To Roam Into the Unknown

The city streets were bustling with people, most of them bundled up and looking down as they walked through the rain. Loki walked aimlessly, not bothering to move out of their ways, slamming his shoulders into them and receiving nasty looks in return.

“In the wake of the attack on New York…” He stopped in front of an appliance store and watched the reporter. Images of the streets of the city flashed across the screen. Images of injured people scurrying to safety. The Iron Man leading the missile into the vortex. His own face stared back at him from the screen.

“The people of New York have shown time and time again that they will not yield in the face of chaos. That like the Phoenix, they too will rise from the ashes.” Images now showed the rebuilding process.

It was enough to make him vomit. He turned on his heel and made his way down an alley littered with bums who all looked up at him as he stalked past them. Apparently, the humans were still a bit upset over his attempted liberation. His face was strewn across the networks. If he was going to survive this sentence, he would have to blend in.

“Pardon me…” he said, walking up to a man who stood by a burning barrel with his mutt. Before the man could address him, he grabbed him by the back of the head and slammed it into the brick wall. The vagabond collapsed to the ground, hands over his face, sputtering unintelligibly. No doubt pleading for mercy.

“Not today…” Loki hissed, giving his head such a vicious kick that his neck gave a sickening crunch and he moved no more. The dog barked and yipped relentlessly. Loki gave the dog an equally strong kick, sending it flying further down the dark alley where it skidded to a limp halt.

After looking quickly to make sure no one was watching, he reached down and yanked the long coat off the man’s body. The black ski cap and gloves followed. Pulling the collar of the black coat up around his neck, he slipped down another alleyway and came out on the opposite side of the street, allowing himself to be pulled by the crowds.



Aurora kicked her shoes off at the door and immediately stripped out of her scrubs. Tossing them into the laundry, she walked into the kitchen in her bra and underwear and grabbed a bottle of wine out of the fridge and flopped down into her large oversized leather chair. She threw her legs over the arm and rested her head against the other arm, clicking the TV remote.

“The people of New York have shown-” With a sound of disgust, she changed the channels, settling for Metropolis in black and white. This was her vice. Wine and an old black and white after a long day at work.

Half way through the movie and bottle of wine, her head slipped back into unconsciousness.



The man with the dark hair watched her from his corner in the night club. He was leaned back against the booth, arm draped casually over the back of the seat. In his other had was a bottle of beer.

“On my waist, through my hair…” the music blared.

Aurora swayed as the beat of the music coursed through her body like a second pulse. She flipped her long dark hair off her shoulders and reached her arms into the sky, swinging her hips seductively.

He brushed the opening of the bottle with his fingertips, too distracted by her body to think about anything else but her on top of him.

Aurora leaned her head back against Chris’ chest as his hands found her waist. Together they moved to the music. Chris nuzzled her neck as his hands slipped down her thighs and she reached behind her and put one arm around his neck.

Unable to resist any further, the dark man shed his leather coat and made his way to the dance floor. The sea of intoxicated dancers parted as he made his way to her. Without so much as a greeting, he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her roughly to him so that their hips were pressed together.

“Tell me baby if it's wrong
To let my hands do what they want
Late at night I pretend we are
Dance, dance, da-dance dancing in the dark…”

Aurora dipped her head back and swayed dramatically, his left hand on the small of her back for support. He gently wrapped his free hand around her throat and brought his lips just inches from the moist skin of her collarbone. She wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her fingers in his black hair.

He opened his mouth and licked his way up to her earlobe. “Wake up…” he whispered.



Aurora’s eyes opened and her living room ceiling came into focus. She rubbed her face and sat up, cursing when her feet landed in a wet spot on the carpet. She picked up the spilt wine bottle and strode into her bedroom where she collapsed, not giving another thought to the dream.



It had been nearly three weeks since his banishment to the realm of never-ending rain. Late one night, Loki took shelter from the storm inside a dingy pub on a side street. No one paid him any attention as he took a seat in the corner. He felt as though his body had been beaten repeatedly. Every joint ached and every muscle burned. Without thinking, he laid his head back and closed his eyes, trying to devise a survival plan that didn’t involve being arrested by S. H. I. E. L. D.

No money, no powers, no one. He was alone. He felt the heat of worry in the pit of his stomach. Or was it hunger? He had never had to get to the point of hunger when he was on Asgard. He couldn’t remember his last decent meal.

Images of his mother’s last embrace flashed behind his eyes. Of all the people he despised, he never could bring himself to harm her. Never had she spoken anything less than loving words to him. When he was put down by Odin or tormented by Thor, she was always there offering comfort. Even as he was being sentenced and cursed the people of Asgard, she whispered words of encouragement. He missed her the most. He was just beginning to doze to happier memories when a sharp jab to his arm brought him to attention.

“Hey. Buddy! You can’t sleep here.” A burly man in a black tank top with a gold chain around his neck stood over him.

“Beg your pardon?” Loki felt immense anger start to rise.

“If you’re not gonna buy something, you got to go.” He pointed to the exit behind him with his thumb.

Loki slowly stood, his 6’2 form hovering over the man. “Have you any idea who I am?!” he asked, eyes blazing.

“Quite frankly, I don’t give a fuck, buddy. Get your shit and get out.”

Loki grabbed him by the shirt, his face a mere inches from the man’s salt and peppered stubble-covered face. “I AM THE GOD OF MISCHIEF! AND YOU WILL KNEEL!” he yelled, spraying the man‘s face with spit. Before Loki could make a move, he felt an iron-clad grip on his shoulders and was yanked off his feet.

“Ok God of Mischief. Out you fuckin’ go!” A man equal in his height but much heavier than him all but lifted Loki in the air and threw him out into the alley, his head hitting the adjacent brick wall with a thud.

“God of mischief…fuckin’ fairy fruitcake.” the two men turned and reentered the bar without giving him another look.

Struggling to get to his feet, he brushed his fingers against his forehead. Blood was beginning to weep from the nice gash that was bestowed upon him by the wall. Momentarily, he contemplated going back into the bar and making horrific examples of the two bastards, until he remembered with a sickening feeling that he no longer possessed the power to make such things happen.

Standing up, he braced himself against the wall, feeling dizzy from the blow. He began to wander out onto the busy streets, and snatched a nearly-full bottle of cheap liquor out of the hands of a sleeping bum, taking a deep gulp. Warmth spread through him as he chugged the remaining liquid, taking the edge off the cold.

Tossing the bottle over his shoulder, he made to cross the street. How was he supposed to know you had to look both ways??



The walkie talkie buzzed on her hip. “Aurie, we’ve got a live one.”

Aurora threw her stethoscope around her neck and hurried down the six flights of stairs to the ER dock, just as the ambulance pulled up.

“White male looks to be in his thirties. Pedestrian versus vehicle off of La Costa and Ninth. Positive for loss of consciousness, multiple open lacerations to head and face. Compound fracture of left femur. Pupils equal and non reactive, possible subdural hematoma.” Aurora grabbed the gurney and helped push him into the ER.

“Does he have a name?” She asked. The EMT shook his head.

“No ID. No wallet. He had a few bucks in his pocket but that’s all.”

“Was he conscious when you arrived?”

“In and out. When he was awake, he was ranting about crazy stuff.”

Aurora nodded. “Thanks. We will take it from here. Emm! We need to get this leg immobilized.” Suddenly, the man began to seize violently. Aurora grabbed a syringe and filled it with medicine. “Doctor Butler! We need you over here STAT!” she called over her shoulder.

An older man with white hair hurried over. “Push 5 of Diazepam. Get him on his side!”

Another nurse quickly pulled the patient onto his side, struggling to hold onto his shaking body. Aurora pulled his pants down and jabbed the needle into his backside, taking care to time the medicine flow perfectly.

“How’s he looking, Emm?” Aurora asked, withdrawing the needle.

“Stabilizing.” Emm replied.

“Ok, lets get him on his back.” Dr. Butler said. Once he was on his back, the doctor pulled open his eyelids and shone a light in them.

“He has beautiful eyes…” Emm said. Aurora agreed silently, feeling slightly apprehensive. He may have once been handsome with his black hair and green eyes. But all she could feel was pity for the bloodied, broken body that lay before her.

“We need to get him up to radiology. MRI of the brain with contrast. I think our friend here has a bleed.”



“Mr. Green, It’s Aurora…It’s time for your bath.” Aurora shut the door with her foot as she entered the hospital room, arms full of toiletries. She laid everything on the bedside table and commenced to filling a large plastic basin with warm soapy water. While the basin filled, she hit the radio with her elbow.

“Somebody found me here
Somebody held my breath
Somebody saved me from the world you left…”

The patient had indeed had a brain bleed which had required emergency surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain. That had been two weeks ago and he had been in a coma ever since.

“If you’re gonna cry my tears
If you’re gonna hold my breath
If you’re gonna let me see the sun you set…”

“Mr. Green, whoever you are…It’s a good day to wake up. One of the first sunny days in weeks.” she dropped a rag in the water and carried the bowl to the bedside table. All that could be heard was the hissing of the ventilator and beep of the monitors. After writing his vitals down on the chart, she gloved up.

“It’s Thurdsay September 13th.” she carefully inspected his IV lines and drew back the blankets.

“Let me know if I hurt you because I don’t mean to.” she said, wringing out the rag. She began to gently wash his face, dragging the warm cloth over his closed eyes. Breathing tubes came out from the side of his mouth, she washed around them gently. Dunking the rag back into the warm water, she carefully wiped over his stubble-covered scalp.



“…whoever you are…I’m here if you need anything…it’s a good day to wake up…” Loki could hear a woman speaking to him, but he couldn’t see her. He tried to open his mouth but he couldn’t speak.

He could hear the sound of music in the distance.

“Oh, I am lost and found
Oh, I am lost and found…”

A sweet smell hung in the air around him. He could feel warm, wet hands on his body. He was helpless to stop them.