Mischief and Enchantments

Chapter 19: Alone

Loki woke up to find himself sitting in one of the Time Theaters. His head throbbed, and the collar was around his neck again, and Mobius was sitting across from him.

He was back where he started.

Mobius gave him that look again. That glare of irritation and disappointment.

Again, Loki glared right back, crossing his arms over his chest.

"Well?" Said Mobius.

"Well, what?" Loki asked.

"I know you got some quip you're dying to say," Mobius replied.

"I don't have a quip." Loki spat. "I've got nothing to say to you. Where's Sylvie?"

"Come on." Mobius groaned.

"Where. Is. Sylvie?" Loki gritted out.

"You actually believe it's her," Mobius said thoughtfully, not as a question. "Who knew you were so easily manipulated."

Loki held Mobius's stare, refusing to back down. He knew it was Sylvie. It was the TVA that was trying to manipulate him. Manipulate them, he realized. Mobius was a victim of this too.

But Loki was too angry right now to tell him that. Right now, he needed to find Sylvie. If they were torturing her...

Loki didn't want to think about what they were doing to her. But she was public enemy number one around here, and his mind went through every scenario that they might've been putting her through right at that moment.

"She's none of your concern now." Said Mobius.

Something inside Loki snapped.

His father had said the same thing to him ages ago.

Loki stood up, but before he could do anything, two Minutemen grabbed him.

"You betrayed me!" He shouted.

"You betrayed me." Mobius shot back.

"Grow up!" Loki scoffed.

"You grow up." Said Mobius. "You know, it occurred to me that you're not really the God of Mischief."

"Oh, here it comes." Loki groaned as the Minutemen started to pull him to another part of the room. "The folksy, dopey insult from the folksy dope. What am I? The God of Self-Sabotage, yeah? The God of Back-Stabbing?"

"Just kind of an a*shole," Mobius said bitterly. "And a bad friend."

A friend? Loki thought, not sure if he'd heard him correctly.

"Yeah," said Mobius, "chew on that for a little bit. All right.  It's ready."

Suddenly a Time Door appeared in front of him. Only it wasn't its normal shade of yellow. It was red.

"What is this?" Loki asked.

"You'll see." Said Mobius.

"Mobius!" Loki shouted, struggling against the Minutemen who were now trying to throw him in the door.

"No, no, no, let him," said Mobius, stopping the Minutemen "one last desperate trick from the desperate trickster. Go ahead."

"The TVA is lying to you." Loki tried desperately.

Mobius smiled, probably thinking he was pathetic. "Put him in." He said.

"No!" Said Loki trying to fight back against the Minutemen. But they overpowered him and shoved him in.

When Loki got his bearings, he looked around and was surprised to see that he was in Asgard's palace.

"What?" He said, growing confused. Then he chuckled. "Seriously?" He said. This was what they had planned for him?
"You." Someone growled from behind him.