ꜰᴏʀ ᴀʟʟ ᴛɪᴍᴇ

Chapter 2: Getting Through

These Boot Are Made For Walkin': Nancy Sinatra

   "Wait." I turn to Loki with astonishment as the video finishes playing. "You were D. B. Cooper?!"

   "I know right!" Mobius agrees. "I was shocked when I read that in the file. Speaking of which, you didn't read it, did you? Cause if you did, then you would have already known this." It's his turn to scold.

   "I did read it!" I try to play it off but Mobius isn't buying it. "... kind of. I mean I skimmed over."

    Before Mobius could lecture me anymore, Loki speaks up, saving me from some speech about how I 'need to start taking this job more seriously'. "I'm sorry, where was the TVA when I was meddling in these affairs of men?"

    Mobius turns back to face him. "We were right there with you, just surfing that Sacred Timeline."

   "So that had the Time-Keepers seal of approval, did it?" Loki asks, salty.

    "Well, I wouldn't think of it in terms of approval and disapproval. That's sort of a..." Mobius starts to go on but waves it away. "Let's get back to escapes and a little psychobabble." Loki sighs. "What is it that you think that you're really running from?"

    Loki puts his hands up and stands from his chair. "Enough." He doesn't get far as Mobius pulls out his TemPad and sends him back right where he was sitting.

    "Back in your cage. See, I can play the heavy keys, too."

    "I was just standing up to make a point."

    "I'm sorry." He chuckles and gestures at Loki to stand. "Go ahead."

    "It won't be as meaningful now."

     "Okay, well, stay seated."

     "I'll do what I want to do!"

     "Sure."

     Loki storms out of his seat and makes his way to the center of the room. "What exactly is it that you want?"

    "We want you to be honest about why you do what you do."

    Loki stares at him, unamused. "Liar."

   "I'm serious!" Mobius testifies. "All I seek is a deeper understanding of the fearsome God of Mischief." Loki runs his hands through his hair, taking a deep breath then rests them on his sides. "What makes Loki tick?"

    "I know what this place is." He says, looking around.

    "What is it?" Mobius plays along.

    "It's an illusion. It's a cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak," he gestures to us, "to inspire fear. A desperate attempt at control. Now, you all parade about as if you're the divine arbiters of power in the universe." He ends with a raise of his hands to dramatize his point.

    "We are."

    "You're not. My choices are my own."

   "Your choice is your own! Good, let's go with that!" Mobius reaches over and starts up the file again. "I think this one's gonna fire you up." The screen plays with Loki's visit to Earth when he tried to take it over.

    "Precisely! I was- I am on the verge of acquiring everything I am owed, and when I do, it'll be because I did it. Not because it was supposed to happen. Or because you, or the Time Variance Authority, or whatever it is you call yourselves," he looks towards the ceiling, speaking to an imaginary being, "allowed me to. Honestly, you're pathetic. You're an irrelevance. A detour. A footnote to my ascent."