Hell's Book of Random One-shots

Loki and the Spirit Squad - Part Two

By the time they had reached the front doors, Peter's stomach was churning something bad and Ned had a growing set of nerves.

The only one still steeled as though they were simply going for a walk in the park was Loki, who had unsurprisingly taken charge and was leading the trio, plus their apparent watchers, forward.

Loki didn't hesitate to throw the doors open upon reaching them, even if the doors themselves screeched loudly in protest at the sudden movement, the hinges long rusted and the wood more splinter than full panels.

His boots thudded dully on the wooden floor as he entered, the sounds echoing around the foyer with a ceiling so high that it would have been near impossible for any human eye to see through the darkness had it not been worn away by time.

Turning on the spot, Loki took in the drab and rundown inside of the manor, attempting to imagine how it would have looked during its prime, before the walls were crumbling and the furniture had been left to nature's wrath.

"Home sweet home," he mumbled.

Peter and Ned slowly entered behind him, being more cautious with their steps than Loki had been, Peter especially.

"Whoa," Ned gasped, shining his light around as he too turned on the spot.

"Yeah," Peter agreed, his eyes widened in awe.

Ned's eyes flitted between his surroundings and the screen before he let out a long sigh and brought the phone closer to his face.

"No point in streaming it, you can't see anything," he bemoaned, closing down the stream he'd taken so long to set up.

"Guess we'll just have to enjoy the atmosphere ourselves," Peter said, his voice sounding a little shaky.

"Indeed, and what an astounding atmosphere it is," Loki said, turning to the two. "So, this is where we split up, yes?"

Ned looked at Loki utterly aghast, his mouth hanging open as he looked to Peter.

"No way did he just suggest the biggest horror cliché."

Peter looked back to Ned and shrugged, laughing awkwardly.

"Mr. Loki is built a little different."

"I would dare say all 'Avenger' types are," Loki chuckled, "you included, Spider Boy."

"Man," Ned sighed, "now I feel left out."

"Don't feel too bad, it's not always all it's cracked up to be," Peter said, likely trying to be supportive but not fully selling it.

"It's a nuisance if anything," Loki commented blandly, turning to the staircase on the left side of the room. "Now, I am going to the next level, you're welcome to join me if you must truly be stuck to one another's hips."

The two shared a look while Loki continued to the next floor, boots still clomping with an unusual loudness for the typically deft God.

Shining their lights over, they noticed how Loki's steps plumed up thick layers of dust, giving him an ethereal aura that befitted his status.

Ned leaned into Peter, watching as Loki disappeared across the balcony above and into the hallway out of sight.

"He's like Malthael from Diablo," he said in a stage whisper.

Peter only slowly nodded in agreement then turned to shine his light down the long foyer, the darkness engulfing the light before it could penetrate the end, though there was enough illumination to see at least two doorways to the right hand side.

"Guess we'll start this way."

"Yeah and hope no ghosts jump out at us."

"Yeah," Peter agreed, "or that the building collapses on us."

Ned gave Peter a look before his friend stepped forward, his eyebrows furrowing.

"Thanks for that added anxiety."

As the two teens wandered about downstairs, Loki was moving from one side of the age worn hall to the other as he made his way to the end, pushing doors open and checking inside each for any that stood out and seemed worthy of a further look.

Most rooms were the same, either filled with dust covered décor that as otherwise drab and looked older than him or empty and full of webs and other little natural traps that he was not going to get snared in, he had no wish to spend any time pulling splinters out of his thigh because a weakened floor gave out beneath him.

He just wanted to find a prime place to hide until the time was perfect.

The two boys had come here with the intention of catching spiritual activity and that was exactly what Loki planned on giving them.

With no lingering interest in Midgardian spirits, Loki planned to make his own entertainment and the teen's expense is one he was willing to pay.

Turning left at the end of the corridor, he continued checking the irritatingly expansive amount of rooms until something that wasn't dust and webs caught his eye.

Though it was something even he hadn't expected to come across.

Many doors down the hallway he'd turned into wouldn't open or were otherwise cluttered with more 'ye olde' home décor, things that he assumed many other 'hunters' had moved around to show off to their friends upon finding them and less that this notorious family had cluttered rooms randomly while leaving others empty.

As if the Midgardians these days had never seen a chaise-lounge or candelabra before.

Simpletons.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he reached a door unlike the others.

It evidently hadn't been anything magnificent in its prime but at some point during the slow rotting of the building, someone had taken a knife to the wood and engraved markings unfamiliar to the God.

Loki didn't fully trust them, though the likelihood of them being dangerous were slim to none in such an obscure area, he was aware that it was never zero.

While reaching for the rusted door handle, Loki flicked out his right hand to conjure a dagger, the hilt as familiar as his own skin.

Taking a long, steadying breath, Loki paused a moment before nodding to himself and throwing the door open, feeling a dramatic shift in the air as he stepped over the threshold.

A warmth enveloped him and light momentarily stung his eyes, the sound of a crackling fire coming from somewhere nearby that he couldn't fully place.

Once his eyes had adjusted to the light and he'd managed to blink the sudden bleariness away, Loki saw that he had entered into a perfectly pristine master bedroom.

There was no dust or cobwebs, the furniture still looked worn but more through use than being left to decompose naturally and the light came from a candelabra held within the hands of a man stood at the window, one hand closed around a curtain that he was pulling shut.

Upon hearing the thud of Loki's boot upon the floor, the man turned and Loki found himself bristled with immediate defensiveness.

"Oh," they said, eyebrows raising in bewilderment. "I wasn't expecting a guest."

There was always rumour that you wouldn't recognise your own face were you to see it on another, but Loki's abilities seemed to negate him to this little myth as it was impossible to deny that this being before the God was wearing Loki's face.