The Dark Angel¹

2.4 𝑀𝑒𝑒𝑡 𝐴𝑔𝑎𝑖𝑛

JUDGE RAVONNA RENSLAYER'S OFFICE

"You want me to approve deployment of a fully-armed task force to..." The Judge speaks flabbergasted.

"Yeah" Mobius knows it could turn out bad, but it is still a chance.

"... the Variant's potential hiding spot?" She finishes her sentence from before.

"Haven Hills, Alabama, corporate town owned by Roxxcart until it's wiped out by a hurricane. All the food and supplies you need. If she likes it there, there's no reason she can't keep going back and just camping out, over and over."

"And this is all based on a theory from the Variant who just blew your previous mission?"

"Yes. But it was your Variant which lead us to the right file."

"Mobius, as your friend, I have to tell you that trusting this man is not a good idea. And I'm not even sure about Laverna anymore. She seems different since the encounter with the Variant."

"I can imagine, but maybe they're worth the trouble. He just uncovered a massive hole in our security, and she helped us find her, right?"

"That's what concerns me!"

"I can handle them. Trust me. This is where we get our guy- or girl in that case."

"You, and maybe even her, I trust. But for him?"

"Listen, Ravonna, every instinct is telling me this is where we nail the Variant. Come on. You don't see me usually this worked up, right? I'm, I'm excited. I'm champing at the bit." Mobius hypes the idea.

"Okay." She reluctantly agrees.

"Yes. Okay." He tries to get to the door before she can change her mind.

"But, Mobius?"

"Yeah?"

"There's not much I can do if it doesn't work out." She warns him.

"For all time."

"Always."

"Okay" And he's out the door.

MISSION BRIEFING

Loki is waiting outside waiting for Mobius. 

"We're on." He informs Loki and they both walk to the bridge. 

"We are doing some good work today." Mobius compliments Loki. He tries to hype him so that he doesn't try anything. 

"I thought so too." 

"I'm tellin' you. You actually help us catch this Variant, and who knows, my friend."

"What, good enough for a face-to-face with the Time-Keepers?"

"I didn't say that. One step at a time."

"All right. One step at a time."

"Just in case." Mobius hands Loki his knives, but he still has one left. 

"Who's that?" 

"Not yours."

"Yeah, I know that, but who does it belong to?"

"You'll see."

"It's the girl's, isn't it?"

"Yup." She takes the dagger and puts it on her belt. 

They arrived at the mission briefing.

Hunter B-15 sees the knives in Loki's hand and takes them away. "Absolutely not." She puts them in a locker and turns back to them. 

"She got a dagger too." Loki points at Laverna. 

Hunter B-15 ignores him and continues on. "Gather around for a briefing. 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 tryin' 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."

"The bad Loki, preferably." Loki feels the need to clarify that.

2050

ROXXCART HEAVEN HILLS, ALABAMA

It is heavily raining and thunder is rumbling. A communications tower crashes through a bright electric 'Haven Hills, Alabama' sign. Fires erupt around the dark town. 

The Roxxcart store is brightly lit with a blue sign. 

The team comes out in the Roxxcart parking lot.

"Anything?" Mobius asks B-15.

"Nothing yet. Move out!" 

The team enters the Roxxcart store. 

Loki sighs and uses magic to dry himself. But as he looks to his right he sees that Laverna is dry too. 

"The hell was that?" B-15 questions.

"That was me using magic to dry my clothes. So I don't announce myself with every squeaky footstep like the rest of you. She did it too." He points at Laverna again. 

Laverna rolls her eyes and snaps with her fingers. Now all team members are dry, except Loki. 

He glares at her and she reluctantly snaps again, making him dry too, again.

Right as thunder rumbles the lights flicker. 

"Take both teams and sweep the storm shelter." 

"Yes, ma'am" D-90 speaks. 

"Okay, Loki and I are gonna check out the Green House. We'll meet back at the showroom." Mobius suggests.

"No." Laverna and B-15 speak in unison. 

"No?" Mobius asks.

"Then I will go with her." Loki points at Laverna once again. 

"My name is Laverna and no. I will go alone."

"What?" Loki and Mobius are now the ones to speak in unison.

"Mobius you go with D-90. He stays with me." B-15 speaks and points at Loki.

"What are you talking about? He's under my supervision." Mobius says.

"This is my field op, Mobius. If he's not a threat, then it won't be a problem."

"Of course, he's a threat. Do you not remember the Time Theatre?" Mobius reminds her. 

"Mobius..." Loki tries to stop him from bringing it up again. 

"That's why I want him with me." He still continues.

"You are welcome to go back to the TVA and litigate with Renslayer, but right now..."

"We're here. We're not going back. The Variant is here." Laverna reminds them. She can feel the variants magic somewhere in the building.

Loki uses the break from the back and forth to stop Mobius. "Mobius, it's fine. It's fine. You can trust me. I understand I have to earn that, so, I will."

"Why is it the people you can't trust are always saying, 'Trust me'? At least try to hang on to your Time Collar this time." Laverna says and smirks because she knows exactly how to push his buttons.

"We'll see you in the showroom," D-90 speaks. 

The team splits up.

Meanwhile, the Variant is watching them on the security cameras. She sets a TemPad with a countdown of 20 minutes. 

Laverna is the only one who's going alone. She is following the trail of the Variant's magic when suddenly a person beside her tries to grab her arm. As she dodges it, their eyes flash green for a second.

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