The Variant's Shadow - LokixOC - ONGOING

* Paranoia *

Still laughing, Ophelia fell on her knees and took the deepest breath she could. She was alive. 

She looked around her and noticed the TVA agents staring at them. Before she could stand back up, they all grabbed Sylvie and Loki and proceeded to get them away. 

As she tried to follow them down the hall, someone held her arm. She gave the variants a last look before they were taken away for good. She turned around and looked at the person standing in front of her with a reassuring look. 

“You’re back, it’s ok now.”

“Where-” Ophelia looked back at the hall where Loki and Sylvie disappeared with the other TVA agents. She needed to find them. “I need to talk to Mobius.”

“He’s on his way for an interrogation with the variant.”

That was good. Probably. If he was going to talk with Loki, he would listen to him and know what the TVA was doing. 

What if he already knew ? Was there anyone in this place who knew about the truth ? Ophelia looked at the agent in front of her. She didn’t know if she could trust him. She didn’t know anything anymore. 

“G-16, are you ok ? Do you need medical attention ?” 

She looked at him and nodded. No one was treating her as a traitor. It was a good thing. It would give her some time to think about what to do next. 

She followed the agent to the medical unit and was taken to a clean room. She missed this place. It was all a lie, but it was the only thing she’d ever known. And it was equally reassuring and terrifying. 

She walked to the small bathroom and started to take her clothes off. Once she was naked, she looked at herself in the mirror. 

She almost didn’t recognize her own body. She was dirty, tired, and covered in bruises. Now that she was thinking about it, Ophelia had to admit she got herself in a few dangerous situations. 

When she got out of the shower, a doctor was already waiting for her. She smiled at him, wondering where he was before the TVA. 

“How are you feeling ?” She felt betrayed by the people she lived with for hundreds of years, she felt scared for the variants, relieved to be alive, terrified of what was going to happen next. She tightened her grip on her towel and looked at the doctor. 

“Exhausted.” He gave her a warm smile. 

“It’s completely understandable. Have you ever been in one of those ?” He pointed at a drawing on the wall. It looked like a huge white box with hundreds of wires attached to it. She shook her head. She never needed to be in one of those. She went on her first field mission and now she needed to see a doctor. “It’s going to heal you in no time. Follow me.”

Ophelia watched him open a door on the other side of the room and followed him inside. It was all so bright, and after spending so much time on Lamentis , her eyes were not used to the TVA’s lights.

Before stepping inside the box, she stopped herself. What if the machine erased her memories and she didn’t remember her name anymore ? What if Loki and Sylvie told them she had been compromised and it was actually a trap ?

She stepped back and the doctor held her arm. A little too tight to Ophelia’s taste. He knew about her. He knew and he was going to take it all away. She tried to free herself from his grip but her body was too tired to fight. 

“G-16. It’s ok, you’re safe now. No one is going to hurt you.” She looked at him, her eyes wide open and filled with tears. “You can trust me.”