He wasn't going to let Thor ruin his fun this time. His overbearing older brother had been more like a cruel babysitter of late, scrutinizing his every move, and Loki had had enough of it. What good was it to be the God Of Mischief if you weren't allowed a little prank here or there? He had been sulking for days, trying desperately to avoid his brother and the prying eye of his father, Odin. Unbeknownst to most mythologists, Loki was the son of Odin, God Of War, although Odin was loath to admit it. He had always preferred to treat Loki as though he were a misbehaved stepchild, whereas he treated his brother, Thor, God Of Thunder, like a prince.
Loki huffed as he quickly turned a corner, his boots making sharp sounds as they hit the tiles of the royal halls. He looked out the window as he passed, and noted that the sky was as blue as ever. "Ragnarok my fit white ass," he muttered as he continued down the long stretch of hall that lead to his father's quarters. His pale blue eyes flitted over the portraits that hung on the walls. Visages of his brother, his cousins, many relatives that he'd heard of, but had never had an encounter with, all stared back at him sternly as he passed them. He paused to inspect the plaque under one of them, he looked about himself, rolling his eyes in irritation. "You all need to lighten up," he muttered to the portraits as he continued to walk.
After what felt like a century, he finally reached the door to his father's room. Loki's usually playful expression was now one of irritation as he knocked on the door, lightly at first, then when he did not get a reply, unnecessarily loudly. "That ought to wake the old codger up," he mumbled, his hands clasped behind his back patiently. After another moment, the door flew open, and Odin's weathered features were barely distinguishable in the dim light of his room in contrast to the bright sunshine that filled the long hallway. "What is it?" Odin demanded, looking Loki over with a look of distrust.
"I cannot stand for your watchdog any longer," Loki replied simply, exchanging a look with his father. "Cerberus is in Hades, Loki, I..."
"Not...the...dog," Loki interrupted sounding distressed, putting his hand to his temple in a reaction of disgust. "I was referring to your eldest. Thor, he hasn't even let me piss without looking over my shoulder."
"Look, after the incident with..."
"Balder, yes, I know, I can't speak with you without you breathing his name. I know, you don't trust me after what happened with Balder, but, father, it was really just a series of unfortunate coincidences. How many times can I apologize to Nanna and Forseti and have them not accept? Now, back to the subject at hand," Loki interjected, trying to veer the conversation away from Balder's death. "Thor is being such a nuisance, he must stop this parading around, spying, and spreading disease about me all over Olympus." Odin looked his son over before shrugging and sighing resignedly.
"Loki, you know there is nothing that I can do. You know that Ragnarok is at hand, so it's only natural that your brother be a little on edge for the sake of the world at large, not to mention Olympus."
Loki stared at his father in disbelief. "What? Do you expect me to get a nuke and set it on America? What is it, exactly, that you're all so afraid of?" He demanded, looking Odin in the eye. His father shifted slightly, before responding, "We all know what happened between you and Balder, Loki. We just don't want to see a repeat."
"Balder! Balder! Balder! Oh, yes, everyone just loved Balder. Balder, God Of Light, indeed. Yes, people loved him, everyone loved that asshole, and I'm the one that they should love. I'm the one that makes them smile. He was kind, but he wouldn't know a good joke if it hit him in the..."
" LOKI!!! " Odin howled in anger, the royal halls shaking with the ferocity of his voice, while down below, the people on earth heard a sudden clap of thunder despite the great weather and cloudless sky. "You will not speak of Balder in such a way in my presence!" Odin fumed, his face turning red in anger. "I'm starting to second thought giving you back your power." He intoned gruffly, towering over Loki, who crouched a bit in fear.
"Alright, alright, I'll watch myself," he surrendered, a stubborn tone to his voice. "You're right, father, I guess I do get a little bit carried away. I just don't see why we can't put this whole Balder business behind us. I'm better now, and I know that I was wrong," Loki admitted humbly. Odin eyed him suspiciously for another moment before nodding curtly. "You had better watch yourself closely in the following days, boy, or you will regret it," he warned Loki ominously. "If you mess up again, mongrel, I will damn you to Hades, and then you can clean Cerberus's messes for the rest of time." Loki swallowed hard, not relishing the idea of being the three headed guardian's pooper-scooper.
"As for your brother, I'll have a talk with him, and see that you get a bit more privacy," Odin said, shuffling back into his room a bit more as if to shut the door in Loki's face. "Thank you, father," Loki said, looking at his father innocently.
Odin shuffled a few more times, grunted a response to his son's gratitude, and shut the heavy door. Loki turned and stared down the hall. It had been an exhausting trip to get here, which was part of the reason he and his father rarely held an audience with one another. It seemed too much effort to Loki to traverse to the highest point in Olympus just to say hello to his father. Now, he faced the downhill challenge, and he wasn't looking forward to it. "Damn your choice in abodes," he muttered, and wasn't entirely surprised to hear a muffled response from the other side of the door, "I heard that." "Of course you did, you also see alot for a guy with only one eye," he sighed, and began the long journey back out of the halls, and home.
Ragnarok, the time when the rein of the gods would come to an end, was soon to be at hand, or so said many in Olympus. Ever an optimist, Loki refused to believe that this was so. He had always imagined that if it was true, however, there would be some great change in the atmosphere of the entire universe, making the end easily predictable, and he sensed no such change.
"Like a child grounded from playing outdoors," Loki huffed as he thought about the restrictions his father had placed on his powers since the death of Balder. Loki knew that everyone believed that he had murdered Balder, but he also knew that this was not so. It had simply been a prank turned horribly wrong, and Loki was just as shocked as anyone when he learned that he had killed Balder. Despite his pleas of innocence, Nanna, Balder's wife, and Forseti, Balder's son, demanded that Loki be punished for his wrong doing, and Odin was forced to remove most of Loki's powers. Although he hated not having the full brunt of his powers, Loki very much enjoyed hearing legends about himself that the humans on earth liked to tell one another. Most likened him to the Catholic devil, while others, a playful version of Pan.
The one useful power that Loki still possessed was his ability to shape-shift. Yes, he maintained a few other powers, the ability to manipulate human emotion, the ability to become invisible to the naked eye, and a few other tricks that he used rarely.
He stepped into his large home and took a minute to let his eyes adjust. He hated it here, just being here reminded him of his former wife, Sigyn, who had left his side after the death of Balder, exclaiming vehemently that she would not be associated with a murderer. She had called him a fool, and said many other words that had cut him deeply, leaving scars he knew would never heal. He had loved her, he still did, but Loki knew that it was high time he cut his losses and move on, lest he lose his mind as well as suffer his broken heart. All the women in Olympus had shunned him, shaking their fingers at their children, and telling them "Don't ever become one such as fowl as Loki, the scoundrel." The pervert, they also called him, which didn't particularly bother him.
He knew he had a wicked tongue and a sharp wit, and he would never deny these things. He'd be the last to deny such accusations, as he knew as well as any that he was far from pure. He had had his fair share of mistresses despite his loyal and loving former wife. He was sure that she had had an inkling of what he had been up to. But now, he missed her, and sorely regretted his transgressions. Suddenly, a thought struck him, causing him to lean back against the door in shock at his own plots. Why not move on from here? He had no place in the world of the gods, and he had nothing to keep him where he was. But where would he go? Someplace where there were women aplenty, he decided, his spirits rising at the idea of a new challenge. Earth. There were many women on earth, and beautiful creatures they were, too.