A/N: So, I'm too busy to update any of my ongoing stories (it takes too long to plan it out) but these short stories keep popping into my head and I've got to get them out. So for those of you who enjoyed Furry (if you haven't read it, go ahead to my page and find it) here is a completely unrelated story with the same humor (hopefully).

Disclaimer: I'd be a sorry Chitauri if I said I owned Avengers, so nope, I don't own it.

Casey Elrod had set up her table of tricks on a corner in New York. She usually performed in children's theatre or at schools to make the money to pay her rent, but the schools were closed and the children's theatre had been squished by an enormous alien-whale-spaceship-thing. Casey supposed she really didn't have to be performing to get rent money because, well, her apartment building had been blown to pieces by a not-so-enormous-but-equally-as-frightening-alien-grenade-thing. But a girl had to eat, even if have the city was smashed by Hulk, Chitauri, Asgardians, or the government. So she set up a little plastic table she found and pulled some cards out of her hoody's pocket. She shuffled them up and set out a hat for tips. Time to make some magic.

Loki was bored. Being a cell in Asgard's basement loses its glamour after only a few hours. He knew he couldn't get out, but he was bored. What could he do? Read a book? No, he'd read all of the ones Frigga had sent him. Prank the guards? No, his magic would not reach outside of the cell. Was this how he was to spend the rest of his days? Locked in this cell of boredom? Given he still had around four thousand years to live it might be a little frustrating. He must think of something amusing to do. Anything. Before he went crazy! Well, crazier.

The afternoon guard made his rounds past Loki's cell, not making eye contact, as usual. If only he could get the fool's attention. He used a little magic to make snakes appear in his cell and then gave a false yelp of surprise. The guard turned to see what was the matter. Success.

"Oi, what's going on in there?" The guard demanded, not seeing the snakes.

Loki stood up and backed away from his own illusion. "How did those get in here?!"

The guard spotted them and frowned. "You mean them slitherers? Don't play me, I know exactly how they got there. Honestly, you played the same trick on me cousin Gromp at Thor's coronation. Turnin' wine to snakes now makin' 'em pop up in your cell? I expected more from you." He walked past the cell with a yawn.

Loki scowled and made the snakes disappear. He sat back down and rolled his eyes. Perhaps that had been a little unoriginal. What else could he do in here?

When the evening guard passed the ex-prince's cell he dropped the baked good he had been snacking on in shock.

"What the blazes?!"

Loki looked up from a conversation he was having… with himself. There were twelve Loki's inside the cell and they were all engaged in pleasant conversation. Chatting about the weather, baking recipes, recent books they'd read, and so forth and so on. All dozen were silent when the guard spoke up.

"Yes?" One of the Loki's smiled.

"How may we help you?" Another asked.

"I do hope nothing is the matter, sir?" One more grinned.

"You cut that out right now!" The guard ordered. This request was met with twelve more Loki's appearing in the room, "Stop it!"

"Make us!" They all yelled.

The guard jumped back. "Nah, you can't fool me. I'm not coming in there and you aren't coming out. All Father's orders."

The guard rounded the corner and vanished, as did Loki's doppelgangers and the smile on the trickster's face. This was going to be harder than he thought. Then suddenly, a plan hit him. Of course, the next guard wouldn't be along for several hours, but that time was nothing compared to how long he'd spend in a cell with nothing to do. But maybe he should hold off, after all this trick could only be kept up for so long and then he would have to come back. It would be the only time this rick would work and then he'd have to spend the rest of his days in the cell. Perhaps perform it at another time.

"No," He decided, "I am simply too bored now. Dash planning and timing, I shall have my fun tonight on Midgard and then be back in the morning in time for breakfast." The thought of not coming back at all crossed his mind, but he didn't want to evoke the wrath of Odin… at least, not yet.

Casey had been entertaining people all day with her card tricks. Despite this, she still only had enough money to buy a candy bar. This was New York! Everything else cost a fortune in this city, why didn't people pay that much to see her perform? She sighed and started to flip the Ace of Hearts around on her fingers boredly. Her stomach had been growling for hours and she was thinking of heading to her campsite for the night when a rich looking gentleman headed her way.

Straightening up, Casey began her trick of making the cards fly around her head. It really wasn't that hard, just some misdirection and other special tricks. The cards swirled around her head and she threw her arms out with a huge smile.

"Be dazzled by this show of magic! See regular playing cards perform like circus animals! Make a bet, play a game! I've got all kinds of tricks up my sleeve!" She bellowed.

Loki was walking around Midgard to see what kind of damage he had caused in the previous weeks and he was pleased. The Midgardians were badly crippled by his attack. As he walked the streets he heard some noise. A young woman stood on the corner with her hands raised, shouting about something. The odd part was that she had pieces of paper flying around her head in a swirling storm. It was peculiar looking, but probably not worth his little time of freedom. He was intent on passing her by when he heard her mention tricks. He couldn't resist a bit of trickery and decided to see what she was up to.

Casey inwardly high fived herself. The gentleman had stopped in front of her table. He was an interesting fellow, with shoulder length black hair and burning blue eyes. He was dressed in a suit and trench coat as if he was off to some place important. Clearly his house and place of work were still intact.

"Good evening, my good sir!" She smiled moving all of the cards from around her head into a neat pile in her hand, "Care to watch a little magic?"

The man chuckled. "There is no magic on Midg- earth."

"Well, maybe I stole some from those aliens. Or perhaps an Asgardian! You never know! Would you like to see a few tricks or not?" She hated to be rude, but if he was one of those types who only wanted to unravel the secrets of the tricks she wanted him gone. He might ward off other customers.

"Alright, show me some earthen magic." The man said with a roll of his eyes.

Casey raised an eyebrow. "Earthen, huh? Who do you think you are, Thor?"

The man started laughing so hard he had to grip the table to remain standing. Casey didn't see what was so funny, but she forced a smile to make him think she agreed with him.

"No, no! Not Thor. I'm sorry, that is simply amusing to me."

"'Simply amusing' usually doesn't get such a big laugh," Casey mumbled, "Alright, let's do a few card tricks to get us started." She pulled three cards out of the deck for him to see, concealing a fourth in her hoody's sleeves. She turned the three cards face up and let him examine them. "See the lady card in the middle? You want to keep your eye on her. She tends to hide." She flipped them over, flipping over the lady last and switching her out for the card in her sleeve, "Follow the lady."

Loki was amused by this human's card tricks. Thus far she had showed him three different ones, that all included her slipping one up her sleeve. He noticed, of course, but he wanted to see what else she could do or if anyone else in the small audience would notice. So far none had. Were humans really that daft?

"Now time for something a little more interesting. I'm going to make these cards do some tricks by themselves. I'm not going to help them." The girl stated.

Loki watched as before his eyes all of the cards rose off their sides with no help from a human hand. The cards marched around the table in military formations. Then they all fell on their sides again. It seemed impossible. There were no strings to hold the cards and the girl had both of her hands in plain view, palm up on the table. Even the Trickster King could not figure out how a Midgardian was doing it. If she was of any of the other Nine Realms then she might have been graced with true magic, but she was clearly human.

When the cards began to fly through the crowd and circle around people it was too much. How was she doing it? He had to know.

"Oh my, I do believe they've become attached to you!" The girl sighed, looking to the cards, which were settling on people's shoulders and in their pockets. One landed on Loki's head, "Would you like to take my little cards home?" Everyone in the audience gave positive replies that they would indeed like to keep the magic cards, "And would the cards like to go home with you?" Much to the audience's surprise the cards began to nod vigorously by bending their top parts up and down, "Then it's settled. Everyone can take a card home. Have a good night everyone!" She then looked away from her audience to signal that she was done.

Loki felt the card on his head jump up and down with excitement. Were the cards alive? Was this trick performed by the cards and not the magician? But what kind of creature looked like this? Some odd Midgardian beast that was absent from Asgard, no doubt.

As the rest of the crowd dispersed Loki stayed. The girl was busy digging through the cap on her table to count her earnings. When she had finished she pulled out a new deck of cards. It was exactly the same as the other deck, except the backs were purple instead of red. Could you buy the creatures anywhere then? Did he have time to find a store and purchase a pack himself? They would make amusing companions in his cell. No, his time was nearly up and he didn't have time to hunt some down. This girl would surely sell some to him.

Casey pocketed the money she had made, which was enough to buy a loaf of bread or two from the store, and maybe a bottle of water. It had been a good day. She'd really made a lot this evening. Too bad the morning had been so slow. She opened a new pack of cards and examined them. Simple cards she'd gotten at a thrift store. Nothing more, nothing less. She should really stop giving out all of her props, which forced her to buy more, but the crowd loved it and they always gave generous tips.

When she looked up she saw that the gentleman was still watching her. He was focused on the pack of cards. She smiled at him and shoved the pack in her pocket.

"Sorry pal, the show's over. Anything else I can help you with?"

He shook his head as if to clear his mind. "Hmm? Oh, my apologies. I did not mean to loiter. I was simply curious as to where you purchased those creatures."

"Creatures?" Her brow furrowed, "What creatures?"

"The cards, I mean. If they are not living beings then how do they dance?"

Casey sighed and wiggled her fingers. "Magic."

"So is it true then? Did you steal magic from the Chitauri? Or an Asgardian?"

She blinked. This guy was sure gullible. "Uh, sure. If it makes you happy to think that." She winked and folded up her table, which was also currently serving as a shelter for her.

"Please, tell me how you did it." He implored.

"Sorry buddy, a magician never reveals her secret and all that. If I tell you, whose to say if you'll go and tell someone else? Then I'd be ruined cause word would get around how it's done." She tried to make it sound like that was all she was worried about. Not the fact that if he found out the government might find out and hunt her down…

He looked at her with a hint of anger in his eyes and she nodded to him and began walking down the street as quickly as she could with the awkward table. Much to her surprise, when she rounded the corner he was standing right there.

"Aaah! Oh, it's you." She was nervous now. Why was he following her? What if he did something that set off an… incident? Sure it wouldn't be as bad as the Hulk, but it could get ugly, "Can I ask why you are following me?"

"Let me carry your table for you. I really must learn your secret. And I promise I won't tell anyone because I'm headed back to a place that is very far away from here. I won't be able to tell anyone there either." He took the table out of her hands and she started walking again with him by her side.

"I just… if I tell you I could get into trouble. Or you could get into trouble for knowing. You don't want to get into trouble on my account, do you?"

He laughed. "Given I am already in quite a bit of trouble I don't think the secret of one human could make it much worse."

"One human? What, are you not human? You some kind of alien?" She asked suspiciously, putting a little distance between the two of them.

Loki cursed himself. He had given it away too easily. If this girl told the authorities then word would get out that he was not in his cell and the humans might do something to alert Thor and what a heaping mess that would be! All because he wanted to relieve his boredom. He had to get this girl on his side.

"Well…"

She stopped and backed away from him. "What?! What do you mean by 'well...'?"

"I am of Asgard." Telling her he was the one who destroyed the city would not keep her calm so he decided to avoid that little tidbit, "But I'm not here for any spectacular reason. Just a bit of fun."

She looked panicked. Then she took a deep breath. "Calm down, calm down. He's not one of the bad ones, he's just here for some fun. Like he's visiting Vegas for the weekend." She told herself. This confused Loki a great deal but he decided against commenting, "So, you're an alien, but not one of the ones who destroyed the city. One of the ones like Thor, right?"

He smiled, trying not to laugh at the irony. "Correct. I just want to learn your magic trick and be on my way. I won't tell anyone, on my honor."

"How much is Asgardian honor worth?" She asked.

"Oh, an Asgardian's honor is worth quite a lot." He continued the sentence in his head: A frost giant's is not, however.

She regarded him skeptically and finally nodded. "Fine, but you better not be messing with me. I wouldn't want anything to happen to you."

"Happen to me? Which one of us is from Asgard?"

"You make it sound like being from there makes you invincible. I know it doesn't, there were reports of seeing Thor getting beaten up and stuff by his brother," She frowned, "Besides, if you were messing with me then you probably wouldn't be an Asgardian and you'd be incredibly vulnerable."

"I am from Asgard and you are wasting my precious time, so tell me already." Loki demanded, stepping closer.

"Fine, fine!" She put her hands up in defeat, "The truth is…" She paused dramatically, "The cards are magical. They do all the work and I get all of the credit."

Loki's eyes widened. "Truthfully?"

She grinned. "Absolutely, on my honor."

"And how much is a Midgardian's honor worth?"

She stepped closer to him and reached her hand into his pocket. She found a single gold coin and darted off, letting the deck of cards fall out of her pocket. She yelled back at him. "A Midgardian's honor ain't worth much!" And then she was gone.

Loki frowned and rolled his eyes. A common thief. She had no magic, she was but a petty criminal! It angered him that he'd allowed himself to be tricked by a human, but it was only a coin. A single coin that he had been planning on using to buy the cards with. Since the cards were now on the ground and free for the taking, he didn't much need it. He scooped up the cards and looked at the sky. It was quite dark, but it would take a while to get back to his cell. He just hoped that the guards were still confused by his little game. Yes, it was time to be leaving Midgard, but perhaps he'd come back some day.

Casey couldn't believe her good luck. A gold coin. This could set her up for months! And all it had cost her was a few cards. She still had half the pack in her pocket anyway. And the strange man hadn't even learned her true secret! This day was really looking up.

The next morning she walked into a shop that bought gold and placed the coin on the counter. A man rushed over and examined it, muttering about the fine quality and beauty of it. Casey stood there proudly and saw the man use a calculator to estimate a good price. There were a lot of zeroes. Then the gold buyer picked up the coin and suddenly, it was a quarter. An average, American quarter. The gold buyer raised an eyebrow and angrily put to coin down.

"No jokes ma'am, please leave."

Casey was in disbelief as she left the shop. The Asgardian tricked her. Apparently his honor was worth as much as hers. Zilch. A fake coin! At least she still had her earnings from last night. She walked to her corner to start another days work of trickery. So much for being set up for months.

Loki sat in his cell. He had gotten back without too much trouble. Luckily the guards were as dull as they looked and hadn't even considered telling the All Father of his late night disappearance. They were probably too scared. The poor fools didn't know that Odin would find out eventually, and when he did they'd lose their jobs.

As he sat in his cell Loki played with the cards he's acquired during his little outing. As hard as he tried he could not get them to move like the girl had. They would not cooperate.

"Blast these cards!" He exclaimed, pushing them away from him with magic. That was the only way he could get them to do anything, with his own magic. It seemed the girl had been correct. Midgardian honor was worth nothing. The cards were simple paper. But then how had she done her trick? He supposed it would remain a mystery to him. A human had tricked the Trickster.

A/N: Oh gosh, this thing is huge! Sorry, it was supposed to be short and sweet (well, not sweet…), but clearly that didn't happen. Just so you know, Casey Elrod is my OC that may appear in stories of all kinds. She's really an easter egg to me, and you might get it if you read my upcoming Fictionpress story: Monster. It'll be a long time until that one is done though.

Anyway, tell me what you think!