Chapter Five:
What Do You See When
You Look Down Upon the World?
There will be other nights. On this particular night, Alayna finds herself flying over the city. Flight is her favorite Frankensteinian ability and an odd one for a woman with a fear of heights. She lands on the closed observation deck of the Empire State Building taking a precarious position on the railing. From her lofty perch she can look down upon the city. Just another cliche in a life full of them. With a pinpoint sense of self awareness, she knows that it is the gift of flight that has given her a much inflated ego. How can she not think of her self as above it all when she is literally above it all. But tonight she sits and watches, her thoughts chasing each other like rats on a wheel.
The thought of rats reminds her of the encounter with the God of Mischief. "Maybe I should call you "God of Rodents." A deep and sarcastic voice behind her replies. "I am glad you found that amusing." Started, Alayna lets out a squeak and falls off the railing only to catch herself in midair. Letting loose a string of very colorful words she levitates back to the observation deck finding Loki lurking in the shadows with a smug smile on his face. She fights the urge to punch that face. "So tell me, God of Rodents, what are you doing here? I thought I had this building to myself."
Loki ignores his new nickname. "I can assume doing the same as you are doing, surveying the city." "And you could not find another location for your surveying. After all the city is full of tall buildings." Again he ignores her sarcasm and walks past her to the railing. "Actually I knew you were here and I was curious." His odd confession dampens her desire to be rude. "And how, precisely, did you know I was here?"
For a moment she thinks Loki didn't hear her. He continues to lean on the rail and stare off into the distance. Keeping his eyes forward, he finally answers the question. "I sensed your...aura." He deliberately resists using the world "magic" knowing that it would just set her off again. Alayna's curiosity gets the better of her. She walks to the railing to stand next to him, mirroring his posture. "Should I be flattered that you find me a curiosity?" He turns his head to look down at her. "Be flattered or not, it is your choice."
They stand in silence, both lost in their own thoughts, hers a ball of confusion. Yesterday she really wanted to kill him but today? It's complicated though she is sure she can still push him off the building if she changed her mind. He interrupts her train of thought. "Tell me, what do you see when you look down upon the world?" Startled that his question reflects her earlier thoughts she pauses before answering. It sounds like a trick question. She could answer him honestly and be seen as shallow or she could lie and give him a sugarcoated answer. She chooses the lie.
"I see my city, my people who need me. None of them are perfect and they often try to kill one another but it is my job to see that they are safe." Loki listens to her answer knowing that she is dodging the question. "So you see yourself responsible for saving the world and that the world is in need of saving." He states this as a fact and not as another question.
She continues her bluff. "Basically, yes. I know there are others out there doing the same thing but that is how I see the world and my place in it. Being the father of lies Loki knows that this is only partly true. "So you come here to watch over your people." Alayna nods."Yes, and to listen." Loki looks at he. "So you have some form of acute hearing?" Alayna laughs and pulls back her hair revealing a small device in her ear. "No. I hacked into the city's police dispatch."
Again, the conversation falls silent. This time she breaks it. "And what to you see when you look down upon the world?" Loki is not surprised that she has thrown his question back at him. Taking a moment to look back down he answers truthful. "Hope."