I gape at Loki, completely dumbfounded. Me? Asgardian?! "What?! What the heck are you talking about?"

"You know what I'm talking about, you mewling quim," Loki says angrily. "I warned you not to lie to me—"

"I'm not lying!" I practically shout, my own anger bubbling to the surface at his extremely rude reference to my gender. "I'm human, mortal, whatever you want to call it. I've lived on 'Midgard' all my life! Why on earth would you think—"

Loki holds up my arm in front of me, showing me his magic mixing with my energy, or whatever it is. "If you're not Asgardian, then explain this."

I stare at the mingling...substances...for a moment, then look up at Loki again. "Loki—" I stop when I see his eyes darken, and huff. "Your highness, I don't have any idea what this is. I didn't have this...power, or whatever it is, until I stepped through that magic door into this world. You can explain this a heck of a lot better than I can, obviously. Why are you asking me? I'm just a girl from Earth who showed up in the wrong place at the worst possible time."

Loki and I glare into each other's eyes. "Well, there's only one way to find out if you're telling the truth," Loki says after a moment. And before I can react, he slams his palm into my forehead, throwing me back into a memory.

I step out of my uncle's house, quietly closing the door behind me. I don't want to wake him. It's nearly five in the morning, and he usually sleeps past eight o'clock on Saturday mornings, so I have around three hours to explore to my heart's content. I noticed the large garage last time I visited, but I never had the time to investigate. This time, however, I am planning to stay for a week, because I need a getaway. I enjoy living on my own in Kansas City, I truly do, but sometimes it gets too crowded and busy for me. Last week had been particularly rough on me, as I had not been feeling well at first and had gotten behind on some paperwork. After finally finishing the week's work, I had decided to take a week off and visit my uncle. His country home holds many childhood memories for me, and the nature surrounding the place has always been a comfort to me.

After taking a thirty-minute walk along the perimeters of Uncle's fifteen acre plot of land, I head for the garage. I briefly wonder why it's detached from the house, and why Uncle always parks his pickup truck in front of the house instead of in the garage, which is large enough to fit two vehicles.

Stepping inside through the side door, I flip the switch to light the garage. My jaw drops in amazement. A lab? In his garage?

I walk around the peculiar equipment, examining each piece, particularly the odd door standing in the center of the garage. It seems to be the focus of most of the equipment in the room, so I give it the most attention, noting the wires and other contraptions attached to it. Then I open the laptop on a nearby table, accidentally causing several machines to whir to life, and quickly skim the contents of the report someone had typed up. Then I walk back to the door, considering the possible consequences of opening it. A moment later, I make my decision, and step through the odd door. A bright light suddenly blinds me, and then everything goes black.

I gasp as I feel myself thrown onto my back, the sunlight of the bright summer day blinding me. I wince and sit up, scooting back into the shade of the chestnut oak to give my eyes a break. Looking around, I see Loki staring at me, a contemplative frown on his face. I glare at him, crossing my legs again. "Believe me now?"

"More so than a few moments ago."

I huff. "You better! What is it with you and hurting people to get the truth out of them?" I ask angrily.

It's almost imperceptible, but a brief flash of pain crosses Loki's face. Annoyance swiftly replaces it. "If you would simply tell the truth the first time I ask, I wouldn't have to resort to less conventional methods."

I exhale through my nose, knowing he's right, but not wanting to admit it. "Whatever." I shake my head, still upset, but deciding to set my annoyance aside for the time being. I'll deal with it later. "What can you tell me about my power? What is it?"

Loki narrows his eyes at me incredulously. "You truly don't know?"

I sigh. "No, I don't. And I would appreciate it if you would just spit it out already!"

Loki shakes his head, apparently astonished at my lack of knowledge on the subject. "It's magic."

I blink. "Magic," I repeat, now incredulous myself.

"Yes, it's magic. How else do you think you could make yourself invisible to the naked eye?"

"I...I thought it was some kind of superpower..." I say weakly. Loki smirks.

"Of course you did."

"Hey, it's not that far-fetched!" I say, becoming defensive. "We live in a world of super soldiers and men who turn into enormous green rage monsters. You can't blame me for thinking that, especially when I've never heard of anyone who used magic besides you and all the other aliens from outer space!"

Loki rolls his eyes at me. "That is because mortals cannot use magic. Their bodies are not strong enough."

I stare at him. "You really do think I'm Asgardian."

"No, I know you're Asgardian. You would not be able to use your magic if you were mortal."

I frown. "Then why didn't you tell me immediately, when you saw me disappear by accident yesterday? Didn't you know?"

"No, I merely assumed you were an enhanced mortal, like the Captain," he answers. "I only just now realized you were Asgardian."

I raise an eyebrow. "Asgardians aren't the only ones in the universe who are strong enough to handle magic, right? So how are you sure I'm Asgardian, and not some other alien species?"

"I know by your aura."

I frown. "My aura?"

Loki smirks again. "Everyone has a magical aura. You can tell a person's origin from their aura, and yours is clearly Asgardian."

"What do you mean, mine is clearly Asgardian? And humans have a magical aura, too?"

"Yes, but a human's is extremely weak. Asgardians have very powerful auras. Like yours."

I sit silently for a moment, considering that. "So...I must have somehow become Asgardian when I stepped through the door...but that doesn't make any sense. How can a machine change your origin?" The question hangs in the air, unanswered. I sigh, realizing it probably never will be answered, since I am stranded here, most likely for good. Biting my lip, I shove the thought away, not wanting to think about my current predicament right now. I don't need to have a breakdown in front of the god of mischief. I nearly shudder at the very thought. That would be awful...

I look up at Loki, another thought hitting me. "Ok, so if I really can use magic, why was I able to control it yesterday? Sort of? I mean, doesn't using magic require decades of training?"

"In most cases, yes," Loki responds. "But everyone is born with their own strengths and weaknesses in magic. Strengths usually show themselves early on, and I assume that is what happened to you yesterday."

I nod thoughtfully, surprised at how patient he is being with my plethora of questions. He would make a great teacher if he could control his temper better. "So my strength is invisibility."

Loki nods. "It appears so. You should be able to master the ability relatively quickly, if I'm correct."

I breathe a sigh of relief. "Good. I do not want to just randomly disappear because I can't control it. That would really freak people out."

Loki frowns slightly. "Freak people out?"

I laugh. His expression is rather cute- No! Confused- and I have to say, I have never heard anyone say that with his accent before. "It means that it would frighten people."

Loki shakes his head. "Midgardians have odd ways of communicating."

I snicker. "More than you know. I'll probably be explaining every other thing someone says once you get out into the real world."

Loki smirks. "That wouldn't surprise me," he says dryly. "Well, let's begin, shall we?"

Author's Note: Hiya peoples! I'm super sorry if this seems like a filler chapter, or if it's really boring. Trust me, the information in this chapter is very important.

I'll have the next chapter up soon! Happy Sunday!

AuthorsDream, signing off.