Snake and Spider: Friends Forever

Chapter Twelve

"Now," Peter said, "Now that we've eaten, we're going to Central Park!"

Loki thought hard, he had heard of Central Park but from where? "What is Central Park?"

"It's a big park in the city. It's really beautiful," Peter explained.

Loki followed Peter as he led him through the city to the park. When they got there, Loki admired the park's greenery in the center of a stone grey city. It seemed to him that the large green-space was rebelling to all land being swallowed and staying strong. It was a beautiful park, not too busy other than the tourists everywhere. Peter stopped at a large body of water in the southern region. A serene pond. The pond was smooth and clearish. The northern edge of the pond was spanned by a bridge and beyond that, the New York skyline. Loki looked out at the pond for a little bit and he could sense Peter gauging his reaction. "It's pretty isn't it?" Peter finally asked.

"Yes," Loki obliged, "It is."

"Well there's more to Central Park than a pond. Come on!"

Loki chuckled and followed the excited Spiderling. The next place he was led to was a place called the Bethesda Terrace. Peter explained that it was the only formal architectural setting. The place reminded Loki of the pictures of Greek palaces that Loki had seen during his lessons. With its pillars and arches, Loki would have thought it was a grand palace if not for the people that milled around inside. The walls were adorned by sculptures that seemed to represent the seasons and times of day. Somewhere, a musician played. The place soon came to remind Loki of Odin's palace and he found himself on high alert, just waiting for Odin to come for him. He hadn't used to be a bad father, just distant and seemed to dislike Loki, but he had become cruel since Thor's failed coronation. Peter seemed to get the idea and said, "There's still much more to see!"

Loki followed Peter along the long winding paths to another place called the Strawberry Fields, but Loki didn't see any strawberries. He shook his head in confusion. In the very center of the secluded retreat was a large Mosaic. Peter called it the Imagine Mosaic. But unlike how the rest of the park had fewer people, this place was swamped with people. Loki thrived in chaos so the crowds didn't bother him all that much. The thing that Loki found the strangest, however, was that there were flowers everywhere. Not planted flowers, but flowers placed on the ground and on the mosaic, almost like how he had seen humans place flowers on a grave.

"This place was built as a memorial for John Lennon who lived and was murdered just across the street," Peter explained, "The flowers are placed there by his fans, still paying respects. This was originally supposed to be a peaceful place but it is really anything but peaceful."

"Indeed," Loki answered, looking around, "Now who was this John Lennon?"

Peter chuckled, "John Lennon was an English singer, songwriter and peace activist who was famous all over the world."

"Ah," Loki acknowledged.

"Now come," Peter said, "I want to show you the lake!"

Peter showed Loki the way to the lake. As they walked, Loki got to thinking. How did he plan to deal with Flash? He needed to go somehow but he wasn't sure Peter would let him kill anyone. Perhaps if he gave Flash the scare of a lifetime, he would leave Peter alone. A plan began to simulate in his mind. But before he could truly put his finger on it, Peter announced their arrival.

"This," Peter announced, "Is the lake!"

They looked out over it. The lake was man-made and the centerpiece of the park. All across the large expanse of water were people in rowboats. The lake was spanned by the Bow Bridge. It was a beautiful view. The water in one place then the New York skyline right above it. Loki looked out over the lake and thought it was a wonderful place to go boating. He looked down at Peter, had he ever been boating? Loki wasn't sure.

"One day, I'm going to take you out on one of those rowboats. Perhaps when it warms up again," Loki informed Peter.

"That would be fun!" Peter returned.

"But I also need to be one hundred percent sure you can swim," Loki muttered under his breath.

"I can swim just fine," Peter retorted, he sounded slightly insulted.

"Not if you get hit in the head with a flipped boat you can't," Loki returned, almost laughingly before his voice went serious, "I'm really not sure what I would do if I lost you..."

Peter looked down at his feet. Loki felt his heart fill with dread. Had he angered the boy? Insulted him in some way? But Peter just looked up at him with a smile and said, "Come on, I want to show you a few more things."

The next place that they went was a place called the Ramble. Even with it's trees bare, Loki could tell that it was beautiful. It almost reminded him of the royal forest. When he told that to Peter, he watched his face fall. He must have been expecting a similar reaction to the Bethesda Terence. As they walked the paths, Loki saw many different streams running through the area. Rustic structures appeared every now and then on the path. Loki wondered what they were. Shortly later they exited the park and Loki was pulled to the next location. Peter seemed more reluctant to show him this place. "This is the Belvedere Castle."

Loki looked out over the palace. Its grey stone walls rose over the high hilltop that it sat on. Its multiple terraces would have provided spectacular views of the city below it. Looking at it, Loki could tell it was closed for renovations. He tried to suppress the urge to hide but it still fought its way to the surface. The palace, although it didn't look like the Asgard Palace, it was still a palace and wherever there was a palace, Odin could be found. He looked around trying to scan the area without being too obvious. But Peter seemed to get the idea and pulled him away. "There is one more place I want to show you. I've been saving the best for last!"

Loki tracked Peter through the park. Where were they going next? They finally stopped before a small zoo. Peter got them tickets and they went inside. "This is Central Park Zoo," he explained, "If you like this enough, there is a bigger zoo out in the city."

Loki nodded and looked around. It seemed that there were three different zones of animals, tropical, temperate and polar. All around him, kids fed these creatures. The thing that horrified Loki, however, was that they made one creature, the sea lion Peter called it, perform tricks for its food.

"But what if it's too ill to perform?" Loki asked, genuinely afraid for the creature.

"Then I'm sure they will feed it anyway," Peter reassured him. But Loki wasn't convinced. It seemed cruel to make such an innocent creature perform just to eat.

"Are all zoos like this, making creatures perform just to eat at night?" Loki asked.

"Not all are," Peter said, "The big one isn't at least."
"Good."

They soon left the zoo and headed back to the apartment. As they walked, Loki could feel his plan to end Flash reforming in his mind. He finally had his finger on it. Yes, he was going to have fun.