Family is for all time, always [1]

Meanwhile, at the TVA

~~~Mobius' pov~~~

After returning to the TVA, Linda and I decided that the best course of action would be to confront Ravonna. But only after we got time-sticks from one of the locker rooms. There was no way I was facing her without them.

We had been walking in silence on our way to Ravonna's office when I finally couldn't hold in my questions anymore.

"So, are we just not going to talk about it?" I asked, looking down at the girl.

"Talk about what?" She shrugged and continued walking.

She's got to be joking.

"Um, I don't know, maybe how you've known about the TVA's lies for who knows how long-"

"I've known for three years, five months, one week, and four days." She interrupted me, correcting my statement.

I furrowed my brows. "How could you possibly know that? Time works so differently here-"

"I had my ways. I have journals full of tally marks representing every day I've been here. I took a watch out of evidence a while back. It helped me keep track of how much time was passing." She explained, her tone sad.

I sighed. "So, you're technically eight years old now, right?"

"No." She shook her head. "Like you said, time doesn't work like that here. I'm still the same age I was in 2023. My dad didn't miss three years of my life. It's that simple."

I could tell that this was something she'd thought a lot about in past years. How much time she actually missed out on with her father.

"How did you keep your memories? I wasn't even aware it was possible." I questioned, trying to wrap my mind around all of this.

"My necklace." She lifted her locket from her neck so I could see. "My dad and grandfather made it for me. It prevents my mind from being tampered with. I had it on when Renslayer gave me the memory wipe serum."

My eyes widened. "I knew there was something more to that locket! You've never taken it off once in the entire time I've known you. But how did Ravonna not know about it? Surely, she would've taken it from you." I reasoned.

Ravonna wasn't one for taking chances. If she knew what the necklace was capable of, she never would have let her keep it on.

"She did." She nodded, much to my surprise. "She gave it to B-15, who was holding me in place while she injected the serum into my arm. I assume she felt bad that my whole world was falling apart and gave it back to me without Renslayer realizing."

"B-15 knew that you remembered everything?"

"No. I found out a few days later that Renslayer discovered that she'd given me the necklace back and had her memories erased again. It's hunter protocol to get your minds wiped after an event like that. Although some weren't required to go through with it. F-6 was one of those. But for some reason, it didn't occur to her that I maybe still had my memories."

I shook my head in disbelief. This wasn't at all the girl I had known for the past three years. "I do have to commend you on your acting. I never had a clue about what was going on."

"Thanks, but you weren't the one I needed to fool. I was terrified of what Renslayer or one of the Hunters would do to me if they found out. And I've had a lot of practice. Being a five-year-old with an IQ of 195 and the mental maturity of an adult can be great sometimes, but that also meant I had to learn to act my actual age. Depending on who was present, I was either a slightly above-average preschooler or a super genius." She let out a small chuckle. "Believe me, around the Shield team, it was exhausting!"