Loki waited outside Judge Renslayer's—that was the name of the judge who was at his hearing when he first arrived at the TVA—office as Mobius went in to have a meeting with her. Renslayer had heard about what Loki did during their mission and wanted to speak to Mobius about it.
Loki smirked in satisfaction as he waited for Mobius to come out. He couldn't help but have a little fun. Who could blame him? Mischief was what defined him, after all.
Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, Mobius came out of the judge's office. He whistled for Loki to follow him, and walked without waiting for him.
"You're probably wondering what happened out on the mission," Loki said as he caught up to Mobius. "That was your first lesson in catching a Loki. Expect the expected. See, half the fun in being a trickster is knowing that everyone knows you're a trickster, and then, many of your tricks can come from exploiting the fact that you know that they know—"
"Just shut up!" Mobius interrupted him, sounding aggravated. "Please. What happened to the guy I met on 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. "Isn't that precisely why I'm here?"
"No." Answered Mobius. "I don't care about what makes you tick. You're here to help me catch the superior version of yourself. That's it!"
"Hang on," Loki said as they reached an elevator. "I'm not sure 'superior' is actually quite the right word."
"See?" Mobius said. "There it is. Right there. I believe, 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 this Variant is better than you and you can't take it."
His tone turned mocking at the end, but Loki didn't care.
"Very nice," Loki said flatly. "I mean, it is adorable that you think you can possibly manipulate me. I'm ten steps ahead of you. I've been playing a game of my own all along."
"What, charm your way in front of the Time-Keepers, hustle them, and seize control of the TVA?" Mobius guessed. "Am I getting warm? A double cross by history's most reliable liar."
"Okay." Said Loki. "Why are you in there sticking your neck out for me?"
"I'll give you two options," Mobius replied, "and you can believe whichever you want. 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 want to catch this guy, and I'll tell you whatever I need to tell you."
"I don't need your sympathy," Loki muttered, trying to mask his emotions.
"Good," said Mobius, "because I'm running out of it."
They took the elevator down to one of the TVA's offices.
"What's this?" Loki asked. "Your next step of your manipulation?"
"No," Mobius answered. "This is your final step. Your last chance."
"Oh, and what does my desperate last chance require?"
"Work."
"Work?"
"I need you to go over each and every one of the Variants case files," Mobius explained, "and then, give me your...how do I put it? Your unique Loki perspective. And who knows? Maybe there's something we missed."
"Well, you're idiots," Loki replied. "I suspect you probably missed a lot."
"That's why I'm lucky I got you for a little bit longer." Said Mobius. "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 gonna get a snack."
With that, he left Loki with the files on the desk.
After a few minutes of reading the files, Loki realized it was just going to be the same thing over and over.
"Oh, my goodness." He said sarcastically. "Don't tell me the Variant ambushed and killed another team of Minutemen. And stole their reset charge as well."
Loki heard someone shush him, so he turned around and shushed them back. He decided he had enough of this and went to the front desk.
"Hi." He greeted the woman behind the desk. She wouldn't look up from her computer.
"Hello?" He tried again. She still wouldn't acknowledge him.
He rang the bell at on the desk and only then did she look up. "Can I help you?" The woman asked.
"Yes," Loki replied. "I'm on some important TVA business. Follow-up to a field mission. You know how it goes. We red-lined near the apex, and...Well, it's never good."
"I'd like all files pertaining to the creation of the TVA, please." He requested.
"Those are classified." The woman replied.
"Okay." He said. "I'd like all files pertaining to the beginning of time then."
"Those are classified."
"Okay, the end of time."
"Those are classified."
"Okay, what files can I have?"
He followed the woman to a shelf and she handed him his own case file. He sighed as he went back to his desk.
Most of the things he read were things that he already knew about, so he just skimmed through papers. Until one word caught his attention: Ragnarok.
He decided to keep reading.
Ragnarok
Destruction of Asgard
Class Seven Apocalypse
Total planetary destruction
Entire Civilization Annihilated
Zero Variance Energy Detected
Casualties: 9,719
Tears stung Loki's eyes, but he didn't let them fall. Not here.
Ragnarok happened.
He was told about it when he was a boy, but he never imagined it would happen in his lifetime. But it did.
He was about to turn his attention to something less painful, but four words caught his eye.
Zero Variance Energy Detected
A realization came to Loki.
That was it.
He'd found the answer.
Hello!
Hope you liked this one! It's about to get good! But I'm going on vacation for Christmas, so I won't be able to update for a little while.
See you later!
—Blue 💙
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Mischief and Enchantments
FanficALL RIGHTS GO TO MARVEL!! Loki series rewrite because the ending broke my heart hahaha...🥲 Loki, the God of Mischief, has felt like an outcast all his life. Always in his brother's shadow, barely noticed by his father, and only loved by his mother...
