2014-07-28 Loki Falls Off Of A Building
This scene is rated Everybody
Warning: N/A
2014-07-28
Players: Drake, Loki, Brunnhilde, Thor
GMed by Who GMed?
Title: Loki Falls Off Of A Building

A storm gathers and rages high above the streets of the city, drenching those bold enough to walk at this time. Thor watches from the vantage point of a nearby rooftop, palms pressed into the lip as he leans forward and peers below. Thunder cracks and lightning flashes, repeatedly striking down upon the hammer at his hip. For once, though, none of the weather is his doing.

Thunderstorms make Loki jittery. He flinches every time it thunders and lightnings, bringing his forearms above his head to shield himself from the rain, getting a bit wet before conjuring a magic shield. "Thor! If this is you, it isn't amusing!"

Stoic as always, Brunnhilde stood there silently as the thunderstorm raged, not even the lightning striking Mjolnir causing her to clinch, "My lord Odinson, I still do not understand what we are doing here. What could be so important on Midgard?"

Midtown Manhattan is akimbo with technomagical aliens today, while most of the normal people are running for cover from the torrential downpour. However, one individual manages to not fall into either category. Drake had been hanging out at a cafe for the sake of fresh air when the storm absolutely caught his attention. It's not like a normal storm. It's focused, concentrated… almost energizing. And when he left the cafe, he quickly realizes that the frequent strikes of lightning were landing in the same place.

He also realizes that he isn't wearing a jacket or umbrella.

Thoroughly drenched, the teen forms a visor over his brow with a hand and moves forward, peering up at the rooftop in question. And naturally, curiousity demands he find a fire escape to track down the source…

"Tis not I. Welcome to Midgard, Loki." Thor gruffly declares, reaching up to flick his damp golden hair back over his shoulder. "You've not ventured with us since we've arrived, Brunnhilde. Much has transpired. Among them, I am a guardian of this realm as Asgard itself."

Loki disappears from ground level and reappears next to Thor. "Welcome to Midgard? Have you not even noticed I have not been in Asgard for many weeks?" He sighs and leans on the edge of the roof, the water soaking his dark hair. "I am a junior Avenger, so I suppose we have that in common."

Hilde's own golden hair was still dry, at least on top underneath the cowl of her cloak which she had up. The thick braids trailing out of it were soaked, however. "Indeed. It has been many years since I traveled these lands. Centuries even, not since the All-Father forbade us from taking people from Midgard to the halls of their ancestors."

Tromp'a-tromp'a-tromp. Drake scurries up the metal fire escape with zero fear of being struck by lightning. It's as if the thought doesn't even occur to him. But he doesn't throw himself up onto the rooftop immediately. His time in New York has taught him to err on the cautious side when things seem out of place. So his head peeks up over the edge of the building, spying three figures dressed like hardcore Renaissance Faire veterans. And one he recognizes. Nipping onto his lower lip, he opts to stay right there for now, hoping to get a handle on the situation without being noticed. And while he certainly has some nice cover, if anyone glanced in his direction, there's a good chance he'll be spotted.

Thor gives his head a slow shake. "Nay, brother. I am no Avenger, though I approve of the company you've taken to. They seem a brave lot." He muses, squinting as he spots Drake's approach. "You, among the others, would have been one of those that travelled here the most…Hold, who /is/ that boy?"

Loki looks up at Thor, then straightens to look over at Drake. "Oh, that is Drake. He is one of the mortals that reside here. He is no threat to us. Drake, what are you doing here?" Now that he's addressed the mortal, he looks back to Thor. "I know you aren't an Avenger, I meant protecting Midgard. I try my best, at least."

Seeing the stranger approach, Hilde steps forward, moving herself between the possible threat and the princes, a hand falling to the hilt of her mighty sword. "Stay back, my lord Thor, until we know who he is. This is not the Midgard of my memories. I do not trust this place."

Drake catches a pair of eyes on him, then another. And with a start, he ducks down behind the wall. He grumbles something incoherent under his breath, but cuts it short when he's outright addressed by name. It takes a couple seconds, but Drake's head lifts again, slowly, and with a sheepish smile.

"Hiiii~," he calls innocently. "Don't mean to interrupt! …Hi, Loki!"

"Are you mad?" Thor calls down to Drake, raising an abortive palm to hopefully ease the Valkyrie's wariness. "You are quite fragile, boy! This is no place to play!"

Looking to Brunnhilde, Loki moves between her and Drake. "I /said/ he is no threat to us. Keep your hand of your weapon. Drake, this is my brother Thor and this is Brunnhilde the Valkyrie. Drake is quite capable of handling himself, as long as you do not attack him."

Withdrawing her hand, Hilde nodded silently and stepped back, her eyes warily on the Midgardian despite Loki's assurance. The guard was never off-duty, especially here, but she did not protest Thor's gesture.

Drake exhales a sigh, wisps visible in the moisture-rich air. He proceeds the rest of the way up the steps and onto the roof to present himself to the Asgardian court. "I'm not mad, man, I'm-.. hey, c'mon, I'm not that young! I'm seventeen!," he protests. Because what teenager likes being talked down to? Arms fold over his chest, shoulders hunching forward against the rain. "Lightning's nothin'."

A sharp nod is given in Loki's direction, confident, despite having never demonstrated his ability to him before. "I can handle myself. Especially since you guys aren't here to do anything bad. Nothin' to worry about, right?"

Drake is viewed as a novelty to Thor who moves aside to give the man room to clamber overt the edge and onto the sopping tar paper the party stands upon. "Lightning is nothing?" He muses with a deep chuckle. "How did you know we were here?"

Loki holds up his hands to try and keep Thor back. "Don't even think about it, Thor." Looking back to Drake he scoffs. "You may be seventeen, but I am the youngest of the Odinsons and younger than Brunnhilde at a thousand years old, so seventeen is nothing but a blink of the eye."

"Loki Odinson," Hilde speaks up, "In my past experience on Midgard at the time of warriors and heroes, people of Midgard fit a lifetime of experience in the blink of an eye compared to us. Do not disparage him because of the age difference."

Drake runs his hands through his soaked hair, whisking those persistent bangs from his eyes to no lasting effect; they fall right back down, dripping with rainwater. A coy smile plays on his lips. "Yeah. I have an… affinity for it." He may have been tempted to give a tiny demonstration, were it not for the torrential rain. Truth be told, he's petrified of accidentally hurting someone. It isn't even a tested theory, but the thought is enough to stay his typically flashy whimsy. But he continues with a mirthful, "I actually didn't know anyone was up here. But when lightning strikes the same place a bunch'a times, /someone's/ gonna come snooping."

Loki gets a blink, followed by a stunned nod to Brunnhilde. She's right, but at the same time, he hadn't really considered how old Asgardians might be. He should've realized it sooner, what with how old the legends are, but something like that doesn't register when you're looking at them face to face. "Lots of experience by… human standards, we'll say," he offers diplomatically. He takes a moment to glance between each of them gathered in turn before adding, "Everything's okay here, right?"

"There is wisdom in her words." Thor admits, offering a warm, wide smile to Drake. "Don't take his words to heart, Drake. He forgets how frequently he has the same conversation with the Allfather." He teases, moving closer to inspect the man.

There is little, physically, to make the thunderer take pause but he has learned how deceiving mortal packaging can be. "An affinity for the elements? you tease us with such curiosities, Drake. What affinity do you hold?"

"I meant no disrespect. He should not be in such a hurry to be seen as older because mortals have such short lifespans. Drake is a friend. " He folds his arms over his chest, the rain pouring over him and soaking his hair.

Hilde nods at his reaction and begins to scan across the roof, "Regardless, we shouldn't stay here, this is a vulnerable place and I do not see anything more we can gain from this location."

"Ah, Loki's good people," claims Drake with a smile of his own. "Didn't offend me any."

Though the attention to his aforementioned 'affinity' causes it to faulter slightly. "I…" He hedges, glancing between those gathered again. Loki knows about the mansion and the people who stay there. That probably means Thor does, too. And this woman? Well, odds are Asgardians are generally in the know about it. But on the other hand, it's not like he admitted where he lives, right? "..Electricity. I can do things with it. I'd demonstrate, but, err… I don't wanna risk hurting anyone." The potential absurdity of the notion is lost on him, and judging by the solemn expression on his face, he's quite serious about it.

"I believe we will endure." Thor assures Drake, sliding a glance between Hilde and Loki. "Though, I would counsel you to use caution around the trickster. He seems quite vulnerable to electricity."

Setting his shoulders, Loki tries not to look indignant. "I'm not /that/ vulnerable. I can handle anything you two can handle." He has to look impressive in front of his new friend, afterall. "Though perhaps you should be careful not to strike Brunnhilde."

Hilde smirks a little bit at what Loki says, despite keeping a watchful eye around them, letting the princes do the talking as always. She does respond with a single word as she turns her head back and looks at them passively, "Indeed."

"Yeah, but… well… okay," fidgets and eventually submits Drake. He glances at the rooftop to ensure his sideways maneuvering doesn't result in him dropping off. That'd be ten shades of embarrassing. But once he's as far as he thinks might be safe, he lifts his sopping wet hands to chest height, palms curving in a hollow circle.

He hesitates. "You sure about this? A-and no one else hears about this. Okay? Our secret?"

Thor clutches his fingers around Mjolnir and draws the weapon free from his belt, using the enhanced sense to study the flow of energy through the mutant. "On my honor, Drake. I will tell no mortal ears of what transpires."

"There are mortals with special abilities. Normal mortals dislike the powered mortals for some reason and inflict great violence upon them. It is beneficial to not reveal one mortal to be powered." He shifts from foot to foot, a little nervous about both Thor and Drake.

"Yes, there have been since ancient times. I remember one, a southern barbarian named Hercules…" Hilde trails off with a faint smile, "Though my understanding is the numbers are increasing dramatically now."

Drake draws in a slow breath and holds it as he nods. He exhales it slowly, and the space between his palms sparks to life with a crackling, undulating tendril of electricity. Then one becomes two, and two becomes four. His hands shift, attempting to shield the coils of ionic energy from the downpour as he worries his teeth over his bottom lip.

"Easy… easy now…," he coaxes the electricity as though it could listen. The collection of electricity periodically lances out a couple feet from the main collection, the energy bridging between thick, connecting raindrops. The amount of effort in keeping it contained is obvious, the teen's focus solely on maintaining the ability at this very small, deceptively minute level.

"M'keeping it small. Really small. It wants to piggyback on the rain, so I'm not… you know, letting it grow."

Thor's frozen eyes flicker to life with delight as he watches Drake's sparks dance into life. "You must keep them dense and compact, lad. The energy wishes to travel through the water. It's clear you know that it makes an easy road for them to travel." He explains, dropping the hammer on the rooftop with a dense thud. He spreads his arms out and spreads them apart a reasonable breadth of his wingspan, summoning a powerful, solid bolt of lightning to explode from palm to palm and arc back and forth across the distance, illuminating the group further.

"Loki and I will be more than adequately protected within this realm, Brunnhilde." He remarks, turning to regard the fierce woman and parting his lips into a pearly smile. "Tis our watch. Our charge. I only sought your companionship for this journey for your wisdom; I know you have duties on Asgard and I wouldn't want to tear you from your station."

Loki does cower a bit, bringing his forearms up to try and shield himself from the electricity. "All right, all right, Thor was right, I am a bit susceptable so I will erm…stand..over…here." He relocates to sit on the edge of the roof, folding his arms over his chest.

Hilde nods at Thor, "Very well. The Valkyrior are tasked heavily right now. We have much ground to cover in the nine realms." She steps back a little bit and brings her fingers to her lips, whistling loudly. A few moments later there is a flash of light and a large, imposing winged horse appears, his coat as perfectly white as fresh snow. She climbs onto his back, "I shall leave you two for now, but I am always listening for your call. Be well, my princes." With that she digs in her heels and the horse takes off, vanishing a few moments later.

"Yeah, working on.. working on that..," says a concentrating Drake, his eyes glued to the task at hand. "I've never /tried/ working in the rain like this… always worried it'll get outt'a hand… and… and this is just a /tiny/ little thing, and it's a lot bigger'n it's supposed to be already…" Whatever else he was about to say is completely derailed when Thor produces a trunk of electricity on his own.

"Should'a figured you could do that."

In that moment of distraction, the electrical concentration spreads exponentially, lashing through the rainfall. With a startled yelp, Drake's eyes refocus to rein it back in, lowering the output level.

That is, until a pegasus drops in. When this animal appears, the teen tosses his hands to the side in an abrupt, animated shrug, giving right the Hell up. "Really!? Just… just gonna bring in mythical beasts? No big deal, it's cool! No one's gonna look twice!" As Hilde takes off, Drake laughs helplessly.

"I'm taking this awfully well, don'cha think?," he asks no one in particular.

At least in the midst of the shrug, the electrical manifestation snaps out of existence.

"If you want to really grapple with how to manipulate and work with the primal forces your truest instructor is nature herself." He suggests, sending a passing glance towards Loki. There is a strange twist within the truth of those words to the crown prince.

"Pressure. Everything is about pressure and encouraging the lightning one way or another. You do not force thoughtless blasts, lad. The lightning is your partner. A primitive and savage creature that has a will of its own. Habits and preferences, just like you or I." He elaborates, releasing his hold for the energy to evaporate between his fingertips. One arm lowers but the other twists, fingers curled and tense as the palm faces the heavens. Raw electricity begins to mingle and swirl in his hand until it crashes into a self-sustaining orb roughly the size of a basketball. "Ball lightning. Rare, but a result of an extreme concentration…the surges that course through a plume of volcanic ash. It all wants to explore the denser air and that 'pressure' that exists around us. You would find, for example, a much greater challenge summoning bolts through the void of space."

As Drake's energy goes astray for a moment, a bit zaps Loki and he pitches over backwards off the side of the building with a surprised 'aaaah'. Of course he wouldn't be hurt by such a fall, and it gives Drake and Thor a few moments of privacy to play with lightning as he makes his way back up, deciding to take the fire escape rather than teleport.

Drake runs his hands over his face, clearing some of the water from his eyes. Once the shock of seeing a mythical creature has worn down, he places his attention on Thor. "Yeah, I've been trying to get better at controlling it for about a year in secret. Learned how to hold it back, but pushing it harder, shaping it…" He inclines his head at the sphere. "…Like that… I can only do so much." Flashy is one thing, but function and substance is something else.

The teen takes a tentative step forward. "You… think you're gonna stick around this rock a while? If my mutation and your power's similar, I might could learn to do more, to be stronger, if you'd… teach…"

He trails, realizing Loki is no longer present. "…me?"

Loki is given a passing sigh as he tumbles over the rooftop. "He'll be fine. He's withstood worse." He muses, tossing the ball lightning into the sky and tracking it's path until it disappears past the cloudline. "I am tied to this realm. If you use your gift honorably, I will help you learn. I should warn you, though: tread an unjust path and you will find me an overwhelming adversary."

Drake quickly shakes his head, "Nono, I did my stint as a renegade, I'm done with that. It wasn't who I am, y'know?" Another glance is cast to the edge of the building with a frown. He's gonna have to apologize to the other Odinson, definitely. Loki may be able to take a drop off of a building, but that doesn't make him feel good about it! "Err, anyway… the point is, having the ability to do this stuff is really rare. And the potential is way out there. It'd be cool to use it in some good way."

"It's foolish for your people to squander strength as they have. It should not be shunned and bound as a mark of shame but celebrated. Thus far only the Avengers and Xavier's cloister have the proper goal and attitude." He muses, holding out his hand as the hammer rushes through the air to meet it. He twirls Mjolnir at his side as he gives Drake a final appraisal. "Pay close attention to your surroundings, Drake. If you are willing to listen, Midgard will teach you her secrets." He states, snapping his arm forward and firing into the sky like a missile. A distant thunderclap explodes across the sky as Thor vanishes behind the cloud ceiling.

"Heck of a world, huh?," Drake muses dryly. But those words are comforting. It's a pretty clear indication that Thor is familiar with the goings-on at the mansion, and even approves of it. So they're on the same page. But he isn't sure how to really pay attention to the world and translate that into his powers. Then again, training is a process.

As Thor departs in a truly bizarre way, Drake visors a hand over his brow to watch. Immediately following, he moves to the edge of the building to peer over the edge. "Lokiiii!?," he calls. "You okaaaay!?"

Loki climbs back over the ledge of the roof and takes a seat, occupying himself with fixing his hair, producing a brush and preening. He watches and listens to Drake and Thor, a bit jealous that Drake was able to have Thor treating him so warmly. "I'm fine, thank you." He says as Drake expresses his concern.

Drake whisks his hair back yet again, and backs up a step to give Loki more room. "Didn't mean to let it go all zaney like that." After a beat, he cracks a grin. "So that was Thor, huh? What brings'em to Earth?" … "I mean Midgard?"

Loki shrugs as he continues with his preening. "I am unharmed. Yes, that was Thor. Yes, I know he is great, supreme, better than everyone else, vastly superior to his younger brother who happens to be a mutant frost giant. Spare me the fawning, I have heard it all."

Drake blinks as the not-so-subtle bitterness shines through. And the mutant frost giant thing. That's new. But dwelling on things that upset people isn't really Drake's style. So with a rueful grin, he casually asides, "I dunno. Doubt he's ever played a game of Halo half as awesome…"

"On a more serious note, is everything okay out here? No one really answered me earlier when I asked. I know I'm not a.. err, an Asgardian or whatever, but if there's a problem…"

"Oh, I believe everything is all right. Thor and Brunnhilde were likely just visiting. As for this?" He pauses his primping for a moment to point to the sky. "It's just a storm. No Asgardian involvement there. As for playing Halo, I am quite a bit more advanced when it comes to Midgardian Technology. I am an expert at throwing green pigs at malformed avians."

"Exactly. Technology's how we do everything here in this world, in fact. So you take that how you will." Drake shoots another look skywards, then frowns. "I'm gonna look like a drowned rat by the time I get back to the mansion, so I'm gonna get going. You alright out here, Loki?"

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