Loki

Chapter 2C

The doors closed behind Mobius as he left the office. Loki sat on the couch, gesturing with his hands as if to ask "Well?"

"We're on." Mobius confirmed.

Loki leapt from the couch, bumping his fist in the air.

Loki followed Mobius back into the locker hall.

"We are doing some good work today." Mobius stated.

"I thought so too." Loki said as he followed the analyst.

"I'm telling you," Mobius began. "You actually help us catch this Variant and who knows, my friend."

"What? Good enough for a face to face with the Time Keepers?" Loki inquired.

"I didn't say that. One step at a time." Mobius said, arriving at his locker. After he opened it he took off his suit, and reached inside for something.

"All right." Loki agreed. "One step at a time."

"Just in case..." Mobius said, extracting a set of daggers from his locker. Loki gasped in awe as Mobius placed them in his hands.

Mobius smiled at his reaction. "How do those feel-"

"Absolutely not." B-15 interjected, snatching the daggers from Loki's hands and shoving them into her locker. "Gather around for a briefing."

All of the Minutemen circled around at the center of the room.

"Roxxcart is a vast superstore common to the era." B-15 explained. "It consists of a series of sprawling sections, including a large warehouse. This warehouse is being used by civilians as a shelter trying to ride out the storm. Remember, this is a class ten apocalypse. While the Variant shouldn't know we're coming, he could be hiding anywhere and should be considered hostile. So stay alert. Everytime there is an attack, the Variant steals a Reset Charge. He's planning something. We just don't know what. So keep an eye out for the missing charges, and if you see a Loki, prune it."

"The bad one, preferably." Loki chimed in.

***

The neon billboard sign for Haven Hills, Alabama was immediately swept away as the massive winds of the storm blew. With the apocalyptic flood, the entire landscape had become a vast sea. The Roxxcart superstore facility stood amidst it all. The Time Doors formed at the parking lot of the store. Rain soaked the entire company of Minutemen as they emerged from them.

"Anything?" Mobius shouted above the rain.

"Nothing yet. Move out!" B-15 ordered. Mobius, Loki, and the rest of the company charged forwards. They entered into the store.

Everyone got settled into the store. Loki squirmed disapprovingly, clearly uncomfortable with being drenched. With a deliberate shrug, a shimmer of green scanned up his body, immediately evaporating all of the rain as if he had never gotten wet.

B-15 flinched at the magic. "The hell was that?"

Loki looked at her. "That was me. Using magic. To dry my clothes." Loki told her impatiently. "So I don't announce myself with every squeaky footstep like the rest of you."

Thunder rumbled and the lights flickered in the store.

"Take both teams and sweep the storm shelter." B-15 said.

"Yes, ma'am." One of the Minutemen affirmed.

"Loki and I are gonna check out the Green House." Mobius said. "We'll meet-"

"No." B-15 said firmly.

"No?" Mobius questioned.

"You go with D-90." She answered. "He stays with me."