Family is for all time, always [1]

Her laugh

~~~Pompeii~~~
~~~79 AD~~~~
~~~Mobius' pov~~~

Linda and I walked through the time door together, leaving Loki and Catherine behind.

"So, Linda. What do you think about your mom and the variant?" I asked, taking the little girl by surprise.

I wasn't blind. I could see the chemistry between the two of them instantly. I just wondered if Linda could see it.

"What do you mean?" She asked, looking up at me innocently.

"Come on. You're a smart girl. I know you can see it." I said pointedly.

She is a really smart kid. Smarter than any other child her age. Granted, she's not exactly normal...

What Loki asked me outside of the time theater got me thinking. How is it possible that the time-keepers created her if she's Catherine's daughter? It doesn't make any sense.

A few seconds later, Loki and Catherine emerged from the time door, interrupting my train of thought, holding hands.

Hold up.

Wait.

Holding hands!

As soon as they caught me staring, they separated.

~~~Loki's pov~~~

"Okay, let's get to work," Mobius said as I took in the ancient town around us.

We landed in what looked like the marketplace. There were stands holding various fruits and vegetables, and there were stalls with vendors selling anything from livestock to clothing.

We were hiding under an archway just ten feet away from what looked like a wagon transporting some goats.

It's too bad they're all about to die.

Sad, but we can't do anything to change the timeline.

The volcano started to rumble, and I could see it was making Linda nervous.

I would go to comfort her, but that's her mother's job. Not mine. It's not my place. I'm not her father.

Speaking of her mother, what happened back in the TVA with her?

I almost didn't think anything of it at first.

Keyword: almost

When I heard her laugh, something in me stirred. I don't know what exactly, but it just gave me this feeling of... I'm not sure what to call it.

Then I realized that I'd heard her laugh before. Back at Stark Tower.

She was in that variant of myself's memories.

At first, I thought I must've been mistaken. But I'd know that laugh anywhere.

This shouldn't be possible. The time-keepers created her and Linda.

Is there any chance that maybe, just maybe they could be variants themselves?

"Here we go," I whispered, shaking my head, trying to get the overwhelming thoughts out of my mind.

"Any minute now," Mobius started, getting his tempad out.

"Until this entire town is wiped off the face of the planet." Catherine finished.

"Imagine. All that volcanic ash..." I murmured. Come on! It's cool!

"I know. But we don't want to get too giddy. It wouldn't be in good taste."

I nodded, understanding. While the eruption itself was incredible, all the death that followed was not.

"Now, listen. I'm gonna watch the tempad for any variance energy. We have to be careful. If you're wrong, which there's a good chance you are, we could create a huge time branch." Mobius warned. "So we're going to start with very small disturbances. Can any of you make bird noises?"

Catherine looked at him like he was crazy. As did Linda and I.

Seriously? Bird noises?

"Mobius, even I think that's overkill," Catherine said, siding with her daughter and me.

I shook my head, ignoring him, and ran out from under the archway and into the crowded marketplace, jumping up onto a wagon full of goats and beginning to prove my theory.

"Go! Be free my horned friends! Be free!" I released the goats from the wagon.

Mobius checked the tempad and nodded.

I signaled for Catherine and Linda to join me. Catherine was too busy laughing to notice that Linda did in fact come over to me.

I helped her onto the wagon, and Catherine took out her own tempad for reasons I don't know.

That's when I started speaking to the townspeople in Latin. "My name is Loki, and this is Linda. We are agents of the Time Variance Authority. I bring you all dark tidings. All of you! You're all about to die! That volcano is about to erupt! We would know because we're from the future."

"We are from the future, right?" I asked Linda in regular English. "What is the TVA? I mean, it's from the future. It sounds pretty future-y." She was laughing too hard to answer. At least she wasn't scared anymore.

The volcano erupted behind us, startling her. "Right on cue!" I could see Linda freezing up, frightened by the volcano. To take her mind off of the town's impending doom, I did something my brother would call completely out of character.

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

I was about to run out and grab Linda when Loki brought her back over while giving her a piggyback ride.

The God of Mischief was giving my daughter a piggyback ride.

What is happening?

~~~3rd person pov~~~

Loki set the five-year-old down next to her mother and asked Mobius how they did.

"I don't believe it. Zero variance energy. No branching in the timeline." He answered in surprise.

"The TVA would never know we were here. If it were me, this is where I would hide."

~~~Catherine's pov~~~

The smoke from the eruption got closer, and Mobius opened the time door for our escape.

Loki grabbed mine and Linda's hands as we ran through the door.

I gotta say, I don't mind it. I don't think Linda does either, to be honest.

I just wish I could sort out my feelings for him before things start to get complicated.