It's Jane who finds the Variant.

It took a while to get there. There was a lot of back and forth between her and Loki before they'd realized that an apocalypse would be just as good a hiding spot as an abandoned planet, and then Mobius cut in with his tidbit about the gum – something that he definitely should have brought up earlier – and narrowed down the search. Splitting the files three ways, it was only a matter of time before one of them stumbled upon the disaster they were looking for, and all Loki has to say is that he's glad Mobius doesn't have the satisfaction of finding it.

"Does your offer still stand?" Loki asks him.

"Which one?" Mobius asks.

"Are you still open to having company?" He hates that he has to play nice. He hates that he has to ask. He hates that he can't just steal the TemPad and finish this himself. But they're not going to get to where they need to be by attracting the wrath of this entire bureaucracy. No, if they're going to do this, they're going to have to be subtle about it, even if that means pretending to be Mobius's pet a short while longer.

Mobius cracks a smile. "Comin' around, huh?"

Loki forces a smile before he lets his frustrations slip. Coming around. No, he is not coming around. He will never come around.

"I figured you'd be coming with," Mobius tells him. "If anyone's gonna catch a you, it's gonna be you."

Loki fights the urge to roll his eyes. "And what will you do with this 'me' once I've caught him?" It doesn't matter, of course. He has no plans to catch the Variant at all. But he'd like to know what the plan is, just to say he does; just in case he needs to use it to get the job done. There truly is nothing like a threat to get what he wants.

"In a perfect world, he'll have to answer to the Time Keepers," Mobius says. "But if it comes to it, he's better dead than running free."

Jane glances at Loki warily, and the god gives a single nod. The plan is still on. They're still going to talk to this Variant, and, should the stars align in such a way, they're still going to conscript his help in burning this place to the ground.

"Alright." Mobius picks up Loki's and Jane's piles of files and drops them on top of his with a loud fwoop. "You two get yourselves ready. I'm going to tell Judge Renslayer what's going on."

For the briefest moment, Loki thinks Mobius had finally said something normal; something respectable. He thinks Mobius has said something he agrees on. And then it really sinks in.

"She's not coming with us." It's both a question and a demand. That can't be what he means. Mobius is an imbecile, yes, but surely he's not that stupid.

Mobius pauses where he stands, his stack of folders half-lifted off the library table. "Of course she is."

"No, she is not," Loki insists.

Mobius scoffs. "The only reason she's here is because you wanted her with you!" His words don't seem to process until after they've left his mouth, and he looks at Jane apologetically. "No offense, of course."

Jane waves that off.

"Yes, I wanted her here," Loki says. "Here, in the TVA, surrounded by lifeless secretaries and papers that are mere moments from disintegration; not out there hunting the Variant who's killed dozens upon dozens of your well-trained soldiers!"

Mobius sighs and puts the files back down. "Loki, relax," he says. "She'll be fine. I'm gonna stick her with you the whole time."

"I am not a babysitter," Loki snaps. "You are not 'sticking' anyone with me."

Jane clears her throat awkwardly. "Don't I get a say in this?"

"No."

Jane scoffs, and any uncertainty she may have felt a moment ago fades away in an instant. "Excuse you!" she says indignantly. "You're right: you are not my babysitter, and you do not get to tell me what to do. I found the hole in their security and I figured out where the Variant is. You do not get to kick me off of this now."

Loki folds his arms over his chest, eyes narrowing as he looks at her. She just raises her chin, a perfect display of defiant confidence. He must admit, he didn't expect that from her, and he can't help but think somewhere in the back of his mind that he really does understand what his brother saw in her. She has spirit, that's for sure.

Still, though he admires her confidence, he stands by his statement. He turns to Mobius, an eyebrow raised. "You can't really think this is a good idea."

Mobius shrugs. "I don't think I have to," he says. "I think she's gonna come if she has to kill everyone else in the TVA to do it."

The corners of her lips quirk upwards at that, a look of smug satisfaction on her face, and Loki's own face falls flat. So she really is coming, then. He can't stop her. That is just lovely.

"Alright, I'll be back," Mobius says, picking up his stack of files. "Don't get too comfy; we're heading out in a minute." He flashes them a smile, and then he's on his way.

Loki juts his jaw out in frustration, watching as the man disappears down the hallway.

"Hey," Jane hisses. "What was that about?"

"You're going to get yourself killed," Loki hisses back. "We're going into a battlefield. You are not a warrior. You're not a soldier. You're a brilliant scholar who has no place in the midst of a war."

"And what gives you the right to make that choice for me?" Jane demands. "Isn't the whole point that we're trying to find this Variant? That we want to work together? How is that supposed to work when you two are in the middle of an apocalypse and I'm stuck here?"

"If I cannot get the Variant back to the TVA, we've already lost," Loki says. "We cannot tear down the TVA from Midgard. We will come back, we will find you, and we will burn this place to the ground."

"Or you'll fail," Jane says. "The Variant won't cooperate, or he'll kill you before he has the chance, or the TVA will kill you both, and I don't want to sit here twiddling my thumbs with no idea what's happening until somebody comes to prune me!"

Loki grits his teeth, balling his hands into fists by his side.

"I'm coming with you," Jane says. "That's final."

Loki growls in frustration, but it seems he doesn't have much choice in the matter, so he says coldly, "I cannot protect myself and look after you at the same time. If it comes down to it, I will watch you die before I put myself in harm's way."

Jane crosses her arms, clenching her jaw as she glares up at him. "I'm a big girl," she says, her voice just as cold. "I can take care of myself."

And with that, the game is on.

~~~

Loki has had enough of this ridiculous bureaucracy stifling his sense of self.

As soon as they've all made it inside and out of the rain, Loki trades his soaking wet "Variant" jacket for Asgardian leather, drying himself off in the process. This is much better. He's about to conjure a knife, but when he catches Hunter B-15 staring at him, he thinks better of it. He'll wait until he needs it. The element of surprise might do him some good.

"What the hell was that?:" B-15 asks, incredulous.

Loki just rolls his eyes. He won't even dignify that with a response. "What is our plan to find the Variant?"

That gets her back on track. To Hunter D-90, she says, "Take both teams and sweep the storm shelter."

"Yes, ma'am," he replies, already turning to communicate with his soldiers.

Mobius steps in with, "I'll take Loki and Jane to check out the greenhouse. We'll meet back at the showroom."

"No," B-15 says.

Mobius scoffs. "No?"

"You go with D-90. The Variants stay with me."

Jane glances up at Loki warily, but in his eyes, this is a much better arrangement. Jane trusts Mobius, and trust is a dangerous game, especially now as their usefulness begins to wane. He'd much rather go with B-15. At least they all dislike and distrust each other equally.

"What are you–" Mobius looks at her in disbelief. "They're under my supervision!"

"This is my field op, Mobius," B-15 says. "If you don't like it, you are more than welcome to go back to the TVA and litigate with Renslayer, but right now–"

"We're here," Mobius says firmly. "We're not going back."

"Then we agree," B-15 says. "You go with D-90. The Variants stay with me."

Mobius narrows his eyes, but B-15 stands firm, and eventually, he has to concede. He turns to face Loki and Jane. "Okay, you two, listen to B-15," he says. "Do not go off on your own." He looks pointedly at Loki when he says that. "You find the Variant together. You get the Variant back to the TVA together. And when that's done..." He shrugs, a small smirk on his face. "You might just find your ticket out of here."

Oh, we will.

"Good luck," Mobius says. He pats Jane on the shoulder, then looks at B-15. "And be nice to them, will you? They want to catch this Variant, too."

B-15 just rolls her eyes, which doesn't bode well for how the next few minutes of their lives are going to go. Mobius heads off with his people, and B-15 leads Loki and Jane their own way. It's a rather uneven split, all of them going one way and these three going the other, but it's nice to know that they outnumber the Hunter. If something happens, Loki and Jane will walk away unscathed.

It's silent as they walk through the store. Loki's eyes scan the room, never once daring to take a break, to let himself get comfortable. The moment he lays eyes on the Variant, he has to move.

Loki spots him a split-second before B-15 does. She yells out, "Hey!" and raises her pruning stick, and though he finds it to be a bit of an overreaction, he would doubtlessly do the same in her shoes. This man doesn't look like a Loki. He seems to be merely a plant-enthused customer. But it's certainly better to be prepared.

"Woah, woah!" the man says when he sees them, swiftly putting his hands up by his head. "It's okay! It's okay!"

"What are you doing?" B-15 demands.

The man glances at the shelves next to him. "Shopping for plants?"

"In this storm?" B-15 raises an eyebrow.

The man shrugs awkwardly. "It's a hurricane sale," he says. "Azaleas are half-off."

B-15 eyes him suspiciously, then glances up at Loki. "Could this be you?"

"I can't say for certain," Loki says. Perhaps this Variant of himself likes wearing ugly t-shirts and zip-up sweaters.

B-15 approaches the man slowly, cautiously, pruning stick raised at the ready. The man doesn't move, just watching her warily. She reaches out to grab him, but he strikes first, wrapping his fingers around her arm. Only moments later, the man's body falls to the ground.

"Oh my god," Jane whispers, slapping a hand over her mouth.

Loki doesn't even flinch.

"Is he okay?" Jane asks, already taking a step toward him.

Loki grabs her arm, holding her back. Her selfless nature is going to get her killed one of these days.

"Oh, they usually survive," B-15 drawls. There's something different in her voice, her infliction. As she turns around, she eyes the two of them up and down as though this is the first she's truly seen them. As far as Loki can tell, it probably is.

"Me, I presume," Loki says.

"Oh, please." B-15 rolls her eyes. "If anybody's anyone, you're me." She gives him an all-too-familiar cheeky grin.

"We've been looking for you," Loki tells her. "I appreciate that you got the Hunter out of the way. I would much prefer to talk without the TVA's supervision."

B-15 just looks at him for a few moments, then lets her gaze flicker to Jane by his side, an unspoken question in her eyes.

"She's an ally," Loki says, finally letting go of her arm. "A fellow Variant; no more loyal to the Time Variance Authority than you or I."

B-15 eyes her up and down. Jane looks up at Loki warily, but he hardly spares her a glance. He's far more interested in this Variant.

Loki gestures to B-15's stolen body with the nod of his head. "Enchantment. Impressive."

The corner of her lip curves upward just a little bit.

"I hear you've taken out quite a few of the TVA's best men," he says. "I respect that. I assume your plan is to take out the rest? The Time Keepers included?"

B-15 just smirks in response, then starts walking away.

Loki looks at Jane, who looks back up at him warily. He feels the same, but it seems there's nothing to do except follow her. Whether they manage to strike a deal or choose to pass her off to Mobius and his men remains to be seen.

"It seems our goals are aligned," Loki tells her as they walk. "We'd like nothing more than to tear this Time Variance Authority to the ground. You seem to have a plan, but there's always a risk, working alone. I'd say you'd do best to have some partners in this."

B-15 huffs. "Yeah, right."

Loki tries not to let that get to him. "I don't expect you to trust us," he says. "We certainly don't trust you. But we share a common enemy, and I imagine you could use the extra hands." It worked on Thanos, the offer to become an underling. It was awful work, but it kept him alive, and his goal right now is just to stay alive.

B-15 just chuckles.

A man steps into view — an employee of the store, it seems. He greets them all with a friendly smile. "Are you guys looking for the disaster shelter?"

"No." B-15 grabs his arm, and her body falls to the floor.

The employee looks back at them with a smirk. The Variant's switched victims.

Loki walks up to them and nudges B-15 with his foot. She doesn't react, but she's breathing — alive but unconscious, he'd guess. That's good: it means she won't hear their conversation. If he has to continue working with the TVA until he can make his escape, he'd like to have the option.

The Variant eyes him with a look of amusement.

"Is she alive?" Jane asks.

"She seems to be," Loki replies. "That's a shame."

Jane scoffs, but the Variant only seems more amused. He continues walking, and Loki steps over B-15's body to follow, Jane trailing behind.

"Now, to be clear," Loki says, "your plan is to take down the TVA. You don't want to take over; you want it gone." He's daydreamed about wielding a throne enough throughout his life to know that there must be versions of himself who still believe it's possible; who would still try to claim a throne that ought to be destroyed.

"And if I am?" the Variant asks. "What do you have to offer?"

"Whatever you need," Loki replies coolly. "A helping hand; an ally within the TVA; a body to throw under the bus."

"Loki!" Jane hisses, smacking him on the arm. It's probably for that last option, he reasons. She doesn't understand that he wouldn't let himself — or her, if he could help out — get run over by whatever bus this Variant sends at them.

The Variant turns around, eyeing Jane with intrigue. "You're not one of us."

"A Loki?" Loki guesses. He shakes his head. "No, she's not."

The Variant's eyes flicker to meet his. "She doesn't talk much."

"She's an intelligent woman," Loki says, "but this is not her field."

The Variant hums in response. He takes a step toward them, and Loki puts an arm out, gently pushing Jane a step back.

"Oh, relax," the Variant says, rolling his eyes. "I just want to see her."

Loki looks at Jane, who looks back at him nervous. She hesitates, then nods, though she couldn't make it more clear she doesn't want to if she tried.

Loki slowly lowers his arm and takes a small step to the side, still easily within arm's reach. His fingers twitch by his side, prepared to conjure a blade if he needs it.

"She's pretty," the Variant remarks.

"Um..." Jane cocks her head to the side. "Thank you?"

The Variant raises a hand, and she flinches. He smiles at that, at her fear, and reaches out for her, gently brushing her cheek as he pushes her hair behind her shoulder.

Jane's fearful eyes follow his hand, and Loki conjures his blade. He doesn't like this. He doesn't like it at all.

The Variant cups her cheek in his hand.

Then his body falls to the floor.

"Hey!" Loki shouts, raising his knife.

Jane slowly turns to face him, a smirk growing on her lips.

"Stop this!" Loki yells. "Let her go!"

Jane stretches her arms in front of her, smug as she looks over her new possessed form. "I like this one."

Loki grits his teeth. "You have no quarrel with her. Let her go."

"No, I don't think I will," she replies. "You were right: I could use an extra pair of hands." She holds up her own. "These ones will do just fine."

Loki narrows his eyes. He needs a plan. Whatever it takes to end this calmly and safely — for everyone involved.

He slowly raises his hand, showing her his blade, and he lets it fade out of existence, a show of peace. With the Variant occupying Jane's body, he doesn't have much of a choice.

"Oh, bless," Jane coos.

"What do you want?" Loki asks, his voice almost a growl.

"What do you think I want?" she counters.

"Well, given that you've been hiding like a coward since we arrived," he snaps, "I'd say you haven't finished whatever plan you've concocted. You're still working. You need..." Realization dawns on him, and he's furious with himself that it's taken him so long. "Time. You're stalling for time."

Jane spreads her arms with a smirk, a wordless confirmation that he's right.

"Let her go," Loki says. "We'll find the others. We'll stall for the time that you need. But you have to let her go."

Jane huffs a laugh. "I don't have to do anything."

Loki's hands ball into fists by his side. He's not getting anywhere with this. All he's doing is helping the Variant stall for time, and she's made it very clear his help won't be reciprocated.

If the Variant won't cooperate, then he has no choice but to work with the TVA until he can think of a new plan. If nothing else, he knows that Mobius likes Jane. He may not be able help, but he won't let anybody hurt her while the Variant has her in his clutches. If he left it to anyone else, they'd doubtlessly just prune her and be done with it.

Loki cups his hands around his mouth. "Mobius!" He grabs Jane by the arm and starts to drag her towards the back of the store. Mobius has to be back there somewhere.

Jane scoffs and tries to pull her arm free, and when she can't, she pulls her foot back and kicks him in the knee.

Loki groans, dropping his grip on her arm before he even realizes what he's doing. He grabs his knee instinctively, and Jane takes the opportunity to elbow him in the face, almost certainly breaking his nose as she does. She has the Variant's strength coursing through her, and he can feel every bit of it.

"What are you doing?" Loki demands, incredulous. He didn't attack her. If he'd wanted to hurt her, he would have done far worse.

Jane takes another swing at him, but he grabs her fist before it can connect. With the other hand, he grabs her other wrist, and though she twists and she turns, trying to get free, he doesn't let go.

"Jane!" he yells. "Jane, stop it! Stop him!"

Jane throws her head back with a cackle. "You think she can stop me?"

Loki shakes her, jerking her around, trying to rattle her awake, as though it could possibly be that simple. "Jane!"

"'Jane!'" she mocks him. "'Stop it, Jane!' 'I love you, Jane!'" She scoffs, rolling her eyes. "You're embarrassing yourself."

She brings her knee up and jams it into his stomach. While he's reeling from that hit, she manages to pull one hand free, but he clings tight to the other.

"Let her go," Loki growls.

"Make me." She grabs a fistful of his hair and yanks on it, pulling his head down. She kicks the side of his knee in, and the pain radiates up his entire leg. She reaches out to grab his throat —

Loki grabs hers first and throws her into a nearby shelf. He's not thinking as he does it. It's instinct, nothing more. He's been trained to protect himself, and he does just that.

As Jane's body crumples to the floor, he's reminded once more why he fights with his brain and not only his body.

"Jane!" He dashes across the floor, dropping to his knees by her side. "Jane?"

She doesn't seem too badly hurt. Her throat is red from his grip, but otherwise, she looks alright – peaceful, even, as though this is only a brief nap and she'll awake in a few moments. But as he turns her toward him, his eyes are drawn to the blood gushing from her temple.

He doesn't even think. He conjures his cape, only to reach back and pull it toward him, gripping it tightly and tearing it in two. He tosses what remains of his cape over his shoulder, then uses the spare piece to gently wipe away as much of the blood as he can. He needs to see the wound. He needs to know that she'll be okay.

Once the wound is clear, he realizes it's not quite as bad as he'd feared. It's deep – somewhat terrifyingly so – but it's not all too large. She'll survive it if she gets some sort of medical attention. The TVA must have an infirmary of sorts he can bring her to, if they don't plan to prune them outright.

He folds his shredded cape in half and presses it against her wound. Perhaps it's good that she's not awake. This would certainly hurt if she was, and she's only human; he doesn't know how she would handle that pain. Not well, he'd assume.

"I'm going to kill him," he growls to himself. "I'm going to tear him apart with my bare hands."

"Do your worst."

Loki's head snaps up at the sound of that voice. It's a feminine voice, unfamiliar to him, but somehow, he knows exactly who it is.

Down the aisle from him stands a figure cloaked in black, almost a shadow. Her hands glow a bright green, a ball of magic he's all too familiar with. If there was any doubt in his mind who it is that stands before him, it's gone in an instant.

He's found the Variant.

The lights throughout the store go dark, and for a moment, all he can see is the green glow of the Variant's magic. Before he can think to take that chance to attack, the emergency lights turn on, illuminating the store with a red hue.

Every fiber of his being is screaming at him to attack. She's a lying, manipulative bastard. She used Jane, the only person in the world — in any world — he cares for, as both a weapon and a shield, then tricked him into making the final blow.

And now she's here.

Watching him.

Taunting him.

He could kill her before she could even blink.

But he doesn't.

He can't leave Jane's side. She's hurt. She's bleeding. And it's his own fault. He did this to her, and he's not moving until he knows that she's okay.

The Variant seems unbothered. It's as though she knew he wouldn't dare move, and he hates to think that he's so transparent. The Variant picks up a TemPad off the ground, and, with the push of a few buttons, a familiar orange door appears.

He assumes this is it. She's going to leave. She's going to do whatever it is she's going to do — go after the Time Keepers, he assumes — and there is nothing he can do about it.

But then she reaches for her hood, slowly pulling it down to reveal her face. She looks at him, a smirk on her lips that sends a new wave of fury through his body.

He conjures his knife and throws it through the air, aimed right for the skull. She moves aside just before it can hit her.

"You'll have to do better than that," she coos.

There's yelling from down the aisle, and though the Variant spares a glance, Loki doesn't dare take his eyes off of her. They're calling his name – or her name, perhaps – but he doesn't let himself look.

The Variant waggles her fingers at him, then takes herself and her TemPad and steps through the portal. Though it pains him to do it, he lets her, and by the time the lights have turned back on, the door closes, and it's too late to change his mind.

"Loki!" The voice behind him is getting louder, more clear, more recognizable. It's Mobius.

Loki snaps his head up to see the analyst running down the aisle, a few minutemen following behind. He can pinpoint the exact moment Mobius sees Jane. His eyes go wide, and he begins to run even faster, dropping to his knees and sliding the last few feet.

"What happened?" Mobius asks quickly. "Was it the Variant? Is she okay?"

That's when Loki snaps.

"I told you not to let her come!" His voice is so loud, so hostile, that Mobius flinches. "I told you it was a bad idea to bring a scholar onto the battlefield!"

Mobius sighs. "Loki..."

"Are you happy now?" Loki snaps. If things go his way, he may only have to prune one of his Variant helpers instead of them both.

Hunter D-90 cuts off their conversation with a sharp, "Where's the Variant?"

"I don't know," Loki says. "The TVA, possibly. I assume she has her sights set on the Time Keepers."

"That's what it sounds like to me, too," Mobius agrees. To D-90, he says, "Go back to the TVA. Protect the Time Keepers."

D-90 wastes no time in doing just that. He takes the rest of his men through their own portal, and then it's gone, leaving Loki alone with the person he cares for most and the person he likes the least.

"Let me see her head," Mobius says quietly, already reaching out to move Loki's hand."

"No."

Mobius sighs. "Loki–"

"You sent her on this mission that you knew she had no part in," Loki snaps. "You don't get to coddle her now."

Mobius lolls his head back, exasperated. "Look, I'm sorry, okay?" he says. "Now let me look. How bad is it?"

Loki narrows his eyes, but he hardly has a choice if he wants her to be alright. He can't help her on his own. He's going to need the TVA's help, and right now, that means cooperating with Mobius. Reluctantly, he moves his bloodied cape from her head, letting him look. The wound doesn't seem to be bleeding quite as badly, but it's certainly not a pretty sight.

Mobius sucks in a breath through his teeth. "We're gonna have to get her to the infirmary."

"Are you sure you don't want to prune us now and be done with it?" Loki asks coldly.

Mobius furrows his brows. "What are you talking about? Why would I prune you?"

"We've found the Variant," he says. "You have no more use for us. If you're going to prune us, do it now. Don't force us to play your game any longer if we have no chance of winning." There's no reason he should have to worry for Jane's well-being if they're both going to die regardless, and it's hardly fair to wait for Jane to wake up before ending her life when it could be done now without that added anxiety.

That only serves to confuse Mobius more. "Loki, I'm not gonna prune you," he says. "We're trying to get you a meeting with the Time Keepers, remember? We want to get you and Jane home?"

"How?" Loki challenges. "My home timeline has been destroyed. I assume hers has, too. How are you going to get us home?"

Mobius heaves a sigh. "I don't know," he admits. "That's up to the Time Keepers – if they'll meet with you, and after today, I think they might, as long as the Variant doesn't get to them first."

Loki narrows his eyes. He still doesn't believe it. It still doesn't make sense. He's lying or he's being lied to or something. But this isn't the end of the line yet, so if they're going to live another day, he's going to make the most of it. He's going to take care of Jane, and he's going to kill this Variant.

The sound of footsteps grabs his attention before he can speak. It shouldn't be the Variant. She's long gone by now. But that's not to say it's nobody to fear, so Loki holds out a hand, and his knife flies back into it. Mobius gives him a weird look, but he ignores it. Better to be overprepared than underprepared.

But it's only Hunter B-15 who steps into view. She's a bit wobbly as she walks, obviously disoriented, but she stays on her guard with her pruning stick at the ready until she sees them. She begins walking faster, wasting no time in approaching them, and as she lowers her weapon, Loki does the same.

"What's going on?" B-15 asks quickly.

"Hey, what happened to you?" Mobius asks. "You were supposed to be keeping an eye on these two."

B-15 shakes her head helplessly. "I don't know."

"The Variant enchanted you," Loki says monotonously. "She's now – presumably – at the TVA, most likely planning to kill the Time Keepers, so will somebody help me bring Jane to the infirmary so that I can find this Variant and cut her open on the TVA floor?"

Mobius and B-15 share a look, and the former says, "Yeah, yeah, let's get her up. I'll show you where we're going."

Mobius tries to help lift Jane up, but Loki hits his hand out of the way and does it himself. He doesn't care how much Jane likes the analyst. He doesn't trust him for a moment, and that's certainly not going to change now.