Another Chance

God of Chaos

Loki walked past the line of students waiting to collect their breakfast, what little hunger he had fading with his annoyance. He weaved between the tables and out the other side of the cafeteria. The still crisp morning air and the sight of a front yard greeted him. Scattered across the lawn, some students enjoyed the breeze while having breakfast and sharing the morning with their friends.

Loki took a while to decide what to do, whether to cross the lawn towards the buildings he still didn't know, or go around the bedrooms towards the garden-bar-greenhouse from before. Determined to further investigate what Midgardian plants might be out there, he began making his way through the empty parking lot. He was reaching the far corner of the cafeteria when he heard it.

"You!"

A single syllable, and yet a lot of meaning. Loki turned towards the voice, curious to see who had aroused such anger in one of his companions, only to realize that the stranger was walking towards him. No, she wasn't walking, she was marching towards him. She was pointing a finger at him, and in the other hand... He had to blink several times before he realized that indeed the young woman was holding a dagger in her hand.

A dangerous-looking dagger, and above all, familiar.

Loki looked back, hoping there was some other sucker out there. But he was the only one facing danger. He swallowed hard and raised his hands in surrender, hoping he could resolve this without too much violence. He couldn't afford to be kicked out so soon, not when he barely got a taste of freedom.

He just hoped to get through the day without tasting his own blood.

The young woman did not stop her march until she was next to him, and then she pushed him towards the wall behind him. There the crystals had disappeared, replaced by black marble, hiding them from the view of whoever was inside the building. Loki was tempted to mention the cameras (he had located at least 2 whose vision range included them), but the edge of the dagger against the skin of his neck stopped him. He could draw his own dagger, twin to the one she held, but if there was someone watching the cameras (and according to Natasha, there must be someone) it would be easier to claim he had been attacked if his hands stayed up and away from her.

Her, hissing close to his face in a gesture he knew well. She, who looked at him with very familiar eyes and with a hatred that he recognized. The main difference is that his slightly curly hair fell to the sides of his face, and except for his roots, almost everything was blonde.

"I don't know what you think I did, but I swear it wasn't me," he assured, using his best charming smile.

It had worked for him many times in the past. At least, in Asgard. Generally accompanied by a title of prince, which supposedly affected the result. In that case, the only thing he achieved was that the dagger sank deeper into his skin and the fist that held his shirt (crumpling it, he thought with annoyance) tightened more.

"Oh? So you're not the goddamn God of Lies who pushed me through a tempad's portal when I was seconds away from accomplishing my goal?"

Loki swallowed with some difficulty. If he had met her he would remember. He would remember that face that looked so much like his own, and he would certainly remember the anger that gleamed in the depths of his eyes. And he would remember pushing her through a portal. Whatever a tempad was.

"I haven't pushed anyone through any portal. I promise" He assured without letting his smile drop.

"A very valid promise, of course," she growled. "Why should I believe you?"

"And why should I believe you? Why should I believe a wacko who talks about gods and portals while she threatens me with a dagger?"

"Do not play the fool. I know that bloody face very well, and all your tricks."

Loki decided to take a chance at that moment. He lowered his hands, placing them on top of hers. He didn't try to pull her away from her, he just left them there.

"Let's make a deal, okay?" He offered. "You take your knife away from me, and if Fury, Hill or whoever asks me what just happened I'll tell them we were...playing or whatever. And we sat there on the grass, like two good friends. You tell me that you think you know me, and I'll tell you why it's impossible for me to know you. What do you think?"

He saw the mistrust in her gaze. And curiosity. He recognized them because it was exactly how he would feel in the same situation. It was what he felt at that moment, being honest with himself. Who was she? Why did she look so much like him? And above all, why did she seem so furious with him, if they had never seen each other?

"It's not a knife, it's a dagger," she said.

Loki suppressed the smile. He had won. Even if she still hadn't pulled away from him, that clarification was more than enough to know that he had at least one chance to explain things to her. That didn't make her any less dangerous, of course, but at least the danger wasn't so immediate.

"I apologize. Can you get your magnificent dagger away from me? Please."

The young woman narrowed her eyes at him, suspicious, but she pulled away from him slightly before she froze.

"I warn you that I have very good aim throwing it."

"I'll keep that in mind" Loki's smile widened even more, and he removed his hands from hers, letting her walk away.

"You have until classes start to explain to me why I shouldn't stick the dagger in your guts and spin it."

"Perhaps a little less, because they are going to come looking for me. But I accept. Will you join me, miss, to tell you a story of space adventures and a lot of madness?"

Perhaps the madness was to tell her how he had gotten there. Because he had decided that he was going to do it. He was going to tell her everything. About Asgard, about the jotun, about Odin and Thor, and the Bifrost, and the fall... The eternal fall, the void, and then the voice. And then his mother, his perfectly human mother waking him up in a human room, in a human body, in Midgard.

Yes, it was crazy. But perhaps a madness comparable to attacking someone you knew but who doesn't know you, accusing him of throwing you through a portal. With a dagger just like his. With a face just like his.

Maybe they were just two crazy people telling each other fantasies.

And a part of him, the part that enjoyed playing pranks on people, wondered what would happen when their two follies collided. Because he was known as the God of Lies... But he had always liked the title of God of Chaos better.

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Yes, I've changed her story a bit, but I'm already playing with the multiverses, so... xD