Loki

Chapter 2B

Loki was sitting on the couch outside of the doors of the office. Mobius whistled at him as he exited.

"You're probably wondering what happened out on the mission." Loki jumped up, then tried desperately to catch up with Mobius as he strolled the hallway. "That was your first lesson in catching a Loki. Expect the expected. You see half the fun of beng a trickster is knowing everyone knows your a trickster, and then many of your tricks come from exploiting the fact that you know that they know-"

"Okay, okay, just shut up." Mobius interrupted in frustration. "Please. I mean, what happened to the guy I met in the elevator? Who didn't like to talk? Remember him? Now I'm stuck with this guy who won't stop yacking away about what makes a Loki tick."

"What?" Loki questioned. "Well isn't that precisely why I'm here?"

"No. I don't care what makes you tick." Mobius said. "You're here to help me catch the superior version of yourself. That's it."

"Hang on." Loki cut in. "I'm not sure superior is quite the right word."

"See? There is is. Right there." Mobius stopped right in front of the elevator. "I believed, stupidly, that insecure need for validation would motivate you to find the killer. Not because you care about the TVA mission or being a hero, but because you know that this Variant is better than you and you. Can't. Take it."

Loki's face twisted with amusement as he approached Mobius to adjust his collar. "Very nice. I mean, it is adorable that you think that you could possibly manipulate me. I'm ten steps ahead of you. I've been playing a game of my own all along."

"What?" Mobius questioned. "Charm your way in front of the Time Keepers, hustle them, and seize control of the TVA? Am I getting warm?"

Loki's expression blanked.

"A double cross by history's most reliable liar." Mobius continued as the elevator doors opened.

"Okay, why are you in there sticking your neck out for me then?"

"I'll give you two options and you can believe whichever one you want." Mobius said. "A, because I see a scared little boy, shivering in the cold. And you kinda feel bad for that ice runt. Or B, I just wanna catch this guy and I'll tell you whatever I need to tell you."

"I don't need your sympathy." Loki said as they entered the elevator.

"Good, cause I'm running out of it." Mobius finished.

The elevator let them out on the higher floor.

"What's this?" Loki asked. "Next step of your manipulation-"

"No, this is the final step." Mobius answered. "Your last chance."

"Oh, and what does my desperate last chance require?"

"Work." Mobius stated.

"Work?" Loki questioned.

Mobius and Loki took another elevator down to a floor of archives filled with shelves of stored files.

"I need you to go over each and every one of the Variant's case files and then give me your...how do I put it..." Mobius began. "...unique Loki perspective. And who knows maybe there's something that we missed."

"Well, you're idiots. I suspect you probably missed a lot." Loki answered.

"That's why I'm lucky I've got you for a little bit longer." Mobius said. "Let me park you at this desk and don't be afraid to really lean into this work. Here's a good trick for you. Pretend your life depends on it. I'm going to get a snack."