Family is for all time, always [1]

TVA

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

I was walking to the main lobby with my daughter, Linda, to see something about a new variant. It wasn't a big deal, but I was an analyst. It's my job to know about every variant that comes through here.

Walking through the long, dimly lit hallways, I noticed that Linda seemed less energetic than she usually was.

She was staring at the ground as she walked beside me, one hand intertwined with mine and the other playing with her necklace.

I have no idea where she got that thing from, and she won't tell me.

Ravonna has talked to me about it many times, telling me that it doesn't work with the TVA uniform she's supposed to wear, but I just told her it was ridiculous to expect a five-year-old to follow a dress code.

And besides, it's not like I always wear the correct uniform.

The traditional TVA outfit I wear; is a white blouse with a dark brown pencil skirt, heels, and a brown tie.

But on some days, I like to wear a forest green shirt instead of the classic white. I'm not sure why I like that color so much. It just brings me this sense of comfort.

I guess Linda feels the same way because she's always wearing something of that particular color. Whether it was a shirt or skirt, it didn't matter. And no matter what she wore, she always had that necklace around her neck. She refuses to take it off. Even to go to sleep.

"You doing okay?" I asked her when we were just a few feet from our destination.

She shrugged. "I guess."

Her vague excuse for an answer worried me. She was always so talkative around me...

We finally made it to the lobby and saw the variant. From what I could see, it was another Loki variant. They were common around here. I mean seriously, how many times can you screw up your timeline?

When Linda saw the variant, her grip around my hand tightened, and a huge smile broke out on her face, a pleasantly shocked look in her eyes, but those emotions vanished when Ravonna walked up to us.

"Catherine, I just wanted you to know that Mobius will be working with the new variant, not you."

I looked at her, perplexed. "Any reason as to why? I'm perfectly capable of-" She cut me off. "The decision is final." And then she walked away.

Once she was out of sight, Linda visibly relaxed. I don't know why, but she never seemed at ease with Ravonna.

"Okay, sweetie, I'm going to talk to Miss Renslayer. Can you stay here with Casey while I go talk to her?" I knelt down to her level.

She nodded and hugged me tightly. "Be careful." She whispered.

She said the same thing to me every time I went to talk to Ravonna alone. At first, I thought it was because of the Minutemen Murderer running around, but that killing spree ended a while ago. So why does she keep saying it?

I shrugged it off and went to find Ravonna.

~~~Loki's pov~~~

The guards took me through a portal, and we ended up in a room that looked straight out of the 1960s. I should know; I was on Midgard for at least five years during that decade.

I lost a bet to Thor, alright? It wasn't by choice.

Everything was either brown, orange, gold, or terribly old-fashioned. And that's saying a lot coming from me.

I looked around, as much as I could with guards surrounding me on all sides, and noticed a small girl with chestnut brown hair and green eyes, who couldn't have been more than five years old, staring at me with the biggest smile on her face. Like she'd been waiting to see me for years. Which was ridiculous because I have no idea who she is. But she does look familiar...

One of the guards held their baton towards me to make sure I didn't escape, and I winced. Just looking at it gives me this feeling of fear. I don't know why. I really don't.

The little girl mirrored my actions, looking at the baton with fear and anxiety.

That's strange...

I had barely contemplated the fact that there was a young child by herself in the middle of this depressing place when a woman walked in and took the child's hand in hers, and walked out of the room. I didn't see her face, but I'm assuming that's the child's mother.

The little girl turned and waved at me before leaving with the woman.

~~~Catherine's pov~~~~

"Why are you so happy?" I asked when I saw her beaming with happiness after we left the lobby.

"No reason." She murmured, her smile completely vanishing as Ravonna passed us again.

I really have to figure out why she's so afraid of her.

On another note, I convinced Ravonna to let me in on the case. The only condition was that Mobius had to be with me and Linda if we were ever near the variant.

"Mom, where are we going?"

"The time theater. I need to set up a presentation for the interview with the variant." I answered.

"You're interviewing the guy in the lobby? Can I come?" She asked excitedly.

"Sure. You're my secret weapon anyway." I smiled at her, relieved that she was sounding more and more like her typical perky self.

It was an inside joke we had. I would bring Linda with me when I interviewed variants because they tended to talk more when she was there. I don't know why. Most of them have a soft spot for kids, I guess.

I don't know about this Loki, though. This was a Loki from 2012, and neither Linda or I had ever interviewed one. Ravonna always kept us off the cases that concerned Lokis. But I guess with the Loki variant killing our minutemen she felt she needed all hands on deck for this.

~~~Loki's pov~~~

As I was walking to the judge's stand, the voice I heard at the tower came back.

"Get them out of there. Keep them safe."