CHAPTER I.
GOD OF MISCHIEF

' i am nearly world renowned
as a restless soul who always skips town
but I look for you to come around
and anchor me back down '
anchor  ━ mindy gledhill

DIM LIGHT STREAMS IN FROM THE DIRTY WINDOWS, AIDED BY THE SLOWLY FLICKERING CANDLES TO THE RIGHT AS KEL AND MOBIUS STAND IN A CIRCLE OF BODIES.

    The grey-haired man has his hands at his sides, spinning in a slow circle with a grave look on his face. The girl, however, is crouched down, elbows on her knees as her wide eyes stare at the face of one of the dead men. She was tempted to reach out and prod the body with one of her hands, suspicion —as always— getting ahead of her better judgement.

    "Kel." Mobius' light yet burdened voice cuts through his younger clone's thoughts, and the girl looks up through sorrowful eyes. Mobius says nothing more, and instead shakes his head slightly. Usually, Kel would fight back, she'd make a quippy —and insanely unfunny— joke that could ease the tension.

    Though normally, Kel thinks bitterly as she stands back up, tucking a loose strand of hair from her ponytail behind her ear, they weren't standing in a circle of dead men and women.

    "The hunter and his Minutemen responded to a routine nexus event." one of the other TVA guards calls out, her voice clear, and Kel thinks, too loud for these quiet halls.

    They are in a church, it looks like, with stained glass windows and a polished tile floor. The blood from the wounds are a stark contrast to the peace shown about the space. Kel shivers, but she isn't cold.

    The girl crosses her arms over her chest and walks over to stand beside Mobius. They are a strange pair, those two, and when taking a first glance at them, you would never suspect they were supposed to be the same person.

    She is more tan, with large bug eyes and high cheekbones. She wears a frown almost permanently, and always seems to need to keep moving.

    He is more calm, cool and collected, in a tailored suit and effortlessly styled hair. He always wears a smirk, and can stay still when the time needs it. That is why he is in charge. She is more likely to mess things up, and he is the only one to keep her in check.

    The Guard continues. "It appears that when they arrived, somebody got the jump on 'em."

    Kel scoffs as Mobius puts his hands on his hips and says. "You think?" Kel follows Mobius as he does her previous action, leaning down while she stays upright, peering over his shoulder. She fiddles with her hands, wringing them together, crossing them, then uncrossing them again. The back of her neck prickles.

    "It's him." Another Hunter speaks up. Kel looks over, her gaze sharp and slightly judgemental. Mobius stands and puts a hand on her wrist. She turns away.

    "The stab wounds are consistent." she tells Mobius dryly. He nods.

    "And the positioning of the bodies indicates they didn't know—"

    "What the hell hit 'em." Kel finishes. While the other hunters look at each other, the pair doesn't even notice. They're so in sync, in tandem, having been doing this for so long it's become second nature.

    "The reset charge is gone." Kel points out as she walks away from Mobius to peer around the other bodies. "Damn, another one bites the dust." She looks up as Mobius gives her a wry look, but Kel can't help it. She beams.

    The Hunters ignore the girl's strange joke. "That's the sixth attack in the last week." Kel sighs, putting her hands behind her back and cracking her neck to the side. She looks down to her feet, where a pool of blood slowly crawls towards her. Her stomach does a flip, and regret punctures her heart at her careless words.

    These people are dead. Gone, forever. She shouldn't have said that.

    Kel doesn't look at Mobius as she whispers. "Sorry." Mobius nods in understanding, so quick to forgive her it only makes the roiling in her stomach worse. Kel shuts her mouth with a snap. What can't she just think before she speaks?

    Most of the other Agents make it look so easy, being serious and all business when it comes to their job. Then again, Kel isn't a full agent quite yet. In fact, she's only just started going with Mobius on missions instead of sitting with Casey and the other clerks in the office, or walking aimlessly through her large, layered home.

    "The sixth attack—" Kel starts quietly.

    "That we know of." Mobius finishes. Suddenly, there's a crash over to their left, and the entire group reacts. The Hunter just spoken raises his weapon, while Mobius and Kel step in to stop him.

    "Wait!" Mobius yells as Kel calls out. "Stand down, stand down!" her eyes are trained on the figure that's entered the room. She can hear her breaths shake, wavering like the candles to her side.

    "It's just a kid." Kel breathes out, and quiet follows in her wake. Slowly, the hunter's lower their weapons, and Kel stands straight, her hands falling to her side. Mobius starts forward, walking gently over to the little girl who stands petrified in the doorway. Kel goes with him, a little behind the agent, her eyes grazing the child's face, staring —probably a little too harshly— in search of something out of place.

    Mobius speaks out in French, and Kel, always the slow learner, makes her mind practically sprint to catch up. "I'm sorry. My friend is an imbecile." Kel covers her mouth with her hands, hiding her laugh.

    The hunter beside them speaks in the same language. "I speak every language on the timeline too." Then, Kel is pretty sure she hears him mutter. "Jackass." It becomes harder to hide her laugh.

    Mobius and her reach the child, a young girl. There are streaks of mud across her face, and her eyes are wide. Mobius pulls out his writing pad, and Kel leans over to watch him draw a pretty bad stick figure. She wants to reach over and draw something else for the girl, maybe a dog, or one of the strange trinkets she finds lying in the drawers of abandoned desks in the office. The point is, Kel is pretty sure she should be the one drawing, not Mobius.

    This is one of the only places where their skills differ.

    Mobius hits the pad, and the stick figure comes to life as a hologram, walking to nowhere with a large smile on its face. Kel frowns. The girl smiles.

    Mobius tries his luck. "Do you know who did this?" he asks her softly. The girl pauses, watching the walking figure, then turns her head to the side and points. Kel looks over as well. What she sees makes her throat close up. A sinister looking window painted in crimson and sapphire blue, depicting a man sitting in flames. He has red skin and horns that grow out of his head.

    Kel tries to remember what most people in the timeline call this creature: the Devil.

    "Don't worry." Kel finds herself saying out loud, and she kneels down to become eye level with the girl, whose head is curled into her neck shyly. "He's afraid of us." she winks. "We're gonna take care of him."

    "And," Mobius now says in English. "We're gonna put you back where you belong." His voice is hoarse, soft and gentle, as if he's not speaking to a girl, but a little baby instead. He takes the pad out of her hands and taps the girl's shirt two times, making a clicking noise. Kel rolls her eyes, looking up at him from where she's still on the ground.

    He used to do that with her when Kel got upset, in the earlier years of working for the TVA. She'd been there long before, of course, but there were episodes when it would hit her, the indefinite reality she and Mobius were living in.

    She was naive back then, still acting as the child she looked like. Kel often wondered if she would ever grow older, like Mobius had, or would she stay in this teenage body forever and ever?

    The little girl smiles, and Kel almost takes a step back as bright blue shades the young girl's teeth. Mobius notices too, and he leans forward, gesturing to his own mouth, speaking in the girl's language again. "That blue... what is that?"

    The girl hesitates for a moment, then reaches into her pocket —Kel sucks in a breath— and pulls out a small rectangular package. She hands it to Kel, and the girl stands up again, giving it over to Mobius. Together, the two look at the package.

    "Devil bearing gifts." Mobius reads aloud the writing on the blue package of gum, then hands it to Hunter behind them. "Go ahead and run this for sequence period and any hints of temporal aura."

    "You know we won't get anything." The hunter states exactly what is passing through Kel's mind.

    "Yeah, just give it a shot." he looks back to the little girl, who's now taken to staring at Kel with enough intensity to give the girl a run for her money.

    (It's ironic how Kel barely knows what any of these jokes mean, they are simply phrases she's picked up over her many years of working at the TVA)

    "The branch is nearing red line." the hunter continues. "We need to go." Kel nods, and moves to turn away, but Mobius stays to watch the little girl. Kel looks up at him quizzically.

    "Go wait outside." He whispers, and his tone reminds Kel of the many years spent working together. "It's okay." Mobius reaches and pats the girl on the shoulder, and she finally moves away, disappearing around the corner and into the world once more.

    Kel takes a deep breath and peers at Mobius, who won't meet her eyes. She raises an eyebrow as the hunters move about, ready to plant the reset charge.

    "Mobius." Kel says, punching her partner's arm lightly. The man gives a start, but when he sees it's only Kel, his frown falters. "You okay?"

    "Yeah, yeah, I'm fine." Kel narrows her eyes playfully, not quite believing his skittish tone.

    "Mo," she says softly, calling him by the nickname that she spent a very long time developing. "Is there something you're not telling me?" Mobius looks at her, seemingly startled by the abrupt question.

    "What?"

    "You just..." she says, trying to recoup, once again speaking before her brain fully comprehends what's coming out of her mouth. "You seem... off?" Mobius opens and closes his mouth like a gurgling fish —Kel has only ever seen one, but finds them immensely fascinating—, but before he can answer, a gateway opens and an office clerk steps out in front of them.

    The clerk addresses them swiftly. "Sir, Miss," Kel's brows knit together. "There's something you'll wanna see."

    In his hands is a case file, and Kel leans her head on Mobius' shoulder as the man takes the folder into his hands and peers at it. Under her head, Kel feels Mobius' shoulders stiffen, and she lifts her neck instantly.

    Without another word, Mobius swiftly hands the file to Kel and walks briskly through the gateway.

    Kel frowns, and looks down at the folder. On the page it states in clear bright letters that a certain Loki Laufeyson has been apprehended, and is now awaiting trial.

Kel frowns, not having the slightest clue who this person is, but without a second thought, rushes through the gateway to follow Mobius.

━━━━━━

    KEL AND MOBIUS' HURRIED FOOTSTEPS ECHO THROUGH THE HALL AS THEY BOTH RUSH INTO THE TRIAL CHAMBERS. Kel has the Loki Variant's folder tucked under her arm, and Mobius is silent, seemingly still lost in his thoughts.

    "That's quite an accusation." Judge Renslayer, a petite woman with a head of slicked back chestnut curls and a painted smile, is just finishing speaking when Mobius and Kel practically run into the room. At the doorstep, Kel freezes, causing Mobius to almost ram into her.

    He doesn't say anything, just tugs on her wrist and wills her to keep moving. Kel walks forward slowly, watching the back of the Variant she suspects Mobius is so obsessed with.

    But it's not the Variant that has her heart racing. It's the three carved heads behind Renslayer that make Kel's legs suddenly not function. Three large deities, Gods, one might say. Kel knows them well. While she's never actually seen the Time-keepers, they've had a hand in keeping her away from becoming a full and proper agent. Every time she asks to be promoted, there is a message that flies down from wherever the Time-keepers live saying no.

    "Oh, believe me, you can smell the cologne of two Tony Starks." the Loki Variant speaks, and Kel frowns as Mobius pushes her into one of the seats. He sits down beside her, and she can see his right foot bobbing up and down on the carpet. He's nervous, she realizes, but for what?

    Kel tries to keep her mind focused on the God of Mischief (that's what she read on the file) now loudly droning on and on about the Avengers and criminals, trying not to think of what could possibly have Mobius so on edge.

    "We're not here to talk about the Avengers." Renslayer is now saying, and Kel trains her gaze on the back of the criminal's head. He has long, greasy black hair, and his hands are curled into fists at his side. His shoulders are stiff, head tilted to the left.

    "Oh, no?" he asks, half-teasing.

    "No." Renslayer laments. "What they did was supposed to happen." Loki shifts from foot to foot. "You escaping was not." Kel raises an eyebrow. A loose strand of hair falls into her face once more, but she's too intrigued by the trial to push it away.

    Mobius does it for her. She doesn't notice.

He sighs and returns to watching the Variant's hearing.

    Loki pauses for a moment, then begins to laugh. At first, it's a soft, steady laugh, but soon it erupts into full on giggles. The God's shoulders shake, and his head dips up and down.

    After a while, Kel has to bite down on her bottom lip, and a snort bursts up through her, causing virtually everyone in the room to look at her, including the man himself. Kel raises a hand to cover her mouth, but the moment her eyes meet Loki's, the laugh fades from her lips. His eyebrows furrow, and he looks over her face as if he's trying to place her. It's a common occurrence, especially with hunters who've never seen her before.

    There are not many clones (that of different gender or age) at the TVA. Every time Kel and Mobius are assigned a new team of Hunters, at least one of them will not stop staring at her, their mouths open like a fish, eyes confused and clouded.

    Kel's used to it. And so she smirks at the God and doesn't break eye contact until he turns back around. She crosses her arms over her chest, signature braided bracelet scratching up against her bare skin.

    "Uh... 'not supposed to happen'?" Loki asks the Judge. "According to whom?"

    "The Time-Keepers?" Renslayer answers. Mobius chuckles beside Kel, and all the while the girl is wondering how a literal God can't know who the Time-keepers are. It seems they're good at hiding from the rest of the world, even their own agents.

    "Oh, the Time-Keepers." Loki says with a laugh. "Right." He raises his hands for dramatic purposes. "Well, perhaps I should speak to these Time-Keepers, gods to gods."

    Renslayer shakes her head. "I'm sorry, but they're quite busy."

    "Oh, they are?" Loki asks. "What are they doing?" Kel smothers another laugh and leans over to Mobius.

    "What is this guy's deal?" she whispers, but Mobius just waves a hand in the air to quiet her down. Kel purses her lips and turns back, slumping in her seat.

    "Dictating the proper flow of time." Renslayer answers with a smile.

    "I see. Right." Loki says slowly. "And then what do you do?" There's a slight pause, and Kel narrows her eyes, brain trying to work through the god's strange question. What they do is simple, she thinks, mouth puckering. They're agents for the Time-Keepers, they...

    "Dictate the proper flow of time according to their dictations." Renslayer answers with enough finality that Kel's mind is put to rest. "How do you plead?"

    There is another pause as Loki stands still on the pedestal. Beside her, Mobius, who had been flicking through his folder, finally looks up.

    Finally, Loki speaks again. "Guilty..." he says, and Kel hides her gasp. "Of... this." As he's speaking, Loki slowly raises his hands, reaching out to both sides, and Kel suddenly has the urge to duck beneath the benches.

    But seeing as no one else is moving, she decides to stay right where she is, though the breath has caught in her throat and now begins strangling her.

    There is a round of stifled laughter as Loki puffs out his chest and seems to pull his arms inward.

    If something is supposed to happen, he has miraculously failed. Kel lets out a breath. Mobius is hiding a grin, which Kel takes as a good sign, and she lets her hands fall into her lap.

    Loki lifts his arms to try again, and Renslayer asks. "What's going on?"

    "Hang on." Loki interjects. "Everyone quiet." Kel is trying very hard not to laugh out loud again. She resorts to burying her head in Mobius' shoulder, and he lightly taps the top of her head caringly.

    The Hunter who brought Loki in chuckles. Kel looks at her. She's a strongly built woman with close cropped hair and power that radiates off her in waves. Kel has seen her many times around the TVA, and every time she isn't sure whether she wants to be the woman or run away from her.

    "He's trying to use his powers, ma'am." she says.

    "Don't rush me." Loki pleads, and does the action again. Kel is watching through her hands, a smile blossoming on her face. "Damn it!" Loki yells, startling both Mobius and Kel. "Why won't it work?!"

    "Magic powers?" Renslayer says. "They're no good in the TVA, Mr. Laufeyson." there's a slight pause, then the judge proclaims loudly. "The court finds you guilty, and I sentence you to a reset."

    Kel winces so loudly that Loki's head turns slightly to the side at the noise. She immediately covers her mouth, but it's too late. Fear has set into the God's body, and he starts forward. The Hunter steps in and begins to pull Loki back.

    "'Reset'?" he asks. "What does that mean?" Another Hunter pushes him away to the side, and Kel wants to look away; she always hates this part. "What, is it bad? What does it mean?!"

    Loki begins to struggle more, and Kel loses all sense of her surroundings. Her sole focus is the pure panic in Loki's eyes, the fear setting into his bones. She's seen it before. She's felt it before. She knows the twitching hands, the dilated pupils, the pure terror.

    Only she had an anchor, someone to ground her and pull her back to reality. Loki does not, and so he fights harder.

    "Hey!" he yells. "You ridiculous bureaucrats will not dictate how my story ends!"

    "It's not your story, Mr. Laufeyson." Renslayer says, flipping a piece of paper over on her desk. "It never was." something in Kel's chest twinges.

    Loki is still flailing. "You have no idea what I'm capable of!"

    That is when Mobius decides to speak up. He stands, so Kel obviously does as well, and she peers at him with curiosity as he hands the folder to her once more and beckons her to move out of the bench. Kel nearly falls in her haste as Mobius calls to the group in front of them.

    "I... I think I might." he calls out in that softened, whispery tone of his. Everyone turns to look at the two now scrambling up to the front. The girl looks about as confused as everyone else is, and she stumbles over her legs as if it's the first time she's ever walked. The man is determined, nothing more, nothing less.

    Loki pauses, watching the partners run up the aisle towards Renslayer. The man goes to talk with the judge, and the girl looks around absent-mindedly, tapping one of her feet.    "Anything goes sideways," Renslayer is telling Mobius, and Kel's eyebrows furrow. "It's on you." The judge looks to Kel. "and her."

    "Okay," Mobius says, then whispers. "I feel like I'm always looking up to you." Kel blanches. "I like it. It's appropriate." Renslayer sighs and sits back in her chair, while Kel's cheeks go pink as they turn to see Loki, who has stopped struggling, and instead eyes them cautiously.

    "And who are you?" The God finally asks.

    Mobius grins, and Kel waves.

━━━━━━

    "I'M GONNA BURN THIS PLACE TO THE GROUND." Loki says, his sly footsteps echoing loudly against the tile floor. They walk side by side, Kel unfortunately stuck in the middle, as they waltz down the virtually empty halls.

    "I'll show you where our desks are," Mobius states. "You can start there." Kel smiles, her hands rummaging in the pockets of her pants, though there's nothing inside. She purely needs something to keep her focused on the task at hand. Her mind is buzzing, her insides squirming, as she tries to figure out what Mobius could possibly want with someone like Loki.

    "Just don't go through the drawers." Kel speaks up playfully, and Loki raises an eyebrow. "Lotta old, possibly rotten food..." she shivers for dramatic effect, and the God does not look impressed.

Instead, he peers to the side.

Right out through the windows of the corridor.

    The God freezes instantly. His eyes are trained on what lays beyond the railing, and Kel crosses her arms. She follows his gaze out into the world she calls home.

    It is quite a sight.

    "Have a look." Mobius says softly, as he is with everything he does. Kel and him follow Loki to the edge, where she leans down on her hands and watches the vehicles soar through the air. The pale ivory buildings reach up like hands grasping for the stars, and everything is shrouded in the light orange of the flickering lights.

    "Home sweet home." Kel mutters under her breath, but both men beside her hear it.

    "I thought there was no magic here." Loki says.

    "There isn't." the two in front of him reply. The God tries to push past the strange feeling he got when their voices meshed. It was as if they became the same person.

    "That's not real." Loki concludes after a second, and Kel chuckles as they go along their way, turning to follow after the two men. Her hands linger on the railing, eyes drifting through the city like a planet lost in orbit.

    "Kel." Mobius calls out.

    "Yep." she says, dipping her head down and running back to the others. "It is real." she continues when she comes up beside Loki, prancing along absentmindedly, as if she didn't just say something out loud.

    "What?" Loki asks.

    "This place." she answers. "It is real..." There's no longer a joking tone in her voice. She's being dead serious, and it makes Loki's frown deepen. There's something off-putting about this girl.

    "And, unfortunately," Mobius adds in. "So is all the paperwork." Kel snorts. "Good tinder for your fire, though. Come on."

Quickly, they enter the elevator, and the doors close with a snap. There's several beats of silence as Kel looks down to the ground and Mobius seems just happy to be there, while Loki is trying very hard not to show his panic.

    "I'm Agent Mobius by the way," Kel's partner finally breaks the silence, and she looks up at him. "And this is Kel."

    "Agent Kel Mobius." the girl interrupts. Loki takes a step back.

    "You're..." He asks. "Family?" Kel nods while Mobius scrunches his nose.

    "I'm his clone." the girl answers, and she says it so matter-of-factly that Loki is about to just agree to it, but then he actually processes the words.

    "A...A... A clone?" he finally stutters, then laughs and shakes his head. "No you're not."

    "Yes, I am." Kel answers. Loki shakes his head again, then stiffens and looks over the girl's head to Mobius. His eyes say it all. Mobius shrugs and slightly nods.

    "No."

    "Yes."

    "No."

    "Yes."

    "There is no way that you are his clone." Loki argues, glaring down at her. "Okay, first of all, you don't even look alike. And second, you're a child. He is not."

    "Wow," Kel says. "That is a very astute observation." Like with everything, she says it with a unique tone that makes Loki wonder if she's not actually being sarcastic, but instead entirely serious.

    "Okay, look, cut it out, you two." Mobius says, putting a hand on Kel's wrist. She rolls her eyes but turns back forward, and it's as if they were never arguing at all. Loki stands and sighs, his mind reeling.

    Finally, he works up the courage to say. "Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?"

    "No." Mobius answers. "That's where you just were. We're just taking you some place to talk."

    "Well, I don't like to talk." Loki argues.

    "But you do like to lie," Mobius says. "Which you just did, because we both know you love to talk." he raises his hands to imitate a hand puppet. "Talkie-talkie."

    Kel smiles. "He got you there."

    Loki frowns, looking between the two, then asks. "How long have you two been here?"

    Mobius shrugs. "I don't know. It's hard to say, time passes differently here in the TVA." Kel nodded her head, staring off into space.

    "What does that mean?" Loki says, his voice lined with concern, but before either of the agents can respond, the elevator dings and the door slides open.

    "You'll catch up." Mobius says, leading Loki and Kel out into the halls to their office.

    "So, you're a part of the TVA's courageous and dedicated workforce?" Loki asks as they go down the hall, passing hunters and agents alike.

    "Yes." Mobius and Kel reply.

    "You were created by the Time-Keepers."

    "Yep."

    "To protect the Sacred Timeline."

    "That is correct." Kel replies, and right as she finishes, Loki begins to laugh again. She gives him an unimpressed side-eye. He stops at the top of the stairs they're going down. Mobius and Kel turn simultaneously to look up at the uncooperative god.

    "Is that funny?" Mobius asks, then leads Kel to the door.

    "The idea that your little club decides the fate of trillions of people across all of existence at the behest of three space lizards," Kel's nose wrinkles at the term as the doors to their office swing open. "Yes, it's funny." Loki stops near the bottom step. "It's absurd."

    Mobius puts a hand on Kel's shoulder and raises one brow. "I thought you didn't like to talk." Kel smirks, a silent giggle bubbling up in her throat.

    You know, sometimes, Kel really does enjoy her job.

    "After you," she says, gesturing to Loki into the room. The God scoffs, but does as he's told, and slowly saunters into Mobius and Kel's office. They follow in after him, and the doors swing closed behind them.

    The space is dimly lit, with orange squares of light dancing on the tiled floor. Everything is built in strange geometric shapes that Kel likes to draw in her free time. At the center is a small desk with a computer sitting atop it, and three chairs positioned around.

    Kel bounces down the steps and quickly finds a home in one of the chairs, putting her feet up on the wood. In an instant, Mobius pushes them off. She pouts, he shrugs. This is the way life is; Kel acting out, Mobius picking up the pieces.

    "For the record, this really does feel like a killing-me kind of a room." Loki calls out from the entrance. Kel cocks her head to the side.

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

    "Trust is for children..." Loki replies, taking a step down. "And dogs." Then he looks to Kel. "No offence." Kel looks at Mobius, a question in her eyes, and it becomes clear to Loki that she has no idea what he's just said.

    Mobius, however, doesn't have time to explain, as he's fiddling with the device on the table, lost in thought.

    "There's only one person you can trust." Loki continues, though his voice is a little shaken.

    "Yourself?" Mobius finishes, still not looking up from his work. "I like it." Kel nods absent-mindedly.

    "Slap it on a t-shirt!" she exclaims. The projected screen in front of them morphs into the Time Variance symbol, and Kel smiles. She's always liked the logo, it's retro, like that time Mobius and her went into the 1980s... she frowns, or was it the 90s? The 60s, maybe?

    "If the TVA truly oversees all of time," Loki says. "How have I never heard of you until now?"

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

    "I live within whatever path I choose." Loki says forcefully, enough for Kel to turn back to look at the God. His face has morphed into something unreadable, fear and terror finding a home in the creases of his face, the curve of his lips and the wrinkles in his brow. Kel frowns. Why should someone like him, a person who literally wants to enslave the entire galaxy, be so shaken by someone wanting the same for them?

    Besides, the TVA rarely tells people exactly what they should do, they simply curve time so that the people will stay where they're supposed to be.

    "Sure you do." Monius answers, then finally leans back up. "Okay, have a seat." Kel watches as Loki takes a step forward, hesitating a moment, looking between Mobius, entranced by his work, and Kel, unnervingly calm.

    It's a moment that Kel knows all too well. It's like stepping off a cliff, not knowing if you're falling into an ocean or out into vacuum-less space. Every Variant goes through it. Every single one has to make that choice.

    Loki runs towards them, and Kel doesn't even move, just watches as Mobius quickly picks up the switch at his side, and Loki is transported back in time to his previous spot. She laughs as the God goes stock still.

    "I told you," Mobius says. "Time moves differently here in the TVA." He puts the switch into Kel's outstretched palm, and she shakes it near her head, while Loki gives her a glare fit for murder.

    "Come on," she beckons. "Sit down." Trust is for children and dogs.

    "Let's get into this." Mobius continues. Loki sits, though Kel can see as plain as day he wants to run again. They always do. Kel often ponders this in her spare time, as to why people are so against the Sacred Timeline.

    Loki does not break eye contact with the two as he moves to his chair and achingly sits down. Kel grins when he looks at her, and the God rolls his eyes. He leans back and crosses his arms.

    "If looks could kill." Mobius says out loud, and Kel leans forward, suppressing a laugh.

    "What do you want from me?" Loki asks, dead serious. This makes Kel stop and look up, because she's been wondering the exact same thing since Mobius took her to the trial.

    "Well, let's start with a little cooperation." Mobius begins.

    "Ohh, yes, let's." Kel adds in. Mobius nods but puts a hand on her arm, a sign for her to let him do the talking.

    "Not my forte." Loki says.

    "Really?" Mobius asks. "Even when you're wooing someone powerful you intend to betray? Come on."

    "You don't know anything about me." Kel moves her head to the side. That much is true. Kel certainly doesn't know a lot about this Loki besides that he's a villain, a Variant, and incredibly mischievous.

    "Maybe we'd like to learn." Mobius answers. "Kel and I specialize in the pursuit of dangerous Variants." the girl turns to him instantly, her eyes practically glowing at his words. Since Kel is still only in training, Mobius almost never refers to both of them when talking about his job. This is a first, and it makes Kel's heart burst inside her chest.

    Mobius takes a can of soda from the table and pops it open, then hands it over to Kel, along with a wink. Kel takes the drink gratefully and begins to chug like there's no tomorrow. Loki, distracted by the girl's complete lack of decorum, can't help but stare. When she finally does put down the drink, a line of froth has made a mustache on her top lip.

    She wipes it away and turns back to Mobius, as if nothing out of the ordinary occurred. To Kel, however, nothing did, this is just how the world is.

    "Dangerous Variants like myself?" Loki asks, bringing the conversation back on topic.

    "Hmmm." Kel adds in.

    "No," Mobius concludes. "Particularly dangerous Variants."

    "So..." Kel finishes. "Not you." Loki isn't amused.

    "We got a set of questions for you." Mobius says. "You answer them honestly, and then maybe we can give you something you want." Loki still doesn't move. "You wanna get out of here, right?" His head moves to the side. "Yeah, so we'll start there."

    Kel sits up straighter, cracking her neck.

    "Okay," she says, peering at the paper near Mobius' elbow. "Should you return, what are you gonna do?"

    Loki sighs, then answers. "Finish what I started."

    "Which is?" Mobius asks.

    "Claim my throne." Loki replies immediately.

    "You wanna be king?"

    "I don't want to be," Loki says, which Kel thinks goes against everything he's stated previously, but she keeps her thoughts to herself. "I was born to be."

    "I know," Mobius says. "But king of what exactly?"

    Loki scoffs, shaking his head, yet pauses. "You wouldn't understand." he says, looking between the two.

    "Try me." Kel argues, and her tone is so forceful it gives everyone in the room pause.

    Then Loki gives a small smile, licks his lips, and says. "Midgard."

    "Who?" Kel asks, at the same time Mobius says. "AKA Earth." Kel makes an O shape with her mouth, heat rising to her cheeks at the amused look that passes across Loki's face.

    "All right," Mobius says. "Now you're the King of Midgard, then what?" He looks up from his paper. "Happily ever after?"

    Loki smiles and replies. "Asgard, the Nine Realms."

    "What about space?" Kel pipes up.

    "Space?" Loki repeats.

    "Yeah," Mobius chimes in, "That'd be a nice feather in your cap." Kel nods. "'Loki, King of Space'."

    Loki's eyes narrow. "Mock me, if you dare." his tone has grown dark, and Kel almost feels a chill from his words. Almost.

    "No, we're not." Mobius says with a chuckle. "Honestly, I'm actually a fan." Kel frowns. "Yeah. And I guess I'm wondering why does someone with so much range... just wanna rule?"

    Loki pauses, and it's clear that something in Mobius' words has gotten to him. "I would have made it easy for them."

    "People like it easy." Mobius relents.

    "The first and most oppressive lie ever uttered," Loki continues, and Kel sits up, putting her hands on the table. "Was the song of freedom."

    "How's that one go?" Mobius asks.

    "For nearly every living thing, choice breeds shame and uncertainty and regret." Loki answers. "There's a fork in every road, yet the wrong path always taken." Kel's smile is gone, and Loki's sweet and somber words wash over her like a waterfall.

    "Good." Mobius says, writing something down on the paper. "Yeah. You said 'nearly every living thing,' so I'm guessing you don't fall into that category?"

    Loki chuckles, his eyes moving to Kel, who seems to be stuck in a trance, watching the God with a mix of confusion and solitude on her features.

    "The Time-Keepers have built quite the circus," Loki says, watching Kel with a smile. "And I see the clowns are playing their parts to perfection."

    Mobius laughs and pulls Kel back to sit properly in her seat. "Big metaphor guy. I love it." he smiles. "Makes you sound super smart."

    "I am smart." Loki says matter-of-factly.

    Mobius gulps and answers. "I know."

    "Okay..."

    "Okay." Mobius cuts off the conversation by reaching across Kel and hitting a button on the computer. To the side, the screen shifts into a panel of New York City, a place Kel has never been to, only heard about from stories Mobius tells her. It's a large city, overlooked by a bright blue sky. Kel often wishes there was a real sky at the TVA.

    'What is this?" Loki asks.

    "A sampling of your greatest hits, if I may." Mobius says, but doesn't wait for permission before hitting the computer again, and the reel begins. The screen transforms into an image with 6 people in the frame. A man holds a bow up to someone's face. A beautiful woman with startling red hair carries a scepter. There is a giant green humanoid, a man in a red and gold suit, and a blonde-haired man with a red, blue and white shield.

    Loki groans, turning away for a moment, before his voice thunders through the speaker.

    "If it's all the same to you," Kel takes another sip of her drink. "I'll have that drink now." She looks to Loki, and holds it up in a mock gesture of kindness. He's doesn't smile.

    "No." He says. "And I remember, I was there. Anything else?"

    "It's funny." Mobius says. "For someone born to rule, you sure do lose a lot." Loki goes still, and even Kel can feel the sting of Mobius' words. "You might even say it's in your nature."

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

    "Oh, yeah," Mobius says, reaching over to play a different slide. "Phil Coulson." Kel shifts, a spark lighting in her gut, familiarity hinting along her mind. Has she ever heard that name before?

    The screen changes to a man with a kind smile being stabbed by the very man sitting across from them. Kel jerks upward at a scream from somewhere in the background, and the dead man slumps to the floor, light leaving his eyes.

    "Didn't the Avengers come together to literally avenge him by defeating you?" Mobius asks.

    "Little solace to a dead man." Loki says.

    "Do you enjoy hurting people?" Kel blurts out as the screen flips through carnage after carnage raining down on innocent people in the city. "Making them feel small?" Loki looks down to his lap. "Feel afraid?"

    "Your games don't frighten me, little girl." Loki replies, eyes meeting her own.

    "Making them feel little?" Mobius continues on.

    "Or you." Loki turns to the man. "I know what I am."

    "A murderer?"

    "A liberator."

    "Of eyeballs, maybe." Mobius says, and the screen shifts to Loki using some sort of device to gauge out a man's eye. Kel flinches. The screen shows Loki, smiling and relishing in the screams around him.

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

    "I don't have to play this game." Loki says. "I'm a god."

    "Of what, again?" Mobius says. "Mischief, right? Yeah. I don't see anything very mischievous about this. The screen stops, and Kel takes a breath.

    "No, I don't suppose you do." Loki answers.

    Mobius sighs. He and Kel share a look, and she fiddles with her hands, unable to keep still. Mobius sees this; sees the fidgeting in the seat, the gasps for breath, the constant look to the screen. She's growing impatient, like a ticking time bomb, as she always becomes when focusing on death and destruction for too long. He heaves a deep sigh and leans over to whisper in her ear.

    "Why don't you go wait outside?" he tells her, and Kel looks up at him, a mix of offence and relief swirling in her irises. "Let me finish this."

    "Are you sure?" she asks.

    "Yeah," he answers. "You've done good, Kel." she smiles, and nods. Loki, who's been watching them this whole time, leans back as the girl gets up from her spot. She takes a final sip of her drink, patting her partner on the shoulder as she passes.

    When she reaches the entrance, she turns to look at Loki.

    "Good luck." she says, and gives him a strange smile before pushing the doors open and walking out into the hall once more. She turns just as the doors close, and finds Loki's eyes still trailing after her.

    The last thing she hears before they snap closed is Mobius exclaiming. "Now, let's talk about some of your escapes."

    For what feels like an eternity, Kel waits outside. She paces back and forth, finds conversation with the passing hunters and judges, as well as sketches random objects on her own holo-pad.

    All the while her mind races. She thinks of the words of Loki, of his aspirations and the fear in his eyes when Mobius' words finally sunk in. It was as if he'd seen himself in a fractured mirror, and found a monster looking back. Kel can still hear the screams of his reign on Earth. She doesn't think she'll ever forget them.

    It leaves her stomach nauseous and her head split, so when hurried footsteps approach the door, the agents find Kel sitting on the ground with her eyes closed and one leg bouncing.

    "Mobius!" A curt voice cuts through Kel's thoughts, and she looks up instantly to find Hunter B-15, the slightly intimidating one who caught Loki in the first place, standing in front of her. She looks down at Kel menacingly. The girl gulps and immediately stands to attention, her legs half asleep. A tingling rushes up her muscles. 

    B-15 doesn't comment on Kel's stumbling, and instead looks to the closed doors of the office. "Are they in there?"

    "Yeah, but I don't think you should—" Kel starts, however it's too late. The guards are already pushing the doors open, and Kel stands behind B-15, peering into the room. Mobius and Loki are standing near each other on one side of the room. The chair Loki was sitting in is gone.

    "What are you doing?" B-15 demands, and Kel gives Mobius an apologetic look.

    "My job." he answers, nodding to Kel. "Is it yours to interrupt?"

    "We have a situation." The Hunter replies, and Kel fights the urge to roll her eyes.

    Mobius takes a deep breath. "There's always a situation." He then looks to Loki and points at the God. "Don't go anywhere." He walks forward towards Kel and D-15.

    "What's the situation?" the girl asks.

    "None of your concern." the woman replies. "You'll stay here." Kel's face falls. "Make sure the Variant doesn't go anywhere."

    "I have a name." Loki speaks up.

    "Mobius." D-15 tells Kel's partner, who's looking at the girl with sad eyes. "Follow me."

    "Wait—" Kel says, however Mobius is unable to console her as D-15 leads the Agent out of the room, and the doors close just as Kel reaches out. Kel takes a deep breath as silence follows in the wake of Mobius' sudden departure. She stands, seething for a moment, before there is a clearing of the throat behind her.

    Kel stands straight, crossing her arms over her chest, and turns to see Loki in the same spot, watching her.

    Not wanting him to see the impact of being left behind, she speaks before he can do anything. "You're welcome, by the way." Loki raises an eyebrow at her adorable scramble to hide her feelings.

"For what?" He asks.

"Getting you out of the trial." Kel answers honestly, bouncing from foot to foot. "You're very, very welcome."

"You're not even supposed to be here." Loki argues, and Kel wonders if he means in the room or simply in life. Either way, his words sting. "You know, technically, you are a child." he points a finger at her, and Kel takes an offended step back.

"Technically you're supposed to be dead." Kel answers.

"Now that is going too far."

"Well, it's the truth."

"Listen to me!" Loki yells, and his voice rings out through the room so loudly Kel falls silent. Her hands go back to her side. She watches Loki cautiously.

"Just... be silent." Loki tells her, and Kel frowns. "I am going to give you two options. One;" he holds up a finger and takes a step closer. "You let me walk out of here without any trouble, and I won't hurt you." Kel freezes. "Two; you make this difficult, and I will have no other option but."

"Those are unfair choices." Kel remarks, her hands curling into fists.

"This is an unfair situation." Loki replies. He takes another step forward. Kel can't breathe. She tries to keep her gaze focused. She's been trained for this, she's been trained a lot for this, actually. Her eyes narrow. If only she could get a weapon, a tool to help her.

Loki steps forward and sighs. "I wish you wouldn't make me do this."

"You really gonna hurt a child?" Kel tries her luck.

Loki smirks, and he's close enough now to reach out and touch her. "You're not a child." Kel almost wants to laugh at the call back from her previous statement.

He swings an arm forward. Kel ducks. She lets her leg fly outward toward his legs, but the God is expecting it, and reaches down, hand clamping onto her ankle. She grunts and kicks forward, hoping to get his wrist. She does, but unfortunately it seems to have no effect. Loki looks into her eyes, his frown softening, and then she's thrown back.

Kel twists in the air and lands hard on her back. The air is knocked from her lungs, and she groans, twisting onto her front.

Loki rushes towards her, features hardened, and she has just enough time to rush back before his hand hits where she was just lying. Kel takes the opportunity to punch him across the jaw swiftly. Loki steps back, and Kel moves back more, getting to her feet and putting a hand to her aching chest.

"Why are you doing this?" she demands. "We don't want to hurt you."

"Have you wondered what you're doing here?" Loki says, stepping toward her, hands at his side. "Ever stopped to look around?" His tone is so sincere, that despite her mind protesting, Kel pauses.

Stopped to look around. What does that mean?

Loki smirks, and suddenly, his hand is around Kel's shoulders, pushing her right into a stone pillar. Red flashes in her vision as she slumps to the floor. Loki steps back as Kel coughs, her back seizing. She scrambles on the ground, trying to find footing, but a boot swings down to hit her in the side again.

The girl gasps and falls to the side, arm under her head. Her vision swims.

Loki takes a deep breath, trying not to focus on the whimpers that erupt from Kel's mouth every so often. Instead, he reaches over to grab the large baton sitting on the table, the weapon Mobius brought in.

There is a searing pain in Kel's side, and the last thing she sees before the world goes dark is Loki's conflicted face turning around, and then disappearing from the room.

━━━━━━

    WHEN KEL FINALLY COMES TO CONSCIOUSNESS, HER ATTACKER IS LIFTING HER OFF THE GROUND AND SETTING HER INTO A SITTING POSITION.

    Kel groans as pain worms it's way up her half paralyzed legs. She jerks forward at the feel of Loki's hands under her arms, pulling her up. He lets go immediately, and she falls back to the ground with a thump. She grunts, pulling herself onto her back. She breathes heavily, head still foggy from however long she's been out.

    Loki watches her with a look on his face Kel never thought she'd see on a God. Regret. She knows it plain enough, she's felt it often enough. But what would Loki Laufeyson have to regret?

    Loki sits on the stairs, elbows on his knees, and rubs a hand over his face. Kel watches him with her eyebrows scrunched. Her legs have minimal feeling, but there's just enough that she's able to get herself to the steps and twist so that she's lying on the stairs next to him.

    "You stunned me." she remarks coolly, peering up at him.

    "I did it to escape." he answers. "It wasn't personal."

    "So why are you still here?" she asks, and at this the God falls silent. He looks down to his hands, and Kel sees on the other side of him a blue cube. At the center is a bright light, and veins run through it as if it's made of marble. Kel's never seen anything like it before.

    The door opens, and Mobius, holding a baton, rushes in.

    "Loki?" he asks, and stops when he sees Kel beside him. "Oh, thank the Time-Keepers, you're awake."

    Kel's voice is hoarse. "Hi."

    "I can't go back, can I?" Loki's voice is soft. Kel looks at him from the corner of her eye. "Back to my timeline." Mobius says nothing, only gestures to Kel. The girl nods, understanding, and she slowly tries to get up. Her legs creak, and her chest still aches, but she's gained feeling and control over her body again.

    Carefully, she limps over to Mobius, who wraps an arm around her. Kel turns back to Loki.

    "I don't enjoy hurting people." he says sincerely, and when he does, he looks at Kel with sad eyes. "I... I don't enjoy it. I do it because I have to, because I've had to."

    "Okay," Mobius says. "Explain that to us."

    "Because it's part of the illusion." Loki answers. "It's the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear."

    "A desperate play for control." Kel whispers.

    "You do know yourself." Mobius continues, and the two move forward. Kel's legs nearly give way beneath her, but Mobius keeps her upright.

    "A villain." Loki says with a sigh.

    "That's not how I see it." Mobius replies. Loki chuckles, then picks up the blue cube and holds it in his hands, eyes wandering the vast cerulean surface. "You try to use that?"

    "Oh, several times." Loki says. "Even an Infinity Stone is useless here." He puts it between both hands, but nothing happens, so he scoffs and throws it up in the air, then back down. "The TVA is formidable."

    "That's been our experience." Mobius says. "Listen, we can't offer you salvation, but maybe we can offer you something better." Kel frowns, not knowing where this conversation is headed.

    Loki get's up from his spot, the cube fallen at his side.

    "A fugitive Variant's been killing our Minutemen." Mobius continues.

    "And you need the God of Mischief to help you stop him?" Loki suggests, and he walks up in front of Mobius and Kel.

    "That's right." Mobius replies. Kel takes a deep breath. So there it is, the real reason why Mobius dragged her along to meet Loki.

    "Why me?" Loki asks, and that's when Mobius let's go of Kel.

    "Well, the thing is..." he begins, and Kel takes a step away from the man, turning until both her and Loki are watching him. Kel crosses her arms. "Kel, I haven't been completely honest with you."

    "What are you talking about?" the girl asks, and in that moment, both Kel and Loki have the same confounded expressions playing across their faces.

    "The Variant we're hunting is..." Mobius starts, then turns to peer at Loki. "You."

    There is deafening silence.

    Then, both Kel and Loki speak.

"I beg your pardon?" the God says, as the girl exclaims. "WHAT?!"

a/n: screams.

oh my goodnesssss guys here it is! The first chapter of Way of the World, and wow, I honestly really love it. this is very very long, but I seriously love it. I love Kel, she's just such a fun character, and totally unpredictable. Her and Mobius' relationship is one of my favourite things ever, and Loki and Kel are gonna be so much fun to flesh out. They really are the most chaotic trio ever, and I'm LIVING FOR IT.

ANYWAYS, what did you guys think of this chapter? I hope it wasn't a complete bore. This chapter was very much a starting point, and needed to flesh out Kel, her conflict, and especially her relationship with the TVA and Mobius. As always, don't be afraid to comment, vote, and perhaps give me a follow?

Love you, Mal