The Joker

6.

(Part of this chapter was inspired by Africa by Toto. Enjoy!)

While Peter was away on his date, Loki found himself exceedingly bored. He ordered a pizza and paid the delivery boy with some pieces of paper he had charmed to look like cash. He had practiced his spellwork, but found that only some spells worked. For instance, he could charm the paper, but he could not change his own appearance. He could conjure knives and create balls of light to illuminate dark places, but he could not perform a tracking spell to find his brother.

That one had been particularly frustrating, because the tracking spell appeared to be working. It involved placing a needle in a bowl of potion, and the needle would point towards the person being tracked. In this case, however, the needle spun around in circles as if there were no target to lock onto in this universe, as though Thor did not exist for some reason. Even if he had been dead, the needle would still point towards his corpse.

Angrily, Loki had dumped the pot of potion down the drain and sulked on the couch for a while with another pizza, in nothing but his dearly beloved boxer shorts and a cotton T-shirt. "Perhaps I should get up and do something," he said aloud to nobody in particular as the sun set outside Peter's living room window. He could use a drink, although he knew Earth alcohol was just like water to him. All the same, he was bored by himself. Interacting with the humans might just liven his evening up.

He changed clothes into a pair of light-wash jeans with an emerald colored v-neck and a black, leather jacket. He brought along an old, leather wallet in his back pocket, stuffed with charmed pieces of paper and a piece of card stock in the picture window, in case he needed this "ID" Peter had warned him about.

Leaving the apartment, he trudged down the street, until he finally arrived at a bar. Walking inside, he took a seat at the bar. "I'd like a martini, neat, with two olives and your finest vodka," he requested of the bartender, an older man who looked to be in his fifties.

The man raised an eyebrow, but poured the drink anyway. It had a lovely flavor that went down his throat easily. He drank it slowly, looking around as he did so.

This bar, he liked. It was very cozy, with wooden floors and beautifully decorated tables. It was reminiscent of one of the upper-middle class bars on Asgard, minus all the gold. It had a classier feel to it, and it was minimally crowded. He wasn't the only one here, but he could still breathe.

"That's a sophisticated choice," a feminine voice to his left said.

Loki turned around and laid his eyes on the beautiful woman sitting next to him. She had straight, brown hair that hung to her waist and blue eyes, darkly shadowed. Her skin was darkly tanned, and she wore a black cocktail dress. It was made of lace, with a halter top that showed off the skin of her shoulders.

Loki swallowed nervously. She was stunning to look at, and her thick eyelashes beat flirtatiously at him. In any case, he wasn't called the silver tongue for nothing. "Why hello," he said suggestively. "And what might your name be?"

She smiled dazzlingly. "I'm Meghan. What's your name?"

Loki took a slow sip of his martini, giving Meghan time to admire the curve of his throat and the iciness of his thin fingers. "They call me Loki," he replied. "So, Meghan, what brings you to this place?"

Her fingers tapped seductively on the bar. "Boredom mostly. And I like a good whiskey on the rocks every now and again."

"I can fix that," Loki boasted. "Bar man, a whiskey on the rocks for the lady, please? Your finest whiskey should suffice."

Meghan placed an icy hand on his arm. "You really know how to treat a girl right."

Loki Smiled and took another sip of his drink. "My pleasure. I don't see anyone else here tonight who I'd like to buy a drink for."