A Guide to Fixing Broken Things

Step Three: Alliance

Loki POV

"You mean to tell me that the multiverse is real?"

A big grin spread wide across Loki's face. He was sitting opposite Lady Loki at a fancy gold and glass table in the middle of an abandoned upscale restaurant. A vase of wilted white flowers sat in between them. The atmosphere was eerily silent, but Loki wasted no time quickly filling the silence with a horde of questions directed at his counterpart. She, on the other hand, was not nearly as engaged in the conversation. Somehow she had managed to summon a glass of deep red liquid, and was stirring it around with her straw, quite obviously bored. She just nodded mutely in response to his question.

"So everything the TVA preached was all a lie?"

Lady Loki sneered.

"Don't tell me you actually believed any of that bullshit the TVA spewed?"

"No!" Loki sounded as though he were personally offended by the thought of falling victim to the TVA's schemes. He wasn't that stupid. Obviously.

"Considering we are the same person, I find it exceedingly difficult to comprehend your level of incompetence," she grumbled.

Loki mocked an expression of hurt, placing one hand above his heart.

"You wound me, my dear Lady," he said. She only rolled her eyes.

"You're insufferable."

"Being the lesser version of me, you should be well aware of that fact," Loki smirked, and Lady Loki slammed her glass down at the table, standing up.

"That's it," she snarled. "I'm done with this- done with you . Why bother following me through the portal if your only goal was to annoy me to death?"

"So it's working? You're slowly dying?"

Lady Loki groaned.

"I hate you."

"The feeling is mutual." Loki moved to toss one arm over Lady Loki's shoulder as if they were close friends. She immediately shrugged him off, elbowing him in the gut. He winced.

"That was very unkind."

"Good." She fiddled with the cuffs of her sleeves. "Now tell me the truth, why are you here?"

"Well, you know what they say, 'the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

"Normally, that's what you say when you're planning on betraying somebody," Lady Loki pointed out.

"Exactly!" He grinned. "Why do you think I was playing along with the TVA? Because while you're technically my enemy, they're more of the enemy, therefore making us friends!"

"Friends," she deadpanned. "You're kidding me, right?"

Loki shrugged, looking uncertain.

"Okay, maybe 'friends' isn't the right word, but you get my point," he said earnestly. "We can help each other!"

Lady Loki stared at him for a long moment before finally speaking again.

"I already told you, I don't need your help."

She turned around to leave the room, but Loki hurried after her, stopping her in her tracks. She sighed.

"I could kill you, you know."

It wasn't spoken as a threat, simply stated as a fact. The unwavering confidence in her voice sent a small shiver up Loki's spine, though he did his best to ignore it. He reminded himself that he was the superior Loki, burdened with divine purpose and the future ruler of all time.

"Maybe you could, but that wouldn't be any fun, now would it?"

Lady Loki didn't respond, but her lack of retort was telling.

"See, I knew you were keeping me alive for a reason!" Loki was giddy with excitement. It had been a long time since he had felt this much power and control. The TVA, in all their omniscient glory, had belittled him, made him feel small, and taken away his free will. But now that the existence of the multiverse was revealed to him, it meant that Loki could do whatever he wanted without repercussions.

Mobius , a small part of his mind- the part Loki had been conveniently ignoring- whispered. If anyone ever asked, Loki would deny feeling any guilt over leaving behind the agent in that warehouse. But he couldn't lie to himself and pretend he felt nothing when he chose to walk away into the portal. Mobius might have been the most infuriating person he had ever met, but he was also the kindest. The way he spoke to him, looked at him, and treated him as though he were an equal, despite knowing every bad thing that Loki had and would come to do. Mobius didn't act like Loki was a murderer, he acted like they were old friends, with a genuine gentleness that Loki had never experienced before. And, of course, Loki being Loki, had thrown any chance of having anything with him away.

But it was too late for that now. Mobius was probably back at the TVA, working with that stuck up judge and mean hunter to fix the problems his opposite had caused. The odds that they would ever see each other again was slim at best, and even if they did, Loki doubted it would be a pleasant visit.

"I'm not 'keeping you alive,' I'm simply not ridding myself of you yet."

Lady Loki's voice pulled Loki out of his thoughts and back into reality. He crossed his arms.

"You can say that, but I know otherwise," he said. "Because despite whatever you think about me, I'm still me- or you, I suppose, depending on how you look at it- and we're some of the most powerful gods in the world. There's nothing we can't do together."

Lady Loki appeared to consider this.

"Alright, let's entertain the hypothetical possibility that we team up. Both of us know how naive a concept like trust is, so that's out of the question."

Loki gave her a wry smile.

"Whatever do you mean? I'm perfectly trustworthy."

Snorting a little, Lady Loki tilted her head to the side.

"Yeah, trustworthy , sure," she teased. "That's why you left behind your little partner. Because you're just so trustworthy ."

There was an annoying lump in Loki's throat at the thought of Mobius, but he waved off the comment dismissively.

"Fine. Neither of us trust each other," he said. "I don't see why that has to get in the way of a perfectly beneficial partnership. Maybe if you just told me your plans-"

"Bring back the multiverse. Destroy the TVA," Lady Loki replied simply. Loki stared at her in surprise, not expecting to get an answer so easily. Then, he clapped both hands together.

"Well, that's one out of two objectives completed!" He smiled. "Although, might I propose taking over the TVA, rather than just destroying it?"

Lady Loki shrugged nonchalantly.

"Sure, you can propose that. Doesn't mean I'll let it happen."

"But-"

She held a hand up, silencing him.

"I know what you're doing, Loki. You're trying to use me to help you fulfil your ulterior motives. You'll convince me that we want the same thing, but right as we're about to destroy the TVA and the Timekeepers, you'll stab me in the back, and take over in the wake of destruction." Lady Loki smirked. "I know, because that's exactly what I would do."

Loki opened and closed his mouth several times, but no words came out. He supposed he should have expected this kind of thing from his alternative, but that didn't make it any less obnoxious. When he left Mobius, Loki thought he had gotten away from other people being immune to his tricks and picking apart the intricate details of his brain. Clearly, he was wrong, which meant he needed to approach this differently.

"You think that you know me-"

"I do."

"But you don't ;" Loki finished. "Clearly, we come from vastly different backgrounds. I almost never openly present as female- Odin always frowned upon the idea of not having two strong, masculine sons- but here you are. So either you experienced a different childhood than I did, therefore making you a Variant for quite some time, or you became very rebellious somewhere along the way."

Loki raised an eyebrow when Lady Loki said nothing.

"Well? Which is it?"

Lady Loki took a deep breath. She motioned for Loki to sit back down at the table, to which he complied.

"You're partly right, I'll give you that," she began, and Loki smiled. Of course he was right. When was he not?

"Do you remember when Thor was banished to Midgard for attacking the Frost Giants?" she asked, uncharacteristically somber.

Loki nodded.

"That was my first Nexus event. Instead of Thor making the first move, it was me. Father was more than delighted to throw me out of Asgard, of course, and I ended up being found by a group of young mortals." A small smile of lost memory teased on her lips. "They were... kind. I felt like I could be myself with them. More expressive."

She glanced down at herself.

"It was nice to be truly accepted, despite all my flaws."

Loki couldn't stop his thoughts from wandering to Mobius yet again. When was the last time someone had welcomed him with the open arms and unconditional care that Mobius had? Actually, scratch that. Was there any time anyone had done that at all? Maybe Frigga, he supposed, but then again, he had killed her, so he wasn't really deserving of her love.

No, Loki thought, there was only Mobius. Mobius, whom he had been plotting to stab in the back since the beginning and who most likely hated him now.

"So if you were so content with your life on Midgard, why become a criminal of the TVA?" Loki asked instead of continuing to dwell on what-could-have-beens.

Lady Loki let out a disbelieving laugh.

"Why become a criminal of the TVA?" she repeated. "Oh Loki, I already was , at least in their eyes. They were just finally able to catch up to me."

She took another long sip of her drink, her eyes downcast. Finally, she spoke again, her voice almost broken.

"Due to my acts of defiance against the Sacred Timeline, my newfound friends had also become Variants. And you and I both know what the TVA does to them." Unshed tears clouded her eyes. "I was able to fight off the minutemen and escape, but them? They were taken in and deleted, along with the memories of the time we shared."

Lady Loki took a shaky breath.

"So now you know why I see nothing redeemable in the TVA, and why I want them destroyed. Bringing back the multiverse is the only way everyone can have the free will to do as they please," she concluded.

Loki watched silently as the Lady lifted one hand to brush a stray tear from trickling down her cheek. And that was when he caught it. The subtle twitch of her right eye, a tell Loki was most familiar with. After all, he had used this trick several times himself when making Thor feel guilty or trying to convince Frigga to give him what he wanted.

"You're lying," Loki said.

Lady Loki's hand froze. Her mouth turned upwards in a sly smirk.

"So you aren't as dense as I originally thought."

She sounded genuinely impressed, which made Loki swell with pride. He crossed his arms over his chest, chin pointed up with unbridled confidence.

"Never underestimate me."

"I won't make the mistake again," Lady Loki reassured him. She stood up, and Loki followed her.

"Nice sob story, though, I will admit. You nearly had me fooled, but I'm smarter than that."

"Uh huh."

"That was a test, wasn't it?" Loki asked. "To make sure I was someone with exceedingly high intelligence before agreeing to join forces?"

Lady Loki rolled her eyes.

"'Exceedingly high intelligence?' Please . Don't give yourself so much credit." She paused, then admitted, "but yes, it was a test. And good job- you passed. Would you like a gold star for your achievements? Maybe a little blue ribbon?"

Loki's face turned sour at her mocking tone.

"Ha ha, very funny," he muttered. "The God of Mischief doesn't do gold stars or blue ribbons. But world domination? Now that I can get behind."

Lady Loki's face lost all of its humour, and returned to its stoic, unreadable expression.

"Well I stand by what I said, the Time Keepers and Sacred Timeline are not who they appear to be. They deserve to be destroyed, along with everyone who supports them. These terms are non-negotiable." Lady Loki looked sideways at him. "Are you still with me?"

The fact that Loki hesitated made him angry. Days (Months? Years? How long had been with the TVA anyway?) ago, he would have jumped at this opportunity. And a part of him still was. But the other part thought about what "destroying everyone who supports the TVA" meant. While yes, Loki would get his chance at revenge against people like the judge and hunters who had looked down on him, there were also those at the TVA simply doing their job. Like poor Casey, who didn't even know what a fish was. Or Mobius, who wholeheartedly believed in the work he was doing, who had dedicated his entire life to a goal that was clearly twisted by those in power.

Sacrifices must be made to attain glorious purpose , Loki reminded himself. He was willing to do whatever it took to get that rush of control he hadn't felt since unleashing his alien army on the streets of New York City. Whatever. It. Took.

"I'm with you," Loki said.

Lady Loki held out a hand to him, that damned smirk back on her face. Loki grasped her hand.

"Let's get to work."

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Lady Loki and Loki working together, what will they do? Cause mischief, most likely.

I'd like to add that this was all originally written before Episode Three, so it deviates from canon quite a bit.

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