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❛ ᴇᴡᴛʀᴛᴡ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐅𝐎𝐔𝐑𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ᴛʜᴇʀᴇ's ᴀʟᴡᴀʏs ᴀ
ᴘʀᴏʙʟᴇᴍ ᴛᴏ ᴇᴠᴇʀʏ sᴏʟᴜᴛɪᴏɴ ꒱


❝ I THOUGHT YOU WERE
SUPPOSED TO BE A GENIUS! ❞

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"I've heard it once, I've heard it a thousand times," Loki said with a sigh, tired of the endless repetition. "'You. You conniving, craven, pathetic worm. You did this.' Right?"

Instead of Lady Sif, though, Mobius appeared in the archway. "What are you doing?"

"Passing time," came the reply.

"Do you care about this Variant?"

"The mortal? Sylvie? Either way, I don't think we need to have this conversation again."

"Shut up!" the man cut off his protests. "Do you really think you deserve to be alone?" When no answer came, he repeated the god's name, "Loki!"

"You told me to shut up," he said obstinately.

"Do you believe you deserve to be alone?"

"I don't know."

"You better figure it out quickly because the nexus event you caused, I think whatever that connection is can bring this whole place down. So we better understand. . ."

"We?" the Asgardian questioned him.

Mobius sighed. "Do you swear Sylvie didn't implant those memories in Hunter C-20?"

"Mobius, no. I believe her."

"So I just have to trust the word of two Lokis?"

There was a pause before he offered, "how about the word of a friend?"

The man nodded. "You were right, about the T.V.A.. You were right from the beginning and if you want to save the 'mortal' as you call her, you need to trust me. Can you do that?"

"Yes."

"Okay," the T.V.A. employee agreed. "You could be whoever, whatever you wanna be, even someone good. I mean, just in case anyone ever told you different."

The god allowed a faint smile to cross his face before the two walked out of the time loop to return to the projector room. Their plans fell through on the way out when they were greeted with Renslayer and four armed guards.

"I think you have something of mine," the woman stated.

"Yeah," Mobius started convincingly, "I got all the way down here before I even realized I picked up yours." He took the TemPad out of his jacket pocket and handed it to a guard. "What's going on? What's the problem, Ravonna?"

The judge didn't answer.

"You know where I'd go if I could go anywhere?" the man asked, referring to the conversation they'd had a short while ago. "Where it is I'm really from. Yeah, wherever I had a life before the T.V.A. came along. Maybe I have a jet ski. That's what I'd like to do, just ride around on my jet ski."

"Prune him," Renslayer announced simply, unmoved by his answer.

The soldier closest to her reacted the fastest, launching forward to touch the end of his baton to Mobius' chest, the man disappearing in a haze of light. Loki stared at the empty space that someone— his friend— had occupied seconds before, an odd, unexpected feeling of grief sweeping through him at the new absence of the man. He breathed out heavily as he attempted to wrestle his emotions under control, allowing the guards to take either of his arms without a fight.

✧✧✧

A pair of guards entered through the double doors of Jimin's room sometime later, their faces stoic as they approached her. She stood and watched them warily, wondering if that maybe this was it— the moment she'd be pruned. Luck (though she wouldn't necessarily call it that) was on her side and the soldiers instead took her arms to lead her out of the room. Jimin went peacefully, seeing as how escape would be futile.

She was loathe to admit that she was relieved to see the two Lokis. She would never acknowledge that a part of her relaxed at the sight of them, but she did give the pair a curt nod as the trio met up again. The judge from earlier— Renslayer— stood behind them as they waited for the elevator. The brunette glanced over to the dark-haired god and frowned slightly at the shaken expression on his face— an unusual emotion for him. "You alright?"

She received a nod in response as Renslayer spoke, "I've got them from here."

The guards released them at her words, leaving the quartet standing in front of the golden doors. They slid open smoothly and the Variants followed the judge into the small space. Sylvie was the first to speak, "do you remember me?"

"I do," the woman replied evenly. "What do you want me to say to me, Variant?"

"What was my nexus event? Why did you bring me in?"

"What does it matter?"

"It was enough to take my life from me, lead to all of this, so it must have been important," the blonde explained. "So, what was it?"

"I don't remember," Renslayer wouldn't give her the satisfaction of an answer. Despite the fact that they couldn't see her face they could tell she was smiling as she spoke, relishing in the power she held over them.

The elevator let off a soft chime as they reached the designated floor, the doors slowly opening to reveal a blue, smoky room with two guards standing on either side of the entrance. Directly in front of them, three beings sat on elevated chairs above a raised dais, illuminated by the outline of a red hourglass. Renslayer announced their arrival as they walked down the aisle in the middle. "Gracious Time-Keepers. As promised, the Variants."

"After all your struggle, at last, you've arrived before us." The Time-Keepers' voice was alien and echo-y in a way that made Jimin tense with unease.

"What do you have to say for yourselves before you meet your end, Variants?" another voice asked, slightly different from the first.

"Is that the only reason you brought us here? To kill us? I've lost track of the number of times I've been killed, so go ahead. Do your worst," Loki called out mockingly.

"You and your bravado are no threat to us, Variant."

"Oh, no, I don't think you believe that," Sylvie disagreed, taking a few steps forward. The judge quickly used her device to bring her back. "I think you're scared."

"No, Variant. You're nothing but a cosmic disappointment."

The Asian woman's eyes narrowed at the familiar phrase, an echo of when Hunter B-15 had called the original Loki the same thing. Her skin prickled as the Time-Keepers declared, "delete them."

"No, I'm not done with you yet—" Sylvie started to race forwards.

"Wait!" Jimin called out, lifting a hand in an attempt to stop the goddess.

She didn't listen, though Renslayer reacted before she closed in on the trio and sent her back to her original position and tried to press the button again, but Sylvie to glitched in place. Behind them, the elevator doors opened again to reveal Hunter B-15, her own device held out in front of her. She then released the collars around the Variants' necks. "For all time, always."

The Hunter threw Sylvie her sword and fighting broke out among the groups. Jimin dodged several incoming attacks as she made for the outskirts of the fighting, her mind spinning as the Time-Keepers' words repeated themselves: "'you're a cosmic disappointment.'"

In the midst of the fight, Renslayer shouted over the noise: "protect the Time-Keepers!"

The Asian woman's eyes flicked up to the trio, finding it odd that they didn't try to protect themselves. They watched lifelessly as chaos broke out below, uncaring if they should meet their end.

"A little help here?" Loki called over to the two women.

Sylvie threw the god her blade as the Asgardian's previous words returned to Jimin. "The Time-Keepers have built quite the circus and I see that the clowns are playing their parts to perfection."

She frowned, her gaze focused on the Time-Keepers themselves because. . . what if the 'clowns' weren't just the T.V.A. agents?

She'd only been to the circus once, with Katrina, and had disliked it immensely. Still, she knew that there was always a single ringmaster that organized the event— not three. Perhaps it was possible that Loki had seen through the T.V.A. without even meaning to, a carelessly mocking line calling out their lie— something that had never fooled her before.

By now, the blonde woman had freed herself from her guards and had engaged Renslayer, the woman fighting her baton while Sylvie countered with her blade. Jerking out her daze, Jimin launched herself into the fight as she pulled her jang bong and swiftly swung it towards one of the guards as Loki scoffed. "You couldn't have done that earlier?"

"We're wasting time!" the brunette answered, ignoring him. "This is all a farce!"

"What's that supposed to mean?" the god asked, swinging at the other guard.

"It's a lie!" Jimin snapped. "Do I have to spell everything out for you? I thought you were supposed to be a genius!"

"I am!" he grunted as the soldier retaliated, forcing him to block the attack.

The Asian woman let out a frustrated huff as her close quarters made it hard to move her staff and she dropped it, preferring to aim a punch instead. "These— these things aren't the enemy! They're not the ringleaders of the act."

Loki finished his opponent off with a stab in the gut, allowing him to fall to the ground as Jimin knocked her guard out with another well-aimed attack. Sylvie incapacitated Renslayer and the trio met on the stairs. "But aren't they the Time-Keepers?" the Asgardian questioned her.

"You're a child of the Time-Keepers too, Sylvie," the alien voice spoke before she could reply. "We can talk."

"Oh yeah?" the woman asked, and then she threw her sword at the being, decapacitating it. A creepy laugh echoed through the chamber as the head rolled down the stairs to stop at Loki's feet.

Sylvie picked up a baton to aim it at the next Time-Keeper as Jimin picked up the fallen head, turning it over so that it was neck-up. Wires stuck out of the end as she showed it to the god. "The clowns are playing their parts to perfection. You were right."

Their eyes met as the laughing died off, the remaining two 'shutting down.' The other woman returned to them, her expression faltering at the sight of the head. "Mindless androids."

Jimin turned to the blonde and presented the piece to her. "I'm sorry I didn't figure it out sooner."

"It never stops," Loki said, a note of anger in his tone. "Who created the T.V.A.?"

Sylvie took the robotic head and threw it as hard as she could. "I thought this was it."

For the first time since they'd arrived, the brunette allowed herself to slump, her failure a bitter taste in her mouth. She should've been smarter. A hand landed gently on her shoulder, causing her to startle. She eyes jerking up to meet Loki's and she knocked his hand away. "I'm not in the mood for a metaphor, you ass."

A faint smile flickered across his face before he spoke softly, "no. I have to tell you something."

The woman crossed her arms against her chest, her expression disapproving. "You're not going to get sappy on me, are you?"

The god looked uncharacteristically awkward. "Well, no. Er— it's just that— uh, I wanted to say. . . you're, well, you're not one of the worst mortals I've ever met?"

Jimin raised an eyebrow. "Met many mortals, have you?"

"Look." He let out a frustrated huff. "What I'm trying to say is— well, this is new for me—"

The Asian woman's brows furrowed slightly, a wariness in her eyes that tells him she knows what he's trying to say but she doesn't help him. He shifts uncomfortably in front of her, forcing the brunette to turn slightly to follow his movement. Neither of them are very good with emotions, though he— Loki— is supposed to be better with words than this. Honesty had never been his strong suit, nor had been admitting weaknesses and so he continued to hesitate, killing time as he waited for the words to come.

Unfortunately, he never gets the chance.










Jimin is struck down first.

Somewhere, Time in a Bottle by Jim Corce plays.

❝. . .you're the one I wanna go through time with ❞

Note: the switch to present tense in the last paragraph/part of the chapter was intentional, not a mistake.