A Guide to Fixing Broken Things

Step Five: The Trap

Mobius POV

"Just for the record, we're on the same page of not believing a single word C-20 said, right?" Hunter B-15 asked, jogging to catch up with Mobius as he strode out of the Medical Ward in a hurry. 
 
Mobius didn't respond. Truth be told, he wasn't sure what to believe. All his life, Mobius had been told by the TVA that the concept of the Multiverse was impossible, and if anyone deviated from the Sacred Timeline, it would lead to disastrous consequences. But with this new information from C-20 and his experiences with the Loki Case, he was beginning to have his doubts.
 
"Mobius?"
 
He stopped walking and turned to look at B-15. Her expression was closer to worry than Mobius had ever seen it. 
 
"You don't actually think she's telling the truth, right?" When Mobius still said nothing, she continued, "Because she was driven crazy, you know. And told that information by the Loki Variant, whom we know to be a lying, dangerous, manipulative-"
 
Mobius raised one hand to silence her.
 
"I get the point," he said, exhaustion in his tone. "Let's just… go find the Variants, alright? We know where they are. We can deal with," he waved his hands at random in the air. " this afterward."
 
B-15 crossed her arms.
 
"We seem to be making quite the list of topics to circle back to later."
 
"Sounds like a problem for future us."
 
Mobius began grabbing the gear he needed from his cubicle. Temporal Aura Pad? Check. Time Portal? Check. Pruning stick? Check. Knife for emergencies? Check.
 
He briefly glanced at the jet ski magazine still sitting on his desk, partly rolled up and crumpled from when Loki messed with it. Part of him was tempted to bring it with him, but now it was too entangled with fond memories of Loki. And those memories were the last thing he wanted to be reminded of, especially when he was trying to kill the guy. Or girl, since that aspect was not to be overlooked anymore.
 
"You ready to go?" B-15 was suddenly standing next to him, making Mobius jump out of his skin a little.
 
"Good god, you scared me!" Mobius said. "Maybe make your presence more known first?"
 
B-15 shrugged unapologetically. She was completely decked out in her usual uniform- helmet, kevlar, heavy duty belt of weapons, and boots. A pruning stick was already in her hands.
 
"You sure you don't want any armour?" She looked Mobius up and down skeptically and raised an eyebrow. He was wearing the simple beige suit he normally did, the thought of changing into more appropriate attire never having crossed his mind.
 
"I think I'll be alright."
 
"Are you sure?" Now she was definitely concerned. "These Variants are extremely dangerous. They've killed people without hesitation many times. The last thing we need is you being added to their long list of victims."
 
Mobius's instinctive reply was to scoff and say "Loki wouldn't kill me," when he realised he had no idea if that was true. For all he knew, Loki could have been manipulating him from the start. Though Mobius would like to believe the confession that Loki didn't like hurting people was true, it very easily could have been him knowing the right words to say to earn Mobius's faith. His throat went dry at the thought. 
 
"I can handle myself just fine," was all Mobius said. B-15 looked a little doubtful, but she nodded.
 
"Should we get going then?"
 
She turned on her TemPad and typed in the location and time they were given. Newhaven, England, 1932. When the time portal opened up, they both exchanged a look, took a deep breath, and walked through.
 
Newhaven was not what Mobius had been expecting. They landed in what Mobius assumed to be the center of town, but it was hard to tell, seeing as everything was completely abandoned. The houses were empty and partly dilapidated, cobwebs stringing them together. Next to him, B-15 choked on the dust that was layered thick in the air. It was as if nobody had been there for years.
 
"Odd location to choose," B-15 said in between coughing.
 
"It makes sense," Mobius replied, surveying the landscape for any signs of movement. "Middle of the country, no one nearby as a witness, plenty of open space. It's the perfect place to spring a trap, so watch yourself."
 
At that, B-15 laughed a little.
 
"The same goes for yourself, Mr. 'I'm Too Cool For Proper Protection."
 
"Shut up."
 
But even Mobius couldn't help but chuckle. It had been a long time since he had gone on a mission alone with just B-15. Before the Loki Case, they had worked together all the time. With her strength and his brains, there wasn't a Variant they couldn't take down together. It was baffling to think how much things had changed after Loki entered the picture. Despite slipping easily back into banter with the Hunter, it was clear that something was different. Things felt… off without Loki being there to pester him and add snide remarks after every sentence. Mobius even missed the constant bickering between him and B-15.
 
"You're doing it again," B-15 observed.
 
"What?"
 
"Thinking about him," she said. When Mobius still looked confused, she clarified. "Loki, I mean. You get this look in your eyes. A sort of a sad longing for something you can't have."
 
Mobius immediately shook his head in denial.
 
"That's ridiculous."
 
The idea that he had a "look" for thinking about Loki was absolutely preposterous. Mobius didn't have a "look" for anything. That was something he prided himself in- being unreadable and stoic unless he made the deliberate decision to let his guard down. And while there might have been a time he had done that for Loki, it definitely wasn't now.
 
B-15 shrugged.
 
"Deny it all you want, but you forget that I know you, Mobius. I thought this mission might be too much for you, which is why I offered to take it off your hands." She paused. "That offer still stands."
 
And the offer was just as tempting the second time as it was the first, if not even more so. But Mobius had already made up his mind, and he wouldn't go back on his word.
 
"No, I can do this. I don't have a choice."
 
"You're right, you don't."
 
Mobius and B-15 went completely still at those words. They both slowly turned around towards the source of the voice, only to come face to face with the Variant they had spent so long hunting. Mobius's first thought was that his Loki looked much better. His second thought was that he shouldn't be thinking of things like that. And his third was that they were in big trouble. 
 
"It sucks not to have free will, doesn't it?" Lady Loki said smugly. She pulled a long, curved blade from her belt and began running her fingers along the edge, smirking up at them. Mobius gulped, and his hand flew to the knife on his belt. B-15 did the same.
 
"Maybe now you'll understand how it felt to be forcibly constrained by your ridiculous 'Sacred Timeline,'" she sneered.
 
"The timeline that stopped the universe from destroying itself?" B-15 said back.
 
Lady Loki snorted.
 
" Please . I know you spoke to C-20, so she must have told you about the Multiverse." Lady Loki paused. "How's she doing, by the way?"
 
A small, mocking smile playing on her lips. B-15's eyes narrowed. She brandished her pruning stick.
 
"How dare you speak of her like that!" She roared. "All she told us was the deception you planted in her head."
 
"Me? Deception?" Lady Loki grinned. "All I told her was the truth. You made the decision for yourself whether or not to believe it."
 
"Liar!"
 
Before Mobius could do anything to stop her, B-15 was charging forward at the Lady, stick raised. Lady Loki immediately dodged and spun around, ripping the pruning stick from B-15's hands and tossing it aside into the dirt. Then, she kneed the Hunter in the stomach, sending her flying backward. Tossing her head over her shoulder, Lady Loki winked at Mobius, who was still frozen in place.
 
"You've been oddly quiet," she said. "Mobius, isn't it?" 
 
"At your service."
 
Lady Loki's smile only grew wider.
 
"So you're the one my counterpart keeps thinking about?" She glanced him up and down, humming appreciative. "Pity."
 
Mobius barely had time to process her words before B-15 was up again and making another swing at Lady Loki. They exchanged blows for a few seconds before Lady Loki got a good grasp and twisted the Hunter's arm around. B-15 let out a yell of pain and crumpled to the ground, whimpering softly.
 
Eyes wide, Mobius took several steps forward to assess the injury, but Lady Loki intercepted him. She clicked her tongue as if she was disappointed.
 
"Oh no, I don't think so," she said. She pushed something on her wrist, and a time portal opened up beside them. Mobius tried to take a step backward, but Lady Loki wrapped her hand around his wrist, squeezing tight. 
 
From the ground, B-15 used the last of her remaining strength to pull herself up. She made a desperate lunge at them both, but Lady Loki was too quick. Within a split second, she had dragged Mobius through the portal, and it shut, leaving B-15 on the other side. Mobius had to trust that she would be alright on her own and instead focus on getting himself out alive of wherever he was, which appeared to be some sort of cave. Unforunately, there was no easily accessible exit in sight that Mobius could see. Great.
 
As soon as Lady Loki let go of him, Mobius held up his hands in surrender.
 
"I just want to talk," he reassured her. She raised an eyebrow.
 
"If you just want to talk, why bring a knife?" she asked innocently, pulling back out her own blade. "Unless…"
 
She held the blade up to graze the skin on his chin, then pulled it down his neck, leaving a trail of blood droplets behind. Mobius tried his best not to react, even though the hairs on the back of his neck were standing straight up.
 
"... you have an ulterior motive? To kill us, perhaps?" 
 
Mobius's fingers twitched slightly, and a huge grin broke out across Lady Loki's face.
 
"I knew it."
 
Panic spread through Mobius. For a brief, fleeting moment, he wondered if this was actually the Loki he knew and not the Evil Variant. Loki was a shapeshifter and genderfluid, after all, and no one had provided a description of the Variant to go off of. Maybe this was Loki, in all their true glory, expressing how they really felt about Mobius. The possibility hurt more than the cuts on his skin, but Mobius pushed it aside in favour of making an attempt at diplomacy.
 
"If you just come with us quietly, I'm sure the TVA will show mercy-" Mobius began, but he was cut off by a punch to the face, sending him staggering backward. 
 
As he tried to wipe away the blood the was dripping from the cut on his lip, Lady Loki continued her advances on him.
 
"How did that feel?"
 
Another punch.
 
"Huh?"
 
Another.
 
"Did that feel good?"
 
At that point, Mobius was barely propping himself up on the ground, choking up his own blood and trying to ignore the pain in his body. Lady Loki squatted down so that they were eye level.
 
"I hope this makes you feel small," she said under her breath. "I hope it makes you feel weak and insignificant and worthless and all the things your stupid Time Keepers tried to make me feel."
 
Lady Loki grabbed his collar, pulling him up so that their faces were only inches apart. She was smiling at him gleefully.
 
"I hope you suffer until you die, knowing that I, the greatest villain in your story, enjoyed every minute of it."
 
With that, she threw him to the ground, and kicked his body once more for good measure.
 
"STOP!"
 
Mobius barely had enough strength to open his eyes, squinting to try and see who was there. On the other side of the cave stood Hunter B-15, fists raised and feet planted in a fighting stance. Normally, Mobius would applaud her bravery, but his brian was becoming too muddled to string together any coherent thoughts. He faintly registered Lady Loki asking B-15 how she found them so fast, before the pounding of blood in his ears drowned out all other noise.
 
One by one, the rest of Mobius's senses died out. His throat and nose closed up, blobs of red and black swam in his vision until he was forced to shut his eyes, and his body, aching all over and probably bleeding out in several places, completely shut down, leaving him passed out and unconscious on the cold cave floor.