verify that his brother wasn't part of this expedition.
"Well, you are going to care very quickly once those orcs find us," Legolas retorted. "We must leave at once!"
"Lead on, my son," Thranduil commanded.
Legolas moved swiftly, leading them out of the room into the tunnels of Moria. "This way," he hissed. "And quickly!"
They ran through the tunnels, passing the skeletons of many fallen dwarves, finally emerging into a great hall. Sunlight shone into the room. Legolas pushed a door open, and they fled the mines into an open meadow.
"Couldn't you have picked a better place to exit?" Thranduil snapped.
"What is wrong with this place?" Sif asked. "It looks better than in there." She jabbed a finger back at Moria.
"This path leads to Laurelindórenan, home of Galadriel and Celeborn… not two of my best friends," Thranduil sighed. "I suppose they are better than a host of orcs, but couldn't you have managed to get us out on the other side?"
"Hey, at least the sun is shining," Barton replied with a grin. "What exactly is this la-dee-da-dee-do place?"
"Laurelindórenan, not lee-do-dip-dee-do," Thranduil corrected.
"Sounds like la-la land to me… Los Angeles, California. Home of the rich and famous, the beautiful people," Barton quipped.
"Well, that does rather describe Galadriel and Celeborn," Legolas replied with a grin.
Thranduil rolled his eyes. "Seriously? Have you gone nuts?"
"She's not so bad, really, once you get to know her," Legolas defended the Lady of the Golden Wood.
The scenery changed, and the group now found themselves standing next to a large brown sign.
"Cabrillo National Monument," Sif read. "Where are we now?"
"California!" Barton snorted with laughter. "Not exactly Los Angeles, but close. Come on, I know my way around here at least." He hiked towards the roadway.
Thranduil and Loki exchanged a look, then followed after the archer. Sif, Tauriel, and Legolas trailed along. By the time they had reached the road, they had lost sight of Barton.
"Hurry up! This guy's gonna take us into town!" All eyes turned in the direction of the voice.
Barton was sitting in the back of a pickup truck, urging the others to join them. Hesitantly, they climbed into the bed of the pickup. The instant they were all seated, the truck took off, bouncing down the road.
"Couldn't you have found a better mode of transportation?" Thranduil asked.
"Hey, best I could do. And is that all you can do is complain?" Barton asked.
Legolas stifled a laugh.
An hour later, the truck screeched to a stop outside a hotel. Loki stared at the sign. "Hilton San Diego Bayfront welcomes Comic Con."