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Mobius took another deep breath of fresh air, listening to the sounds of a free and peaceful neighborhood. His doppelgänger playfully chased his two boys around the yard, the trio blissfully unaware of the strife his variant had been forced into for eons.
As time passed, the retired TVA agent grew hungry, and he stopped by the nearest diner in Ohio for a burger and fries, a shake, and a slice of old fashioned apple pie.
"Everything good?" The waitress asked as she stopped by his table.
"This is nice." He mumbled in between his chewing. "At my last workplace, all we had was key lime, though we only got one slice per week, so it took most of us a while to get tired of it."
"Didn't anyone ask the chef to make a different flavor, or just bring in their own?" She wondered.
"Nah, they were real sticklers about rules, but since... we've been under new management, they've let up quite a bit." Mobius wistfully explained. "Still, my retirement's been long overdue, and there's one more thing I've been dying to try..."
After his lunch and before browsing the local marine supply store, Mobius donned a disguise to avoid confusion with the lookalike owner, eyeing the various watercrafts.
"Hey, can I help you find something?" Don asked. "I can't see your face too well under that hat and sunglasses, but I can tell you're a man of taste: that jet ski is top of the line!"
"Yeah, can I sit on this one for a sec, let me get a feel of the machine? And can I get one of those donuts too?"
"Of course, take all the time you need. And I recommend the jelly-filled."
Mobius sat down on the jet ski and closed his eyes, imagining himself out of the water. "This is it." He thought. "This is the life I've always wanted. But..." Mobius opened his eyes. "Can it seat at least two adults?"
"Yeah, definitely!" Don replied. "Easily up to three if they're not super heavy."
Mobius nodded. "I'll take her! And can I name her here as well?"
"Of course. You have a particular lady in mind?"
Mobius shook his head. "More like a personal sentiment."
Out on the water, Mobius M. Mobius rode the waves on his new jet ski, a beautiful union of form and function, the SS Glorious Purpose!
"Wow!"
Meanwhile, at a McDonald's in Broxton Oklahoma, Sylvie tried her hand in the kitchen, as they were short-staffed that day.
"Order up for table 3!" She exclaimed after finishing the burgers with ketchup, mustard, and relish.
"Thanks Syl!" Jack quickly brought his customers their food, but when he turned around, there was an upset mother tugging on the back of his apron. "Can I help you, ma'am?"
"Young man, this is supposed to be a family-friendly restaurant!"
"I-I don't understand, ma'am. What's the problem?"
She removed the buns from her family's burgers, revealing the drawings of a thin man with curly hair, horns, green relish eyes, and a mischievous smile. "I don't appreciate your employee putting these images of Satan on our food!" She complained.
"Oh, I don't think that's what she-"
"You shouldn't let someone like that anywhere near your restaurant!"
"Now hold on, ma'am! Sylvie is a hard worker and a dedicated employee, and all of us here at McDonald's and our loyal customers love her! I'm sure she doesn't mean anythin' dark, so let me just talk with her, and we can get this sorted out."
"Well I want it to stop, and I want either my money back or a fresh batch right now!"
"Uhm, y-yes ma'am, I'll get right to work on that!" He went back to the grill area. "Uh, hey Sylvie, can we talk?"
"Sure, what about?" She wondered as she readied the orders.
"Well, the customers wanna know what you've been drawin' on their burgers with the condiments, so I was hopin' you could tell me?"
Sylvie shyly looked down. "Oh, that. He's..." She thought back to her last real conversation with him, their talk of free will and hope.
"Hope is hard." Loki's words rang true through her mind, finding it harder to hold onto the hope that she'd see him again with each passing day. He'd sacrificed his own free will so she could have hers, and there was nothing she could do for him now, except to live her life with appreciation for everything she never had before.
"The horns aren't satanic, if that's what they're thinking. A race of mighty warriors wore them on their helmets to symbolize strength, leadership, and magical prowess, and someone very close to me wore them to honor his people." She paused. "He's gone now, but until the day if- until the day he returns, I want that magic... his brave, unyielding spirit to inspire us, to give us hope for a better tomorrow." She wiped a tear from her eye.
"Oh, I- uh, I'm sorry. I can explain to the customers that you mean well. If you ever need to talk, I'll be here."
She smiled. "I know. When he finds his way back to me, I want you to meet him: he loves to talk."
Back at the TVA, B-15 walked over to Casey.
"Here's the file on the new He Who Remains variant." She told him. "OB says he's got technology that rivals our own."
"Really? Let me see..."
B-15's eyes wandered over to Casey's new cart, spotting an aquarium. "Where'd you get the fish?"
"Off the coast of Tønsberg, Norway, a gift from one of the fishermen."
"He's cute. What's his name?"
"DB Cooper." Casey answered, thinking back to his first first personal encounter with his friend. "I know he's not a criminal, but there's just something exciting about those kinds of shady, rebellious, cop-avoiding aliases, right?"
B-15 smiled and nodded.
"And those are new, aren't they?" Casey pointed out the weapons on her belt. "You usually just take your time stick on missions." She looked down and held the two Asgardian daggers, reminiscing. "You miss him too, don't you?"
"I never thought I'd say this about him, but..." She sighed. "Always."
"Always..." Casey repeated.
In the R and A room, Ouroboros and Victor Timely worked in tandem to finish the updates on the TVA's systems.
"There, that should do it!" OB stated. "Great work, Victor."
"My p-p-pleasure." Victor replied and took another sip of hot cocoa. "B-by the way, I was l-l-looking around at your TVA posters, and I couldn't quite... m-m-make out... that one." He pointed to a pale cloth that was hung on the wall, littered with random staples, pen doodles, and pounding impacts from a ballpoint hammer.
"Oh, that? That's not a poster: that's a piece of cloth Loki made an art project out of while he was waiting for me to build him a temporal aura extractor a few eons ago." OB grinned. "I remember it like it was yesterday."
"E-eons? Well, he is a w-w-w-wizard... it figures he'd be i-immortal."
"Oh, that's normal around here. No one ages at the TVA."
"Really? C-can I... stay here... forever?"
"It would be my honor, Victor! Be my guest!"
"I m-mean, if... if I go back to my time in Chicago and tell everyone about a t-t-time controlling wizard who helped me fulfill my lifelong dream, no one will ever t-take me s-s-seriously."
OB shrugged. "Maybe not, but if you do convince them, it wouldn't be the first time I've seen a friend do the impossible."
Victor smiled. "Yes. T-thank you, Time Wizard."
At the end of time, Ravonna Renslayer sat up, taking in her mysterious surroundings.
"So this is the void..." She thought, looking down and noticing the TVA logo beneath her feet. A flash of purple caught her attention next, and she beheld the monster that loomed toward her in the clouds. "And that's what's been cleaning up our trash for all those eons. Well, I'm not backing down that easy; the TVA needs order, and I'm going to take it back from that no-good Loki variant, if it's the last thing I-"
But Ravonna was cut off as Allioth swiftly devoured the former judge, and the creature moved on in search of its next meal.
Meanwhile, deep within the roots of time and space, Loki ever sat on his throne, watching over the infinitely branching timelines and keeping them alive. He watched out for his six friends in particular, especially Mobius and Sylvie, and he began to tear up as he longed to join them.
"Don't worry, my friends, I'll find a way." Loki assured them. "I always find a way. It's only... a matter of time."