Mischief and Enchantments

Chapter 10: Variant...?

"Me, I presume." Loki guessed.

"Oh, please," the Variant drawled. "Why would I be a Variant of you? You don't look like me."

"Do you not know how Variants work?" Loki asked, using the most patronizing tone he could muster. "You really are lesser."

Surprisingly, she grinned at him. Something felt wrong. It felt like the Variant was trying to mock him right back.

It felt like they had the upper hand.

But he didn't want them to know that, so he just grinned right back. "How very nice to meet you." He said.

The Variant just scoffed, turned on their heel, and started to walk away. Loki didn't want to lose them, so he followed them.

Mobius and the Minutemen walked into the disaster shelter. Immediately, the Minutemen started searching peoples' bags. A man walked up to them and asked them how they got there, but the Minuteman near Mobius pushed him aside.

"What are you doing?" Mobius asked, grabbing the Minuteman by the shoulder. "These people are scared."

"They're about to die." The Minuteman replied, unfeeling. "They should be scared."

"Not of us."

"Sir!" Another Minuteman came running into the room, panting heavily.

"Take it easy." Said Mobius. "What is it?"

The Minuteman led him to a different room, and there she was.

Hunter C-20. The hunter that was captured at the Renaissance Fair. She was sitting on the floor, muttering one thing.

"It's real. It's real. It's real."

"Enchantment is a clever trick," Loki said as he followed the Variant down another aisle. "Cowardly, a bit amateurish, but clever."

"Almost as cowardly as working for the TVA." The Variant replied.

"I'm working for me," Loki told them.

The Variant scoffed. "You really believe that, don't you?"

"Yeah."

"And here I was worried that the TVA found someone capable of helping them stop me." The Variant chuckled.

"Hi," a store employee approached them. "Are you guys looking for the disaster shelter?"

"No." The Variant replied. Then they grabbed the employee's arm and transferred their energy into him. B-15's body fell limp. Loki knelt down beside her to see if she was alive.

"Oh, bless." The Variant said. "Are you going to call your little friends for help?" They chuckled and started walking again. Loki followed them.

"What's the matter?" Loki taunted. "You too scared to meet me face-to-face? Show yourself. You know, gaining their confidence was no mean feat."

The Variant stopped in their tracks. "Oh, my God." They said, turning around. "You went undercover."

"If you could possibly sheathe your smarm for a moment, I have an offer for you. That's why I found you."

The Variant looked intrigued. "Go on."

"I'm going to overthrow the Time-Keepers." Said Loki. "And, uh, cards on the table, I could use a qualified lieutenant."

"And I assume you mean me?" The Variant guessed.

"What say you, Variant?"

"Ugh." The Variant said. "Don't call me that. You can call me...Randy."