Starting Over - Loki (COMPLETE)

2) FAQs

Setting himself up on Midgard was no problem. Loki chose to settle in England and, while his magic was a bit rusty, it wasn't hard to conjure up a birth record for a Mr Alden Walker and give himself an alibi for the first years of his life. He reckoned that he would be around fifteen in mortal terms and quickly faked exam results. But Loki was far wiser than the fifteen years he had ascribed himself and had no incentive to study for GCSEs or A-levels. He wanted to attend university, become qualified and explore the working mortal world.

He had fallen to New Mexico in Midgard but had no desire to stay in America, no matter whether it was the land of the free. If nothing else, college costs in America were too expensive. As a result, he settled on moving to England. It was no matter to trick a few air hostesses into believing he'd been booked onto their flight.

And so that's what he did. He gave himself fake academic records and applied to Oxford University, keen to study Classics and History as a joint honours degree course. In Classics he could study mythology close to Norse mythology and in History he could pursue his passion for events and dates. Loki had always loved learning about the pasts of different realms and here was no different.

Loki acquired a bit of money through various legal and illegal means, performing his typical sleight of hand with a few tills and pick-pocketing more than a few wallets. He was still a trickster, after all. Those he stole from were rich, so Loki was nothing more than a glorified Robin Hood. He also acquired knowledge in his new habitat.

Libraries were a concept Loki knew multitudes about and so libraries were where he found himself day in, day out. Unlike Thor, who'd rarely left his home world, Loki had travelled often and had visited Midgard more than once. He'd met all sorts of famous figures such as George Washington, Jane Austen and various royal family members from all around the world. George Washington and his memory of the fight for independence, was partially the reason why he had no incentive to live in the land of the free for now. 

Due to his past travels, Loki wasn't totally ignorant of Midgardian concepts, just new ones such as cars, planes, scientific discoveries they hadn't found when he was last there and so on. But Loki thirsted for knowledge and craved being intellectually superior to his peers. He browsed literature, the sciences, history, mythology, engineering, astronomy, all in his pursuit of a higher intelligence. The All-speak meant that he could be understood by anyone in their native language, and so Loki managed to impress quite a few foreigners he met at university with his talent.

Alongside his actual studies, Loki joined lots of societies in order to further his knowledge. He was a keen member of the Physics Society and was regarded as the font of all knowledge in the Astronomy Society. He took part in debates about literature and attended lectures about mechanics, technology and religion. His time there wasn't solitary by any means but Loki didn't hang around long enough to make strong bonds with other people. That was, until he made a pen friend.

"Mr Walker!" 

Professor Evans, who ran the Astronomy Society, hailed him in a corridor one day.

"How are you doing?" The man continued, falling into step beside him.

"Very good, thank you, Sir," Loki replied, wondering what it was about. "I had a look through those papers for you, Sir. There were a few calculations which were out but I've corrected them for you."

The professor shook his head amusedly.

"You really are something else, Walker, you know that? I only wish that you'd studied Astronomy."

"Thank you, Sir?"

"I was thinking, Walker," said the man, "About you. I have a few connections in America and one of them has told me about a prodigy of theirs."

"Oh?"

"A Miss Jane Foster, researching the existence of a Einstein-rosen bridge."

Loki was astounded. A human looking into the existence of a Bifrost? She may indeed be worth his time. He might be able to repair the damage to the Bifrost bridge from this side.

Professor Evans gave him a sly, sideways glance.

"I knew that would pique your interest, Walker. She graduated Culver University a few years back but my friend still has her contact details, if you were interested."

"Thank you, Sir," Loki replied genuinely. "I would be glad to make the acquaintance of Miss Foster."

*

Once back in his college room, Loki set up his laptop and emailed Jane Foster.

Dear Miss Foster,

I am a student at Oxford University in England and your astronomical talents were recommended to me by a professor. I was wondering if we could discuss the ideas you have about the Einstein-rosen bridge.

Yours sincerely,
Alden Walker

A few minutes later, Loki received an enthusiastic email in return.

Yes! Sorry, nobody's ever wanted to discuss my project with me. Ever. I'd love to discuss Einstein-rosen bridges with you. Could I call you? It's a bit too complicated to talk about over email.

Thanks, 

Jane

Loki read the email and smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. Somebody actually wanted to talk to him to discuss ideas. Foster didn't want a one-sided conversation where he just relayed his knowledge and she wrote it down. This was mutual interest and they could both learn things from each other.

Perhaps humans weren't so bad after all.

*****

A.N. Thank you for reading and be sure to tell me what you think!