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❛ ᴇᴡᴛʀᴛᴡ. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴇxᴛʀᴀ, ᴇxᴛʀᴀ! sᴇᴇ
ᴛʜᴇ ᴜɴɪᴠᴇʀsᴇ's ᴍᴏsᴛ ᴡᴀɴᴛᴇᴅ
 ᴍᴀɴ ʜᴇʀᴇ! ꒱　


❝ ENLIGHTENED? BY
WHAT? A CANDLE?  ❞

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"We need to bring him back to the T.V.A.," Mobius said after Victor's performance had finished.

Loki looked at him sharply, demanding, "are you out of your mind? You can't trust a Variant of He Who Remains in the T.V.A.."

"That's a later problem. We have a very serious now problem."

The god closed his eyes as he reluctantly realized, "the Loom."

"Yes, and his aura is the only thing that can get us access to the Loom. And who knows what else he can do."

"Humans are a lot more predictable than rouge AI clocks," Jimin agreed, raising her voice slightly over the audience's applause.

Victor left the stage as the analyst continued, "were we ever gonna get Renslayer or Miss Minutes to help us? I mean. . . Where is she?" He spotted her seconds later as she'd moved to intercept Timely. "There she is. She's talking to our guy."

"This way, this way," Loki said, beginning to guide them towards the center of the room.

The Asian woman tugged on his hand, glancing anxiously towards the door. "Loki, I really don't think I should—"

She was so busy trying to get them to leave that she didn't notice where she was going— and walked straight into the worst possible person to catch their attention. The large man leered down at her, his eyes narrowing as they took in her ethnicity. She stumbled back a few steps, her heart racing as she tried to gauge the potential damage. "Well, well, what do we have here? A little foreigner who thinks she can play in our world."

The brunette could tell when the fight was worth it and when it was best left alone. In this case, she bowed her head, trying to make herself as small as possible in the hopes of ducking around him. She had no such luck. When she mumbled out an apology, it only made the man laugh, drawing attention from the crowd. "People like you don't belong here unless you're serving us."

Loki, who had been leading the way, turned sharply, his eyes narrowing at the man. The Asgardian's expression turned frosty and with a swift motion, he stepped between them, his back to Jimin as he stood in front of her protectively. Mobius eyed their opponent warily, glancing at the onlookers as he remembered they had an audience. He tapped the god's arm in warning. "Gently."

"What do you want, clown?" the man snapped, his sneer only becoming more pronounced. He knocked the hat off Loki's head with a flick of his finger. "How about we settle this outside?"

"Outside?" he asked with a false smile. "Excellent suggestion. I agree."

"Loki, no," Jimin hissed from behind him, catching the glimmer of green magic in the palm of his hand.

Of course, the god didn't listen. Instead, he replied, "Loki yes."

There was a puff of smoke and the man disappeared, earning gasps from the spectators. Mobius spread his arms and announced, "the amazing Loki, everyone! He'll be here all week!"

The attention finally dissipated around them, allowing the trio to move freely once more. The analyst walked ahead of them to try and catch up to Timely while the Asian woman tugged on Loki's sleeve to get his notice. "Where did you send him?"

His steps were fast and purposeful, as if he were still angry at the man while Jimin had been resigned to expect it. He slowed at her question, obviously not angry at her. "Outside, like he asked."

She gave him a suspicious look, for good reason. "Where outside?"

"Do you remember that pig pen we saw earlier?"

An impish smile appeared on her lips, her gaze brightening as she looked up at him. When he glanced down at her, his heart gave a funny lurch at the sight of mischief on her face: the twinkle of excitement in her eyes, the slight baring of her teeth— an expression he'd worn hundreds of times before after a successful prank, but had never seen it on her. There was an almost eager note to her tone as she breathed out, "you didn't."

He shrugged, pretending like the look she was giving him wasn't making him want to pin her to a wall and— well, you get the point. "He was acting like a swine so I thought he should be with his kind."

Jimin could've hugged him then— or even kissed him, really— but they had a Variant to catch, so she only gave him a short 'thank you' in its place. 

✧✧✧

They rushed outside after Renslayer and Victor, who were already moving quickly away from the theater. Mobius got in front of the man as best he could, trying to stop him by saying, "Mr. Timely. My associates and I want to discuss a business venture."

"It's thrilling," Loki added helpfully.

Timely only seemed concerned about getting away from them and their case wasn't helped by Ravonna, who cut across them, "fellas, we are discussing business."

"Renslayer, this is only gonna take a minute," her ex-coworker said shortly.

Victor looked between them, bemused. "Do you all know each other?"

"Unfortunately," Mobius answered. "Yeah, old friend."

"Colleague," she corrected him. "A long time ago. I can hardly remember."

They were interrupted by yet another person who wanted the Variant's attention. "I want my money back, Timely. These trousers don't work."

Jimin watched as Timely bent his knees to appear shorter, 'proving' to the man that he had grown. "Councilman, what are you talking about? You look taller to me. I told you these were a prototype. Perhaps I could come by next week, maybe adjust the settings."

"Next week?"

"Next week. Fine," he agreed, looking relieved when the councilman walked away. He kept up his brisk pace, forcing the others to jog after him to catch up.

Renslayer started again, "Mr. Timely. . ."

"Mechanical trousers?" Mobius wondered doubtfully.

"You're a confidence trickster," Loki decided.

The Asian woman cast him a sidelong glance. "Now isn't that the pot calling the kettle black?"

He gave her a genuinely offended look in return. "My tricks are real."

"Of course," she replied, sending him a false smile.

Timely cleared his throat. "Actually, luminary is the word you're looking for."

"Of course," Loki echoed, though it was more in response to Jimin's barb. "Forgive me— us." He mirrored her faux grin at the stink-eye she sent him.

"My ideas are just ahead of their time," Victor insisted.

"Why wouldn't they be?"

"The concepts are bona fide. I just need the crude technology of this era to catch up with my visionary mind."

The Asgardian's smile became more charming than sarcastic as he reassured the man, "do you know? I never doubted it for a second."

The Variant paused to point at him appreciatively. "Enlightened fellows never do."

Jimin rolled her eyes at the obvious flattery and muttered, "enlightened by what? A candle?"

"Of course," Loki agreed again, loudly enough to cover her remark.

"Your inventions are fake, Timely!" a man's voice shouted angrily, causing them to turn to the bearded man who'd followed them out. His face was red from fury as he glared at them, holding up some frayed wires.

"Excuse me," Victor said quickly. He wasted no time in darting off, mercilessly shoving fairgoers out of the way.

"I'll wipe that smile off your face. Hey! Thief!" the bearded man yelled. "Stop that man! He's a thief! I'm gonna get you, Timely! No one swindles me!"

They raced after him again as he tried to hide from the robber baron. He flattened himself against the column of one of the nearby buildings, causing the men to lose sight of him for a second. When they neared the door, he moved to the other side of the pillar to stay out of sight. The trio of men were stupid enough to be fooled by this, allowing him time to take notice of the Ferris Wheel.

"There he is! Get him!" They'd caught sight of him again.

He ran towards his destination, coming across a man selling fruit. Timely caught one of the oranges just in time, pausing only a moment to turn and nail one of his pursuers in the head with it. The Variant ran up the stairs, ignoring the line and the protests of people waiting for a ride. Stepping inside the available lift, he ducked down to hide amongst the crowd's shoes. Predictably, the trio followed him in.

"Get out of the way!" the bearded man ordered the crowd. "We got you now, Timely! There's no escape from this carriage. Folks, folks, there's a thief in here! There's a thief. Where is he?"

Victor crawled out of the ride, back onto the platform. By the time the robber baron noticed, it was too late. The bell rang to start the Ferris Wheel and the doors slid shut. Pleased by his success, the man gave his pursuers a mocking wave as they began to ascend. His relief was short-lived, however, when Loki finally caught up to him and grabbed the man by the collar.

"Victor. All right. You're clearly really good at getting away. We have that in common," he began, but didn't get much further as Timely let out a gasp. His eyes widened in fear as they focused on a point over the god's shoulder.

A blade appeared between them, long and tinged with green. Loki jerked around to see who was wielding it and hastily stepped in front of the Variant. "Sylvie! Sylvie, no!"

"God, not again," Jimin groaned when she'd caught up to them with Mobius steps behind her.

"You stay out of this," the goddess warned him.

Victor stumbled backwards into the now-empty lift to get away from her. Loki followed, trying to stay between them. Jimin moved to join them even though there was really nothing she could do to prevent them from fighting— but she didn't get very far as she hit something solid right in the middle of the open platform.

"What the—?"

She tried to take another step forward, but it was like there was a wall in front of her. Then, she saw it: the faintest glimmer of green that separated her from the entrance to the pod. Her eyes flicked past the magic to inside where the two Lokis were. Her Loki had his hand out, as if to stop Sylvie, but it wasn't quite in the right direction. It was pointed more towards. . . her. Jimin banged her fist against the shield, anger rising within that Loki would dare try to stop her from keeping order.

"Loki!" she shouted, obvious anger in her tone. "Let me out of here! Don't you dare—"

The capsule's doors slid shut. The Asian woman went to bang on the shield again— only to be met with empty air. The kinetic motion behind what would've been an aggressive hit sent her stumbling forward. She just managed to catch herself from falling face-first onto the platform. When she straightened, she sent the Ferris Wheel a furious glare, tempted to kick the next pod as it came down. She knew that would only result in a bruised toe, though, so she didn't.

Crossing her arms petulantly, she went to stand by Mobius and grumbled, "I hate carnivals."

Renslayer joined them shortly after, clearly displeased. "Great. You let Sylvie track you here?"

"Did it occur to you maybe she tracked you here?" Mobius retorted. That earned him a look of disbelief. "Why don't you tell me what's going on? Come on. What are you up to?"

She let out a low chuckle that lacked any real humor. "We don't work together anymore, Mobius. I don't have to tell you anything." She glanced over at Jimin. "And I certainly won't share anything in front of a Loki sympathizer."

"Yeah, and look where not working together has got ya. You're a fugitive," he pointed out.

"Mobius, you're the one who sided with Loki over me. Don't play the teamwork card on me now."

"Can I play the 'you-tried-to-kill-me' card? Does that get me anywhere? Because the T.V.A. is melting down and he is the key to fixing the Loom. We're running out of time. We need your help."

Ravonna remained firm in her decision, shaking her head before he'd even finished speaking. "No, Mobius. There is no 'we.' Not anymore."

The Ferris Wheel came to a stop with the lift containing the two Lokis adjacent to the platform. There was a moment of stillness with just a bright green glow visible beyond the windows. Then, the explosion came.

Glass shattered everywhere. Both Loki and Timely were flung from the pod, rolling down the steps by the force of the blast. Renslayer ran over to Victor while Jimin went to the Asgardian. Despite her irritation at his actions, she held out a hand to help him up. He took her hand and stood, brushing himself off after the fall.

"You're a jerk," she informed him bitterly.

"You could ask if I was alright, which I am, thank you. And I thought I was an ass?" he replied smartly.

Her glare stayed the same. "You can be both. Why did you stop me?"

"Clearly you don't appreciate my chivalry," the Asgardian replied with an offended sniff. "Fine, next time I'll just let you get caught in the crossfire. How would you like to be blasted down a flight of stairs?"

"Hey, hey, I thought we weren't doing this anymore," Mobius cut in, sounding almost like a disappointed father. "You've done so well at getting along. Now Jimin, why don't you—"

They never learned what he'd been about to suggest as there was unexpected commotion. People began to scream at the sight of Miss Minutes, who'd enlarged herself to be as tall as the Ferris Wheel. The bottom of her clock face had been made to look like the end of a sheet to enhance her 'ghost' form. The AI's steps thundered on the ground as she moved forward, causing people to scatter. Although it wasn't necessary since the crowd was already on the run, she let out a calm "boo."

Mobius returned— Jimin hadn't even noticed his absence in the chaos— with a two-seater bike. "Guys, come on!"

"No way," the brunette said in horror.

For once, the god was in agreement. "Absolutely not."

But, the analyst wouldn't be deterred. "Jimin, ladies' choice. Handlebar or seat?"

She scowled, cursing her dress. "Handlebar, if I must."

✧✧✧

They caught up to the Variant outside of his home. Renslayer was with him but Miss Minutes was nowhere to be seen. Loki rang the bike's bell, almost mockingly alerting the pair of their presence.

"They've tracked us! Run!" He took Ravonna's hand to pull her along.

The trio abandoned their bike to chase after them. Unfortunately, the robber baron and his associates had also found them. "He's mine, rat bags."

"Go ahead," Mobius allowed.

Loki tilted his head scornfully at the men. "I beg your pardon?"

Another flash of green magic sent the bearded man flying down the alley. "Take him, he's yours!"

They split up then, all three of them taking different directions to pursue the Variant. Jimin met up with the men on the other side of the house. The analyst looked at them hopefully. "Anything?"

"Nothing."

"They can't have gotten far," she reasoned. "They're two adults on foot— unless they stole our bike."

"I can't imagine He Who Remains being much of a cyclist," Mobius decided. "I'll have B-15 run a trace."

✧✧✧

When they eventually tracked Timely down, Renslayer was already there with an ancient-looking pruning stick held inches away from him. Mobius wasted no time in diverting her attention, shouting, "no, no!"

"Step away from him. We need him," Loki added fiercely.

"Move any closer, and he's done," she threatened, holding the weapon closer to the man.

"Stop. Von, what are you doing?" the gray-haired man argued. "Is this the free will that you were looking for? Look at me. You have lost your way."

She let out an incredulous laugh. "Mobius, you really are unbelievable. How dare you lecture me?"

"I'm not lecturing, I'm pleading."

Ravonna ignored him, taking a deep breath before she began to rant: "after all those years of doing your dirty work, cleaning up your messes, making the hard decisions you never had the nerve to make. After all the times I put the T.V.A. above myself, even at the cost of my own happiness, my humanity. Who are you to lecture me about losing my way?"

Victor jumped every time the pruning stick crackled with energy close to his head, though he didn't dare move more than that. He eyed it warily as the T.V.A. employees quarreled. They'd seemingly forgotten about his safety despite that being the exact purpose of their fight. Mobius remained calm as he said reasonably, "look. We've all lost our way, but someone has to keep track of the big picture here."

That was the wrong thing to say to her because she jerked the pruning stick closer to the Variant in her anger. "You have no idea what it takes to lead, to act, to keep order. Did you happen to notice the second I left, everything crumbled? I am the only one who can bring stability to the T.V.A. because that's what I've been doing, thanklessly, for eons. When will you learn that none of your words mean a thing? All that matters is order versus chaos. I'm order."

Jimin's eyes widened as Ravonna spoke, seeing herself reflected in the other woman's words. For so long, she'd claimed that control was more important, necessary to conquer discord. She'd prided herself on being punctual, soldierlike, any adjective that could be used to describe conformity— after all, that's what her father had taught her. He'd been tight-fisted when it came to rules and punishment so she learned early not to disobey. She'd thought obedience was a good thing. (And, sometimes it was, but it was not the end-all, be-all.)

Then, she'd met Loki: her complete opposite. She'd been hardwired to hate him, to distrust him because he stood for everything she was against. But she was slowly learning that a certain balance was necessary, for if there was no chaos, there could be no order. Impulsive decisions might help save a life rather than perfectly planned execution. Chaos was not entirely bad; it was not the enemy of order— they merely coexisted with each other, finding peace in the stability both sides created. While they might be at odds with each other at first— like she and Loki had been— they could soon form a working partnership without overpowering the other. They are, after all, interconnected and dependent; there cannot be one without the other.

Unfortunately, before she could fully process these thoughts, a wave of green smoke washed over the room. Everything was blasted backwards: the tables toppled over, smashing some of the inventions on them, the chairs flew towards the wall, Jimin and the others were sent flying in different directions. She groaned at the impact, feeling guilty for having snapped at Loki earlier due to protecting her from the first one. She rolled over but didn't have the strength to sit up, content to watch the scene unfold from the floor.

Sylvie was heading towards Victor with her machete out. Her expression promised certain death as she marched towards him, the man a pitiful sight as he hugged his bag to his chest. "Please. I haven't done anything."

"Oh, you will. You'll do terrible things," she promised him.

Timely's voice trembled with fear when he spoke, his stutter more pronounced than ever. His eyes never left her blade as he insisted, "that isn't me. That. . . You don't know me. You don't know the heart. . . the heart I have beating in my chest. I can make my own choices. I'm not the man you think I am."

For a moment, it looked like the goddess would still kill him. The grip on her weapon stayed steady as she pointed it at his face. Her own face was torn in an expression of pain and indecision. She squeezed her eyes shut, not wanting to look at her old enemy. Finally, her blade dropped and she turned away from him. "Get him out of here."

As Mobius shepherded the Variant through a Time Door, Loki went over to help Jimin to her feet. He extended a hand, much like she had done not long ago. When she was standing, he asked, "are you alright?"

"Yeah," she replied, though her voice lacked the bite it had previously. "Hey, about earlier— at the Ferries Wheel— well, thanks. And sorry I called you a jerk," she finished awkwardly, avoiding his gaze as she followed the analyst back to the T.V.A.