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Missing: Thank you! Writing dialogue for these two is fun, but not easy :) I'm glad it sounds in character :D Please enjoy the last chapter!

Chapter 19: A Place to Belong

They stepped out of the TARDIS. Loki's first estimation of where they were was in an elaborate, old-fashioned office, filled with shelves of leather-bound books, an old, but very elegant-looking massive mahogany desk and a very surprised young man in a very fancy chair.

"Hello, hello," the Doctor began, waving, "Look, I know I look a bit different, but I thought you'd recognize my TARDIS before calling your hordes-"

The bald man behind the desk continued to stare. He was dressed in a button-down and an expensive-looking tweed blazer, looking right at home in the old-English-style office if it weren't for the sci-fi nature of his chair – which Loki now realized was a sort of wheelchair as the man finally blinked and then rolled out from behind the desk.

"…Doctor?" he asked, sounding a bit taken aback, just as he raised a hand toward his temple – and then winced. "…ah. It is you. Only your mind could be such a confusing mess."

"Oy!" The Doctor protested. "But yeah." He smiled. "Hello, Charles."

"Hello," the man returned the greeting, interestingly also speaking with a British accent, even though Loki's internal system of coordinates had meanwhile worked out that they were in the US again. The Midgardian turned to Loki. "And you would be..."

As the man - Charles - looked at him, Loki felt something brush against his mind, and slammed down his mental defences in a panicked reflex. The human gave another little wince at this, but Loki had already bared his teeth, snarling.

"Do not dare to presume and invade my mind, mortal," he took a step forward, about to tower over the seated man (who still only gave him a mild frown, infuriatingly not looking intimidated at all) as the Doctor put a hand on Loki's shoulder.

"Loki. Charles. Simmer down," he said, looking from one to the other. "You two fighting is not very helpful to what we're trying to do, here. Also, Loki, I said that he's a telepath, didn't I?" he added, using a tone much like someone trying to explain an eccentric tic of one of their friends at a party.

"You let him into your mind?" Loki asked, staring at the Doctor with disbelief. The Time Lord shrugged.

"Charles knows he's welcome to surface thoughts. It does make talking faster, you know." He gave Loki a small smile. "Don't worry. I keep the more important stuff under wraps."

"Not like trying to look much further wouldn't result in a headache anyway," Charles said, giving a bit of a wry smile, before he turned back to Loki, looking up at him.

"I fear we may have gotten off to a bad start. My apologies. Please let me introduce myself properly." He stuck out a hand toward Loki. "My name is Charles Xavier and I am the headmaster of this school for…gifted people."

"Loki. Of Asgard," Loki replied, tentatively gripping the hand of Xavier, but shaking it. "Though I have a feeling you already gathered that."

"I did, yeah," Xavier gave a bit of a guilty grimace. "Sorry. It was just, I was really amazed that Asgard is a real place, apparently - telepathy can become a bad habit, I'm afraid."

Loki felt tempted to add that if Xavier attempted anything like this again, he'd take care the telepath would end another bad habit, namely breathing, but didn't. He had to admit he was a bit curious to see which place the Doctor apparently saw fit for a scared and homeless alien mage-child, so, burning it to the ground now wouldn't be very conducive. By now, Xavier had already turned to the Doctor again, anyway, tilting his head at him with a curious smile.

"You do look…different, old friend," he said. "I'd even say younger if it weren't for your mind. Please, have a seat," he gestured to two chairs in front of the desk.

"Yeeeah," the Doctor briefly rolled his shoulders as they sat down. "Had a bit of a…Time War in between. Don't look if you don't want to see," he added and his tone sounded warning. The brief flash of pain across Xavier's face that let him seem older for a moment, indicated that perhaps the telepath hadn't listened.

"I…I see," Xavier said after a moment, apparently having recovered. "But this isn't why you're here now. You came because…ah." His eyes had become briefly unfocused, but then snapped back to clarity with a blink.

"See? Told you it's faster than talking," the Doctor muttered as an aside to Loki, before nodding at Xavier. "Yes. She's currently in the TARDIS, still sleeping."

"Right," Xavier nodded, a slightly absent-minded look on his face suggesting that he was likely still sifting through the tale of their journey on Lakvit. Loki wasn't quite sure whether he appreciated the telepath's ability for indeed shortening tedious talks to get people up to speed or whether he found the idea of not being able to put his own spin on events rather irksome.

"Listen, I know it's technically a school for mutants," the Doctor said, "but she's a Kree-Wraith hybrid – that should count as mutanous enough, shouldn't it?" He frowned. "Mutanous? Wait, is that a word? It sounds like a word."

"Doctor-" Xavier began, strained expression indicating that yes, he had known the Time Lord from before, because this was exactly the face of someone who was trying to cut him off from going on one of his sidetreks - but as it turned out, that wasn't necessary. This time, the Doctor returned far more quickly to a more somber mood, leaning forward in his chair again.

"Charles. She doesn't have anywhere to go. Will you take her?"

"Ah," Xavier, replied, looking hesitant for a moment, and Loki felt an unexpected surge of anger suddenly flaring up inside him. He didn't even quite know why, he didn't care for Ver, he was certain, but now looking at these two men just deciding over her fate, either one reluctant to have her at all, not asking her opinion, so we just hand her off an unwanted parcel, is that it, he thought sharply, and then immediately felt foolish.

What did any of this concern him, after all? She was just a random half-Kree girl, and it should be no wonder neither the Doctor nor Xavier would want a child who couldn't even keep control over her own mind…

"Loki," Xavier spoke, quietly, and Loki's gaze snapped back up. For a moment he was alarmed, because he was sure none of his sentiments had shown on his face, he was far too practiced at that, but when he saw Xavier's slightly guilty grimace, he already knew it hadn't been his expression that had given him away. (Although his expression was rapidly changing now).

"I'm sorry," Xavier spoke quickly in the face of Loki's impending anger, "I honestly didn't mean to. But thoughts with a lot of emotion behind them are basically shouting for a telepath. I couldn't help but overhear," he said with a bit of a wince. "But let me say this…" he took a breath, a bit of a sad smile on his face now. "Unfortunately, a lot of my students were unwanted at some point in their lives." His expression then changed again, becoming warmer, more kind. "But I can assure you, here they are wanted. Very much."

"And I can assure you, what you do with her is of little concern to me," Loki replied icily, taking a bit of pleasure to basically bodyslam Xavier's mental presence straight out of his head again and watching the Midgardian flinch. "But it did not seem like you were pleased at the thought on taking her in."

"No. That wasn't it," Xavier shook his head, one hand of his now grasping at the side of it like someone who had just banged it against a cupboard. Loki almost had to admit to some grudging respect that the telepath still managed to remain outwardly polite, if strained. "I admit I was mainly concerned with whether we would be committing some kind of…interstellar offence taking in a child who clearly still has a legal guardian…?" he trailed off, looking at the Doctor.

"Believe me, that 'legal guardian' will not be too concerned looking for her," Loki spoke again, surprising both Xavier and, truthfully, himself. But he had to concede that, in retrospect, for all that psychic abilities now unsettled him even more than before this adventure, Xavier's mind brushing against his own had felt…curious rather than predatory, and his declaration that the children here were wanted…had sounded sincere.

"Loki is right," the Doctor nodded. "You know I try not to bring too many aliens here that would put the Earth in danger, right?"

"Hm-hmm," Xavier replied, also casting a glance at Loki that Loki didn't dignify with a reply, but his expression held more faint amusement than worry now. Then he nodded. "Then yes. We will take her in. I know that as a non-human mutant she isn't exactly the same as the rest of our students, but…" he smiled. "Here we do appreciate being different."

Spare me, Loki thought again, but it was now once again as mostly empty of venom as it had been with the Doctor – clearly, the Time Lord liked to consort with equally irritatingly well-meaning people as himself.

"May I – may I see her?" Xavier asked, and Loki thought it was probably the hint of curiosity and hope that finally did him in.

"Of course-" the Doctor began, but by then, Loki had already waved a hand and Ver appeared on the couch in Xavier's office, still sleeping. Loki carefully watched Xavier's face as he beheld her blue skin and copper-red hair, her magic robes so outlandish for this world, but if the telepath was aware of Loki's scrutiny, he was a phenomenal actor.

"Amazing," he breathed. "So she is a…Kree-Wraith hybrid, you said? The way she looks, she reminds me a bit of an old friend of mine…"

"She's a shape-changer," the Doctor said. "When we first met her, she looked human. So far, this seems to be the form she seems to be most comfortable with."

"Well," Xavier ran a hand over his head, "She's welcome to look like what she wishes. A lot of shape-changing students start out trying to look like their peers, until they find out it isn't necessary, here."

(At this, Loki suppressed a bit of a snort – clearly, the man had never been a teenager himself if he thought all young people were that forgiving of deviating looks, but he could also guess that this place was still probably a lot better than Asgard in that regard.)

"We…well, I, really – sort of blocked some of her memories. Namely, her almost committing accidental genocide," the Doctor said. "Can you…?"

"Trust me, I have learned from the entire Phoenix debacle," Xavier nodded. "I will try and help her as much as possible. Prepare her to understand. Be as transparent as possible, too, so she can have her entire memory back when she's older."

"Good. Thank you," the Doctor nodded. "Maybe just don't give her unfinished fantasy book series to read, while you're still at it."

"Or perhaps do," Loki suggested, wryly. "The results should be entertaining."

Xavier shot him a sharp look. "You know, you do remind me of another old friend of mine, actually. Same prickly personality, for one thing," he added, more under his breath, but then seemed to consciously relax and look at Loki earnestly again. "Would you…wake her up?"

Xxx

"I cannot help but be surprised, Doctor," Loki said, a few moments later as the two of them and the TARDIS were safely ensconced behind one of Loki's perception filter shields, still standing in Charles' office as Loki was preparing to let his magic forcing Ver into her sleep recede. Charles was sitting at her side, giving them a nod to proceed. Loki let one of his hands trails through the air, as if dispersing some mist.

"Hmm?" the Doctor turned his head to look at his companion – truly, he was rather pleased with how the meeting had gone, Charles and Loki thankfully not getting off on the wrong foot too much.

"Like you said, you do not generally choose to take 'alien interference' to Midgard if you can help it – why her?" he asked and turned his head to look at the Doctor, the why not me when I met you-addendum to his question obvious even if you weren't a telepath.

"Well, yeah, I said that," the Doctor hedged. "But this world…" he could feel his lips pull into a smile tinged only slightly with sadness. "It's…good at adopting people. Especially ones who don't have a family anymore."

In response, Loki only gave him a longer stare, but then seemed to concentrate on his spell again. On the couch, Ver blinked awake for the third time that day.

"Hello, Ver," Charles said to her with a smile. "My name is Charles Xavier and you're here at my school. How are you feeling?"

"Maybe we should go now, Doctor," Loki said and the Time Lord nodded. Loki seemed to hesitate for a moment, and then shot a glance at the Doctor before actually taking a step toward the TARDIS' doors.

"Will she be safe here?"

"Oh, not remotely," the Doctor replied cheerfully as Loki's eye brows rose, but then hurriedly tried to explain. "Well. What I mean is this school basically gets attacked every two months, but the teachers here are also very protective of their students. Ver should be fine."

Loki frowned, casting another glance at the small blue girl who had just started to sit up and look around the room, her gaze flitting over the TARDIS and the two of them behind Loki's spell with no visible reaction. "Will she remember us?"

"In time. Perhaps," the Doctor said, also watching Ver, who seemed confused and a bit anxious, but not straight-up fearful as Charles was talking to her gently, asking her for her full name and if she knew how she got here. "Right now, her adventure on Lakvit must seem like a dream to her. She'll probably think that the space ship she commandeered crashed here on Earth, in time. Most people's minds are good at making up these sorts of explanations to fill in gaps that don't make sense."

"They do tend to be, yes," Loki said, as they both turned back toward the TARDIS, the Doctor reaching out to open it. Loki crossed his arms, raising one eye brow. "So. This is what you do. Without reward. Without even a witness, if she doesn't regain her memories."

"Well, not entirely without witness, I hope," the Doctor tried a tentative smile. He opened the door of the TARDIS.

"…still want to travel with me?"

xxx

After they had stepped back into the TARDIS, and the noise indicated their dematerialization from "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters", the Doctor was already bounding up the steps to the TARDIS console and starting to pull down levers and swinging around displays.

"Right," he said, "Now, I was thinking, maybe we could go see this really intriguing colony on Omicron Theta, or maybe we could go see some actual dragons – or do you want to give the roots of Yggdrasil another try…?" he trailed off, tilting his head at Loki in a curious expression.

Loki paused for a moment. The roots of Yggdrasil still held some fascination, yes, but…what he had kept thinking about ever since they had reversed the fate of Lakvit had been something else.

"If you would not mind," Loki took a breath, "if your ship can indeed traverse time as easily as space, I think there is one stop I would like to make first."

xxx

Loki had stepped out of the TARDIS a few minutes ago, her noise of disappearance afterward by now familiar. The Doctor had said he wasn't always able to land her with pinpoint precision in regards to either space or time, but right now, Loki thought, he had managed to end up exactly where and when intended.

The Bifrost was as shattered as it had been, shards of the rainbow bridge scattered all across its brightness, but there was still a single, lone figure kneeling at its deserted edge. Odin had obviously long returned to the Palace.

Good. That would make things easier.

After a few more moments, the Void's winds whipping Loki's robes around his ankles, he finally managed to start walking toward him.

And paused as soon as he was only a few feet away. The figure at the edge hadn't moved, perhaps suspecting Loki's approach was only a guard or similar, sent to finally retrieve him and bid him back to Asgard. Loki paused. Took a breath.

And then summoned the strength to utter the word he had tried so hard to strike from his mind for the past few days until last night.

"...brother?"

As soon as he had said it, Thor was kneeling no longer, had whirled to his feet with Mjolnir at the ready, grace of a golden lion in every single limb and movement. Blue eyes stared at Loki, half-mad and disbelieving and...reddened at the rims-?

"Thor!" Loki yelled, blurting out the name before the Odinsson had been able to hurl Mjolnir at him out of reflex, raising his hands in a peace offering he prayed Thor would recognize and accept. "Stay your weapons! I wish to talk."

"To...to talk," Thor croaked, voice sounding ragged as if he had been howling for hours. Loki chose not to think about what that had to mean, but could feel the sting in his heart still.

"How could you talk, Loki, when you are dead? Have been dead for hours now," Thor rasped, blinking, his grip shifting on Mjolnir even if he wasn't raising it again for the moment. "Either this is a cruel illusion you left to torment me or I am truly going mad."

"Oh, come, Thor," Loki tried a smile, as ill-fitting as it felt. "It was a trick, that is all. An amusement to myself to make you all think I died, and what a great joke it was."

"No," Thor shook his head. "No, Loki. I saw your face when the Allfather spoke. When you let go of Gungnir even though I begged you not to. I know you outwitted me often, but I still know what true despair looks like on my brother's features." He shook his head. "I have not forgiven father for this, you know. But even I know that will not bring you back."

He wiped across his face, briefly, before his expression settled into a sterner one, that Loki was far more familiar with, brows drawn and blue eyes narrowed, dangerous. "Now go back to where you came from, whatever shade or shadow of my brother you are."

"No!" Loki burst out, quickly before Thor could turn away from him, having to clear his throat before he could continue, because by now it somehow felt far more constricted than it should. "It's...no illusion, Thor. It is true I fell. It is true I wanted to fall." When Thor still squinted at him, uncomprehending, Loki tried to soften his expression the smallest bit. "I got better?"

Thor stared at him.

Then he picked up a shard of the Bifrost and threw it at Loki's face.

"Oh for –" Loki gave an annoyed gasp as he dodged to avoid the projectile, "Could you for once stop throwing things at me to see whether I am-?"

"Brother!" Thor's disbelieving, relieved shout drowned out the rest of his words, the God of Thunder rushing to him and crushing him against his chest, before staring at Loki with still-reddened eyes now newly shining. "It is you! I thought you a ghost, a spectre of my grief!"

"Yes, yes, I think we've established that," Loki tried to struggle against the embrace, feeling very much reminded of a similar scene that had played out in his mind earlier, thankful that this time he at least didn't have an audience.

"How did you...?" Thor began, stepping backwards with large hands settling on Loki's shoulders to hold him at arm's length without letting him get away again, eyes blinking against fresh moisture as he looked Loki up and down. "You look…somehow different than when you fell. What happened to you, brother?"

Loki took a breath. "I am Loki, Thor, but from days yet to come. I was saved when I fell into the void, but for me, some time has passed since our...altercation." He swallowed. "I learned to see some things differently."

"Did you," Thor asked, and once again there seemed to be a greater depth to his gaze that just occasionally suggested there was more going on in the Odinsson's head than what the immediate surface gave away. "You do not look as angry or sad as you did before," Thor said, and there were the beginnings of a smile on his face.

Loki felt an answering tug on the edge of his own lips. "And indeed, I am not."

"That must have been some days you spent, then!" Thor said, wonderingly. "Truly, Loki, the things that drove a wedge between us, I see where my faults lie, now, yet I swear I did not mean-!"

"I know," Loki cut him off, waving a hand with the little freedom Thor allowed him currently, "Believe it or not, Thor, this is a conversation I've had in my head with you already," he said, allowing himself a wry tone that he knew Thor wouldn't understand anyhow, but likely not care.

"I know now you did not intend to drive me away," Loki said. "And I know the part that the Allfather's machinations played in all of it, hiding my true heritage from me. Leading, in part, to me also...behaving less than honourable - even for my standards."

"Your…heritage. Yes." His brother swallowed. "Father told me about it, after you…" he broke himself off. "I will not pretend it did not come as a shock to me, too, Loki," Thor said. "But if you for a moment believe it would make me think of you as less, love you less-"

"No," Loki cut him off again, quickly before the impact of the real Thor's words could choke him (apparently, having spent a few hours thinking your brother had died could make anyone more emotional than usual). Loki could feel the edge of his mouth pull into a brittle smile. "By now I can believe it would not."

"Then come!" Thor exclaimed, lighting up. "Let us head back to Asgard, to tell everyone the news! And I shall speak straight to the Allfather what I think of his misjudgement-!" Thor said, blue eyes blazing with earnestness -

"No."

Thor, who had just been about to drag Loki toward Asgard, one large hand still on his shoulder, paused.

"…no?"

"No," Loki said, but took care to soften the word with a gentler tone. "I fear Asgard may have grown too small for me, brother. I long to see more than the Nine, do things…where I may not stand in your shadow, but tall on my own." He held up a hand as Thor immediately tried to protest. "Don't argue, Thor. It was part of what fueled my rage, and we both know it. But you don't have to fear," he said, and then let the edge of his mouth transform into a sly grin, making it as sharp as his old ones. "I will go, but I shall always come back before you become too full of yourself."

"Hah!" Thor let out a guffaw, for one moment looking like he had before everything had turned sour between them, a trace of their earlier days when pranks had been light-hearted and insults like these with no sting in them. Blue eyes turned more earnest then, the realization that those carefree days were past, but also that tacit mending of the wounds that had replaced them might be possible, hanging between them like an unspoken thread.

Thor let go of Loki's shoulder and took a step back, expression softer now. "So. You have found a place, then, Loki?"

"Not yet." Loki shook his head, before he also allowed a gentler trace of a smile. "But I may have found a friend."

And with that, he let himself fall backwards again, enjoying Thor's surprised shout and couldn't help but grin upwards this time at his brother's wide-eyed face looking over the edge of the Bifrost.

Ever the dramatics for you, of course, a voice in his head commented wryly, but it was far from the hateful tone he had been used to hearing in his mind. There was almost a laugh bubbling up in his throat as he gave a last wave before gravity really took hold of him and he could feel himself tumbling down again, surrounded by nothing but cold and stars.

Yet this time, there was no despair or terror. No fear. If Loki hadn't known bettter, he'd said he was flying.

He closed his eyes.

"Want a lift?"

And then opened them again when he could feel a familiar hand close securely around his wrist.

"Seems like I caught a trickster," the Doctor was grinning up at him, one hand of his holding on to the edge of the doorframe of his ridiculous box ship he was standing in, golden light spilling out into the darkness around them, the menace of the Void's vortex below nothing but a background feature as long as you were enclosed in the TARDIS' forcefield.

Loki returned a wry smile of his own. "Seems like a trickster would not mind a ride."

And just for a moment, Loki couldn't help but enjoy the sensation - his hair and clothes were floating around him as if he were underwater, but breathing came easy in the air provided by the Doctor's ship, Asgard already so far away in the distance it had almost become just another star in the endless, silent sky.

"It's...peaceful." Loki could hear himself say, and felt surprised by how a part of him seemed to mean it.

The Doctor smiled up at him. "Wanna go somewhere more exciting?"

"By the norns, yes."

"Oh, good." The Time Lord grinned and with a yank had Loki back inside the TARDIS, before he was already bouncing back toward the console, looking at Loki with excitement.

"See, while you were visiting your family, I had some time to analyze that mind stone a bit and where it was supposed to be going and now I'm thinking of looking into a certain Titan a bit more…"

"Sounds intriguing," Loki smirked back. "Let's go."

And with that, the column in the center already started to move as the blue phonebox was off again, Time Lord and Trickster, two no longer lonely gods, on the way to their next adventure.

And if Heimdall was watching, he probably thought that the Norns should have mercy on the soul of anyone crazy enough to cross them.

Fin

Aaaand what a ride! First questions first, I'm not sure if I'll write a sequel - depends a bit on the resonance, I suppose :p - but if I do, I'll definitely post an update here, so you can keep subsribed to this fic if you'd like a notification if that happens. Gods know I'd LOVE to see a better version of Infinity War/Endgame with the Doctor at their side, Thanos wouldn't stand a chance in hell :p

Also, thanks to all of you for your comments while this was still a WIP, you're good people :) Otherwise this would never have gotten finished! That said, I hope all of you are/can continue to stay healthy and if you want to brighten my day during these times, please leave a comment, it does mean the world to us authors. (Also, anyone reading this and would like to read more, I *do* have another Doctor Who crossover story on my account ;p)

Thanks to everyone who was along for the ride until here and in the words of the Doctor - if all our lives are just stories in the end, may yours be a good one, ey?

-Taranea out :)