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❛ ᴇᴡᴛʀᴛᴡ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐍𝐈𝐍𝐄 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ ᴛᴡᴏ ʟᴏᴋɪs ᴡᴀʟᴋ
ɪɴᴛᴏ ᴀ sᴛᴏʀᴍ sʜᴇʟᴛᴇʀ. . . ꒱


❝ THIS ISN'T ABOUT YOU ❞

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An onslaught of rain greeted the group as they stepped through the golden portal moments later, the pellets soaking Jimin to the bone immediately. They all but booked it into the comfort of the store, though they were still extremely drenched. Well, almost all of them. A flash of green ran over Loki which dried him immediately.

The agent glowered at him. "Damn you and your magic."

He gave her a faint smirk and she tensed as he suddenly reached over to place a hand on her shoulder. A tingling feeling swept through her, sort of like pins and needles, and suddenly she was much warmer. Still, it didn't stop her expression from becoming darker. "I don't need your pity."

The god shrugged nonchalantly and answered almost offhandedly, "I don't pity the strong."

The almost-compliment took Jimin by surprise— a feeling she wasn't used to and didn't like. She quickly rearranged her features so he couldn't see his words had affected her. Hunter B-15 wasted no time and saved her from needing to reply. "Take both teams and sweep the storm shelter."

"Loki, Agent Hui and I are gonna check the Green House. We'll meet—"

"No."

"No?" Mobius asked.

"You go with D-90. He stays with me and Agent Hui—"

"I work best on my own," the Asian woman offered. This was true, at least since she'd isolated herself from her team after— she shook her head, refusing to think about it.

The Hunter pursed her lips as she studied the agent before giving her a curt nod. "Very well. Don't wander off."

"I'll stay close," she promised.

"What are you. . . he's under my supervision," Mobius tried protesting.

"This is my field op, Mobius," the guard argued. "If he's not a threat, then. . ."

"Of course he's a threat. Remember the Time Theater?"

"Mobius. . ." Loki tried to interrupt them but he went ignored.

"I want him with me."

"You are welcome to go back to the T.V.A. and litigate with Renslayer but right now. . ."

"We're here, we're not going back. The Variant is here."

"Mobius, it's fine," the god tried again. "You can trust me. I understand I have to earn that, so I will."

"Why is it the people you can't trust are always saying 'trust me?'" the man wondered. "Okay, try to hang on to your Time Collar this time."

✧ ✧ ✧ 

The group split up after that and Jimin took one of the aisles several rows from where Loki and Hunter B-15 had gone. The store certainly was vast and it was a place where one could easily get lost— like a futuristic IKEA. She decided that the break from the irritating god was good and that she'd take full advantage of it, making sure to enjoy the silence underneath the flickering fluorescent lights. His charitable action from a few minutes ago had thrown off their previous balance and it was important to her to get it back, so some time apart was necessary.

Her quiet, non-squeaky feet were still a reminder of him, though, and she huffed with annoyance before trying to focus on the task at hand. The agent wove slowly through the rows, her guard up for any Loki that she didn't know— though she wouldn't be surprised if he were hiding in plain sight (it would be a very Loki thing to do.)

Jimin sighed, frustrated by her circling thoughts. At the sound of conversation, she turned her path to follow the noise only to see the Hunter and Loki talking to each other. She pressed her lips together, her eyes narrowing. The lead guard had a known dislike for the god and most likely wouldn't strike up a conversation with him.

Suspicious, she treaded softly over to the rack of plants that stood nearby and studied the scene from top to bottom, her eyes landing on the collapsed form of a dark-skinned male.

"How nice to meet you," she heard Loki say to the Hunter. They resumed their casual pace as he continued, "enchantment is a clever trick. Cowardly, a bit amateur-ish, but clever."

Jimin followed them one row down, making sure to keep quiet and out of sight as the "Hunter" responded, "almost as cowardly as working for the T.V.A.."

"I'm working for me."

She scoffed. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"Yeah."

His answer was greeted with a chuckle. "And here I was worried that they'd found a better version of me."

"Hi, are you guys looking for the disaster shelter?" A new voice belonging to a young male interrupted their exchange.

"No," "Hunter B-15" told him brightly before placing a hand on him. A flash of green appeared and the woman fell to the ground as "Loki" switched bodies.

The original Loki— God, just one of them was enough— went over to the guard and bent down as if to make sure she was alright. The employee's tone turned mocking, "oh, bless. Are you going to call your little friends for help?"

He turned away and Loki stood. "What's the matter? You too scared to meet me face-to-face? Show yourself. You know, gaining their confidence was no mean feat."

The other man stopped in his tracks and slowly faced the Asgardian again. "Oh my God. You went undercover."

"If you could possibly sheathe your smarm for a moment, I have an offer for you. That's why I found you."

"Go on," came the reply as he shifted away again.

"I'm going to overthrow the Time-Keepers," Loki revealed (here, Jimin gave into the urge to roll her eyes. What. A. Surprise.) "And, uh, cards on the table, I could use a qualified lieutenant." 

(Allowing herself a moment of uncharacteristic childishness, the Asian woman held up her hand and mimed talking with it in a mocking sort of way, half-offended at his words.)

"And I assume you mean. . . me?"

"What say you. . . Loki?"

"Ugh, don't call me that," the man complained. "You can call me. . ." He looked down at his nametag. "Randy."

"God, now I understand why Thor found this so annoying," Loki muttered before he raised his voice: "enough with your games, I've been trying to help you. I kept them vulnerable at the Renaissance Far for some time."

"Randy" folded his hands together. "Oh, gosh, and that was just so nice of you. But, after eight to ten seconds of consideration, the answer is no." He casually paced towards his counterpart. "I'm not interested in ruling the Time Variance Authority."

He turned away and Loki hurried after him. "If you don't wanna rule the T.V.A., then what do you want?"

Jimin kept step with them behind the next aisle, her feet moving quickly to keep them in sight as "Randy" answered, "it doesn't matter, you're too late."

"I think you'll find I'm well ahead of schedule. I found your hiding place like that." Loki snapped his fingers to demonstrate his point. "I'd say that makes me the superior Loki, wouldn't you?" He sighed. "I see. That's your plan." Jimin frowned, not understanding his words as he continued, "lure us all here so you can blow the place up."

There was no response, "Randy" having apparently disappeared, only— another man emerged from the shadows and wasted no time in kicking his leg out to send Loki flying causing the man to chuckle. The agent tensed, her hand sliding into the fold of her jacket to secure around the Minuteman's blade. She watched as the stocky man kicked the god again, causing him to throw Loki forward once more.

"Thank you for helping me stall for time. You really do love to hear yourself talk."

Panting, the Asgardian rose to his feet. "You're the first person to tell me that."

The man grabbed hold of Loki's shoulders and tossed him, sending him sliding across the floor with a yelp. He landed face-first on the tiles as the bearded man mocked him incoherently. Behind the shelf, Jimin pulled the blade out and held it in front of her, her eyes focused on the fight. She had to time her entrance perfectly right to make the most of her surprise.

Loki stood again only to be greeted by a sucker punch to the head, though he ducked out of the way just in time forcing the man's hand to slam into the nearby TV. He paced towards the god aggressively while Loki reached out a hand and summoned a circular weight. He used it as a shield to black the man's attacks and they both grunted as one tried to hold on and the other attempted to make him let go.

"Come on, stop hiding," the Asgardian mocked him.

The man gave a mighty twist that made Loki fall sideways, his grip slipping on the item. His opponent tossed the object away and approached the god again, though this time he'd grabbed a hose vacuum as he used it as a whip, twirling the heavy end around. The man caught it and pulled him forward, using the hose to wrap it around Loki's neck.

The god ground out, "Loki, if you had any honor, you'd fight me as yourself."

Now!

With both of the gods distracted, Jimin emerged from her hiding place, her blade angled upwards as she launched herself forward, burying it in the man's side. While she knew the man himself— the one who occupied the unenchanted body— was innocent, it really couldn't be helped (besides, as Loki had said earlier, they would all die anyway.)

The man let out a snarl, mostly out of annoyance than pain, and released the hose. The lack of pressure propelled Loki forward as he turned to the woman. "Now who are you?"

The agent didn't reply and, having left the blade in the man, she pulled out her staff. She held it in front of her to keep him from being able to touch her. He seemed to pick up on her plan and chuckled. "Very clever. Are you one of us?"

"God, no," she answered, raising the staff to block the punch aimed her way, ducking under his outstretched arm.

Jimin had learned to fight— in the very beginning, at least— with self-defense, which did not encourage offensive attacks. Her S.H.I.E.L.D. training had filled in the rest but the Asian woman preferred to use her smaller size to her advantage and conserve her energy, dancing tauntingly around the bulkier man. He grew quickly frustrated as none of his attacks landed and her hits kept him turning around. The man glared at her. "Enough of this, I have shit to do."

The man turned away, easily ignoring woman who let him go. This wasn't her fight anyway; she'd only been trying to even the playing field, after all. Jimin turned to the original Loki and offered a hand to help him up. He glared at it spitefully and stood on his own. "I don't need your help."

"Right," the agent said, amused. "You weren't getting absolutely slaughtered by your other self." She gave a faint snort. "Jesus, this is like the beginning of a terrible joke, 'two Lokis walk into a storm shelter—'"

"Would you shut up?" Loki snapped, his gaze falling on the man who was kneeling on the floor. "Look, we can get him—"

The woman crossed her arms. "'We?'" she repeated. "I thought you didn't need my help."

"Whatever, alright? Let's go." The god strode past her and, with an irritated sigh, she followed him.

"What do you want from me? What is this about?" he demanded.

The three met in the intersection of several aisles. "Brace yourself, Loki."

He began to laugh hysterically, his eyes glowing green, before he collapsed to the ground like the other enchanted people. Then, from all around them, Loki's voice repeated over a recording: "'what do you want from me? What do you want from me?'"

The pair turned to see a cloaked figure, its hands glowing green from their magic. The light died away and the hands rose to slowly draw back the hood as the recording echoed, "'what is this about?'"

A woman appeared underneath the covering. "This isn't about you."

"Right," Loki agreed, his tone disbelieving.

There was a pause before the lights went dark all over the store. Around them, glowing purple flares illuminated the aisles before they became golden as portals underneath them opened, sending them into different timelines.

"It's not the store you're bombing," Jimin breathed as realization hit her.

The lights turned on, red this time as the blonde woman bent to take the TemPad from the control center. She pressed the screen several times, setting up a portal to escape by as it appeared in the store. She gave them a mocking little wave before disappearing through it.

Loki and Jimin slowly approached the gateway as Mobius ran towards them, calling their names. The agent hesitated as she tried to weigh the pros and cons of going with two Lokis that only cared for themselves and what the consequences would be if they were caught.

The Asgardian grasped her wrist and gave the woman a tug. "Come on!"

He pulled her through the rectangular entry, not letting her have time for doubt.