ꜰᴏʀ ᴀʟʟ ᴛɪᴍᴇ

Chapter 5: The Variant

Holding Out for a Hero: Bonnie Tyler

     Loki and I sit anxiously as Mobius talks with Renslayer. My knee starts to bounce as I bite my thumb while Loki leans forwards with his hands clasped. Any onlooker wouldn't think much of his cool composure when in reality, he's probably just as stressed as I am.

    Loki turns to me, breaking the eerie silence. "Do you think...?"

    "I have no idea," I answer. He purses his lip while nodding then faces forwards again. Each second that adds up since Mobius has been in there, the more my nerves grow. I move my hand away from my face and start messing with them.

    A cool touch appears on my entangled hands. Looking down, Loki is gently holding one of my hands to stop me from fidgeting. I turn to face him as he does the same. "Hey, it'll be fine." He says in a quiet voice, softly rubbing his thumb in a comforting manner. I nod and the doors fly open with Mobius walking out. I immediately stand up.

    "We're on." Mobius says as he continues walking. I let out a sigh, unaware that I was holding my breath. We follow closely behind as we make it to the lockers. "You guys did some good work today."

    "Good enough for a face-to-face with the Time Keepers?" Loki asks.

    "I didn't say that." Mobius says while rummaging through his then closes it and turns to face me. "But, you can join us on the mission since you did help with a majority of it."

     I blink a few times, unsure if I heard him correctly. "I get to go on the mission?"

    Mobius shrugs, "I guess you deserve it-." I cut him off by wrapping him in a hug. Mobius stands there shocked, eventually patting me. "Okay, okay." He tries to brush it off. I release him and stand back, practically jumping in place from the excitement. He mumbles to himself then turns to Loki, holding out two daggers. "Just in case."

     Loki takes them in awe but get's cut off as Hunter B-15 walks past, stealing them. "Absolutely not." Loki holds his hands out, offended as she places them in her locker. "Gather round for a briefing." She tells everyone.

   "Roxxcart is a vast superstore common to the era. It consists of a series of sprawling sections including a large warehouse. This warehouse is being used by civilians as a shelter trying to ride out the storm. Remember, this is a class ten apocalypse. While the Variant shouldn't know we're coming, he could be hiding anywhere and should be considered hostile. So stay alert. Every time there is an attack, the Variant steals a reset charge. He's planning something, we just don't know what, so keep an eye out for the missing charges and if you see a Loki, prune it."

    Loki shifts, uncomfortably. "The bad Loki, preferably."

     We enter the portals and are immediately met with howling wind and sirens. Stepping into the storm, I look around at the hunters marching forwards as I finally get to see firsthand how a mission is. Glancing at Loki, he is also distracted, walking backward while looking up towards the sky. As if he could feel me staring, he looks over. I smile as a mix of emotions fills my chest.

     He continues walking backward and returns the smile but almost trips while doing so. Once he catches himself, he glances over as I try to hide a laugh. He purses his lips in response and we're quickly pulled back to the others as Mobius calls for us to follow.

     Glad to enter the store and be in warmth, I tie my drenched hair into a short ponytail; a few strands hang loosely framing my face as the water makes it look almost black rather than it's natural brown. I nudge Loki, getting his attention. "Our hair's matching." I joke, referencing to his slicked black hair.