OF MYSTICS AND MAGIC
i. THE POWER OF STREET MAGIC
❝AND, NO, I DON'T DO BIRTHDAY PARTIES.❞

LOKI LAUFEYSON DID NOT LIKE EARTH, but there he was, wandering the busy streets of New York City in search of... well, something to aid him in his upcoming endeavor. His eyes scanned the crowds of humans ━━ most of them minding their own business, but a few spared him a glance. It was a chilly day in the city, but Loki embraced the cold. After all, the cold had no effect on him. Yet, for the sake of blending in, Loki wore a gray sweater, dark jeans, and a long black trench coat. It was a similar outfit to most around him, but the one thing that made him stand out was the cane that he held in his hands. Though it may look like a cane, it was anything but. He knew that he couldn't carry around a glowing scepter without raising questions, so he decided that it would be best to disguise it.

He didn't understand what was so special about Earth. Loki recalled the amount of effort that Thor and his wife, Katrina, had gone through to protect a little sliver of land in the New Mexico desert from him, but it was going to be different this time. Loki groaned slightly, feeling the slight hum in his mind as the scepter tried to speak to him. He wanted Earth, that much Loki already knew.

After walking a few more blocks, Loki came across something that caught his undivided attention. It was a woman dressed in a blood-red leotard with black fishnet tights covering her tanned legs, but her outfit wasn't what caught Loki's eye. He stared as the woman took off her top hat and pulled out a live rabbit before handing it to a little girl in the crowd that marveled at her tricks. Loki frowned as he took a step closer, feeling the air shift around him. It reminded him of a time when he was much younger and his mother used to showcase her magic. He could sense the mystical energy in the air as he continued to watch the woman.

Loki turned to the man at his right and tapped him with his cane. It was a man much taller and muscular than him, but Loki was not bothered by his glare. He gave the man a playful smirk. "Tell me, who is that woman?"

"Her?" the man asked for clarification as he pointed toward the woman performing tricks for the crowd. "I don't really know, man. Zatanna Zatara is what she goes by, but then again, that's a comic book character. I heard some people call her the Mistress of Magic, but again, it's probably all bullshit."

"Zatanna Zatara," Loki tested the name on his tongue as he continued to make his way forward, effortlessly moving through the crowd of people.

"Now, for my next trick," Zatanna Zatara ━━ at least that's what Loki knew her as ━━ started as she scanned the crowd. She took a few steps toward a young boy that had a tight grip on a stuffed animal. Zatanna crouched down, giving the boy a smile. It held a glimpse of wickedness mixed with mischievous energy. "May I borrow your bear?"

The boy glanced up at his mother, wanting to get her opinion. She nodded nonchalantly, but quickly turned her attention back to her phone. The boy smiled, holding out his bear for Zatanna to take. "Promise me that you'll give him back?"

"Of course," Zatanna grinned, taking the bear from the boy's nimble hands before she returned to her stage. Loki was mesmerized by her every move. He caught every swing of her hips and noticed the way that her hair moved in the wind. Her eyes shined with mischief as she held up the bear in her hands. "Now, you see it," the woman whispered before throwing the bear in the air. A mist surrounded it as the woman muttered, "and, now, you don't."

With those simple words, the stuffed bear had disappeared. The crowd gasped and awed as Zatanna grinned widely. People placed dollar bills into the top hat that sat a few feet away from the woman. But, the boy slowly moved forward. "Where's Mr. Bubsy?"

Zatanna's dark eyes trailed down to the boy, giving him a small smile. She bent down, turning the boy around so he faced his mother. "I would check your mother's purse."

Loki watched as the boy rushed to his mother and quickly opened her oversized purse. His lips parted ever so slightly in shock as he watched the boy pull out the bear. His eyes trailed back to the woman and watched as she threw a few things into the air ━━ something that sent glitter flying through the air. Loki held his hand out and watched as the red glitter landed on his exposed hand, but absorbed into his skin.

"Alright, that's all for today, New Yorkers!" Zatanna shouted, jumping off the makeshift stage. It was nothing more than a wooden crate, but that was the last thing on Loki's mind. He watched her clean up her act and place everything into a bag that had been sitting a few feet away from her. People continued to place money into the top hat as Zatanna cleaned up.

Loki made his way to her, pulling out a twenty-dollar bill from his pocket. "Impressive act."

Zatanna Zatara paused at the sound of his voice. She stood up straight before she turned to look at him. There was something about her that made her stand apart from the crowd... and it wasn't just her choice of outfit. Earth was dull and tiresome, but she was full of energy that was unworldly. Yet, she tried to hide it in plain sight. She glanced down at the twenty-dollar bill in his hands. "Is that for me?"

Loki chuckled, reaching forward to drop the bill into her hat. "What is your name?"

"Zatanna Zatara," the woman replied as she picked up the top hat and shoved it into her backpack. She stole another glance at him, disinterested. "And, no, I don't do birthday parties."

Loki found himself frowning at the woman's lack of interest. On Asgard, men and women used to fall to their knees in his presence, but this woman hadn't spared him a second glance. He scoffed. "What is your real name?"

She didn't reply as she picked up the backpack and began to walk away. She didn't bother looking back. It left Loki feeling slightly irritated as he rolled his eyes at the whole interaction.

"Don't worry," a voice caught Loki's attention. He looked behind him to see an elderly man dressed in an oversized coat and sweatpants that had rips in a few places. "She'll be back tomorrow ━━ same time, same place."

Loki grinned, watching as the woman disappeared into the sea of people. The hum in his mind returned, but he was able to make out the words this time. It was clear that the woman had some kind of magic within her. Loki had felt it in the air and it had disappeared when the woman had left. She was much more than she let on and Loki was determined to get to the bottom of it. He could see his plan falling into place as he imagined the possibilities of his powers combined with the woman's. She was perfect and Loki would stop at nothing to make sure that his plan would succeed. But, unbeknownst to Loki, he was about to play with magic that was way out of his league.

♡

HELLO! I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! It felt a little bland to me personally, but I wanted to start it off slow! I decided to go with Loki's POV for the first chapter to give insight on his goals and why he's on Earth, but the rest of the chapters should be in Aerwyn's POV!

I know we only caught a glimpse of Aerwyn in this chapter, but I adore her with all my heart! Chapter Two will be in her POV and we'll get to see what her life is truly like! I can't wait to share this story with you guys! I have big plans and I am so so excited, ah! ❤️

IMPORTANT INFORMATION - Act One takes place in Avengers, but a few months prior to the Battle of New York! I really want to develop Loki and Aerwyn's relationship, so expect it to be a very slow burn! Also, Aerwyn's character is very complex and we'll learn more about her as the story goes on!

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter! Chapter Two will be out super soon! ☺️ I, also, didn't change much from the original draft! I only changed a sentence here and there to make it flow better so it might be familiar to rereaders!

GIF BANNER - JUSTSAV
(so so grateful for the beautiful banner
that Sav created for me below! she is the
sweetest gal, so please go check her out!)

━━ AMARA
ORIGINAL PUBLISH DATE ━━ 08.12.2019
REWRITE PUBLISH DATE ━━ 06.09.2021