For anyone who is curious or unsure, the name Eira is pronounced like "EYE-rah". Just wanted to clear that up. xD

Chapter 4 – Breaking the Habit

Metaphor for a missing moment,
Pull me in, to your perfect circle,

One womb
One shame
One resolve

Liberate this will,
To release us all,

Gotta cut away, clear away,
Snip away and sever this
Umbilical residue,
Keeping me from killing you. –A Perfect Circle, "Orestes"

The universe went into slow motion. Loki saw the dragon, coming toward them. He saw Tony, leaping to save him. He saw his hand go out, green eyes locked with giant golden orbs, and he felt the life inside this giant beast, felt the hot coursing blood in its veins, and with the clench of his fist he snuffed it out. His knew found power over blood allowed him this control. The dragon's eyes went wide, it's jaw slackened, a strange choking sound was heard, then the large body toppled unto the frozen stone ground before Loki's feet. There was absolute silence as he lifted his eyes over the dead body and back to where Eira remained standing. His jaw was set like steel.

"Try something like that again…" he spoke, "And I shall do the same to you." It was a bluff, but he had always been an excellent actor. Tiny Jotun eyes stared right back at him. She didn't waver or relent her gaze, and it was in that second that Loki realized the dragon had been a test. Loki continued,

"Do you know who I am?" he asked. Even the air seemed to tense with anticipation as the heroes waited to hear the child speak. It suddenly occurred to Loki that maybe she didn't know how to speak. He wouldn't be surprised at all to know Doom had never taught the child. His concern was cut short as she answered him with a voice like china bells, quiet and fragile,

"You've come to kill the bad man." It was a declaration, not a question. Loki nodded once. He felt a sad tug at his heart as he wondered if this child knew what part he'd taken in her life. The air suddenly began to move, it became dense and opaque, as Eira turned it into fog. Loki looked to his left, to see the surprised look on Tony's face right before he vanished from view. Realization struck him like a dagger to the gut, he gasped,

"Captain!" he called out, "GO!" There was a confused pause then he heard the padded noise of several feet as they ran past him, through the fog, and to the castle. Tony was suddenly close enough to see again and he gripped Loki's arm,

"What's going on?" he asked. Loki looked in the direction of where Eira had been,

"She's helping us." He explained. The sound of jet packs and gun fire alerted them to the arrival of Doombots. Victor wasn't a fool then, he knew the girl was giving them cover. Both men leaped out of their skins when the sudden cry of a little girl was heard and then they both were bolting through the fog, searching for her.

"Shit!" Tony cursed as he was blocked off by four bots landing around him. Loki used his magic senses to "feel" for Eira, knowing she had to be close. He almost ran face first into the stone wall of the castle, he grumbled angrily under his breath as he began feeling his way along the wall. Suddenly his cape was being tugged on roughly. He turned to see bright orange hair and those same little calculating brown eyes.

"Shh." She put a finger to her little pale lips, "Follow." She whispered and continued to pull him along. They came to a small hole in the wall. She stopped and looked up at him. He got unto his knees and peered into the blackness, then looked at her like she was crazy.

"You cannot expect me to fit in there." He said. She laughed, tossing her head back and reminding Loki way too much of himself.

"Perhaps if you take off all this…" she tugged on one of his horns. He glanced up at the gold protruding from his forehead and agreed that she had a point. He quickly stripped down to nothing but his black pants and under shirt. She waved for him to follow then she got unto her knees and went into the dark hole. He sighed and rolled his eyes. He had to get all the way unto his belly, slowly inching through with his elbows. Finally there was light. He crawled out into a large bedroom…bedchamber would be more accurate. Eira pointed at the far wall,

"His throne is right on the other side…" she whispered as if the walls themselves were listening, "He will be sitting there. I know for sure." She looked up at him, a strange sort of excitement in her eyes, like she'd been waiting for this day all her life. Loki nodded in understanding and began to step toward the wall. She grabbed his slender fingers with a tiny grip that was surprisingly strong,

"Please don't die, mommy." She pleaded, little snowflakes falling from her cheeks, "I don't want to be here anymore…" Loki's heart shattered and he dropped to his knees to crush her in his arms as he cried into her fiery curls,

"I'll never leave you again." He swore and kissed her face all over. She giggled softly and twisted her little fingers into his long black hair.

"I can help. I have power too." She told him, a glint of boastful pride in her eyes. He chuckled,

"Yes, I saw that. But I cannot put you in danger like that. Just stay here and let me handle Doom." He said. She reluctantly nodded and released his hair from her tiny grip. He rose to his feet, but then paused and regarded her with curiosity,

"How did you know…?" he asked. She smiled fondly at him and placed her little hands over her heart, as if cradling something tiny against her chest,

"I have had dreams of you. All my life I have known your face. Almost like you've been here the entire time." She explained. Loki smiled and gently stroked her head. He became tense again as he stepped over to the wall. He placed his hands against the cold stone, fingers splayed, and reached out with his magic. He could "see" Doom just on the other side, as Eira had promised. He reached out more, this time with the Blood Magic. The trick, he knew, was getting a hold of Doom's entire body before Doom realized what was happening. He only hoped that Victor's mortality made him numb to the tingle of magic working in his blood. Loki had him, this was it, he could feel Victor's heart as if it were beating in his palm. He closed his grip just ever so slightly…and watched Doom double over, falling out of his throne while gripping at his chest. Loki teleported, beyond the wall, and materialized right in front of Doom, as he was trying to get to his feet. Loki's face twisted into that of a madman, eyes wide, mouth stretched into a grotesque grin of victory, as he loomed over Victor. Doom pulled himself onto his feet and leveled his gaze with the God of Mischief,

"Loki." He purred the name like he was greeting a lover. Loki gaged involuntarily. Just then Steve and the cavalry burst through the throne room doors. Loki saw their looks of surprise that he was standing there, without armor or even shoes, covered in dirt from crawling through the hole in the wall. Loki stared Doom down. A minute later Doom began to pant and Loki could see the sweat running past his eyes underneath the mask.

"What's the matter, Victor? Too hot?" he giggled, "That's because I'm raising the temperature of your blood." Victor's eyes darted around the room in fear, looking for something but not knowing what exactly could save him. "Here…" Loki hissed, "Let me help." He released the black flame housed within him and it began to sear the metal shell from Doom's flesh. Victor began to shout in pain and swat at the darting fire. Steve made a face as the stench of molten metal and burning flesh entered his nose. The heroes ducked in unison as Doom began firing off blasts of bright green energy in a vain attempt to smite the flames.

"Brother…do not torture him, just kill him." Thor spoke quietly from behind Loki. Loki's sick grin pulled into a disappointed frown. A soft battle cry was heard, the quiet voice of a child screaming in rage, right before Victor was impaled by a polearm from behind him. Doom stopped moving instantly and Loki's black flame retreated. Eira stood on the giant throne, tiny fists gripping an iron staff. Almost all of Victor's skin was revealed, the metal that shelled him melted away, and they all watched the blood run out of the corners of his mouth. Loki screamed in a psychotic fury. He threw his hand out, taking hold of every inch of Doom's still warm flesh, and crushed him. The large room was suddenly flooding with the echoing sound of hundreds of bones breaking. Steve winced and covered his face, turning around and walking away from the scene. Thor watched Loki, mouth pulled into a deep, heartbroken frown. Loki continued to scream as he used both his hands to rip Doom's mangled body apart, without even touching him. Hot tears burned their way down his pale cheeks. The unhinged fire that Thor had seen in those emerald eyes years ago finally broke out. Thor couldn't look at him anymore and he turned his gaze to the floor, knowing that Loki's fury had nothing to do with Victor himself. This was something else entirely, something that has been locked up inside Loki's black heart for a very long time. All his pain, all his anger, all his loneliness, all the bitter hatred, and suffering, released upon one evil man who really had had nothing to do with any of it. But what Loki couldn't do to those in his life that had hurt him, he would do to this monster that was now nothing more than a mulched mass of flesh. Loki jumped when a hand was suddenly placed upon his shoulder, his head whiplashed around to see Tony's pleading eyes. He stopped and fell to his knees, crying into his hands, but these were not tears of sorrow or pain, but of relief. Eira came to stand beside him. No one made a sound for what felt like forever. Finally Loki took several deep breaths, wiped his face with the back of his hand, and got back on his feet. He looked at the red mess of muscle and bone that was smeared over the floor. He leaned forward and picked Eira up, then turned on his heel and headed for the door. Steve sighed as the heroes followed Loki out of the castle, relief washing over him. He pressed his finger to his earpiece,

"Nick? This is Steve Rogers. It's over. Doom is dead." He reported. When they got outside Loki collected his armor and put it back on. SHIELD choppers showed up and did a full sweep of the entire castle, shooting anything that moved. Victor von Doom's remains where collected. The heroes returned to New York, announcing their victory, and then they all got to work putting the world back together. Another day at the office, as Tony would say.

"Do you truly believe it is all over?" Thor asked Loki one day. They were in the living room of the freshly rebuilt Avengers' Mansion. Loki sat upon the couch, Eira standing in front of him as he attempted to brush her hair. She whimpered at every tug of the brush. Thor stood by the window, looking at the city as the sun was rising.

"I don't see why not. I mean, of course there will be other troubles for us to fight, but such is the life of a hero, no?" Loki answered. Thor turned to face him,

"And what of the nightmares…?" he said carefully, glancing at Eira. Loki didn't have to look at him to know what he was talking about. Loki sighed, relenting to give up on the poor child's hair, and he simply braided it all tightly.

"I'm sure whatever those dreams meant has already come to pass." He said to Thor. Thor chuckled,

"You know, sometimes you're a terrible liar, Brother." He said, crossing his arms over his chest. Loki quickly finished the girl's braid then lightly slapped her rear,

"Go find your father." He told her and she ran off. He got up off the couch and faced Thor, "I don't want to worry about this anymore, Thor. I just want to get on with my life. If those dreams still have some meaning, then I shall destroy that bridge when I get there." He said. Thor laughed, nodding,

"Alright." He affectionately punched Loki's shoulder, "You can't blame me for worrying for you, though." Loki smiled,

"Well keep your worrying to yourself. I don't need the stress." He joked, "I'm losing enough hair as it is." Thor laughed out loud.

Eira padded barefoot into Tony's workshop, greeting JARVIS as she pushed open the door. Tony was on the floor, taking a blowtorch to the underside of some new robot he was building for Nick Fury. Eira leaned on her knees and watched him work under the machine for a minute.

"Daddy?" she called, but he couldn't hear a sound. She inched closer to his legs that were sticking out from under the robot and gently tapped his knee with one finger. Tony jumped, smacking his head into the underside of the giant machine,

"AHH! Shit!" he cursed as he shut off the torch and slid out from under the bot. He was rubbing his forehead with one gloved hand. He sighed while pulling off his protective goggles and headphones. He sat up,

"Eira, baby, what are you doing down here? You can't sneak up on me like that." He told her. She tried to look remorseful but there was laughter crinkling the corners of her eyes,

"Mommy told me to find you." She explained. Tony chuckled and ruffled up her fresh braid,

"Well consider me found. Now go on. I gotta finish working, then maybe we can play a game or something, ok?" he pulled his goggles back on.

"There is nothing for me to do. Can I help you?" she asked, excitement lighting up her eyes. Tony frowned,

"No, it's too dangerous. Plus it's not very lady-like to be covered in sweat and motor oil. Why don't you go…read the entire library collection?" he suggested. She let out an exaggerated sigh,

"I already did, Daddy." She told him. He laughed,

"Well…then…I'm sure there are more books in this house that you haven't read yet. Go ask Uncle Steve, maybe he'll read you some poetry from a million years ago." He laughed again as he slid back under the robot.

"He's not a million years old, Daddy." She reminded him.

"Could have fooled me!" Tony called as he turned the torch back on.

Eira sighed again but turned and left the workshop. She retreated to her parents' bedroom in search of something interesting. She stopped and turned to look at a bookcase in the far corner of the room, it was packed full of ancient tomes that she knew belonged to her mother. She grinned mischievously. Father was right, there were some books that she hadn't read yet. She stepped up the bookshelf and yanked out the first book she could. Dust plumed as the book landed on the carpet with a thud. She sneezed then dropped to her knees and shoved the cover open. She frowned down at the yellow pages, the words were not in a language she could understand. She slid the book away rudely and grabbed another. This one looked far more exciting. The cover was all black feathers with gold embroidering and a gold rune on the front that looked like a "V" with its tips hooked inward. She flipped the cover back to see a drawing of a raven with golden eyes. She hummed in interest as she ran her fingers over the birds' face. She was glad to see some writing that she could understand, there were mixtures of Latin, old English, and Jotun. She found that a little odd, but at least she could read it. She read the words out loud as she translated them,

"Realm of Sealing?" she paused, Loki had told her about sealing spells and circles, but not sealing realms. She continued to read the first page which described a place called the Isle of Silence as well as other infinite realms used to seal away unwanted immortals. There was a footnote at the very bottom of the page that caught her eye. It was written in a different hand then the rest of the book, a hand that she recognized as her mother's elegant scrawl. It was just a note to his studies, but there was a word…a name?

"An…gr…bo…da…?" she tried to pronounce that strange name and the words of Latin that followed, "Ego frangere sigillum? Absolvo vos?**" Her little brow scrunched up and she pursed her lips. What the hell was an Angrboda? And why was it sealed? She shrugged and was about to push the book away when the writing began to glow. She stared at the page as the words that she'd just read shined gold and then faded from the page. She gasped and slammed the book shut in fear. A strange laugh echoed through the dark room, it reminded her of a crow cackling. Eira jumped on her feet and whipped around, only to come inches from a pair of glowing yellow birds' eyes. She looked closer to see that these strange eyes did not belong to a bird, but a woman. A pair of thin lips peeled back to reveal fangs and the woman chuckled again,

"Well now…dangerous curiosity must run in the family…" the woman-creature purred and reached out to the child. Eira watched a pale, talon-tipped hand stroke her cheek. She screamed.

THE DRAMA NEVER ENDS! Sorry for the short length guys, I just wanted to post something before I lost all my readers.

**The Latin that I wrote here, I totally got off Google Translate so if it's not correct I'm sorry. LOL! (I honestly don't even remember what it says :/ )