Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

In the aftermath of the Battle of New York, 2012 Steve walked by the group as Rumlow opened the case. 

"Oh," said Natasha. "We're seeing this again."

Bruce buried his face in his hands. He didn't want to see this again. 

Steve said he was on his way to coordinate search and rescue. 2012 Loki transformed into Steve and repeated what he said. 

Everyone snickered as Steve rolled his eyes. 

Loki transformed back into himself, but 2012 Thor slapped a mask on Loki's mouth and told him to shut up.

Loki looked unimpressed. 

2012 Tony closed the case with the Tesseract inside. 

"Too bad we never got that Tesseract," said Rhodey. "It would've been a lot easier."

Tony sighed. "We had to go to 1970."

Hulk wanted to enter, but Thor and Tony stopped him from entering. 

"Maybe we should've let him enter so 2023 me wouldn't have been hit in the head by the Hulk," said Tony. 

"And lose the Tesseract," Steve added. 

"It worked out in the end!" Bruce defended.

Thor told the Hulk to take the stairs, but the Hulk roared and punched the elevator.

Bruce cringed. 

On the ground floor, Tony and Thor were escorting Loki with SHIELD agents. However, Alexander Pierce and his men stopped them and asked Tony to hand over the case. 

Everyone scowled at seeing Pierce again. 

"Cue my mild cardiac dysrhythmia," Tony muttered. 

"It wasn't mild, Tony!" Peter cried. 

The case dropped to the floor. 

"Ah, there's my mild cardiac dysrhythmia."

2012 Loki raised his eyebrows. 2023 Scott kicked the case away as 2012 Loki looked confused. 

"I would be too," said Bucky. Although he had already seen how the rest of the Avengers had time-travelled, it was still mind-blowing to see. 

2023 Tony picked up the case, but Hulk burst through the door, causing both 2023 Tony and the Tesseract to fly back. 

Even though all of them knew that would happen, they all sighed in disappointment.

The Tesseract fell out of the case and slid to 2012 Loki's feet. He quickly grabbed the Tesseract and used it to escape. 

Everyone was incredibly curious to see where the other Loki would go and what would happen to him.

Loki, however, wasn't looking forward to seeing a younger, more idiotic version of himself. 

2012 Thor asked where Loki was. 

Thor smiled. "We'll see now."

In the Gobi Desert, Mongolia, a portal opened in the sky as Loki fell out of it and landed in the sand. 2012 Loki was lying in a small crater. 

Everyone blinked in surprise. 

"I wasn't expecting Mongolia," said Bruce. 

"It was a quick escape," said Loki. "My alternate version didn't have time to think."

He tossed his mask aside and sat up to see Mongolians walking towards him. Loki looked at them and quickly stood on a rock. "I am Loki of Asgard, and I am burdened with glorious purpose."

Loki cringed as the original six Avengers looked at him incredulously. 

"Do you only have one line to introduce yourself?" asked Steve. 

"I bet he practises in the mirror," said Natasha. 

Steve and Natasha snickered. 

"What a drama queen," muttered Clint. 

Thor snorted. Loki had been King of Asgard for a few years, and all he had done was sit in his bathrobe and eat grapes while watching plays. 

A woman asked who Loki was in Mongolian. Loki was about to answer, but he looked over to see a rectangular orange portal open as three Minutemen walked out of it. They had 'TVA' written on their clothes. 

Everyone straightened up in their chairs. 

"Whoa," said Peter. 

"Who are they?" asked Scott. "TVA?"

The portal closed. A Minuteman scanned the Tesseract. "Never mind," Loki told the Mongolians and walked to the Minutemen. He told them not to touch the Tesseract. 

"Please don't," said Steve. "We messed up the 2012 timeline enough."

The Minutemen pointed their Time Sticks at Loki. 

Loki raised his eyebrow. "Staffs? What are staffs doing to do?"

Another portal opened up as Hunter B-15 passed through, who seemed like the leader. 

"She's the leader of this weird group then," said Natasha. 

"How does that portal work?!" Tony exclaimed. Bruce and Peter wanted to know as well. 

"Appears to be a standard sequence violation. Branch is growing at a stable rate and slope," said B-15. She looked at her TemPad. "Variant identified." 

Everyone looked confused. 

"What the hell does that sentence mean?" asked Sam, baffled.

"I'm sorry?" said Loki, puzzled. "Variant?"

The TemPad had a picture of Loki on it. 

Thor and Loki stiffened. 

"This is so weird, guys," said Rhodey.

Tony, Peter, Bruce, and Bucky were fascinated by the TemPad. Bucky thought the TemPad was something right out of a sci-fi novel. 

"On behalf of the Time Variance Authority, I hereby arrest you for crimes against the Sacred Timeline," said B-15. 

Thor and Loki frowned at the other Loki being arrested by the TVA. 

Loki snorted. There wasn't the slightest possibility that the TVA soldiers would be able to arrest him — any version of him. 

"Oh, that's what the TVA means," said Scott. "Time Variance Authority."

"So, the time police?" asked Steve. 

"Pretty sure," Natasha replied. 

"You mess with time; it tends to mess back," Tony quoted himself. 

"What's the Sacred Timeline, though?" asked Peter. 

No one had an answer for him. 

Stephen frowned. He didn't have a good feeling about this. 

She told him to put his hands up, and the Minutemen activated their Time Sticks. 

Except for Thor and Loki, everyone looked at the Time Sticks with interest. 

B-15 said Loki was coming with them. 

Loki snorted. 

Loki asked who they were.

"Time police," muttered Stephen. 

B-15 ignored him, activated her Time Stick, and told him that it was his last chance. 

Thor scowled.

Loki chuckled. "It's been a very long day, and I think I've had my fill of idiots in armoured suits telling me what to do, so, if you don't mind, this is actually your last chance. Now get out of my way."

"Wow, thanks," Tony said sarcastically. "I just offered you a drink, and you're treating me like this, Reindeer Games."

Loki rolled his eyes. 

"Oh right, this Loki got Hulk-smashed about thirty minutes ago," Clint laughed. 

Natasha, Steve, and Tony snickered. 

Bruce grimaced while Thor and Loki winced. They both intimately knew how being Hulk-smashed felt like. 

B-15 hit Loki's face with her weapon. Loki was moving in slow motion. 

Everyone's jaws dropped.

Loki gaped. "How is this possible?"

B-15 told him that he was moving at 1/16th speed but feeling all that pain in real-time as she wrapped a collar around Loki's neck. 

Thor and Loki scowled. 

"That would've come in handy in 2012," said Clint. 

Loki returned to normal speed as he collapsed on the ground. 

Tony, Clint, and Natasha snickered, while Stephen smirked. He had enjoyed making Loki fall for thirty minutes. 

The Minutemen helped Loki to his feet and escorted him away as B-15 commanded the Minutemen to reset the timeline. 

All of them stared at B-15, baffled. 

"I'm sorry…did I hear that correctly?" Bucky said. "Resetting the timeline? What the hell?"

"No, you heard that correctly," said Tony, equally astonished. 

Steve sighed. After everything he had seen, he wasn't even that surprised anymore. 

"What will happen to Loki?" Thor said, worried. 

Loki didn't care what happened to his alternate version. As far as he was concerned, his alternate version just reminded him of all the things he would rather forget. 

She picked up the Tesseract and examined it. 

Everyone sucked in a breath at seeing a stranger holding the Tesseract. 

"I'll be the happiest person on Earth, hell, the Universe if I don't have to see another Infinity Stone ever again," said Clint. 

Natasha and Tony agreed with him. 

A Minuteman put a reset charge on the ground and activated it. It turned purple and spread over the ground. 

All of them stared at the Minuteman in fascination and horror. Who exactly were the people who arrested 2012 Loki? 

Loki looked at it shocked before he was dragged through a Timedoor by B-15. 

Thor growled at seeing B-15's hands on his brother. 

The portal closed behind them as they entered a different place. 

"Holy shit, that was amazing!' said Peter. 

B-15 took Loki to a desk, where Casey was sitting and talking to a Hunter that had a Skrull with him. The Skrull was wearing a collar like Loki's. 

Everyone glowered at seeing the Skrull. 

"Not another Skrull," muttered Tony.

Loki asked what this place was. 

"We'd like to know that too," said Thor. 

Loki tried to escape, but B-15 took out a device and twisted time, so Loki was right back to where he was standing. 

All of them gaped in surprise. 

"That would've come in handy during 2012 too," Clint muttered. 

Loki cringed. His alternate version was incredibly embarrassing. 

Loki looked confused. He tried to escape again, but B-15 calmly twisted time again. 

Except for Thor, the rest of them smirked. 

"I'm not going to lie, I'm really enjoying this," said Clint. 

He tried to take the collar off his neck, and told B-15 that she was making a terrible mistake. 

"She is," said Loki. As much as he found his alternate younger self to be quite pathetic, he did think these TVA agents were making a mistake. 

She gave the Tesseract to Casey the Analyst and told him to log it as evidence. 

Everyone's eye twitched at seeing the Tesseract. 

"The time police better keep the Tesseract safe," Tony threatened. 

Casey asked her to tell him what it was as B-15 dragged Loki away. 

"I wish I didn't know what the Tesseract was," muttered Steve. "Life was so much simpler."

"It's the Tesseract," said Loki. "Be very careful with it." Casey said it sounded dumb. 

Everyone snorted. 

B-15 and Loki walked to an elevator. Loki told her that there would be deadly consequences if she crossed him.

The Avengers looked amused while Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"We'll see," said B-15 as she pushed Loki into the elevator. The doors closed as a robot activated behind Loki. 

"Whoa," said Peter. 

It moved its pincers on Loki's shoulder. Loki slapped it away as he turned around and was taken aback. The lights turned on, and the robot made a smiley face on its screen. 

Everyone looked at the robot warily. 

"That looks very creepy," said Wanda. 

A pincer from the robot tried to touch Loki again, but he slapped it away. "Absolutely not. This is fine Asgardian leather!"

Thor snorted while everyone else looked at Loki incredulously. 

Loki rolled his eyes. After Ragnarok, it seemed ridiculous that a version of him was whining about something as trivial as fine Asgardian leather. It didn't even exist in his timeline anymore.

"I can't believe this same man tried to invade New York a couple of hours ago," said Sam. 

"He grows on you," said Bruce. After all, Thor, Loki, Valkyrie, and him were forced to share a room on The Statesman. 

Loki was slightly touched.

"Yeah, I've been meaning to ask. When did you two become friends?" Tony asked, pointing at Bruce and Loki.

"Well, we did save Asgard together," Bruce replied.

"And then I had to share a room with Bruce, Thor, and Valkyrie for a while so I thought it was best to put our differences aside," Loki added.

Thor grinned. "You mean get over your fear of the Hulk."

Loki didn't answer.

The robot told him to stand very still and used a laser beam to remove Loki's fine Asgardian leather. 

"Hey!" yelled Thor and Loki. 

Loki was naked. "Now, hang on just a minute."

Clint slapped a hand over his eyes. "I don't want to see this." 

Loki fell through the floor, and he was now wearing a TVA jumpsuit. There was a cat on the counter. 

"Did the TVA arrest the cat too?" Natasha asked, frowning. 

"That's horrible!" said Bucky. He liked cats. 

Loki saw a man behind a desk, who pushed a pile of paper. "Please sign to verify this is everything you've ever said." 

Everyone looked at the man suspiciously. 

"That can't be possible," said Rhodey. 

"This is the time police," Peter stressed. "Who knows what they're capable of?"

"That pile is too small to be what Loki has ever said," said Thor. "Loki likes to talk a lot."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Oh, please."

"What?" The machine printed another piece of paper with the word, 'What'. 

Except for Loki, the rest of them chuckled. Loki didn't like this entire situation. 

"Sign this, too." "Oh, this is absurd."

"I agree," said Loki. 

"I bet the machine is going to print that too," said Bucky. 

Another piece of paper was printed with that sentence. 

"Ha!" 

Loki looked irritated as he looked at the pile of paper and the man. He angrily grabbed the pen and signed it. 

"Wow, that was passive-aggressive," said Natasha. 

Loki fell through the floor again. He looked up and angrily pointed at the roof. 

Thor's lips twitched into a smile. 

Loki looked at the gateway in front of him. A man asked him to confirm that Loki knew he wasn't a robotic being, was an organic creature, and had a soul.

Everyone blinked in surprise. 

"What?" Loki said, confused. "To my knowledge? Do a lot of people not know if they're robots?"

"Who knows?" said Bucky. "There's a lot of weird stuff out there."

Loki hesitantly started to walk through but stopped. "What if I was a robot, and I didn't know it?"

Loki scowled, and Thor looked at Loki sadly. Of course, Loki would be apprehensive about going through since their parents hadn't told Loki that he was a frost giant. 

"The machine would melt you from the inside out."

Everyone thought the same thing but didn't say it out loud out of respect for Wanda. Would Vision be able to go through? 

Loki slowly moved through the gateway. He walked through the gateway, there was a flash, and something was printed out. 

Thor sighed in relief. Nothing bad had happened to his brother. 

The man took it. Loki asked what it was, and the man said it was Loki's temporal aura.

Everyone looked at it curiously and wondered what a temporal aura was, especially Loki. 

Loki asked what that was, but the man told Loki to go through the door. 

"I would like an explanation as to what temporal auras are," said Loki. 

The door opened, and Loki walked through. A man was arguing with a Minuteman about not taking a ticket when he asked him to. 

All of them looked at the Minutemen apprehensively.

The man went through the line without taking a ticket. The Minuteman told Loki to grab a ticket. Loki said that there were only two people, but the Minuteman asked him again. 

Thor scowled. He didn't like the time police or whatever they were. 

"They're pretty bureaucratic," Sam noted.

Loki rolled his eyes, took a ticket, held it up for the Minuteman to see, and put it in his pocket. He walked through the line. "This is a mistake! I shouldn't be here!" Loki yelled. 

"Actually, you should," said Loki. 

"The other Loki doesn't know that, though," said Stephen. 

A voice over the PA said, "Hey there! You're probably saying, 'This is a mistake. I shouldn't even be here.'"

Everyone snorted. 

Loki looked around to see who was speaking. A TV turned on, and an animated clock appeared on it. "Welcome to the Time Variance Authority. I'm Miss Minutes, and it's my job to catch you up before you stand trial for your crimes."

Thor crossed his arms. He knew Loki wasn't supposed to take the Tesseract, but how was that a crime? He didn't like how the TVA was treating his brother. 

"Miss Minutes is the mascot of the Time Variance Authority?" Tony said, amused. "Goes with the theme."

Loki walked closer to the TV. Miss Minutes said that long ago, there was a vast multiversal war. 

Stephen suddenly sat up in his seat while everyone's eyes widened. 

"So, the multiverse is real," said Peter. 

"I already told you it was," Stephen replied. 

"I know. It's just different hearing it from someone else."

"A Multiversal War does not sound good," said Scott. 

"Because it's not," Stephen said, worried. "The Multiverse is a concept about which we know frighteningly little."

"Vis had his theories," said Wanda. "He believed it was dangerous."

"Countless unique timelines battled each other for supremacy, nearly resulting in the total destruction of…well, everything."

Everyone else looked at each other in alarm.

"Nearly resulting in the total destruction of everything?" said Tony, pale. 

"But what happened?" asked Steve. "Wouldn't the Masters of the Mystic Arts know if the timelines battled each other for supremacy?" he asked Stephen. "I thought you guys were supposed to protect Earth from threats like these. I mean, you have the Time Stone."

"We're supposed to," Stephen replied. "None of the texts I've read have said anything about this," he said uneasily. "The Ancient One didn't say anything about a Multiversal War either."

"So much for 'protecting your reality, douchebag'," Tony muttered.

Three figures were shown. Miss Minutes explained that they were the all-knowing Time-Keepers, who emerged and reorganized the multiverse into a single timeline — The Sacred Timeline. 

"All-knowing Time-Keepers?" Clint asked, baffled. 

"They would have a lot of power to do that," Stephen said, horrified. 

Wanda was intently listening to everything. She didn't want to be unaware like her other self was at Westview. She wanted to learn. 

"Single timeline?" asked Bruce, confused. "But then how was Steve able to live an entire life in an alternate timeline?" 

Everyone blinked in surprise.

"And we know that the TVA didn't show up and arrest him because we saw Old Steve," Bucky added. 

Steve shook his head. Something wasn't right here. 

The Time-Keepers protect and preserve the proper flow of time for everyone and everything. "But sometimes, people like you veer off the path the Time-Keepers created. We call those Variants."

"The other Loki is a variant then," said Loki. 

"So does this mean we're variants?" Scott asked hesitantly. "I mean, we veered off the timeline, didn't we?"

Everyone looked at Scott in shock. 

"We did," Stephen said with wide eyes. He rubbed his temples. He wished Wong was here.  

"Oh my God," said Bruce. 

"Then why didn't we get arrested?" Wanda asked. 

No one had an answer for her. 

"Do you think there are Peter Parker variants out there?" Peter asked.

"Yes," Stephen replied. "The Multiverse is vast place."

"That's so cool! I've always wanted brothers. Do you think they're Spider-Man too?"

"Probably," said Tony with a fond smile. 

"Awesome! I really want to meet a Peter variant."

Tony had no doubt that Peter's variants would be as kind-hearted and genuine as his Peter was. That's just who Peter Parker was and he didn't think that would change across the multiverse.

Sam and Bucky looked at Peter in horror. One Peter Parker was bad enough, but multiple Peter variants?

Sam shuddered. "Sounds like a nightmare," he said to Bucky, who nodded in agreement. 

Miss Minutes explained how Variants were created. It could be by starting an uprising or being late to work. "Whatever it was, stepping off your path created a nexus event." 

Everyone blinked in surprise and Wanda and Stephen's eyes widened. 

"Nexus?" Natasha asked. "Like Wanda's Nexus pill commercial?"

"And that commercial talked about anchoring back to your reality," said Peter. "We thought it was about the Hex, but what if it was about something else too?"

"You're right," said Tony. "I don't think it's a coincidence that both of these things are called nexus."

Wanda and Stephen glanced at each other in concern. 

"This is bad," she said.

Stephen sighed. "I know."

"I need to learn magic, Stephen. I need to be prepared."

He nodded, opened a portal, brought out a large stack of books, and gave them to Wanda. "Here, you can start with this."

Wanda beamed. "Thank you!" she said while immediately opening a book.

"At least Wanda's not learning from the Book of the Damned this time," said Sam.

Stephen and Wanda made a mental note to get the Darkhold from Agatha.

"Which, left unchecked, could branch off into madness, leading to another multiversal war."

Everyone blanched. 

"I don't want a multiversal war," said Scott. "That sounds…bad."

"And I thought Thanos was bad enough," said Wanda. "Now we have to deal with the multiverse."

"This just gets worse and worse," said Stephen, pinching the bridge of his nose. He should've just taken an Uber that day instead of driving.

Loki frowned. Of course, he had read about the multiverse, but this was something else.

"To make sure that doesn't happen, the Time-Keepers created the TVA and all its incredible workers. The TVA has stepped in to fix your mistake and set time back on its predetermined path."

"Predetermined path? Does that mean none of us have free will?" Steve asked furiously. "According to the TVA, we only have one path, and if we go off that path, then we get arrested like 2012 Loki."

Everyone's blood ran cold. Did all of the horrible things that had happened in their lives occur because the Time-Keepers decided that it should happen that way? 

"That's so fucked up," said Peter. 

"We need another name for the other Loki," said Sam. "There's too many Lokis."

"TVA Loki?" Loki suggested. "After all, I've never been to the TVA."

"That works."

Miss Minutes said that now their actions have left them without a place on the timeline, they must stand trial for their offences, and they'll get a judge in front of them in no time. 

"Stand trial?" Everyone asked incredulously. 

Thor glared at Miss Minutes.  

"Just make sure you have your ticket, and you'll be seen by the next available attendant." "For all time. Always."

"Sounds like a cult," said Scott. 

Loki looked at the TV incredulously and scoffed. "Time-Keepers? The Sacred Timeline? Who actually believes this bunkum?"

As much as Loki didn't like his variant, he couldn't help but agree. All of this sounded absurd. He did believe that the TVA arrested people that veered off their path because they had all seen his variant steal the Tesseract when he wasn't supposed to, but the Time-Keepers? Absolutely ridiculous. 

"Eh, weirder things have happened," said Sam. 

A Minuteman asked a man for his ticket. He said he asked but didn't get a ticket and argued with the Minuteman. 

Everyone looked at the man in disgust. 

"We all saw him refuse to take a ticket," said Bucky. 

The Minuteman pruned the Variant.

Everyone stared at the Minuteman, stunned. 

Thor, Bruce, and Loki got a vivid flashback to the Grandmaster having a similar weapon. The Melt Stick.

"Loki, your ticket!" Thor yelled, shaking Loki, who scowled. "Where's your ticket?!" 

"Ow, Thor. Stop that! And that's not me. It's my variant. I've never been to the TVA!"

Loki panicked, quickly searched for his ticket, and pulled it out. 

Thor let out a massive sigh of relief. Loki had his ticket. He wouldn't die like the Goldman Sachs man. 

"Thanks for visiting the TVA. Don't hesitate to let us know how we're doing," said Miss Minutes. 

"I don't like what you're doing," said Steve, crossing his arms. 

"Miss Minutes creeps me out," said Peter. 

"Me too," Scott agreed. 

In Aix-En-Provence, France, 1549, Mobius M. Mobius and a group of Minutemen investigated the area where some Minutemen were dead. 

"Oh wow, 1549," said Bucky, astonished. 

"Capsicle wasn't even born then," said Tony. He paused. "Oh wait, you're not Captain America anymore. Just icicle then."

Steve sighed. "Or you can just use my name. It's Steve."

"Whatever you say, icicle."

"Both of you, shut up," said Natasha. "There are dead Minutemen. Something's not right."

"The entire TVA's not right," said Loki. 

"The hunter and his Minutemen responded to a routine nexus event. It appears that when they arrived, somebody got the jump on them," Hunter U-92 explained. "It's him."

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows. Who were they talking about? 

Mobius leaned down and said that the stab wounds looked consistent, and the position of the bodies indicated that the Minutemen didn't know what hit them. 

Everyone winced. 

"Ouch."

He also said that the reset charge was missing. 

"Reset charge?" Wanda asked curiously. 

"That's the sixth attack in the last week," said U-92. "That we know of," said Mobius. 

"Looks like the TVA is going through a rough time," said Bruce. 

"Good," Thor, Loki, and Steve said at the same time.

A little girl was at the door, and the Minutemen grabbed their Time Sticks. 

"That's a child!" Everyone yelled. 

Mobius told U-92 to stand down as he noticed it was a child. 

"The Minutemen are out of their minds," muttered Clint. "That was a child!"

Mobius slowly walked to the child and said his friend was an imbecile in French. U-92 told Mobius that he knew every language in the timeline too. 

All of them blinked in surprise. 

"Well, I guess they would have to since they're always travelling through time," said Bucky. He shook his head. That sentence was something straight out of a sci-fi novel he always used to read. 

U-92 put his staff away. Mobius pulled out his TemPad, drew a stickman on it, and handed it to her. 

Everyone looked at the TemPad with fascination. Tony and Peter's eyes were wide as they leaned forward to get a better look. 

"That's amazing!" said Tony. 

"We should try to do that," said Peter. 

"Obviously. Look at that tech!"

Mobius told her to tap it, which she did. A hologram of the stickman appeared, and it moved. 

The group looked impressed. 

Peter opened his mouth to say something, but Tony interrupted and said, "Yeah, we'll try to do this too."

Peter closed his mouth. 

He asked her in French if she knew who did this. The child pointed at the window that had the devil painted on it. 

Everyone looked at the devil warily. 

"Don't worry, that devil's afraid of us. We're going to take care of him," said Mobius. 

"If your organization doesn't give people free will, then I'd rather not you catch whoever is doing this," said Steve. 

"Steve, that person is killing people," Natasha reminded him. 

"Oh, right. I still don't like the TVA, though."

The child smiled, and there was blue gum over her teeth. Mobius asked what it was, and the child handed it to him. It was a pack of 'Kablooie' gum.

Everyone looked at it curiously. 

"I've never heard of it," said Peter. 

"Me neither," said Bruce. 

" Go ahead and run this for sequence period and any hints of temporal aura," Mobius asked U-92. 

"That thing they took from my variant?" Loki said. 

"Maybe each variant of the same person gives off the same temporal aura, and that's how they find out how who did this," Bruce added.  

"That…makes sense," said Stephen. 

There was a beeping noise. U-92 pulled out his TemPad to see that the branch was nearing the red line and they needed to leave. 

"So, what happens when the branch crosses the red line?" asked Bucky.  

"Maybe it's when the timeline becomes dangerous? Who knows how the time police works?" said Steve. 

Mobius told the child that it was okay in French. The child left, and U-92 told a Minuteman to set a reset charge. A Timedoor opened as someone walked through. 

"That door is so cool," said Peter. 

"Sir, there's something you'll wanna see," he said as he handed Mobius files. Mobius took it and saw that it was Loki's file. 

Loki and Thor narrowed their eyes. 

Hunter B-15 escorted Loki into a courtroom. "Laufeyson. Variant L1130, AKA Loki Laufeyson, is charged with sequence violation 7-20-89," said Judge Ravonna Renslayer. 

"Odinson," Thor growled. "Not Laufeyson."

"Thor, TVA Loki doesn't consider himself an Odinson yet," Loki reminded his brother. "This is just after New York for him."

"So, he considers himself a Laufeyson? As if Laufey was any better, he abandoned you and left you to die!"

Loki winced. That was true.

"How do you plead?" Renslayer asked. Loki chuckled. "Madam, a god doesn't plead."

Everyone snorted. 

"This has been a very enjoyable pantomime, but I'd like to go home now."

Thor looked at his brother's variant curiously. Did he still consider Asgard to be his home right after New York? 

Renslayer asked if Loki was guilty or not guilty. 

"Not guilty because the TVA doesn't get to decide people's lives," Steve said. "There has to be free will."

"Wait, TVA Loki got arrested because he did something he wasn't supposed to do according to the 'Sacred Timeline', correct?" Wanda asked. 

Stephen and Loki nodded. 

"Then what about the Time Heist? The Avengers travelled through time to bring everyone back, but the TVA didn't show up then."

Everyone looked at her in shock. 

"That's a good point," said Natasha, narrowing her eyes at Renslayer. 

Loki scoffed. He said he was guilty of being the God of Mischief and finding all this incredibly tedious, but wasn't guilty of a crime against the Sacred Timeline. Renslayer asked who they should have. Loki suspected the Avengers. 

"Well, he's not entirely wrong," said Bruce. 

"I came into possession of the Tesseract because they travelled through time, no doubt in a last-ditch effort to stave off my ascent to God King."

Loki buried his face in his hands while everyone else erupted into laughter. His variant was incredibly embarrassing. 

"Oh, that's hilarious," Clint laughed while wiping a tear out of the corner of his eye.

Thor couldn't help but chuckle and simultaneously be proud of his brother. His Loki, along with himself, had grown so much over the past few years. Thor could only imagine how felt to see a variant of himself that was younger and more foolish. He didn't know what he would do if he had met a Thor variant before he was banished.

"That's quite an accusation," said Renslayer. "Oh, believe me, you can smell the cologne of two Tony Starks," Loki replied. 

All of them turned to look at Tony, who was slightly pink. "What?" he said defensively. 

Peter snickered. "It's just funny that TVA Loki found out about the Avengers time travelling because he could smell your cologne."

Everyone laughed. 

Mobius walked into the room and sat down on a bench. "You speak of Time Criminals? It's they you should be after. Perhaps you could provide me with a task force and resources, and I could return and eliminate them for you." Loki said.

Everyone looked at TVA Loki, amused as Loki cringed.  

"Or we could kick your ass again," said Clint. "I'll be fine with that."

B-15 looked unimpressed. Renslayer said they weren't talking about the Avengers. 

The Avengers looked at Renslayer, confused. 

"But we're the reason TVA Loki even got the Tesseract," said Steve. 

Renslayer said what the Avengers did was supposed to happen, but Loki escaping was not.

Everyone blinked in surprise. 

"Huh," said Clint. "That's nice to know."

"That doesn't make sense," Tony frowned. "According to them, everything we — or our variants — did during the Time Heist was supposed to happen, right?"

"Yes," Bruce replied. 

"Which means Icicle and I going to 1970 was part of the Time Heist too, and we only went to 1970 because—"

"TVA Loki escaped," Steve finished. 

"Exactly. This means that TVA Loki escaping is part of the Time Heist."

Everyone looked at Tony in shock. 

"That…makes sense," said Loki, furrowing his eyebrows. Why was TVA holding his variant? Something wasn't right here. 

Thor scowled. "Then what are these people doing with my brother?" 

"Then this also means Steve going back in time was also supposed to happen," said Bruce. 

"Maybe to give Sam the shield?" said Bucky. "Because he was meant to be Captain America?"

Sam smiled. 

"Maybe, but something's off about the TVA," said Natasha. 

Loki laughed. "According to whom?" "The Time-Keepers?" Renslayer replied. 

Everyone rolled their eyes. 

"Oh, the Time-Keepers. Right. Well, perhaps I should speak to these Time-Keepers, gods to gods."

"I'd like to meet these Time-Keepers too," said Steve.

Renslayer said that they were busy. Loki asked what they were doing, and Renslayer said they were dictating the proper flow of time.

"Well, I don't think it's proper," said Bucky.

Loki asked what she did.

"Something related to the Time-Keepers, I bet," said Clint. 

"Dictate the proper flow of time according to their dictations. How do you plead?" "Guilty… of this." Loki moved his arms, trying to use his magic, but nothing happened. 

Everyone roared with laughter, except Loki, who pinched the bridge of his nose. He wished his variant would stop embarrassing him. 

Clint was laughing so hard that he was clutching his stomach. 

Thor looked at his brother's variant with a mixture of amusement and concern. "Why isn't your magic working?" he asked Loki. 

"First of all, that's not me," Loki said, pointing to his variant. "That's my variant. We may look the same, have the same name, and have the same family and history, but we're not the same person. And I don't know why my variant's magic isn't working."

He tried again, but nothing happened. 

Except for Loki, everyone else laughed louder. 

There were a few chuckles from the Minutemen in the room. Renslayer asked what was going on. Loki told everyone to be quiet. 

"Yes, please, try again," Tony grinned. 

B-15 told Renslayer that Loki was trying to use his powers. 

Everyone stopped laughing. Why wasn't Loki able to use his powers?

"Damn it! Why won't it work?" yelled Loki. "Magic powers? They're no good in the TVA, Mr Laufeyson," said Renslayer. 

"Odinson," Thor growled again, and then blinked in surprise as he realized what Renslayer said. "So, my lightning wouldn’t work in the TVA?"

Stephen, Wanda, and Loki stared at Renslayer in horror. 

Stephen's blood ran cold. "They can take away my magic?" he said in a strangled voice. If his magic was taken away, then his hands would be like before he learnt magic.

"Ha! This is why science is better," said Tony, smugly.

"Do you think they used runes too?" Wanda asked.

"This is why I wanted you to train without your magic, Wanda," said Natasha. 

Wanda groaned.

"You too," Natasha pointed at Stephen.

"What? No."

"You're a part of the team, so yes."

"I'm not a part of the Avengers."

Everyone else scoffed. 

"Of course, you are," said Tony in a matter-of-fact tone.  

Peter beamed. "Welcome to the team, Stephen!"

Stephen sighed. "Thanks, kid." Great, now he was stuck with this team. But he knew they weren't all that bad.

Renslayer said that the court found him guilty and sentenced him to be reset. 

Everyone's eyes widened in shock. 

"WHAT!" Thor yelled. "What does reset mean? What will they do to him?"

B-15 and another Minutemen pulled Loki away as he asked what that meant and if it was bad. 

"Of course, it's bad!" said Peter. "How does being reset sound good?"

"Hey! You ridiculous bureaucrats will not dictate how my story ends!" Loki yelled. "It's not your story, Mr Laufeyson. It never was," said Renslayer. 

Everyone glared at Renslayer. 

"There has to be free will!" said Steve. "It has to be there."

Loki yelled that they had no idea what he was capable of. Mobius stood up and said he might have an idea of what he's capable of. 

Loki narrowed his eyes. 

Mobius walked up to Renslayer and greeted her. "If you're thinking what I think you are, it's a bad idea," said Renslayer. Mobius said he was chasing a hunch. She told him that if anything went sideways, it was on him.

"With Loki, something will always go sideways," muttered Clint. 

"Okay. I feel like I'm always looking up to you. I like it. It's appropriate," said Mobius. He turned to face Loki. Loki asked who he was, but Mobius just smiled and didn't say anything. 

"He's read your file," Thor told Loki. 

"Yes, I know that."

Later, Loki and Mobius were walking down a hallway. "I'm gonna burn this place to the ground," said Loki. 

"I hope you do, and I'll help you do it too," muttered Steve. 

Mobius said Loki could start at his desk. 

Everyone snorted. 

Loki looked at the amazing view of the TVA and flying cars. 

All of them stared at the view in shock. 

"That's…amazing," said Bruce. 

Bucky and Steve's eyes were wide at seeing the flying cars. 

"I thought there was no magic here." "There isn't."

"All of this is science then," Tony said smugly. 

"That's not real," said Loki. Mobius said that it was real and all the paperwork, which would be a good tinder to Loki's fire. 

Everyone chuckled. 

"This place is a nightmare," said Loki. 

"Agreed," said Steve.

Mobius said that was another department and would help him burn it down.

Everyone chuckled louder. 

Loki and Mobius were in an elevator. "I'm Agent Mobius, by the way," said Mobius. 

"Mobius?" Wanda said incredulously. "Who names their child Mobius?"

"Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?" asked Loki. "No. That's where you just were. I'm taking you someplace to talk," Mobius replied. 

Thor looked at Mobius suspiciously. He didn't trust anyone from the TVA. 

Loki said he didn't like to talk. 

The original six Avengers and Loki looked at TVA Loki incredulously. 

"That's a lie," Natasha laughed. "Remember when I made you tell me your entire plan about the Hulk, and you did because you love to talk."

"I thought that was quite impressive, actually."

"Thank you."

"But you do like to lie, which you just did. Because we both know you love to talk. Talkie-talkie."

Everyone snickered, except Loki. 

Loki asked Mobius how long he's been at the TVA. Mobius said he didn't know because time passed differently in the TVA.

"What does that mean?" asked Bruce. "How can they do that?"

"Honestly, Bruce, all of us have no idea what's going on," said Sam. 

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. This was just like Westview all over again. None of them, except Stephen, had any idea of what was happening then, and this time even he didn't know. 

"What does that mean?" "You'll catch up."

"I hope we find out," said Thor. 

Loki and Mobius walked out of the elevator and down the hallway. Loki asked if Mobius was a part of the TVA's courageous and dedicated workforce and if the Time-Keepers created him to protect the Sacred Timeline. Mobius answered "Yes" to all his questions. 

"Wait, created by the Time-Keepers?" said Peter. "They made Agent Mobius?"

Everyone looked disturbed at that realization. 

"So, if they're made by the Time-Keepers, does that mean Mobius is an Android?" asked Natasha.

Sam opened his mouth, but Bucky interrupted, "Don't. I know they're a part of The Big Three."

Sam closed his mouth, now with a smug look. 

Loki laughed. Mobius asked if that was funny. "The idea that your little club decides the fate of trillions of people across all of existence at the behest of three space lizards, yes, it's funny. It's absurd."

Everyone shivered. The thought that their choices weren't their own, that these Time-Keepers had created their path for them, made them feel uneasy. 

"I thought you didn't like to talk."

Everyone laughed. 

Loki scoffed. A Minuteman opened the door. Loki and Mobius walked into the Time Theatre. 

Thor and Loki looked at the room warily. 

"For the record, this really does feel like a killing-me kind of a room," said Loki. 

Thor glared at Mobius. The TVA better not kill his brother. 

"Not big on trust, are you?" asked Mobius. 

Loki shifted uncomfortably. The only person he trusted was Thor, but besides that, no, he wasn't big on trust. 

"Trust is for children and dogs. There's only one person you can trust." "Yourself? I like it. Slap it on a T-shirt."

Loki shook his head. He had spent so much time trying to hate Thor and not realizing he was one of the few people who had always believed in him and thought the world of him. Loki felt sorry for his variant that hadn't realized that yet. 

Mobius turned on a projector on the table. 

Bruce, Tony, and Peter looked at it in fascination. 

"If the TVA truly oversees all of time, how have I never heard of you until now?" 

Everyone wondered the same thing, especially Stephen. Surely messing with the Time Stone in Hong Kong would've called the attention of the Time Variance Authority. 

"'Cause you've never needed to. You've always lived within your set path." 

Everyone scowled. 

"And if we stray off that path, we get arrested," said Steve, clenching his jaw. He didn't like the TVA one bit. 

"I don't understand why we're here then," said Natasha. "Why hasn't the TVA arrested us if we've strayed off our set path?" 

"I live within whatever path I choose." "Sure, you do. Okay, come have a seat." Loki tried to attack Mobius, but Mobius activated the Time Twister that sent Loki back to where he was standing. 

Loki and Thor frowned. 

"I told you, time moves differently in the TVA," said Mobius and told Loki to sit down. 

"But how?" asked Peter. 

"I don't understand how the TVA works," said Scott. 

Loki slowly walked towards the chair and sat down with his arms crossed. "If looks could kill," said Mobius. Loki asked what he wanted from him. 

Everyone wondered the same thing. Why did the TVA bring TVA Loki to this room and not prune him like they did with the man who hadn't taken a ticket? 

"Well, let's start with a little cooperation." "Not my forte." "Really?" "Even when you're wooing someone powerful you intend to betray?"

Bruce cringed. He remembered that Valkyrie had told him something about Loki's time in Sakaar that he really hadn't wanted to know. 

Thor noticed the look on Bruce's face. "What is it?"

"Nothing," Bruce said quickly. 

Loki narrowed his eyes at them both. "What?"

Everyone looked at Thor, Bruce, and Loki curiously. 

"It's just…ValtoldmethatyousleptwiththeGrandmaster," Bruce said in one breath.

Loki instantly turned a dark shade of red as he looked at Thor out of the corner of his eyes. Thor looked a little green. 

"The Grandmaster," Thor said in disbelief. "You slept with the Grandmaster of all people?"

"I told you I gained his favour!"

"But the Grandmaster! You can do so much better, Loki!"

"Can you please stop?" Loki hissed. 

"I can introduce you to people if you're lonely—"

"Stop!"

Everyone else looked at the two with amusement. 

"Who's the Grandmaster?" Wanda asked. 

"You don't want to know," Bruce said quickly. He, Thor, and Loki shuddered. The Grandmaster was a messed-up man. 

"You don't know anything about me." "Maybe I'd like to learn," said Mobius as he opened a soda can.

Natasha tilted her head and looked at both Lokis curiously – their Loki and TVA Loki. 

Mobius said he specialized in the pursuit of dangerous Variants. "Like myself?" asked Loki. 

Loki nodded his head. He was quite dangerous. 

"Mmm…No, particularly dangerous Variants. You're just a little pussycat."

The Avengers howled with laughter while Loki scowled. 

Mobius told Loki that he had a set of questions for him and wanted him to answer honestly, and maybe he'll give Loki something he wanted. 

"Ah, that'll interest him," said Stephen. 

"Should you return, what are you gonna do?" Mobius asked. Loki said he would finish what he started and claim his throne. 

Loki looked at his variant with pity in his eyes. He knew that this was a façade because he never wanted a throne. He just wanted to be Thor's equal. 

"You wanna be king?" "I don't want to be; I was born to be."

Thor winced as they remembered what Odin told both of them as a child. Both of you were born to be Kings. 

Loki scowled. He remembered when he realized that if he wasn't meant to be Thor — if he wasn't meant to be given the throne — he'd become the antithesis of Thor; he would become the villain. It took him a long time to comprehend that he didn't have to be the villain. He didn't have to be obligated to become a king and he didn't have to inflict pain and claim victory over as many people as possible so he could feel worthy of glory and fulfilment. It was a cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear.

Mobius asked what Loki wanted to be the King of. Loki scoffed and said he wouldn't understand. 

Loki snorted. 

"Try me," said Mobius. Loki said he wanted to be the King of Midgard.

Everyone from Earth raised an eyebrow as they looked at both Lokis. 

Mobius asked what Loki was going to do after that. Loki said he also wanted to be the King of Asgard and then the Nine Realms. 

"I don't want the throne," said Loki. "I'm quite happy with Valkyrie having the throne."

Mobius asks if that's Loki's 'happily ever after'.

Loki shook his head. 

Mobius said that being the King of Space would be a nice feather in Loki's cap. "Loki, the King of Space."

"Sounds awful," said Clint.

Loki glared at Mobius, "Mock me if you dare." Mobius said he wasn't and was actually a big fan. He just wanted to know why Loki wanted to rule. 

The Avengers wanted to know the same thing too. Except for the original Avengers, the rest of them hadn't interacted with Loki much.

"I would've made it easy for them," said Loki. 

"No, you wouldn't have," said Clint and Steve. 

Mobius agreed and said that people like it easy. 

"True," said Natasha. 

"The first and most oppressive lie ever uttered was the song of freedom."

Steve and Sam raised an eyebrow. 

"For nearly every living thing, choice breeds shame and uncertainty and regret. There's a fork in every road, yet the wrong path always taken."

"I can see TVA Loki's point, but it's our choices that make us who we are. Even if the wrong path is taken, at least, I'm the one who made that choice," said Natasha and then scowled. "Or maybe not because, according to the TVA, there is no free will, and I haven't made any of my own choices." If I hadn't gone through the Red Room, met Yelena and Clint, or the Avengers, I wouldn't have been the same person I am today, she thought. 

"I mean, you can make your own choices," said Tony. "It's just that if you make the wrong one, you get arrested, which isn't great."

"Not much of a choice there," Rhodey pointed out.

Mobius guessed that Loki doesn't fall into that category. Loki chuckled. "The Time-Keepers have built quite the circus, and I see the clowns are playing their parts to perfection." 

Everyone snorted. None of them were big fans of the TVA based on what they had seen so far. 

Mobius chuckled and told Loki that he was a big metaphor guy. Mobius said he loved it and that it made Loki sound super smart. Loki said that he was smart. 

Loki nodded in agreement. 

"It's true," said Thor. "His nose is always in a book."

Loki rolled his eyes. "It's so I can learn."

Mobius says that he knows that Loki is smart. 

"Thank you, Agent Mobius," said Loki. 

Chapter Text

Mobius turned on the projector. A hologram of the skyline of the aftermath of the Battle of New York, 2012 was shown.

Everyone sucked in a breath, and Loki clenched his jaw. Why did everything have to go back to the Battle of New York?

Loki scoffed, " What is this?" Mobius said it was a sampling of his greatest hits.

Loki felt a chill go down his spine. Although he considered himself and TVA Loki as different people, they were still Lokis. They had the same life until TVA Loki decided to pick up the Tesseract, so a sampling of TVA Loki's greatest hits would also be a sampling of his greatest hits. He shifted uncomfortably. He didn’t want anyone seeing this, but it looked like he didn't have a choice.

The hologram switched to the original six Avengers standing in front of Loki after being defeated.

"So much has changed since then," said Bruce.

"I miss the days when Loki was our biggest problem," Tony said sadly.

Loki rolled his eyes.

Peter's eyes were wide. By now, he'd like to think he knew the Avengers pretty well, but there was still something about seeing the Avengers during the Battle of New York that blew his mind. The Battle of New York changed everything. Nothing was the same after that.

TVA Loki sighed and looked away from the hologram.

Everyone was reminded that the Battle of New York had just occurred for TVA Loki.

2012 Loki could be heard saying that he would have that drink now. Mobius offered his soda to Loki, but Loki said no.

Tony snorted.

Loki said he remembered since he was there. Mobius said it was funny for someone born to rule, he lost a lot. He also said that some might say it's in your nature.

Loki instantly stiffened as he remembered that Agent Coulson said the same thing before he killed him.

"You know, things didn’t turn out so well for the last person who said that to me," said Loki.

Loki winced as the Avengers looked at him curiously.

"Oh yeah, Phil Coulson," said Mobius as he switched the hologram to Loki stabbing Coulson in the back with the Scepter. 

Except Thor, the other five Avengers glared at Loki.

Thor sighed. He had been glad that everyone was getting along, but it looks like that was over.

"I haven't forgotten about Coulson," Clint snarled.

Loki looked slightly apologetic. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, he isn't actually dead."

The room was deadly silent.

"Explain," Natasha demanded, leaving no room for discussion.

"Heimdall informed me that Coulson survived."

The original six Avengers stared at Loki, astonished.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me," said Tony, throwing his hands in the air.

"Coulson is…alive?" Steve said, stunned.

"Did you know about this?" Clint asked Thor, who had an equally baffled expression.

"No," Thor said quickly. "I didn't. Although, it would've been nice to know," he said to Loki.

"Coulson and I are going to have a conversation that he won't like," Clint said darkly.

"Add Fury and Hill into that conversation too," said Natasha. "There's no way they didn't know."

"Didn’t the Avengers come together to literally avenge him by defeating you?"

"Yes, we did," Tony said while giving Loki a dirty look.

"Little solace to a dead man," Loki replied.

The original six Avengers stared daggers at Loki.

"He's alive!" Loki defended.

"But you decided to kill him!" Steve exclaimed. "I don't know how Coulson survived, but you tried to kill him."

Mobius asked Loki if he enjoyed hurting people as he changed the hologram to the Chitauri firing at civilians.

Everyone stiffened as they looked at the destruction in New York. It wasn't that they had forgotten about New York — how could they? — but compared to Thanos and the Blip, the destruction of the Battle of New York was minuscule in comparison.

Loki tensed and looked away. It's not that he enjoyed hurting people; it's just that he had to.

Loki looked away from the hologram as he said that Mobius's games didn't frighten him. Loki said he knew what he was.

Loki agreed.

" A murderer?" asked Mobius. "A liberator," said Loki.

Everyone raised an eyebrow at TVA Loki.

"Wow," said Tony.

"Of eyeballs, maybe," Mobius replied. Mobius changed the hologram again to Loki stabbing a man's eye in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2012.

Everyone else gaped at 2012 Loki in horror while Loki clenched his jaw and looked away.

Clint stared daggers at Loki — both Loki's. He shivered as he remembered Stuttgart and being under the Sceptre's mind control.  

Loki caught the glare Clint was sending. "I'm sorry," he said quietly.

Clint stared at him in disbelief. "What?"

"I'm sorry for the pain I caused you. I'm trying to change and become better. So, I apologize for controlling your mind.

Clint shifted uncomfortably as Loki seemed sincere. "Thank you. But I guess it wasn't completely your fault. Thanos was behind the Battle of New York."

"Nonetheless, I apologize."

Clint nodded, and Thor beamed. Everyone was getting along!

Loki gleefully smiled at the chaos he caused.

Loki shook his head. He played a persona of what people expected him to be.

"Look at that smile. You are enjoying that. Did you enjoy hurting them?" asked Mobius.

Loki closed his eyes. He didn't enjoy it.

Thor looked at Loki sadly while everyone else watched both Lokis curiously. They wanted to know the answer too.

Loki looked down and said he didn't have to play this game and that he was a god. Mobius said Loki was the God of Mischief, but he didn't see anything very mischievous about this.

"I don't either," muttered Peter.

Mobius wanted to talk about Loki's escapes. "You're really good at doing awful things and then just getting away."

"It's true," Thor frowned. "Loki faked his death and escaped finishing his jail sentence. That was the second time I thought he was dead."

 Everyone looked at Loki incredulously.

"You guys have issues," said Sam.

Bruce sighed. He got caught up in Thor's family drama twice.

"There was also the time Loki escaped the Helicarrier," Tony noted. "That was a mess."

Clint scowled. He was forced to help free Loki.

Loki said he was a mischievous scamp. Mobius changed the hologram to the inside of a plane where a flight attendant walked down the aisle smiling at the passengers.

Loki smirked widely. He knew what this was about.

Over the PA, the captain said that the flight was on schedule to land in Seattle. The flight attendant walked to Loki, who had much shorter hair and was dressed in a suit. She offered him a bourbon and soda.

Everyone looked at Loki curiously.

Thor gasped and then grinned. "Is this what I think it is?" he asked Loki.

Loki nodded.

Thor snickered. "I've always wanted to see this."

"What's this about?" asked Wanda.

Thor and Loki waved her off. "You'll see," said Thor.

She asked if there was anything else. " I suppose we’ll find out, won’t we?" Loki said as he pulled a napkin out of his suit, gave it to her, and winked.

Everyone snorted while Thor rolled his eyes.

The flight attendant looked flattered as she took the napkin. She started to walk away, but Loki called for her again. "Yes, Mr Cooper?" she asked.

"Mr Cooper? That's—" Peter froze as he realized what he was witnessing. "Oh my God. Flight to Seattle, bourbon and soda, and she said 'Mr Cooper'."

Thor and Loki snickered as everyone else's eyes widened as they understood what Peter was hinting at.

Loki told her that she might want to take a look at that note. "I have a bomb," he whispered as he had a hand on his suitcase on the seat next to him.

"LOKI IS DB COOPER?" Peter yelled.

Everyone's jaws dropped while Thor and Loki laughed hysterically at everyone's reactions.

"That man who hijacked a plane and stole thousands of dollars?" asked Steve. He remembered watching a documentary that Natasha recommended about all of the crazy unsolved mysteries.

Natasha nodded dumbly. She hadn't expected this.

"Even I heard about that," said Bucky.

"A bomb, though?" said Clint.

"There wasn't actually a bomb," said Loki.

The flight attendant panicked Loki smiled. Later, the plane was grounded as police surrounded the plane.

Loki grinned at the chaos.

Loki, who was now wearing sunglasses, smirked.

Everyone from Earth gaped at seeing Loki with the sunglasses. It finally hit them that they were seeing how one of the most famous unsolved cases was carried out.

"The sunglasses!" Peter pointed at them. "Those are famous!"

"Are they?" Loki smirked. "I'm flattered."

Back at the TVA, Loki said he failed to see how this had any relevance, but Mobius shushed Loki and said this was the good part.

Everyone who knew the most famous part of the DB Cooper case leaned forward in their seats.

"How DB Cooper got off the plane," Peter said, stunned. "Oh my God. I can't believe I'm watching this. This is amazing!"

Loki smiled while Thor laughed.

On the plane, the flight attendant gave Loki a bag full of money as he put on a parachute. 

"The parachute," Natasha said, shocked. "I guess people got that part right."

He took the bag from the flight attendant and winked at her again. "Brother, Heimdall, you better be ready."

Everyone turned to Thor, who was still laughing.

"You were in on this?" asked Clint.

"Loki lost a bet."

Everyone from Earth stared at Thor in astonishment.

"I'm sorry, one of the most famous mysteries in the world happened because of a bet?" Stephen asked in disbelief.

"It's one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in the world?" Loki asked, delighted.

"That's what you understood from what I just said?"

Peter shushed everyone. "I want to see how Loki escaped."

Loki jumped off the plane with the bag of money as the Bifrost opened up and took Loki away. Some bills were left behind.

All of their jaws dropped as they witnessed the famous DB Cooper escape. Peter had to pinch himself to make sure what he was seeing was real.

"No wonder no one ever found him," said Tony. "Loki escaped using the fucking Bifrost."

"The money," Sam said in realization. "The bills left behind were ones the FBI found."

Back at the TVA, Mobius said he couldn't believe Loki was DB Cooper.

"Neither can I," Peter said faintly. "First, I find out that aliens actually abducted Peter Quill and I met him. Then I find out Loki was DB Cooper. What other famous mystery am I going to learn the truth about next?" he asked hysterically. "Was there a second shooter who actually killed JFK?"

"Oh yeah, there was. It was me," Bucky said, sheepishly. "I killed JFK."

There was a loud thud as Peter fainted.

Scott and Stephen were speechless, while the rest of the Avengers looked at Bucky exasperated.

"Why would you say it like that?" Steve demanded.

"I thought everyone knew!" Bucky defended.

"Only the ones who were Avengers before 2016."

Stephen used a spell to revive Peter, who sat up in shock.

"Please tell me that I dreamed about Bucky telling me that he killed JFK."

"Nope," said Bucky.

"Oh my God, MJ is going to freak out when I tell her. She loves murders like these."

Natasha snorted. "All of us know that, Peter. We saw the whole thing with the Black Dahlia necklace."

"Which was adorable, by the way," Wanda grinned.

Peter scratched the back of his head. "Thanks."

"I was young, and I lost a bet to Thor."

Thor roared with laughter. "Yes, you did," he said smugly.

Loki rolled his eyes fondly while everyone else just stared at them.

"Where was the TVA when I was meddling with these affairs of men?"

"Didn't diverge from the timeline, right?" asked Bruce. "So, I guess the TVA doesn't consider it to be their problem."

Mobius said they were there, surfing that Sacred Timeline. He went back to discussing Loki's escapes.

"Please don't show another famous mystery," Peter pleaded. "I don't think I can handle it."

"So, how long have Asgardians been messing around with humans?" said Rhodey. "Don't tell me Thor was the Yeti or something."

"Those rumours are still there?" Thor asked, delighted.  

Everyone looked at Thor, exasperated.

Loki cackled. "That was the bet Thor lost!"

"Are there any other secrets we should know about Earth?" Natasha asked. 

Thor thought about it. "Yes, there are a group of powerful beings called the Eternals. They're from the planet Olympia and were sent by the Celestials to protect Midgard from the Deviants. They've been doing that for the past 7,000 years."

"Oh right," said Loki. "I forgot about them. I haven't seen them for centuries."

Everyone from Earth stared at Thor and Loki, dumbfounded. 

"What the fuck, Thor," said Rhodey. "I was expecting something stupid, not powerful thousand-year beings."

"Don't you think this was information we should've known about?" said Steve, an eyebrow raised. 

Thor looked sheepish. "I forgot about them, honestly."

"You used to follow Kingo around as a child all the time!" Loki exclaimed. 

"You used to spend time with Sprite and practice your illusions with her!" Thor shot back.

"Whoa, let's get back on track," said Sam. "So, these Eternals have protected Earth for the past 7,000 years?"

Thor and Loki nodded. 

"They couldn't have helped us?" asked Tony. "You said they were there to protect Earth."

"Only from the Deviants," Loki replied. "Otherwise, they can't. They're instructed not to by the Celestials. And when a Celestial says something, you listen to them."

"What are the Deviants?" Scott asked.

"Big ugly monsters," Thor answered. "I fought a few. But the good news is that they don't exist anymore. The Eternals are there to help humans advance. Humans can't advance if the Eternals are there protecting you from everything. It's why Asgard didn't interfere in human affairs either."

"Also, because you thought humans were beneath you," Natasha pointed out. 

Thor and Loki grimaced. 

"Yes, we did," Loki replied. 

"Didn't Quill say that his dad was a Celestial and the Guardians killed him?" Bucky asked. 

"And Knowhere was a severed head of a Celestial," Sam added. 

"Yes, but honestly, I still can't believe an idiot like Quill is the son of a Celestial," said Loki. 

Loki sighed. Mobius asked what he was running from.

Loki sighed. "Right, we're back to this then."

"Enough," Loki said and got up. Mobius used the Time Twister, and Loki was right back in his seat.

Thor and Loki frowned.

Loki said he stood up to make a point. Mobius apologized and told him to go ahead. " It won’t be as meaningful now," Loki whined.

"Drama queen," muttered Tony.

"Says you," said Steve.

Mobius told him to stay seated, and Loki said he would do what he wanted to do. Loki angrily got up and paced. "What exactly is it that you want?"

"Yes, I'd like to know that too," said Thor.

Mobius wanted him to be honest about why Loki did the things he did. Loki called him a liar. 

"Good," said Bucky, crossing his arms. "I'm not going to trust anyone from the TVA."

"All I seek is a deeper understanding of the fearsome God of Mischief," said Mobius. " What makes Loki tick?"

Loki stiffened. Many things made him tick, but he didn't care to share them with the Avengers.

Loki said this place was an illusion. "It’s a cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear. A desperate attempt at control."

Loki froze. He knew those words could describe everything he'd ever done.

"Now, you all parade about as if you’re the divine arbiters of power in the universe," Loki spat.

Everyone clenched their jaws.

"We are," said Mobius.

All of them scowled.

Loki said that they weren't, and his choices were his own.

"I wish that that was true," said Natasha.

"Loki's going to burn down the TVA," said Thor. "It'll be alright."

Mobius changed the hologram to 2012 Loki in Stuttgart. The bright lure of freedom diminishes your life’s joy in a mad scramble for power…

Loki clenched his jaw. Why was Mobius constantly bringing up his time on Midgard in 2012?

Except for Thor, the other original five Avengers glared at Loki.

"Precisely. I was…I am on the verge of acquiring everything I am owed, and when I do, it’ll be because I did it. Not because it was supposed to happen. Or because you or the Time Variance Authority, or whatever it is you call yourselves, allowed me to."

"I thought Loki didn't like to talk," said Steve.

Loki called Mobius pathetic, an irreverence, a detour, and a footnote to his ascent.

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose.

Mobius asked if he was finished and told him that he would be taking things seriously.

Natasha looked at Mobius with interest. She wondered what he was going to do next.

"If you hadn’t picked up the Tesseract, you would have been taken to a cell on Asgard," said Mobius as he changed the hologram to 2012 Loki walking through Asgard with chains after the Battle of New York.

Thor closed his eyes in sadness while Loki instantly stiffened and looked away from everyone.

The Avengers looked at Loki curiously, especially the other original Avengers.

"So, this is what happened after Loki left," said Steve.

Loki looked confused at what he was seeing.

"Fortunately for you," Loki muttered. "I'm very familiar."

2012 Frigga called out for 2012 Loki.

Thor and Loki instantly sucked in a breath and blanched at seeing their mother.

"Hello, Mother. Have I made you proud?"

Loki looked away. He remembered what he had said to his mother and he didn't need to see it again.

Frigga asked him not to make this worse.

Thor's face crumpled. He remembered how his family was a mess after the Battle of New York.

In the TVA, Loki asks that this was nonsense and didn't even happen.

"It did," said Loki. "Just not to you."

" Not to you. Not yet," said Mobius. "Look, the TVA doesn't just know your whole past; we know your whole life, how it's all meant to be."

Everyone shivered.

"That's so disturbing," said Clint. "The TVA knows everything about us."

"So, Natasha, Tony, Gamora, and Vision were meant to die?" Steve snarled. "How could the TVA do this?"

Loki shook his head. "This is absurd."

"I wish it were," Stephen grumbled. He knew the multiverse was real and he had a bad feeling that he would see something that he didn't like.

"And am I not your mother?" asked 2012 Frigga. 2012 Loki said she wasn't.

"You are!" Loki cried, tears streaming down his face. "You always were and always will be!"

TVA Loki walked closer to the hologram. "Always so perceptive about everyone but yourself," said 2012 Frigga.

Thor and Loki looked at their mother, painfully.

"Mother always knew us better than we knew ourselves," said Thor as he wiped the tears from his eyes.

"She did," Loki agreed with a watery smile.

"And then the Dark Elves attack the palace, and you think you send them to Thor," said Mobius.

Thor and Loki froze.  

2013 Loki told Kurse to take the stairs to the left.

Loki's blood ran cold as he remembered what happened next. Anger flooded his veins towards himself. He was the reason his mother was dead.

Mobius said Loki sent them to Frigga instead. The hologram changed to Kurse holding Frigga and stabbing her.

Thor and Loki flinched and quickly closed their eyes so they couldn't have to see their mother's death again.

Loki took a step back in shock at seeing his mother's dead body.

Everyone felt numb at seeing Frigga die. Of course, they knew she was dead as Thor and Loki told them, and they had seen 2023 Thor visit 2013 Frigga, but it was different seeing it.

Loki asked where Frigga was. Mobius said he led them right to her.

Loki's face crumpled, and the Avengers couldn't help but pity for him, even Clint, who didn't like Loki at all.

"He didn't know!" Thor roared as he glowered at Mobius. "It's not Loki's fault!"

"I don’t believe you. You’re lying. It’s not true."

"It's true," Loki croaked out.

"No, it's not!" Thor said firmly.

"It is true. That’s the proper flow of time, and it happens again and again and again because it’s supposed to, because it has to. The TVA makes sure of it."

"What the hell is wrong with them?" Steve asked, glaring at Mobius. "How are the agents going along with this?"

"Mobius said that the Time-Keepers created him, so maybe he was created for that purpose," said Bucky. "Who knows?"

"How can the TVA think this is okay, though?" Sam demanded.

"Who even are the Time-Keepers that they get to decide how things are supposed to go the way they are?" demanded Tony.

"Miss Minutes said that the Time-Keepers want to prevent a multiversal war," said Stephen. "A Multiversal War can be catastrophic."

"Doesn't make what the TVA is doing right," said Peter.

"It's their fate, kid. You can't change that any more than you can change who they are."

"But what if they want to change? What if variants want to change but can't because the TVA doesn't let them and decides that they've diverged from the timeline? Who are they to decide our fates or anyone else's?" Peter had a lump in his throat thinking about it. Were his parents, Uncle Ben, and Tony's fates to die?

Stephen looked at him sadly. "Peter, I get it, I really do, but I don't think you understand how disastrous a Multiversal War can be."

"Maybe not, but I know this isn't right."

Stephen sighed. He didn't disagree. 

"As much as I didn't like how TVA Loki disrupted the Time Heist by grabbing the Tesseract, it was something he chose to do, and the TVA shouldn't be able to decide whether it's right or wrong just because it doesn't fit the 'proper flow of time'," said Natasha.

Thor nodded in agreement.

"This also means that the Time-Keepers decided what Thanos did had to happen because it was a part of the 'Scared Timeline'," Clint snarled. "Half of the universe died — my family died — and these Time-Keepers were the ones who decided to let it happen. Apparently, Thanos killing half of the universe isn't diverging from the timeline."

Loki asked where Frigga was again.

"Dead," Loki said in a faint voice.

Thor's face contorted as he held back tears.

"Now, why don't you tell me; do you enjoy hurting people?"

Loki shook his head. He didn't enjoy it.

"I don’t believe you." "Do you enjoy killing?" "I’ll kill you." "Like you did your mother?"

"HEY!" Thor roared. "Loki didn't kill our mother!"

Loki blanched while everyone else sharply sucked in a breath.

"That was…harsh," said Tony, shaking his head. You don't mess with the death of someone's mother.

Loki grabbed the chair and threw it the hologram.

Thor clenched his fists. He wanted to punch Mobius for saying that comment.

He went to attack Mobius, but Mobius used the Time Twister. Loki fell on the floor as the chair wasn't there anymore.

Thor gritted his teeth.

"You weren’t born to be king, Loki. You were born to cause pain and suffering, and death. That’s how it is, that’s how it was, that’s how it will be."

Loki had a lump in his throat at hearing that. Of course, he had thought about that — how could he not? — but it was different hearing it from someone else. It felt more hurtful hearing it out loud and not as a thought in the darkest parts of his mind. 

"No, it's not!" Thor yelled.

"This is so fucked up," said Bucky.

"All so that others can achieve their best versions of themselves." Mobius changed the hologram to the original six Avengers assembling in a circle in the Battle of New York.

Everyone looked at Mobius in disbelief.

"There is something seriously wrong with the TVA," said Sam.

Loki shook his head. He asked what this place was.

"Welcome to the Time Variance Authority," said Steve in a bitter tone. "If you don't do what the Time-Keepers want to you do, you get arrested."

Mobius helped Loki up, and Loki sneakily took the Time Twister out of Mobius' pocket and slipped it into his.

All of them smirked.

"Good for you," said Steve.

The door opened. Hunter B-15 walked in and said they had a situation. Mobius sighed and said that there was always a situation.

"Obviously, since the TVA oversees all of time," said Tony. "A lot of shit has happened."

He told Loki not to go anywhere.

Thor and Loki laughed while everyone else looked amused.

"Loki's going to escape," said Clint. "He's really good at that."

Loki smiled. He was good at escaping, and his variant had the perfect tool to do so.

Mobius and Hunter B-15 leave. Outside of the Time Theatre, B-15 and Mobius were arguing. B-15 said talking to that Variant was a mistake, and she wanted Loki reset.

"Reset?" Thor said, concerned. "I still don't understand what that means."

"Knowing the TVA, it's not going to be anything good," said Sam.

Mobius said she wanted everyone to be reset and that he was getting good stuff from him.

Thor stared daggers at Mobius.

"We lost another unit," said B-15.

"Oh, the devil," said Steve.

Mobius walked back into the room and told Loki that they could finish up tomorrow, only to find no one in the room.

Everyone snickered.

"Mobius knew Loki's entire life and still didn't expect this?" Natasha said, raising an eyebrow.

Mobius checked his pockets for the Time Twister but realized that Loki had stolen it. "Mischievous scamp," he muttered.

Loki grinned.

In another area of the TVA, Loki time twisted himself into a hallway. Loki recognized Casey and went after him.

"He had the Tesseract, didn't he?" Scott wondered.

"Yes, so now Loki can take it and escape the TVA," said Thor.

"This is one time I want Loki to take the Tesseract," Steve said.

Tony laughed. "Imagine us saying that in 2012."

Mobius, B-15, and a few Minutemen strode down a hall. Mobius said he wished that she hadn't interrupted them. " Me? It’s my fault?" asked B-15.

"Honestly, Loki would've escaped anyway," said Sam. "He had the Time Twister."

Mobius said Loki couldn't have gotten very far. B-15 told the Minutemen to prune on sight, but Mobius told them not to prune or reset as Loki could still help them.

Loki scoffed. "Mobius is out of his mind. My variant isn't going to help the TVA."

Loki entered a workroom. He saw Casey and walked up to him. Casey said that he knew Loki and he was the criminal with the blue box.

"Blue box," Steve said faintly. "I wish I thought of the Tesseract as a blue box."

Loki shushed him and pulled him down. Loki asked him his name, and Casey told him what it was. "Give me the Tesseract, or I’ll gut you like a fish, Casey," Loki threatened.

Thor gave Loki a disapproving look.

"What?" Loki defended. "Stop looking at me like that! It's not me! It's my variant!"

"Oh, right."

Casey asked what a fish was.

Everyone looked at Casey, astonished.

"How does Casey not know what a fish is?" asked Thor, baffled.

"You thought Rocket was a rabbit when he's clearly a raccoon," said Rhodey.

"I've never seen a raccoon!"

Loki shushed Casey again, so Casey repeated his question in a whisper. "How do you not know what a fish is?" Loki asked. Casey said that he had lived his entire life behind a desk.

"That is so sad," said Wanda.

Loki asked what difference it made, and Casey said he wanted to know what he was being threatened with.

"I can respect that," said Peter.

" Death, Casey. Violent, painful death," Loki hissed.

Everyone rolled their eyes.

Casey said he complied. He got up, opened his drawer, and gave Loki the Tesseract.

Thor smiled in satisfaction. "Great, now Loki can leave that awful place."

Loki sighed in relief as he held it, but his face turned to shock as something else in the drawer caught his eye - a drawer full of Infinity Stones with multiple stones of each one.

The silence in the room was deafening as everyone's brains short-circuited and their jaws dropped.

"Am I hallucinating or am I seeing a drawer full of Infinity Stones?" Tony asked faintly.

"No, I see them too," Natasha said, deathly pale.

"And they're casually just sitting in a drawer," said Bruce, stunned.

"Thanos would've gone crazy," said Peter.

"Our variants time travelled to get these Stones," said Steve. "And it turns out the TVA had spare Infinity Stones lying around? What the hell."

"Nat died for the Soul Stone," Clint spat.

"And Tony died because of the Stones and they're just lying around in a fucking drawer?" Rhodey snapped. Peter clenched his fists.

Everyone's blood boiled.

"Infinity Stones?" Loki said, stunned. "How…How do you have these?"

"I guess the same way the TVA got the Tesseract Loki was holding," said Bruce.

"Oh, we actually get a lot of those," Casey said casually. "Some of the guys use them as paperweights."

Everyone choked.

"You're joking!" Bucky exclaimed.

"Are you serious?" Peter demanded. "Tony died because of paperweights?"

"Nat died for a paperweight?" Clint roared. "Stupid orange rock."

"Thanos threw Gamora down a cliff for a paperweight?" Scott said faintly.

"Quill and Nebula would lose their fucking minds," said Sam.

"I'm losing my mind!" Loki exclaimed.

"I'm done," said Rhodey, shaking his head. "I can't handle this shit anymore. Infinity Stones as paperweights? There's no fucking way Tony died because he used six paperweights."

Tony pinched the bridge of his nose. "I can't believe our variants fought Thanos twice over paperweights."

Loki looked stunned as he picked up a Time Stone.

Stephen gaped. He swore an oath to protect the Time Stone, and seeing the TVA casually have a drawer full of Time Stones and use them as paperweights made him reorientate his entire life view. Did he swear an oath to protect a paperweight?

Natasha snorted. "I would be stunned too." She was certain her variant wouldn't have regretted sacrificing herself if it meant her family would be brought back, but a paperweight?

Loki looked around and stood up, realizing how powerful the TVA was.

"How the fuck is someone supposed to bring down an organization that can make Infinity Stones useless?" asked Sam.

"Loki did it," said Thor. "Otherwise, there's no other explanation as to why we're here. He burned the TVA to the ground." He frowned. "But now he has no way of getting out of the TVA if the Tesseract is useless."

Steve looked tired. "I never thought I would hear someone say that the Tesseract is useless." The Tesseract had been ruining with his life since the beginning. The only reason he was even in the 21^st century was because of the Tesseract.

Loki walked to the middle of the room with Casey beside him. "Is this the greatest power in the universe?" he asked. 

"Probably, since fucking Infinity Stones are useless there," said Clint.

The elevator dinged. B-15 and a couple of Minutemen walked in with their Time Sticks.

Everyone scowled.

B-15 went to prune Loki, but he used the Time Twister to get himself out of there. B-15 pruned Casey's cart instead.

"Ha!" laughed Thor, while Loki looked proud of his variant.

"Oh, you almost hit me!" Casey exclaimed. "That’s so messed up."

"She almost killed Casey!" Scott exclaimed.

"Who cares?" said Rhodey. "He works for the TVA."

B-15 and the Minutemen left to find Loki. Loki time twisted himself to the Time Theatre. The Tesseract was on the floor, and Loki tossed the Time Twister on the desk. He got to his feet and glanced at the hologram of the original six Avengers assembling in the circle.

"When things were a lot simpler even with aliens invading," said Steve.

Loki took a seat and changed the hologram forward to a dead Frigga in 2013.

Thor and Loki blanched as they saw their mother's dead body again.

Tears welled up in his eyes as he took the image in.

Loki couldn't even imagine how strange and overwhelming this must've been for his variant.

Loki changed the hologram to 2017, where Odin appeared in Norway.

"Oh," Thor said softly. He didn't want to see this again.

"I love you, my sons," said Odin. 2017 Loki looked shocked. "Remember this place. Home," said Odin.

"That was in Tønsberg," said Loki. "New Asgard is built there now so it did become home."

Loki teared up further. Odin passed away in between 2017 Thor and Loki. Tears streamed down Loki's face.

Tears streamed down Thor and Loki's faces too.

Everyone else looked at the brothers sadly. Seeing Thor and Loki's parents dying made them realize how much they had lost in recent years. No wonder 2023 Thor wasn't in a good place when he had to live through all of this.

2017 Thor and Loki are now in an elevator in Sakaar. "Loki, I thought the world of you," said Thor. "I thought we were gonna fight side by side forever."

"I did," Thor told Loki with a watery smile. "I still do."

Loki had a slight smile on his face. "And we will."

The hologram changed to 2017 Thor, Loki, and Valkyrie on the Bifrost bridge.

"I'm missing," grumbled Bruce.

"Not the time," hissed Sam.

The hologram changed to 2017 Thor telling 2017 Loki, "Maybe you’re not so bad after all, brother." "Maybe not," 2017 Loki agreed. Thor thanked Loki and said, "If you were here, I might even give you a hug." "I'm here."

Thor gave Loki a huge hug, who hugged back equally as hard. "That hug was the best," Thor said emotionally.

Loki chuckled with tears still in his eyes.

So did Loki. Norns, he was so stupid. How could he have ever thought he could've hated Thor?

Loki changed the hologram forward to 2018. 2018 Loki breathed heavily as he tried to stab Thanos but was stopped by the Space Stone.

Thor and Loki's faces turned an unhealthy shade of grey as they realized what they would be watching again.

Everyone else's eyes widened, and they stared daggers at Thanos.

"Bastard," muttered Clint.

The smile fell off Loki's face as he realized who he was looking at.

Loki winced and looked away. Of course, his variant would react like that. This was right after the Battle of New York for him. He shuddered.

Loki slowly stood up. Thanos told Loki to choose his next words wisely as he choked 2018 Loki.

Thor growled.

Everyone else couldn't help but feel sympathetic to the other Loki. He had found out that his mother had died, then his father, and then now he was going to witness his own death. That had to have messed with his mind.

Loki slowly walked closer to the hologram. You…will never be…a god.

Everyone quickly shut their eyes as they remembered what would happen next.

Thor was shaking and Loki was stiff. He knew what his variant was feeling seeing his death since, after all, he had seen it himself.

Loki gasped and looked away as he witnessed the death of his future self. The sound of 2018 Loki's neck breaking could be heard.

Everyone felt ill.

"Thanos won't ever get the chance to do that again," growled Thor.

Loki breathed heavily. 2018 Thor was clutching 2018 Loki's body as the Statesmen exploded due to the Power Stone.

Thor's face contorted as he shook his head and wept. Loki closed his eyes sadly as he realized that the last thing his 2018 variant felt was Thor hugging him.

The hologram changed to END OF FILE as the tape ended.

"That's so fucked up," said Rhodey.

"End of file?" Steve snarled. "It's Loki's life, not a file!"

Loki laughed bitterly.

Everyone winced.

"Yeah, that's a lot of awful information," said Bruce.

"TVA Loki just found out that he wasn't going to have a great life," said Peter. He paused. "No offence," he told their Loki.

"None taken."

The door opened, and B-15 walked in and asked what was funny.

Thor scowled. "I don't like Hunter B-15."

Loki stopped laughing. "Glorious purpose," he said as he faced her.

Loki snorted. TVA Loki had quickly realized what it took him so long to realize. TVA Loki had finally realized that his 'evil persona' was bound to bring him nothing more than utter defeat.

B-15 and Loki started to fight. She twisted his arm and shoved him on the desk. Loki grabbed the Time Twister and pushed her off. He pressed a button on the Time Twister, removed his collar, and put it on B-15.

Everyone looked at B-15 smugly.

"Ha! She just got a taste of her own medicine," said Scott.

B-15 tried to punch him, but Loki used the Time Twister to make her disappear.

"That was so satisfying," said Sam. 

He caught his breath. Loki brought her back and then made her disappear again. He tilted his head in curiosity.

Thor snickered. He knew what Loki was going to do next.

Then, out of pettiness, Loki made B-15 come back and disappear multiple times.

Everyone laughed and there was a faint smile on Loki's face.

He tossed the Time Twister onto the desk. In a hallway, Casey was talking to two people about Loki and how B-15 pruned his cart.

"A cart full of Infinity Stones," said Wanda.  

"I never thought I would hear that sentence," said Natasha, shaking her head.

B-15 appeared before him, and Casey told her that the Variant got away.

Thor smirked.

In the Time Theatre, Loki had the Tesseract in his hand. He sat down and placed his head in his hands.

"Existential crisis?" Peter asked. "I get it. I've had a few of those."

Stephen looked at him in concern. "Kid, you're 16."

"So?"

The door opened, and Mobius walked in, his Time Stick ready. "I can’t go back, can I?" Loki asked. "Back to my timeline."

"Probably not knowing how awful the Time-Keepers are," said Sam.

Thor scowled. "Loki should go back to his timeline. Back to me."

Mobius didn't say anything.

"I honestly don't know how Mobius can think all of this is okay," said Steve, shaking his head.

"I assume Mobius thinks he's doing the right thing," said Loki.

"I don't enjoy hurting people," said Loki. "I don't enjoy it. I do it because I have to because I've had to."

Loki stiffened at the Avengers hearing something he'd only thought about, and Thor's heart twisted at hearing that.

Everyone else blinked in surprise.

"It's part of the illusion. It’s the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear."

Thor's face crumpled, and Loki shifted uncomfortably and looked away from everyone.

Everyone was taken aback at hearing Loki use his own words to describe himself, especially when he had described the TVA in the same way.

Natasha tilted her head. "So, you can feel like you're in control. Interesting."

"A desperate play for control," said Mobius. "You do know yourself."

"Quite well, actually," muttered Loki.

"A villain," Loki sighed.

"No! You're not a villain," Thor told Loki. "You were just…misunderstood for a while."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Misunderstood," he said, amused.

Mobius said that's not how he saw it.

Loki blinked in surprise while Thor nodded in agreement.

Everyone else looked at Loki, Mobius, and Thor with interest. Most of them had thought of Loki as the villain; how could they not since he invaded New York?

Loki looked down and picked up the Tesseract. Mobius asked if he tried to use it. "Oh, several times," said Loki. "Even an Infinity Stone is useless here."

Stephen was miserable as he looked at the Tesseract in TVA Loki's hands. He still couldn't wrap his mind around an Infinity Stone being useless.

"Thanos would definitely have an existential crisis," said Tony.

Everyone snorted.

Loki said that the TVA was formidable.

"But clearly not formidable enough, since Loki burned it to the ground," said Thor.

Mobius said that had been his experience and could maybe offer Loki something better.

All of them looked at Mobius warily.

" A fugitive Variant’s been killing our Minutemen." "And you need the God of Mischief to help you stop him?" Mobius said that was right.

Everyone was taken aback, Loki most of all.

"Why Loki, though?" asked Steve.

Loki asked why him. "The Variant we’re hunting is… you," said Mobius.

Everyone's jaws dropped.

"You're joking!" yelled Peter.

"No fucking way," said Bucky, baffled.

"Another Loki variant?" asked Tony, astonished. "How many Loki variants are there?"

"The multiverse is infinite," said Stephen. "There can be numerous Lokis."

Loki looked at Stephen in horror. He barely liked TVA Loki, and now he was finding out that there could be numerous Lokis? He shuddered.

Thor's eyes were wide. "The Minutemen died due to stab wounds. Loki loves to stab people!"

Bruce looked at Thor and Loki warily. He still couldn't believe Loki transformed into a snake and stabbed Thor when the two of them were kids.

Loki raised his eyebrows as he was shocked. "I beg your pardon?"

Steve slapped his forehead. "That kid in France in the 1500s. She pointed to the devil, but she meant Loki. Both of them have those horns."

Everyone made a sound of realization.

In Salina, Oklahoma, 1858, a Timedoor opened as Minutemen walked through with their Time Sticks ready.

"Oklahoma?" Rhodey noted curiously.

"1858," said Peter with wide eyes. "So cool."

"The Time Heist would've been so much easier if our variants had access to the Timedoors," said Bruce.

Loki was disgusted. "Why is my other variant on Midgard?"

There was an object planted into the ground. A Minuteman scanned it and said, "Time signature is early third millennium."

Everyone looked at the Minutemen's device in fascination, especially Tony and Peter.

"Early third millennium as in now?" asked Rhodey.

U-92 noticed oil on the landscape and sniffed it. He thought some jackass found himself a time machine and came back here to get rich.

Everyone laughed.

"I would definitely do that if I had a time machine," said Wanda.

"Tony can make us one," said Natasha.

Tony snorted. "And risk that tech getting into the wrong hands? No thanks."

"I wonder if Old Steve got rich based on future knowledge," Bucky wondered.

Steve grinned. "I hope so."

"The first thing I would do is invest in tech companies," Peter said happily. "I would be rich!"

A Minutemen noticed a figure in the distance.

Everyone sucked in a breath.

"I found Loki," said Bruce.

Loki scowled at seeing another one of his variants.

They got their Time Sticks ready. The Loki Variant dropped a lantern and the oil caught on fire. The Minutemen were on fire too.

Thor groaned. "Loki, no."

U-92 crawled to set off the charge, but the Loki Variant dragged him away. The Loki Variant took the reset charge and stood in the flames.

Thor looked at the Loki Variant with a disapproving look. "Looks like all of your variants are as dramatic as you."

Loki rolled his eyes.

"What is the other Loki going to do with the reset charge, though?" asked Wanda.

Chapter Text

In Oshkosh, Wisconsin, 1985, a Renaissance fair was occurring. 

"What is the Loki Variant doing there?" Scott asked. 

Loki had absolutely no idea what his variant was doing. He didn't like feeling so clueless. 

"1985?" Tony grinned. "What a good year. That was the year I met Rhodey!" 

"And you've been a pain in my ass ever since," Rhodey replied.

Hunter C-20 and a couple of Minutemen walked through a Timedoor. A woman noticed told them that they weren't dressed right. 

Everyone looked at the woman, amused. 

"Did the woman not notice the giant human-sized orange square that the Minutemen just stepped out of?" Sam asked incredulously. 

A Minutemen detected the Variant in a tent, and Hunter C-20 commanded them to move. The woman sighed and said some of them needed this. 

Everyone chuckled. 

The Minutemen walked inside the tent and looked around. "No nexus energy yet, ma'am."

"Is nexus energy created from a nexus event?" asked Peter. 

"How would the Minutemen not find any nexus energy if the nexus event has already taken place?" said Tony. 

"This is too confusing for me," said Scott. "Nexus is the new Quantum. The TVA puts nexus in front of everything."

They searched the area when suddenly music blared over the speaker. 

Everyone sighed. 

"Looks like my Variant is here," said Loki. 

C-20 said it was a trap and to watch their backs. 

"No shit," said Clint. "It's Loki."

The Minutemen activated their Time Sticks. 

Thor, Loki, and Bruce scowled. The Minutemen's Time Sticks reminded them of the Grandmaster's Melt Stick. 

A finger glowed green as the Loki Variant enchanted C-20 whose eyes flashed green. 

Everyone blinked in surprise, especially Loki. 

Thor was taken aback. "Since when were you able to do that?" he asked his brother. 

"Since never," Loki responded, narrowing his eyes at his Variant. 

"So different Loki's have different powers," Natasha noted. "Interesting."

"I can influence people's minds but not like that," Loki clarified.

Wanda wondered if she could do what the Loki Variant had done. But I'm not going to do it, she thought. I'm not going to mess with anyone's mind ever again. 

C-20 took off her helmet, walked over to one of the Minutemen, and attacked her. 

All of them frowned; Clint and Bucky most of all.

Clint shivered. He was getting flashbacks to his time under Loki's mind control, and he didn't like it at all. 

One Minutemen looked at her, confused. C-20 picked up a pole and stabbed a Minutemen with it. 

"Poor C-20, though," said Sam. "She's attacking her own teammates. That has to mess with her mind."

If Loki doesn't kill her, Clint thought. The Loki Variant killed the other Minutemen. 

The Loki Variant stabbed the Minutemen from behind. 

Thor sighed. "That's Loki. Loki loves to stab people."

"I don't love to stab people," Loki replied, exasperated.

"You've stabbed me multiple times when we were children!" Thor paused. "And as adults."

Bruce rubbed his temples. He needed to get away from Asgardians; they were all insane. 

The Variant was wearing a cloak, and their face wasn't visible. C-20 attacked another Minutemen, who asked her what she was doing. "Having some fun," she said. 

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"I don't see what's fun about this," said Bucky, who was stiff. 

C-20's eyes flashed green, and she fainted. 

Everyone looked at C-20 in concern. 

"Even though C-20 works for the TVA, I hope she isn't dead," said Scott. 

The Minutemen checked C-20's pulse and realized the Loki Variant was behind him. He stood up and tried to prune the Loki Variant, but the Variant quickly stabbed him. 

All of them scowled. 

Thor groaned and facepalmed. "Loki, no."

The Variant took reset charges from the Minutemen and also took his TemPad. 

"Just like the other attacks," Stephen noticed. "The Loki Variant is planning something."

"Which is why Mobius is using TVA Loki to help track down the Loki Variant," said Wanda. 

Tony snorted. "There's no way that's going to end up well."

Loki shook his head. He knew himself extremely well, and as much as he didn't like to admit it, TVA Loki was also a Loki. Therefore, TVA Loki would probably try to help the Loki Variant and offer the Variant to become his lieutenant. They could take over the TVA together or destroy it since they were watching their future and hadn't been arrested by the TVA. 

The Variant pressed the Timedoor option and dragged C-20 and themselves through it. 

"Loki took C-20 as a hostage," Rhodey realized. 

"The Loki Variant wants information," Bucky noted. 

At the TVA, Loki was looking at a jet ski picture in his magazine. He was sitting at a desk in the workroom of the TVA with his feet up. 

"A jet ski?" said Tony. "Do you like jet skis?" he asked Loki.

"No, I don't. Thor does, though."

Thor grinned. "I do!" 

"Okay, y'all, let's review what we've learned. What happens when a nexus event branches past the red line?" asked Miss Minutes, who was a hologram.

Everyone listened attentively. They all wanted to know more about the TVA and the multiverse.

"Very bad things," said Loki, still looking at the magazine. 

All of them snorted. 

He was now wearing a TVA uniform. 

Thor and Loki frowned. 

Miss Minutes asked Loki for a proper answer. Loki sighed. "It's when the TVA can no longer reset a nexus event. Okay? Boring."

Everyone looked at each other uneasily. 

"When the TVA can't reset a nexus event?" Tony repeated, stunned. "The same organization that can make Infinity Stone useless?"

"So, what happens after the branch passes the red line?" asked Wanda. "What happens then?"

"Something bad, I'm guessing," said Thor. "It can't be anything good."

"Maybe the start of the multiversal war?" Stephen suggested, slightly pale. "That's what the TVA is trying to avoid." 

"Who knows if that video was telling the truth? It looked like TVA propaganda," Loki added. 

"True," said Steve. 

"Right. And that would lead to the destruction of the timeline and the collapse of reality as we know it."

Everyone grimaced. 

"The multiverse would dissolve into madness," Stephen muttered. 

Loki asked if Miss Minutes could hear him if it were a recording or alive. 

Tony and Peter looked at Miss Minutes closely. 

"An AI, most probably," said Tony. "Although, Miss Minutes is incredibly advanced." 

Miss Minutes said sort of both. 

Peter and Tony looked impressed. 

"Cool," said Peter. 

Loki rolled up his magazine, looked around, and then tried to whack Miss Minutes with the magazine. 

"I can't believe this is the same person who invaded New York," said Scott. 

Miss Minutes jumped around and told him to watch it. Loki chuckled and tried to hit Miss Minutes again. 

Thor and Loki snickered. 

"Quit it," Miss Minutes said as she went into the computer screen. "Jerk."

"Whoa," said Peter.

"The TVA is horrible but their technology is amazing," said Tony.

Mobius walked over to Loki and asked if the training was going well. 

"If 'going well' means arguing with Miss Minutes and looking at a jet ski magazine, then yeah, training is doing well," said Sam. 

"Yeah." "Is that my jet ski magazine?"

"Mobius likes jet skis?" Loki said curiously. 

Mobius told Loki to put it down and gear up. He gave Loki a jacket wrapped in plastic. "There's been an attack. Let's go."

"The Wisconsin attack, I'm guessing," said Rhodey. 

"But they won't find the Loki Variant," said Bucky. "The Variant already left with C-20 as a hostage."

Loki stood up and put it on. Later, Mobius, Loki, B-15, and a couple of Minutemen were standing in a circle; B-15 talked about C-15 and her team going dark after they into the 1985 branch. She said all the signs pointed to another ambush. 

Everyone winced. 

"Definitely another ambush," said Bruce. 

"We've grabbed enough temporal aura to know it's our Loki Variant." 

"Ha! I was right," said Clint, smug. "Temporal auras are how the TVA tracks down Variants because one being would have the same temporal aura." 

"So, my variants would have the same temporal aura as me?" Peter asked. 

"Based on what B-15 is saying, yes," Stephen replied. 

"Awesome."

"But which kind of Loki remains unknown," said B-15. 

"I'm sorry, which kind of Loki Variant?" Loki said, stunned. "There's more than one?"

Thor looked slightly wary and delighted at the thought of more Lokis, while everyone else looked horrified. 

Loki said it was the lesser kind. 

Loki scoffed. "You're the lesser kind."

B-15 asked to see the back of Loki's jacket. Loki turned his back, and all of them could see that it said VARIANT. 

Loki rolled his eyes while everyone else snickered. 

Mobius and B-15 chuckled. Loki turned back and said, "Very subtle. Well done."

"I don't think they were aiming for subtle," said Natasha. 

B-15 said she didn't want anybody to forget what he was. "You're only hope of capturing a murderer?" "No. A cosmic mistake."

Everyone grimaced. 

Thor and Loki scowled. "TVA Loki's not a cosmic mistake!" Thor yelled. 

"That was a bit harsh," said Peter. 

Mobius stepped in and said that was enough. 

"I think Mobius is the only sane one there," said Rhodey.  

"He's still working for the oppressive time police," Steve pointed out. "Arresting people for not following whatever bullshit the Sacred Timeline is."

Thor glowered. He hadn't forgotten Mobius's comment about Loki being responsible for their mother's death. It was cruel. 

"Lovely," said Loki. Mobius reminded everyone that they weren't just looking for a Time Criminal; they were looking for a variation of Loki.

Loki glared at TVA Loki. 

"A type we should all be familiar with because the TVA has pruned a lot these guys, almost more than any other Variant."

Loki blinked in surprise. 

Thor scowled at knowing the TVA had pruned many variants of his brother.

"Makes sense," said Clint. 

Mobius activated holograms of different Loki's, including a Frost Giant Loki. 

Loki instantly stiffened at seeing his Frost Giant form. He glanced at Thor out of the corner of his eyes. 

Thor looked at Frost Giant Loki with interest as he had never seen Loki's Jotunn form before. "I think blue suits you, brother." He gave Loki a thumbs up. 

A smile formed on Loki's face against his will.

Everyone looked at the brothers, knowing something significant had happened but not understanding what.

"Wait, Loki is blue?" asked Scott. 

"It's my original form. I'm a Frost Giant by birth, not Asgardian."

Tony raised an eyebrow. "So, Thor and Gamora both have adoptive, murderous blue siblings that Thanos has tortured, but then don't turn out to be that bad?" 

Everyone looked surprised at the similarities between Nebula and Loki. 

Loki looked offended. "I'm nothing like Nebula!" 

"Didn't Nebula also try to kill her sibling?" asked Sam. 

Loki froze. "I'm like Nebula," he said, horrified. 

"You should be glad," said Rhodey. "Nebula's great." 

Thor was delighted. "I knew there was a reason I liked Gamora and Nebula! They're us!" he told Loki. 

There was also Cyclist Loki. 

"Loki won the Tour de France?" Bucky asked.  

"Good for him," said Wanda. 

Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. 

"And no two are alike. Slight differences in appearances, or not so slight."

"So, variants can look different than us," said Peter. "Interesting." He wondered if all of his variants looked the same as him or they looked different. It would be weird seeing a Peter Parker variant that didn't look like him though.

"Or there can be identical variants like me, Sacred Timeline Loki, and TVA Loki," said Loki. 

Hulk Loki appeared. TVA Loki looked at Hulk Loki with astonishment. 

So did Loki and everyone else. 

"Hulk Loki?" said Bruce, baffled. 

"I bet Hulk Loki didn't get Hulk-smashed," said Clint. "Hulk Loki probably Hulk-smashed Hulk."

Everyone snorted while Loki rolled his eyes. 

"Different powers, although, powers, generally include…." Trickster Loki and Viking Loki were shown. 

All of them looked at the variants, astonished.

"Trickster Loki looks like a hippie," said Rhodey. 

Thor beamed. "I have so many brothers!" 

"They're not your brothers," Loki hissed. "I am!" 

"Yes, but they're also Loki so they're my brothers too. Are all Thors not your brothers?"

Loki paused. "They would be."

"See?"

"Shape-shifting, illusion projection, and my favourite—" "Duplication-casting," Loki corrected. "Illusion-projection," Mobius continued. 

Loki and Stephen shook their head.

"It's duplication-casting," said Stephen. 

Loki said they were two completely different powers. 

"Exactly," said Loki and Stephen. 

"How?" "Illusion projection involves depicting a detailed image from outside oneself, which is perceptible in the external world."

"Illusion projection is when Loki created an extremely convincing illusion of himself dying due to a Dark Elf stabbing him," said Thor, glaring at Loki. "I thought you were dead!"

"Will you let that go?! I'm sorry I made you think I was dead, but I had no other choice!"

"You could've left me a note!"

"What? Telling you that I'm alive? You would've told everyone and brought back Father from Midgard!" 

"I thought I lost you too right after I had just lost Mother!" 

Loki froze and his face crumpled. "I'm sorry," he said quietly. 

"Just…Just don't die anytime soon, okay?"

"I don't plan to. I'm good at surviving."

Everyone else looked at Thor and Loki with wide eyes.

"Damn," said Sam. 

"Whereas duplication-casting entails recreating an exact facsimile of one's own body in its present circumstance, which acts as a true holographic mirror of its molecular structure."

"So, duplication-casting is when Stephen did that super cool thing while fighting Thanos on Titan," Peter realized. "He had, like, ten arms and multiplied."

Stephen nodded. "That's duplication casting."

Tony scowled. "Hey, don't steal my protégée and convert him to…." he shuddered, "Magic."

Stephen rolled his eyes. 

"Ned would've loved seeing that," said Peter. 

"Ned would love anything magic related," Stephen said.

"I can't believe you're also stealing my future Stark Industries employee," said Tony.

"It's not my fault Ned likes magic."

"He likes science too!"

"I think I got it," Wanda said, ignoring the others. She effortlessly created a duplicate of herself. She waved, and her duplicate did the same thing. 

Scott slowly put his hand through Wanda's very life-like duplicate, and his hand went right through. He stared at his hand in fascination. "Whoa."

Loki created five duplicates of himself. "It's very fun, isn't it?"

Stephen smirked and created ten more. "It is."

Loki narrowed his eyes and created fifteen more duplicates. Wanda grinned at the multiple Loki and Stephen duplicates and created twenty Wanda duplicates.

"Okay, all of you stop!" said Rhodey as the room was filled with many Loki, Stephen, and Wanda duplicates. "All of us know you three are very skilled magic users—"

"Sorcerers," Loki, Stephen, and Wanda corrected.

"Whatever."

B-15 looked at Loki with confusion. Mobius told Loki to take a breath. "We're gonna break into two teams, including myself and Professor Loki."

Everyone snorted. 

"It was a good explanation though," said Wanda.

"Why?" asked a Minutemen. Mobius explained whatever this Variant was; they hadn't been able to find him, so they wanted to bring in an expert.

"A Loki helping to find another Loki," said Clint, shaking his head. "What a bad idea."

Loki pointed at himself. "That's me."

Loki looked at TVA Loki, unimpressed. 

Later, the group was getting ready for the mission. Loki asked if he would get a weapon, and Mobius said no.

"Smart," said Rhodey.

"Well, I'll have my magic back. Is no one concerned about that?" "Of what?" "Me betraying you." "No." "Why not?"

"I don't think the organization that can make Infinity Stones useless are concerned about Loki having magic or not," said Sam. 

"Because you already know that we can catch you and how's betraying us gonna get you any closer to the Time-Keepers?" said Mobius. Loki looked at Mobius sharply. "An audience with the Time-Keepers is on the table?" "Keep that focus." 

"You know, for someone who's a master manipulator, you sure do get manipulated easily," said Natasha. 

"For the last time, that's not me," said Loki, exasperated. "It's my variant!" 

The group walked through a Timedoor to Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in 1985. A Minutemen said that they located the nexus signature. 

"I thought the Minutemen said that there wasn't any nexus energy," said Bucky. 

"They said that there wasn't any nexus energy yet," Bruce corrected. 

The group started walking towards the tent. Loki asked why they couldn't travel back in time before the Variant arrived. 

"Valid question," said Sam. 

"Nexus events destabilize the time flow. This branch is still changing and growing, so you gotta show up in real-time," Mobius explained and then asked if Loki watched any of the training videos he was supposed to. 

"I guess that makes sense," said Peter. 

"As much as any of this makes sense," muttered Clint. 

"Well, as many as I could stand. Your TVA propaganda is exhausting."

"Exactly," said Steve. "I doubt the TVA is telling the truth."

A Minutemen asked Loki what reset charges did. "Reset charges prune the affected radius of a branched timeline, allowing time to heal all its wounds. Which, by the way, sounds like a nice way of saying disintegrating everything in its vicinity."

Everyone looked disturbed. 

"The TVA is so messed up," said Peter. 

"He's on it," said Mobius. Loki said he watched some of the videos. Inside the tent, C-20's helmet was on the ground. 

Everyone winced. 

"So, he's taking hostages now?" asked B-15. "The Variant's never taken a hostage before." 

"The Loki Variant wants information," said Natasha. "The Variant is definitely planning something big."

Loki looked uneasy. 

"Maybe he's uprising his game." "Or he pruned her," said another Minuteman. B-15 said Loki couldn't have gotten the jump on C-20. 

Loki scoffed. 

"I think you underestimate, actually—" Loki started to say, but B-15 commanded everyone to fan out and search for her. 

Everyone grimaced. 

"They're not going to find C-20," said Sam.

There was a beeping sound, and B-15 took out her TemPad. A growing branch was approaching a red line at the top. "And hurry up; we're at three units until red line."

"Until the TVA can no longer reset a nexus event," said Tony. 

"Come on," Mobius told Loki. Loki told everyone to wait, and everyone stopped. "If you leave this tent, you'll end up like them." 

Loki narrowed his eyes while everyone else scoffed. 

"Loki's lying," said Clint. 

"Of course, he's lying," said Thor. "We already saw the Loki Variant leave."

Mobius walked up to Loki and asked what he saw. 

"Absolutely nothing," said Loki. 

"I see a scheme, and in that scheme, I see myself. We have a saying in Asgard, 'Where there are wolf's ears, wolf's teeth are near.'" 

"Yes, Father used to tell us that all the time," said Thor. 

"It means to be beware of your surroundings. Which is absurd because my people are, by nature, gullible fools."

Thor rolled his eyes. 

"What? It's true!" said Loki. 

Loki said he exploited that trait by listening as his teeth were sharp but his ears sharper. B-15 told Mobius that they were running out of time. "Hold it. Just give him a chance," said Mobius. 

"There's no point of them even staying there," said Clint. "The Variant is gone and took C-20 with her."

"You remind me of them. The Time Variance Authority and the gods of Asgard, one and the same. Drunk with power, blinded to the truth. Those you underestimate will devour you. You underestimate me, just as you underestimate this lesser Loki. Which is why you walk into one wolf's mouth after another."

"It used to be like that," Thor admitted. "After Ragnarok, not so much."

"Because there's barely anyone left. Nothing was the same after Ragnarok," said Loki. 

The TemPad beeped again. "Two units. He is wasting our time," yelled B-15. 

Everyone was tense. 

"They're there for no reason," said Tony. 

Mobius told him to talk faster, and B-15 said they needed to look for C-20. 

"Poor C-20," said Scott.

"That's exactly what the Variant wants you to do. It's a trap. He's waiting for you outside this tent."

Everyone snorted. 

"You're a convincing liar, I'll give you that," said Bucky. 

A Minutemen asked if he should secure the reset charges. Loki said no because the Variant wanted him since he was the key to his plan, and he knew that Loki was stronger. 

Loki snorted. 

"Almost one unit," said B-15 looking at her TemPad. The branch was rapidly approaching the red line on the TemPad. 

Everyone stiffened. 

"Come on, brother, hurry up," said Thor. 

"And he rightly believes that together we can overthrow and rule the TVA. But that's not what I want. I have a new purpose. I'm a servant of the Sacred Timeline," Loki winked at B-15.

"Until TVA Loki gets the right chance to be able to destroy the TVA," said Thor. "Which he's done."

Loki said he could deliver the Variant since he knows about his tactic now. 

"Or scheme with the Variant," said Clint. 

He told Mobius that he needed assurances that he wouldn't be wholly disintegrated when the job was done.

"Valid," said Peter. 

"And we'll need to speak to the Time-Keepers at once. They're in graver danger than we realized," Loki whispered. 

"You know, I still don't believe the Time-Keepers are real," said Tony. "It just seems too absurd."

"This is what you find absurd?" said Steve. "Not time travel or six magical stones wiping out half of the universe?"

"Okay, you have a point."

Mobius paused and then said that Loki was lying and just playing games. "There's no one out there."

Loki gaped in surprise while Thor looked impressed. How did Mobius not fall for TVA Loki's lies? 

"Reset the timeline." Hunter B-15 commanded, annoyed.

Everyone scowled. 

"You had me for a second. My ears are sharp, too," said Mobius. Loki looked discontented. 

"Mobius is more intelligent than I thought," said Loki. 

A Minuteman activated the reset charge, which turned purple as it erased everything in its nearby vicinity. 

Everyone stared in fascination. 

"That's what happened to the 2012 timeline, right?" Peter asked. "B-15 told the other Minutemen to reset the timeline in Mongolia."

"The 2012 timeline was a mess," said Sam. "Besides Loki escaping and Tony getting a heart attack, 2012 Steve fought 2023 Steve, and then 2012 Steve found out Bucky was alive."

"Don't forget that HYDRA thought Steve was on their side," said Bucky, shaking his head. "Fucking idiots."

Steve snickered. 

In the TVA workroom, the branched timeline decreased as the timeline was reset. 

"So, that's what happens," said Peter. 

Hunter C-20 was now declared as MIA.

Everyone winced. 

In Ravonna Renslayer's office, there were three statutes of the Time-Keepers that were made from black and gold marble.

All of them scowled. 

"Stupid Time-Keepers," said Scott.

Mobius asked where Renslayer got that snow globe, pointing to it. The snow globe was on a shelf, along with more of Renslayer's artifacts. Renslayer said Mobius wasn't the only analyst working for her while pouring a drink for herself and Mobius. 

"With an organization as large as the TVA, which oversees all of time, I'd imagine not," said Tony. 

Mobius asked if he was Renslayer's favourite one. He also asked why she got to keep the trophies from his cases in her offices. Renslayer said it was because she approved the missions. 

Everyone chuckled. 

Mobius nodded, "Good point." Renslayer wanted to talk about the mission Mobius just botched. She handed him a drink and told him he might need it for their discussion. 

"Drinking on the job?" said Clint. "Wish I could've done that at SHIELD. It would've made the briefings more bearable."

Natasha laughed. 

Renslayer sat down on the other sofa, opened a file, and said, "This Variant is… 'Insubordinate, stubborn, unpredictable.'"

"True," said Thor. 

Loki shrugged. It was accurate.

Mobius took a sip of his drink and placed it on the table beside him. The table had cup rings. Mobius and Renslayer bickered about the cup rings and Mobius grabbed a coaster.  

"You know, they're very human-like for beings made by the Time-Keepers," said Steve. 

Mobius apologized to Renslayer and admitted that his methods with Loki were controversial, and Renslayer responded by saying that towing a dangerous Variant into the field was controversial.

"Makes sense," said Rhodey. 

Mobius said the mission didn't go as planned, but they learned that the Variant liked to stall for time, and they would eventually catch the other one doing the same thing as understanding TVA Loki would help him get closer to the one they were chasing. 

"Would it?" asked Loki. "Sure, we're all Lokis, but that doesn't mean we would do things the same way. We don't know when the Loki Variant diverged from the timeline. What if the Variant diverged when they were a child? That's an entirely different life than mine or TVA Loki." 

"That's true," said Natasha. "We are what our experiences make us." She didn't know who she would've been if she hadn't grown up in the Red Room or met Clint. 

Tony wondered who he would've become if he hadn't been kidnapped in Afghanistan that day. He shuddered. He didn't want to think about it because he knew he wouldn't have changed if his eyes wouldn't have been opened. 

Loki turned to Thor. "What if there was a Loki who grew up on Jotunheim? That Loki would be completely different from me because Asgard, our parents, and you shaped me into who am I today. Of course, that hypothetical Loki who grew up on Jotunheim would still be a Loki, but that Loki wouldn't be anything like me, and I'm sure that the Thor who grew up without me wouldn't be like you." 

Thor's face crumpled at the thought of growing up without Loki. 

"Although TVA Loki and I are both Lokis, we're still different people because we've both had different experiences. TVA Loki diverged from the timeline in 2012 and I diverged from the timeline in 2018. I've had six years of events that influenced me, and trust me; a lot has happened in those six years. TVA Loki and I are not the same person."

"It's similar to the nature versus nurture debate," said Tony. "Do inherited traits or life experiences play a greater role in shaping your personality and who you are?"

"Precisely."

"Your life and TVA Loki's life was the same until TVA Loki picked up the Tesseract," said Stephen. "Both of you have lived the exact same life for more than a thousand years. Even though you've lived a life different than TVA Loki for six years, both of you would have to be similar in some ways."

Loki shifted uncomfortably. It was true and he didn't like it.

"And you and Sacred Timeline Loki are basically identical as you only diverged from the timeline a week before you would've died."

"It's sort of like the Ship of Theseus," Peter realized. 

"How?" asked Wanda. 

"Vision said that the rot is the memories and the wear and tear are the voyages. So, your memories and voyages — the rot, wear, and tear — make you who you are."

"There's no answer to the thought experiment, though," said Bruce. "The point of it is just to present challenges to conventional theories of identity — what makes x 'x', or in this case, what makes Loki a 'Loki'? 

"All of the variants are Loki, just like how Hex Vision and White Vision are both Vision, it's just that they're not the same Loki. All of them are their own person," said Thor.

Everyone made a sound of realization. 

"Wow, that was very philosophical," said Clint. 

"It makes sense, though," Bucky replied. 

Loki felt numb. It was weird knowing that he wasn't the only Loki out there in the multiverse.

Renslayer said she knew Mobius had a soft spot for broken things, but Mobius objected. Renslayer said he did and also called Loki an evil, lying scourge as that was the part he plays on the Sacred Timeline.

Everyone scowled. 

"Only because the Time-Keepers decided that was the part he should play," said Steve. 

"This is so messed up," Peter said, shaking his head. 

"Loki isn't an evil, lying scourge," said Thor. "He's only a lying scourge."

Loki looked at Thor with exasperation. 

"Maybe he wants to mix it up. Sometimes you get tired of playing the same part. Is that possible? He can change?" asked Mobius. 

"A lot of people can," said Natasha. "Everyone deserves a second chance." Clint gave her a second chance when he didn't have to. 

"Not unless the Time-Keepers decree it. And then, it shall be so," said Renslayer. 

Everyone looked at Renslayer in disgust. 

"I hate knowing that our paths were pre-determined," said Clint. "That everything we've gone through in our lives was because the Time-Keepers made it that way."

"It's awful," said Sam. 

Mobius asked how the Time-Keepers were doing while looking at one of the statues.

The group glared at the Time-Keepers. 

Renslayer sighed, "How do you think?" Mobius said he didn't know because he'd never met them. 

All of them furrowed their eyebrows. 

"That's suspicious," said Bruce.  

"The Time-Keepers are monitoring every aspect of this case. I've never seen them so involved. They want that Variant caught," Renslayer said. Mobius said he did too.

"I don't," said Thor. He would rather have any Loki Variant out there and free than with the TVA.  

Renslayer said this was the last chance Mobius would get with TVA Loki and signed her signature. 

"What will happen to TVA Loki after that?" Thor asked in concern. 

Loki shrugged. He didn't particularly care what happened to TVA Loki. 

"The TVA mentioned pruning and resetting, so it must be that disintegrating thing," Tony answered. 

"They're going to kill Loki?" Thor said furiously. "Is that what the TVA has done to all of the other Loki variants just because they chose to do something that didn't match Loki's pre-determined path?"

Everyone shuddered. That thought was horrifying. 

Renslayer and Mobius stood up, and she handed him the clipboard and pen. "Thank you, R Slayer," said Mobius as he signed the report with his initials — MMM. 

"It's so funny that Mobius's full name is Mobius M. Mobius," Peter laughed. 

"Does the M in his middle name also stand for Mobius?" asked Bucky. 

He looks at the pen. It said Franklin D. Roosevelt High School.  

"There's a lot of Earth-related stuff here for an organization that oversees all of time," said Tony. 

Everyone looked at Tony in surprise. 

"That's…true," Loki said in confusion. Why were there so many Midgard related places? 

"I don't remember this. This must be from that analyst you keep on the side," said Mobius. Renslayer told him to stay focused. Mobius handed her the clipboard and started to leave. Renslayer asked if he really believed in the TVA Loki Variant. 

"No," said Loki. 

"Mmm... Luckily, he believes in himself enough for both of us. And, hey, if it doesn't work, I'll delete him myself. He's really arrogant," said Mobius as he left. 

Loki glowered while everyone else chuckled.

Outside Renslayer's office, Loki was sitting on a couch and stood up when he saw Mobius. "You're probably wondering what happened out on the mission." 

"TVA Loki was caught in a lie," said Clint. 

"It was quite impressive," said Loki. 

"It was," Thor complimented. "I only recently learned to see through Loki's lies."

He followed Mobius quickly and told him that was his first lesson catching a Loki. 

Everyone snickered. 

"It's so clear TVA Loki is making this up," said Rhodey. 

"Expect the expected. See, half the fun of being a trickster is knowing everyone knows you're a trickster, and then, many of your tricks can come from exploiting the fact that you know that they know." 

Everyone looked at TVA in amusement while Loki rolled his eyes. 

Mobius looked tired and told Loki to shut up. 

"It's funny that Mobius is the annoyed one now when it was TVA Loki before," said Sam. 

Mobius asked what happened to the Loki who didn't like to talk and now he was stuck with Loki who wouldn't stop yacking away about what makes a Loki tick.

"Mobius should've expected it; he was the one who said Loki loved to talk," said Thor. 

Loki asked that's why he was there. "No. I don't care what makes you tick. You're here to help me catch the superior version of yourself. That's it!" 

"Ouch," said Bucky. 

Loki scowled. He was superior to all of his Loki variants. 

"Hang on. I'm not sure 'superior' is actually quite the right word."

"Oh, TVA Loki hates it," said Tony. But he couldn't blame Loki; he would probably hate to meet his variants too. 

Mobius and Loki were at the elevator. "See? There it is. Right there. I believed, stupidly, that insecure need for validation would motivate you to find the killer. Not 'cause you care about the TVA mission or being a hero, but because you know this Variant is better than you, and you can't take it." 

"Hey!" Loki said, slightly hurt. Mobius was right, but it didn't mean that he liked hearing about it. 

Loki smiled. "Very nice. I mean, it is adorable that you think you could possibly manipulate me." 

"I think Mobius already has," Natasha laughed. 

He fixed Mobius's tie. "I'm ten steps ahead of you. I've been playing a game of my own all along."

Thor rubbed his temples in exasperation. 

"What, charm your way in front of the Time-Keepers, hustle them, and seize control of the TVA?" Mobius asked. Loki looked shocked. 

Everyone snickered.

"Mobius is more intelligent than I thought," said Loki. 

"It's because you're getting predictable," said Thor. "You had the same plan on Sakaar."

Loki looked offended. 

"Am I getting warm? A double-cross by history's most reliable liar." Mobius pressed a floor number. Loki asked why Mobius stuck his neck out for him. 

"Because he needs you to find the Loki Variant," said Natasha. 

"I'll give you two options, and you can believe whichever one you want. A, because I see a scared little boy shivering in the cold. And you kinda feel bad for that ice runt."

Thor and Loki scowled while everyone else grimaced. The other original Avengers knew Loki had a complicated relationship with his family, Asgard, and his birth planet, while the other Avengers looked lost. 

"Or B, I just wanna catch this guy, and I'll tell you whatever I need to tell you." The elevator opened, and Loki and Mobius walked in. "I don't need your sympathy." "Good, 'cause I'm runnin' out of it." The doors closed. 

Everyone winced. 

The doors opened, and the two got out. Loki asked if this was the next step of his manipulation, but Mobius said this was his final step and last chance.

"Until the TVA prunes Loki," said Thor, staring daggers at Mobius. 

Loki asked what his desperate last chance required. "Work," Mobius replied. "Work?" said Loki, confused. 

"Work?" Loki said incredulously. 

There were three giant statues of the Time-Keepers that Loki and Mobius passed by as they walked to the TVA Archives' section. 

"These Time-Keepers are everywhere," Steve said in disgust.

"I need you to go over each one of those Variant's case files, and then, give me your... how do I put it here?" said Mobius. 

"Every Loki variant?" Wanda asked. "There's a lot of them."

"Loki's got a lot of homework then," Stephen replied. 

"Your unique Loki perspective. And who knows? Maybe there's something that we missed." 

"There's probably a lot they missed," said Loki. "They're idiots."

"Well, you're idiots. I suspect you probably missed a lot," said TVA Loki. 

Loki blinked in surprise as everyone else grinned. 

"You two really are Lokis," said Tony, laughing. 

Loki gave Tony a dirty look. 

"Well, that's why I'm lucky I got you for a little bit longer. Let me park you at this desk." They stopped at a desk full of files. 

"That's a lot of work," said Peter. 

Mobius said he was going to get a snack and walked away.

"Alright, I see how it is; Mobius is dumping all the work on TVA Loki," said Loki. 

Loki sighed and looked at the files. 

"Get working."

Later, a woman was sitting behind Loki as he flipped through the file. Loki looked at one of the papers. 

"This is so boring," said Thor.

"Oh, my goodness. Don't tell me the Variant ambushed and killed another team of Minutemen." Loki said mockingly. He gasped. "And stole their reset charge as well."

Everyone snickered. 

The woman behind Loki shushed him, and Loki shushed her back.

All of them started to laugh. 

The librarian was at the front desk, typing on her computer. Loki walked up to the desk and greeted her, but she didn't respond. 

"Rude."

Loki pressed the bell on the desk. The librarian stopped typing, looked at Loki, and asked if she could help him. 

"The TVA is so bureaucratic," Tony grumbled. 

Loki asked for the files about the creation of the TVA, the beginning of time, and the end of time, but the librarian said those were all classified. 

Steve scoffed. "Typical."

"Then what isn't classified?" asked Stephen. 

"But why is the creation of the TVA classified?" asked Peter. "Wouldn't that be common knowledge at the TVA?"

Loki asked what files could he have. Later, the librarian handed Loki a couple of files. Loki looked at the file — Variant 1130 – Loki Laufeyson

Everyone laughed. 

"Well, Mobius did say to study about the Loki variants," said Rhodey. 

Loki sighed. He was back at his desk. He looked through the file and saw a report that said 'DESTRUCTION OF ASGARD'.

Everyone sucked in a breath while Thor and Loki instantly blanched and Bruce grimaced. 

Loki started to read the report carefully, and tears welled up in his eyes.  

Tears prickled in Thor and Loki's eyes, and everyone else looked at them sympathetically. 

"I'm sorry," Sam told Thor and Loki. "I can't even begin to imagine how it must feel like to lose your home."

"Asgard's not a place; it's a people," Loki quoted. 

Thor had a small smile on his face. "Loki's right. Asgard's a people. Our people are strong, and we've already seen them rebuild and have a life in New Asgard. We'll be okay."

Suddenly Loki snorted. "TVA Loki is going to find out about Hela. He diverged from 2012; he never knew about Hela."

"He's in for a surprise," said Thor. "Worst sister ever."

RAGNAROK [CLASS SEVEN EVENT]: Total planetary destruction. Codename: REVENGERS. 

Bruce, Thor, and Loki chuckled weakly. 

"Looks like the Revengers are official," Thor croaked out. "We're only missing Val."

[Entire Civilization Annihilated]. Casualties: 9,719. 

Everyone gasped, and Thor and Loki's stomachs churned. 

"9,719 people," Loki said, deadly pale. "We barely have any Asgardians left."

"We never knew the total number," Thor whispered. "We were still counting the casualties and survivors before coming here."

He looked at a single sentence. Zero Variance Energy Detected. 

Everyone tilted their head in confusion. 

"That's what the TVA uses to detect a nexus event," Wanda pointed out.

He looked at it in shock as he had an idea. Loki quickly got up and grabbed the files. 

Loki looked at TVA Loki curiously and quickly went through everything he had learnt about the TVA and gasped. 

"What?" 

"I think I know what theory TVA Loki's come up with."

He entered the cafeteria and walked towards Mobius, who was still eating. 

"TVA Loki is bothering Mobius's break," said Rhodey.

Loki said he found something. Mobius reminded him not to bother him until Loki had read all the files. 

"This is so much more important," said Loki, bouncing in excitement.

"I have." "Every file?" "Yes." "Pertaining to the Variant?" "The answer isn't in the files; it's on the timeline." 

"What? That doesn't make any sense—" Scott started to say, but everyone told him to be quiet as they listened intently. 

Loki took a seat. "He's hiding in apocalypses."

Loki grinned smugly. "I knew it!" 

"Which apocalypse? Any time in history? There's, like, a million of them."

"That's depressingly true," said Peter. 

"Ragnarok. Are you familiar?"

Thor and Loki's mouths tightened into a thin line. They were very familiar. 

"Yes. The destruction of Asgard and most of its people. I'm sorry." "Yes, very sad. Anyway, it got me thinking. Nexus events happen when someone does something they're not supposed to do, right?" 

"But it shouldn't be like that!" Bucky exclaimed. 

"Well, it's a little more complicated, but yeah." "Great. And then that thing they're not supposed to do cascades into a whole range of other things that aren't supposed to happen. And so on and forth, until eventually, a new timeline branches. Yes?" 

"Still doesn't make sense how Old Steve was able to live an entire lifetime in a different branch without the TVA arresting him," said Natasha. "According to the TVA, that violates the Sacred Timeline."

"Chaotic alterations of a pre-determined outcome." 

"Shouldn't be pre-determined," muttered Steve. 

"Exactly. So, let's just say…." Loki took Mobius's salad. "Your salad is Asgard in this scenario." 

Everyone looked at TVA Loki in amusement. 

"Asgard is a salad?" Rhodey chuckled.

"It's a metaphor," Loki replied. 

Mobius said it wasn't Asgard; it was his salad. Loki told him it was a metaphor. 

Thor laughed. "You need to improve your metaphors, Loki."

Loki rolled his eyes. "I'm only used to doing it to help you during our lessons, remember?"

"Couldn't have passed them without you," Thor grinned. He paused. "Except my Groot elective. I quite liked that course."

"I forgot you said you took Groot as an elective," laughed Tony. "You may want to teach Icicle over here how to speak Groot because he introduced himself as Steve Rogers."

Steve turned a funny shade of pink as everyone roared with laughter. "I didn't know Groot could only say 'I am Groot!'" he defended. 

"Did you take Groot as an elective too?" Peter asked Loki. 

Loki shook his head. "No, I took Kree instead. I thought it would be more useful than learning Groot."

"Ha! That's funny," laughed Thor. "When was the last time you used Kree and when was the last time I used Groot?"

Loki scowled. "You only use Groot because you have a new friend now."

"Doesn't matter. Groot's more useful."

"And I could go down to Asgard before Ragnarok causes its complete destruction, and I could do anything I wanted. I could…" Loki grabbed the salt shaker. "Let's say, push the Hulk off the Rainbow Bridge."

"Hey!" Bruce said, slightly offended. 

Loki winced. "Sorry, TVA Loki had just gotten Hulk-smashed. You're probably not his favourite person at the moment. You certainly weren't mine."

"Makes sense."

Everyone else was too busy laughing. 

Loki shook the salt onto the salad. "There he goes." 

"RIP Hulk," said Peter. 

"The salt's Hulk?" Mobius asked. 

"It's a terrible metaphor," Thor snickered. 

"And I could also…." Loki grabbed the pepper. "Set fire to the palace." 

Thor and Loki grimaced. 

"We did set fire to the palace," said Thor. 

Loki shook the pepper onto the salad as well. Mobius told Loki to stop and not to set fire to the palace.

"Too late for that," muttered Loki. 

"Okay? I can do whatever I want to do, and it would never matter," said Loki as he put more salt and pepper into the salad. 

"Maybe stop pouring more salt and pepper?" said Rhodey. 

"Poor Mobius won't get to eat his salad after Loki's bad metaphor," Wanda chuckled. 

"It wouldn't go against the dictates of the timeline because..." Loki put down the salt and pepper and picked up a soda can but noticed it was empty. 

"Hurry up with the metaphor," Loki muttered to his variant. He wanted to know if his theory was true or not. 

He gestured to Mobius to give him a second and got up. He walked over to Casey, who was eating his lunch. "You," Casey growled. 

Everyone laughed. 

"I can see why Casey would be angry since Loki got his paperweights pruned," said Tony. 

"His fucking Infinity Stone paperweights," Clint grumbled.

Loki took Casey's drink and said he needed it for a second. 

"To finish the metaphor," said Bruce. 

He went back to Mobius's table and sat down. "Because the apocalypse is coming. Ragnarok, Surtur will destroy Asgard no matter what I do."

"Exactly," said Loki, smug. He loved to be right! 

"I don't get it," Scott whispered. 

Loki poured the drink into Mobius's salad. "No, don't do—" Mobius sighed, annoyed. 

Everyone snickered. 

"Mobius is so tired," Bucky sniggered. 

"I would be too if I had to deal with Loki," said Clint. 

"There's the apocalypse," Loki said as he continued to pour the drink. "Ragnarok obliterates the salt."

Thor frowned. "Thanks for that reminder."

Loki smiled as the drink ended and he finished his explanation. "Ragnarok. There it is." 

"I'm going to be honest, I haven't understood anything," said Bucky. 

Loki rolled his eyes. 

Mobius asked what he was looking at. Loki admitted it was a clumsy metaphor. 

Thor chuckled. 

Loki explained that it could be any apocalypse such as a tidal wave, a meteor, a volcano, or a supernova. "If everything and everyone around you is destined for imminent destruction, then nothing I say or do will matter…." Loki put more salt and pepper into the salad. "Because the timeline's not going to branch. 'Cause, it gets destroyed."

Everyone made a sound of realization. 

"That's so smart," Tony complimented. 

Loki looked smug. "I know."

"And it makes complete sense," said Natasha. "Everyone's going to die anyway, so any deviation from the timeline doesn't matter."

"Hence, the Variant could be hiding in the apocalypse and do whatever he wants, and we wouldn't know!"

"The Loki Variant is smarter than I thought," said Stephen. "Mobius was right when he said that the Loki Variant was clearly the superior Loki."

"Hey!" Loki protested as Wanda snickered. 

Mobius looked impressed. "Not bad."

Loki smirked. 

"Take me to a real apocalypse, to Ragnarok; I'll show you." 

"Yes, come to Ragnarok so you can meet my variant!" Thor pleaded. "You can meet me!"

"Yeah. So, you can run away back to your homeland? No." 

Thor scowled. 

"No. I'm not going home. We can go anywhere!" "I'm not taking you for a stroll along the promenade, much less an apocalypse."

"Probably the right choice," said Steve. 

Loki asked what could go wrong as they had to test this theory properly.

Loki was nearly bouncing his seat. He really wanted to know if he was right. 

"Well, here's a fun theory. You lure me out into the field, and then you stab me in the back. And that's a theory I don't wanna test."

"Mobius is quite intelligent for a TVA agent," Loki complimented. 

"I'd never stab anyone in the back," Loki said in disbelief. "That's such a boring form of betrayal."

Everyone looked at TVA Loki in disbelief, even Loki. 

"Loki has stabbed me in the back many, many times," said Thor. "Both figuratively and literally."

"Loki, I've studied almost every moment of your entire life. You've literally stabbed people in the back, like, fifty times." 

Everyone roared with laughter. 

Thor shook his head. "Poor TVA Loki. He's too predictable. Life is about growth; it's about change—"

"Yes, you've already said this," said Loki. "While I was being electrocuted, actually."

Thor grinned. "It was fun."

 "Well, I'd never do it again because it got old."

Thor snorted. 

Mobius chuckled, "Okay." "Okay, look, you don't trust me; you can trust one thing. I love to be right."

Loki shrugged. "It's true."

Chapter Text

In Pompeii, Italy, 79AD, the skies were clear as everyone went about their daily routine. 

Everyone's eyes widened as they realized what they were going to see. 

"Oh my God," Peter said excitedly. "Are we going to see the volcano erupt?"

"That volcano killed everyone in Pompeii," Steve said. 

"Which definitely counts as an apocalypse," Sam added. 

"I can't believe we're going to see something from 79AD," said Bucky, stunned. 

"Loki, we weren't even born yet," said Thor.

Loki blinked in surprise. "You're right. We won't be born for another century."

Everyone's eyes bugged out of their heads, knowing that Pompeii was older than Thor and Loki. 

"I wonder if Hela's been banished yet," Thor said. 

There was a rumble in the distance. 

Everyone winced. 

"Ah, the volcano is going to erupt soon," said Rhodey.

Mobius and Loki were hidden in the corner. Loki grinned, "Here we go." 

"He's happy?" Steve asked.

"They're going to die anyway," Loki replied.

Mobius shushed him and said it was any minute now. 

All of them stared in captivation. 

"Until this entire town is wiped off the face of this planet. Imagine. All that volcanic ash," Loki said excitedly. 

"And those bodies covered in ash," Natasha said in morbid curiosity.

Mobius told him not to get too giddy. Loki said it was cool. 

"I'm not going to lie, it kind of is," said Tony. 

"No, it is cool, but it's just not in good taste because—" "They're all gonna die anyway."

No one could argue with that. They couldn't stop a natural disaster from occurring, mainly when it had occurred more than a thousand years ago.

Mobius pulled out his TemPad and said he would watch it for any variance energy. 

Loki was nearly bouncing in his seat. He badly wanted to know if he was right. 

He said they had to be careful in case Loki was wrong, and there was a good chance he was; anything they did could create a huge branch. 

"No, I think Loki's theory is right," said Bruce. "It makes perfect sense. Why would there be a branch if everyone's going to die?"

Loki complained that Mobius even made the end of the world sound boring. 

Everyone laughed. 

Mobius said they weren't meant to be there and anything they could do would impact the course of history.

"The Butterfly effect," Peter said knowingly.

Mobius said they would start with very small disturbances and asked Loki to make bird noises. 

Everyone looked at Mobius in disbelief. 

"Bird noises?" Loki asked incredulously. Mobius said to make whooshing noises, but Loki ignored him and ran into the street. "Loki!" Mobius hissed. 

Thor snickered. 

Loki released goats from a cart. "Go! Be free, my horned-friends, be free!"

"Loki also had a horned helmet," said Tony. 

Loki rolled his eyes. 

Loki spoke in Latin. "My name is Loki. We are the agents of the Time Variance Authority. I bring you all dark tidings. All of you! You're all about to die. That volcano is about to erupt! I would know because I'm from the future."

Everyone erupted into laughter. 

"Mobius is going to be so mad," Thor snickered. 

"He won't be because the theory is going to be correct," said Loki. "I know it."

Everyone stared at Loki. 

"I would've looked at Loki the same way if someone said that to me," Sam chuckled. 

"We are from the future, right?" Loki asked Mobius and said the TVA sounded future-y.

"It exists at all points of time," Wanda said. "Or outside time."

"Multiversal war," Stephen reminded himself. 

"With the technology the TVA has, they have to be from the future," Sam said firmly. 

"Not necessarily," said Thor. "There are many highly advanced civilizations and beings that could have technology like that. I told you about the Celestials and the Eternals, the Kree, and the Sovereign. Asgardians don't have technology like that though." 

Mount Vesuvius erupted in the background. 

Everyone sucked in a breath.

"It's happening!" yelled Bucky. 

The people of Pompeii screamed in terror and ran away. 

The group grimaced. 

"Poor people of Pompeii," said Steve. "They're going to be frozen in ash."

"They were actually covered in layers of fine ash that calcified over the centuries, forming a protective shell around their bodies," Peter corrected. "And then the skin and tissue of these bodies eventually decayed, and they left voids in the layer of ash around them in the exact shape of the people as they died."

Everyone looked at Peter fondly. 

"My favourite nerd," Tony grinned. 

"MJ told me!" Peter defended. 

"Right on cue! Enjoy your last meal while you can! Nothing matters!" yelled Loki as he threw vegetables in the air. "Nothing has any consequence! Dance while you still can!"

"Mood," said Peter. 

Mobius checked the TemPad and was stunned at what he saw. 

"Holy shit, Loki was right," said Clint.

Loki asked how they did. "I don't believe it. Zero Variance Energy. No branching in the timeline," Mobius replied. 

"Amazing," Bruce said, fascinated.  

"I was right!" Loki said smugly. 

"Yes, we all know that you're brilliant," said Thor. 

"The TVA would never even know we were here. If it were me, this is where I would hide."

"One step closer to finding the Loki Variant," said Sam.

"I don't think so," said Natasha. "There have been a lot of apocalypses throughout history, and sadly, I'm sure a lot of disasters will happen in the future too. And that's just on Earth. Ragnarok happened on Asgard, and I'm sure there have been millions of apocalypses on other planets. 

"Like Titan," Scott added. 

"Exactly. It's impossible to find out which apocalypse the Variant is hiding."

The ash from Mount Vesuvius rapidly travelled towards them.

"Oh, shit."

Back at the TVA, Loki and Mobius walked out of the elevator. "Doomsdays. The Variant's been ambushing our soldiers and hiding out in doomsdays to cover his tracks," said Mobius. 

"It's kind of brilliant, to be honest," said Bucky.

"You're welcome," said Loki.

"Honestly, the TVA are idiots if they hadn't figured that out," said Loki. 

"But in order for this theory to hold, the disasters have to be naturally-occurring, sudden, no warning, no survivors," said Mobius as he grabbed a stack of files from his desk.

Everyone winced. 

"There's going to be a lot of those," said Stephen. 

"How many of those could there be?" "I don't know. We're gonna find out."

"A depressing amount," said Wanda. 

Later, Mobius yawned as he read a report and Loki was sleeping. 

Everyone snickered. 

Mobius closed the files, woke Loki up, and told him they would take a walk. 

"Both of them weren't getting any work done," said Bruce. "They need a break."

At the cafeteria, Loki and Mobius were sitting at a table. Loki asked why Mobius had a magazine about jet skis on his desk. Mobius said they were awesome. 

"True," said Tony. 

Mobius explained how everything gets ruined eventually, but in the early 1990s, there was a beautiful union of form and function called the jet ski. 

"Mobius really loves jet skis," said Loki, surprised. "He's very passionate about it."

Loki smiled and asked him if he had ever been on one. Mobius said no as a TVA agent showing up on a jet ski on the Sacred Timeline would undoubtedly create a branch.

"Maybe Mobius can now ride a jet ski in an apocalypse," said Natasha. 

Loki said it would be fun, and Mobius agreed. Loki asked why he read about them. "Just helps remind me of what we're fighting for," said Mobius. 

Everyone raised their eyebrows. 

"Wow, Mobius actually believes in all this," said Scott. 

"If the Time-Keepers created Mobius for that purpose, then obviously, he's going to believe in the TVA," said Tony. 

"I mean, you really believe in all this stuff, don't you?" "I don't get hung up on 'Believe, not believe'. I just accept what is."

"You know, after everything I've seen and gone through, I have the same outlook on life," said Steve. "The multiverse isn't so far-fetched compared to some of the other stuff we've seen, like time travel or Wanda creating a sitcom."

"Three magic lizards—" "Time-Keepers." 

Everyone snorted. 

"We've seen the statues of the Time-Keepers, and they do look like lizards," said Thor. 

"—created the TVA, and everyone in it?" "Right." "Including you?" "Including me."

Loki facepalmed.

"You see, every time I start to admire your intelligence, you say something like that."

"Exactly!" Loki exclaimed. 

Mobius asked who created Loki. Loki said a Frost Giant of Jotunheim did. "And who raised you?" "Odin of Asgard." 

"And Frigga of Asgard, you idiot," Loki snarled to his variant. 

"Odin, God of the Heavens. Asgard, mystical realm, beyond the stars. Frost Giants. Listen to yourself," said Mobius. 

"They're completely different!" said Thor, while Loki nodded. 

Everyone else from Earth wasn't so convinced. 

Loki said they weren't the same and were completely different. 

"Are they?" asked Sam. 

Mobius said that if you think too hard about where any of them came from, who they truly are, it sounds ridiculous. 

"You know, Mobius has a point," said Rhodey. 

"Existence is chaos. Nothing makes any sense, so we try to make some sense of it. And I'm just lucky that the chaos I emerged into gave me all this…my own glorious purpose." 

Loki scoffed. 

TVA Loki scoffed. "'Cause the TVA is my life. And it's real because I believe it's real," said Mobius. 

"A lot of people believe something is real; it doesn't mean it actually is," said Tony. 

"Fair enough. You believe it's real." "Yeah." "So, everything is written. Past, present, future. There's no such thing as free will."

Everyone scowled. 

"There has to be!" Steve said, throwing his hands in the air. 

Mobius said it was an oversimplification. 

"How? Because the TVA arrested TVA Loki for taking the Tesseract," said Peter. "If there were free will, TVA Loki wouldn't be at the TVA."

Loki said the ones at the TVA were the only ones who were actually free. 

A chill ran down everyone's spines.

Sam shuddered. "That's a really horrifying thought."

"That's why I'm glad TVA Loki has burned the TVA to the ground," said Steve. He paused. "Never thought I would say that."

Mobius asked where Loki was going with this. "How does it all end?" asked Loki. Mobius said it was a work in progress.

Everyone looked at Mobius in disbelief while Stephen narrowed his eyes.  

"How are the Time-Keepers overseeing all of time when they don't know it ends?" asked Bruce. 

Peter clutched his head. "This is giving me an existential crisis."

Sam snorted. "Me too."

"Oh, those lazy Time-Keepers. What are they waiting for?" "No, because while we protest what came before, they're toiling away in their chamber, untangling the epilogue from its infinite branches."

Stopping the multiversal war, Stephen thought. 

Loki asked what happened when they were finished. Mobius said, "So are we. No more nexus events. Just order, and we meet in peace at the end of time. Nice, right?"

"No, that sounds awful," said Loki. 

Loki raised his eyebrows. "Only order? No chaos? It sounds boring." "I'm sure it does to you," said Mobius. 

Everyone chuckled. 

"Yes, it would be hard for the God of Mischief," said Wanda. 

Loki told Mobius he wasn't a scared little boy because he knew something children didn't — No one bad is ever truly bad. And no one good is ever truly good.

"That is true," said Natasha. 

"Scared little boy," Mobius said as he realized something. 

"I thought that was a bit hurtful, actually," said Loki. 

"Yes, it was quite patronizing. I thought it was a bit too far, actually." "You're very clever," said Mobius as he stood up and walked away.

"Obviously," said Loki. 

"I know," Loki said, confused.

Everyone else laughed. 

"You know, for someone who wants to distinguish yourself from TVA Loki, you're a lot like him," said Clint. 

Loki glowered at him. 

"I told you, Loki and TVA Loki were the same version of Loki for more than a thousand years," said Stephen. "There are similarities."

"But there are also differences," said Loki.

"Yes, there are also differences."

At the TVA Archives, Mobius and Loki stopped at a shelf. 

"Oh, we're back at this place," said Scott.

"Hopefully, Loki will get to read something besides his own file," said Thor.

"The Variant left something behind at an old crime scene. A cathedral. A candy box. An obvious anachronism. I gave it to Analysis, but they couldn't find anything real," Mobius explained. 

"Oh, we saw this mission," said Steve. "It was the one in France."

Loki asked why it mattered. "'Cause now we have two variables. Apocalypse natural disasters and…." Mobius opened a box and took out the Kablooie gum. 

Everyone made a sound of realization. 

"I forgot about that gum," said Peter. 

"Yeah, because none of us have ever heard of it," said Clint.

"Must be space gum or something," Steve replied. 

"The Loki Variant gave it to that little girl," Natasha realized. "I never thought Loki would give out candy to children."

Loki looked slightly disturbed at that realization while Thor blinked in surprise. 

"Maybe a kinder one?" Tony suggested. "The Variant is a different Loki than the one we know."

"They're killing people," said Sam.  

"They're killing TVA agents," Clint corrected. "And we know how awful the TVA is."

"What is it?" "Candy. Do you have candy on Asgard?" "Yeah, grapes, nuts."

Everyone from Earth looked at Thor and Loki, baffled. 

"Grapes and nuts are very delicious," said Thor. "Although Pop-Tarts are better."

The other original Avengers groaned loudly. 

"It's nice to know you're still obsessed with Pop-Tarts, man," said Clint. 

Tony scowled. "Do you know how many Pop-Tarts you used to eat? You ate my entire pantry!" 

"The only reason I even know about Pop-Tarts is because of Thor," said Steve. 

"Yeah, I remember the eating contests you and Thor had," Natasha said. 

Thor and Steve snickered while the other original Avengers groaned louder. 

"You know, Pete would give both of you a run for your money," said Tony. "The kid eats a lot. Like a lot." 

Steve and Thor looked at Peter curiously, while Peter hissed, "What are you doing, Tony? An eating contest with the former Captain America and the God of Thunder? Are you crazy?"

Tony rolled his eyes. "Both of us know how much you eat, kid." 

Steve clapped Peter on the back. "Looks like you're invited to our next eating contest, Queens."

Peter gaped. 

"But honestly, I was a little concerned for Thor," Natasha continued. "He would eat Pop-Tarts, like, all the time."

Bruce chuckled darkly. "You haven't had food in space, guys. If you had, you would love Pop-Tarts too. I had these weird space noodles once." He shuddered.

"Pop-Tarts are delicious! Loki, you have to try them! I miss them," Thor said gloomily. 

Loki looked exasperated. 

"No wonder you're so bitter." 

Everyone from Earth chuckled while Thor and Loki were offended. 

At the table, Mobius puts a stack of files on the desk. "Kablooie was only sold regionally on Earth from 2047 to 2051." 

"That's why none of us have ever heard of Kablooie," Sam realized. "It hasn't been made yet."

"Can't wait to try out Kablooie in twenty-nine years," said Peter. "You know, twenty-nine years ago was 1989."

The ones who grew up in the 80s frowned.

"Kid, stop making us feel so old," said Clint. 

Steve and Bucky snickered. 

Mobius said they had to cross-reference Kablooie with every apocalyptic event, and Mobius decided to make it a bet and handed Loki half of the files.

Thor smirked. "Loki lost the last bet we had." 

Loki rolled his eyes and shoved Thor. 

"Ow!"

They looked through the files. "Anything?" Mobius asked. Loki said it wasn't the climate disaster of 2048 or the tsunami of 2051.  

Everyone winced. 

"I knew it," muttered Peter. "We're fucked. That climate change disaster is only thirty years away!" 

"That's not that far away," said Wanda. 

"Climate disaster of 2048?" Tony rubbed his temples. "I have to get those arc reactors out there. It's the only source of clean energy."

"2050. The extinction of the swallow… Is that a thing?" Loki asked. Mobius said it completely screwed up the ecosystem.

"Fuck," cursed Sam. 

"The future is shit," said Bucky. 

"Krakotoa erupted in 2049 as well. No Kablooie." 

"Shit, that sucks," said Peter. 

"God, it's just one damn thing after another, isn't it? Cyclone, famine, volcanoes, floods…."

Wanda sighed. "This is so depressing."

"And there's we can even do to prevent this," Steve said miserably. 

Tony shook his head. "No, there is. I'm going to get those arc reactors implemented so some climate change disasters can be prevented."

"Got him," said Loki and showed Mobius the file. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

ROXXCART DISASTER [CLASS TEN EVENT]: Planetary Body Intact, Casualties: 10,835 Humans, Cat. Eight Hurricane. 

"Ragnarok was a Class Seven disaster, but this is Class Ten?" said Thor. 

"There were more casualties," said Bruce. "I guess that's how the TVA measures apocalypses. There were around nine thousand casualties for Ragnarok and ten thousand for the Roxxcart Disaster."

"Oh my God," Peter said, horrified. "This is a Category Eight hurricane! Those don't even exist at the moment! It's only up to five!"

There was a moment of silence. 

"Yeah, we're fucked," Rhodey stated. 

"That's where he is," said Loki. "Alabama, 2050. You're gonna take my job if I'm not careful," said Mobius. 

Loki scoffed. As if any Loki would ever want to work for the TVA. 

In Renslayer's office, Mobius tried to convince Renslayer to approve the deployment to the Variant's potential hiding spot. 

There was a sense of anticipation in the air. 

"I have a feeling this one is going to be where the Variant is," said Natasha. "It makes perfect sense why the Variant would hide there."

"Haven Hills, Alabama, corporate town owned by Roxxcart until it's wiped out by a hurricane," said Mobius. 

Everyone winced. 

"All the food and supplies you need. If he likes it, there's no reason he can't keep going back and just camping out, over and over." 

"Makes sense," said Stephen. "That's where the Loki Variant got the Kablooie from."

"And this is all based on a theory from the Variant who just blew your previous mission?" Renslayer asked. Mobius said he was doing great. 

"He is," Loki said begrudgingly.

Renslayer said that trusting Loki was not a good idea. 

"Smart," said Thor. 

"No. I know. But maybe he's worth the trouble. I mean, he just uncovered a huge hole in our security, right?" Mobius asked. 

"It's not like it was that hard," said Loki. "Except Mobius, the TVA are a bunch of idiots. Mobius is more intelligent than I expected."

Renslayer said that was what concerned her. 

"Maybe have better security then," said Natasha. 

Mobius said he could handle Loki. Ravonna said she trusted Mobius but not Loki. 

"I understand," said Loki.

Mobius's every instinct was telling him that this is where they find the Variant.

"I have that feeling too," said Wanda. 

"Which is a bad thing because I don't want any Loki Variants to be caught by the TVA," said Thor.

Ravonna agreed to the mission but warned Mobius she couldn't do much if it didn't work out. 

"TVA Loki will probably get pruned," Loki said casually. 

"For all time." "Always." 

"Sounds like a cult," said Scott. 

Outside Renslayer's office, Loki was waiting for Mobius to come out. Mobius said they were on as he exited. 

Half of them were excited, while the other half were wary.

Mobius, Loki, and the Minutemen were preparing for the mission. "We are doing some good work today," said Mobius. Loki said he thought so too. 

Everyone agreed. 

"We found out so much," said Bruce. 

"It's kind of interesting," said Rhodey. 

"Kind of?" said Peter. "It's very interesting."

Bucky and Tony nodded in agreement. 

"I'm tellin' you. You actually help us catch this Variant, and who knows, my friend," said Mobius as he opened a locker. "What, good enough for a face-to-face with the Time-Keepers?" asked Loki. 

"Yes, so my variant can kill them," said Loki. 

Mobius said to take it one step at a time. 

"Right," said Loki. "Find the Loki Variant, recruit them as your lieutenant, and then burn the TVA to the ground."

"Sounds like a great plan," Steve said. 

Mobius handed Loki two knives, "Just in case." Loki looked at them lovingly. 

Thor snickered. 

B-15 took the knives out of Loki's hands, "Absolutely not."

Except for Loki, everyone else erupted into laughter. 

She put the knives into another locker and gathered everyone for a briefing. "Roxxcart is a vast superstore common to the area," B-15 explained.

Tony choked. "Wait, Roxxcart as in Roxxon?" He had just realized who owned the store. "They're the worst."

"Isn't Roxxon into some shady stuff?" asked Peter. "MJ told me about one of their tankers spilling a million gallons of crude oil in Florida, but not a single executive faced a single day in court because of their ties to President Ellis."

Steve and Sam's mouths straightened into a thin line at the mention of Ellis.

"Not to mention they were illegally drilling in the Arctic a couple of years ago," Scott added. 

"Yeah, Roxxon has their fingers in everything, and it looks like supermarkets are their latest target," said Natasha. 

"Remember the whole Mandarin thing a couple of years ago when Trevor Slattery pretended to kill that guy on live TV?" said Rhodey.

"Oh yeah, I remember May and Ben wouldn't let me near the TV at all that Christmas," said Peter.

"That was probably the smart thing to do. You were only eleven at the time. Anyway, the guy Slattery 'killed' was a Roxxon accountant," Rhodey continued. "He was a part of Killian's scheme of to kill Ellis and put the Vice President in office instead."

"Not to mention we literally took down Killian on Roxxon's tanker," said Tony.

"Hey Tones, have there been any leads on finding Slattery?" Rhodey asked.

Tony scowled. "No. I can't find him anywhere. It's like he's vanished off the face of the Earth."

"Or he's dead."

"Or he's dead," Tony agreed. "I still can't understand how he escaped prison." He scoffed. "All of the security tapes from that day have conveniently vanished and the guards didn't see anything."

B-15 explained that the warehouse was being used as a shelter by civilians. 

Everyone's heart dropped. 

"All the civilians are going to die," said Steve.

"Every time there is an attack, the Variant steals a reset charge. He's planning something. We just don't know what. So, keep an eye out for the missing charges, and if you see a Loki, prune it."

"No!" yelled Thor. "Don't prune!"

"The bad Loki, preferably," Loki clarified and smiled. 

"You're the bad Loki!" Loki exclaimed. 

In Haven Hills, Alabama, 2050, the 'Welcome to Haven Hills' billboard was destroyed by the hurricane. 

Everyone looked at the hurricane, slightly terrified. 

"Ah, shit," said Sam. 

"That's unlike any hurricane I've seen," said Bucky. 

"Well, it is a Category Eight hurricane," Wanda reminded him. 

"Oh my God," said Peter with wide eyes. "I'll be forty-nine years old, wait no, my variant would be forty-four because of the Blip. I'm going to be so old!" 

"Forty-four is not old," said Tony, slightly offended. His eyes widened. "Morgan will be thirty-one!" His breath caught. His daughter would be an adult and would've grown up without her father.

Wanda gaped. "I'll be fifty-six."

"Yeah, well, I'll be in my seventies," said Clint. 

"I beat all of you guys," said Bucky. "I'll be one hundred and thirty-three."

"But biologically in your sixties," Steve reminded him. 

"Thor and Loki are literally more than a thousand years old," Sam reminded Bucky. 

Bucky paused. "I beat all the humans. I want my senior citizen benefits."

Steve snorted. "You already are a senior citizen. Both of us are."

A Timedoor opened as Loki, Mobius, B-15, and the Minutemen walked through it. There was a holographic image of a woman greeting customers near the entrance. 

"Whoa, the future is cool," said Peter. 

"We've been watching the future the entire time," Stephen pointed out.

"Yeah, but that wasn't that far into the future. 2050 is, like, the future future."

Loki glanced up in the sky. 

Thor and Loki glanced at each other as they both realized who TVA Loki was looking for. 

The group walked into the supermarket, completely drenched by the heavy rain. Loki used magic to make himself dry. 

"So cool," said Peter. "Ned would love seeing this. His Grandmother says that magic runs in their family."

B-15 asked, "The hell was that?" "That was me using magic to dry my clothes. So, I don't announce myself with every squeaky footstep like the rest of you." 

Everyone chuckled. 

The lights flickered on and off. B-15 commanded some of the Minutemen to sweep the storm shelter. Mobius started to say that he and Loki would check out the Green House, but B-15 said no and said Mobius would go with D-90 and Loki would stay with her. 

"Can't even blame B-15 after what happened in Wisconsin," said Rhodey. 

Mobius and B-15 argued about who would stay with Loki as he was a threat. Loki stopped the argument by telling Mobius that it was fine and he could trust him. Loki looked at B-15 and said, "I understand I have to earn that, so I will."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Before you stab them in the back again?"

"It's the TVA," said Loki. "Don't you want the TVA to be brought down?"

"Okay, yes."

"Why is it the people you can't trust are always saying, 'Trust me?'" Mobius asked. 

Everyone laughed. 

Loki and B-15 went one way, and Mobius and D-90 went another. Meanwhile, the Loki Variant was watching everything in the security room, still wearing a large cloak. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

The Variant put a twenty-minute countdown on a TemPad and left. 

"Oh, shit. That can't be good," said Clint. 

Loki and B-15 walked down the aisle, awkwardly quiet. Loki tried to break the silence, but B-15 told him to be quiet. 

"It's going to be hard since Loki loves to talk," Natasha smirked. 

They both a noise nearby and looked towards it. The two quietly walked to the other aisle to find an ordinary human man. 

Loki narrowed his eyes. 

"Is that you?" asked Wanda. 

"Could be."

B-15 had her Time Stick out, "Hey!" The man looked at them and put his hands up in surrender. B-15 asked the man what he was doing, and he said he was shopping for plants. 

Everyone looked at the man strangely. 

"That's…suspicious," said Steve. 

"In this storm?" Loki asked, confused. "It's a hurricane sale. Azaleas are half off," said the man. 

"No point in buying azaleas since they're all going to die anyway," said Tony. 

B-15 asked Loki if that could be him. "I mean, I probably would have worn a suit, but, yes, maybe," Loki whispered. 

Loki nodded in agreement. 

B-15 walked closer to the man as Loki followed. The man put a hand on B-15's wrist as green magic left his body and entered hers.

Clint sighed. "Looks like it was the Loki Variant."

"But how can your Variant do that magic?" asked Thor. "You can't do that."

Loki shook his head. He had no idea.

The man fell to the floor, unconscious. 

Everyone sucked in a breath. 

"Is he dead?" asked Sam. 

"I hope not," said Peter. 

"He's going to die anyway," Wanda pointed out. 

Loki was confused at what he had just witnessed and asked if the man was dead.  

Loki tilted his head in confusion. He desperately wanted to know how the Loki Variant was enchanting people. He didn't know how to do that; therefore, TVA Loki wouldn't know either. 

"No. They usually survive," the Variant replied in B-15's body. "So, you're the fool the TVA brought in to hunt me down."

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"It's the Loki Variant!" yelled Scott. 

Loki realized who he was now talking to. "Me, I presume."

"That has to be such a strange, but cool, experience," said Peter. "Talking to your variant."

"Please. If anyone's anyone, you're me," The Variant in B-15's body smiled mischievously.

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose while everyone else laughed. 

Loki gave an identical smile, "How nice to meet you."

"My worst nightmare," said Loki. 

"I really want to meet my Variants," said Peter. "I think we'd get along."

Would my variants and I be similar? Wanda thought. She wondered if her variants had lost everything like she had. Was that a constant throughout the multiverse?

Stephen shuddered. Meeting my variants would be awful, he thought. 

Mobius, D-90, and Minutemen entered the Green House. There were people in the room, and a baby was crying. 

Everyone winced. All of these people would die anyway.

D-90 commanded the Minutemen to check the bags for reset charges. 

"Hey, they can't look through their bags," said Sam.

An employee asked if the Minutemen were FEMA or the National Guard, asked them if they had transportation. Mobius said they didn't, and the employee asked how they got there. 

"Magical Timedoors," said Sam. 

"Timedoors aren't magical," Stephen responded. "They're different. Technological."

D-90 aggressively pushed the employee away and looked through one of the bags. Mobius told D-90 that these people were scared, and D-90 replied, saying they should be since they were about to die. 

Everyone looked at D-90 in disgust. 

A Minutemen entered, scared. Mobius asked what was it. 

"Probably not anything good," Bucky muttered. 

They walked into the security room, where they found C-20 chained.

Everyone sucked in a breath. 

She kept muttering, "It's real."

All of them looked at C-20 in concern. 

"What does that mean?" asked Wanda. "It's real?"

Loki and the Variant in B-15's body walked down an aisle. Loki told the Variant that enchantment was a clever trick, a bit amateur-ish, but clever. 

"Yeah, these Variants aren't going to get along," said Clint.

Loki rolled his eyes. Obviously. 

"Almost as cowardly as working for the TVA," said B-15. Loki said he was working for himself. 

"Better than working for the TVA," said Steve. 

B-15 scoffs. "You really believe that, don't you?" "Yep," said Loki. B-15 laughed and said, "And here I was worried that they'd found a better version than me."

Loki laughed. "Oh, they haven't."

An employee walked up and asked them if they were looking for the disaster shelter. His name tag said his name was Randy. The Variant said no and passed on the magic to the employee. 

Loki leaned closer to take a better look at the magic the Variant was using. 

B-15 fell unconscious as well. 

"She'll be okay," said Loki. 

The Variant in Randy's body smirked. Loki leaned down and checked B-15's pulse. Randy mockingly asked if Loki would call for help as he chuckled and walked away. 

Loki was deeply annoyed. There were now more versions of himself than he wanted to deal with. 

Loki asked if the Variant was too scared to meet him face-to-face. 

"Yeah, the suspense is getting to be a little too much," said Peter. 

Randy walked down the aisle, ignoring Loki. "You know, gaining their confidence was no mean feat," said Loki. Randy stopped and turned to face Loki. "Oh, my God. You went undercover."

"Obviously," said Loki. "As if any self-respecting Loki would willingly work for the TVA."

Loki sighed. "If you could possibly sheathe your sharm for a moment, I have an offer for you. That's why I found you." "Go on," said Randy. Loki said he was going to overthrow the Time-Keepers. 

Everyone looked at each other, satisfied. 

"I knew it!" said Thor. 

"And it's a good thing TVA Loki did," said Sam. "Now everyone has free will."

"Are all of you forgetting about the multiversal war?" Stephen asked, raising an eyebrow. 

Everyone else froze, and Stephen sighed. "Of course, you did."

Randy stopped walking. 

"Ah, that would interest the Variant," said Clint. 

Loki said he could use a qualified lieutenant.

"You know, I doubt the Loki Variant is going to accept that," said Tony. "The Loki Variant would probably want TVA Loki as their lieutenant."

Loki sighed. Stark was right, and he didn't know why TVA Loki hadn't realized that. 

Randy faced Loki. "And I assume you mean…me?"

"Obviously."

"What say you…." Loki winked. "Loki."

"There are too many Lokis," Sam groaned. "I can't keep track of them all."

"Ugh. Don't call me that. You can call me…." Randy looks at the name tag on his shirt. "...Randy." 

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows. 

"The Loki Variant doesn't want TVA Loki to call them by their name?" Bruce asked curiously. 

Loki looked exasperated. "God. Now I understand why Thor found this so annoying."

Thor roared with laughter. "Now you know how it feels!" 

"Listen, enough with your games. I've been trying to help you. I kept them vulnerable at the Renaissance Fair for some time." 

"And it would've been longer if Mobius hadn't caught on," Loki grumbled. 

"I'm not interested in ruling the Time Variance Authority."

"The Loki Variant doesn't want to rule the TVA; they want to take it down," Steve realized. 

Randy quickly walked away from Loki, and Loki followed him. There was a reset charge on the shelves, and the Variant, who was in their own body, wired it. 

Against his will, Loki was impressed that the Loki Variant managed to have a conversation with TVA Loki, enchanting another person's body while physically doing another task. It was impressive. 

In the security room, C-20 continued to mutter, "It's real."

"But what's real?" said Peter and threw his hands in the air. "None of this makes sense."

Rhodey chuckled. "Just like when Wanda created the Hex. We knew nothing."

Wanda looked sheepish. 

"Well, Strange did, but he decided not to share with the class," said Natasha. 

Stephen rolled his eyes. 

"You know, I enjoyed watching Sam and Bucky fix the boat. It was a nice break from all the other crazy magical bullshit we've seen," said Clint. "At least, fixing a boat makes sense."

Sam and Bucky snorted.

Mobius asked what was real, and C-20 said she wanted to go home. 

Everyone winced.

"Poor C-20," muttered Bucky. 

"We're gonna get you there," said Mobius. He turns to the agent behind him. "Call the TVA, let the infirmary know—" "I gave it away," said C-20. "The Time-Keepers, where they are. I gave it away how to find them."

Everyone sucked in a breath. 

"Holy shit," said Peter. 

"To the Loki Variant, right?" said Thor. "One step closer to burning down the TVA."

"And one step closer to a multiversal war," Stephen said, pinching the bridge of his nose. 

D-90 asked B-15 about her status through the radio. B-15 was still unconscious on the aisle floor, and she woke up as she heard D-90's voice. She sat up and looked shaken. 

Everyone looked at B-15 with apprehension. 

Meanwhile, Loki was still following Randy. "If you don't wanna rule the TVA, then what do you want?" Loki asked. 

"You're the one who said you would burn the TVA to the ground," said Loki. "Shouldn't you know?"

"It doesn't matter. You're too late," said Randy. 

"Right, the Variant activated that timer," Steve realized. 

"But what was the timer for?" asked Bruce. 

"Well, I think you'll find I'm well ahead of schedule. I found your hiding place like that," said Loki as he snapped his fingers. 

"Well, it wasn't that fast," said Wanda. 

"Loki had a nice nap for a while," said Thor. 

"But TVA Loki did find out the whole apocalypse thing pretty quickly," said Bruce. 

"I'd say that makes me the superior Loki, wouldn't you?" 

"Norns," Loki sighed, exasperated. "Kill me."

Everyone else chuckled. 

Loki stopped as he noticed the wired-up reset charges. "I see. That's your plan. Lure us in here so you can blow the place up."

"What purpose would that solve?" asked Loki. 

Loki looked around and didn't see Randy anymore. Suddenly, a large man kicked him, and Loki fell to the floor. 

"Oh, a new person then," said Sam.

"I miss Randy," Loki muttered. The man kicked Loki again and chuckled. 

Loki groaned. TVA Loki was an embarrassment to all Loki Variants. 

"Thank you for helping me stall for time. You really do love to hear yourself talk." "You're the first person to tell me that."

Everyone snorted. 

The man threw Loki, and he slid him across the floor. 

All of them looked at Loki, astonished. 

"I'm sorry, what?" said Loki. 

"Brother, you're better at fighting than this," said Thor.

"I kicked you in the face in Stuttgart and it barely harmed you, and I'm a super-soldier," said Steve, incredulously. "And yet you're getting beat up by a normal human?"

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. "TVA Loki is an embarrassment."

"I would never treat me like this," said TVA Loki. 

"No, I would treat you like this," said Loki.

Loki stood up and said, "Hi." The man tried to punch Loki but punched a TV instead. Loki summoned a Roomba and blocked a hit with it from the man. 

Wanda grinned as she realized she already knew how to summon objects.  

Loki told the Variant to stop hiding. The man and Loki fought, with Loki losing as the man threw him around. 

Loki buried his face in his hands. 

"This is pretty embarrassing, not to going to lie," said Natasha. 

B-15 caught up with Mobius and D-90. Mobius asked where Loki was, and B-15 admitted to losing him. "Looks like your favourite Loki betrayed you." Said D-90. 

"Hey, go easy on her," said Bucky. "B-15 just had her mind taken over."

The man hooks the TemPad to the system. The countdown is at 1 minute and 12 seconds.

All of them looked at each other in concern.

Loki groaned as he got back up. He noticed the man from afar and walked towards the man. He shouted what the Variant wanted with him. "Brace yourself, Loki," said the man before his eyes flashed green, and he fell unconscious. Loki sighed.

"Thor, I get it now," said Loki, irritated. "That's incredibly annoying."

Thor was smug.

Loki's voice echoed, "What do you want from me? What is this about?" Loki looked confused as he turned around to see the Variant, still wearing a cloak and their face not seen. Their hands were covered with green magic. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"Ah, there's the Loki Variant," said Tony. 

Loki's eyes were drawn to the magic covering the Loki Variant's hands. He wanted to know how the Variant had enchanted all those people. 

The Variant pulled down their hood, revealing a blonde and female Loki Variant. She had horns similar to Loki's, except one was broken. "This isn't about you," she spat.  

Everyone's jaws dropped. 

"Loki?" Rhodey said in disbelief. 

Thor narrowed his eyes at the Loki Variant. "You know, blonde hair doesn't suit you. Blond hair is my thing."

Loki's mouth twitched into a smile. 

"That's what you've noticed?" Clint asked incredulously. 

Thor shrugged. "Loki is a shapeshifter." His eyes lit up. "One time when we were children, he transformed himself into a snake, and he knows that I love snakes—"

Bruce buried his face in his hands. He had already heard this story once, and he didn't want to hear it again. 

"—So, I went to pick up the snake to admire it, and he transformed back into himself, and he was like, 'Blergh, it's me!' and he stabbed me. We were eight at the time."

Loki smirked while everyone looked at Thor, speechless. 

"What the fuck," said Tony.

Thor beamed. "I have a sister!"

"You already have a sister. She was awful," said Bruce. 

Thor scowled. "Hela was a horrible sister. She was the worst."

Loki was stunned. "Right."

"It must be weird meeting your Variant," said Wanda. 

"I think it would be cool," Peter said.

The countdown ended, and the system started. 

"Oh shit," said Sam. 

The lights switched off. Numerous reset charges across the store were activated as they opened their mini Timedoors and went through. 

Everyone was wide-eyed and Stephen groaned. 

"Oh my God, the reset charges are going to go off at different times," said Scott. 

"In different places too," Tony added. 

Steve beamed. "The TVA will erupt into chaos." 

"She makes better plans than you, Loki," Thor smiled. "That's my sister!"

"That's…actually quite brilliant," Loki said, against his will. 

Mobius, D-90, and B-15 looked panicked. Mobius asked where they were going. 

"Bad for you, good for us," said Clint. 

"No, it's bad for us too," said Stephen. "Multiversal war, in case you've forgotten."

"Right," said Sam. "But we do get free will, though."

At the TVA, the Sacred Timeline now had numerous branches. 

Stephen looked horrified as everyone else stared in fascination. 

The monitor beeped rapidly, and the analysts panicked. 

Most of them watched the chaos unfold with satisfaction. 

"That's not possible," said an analyst. 

"Well, it is," said Loki. 

One analyst dialled a number on the phone and tried to explain what was going on, but the other analyst grabbed the phone and said, "Somebody just bombed the Sacred Timeline."

"Good," Steve said firmly. 

"No, not good!" yelled Stephen. 

Renslayer was watching this on her monitor. There were locations of various places on Earth across different centuries. 

"That's pretty cool," said Bucky. 

There were also locations of different planets, including Vormir in 2301, Asgard in 2004, Ego in 1382, Titan in 1982, Hala in 51, and Xandar in 1001. 

Everyone scowled at seeing Vormir and Natasha paled. 

"2301," said Peter. "Sounds like a fake year."

"Asgard in 2004?" said Thor as he and Loki glanced at each other. "That wasn't that long ago."

"Feels like a lifetime ago, though," Loki muttered. 

"Titan in 1982," Stephen said with interest. 

"I hope that reset charge disintegrated Thanos," Tony said.

"Hala, Ego, and Xandar?" asked Scott. "Xandar and Ego sound familiar, but Hala doesn't."

"Ego is Quill's dad!" Sam realized. "The Celestial planet dude."

"Oh, right."

"Xandar is the capital of the Nova Empire. It's where the Guardians left the Power Stone," Thor answered. "Thanos decimated the planet to get it, remember?"

There was a moment of silence. 

"Shit," said Clint. 

"And Hala?" asked Steve. 

"It's the homeworld of the Kree and the capital planet of the Kree Empire," Loki explained. "Captain Danvers would have lived there before she broke away from the Kree."

Everyone else blinked in surprise. 

"The Kree and Nova Empire were at war for a thousand years," Loki continued. "They reached a peace agreement a couple of years ago."

"And the Kree and the Skrulls have also been at war for more than a thousand years," Thor added. "Their war is still going on."

Tony scowled. "We're very familiar with Skrulls."

"You know, I'm getting the feeling that the Kree aren't very nice people if they were at war with the Nova Empire and the Skrulls for a thousand years," said Clint.

"Didn't Fury, well, Talos say that there were Kree sleeper cells on Earth?" Peter asked.

There was a brief pause.

"Fuck," Rhodey cursed.

"Besides Kree sleeper cells, we also know that Skrulls have infiltrated governments on Earth," said Wanda. "We saw an undercover agent greet Monica, remember? Not to mention Talos took Fury's place on Earth during Peter's summer vacation."

Everyone looked at each other horrified.

"Space politics sounds complicated," said Bucky.

"If you think space politics about the Kree, Skrulls, and the Nova Empire is bad, you guys haven't heard a detailed explanation about Asgardian politics," said Bruce.

"I thought you wanted to know!" Loki defended.

"I did! It was just a lot." Bruce paused. "And with everything we learnt about your sister, it's just messed up."

Thor and Loki didn't disagree.  

"To be honest, I quite enjoyed the discussion," said Loki. "It was nice."

Renslayer was horrified. She quickly got up from her chair and grabbed her Time Stick. The helmet next to it said A-22. 

"So, Renslayer was a Minuteman before becoming a Judge," Steve noted. "Interesting."

Many Minutemen were running through various Timedoors. At Roxxcart, the lights were red. Loki looked at the Variant who grabbed the TemPad and opened a Timedoor. She waved goodbye before she walked through. 

"Oh, I like her," said Wanda. 

Loki started to walk through the door, but he heard Mobius yelling his name and telling him to wait as he, D-90, and B-15 ran towards him. 

"Why do I have a feeling that Loki's going to walk through the Timedoor anyway?" Bucky said. 

"Because he is," said Loki and the original six Avengers.

Loki took a deep breath as he walked through the Timedoor, and it closed behind him. 

Thor sighed in relief. His brother wasn't with the TVA anymore and his sister wasn't caught either.

"But the TVA can track TVA Loki," said Scott. 

"Not if he goes to an apocalypse, remember?" Tony pointed out. 

"Mobius is going to be so mad," said Peter. 

"Damn it!" yelled Mobius. 

Loki winced. Mobius was starting to grow on him. 

Chapter Text

C-20 and the Loki Variant were at a bar. They were both dressed casually. 

Everyone tilted their head in confusion. 

"Uh, what?" said Rhodey. 

Loki narrowed his eyes at the Loki Variant. 

C-20 suggested the dishes they could eat, but the Variant wanted to go somewhere else. C-20 asked why the Variant hated this place, and the Variant talked about the poor hygiene. 

"The Loki Variant is manipulating C-20's memory," Wanda realized. It was similar to what she — or her variant — had done to Agatha.

C-20 said the drinks seemed fine, took a sip, and got a brain freeze. 

"Brain freezes are the worst," said Scott. 

The Variant explained what brain freezes were. "So, it permeates the roof of your mouth, and it freezes the synapses in your brain. So, your memories are literally frozen in place." 

Everyone chuckled. 

"That's not true at all," laughed Thor. 

"That is absolutely not true." "It is!" The Variant said she could ask a question, but C-20 wouldn't be able to answer. 

"This is an interrogation," Natasha realized. 

C-20 accepted the challenge, drank most of her drink, and told Variant to ask her a question. The Variant's demeanour changed. "How many people are guarding the Time-Keepers?" the Variant asked. 

"Ah, there it is, there's Loki," said Clint. 

"She is manipulating C-20's mind," said Peter. 

Bucky's eye twitched. 

C-20 was confused. "I'm sorry, what?" 

Everyone looked at each other with confusion. 

"C-20 doesn't know who the Time-Keepers are even though they're the ones who made her?" Bruce asked.

Bucky clenched his jaw. "Her mind must be messed up."

The Variant smiled. C-20 and the Variant were now in a different area with a darker sky. C-20 looked around in shock. 

Everyone blinked in surprise, and Loki looked slightly impressed. 

The Variant asked C-20 how long they've been best friends, and C-20 replied, "Too long." The Variant asked how many people were guarding the Time-Keepers again. 

"Please, tell us," Sam pleaded. 

"Oh, well, there's—" C-20 stopped herself. She looked around and said she knew this place. 

"But how?" 

She looked at the Variant and said, "But I don't know you."

Everyone winced. 

"C-20 is becoming more conscious," said Stephen. 

"It's okay. You're just tired," the Variant said firmly. At Roxxcart, it was shown that the Variant was enchanting C-20. 

Loki sat up straighter. He wanted to know how his Variant was enchanting C-20 and the others. It wasn't something his mother taught him. 

The Variant asked how she could find the elevators. C-20 said they were gold. 

Loki looked smug. 

The Variant smiled in satisfaction and stopped enchanting C-20. Her smile fell off her face as she saw Loki and Mobius through the security cameras.

Everyone chuckled.

"I get it," said Loki. "I have the same reaction towards TVA Loki."

At the TVA, alarms were still ringing as a group of Minutemen went through the Timedoor. 

Most of them grinned at the chaos. 

"They deserve it," said Bucky. 

A Timedoor opened, and the Variant walked out of it. She put away her TemPad and tied her hair up as she marched into the hallway. 

Natasha nodded in agreement. It was always good to tie up your hair when you were going to get into a fight. 

She walked up to a Minuteman and tried to enchant him, but it didn't work. The Variant looked shocked. 

Loki furrowed his eyebrows. "The Variant doesn't know magic doesn't work in the TVA?" 

"I thought she had been to the TVA," said Tony. 

"Maybe not," said Wanda. "All we know is that the Variant has been on the run, and the TVA's been looking for her."

The Minuteman tried to prune her, but she kicked him, took the Minuteman's Time Stick, and pruned him instead. 

"She's quick," said Wanda.  

The Variant grinned as the other Minutemen tried to attack her. She fought all the Minutemen and pruned one.

Thor grinned. "That's my sister!" he said proudly. 

Loki looked at the Variant curiously. "She fights differently than I do. Her style is more…."

"Brawling?" Natasha finished. 

Loki nodded. 

In the locker room, Loki ran out of the Timedoor. 

"All that effort to get away from the TVA and Loki just ended up back there," Clint laughed. 

He started to walk towards the hallway, stopped, and glanced at the lockers. 

Loki perked up. "The daggers!" 

Later, Loki walked down the hallway with his daggers in his hands. The Variant marched down another hallway and stopped at a golden elevator, protected by two Minutemen. 

Everyone sucked in a breath. 

"The gold elevator," Peter said with wide eyes. 

"So, it wasn't TVA Loki who took down the TVA; it was the Loki Variant," Bucky realized. 

"She may be the superior Loki, after all," Tony teased. 

Loki shot Tony a dirty look. 

The Variant pruned one Minutemen, knocked the other one unconscious by twisting his arm and kicking him in the head. 

"It's a more violent form of fighting than yours, brother," said Thor. 

"Reminds me of your fighting," said Loki. "All brawn and no brain."

"Still tricked you in Sakaar, didn't I?"

"It was once!" 

Loki arrived, breathing heavily. The Variant noticed him too.

"This is going to be interesting to see," said Peter. "Variants meeting each other."

Loki flipped his daggers in the air and caught them while the Variant pulled out a sword.

"That's much more impressive than TVA Loki's tiny knives," said Rhodey. 

"A few questions," said Loki. "Have you really got nothing else better to do?" the Loki Variant asked. 

"Honestly," said Wanda. "Just let her get on with destroying the TVA."

Stephen rubbed his temples. He had a feeling he was going to witness the start of the Multiversal War with the way the Loki Variant was so adamant about getting to the Time-Keepers. 

"Rude," Loki replied and asked if the Variant was sure she was a Loki. 

"She's definitely a Loki," said Thor. "She loves to stab people, just like Loki."

Loki rolled his eyes. 

"You're in my way," said the Variant. "You are my way," Loki snarled. 

"You know, somehow I'm not surprised that this is how two Lokis would interact," said Loki. 

"I would be the happiest person in the multiverse if I never had to meet any of my variants," said Stephen. 

"I don't know," said Peter. "I think it would be pretty cool."

Loki and the Variant started to fight. "I thought perhaps we could work together," said Loki. The Variant kicked him. 

Everyone snickered. 

"But now I see you lack vision," Loki finished. 

Tony had a shit-eating grin on his face. "But Vision doesn't lack Vision."

Everyone groaned. 

The Variant groaned and walked towards the elevator with Loki following her. 

"Just get out of her way, TVA Loki!" Steve yelled.

"No, get in her way!" Stephen replied.  

"So, either you come willingly…." Loki touched her arm, but the Variant tried to punch him. "Or you won't. Either way, that's how I get to the Time-Keepers."

"Or TVA Loki can work with her since that was his original plan," said Rhodey. 

"Oh, God. Shut up!" yelled the Variant. 

"Please," Loki pleaded. "I can't handle these many variants of myself."

She pushed herself and Loki to the floor. They started to fight again but were stopped by the sound of Renslayer's voice. She and two other Minutemen activated their Time Sticks. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"Oh no," said Peter.

The Variant quickly grabbed Loki and put her sword on his neck. "Come any closer, and I'll kill him."

"A new meaning to killing yourself," said Clint.

"Nebula already did it," said Rhodey. 

"Go for it," Renslayer said casually.

Thor scowled. 

Loki grabbed the Variant's TemPad and opened a Timedoor just as Renslayer tried to prune Loki and the Loki Variant. 

Everyone sighed in relief, except Loki. 

Loki and the Variant fell through the Timedoor and landed on their backs in a cabin. 

"I wonder what year and place they're in now," said Scott. 

The Variant looked around to find the TemPad on the ground. She tried to take it, but Loki dragged her away by grabbing her leg. "Get off my leg!" yelled the Variant. The Variant smashed Loki's head into the table and grabbed the TemPad. 

Except for Loki, everyone else was amused by TVA Loki and the Loki Variant fighting each other. Loki buried his face in his hands. 

"Now we've seen Steve, Vision, and Loki fight themselves," said Bucky. "And Nebula killed herself."

"I think most of us would fight ourselves," said Natasha. "I would, just out of curiosity."

"Not me," said Peter. "I think I would get along really well with my variants."

Tony snorted. "Obviously, kid. You're one of the kindest people I've ever met, and I bet your variants would be too."

"Goodbye, Variant," the Variant spat. She tried to open a Timedoor, but the TemPad had low battery. 

Everyone looked at the TemPad in disbelief. 

"You're telling me that a device that can open doors to different times and places can run low on battery?" said Tony. "Stark Industries products are better than this."

"It's not working," the Variant said in shock. 

"The TVA needs to get better technology," said Rhodey. 

Loki got up. The Variant pulled out her sword and tried to stab Loki, but Loki teleported behind her before she could. 

"Ha!" Loki laughed. 

Loki threw her into a shelf and picked up the TemPad. The Variant got up, "Give it to me. You don't know how to recharge it."

"How hard could it be, though?" asked Tony. 

"Of course, I do. You're not the only tech-savvy Loki." "Don't ever call me that." "Tech-savvy?" "No, a Loki."

Loki blinked in surprise. "But why?"

Loki made the TemPad disappear. 

"Oh, like you did with the Tesseract!" said Scott. 

"You're just fully a magician then?" asked the Variant, mockingly. 

"Did Mother not teach her how to do that?" Loki asked. 

"Fine. For my next trick," Loki pulled out his daggers. "I'll make you disappear."

Everyone chuckled. 

The Variant picked up her sword, but a meteorite fell through the ceiling.

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Where did you go?" Thor asked warily. 

"Is that one of your powers?" asked Loki. "Where did you send us?" asked the Variant. 

"Oh, shit!" yelled Sam. "They're probably on an apocalypse."

Everyone's blood ran cold. 

"And the TemPad is broken," said Thor, pale. He didn't want to see Loki die again! Either Loki.

On Lamentis-1, 2077, many more meteorites were falling from the sky from a nearby planet, which was causing the apocalypse. 

Everyone blanched at seeing the apocalypse on Lamentis-1. 

"2077," said Wanda. "That's far in the future."

Loki tilted his head. "Lamentis-1? I've never heard of that moon."

"It's at the edge of Kree space," Thor answered. "Lamentis is the planet that's crashing onto its moon."

Loki narrowed his eyes. "How do you know that?"

"I visited many planets while searching for the Infinity Stones. I stopped on Lamentis for a while. It's a beautiful planet."

The sky was purple. 

"Whoa, the sky is purple," said Peter. "So cool."

The Variant and Loki walked out of the cabin and looked around. "You idiot! This is Lamentis-1!" yelled the Variant. 

"Yeah, looking by that planet breaking apart, I'm guessing that Lamentis-1 isn't a great place to stay at the moment," said Sam. 

"And they don't even have a TemPad," Thor groaned. 

"I don't know what that means!" Loki exclaimed. A meteorite hit the ground near them. 

Everyone grimaced. 

The Variant and Loki started to run. The Variant explained, "The moon that planet is about to crash into and destroy. Of all of the apocalypses saved on that TemPad, this is the worst! No one makes it off here!" 

There was a moment of silence. 

"Well… that's bad," said Tony. 

Thor's stomach churned. He hoped TVA Loki and the Variant would somehow make it off Lamentis-1 because he really couldn't handle watching a Loki die again. 

"Watch out!" yelled the Variant as she pulled Loki away from where a meteorite was about to hit. 

"She's saving TVA Loki?" said Clint, stunned. "I thought she wanted TVA Loki dead."

"Yes, but TVA Loki has the TemPad, which the Variant desperately wants," said Loki. 

Loki said he didn't have the time to scan the brochure as they hid underneath a truck. "By the way, I thought you wanted me dead," said Loki. The Variant said she needed the TemPad. 

"So, work together!" Thor begged. 

The Variant pointed towards a shack ahead. Loki asked if they were a team, and the Variant said, "Oh, God, no!"

Everyone chuckled. 

The Variant and Loki dodged more meteorites. Loki saved the Variant from a meteorite. The Variant said she didn't need his help, and Loki said, "You're so weird!"

Loki snorted. "TVA Loki is the weird one."

The two ran inside the shack. The Variant smirked and walked closer to Loki. She put both hands on his neck and tried to enchant him. 

"Is she trying to enchant TVA Loki?" asked Loki. He shrugged. "Might make him more bearable."

Loki asked if she was trying to enchant him and said it wouldn't work. 

"I'd hope not," Loki muttered. "He'd be an embarrassment of a Loki otherwise."

"Why? Because you're a magician?" The Variant said mockingly. 

"That's twice she's called TVA Loki a magician," said Sam. "I hope she knows that she's one herself?"

"And we have three magicians right here," said Tony. 

Stephen, Loki, and Wanda rolled their eyes. 

"No, because my mind is too strong!"

"Occlumency," Scott said knowingly. 

Thor laughed. "That's what I thought about my mind before Wanda gave me that awful nightmare."

Wanda winced. "Sorry."

Thor waved her off. "It's alright. I didn't like it at the time, but it led to some important information. Just don't do it again."

The Variant pulled out her sword and Loki pulled out his daggers. 

Everyone sighed. 

"Can both of them stop fighting for one minute!" Thor exclaimed. 

Loki scoffed. "Brother, it's like you don't know me at all." 

Loki asked if they were going to do this again. "What do you propose instead?" asked the Variant. Loki suggested a truce, and the Variant scoffed. 

"I honestly can't see two Lokis working together," said Loki. 

"Listen, neither of us is getting off this rock if we can't turn that TemPad on," said Loki. 

The light-hearted atmosphere disappeared. 

"Oh right, they're at an apocalypse," said Bucky.

"Where do you have it hidden?" the Variant asked angrily, pointing her sword at Loki. 

"How does she know how to enchant people but not know about interdimensional pockets?!" Loki exclaimed. 

"In my heart." "Well, then, I'll cut it out." "Nice. Very droll. Lovely."

Everyone snickered while Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. He'd had enough of his variants. 

Loki said he had the TemPad but wouldn't give it to her if she kept trying to kill him.

"Valid."

The Variant said Loki only saved her because he needed her to recharge the TemPad. "That too," said Loki. "Or we could slaughter each other here in this abandoned mining shack." 

"Please get on with it, so I don't have to deal with either one of you anymore," said Loki. 

"Good for me," said the Variant. 

Everyone snorted. 

"The plan you interrupted was years in the making," said the Variant. "Years! And as soon as I turn that TemPad back on, I'm going straight back to the TVA to finish what I started."

"Good for her," said Wanda. 

"I'll kill you then," said the Variant. "Or I'll kill you," Loki objected. 

"Is it too much to ask for no killing?" Thor asked with a pointed look. 

Everyone else snorted. 

"They're both Loki," Clint replied. 

The Variant scoffed and started to leave the shack. Loki asked where she was going. The Variant said she would find enough power to travel through inter-dimensional time and space. 

"You know, as you do casually," said Sam.

"After seeing Wanda create a sitcom, I think nothing else is going to surprise me," said Bucky. "So, thank you," he told Wanda. 

"You're welcome."

The shack shook. 

Everyone had a worried look on their faces, especially Thor. 

The Variant walked out of the shack, and Loki followed. Meteorites fell onto Lamentis. 

Everyone grimaced, while Thor just hoped Loki and the Variant would be able to recharge the TemPad before the apocalypse occurred. 

The Variant was walking down a path with Loki a few steps behind her. Loki asked what the plan was. The Variant said there was a town nearby and told Loki to shut up. 

"Thank you," Loki muttered. 

"Slow down, Variant," said Loki. The Variant told Loki not to call her 'Variant'. "I'm sorry, but I'm not calling some faded photocopy of me 'Loki.'"

"You're the faded photocopy, you idiot!" Loki exclaimed. 

"Good. 'Cause, that's not who I am anymore. I'm Sylvie now." 

"Sylvie!" Thor beamed. "Wonderful name."

"You changed your name. Brilliant." "It's called an alias." Loki said it wasn't very Loki-like. Sylvie asked what exactly made a Loki a Loki? 

Peter slammed his hand on his seat. "See! The Ship of Theseus!"

"Independence, authority, style," Loki replied. 

Loki groaned. "You're wearing the most boring clothes at the moment!"

"Only because his 'fine Asgardian leather' was disintegrated," Tony snickered.  

"So, naturally, you went to work for the boring, oppressive time police," said Sylvie. 

Everyone chuckled. 

Loki said he didn't work for them and was a consultant. 

"I was a consultant for the Avengers and then look at what happened," said Tony. 

Loki said her years-in-the-making plan was to tear the place down, create the ultimate power vacuum, and then just walk away. 

"Sounds like a good plan to me," said Bucky. 

"A plan that would cause a Multiversal War, so no," said Stephen. "It's not a good plan."

"I'd never have done that." "Yeah? Well, I'm not you."

Loki crossed his arms. "Exactly, and I'm not either one of you."

Loki and Sylvie walked into an abandoned and half-destroyed town.

Everyone's heart twisted. 

Loki noted that everyone had already fled. Sylvie said it was in vain. 

Thor had large sad eyes. "Because no one makes it off Lamentis." 

Loki asked how long they had. "Twelve hours or so," Sylvie answered. She said things would get worse due to more meteors, gravity quakes, and the collapse of society in the face of annihilation.

There was a beat of silence. 

"Shit."

Loki and Sylvie walked to a building, and Loki asked it could charge the TemPad.

Tony, Bruce, Rhodey, and Peter raised an eyebrow. 

"That thing doesn't look like it's going to charge the TemPad," said Peter. 

"Maybe," said Sylvie and ran up the ramp. She said she was making sure it would connect and told Loki to hand the TemPad over. 

"Ah," Thor realized what Sylvie was doing. 

Loki laughed, and Sylvie looked exasperated. Loki said she was going to have to try harder than that. "Then don't give me your 'tech savvy' ideas either. The TemPad requires a massive power source, not a night light," said Sylvie.

"It was a pathetic attempt," said Loki. 

The two walked towards a hut. Sylvie had her sword out, but Loki grabbed her arm and said brute force wasn't a substitute for diplomacy. 

"I've heard you say that so many times," said Thor. 

"And yet, you never listened," Loki replied. 

Thor was sheepish. 

"Noted," said Sylvie. She kicked open the door and got shot by a shockwave from a machine that a woman was holding. 

Everyone burst into laughter. 

"It's remarkable that you ever made it as far as you did," said Loki. Loki apologized for Sylvie, and the woman said she enjoyed it. 

"I enjoyed seeing it," said Loki. 

Loki assured her that they were just travellers, but she wasn't convinced. Loki looked at a photo of her and her husband and shapeshifted into him.

Natasha shook her head. "That's a bad idea. TVA Loki has no idea what relationship that woman has with her husband." 

Loki walked in front of the woman, who asked if it was really Patrice. Loki nodded and said it had been a long time before getting shot and changing back into himself. 

Everyone erupted into peals of laughter.  

Loki grinned. "That was so satisfying to see."

Sylvie laughed at Loki as he got up. The woman told them that Patrice had never said anything that nice in thirty years. 

"I told you."

"Which one was that?" asked Sylvie, amused. "Diplomacy? Or—" "Don't. Just don't." 

Everyone snickered. 

"Sylvie and TVA Loki are so entertaining," said Tony. 

"You mean irritating," Loki corrected. 

The woman asked what they wanted with her. Sylvie asked where everyone was. "The Ark. The evacuation vessel," the woman said. 

Except for Loki, everyone else sighed in relief. 

"They have a way off the moon!" Thor said, ecstatic.

Loki crossed his arms in disappointment. 

Sylvie said that would be powerful enough to repower the TemPad. "How do we get there?" Loki asked. "Train station's the edge of town. But you'll never get a ticket," said the woman. 

"Is that why she's waiting to die?" asked Bruce. 

"It must be horrible waiting for your own death," said Wanda. 

Sylvie and Loki started to walk towards the train station. There was a long line of people waiting to get onto the train at the train station. 

Everyone winced. 

Loki and Sylvie walked along the line. "We can't fight our way onto that train," said Loki. "Who said anything about fighting?" Sylvie asked. 

"I haven't known my sister for long, but I feel like all her plans involve fighting," said Thor. "I want to meet Sylvie. Maybe she'll do Get Help with me."

Loki rolled his eyes. "I think she'll stab you instead."

"Well, I'm used to that."

Loki said all of Sylvie's plans involved fighting. Sylvie said this one didn't and said, "I'm going to enchant a guard, have him lead us through the crowd, and if anyone gives us any trouble…."

"Kill him?"

"Kill every guard and hijack the train?" Loki asked. Sylvie said it was up to the guards. 

"They're just doing their jobs," said Steve. 

Loki said they were doing this one his way. Loki transformed himself into a guard and asked Sylvie how he looked. "Like someone with a shit plan," she said.

Everyone snickered. 

Loki said it was a great plan, but Sylvie wasn't convinced. "Follow my lead," said Loki as he grabbed Sylvie's arm. Sylvie rolled her eyes. They got past the guards successfully as they thought Sylvie was Loki's prisoner. 

"As much as I despise TVA Loki, his plan is going to work," said Loki. "He just has to not mess it up."

"They're only giving tickets out to the wealthy!" a woman yelled. 

Everyone winced. 

"That's why the woman stayed at her cabin," Bucky realized. "She knew there was no point in trying to get a ticket because she wouldn't get one."

"It's nice to know that the government is still shit even on different planets and in 2077," said Sam. 

A guard asked two people ahead of Loki and Sylvie for their tickets. They gave it to them and boarded the train. They were dressed in wealthy clothes.

"That's so messed up," said Scott. 

Loki and Sylvie tried to walk past but were stopped by the guard asking for their tickets. 

"Oh no."

Loki said he was taking Sylvie to Shuroo as they were orders from the top. 

Everyone looked at Loki in disbelief. 

"That's not convincing at all," said Stephen. 

The guard wasn't convinced and started to call his supervisor, but Sylvie enchanted him before he could. The enchanted guard let them pass.

Everyone sighed in relief. 

Bucky frowned at seeing Sylvie enchant someone who was just trying to do their job. 

Chapter Text

On the train, someone was pouring drinks. 

Steve scoffed. "People are going to die out there and they're pouring drinks in here."

Sylvie and Loki boarded; Loki said he couldn't go backwards on a train, and Sylvie said she never sat with her back to a door. 

Natasha could understand. She never sat with her back to a door or window either. 

Loki said there were doors on both sides, and Sylvie told him to sit down. Sylvie said that dressing as a guard and getting on a train was just doing a thing, not a plan.

"It worked, didn't it?" said Thor. 

Sylvie yawned and Loki told her to take some rest. She growled and he looked amused. 

"Two Lokis pissing each other off," said Tony, fascinated. "The multiverse is amazing!"

"I can't sleep in a place like this." "You can't sleep on a train?" "No. I can't sleep around untrustworthy people." "That me?"

"Obviously," said Loki.

"I'm not gonna waste my time rooting around for the TemPad when someone taught you fairly decent magic." "My mother."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Mother didn't teach her? I find that hard to believe."

Sylvie scoffed. After a moment, she softened and asked what she was like. 

"Sylvie doesn't know?" Thor asked as he felt a wave of sadness. "When did she diverge from the timeline?"

"Must've been when she was a child if she didn't know how our mother was like," said Loki. 

"She was a Queen of Asgard. She was good. Purely decent."

There was a lump in Thor and Loki's throats. 

"She was," whispered Thor. 

"Are you sure she was your mother?" "Oh, no, she's not actually. I was adopted."

"Just because we're adopted doesn't mean she's not our mother," Loki snapped. 

Thor nodded in agreement. 

"Is that a bit of a spoiler for you? Sorry about that." "No, I knew I was adopted." 

Loki and Thor's jaws dropped. 

"WHAT?" Loki yelled. "They told Sylvie she was adopted?"

"You didn't know you were adopted, right?" Wanda asked Loki. 

Thor and Loki winced and glanced at each other. Loki cleared his throat, "No, I didn't."

"Although, Mother and Father should've told you," Thor said. "They should've told us a lot of things," he muttered. 

"Yes, they should've," said Loki. 

"And instead of the entire convoluted plan you created, you could've just told me your concerns about me becoming King."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "Would you have listened to me?"

Thor winced. "Probably not."

"Brother, there's a lot of things I regret in my life, but getting you banished was not one of them."

"Is that why the TVA arrested Sylvie?" Steve asked, getting back on track. "She would've diverged from the timeline then."

"Perhaps," said Loki. Why would their parents tell Sylvie the truth and not him? What changed their minds in Sylvie's timeline? He wondered how his life would've gone his parents had told him he was adopted from the beginning. How would his life have changed? Would he have been happier? Although, he supposed there was no point in thinking about it since the TVA wouldn't have let that happen because he apparently only had one role to play on the Sacred Timeline — an evil, lying scourge. 

"What? They told you?" "Yeah. Did they not tell you?" "No."

Except for Loki and Thor, everyone else looked at each other awkwardly. 

"I mean, they did, eventually."

Loki snorted. As if that confrontation with Odin counted as telling him the truth. 

"Tell me about your mother," Loki asked.

"Don't both of them have the same mother?" asked Wanda. 

"I barely remember her. Just blips of a dream at this point."

Thor's heart dropped. "So, Sylvie doesn't remember me?" he whispered to Loki in a broken voice. 

Loki's face crumpled. He couldn't imagine a Loki not having a Thor as a brother. 

"Do you think she even had a Thor for a brother?" Thor asked. 

"I'm sure Sylvie had a Thor," Loki reassured him. 

"Has," Thor corrected. "Sylvie's my sister. She has me even though she doesn't have her Thor anymore."

Loki explained that Frigga would do little bits of magic for him when he was young, like turning a flower into a frog or casting fireworks over the water.

Loki had a watery smile. He missed his mother every day. 

"It all seemed impossible. She told me that I'd be able to do it too because…Because I could do anything."

Tears brimmed Thor and Loki's eyes while everyone else looked at them sympathetically. All of them had seen how Frigga's death had affected the brothers. 

Sylvie had a painful look in her eyes. TVA Loki opened his palm and created small fireworks. 

Loki created small fireworks in his palm too. 

"Mum used to create those fireworks to make us go to sleep, remember?" Thor said while wiping the tears from his eyes. 

Loki had a slight smile on his face. "She did. I loved them."

Sylvie sniffed and said it wasn't bad. 

Everyone looked at Sylvie sadly as they saw she was putting up walls around herself. 

Loki stopped the illusion. "She was the kinda person you'd want to believe in you."

Peter smiled softly. "Sort of reminds me of May. I don't know what I would do if I lost her."

"Sounds like she does." "Well, she did." 

Tears stung in Thor and Loki's eyes at the reminder. 

Loki asked Sylvie how she learned to do her magic. Sylvie said she taught herself. 

Loki and Stephen raised an eyebrow. 

"That's quite impressive," Loki said against his will. 

Thor beamed. His sister was amazing!

"Wow." Wanda's eyes were wide, "Sylvie's incredible!" Her variant was teaching herself magic by reading the Darkhold, but it didn't look that would end well. She admired Sylvie for successfully teaching herself magic.

"Sylvie's definitely the superior Loki," said Stephen. 

"Hey!" Loki protested. 

"I bet Sylvie wouldn't have fallen for thirty minutes," Thor teased. 

Stephen snickered while Loki pointed at Stephen. "It was only because of the second-rate sorcerer!"

Stephen smirked. 

Loki looked impressed and asked if she went into their minds and projected some illusion.

Wanda nodded. That's what she did. 

"Nobody should be going into anyone's minds," muttered Bucky. 

"It'd be easier if I just—" "Enchanted me and take the TemPad and leap out the train? No, thank you." "Well then, don't ask."

"These two are entertaining," said Scott. 

"Would've been more entertaining if they weren't my variants," Loki grumbled. 

A waitress walked up to the two and offered them champagne. Loki took a flute, but Sylvie declined, so Loki took hers too. Loki cheered to the end of the world. 

"Are you sure you should be drinking in a situation like this?" said Natasha. 

"A pity the old woman chose to die, don't you think?" said Loki. 

"She knew she wouldn't get a ticket," said Clint. "She didn't see a point in trying."

"She was in love." "She hated him." "Maybe love is hate." Loki conjured parchment and a quill to write down what Sylvie said. Sylvie told him to piss off. 

Everyone chuckled. 

Loki smiled as he vanished the parchment and quill. Loki asked if a lucky beau was waiting for her.

Loki looked at TVA Loki strangely. Why was one of the first things he asked Sylvie if a lucky beau was waiting for her? But he also knew if Sylvie was anything like him, then there was no chance she would've ever found anything real.

"Yeah, there is, actually. Managed to maintain quite a serious long-distance relationship with a postman whilst running across time from one apocalypse to another." "With charm like that, who could resist you?"

"I wish the Grandmaster resisted you," Thor grumbled. "He was a horrible man."

"Get over it!" Loki exclaimed. 

"Again, if you're lonely, Loki—"

"No!"

Sylvie said people were quite willing in the face of certain doom and said it was only to keep her going. 

"That's…pretty sad," said Tony. 

"How about you? You're a prince. Must've been would-be princesses or perhaps, another prince." "A bit of both. I suspect the same as you." "But, nothing ever…." "Real."

Loki clenched his jaw and looked away while Thor looked at Loki sadly.

Everyone else avoided making eye contact with Loki. This was getting a little too personal. 

Loki nodded and sipped his drink. Sylvie said love was mischief. Loki denied it and said he might need another drink to think about. He finished his drink. 

"Don't drink too much," Bruce warned. 

"You do realize we're about to try and hijack the power source to a civilization's only hope?" "I do."

"No big deal," said Natasha. 

Sylvie said they should rest, and Loki decided to relax his way.

Thor sighed. He just hoped Loki wouldn't get a little too drunk. He would need to be sober for the situation he was in. 

The train passed through Lamentis on its way to Shuroo. 

Everyone turned deathly pale at seeing the destruction. 

When Sylvie woke up, she saw Loki singing in Asgardian. 

The original six Avengers lit up. 

"It's a song we sing at pubs," Loki explained. "So, of course, Thor knows it well."

"Thor taught it to us too," said Tony. "He used to sing it during team bonding night and tried to get us to sing the song."

Natasha grinned. "Do you remember Steve's attempt?" 

The other original Avengers roared with laughter while Steve's face instantly turned a bright shade of red. 

"I was drunk!" Steve defended. 

Clint laughed harder. "That was obvious!" 

Bucky looked at Steve in shock. "I thought you couldn't get drunk?"

"Asgardian liquor works very well," Steve muttered. 

"There was that other time Steve awkwardly did karaoke," Tony said in between his laughter. "I don't think I've laughed that hard in my life."

There was another round of laughter while Sam and Bucky had a shit-eating grin.

"Oh my God, Tony!" Steve said, horrified.

"Seeing Steve drunkenly sing Single Ladies will probably always be one of my fondest memories," Bruce said.  

"Wong loves that song," Stephen added. "It's always his karaoke choice at our full moon parties."

"You have full moon parties?" Wanda asked.

"Yes. You're invited to the next one if you want to come."

Wanda lit up. She couldn't wait! "I'll come."

He wasn't in his uniform anymore. She sat up in shock. 

"I would be too if I saw Loki singing," said Clint. "First, we see Zemo dancing and now Loki singing. Next, we'll see Thanos acting or something."

She waved to Loki, who waved back. 

"Is this the same person who led the Battle of New York and tried to invade Earth?" Bucky asked incredulously. "Because I'm not seeing anything threatening at the moment."

Everyone else snorted.

She asked where his uniform was and looked around in concern. "When she sings, she sings come home," Loki sang. 

Thor started to sing along to the song.

Loki shushed the passengers. A man got up, glanced at Loki weirdly, and got out. 

"Oh no."

Loki continued to sing, and Sylvie looked at him strangely. Loki sang the chorus and everyone else followed along. 

So did Thor as he tried to get Loki to sing along, who shook his head. 

"To Sylvie, everybody!" yelled Loki. 

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. "TVA Loki's drunk!" 

"This isn't going to turn out good," said Wanda. 

He finished his drink and smashed his glass on the ground. "Another!" 

Except for Thor, the other original Avengers groaned. 

"Is this some kind of Asgardian custom or something?" Natasha asked. "I thought it was just a Thor thing."

"Imagine living with a ship full of Asgardians," Bruce grumbled. 

"You know you are an honorary Asgardian, right?" said Thor.

"It's true," said Loki. "They're quite fond of you."

Bruce was taken aback but also touched.

"You'll always be welcome at New Asgard. All of you are," Thor told the rest of the Avengers.

"Hell yeah, vacation at New Asgard," said Sam.

"I knew the two of you were brothers, but it never hit me that you're really brothers," said Clint, getting back on track. 

"Thor must've broken hundreds of glasses when we were all living together," Tony said, exasperated.  

Thor snickered. 

Peter's eyes were wide. "You all lived together?"

"Yeah, for about a year when we were searching for the Scepter. It was like living in a frat house."

Steve's lips twitched into a smile. "Looking back, hunting down the Scepter was pretty fun."

"It was," Tony said fondly. 

Sylvie got up and told Loki he was drunk. Loki said he was just full and wanted Sylvie to try the Figgy Port. 

Thor and Loki looked exasperated. 

"Full is drunk in Asgardian!" Loki exclaimed. 

Sylvie asked where Loki's uniform was as they were meant to be laying low. "Nobody cares. It's the end of the world," Loki replied. 

"Uh oh, I feel an existential crisis coming," said Scott. 

"Honestly, with everything TVA Loki found out, I'm surprised this hadn't happened earlier," said Natasha.  

"I think something's happening." "Uh, that planet is about to crash into us."

"Why does TVA Loki remind me of Val?" muttered Bruce. "Drinking in very awful situations. She was drunk during Ragnarok!"

Thor snorted while Loki balked. 

"Don't be an ass. I saw some people looking at you weirdly." 

"Yeah, like that man who left."

"What?" Loki said and dropped his Figgy Port. 

Loki sighed as everyone else snickered. 

"TVA Loki is so drunk," Clint laughed. 

"When did you get so paranoid?" "It must have started when I spent my entire life running from the omniscient fascists you work for."

"Yeah, that would do it."

Loki looked at the Figgy port and said it was a shame to let it go to waste. 

"As much as I hate wasting food, I think TVA Loki has bigger problems to solve," said Steve. 

"Yes, like not dying for once," Thor growled. 

Sylvie was deeply annoyed. Loki said he knew the answer to her question. "Love is a dagger," said Loki and conjured one. 

"Is that why you love to stab me all the time?" Thor grinned. "Are you telling me you love me? Love you too, baby brother."

Loki pretended to be annoyed, but it warmed his heart hearing Thor say that. "Don't call me that."

Everyone who didn't have a sibling looked at Thor and Loki as if they were crazy. 

"That's messed up," said Steve. 

Natasha shrugged. "Yelena and I once choked each other with a curtain. That was after she smashed a plate on my head, and I slammed her into the cabinet. That's just how siblings communicate."

"It's true," Sam agreed. "When we were younger, Sarah and I communicated only through slaps and insults."

Loki explained how love was a weapon to be wielded far away and close, but when you reached for it – it wasn't real. 

"Oh," said Thor, looking at Loki sadly. The metaphor didn't make sense, but he understood the gist of what TVA Loki was trying to say. 

Loki shifted uncomfortably. Love — romantic and platonic — has not been something he'd been close to. It had been some sort of illusion that he trusted and had been let down by, and he'd never loved anyone because he felt like he didn't deserve it. It was only recently that he had mended his relationship with Thor and was somewhat friends with Valkyrie and Bruce. 

"Love is an imaginary dagger," Sylvie said. 

"That makes absolutely no sense," said Steve. 

"Doesn't make sense, does it?" "No. Terrible metaphor." "Damn. I thought I had something there."

"Reindeer Games, you're terrible at metaphors," said Tony. "First, Asgard is a salad, and now love is a dagger."

"Yes, I understand that by now."

The doors opened, and guards walked into the room. 

Everyone groaned. 

A guard asked Loki if he could see his tickets. Loki tried to conjure tickets but conjured the fireworks instead. 

"This is what happens when you're drunk in a situation like this!" Thor exclaimed. 

"Oops," said Loki. The guards grabbed him, and Loki asked if this was necessary. A guard roughly put a hand on Loki's shoulder, but Loki smacked his hand away and started a fight. 

Loki rubbed his temples. His younger variant was irritating and embarrassing.

Sylvie grinned and joined the fight. 

"Sylvie looked like she was itching to fight," said Natasha. "I can respect that."

She used her horns to attack a guard, and Loki used his magic. 

Thor frowned. "Where was this magic while fighting Thanos? But no, Loki, your variant had to use a tiny butter knife!"

"Did you want Thanos to kill you? I had to protect you!"

"First of all, I'm supposed to protect you! I'm the older brother. Second of all, if you want to protect me, use your magic and not a butter knife!" 

Loki and Sylvie fought the guards, and Loki slammed a guard's head onto the table. A guard put Sylvie in a headlock. Loki threw his dagger, but he missed. 

Loki groaned in frustration. 

"Awful throw," said Sylvie. Loki kicked a guard out of the window and waved goodbye. 

"I know I've already said this, but I still can't believe this is the same person who invaded New York," said Bucky. 

Two guards threw Loki out of the window too. 

"NO!" Everyone yelled. 

"How are Loki and Sylvie supposed to charge the TemPad now?" said Sam, throwing his hands in the air. 

Thor blanched and gripped the handles of his seat tighter. He really couldn't see a Loki die again. 

"TemPad," Sylvie realized. She grabbed her sword and jumped out of the window too. The sword had Asgardian runes on it. 

Thor and Loki blinked in surprise. 

"I'm glad Sylvie still has something from home," said Thor. 

Both Sylvie and Loki had fallen on the ground. 

Stephen smirked. That was how Loki looked when he had fallen for thirty minutes. 

They got up, and Sylvie let her hair down. "Well, that's not ideal," said Loki. Sylvie aimed her sword at Loki's throat and demanded that he give her the TemPad. 

"Yeah, I would be mad too," said Wanda.

Loki conjured the TemPad, but it was in pieces. 

Everyone sharply sucked in a breath. 

"You idiot," growled Loki. 

Thor's face was an unhealthy shade of grey. He prayed that Loki and Sylvie wouldn't die. 

Sylvie looked devastated. "You asshole. You killed us."

"Poor Sylvie," said Wanda. "She's clearly been running from the TVA for a while, and now TVA Loki ruined her plan that she'd been making for years."

"It's because TVA Loki's a foolish idiot," said Loki. "It's embarrassing to be variants with him."

"Maybe we can fix it," said Loki. The TemPad fell apart in his hands. 

Everyone grimaced. 

"Sylvie's going to kill TVA Loki," said Sam. 

"Might as well since they're going to die anyway," Thor said hysterically. "Lamentis-1 is the worst apocalypse, and now Loki and Sylvie have no way off the planet." He buried his face in his hands. 

Loki and Bruce shared a look. All of them had seen that 2023 Thor hadn't been coping well after Thanos. But after everything their Thor had been through, he wasn't coping well either, especially at hearing that his variant siblings were going to die. 

"You're not a serious man." "You're right. I'm a god."

"You're not a serious god either, then," said Bucky. 

Sylvie and Loki debated about being hedonistic. Sylvie said she was more hedonistic than Loki, but never at the expense of the mission. "Oh, the mission? The mission? What, your glorious purpose? Give me a break. You can't beat them," said Loki.

"Can't blame TVA Loki for feeling like that," said Rhodey. "It's hard to fight the organization that can make Infinity Stones useless."

"Well, they beat the TVA somehow since we're here without being arrested," said Stephen. 

"But how could it have been Sylvie and Loki since they're on Lamentis?" asked Bruce. "I don't know how they're going to get off Lamentis without the TemPad."

Peter slapped his palm on his forehead. "There's an evacuation vessel! The Ark!"

Thor's eyes widened. How could he have forgotten about the evacuation vessel? "Yes!" he yelled. "Sylvie and Loki are going to get off Lamentis! They're not going to die!" 

Sylvie screamed, and green magic exploded around her. She sat down. 

Wanda sat up. "That kind of looked like my magic."

"Because your magic is based on emotion," Stephen responded.

"Oh, makes sense. Also, I finished all the books you gave me." She gave him the books back, "I know how to astral project now."

Stephen nodded. He opened another portal, brought out a larger stack of books, and gave them to her. "These are a little more advanced but obviously, you can handle it."

Wanda astral projected herself and floated to the back of the room. She started to read a book while her physical body was still sitting in her seat, conscious. Her physical body smiled proudly. 

The non-sorcerers stared at her with wide eyes while Loki and Stephen were deeply impressed.

"Holy shit, that's so cool!" Peter yelled.

"I knew you could do that but it's weird actually seeing it," said Clint.

They continued watching while Wanda's astral form was studying in the back.

Loki was taken aback, slowly walked towards her, and sat down next to her. "Did the, uh, scream make you feel better?" 

"It always makes me feel better," Bruce said. 

"Yes, it did. You should try it sometime." "What now?" "I don't know. You broke the TemPad. And that planet is about to crash into us."

"But the Ark!" said Thor. "Please think about the Ark!" 

"What about the Ark?" "The Ark never leaves because it's destroyed."

Everyone froze. 

"NO!" yelled Thor. 

Loki said it never had them on it. Sylvie scoffed, "So what? We hijack the Ark and make sure it gets off this moon?" "I mean, sounds like a good idea to me." "Okay." "Really?"

"It's not like there are many choices left," said Bucky.

Sylvie and Loki were walking to Shuroo. "You know, I don't think I've ever walked this much in my life," said Loki. 

Clint scoffed. "You're such a prince."

"Sylvie's also the Princess of Asgard," Thor reminded everyone. 

Sylvie said that was a pretty good life.

Loki snorted. 

Loki suggested that she enchant him and she could walk for the both of them.

"Sounds convenient," said Rhodey.

Sylvie said that wasn't how enchantment worked, and Loki asked how it did. 

Loki, Stephen, and Wanda looked at Sylvie curiously and listened intently.

"Doesn't matter." Loki said he told Sylvie a lot about himself, but he knew nothing about her. 

Thor sat up straighter. He wanted to know more about his sister. Her life seemed different from TVA Loki and Loki's. 

"Worried, are you?" "I just need to know if I can trust you."

Loki stiffened. He didn't trust anyone except Thor. 

Sylvie explained that she had to make physical contact and then grab hold of their mind. She said most minds are easy, and she could overtake them instantly, but stronger ones were tricker, so she created a fantasy from their memories.

Loki's eyes were wide. "That's… that's incredible!" He knew he could make people relive their worst memories like he did with Valkyrie, but this was something different. 

"So, it's like the nightmares I gave?" said Wanda. "But I only activated the fears the person already had."

"It's similar," Stephen replied. 

At the back of the room, Wanda's astral form opened a book about enchantment. She wasn't going to enchant anyone, but she wanted to properly learn the theory behind it.  

Loki was amazed, "And you call me a magician." Sylvie said C-20's mind was messed up and clouded.

Bucky scowled. 

She had to pull a memory from hundreds of years prior before she even fought for them.

The group froze. 

"I'm sorry, did I hear that correctly?" asked Sam. "A memory before C-20 fought for the TVA?"

"How is that possible? I thought the Time-Keepers made the TVA workers," Scott said. 

"Ha! I knew it was bullshit," said Tony. 

"Makes me wonder what else the TVA are lying about," Steve grumbled. 

Loki stopped walking. "Before she joined the TVA?" Sylvie said C-20 was just a regular person on Earth.

Everyone's stomachs dropped. 

"Why is everything somehow related to Earth?" asked Peter. "The Universe is way too big for that." He shivered as he remembered Sacred Timeline Tony stranded billions of lightyears away from Earth. 

"I was told that everyone who works for the TVA was created by the Time-Keepers." "That's ridiculous. They're all Variants, just like us." "They don't know that."

All of them sucked in a breath. 

"Those assholes," Steve growled. 

"So, all of them are brainwashed?" Bucky snarled. "It's easier to control them, isn't it?"

All of them looked at Bucky sympathetically. Of course, this would be a sore topic for him. 

"So that means Sylvie killed those Minutemen knowing they didn't have a choice working for the TVA," Bruce said. 

Everyone else grimaced. 

"Mobius," Loki said with wide eyes. "That means that Mobius is actually from 1990s Midgard."

"That means there's a very high chance that the Sacred Timeline version of Mobius is currently living on Earth in 2018 if he hasn't died in the past twenty years," said Natasha. 

"I hope Mobius got to ride a jet ski," said Scott. "He deserves it."

Tony slapped his forehead. "That's why Mobius likes discontinued drinks from the 90s. He's actually from the 90s!"

There was an announcement that the Ark would launch in ten minutes. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"They have to get onto the Ark!" yelled Thor. 

As Sylvie and Loki arrived at Shuroo, Sylvie asked if they trusted each other. "We do, and you can." "Good. Because this is going to suck."

Loki was taken aback. Well, he supposed they were pretty desperate and only had each other, so they had to trust each other. 

In front of them was the Ark. Loki and Sylvie walked through the crowd to get to it. The crowd chanted to let them on. "They're gonna let these people die," said Loki. The gates to the Ark closed. 

Everyone looked horrified. 

"And the people on the Ark are going to die too if Loki and Sylvie don't do something!" Thor exclaimed. 

"We have to get on and make sure it takes off," said Sylvie. "How?" "We go around," said Sylvie as she grabbed Loki's hand and dragged him. Both of them ran. They stopped and looked around; it was chaos. 

"The end of the world," said Natasha. "What a mess."

"Because the government on Lamentis-1 is awful," said Scott.

There was a loud sound. Loki and Sylvie looked up to see the planet start to break apart, and more meteorites crashed. 

Tony, Peter, and Stephen's mouths straightened into a thin line. It reminded them of Thanos throwing a moon at their variants on Titan. 

They ran, but one crashed in front of them and knocked them on their back. 

"Oh no," said Peter. "This looks bad."

"RUN!" Thor shouted. 

Loki helped Sylvie get up. They ran inside a destroyed restaurant and fought the guards. 

"Why the hell are the guards still fighting them in the fucking apocalypse?" asked Bucky. "Don't they have better things to do? They're about to die."

They ran out and continued to dodge the meteorites. A building almost crushed them, but Loki used his telekinesis to send it back. 

"You can do that?" asked Scott. 

"Of course," Loki replied in a matter-of-fact tone. 

"Could've used it instead of a butter knife," Thor grumbled.

Loki and Sylvie fought the guards as Loki told her they could still make it. 

"Please make it," Thor pleaded. 

But it was too late as a large meteorite destroyed the Ark. Sylvie and Loki stared at it in horror. Sylvie walked away, dejected. 

Everyone sharply sucked in a breath, and their faces turned pale. 

"Fuck," Tony cursed. 

"They're going to die," said Thor, choking down a sob. He was going to have to see two Lokis die again.

"You don't know that," said Sam, trying to look on the bright side. "We know the TVA gets taken down. How did that happen without Loki and Sylvie?"

"We don't know if they're the ones that did it. It could be another Loki variant; who knows? The TVA took a lot of them," he said bitterly.

Chapter Text

The Royal Palace of Asgard was shown.

Thor and Loki took a sharp breath.

"Once Ragnarok happened, I thought we would never get to see Asgard again," said Thor. "But we've seen Asgard twice now."

"It's a gift," Loki replied. 

Everyone else looked at Asgard with wide eyes. They had seen Asgard already when 2023 Thor and Rocket went back to 2013, but it was still breath-taking to see it a second time. 

In her room, a young Sylvie was playing with her Valkyrie toys. She had brown hair.

"Sylvie!" Thor beamed. "And she has Valkyrie toys."

"Like your super cool friend who has a flying horse?" asked Peter. 

"She was my friend first," Bruce reminded everyone.

"Yes!" Thor exclaimed. "I wanted to be a Valkyrie when I was younger, but Loki told me I couldn't be since they were all women."

"And you dramatically locked yourself in your room, sobbed, and wouldn't come out for days." Loki rolled his eyes. He took a closer look at Sylvie's room and blinked in surprise. "That's my room."

"Well, Sylvie is a Loki variant, so it makes sense she would have your room in her timeline," said Stephen. 

Loki noticed that Sylvie's hair was brown. He wondered if she dyed her hair blonde to honor a certain brother of theirs.

"Dragon swoops towards the palace, the Valkyrie flies over, defeats the dragon, and saves Asgard." 

Thor nudged Loki. "Do you remember when we used to pretend we were Valkyries and defeat all the dragons?"

Loki's face turned a funny shade of pink. 

Bruce's eyes lit up. "You two used to pretend to be Valkyries?"

"No!" Loki hissed as Thor said, "Yes!" 

Bruce snickered. "Does Val know?"

"No, and she never will," Loki threatened.

A Timedoor opened behind her. Renslayer as a Hunter and a group of Minutemen walked through. "There's our Variant," she said as she checked her TemPad. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"This was when Sylvie was arrested," Wanda realized. 

"But what did Sylvie even do?" Tony asked, shaken. "She was just playing with her toys. She didn't even do something big like taking the Tesseract." His stomach churned as he imagined the TVA taking Morgan like this.

Sylvie looked frightened as the Minutemen arrested her for crimes against the Sacred Timeline. 

Scott glared at Renslayer. "I'm so tired of hearing that line."

"She's a child!" Thor and Loki yelled. 

Renslayer grabbed Sylvie and commanded the Minutemen to reset the timeline as she dragged Sylvie through the Timedoor. 

"They took Sylvie from her room!" Thor growled. 

The reset charge disintegrated Sylvie's toys.

Everyone's heart dropped at seeing that. 

"And then Sylvie never saw Mother, Father, or I ever again," Thor said, his eyes teary. 

Clint shook his head. "This is so fucked up."

Stephen shifted uncomfortably. Obviously, he didn't want a multiversal war and the TVA claimed to prevent that, but arresting children for not following the Sacred Timeline? He wasn't heartless; he knew it wasn't right. There needs to be another way to prevent a multiversal war than by arresting children. Did the ends justify the means in this case?

Renslayer and Sylvie arrived at the TVA. Renslayer pulled Sylvie through, and Sylvie was scared as she saw another Minutemen apprehend a variant. "Help him!" Sylvie yelled. 

Loki blinked in surprise. 

Sylvie was now being processed and was wearing her child-sized TVA jumpsuit. 

Everyone stared in horror.

"She was just a child!" said Thor, his eyes wide. "She didn't deserve this."

"This is wrong," said Steve, shocked.

"I don't even understand her nexus event," said Wanda. "Sylvie was just playing with her with toys. How was that supposed to cause a nexus event?"

"Because she was too kind-hearted," Loki realized. He looked away from the others. "We only have one path to play on the Sacred Timeline – the evil, lying scurge. We were born to cause pain, suffering, and death so others can achieve their best versions of themselves. Our parents told her that she was adopted when she was a child, which would've significantly changed her path and it could've caused Sylvie to become kinder. She shouted at Renslayer to help that Variant even as she was terrified of what was happening. Kind Lokis have no place on the Sacred Timeline, so she was arrested once she wouldn't be able to follow the events laid out for her. At least, that's my theory."

There was a beat of silence. 

"Shit," said Sam. "That makes so much sense."

"Sylvie gave candy to that kid in France," Bucky pointed out. 

Sylvie's temporal aura was taken. 

"That's how they realized the Sylvie was attacking the Minutemen," Bruce said. "The TVA matched Sylvie's temporal aura to TVA Loki's. It should be the same."

As it was Sylvie's turn for her case in the courtroom, Sylvie bit Renslayer, grabbed the TemPad, and escaped.

"So that's why Sylvie was surprised that her magic didn't work in the TVA," Wanda realized. "She never spent much time there."

"And then Sylvie grew up in apocalypses for the next thousand years," Thor said quietly. 

"Oh man, that's so depressing," said Peter. "No wonder she wants to take down the TVA."

In the present day, Renslayer took a deep breath, stepped out of the golden elevator, and into the Time-Keepers' chambers. 

Everyone sucked in a breath. 

"So those are the Time-Keepers," Tony said, amazed. 

"And they're going to die," Thor growled. He clenched his fists, and lightning travelled up and down his arms. 

"Huh, they're real," said Sam. "Honestly, a part of me thought the TVA was making this stuff up, but they're real."

Steve narrowed his eyes. Something about the whole situation seemed off to him. It felt too much like a show, too much like the Wizard of Oz. 

Mobius was waiting for Renslayer as she got out of the elevator. Mobius asked if she was okay, and Renslayer said she wasn't because this wasn't the best of circumstances.

"Makes sense."

Mobius said they couldn't blame Renslayer, but Renslayer said they did as Sylvie was right there and she got away along with TVA Loki she permitted to bring. 

Loki scoffed. "Lokis are smarter than them, that's why."

"Do you have any idea how impossible it is to keep the timeline stable? The Time-Keepers are all that stand between us and full-scale calamity," said Renslayer. 

Stephen's eye twitched at the reminder of the multiversal war. "Which is why I don't want the Time-Keepers gone! I know the TVA is awful, but there should be another solution in place."

"The entire TVA should be burnt to the ground," said Thor. His breath caught as he remembered what they had done to his sister. "Everything needs to go."

Steve nodded in agreement.

"I'm not completely disagreeing, but there needs to be something else in place preventing a multiversal war. The Time-Keepers needs to be kept alive until there is. If a multiversal war breaks out, it won't matter if we have free will or not. The effects will be horrific and who do you think is going to deal with it? Me! And I don't want to deal with a multiversal war!" Stephen exclaimed. He froze as he realized that the only reason they hadn't been arrested yet was because somehow Loki and Sylvie did something to the TVA. A chill ran down his spine. It seemed like a multiversal war was inevitable at this point.

Everyone else winced.

Mobius said he needed access to Hunter C-20. Renslayer said it was impossible and wouldn't meet Mobius's eyes. 

All of them narrowed their eyes. 

"What did they do?" Clint demanded. 

Mobius said he wanted to know what C-20 meant by saying 'It's real' as she could have more information. Renslayer told him that C-20 was dead. 

Everyone's stomach dropped. 

"But how did C-20 die?" asked Rhodey. "She seemed shaken from the enchantment, but it didn't look like she was going to die!" 

"How much do you want to bet the TVA killed her?" said Tony. "It seems like something the TVA would do."

"How?" "The Variant, she enchanted C-20, scrambled her mind."

Loki, Wanda, and Stephen glanced at each other. 

"I've sort of done enchantment before, but no one has died," said Wanda. 

"Enchantment can be dangerous," said Stephen. "But no one should die."

"I knew it! The TVA was lying!" Tony exclaimed. 

"Is that even a surprise anymore?" asked Natasha. "They've lied about so much." She scoffed. "The TVA agents being kidnapped from their timeline and brainwashed, but they think that they've been created by the Time-Keepers."

Mobius didn't understand as C-20 seemed fine. "At first, yes. But by the time she got in here, she could barely speak. The decline was steeper after that," Renslayer explained. 

Everyone rolled their eyes.

"Lies," said Clint. 

Renslayer said nobody knew because they didn't want people to panic. 

"Or you don't want people to know that C-20 knows the truth," Steve said.

Renslayer told Mobius to keep that between them and also to find the Variants as they were all in danger if he didn't. 

"I think the Variants are in danger from you," said Bucky. 

On Lamentis-1, meteorites were falling down at an alarming rate. 

Everyone blanched and a sob rose in Thor's throat. 

"TVA Loki and Sylvie have no way off Lamentis," said Rhodey. "They don't have the TemPad, and the Ark's been destroyed. There's nothing they can do. Sylvie said no one made it off Lamentis."

Sylvie was sitting on a stone, awaiting her death. 

"It must be a strange thought knowing you're about to die and you're just waiting for your death," said Bucky. 

"That's a bit morbid," said Scott. 

Loki walked over, sat on the rock next to Sylvie, and apologized. 

"This is his fault!" Loki snarled. "If TVA Loki wasn't such an idiot and got drunk on the train, he and Sylvie could've found a power source to charge the TemPad and gotten off Lamentis!" 

"And they wouldn't have died," Thor croaked out. 

Sylvie glanced at Loki. "I remember Asgard. Not much, but I remember. My home, my people, my life."

"See, Sylvie probably does remember you," Loki told Thor, trying to make him feel better. 

Thor gave him a watery smile. 

"The universe wants to break free, so it manifests chaos."

Wanda wondered if her chaos magic had anything to do with it.

"Like me being born the Goddess of Mischief. And as soon as that created a big enough detour from the Sacred Timeline, the TVA showed up, erased my reality, and took me prisoner. I was just a child."

Everyone's heart twisted and tears stung in Thor's eyes. 

"Sylvie didn't deserve that," said Peter. 

"Nor do any other variants," said Natasha. 

"I escaped. Stole a TemPad, and I ran for a long, long time, which really sucked."

Loki couldn't have imagined how lonely that must've been. He realized how lucky he was to have grown up alongside Thor. Even though they had many, many arguments, they would die for one another and had each other's backs. He swallowed thickly. Sylvie didn't have anyone. The TVA erased her Thor. 

"Everywhere and every-when I went, it caused a nexus event. Sent up a smoke flare. Because I'm not supposed to exist." Sylvie smiled bitterly. 

"Sylvie's been running for more than a thousand years," said Wanda, aching with sympathy. 

"And she still survived," said Loki, shaking his head. "That's… That's just amazing. She's amazing."

Everyone else raised an eyebrow.

"I never thought I'd hear you compliment someone," said Clint. 

"I'd like to think I've changed. And I'm sure you'd agree with what Sylvie's survived; she's deserved it."

"Until, eventually, I figured out where to hide. And so that's where I grew up, the ends of a thousand worlds."

"Growing up in apocalypses," said Steve with misty eyes. "That must've been horrible."

"No wonder Sylvie wants to bring the TVA down," said Bucky. "I would too."

"Now… that's where I'll die." Sylvie and Loki looked at the crashing planet. 

Everyone felt a wave of sadness. Thor has tears running down his face while Loki was sorry to see his variants go. Even though he didn't like TVA Loki, Loki didn't think they deserved this. 

At the TVA, Mobius couldn't find Loki and Sylvie even with the magnified nexus threshold. 

"Yeah, because they're at the worst apocalypse ever," said Clint. 

B-15 walked in and said wherever they were; she wasn't sure anything would survive. 

Everyone flinched. 

"No, there wouldn't," Thor said quietly. 

Mobius told her not to underestimate them and asked if B-15 saw anything at Roxxcart. B-15 said they were gone. The computer beeped as a nexus event was located on Morag. 

"Oh, Morag," said Rhodey. "We know that place. My variant's been to that place."

"I hope no one touched the Power Stone," said Tony. 

"It wouldn't matter," said Natasha. "The Power Stone would just end up as a paperweight at the TVA anyway."

Everyone winced. 

"Any news on C-20?" B-15 asked. "No." "We need to find them."

Scott slapped his forehead. "B-15 was enchanted the same way C-20 was. She knows the truth, which is why she wants to talk to Sylvie. She wants answers."

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"That makes so much sense," said Peter. 

The planet started to break apart, and huge portions crashed onto Lamentis-1. 

Everyone's stomach churned. 

"I don't think I can watch this," Thor said weakly, tears starting to blur his vision. 

"Not long now," said Sylvie. "Do you think that what makes a Loki a Loki is the fact that we're destined to lose?"

Loki sighed miserably. He would be lying if he hadn't thought that himself from time to time. 

"No. We may lose. Sometimes painfully. But we don't die. We survive," Loki replied.

"You do," said Thor with a watery smile. "I've lost count of how many times I thought you were dead, but you survived each time."

Loki chuckled weakly.  

"I mean, you did. You were just a child when the TVA took you, but you nearly took down the organization that claims to govern the order of time."

"And who can also make Infinity Stones useless," Tony pointed out. 

"Although they didn't manage to take down the TVA, it was impressive Sylvie got as far as she did," said Natasha. 

"She had more than a thousand years to think about it," said Stephen. "I'd say she was fairly determined."

"You did it on your own. You're amazing!"

"She is!" said Wanda. "And she taught herself magic!" 

Sylvie was touched by Loki's words and put her hand on his forearm, and Loki looked down at it. 

There was a beat of silence as everyone's jaws dropped, including Loki's. Thor and Loki's eyes bugged out. 

"Uh, are TVA Loki and Sylvie falling for each other?" Sam asked awkwardly. "Is this allowed?"

"No," Thor said, shaking his head furiously. "They can't! That's my brother and sister!" 

Everyone else grimaced while Loki was still speechless. 

"Does this mean that my variants aren't my brothers?" Peter asked. 

"No, they are," Tony quickly said. 

"Please don't tell me you're falling for either TVA Loki or Sylvie," Thor asked Loki, who quickly shook his head. 

"No. Absolutely not."

At the TVA, a branch started to grow on the screen at Lamentis-1. 

Everyone's jaws dropped even further. 

"Are you serious?" said Steve. "A branch is forming on Lamentis-1? I thought the TVA couldn't detect nexus events in apocalypses?!"

"But Loki and Sylvie falling for each other is what caused that branch? Based on what we've learnt about the TVA, that doesn't make sense," Stephen said, confused. 

"TVA Loki," Loki corrected, still slightly green. "Not me."

A humongous meteor crashed on Lamentis and a huge shockwave formed. 

Everyone sucked in a breath. 

Loki and Sylvie held each other's hands and softly smiled at each other. 

All of them looked slightly uncomfortable, Thor and Loki most of all.

At the TVA, an abnormal branch was shown on the screen. 

They looked at the branch in confusion.

"Uh, we've never seen a branch like that," said Bruce. 

At Lamentis-1, two Timedoors opened behind Loki and Sylvie moments before they died. 

The group sighed in relief. 

"But now they'll be back at the TVA and pruned," said Bucky. 

Thor buried his face in his hands. He just wanted his siblings to be safe. Was that too much to ask? 

"Not if they manage to escape before," said Loki. "They managed it once; they can manage it again. Lokis are good at escaping, remember?"

At the TVA, Loki and Sylvie were wearing time collars and were escorted by Mobius and Minutemen. 

Thor scowled at the sight of the time collars. 

They glanced at each other one more time before being separated. 

Everyone looked at each other awkwardly and Thor quickly covered his eyes.

Mobius and Loki bickered as Loki was escorted. Loki found it insulting that he didn't have as much security as Sylvie. 

"Well, she is the superior Loki," said Wanda. 

Loki rolled his eyes. 

Mobius and Loki shouted at each other that the other betrayed them.

"Ah, Mobius and Loki are back to their bickering," said Rhodey. 

They entered the Time Theatre. Mobius said Loki wasn't the God of Mischief. Loki said he knew the folksy, dopey insults were coming. 

Loki snorted. 

Loki asked if he was the God of Self-Sabotage or Back-Stabbing. "Just kind of an asshole and a bad friend," Mobius replied. 

Loki felt a twinge of jealousy towards TVA Loki. He never had anyone consider him a friend before, only acquaintances. 

A red Timedoor opened in front of Loki. "What is this?" "You'll see."

Everyone raised an eyebrow. 

"That Timedoor is red," Thor panicked. "Why is it red?"

Loki told Mobius the TVA was lying to him, but Mobius clearly didn't believe him. He chuckled and told the Minutemen to put Loki in. 

"The sad thing is that Loki is telling the truth this time," said Natasha. 

Loki chuckled darkly. "Who's going to believe that the God of Mischief is telling the truth?"

Loki was pushed through the red Timedoor. He arrived at a beautiful courtyard and was confused as he looked around. 

Thor and Loki furrowed their eyebrows. 

"Home?" Loki said. "The TVA said they wouldn't send TVA Loki back home. What is this?"

"Asgard?" Bruce said, confused.

Sif entered with half of her hair cut off. "You," Sif growled, holding up locks of her hair. 

"Sif!" Thor and Loki said excitedly. 

Thor sucked in a breath and turned to Loki. "Was Sif on Asgard when Ragnarok happened? I didn't see her."

Loki shook his head. "I sent her off-world. She should be safe."

Thor sighed in relief. 

Peter's eyes widened. "That myth about Loki cutting off Sif's hair is real!" 

"You cut off her hair?" asked Bucky.                                                

Loki shrugged. "It was just supposed to be a bit of fun. I'd honestly forgotten this had happened."

Sam narrowed his eyes. "So, if Thor's wedding dress and Sif's hair myths are real, is the horse myth real too? Are you sure you didn't give birth to a horse? I know you said you didn't, but I'm asking again."

Everyone roared with laughter as Loki looked exasperated. 

"Yes, I'm quite sure that I didn't birth to a horse! I think I would remember that."

"Then where the hell did that story come from?"

Thor smirked. "I was annoyed at Loki."

Loki turned around and excitedly exclaimed, "Sif!"

"How is Sif there?" Thor asked. "Do you think they kidnapped her too?"

"You conniving, craven, pathetic worm," said Sif as she walked closer to Loki. "You did this."

"Ah, I've missed Sif," said Loki sarcastically. "She's lovely."

She slapped Loki. "I hope you know you deserve to be alone, and you always will be."

Everyone was taken aback. 

"Well, that's a little harsh," said Bruce. 

Thor frowned. He knew Sif and Loki didn't get along, but Loki didn't deserve to be alone, and he wouldn't be as long as Thor was alive. 

"A bad memory prison? How quaint," said Loki. Sif kneed him in the groin and then punched him in the face. 

Half of the people in the room winced while the other half snickered. 

"I wouldn't want to be Loki right now," said Rhodey. 

Loki fell to the floor, and Sif walked away. He said he remembered that he had a nice, hot bath and a glass of wine, and never thought about it again as it was just a bit of fun.

"It was but looking back, maybe it was slightly rude," said Loki. 

"Sif was upset," said Thor. "I remember that."

"Of course, she would be upset!" said Scott, throwing his hands in the air. "You cut off half of her hair!" 

Loki saw Sif enter the room and call him a pathetic worm again. 

Everyone looked at Sif in shock. 

"What the hell?" said Bucky. 

"A time loop," groaned Thor. "I don't envy Loki at the moment."

Stephen winced. He had been caught in a very painful time loop once. He didn't recommend it. 

Loki told her to hang on, but Sif ignored him and slapped him again. 

"Ouch."

Sif repeated that Loki deserved to be alone, kneed him in the groin again, and left. 

"So, how long would this go on for?" asked Tony. 

"Probably as long as the TVA wants it to go on for," Stephen answered. His time loop had gone on for a very, very long time until Dormammu had agreed to bargain.

"TVA Loki is going to get kneed in the crotch for a while then," said Sam. "Poor guy."

Loki groaned in frustration and sarcastically said time loops were lovely. 

"It could be a lot worse," said Clint. "At least Mobius didn't put TVA Loki in a time loop where he got Hulk-smashed."

Loki blanched at the thought, Bruce and Thor winced, and everyone else snickered. 

Sif entered once again, but Loki told her that she was a reconstruction of a past event by the TVA and asked her to trust him to help him escape.

Loki rolled his eyes. "Sif would never help me escape." 

"Well, she did once when you were still in prison," Thor pointed out. 

"That was only because you asked her to. She would never help me escape of her own accord."

Sif put her hands on Loki's shoulders, kneed him in the groin, punched him in the face again, and called him pathetic. 

"See!" 

Mobius entered Renslayer's office. Renslayer said he was supposed to be interrogating the Loki Variant. Mobius said Loki was softening in the Time Cell and asked to interrogate the other Variant.

Rhodey snorted. "Yeah, TVA Loki's painfully softening in the Time Cell."

Renslayer told Mobius to stick with his Loki and determine what caused the nexus spike. 

Everyone winced while Thor and Loki turned green.

"Yeah, we know what caused the spike," said Bucky. 

"Please stop talking," Thor pleaded. 

Mobius said he could get there faster if he worked them both together. Renslayer said she was too dangerous and no one would speak with her. 

"Because Renslayer doesn't want anyone else at the TVA to know that they're variants," Natasha realized. 

Mobius said he didn't think Loki was the mastermind. 

"He's not," said Stephen. 

Renslayer said he should be easier to break and reminded Mobius that the Time-Keepers were watching.

"That's a bit creepy," said Peter. 

"Everything about the TVA is creepy," Tony retorted.

"They're always watching," muttered Mobius. 

"Poor Mobius, he doesn't know he's a variant," said Steve. 

Mobius walked to B-15 in front of a locked door and asked if the Variant was still in there.

"Sylvie better still be in there," Thor growled. 

Mobius mentioned they brought in Kree, Titans, and vampires. 

"Titans as in Thanos?" Tony said in a strangled voice. 

"Oh my God, a Thanos variant," Scott said in horror. 

"We already saw a Thanos variant, remember?" said Natasha. "2014 Thanos."

Everyone groaned in frustration. 

Bucky looked at everyone else incredulously. "Did you not hear Mobius mention vampires? Vampires are real now too?"

There was a moment of silence. 

Steve sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "I'm not even surprised anymore. Sure, add vampires to the list. Might as well as werewolves too."

"I hope there aren't any vampires on Earth," said Sam. He paused. "Oh, who am I kidding? With our luck, there's going to be vampires on Earth."

"How do the TVA even arrest these variants?" Rhodey asked. "We know Mobius and C-20 are human, so how can they arrest someone like Thanos?"

"Forget Thanos," said Peter. "Imagine them trying to arrest Thor, Carol, Stephen, or Wanda." 

Thor, Stephen, and Wanda were amused. 

"Wanda would just put them in 70s clothes," Clint laughed.

Wanda snickered. "I would. The TVA's uniform isn't fashionable at all."

"I don't think they would arrest them though," said Loki. "They would probably just activate a reset charge and run through a Timedoor."

He asked why two orphan demigods are such a pain in the ass. 

Everyone chuckled while Loki smirked. 

"And yet it was your idea to bring in another one," B-15 replied. 

"It was better than being pruned," said Thor. 

Mobius said he was happy to share credit and began to leave. B-15 asked Mobius if Loki said anything to him, and Mobius said, "Yeah. He said the TVA is lying to me."

"Because they are!" Loki yelled. 

"B-15 suspects something," said Natasha. "I bet she wants to know why she's seeing memories of a life she never thought she had."

"The TVA is so fucked up," said Bucky, shaking his head. 

In the Asgard Time Loop, Loki was sitting on the ground. Sif entered again and started insulting Loki. 

"Ah, we're back to this," said Rhodey. "Watching TVA Loki get kicked in the groin was fun the first few times, but now I kinda feel bad for him."

"I'm a horrible person. I get it. I really am," Loki admitted.

Loki clenched his jaw. Of course, he knew he was a horrible person. 

Loki admitted that he cut off Sif's hair because he thought it'd be funny, and it wasn't. He craved attention because he was a narcissist and was scared of being alone.

Loki shifted uncomfortably.

"Well," Natasha tilted her head. "It's good to know you know that."

"Of course, I know that."

"Knowing and admitting are two very different things."

Sif offered Loki a hand, and he took it. "You are alone, and you always will be." She walked away. 

Loki sighed. He wanted to change; he truly did. He was trying his best to.

"Well, you're not alone," Thor said quietly. 

"I know that now."

Chapter Text

Loki and Mobius walked out of the Timedoor and back into the Time Theatre. Loki said they were in a loop of their own, referring to the fancy technology and threatening interrogation tactics.

"The two of them do seem to be going in circles," said Wanda. 

Mobius asked Loki to explain how the TVA was lying to him or if it was just a cockroach's survival mechanism kicking in. 

"It's not!" everybody yelled. 

"Just listen to Loki for once!" said Thor. 

Loki said he would tell Mobius if he stopped beating him up. Mobius asked how long Loki had been working for the Variant. Loki scoffed at the idea. 

"They literally just met," said Sam. 

Mobius asked if they were partners then.

"Well, I guess they're romantic partners," Bucky said awkwardly.

"No," Thor said firmly.

"Absolutely not. She's difficult and irritating, and she tries to hit me all the time."

"True love," said Tony. 

Thor groaned and Loki winced. 

Mobius guessed Loki didn't do partners unless it benefited him, and he intended to betray them at some point.

Loki crossed his arms. It was true, to an extent. 

Mobius asked what caused the nexus event on Lamentis. 

All of them grimaced at the reminder.

"I still don't think it makes sense," said Stephen.

Loki said he wouldn't tell him as he would be immediately pruned afterwards. 

"Good," said Thor. "That seems something like the TVA would do."

Mobius said they reached a dead end then, and Loki agreed. Mobius stood up and told Loki to give him his regards to Lady Sif. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

Loki panicked and told Mobius to wait. "Of course, it was me pulling the strings all along," said Loki. Mobius sat back down. 

"Mobius isn't going to believe this," said Natasha. "He saw through Loki's lies once before."

"She came to me on Asgard a long time ago, and then she took me to one of her apocalypses, and that's where we hatched our plan together."

"Wouldn't the TVA detect Sylvie arriving at Asgard?" asked Wanda.

Loki said Sylvie was a pawn, and something big was about to happen, and then he'd dispose of her.

"I think it's the other way around," said Loki. 

Mobius said the TVA saved him the trouble as she had already been pruned.

Everyone's stomach dropped. 

"NO!" yelled Thor, tears welling up in his eyes. 

Loki's eyes widened. "The Variant. She's gone?"

Loki narrowed his eyes. "That can't be true. Weren't B-15 and the other Minutemen guarding the room Sylvie was in? Mobius is lying."

Thor stopped crying. "What?"

"And TVA Loki is falling for it?" asked Clint. "Now the God of Mischief is the one getting tricked."

"Well, he has a crush on Sylvie, so maybe TVA Loki isn't at the top of his game," said Sam. 

"Never mention that again," said Loki, rubbing his temples. In theory, he could understand why the two were falling for each other, but it didn't mean he didn't find it weird. He was so tired of his variants.

Mobius said yes, and Loki looked heartbroken. 

Loki grimaced. TVA Loki was actually falling for Sylvie. It was weird seeing TVA Loki's heartbroken expression on his own face.

Mobius explained that Sylvie was going to her Time Cell and broke free, so B-15 stepped in and pruned her. 

"Lies," Thor hissed. 

Loki had tears in his eyes. "Good riddance," he said unconvincingly. 

"That wasn't even convincing," Loki said, exasperated. 

"Does TVA Loki even know he likes Sylvie?" Natasha asked. 

"Probably not," Loki replied. 

Mobius chuckled. Loki asked what was funny. "Look at your eyes. You like her." "What?" "You like her. Does she like you?"

"I hope not," said Thor, shuddering. 

Loki asked if Sylvie was pruned. "No wonder you have no clue what caused the nexus event on Lamentis. Both of you are swooning over each other," said Mobius. 

Everyone turned slightly green. 

"Looking back, I think they were flirting on Lamentis," said Tony. 

Loki threw his hands in the air. "They barely know each other!" And to think, he was sorry to see his variants go on Lamentis. They just made everything more awkward now.

"I would never flirt with my variants," said Peter. "I would only flirt with MJ."

"Two Variants of the same being, especially you, forming this kind of sick, twisted romantic relationship."

Loki nodded in agreement. Mobius was right. Why couldn't TVA Loki listen to him? 

"Yeah, sick and twisted is right," said Rhodey.

"Meeting the family has got to be weird," said Bruce. "And I thought Thor's family drama was bad enough already."

Thor buried his face in his hands and let out a muffled scream. "They're my siblings!"

"That's pure chaos. That could break reality. It's breaking my reality right now."

"All of ours too," muttered Steve. "What the fuck is this?"

"What an incredible seismic narcissist. You fell for yourself." 

Loki gagged. He could have never fallen for himself because he hated himself far too much for that. He couldn't even stand TVA Loki. But even though TVA Loki and Sylvie were variants, they were different from each other. Sylvie was brave and heroic — two things he was very much not. Sylvie was a version of himself he could be if he could believe he deserved it. 

Loki understood why they fell for each other, but that doesn't mean he liked it. TVA Loki and Sylvie only had each other, and their timelines were erased. He, however, wasn't alone. He had Thor, and he'd like to think that Bruce and Valkyrie considered him a friend by this point. Saving Asgard and then drifting in space for a few months had certainly bonded the four. 

"Her name was Sylvie," said Loki. "Ah, Sylvie. Lovely," said Mobius.

"It is a nice name," said Thor.

"Is she alive?" Loki roared. 

"Wow, he's become really attached," said Rhodey.

"For now."

Thor and Loki let out a huge sigh of relief. 

Mobius asked if infiltrating the TVA was always the grand plan, and Loki said their interests were aligned. "Overthrowing the Time-Keepers?" "Maybe they need to be overthrown."

"They do," said Peter. 

Stephen sighed. "And hopefully, another solution is put in place instead of the TVA."

Loki asked Mobius to listen because what Sylvie told him about the TVA affected all of them. Mobius said Loki told him fifty lies in the past ten minutes, while Loki denied it. 

"He's not lying!" Everyone yelled. 

Mobius said now he was supposed to believe Loki's terrorist girlfriend.

"Sylvie's not a terrorist," said Steve. "She's just trying to bring down the organization that kidnapped her, erased her reality, caused her to go on the run for more than a thousand years, and grow up in apocalypses."

Loki and Thor looked slightly ill at hearing 'girlfriend'.

"She's not my girlfriend." "Whatever you want to call her. What, your female self that you have some demented crush on—" "You're all Variants!" Loki shouted. 

"Thank you!" said Loki. "Mobius finally knows."

"Everyone who works at the TVA. The Time-Keepers didn't create you. They kidnapped you from the timeline and erased your memories."

Bucky's eye twitched. "Fucking assholes."

"Memories she can access through enchantment. So, before this, you had a past, maybe you had a family, a life."

"A jet ski too," Scott added. 

"I hope Sacred Timeline Mobius is happy," said Sam. 

"I wonder if he's the equivalent of an agent on the Sacred Timeline," Peter wondered. "Like an FBI agent or something."

Mobius looked down. "Nice try."

Everyone groaned in frustration. 

"Mobius doesn't believe the truth," said Loki, dejected. Mobius was lying to himself, and he knew TVA Loki was telling the truth. Loki had come to admire Mobius's intelligence, but they both knew he was lying to himself. 

"You two, what a pair! Wherever you go, it's just death, destruction, the literal ends of worlds."

"Okay, wow," said Rhodey. "That's a bit much."

Mobius said he would close this case because he didn't need Loki anymore. 

Thor's shoulders slumped. "They're going to prune him later, aren't they?" 

No one answered because it was probably true.

Minutemen entered the Time Theatre and grabbed Loki. 

Thor clenched his jaw. 

Loki said Mobius was the biggest liar in the TVA. 

Loki nodded in agreement. 

"Why? 'Cause I lied about your girlfriend?" "Oh, no. That I can respect. I mean, the lies you tell yourself."

Loki scoffed. "Exactly."

Mobius activated the red Timedoor, and the Minutemen pushed Loki through. 

"Back to the Time Loop then," said Tony. 

B-15 was in the hallway, steeling herself. She activated her Time Staff and told the Minutemen guarding the door to open it. 

"What is she doing?" asked Scott. 

Sylvie was inside, sitting on the chair.

Even though they knew Sylvie was alright, all of them sighed in relief at seeing her. 

Sylvie got up, ready to fight B-15. 

Natasha laughed. "I love how Sylvie's always ready to fight."

"With the way she had to grow up, I would be surprised if she wasn't like that," said Clint. 

B-15 deactivated her Time Staff, opened a Timedoor, and told Sylvie to come with her. 

"B-15 is going to find out she's a variant," Wanda realized. 

"Must be awful finding out everything you thought to be true was a lie," said Peter. 

Loki chuckled darkly. "Oh, it is." 

B-15 walked through the Timedoor, and Sylvie followed. In Renslayer's office, Renslayer and Mobius signed their signatures on a file, closing the Loki case. 

Everyone grimaced. 

Thor closed his eyes sadly. "Loki and Sylvie are going to be pruned."

"If you could go anywhere, anytime, where would it be?" Renslayer asked. "I can go anywhere, anytime. Why wouldn't you let me interrogate Sylvie?" Mobius asked. 

"Because Renslayer doesn't want him to know the truth," said Sam.  

"B-15 is going to know the truth," Bucky added. "Hopefully, she can tell the other TVA agents."

"Sylvie?" "The Variant, that's what Loki calls her."

"Yes, because that's her name," said Loki. 

Renslayer said they couldn't risk her escaping again. Mobius said she wouldn't have escaped. Renslayer reminded Mobius that Loki got away during his first interrogation. 

"It's not his fault that Loki's a mischievous scamp," said Tony. 

Renslayer repeated her question about going anywhere on the timeline. Mobius said he liked being with Renslayer, doing work. 

"He's avoiding the question," Steve said knowingly. 

Renslayer said the Time-Keepers want to oversee the variants pruning personally and wanted Mobius there too. "It's about time," said Mobius.

Thor scoffed. "Mobius called Loki a bad friend, but now he's the one who's going to watch him die. Mobius is the bad friend, not Loki."

He asked when Renslayer first noticed what was going on with C-20. 

Everyone straightened up. 

Renslayer asked what was wrong. She said the Time-Keepers were happy, and they accomplished their mission. 

"Those assholes," Bucky grumbled. 

Mobius said C-20 seemed fine, a little freaked, but fine. "Well, she quickly wasn't fine," said Renslayer, and asked why he was asking all these questions. 

"I think TVA Loki got through to him," said Bruce. "Mobius probably has a feeling that something is wrong."

Mobius said something seemed a little off.

"See?"

Renslayer said the truth was that she was trying to protect Mobius. She agreed that he would normally interview Sylvie, but Sylvie scared her, and she didn't want what happened to C-20 to happen to Mobius. 

"Sylvie can't even enchant anyone at the TVA," said Natasha. "Magic doesn't work there. How can what happened to C-20 happen to Mobius?"

"Renslayer just doesn't want Mobius to know the truth," said Steve. 

"At least make the lie believable."

"Is that what you wanted to hear?" "Yeah, if it's the truth." 

"Ouch."

Renslayer said Mobius was spending too much time with Lokis. Mobius chuckled and agreed. 

"I don't know how he hasn't gone insane, to be honest," said Clint. 

Renslayer said what they did at the TVA mattered because they were fighting for the fate of the Sacred Timeline, but also their friendship.  

Everyone narrowed their eyes. 

"Bullshit," said Peter. 

"Renslayer's is just straight up lying to Mobius's face," said Sam. "That's a great friendship right there."

"I knew I was your favourite analyst. Was that so hard to admit?" said Mobius. He asked what Renslayer would do with that trophy, pointing to Sylvie's sword. 

Thor and Loki scowled. 

"Don't touch her sword!" yelled Thor. 

Renslayer picked it up and placed it on her shelf, which contained many other trophies.

"That's fucked up," said Bucky. "Trophies from Renslayer's previous missions. Those aren't trophies; they're someone's belongings."

While Renslayer's back was turned, Mobius quickly switched their TemPads. 

All of them smirked.

Loki's eyes lit up. "I'm impressed."

"Mobius really has been spending too much time with Lokis," Bruce laughed. 

Mobius said it looked perfect. He got up and said he would see Renslayer later. Renslayer asked if he was okay. 

"No, he just wants to get away from you," said Peter. 

Mobius said he was tired of dealing with Lokis.

Loki shrugged. He would be too. In fact, he was tired of dealing with his variants.

Renslayer looked convinced, "For all time." "Always," Mobius finished. He thanked her for the drink and left. 

"Cultish behaviour," muttered Scott. 

A Timedoor opened outside of Roxxcart, and Sylvie and B-15 walked out. 

"Oh, because Sylvie can do magic here," Wanda realized. 

Rain was pouring, and the two were soaked. Sylvie said she respected that B-15 wanted a fair fight. B-15 asked what Sylvie did to her when she was in her head. 

Bucky smiled sadly. "Showed you her life before TVA erased it." 

"I showed you your life before the TVA." "That's a trick. It's a deception. I was created by the Time-Keepers."

Everyone looked at B-15 sympathetically. 

Sylvie said she couldn't create memories and only use what was already there.

Wanda nodded. She used the same thing.

She said the Time-Keepers took their lives from all of them as they were Variants. 

"Which is why the TVA needs to be taken down," Steve growled. 

"And something else needs to be put in place," Stephen added.

"Show me," said B-15 as she held out a hand. Sylvie took it and enchanted B-15. "I looked happy," B-15 said tearfully. Sylvie smiled at her sadly. 

Bucky's mouth straightened into a thin line. This was painfully familiar and he didn't like seeing it happen to another person. He shuddered at the thought of everyone at the TVA having their memories erased. 

"God, the TVA is so fucked up," said Steve. "B-15 was kidnapped from her timeline!"

Mobius walked down the Archives and opened Renslayer's TemPad. He clicked on C-20's mission debrief. 

Everybody leaned forward to listen closer. 

C-20 talked about her memories being real and how she had a whole life on the Sacred Timeline. The interrogator told her to calm down. 

"How the hell can she calm down?" said Sam. "She just found out that she was kidnapped, had her memories erased, and that everything she knew was a lie." 

"Calm down? I'm a Variant. So are you. So is every single person in this place."

"Thank you! Now Mobius will know that TVA Loki was telling the truth," Loki said.

Renslayer said she was ending this. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"So, she knew!" said Tony. "Renslayer knew!" 

"How is Renslayer still okay with the TVA knowing that she's a variant herself?" asked Peter. 

"Maybe she's clinging to the only thing she knows," Natasha suggested. 

Back at the Time Loop, Loki was on the ground. 

Everyone winced. 

"Oh man, how many times has TVA Loki been kicked in the groin?" asked Rhodey. 

"I've heard it once; I've heard it a thousand times."

"You conniving, craven, pathetic worm. You did this," everyone repeated. 

A red Timedoor formed, and Mobius walked out of it. 

"Is he going to help?" asked Peter. "Mobius knows the truth now."

He asked if Loki cared about Sylvie. 

Everyone snorted while Thor groaned. 

"Yeah, I think he does," laughed Clint. 

"Why couldn't it have been platonically," grumbled Thor. How could he like the thought of his brother and his sister together? 

Mobius asked if he really thought he deserved to be alone. 

Everyone looked at Loki for an answer, but Loki looked away. He'd like to think he didn't, but the truth was that he had no idea if he deserved to be alone. 

"I don't know." "You better figure it out quick because the nexus event the two of you caused, whatever that connection is, can bring this whole place down. So, we better understand—" "We?" Loki asked, confused. 

All of them grinned.

"Aw, Mobius has decided to help bring the TVA down," said Peter. 

Loki had a slight smile on his face. He wished he could've met Mobius. 

"Do you swear she didn't implant those memories in Hunter C-20?" asked Mobius. 

"Sylvie can't do that," Wanda said, exasperated. 

Loki said he believed Sylvie. "So, I just have to trust the word of two Lokis?" 

"A scary thought, isn't it?" said Clint. 

"How about the word of a friend?"

Thor beamed. Loki had a friend of his own!

Loki had a sour expression at TVA Loki having Mobius as a friend. A friend that wasn't Thor's first. He didn't think TVA Loki deserved Mobius.  

Mobius said Loki was right about the TVA, and if he wanted to save Sylvie, Loki needed to trust him. "Can we do that?" "Yes."

The Avengers blinked in surprise. 

"Loki has actually changed," said Steve. 

"You could be whoever, whatever you wanna be, even someone good. I mean, just in case anyone ever told you different."

Everyone chuckled. 

"Mobius was the one to say that," said Peter. 

Thor nudged Loki. "Mobius is right, you know. You can be someone good."

Loki wasn't so sure, but it meant a lot hearing Mobius and Thor say that.

Loki smiled fondly.

"I've forgiven Mobius," Thor said, out of the blue. 

"For what?" Loki asked. 

"For telling TVA Loki that he was responsible for Mother's death."

Loki gaped at him. "Thor, that was ages ago. I had forgotten Mobius had even said that."

The red Timedoor opened in the Time Theatre, and Loki and Mobius walked out only to see Renslayer and a group of Minutemen. 

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats. 

"Fuck," said Tony. 

"What are Renslayer and the Minutemen doing there?" asked Scott. 

"I think you have something of mine," said Renslayer. 

Everyone's eyes widened.

"Oh no," said Bucky. 

"She knows," said Natasha said in horror. 

Mobius said he got down there before he realized he picked up Renslayer's TemPad.

Loki winced. Mobius was a lousy liar.  

Mobius asked what the problem was, but Renslayer didn't answer. 

All of them glanced at each other uneasily. 

Mobius dropped the pretence and said if he could go anywhere, he would go to where he was really from and the life he had before the TVA came along. "Maybe I had a jet ski. That's what I'd like to do. Just riding around on my jet ski."

"Mobius deserves a jet ski," said Scott. 

Loki nodded in agreement. 

"Prune him," Renslayer commanded. D-90 pruned Mobius. 

"NO!" Everyone yelled.

Loki instantly turned an unhealthy shade of grey and his stomach churned as he stared at Renslayer in horror. Mobius couldn't be dead! 

"So much for that rare friendship of theirs," muttered Tony. 

Loki gasped in horror as tears formed in his eyes.

Everyone was teary as well, especially Loki. 

He steeled himself as the Minutemen took hold of him. The Minutemen escorted Loki out of the room. Loki looked heartbroken. 

The Avengers were taken aback. TVA Loki really did care about Mobius. 

Renslayer and D-90 walked into the room where Sylvie was being held. Sylvie had wet hair now. 

"Renslayer's going to realize Sylvie left the room," Thor said, smugly. 

"Who was in here with her?" Renslayer asked. "B-15," a Minutemen answered. 

"She got some of her memories back," Bucky growled. "Don't mess with them again."

Renslayer commanded them to put out an alert for B-15 as the Variant had compromised her.

"And it's a good thing she has," said Sam. 

"I hope B-15 got a TemPad and ran away from the TVA," said Wanda. "She can stay in a slightly safe apocalypse until Sylvie and Loki bring down the TVA."

Sylvie smirked at Renslayer. 

Loki snorted. Sylvie really was a Loki. 

Two Minutemen escorted Sylvie to the elevator, where Loki was. Renslayer was behind them. 

Thor's face crumpled. "This is it, isn't it? Loki and Sylvie are going to get pruned."

All of them looked at Thor sympathetically. 

"You okay?" Sylvie whispered. Loki gave her a tiny nod. 

"As okay as he can be after what just happened," Loki said in a strangled voice, still pale. 

Renslayer dismissed the Minutemen and walked into the golden elevator alone with Loki and Sylvie. Sylvie asked Renslayer if she remembered her. 

Everyone scowled as they remembered how Sylvie and Renslayer first met. 

Renslayer said she did, and Sylvie asked about her nexus event.

All of them sucked in a breath, especially Thor and Loki. 

Renslayer asked why it mattered. 

"Why does it matter?" Thor roared. "You took Sylvie away from her family for a reason! Of course, it matters!"

"It was enough to take my life from me, lead to all of this. Must have been important. So, what was it?" asked Sylvie. Renslayer smirked. "I don't remember."

They glared at Renslayer while Thor's lightning ran up and down his arms. 

"Sylvie was a child when Renslayer kidnapped her," said Steve, starring daggers at Renslayer.

"Renslayer has to be heartless," said Tony. "No other explanation."

Sylvie's face crumpled. 

"Poor Sylvie," said Wanda. 

Loki chuckled darkly. "She's going to make them pay."

The elevator opened, and the three walked out to face the Time-Keepers. 

Everyone was utterly silent as they got a better look at the Time-Keepers. 

Renslayer presented Loki and Sylvie. "After all your struggle, at last, you've arrived before us," said the middle Time-Keeper. 

"The struggle they imposed on them," Bruce pointed out. 

"What do you have to say for yourselves before you meet your end, Variants?" asked the Time-Keeper on the left. 

Loki snorted. "Lokis survive. It's what we do."

Loki asked if they brought them here to kill them. "I've lost track of the number of times I've been killed, so go ahead."

Thor's eye twitched. He was very aware of the number of times Loki has 'died'. 

"You and your bravado are no threat to us, Variant," said the Time-Keeper on the right. 

Everyone scoffed. 

"Oh, no, I don't think you believe that. I think…" Sylvie stepped forward but was twisted back by Renslayer's Time Twister. "I think you're scared."

They grinned. 

Loki smirked. "The Time-Keepers should be scared."

The middle Time-Keeper said Sylvie was nothing but a cosmic disappointment and told the Minutemen to delete them.

"That's a bit harsh to call them a cosmic disappointment," said Peter. "The Time-Keepers are ones who made them that way; no one else."

"No, I'm not done with you yet," said Sylvie and walked forward. 

Wanda smiled. She felt they would get along if they ever met. 

Renslayer tried to use the Time-Twister but couldn't as B-15 entered and removed the collars off of Loki and Sylvie. 

Everyone blinked in surprise but then cheered.

"That's where B-15 went off to!" Thor exclaimed. 

"For all time. Always," said B-15. She threw Sylvie her sword. 

"Kill the Time-Keepers, Sylvie!" yelled Loki. 

Stephen shifted uncomfortably. If Sylvie killed the Time-Keepers and took down the TVA, the multiverse would dissolve into madness. It would be chaos! But who knew if the TVA was even telling the truth about the multiversal war? Nearly everything else they've said turned out to be a lie. 

The guards started to fight B-15 and knocked her unconscious. 

"Oh no!" 

"Protect the Time-Keepers!" yelled Renslayer. Loki and Sylvie protected each other's backs as they fought the guards, who had Time Staffs. 

"What a sight."

Loki asked for a bit of help, and Sylvie threw her sword. They continued to fight, and Sylvie grabbed a Time Staff and stabbed a guard with it.

"A very Loki thing to do," said Thor.

Sylvie stared at Renslayer. Renslayer picked up a Time Staff and said she would finish the job this time. 

Everyone scowled. 

"Sylvie should win," said Natasha. "Renslayer and the TVA took everything away from her."

Renslayer and Sylvie started to fight as Loki was still fighting the guards. Renslayer nearly pruned Sylvie, but Sylvie punched her in the face and knocked her unconscious. 

Everyone grinned. 

"Nice one, sister!" Thor cheered. 

Meanwhile, Loki stabbed the guards and won. Loki handed Sylvie her sword back. The Time-Keeper said Sylvie was a child of the Time-Keepers too. 

"No, she's not!" Thor and Loki snarled. 

She threw her sword and beheaded the middle Time-Keeper.

All of them were utterly silent as they stared at each other in shock. 

Tony broke the silence. "Well, that turned out to be easy." 

Steve shook his head. "Something about this doesn't seem right. It feels too much like a show."

The other two Time-Keepers started to laugh and then powered down. Sylvie picked up the Time-Keeper's head and saw that it was made out of wires and machinery. 

Everyone's jaws dropped, and their eyes were wide. 

"The Time-Keepers are fake?" they yelled. 

Thor clutched his head. "But then who's in charge of the TVA? Who created the TVA?"

"Something far more dangerous is at play here," said Stephen. 

"As if it wasn't bad enough before," Wanda added. 

"This means that the entire TVA propaganda video we saw about the Multiversal War is fake," Scott said, astonished. "Why was the TVA created?"

Loki and Sylvie were stunned. "Fake. Mindless androids," Sylvie whispered. 

"I fucking told you. It's always the Big Three," said Sam.

"But who was giving Renslayer orders?" Bucky asked. 

"Who's deciding the Sacred Timeline if it's not the Time-Keepers?" asked Peter, throwing his hands in the air. 

Loki frowned. "For so long, we've kept hearing how powerful the Time-Keepers are, but they turned out to be androids."

"We should've guessed," said Natasha. "Everything else about the TVA turned out to be fake."

"There's no way we could've known," said Rhodey. 

"Whoever created the TVA has to be incredibly intelligent," said Bruce. "They would've had to have created those androids and the TVA technology."

"They're also probably a fucking psycho," Clint added.  

"That too."

"Then who created the TVA?" Loki asked. 

"What's what all of us want to know!" Sam yelled.

"I thought this was it," said Sylvie as she threw the head on the ground. 

"The TVA's lies never end," said Loki. "All they've done is lie!"

Loki looked at Sylvie, but she said she didn't want to hear another pep talk. Loki said he had to tell her something, and they would figure this out.

"Loki being the optimistic one is new," said Thor. 

"How do you know that?" "Because, uh…Well, back on Lamentis…This is new for me. Um…" Loki put his hands on Sylvie's arms. 

Everyone grimaced and Loki wrinkled his nose. 

"Is TVA Loki going to tell Sylvie he likes her?" Sam asked. "This probably isn't the time."

Thor buried his head in his arms. He couldn't bear the thought of his brother confessing his love for his sister.  

"What is it?" asked Sylvie. Loki dissolved as Renslayer pruned him. 

Peter and Wanda clapped a hand over their mouths, Thor and Loki cried out in surprise, while everyone else gasped. 

Thor's face turned deathly pale and felt slightly faint. It hadn't quite sunk in yet. "Did I just watch Loki die for the fourth time?"

Renslayer tried to prune Sylvie, but Sylvie grabbed the Time Staff and pointed it at Renslayer. "You're gonna tell me everything," Sylvie snarled. 

"Yes, she is," Thor growled, wiping the tears from his eyes. TVA Loki was dead, but he couldn't watch Sylvie be pruned either. 

Later, Loki opened his eyes and breathed heavily. 

Everyone's jaws dropped. 

"Loki's alive?" Tony asked, confused. "Being pruned doesn't mean you die?"

"Loki survived again?" Thor said in disbelief. 

"I told you, Lokis survive," Loki said. He gasped. "This means Mobius is alive?"

"But where is Loki?" Natasha asked.

"Is this Hel? Am I dead?"

"If TVA Loki's in Hel, he's going to have a nice family reunion with a sister he never met," Loki muttered while Thor snorted. 

"Not yet," said a voice. Loki got up in shock. 

"Why is Loki acting like that?" Stephen asked warily. 

"I don't think I can handle any more surprises," said Scott. 

"But you will be unless you come with us."

"What the hell?"

Loki faced a group of Loki Variants — Kid Loki, Classic Loki, Boastful Loki, and Alligator Loki. 

Everyone's eyes bugged out of their heads. 

"What the fuck," said Tony.

"There are so many Lokis," Clint said in horror. 

"More Loki Variants?!" Loki said, dismayed. "I can't handle any more Loki Variants."

"More Lokis?" Thor said, delighted. He pointed to Kid Loki. "That's Loki when he was a child."

Loki's eyes fell on Classic Loki and pointed at him. "How can that Loki be old? Thanos killed Sacred Timeline Loki. How did Old Loki survive?"

Thor narrowed his eyes at Classic Loki. "Brother, you didn't age well."

"I'm lucky to have aged at all."

Thor winced. "That's true."

"Uh, is that alligator also a Loki?" Bruce asked. "He's wearing the horns."

There was a beat of silence. 

"Brother?" Thor said, astonished. 

"After everything we've seen, I wouldn't be surprised," said Loki. 

"Well, you do like to turn into animals," Thor pointed out. He tilted his head. "And that Loki has Mjolnir?" He pointed at Boastful Loki. "It doesn't exactly look like Mjolnir though."

Stephen rubbed his temples. He hated the Multiverse. 

Chapter Text

In the Void, there were many destroyed and decayed buildings, including the Sanctum Sanctorum. 

Stephen's jaw dropped and everyone else sucked in a breath. 

"The Sanctum?" Stephen said, stunned. "How did it get there? What is this place?"

"I'm guessing it's where everything that's been pruned or reset goes if TVA Loki ended up there," Loki responded.

There was also a building that looked like Avengers Tower, but named 'Qeng'. 

The Avengers' eyes widened. 

"Uh, that's Avengers Tower," Clint pointed out. 

"But it says Qeng, not the Avengers A or even Stark," said Tony. "Who the fuck is Qeng?"

"Maybe that's why the building was pruned?" Wanda suggested.

A giant purple cloud could be seen in the back. 

"That purple cloud is moving," said Peter. "That's not natural."

"I don't think Loki's in a safe place at the moment," said Thor, pale. 

Loki got up and faced his variants. He asked who and where they were. 

"I don't know where he is, but those are clearly Loki Variants," said Loki. He groaned at the thought of more Loki Variants. 

Classic Loki said they were in the Void. He pointed to the purple cloud monster and said it was Alioth, and they were his lunch. 

Thor clutched his head. "That's horrible news!" 

"This just gets worse and worse," said Rhodey. 

Classic Loki told Loki to follow them. 

"I think the group of Lokis are TVA Loki's best bet to survive," said Natasha. 

In the background, Alioth roared. 

"What the fuck," said Sam. 

"Yeah, that's definitely not a normal cloud!" Bucky exclaimed. 

At the TVA Courtroom, Sylvie took Renslayer's TemPad and demanded who was really behind the TVA. 

"That's what all of us want to know!" Tony cried. 

"And Sylvie's going to find out," said Wanda. "She's determined to take down the TVA and won't stop for anyone and anything."

Renslayer said she was just in the dark as Sylvie. 

"Renslayer had so much faith in the Time-Keepers, it must be awful finding out that they weren't even real," said Peter. 

Sylvie stomped her foot on Renslayer's shoulder and asked how it felt to be on the other side of it. 

"I'm not going to lie; it's very satisfying seeing Renslayer like this," said Steve. Thor and Loki agreed, glaring at Renslayer. 

"Especially after she told Sylvie that she didn't remember her nexus event," Clint pointed out. "Dick move."

Sylvie looked around the courtroom. She asked Renslayer if this was the place Renslayer dragged her to after she destroyed her life. 

Everyone stared daggers at Renslayer for that reminder. 

"Renslayer has to be heartless for arresting a child and thinking it was justified," Bruce pointed out. 

"None of the arrests are justified, even TVA Loki's," said Sam. 

Sylvie said it would be a fitting place to take Renslayer's life.  

"It would," said Bucky. 

"And what if I said Loki wasn't dead? Not yet, anyway," said Renslayer. 

"So Renslayer knows about the Void," said Natasha. "Interesting." 

Sylvie thought she was lying. 

"I would think the same thing after so many things about the TVA turned out to be false," said Tony. "Is the Sacred Timeline even real?"

"Why was the TVA even formed? Who created it?" asked Loki. 

"Maybe. Or maybe we want the same thing," said Renslayer. 

Everyone scoffed. 

"I doubt that," said Wanda.

"No, I think Renslayer really does want to find out who's behind the TVA, just like Sylvie," said Sam. "But I think they have different reasons. Sylvie wants to take down the TVA while Renslayer believes in it."

"I think you are right, Son of Wil," Thor replied.

Sam laughed at Thor calling him Son of Wil. "I prefer Sam."

Sylvie asked how Loki was still alive and how saving him would get them closer to who's really behind the TVA. Renslayer said it was complicated, and she was willingly telling Sylvie this. 

Everyone narrowed their eyes. 

"I don't believe her," said Thor. 

Renslayer wanted to know who was at the top of the TVA because she wanted to find out who lied to her. 

"Must've been a shock to find out that Renslayer has basically been taking orders from a robot," said Rhodey.

"But the robots had to have been getting orders from someone," said Steve.

"When we prune a branched reality, it's impossible to destroy all of its matter. So, we move it to a place on the timeline where it won't continue growing," Renslayer explained.

Peter, Bruce, and Tony gaped. 

Bruce smacked his palm against his forehead. "That makes so much sense." 

"Basically, the branched timeline isn't reset. It's transferred."

"So, all of Sylvie's Valkyrie toys would have ended up in the Void," said Thor. 

"To where?" "A void at the end of time."

"The Void looks like a nightmare," said Steve. 

"Especially with Alioth," said Wanda. 

"And all those Loki Variants," Loki added. 

"We know the Sanctum and Avengers Tower—" said Rhodey. 

"Qeng Tower," Stephen corrected. 

"—Right, Qeng Tower were pruned and ended up in the Void. Who knows what else is there?" 

"Where every instance of existence collides at the same point and simply stops," Renslayer explained. 

"It's scientifically pretty amazing," said Peter. 

"But also, so fucked up," said Sam.

Sylvie asked why, and Renslayer said she didn't know. 

"And she believed it?" Scott said in disbelief. 

Bucky clenched his fists. "It's easier to control them that way."

"The dogma states that the end of time is still being written, that the Time-Keepers are transforming it into utopia," said Renslayer. 

Everyone snorted. 

Sylvie scoffed, "Super believable." "Whatever the real reason…nothing ever comes back from there."

"Because of Alioth, right?" asked Steve. "Old Loki said they would end up as Alioth's lunch if they didn't move."

"Great," said Thor, throwing his hands in the air. "Now my brothers are stuck with an insane cloud monster that wants to eat them."

Renslayer said she could help if Sylvie could trust her. 

All of them scoffed. 

"I don't know what Renslayer is doing, but I doubt it's anything good," said Natasha. 

After a moment, Sylvie handed Renslayer her TemPad. 

Loki groaned. "Sylvie, no."

Back at the Void, there was a destroyed shipwreck and a UFO. 

"I would be a lot more excited about seeing a UFO if I hadn't seen myself go on an actual spaceship and go to space," said Peter. 

"And the fact that we know aliens are real and we're friends with different species of aliens," said Tony. 

The group of Lokis were walking quickly. 

"Away from Alioth, preferably," said Wanda. 

Loki said he wanted to take a breather to ask several thousand questions. 

"What part of 'Alioth will eat you for lunch' does he not understand?" Thor hissed. "He can ask questions later."

Loki sighed in exasperation. 

Classic Loki said they had to keep moving so they didn't die. Loki asked about the plan. "Don't die," Classic Loki replied. 

"Good plan," said Bruce. 

Loki said that wasn't a plan but a general demand of living. "If you're Lokis, you should always have—" He was interrupted by headless birds squawking. 

Except for Stephen, everyone blinked in surprise. Stephen had seen weirder things in different dimensions. The refrigerator in the undercroft held a lot of dimensional creatures.

"Was TVA Loki going to say that Lokis should always have a plan?" Thor said in disbelief. "This is coming from the same person who created the most convoluted plan in the history of plans to impress Father?"

Loki winced. Looking back, maybe that plan hadn't been the best.  

"Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?!" 

"Yeah, it must be weird waking up with a bunch of your variants staring at you," said Peter. 

"Not the mention an alligator variant of yourself too," Scott added.

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose.

The other Lokis looked back at him. Loki said it had been a very trying few days or months as he didn't know how long it's been since New York.

"The TVA is outside of time," said Stephen. "Time is complicated, especially when things like time loops are involved." He shuddered. 

"We know how complicated time can be," said Loki, pointing to himself, Thor, and Bruce. "Time works differently in Sakaar."

"I never want to go back to Sakaar," Bruce grumbled.

"All I know is, I got pruned, and I woke up here, and now I'm surrounded by Variants of myself, plus an alligator, which sadly I didn't find all that strange." 

Everyone sighed.

"All of us too," said Steve.

"The 21^st century is so fucking weird," said Bucky. "And it's sad that I'm used to it now."

"I guess you get used to weird things pretty quickly once half of the universe disappears," said Natasha.

Loki said he needed to get back to the TVA. 

"Yes, but maybe you should first get away from the giant cloud that wants to eat you for lunch," said Bruce. 

There was a rumbling sound in the distance. 

Everyone stiffened. 

Kid Loki conjured Laevateinn, his sword, and pointed it at Loki, who fell back in shock. "Stop wailing, or you will signal Alioth."

"That's what I've been saying!" said Thor. 

"You mean the monster in the sky?" Loki whispered. 

"Yes, catch up," Loki said, exasperated. 

Clint scoffed. "As if you wouldn't be confused if you were in TVA Loki's place."

Kid Loki looked exasperated, put Laevateinn away, and helped Loki up. He explained what the Void was and that Alioth ensured that nothing ever returned. 

"Then how is Loki supposed to get out of there?" said Thor. "He doesn't even have a TemPad."

Boastful Loki explained that Alioth was a living tempest that consumed matter and energy as the TVA sent entire branched realities that were devoured in an instant. 

A chill ran down everyone's spines as they stared at each other in horror.

"That's…something else," said Loki. 

"We're in a shark tank. Alioth is the shark," Classic Loki explained. Alligator Loki growled. 

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Alligator Loki can understand them too."

"I don't know why you're finding this so surprising," said Rhodey. "We're friends with a literal talking raccoon and tree."

"Rocket doesn't like to be called a raccoon," said Peter. 

"Oh, there's no such thing as an alligator tank. Besides, it's a better metaphor," said Classic Loki.

"It looks like Loki has improved his metaphors in his old age," said Bucky. 

Classic Loki told Loki that Alligator Loki was overly sensitive like the rest of them. 

"The alligator is a Loki!" said Scott. 

Loki was taken aback. "Hang on, that thing's a Loki too?" "Oh, yes."

"Honestly, I'm not even surprised at this point," Steve sighed. "Alligator Loki is just isn't that strange compared to variants, time travel, and Wanda creating a sitcom in different decades."

"Glad I could help," Wanda responded. 

"Don't forget Infinity Stones being paperweights now," Natasha reminded him. 

"Ah, how could I forget?"

"So, do I have an alligator for a sibling now?" Thor asked. He furrowed his brows. "How can an alligator biologically be a Frost Giant? I'm very confused."

"Alligator Loki is probably just a Loki stuck in an alligator form. Mother always told me that could happen," Loki responded.

"Okay, fine. Willing to accept that. Why are there so many of you?" Loki asked. 

"Seriously, is the Void some kind of Loki dumping ground?" asked Bruce.

"Do you think our variants would've ended up in the Void?" Peter asked. 

"Probably got eaten by Alioth," Natasha replied. 

"Because Lokis survive. That's just what we do," said Classic Loki. 

Loki's lips twitched into a smile. 

"Great. So how do we escape?" "We don't. All of us were arrested by the TVA and pruned, just like you."

"That's awful!" Scott exclaimed.

"That's the TVA for you," said Steve.

Classic Loki said they had also made bad plans that went nowhere. 

"Obviously, the first thing anyone would do when they end up in a place like the Void is to try to find a way out," said Tony. 

Loki suggested using a TemPad. Boastful Loki sarcastically said the one thing that could get them out of there were all over the place. The other Loki's laughed. 

Loki scowled. He couldn't stand his variants, but Classic Loki seemed to be the most bearable variant, though. He was by far the most helpful. 

Loki suggested creating a nexus event. 

"I think Alioth being there would be considered an apocalypse, so I don't think the TVA would know what would happen in the Void," said Stephen. 

Boastful Loki said the TVA didn't care what happened there. 

"Or they just don't know," said Steve. "Because I'm getting the feeling that the TVA agents don't know much about the organization they work for."

Classic Loki said the only thing there was to do was survive. 

"That's pretty depressing," said Scott. 

Kid Loki said they were done talking and told Loki to do whatever he wanted. 

"Is Kid Loki the leader of the group?" asked Bucky. "I thought Old Loki would be since he was the oldest."

"Maybe Kid Loki has stayed at the Void the longest," Natasha suggested. 

The other Lokis started to walk away. Loki looked around the Void and ran after the group of Lokis. 

"Smart move," said Thor.

Loki asked Classic Loki why he wore the horn as he let a child command him. Classic Loki said to respect Kid Loki as this was his kingdom. 

Loki raised an eyebrow.

Loki asked Kid Loki what his nexus event was. "I killed Thor."

Everyone sharply sucked in a breath and glanced at Thor and Loki, who were both an unhealthy shade of grey. 

"Yeah, I can see how that would be a nexus event," Tony said in a strangled voice.

"Kid Loki killed Thor," said Loki, his stomach churning. He had certainly tried to kill Thor but never truly put his heart into it. 

"It's okay," Thor said immediately. 

"How is it okay?" Loki protested. "It's not!" 

"Kid Loki didn't seem proud of it. Maybe it was an accident; we don't know the details. Anyway, you're not going to kill me anytime soon, so it's fine."

Loki looked at Kid Loki with pain in his eyes. 

Loki clenched his jaw and looked away. Knowing that a Loki Variant managed to actually kill Thor made his blood boil. How could Kid Loki do that to their brother?

In the Void, there was a giant Yellowjacket helmet. 

Scott's jaw dropped. "A Yellowjacket helmet?"

"That kind of looks like your Ant-Man helmet," said Peter. 

"Because it is. Sort of. The Ant-Man suit and the Yellowjacket suit were based on the same technology." Scott wondered if Cross was arrested and pruned by the TVA. Or did someone else wear the Yellowjacket suit? 

The Lokis walked past a helicopter that said 'THANOS'. 

Everyone made a strangled noise and some pinched themselves to make sure what they were seeing was actually real. 

"Am I actually seeing a helicopter that says Thanos on it?" Bucky asked in disbelief. 

"What the fuck is this," said Clint. "Am I supposed to believe that a Thanos variant was riding around in that helicopter?"

Natasha snorted. "That's why his helicopter ended up in the Void. It was pruned."

Classic Loki used his magic to open the door to a bunker. All the Lokis climbed down. 

Thor sighed in relief. There was a safe place in the Void where all of his brothers could stay away from Alioth. 

Mjolnir was stuck in the dirt. Next to it, Throg grunted as he was in a jar jumping to reach Mjolnir. The jar had T365 written on it. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

Thor's jaw dropped. "Mjolnir?"

"That's what you've noticed?" Loki said incredulously. "Not the fact that your variant is a frog?"

Thor shrugged. "You've turned me into a frog before."

"Hey, maybe Frog Thor and Alligator Loki are brothers from the same timeline," said Tony. 

"If there are Loki and Thor variants that are animals, maybe there's a Peter variant out there that's an animal too," Peter said.

There were also trays and juice boxes from the TVA. 

"Huh, I guess the TVA agents were lazy and just decided to prune their trash," said Bruce. 

Loki climbed down the ladder and into an underground hideout filled with pruned objects. Classic Loki asked Loki why he wanted to go back to the TVA so badly. 

"Because his girlfriend is back there," Clint answered. 

Loki groaned. 

Boastful Loki asked if he had left his glorious purpose there. "Something like that," said Loki. 

Thor and Loki raised an eyebrow. 

He looked at the Loki Palace. It was messy and had a throne in the middle with an 'L' over it. 

"That's definitely a Loki hideout," said Thor. "It's very chaotic."

Back at the TVA, Renslayer asked Miss Minutes to access restricted files from the archives.

"Accessing restricted files?" Steve said. "I like the sound of that."

Miss Minutes asked for what. "The beginning of time. The founding of the TVA," Renslayer replied.

Everyone sat up straighter. 

Sylvie asked about the end of time. 

"Thinking about the end of time gives me a headache," said Scott. "All of this is giving me a headache."

Miss Minutes' holographic image scrolled through files. 

"Miss Minutes is the most advanced AI I've ever seen," said Tony. "I hate to admit it, but I don't think the technology is available to make an AI like that at the moment."

"It's just a void." "What if The Void isn't the end? What if there's something beyond it?" Sylvie asked.

All of them gaped in surprise. 

"I think Sylvie's onto something," said Stephen.

Renslayer nodded at Miss Minutes to keep going. Miss Minutes opened a file that showed the Sacred Timeline stopping at a void. 

Everyone rolled their eyes. 

"As if I'm going to believe anything that the TVA is telling me," Bucky scoffed. 

Sylvie said hiding in apocalypses obscured her from the TVA because she couldn't create a diverging branch there. 

"And that was a brilliant idea," said Loki. Sylvie was quite impressive. 

"So, if all of this is still being written, whatever happens is just a new timeline. It would be impossible to start a nexus event there. You could be completely undetectable."

"Old Loki was right," said Bruce.

Sylvie asked how to get past the Void. Renslayer said it was impossible since there was no destination for the TemPad to lock onto. 

Everyone groaned in frustration. 

Sylvie suggested they go through it, but Renslayer called it suicide. 

"Sadly, I think that's true with Alioth at the Void," said Tony. 

"Then I guess my need for you has passed," said Sylvie. Miss Minutes suggested The Void spacecraft. 

Everyone looked at Miss Minutes and Renslayer, unimpressed.

"That's not true at all," said Sam. 

"Yes, the prototype," Renslayer said with wide eyes. 

They snorted. 

"That's not believable at all," said Natasha. 

Miss Minutes said she would get the file. Renslayer said it was a spaceship designed to withstand the temporal void that could take them to the end of time. 

"Sounds like a bunch of bullshit to me," said Bucky. 

"Find Loki." "Find the man behind the curtain." 

Steve rubbed his temples. "Man behind the curtain? That line is literally from the Wizard of Oz."

"It's weird that you're making the pop-culture references now," said Tony. 

"Pop-culture references from, like, forever ago," Peter pointed out. 

"And kill him." "Together," said Renslayer as she stuck out a hand for Sylvie to shake. Sylvie shook it and asked Miss Minutes about the files about the timecraft. 

"Smart," Thor noted.

Renslayer looked nervous as Miss Minutes said she was still looking. 

"And Miss Minutes will never find the file because it doesn't exist," said Stephen. 

"Renslayer's stalling for time," Natasha realized. "Shit."

Sylvie raised her eyebrows. "Nothing?"

"Because it's fake!" yelled Thor. "Sylvie should just take a TemPad and run away from the TVA."

Miss Minutes said it was buried pretty deep as she flicked through the files. Renslayer said she might not have clearance as it was highly restricted. Sylvie said she would if it was real. 

Everyone grinned. 

"How long?" asked Renslayer. "Any second now," Miss Minutes replied. 

"You mean any second until Renslayer gets backup," Natasha corrected. 

The Minutemen burst in. 

Everyone groaned. 

Sylvie pushed Renslayer aside, took her TemPad and Time Staff, and jumped behind the Judge's desk. 

Thor and Loki sighed in relief at seeing Sylvie holding a TemPad. She could get away from the TVA. 

Renslayer told the Minutemen that Sylvie had taken her TemPad. She told Sylvie that they would find her if she went on the run, and it must be so exhausting.

"Don't speak to her like that!" yelled Thor. 

"It's only exhausting because the TVA made it exhausting," said Steve. "It didn't have to be. I don't even see the purpose of the TVA since everything has turned out to be fake."

Sylvie admitted Renslayer had fooled her for a minute and asked if Renslayer felt betrayed by her beloved TVA. 

"She does!" said Loki. 

Renslayer asked Sylvie to come out so they could talk about it. 

"Like she's going to come out," Wanda laughed. "Sylvie's not stupid. This is the same person who successfully taught herself magic, grew up in apocalypses, and nearly brought down the TVA."

She gestured for the Minutemen to move forward. 

"Even if they prune Sylvie, she's just going to end up in the Void with all the other Lokis," said Stephen. 

"That's not a bad idea," said Loki. 

"What happened to finding the man behind the curtain?" asked Sylvie. 

Steve pinched the bridge of his nose. Wizard of Oz.

Renslayer said if Sylvie surrendered, she would put her in a time loop so Sylvie could live out her days in a good memory.

"First of all, Renslayer won't do that," said Stephen. "Second of all, time loops are not fun. Trust me."

"Have you been in a time loop?" Peter asked. "You sound like you're talking from experience."

Stephen hesitated and sighed. "Yes." 

"When?" Wanda asked. 

Stephen swallowed thickly. "I've dealt with multiversal beings before. The Ancient One told me that an infinite Multiverse includes learning of infinite dangers. Why do you think I don't want a Multiversal War?"

"What happened, though?" Tony asked. 

"In late 2016, a being named Dormammu—" 

"Dormammu?" Wanda shrieked. 

"Huh, you got to that part in your books."

"Of course I did! Also, the warnings for the spells are after the incantation. I think that's dangerous."

"That's what I told Wong!" 

"But you mean Dormammu, the being of infinite power and the Ruler of the Dark Dimension? He was here?" she asked, worried. 

All of them were alarmed.

"Dark Dimension?" Scott said. "That doesn't sound good."

"It's not," Wanda and Stephen said simultaneously. 

"Dormammu tried to conquer every universe of the Multiverse, including this one," Stephen said. 

Everyone blanched. 

"And you said you met him?" Peter said, pale. "What the hell happened? How were you able to stop a being of infinite power?"

Stephen looked away. "I went to the Dark Dimension and bargained with him."

"What the hell?" said Clint. "And he listened?"

Stephen snorted. "No, he didn't listen. He definitely didn't listen since he killed me a thousand times."

The room was utterly silent as all of them stared at Stephen in disbelief. 

"You're right here," Loki said flatly. 

"Let's just say that you're not the only one who's good at surviving."

"I think we need to know how you defeated him," said Wanda. "If not everyone else, I need to know."

Stephen clenched his jaw. "I used the Time Stone to create an infinite time loop until he was ready to bargain. He killed me a thousand times, but eventually, he got desperate and surrendered. I told him to leave Earth and never come back."

"Oh my God," Peter said, horrified. "You died a thousand times."

"A small price to pay if everyone on Earth would be protected," said Stephen. "You didn't see what had happened."

"Because you used the Time Stone," said Steve. "That's why we never knew about it."

There was a beat of silence as all of them looked at Stephen with respect. 

"You know, I'm really glad Strange is on the team," said Tony. "He annoys the shit out of me, but we're awesome facial hair bros."

Stephen rolled his eyes. "We are not awesome facial hair bros."

"We are. But I can't believe you annoyed him into leaving Earth."

"What? No! I bargained with him."

"Nope, you annoyed him. It's a pretty good tactic to defeat a villain."

Stephen ignored Tony and turned to Wanda. "Also, some of those books are from the Ancient One's private collection. Wong will kill me if he found out that I gave them to you, so don't tell him."

Wanda laughed. "I won't tell him." She titled her head. "Books from the private collection of the former Sorcerer Supreme, though," she said with interest. It was said that she was more powerful than the Sorcerer Supreme. "Hm. I wish I could've met her."

"Do you have any good memories?" "Just one, really."

Thor clenched his fists. Sylvie didn't deserve to have lived her life like that. She didn't even do anything except play with her toys. 

Loki had a lump in his throat. That one good memory was with TVA Loki on Lamentis. 

Sylvie put the TemPad in her pocket, activated the Time Staff, got up, and pruned herself. 

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats. 

"Well, that's one way to do it," said Bruce. 

"She self-pruned," said D-90. 

"It must have been a shock to the Minutemen," said Loki. "They think if you get pruned, you're going to get killed."

Renslayer said Sylvie was dead.

All of them rolled their eyes. 

At the Loki Palace, Alligator Loki was drinking RoxxiWine. 

"Directly from Roxxcart," Tony frowned. "Fucking Roxxon. They have their fingers in everything."

Loki, Classic Loki, and Boastful Loki were sitting in a circle. "So, after I vanquished Captain America and Iron Man— " said Boastful Loki. 

Steve and Tony choked.

"What the fuck," said Bucky while the rest of them were speechless.

Loki gaped in surprise. What kind of lives did his variants lead?

Loki looked at him incredulously. " — I claimed my prize, all six Infinity Stones," Boastful Loki finished. 

Everyone stared at Boastful Loki, completely baffled.  

"That sounds like a nightmare," said Natasha. 

"All six Infinity Stones?" Loki said weakly. "How did he get the Soul Stone?"

Alligator Loki growled. Classic Loki said Alligator Loki was calling Boastful Loki a liar. 

"Oh, that makes much more sense," said Clint.

"At least my nexus event wasn't eating the wrong neighbour's cat," Boastful Loki shot back. 

Everyone chuckled. 

Alligator Loki snarled and jumped up to bite Boastful Loki's hand. 

All of them looked slightly horrified. 

Loki and Classic Loki pulled Alligator Loki off while Kid Loki was sitting on his throne and snickering. 

"This is a mess," Loki groaned.

"What do you think happens when you put many Loki Variants in the same room," said Thor. 

Classic Loki threw Alligator Loki back into his kiddie pool. 

"It's so sad that we're just accepting that Loki is an alligator now," said Sam. "What have our lives become?"

All the Lokis sat back down. Kid Loki asked Classic Loki to tell his story. Classic Loki said no one wanted to hear about that. 

"No, I do," said Thor while Loki nodded in agreement. How did Classic Loki survive Thanos? 

Loki said he would because Thanos killed them after Ragnarok. 

Everyone winced at that reminder. 

Classic Loki explained that his whole life proceeded correctly until Thanos attacked their ship in his timeline. 

"Almost like me," said Loki. "There's still a week left until Thanos attacks our ship."

"So, you didn't try to stab him?" Loki asked. Classic Loki chuckled and said no since blades are worthless in the face of a Loki sorcery. They stunted their magical potential.

"Exactly!" said Thor. 

Loki tilted his head. He never thought about it that way, but he supposed it was true. 

Boastful Loki said they looked awesome.

"They do," Loki agreed.

"Oh, yes. Especially when they clatter to the ground just before your neck is snapped," Classic Loki commented.

Everyone grimaced while Thor and Loki blanched. 

"He's not wrong!" said Thor, glaring at Loki. "I still can't believe your Sacred Timeline variant tried to use a butter knife to kill Thanos when you're one of Asgard's greatest sorcerers!" 

"And Thanos had two Infinity Stones at the time," Tony helpfully pointed out.

"Okay, I understand!" said Loki. "I have to focus more on my magic."

Wanda smiled. "Me too."

Classic Loki explained that he cast an incredibly real projection that Thanos believed, and he faked his death by hiding as inanimate debris. 

Thor scowled and took a deep breath. "You have to be kidding! Again? Loki faked his death again?"

Loki winced. Of course, Thor would be annoyed after he had faked his death multiple times. 

"So is Sacred Timeline Loki alive?" asked Scott. 

"No, Sacred Timeline Loki is dead," said Stephen. "His TVA file ended there. Old Loki isn't Sacred Timeline Loki."

He drifted in space, away from Thor. 

Thor's scowl turned deeper.  

He thought about his place in the universe and realized that pain followed everywhere he went and decided to remove himself from the equation. 

Loki clenched his jaw and refused to make eye contact with anyone. Of course, he knew that but hearing it from his variant was somehow more painful. But after all, throughout the multiverse, it seemed like all Lokis were destined to cause pain everywhere they went. 

Everyone looked at him sympathetically while Thor put a hand on Loki's shoulder in comfort. 

Classic Loki landed on a remote planet and stayed there in isolation for a long time.  

"It must've been very long for him to have aged as much as he has," Wanda said sadly. 

"It would've been centuries," Loki replied quietly. 

Thor's face contorted at the thought of his brother spending centuries without anyone. 

Loki asked how the TVA found Classic Loki. "I got lonely. To tell you the truth, I missed my brother, and I wondered if he missed me, if anybody else did."

Tears brimmed Thor's eyes. He cleared his throat. "Of course. I always would. You've died many, many times, and I've always missed you."

Loki let out a watery smile and patted Thor's hand softly. 

Classic Loki said the TVA arrived as he took his first steps to get off the planet because Lokis can only play the God of Outcasts.

Loki's smiled bitterly. Of course, they were the God of Outcasts. It was their fate. 

"Shit, that's depressing," said Sam. 

"And why the TVA should be destroyed," Peter added. 

Loki shook his head and stood up. He said he was going. Classic Loki asked where. 

"Back to the TVA, most probably," said Bruce.

Loki said back to the TVA since they were as good at escaping as they were at surviving, which gave Loki a decent chance.

"I don't think they'll just prune you this time; they may just stab you and be done with it," said Clint. 

Classic Loki said he would be murdered. "Well, so be it. That was my destiny to begin with," said Loki. 

Thor pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. "Doesn't mean you should jump into danger, you idiot!" 

"That's rich coming from you," said Loki. 

Kid Loki said Loki was different. Loki said he wasn't, and he was the same as them. 

"God of Outcasts," Loki muttered. 

He asked the other Loki's if they had ever met a woman variant of them. He said she was terrifying, but that was why she was great. 

"She is great," said Loki. "She's probably one of the most bearable ones out of all of my variants, along with Old Loki."

"Because Sylvie diverged from the timeline as a child and grew up in a completely different way than you did," Thor said knowingly. 

Wanda grinned. She wanted to meet Sylvie. 

Loki explained that Sylvie wanted to take down the TVA, and she needed him. Loki said that Alioth was a shark, so if it lives, it dies, and he would kill it, and he could use all the help he could get.

Loki couldn't help but laugh. He couldn't help it; TVA Loki was quite amusing. 

The other Loki's glanced at each other and burst into laughter. Loki walked away and called his variants monsters. 

Loki snorted. That was one way to describe them. 

"TVA Loki is pretty lucky, though," said Peter. "I would do anything to meet a Peter variant." 

"Lucky isn't the word I'd use," said Loki.

Loki climbed up the ladder and opened the latch. To his dismay, Loki came face to face with many Loki Variants, including President Loki, who looked identical to Sacred Timeline Loki. 

All of them gaped in surprise as Loki let out a strangled noise and buried his face in his hands. 

"I have so many brothers," Thor said in astonishment.

"And there's another variant which looks like our Loki," said Bruce. 

"This is a nightmare," Loki groaned. He never wanted to visit the Void. Not because it was an awful place and Alioth was there, but because the Void seemed to be a Loki dumping ground. 

"How many Loki variants are there?" said Steve, amazed. 

"The TVA wasn't lying when they said they've pruned more Loki variants than any others," said Bucky in disbelief. 

"You find a Loki everywhere you go in the Void," said Stephen. The Multiverse was like a headache he didn't want to deal with. 

"Our variants would've ended up in the Void, right?" Scott asked. 

"Yeah, and they've probably been eaten by Alioth," Tony responded. 

Everyone winced. 

Trickster Loki was also there. 

"Oh, we've seen that Loki before. Mobius showed us a hologram," said Natasha. 

Bruce groaned. "Please don't tell me Hulk Loki is there."

"Ah. Hello, which one of us are you?" greeted President Loki. "This is a nightmare," said Loki. 

"Obviously," said Loki. "What a mess." He thought Classic Loki, Kid Loki, Boastful Loki, and Alligator Loki would've been the last variants he would see, but of course, there would be a handful more Loki variants. 

Sylvie opened her eyes and found herself in a vehicle. 

"Oh right, Sylvie would've ended up in the Void now," Wanda noted. 

There was lightning and thunder outside. 

"Ah, that must be Alioth," said Loki. "Wonderful."

Sylvie kicked the windshield and climbed out. Alioth dissolved the bus Sylvie was in. 

All of them sucked in a breath while Loki and Thor's stomachs dropped. 

"Oh no," said Scott. 

"Run, Sylvie!" Thor yelled. 

Sylvie ran away from Alioth and enchanted a part of it, getting a glimpse of the Citadel at the End of Time. 

Everyone's jaw dropped. 

"What the hell was that?" Clint demanded. 

"Sylvie was right," Stephen said, stunned. "There's something beyond the Void."

"Maybe that's what Alioth is protecting," said Wanda. 

"Sylvie just enchanted Alioth, though," Loki pointed out. 

Thor beamed. He was so proud of his sister!

"So maybe Sylvie can enchant Alioth, and she and TVA Loki can find whatever castle this place is," said Scott. 

"I think that's where whoever made the TVA is," said Natasha. "Beyond the Void."

She continued to run away from Alioth and heard a car honk and drive closer to her. The car had a pizza on the top. 

They looked at the car in disbelief.

"I didn't expect to see that," said Rhodey. 

"The Void is filled with weird things," said Sam. "The goddamn Thanos Helicopter."

"Not to mention Thor's Frog variant," said Tony. 

Sylvie quickly got it to find that Mobius was driving the car. 

Everyone sighed in relief at seeing that Mobius was safe.

Loki's eyes lit up. "Mobius!" 

"I'm glad he's alright," said Bucky. He knew being brainwashed wasn't easy. 

Mobius asked her to shut the door as they had a situation. 

"No shit," said Rhodey. "There's a giant cloud monster that wants to eat everyone."

"Watch out!" Sylvie exclaimed. "I see it, I see it," Mobius replied. "Really? You're driving right towards it." "God, you really are one of you."

Everyone chuckled. 

Mobius drove past a pruned Great Sphinx of Giza and the Great Pyramids of Giza. The nose on the Sphinx was intact. 

The ones from Earth stared at the monuments in fascination. 

"The Pyramids and the Sphinx were pruned?!" said Bruce, amazed. 

"The nose on the Sphinx is still there," said Peter. "The Sphinx in our timeline doesn't have a nose. It was destroyed."

"Maybe that's why the Sphinx was pruned," Steve suggested. 

"Again, why are there so many Earth-related things here?" Tony asked. 

Chapter Text

Back at the Loki Palace, the group of Lokis were facing Classic Loki, Kid Loki, Alligator Loki, and Boastful Loki. 

Loki groaned in frustration while Thor couldn't help but let out a cackle. 

Everyone else stared at the Loki faceoff in fascination. 

"I know this isn't going to end well," said Sam. "There are too many Lokis in one room."

"Of course, it isn't going to end well!" Loki said, exasperated. He was tired of seeing his variants. 

President Loki smirked as he stood in the centre. 

"President Loki, huh," said Steve. "That's an interesting thought."

Bucky snorted. "There has to be a timeline where you're the President."

Steve balked. "No, thank you. I don't want to deal with all of the bureaucracy. I think I'd go insane."

"You bastard! You led the wolves to our door," Classic Loki told Loki, who was standing to the side. 

"He didn't even do anything," Thor defended. 

"One of those Lokis probably betrayed them," muttered Loki. "That's what we do."

President Loki said they preferred snakes. 

Thor glared at Loki. "Yeah, preferring to transform yourself into snakes and stab me."

Loki rolled his eyes. "Come on; you thought it was funny. Besides, it's like Get Help."

"You love Get Help."

"I don't love Get Help; it's humiliating. You love Get Help."

"It's a classic!" 

"What's Get Help?" Scott asked. 

"It's where we pretend Loki is injured and about to die, and then I throw Loki at someone."

Everyone looked at Thor and Loki in disbelief.

Kid Loki said he had eaten both, and they die the same. 

"Damn, this kid is intense," said Rhodey. 

Boastful Loki placed his Mjolnir at Kid Loki's neck and said he betrayed him and now he was King. 

All of them were unimpressed.

"Ah, there's the betrayal," said Loki. 

"So predictable," said Thor, rolling his eyes. 

President Loki stepped forward. "About that…" The group of Loki's pointed their weapons at Boastful Loki. 

"Double betrayal?!" Everyone cried. 

"Okay, I wasn't expecting the double betrayal, but I should've," said Loki. "They're all Lokis."

"This is the most Loki thing I've ever seen," said Tony with wide eyes. "The multiverse is insane!"

"You can't be serious," said Boastful Loki. 

"Boastful Loki can't be surprised that a Loki is betraying someone?" said Bruce. "He just betrayed someone."

"What did you expect?" President Loki asked.

"Exactly!" said Thor. 

"Mobius was right," said Stephen. "Lokis love to stab people in the back."

Boastful Loki hissed that wasn't the bargain. "I gave you our location. In exchange for shelter and supplies, you give me your army, and I take the throne."

"Who cares about the stupid throne?" Loki yelled. "It doesn't even mean anything!" 

Thor had a soft smile. 

TVA Loki looked exasperated. 

So did Loki while everyone else giggled. 

"This is hilarious!" Clint laughed. 

President Loki said it wasn't a good bargain. "How about this one? My army, my throne?" Half of the other Lokis aimed their weapons at President Loki.

Everyone was taken aback. 

"No fucking way," said Peter, stunned. "A triple betrayal?" 

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose. He was so, so tired of his variants. Compared to all these new Lokis, TVA Loki seemed bearable. 

President Loki insulted them and said they had a deal. 

"As if we've ever honoured a deal," muttered Loki. 

Loki rubbed his temples. 

All of them snickered. 

Alligator Loki growled. "Why the hell is there an alligator in here?" President Loki asked. 

"He's a Loki!" Everyone defended. 

"He's a Loki!" Kid Loki and Classic Loki exclaimed. Alligator Loki jumped and bit off President Loki's hand. 

Everyone's jaw dropped while Loki just looked tired.

"What the fuck," said Sam. "Alligator Loki bit off his hand!" 

"Alligator Loki needs to stop biting people's hands," said Natasha. "First Boastful Loki and now President Loki."

"Alligator Loki is clearly the superior Loki," said Tony.

President Loki let out a high-pitched scream. 

Everyone couldn't help but let out a peal of laughter. 

The Loki's started to fight with their weapons and magic. 

Loki buried his face in his hands. This was embarrassing!

"This is so chaotic," said Bruce, amazed. 

"This is what happens when you put a group of Lokis in one room," Thor pointed out. 

President Loki was shoved into a popcorn machine, and it was smeared with blood. 

All of them cringed. 

"Well, I wouldn't want to eat that popcorn," said Peter. 

Classic Loki created an illusion of himself, Kid Loki, Loki, and Alligator Loki. The illusions participated in the Loki fight as well. 

Everyone chuckled. 

Kid Loki's illusion threw Alligator Loki's illusion at another Loki.

"Get Help!" Thor said, delighted. "Kid Loki did Get Help! Well, sort of."

Classic Loki created a portal, and the group left. 

Loki blinked in surprise. "I can't do that. I didn't know I could do that."

"I think you're a lot more powerful than you realize, brother," said Thor, clapping Loki on the shoulder. 

"I have a lot to learn. First enchantment and now portals."

Stephen smirked. "You can't make a portal? I can make a portal; it was one of the first things I learned. You can't even make one and you called me a second-rate sorcerer."

Loki bristled. "Listen here, you—"

"Both of you, shut up!" said Wanda. 

Loki and Stephen shut up. 

In a field in the Void, Classic Loki called them all animals. 

"Agreed," said Loki, crossing his arms. 

"We lie, and we cheat, we cut the throat of every person who trusts us, and for what? Power. Glorious power. Glorious purpose! We cannot change. We're broken, every version of us. Forever."

Loki's stomach dropped at hearing Classic Loki say that. He shook his head. "No, I refuse to believe that. I'm trying to be better."

"And whenever one of us dares try to fix themselves, they're sent here to die," Kid Loki exclaimed. 

"That's why the TVA needs to be destroyed!" said Steve. 

"People deserve a second chance to become better," said Natasha. She got a second chance because Clint gave her one; who knows how many other people want to change but didn't get the chance to?

Loki said that's why he needed to get out of there as nothing could change until the TVA was stopped.  

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

"The TVA needs to be taken down," Sam said firmly. 

"And they need to stop brainwashing people," Bucky added. 

"Sylvie can do it," said Wanda. 

Stephen still hoped something else would be put in place of the TVA though.

Classic Loki asked if Loki trusted Sylvie. Loki said she was the only one he trusted and was their only chance of stopping the TVA.

"She is," everyone said. 

"She can enchant Alioth," said Stephen. "It's quite impressive."

Classic Loki and Kid Loki agreed to help, but Classic Loki said approaching Alioth is a death sentence, so they would only help them get to it. 

"Okay, that's fair," said Bruce. "I can understand not wanting to go near Alioth."

In the car, Mobius said he really believed they were the good guys. 

Everyone looked at Mobius in disbelief. 

"Are you serious?" said Rhodey. "How could Mobius think the TVA were the good guys?"

"They were brainwashed and had their memories erased," Bucky pointed out. "They didn't know. Once B-15 and Mobius found out the truth, they changed sides pretty quick."

"Annihilating entire realities, orphaning little girls, classic hero stuff," said Sylvie. 

All of them winced while Thor clenched his fists at hearing what the TVA had done to his sister. 

Mobius thought the ends justified the means, so there wasn't much he wouldn't do. 

Stephen's heart dropped. That's what he thought too, but he had seen what the TVA had done, and he knew it wasn't right.

He pointed out that Sylvie did some annihilating too.

"Because she had to," Loki defended. "It's not like the TVA gave her a choice."

"I did what I had to do." "Yeah, so did I." "You hunted me like a dog." 

Everyone grimaced. 

"That's awkward," said Bruce. 

Mobius apologized. Sylvie said she thought she might find Loki, but the storm probably got him. 

Loki shook his head. "Lokis survive."

Mobius asked if Sylvie really believed that. Sylvie said it didn't matter since the only thing that did was getting out of there and finding out who was behind all of this.

"It's the mission," said Natasha. "It's what Sylvie's wanted ever since she was a child, and she won't stop at anything until whoever behind the TVA has been taken down."

"Good," said Loki, firmly. 

Mobius asked how, and Sylvie said to turn around because the cloud might be the answer.

All of them were equally wary and excited about what going near Alioth would do. They knew Alioth was the key to finding out the truth about the TVA, but they also knew that Alioth was dangerous. 

Mobius turned the car around. Loki, Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki walked through the Void. Classic Loki said it felt odd to be walking towards Alioth and asked Loki if he had a plan. 

Everyone snorted while Loki looked offended. "Hey!" 

"Oh, please," Thor scoffed. "All of us have seen your variant's plans, and they weren't the best."

"The plan to get onto the train worked."

"Before TVA Loki got drunk and was thrown out."

Loki grimaced. "Okay. That's true."

"Get inside, find its heart or brain or whatever, and then, you know, do it in."

Everyone looked at TVA Loki, amused. 

"Amazing plan," Clint said sarcastically. 

"Okay, I see what you mean about bad plans," said Loki. 

Kid Loki didn't think it was a good idea, but Loki said just because it wasn't complicated doesn't mean it's not mad. "It also doesn't mean it's good," said Kid Loki. 

"Point taken," said Loki.

Alligator Loki growled. Loki thought Alligator Loki was in agreement about the plan. 

"He's an alligator," said Natasha. "He doesn't count."

Classic Loki informed him that Alligator Loki was praying as he thought they would die. 

They burst out laughing. 

"Even Alligator Loki doesn't think it's a good idea," said Bruce. 

Loki rolled his eyes. "The same alligator that bit President Loki's hand off."

In the distance, the USS Eldridge arrived. 

Peter's eyes widened. "No way! That's the USS Eldridge! The Philadelphia Experiment is real too?"

"An explanation for those of us who don't know what that is," said Wanda. 

"During World War II, it was said that the USS Eldridge was equipped with generators that would make the ship invisible. But when the generator turned on, the ship was surrounded by a green-blue glow and then vanished entirely."

Everyone's eyes widened — green-blue glow. It's the same colour that appears when something is pruned. 

"Everyone thought it was a hoax, just another urban legend, but the experiment turned out to be TVA agents pruning the ship! Ned and MJ are going to freak out when I tell them!"

The soldiers panicked. They were dressed in WWII uniforms.

"World War II soldiers," Steve said with interest. 

"Alioth is like any animal. He'll go after the big meal first," said Loki. Alioth moved towards the ship. 

Everyone looked at Alioth warily. This wasn't going to be good.

"And while he's busy with that, we can sneak around the back and…." The soldiers fired at Alioth, but it did nothing. Alioth instantly killed the soldiers, and the ship decayed. 

All of them stared at Alioth in horror. 

Wanda clapped her hands over her mouth. "Oh my God."

"Maybe TVA Loki should make another plan," said Bucky, pale. 

Thor and Loki nodded quickly. 

"That's how Qeng Tower, the Sanctum, and all of the other buildings are decayed," Tony realized. "Alioth did that."

Loki was stunned. He said maybe they should think a bit more about this. 

"No shit."

Kid Loki noticed the pizza car in the distance. 

Loki beamed. "Mobius and Sylvie!" 

Loki asked if that was bad. 

"No, it's good news this time," said Thor. 

Kid Loki said it usually meant cannibalistic marauders or cannibalistic pirates. 

"The Void is a fucked up place," said Sam, rubbing his temples. 

The Lokis watched the car slow down and stop. Sylvie got out of the car. Loki noticed her and ran towards her. 

"Well, someone's excited," said Rhodey. 

Thor and Loki grimaced.

"I don't understand. Is he a coward, or was he being brave?" Classic Loki asked. 

Everyone snickered. 

Kid Loki said he wasn't sure. They walked toward Sylvie and Mobius. Loki asked if Sylvie was okay. Mobius walked out too. "Mobius!" Loki said excitedly. 

Loki had a sour expression at seeing TVA Loki so excited to see Mobius. 

"We thought you could do with some backup," said Sylvie. Loki smiled. 

Loki shifted uncomfortably. It was nice to realize that Lokis didn't have to be alone, but he felt a twinge of jealousy knowing that he could never have that understanding with his variants, whether it be Sylvie, Classic Loki, or Kid Loki.  

Sylvie noticed Classic Loki and Kid Loki and was going to fight them. 

Wanda smiled fondly. "Sylvie's always ready to fight someone."

Loki stopped her and said they were his friends. 

Thor beamed. TVA Loki had friends! Although the friends were himself, he still had friends! He felt slightly better knowing that the Loki variants had each other. It was a reassuring thought. 

Loki's mouth straightened into a thin line.

"Us as a child, us in the future, and us as an alligator," Loki introduced his variants. 

"If I didn't know the context behind that sentence, I would call Loki crazy," said Bruce. 

Sylvie looked at Loki incredulously. Loki told her it was best not to question it.

"It really is," said Steve. "And sadly, you get used to it at some point."

"Once aliens start to fall out of the sky, you quickly realize that anything can happen," said Natasha. 

"You throw a rock out here; you hit a Loki," said Mobius. 

"It's pretty funny," said Peter. 

Sylvie asked if they were after Alioth too. Loki replied they hadn't decided how to kill it. 

Thor sighed in relief. "At least he's coming up with a better plan."

"Come again? Kill it?" "Yes, we're gonna kill Alioth." "Oh, my God. That was your plan."

Wanda smiled softly. "Sylvie's going to enchant it. She had that vision of what was beyond the Void."

"Enchanting Alioth is probably going to take a lot of skill and power," said Stephen. "Can she do that?"

"She can do it," said Loki. 

Sylvie asked Kid Loki and Classic Loki if they were going along with it. They said they were having doubts. 

Loki rolled his eyes while everyone else chuckled. 

Loki asked what Sylvie's plan was. "I think the person we're after is beyond The Void at the end of time. And if they are, that thing is just their guard dog protecting the only way in."

"Brilliant," said Tony. "Get past Alioth, find whoever made the TVA, and take them down. Simple."

"It's a good plan," said Thor. 

"It's easier said than done," Natasha pointed out. 

"I have a feeling they can do it, though," said Steve. 

Loki asked how to get past the guard dog. Sylvie said she would enchant it. Loki laughed while Sylvie rolled her eyes. 

"Sylvie can do it," said Thor, confident. 

Loki said it was insane, but Sylvie responded that was it better than paper-cutting a cloud to death. 

Everyone chuckled. 

"I thought TVA Loki would've realized not to rely on knives after what Classic Loki told him," Bruce said. 

Loki said he'd been down there longer than Sylvie, but she interrupted by saying that she would enchant it.

Loki scoffed. "He's only been there for a few hours longer than Sylvie has. That's not a long time."

"She's pretty confident," said Mobius. 

"It's going to work," said Bucky. "It has to. Sylvie's determined to take down the TVA and won't stop at anything."

"I would be too if I went through the same thing as Sylvie," said Sam.

At the TVA, Renslayer walked into a Time Theatre and dismissed the guards in the room. 

All of them scowled at seeing Renslayer. 

She walked to the wall, took out her TemPad, and opened it, revealing B-15 in a cell. 

"Damn, they have cells like that too?" said Clint. 

B-15 asked why she was there. Renslayer said she freed the Variant and was disloyal to the TVA.

"Disloyal?" everyone said incredulously. 

Bucky scoffed. "The TVA is bullshit."

"Renslayer knows the Time-Keepers aren't real, and she's still saying shit like this," said Rhodey. 

"Renslayer also knows that everyone who works at the TVA is a variant," Peter pointed out. "That means she knows that she's also a variant and doesn't seem angry about it."

"Her entire worldview's been shaken up," said Natasha. "She doesn't know what's true anymore."

B-15 asked who she was disloyal to because the Time-Keepers weren't real. Renslayer asked why that changed anything. 

Everyone looked at Renslayer in disbelief. 

"Is Renslayer serious?" said Tony. 

"If the Time-Keepers are fake, that means she doesn't even know who created the TVA, and we know that Renslayer wanted to know who lied to her," said Loki. 

B-15 said it changed everything as the people needed to know the truth.

"Exactly!" Bucky exclaimed. "They deserve to know the truth!" 

"No, the TVA needs stability. And until we figure out what's going on, that is what it will get," Renslayer responded. 

"First of all, the TVA doesn't need stability; it needs to be destroyed," said Sam. "Second of all, Renslayer can tell everyone the truth and go live a nice, peaceful life on a timeline." 

She asked B-15 to tell her what drove the Variant.

"Revenge," everyone said at once. 

B-15 explained that Sylvie was motivated by revenge, but as the Time-Keepers turned out to be fake, she's going to be searching for whoever created them.

"Well, they're already pretty close," said Scott. 

"Renslayer shouldn't have pruned Loki," Thor laughed. "Now all the Lokis are at the Void, one step closer to finding whoever created the TVA."

B-15 realized that Renslayer also wanted to find whoever was behind all of this. 

"Wouldn't everyone?"

She chuckled and said Renslayer wouldn't find them because Renslayer only wanted it while Sylvie needed it. 

Everyone grinned. 

"And that's why Sylvie is going to find whoever made the TVA before Renslayer does," said Natasha. 

Renslayer walked out of the Time Theatre. She summoned Miss Minutes and asked her for the files about the founding of the TVA and everything from the beginning of time.

All of them sucked in a breath. 

"Are we going to finally find out?" said Tony. 

"Would Renslayer even have access to that information?" asked Bruce. "It's probably highly classified considering she didn't even know the Time-Keepers were fake."

Renslayer said that whoever created this place was in danger, and she needed to find them.

"It's good that they're in danger," said Natasha. 

"Why would Renslayer still want to protect them? Or is she lying?" asked Scott. 

Miss Minutes agreed and disappeared. 

"Would Miss Minutes help Renslayer?" Peter asked.

"Who even made Miss Minutes?" Rhodey responded. He paused. "Stupid question. It's probably whoever created the TVA."

At the Void, the Lokis and Mobius were sitting in a house. "You really don't remember him?" asked Classic Loki. Mobius said the TVA arrested a lot of Lokis, but he didn't remember an alligator.

"How can you not remember an alligator variant?" said Loki. "That's much stranger than all my other variants."

"Like Hulk Loki," Bruce pointed out. 

Loki shuddered at the thought of Hulk Loki. 

"I mean, who's to say he's even a Loki Variant?" "He is green, isn't he?"

Everyone chuckled. 

"Good point," said Thor. 

"Your sister wore green and black too," Bruce told Thor. "Are you sure you're not adopted one?"

Loki snorted while Thor balked. 

"I don't know; he could be lying. The long con. Of course, that just makes him more likely to be a Loki."

Loki rolled his eyes, albeit fondly, while everyone else let out a guffaw. 

"It's always the game within the game with you guys, which I respect," said Mobius. 

Loki looked slightly flattered. "Thank you. I appreciate it."

Kid Loki asked Mobius what he was getting himself into when he returned to the TVA. 

"Hopefully not too much trouble," said Rhodey. 

Mobius said he would like to tell people the truth. 

"Good," Bucky said firmly. 

"Do you think they'll believe him?" Sam asked.

"Mobius didn't believe Loki at first, and B-15 didn't believe her own memories until Sylvie told her that they were variants," Natasha pointed out. "Mobius will have to do something big to convince the rest of the agents."

"So just like that, you're turning on the very thing you devoted your life to," said Classic Loki. 

"What Mobius was forced into," Bucky corrected. 

Mobius said it was never too late to change.

Loki's lips twitched into a smile. He wished he could've met Mobius. 

"He's right," said Clint, looking at Natasha. "It's not."

Tony blinked in surprise. That's basically what Yinsen had said to him in that cave.

Classic Loki was lost in thought. Kid Loki said he hoped Loki and Sylvie knew what they were doing. 

"I don't know about Loki, but I think Sylvie knows what she's doing," said Wanda. "She's focused on completing the mission."

Outside the house, Loki and Sylvie were sitting on the grass. Sylvie said Mobius wasn't so bad. 

"No, he's not," said Thor. "I really didn't like him at first, especially when he said Loki was the reason Mother's dead, but he's grown on me."

Loki let out a small sigh of relief. He was happy that Thor approved of Mobius. 

"Or so good. I think that's why we get along," said Loki. 

Everyone laughed.

"He cares about you," said Sylvie. 

Loki's eye twitched as he glowered at TVA Loki. 

Thor had a soft smile on his face knowing there was someone else out there in the multiverse who cared about his brother. 

Loki said it was cold and conjured a blanket around his shoulders. 

Thor and Loki narrowed their eyes. 

"Loki's a frost giant," said Thor. "He can't get cold."

He said he could conjure one for Sylvie if she wanted. 

"Sylvie's also a frost giant!"

"You could conjure me a new outfit. You have no idea how uncomfortable something like this is," said Sylvie, fidgeting with her outfit. 

"Ugh, tell me about it," said Natasha in disgust as Wanda nodded in agreement. 

"So, I'm guessing that Sylvie's clothes aren't made from fine Asgardian leather," Tony teased. 

Loki let out an exasperated sigh and rubbed his temples whenever he thought about his younger self. At least TVA Loki has become a bit better than he was. 

Sylvie brought up Mobius's theory about their nexus event and called it rubbish. 

"I wish it was," Thor muttered while Loki shook his head in disgust. 

TVA Loki quickly agreed. 

Everyone scoffed. 

"Bullshit," said Clint. 

Sylvie said she didn't mean that it wasn't a nice moment, but it sounded like another TVA lie.

"I think Sylvie's right," said Stephen. "Based on what we know about the nexus events and apocalypses, what happened on Lamentis shouldn't have caused a nexus event. It doesn't make sense."

"I don't have friends. I don't have… anyone," said Sylvie. 

Everyone looked at her sadly. 

"That's tragic," said Rhodey.                                                              

"She should've had me," Thor said in a strangled voice. "Sylvie and her Thor should've grown up together like Loki and I did."

Loki patted Thor's shoulder in comfort. 

"Well… there are more important things, right?" "Right? Yeah. Like bringing down the TVA." "Saving the universe, even." "Well, there's no need to be dramatic, but, yeah, kind of."

All of them chuckled. 

Loki wrapped the blanket around Sylvie.

Thor's eyes narrowed at the lack of space between the two. "Keep some distance," he grumbled.

Sylvie said it wasn't very snuggly and asked if it was a tablecloth. 

Loki pinched the bridge of his nose in exasperation. He didn't know why either of them were flirting with each other when Mobius was right there. 

Thor threw his hands in the air. "Both of them are frost giants!"

"Thor, they're flirting with each other," said Clint. 

Thor groaned. 

Sylvie asked how she'd know that Loki wouldn't betray her in the final moment. 

"He won't," said Loki. "I know that much."

Loki said he'd betrayed everyone who ever loved me.

"That's true," said Thor. 

Loki winced. "Thor, I'm sorry—"

"It's okay. We've moved past it. There's no point in talking about the same thing over and over again when both of us have changed."

Loki smiled warmly and nodded. "Okay."

"I betrayed my father, my brother… my home."

"And our mother," Loki hissed. "We betrayed Mother too."

"I know what I did. And I know why I did it. And that's not who I am anymore. I won't let you down."

The rest of the Avengers were taken aback. 

"Wow, you really have changed," said Clint.

"I'd like to think so," Loki replied. "I'm certainly trying."

"That's all any of us can do," said Tony. "Most of us have done awful things and probably can't ever make up for them, but we try."

"Loki's not half bad when you get to know him," said Bruce.

"Thank you, Bruce," Loki said, slightly touched. Maybe he was capable of having friends like TVA Loki. He would never admit it, but Bruce and Valkyrie were pleasant to be around even though Valkyrie made him want to throw something at her. Wanda was kind and fascinating, especially her magic, and while Loki couldn't stand Stephen, he knew that Stephen was quite intelligent about sorcery.

Thor had a shit-eating grin. "It's because Loki was terrified of the Hulk."

"Shut up," Loki hissed. 

"You sure? 'Cause if we make it, and the TVA is gone, there might be a timeline for you to rule." "Ah," Loki smiled. "And then I'd finally be happy."

Loki snorted. 

Loki asked what Sylvie would do after this was all over.

"Find me, please," Thor pleaded. 

"I don't know." "I don't know either," said Loki. He suggested they could figure it out together, and Sylvie agreed. 

Thor smiled gently. Although he didn't like whatever romance was brewing between the two, he was glad they had each other. 

Later, the Lokis and Mobius were standing on the cliffside. The Dark Aster was on the side. 

Loki blanched. He recognized that ship. "That's the Dark Aster."

"The what?" Scott asked. 

"It's Ronan the Accuser's ship. He used to work for Thanos before the Guardians killed him."

"Right, Quill distracted him with a dance-off," said Sam. He paused. "I can't believe I just said that."

"Like from Footloose," Peter snickered. 

Sylvie said the TVA needed to be brought down. They didn't know who created it or where they were, but Alioth did. 

"And Alioth's the key," said Steve. 

She said she linked to it and caught a glimpse of something, so she should enchant it if she could get close enough, and it would take her to whoever's behind all of this.

"And finally take down the TVA once and for all," said Sam. 

"And give everyone free will," Steve added. 

Stephen's mouth straightened into a thin line. Multiversial War. 

Sylvie handed Loki the TemPad, but Loki said he was staying. 

Everyone beamed.

Although Thor had faith in Sylvie's enchanting abilities, he couldn't help but worry for Sylvie and TVA Loki. He'd seen what Alioth had done to that ship. 

"Loki, I don't know if this is gonna work." "You go, I go."

"Huh, Loki's sticking to turning over a new leaf," said Rhodey. 

Loki gave the TemPad to Mobius. Kid Loki said the branch was happening. 

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats. It was finally happening! 

Mobius said he would give Renslayer their regards. "Oh, please do," said Sylvie. 

All of them snickered. 

"Renslayer deserves it," said Scott. 

Mobius asked Classic Loki and Kid Loki if they wanted to leave the Void, but they disagreed, saying it was their home. Alligator Loki growled in agreement.

"But it's not safe!" Thor exclaimed. "What if something happens to them? Alligator Loki can't even defend himself!" 

"Brother, they've survived for this long," said Loki reassuringly. "They know what they're doing. And Alligator Loki can just eat people's hands if he doesn't like them."

"Are you sure? What about Alioth?" asked Loki. Classic Loki said they knew what they were doing. 

"I told you."

Kid Loki gifted Loki Laevateinn and said he would need it. 

Loki smiled slightly. Some of his variants had grown on him.

"Aw, that's sweet," said Wanda. 

Loki took it, conjured a sheath, and placed the sword in it. Classic Loki wished them good luck and hoped they found what they were looking for.

"I hope they do too," said Peter. 

Loki nodded gratefully. Classic Loki, Kid Loki, and Alligator Loki walked away. 

Loki was sorry to see them go. 

Mobius opened a Timedoor. "Looks like you got away in the end." 

"Another escape," Steve chortled. 

Loki laughed. "I am quite good at those."

"I always do," Loki smiled. He asked what Mobius would do at the TVA. 

"I hope Mobius will be okay at the TVA," said Peter. 

"He will be. Someone has to tell the other agents the truth. I bet they won't be on the TVA's side then," said Bucky. 

"Renslayer is," Natasha pointed out. 

"Renslayer's crazy."

"Burn it to the ground."

Everyone grinned, especially Loki. 

Sylvie smiled. "Thanks for the spark," said Mobius. Loki chuckled. 

"Turns out, Loki can be inspirational. Who knew?" said Sam. 

"See you later, Loki," said Mobius as he held out a hand for Loki to shake. Loki hugged him instead. "Thank you, my friend."

Thor beamed while everyone else smiled at the two fondly.

"Those two have been on a pretty crazy journey," said Tony. 

Loki, however, scowled and clenched his fists as he glared at TVA Loki. He crossed his arms and had a sour expression as he looked at Mobius and TVA Loki. 

"You're my favourite," Mobius whispered to Sylvie, who grinned. 

Everyone chuckled. 

Mobius walked through the Timedoor. 

Loki smiled sadly. He was sad to see Mobius go. 

Loki and Sylvie took a deep breath as they faced Alioth. 

Everyone took a deep breath as well. 

"They're so close," said Bruce. 

Sylvie explained that when a branch appeared, Alioth would focus on it, so that's when she'd enchant it.

"Sounds like a plan," Peter said. "I really think this is going to work."

"At least one Loki is good at a plan," Thor grumbled. 

"Hey!" Loki said, offended. 

Classic Loki looked at Alioth with worry. 

"I think he's having second thoughts," said Loki. 

Thor's stomach dropped. It was bad enough that TVA Loki and Sylvie were facing Alioth; he didn't want to see another one of his siblings facing Alioth too. 

Sylvie and Loki waited for Alioth to come closer. In the distance, there was a helicarrier with the HYDRA logo. 

Everyone from Earth blanched at seeing the HYDRA logo. 

"What the fuck," said Steve, Bucky, and Tony. 

"The HYDRA logo on a helicarrier?" Natasha said, worried. "Does that mean Project Insight was successful in a timeline, and HYDRA won that day?"

All of them paled further at that thought, and Steve and Bucky's stomachs churned. 

"Well, that's one timeline I'm glad got pruned," said Bucky. 

"Um, Strange," Steve said slowly. "Do you know what Project Insight is?"

"Yeah, it's the HYDRA killing algorithm. It's what you, Romanoff, and Wilson stopped in DC? I heard about it on the news."

"Yes. I don't know if this is the right time to say this, but you should know that you were one of the targets for Project Insight."

Stephen stared at Steve in shock. "I'm sorry, what?"

Steve grimaced. "Yeah. The rest of us were targets too. All of us, I think."

Stephen was floored. It was strange to think that he was so close to death and he hadn't even known about it. "But I wasn't even a sorcerer at that point. They knew about the Masters of the Mystic Arts?"

"No, SHIELD and HYDRA never knew about you guys," Natasha responded. "I'm guessing it was because you were a well-known neurosurgeon and would be asked to consult on something if needed, and HYDRA wanted to take you out."

"If Bucky hadn't gone to Wakanda and you were still a neurosurgeon, you probably would've been asked to consult on his conditioning," Steve added.

Stephen and Bucky blinked in surprise.

Loki asked what if they didn't have time to wait for a branch, and Sylvie said they would have to cause a distraction.

"What the hell is going to distract that giant cloud monster?!" Sam exclaimed. 

Loki put a hand on Sylvie's shoulder and nodded. 

Loki's eyes widened, and Thor groaned. "Is TVA Loki trying to kill himself?"

Loki ran a distance away as Sylvie started to enchant Alioth. 

"She's doing it!" said Wanda. 

"I don't think Sylvie can do it alone," Loki said in concern. He cursed himself for not learning enchantment before. But he supposed it was a good thing since he would've enchanted Barton without the Mind Stone if he was able to. 

"Come and get me!" Loki yelled as he waved Laevateinn around. The sword was on fire.

Thor groaned louder. "I think TVA Loki has a death wish."

"How else do you expect them to enchant Alioth?" Loki said, exasperated. 

Sylvie was trying her best to enchant Alioth but was struggling. 

Everyone looked at Sylvie in concern. 

"Oh no," said Peter. 

Loki's eyes widened as he ran and tried to get Alioth's attention. 

"Is he an idiot?" Thor yelled. "What does he think he's doing?!"

Alioth nearly engulfed Sylvie before it was distracted by Classic Loki creating a life-sized illusion of Asgard. 

Everyone's jaw dropped as they saw the illusion.

"That's amazing!" yelled Scott. 

"Asgard…" said Thor, his eyes wide. Sadness flitted across his face as he realized that Classic Loki must've been creating an illusion of Asgard to remind himself of home during his isolation. Nonetheless, he was so proud of his siblings. All of them, even the alligator.

Loki was floored. He never knew he could do that. "Old Loki was right. Blades are worthless in front of a Loki sorcery."

Loki and Sylvie ran toward each other. Sylvie asked how Classic Loki was doing that. "I think we're stronger than we realize," Loki responded. 

"That much is evident," Loki spluttered. He had to start studying magic again. 

Wanda grinned. "Looks like I wasn't the only one who didn't know how powerful they were. You can join our study group. Stephen and I will be holding weekly study sessions at the Sanctum every Thursday during lunch."

Stephen stared at her. "When the hell did we decide that?"

"I decided it just now."

He sighed. He didn't mind Wanda — he actually liked her — but Loki? At least he would be able to make him fall for thirty minutes if he was annoying.

Loki couldn't help but be excited to discuss magic with two highly powerful sorcerers. All of their magic was different so it would be fascinating to discuss the differences and similarities and learn from each other. "Thank you. That sounds nice, actually."

"My favourite day of the week on Earth is Thursday," said Thor. "Humans are very kind to name a day after me."

All of them shook their head, exasperated.

Classic Loki was strained with maintaining the illusion and yelled at Loki and Sylvie to go. 

"I don't think Classic Loki can hold it for much longer," Tony said, worried.  

Sylvie took Loki's hand. "What are you doing?" "We're gonna enchant it." "I don't know how." "You do. Because we're the same!"

"Sylvie's right," said Thor. "If Sylvie can do it, then TVA Loki can do it too." 

Alioth tried to engulf the illusion of the Royal Palace of Asgard, but it went right through. 

"It is a pretty impressive illusion," Stephen complimented, against his will. It took a lot of skill to get illusions that precise and on that scale. 

Loki smiled. Maybe the second-rate sorcerer wasn't so bad after all. 

"I could make a better one, though."

Loki stopped smiling.

Loki and Sylvie caught hold of Alioth's branches. Sylvie managed to enchant her branch, but Loki was struggling. 

"Come on," Everyone muttered. 

"They have to enchant Alioth," said Clint. "They're so close!" 

Loki finally managed to enchant the branch partially. 

All of them cheered. 

Classic Loki's illusions started to fall as he collapsed. 

Everyone looked at Classic Loki in concern. 

"Glorious purpose!" shouted Classic Loki as he faced Alioth head-on. 

Thor and Loki's blood ran cold. 

He laughed madly as Alioth engulfed him. 

"NO!" Everyone yelled, horrified.

Loki closed his eyes sadly. He would miss Classic Loki; he never would've realized that he needed to focus more on his magic without him. 

Classic Loki's horns fell to the ground. 

Thor choked down a sob. How many times was he doing to see Loki die?

Alioth was on its way to consume Loki and Sylvie. They closed their eyes and successfully managed to enchant Alioth. 

Everyone's hearts jumped into their throats. 

"Did it work?" asked Scott hesitantly. 

Sylvie opened her eyes and smiled at what she saw. "Open your eyes," said Sylvie. Loki opened his eyes as the cloud opened to reveal the Citadel at the End of Time. There was a white-blue line in the background. 

All of them gasped and stared at the Citadel in shock. 

"That's what Sylvie glimpsed when she enchanted Alioth," said Peter, eyes wide. 

"They did it," said Loki, stunned. 

"That's where whoever created the TVA is," said Steve, glaring at the Citadel.

"Which is one step closer to taking down the TVA," Tony added.

Stephen narrowed his eyes at the white-blue line. What was that? 

Hand in hand, Loki and Sylvie walked towards the Citadel. 

Thor smiled warmly. He was so proud of both of them. 

Chapter Text

A montage of the Sun, multiple planets, and galaxies were shown while speeches could be heard from Malala Yousafzai, Nelson Mandela, and Greta Thunberg. 

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows in confusion. 

"What's happening?" asked Scott. 

A galaxy was right next to another, identical galaxy. 

"Identical galaxies," Tony, Bruce, and Peter said in fascination. 

More voices could be heard as they dived into the Sacred Timeline, including Vision saying, "What is grief, if not love persevering?"

Everyone blinked in surprise at hearing Vision. 

"Vis," Wanda smiled. 

Around the Citadel, there was a white-blue circle – the Sacred Timeline. 

Stephen's eyes narrowed. He had a bad feeling about this.

"I'm guessing that's the Sacred Timeline," said Tony. 

"Huh, the Sacred Timeline is real," said Sam. "With all the bullshit the TVA has said so far, I thought the Sacred Timeline would turn out to be fake too."

Loki and Sylvie climbed up to the Citadel and arrived at the front door. The Citadel was made out of black marble with golden lines. 

Peter smacked his forehead. "The statues of the Time-Keepers in Renslayer's office were made out of the same black and gold marble."

Everyone gaped at Peter. 

"That makes so much sense," said Clint. 

"This is it then," Thor said firmly. "This is definitely where whoever created the TVA is."

Both of them took a deep breath. 

Everyone was unable to sit still as Loki and Sylvie were so close. 

"Aren't you gonna tell me not to kick the door in?" asked Sylvie. Loki said it never made a difference. 

Everyone snorted. 

"That's true," Loki agreed.

Sylvie said if he thought it was a bad idea, she'd prefer him to speak his mind. Loki said he had nothing to say. 

"Which is surprising because Loki loves to talk," said Thor. 

Loki rolled his eyes. 

"That'll be a first," said Sylvie. She cleared her throat. Loki asked if everything was okay, and Sylvie said she just needed a moment. 

They looked at Sylvie with sad eyes. 

"Of course," said Wanda. "This is what she's wanted her entire life."

She said that she was pruned before he even existed and had been waiting for this moment her entire life. 

"And she's finally going to get what she wanted," said Steve. 

Stephen let out a loud sigh. 

She just needed a second to get my head straight. "Sure. Of course," said Loki. The door opened of its own accord. 

All of them instantly tensed. 

"This is not a good sign," said Sam. 

Loki and Sylvie looked confused but entered warily. Sylvie had a hand on her sword. 

"Good," Natasha said. "Don't let your guard down."

The inside of the Citadel was made out of the same material as the outside. Out of nowhere, Miss Minutes popped up. "Hey, y'all!" 

Everyone let out a little shriek, even though most of them would venomously deny it. 

"Oh my God," Tony gasped, clutching his chest. "I have a heart condition!" 

"And yet you give yourself mild cardiac dysrhythmias," Peter said, exasperated. 

Loki and Sylvie instantly pointed their swords at her. "Welcome to The Citadel at the End of Time," said Miss Minutes. 

"So, this is what is at the end of time," said Bucky, looking at the Citadel. 

"What's at the beginning of time then?" Sam asked. 

She congratulated them as they had an awfully long journey to get there. 

"A journey that the TVA made them go through!" Steve exclaimed. 

"He's impressed." "Who's impressed?" Sylvie asked. 

Everyone glanced at each other in concern. 

"He Who Remains."

There was a moment of silence. 

"That's intense," said Peter.

"Am I supposed to know who that is?" asked Scott. 

"What kind of name is that?" said Clint. "He Who Remains," he mocked. 

Stephen tried to remember if he had ever read about a He Who Remains but didn't come up with anything. 

Loki asked who that was. "He created all, and he controls all. At the end, it is only He Who Remains." 

"Okay, that's a bit bleak," muttered Scott.  

"Created all?" said Steve. "Like what?"

Miss Minutes said He Who Remains wanted to offer them a deal so they could be reinserted back into the Sacred Timeline. 

The group sucked in a breath. 

"Back into the Sacred Timeline," said Thor longingly. Even though TVA Loki wasn't his Loki, he knew his Sacred Timeline variant would do anything to have Loki back. He also knew his variant would be ecstatic to have Sylvie too. 

"Loki and Sylvie on the same timeline?" said Wanda. "How is that possible?"

"This is proof the Sacred Timeline is bullshit if He Who Remains can do something like this," said Peter. 

"Then what was the white-blue line outside the Citadel?" Rhodey asked. 

"What I want to know is why He Who Remains created the TVA," said Stephen. "What purpose does the TVA serve? Is the Multiversal War real? Or was that TVA propaganda too?"

Loki and Sylvie glanced at each other. "The TVA can keep doin' its vital work, and y'all can live the lives you've always wanted," said Miss Minutes. 

All of them narrowed their eyes. 

"Vital?" Loki scoffed. "I don't see anything vital about any of this. None of the Loki Variants or any other variant deserved to have their lives taken away by the TVA."

Loki asked what have they always wanted. Miss Minutes said Loki knew how he got into this mess.

"The Battle of New York," everyone said. 

"What?" "The Battle of New York, silly. You versus those self-righteous Avengers. How would you like to win?" 

The Avengers and Loki gaped as they took in what Miss Minutes said. 

"Uh, what?" said Clint. 

"No offence, Loki, I wouldn't want to see that," said Wanda. 

Loki snorted. "None taken. Besides, that means Thanos would also win."

Everyone shuddered. 

"But He Who Remains can do that? Make Loki win the Battle of New York?" Scott asked. "How powerful is this guy?"

Steve clenched his jaw. "Of course, he can do that because apparently nothing we've done has been our own choices. We've just been following a script He Who Remains created."

Loki shook his head. He wished he could forget the Battle of New York for many reasons, but for once in a long time, he had hope that his life could go on to become better. He had a good relationship with his brother, he sort of had friends, and he was finally happy with himself. If he had to lose the Battle of New York to get to where he was today, then he gladly would. 

"But not just there. You can kill Thanos," Miss Minutes continued. Loki's face contorted. 

Everyone blanched. 

"Kill Thanos," Loki said longingly. He had already seen Thanos die twice, but he would be lying if he didn't wish he could've done it himself.  

"You want the Infinity Gauntlet? Yours. Throne of Asgard? No problem."

Everyone's jaw dropped. 

Loki's eyes grew wide. "The  Infinity Gauntlet ?"

Clint raised an eyebrow. "What about the throne?"

"I don't want the throne. I'm fine with Valkyrie having the throne; a lot of our family's problems have been caused by the throne, it's time for someone else to have it. And I've already said that I think Valkyrie will do a wonderful job."

"Miss Minutes just talked about giving TVA Loki the Infinity Gauntlet as if it was no big deal," Steve said in a faint voice. "Our variants went through so much trouble to get it. Natasha, Vision, Gamora, and Sacred Timeline Loki died because of it."

"Cue another existential crisis," muttered Peter. 

"But why is He Who Remains offering Loki these things?" asked Natasha. "What does he get out of it?"

Miss Minutes told Sylvie how she would like to wake up tomorrow with just a lifetime of happy memories. 

Everyone sucked in a breath while Wanda let out a watery smile. She wondered what it would be like to have a lifetime of happy memories; she only had a few with her parents, Pietro, Vision, and the other Avengers. 

"Two Lokis in the same place." "Both of us… together on the Timeline," Loki clarified. 

"I still don't understand how that would work," said Thor. 

"Because literally everything the TVA has said is bullshit," Bucky replied. "Everything is TVA propaganda."

Miss Minutes said He Who Remains could make all of it work, exactly the way they've always wanted it, together. 

"Then why the hell did He Who Remains arrest Loki and Sylvie in the first place if he's going to go around and offer them this?" said Sam. "I just don't see the point."

Sylvie's eyes longed for it. "It's fiction."

All of them looked at Sylvie with sad eyes. 

"It's true," said Natasha. 

Loki said they wrote their own destiny now. 

Everyone smiled proudly. 

"They're right," said Steve. "Loki and Sylvie could get all those things, but it's not what actually happens to them. Naturally."

"Oh, sure you do. Good luck with that," said Miss Minutes and disappeared. 

"Miss Minutes needs to stop doing that," said Sam. 

"Not to mention she sounded a little condescending," Wanda pointed out. 

"Well, Miss Minutes does work for someone called He Who Remains," Stephen reminded. 

Loki and Sylvie walked further into the Citadel. At Renslayer's office, Renslayer was downloading files on her TemPad while looking through files.  

They glared at Renslayer. 

"She's the worst," said Scott. 

Miss Minutes appeared, and Renslayer asked what took her so long.

"Oh, nothing much, just casually offering Loki the fucking Infinity Gauntlet!" Tony exclaimed while rubbing his temples. 

Miss Minutes said some things had to get worked out, but she was downloading the files Renslayer needed. 

"Renslayer's getting files now?" Bruce said. 

Steve scoffed. "Who knows if they're real?"

Renslayer picked up the TemPad and looked at it. "This isn't what I asked for." "I know, but he thinks this'll be more useful." "Who?" 

Everyone groaned. 

"He Who Remains," Scott answered. 

"Why would he offer Renslayer the files?" Peter asked. "Why now?"

"Nothing this man has done is making any sense to me," said Bucky. 

"Happy readin'," said Miss Minutes and disappeared. 

"No, not happy reading," grumbled Loki. "This is awful."

Back at the Citadel, Loki and Sylvie walked through with their swords at the ready. "He Who Remains," said Loki. "Not for much longer," Sylvie responded. 

"Good," Thor said firmly. 

They entered an atrium. There were three statues of the Time-Keepers and one destroyed statue. 

They blinked in surprise. 

"There's a destroyed Time-Keeper statue," said Rhodey. "But we only saw three Time-Keepers before."

"None of this makes sense," said Clint. 

Loki noticed the dust and asked if he was still alive. 

"He has to be," said Bruce. 

The door on the side opened to reveal He Who Remains. He had an apple in his hand. 

Their hearts jumped into their throat at finally seeing the creator of the TVA. 

"But… he's just a man," said Stephen, baffled. 

"Yeah, with a name like He Who Remains, I was expecting something a bit grander…not him," said Peter. 

"He could be some other alien race," Natasha pointed out. "Asgardians look human, but they're not. Who knows what species He Who Remains is?" 

Loki and Sylvie pointed their swords at him. He Who Remains got up with a grin. He said it was wild as the two were the same person, and it was a little unnatural. 

Sam threw his hands in the air. "Only because he's the one who made it that way!" 

He chomped his apple. 

"Where is He Who Remains getting his groceries from?" muttered Tony. 

"Probably just opened a Timedoor and went to a grocery store at any time period he wanted to," Clint answered. 

"He Who Remains," said Sylvie. 

All of them glared daggers at He Who Remains. 

"I'm going to enjoy seeing Loki and Sylvie take him down," said Bucky. 

Everyone else nodded in agreement. Stephen still hoped for another solution to prevent a Multiversal War — if that was even true — but he agreed that He Who Remains wasn't the right person for it. 

"She still calls me that? Creepy, right? But… I like it," He Who Remains said. He invited them to talk in his office. 

"I was expecting a big fight, to be honest," said Rhodey. "Not whatever this is."

"He Who Remains is so calm," said Natasha, narrowing her eyes at He Who Remains. "It's not natural." 

Tony snorted. "What about any of this is natural?" 

All of them entered the elevator. He Who Remains was in the front, still eating his apple, while Loki and Sylvie were behind him, pointing their swords. 

"How the hell is he just calmly eating his apple?" 

"Not what you were expecting, hmm?" said He Who Remains. 

"No," Everyone answered. 

"You're just… a man," said Loki. 

"To be honest, with the way Miss Minutes was talking about him, I was expecting someone like Thanos," said Bucky. 

"Flesh and blood," He Who Remains confirmed. "Don't tell me I'm a disappointment."

"No, it just means that their job is a bit easier," said Wanda. 

"No. Just a little bit easier to kill," said Sylvie as she swung her sword at He Who Remains. He Who Remains used a device to twist time, so he was behind Sylvie. 

Everyone groaned in frustration. 

"Of course," said Tony. "Of course, He Who Remains would have the same time twister the TVA has."

He Who Remains chuckled. Sylvie tried to hit him a few more times, but He Who Remains twisted time to escape. 

"How is Sylvie going to kill someone who can do that?" Rhodey asked warily. 

Eventually, he wasn't in the elevator anymore. 

All of them glanced at each other warily. 

"Where did he go?" Scott asked.

The elevator dinged and opened to show He Who Remains outside smiling. 

Thor scowled as he clenched his fists. 

He invited them in, made tea, and told the two to take a seat. 

There was a moment of silence as they stared at He Who Remains in disbelief. 

"He's offering them tea ?" Loki said, incredulously.

Loki and Sylvie slowly took a seat, their swords still in their hands. Back at Renslayer's office, there was a knock on her door. "I said I wasn't to be disturbed," Renslayer said. 

"Too bad," said Clint. 

"Well, then you're not gonna be happy to see me," said Mobius as he entered. He held a Time Staff. 

Everyone grimaced while Loki lit up at seeing Mobius. 

"This is going to be awkward," said Bruce. 

"Renslayer deserves it, though," Steve replied. 

"If anyone was ever gonna make it back from The Void, I suppose it was gonna be you," she said. "Oh, well, you know, one man's Void is another man's piece of cake," Mobius replied. 

Loki looked at Mobius fondly.

"That makes no sense," said Stephen. 

Renslayer asked if he was going to prune her. 

"It's a good idea," said Thor. "She'll just end up meeting a bunch of Lokis who won't be happy to see her."

"I like that idea. But, you know, my standards might be a little bit higher in that area than yours. You know, with close personal friends."

Everyone winced. 

Renslayer apologized and said she couldn't let Mobius get in the way of the mission.

"You've got to be kidding me!" said Sam. "What mission!" 

"Literally everything the TVA has said is fake," said Wanda. "What is Renslayer still fighting for?"

"The TVA fucked her over too," said Bucky. "I don't understand why she's still with them. Mobius and B-15 have both sided against the TVA when they found out the truth."

"Mission? The Time-Keepers are fake. We're all Variants. What mission?"

"Exactly!"

"It can't have been for nothing. That's why I had to prune you." Renslayer called D-90 to her office.  

Natasha raised an eyebrow. "Renslayer pruned Mobius because otherwise, he would tell everyone the truth."

"What is she going to do now?" said Loki. "If she prunes Mobius, he'll just end up in the Void, and the other Lokis will help him." 

"And I doubt she's actually going to kill him since she considers Mobius to be a friend," Wanda added. 

Mobius said it wouldn't work out the way she thought it would be; now they knew her secret. He took out the Franklin D. Roosevelt High School pen.

Everyone looked at Mobius, confused. 

"How is the pen revealing Renslayer's secret?" said Clint.  

"Again, why are there so many objects related to Earth?" Steve asked. 

 "What did you do?" Renslayer asked. 

"Hopefully, expose her," said Peter. 

In Fremont, Ohio, in 2018, B-15 hid behind the lockers at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School. 

They tilted their heads in confusion. 

"2018?" said Bucky. "What are they doing in 2018? What does this have to do with Renslayer?"

"It's 2018 right now," said Tony. 

"Is this before or after Thanos's snap?" asked Bruce. 

B-15 ran into the school hallway D-90, and the other Minutemen were in. 

"Why are they at a school?" Wanda asked. "What are they doing?"

D-90 told the others to secure the perimeter as he chased B-15. In the background, there were posters for Homecoming. 

Peter gasped. "This is after Thanos's snap, during the Blip. There are Homecoming posters, and Homecoming is in—"

"—the fall," Sam finished. 

"It's nice to know that even during the Blip, kids still have stuff like Homecoming," said Steve. 

"It'll be a pretty depressing Homecoming, though," said Rhodey. "Their friends and family would've Blipped."

"Still can't be worse than mine," Peter grumbled. Homecoming 2016 was the worst. 

B-15 entered an office, and D-90 followed her. He told her to stand down. B-15 said he had to listen to her. 

"Please listen to her," Thor pleaded. "All of them have to know the truth."

On the wall, there was a degree from Ohio State University to Rebecca Tourminet.

"I still don't understand how this is Renslayer's secret," said Bucky. 

Ravonna Renslayer's Sacred Timeline variant, Rebecca Tourminet, entered the office and asked what was going on.

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"Are you serious?" said Tony. "Renslayer's Sacred Timeline variant?"

"So, if we go to Franklin D. Roosevelt High School in Fremont right now, we'll see Renslayer's Sacred Timeline variant," Stephen said. 

"And she didn't Blip," Wanda noted. 

"Renslayer graduated from Ohio State," said Sam. "What the fuck."

"Technically, her name is Rebecca," Scott said. 

"Judge Renslayer," said D-90. 

Loki chuckled darkly. "That's not Renslayer."

Rebecca asked who they were and what they were doing in her school.              

"She's a teacher?" said Peter in shock. "Gotta say, I didn't expect that."

"It's so weird to think Renslayer's Sacred Timeline variant is alive when we are," said Rhodey. 

"That isn't Judge Renslayer." "How?" "We have a lot to talk about."

Everyone snorted. 

"That's an understatement," said Tony. 

"But on the bright side, now D-90 and the other Minutemen will know the truth," Bruce pointed out. "It's a good thing."

At the Citadel, He Who Remains said Sylvie had been on a long journey; lots of running, lots of pain. 

Everyone clenched their jaws. 

"Again, only because you made it that way for your Sacred Timeline," said Loki, glaring at He Who Remains. 

"What an asshole," Clint spat.

"What do you expect from the guy who created an organization like the TVA?" Natasha added. 

He said Loki was a flea on the back of a dragon. He was in for one hell of a ride. But he did manage to hang on, which counted for something.

"It counts for a lot, considering all the bullshit they had to go through," said Tony, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Lamentis and the Void."

"I'm not sure you quite understand the situation. You've lost. We found you," said Loki. 

"Yes, they did," Thor said proudly. 

"Duh. Of course, you did." 

Everyone froze and a chill ran down their backs. 

"He manipulated everything," Stephen realized in horror. 

"He knows everything," said Loki, pale. 

Sylvie got up and tried to hit He Who Remains with her sword, but she missed as he twisted time. 

Thor and Loki looked at He Who Remains in disgust. 

"So, we're still doing that, hmm? Let's get all this out of the way." He Who Remains picked up a book, took out a few pages and showed Loki and Sylvie. "You can't kill me because I already know what's going to happen." 

Everyone stared at He Who Remains, terrified. 

"How are they supposed to take down the man who knows  everything  that's about to happen?" Peter asked, hysterically. "How are you supposed to beat someone like that?"

The page had the exact conversation He Who Remains, Loki, and Sylvie were having. 

The group's jaws collectively dropped. 

Loki scoffed and said it was a parlor trick.

"I don't think it is," said Natasha warily. "The machine at the TVA was able to do the same thing, and we saw that was true too. It printed out the same thing TVA Loki was saying."

"Don't you wonder how I'm able to get out of the way just before you kill me?" He Who Remains said. Sylvie said it was because of his TemPad. 

Everyone shook their heads. 

"Yes, but also because he knows everything," Loki said, pale. 

"Right. But how do I already have it loaded up with everything I need to know to keep from being killed by you two? It's easy. I know it all. And I've seen it all." 

All of them had a lump in their throats. 

"This is fucking insane," said Tony, horrified. How was he supposed to protect his family from a man like that? "How do you defeat a man who knows everything that's about to happen?" 

He Who Remains sat down. He said he knew everything the TVA didn't know about and what they did on Lamentis; the scheming and the talking. 

Thor gagged at the reminder of Loki said Sylvie falling for each other. 

"So, He Who Remains knows that Loki and Sylvie are there to kill him and take down the TVA, but he allowed it?" said Stephen. "For someone who has been manipulating all of time, it seems stupid not to stop it."

"There's something else going on here," said Wanda. 

Steve scowled. "There's  always  something else."

Sylvie shook her head. She said they broke out of his game, and that's how they got here. "No, wrong. Every step you took to get here, Lamentis, The Void, I paved the road. You…You just walked down it," said He Who Remains. 

Stephen groaned. "The branch forming on Lamentis; whatever Mobius said about TVA Loki and Sylvie falling for each other causing the branch wasn't true. He Who Remains was the one who created it so the TVA would find them."

"Because he needed Loki and Sylvie to reach the Citadel," Wanda realized. 

"I think that's why the Time Heist was allowed to happen," said Loki. "He Who Remains needed the Time Heist to happen so he could get TVA Loki to the Citadel. He paved the road. He manipulated the branch on Lamentis so Sylvie and TVA Loki could reach the Citadel. They couldn't die on Lamentis."

"But why?" asked Peter. "Why does He Who Remains want Loki and Sylvie there?"

"No idea, but do you think that He Who Remains' time travelling tech is based on ours?" Tony asked, worried. "Maybe that's why he also needed the Time Heist to happen."

All of them grimaced. 

He Who Remains took out more pages. He said this was everything that would happen, and there was only one way this could go.

All of them shuddered. It was an awful thing knowing that their entire life — or what it would've been — was already written out, and all they were doing was following a script. 

Sylvie asked why they were there. 

"Yes, please tell them," Scott said. "I'm very confused."

He Who Remains said they couldn't get to the end until the journey changed them. Everything needed to happen to get them in the right mindset to finish the quest.

Everyone glared at He Who Remains in disgust. 

"A quest?" Loki snapped. "All of this is just a game to him."

"Everything Sylvie and TVA Loki went through was just for the journey to change them?" Thor said in disbelief. "Sylvie grew up in apocalypses her entire life because He Who Remains needed her to be in the right  mindset ?"

"He Who Remains needed Sylvie's drive for revenge to make them arrive at the Citadel," Peter said, clenching his jaw. 

Loki said it was all a game, a manipulation. "Interesting, that your head would go to that. Sylvie, you think you can trust this guy?" He Who Remains asked. 

All of them stilled, especially Loki, who closed his eyes sadly. 

Loki said not to listen to him. "Don't listen to him," He Who Remains laughed. "Do you think you're even capable of trusting anyone at all?" 

Loki knew he could trust people — mostly only Thor — but he didn't think Sylvie had gotten to that point yet. 

Sylvie didn't answer when Loki looked at her. 

Everyone winced while Loki's mouth straightened into a thin line.  

"That's awkward," muttered Sam. 

Back at the TVA, Mobius said people were ready to hear that the TVA is a lie.

"They are," Bucky said firmly. "And they deserve to hear it too. They deserve to know the truth and know that their entire lives were taken from them."

"But what if it's a necessary one? Someone created the Time-Keepers. They created this whole place. They gave us all purpose. I have to believe they had a reason," said Renslayer. 

"I don't think ending up in the Void and getting eaten by Alioth is at all necessary for something as trivial as going to work late," said Sam. "It's horrifying!"

"No, because I've seen the horror waiting for people when they get pruned, and there's nothing necessary about that," Mobius replied. 

"Exactly!" Everyone exclaimed. 

"I don't know how Renslayer can still stand by the TVA knowing she's a variant and that they stole her life from her," said Steve. 

"People are comfortable with the things they know," Natasha replied. "Renslayer's been working for the TVA for eons. Or maybe she's trying to grasp at something familiar when everything she's known to be true is false."

"You know what would happen if we didn't prune the Timeline?" "What?" "Chaos. Death." 

"And that somehow makes everything okay?" said Rhodey incredulously. 

"Free will?" 

"Everyone deserves free will!" Bucky exclaimed. "People deserve to have choices!" 

Renslayer scoffed and said only the one in charge gets free will. She continued to pack her bag. 

Everyone chuckled bitterly. 

"Not for long," said Wanda. 

"'Friends across time, allies to the end.' That was so beautiful. And then you sent me to die. What happened to you?" Mobius asked. 

Loki scowled at remembering that Renslayer had ordered the Minutemen to prune Mobius. 

"Nothing, Mobius. I didn't change." "You didn't change? You betrayed me." "No, no. You betrayed me !" 

All of them grimaced. 

"Well, I can understand why Renslayer feels that way since they've been friends for eons, but she can't have believed that Mobius would stay with the TVA once he found out the truth?" said Peter. 

Renslayer said she looked out for Mobius, and he turned to those Variants as he suffered a crisis of faith. 

Bruce raised an eyebrow. "Crisis of faith, huh? That's an interesting way to put it."

"Eons of friendship. And you threw it all away on a couple of Lokis." 

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but Loki would be a better option than staying with TVA," said Clint. 

Loki looked at him, astonished. "I can't believe  you  said that."

Clint shrugged. "Don't get me wrong, I still don't like you, but you're trying to be better. Everyone deserves a second chance."

Natasha's lips twitched into a smile. 

Mobius said they couldn't take away people's free will. 

Everyone nodded in agreement. 

Renslayer activated a Timedoor, and Mobius asked what she was doing. "What I need to do."

All of them looked at Renslayer warily. 

"Whatever she's about to do can't be good news," said Scott. 

Mobius said maybe they could build the TVA into something better together.

"No, the TVA needs to be burned to the ground," said Loki. "All of it needs to be gone."

"And something new in its place," Stephen added. 

Renslayer shook her head and apologized. Mobius said he wouldn't let Renslayer go and activated his Time Staff. 

Everyone grinned. 

Renslayer said he wasn't of any danger to her. She quickly overpowered him, took the Time Staff, and kicked Mobius down. 

"Well, the effort is appreciated," said Loki. 

Mobius groaned. "Yep, you were right. Back here again." 

"I thought he said it felt appropriate looking up to her."

Renslayer pointed the Time Staff at Mobius, who told her to go ahead. 

"He'll just end up in the Void," Stephen noted. 

After a moment, Renslayer deactivated the Time Staff. 

"Huh, I guess she does care about Mobius," said Sam. 

Loki snorted. "She commanded the Minutemen to prune him the first time."

Mobius asked where she was going to go. "In search of free will," Renslayer replied as she walked through the Timedoor. 

Everyone furrowed their eyebrows. 

"So, she's going to find He Who Remains?" Scott asked. 

"Well, he did give her those files," Tony pointed out. 

Chapter Text

At the Citadel, He Who Remains said he understood their moral objections to what the TVA does. 

"Then why the fuck is he still letting the TVA run?" Rhodey asked.  

"And my methods are deceptive. But the mission, it never was. Without me, without the TVA… everything burns."

Everyone glanced at each other uneasily. 

"Everything burns?" said Tony. "He Who Remains can't be that important."

Loki asked who he was so afraid of. "Me," He Who Remains responded. 

All of them sucked in a breath. 

Stephen's heart jumped into his throat. "His variant." 

Sylvie asked who he was. He Who Remains said he had been dubbed many names by many people, including a ruler, a conqueror, and a jerk. 

Thor scowled. "He's definitely a jerk."

"A conqueror?" said Scott. "That doesn't sound good."

He activated his circular TemPad, and a clay-like substance formed on the table. "Eons ago, before the TVA, a variant of myself lived on Earth in the 31st century." 

There was a moment of silence as they stared at He Who Remains in utter disbelief. 

"The 31st century?" Steve said in a faint voice. 

"You're joking!" yelled Tony. "That's why Miss Minutes was so advanced. It was made by someone from the 31st century." 

"The 31st century sounds fake," said Peter. "I can't wrap my head around it."

"Earth?" Loki said, astonished. "He Who Remains is from Midgard ?"

"He was a scientist and he discovered that there were universes stacked on top of his own." 

"The multiverse," Everyone groaned. 

"At the same time, other versions of us were learning the same thing. Naturally, they made contact." 

Bucky buried his head in his hands. "This is making my head hurt. The multiverse is too confusing."

The clay molded into a He Who Remains variant meeting another variant while coming out of a Timedoor. 

"That's why Stephen said they weren't magical," said Peter. "They were technological because He Who Remains is from the 31st century."

He Who Remains explained that there was peace and they shared technology and knowledge. The clay shifted into He Who Remains variants creating TemPads and Reset Charges.  

"Of course," said Bruce. "He Who Remains is a scientist, so he's the one who made the TVA's weapons."

"The technology, however horrifying, is incredible," said Tony. 

"However, not every version of me was so pure of heart. To some of us, new worlds meant only one thing, new lands to be conquered." 

Everyone clenched their jaws. 

"Of course," Steve sneered. "That's so typical."

The conquering variant of He Who Remains stood on top of the bodies of his variants while holding a Time Staff. 

They stared at the conquering variant with fear. 

Scott shuddered. "I don't want to meet He Who Remains' conquering variant. He sounds like a nightmare."

"I'm sick of the stupid multiverse," said Peter. "It sounded cool at first, but not anymore."

"Me too, kid," said Stephen. 

"The peace between realities…." He Who Remains imitated an explosion, "…Erupted into all-out war, each variant fighting to preserve their universe and annihilate the others." 

Everyone blanched. 

"The Multiversal War is real," Stephen said in horror. "The TVA wasn't lying about that?"

"This is bad," said Wanda, pale. "Really bad."

There were many He Who Remains variants fighting each other with Time Staffs. He Who Remains said this was the end of everything and everyone.

Everyone's stomachs dropped. 

"Normal war is bad enough, but a multiversal war?" Scott said with wide eyes. 

"And then the Time-Keepers came along and saved us all," said Sylvie. 

"But the Time-Keepers are fake," said Bruce. "They aren't real."

He Who Remains agreed, and said that this was where they diverged from the dogma. "That first variant encountered a creature created from all the tears in reality, capable of consuming time and space itself. A creature… you both know."

They groaned in frustration as they realized who He Who Remains was talking about. 

"Alioth," Loki realized. 

"Fuck."

"Bingo! I harnessed the beast's power and began experimenting on it. I weaponized Alioth and I ended… I ended the Multiversal War." 

"How did He Who Remains weaponize Alioth?" Loki asked, his face ashen. "We saw what Alioth was capable of. How do you weaponize a creature like that?"

"He Who Remains," Natasha realized, shaken. "He was the variant who won. He was the only one who remained."

He Who Remains could be seen standing on top of an asteroid with a circle around him. 

"That's where the Citadel would be created and where Loki and Sylvie are right now," Rhodey noted. 

"Once I isolated our timeline, all I had to do was manage the flow of time and prevent any further branches. Hence, the TVA." 

"So, the true purpose of the TVA is just to prevent the birth of any of variants of He Who Remains," said Wanda. 

"That's why there are so many things related to Earth," Tony pointed out. "He Who Remains is human and he's trying to prevent the birth of his own variant."

"And there were other species who have a lot of contact with Midgard too," said Thor, with a wide eye. "Skrulls and Asgardians."

"Mobius also mentioned Titans and Kree," said Loki. "Both of whom have also visited Earth."

"And vampires, apparently," said Scott. 

"And that's also what the red line means on the TemPad," Stephen realized. "It's when the TVA can no longer reset a nexus event because a variant of He Who Remains has been born."

"Shit," said Tony. "That's also how Old Steve was able to live out his life in an alternate timeline and not get arrested by the TVA. Theoretically, we do have free will; it's just that—"

"—It just can't result in a He Who Remains variant," Bruce said, understanding Tony's point. 

"Exactly. In the alternate timeline, Steve could make all the changes he wanted, like preventing Barnes from becoming the Winter Soldier, taking down HYDRA and the Red Room—"

"—Giving you a better childhood," Steve interrupted. 

Tony shuddered at the thought of growing up with Steve as an uncle figure. What a nightmare. "Yes, giving me a better childhood too. Old Steve could do all of that in the alternate timeline, but as soon as any of those changes result in a He Who Remains variant, he and the timeline would've been pruned."

"You're right," said Stephen, stunned. "The Sacred Timeline has never been one timeline. The Multiverse has always existed, He Who Remains just wanted to prevent the creation of his other variants. 

"So basically, the Sacred Timeline would be sort of like a rope," said Peter. "Dozens of timelines can exist simultaneously — like Old Steve's — as long as it doesn't create a He Who Remains variant. All of the fibers and strands exist together to form the Sacred Timeline."

"That makes sense," said Thor. "We know Mother and Father told Sylvie she was adopted, but they never told Loki. But that's not what caused her nexus event because it didn't create a He Who Remains variant. We still don't know what caused Sylvie's nexus event."

"Sylvie's a slightly different case, though," said Loki. "He Who Remains personally wanted Sylvie to end up in the Citadel. He paved the path, remember? He's been manipulating her entire life. He needed Sylvie's drive for revenge so she could go on the journey to take down the TVA and eventually meet He Who Remains."

"Old Loki too," said Wanda. "Old Loki lived for thousands of years longer than he was supposed to, and the TVA didn't prune him because he didn't do anything to cause a creation of a He Who Remains variant until he stepped off that planet."

"Or He Who Remains needed Old Loki at the Void to help TVA Loki and Sylvie end up at the Citadel," said Bruce. "TVA Loki and Sylvie never would've gotten past Alioth without his help."

"Hence, the Time-Keepers and a highly efficient bureaucracy. Hence, ages and ages of cosmic harmony. Hence… you're welcome."

"It still doesn't make it right," Steve said, shaking his head. "He took people's lives away from them. Every time someone tries to win a war before it starts, innocent people die. Every time. All of the variants didn't deserve being torn from their timelines and end up in the Void just so a Multiversal War could be prevented."

"Innocent people die in war anyway," said Tony. "This whole situation is messed up."

He Who Remains said he kept them safe. "And if you think I'm evil, well, just wait till you meet my variants." Loki and Sylvie glanced at each other. 

A chill ran down everyone's backs. 

"Yeah, I really don't want to meet his variant," said Scott. "I'm good."

"And that's the gambit! Stifling order or cataclysmic chaos. You may hate the dictator, but something far worse is gonna fill that void if you depose of him." He said the TVA was the only way as he had lived a million lifetimes and gone through every scenario. 

"What are they going to do now?" Scott asked. 

"Still take down the TVA," said Bucky. "They have to. He Who Remains took people's choices and lives away. Why is this even a question?"

"You heard him," Loki responded. "Kill the dictator and his variant is going to fill the void."

"A Multiversal War has to be avoided at all costs," Stephen said firmly. "I agree that the TVA is horrible, but they're trying to prevent the multiverse from breaking into chaos."

"I've read enough about multiple dimensions and beings to know that the multiverse is dangerous, and whatever we've learnt is terrifying," said Wanda. "Multiversal beings like Dormammu are bad enough, and with the Multiverse unleashed, there's going to be a lot more besides He Who Remains' variants. Do you really want to deal with that?"

There was a beat of silence. 

"At least we get free will?" Steve said weakly. 

"Free will isn't going to mean much if the multiverse collapses into chaos," said Loki. "Wanda and Stephen are right."

"I thought you wanted the TVA taken down?" Clint asked Wanda. 

"I didn't know the truth then," Wanda replied. "But I still want the TVA to be taken down, just something else has to be put in place."

"Or you're a liar," said Sylvie. "Or I'm a liar," He Who Remains agreed. 

"I think he's lying," said Steve. 

"And what if he's not?" Stephen shot back. "The multiverse would dissolve into madness. The fabric of reality would break apart, and not mention He Who Remains' variant would conquer our timeline. This is the same man who was able to weaponize Alioth."

"But how can we know if what he's saying is true or not?" Sam said. "Everything he's said has been built on lies. How do you know that he's not lying right now to manipulate Loki and Sylvie?"

Stephen hesitated. That was true.  

"But the cost of getting this wrong is too high," Loki responded. "You saw how He Who Remains described the Multiversal War — the end of everything and everyone. What if he's telling the truth and the TVA is needed?"

"I can't believe you're even saying that!" Thor exclaimed. "You saw what the TVA did to Sylvie and the other Loki variants!" 

"I know! I don't like the TVA any more than you — you saw what they did to Loki variants — but now we know the entire truth. A Multiversal War sounds terrifying!"

Loki asked if he would just continue to prune innocent timelines. He Who Remains said Loki and Sylvie would. The two looked at him in disbelief.

He Who Remains rendered all of them speechless. 

"Did I hear that correctly?" Loki asked, astonished. "He just offered TVA Loki and Sylvie to run the TVA?"

Thor snorted. "There's no way Sylvie would do that. She's been trying to take down the TVA her entire life; she's not going to run it."

He Who Remains said there were two options — Kill him, destroy the TVA, and unleash an infinite amount of his variants, or they run the TVA. 

"Both of those are awful choices," said Peter. 

"And whatever choice they make affects the entire multiverse," Wanda added. 

Loki said he was lying and asked why he would give up control. He Who Remains said he was tired and old, and this game is for the young, the hungry. 

"Well, he must be eons old," said Natasha. "I can see why he would be tired."

"And he would've stayed in the Citadel during all that time," said Bruce. "He spent all that time alone."

"No wonder he's so fucking crazy," Tony muttered. 

He Who Remains said he had gone through many scenarios trying to find the right person to take this spot, but it turned out that person came in two. 

Loki narrowed his eyes. 

"So, no more lies. You kill me and the Sacred Timeline is completely exposed. Multiversal War. Or you take over and return to the TVA as its benevolent rulers. Tell the workforce who they are and why they do what they do."

"Second option," said Stephen. "It may not be the best choice, but there can't be a multiversal war."

"Loki and Sylvie can also make the TVA better than it is now," said Wanda. 

"The TVA also can't be allowed to exist," Steve shot back. "It has to be taken down."

"He Who Remains and TVA can't exist," Peter said quietly. "It's not right not giving people free will just to prevent variants of He Who Remains."

Stephen's face softened. "I get it, kid. I really do, but a Multiversal War can affect us in ways that are incredibly dangerous since the reality between universes and timelines can weaken."

"I know, but people deserve free will."

Sylvie said He Who Remains treated people's lives like it was a game. "It's not personal; it's practical." "It was personal to me."

Everyone grimaced. 

He Who Remains groaned and told Sylvie to grow up. He called her a murderer and a hypocrite. 

"Well… he's not wrong," said Sam. 

He said that they were all villains as they've done horrible things, but now they had a chance to do them for a good reason.

Bucky scoffed. "He kidnapped people from their timelines and erased their memories."

"Preventing more variants of He Who Remains sounds like a pretty good reason to me," said Loki. 

"But the price is too high," said Natasha. 

There was distant rumbling as He Who Remains looked around warily. 

Everyone looked at He Who Remains uneasily. 

Clint sighed. "What now?" 

He said they had just crossed the threshold.

"What does that mean?" Loki demanded. "What threshold?"

Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose. 

He Who Remains admitted that he fibbed earlier when he said he knew how everything would go. 

All of them clenched their jaws. 

"See! He keeps lying!" Bucky exclaimed. "You can't trust a word he says."

He said he knew everything up to a certain point, and that point was a couple of seconds ago. 

Steve bit back his anger. "Is he lying now too?" 

Outside the Citadel, the Sacred Timeline started to branch. 

Everyone's eyes widened. 

"That doesn't look good," Tony said, worried. He didn't know where he stood on this one since either option wasn't a great one. He wanted free will just like everyone else, but he didn't want a Multiversal War. 

Stephen sighed. "Maybe now you understand why I don't want a Multiversal War."

"Okay, I take that back," said Steve. "Maybe he's not lying on this one, but I don't trust the other things he's said."

He Who Remains said he had no idea how the rest of this would go. 

"Or is he lying again?" said Bucky. 

Loki asked, "So, that's it? This is what happens at the end of time? And now you're just gonna sit there with all that freedom and… let us decide your fate?" "Yes!" 

Everyone stared at He Who Remains with fear. 

"This guy is fucking crazy," muttered Rhodey. 

"And I thought Thanos was bad enough," said Scott. "But now there's this new guy."

"What's the worst that can happen? You either take over and my life's work continues, or you plunge a blade in my chest, and an infinite amount of me start another Multiversal War. And I just end up right back here anyways. Reincarnation, baby."

A chill went down everyone's spines. 

"How do we defeat this guy?" asked Peter. "The Multiverse is insane!"

Sylvie said it was just another lie and manipulation, but He Who Remains said it wasn't. 

All of them rolled their eyes. 

"Of course, he would say that," said Sam.

He Who Remains took off his circular TemPad and placed it on the table. He pushed it towards Loki and Sylvie. 

Everyone narrowed their eyes. 

"He's manipulating them again!" Clint exclaimed. 

He said he loved all this honesty and it felt like a fresh start. 

"Well, isolating yourself for all of eternity will do that to you," said Bruce. 

Suddenly, Sylvie got up and went to stab He Who Remains, but Loki stopped her.  Sylvie furiously turned around and put her sword at Loki's neck. "What're you doing?"

"Trying to stop you from making a terrible mistake!" Loki yelled. 

"She's not!" Bucky shot back. "The TVA needs to be taken down."

Stephen groaned. "I thought we went over this. None of us want a Multiversal War, so maybe Sylvie should think through what she's about to do!"

Thor clenched his fists. "The TVA and He Who Remains took everything from Sylvie. They can't exist."

"Yes, but imagine what would happen if Multiversal War breaks out," said Natasha. "The end of everything and everyone. I'm not saying the TVA shouldn't be taken down — it does — but maybe there's another option."

Loki told her to wait and to talk about it. In the back, He Who Remains looked delighted. 

They scowled. 

"Bastard," grumbled Clint. 

"He's watching Loki and Sylvie argue like he's watching TV!" said Peter. 

"Well, since he hasn't met anyone for all of time, it kinda is like watching TV," Bruce responded. 

"Well, how about we finish what we started and kill him?" 

"Yes!" Bucky, Steve, and Sam exclaimed. 

"No!" Loki, Stephen, and Wanda shot back. 

Loki used his magic to pull her back, and the two started to fight. 

"Stop fighting, please," Thor pleaded. 

"What if he's telling the truth?" "So what?" 

"So what?" Loki, Stephen, and Wanda said in disbelief. 

"It's not like this decision will cause a Multiversal War or anything," Stephen said, biting down his anger. 

"Okay, I like Sylvie, I really do, but I've made horrible decisions for revenge without thinking about the consequences and the result was horrifying," said Wanda. "She has to take a moment to think and talk to Loki." She wished he had listened to Pietro before letting Tony take the Scepter, which eventually led to Ultron and her brother's death. 

"I believe him."

"So do I," said Loki. 

"Believe what? That a bazillion boogeymen will turn up just because we give people free will? He's a liar, Loki," Sylvie spat out. 

"Exactly!" said Sam. 

"I'm not saying that he's not a liar," said Stephen. "I know he's lied about many things, and I don't agree with the TVA's methods either, but I think he's telling the truth about this one. You know the Multiverse is real, so there can very easily be a Multiversal War. I've already told you about Dormammu."

Steve, Sam, Bucky, and Peter hesitated. 

"So am I. And I don't think he was lying. Not about that. Insane? Yes. But maybe he was telling the truth," Loki said. 

Stephen, Wanda, and Loki nodded in agreement. 

"Better hurry. Timeline's already branching," He Who Remains pointed out. 

Even though some of them had opposing views on what to do with He Who Remains, they all glanced at each other in concern. 

Loki and Sylvie argued about what to do. "Weren't you listening to what he was saying? That's the gambit. Remove the dictator and what fills the void?" Loki said. 

Everyone shuddered. 

"Apparently, worse variants of He Who Remains," Bruce said. 

"Which scares the hell out of me, to be honest," said Scott. "This variant is already bad enough; I don't even want to think about the other evil variants."

"Ah," Sylvie realized. "You want the throne?" 

Everyone groaned in frustration and Loki rubbed his temples. 

"No, he doesn't!" Thor yelled. 

Loki said that wasn't it. Sylvie didn't believe him. 

Loki closed his eyes sadly. 

Loki said the universe was in the balance. "Everything. I know the TVA has hurt us both. But what if by taking him out, we risk unleashing something even worse?" He suggested taking a minute to think about it and promised this wasn't about a throne. 

"That's what I've been saying," said Natasha. "Just take a minute to think about it because this isn't just the entire universe; this is the Multiverse. It's a huge decision, and it can't be made impulsively."

"What was I thinking trusting you? Has this whole thing been a con?"

Everyone winced while Thor buried his face in his hands and Loki's face crumpled. Were trust issues a constant in every Loki? 

"Really? That's what you think of me… after all this time? Sure. Why not? Evil Loki's master plan comes together," Loki said bitterly. 

Loki clenched his jaw. It was difficult to know that even after TVA Loki had changed, he still couldn't be trusted. Does that mean he couldn't be trusted? 

"Well, you never trusted me, did you? What was the point? Can't you see? This is bigger than our experience."

Except for Thor, the Avengers blinked in surprise. They knew Loki had changed, they had seen it with TVA Loki and their Loki, but it was still strange seeing TVA Loki put others first. 

"Why aren't we seeing this the same way?" "Because you can't trust… and I can't be trusted."

Thor and Loki felt a wave of sadness while everyone else grimaced. Loki chuckled bitterly; it was nice to know that all Lokis across the multiverse were just as messed up as he was. 

Loki told her to wait, but Sylvie ignored him, and they started to fight. Sylvie used her magic to shove Loki into a shelf while marching towards He Who Remains. 

Everyone sucked in a breath. No matter what they thought about He Who Remains, they all knew this would be big. 

Loki used his magic to throw a chair at her, but she dodged it. He ran in front of her. They both placed their swords at each other's necks. "Maybe he's lying! Maybe he's not. The cost of getting this wrong is too great."

Loki threw his hands in the air. "It is!" 

"Fine. Do it. Kill me. Take your throne." "No."

"I think even we know by now that both Loki and TVA Loki don't care about a throne," said Tony. 

The two continued to fight, Sylvie pushed Loki away using her magic and swung her sword towards He Who Remains, but Loki teleported in front of her and threw his sword down. "Sylvie, stop," said Loki. Sylvie was breathing heavily with tears in her eyes. 

All of them looked at the two sadly.

Loki put his hands on Sylvie's shoulders. "I've been where you are. I've felt what you feel. Don't ask me how I know." 

Loki looked away. Of course, he knew how Sylvie felt, but he also knew how TVA Loki felt. He was beginning to think that all Lokis were cursed. 

"All I know is I don't wanna hurt you. I don't want a throne. I just want you to be okay."

"Well, that's sweet," said Wanda. 

Sylvie dropped her sword and kissed Loki. 

Everyone cringed. 

Loki's stomach churned. He still didn't know why Loki and Sylvie were kissing each other when Mobius existed. He snorted. Both of them were stupid for not choosing him. 

"Gross," said Peter. He considered his potential Peter variants to be his brothers; he couldn't imagine kissing them. 

"My brother and sister are kissing each other," Thor stated in a faint voice, revolted. He covered his eyes with his hands. "I can't watch this! Tell me when it's over."

"Oh my God," Clint said, disgusted. "Don't word it like that!" 

"And I thought Steve kissing his niece was bad enough," said Bucky. 

Steve shoved him. "Don't bring that up. And I didn't do that; my variant did. Sharon isn't my niece."

She turned them around. They broke apart. 

"Thor, it's over," said Bruce. 

Thor moved his hand from his eyes and sighed in relief when he didn't see Loki and Sylvie kissing anymore. "First the Grandmaster and now Sylvie," he grumbled. "Disgusting."

Sylvie said, "But I'm not you." 

"And I'm not either of you," said Loki. 

A Timedoor formed behind Loki, and Sylvie used her magic to push him through it. Loki fell into a Time Theatre at the TVA. He quickly got up and ran towards the Timedoor, but it closed before he got there. Loki was heartbroken.

Everyone gaped at the screen. 

"What did Sylvie just do?" Scott said, stunned. "Where did that Timedoor come from?"

"Loki got betrayed?" Thor said in astonishment. 

Loki chuckled bitterly. The situation wasn't funny, but he couldn't help it. It was ironic that Sylvie had asked TVA Loki if she could trust him, only to turn around and betray TVA Loki. He was starting to think that all Lokis were destined to go round and round in circles. 

"I do think Sylvie cares for TVA Loki, but he was in her way," Natasha said sadly. "She's been trying to take down the TVA her entire life; she wasn't going to stop for someone who she had just met, even though she cared about him."

Stephen clenched his jaw. Sylvie was hellbent on killing He Who Remains and now Loki wasn't even there to stop her. He didn't like this at all.

At the Citadel, Sylvie was holding He Who Remains' circular TemPad. 

"Oh, that's how."

"Did He Who Remains place it there for a reason?" Rhodey demanded. "Even though he may have been telling the truth, he's been manipulating them this entire time."

Bucky snorted. "Based on everything we know about him, I bet he did."

"Incredible," he said. Sylvie turned around, picked up her sword, and used her magic to move the desk out of the way. 

Stephen scowled. Sylvie would kill He Who Remains, and it would be the end of everything and everyone. Fuck. 

"Aren't you gonna beg for your life?" she asked. 

"Why would he want that when he's happy with either outcome," said Tony. "Either way, he wins and we lose."

Sylvie stabbed He Who Remains in the chest. 

Even though they knew it would happen, all of them looked at Sylvie in shock. 

"She did it," Stephen said flatly. He couldn't even begin to imagine the effect on the Multiverse. He winced. Wong was going to be furious when he found out.

Loki and Wanda let out a deep sigh. 

"I'll see you soon," he said and winked. 

"Yeah, we're fucked," said Clint. 

"What do you think I've been saying!" said Loki, throwing his hands in the air. 

"I really don't want to meet that guy," Scott muttered. 

Sylvie took a few steps back and collapsed as she realized what she had done. 

"She knows that even after she got what she wanted her entire life, it doesn't make it better," Natasha said softly. 

"We have free will," said Steve, trying to look on the bright side. He knew a Multiversal War wasn't great, but either option He Who Remains gave them wasn't good. 

Outside the Citadel, the Sacred Timeline continued to rapidly branch and cross over with each other until it looked like a web. 

Everyone stared with equal horror and fascination. 

Peter's eyes widened. "The Multiverse."

"Okay, maybe Sylvie should've tried to find another solution," said Steve, his eyes wide at seeing the multiverse branch. It had just fully hit him that a Multiversal War would break out. 

"So that's how we're here watching this without being arrested by the TVA," said Bruce. "The multiverse is allowed to run free." 

"This is so bad," said Scott. "What will happen now?"

"I don't know what's going to happen now, but we've already seen a part of the Multiverse," Wanda said, extremely worried. "Billy and Tommy."

Stephen's brows furrowed. "What do Billy and Tommy have— Oh. So that's how your variant heard their voices. She was looking through the Multiverse."

Everyone else's jaws dropped. 

"Oh my God, that makes so much sense," said Sam. "I had no idea how we heard their voices."

"They're in trouble!" Wanda panicked. "They were pleading for help!" 

"Or the Darkhold corrupted you," Stephen replied. 

Wanda blanched. 

"Yeah, I don't think learning from a literal demon book is the best idea," said Clint. 

Back at the TVA, Mobius and B-15 watched the monitor as branches crossed over and past the red line. 

Everyone stared in horror. 

"There are so many branches," Tony said, faintly. "We've never seen so many branches. The multiverse sucks."

"No turning back now," said Mobius. "Who said anything about turning back?" said B-15. 

Stephen pinched the bridge of his nose, Wanda rubbed her temples, and Loki groaned. 

"For all time." "Always."

"I hate that phrase," said Thor. 

At the Time Theatre, Loki sat heartbrokenly. He closed his eyes and a tear slipped out. 

Everyone winced. All of them felt bad for TVA Loki. 

Thor looked at Loki with big sad eyes while Loki clenched his jaw. 

He opened his eyes and stood up with determination. 

"Good." 

Loki marched through the TVA and passed groups of Minutemen. Loki walked through the Archives and found Mobius and B-15. 

Everyone sighed in relief at seeing Mobius and B-15.

"That's, what, sixty-three new branches in this unit alone? Does he want us to just let them all branch?" B-15 asked.

All of them furrowed their brows. 

"He?" said Loki, narrowing his eyes. "B-15 and Mobius don't know about He Who Remains, why did B-15 say he?"

"At this point, how are we gonna stop it?" said Mobius. 

"They can't," said Peter, swallowing painfully. Everyone deserved free will, but he didn't forget that He Who Remains' variants wanted to conquer timelines. He was just a friendly neighbourhood Spider-Man; how was he supposed to protect his friends and family from something like this?

"We can't!" yelled Loki. "It's done, Mobius. We made a terrible mistake."

"That's an understatement," Loki scoffed. 

"What's done?" asked B-15. Loki explained that they freed the Timeline and said He Who Remains was terrifying as he had planned everything, knew everything, and had seen everything. 

"He Who Remains is probably one of the most terrifying people I've ever seen," said Rhodey. "How do you beat a man who knows everything?"

Tony looked away. "I was stupid to think Thanos would be the last of it. There's always someone worse out there. It never ends."

"This guy isn't even an alien," Natasha said, terrified. "He's human."

Loki said that they needed to prepare as countless variants of a very dangerous person were coming and they were all set on war. "Take it easy. You're an analyst, right? What division are you from?" Mobius asked. 

Everyone froze while Loki stiffened. 

"What did Mobius just say?" Loki asked, confused. "Analyst? Division?"

Loki asked what Mobius was talking about. 

"Something's wrong."

"No shit."

"Who are you? What's your name?" asked Mobius. 

Loki felt like someone had stabbed him through the heart. "Mobius doesn't remember? What the hell is going on?"

"What did He Who Remains do?" Thor said with wide eyes. 

B-15 called for backup in the Archives. "Who are you?" Mobius repeated. Loki's face dropped as he caught a glimpse of something behind Mobius and B-15. 

All of them looked at Loki warily. 

"What is it now?" asked Clint. 

Loki stared at a statue of Kang the Conqueror in horror. 

Everyone was speechless as they stared at Kang's statue, absolutely terrified. 

"That's where the statues of Time-Keepers were," said Peter, deathly pale.

"This is He Who Remains' conquering variant," said Scott. 

"TVA Loki has to find me," Thor said quickly. "We'll fight the Multiversal War together."

"No, what he has to do is go to the Sanctum," said Stephen. 

"If he even gets out of the TVA," said Bucky. "B-15 called for backup." 

"TVA Loki can easily steal a TemPad and escape," Tony said. "But Strange is right; he has to go to the Sanctum."

"TVA Loki never met you," Loki pointed out. "He never fell for thirty minutes." 

Thor frowned. "How are the rest of us going to find out?"

"Killing He Who Remains impacted all of time at once though," said Wanda. "That's why Stephen and the Ancient One know about the Multiverse because it should be as if it has always existed."

"She's right," said Stephen. "The only people who have an awareness of a time before are Sylvie and Loki because they witnessed this from a higher plane of existence. Even the TVA, who exist outside of time, don't know about their own internal change."

"So basically, the Multiverse has always existed and been vulnerable," said Tony. 

"God, I have a headache," said Bucky. 

Loki disappeared and text appeared on the screen. The next recording is about Clint. 

Clint scowled. "I better be seeing myself renovate the kitchen or something equally boring. I'm retired."

Everyone snorted. 

"You've retired multiple times in the past few years," said Natasha. 

"I'm retired," he said firmly. 

"Or we're probably going to see Nat's sister try to kill Clint," Rhodey reminded everyone. 

Natasha blanched, Clint grimaced, and everyone else winced. 

"Fuck," said Natasha.