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.