Clock's Ticking

Questions

Loki doesn't argue, he just walks in. Once we are inside the door is closed behind us. Mobius and I head to the desk in the middle of the room, while Loki stops a couple feet from the door, "for the record, this really does feel like a killing-me kind of a room."

I walk up to the table and sit on it for a moment, "not big on trust, are you?"

"Trust is for children and dogs. There's only one person you can trust."

"Yourself?" Mobius begins to bring up some files on the computer, "I like it. Slap it on a tee shirt."

Loki slowly walks toward Mobius and I, but he still keeps his distance, "if the TVA truly oversees all of time, how have I never heard of you until now?"

"Cause you've never needed to," I shrug. "You stayed on your set path."

"I live within whatever path I choose."

I chuckle a bit, "that's so cute."

Mobius shakes his head, "come have a seat."

Loki begins to move toward the desk and Mobius and I, but he moves a bit faster than he would if he was going to sit. I wait and carefully choose my time to turn around and kick Loki in the chest, knocking him to the ground and placing a foot on his throat. "Not only have you grossly underestimated me, but you tried to kill my partner. Do it again and this will become a killing-you type of a room."

I move my foot off of Loki's neck and he sits up. Mobius just gestures for him to come to the desk, "come on, sit down. Let's get into this." Mobius sits at the desk, while I stand next to him, with my arms crossed. Once he gets up Loki slowly walks over to the desk, keeping a close eye on me. "Don't worry about her, she's mostly bark. Go on, have a seat." Loki sits and crosses his arms, glaring at Mobius and I, "if looks could kill."

"What'd you want from me?" Loki lifts his head a bit.

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

"Not my forte."

I scoff and suck on my teeth, "clearly."

"Really?" Mobius tilts his head, "even when you're wooing someone powerful you intend to betray? Come on."

Loki looks up to me, "you don't know anything about me."

"Maybe we'd like to learn." Mobius opens a can of soda, "we specialize in the pursuit of dangerous Variants," he takes a sip.

"Like myself?"

"No," I shake my head, "particularly dangerous Variants."

Mobius nods, "you're just a little pussycat. But we have a set of questions for you. You answer them honestly, and then maybe we can give you something you want."

"You wanna get out of here, right?" I lean down, placing my hands on the table as Loki shifts a bit.

"Yeah, so we'll start there. Should you return, what are you gonna do?"

Loki leans back a bit in his chair, "finish what I started."

I sit up and cross my arms, "which is?"

"Claim my throne."

"You wanna be a king?" Mobius shrugs.

"I don't want to be, I was born to be."

"I know, but king of what exactly?" While Mobius talks to Loki, I cross the room, grabbing a bag of chips out of one of the machines hidden in the wall.

Loki scoffs, "you wouldn't understand."

I walk back across the room, having opened my bag of chips, "no, it sounds, to me, like you don't know what you want to be king of. You just want to rule." I take a bite of a chip as I approach the table.

Loki pops his lips, "Midgard."

"Right, so Earth. So let's say you complete this little quest of yours, then what? Happily ever after?"

"Asgard, the Nine Realms."

"Space?"

"Space?"

"It's so big. That'd be amazing, if you actually achieved it."

"It'd be a very nice feather in your cap," Mobius nods, "Loki, the King of Space."

Loki's eyes widen a bit, "mock me, if you dare."

I chuckle, "I just had you on the ground with my foot on your throat, do you really think I'm scared of you?"

"Alright, enough," Mobius sighs, "look, we just wanna know why someone with so much range just wants to rule?"

"I would have made it easy for them," Loki nods.

"People like easy."

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

"How's that one go?"

"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."

"Hold on," I gesture a chip around, "you said 'nearly every living thing.' I'm guessing you don't fall into that category."

Loki chuckles, "the Time-Keepers have built quite the circus, and I see the clowns are playing their parts to perfection."

"Yes, you are," I smile down to Loki.

"Big metaphor guy," Mobius chuckles, "I love it. Makes you sound super smart."

"I am smart," Loki states very matter of factly.

"I know."

"Okay."