Time Loop

"How were you able to find us on Lamentis?"

Mobius looked at you with a frown on his face and you watched him take a deep breath before he responded slowly, "You managed to create a Nexus Event." You raised an eyebrow at him and he let out a huff before settling on a conflicted smile.

"I know it sounds unlikely, given what we've learned about catastrophes on the Sacred Timeline, but it's the truth," he said with a pained expression on his face and you were confused as to why this revelation was such an issue for him. He continued quietly and you had to take a step closer to properly hear him, "It seems you made an emotional connection with the two Loki Variants on Lamentis and that created the Nexus Event."

You stared at him with wide eyes as you were processing this intriguing piece of information. A bond strong enough to create a new branch on the Sacred Timeline had to be significantly important and it made you wonder about the depth of the feelings Loki and Sylvie evidently had for you.

"Can I see him?" you asked with pleading eyes and you were pleased to see that Mobius started smiling again. You may not agree with his handling of the Variants but you knew that he truly believed he was doing the right thing. "I've been wanting to check in on him anyway," he said with a smirk and it made you speculate about Loki's whereabouts, "Let's see how he's doing."

You followed Mobius with an unpleasantly heavy feeling in your gut and your anxiety solidified when you arrived at the window to an elaborate cell. You could see what you assumed was an illusion of Asgard and Loki standing in front of familiar looking stone steps. Before you could ask Mobius about it one of the Warrior Three, Sif suddenly appeared and started yelling at Loki about a prank he had pulled on her.

You stared at the scene in front of you in horror as the same dialogue occurred over and over again. Loki became increasingly frustrated with the apparition of Sif and the fact that she didn't respond to anything he said and you couldn't blame him.

You turned to Mobius with a glare and crossed your arms in front of your chest. "This is cruel, what could you possibly hope to achieve?" you asked in an accusatory tone and you noticed that he started shifting awkwardly. He let out a sigh and ran a nervous hand through his hair before responding, "I want him to confront his motives."

You shook your head in exasperation and spent a few minutes arguing with Mobius about his logic and how in your eyes this treatment looked like pure punishment. Unfortunately, he was not interested in listening to your arguments and kept insinuating that you had been too negatively influenced by the Lokis to think for yourself.

You felt anger rise up in your throat at his assumption of brainwashing and you decided that you best left before you said something you would later regret. "Am I free to move around the TVA or do I have to worry about ending up in a Time Collar too?" you asked and gave him a dirty look to imply that you found this whole charade ridiculous.

Mobius sighed again and told you that you could walk around the TVA without constraints. "However, I wanted to interrogate Loki now, and I think it would be beneficial if you came along, too," he said after a moment of silence and you raised an eyebrow at him. "You seem to have a calming effect on him," he added with a soft smile on his face.

You could feel heat rising in your cheeks at his comment and you quickly agreed to join the conversation before he could embarrass you further. Mobius stepped into the Time Cell and deactivated the loop before accompanying Loki into an empty room with only a table and chairs. You looked at the demigod and when your eyes met he immediately mouthed "Are you alright?" and your heart fluttered in your chest.

You nodded with a shy smile and you saw relief flash across Loki's face as he sat down across Mobius. "Let's get right to it. Why are you working with the Variant you're supposed to be hunting?" the agent questioned with a frown.

Loki groaned and launched into a retelling of the events, first at the TVA and then on Lamentis. "There would have been no point apprehending her while we were at the risk of dying in an apocalypse," he finished his explanation and gave Mobius an expectant look and an encouraging smile.

Loki didn't give him time to respond before he glanced at you and then added quietly, "Besides, things aren't as they seem. We've learned about the TVA from Sylvie." Mobius frowned at the mention of her name and leaned back, gesturing at you to continue. You took a deep breath and said that there was something important you needed to tell him and that you were asking for his trust.

"The TVA is lying to you, to all of us," you started and when he was about to interrupt you lifted a hand to silence him, "All the agents are actually Variants from the Sacred Timeline who had their minds wiped." Mobius scoffed and evidently waited for you to laugh and declare it all a joke but your expression remained serious and he shook his head in disbelief.

"It seems that this Loki Variant -"

"Her name is Sylvie."

"...this Sylvie has put convenient lies in your head to break our alliance," he ended in a sigh and you rolled your eyes in annoyance. You were certain none of it was getting through to him and the frustration was making your chest clench painfully.

"Go and ask Hunter C-20," you pleaded and he seemed surprised to hear that name, "Sylvie accessed memories from her life before the TVA. You have to believe us." You felt close to crying at this point and your heart rate had accelerated to an uncomfortable level. Loki reached out next to you to take your hand in his and you took a deep breath as he gently stroked your knuckles.

He was able to calm you down with the faintest touch and you were trying hard not to read too much into that. You gave him a bashful grin that he returned with a nod and a gentle smile. You turned back to Mobius who seemed to be looking between you with a mixture of fascination and concern.

The agent decided that this interrogation was pointless and you shoved down a scream that wanted to escape when he put Loki back in his Time Cell. You walked along the hallway and you decided to make one final attempt to get through to him. "I'm telling you, the TVA is not what it seems," you almost yelled but Mobius only sighed and shook his head.

"You're making a mistake," you added sharply before stomping away while cursing under your breath. You didn't pay attention to your surroundings and promptly stumbled into Hunter B-15 who had apparently witnessed your angry outburst. You apologised and quickly hurried away, not wanting another person telling you that the Lokis had messed with your mind.

You were just reaching for your door when Hunter B-15 suddenly appeared behind you and you let out a shriek. "Who told you these things?" she asked in a stern voice and you took a moment to breathe before telling her that the source was Sylvie, the other Loki Variant. Hunter B-15 looked at you for a moment before grabbing your hand to pull you towards an unknown destination.