"So, let me get this straight. You're a Norse goddess. You've been pretending to be a normal human soldier for months, and you saved our asses...why, exactly?"

"It's a long story," Loki began. "My father Odin sent me to oversee the war, make sure it didn't get out of control and wipe out all of humanity. Or at least that's what he's saying his reasoning is. Who knows what's truly running through that old fool's head." She shifted her sitting position and sent her helmet back to the space between worlds. Several of the gathered soldiers blinked in surprise as the helmet winked out of existence.

"And why should we trust you? If I remember my mythology right you're the god of lies! Assuming you're even a god at all!"

Loki moved faster than any of the humans could perceive, putting a knife blade right up against his throat and a wicked predatory smile. "Because, puny human, if I wanted you dead, you would be dead." The man swallowed hard, and a trickle of red ran down the edge of her blade. "I could be telling the truth; I could be lying through my teeth. You cannot possibly know. After all, that's what faith is for, isn't it? That blind trust that a being so far beyond your comprehension you call them a god won't simply kill you in your sleep, just because they can."

She stepped away and cleaned her dagger with a flick. "You can all believe whatever you wish to believe, but I'm going to end this war with or without your help."

Several of the men looked at each other, nodded, then stepped forward. Loki's heart soared when she realized James was among them. "You want to end this war? We want in."

"Good." Loki smiled. "Let's get the rest of these men home, then we shall decide on a course of action."

The trek back to the regiment took three days. Many of the men were injured, and all of them were exhausted. Loki did what she could, healing life threatening injuries first, but her healing capabilities were nowhere near as advanced as others on Asgard. She knew field medicine, not much more, but Asgardian field medicine was still worlds beyond anything these men would have access to otherwise. Slowly but surely, they began to warm up to her as she saved first one of their dying friends, then many, many more.

Near evening on the third day, they came within sight of the camp. Loki hung back, watching from the woods as the soldiers returned to their regiment. Then, suddenly, she was lifted off the ground and onto someone's shoulders. Somebody in the crowd yelled out, "Let's hear it for the goddess!" and a cheer rose up with enough volume to shake the sky. The soldiers who were carrying her started forward, cheering just as loudly as their brethren. Somebody fired an energy weapon into the air in a poor imitation of fireworks, but it quickly caught on. Soon, the sky was filled with flashing blue explosions and the cheers of grateful soldiers.

So this was what being the hero felt like.

Hesitantly at first, then with the growing confidence of someone who had been born for the spotlight, she waved to the soldiers as she was carried through their midst. She summoned her wings and let them arch up above her head. In her golden Asgardian armor, with her wings shimmering in the and the sun setting behind her, she must have looked like a warrior angel sent to save them all. When the soldiers set her down, she spread her wings and launched herself into the sky, circling the camp as the soldiers screamed her name. Their chants would echo in her ears for centuries, she was sure of it. She sped up into the sky, folded her wings, and dropped like a stone. Just before she crashed to the ground, she shot her wings out and skimmed just above the heads of her adoring crowd. They roared their approval, and Loki grinned like a maniac. This felt good. It felt right. Was this what Thor felt like all the time?

When she finally landed, a cranky old man in a general's uniform was waiting for her. "Just who the hell do you think you are?"

Loki used her magic to amplify her voice, making sure everyone heard her as if she was standing right beside them. "I am Loki of Asgard. I have come to help you end this war."

The general's protests were drowned out by the cheers of her army, and a satisfied smirk danced across her face as she watched him realize he was helpless to stop this. She leaned in to whisper in his ear. "Did you really think you could stand against a goddess? I must say, I admire your audacity. I look forward to working with you, general."

Loki stepped back and turned to her people. "This is such a monumental occasion, the general has decreed: double rations for everyone tonight in celebration of our safe return!" Then she swept away like a hurricane as the general sputtered his protest to her retreating cloak. Loki's grin just grew wider.

James was waiting for her outside her tent.

"So, you figure it out, I see." Loki swept past him and collapsed on her cot. The amount of magic she'd used the last three days to get everyone safely home had taken its toll; she was exhausted. It had been centuries since she'd had a reason to call on that much power all at once.

"When exactly were you going to tell me?" James followed her inside. "Or were you just planning on lying to me until you suddenly disappeared and left me wondering what the hell happened to my best friend?"

"I hadn't thought it that far through, okay?!" Loki sat up to look at him. "You were never supposed to know I even existed!" Gods above be damned, she couldn't find it in her to lie to him. "No one was!"

"Then why?"

"The first time was because I was desperate. After that, I don't know. It was a horrible decision, really, and yet I couldn't find it in me to walk away."

"Alright, so why are you here? And don't give me the bullshit you've been telling everyone else. If you're really a goddess, why would you give a single fuck about a measly human war?"

Loki groaned and ran a hand over her face. Of course he had to ask that question. "It's quite a lengthy tale."

James sat down on the cot next to her. "We have time."

"You're not going to leave me alone until you get your answers, are you?"

"Absolutely not."

"I should have known you'd say that." With a sigh, Loki sat up. "Alright, make yourself comfortable. We will be here for quite a while." And that was how she found herself explaining the entire disaster of a situation to a human. Honestly, it was a relief to finally talk about it, to complain and rage and rant, knowing none of it would get back to her father and come back to bite her. James listened quietly, asking a question here or there. He was particularly fascinated by the concept of the bifrost, and his eyes lit up when she explained that there were eight other realms beyond Midgard.

"So, basically, you got banished here. I guess that makes more sense than you being here out of the kindness of your heart."

"Well, why do you care so much, James? None of this affects you in the slightest."

"Guess it's just my nature to stick my nose in everybody's business." He smirked at her. "See you around, goddess."

The way he said that word...Loki felt her heart skip a beat in a way it never had before. By the time her head caught up with her ears, he was already gone. But, oh gods above, she wanted to hear him say it again.