Alright, I don't know exactly how long it's been since I've updated but I know it's been a really long time. Finally, here's the second chapter of Tricky Medicine. Hopefully it won't be long until chapter 3 is up.
They say that time flies when you're having fun. Time also flies when you're on board a ship that can travel throughout all of time and space in the blink of an eye. One moment Loki was drifting through space, and the next he was on Midgard. As he stepped out of the TARDIS, it was almost like the entire world around him was spinning.
There stood the Doctor, though. Everything blurred around him, but he remained the stable centrepiece to a twisted story. He turned and cocked his head to the side. "Loki?" The Doctor began walking back towards the TARDIS, a tinge of worry on his face.
Loki stumbled back into the confines of the spaceship. He braced himself against the TARDIS console, his knuckles white as snow from grasping it. The Doctor slipped in through the door and closed it without a sound, or so he thought.
Just as the Doctor was about to walk towards him, Loki choked out a warning. "Don't you dare come near me." He turned around slowly, his face turned towards the ground.
The Doctor, heeding the warning, slunk back to the door of the TARDIS. He leaned up against the closed door and crossed his arms over his chest.
"You do not know one thing about me and yet you opened up the door to this ship and saved me." Loki lifted his head up, glaring viciously at the Doctor. Tears swelled up in his eyes, his face turning red. "If you had known of me or what I had done, you would not have spared me. In fact, you should not have spared me at all."
Taken aback by this, the Doctor's jaw dropped open. He wanted to speak out, to assure Loki that he did know what he had done, but he couldn't. The Doctor couldn't let him know just how much he already knew, things that he had not yet experienced. Instead, the Doctor stood there and stared, tension building up inside him.
"Of course I still would have rescued you."
The corner of Loki's mouth twitched up into a tiny smirk. He was the master of lies and mischief, and yet he felt like he was being duped. He wanted to believe he was being lied to, but logically he could tell that the Doctor's words were sincere. His smirk suddenly disappeared, replaced by rage and agony.
"Iam a monster!" Tears began to slowly trace lines down his face. His breathing was heavy and ragged. "I have done nothing but cause pain and suffering through my lies and wicked ways to the people who care most about me, because of who I am."
Disappointment was one word to describe how the Doctor felt. He was disappointed because there was so much more to him that he had to learn. Loki was so bright, yet he did not understand a thing about himself.
"Monsters aren't born, they're created." The Doctor couldn't even tell that he had just shouted these words. "In fact, can you truly define what makes a monster, with your tongue of silver? Birth does not place a title on one's head, or determine who they are to be in life."
Loki was taken aback by what the Doctor had just said. He wanted to speak except he had lost control of this argument, words unable to form. Maybe it was because he could tell that what the Doctor said was true. Loki's rage has now dissipated into confusion and sadness, leaving him to sit and listen.
"Your actions define whether you are inclined to be good or bad." With each word the Doctor spoke, his voice grew louder, his words sharper. "The past is the past, what has happened has run its course, but now you can make amends for that. Help from others can get you so far, but in the end you, and only you, can decide your fate."
Sick. Sick is the only word that Loki could conjure up to describe how he felt. He clutched his head, feeling like an unseen force was waging war within. Words of belittlement wracked his brain, trying to destroy the compassion and motivation he felt. He crumbled to the floor, trying to take hold of his mind, his emotions.
"You may not trust what I say or want to believe it, but at least trust me. Please. Please, let me help you."
The Doctor dared not to go near Loki. Instead, he stood still, a look of pity on his face. Loki was kneeling on the ground, bent over with his face in his hands. Tears trickled over his fingers and soaked into his sleeves. He let his hands fall down to his knees, the streams of tears slowing down. Neither demi-God nor Time Lord uttered a word.
Finally, the Doctor spoke gently, breaking the seemingly unending silence.
"Well, you can stay in here if you'd like, there are plenty of places for you to be alone and wallow in your self-pity." His expression changed to a soft smile and his voice grew lighter. "I'll be leaving now, you can join me if you'd like. The decision is up to you." The Doctor, with one last fleeting look of compassion, turned, opened one of the TARDIS' doors, and left
For a moment Loki stared at the open door and the shrinking image of the Doctor as he walked farther and farther away. He sat on the floor and touched his fingers to his face, tracing the trails of tears that lined his cheeks. Loki felt like he was a young child again, crying for some silly reason. It wasn't as simple as a wounded knee or a missing book; His emotions were crumbling within him, something that a bandage couldn't help.
He felt a bit of shame, after having his argument thwarted by the Doctor. It was not merely because of that, but because of what the Doctor had said. Loki had let his defenses down before, but this time he could tell that there was compassion within the Doctor's words.
Loki wiped the tears from his face and rose to his feet. He still did not fully trust the Doctor, but he understood that he meant him no harm in any way. He inhaled deeply and closed his eyes. Staying in the TARDIS would only make him feel worse, he thought, as he walked through the door.
The Doctor did not get very far in his trek. He walked slowly in hopes that Loki would eventually join him. The sound of hurried footsteps crunching against the cold ground grew louder behind him. He glanced to his side and smiled, seeing Loki fall into step with him.
Their walk was quiet for a while. There was no trace of the Loki who broke down inside the TARDIS not too long ago. It seemed almost as if he were a different person. That could be what you get for being such a fantastic liar your entire life. Then again, the Doctor should know, given the things he's done and the place's he's seen.
"Where exactly are we headed?" Loki did not move or flinch as he spoke, but continued to look where he was treading.
"Ah, we're going to the Museum of Science and History. It's an older building, nestled in the heart of England. London, to be precise."
Loki nodded softly. He remembered what the Doctor had said, something about a new exhibit opening. "This new exhibit, what exactly is it? Rather, what are they displaying?"
Pulling one of his hands out of his pockets, the Doctor waved it as he tried to conjure what to say. "They've been keeping it under wraps for quite a while now. Hardly anyone knows, except for the people involved with it." Loki glared at him, trying to ponder what could possibly be so important as to keep it a secret. The Doctor droned on about the exhibit. "They have been bragging about it to local media outlets, claiming it's quite possibly the greatest exhibit to have ever been displayed in a museum."
Once again, Loki nodded. He walked quietly, picking up his pace. The Doctor hurried to stay with him, but picked up on the hint. His head turned many ways, the various sights keeping his mind occupied.
As they neared the city, tiny white flecks of snow fell down from the sky. The Doctor bundled himself in his coat, pulling the collar up over his face. Loki continued walking unaffected, a sort of heat building up within him. The only times he had ever experienced snow or cold like this were in Jotunnheim. He remembered back to when he was fighting alongside his brother and their friends, barely escaping with their lives. Now they despised him for all he had done. Loki felt his heart growing slowly colder and colder, losing the warmth that kept him alive.
The pair zigzagged through throngs of pedestrians on the sidewalk. They seemed to be making their way through a neighborhood, filled with quaint, colourful houses. Children played in the snow with their neighbors, throwing snowballs and build snowmen.
A group of young children ambushed the Doctor with a barrage of snowballs, covering him with snow. He reached down, picked up a handful of snow, and threw it at the children. For several minutes the Doctor joined in their little game, leaving Loki standing on the sidewalk. He felt himself smiling and laughing, almost as if he had forgotten what had happened not so long ago.
Bidding farewell to the kids, the two adults continued on. Within minutes the suburban setting had disappeared, replaced by larger buildings and cars flooding the streets. More people whizzed by, and gaudy displays of fashion decorated store fronts.
The Doctor and Loki finally reached the city, lost in a sea of skyscrapers and strangers. It seemed as if the buildings reached up to the sky, brushing along it with metallic fingers. They also seemed to glisten, much like the structures in Asgard. These structures were more like metal instead of gold, worked over in a forge and hardened by fire, creating a sleek gloss to their brilliant dark finish.
As they stepped out of a large swarm of travellers, a different building came into view. This building was a stark contrast from the others, swapping metal and glass for stone. It was much shorter than the rest, and seemed older and more regal, having found its home here long ago. Loki and the Doctor walked up the steep staircase and entered through a heavy bronze door.
People flooded in and out of the crowded lobby. News reporters and photographers whizzed by, headed toward a crowd gathered in the center of the room. The Doctor hung back against the wall, leaning on a pedestal, while Loki stood planted at the back of the group. He did not understand fully what was happening, but he knew it must be of importance if all of these people were gathered here today.
Up near the display was a small platform, equipped with only a microphone. A woman waited impatiently, glancing around and constantly checking her watch. Soon, an older gentleman joined her on the platform, taking his place at the microphone.
He turned and nodded to the woman. "Thank you, Kate." She rolled her eyes once he had turned back towards the crowd. He tapped the microphone lightly, gathering his words. "Welcome everyone, and thank you for being so patient. You must excuse me, I'm not as young and feeble as I was twenty years ago."
The group laughed at the joke, somehow finding it amusing. For a while, the gentleman on the platform spoke of the museum and its history. Loki wandered back to where the Doctor was, folding his arms and resting in a similar fashion on the pedestal. He leaned over, his eyes not straying from the man on the platform. "Who is this man?"
The Doctor leaned over, glancing from the platform to Loki. "That's the museum's curator, Mr Gibley. Apparently, he has acquired some antiquities, many reporters say they're quite amazing." Just as the Doctor said this, the gentleman began speaking of what was hidden under the curtains.
"For hundreds of years, planet Earth has been under siege by many different enemies during many different periods of history. Recently, I have discovered the remains of some of these battles that previous generations have been witnesses to, and we are lucky to have them displayed here for you today. They are some of the Earth's greatest foes, now here on display for you to see."
Before going any further, the gentleman flicked his eyes over the crowd. They looked on attentively, fingers ready to type and cameras aimed for photos. Turning towards the display, he nodded his head. The museum assistants positioned at the displays removed the covers. The curtains fell, and were quickly picked up by the assistants and carried away.
"I give you: Earth's greatest enemies!" Applause erupted from the crowd. Everyone piled forward, hoping to get as close as they could.
The Doctor jolted upright. He stood completely rigid, staring in disbelief at the display. Shakily, he reached his hand into a pocket inside his coat and pulled his sonic screwdriver out, ready to do whatever he had to.
"Is something the matter?" Loki whispered under his breath, the room surprisingly quiet. He glanced between the gruesome look on the Doctor's face to the three alien species on display.
There was no time for the Doctor to answer. Before he could do anything, a robotic shriek blasted from the display.
"EXTERMINATE!"