I Don't Think Conventions Are Supposed To Be Like This...

Well, fuck.
As I saw the bright, glittering path grow farther away, I sighed.

I had just fallen off of a rainbow.

I had literally gone somewhere over the rainbow. But with a glance down, I saw what lay below me was not the Emerald City. Shit.

Instead, there was nothing. No color, no light, and definitely no nice, soft net to catch me. Just a whirlpool of pure darkness. My eyes throbbed just by looking at it. I had read, once, about scientists discovering a new shade of black that was so dark, it absorbed all light. Trying to wear it would make you invisible. No, that couldn’t be right. I could see this darkness, and it hurt. Then, a twinge of realization ran through me.

Fuck. A black hole. Also known as a great big, as I had stated before, whirlpool that sucked in everything it could, including light.

And I was falling straight into it. Wonderful. Spectacular. Fantastic. Of course, the universe never bothered to ask me if I had wanted to take a trip to the sucky land of-

Oops, spoilers.

Well, as the cliche books of old say, let me tell you how I got myself into this shitty mess.

Three Hours Ago

“Bet you five bucks she’s going as Pinkie Pie.”

“Uh, no. If my memory serves correctly, Fluttershy is best pony.”

“Pinkie Pie!”

“Fluttershy!”

“Pinkie Pie!”

“Flutter-”

“Will you two shut up? I’m trying to change in here!” I exclaimed through the thin wooden door. Silence. I mentally counted the seconds. ‘One, two, three-’..

“Pinkie Pie!”

“Fluttershy!”

I sighed as their bickering started up again. My interruption was no use. Once those two had began arguing, nothing could stop them. For a second, I searched for the reason I was even friends with two guys in their twenties who acted like children. Answer: They made me smile. With a grim, serious-business family, I could always use a laugh. They always remembered me, and that was all that mattered. I slipped on the black knee-high boots , and to my relief, they fit snugly. Perfect. I spoke once more through the bathroom door as I wrestled with my long, green cape.

"I'm not going to be Pinkie or Fluttershy, anyway."

"Just as I thought, she's gonna be Sparkle. Book girl as a book horse, can't say I'm surprised."

I groaned, rolling my eyes as I fastened the cape to my shoulders.

"For your information, I'm not going to be a pony at all." I said. I knew they could hear my unamused look through the door. "And before you say anything, Benji, I'm not going to be Spike, Discord, or any non-ponies either." I knew Ben wrinkled his nose at the sound of his full name. He hated it, so obviously I said it all the time. With a smile, I turned to the mirror, observing my makeup while waiting for some witty retort.

.... Nothing. It had gotten strangely quiet. A few awkward seconds passed, and I was starting to get worried that some terrible accident had occurred.

"But Broooke, you loooove My Little Pony!" Damian's drawling voice broke the silence, putting special emphasis on 'love'. I sighed, my hazel pupils turning a full circle once again. My friend just adored teasing me about that show. It was true, I had used to watch the popular cartoon. Keyword: Used to. There was nothing much to it, I simply got bored and moved on. Unluckily, my friends had not acknowledged that fact.

The guys had been best friends long before I came into the picture. They spent all their time together, whether in school or out. When I came along, I took one look at their dynamic and instantly thought that I could never be friends like them. They were too close, too cut off from everyone else. So I stayed away from them. I had concluded that I could never fit myself into that group, and never even tried to talk to them. Unfortunately, I wasn't very... Popular. Yes, I know, cliche. But I was extremely antisocial, not to mention pretty introverted. I had been raised in libraries and labs instead of playgrounds and forests. Being a firstborn, my parents were a bit inexperienced, and did what they thought would be beneficial to me. I grew up never knowing what to say to people, and I quickly learned that kids around my age weren't very interested in statistics about viral diseases in the Dominican Republic. It was quite hard to make friends, with no one having the same interests as me. I was regarded as too serious, too grumpy and somber. I never understood jokes. Frankly, I was a mess.

One recess (also known as half of lunch spent outside near the dumpsters), Damian and Ben spotted me fiddling with a necklace that I only wore at school. As they told me later, Damian had noticed the listless look adorning my face and decided to cheer me up. He noticed a particularly nice rose bush nearby, and plucked one of the flowers from it (he would most likely get in trouble for that later). The two were kind of wacky at that age, like they were constantly doing improvised comedy. Minding the thorns, he put the rose between his teeth and started off towards me. When I had asked why later on, he simply stated, 'You looked sad. I don't like sad.'. Ben, looking puzzled, followed him. Damian called out to me, drawing my attention. But as he was speed-walking towards me, he didn't notice the small patch of ice that lay before him. Not that it needs saying, but yes, he slipped on it. But as he fell backwards toward the ground, Ben, who was right behind him, lunged to catch him. Damian reached out to probably grab a hand, but ended up putting his hands on Ben's shoulders. Ben, on the other hand, accidentally (or was it?) out his arms around Damian, his hands going to his back. The result of all of this made it look like Ben was dipping Damian. Damian, with the rose still in his mouth, blinked, turned his head to me, and smiled mischievously.

"By the way, the wedding's in July."

I don't know what set me off, but I started laughing so hard I thought I would hack up my lungs. After I had finally calmed down, they invited me to hang out with them. We had been a trio ever since. They always loved to make me laugh, and I loved doing so. Ow! I mentally yelped when I poked a finger in my eye. Damn contacts...

Finally, I was done. Stepping back, I surveyed myself in the mirror and grinned. Smoothing out my hair, I called through the door.

"Okay guys, I'm done!" Then, with my free hand, I turned the doorknob.

"I bet she's Rainbow Da-....." Ben's voice trailed off.

Like the nerd I was, I pointed the curved end of my scepter at them, and mustered up my most villainous smile.

"I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

The scepter's curve looked sharp, the golden edge glimmering in the light. Of course I had to dull the point down, I wasn't stupid. It was carved from wood and decorated ornately, with every piece covered in metallic paint. The thing had taken me days to carve, and had given me too many splinters, but from the look of awe Ben was giving it, the work was worth it.

My hair, normally a sunny blonde, was dyed a deep black, the darkest shade I could find. Sadly I didn't want to go so far to use extensions or anything like that, so my hair only reached a but below my ears. My face was pale, something I didn't need to put on due to all of my time inside. Stark green eyes stood out in contrast to my complexion. A green cape hung from my back, sadly unaccompanied by the huge horned helmet. The helmet simply couldn't be done. It would be too heavy, too hard to make, and buying a replica was way too pricey. I didn't really care for it too much, anyway. My outfit, comprised of black and gold leather, was as accurate and I could make it with all the resources I had.

For a second, everything was quiet. Then, with a childlike enthusiasm, I twirled on one foot.

"Ta-Da!" I gestured to my hard work. Damian blinked.

"Holy shit, you-" He was cut off by Ben, who jumped up from the bed.

"Made this? By yourself?!"

"Ah. So you think it's not bad, huh?" The wowed two proceeded to circle me, examining each part of my costume.

"Dude, you even got the eyes!" He stated, gazing into my now green irises. I shrugged.

"Contacts. I been working on this for months, actually. I just wanted to keep it a surprise."

"You kept this a secret? From us?" Damian said, giving me puppydog eyes.

"Frankly, I am very shocked and hurt." Ben added, the smile tugging at his lips ruining his obvious sarcasm. "But seriously dude, this makes our costumes look like trash.

"Oh come on, your costumes are pretty good too!" I replied. Ben was dressed up in an orange shirt and blue vest, a baseball cap with a pine tree on it resting on his brown hair. In his hand was a scarlet book with a golden, six fingered hand on the cover, the number one marked in the middle. Damian also had a simple costume, albeit one that puzzled me. He held a toy Captain America shield and shirt. Then I saw the name tag affixed on his breast, reading, "P. Coulson". While both of them were very clever, they were also pretty cheap. Damian piped up, drawing my attention.

"Yeah, no. You outclass us by millions. I mean, your hair, your clothes, your scepter-" he stopped, his brow furrowing in confusion. "Where's the mind gem?" Agh. That was the one fault in my immaculate disguise. The hole in the golden scepter where in the movie, the blue stone would rest, was empty. I chewed my lip.

"I don't have one.. I've looked for plastic stones, but I couldn't really find any in the time I had. I was really busy with school at the time, too. So yeah, it sucks." I sighed, gazing at the empty space.

"Aw, don't worry about it Brooke. Your costume is awesome. One detail doesn't matter." Ben said reassuringly. Damian opened his mouth, but a sudden beeping from his watch cut him off.

"Shit, Con's starting soon. Let's get out of here!" He exclaimed, and gathered up his things. Ben, with a smile, followed after him. Oh, ComicCon. After years of wishing to go to the biggest nerd gathering ever, the three of us had scrounged up the gas and hotel money. Putting all of my passion into something I loved felt great, and I couldn't wait to show off my costume. Taking my things, we rushed outside and caught a bus right on time. I was glad I didn't get the helmet... The other passengers were giving my scepter a wary look, but glanced away once I met their eyes.

Finally, we arrived. I was wowed at the sheer size of it all, but we didn't have time to wait. The panels were starting soon, so we waited in sizable lines, trying to stave off our boredom. Damian and I acted out Coulson's death scene a couple times, and I couldn't describe the joy of hissing out my lines in the best Loki imitation I could muster. It was even better once we found another Loki cosplayer, who joined in as my magic double. Needless to say, lots of people asked for pictures.

Once the panels were over, we wandered into the main hall, where all sorts of goodies were being sold. With an agreement to meet up in an hour or so, the three of us split up. I wanders past all sorts of stands selling art and merch, trying not to impulsively buy everything I could.

Then, I made an abrupt stop at a... peculiar booth. It was selling, er... Things. Not clothes or art or figures, but simply things. It was like the ultimate mishmash of fandoms, no set theme to be seen. A few things lying about were a huge sword, a skeletal mask, and... A cane? Well, I did say it was strange. My eye was caught by something as it scanned the weird booth.

It was a gem. Oval in shape, it looked as if it would fit comfortably in my fist. It was blue, a clear shade that somehow made me feel as if I had never seen it before. For a second, I could have sworn I saw something swirl inside. Blinking in surprise, I shook my head. But my eyes dragged themselves to the stone once more as a new feeling came over me.

I wanted it. No, I needed it. Tearing my gaze from the enchanting crystal, I searched the area for whoever was tending the stand; there was nothing.

Suddenly, my vision flashed, orange and black blurring it. I felt incredibly queasy, the pain in my stomach rising. Wrenching my eyes shut, I dashed through the crowds to the convention's bathroom. By some heavenly luck, there was no line, and I simply rushed in and locked it behind me. Stopping once inside, I breathed heavily. My head was pounding like a gong, adding to the pain. Letting the scepter clatter to the ground, I scrambled to empty my stomach's contents. I won't describe those few minutes of retching, except that it felt like period cramps, but doubled. No, tripled.

Once I actually felt well enough to walk away from the toilet, I slumped against the wall. The nausea had lessened, but my head was still throbbing intensely. Raising a hand to cup my forehead, I felt something hard and cool inside. Bringing it down, I gasped, my stomach plummeting to my knee.

In my hand lay the deep blue stone, shimmering in the fluorescent lights. Had I...

Had I stolen it?

I certainly didn't remember taking the jewel, but here it was, winking at me teasingly like it knew I was in trouble. Panic rose in my throat like bile. Never having broke a rule in my life, I had no idea how to deal with this. Should I return it- No, I decided. I couldn't do that. It was obviously a real crystal, something that probably had a huge value. If anyone had seen me dashing off, I would immediately be painted as a thief.

"Oh damn, damn, shit, damn." I cursed under my breath. "What do I do what do I do, what do I do...." Guilt trickled down my spine, causing me to straighten with a shiver. I felt trapped like an animal, no way to calm down. I couldn't think. As I gazed down at the crystal still resting in my now sweaty palm, a purely panic-fueled idea appeared in my mind. I glanced to my scepter, the small hole near the top still empty.

'Hide it.'

And with that, I placed the blue stone inside the scepter, and somehow it fit perfectly. In my right mind I would have found this highly suspicious, but at the time I was a little more than just stressed.

A flash lit up the room, blinding my sight and giving me the feeling of a cartoon character who has been struck like a gong. Help. My leg wobbled forward as I tried to take a step towards the door, but the smallest pressure made my knees buckle.

Only pain filled my mind as I fell, but that was interrupted abruptly by my falling through the floor.

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