A/N: Thanks to Nikki Pond (I hope I'll be able to update faster too!), AliceCullen3, Akayuki Novak (You'll just have to wait and see now don't you? ;)), RandomW, Guest(Yeah, tornadoes are very very rare in the UK but it was Loki's doing anyway), and Banci Taman Lawang (Thank you for pointing that out! I'll fix my spelling mistake) for reviewing! Also many thanks to those who have favorited/followed the story! I appreciate it!

CHAPTER 17

"You know…of all the people that I've met and of all the things you claimed to have done…I think you're the last person I'd expect for such a thing."

Tony stared at the Doctor with a wide-eyed look as he uttered the statement. The Doctor shrugged as his only reply to Tony's bewilderment.

"You should remember Tony, I haven't been on this planet for quite some time."

"But you're the Doctor!" Tony exclaimed. The Doctor promptly shushed him. For all my troubles there might be some alien going incognito around here. Tony's face quickly revealed his embarrassment at the realization. As he mouthed a quick 'sorry', the Doctor couldn't help but stare back at him in annoyance. Of all the people in all the places I've been…why did I decide to go out with Anthony? Oh right…it was Thor's idea.

"I'm just saying…" Tony said, now speaking in a quieter tone, as the Avengers and the Doctor sat at a small restaurant in some English town whose name The Doctor couldn't think of right at the moment. This was the first time Thor had wanted the Doctor to try some 'delicious earth sustenance' that he'd apparently had over in New York. The Doctor, being the softie that he is, couldn't help but accept his nephew's request. Now if only if his friend wasn't so noisy we'd have a more enjoyable time. He couldn't help but think to himself as Tony continued with his usual fervor. "You've traveled through time and space and all that jazz…yet you've never had shawarma? I mean…I understand the ol' Captain as he's been a freeze pop for nearly a century…"

"Thank you, Tony. I'll be sure to keep that in my mental index for future reference." Steve said with a tinge of sarcasm. Tony turned to Steve with a sickly-sweet smile "You're welcome, hun." He turned back towards the Doctor. "Anyhoo Bowtie, you've been around for a millennia you've never decided to pop off to the Middle East or hell…even go to New York for a taste?"

"I don't intend on tasting every cultural food that comes in my path." The Doctor admitted in a somewhat defensive tone. And whom are you calling Bowtie? "For the record Mr. Stark…I'm usually dealing with something else that moment."

"Like cappuccino-maker robots and potato-faced militants?" Clint couldn't help but ask as the Doctor laughed sarcastically. "Yeah, yeah laugh all you want. You weren't there when the invasion happened were you?"

"We were in Budapest." Natasha said bluntly as Clint nodded ruefully.

"I was still under ice."

"I was fighting some guy who let me get captured by terrorists and wanted to take control of my company…"

"I was fighting against the bilge snipe at that time with the Warriors Three and Loki."

"I was dealing with some other…things." Bruce admitted sheepishly as the Doctor leaned back to get a good look of all of them. Why am I not surprised? The Doctor noted to himself.

"Well those excuses aren't so terrible…" The Doctor acknowledged with a shrug of indifference.

"Actually, Doc I have a question for you…" Clint asked as the Doctor turned over to look at him. The Doctor didn't quite know Clint as well as the others; usually he'd just make a quip or two in the middle of a situation and be done with it. I don't think he's ever really talked to me come to think of it…"Do you have any stories of Thor or his brother that we can use leverage on later?"

The Doctor raised an eyebrow at the question while Thor furrowed his eyebrows in annoyance. Tony began to laugh. "Oooh yes! Especially Loki—was he really that one nerd who couldn't land a date? Please tell me he looked like a Saved by the Bell stereotype…"

"You graduated from MIT at 16, Tony." Bruce pointed out to Tony. Tony merely flashed a grin. "Intelligence is sexy, what can I say?"

"Actually I…" The Doctor started, trying to explain that he wasn't around as much when the boys were older. I left right after Loki and Thor began their training I suppose…Loki was assigned to Frigga and her mother whilst Thor often trained with Odin and his friends…I still remember their excitement for it before I finally had to gain enough backbone to tell them about my departure. I can still remember their faces… The Doctor shifted in his seat at the very memory. Thor picked up on this discomfort at the question and placed a hand on the Doctor's shoulder. He spoke up before the Doctor could explain the truth. "—Loki was actually not as unpopular as he, and you, thought he was. I knew quite a few Asguardian women who found him attractive."

"Before he went cuckoo I assume?" Clint asked quickly. The Doctor noticed the slight touch of malice in his voice. I don't blame him, honestly, with the stunt that Loki pulled…but now? Thor's smile tightened at Clint's inquiry. "Yes…but I believe that Loki will not always be like this. I may not think he is on the right path right now but I continue to have some hope for him that he will see the truth. He will always be my brother."

The Doctor couldn't help but give a small smile at Thor's statement. The subject was soon changed to something else and the Doctor felt at ease again. As the group continued to talk among themselves the Doctor merely sat back and watched with a small hint of amusement. Watching Thor's friends laugh and talk made the Doctor remember some of the better times in his life. They were good people, these Avengers. They were far better than he was. The socializing was a welcomed distraction from some the Doctor's other concerns at the moment, despite the fact that they still lingered in the back of his mind. Mustn't focus on them, though. Not right now…

It'd been three weeks since Dr. Forester began his experiments and the Avengers hadn't done much since then. Steve sought to oversee the experiments despite his little understanding, while Bruce attempted to help regardless of his different area of scientific expertise. Bruce admitted to the Doctor one day during lunch that they 'should've gotten that Dr. McCoy guy for this sort of thing'. The Doctor also heard Bruce mutter something under his breath about the whole thing in the vein of 'I'm a radiologist with a second interest in physics not a damn xenobiology expert', but he ignored the statement.

The Doctor, meanwhile, had tests done for that hospital gown he and Thor found in Bedford. He'd done it without SHIELD's knowledge as he knew what'd happen if they poked their heads into it. This was mostly due to the fact that the Doctor knew whose blood it was. He was somewhat happy about the discovery, however he didn't feel the need to divulge the information to Thor just yet. If SHIELD got wind of it tracking him down would be the first priority…then I'd never manage to talk to him. He'd be stuck in some dank prison before I even uttered a word. It would be just like SHIELD to do that. Regardless of what he's done…I need to fix the things that'd happened between us. I've got too much disappointment in my wake.

"Doctor, are you alright?"

The Doctor entered back into the world of the living as Steve placed a hand on his shoulder. Steve was speaking in quieter tones as the rest of the group rambled on, making sure that the Doctor was truly comfortable among them. Always like the Captain…never wanted anybody to ever feel left out. The Doctor pointed out to himself. He nodded and put on a large smile. "Yes of course! Why'd you think otherwise?"

"You were staring off into the distance with a glazed look. I just want to make sure you're fine."

"Nothing more than a little ponderin'…thank you for caring, Captain." The Doctor said with the same jovial tone. Steve huffed in annoyance. "Oh please—you know you can call me Steve, right Doctor?"

"Well you never know with these American types…" The Doctor admitted as Steve laughed. "But I'll keep that in mind, Steve."

"You'd better!" Steve said with a large grin as Natasha's phone began to ring, thus making the group quiet down. She looked down at it and realized she got a text. With a quick motion she responded and looked back up at the group. "Lunchtime's over. Fury wants us back at base."

With that the Avengers nodded and began to clean up. While Tony paid for the meal the Doctor collected his belongings and tried to play nice despite his lingering concerns over the project. He secretly hoped that Dr. Forester had been wrong.

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The Doctor knew that the universe hated him for some indiscernible reason, well okay it wasn't so indiscernible, but…just this once?

Can't I ever get a damned break!?

"So you're saying that these experiments actually worked?" Tony asked Dr. Forester as the group stood in the laboratory. The Doctor was standing in the sidelines merely looking on. Dr. Forester nodded. "Yes. Shocked?"

"Maybe a little." Tony admitted. Dr. Forester couldn't help but shake his head in a silent realization that this all might be weirder than they all imagined. Steve nodded and gave Dr. Forester a reassuring smile. "Regardless, Dr. Forester—we're happy on the progress."

"Fine, then." Dr. Forester sighed as he turned towards the group. Dr. Forester didn't seem as amused by the little antics of the Avengers as most people would be. "With this breakthrough we may be able to commit one final experiment with the virus. That way we may be able to finally beat this damn thing."

"And we'll all be happy for that." Clint said leaning against the wall. Dr. Forester couldn't help but agree with the statement. Regardless of what his typical statements might've been, all could notice that working with this had taken a significant toll on him. Clint continued his train of thought.

"But now you look like you're about to collapse."

"Perhaps we should put off the experiments for a week or so later?" Natasha asked Dr. Forester. He shook his head. "Oh I'm fine. A little sleep and I'll be right as rain. We can continue the experiments tomorrow, I hope."

"You mean with using the cosmic cube?" Steve asked him, only to receive a nod. "But doesn't that take some time?"

"I suppose so…" Dr. Forester mused as he leaned against a table. "I thought that your team would be able to use it though, considering you've been studying it so hard."

"That doesn't mean that we know all the details." Natasha stated. Despite all pretenses, Natasha seemed to be a touch suspicious about the thing too. Dr. Forester noticed this. "This is a virus from an extraterrestrial plane of existence, Ms. Romanov. We may need to deal with this via extraterrestrial means."

The statement piqued the Doctor's interest. Sure, the Doctor pointed out to himself, Loki had attacked New York a few months ago with an army of Skrulls but that didn't mean that him or the Skrulls had brought the virus with him. But had there been any other alien encounters to speak of, especially in a remote part of Indonesia? It's possible…I might have missed this fact. But regardless…

"How do you know this is extraterrestrial virus?"

All eyes turned towards the Doctor, with Dr. Forester laying extra attention on the bowtied Time Lord. The Doctor continued this train of thought. "There are millions of sicknesses that plague Earth, Dr. Forester. How do we know we need to rely on the tesseract to gain such a response?"

"Have you seen such a sickness that turns people literally into monsters?" Dr. Forester mused. He turned towards the rest of the group. "I've done tests from samples taken and you can see for yourself on the report—this is not of Earth. The simple fact that it reacts the way it does is a clear indicator. Perhaps that horned nutjob brought something with him when he tried to take over the planet."

"He only attacked New York." Tony pointed out. It seemed like he needed to before Thor got riled up. "Unless the Skrulls had specific interest in that exact area of Indonesia you found the virus in."

Dr. Forester merely shrugged. "I'm just not sure what else to do. Radiation helped briefly pull back the effects of the virus but if this illness isn't of Earth…"

"Then the tesseract may be the key to curing it." The Doctor said with a sigh. "And that's what you want to find out."

"Precisely." Dr. Forester said bluntly. The Doctor nodded as the pit in his stomach grew. Now you have to tell them you moron. State your case and perhaps this can all be handled swiftly…"Captain, I'd like to have a word with you."

The Doctor motioned towards the outside of the lab as Steve gave a swift nod. The soldier and the Time Lord left the laboratory as Dr. Forester continued to discuss his case. When they reached a private part of what was the interrogation room the Doctor finally admitted his fears. "I'm not comfortable with him committing this experiment."

I haven't been comfortable since we picked him up in Bedford. The Doctor couldn't help but note to himself. He'd put it off for so long for the sake of better judgment but now he felt the need to reveal his case. "I don't think we should be allowing experiments such as that when we don't know how it's going to effect…certain people."

"By certain people you're referring to Dr. Forester."

"You know that he's been effected by the virus."

"I know…" Steve sighed. He began to shake his head. "But what else can we do? Fury is adamant on getting this cure since…"

"Since what?" The Doctor asked. Don't tell me the virus has spread-

"There have been reports of the virus in London. We only received the information yesterday." Steve confessed to the Doctor. Steve himself didn't look too happy about the fact that it was kept from the others, especially the Doctor. "Fury doesn't want this getting around since we're working towards it but if all else fails…we're going to have to begin quarantines. That's why we need Dr. Forester…he's our key to getting whatever the hell this alien virus is cured and give it to the people who need it."

"But why keep that information!?" The Doctor balked at Fury's solution. Wasn't this what I was brought in for in the first damn place!?

Steve shook his head again. He didn't try to answer the Doctor's question as he pondered over why himself. Something grabbed at the Doctor now; his eyes began to darken as his nails dug into his fists. Oh Fury…you should've known better. I know SHIELD is not as squeaky clean as it claims to be but this…

"There are people suffering!" The Doctor roared as he snapped his head up to face Steve. With that, he swiftly turned and began to walk towards Fury's office in a rage Steve had never seen before. He barely heard Steve's plea as he made his way past SHIELD personnel who quickly got out of the way of the fuming Time Lord. The Doctor would not let Nick Fury merely brush this under the rug to be brought up at a later date. I will not.

This was one of the many reasons why the Doctor had oftentimes held SHIELD at arms length, even in his younger years. He wasn't so supportive of SHIELD's shadier practices but often ignored them for the sake of the troubles that were present at that time. The issue was that…this wasn't even the worst that SHIELD did in the past. Even through those small glimpses the Doctor got of SHIELD he knew occurred underneath the layers of rock, concrete, and steel. The very fact that his nephew and his friends were getting pulled into it made the Doctor seethe in anger. When he reached Fury's office he burst past the personnel at the door and made a beeline towards the SHIELD director sitting at his desk. Nick Fury didn't seem too intimidated by the Time Lord. "So you know."

"What the hell are you thinking!?" The Doctor yelled at Fury. The director motioned for his personal assistants to leave. With a nod they did so, and Steve came through the door as they left. Fury maintained his authoritative look as he stared on at Steve. "Well at least I now know who to blame for this."

"Fury I-" Steve began to make an attempt to explain but Fury promptly motioned for him to be silent. Fury turned his gaze back towards the Doctor. "I'm thinking that next time I need to keep a closer tab on who I lay my trust with, Doctor."

"Steve has nothing to do with this." The Doctor spat with venom in his voice. Fury merely stared at the Doctor in slight annoyance.

"Yes he does. You didn't need to kno-"

"Know that you've been keeping the very fact that the virus has spread from the very people who are trying to cure it?" The Doctor couldn't help but shake his head. "You don't realize how stupid of a move that was, do you?"

"It is not important at this current moment in time." Fury said as if it were a matter of fact. "We would bring up the information when the time was right."

"This IS the right time!" The Doctor replied with a brusque tone. "Especially since I have a very good candidate as to who might have spread it!"

"Dr. Forester?" Fury asked. He settled into his chair and sighed. "Of course you do..."

At that moment Steve felt the need to speak up. He placed a reassuring hand on the Doctor's shoulder in order to get him to back away from Fury. The Doctor complied with the silent request, and made his way to the back of the room to compose himself. Steve began to speak as the Doctor paced behind him. "The Doctor's primary concern is the fact that Dr. Forester wishes to use the tesseract for a series of experiments. Considering his background and the very fact that we don't even know what triggers the violent outbursts at this current moment in time…I believe that his concern does hold water. Especially now with the new information that came to light—"

"No thanks to you." Fury interjected. Steve nodded. "I realize this, but this isn't something that you keep in the dark."

"Dr. Forester is stable." Fury stated. "He's the primary researcher on this so it's only wise to use his services. The virus is only spreadable during the victim's more violent stages, so this is no threat to you."

The Doctor had calmed down to a point where he could speak without wishing to punch Fury in the face now. Fury shifted his gaze over towards the Doctor. "Your concern is justified Doctor. And I will listen to your suggestions. But you must keep quiet about this. We don't need to cause unnecessary panic, especially since this is a very small case at this point. We did tests on all the people involved in the Bedford incident after you returned and there were only three people who didn't report back. One of those people you might remember."

The Doctor stopped in his tracks and tensed up. Fury couldn't help but smirk. "You're quite the hypocrite aren't you? Trying to get back in contact with Loki…"

"Loki?" Steve suddenly asked with bewilderment in his tone. He looked on at the Doctor. "Why him?"

"He had his suspicions and brought a bloodied hospital gown back with him. Coulson reported it to me." Fury explained. "The Doctor couldn't just settle for one happy reunion with a nephew of his could he?"

"How do you know that Loki was on the premises at that point in time?" The Doctor asked Fury. His anger had shifted over to shame at this point. Fury shrugged. "There was footage. Unfortunately a lot of it was damaged, but some it survived in lower quality. We couldn't make out much of what they were saying due to shitty audio, but we do know he's currently with a woman known as Donna and fought off Dr. Forester. We lost track of him after he and the woman ran off."

The Doctor's eyes widened at the realization. Donna? No...it can't be that one...

"If you keep quiet about this whole thing then I'll hold back the hounds." Fury stated bluntly. The Doctor listened intently to his request. "For now. He's not causing any particular issues at this moment. Once he begins again, we're sending the team in."

Fury took a deep breath and waited for the Doctor's reply. The Doctor almost had to admire Fury's tactics, despite the fact they were the most reprehensible things in the world. Thing is though…he's right. I am a massive hypocrite. Which is why I'm doing what I'm doing now.

The Doctor nodded curtly. "For now."

He couldn't stand to look at Steve at that moment. He'd just seen who the Doctor really was; nothing more than an old man whose morality had skewered past the point of any recognition. The Doctor looked to see if Fury would continue. Fury did. "We'll listen to your requests, Doctor. I'll merely put on Dr. Forester as an observer and have Banner do it."

With that the Doctor left the office, leaving behind Steve and Fury to discuss things among themselves. His stomach turned within him as he made his way back to the rest of the group. At this moment in time, he felt that his agreement to secrecy was for the better despite his apprehension towards it.

Loki is one of my primary concerns right now. I need to see him before he's taken into SHIELD custody.

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It was a Saturday night when he called Martha on her phone. She had to admit…she almost expected it.

Martha had been sitting on the couch watching a comedy with her husband when the phone began to ring. It was a welcome relief for her, as she immediately popped up off the couch and said that she'd get it. This'd been their first movie night in a while due to the presence of a young child, and Mickey decided to pick the flick. Unfortunately for her he was far more fond of crass humor than she was, and was somewhat half-aware of that fact.

"You must be singing the hallelujah chorus in your head right now!" Mickey yelled over the couch with a laugh as Martha walked towards her kitchen. She smiled as she grabbed her phone off the marble counter. However, her smile dropped into something more confused as she stared at the number on the phone. "Hey Mickey…"

"Yeah?" Mickey asked as he turned over to look at her. She showed him her phone. "Recognize this?"

Mickey squinted his eyes a bit to get a better look. Pondering over it for a few moments, he then shook his head. "Nope."

Martha nodded and turned the phone back towards her. Against her better judgment, noting that it was probably a wrong number or something, she shut the door to the kitchen to answer it. She lifted the phone up to her ear. "Hello? I'm sorry but who is thi-"

"Hello, Martha. Have you've been thinking about me?"

Martha tensed at the cool tone at the other end of her phone. She knew very well who this was. "…Loki?"

"So you're as intelligent as I took you for, Mrs. Smith."

"How did you get this number?" Martha demanded immediately. She'd been wary of that man her cousin had wound up trying to cheer up at the library. There'd been something…off about him, and it'd plagued her mind ever since little Jamie left. She went over the situation in her mind over and over again, especially when he'd slipped up on his own name and he questioned the insignia she bore. I'm still berating myself for that little slip-up… Martha knew she'd recognized him but wasn't quite sure of where. It was then she remembered his face from when she was in New York during the invasion.

"Research, my dear Martha. Quite easy nowadays if you haven't noticed…I assume that's how you know who I am?"

"You seemed a bit off." Martha spat as Loki began to laugh. She hated it. "What do you want me for?"

"Not much, Martha. I want you to meet me, alone, at Trafalgar Square at 10 AM tomorrow. I have something to ask of you."

"And what if I don't?" Martha asked. It's not as if I will.

"Then I'd assume you'd be more than willing to allow me to pry open UNIT and allow the masses to see the skeletons in their closet."

Martha's eyes widened at the statement. It was said so calmly…like he knew it would trigger such a reaction. She clutched the phone tighter and took a deep breath. He continued. "I assure you Martha, I mean you no harm…but what I need are answers."

Yeah. I assume that little incident in New York triggered it eh? Martha couldn't help but think mockingly in her mind. But…I can't just let UNIT secrets be spilled. She nodded. "Alright…alright."

Loki hung up and Martha just stood there in her kitchen, slightly confused over the whole event that had occurred. The man who'd tried to take over New York with an army of Skrulls…he just called me? What does he know of my time in UNIT? Martha shook her head, barely believing the situation that'd just happened. She leaned against her counter as she tried to gather her thoughts together.

Why would the God of Mischief opt to call me? If it's for the Doctor well...I haven't even seen him in years!