Work Text:
Sylvie poured herself a glass of wine as she sat alone in her dining table. She can still see it: Innumerable branched universes, almost completely eradicated. Thank God the timeline she was in wasn't a victim. Just then she heard someone knocking at her door. Draining the rest of her drink, Sylvie stood up.
"All right, all right!" Sylvie all but yelled as the stranger kept banging their fist on the door. Snarling, she opened the door. It was Loki.
"What do you want?" Sylvie snapped.
"We need to talk." He replied, and Sylvie blinked at his cold voice. Sylvie opened the door wider and stepped aside.
"How did you find me?" Sylvie asked. "I mean, I didn't-"
"What was that?" Loki said. "Huh? Back at the TVA. Do you think we're not doing our best? This is bigger than you think."
"I-" Sylvie started, taking an involuntary step back as Loki literally growled.
"This is more than it seems. It's more than the loyalists, the timeline erasures. The entire multiverse is at stake. We are living on a time bomb. And this is all on you."
At that Sylvie stepped closer, her face a mere inch away from Loki, baring her teeth.
"Say that again." Sylvie snarled, conjuring her sword as she grabbed Loki by his collar and resting the blade against Loki's throat. "Say that again, and I will gut you."
"It's true, isn't it? If you haven't killed He Who Remains, then the timeline would have still been all right. He was keeping things together, and you ended all that because you can't control your emotions."
Sylvie thrust out her hand, sending Loki flying.
"And leave everyone ignorant?" Sylvie hissed. "So after all this time, all this hero shit, you still want to take control of everything. I knew I was right-" Sylvie yelped as, faster than she can register, was against the wall, her sword thrown out of reach. Loki slammed his hands on either side of Sylvie's head, caging her.
"Do not test me, Sylvie." Loki said through gritted teeth, his eyes glowing green. And Sylvie, for the first time in her entire life, felt genuine fear. She had never seen this side of her variant before, and it was terrifying.
"Loki, calm down." Sylvie said, hating how her voice trembled. "Calm down. No need to lose it."
Loki stepped back, and Sylvie let out a breath that she didn't realize she was holding. Loki scrubbed at his face.
"I'm sorry. It's just, I was worried about you."
"I told you, I'm doing fine." Sylvie replied, although there was no venom in her voice.
"I know that. It's... What if the the other Kang variants catch wind of what you did?" Loki said as he took a seat on the couch, Sylvie joining him.
"Like I said, I would kill them."
Loki shook his head. "It's not that easy, Sylvie. Say you manage to kill another variant. You can't eradicate them all. There are hundreds, probably even up to millions, of his variant. What if one of them manages to get a jump on you? You don't know what he is capable of."
"And you do?" Sylvie asked, raising an eyebrow.
"That's just it. Neither of us knows the full extent of his powers. That's why you should stop. That's why you should come back. We've tracked Renslayer already, and we need you."
Sylvie hummed. "I'll give it a thought."
The two sat in silence for a few minutes.
"Um, I hope I'm not imposing but-"
"Take the couch. You look exhausted."
Loki nodded. "Thanks. Goodnight."
"Goodnight." Sylvie echoed, patting Loki's shoulder as she stood up.