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Loki walked. It’s all he could do. He cursed the gods and the TVA, and himself, for being stuck in this place. He felt weak, the grief of losing Mobius still clouding his mind. But this was not the end. Loki wouldn’t give up on him. He had to be here somewhere. He just had to keep going. Just a little longer. Just a little further. He looked over his shoulder to the group trudging behind him, their faces painted with disapproval.
“Just leave me alone!” he yelled at them. “I never asked you to join me!”
Their response came in the form of a unified grunt.
“We’re not splitting up,” one of them explained. He had Loki’s face, Loki’s voice, but he would refuse to call him by his name. Why couldn’t these people have Sylvie’s decency and come up with their own name? Though, he supposed, he might not be any better than them. Not any more superior. “Besides,” The man continued, “Sounds like this Mobius person is our best chance out of here.”
Loki sighed audibly, wiping the sweat off of his forehead. Wherever they were, it seemed the sun didn’t want to set. It was still at its zenith, just like it’d been hours ago. He tried to guess how long they’d walked. Five hours? Six? He couldn’t be sure. “I don’t know that,” he hissed. “But he is my best shot.”
“You’re sure he’s here then?” asked another one. His skin was indigo blue. Loki averted his eyes.
“Yes, I’m sure. I saw it happen. They pruned him just like the rest of us.”
“Just making sure, though,” The other frost-giant was gaining speed to catch up to him. Loki quickened his steps in response, irritated. “You don’t know where you’re going, correct? He could be anywhere?”
“Well,” Loki scoffed. “I’m not exactly a regular here. But I figured I should start looking somewhere.” He stopped to look around. The dusty streets of New York looked exactly the same to him as they had when he’d first woken up in this place. He was going to go crazy. There was no way around it. He considered Sylvie’s method of screaming his frustration into the emptiness of the abandoned city. I’ll save that one for when I’ve gone insane, he thought. Shouldn’t be too long now. “How big is this place anyway? Do these streets stretch into infinity?” He looked down at his fingers. They still tingled slightly from when he’d attempted to plant a memory of his into Sylvie’s mind. The files. There’d been something in there. Something that might help them piece together the puzzle of the TVA. Loki couldn’t remember now what it was. Had his mind-trick worked? Could Sylvie get to the bottom of this? Maybe even get him out of this miserable place?
The other man jogged up to him, coming to a halt on his right side. “Well,” he started. “This Loki over there swore he once came upon a desert.”
“A desert?” Loki asked, mockingly. “We’re in New York.”
“It’s true.” Another Variant said. He was dressed in athletic wear, a plastic bike helmet pressing down his dark curls. “I saw it. I saw a house. A car. Sandy hills all around. It was real.”
“Right.” He put on a big, mocking grin. “And where exactly might this place be?”
The biker stood, with his hands on his hips, and took a moment to scan their surroundings. “Should be just a little further.”
“Ah,” Loki smiled. “And just how exactly would you know this?” His voice grew louder. He was almost yelling at the group now. “Everything in this godforsaken place looks exactly the same!” He pointed to his left. “Do you see this tower over there? And the clothing store right next to it? The laundromat and the abandoned Wendy’s? We’ve passed this street four times already!” He walked up to the other man until they were eye to eye. “You’re a funny lot but I know how you tick. And I don’t trust you.” He threw his hands up into the air, exhaustion flooding over him. “So we might just be stuck here forever. And I will have to spend eternity with all of you!” A fitting punishment. He sat down on the ground and took a deep breath, his eyes stuck on the tower. It really was the same. How was that possible? They’d been walking in a straight line the entire time, following the chessboard pattern of Manhattan’s streets. Realization hit him. He was never going to find Mobius.
The others were quiet. A crocodile slithered up to him. Goosebumps crept over Loki’s skin even though he recognized the golden horns as an indicator of another clone. Another Variant. What’s become of my life? he asked himself as he buried his face in his hands.
“So, who’s this guy we’re chasing?” someone asked him. He had the face of a teenager and the eyes of a god. “Must be someone important.”
“He is. And I am not leaving here without him.” He looked at the biker. “Don’t look at me like that.”
“I’m not saying anything,” the other man said as he fixed the clasps of his helmet. “Definitely not picking up on anything.”
Loki sneered. “I don’t expect you to understand.”
“Why not?”
“What makes you think you’re getting out of here?” another Variant asked. “Do you know how long we’ve been here already?”
“Listen, Loki,” Loki started, cringing slightly at the use of his own name.
“My name is Francis,” the other man corrected.
“Oh. Right.” He scratched his neck where the TVA uniform itched his skin. “Well Francis, I’ll put it like this: I’ve simply died too many times to let this affect me in any way.”
The others simply nodded but they didn’t look convinced.
Loki scanned their surroundings again. “Is there no one else in this prison? How come there are only Lokis?”
“Oh, there have been other people,” the kid explained. “They pass through every once in a while. Not too eager to stay, though. None of them seemed to want to stick with us.” He shrugged.
Loki sighed silently. “Maybe that’s what it means to be Loki.”
Francis put a hand on his shoulder which made him jump. “Don’t be so hard on us.”
Loki eyed him. “You’re sure you’re me?”
Francis shrugged. “Sure I am.” He looked at him earnestly. “Why?”
“I don’t know,” Loki started, motioning at the other man. “This whole thing!” Francis raised an eyebrow questioningly. What thing? “You just don’t strike me as a Loki. You’re nothing like me! Where’s the wit? The betrayal? Where’s the occasional stab in the back? What about the fact that all of you have been following me like a bunch of mindless sheep instead of getting yourself out of this hole yourself?”
“You’re nothing like us,” Francis said, simply. “Who’s to say we’re the imposters?”
“I am not an imposter. I am a god!” Loki explained, though it sounded to him like an old record, spun endlessly for years and years.
“I don’t know what you’re on about,” the teenager remarked. “It’s not like there’s a rule on how and what a Loki has to be.” Isn’t there? Loki asked himself. “Look at this guy.” The kid pointed to Loki’s left. “He’s a crocodile.”
That is true, he thought. “But we’re the Gods of Mischief! What happened to that?”
The frost-giant just looked at him. “Grew out of it.”
“Grew out of it?” Loki scoffed, eyeing the other versions of himself. “Don’t tell me you’re all,” he paused, trying hard to find the right words. “Good people?”
He looked at Francis, who simply shrugged.
“Good, bad. What does that even mean?” someone said.
“Hard thing to know about yourself,” the frost-giant added.
“No,” Loki stated. “Not at all.” He sighed and looked over to Crocodile Loki. “Does he speak?”
The frost-giant shook his head. “Not to our knowledge.”
“So you’re just bad then?” Francis asked. “I doubt that.”
“You don’t know me.”
“Of course I do. I am you.”
“Clearly not.” Loki crossed his arms over his chest but he didn’t feel like arguing anymore.
The group was quiet for a while, letting him get comfortable in his own upset state.
“How did you end up here anyway?” Loki asked finally.
The biker was the first to speak. “Not sure, really. I was here in New York, fighting with the Avengers. That’s when this portal opened and they took me. Told me I’d be punished for my crimes.”
“I’m sorry,” Loki asked. “Fighting with the Avengers?”
“That’s right.”
Loki looked around at this group of his alternate versions. He’d been so quick to connect with Sylvie. How come he couldn’t recognize himself in these people at all? “Is this why you’re all here?” He looked over at Francis. “Because you’re good? Is that your crime?”
Francis held his gaze. “You’re saying a good-natured Loki would go against the sacred timeline? That’s what you’re implying?”
“Yes,” he confirmed. “I mean, no. None of that is real. It’s all a lie. The TVA, the timekeepers. As far as I’m concerned there’s not even a sacred timeline. Just someone pulling the strings. That's why I need to find Mobius.”
“Hey.” Loki looked up. The man wearing his face and skin-tight biker shorts had his arm outstretched, pointing to something in the distance. “Do you see something coming towards us?”
The group stood, their breath held in anticipation, hands over eyes to shield them from the sun.
“Yes,” Loki agreed. “I do.”
—
Something was coming towards them. And it was fast. “A car!” someone shouted.
“Could it be another Loki?” another one asked.
“Do any of us know how to drive?”
The car came to a sudden halt. Loki’s breath caught as the door opened. The driver emerged and Loki began to walk. The blurry face in the distance became clearer. Finally, the man spoke. “Loki?” He stood, unmoving as he watched the other man approach. Loki could see all of him now. He was okay. He was here. He’d found him. And they were getting out of here.
Loki’s feet betrayed him and he started to run. Mobius took a couple of hesitant steps toward him.
“Loki?” he asked again.
“It’s me,” he answered and then they were face to face.
Mobius stared at him, confusion in his eyes. “What-” he started. “What are you doing here?” They stood a couple of feet apart. Loki wanted to close the distance. To touch him and know that he was real. He didn’t. He couldn’t read the other man's face; wasn’t sure what he was thinking.
Loki shrugged and offered a weak smile. “They got me.”
“No,” Mobius said simply as he took the last step towards him, wrapping his arms around the god in a tight hug. “No. Loki-”
Loki closed his eyes and rested his head on the other man’s shoulder and breathed him in. “It’s alright.”
“No, it’s not. You’re not supposed to be here. What happened to you?” The detective’s hands tightened in his hair, fingers exploring the dark curls.
“Listen to me, Mobius. The timekeepers, they’re not real. They’ve been lying to all of you.”
“You’re alright? Did they hurt you?”
Loki slowly pulled away to meet his eyes. “I’m fine. And we’re getting out of here. Together.”
Mobius smiled and pushed Loki’s hair out of his face with his palm. “Together.”
“How sweet!”
Loki turned around. The other Variants were huddled together behind them.
“I don’t mean to interrupt,” the frost-giant shouted. “But from one Loki to another, I’m just making sure that you’ll be taking us with you!”
Loki turned back to his partner and finally took in the sight of him. His hair was disheveled and his tie was undone. Loki’s hands twitched, desperately wanting to fix it. “They’ve been following me all day,” he explained.
Mobius looked over Loki’s shoulder at the group of Variants and moaned. “Oh, please no.”
“You’ve met them?”
He sighed. “Yeah, I’ve met them! They’re hard to avoid, really. There’s so many of them down here!”
“Well, maybe we’re born to be Variants, born to be pruned.”
“I don't think that's how it works.”
“Still, I suppose we’re not good at following other people’s directions for our own life.”
“Too stubborn?”
Loki’s hands moved against his better judgement, closing around Mobius’ tie and tying it into a classic asgardian knot. “I prefer the term independent.” Mobius looked down at the god’s hands on his collar, smiling. “It really did need fixing this time,” Loki explained.
The man lifted his gaze to catch his eyes. “I can’t believe you’re here. All this time…”
“What do you mean?” Loki asked. “How long have you been here?”
He furrowed his brows questioningly. “Weeks. Maybe months. It’s hard to say.”
“Mobius,” Loki paused, thinking. “They pruned me the same day. It’s been hours.”
“I was gone hours before you got yourself killed? I thought you said you’re independent.”
“Well, don’t leave me alone next time. I’m perfectly capable of being independent.” Another pause. “With some assistance.”
—
They were sitting on the front-steps of a porch. The house was small and wooden and it held nothing more than a twin-sized bed, a single chair, a bathroom and a small kitchen. It had been Mobius’ shelter for the time he’d spent in this place. The grass on the yard was withered by the relentless sun. The other Lokis were close by but Mobius had forbidden them from approaching him. Now it was just the two of them. The thought warmed Loki from the inside. He didn’t know if he was any more powerful, or superior. But he stood out in a way that mattered. Some of the Variants might be “better” than he was. He knew that. Hell, they all might be. But Loki also knew that, confronted with dozens or hundreds or thousands of alternate versions, Mobius would still choose him. He didn’t know if he deserved his kindness.
Loki looked around. Fields stretched around them, disappearing with the horizon; nothing but dead corn sprouting from the soil. “I didn’t know there were places like this in Manhattan.”
“I don’t think this is New York. Not technically. I haven’t quite figured it out but this is another place entirely. They’re all over. I’ve seen them all. San José, Oslo, Hamburg,” He looked at Loki. “New York. Different places for each pruned. I’m guessing they hold some significance to our crimes.”
“Where did they send you?”
“Kairo.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I thought being there might help me remember, but-” He tapped his temple. “It’s all gone.”
“No,” Loki shuffled closer, angling his body towards Mobius’. “I don’t think it is. You just need a little help.” He lifted his hands to the man’s face. He’d touched Sylvie’s shoulders and he’d felt the magic flowing between them. But this was different. He’d need to reach into Mobius’ mind and pull. If traces of the original Mobius were still in there, he’d do his best to find them. He could feel the detective shiver under his touch. Are you sure you want to do this? the voice inside his head asked. You don’t know what you’ll find.
He closed his eyes and called for the power inside of him. No, I don’t. Loki answered. But I owe it to him to try.
Lights flashed and then they were at a beach. Mobius was standing next to him, eyes fixed on something in the distance. Loki saw them too. There were four of them. Two adults, two children. The tallest of them was kneeling down to cuff his pants. Loki stared at this man. Grey hair, mustache and a distinctive, familiar presence. The other adult, a woman, bent down to him. They exchanged a few words. The man turned to the children. “Daddy’s gonna be right back.” He ruffled their hair before he stepped into the water, wading towards a floating vehicle. Loki and Mobius watched him loosen the chains around the steering wheel.
“What am I doing?” Mobius asked.
Loki couldn’t hide his excited grin. “You’re stealing a jet ski.”
A pause. Then, “1994. My daughter's birthday.” Loki looked at him and waited for the rest of the memory to come flooding back. “She’d wanted a ride on a jet ski. It’s all she’d talked about the entire year.” Mobius stared at the man, then the kids, and finally the woman. His family. There was something in his eyes. It’s love, Loki knew and he thought about the way Mobius had looked at him. Was it the same? He wasn’t sure.
See what you’ve done? the voice said. Look at him; at his life, his wife, his kids. Now that he knows, are you ready to let him go?
It’s alright. Loki thought. I won’t make him stay if he chooses to leave.
Suddenly, the air changed. Something was happening. Over his shoulder he could see a familiar orange portal opening on the beach. The hunters stepped onto the white sand, weapons raised. Loki could hear Mobius’ breath catching next to him. He searched for Loki’s hand and he let him hold it.
The man in the water began to raise his hands. Shock was written all over his face. “Who are you? What do you want from me?”
“Mobius M. Mobius. You are arrested by the Time Variance Authority for your crimes against the sacred timeline.”
The woman called out to him. She sounded scared. “Mobius? What’s going on?”
Loki and his partner watched as the TVA arrested Mobius and took him away. The memory cut off, fading away into nothingness, but he knew what would’ve happened next. Resetting the scene. Setting in back; setting it right.
Loki dug deeper into Mobius’ mind, untangling the threads of his past life. He found another memory and held it tight, pulling it to the surface.
A hall, people seated in plastic chairs, the smell of coffee hanging heavy in the air. A stage. They were sitting in the first row. His partner was to his right, but he was also on stage, head held high. This version of him looked taller in his tailored uniform. Loki smiled at the sight of his hair. It was blonde.
A booming voice came through the speakers. It belonged to a man on the other side of the stage. He was short, a variety of pins and patches decorating his too-big uniform. “Our first award is the mayor's award. This award is given to the student officer who has attained the highest overall average. Scoring an impressive average of 99.17%, the mayor will present this award to police officer Mobius M. Mobius.”
Loki turned to the detective and leaned in to whisper in his ear. “You were a cop?”
The man grinned and twisted his head to look at Loki. Their faces were close now, noses almost touching. Loki didn’t retreat. “Are you surprised?”
“I guess not,” he admitted. “But that doesn’t mean I approve.”
Mobius shrugged apologetically. “It was a different time.”
“Sure, whatever you say.”
They watched as the younger Mobius was awarded for his accomplishments. The mayor shook his hand, expressing his respect for his devotion and thanking him for his service to the community.
Loki found more threads, more memories and he gathered up his strength to show Mobius as much as he could give him. Finally, after what felt like hours, he had to stop. His head was buzzing from the strain of the trick. He came rushing back into his own physical body and he was thankful for it.
When he opened his eyes, Mobius was already looking at him. Neither of them spoke for a long time.
“I was blonde,” Mobius said, finally.
“That’s what you took away?” Loki asked but he was grinning.
“Among other things.” He stared at the god’s hands as if contemplating.
“Should I not have shown you?”
“No, I’m glad you did.” He placed his hand next to Loki’s, inviting him to touch. “Thank you.” He offered a smile but his eyes were sincere. “I don’t know how you did it. But thank you.”
Loki touched his knuckles to Mobius’. “Sylvie taught me,” he said and smiled.
He saw the other man’s face harden, pulling away. “Right. Sylvie.”
“There’s nothing there,” Loki explained quickly, annoyed at the assumption that he had romantic feelings for her. “It’s a mystery to me how you came to that conclusion.”
“Oh,” Mobius said. He looked down at their hands, pinky finger stretching out to touch him again. “Well, good.” He shifted so his knees were pressed against Loki’s. His skin prickled at the contact.
Why do you think that’s good? he wanted to ask. “So what are you going to do now?”
“What do you mean?”
“Now that you know who you are, where you belong… I’m sure you want to meet them. Your family. Live your life.”
“It’s not my life. It’s not where I belong. Not anymore,” he explained. “I get it. It looks nice. A house with a wife and kids, and a picket fence. But it’s not calling for me. There’s no place for me in this timeline anymore. So, I’m staying.” He looked at Loki. With you, he seemed to say.
Yes, please, Loki thought as relief came flooding over him.
“Besides, I’m not going anywhere before I see the TVA destroyed,” he explained with a glint of a promise in his eyes.
“I wouldn’t expect any less,” the god said and winked.
Mobius nudged his shoulder. “I mean what I said about you. You could be a good person. And I think you’re already trying.”
“I am. And I believe it now.”
“What changed?”
He motioned at the group of Lokis lounging in the field. “These Variants, they’re all versions of me. Yet I’m nothing like them. They’re here because they’re good. And if I learned one thing today, it’s that the TVA is not what they say they are. They don’t choose my destiny. I’m the only one who can do that. And these people showed me that it’s in me; potential.”
Mobius placed his hand on top of Loki’s. “I’ve told you that as well, darling.”
Loki’s skin hummed at the contact. “I guess I needed to see it for myself,” he admitted quietly as he leaned closer.
Mobius smiled as he closed the distance between them. A simple kiss, nothing more. Loki melted into it nonetheless, a hand on the other man’s neck.
“I could still stab you in the back,” he whispered.
Mobius raised his brows, a challenging smile on his lips. “You could try.”
They sat together for a while in the sun that wouldn’t set, watching the dead corn dancing in the wind. Minutes tickled away slowly before an orange portal opened and a woman with a crown resembling golden horns stepped through.
“Ready to go, boys?” Sylvie asked. “It’s time to tear down the system.”
end of file.