Chapter Nine:

"So, where do you want to go next," The Doctor asked, a poor attempt at a grin on his face. Rose smiled at him woodenly, fingering the necklace that was hanging around her neck, a gift from Loki during an adventure they'd taken to Egypt to visit the library at Alexandria. He had looked stricken when they'd left, the same look that had graced his face several times around his brother and friends, the look that Rose herself had never meant to put there.

"I think we should go back," Rose said, interrupting The Doctor during another one of his speeches about dogs with five ears or something, "I can't...I have to tell him I'm sorry. I lied."

The Doctor's grin fell. He thought about it, what if they picked him back up? Kept him with them, left Asgard and just traveled, brought him back with them. A thousand possibilities swam in front of his head, changing a fixed point in time. Would they still get together? The Earth here needed the Avengers; the Time Lord's hadn't bothered much with this dimension when they had been in a position to do so, let alone now. Human beings would always end up announcing themselves in big ways to the other species that lived out here...and they would always need protecting.

"Rose," he said...how would he explain? To her? He couldn't face looking at her if she knew, knew that he was going to leave the boy to his fate, what the boy would become, her friend. She'd be horrified, her trauma did not need to be added to. The village would rebuild itself, more tales would be passed down through the generations, but the memory would always linger on. Never to be washed away.

This is my vengeance Doctor.

No...where to take her? Take her mind off it? Visit her mum?

Their feet slipped out from under them as the TARDIS lurched, moving without him controlling it. They both grabbed on to something to hold as it sped through space. His eyes moved frantically to the control panel, watching the numbers flash by on the screen, "No...no girl no. Not there. Stop this now!" He grabbed at various controls, pushed various buttons but the TARDIS continued moving, the numbers continued changing, he heard Rose say his name over the noise, he slammed his fist down on one of the buttons. Rose head shot forward, hair falling about her face as the TARDIS halted to an abrupt stop. The silence was deafening.

"Where are we? Did you...did it take us back?" Her eyes were wide and she was moving towards the door. He ran after her, trying to intercept her, glaring all around at the TARDIS, seeing the number on the screen of the console. He rarely ever looked at the numbers. Of all the years to take her too...it would break her heart.

"Just a misfire. TARDIS sickness, poor old girl. Come on; come on, planet of dogs with no noses to visit! You'll love it; they will attach themselves to you! Shih Tzu's! They walk like men. Labs that talk...well not talk exactly, it's barking that seems like words formed around half made vocal cords," she was still moving to the door, "Rose!" She opened the door.

The Golden Halls of the Asgard palace surrounded them, exactly the same as they had a few hours ago when they had dropped Thor and Loki back off home. But the place felt older, of course it did. The hall was empty, voices not cheerfully calling out war songs and bards, there was a lone man sitting up on the throne. Locks of grayed hair fell into his face, beard stubble, and lines etched by years of worry and strife etched on to his skin. He looked like a condemned man.

"Doctor," Rose whispered, looking around at the halls she had just left, the people that had cheerfully greeted them gone...and the Allfather, so much older, "when are we?" Was she late? Do apologies count after so much time? Odin was approaching them, every step wearied with effort, and The Doctor was silent. He grabbed her hand and held it tight.

"Doctor. Old friend. Why have you come now?" Odin's voice was abrupt, none of the warm ceremony that had always been in it when they had come before to welcome them. Rose felt like an unwelcome intruder, the feeling she sometimes got around numbers of aliens but not them...never them before.

"Allfather. I'm sorry...I'm so, so sorry," he said. Odin made a noise in the back of his throat, a noise like a growl that echoed like a wounded bear Rose had once seen on tv.

"Sorry. Yes, there is much to be sorry for. You knew of course? You know everything. You who yourself told me that my boys would have a great destiny, all those years and so many faces ago. You never foretold this." Rose had never heard the man speak so quietly. As if the words did not want to leave his lips.

Oh, god...were they dead? Thor had always gone on about battles, the glory of war in his eyes and the honor of his people. Loki would have followed him everywhere. Rose's breath hitched, her mind reeling. She imagined their bodies, cold and still and lifeless, and her mind wanted to turn away from the image.

It became so much worse than death as she listened to them talk.

He had heard the song as soon as they had come. Even so far away from his prison, the tune hummed in his head, clearer and louder than it ever had before. He had heard many songs like it now, some more chaotic, some darker, but none as powerful or as clear as hers. How fitting, his idols come to witness. Would she stay? The private trial that had locked him in here had already been done, the Allfather had said nothing to his stolen monster as the guards and Thor had dragged him off to his prison. Every luxury afford to a prince of Asgard of course, a fire and a bed, just like his own royal chambers. But void of magic and means of escape. The perfect prison. But the punishment had not yet been dealt out, to find justice fitting enough would take time. Let him plan. Loki had plans of his own.

His mind snarled at the walls surrounding him, binding him. He would bring them to their knees for this. He could see it, the Allfather forced to acknowledge him, with Rose as his right hand. All that power that had been locked inside her mind, the song that had called to him the first day he'd met her, buried all that time. The cuffs around his wrist burned as he strove to access the magic within him, bound by the metal. Blood started to well up outside the cuffs from the effort it took to call his magic past the barrier they created.

He heard the door opened some time later. He knew who it was. Thor came every other morning, desperate, sentimental attempts to reach him, every day his voice growing more and more raging, words turning more and more to despair. Loki let him. Let him feel it, all those emotions swarming around his head for a change. Let him see that there was no going back.

The moonlight made her hair shine as he turned around.

Her face looked exactly the same, down to the tears in her eyes and that wretched expression, the one that had haunted his dreams for years. It made him smile. Questions had long been answered as to why they had left him. He was blind to nothing now.

"Loki," she said, closing the door. She made as if to move to him, to wrap him in a hug but stopped. Her breathing was harsh and coming out in gasps. She was afraid. He frowned for a moment but shook it away. Why shouldn't she be afraid?

"Rose." He made a mockery of a bow towards her, a Prince bowing before an ant. He even gestured for her to sit down, but she remained standing. Crying.

"Why? Why would you...what happened?"

He laughed, "Why not?" There would be time enough to explain. She had always been sympathetic, the only one to ever listen to him. The only one to ever care. He would tell her everything. She would deserve that much.

She looked at him, her eyes filled with sadness.

"This isn't you," she said, gasping, "You wouldn't...you couldn't. Kill all those people? For fun?" So naive. She was so naive. And still so innocent though she had long been keeping the company of liars and thieves and murderers. The song was calling to him, almost overwhelming as he moved closer to her. She was looking at the cuffs around his wrists, the metal torture that kept him confined but no less dangerous. He had still been strong enough to call her.

"People die in wars all the time Rose." Thor had brought a war to Jotunheim and people praised him for it. The Asgardians would have followed him anywhere. Never Loki.

"But that wasn't a war! Those people were just living their lives! And you killed them? For what? The boy I knew would never have..." Rose's voice broke, her hair scattered around her from where she had been shaking her head. He had forgotten how shrill she could get when she was upset.

He smiled at her, "They were nothing. They didn't matter. In war sacrifices are made."

"That was murder, not war," she spat. She looked away from him, as if her eyes could not bear the sight of the monster she had been a friend to. A false friend.

"Your Midgardians have a lovely little poem. Clever, the ants can be clever at times, but morbid. The God of Mischief killed something beautiful and refused to shed a tear for it. In punishment, he was bound to the rocks for an eternity with the bonds forged from the flesh of his own dead child. Killed by his brother. Venom from a snake would forever burn his eyes. Fitting I suppose, for those were the very eyes that refused to share in the grief of the Gods. Tell me Rose, do you think that is what I deserve?"

The Allfather might. He had let the Jotun monster loose into the halls of the Aesir. Why not take a page out of the book of the ants that he had sought to conquer? Would she be his Sigyn? The dutiful helper who kept the poison from blinding him?

"No. No you don't." For the first time since she had entered the room her voice came out with certainty. He recalled the story she had once told him of the enemy of the Doctor, whom she had given respect to in its last hours. A mindless killing machine who thought of nothing else but destruction. She had always had a bit too much sympathy for the devil.

Her hair was a mess. He reached over to fix it. She flinched and he froze, before he continued, tucking the strands behind her ears. She felt warm, alive, and so very fragile. The blonde strands no longer blocked the sadness in her eyes from his gaze.

"Do you remember the last night I saw you? Centuries for me and yet it seems like yesterday. You were merely a spec in my long, long life. The only one that was never a lie," her face had gone cold and still and yes, she did remember, "I remember that human's blood staining the ground. Your screams. Running to save you. I had imagined you would thank me. My friend."

He smirked as he recalled his childish wish, the belief that she would be grateful to be rescued, as Thor's friends had never been and never would be whenever he stepped in front of them in battles.

"You just stared at me. I told myself you were in shock. I know the truth now. That was the lie to myself. There had been no shock. Only disgust."

It was why she had begged The Doctor to take them home. She had wanted to be rid of him. So many years, wondering what he had done. Another thing his compassion had destroyed. What use was it?

This time she reached for him, the warmth and sweat from her hands a shock against his ice-cold skin. Her voice broke, "No. I wasn't. I was scared."

He searched for the lie in her eyes.

"Of me? You should be. I could kill you," she tried to pull away but he was stronger than her and kept hold of her hand, "It wouldn't be much of a fight. Look at you Rose, locked away. He has made you tiny. I can hear it, it wants out. It sings. Such chaos. It drew me to you like a month to the flame. Badwolf. My bad wolf. I know what it is now. All that potential, locked up tight. Forgotten. You could be glorious. Powerful. You could be a Goddess."

Yes. He stroked the metal of the key in her hand. Nothing would be able to stand against them, no opposition. The army of Chituari had been nothing, a nuisance to get rid of. And the mortals had played their part perfectly. With her, he could even shield himself from him...the Other housed within the void,seeking his revenge for Loki's failure on Earth.

All she needed was a little push.

"No, she isn't. She's human. Perfect the way she is," the voice came from the open doorway. Rose had never shut the door and he had not noticed. He cursed himself for a fool. Then thanked himself that he had not taken so reckless a chance at escape.

The Doctor had not changed. Had it merely been days for them? Perhaps.

The sight of him caused the rage inside his heart to fester, almost more than the sight of Thor and the Allfather.

"Doctor. Never far away. Been out there the whole time?" Even now, years more powerful, his was the one mind that Loki's could not touch. His equal. His idol.

"I have. Heard it all. Conquerors and would be gods and humans meaning nothing. But you're wrong Loki. So smart, so clever, and yet you'll always be wrong. You're not the first. I've known others like you. Just like you."

Belittling words. There were no others like him. Loki wanted to rip him apart, force him to see, force her to see.

"Liars? Kings? Gods? Certainly, you have. What was it that they called you Doctor? The Lonely God? Not so lonely as long as you have her. You are a brilliant liar Doctor. They call me the Liesmith but I truly learned from masters. You, the Allfather. All that time, you knew everything. Did you ever see me?" Or had he been seeing himself when he looked at Loki?

"I saw you. Saw everything. What you are now...it's a shadow of who you could have been."

"A shadow...yes. Locked in this prison I am. But that will not last."

"You think you can win? You think that being a King will get you the recognition you seek?" Worlds Loki had seen destroyed and devoured, images that had flashed as he fell through space, demons and the void, cold and dead. He had seen Gallifrey, burning. Locked away. So many prisons. And he had seen her, powerful, bad wolf. His dear, loving daughter Hela, guiding his path psychically through the tumbling space and time to exactly what he needed to see.

"Of course. As you should know. I told you once that she was the crutch of your compassion. When she is gone," when she leaves with him, his once friend, he would find her again, "how long until that rage takes hold? It doesn't take much to push it to the surface. It's there now. Holding it back when all you want to do is end my life. If she wasn't here...what would you do? Would you preach about forgiveness then?"

Rose's hand was struggling in his own, which felt almost desperate to hold on to her, "Loki. Let go." Her skin was bruising.

"Let her leave. For the love you once held for her, let her walk out that door. Don't let her see this anymore," The Doctor said, quiet anger is his voice. Sentiment. Loki felt his eyes burn as he heard her choking sobs.

He let go of her wrist. She wasn't ready. She was a blur to him as she ran out the door.

"Do you want to know what keeps me from killing you?" His idol was still here, taunting, "That. You're crying. A monster can't cry. Despite everything, despite all your hate and resentment and rage...you wouldn't have harmed her. If I had felt for a second that you could have, I'd never have allowed her to find you here."

Loki sneered at him, angered, "You think you could have stopped her?"

"Yes. I told her once that a friend of hers was dead for own good. Wouldn't think twice to do it again. Lie. We lie to protect those we care about, remember that."

"Get out." His rage felt like ice in his veins. His magic strained inside him to destroy the man, break him open.

The tears fell long after the Doctor left. His fingers traced the cool metal of the key in his hand. Fools.

"It was good to see you again Doctor. Lady Rose," Thor said as he escorted The Doctor and Rose back to the TARDIS. The tears had dried from Rose's eyes; she attempted to smile at him. He was so different. But still the same. As gallant towards her as ever, he had told her of his regret that she had to see his brother like this.

Thor had matured. He had learned to care and forgive. Loki had learned to hate, what had been jealousy and resentment had turned black. "You knew everything."

Rose frowned, wondering, 'Were they right? The Doctor could see multiple paths, knew many things. Had he always known?'

"Wish we could say the same. Circumstances and the like. Lots of problems, you Asgardians have right now," The Doctor said, slipping his hand through his hair.

"My brother...he is not himself. I don't know what has caused this and I fear that there is nothing I can ever do to fix this. I have tried...he refuses to hear or see. He has blinded himself." Thor frowned, and tried to fix a smile on his face. It was as broken as everything in Asgard.

"Don't give up. Never give up Thor. It will be hard. It will take time, and you're going to be disappointed time and time again. Be he's not lost. Not yet." The Doctor shook his hand. Rose stiffened as he hugged her, trying to wrap her head around everything. He seemed to understand.

"Goodbye Lady Rose. I hope one day we meet again with better tidings. Doctor." Thor bowed to them. The Doctor held out his hand and she took it, squeezing. Wondering. She watched Thor walk out the TARDIS doors.

It took a while after they had left Asgard when she finally voiced it, "Was he right? That you knew." Her voice was subdued. The Doctor was bent over the TARDIS console, fiddling with something. Avoiding. He fiddled when he wanted to avoid.

He sighed and rubbed his eyes behind his glasses, "Rose."

Her hands tightened around the bars of the TARDIS, words louder, "Why didn't you do something? Prevented it somehow?" The image of her friend mixed itself with the image of the cold man locked in a prison and she wanted to choke. Was this what the universe was? Cold and indifferent?

Was she doomed to loose friends to it? Jack and Loki and eventually...eventually she might lose The Doctor?

"I couldn't save him Rose. It's fixed. It's done. It's needed. Earth needs reasons for heroes...some things have to happen. I didn't...if I could have, if you could have...I would. But he was never ours to save Rose. You gave him a friend Rose. One of his only friends. Never, ever beat yourself up for that, do you hear that? No matter what, you did some good."

Rose pictured the man on the floor of the village hut from a few days ago. She had wondered, if that had been his first, if she had set him on a path towards easy killing. Nothing, he had called humans. Nothing.

"You told Thor never to give up," she said, latching on to his words, wanting to be able to picture the laughing boy who'd gotten her to dance with a hero at a WW2 dance, "Do you think he can be fixed?"

The Doctor looked down at the console, "No Rose. Some broken things can never be fixed."

She frowned, and he reached over to pull her to him, her head resting against his shoulder as he hugged her close.

"Not fixed. Rebuilt. Don't worry Rose...it will happen."

Rule number one: The Doctor lies.

Notes: I have not read the Marvel comics "Thor" or the "Avengers". My small amount of knowledge of their canon comes from internet research. I have not used much of their canon in this verse. My interpretation of Loki's character comes from the filmverse and mythology.

This story is set shortly after the season two episode of Doctor Who "Rise of the Cybermen". I choose to make the Avengers Realm an alternate universe, to which the Doctor and Rose could enter, before the closing of the dimensional walls in Doomsday. I felt it made more sense to do so as the Avengers and Doctor Who verses are not flawless to cross together. I think S.H.I.E.L.D. probably would have been all over the Dalek/Cyberman activity in London if they were the same universe.

I choose to twist the myths to fit in the story. Fenrir, the direwolf that attaches itself to Loki in this story, in mythology was his son. Angrboða has been retconned into a Fire Giant of Muspelheim in this story, because let's face it, Marvelmovie verse Loki wasn't going to be going willingly near a Frost Giant. Hel, in the myths is the Goddess of Death, and so she remains in some ways in this verse. Interesting little tidbit is that Thanos, the man revealed post-credits in the Avengers, is canonically in love with Death. Glut and Loge (the Norse family who takes in the Doctor and Thor) in traditional mythology are Gods connected to fire. Loge (Logi), though often a separate deity, is sometimes connected as being another name for Loki. Eisa and Einmyria are their daughters. Bestla in mythology is the Frost Giant mother of Odin.

So yeah, the fic is complete. I have left it a bit open-ended in case I ever decided to write a sequel to it.