Clock's Ticking

Courtroom

Mobius wants to try and help one of the newest variants to be captured, hoping that he will be inclined to help us in return. I wouldn't be on board with his idea anyway, but I think it is absolutely insane that he wants to recruit Loki, the God of Mischief, to help us. Mobius and I hurry to the courtroom where they are trying the variants brought in recently, if they make it that far. Some of them are pruned before they even make it to the courtroom. I don't agree with Mobius' plan, but I'm also not going to let my partner work with someone like Loki alone, nor am I going to let him propose such a crazy idea to the Judge without some form of backup, even though I'm really just there for moral support.

We walk into the courtroom and hurry into one of the pews, while Loki is speaking to the Judge. Loki is standing in front of the Judge and arguing with her, "oh, believe me, you can smell the cologne of two Tony Starks." When we get seated I look up toward the front of the room and look over Loki. He is tall and well built, as expected for a God, but he is also trying his best to persuade the Judge that he is innocent. "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's tone is one of confidence and determination, something that coming from someone who isn't a mass murderer might even be a little bit attractive.

"We're not here to talk about the Avengers," the Judge sighs, clearly tried of Loki's attempt to gain his freedom.

"Oh, no?"

"No. What they did was supposed to happen. You escaping was not."

Loki begins to laugh nervously, "right, uh... 'Not supposed to happen'? According to whom?"

"The Time-Keepers?"

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

I put a hand over my mouth and try to silence a chuckle and so does the Judge, "I'm sorry, but they're quite busy."

"Oh, they are? What are they doing?"

"Dictating the proper flow of time."

"I see. Right. And then what do you do?"

"Dictate the proper flow of time according to their dictations. How do you plead?"

Loki takes a deep breath and pauses for a moment before giving his answer, "guilty." Then he puts his hands out to his sides, "of this." With what I'm sure should be a flourish, Loki tenses his arms and closes his fists, no doubt trying to perform some magic trick to get himself out of this situation. When he tries to do it again, I begin to laugh, as do a few other people in the room, knowing that magic doesn't work here.

"What's going on?" The Judge looks around.

"Hang on. Everyone quiet."

Hunter B-15, the lead hunter that had arrested Loki chuckles, "he's trying to use his powers, ma'am."

"Don't rush me," Loki grunts, trying to use his powers again and again, before slamming his hands down on the metal rails around him and raising his voice, clearly frustrated, "damn it! Why won't it work?"

The Judge tilts her head a bit, "magic powers? They're no good in the TVA, Mr. Laufeyson. The court finds you guilty, and I sentence you to be reset." She smiles with a hit of her gavel, "next case, please!"

"Reset? What does that mean? What, is it bad?" B-15 and another guard grab Loki and begin to pull him away as he questions his fate, "what does it mean?" They move him to the side of the room and he continues to fight, as anyone would, and they all do. "Hey! You ridiculous bureaucrats will not dictate how my story ends!"

"It's not your story, Mr. Laufeyson. It never was."

I look over to Mobius, "if you're gonna save him, now would be the time."

"You have no idea what I'm capable of!" Loki shouts, trying to get away from B-15 and the other guard.

Mobius stands from the pew, file in hand, "I... I think I might." He stands and all eyes in the courtroom move to him. "Have an idea of what he's capable of."

The Judge raises her head and looks between Mobius and I, "approach the bench." I look away and mess with the back of my hair, hoping she'll overlook me, but she doesn't, "both of you."

I sigh softly as I get up and follow closely behind Mobius to the front of the courtroom. When we get to the front of the courtroom and to the Judge, Mobius looks up and whispers, "hi."

The Judge leans forward, "if you two are thinking what I think you're thinking, it's a bad idea."

I shake my head, "there is no, 'you two,' it's all him."

"Geez, thanks," Mobius looks over to me. He takes a deep breath before looking up to the Judge again, "I'm just chasing a hunch."

The Judge clicks her tongue, "anything goes sideways, it's on you." She looks over to me, "both of you."

"Okay," Mobius nods, "I feel like I'm always looking up to you. I like it. It's appropriate."

I sigh and turn to Loki, crossing my arms, "now our fun begins."

Loki looks to Mobius and I, still trying to break away from his captives, "and who are you?"

"The people who just saved your ass, you might wanna be a little grateful."