The vessel fell silent. Khan's emotions were stirring; rage, disappointment…fear. His crew and his own body, subject to experiments and tests for who knows what. Hasn't he been used enough? Now he is lost, without a real ship and as a man out of his own time, yet he is still feared, he could tell. 'I must devise a plan' he thought, but he still had this witness with him.

Loki rocked back and forth slightly on his heels, watching Khan struggle with his past. It made himself feel better really, that he wasn't the emotionally unstable one for once. Yet it wasn't until he introduced himself that he came to the full reality of things.

"Very nice to meet you…Khan," Loki gave a slight mocking bow. "My name is Loki, I am from…Asgard," he paused. Was he really? Asgard…was that realm still his to claim as home? He shook off these feelings and continued. "I must apologize. It was not in my control that I came upon the ship we escaped from. I woke in a vessel, the same as you did."

"Then you are not a friend of Starfleet," Khan said, regaining his calm composure just slightly.

"I am not a being of this era," Loki stated. "Something about the dark matter that I slipped through must have brought me to your world and time."

"It is not my time," Khan clenched his teeth. "My time is with my crew, and therefore I have no use here, or with you. If you do not know any more than I do of this era then you serve no purpose to me." The vessel landed harshly on a surface. Outside the windows, Loki and Khan could see pure white snowfall and for miles nothing else. "It would be wise that you do not follow me. Otherwise, I will kill you, that I can promise." Khan removed the heavy fire blanket from its storage above the passenger seats and wrapped it around his shoulders.

"You cannot kill a god."

Khan paused and turned to Loki. He approached the raven-haired "god" and spoke to him once more. "There are no gods here. Only men, aliens, and fools," he spat. "Do. Not. Follow me." With that, Khan opened the pod's door and trudged out into the bitter cold, leaving Loki to his own devices.


The super being continued his journey through the freezing mixture of ice and snow. A storm had begun not long after his departure from the pod, and it has been well over an hour since. Wet ice clung to his hair and the fire blanket, which was hardly keeping him warm. Even with all his strength, the cold was too harsh for him. But he did not care. He had only one goal; the rescue of his crew and the revenge that came with it. And on this cold deserted land he knew just where he was headed to begin, a small lab he had constructed in his times under the alias John Harrison.

There was no time to stop and rest, but Khan was growing weary. He wasn't in the best condition when he was put into cryogenic sleep, and it wasn't as if any Starfleet doctors were going to make him better during their testing. What use was his body to them anyway? He was a superhuman, created by humans. Surely they knew what he was made of. And it had been about decade since he was initially frozen, unless they had been testing him this whole time. 'Probably for their Genesis Project, the fools. I am not this weak!' Stopping, he pulled back his sleeves once more, revealing his bare arms to the sting of the cold. He noticed now, some punctures seemed fresh, others much older, and surely there were more that had faded over time. 'How did they test me in my sleep?' Khan shook off his thoughts and pulled his sleeves back down. Clutching the blanket closer, he began walking again.

In no less than another half-hour, Khan was close to his destination. He pulled himself to the top of the final hill and peered over it. The lab was there, tucked under the ground, marked by three small mounds. He forced himself up to his feet, feeling frozen in every joint, but before he could descend upon the lab, he heard the roar of a creature. 'At least I know the time of year now!' Khan sighed. Polar mammoth-tiger; it must be their mating season, for Khan knew they only emerge from their dens at this time. They were not usually aggressive, something must have startled it. 'That costumed nuisance', he thought. The white beast came racing from behind him. It was too late for him to hide, and if he led it to his lab there would be no way to stop it from ramming into the entrance. There was only one thing to do; fight it.

Khan straightened fully, allowing the fire blanket to slide off of his broad shoulders. He felt weak, but cared not., because it was his duty to remain strong. As Captain. Captain. Captain. The title sickened him. How could he be Captain…after all he had not done?

"Gah!" The mammoth-tiger dipped its head and swung at Khan with its tusk. The blow sent him flying off the hill, and tumbling the rest of the way down to his lab. A little blood trickled out of his mouth, but he didn't wipe it away. He stood, letting the warm fluid run down his chin. It felt wonderful, he was alive again. No longer was he a dead, useless, frozen subject.

The beast was close once more. Khan readied himself, summoned his returned strength, and jumped on the mammoth-tiger's tusk. It tried to shake the super being, but he kept his grip firm. Finally, he lunged himself forward and landed in its open jaw. He kept it open just long enough to kick a loose tooth free from the gums. But instead of roaring in pain, the beast let out a low growl and tried to close its mouth.

The super being struggled with the force of the animal's jaw. His strength was failing. 'I cannot…let it…'

"Having a bit of trouble there?" Khan looked down at the voice. It was that costumed brat.

"I asked you not to follow me," he hissed. The beast forced its jaw down again and caused his legs to buckle. "Tsk!"

"Indeed you have…Well, carry on then!" Loki turned on his heel and began to walk off. The mammoth-tiger continued to increase its force Khan's body, which couldn't withstand the pressure much longer. Giving in, he doubled over, and allowed the beast to swallow him.

Loki turned. 'The fool…!' Swiftly, he returned to the beast's presence. "I have seen worse," he sighed, and hurled a few blades at it. The beast roared as the blades pierced its eyes. "Perfect!" Loki took the chance and shot a blast of magic into the open mouth. Soon, the large animal was heaving, and eventually spit-up its lunch, along with Khan.

"How vile…," Khan said after catching his breath. He was covered in blood and stomach fluids from head to toe.

"It is my nature," Loki mocked with a bow. Regaining his senses, Khan took hold of the previously detached tooth and stood. When the animal swung at him, he jabbed the tooth between the pads of its paws. The wild beast cried out in pain and ran, limping along the way.

After making sure the mammoth-tiger was long gone, Khan turned and walked towards his lab, disregarding Loki once more.

"Oh you are so ever welcome, fearless warrior."

"Listen!" Khan ordered. "If you think I have to repay you, you are wrong. I had a plan. I always have a plan. Do NOT foll-."

"What is it like? To be worshiped by so many people? To have let them all down? To have come. So. Close! That you could taste the bloodshed that would occur from your rule. What does it feel like?!"

"You know nothing about me!"

"Oh but I do!" Loki paused. "I could tell from the moment your rage took hold of your senses that you are a man who seeks vengeance on those who took from you what you craved the most. What you were entitled to. Your crew. Just as my kingdom was taken from me."

"We are nothing alike you costumed fool."

"Are we not?" The god snickered and approached Khan. "Perhaps we need to reevaluate our strategies."

"We? I work with no one," At that, Khan continued to walk away to the spot where he could gain entrance to his lab.

"I know…of a source of power. Power so polished, so infinite, it could rule cities. Realms, even. Far greater plains of existence than you had ever dreamed of. In the right hands, of course," a smile crept over his face. "In your hands."

Khan stopped, but did not look back. Loki could tell he was thinking. And he was, thinking of the revenge he could have on Starfleet for using him and his people. "You are of a different time and place…," Khan faced Loki, "How are you sure what you speak of exists here?"

"I can taste it," Loki murmured. "The power of the Tesseract…it is still here…"