Loki and the Kindergarteners Save the World (ONC 2023)

well, that escalated quickly

Will scrubbed his face clean of the remnants of the marker. Thankfully, the children had given Loki whiteboard markers. Easy to remove with a bit of hand soap and a cloth.

Night had fallen, and the children, exhausted from playing all afternoon, fell asleep despite their meagre dinner. Granola bars, cold porridge and whatever remained of the yogurt that was still good. Though Will had tried to keep the fridge door closed as long as possible, the yogurt was starting to turn. The snack-sized cheeses were also going soft. Growing concern over the lack of food began to gnaw at Will almost as much as the hunger.

Their chances of finding more options were beyond the walls of their haven. There were still no signs of Fenrir or the giant snake, though believing they were gone was foolish.

Loki had insisted on telling a story to the children, which did help distract them from their hunger. The tale involved Thor, Loki and a giant king, Utgarda-Loki, who dared them to various contests. One of which was an eating contest for which Loki volunteered. Brutish and temperamental, Thor was challenged to a drinking contest. Should he finish the mead in the horn, he would be crowned the best drinker in the world. Naturally, the oaf failed miserably and even failed in the following simple tasks, like picking up a cat and beating an old woman in a wrestling match. On the other hand, Loki won his eating contest because he was remarkable, handsome, and talented (Will rolled his eyes from his place near the door). Thor was banished from ever entering Utgarda-Loki's castle and fled like a simpering dog with his tail between his legs.

The children loved it, especially Charlie. She sat so close to Loki, their knees touched, her eyes brimming with wonder. Out of all of them, Charlie had grown on Loki. He accepted her constant hovering and pestering questions with minimal sass.

Will couldn't help but wonder if Utgarda-Loki and Loki were the same person. Pranks were Loki's specialty, after all, as Will experienced.

"Thank god what you used was washable," Will muttered, staring at the stained cloth. The last thing he wanted to do was run around during the apocalypse with marker on his face. "What did you write?"

"Fool." Loki held the phone up to his nose and sniffed it. He tapped the screen and flinched when it lit up. "This contraption... it's like magic?"

There were many things in the school that Loki found fascinating, though nothing quite like the device he held. Even the delight in the markers faded away when he learned about the magic of technology. Yet another reminder that Will was dealing with an ancient deity who had been locked away for centuries.

"I suppose, in a way." Will plucked the phone from Loki's hand and unlocked it. "It's a cellphone. We use it to communicate with others."

"And this... Taylor Swift lives in this cell phone?" Loki grinned a villainous smirk. "What a cruel form of punishment. I approve."

"No, she doesn't live 'in' the phone." Will sighed and pulled up his music list. Ignored the warning that indicated the battery was at fifteen percent. "This is called a recording. Taylor Swift—wherever she is now—recorded this song. Then the song was uploaded to this app. A place where music is stored—look."

Will pulled up Norse music, and the haunting, rolling music that drifted out made Loki stiffen. Loki and Will had taken up post outside the classroom. A half-drunk bottle of instant coffee sat next to Will, while an empty yogurt container sat next to Loki. Light from the flashlight propped upright between them cast a ghostly haze in the hallway.

The trickster stared at the phone and then jabbed the screen with his finger.

"That sounds like music from my people," he gasped, with the same elated expression from earlier. "What sort of witchcraft is this?"