Nowhere to Hide

Date: September 27th, 2015
Location: Sheep's Meadow, Central Park, New York
Summary: Physically exhausted and forced to hide away from Asgard, Loki has an unwelcome encounter with a painfully familiar face.
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Well. That had been a disaster. Ultimately, the mission had gone a little more than sideways. Failing to retrieve the Orb was one thing, but now he couldn't even shield himself from sight in Asgard, much less resume his disguise.

It would take him several days to recover, and he had thrown away his chance to do that in the relative comfort of his chambers in the palace when he'd left, using up the end of his magic in a futile attempt to trick a damn raccoon. Though, he probably could have made it from Vanaheim to Xandar without the disguise; he wasn't sure if any of the Nine Realms outside of Asgard thought him dead. He'd been overly cautious, and it had cost him dearly.

Perhaps he'd have to once again revise his decision to eventually pay the Norns a visit. Was there some part of the grand plan of the cosmos that required that his plans fail at every turn? How would he bring about his own grand plan if he could not succeed at getting a rock from a raccoon and his pathetic companions? He'd drawn too much attention on Xandar, and he wasn't sure who was more at fault: him for being flashy, or the raccoon with the hair trigger.

Unable to stay in Asgard, and unwilling to remain on Vanaheim, Loki turned his attention towards Midgard. One of the last places in the Realms anyone would expect him to turn up, after what had happened the last time he'd been there. Thor would certainly not expect it, and if he heard that 'Odin' had fallen into his deep slumber and found the deposed King missing, well... Loki knew it wouldn't take much for his idiot brother to make the connection.

Retrieving the craft he'd taken to Vanaheim and guiding it back through the secret pathway, he found himself back on the rocky crag that had brought him, Thor, and Jane to Svartalfheim. Not looking forward to flying around to get up enough speed to try taking that path to Midgard (and not entirely sure the skiff could take much more damage from the narrow cave that disguised the portal), he steered it slowly to where he knew another path lay in a forested area just outside the borders of the main city. Eyes narrowed as he scanned the treetops, once he was near enough to the portal, he guided the skiff towards the canopy and stepped off the edge of it, letting himself fall through the leaves and landing, none too gently, on the grassy floor beneath.

Loki pushed himself up and pulled a twig from his hair, dusted off his coat and found his way out of the trees, emerging in a wide open space dotted with crowds. People tossing a disk between them, dogs running after some of the disks. Families having picnics. No one seemed to notice him, a fact that Loki was grateful for. Glancing upwards, he saw the single bright sun hanging in a clear blue sky and knew he'd landed on Midgard. Now he just had to find somewhere to lay low until he'd recovered his spent energy.

Resenting that he was unable to even glamor himself into his preferred Midgardian finery to help him blend in, he moved from the trees and began making his way across the meadow, not entirely sure where he was going, but wanting to get out of the public view as quickly as possible without drawing attention to himself.