Mobius POV
“It was not Loki,” Hunter B-15 insisted for the millionth time, but Mobius had already tuned out her protests. He knew he had been delirious when he first woke up from being beaten by the Loki Variant, but he also knew what he saw, and Loki- his Loki - had been the one to save them.
“How are we both almost fully healed then?” Mobius challenged her. To that, B-15 faltered, and Mobius raised an eyebrow.
“See? There’s no other explanation.”
“That doesn't change anything!”
Mobius pondered over those words for a moment. To some degree, he supposed B-15 was right. Whether or not Loki had come to help heal them, he had still betrayed them. He was still their enemy and was working in tandem with the Variant who bombed the Sacred Timeline and sent the universe spiralling into chaos. He was not someone to be trusted, and had proven that time and time again. Mobius had foolishly extended a hand to him, hoping that Loki would turn away from his traitorous nature and accept the opportunity to change. But to no one’s surprise but his own, Loki had essentially taken that hand, set it aflame, and then ran off through a portal with the only water available.
Only he didn't , a voice in his mind- one that sounded suspiciously like Loki- whispered. He came back to help you .
“Okay, but what if it does?” Mobius knew there was too much hopefulness in his voice, but he couldn't help it.
B-15 just let out a sigh.
“Look,” she said, sounding about as sympathetic and patient as she possibly could. “I’ll be honest, I don’t know anything about Loki. I didn't spend forever analysing his life or his motives or why he does the things he does. And I have no idea what his intentions are now. Maybe he did save us- which I still don’t believe he did, for the record- and maybe deep down, he’s trying to become more than a villain. But that doesn't change the fact that you and the entire universe are hurting because of his actions.”
B-15 gave him a sad smile.
“Is it really worth risking everything for someone like that?” she asked him softly.
Mobius wasn’t sure how to answer that. He wasn’t even sure if he knew the answer himself. When thinking rationally, he knew that maintaining these feelings towards Loki would only lead to more pain in the end. Like B-15 said, he wasn’t worth it. But on the other hand, being around Loki made Mobius feel a strange warmth he had never felt before. He wasn’t sure if he could cut the invisible strings that drew them together even if he tried.
“I don't know,” Mobius said honestly.
B-15 looked at him thoughtfully.
“Can I give you some advice?”
Mobius chuckled a little, wondering what kind of advice someone like B-15 could give him in this situation.
“Go for it,” he told her.
“Stop caring,” she said simply.
Mobius’s eyes widened at that, unable to tell if the hunter was joking or not.
“Seems a little harsh, doesn’t it?”
B-15 only shrugged.
“I’ve learned that in this field of work, trivial things like love make you weak. Emotions only get in the way and cloud your judgement. They make you blind to reality.” B-15 glanced over at Mobius, giving him a pointed look. “Maybe it’s harsh, but it’s the truth. If you want to stop all this and return everything to the way it was before, let that anger you feel towards what Loki did to you take hold. You have every right to be mad at him. Remember that next time you come face to face.”
With that, B-15 pulled out her TemPad, creating a time door back to the TVA. Right as she was about to step through, she turned back around to face Mobius, who was still sitting on a rock lost in thought.
“I’ll do the debriefing,” she said. “You work on locating the Variants once more.”
Mobius nodded mutely, and she disappeared.
He let out a shudder of a sigh. Though he hated to admit it, B-15 wasn't wrong. There was a reason the TVA didn't allow any kind of romantic relationships- it only got in the way of their sacred duty. And if Mobius had any chance of fulfilling his mission and killing Loki, he couldn't allow himself to care about the Variant at all. Not anymore.
----------
Mobius was on break when the attack took place. He had been wandering through the halls of the TVA, taking an occasional sip of coffee and letting his thoughts wander to what life was like before everything. This was a rare moment of silence within the TVA, with most other agents deployed on missions or hanging around the main areas. He closed his eyes, enjoying the serenity while it lasted. Soon, he would be back in his office with B-15, reading and rereading hundreds of files in a pitiful attempt to locate the Loki Variants. It was meandering work, but the methodical nature of it kept Mobius’s mind from wandering too far into more dangerous territory.
As Mobius walked, he found his feet taking him to the hallway leading to the camera rooms. If he wasn’t mistaken, Casey was on camera duty that day. It had been awhile since he last visited Casey, Mobius thought, and felt as though he should probably apologise for the way Loki tormented him during his time at the TVA.
Smiling to himself, he tugged on the door, only to find it mysteriously locked. Mobius frowned. That was odd. Doors at the TVA were almost never locked, especially doors to public places like the camera room. He pulled again, harder this time, and when it still didn't budge, he pulled out a ring of keys from his pocket.
“So many,” he muttered to himself, rummaging through all the keys before finally stumbling upon a gold one marked “CAMERA ROOM.” He twisted it into the lock and swung the door open.
Strangely, there was only one agent in the room, and she was watching the cameras with unusual interest. Of course, TVA agents were expected to be dedicated and engrossed in their tasks, but when tasked to complete something as exhausting as watching the cameras, most agents dozed off. This girl, whom Mobius couldn't remember ever seeing before, didn't seem to notice him until he spoke.
“I thought Casey was on duty today,” he said, confused as to why his fumbling friend was nowhere in sight.
It was as though a layer of ice settled over the room. The agent, Hunter S-70, froze in place, her entire body going rigid. She turned around slowly, and Mobius saw her quickly attempt to straighten her shoulders and lift her chin. Her throat bobbed nervously, and she seemed to be struggling to find a response. Mobius continued talking.
“In fact, I thought a lot more people were on duty today.”
The longer Mobius stood in the room, the more suspicious he became. Something was off here, he could feel it. He wanted to interrogate S-70, do a quick sweep of the room, and discover the source of his paranoia, when it occurred to him that might be all it was. Ever since the little incident in Newhaven, he had been running on next to no sleep and ridiculously unhealthy amounts of caffeine. He knew he looked disheveled, tired, and completely worn out. It was very possible that he was simply letting his anxiety over catching Loki bleed into the present situation.
“Lunch break,” S-70 explained and coughed. “Everyone else went on lunch break, so I volunteered to hang back and watch the cameras.
“And the door was locked because…”
“Nervous habit. With all that’s happening, I get paranoid, you know?”
“Uh-huh.”
S-70 gave Mobius a shy smile, which he tried to return. Lately, he had taken B-15’s advice and been doing his best to lock all possibly jeopardising emotions away in a little box in his heart. Every time his thoughts strayed to the mischievous sparkle in Loki’s eyes whenever he got excited or the way his fingers felt brushing against his face, Mobius reminded himself of the gaping wounds Loki had left behind after betraying him. He thought of the destruction and murder he had witnessed when watching Loki’s file, and was filled to the brim with newfound anger and determination to take him down.
“So uh,” S-70’s voice brought him out of the vast expanse of his mind. “You seem to be recovering well.”
Mobius nodded, slightly miffed that this agent he had never met knew about his condition. With everything else that was going on in the TVA, it seemed odd that she would know such a personal detail about his life. Then again, gossip travelled fast in the TVA, and Mobius couldn't remember the last time he had left his office upon his return.
“I had help,” Mobius said without thinking.
S-70 made an odd face at that, and Mobius thought she looked a little paler, though it must have been the lights.
“What do you mean?”
Mobius bit his tongue, considering his next words carefully. He knew he should end the conversation then and there and head back to his office to continue working, but something about this agent’s presence drew him in like a moth to a flame. He wanted to talk to her more, though he couldn't place his finger on exactly why.
“Have you ever thought maybe you were wrong about someone?” he asked her, and she frowned.
He mentally cursed his stupidity- of course, she wasn’t going to know how to answer that- and launched into a more detailed explanation.
“Like, let’s say, for example, you had a friend. And you thought you understood them, but then they did something that completely changed your perspective on them? But, hypothetically, what if this person had also severely broken your trust? What would you do?”
Mobius winced at his own long winded ramble. He half expected S-70 to end the conversation, walk away, and avoid him forever. But to his surprise, she seemed to be genuinely considering the question.
“Well,” she began. “I believe that everyone has the potential to be good, if given time. And if you really… care about this friend, I think you should give them a second chance. They’ve already surprised you once. Maybe they’ll do it again.”
That advice was quite different from what B-15 had told him, and Mobius found himself torn between who to listen to. His mind knew that following B-15 would lead to greater success, but his heart wanted to forgive Loki.
“You’re very smart, you know?”
Mobius smiled genuinely for the first time in a long time. Face flushing with a deep red blush, S-70 responded:
“Thank you.”
Suddenly, something behind the hunter caught Mobius’s attention. There was a flash of movement on one of the screens, and upon closer inspection, Mobius realised that someone had broken into the TVA and was making their way down the halls. Following his gaze, S-70 turned around, and she went deadly still when she saw what was happening. Her eyes widened in absolute fear, and it was then that Mobius realised why this hunter had felt familiar to him. It was because she wasn’t a hunter at all.
Mobius’s heart dropped out of his chest. For a split second, he felt nauseous, as though he were about to pass out. Then, a wave of bitterness and anger settled over him. He imagined himself taking one of the keys from his ring, locking the box of emotions he had been collecting, and then tossing the key into the endless void of space. Those emotions no longer mattered anymore.
How could he have been so stupid? B-15 had been completely correct; feelings did nothing but distract you from the truth. Just when he thought Loki might care about him, she reverted right back to her manipulative ways, this time lying through her teeth about who she was just to use Mobius. She had clearly made up her mind about her role in this narrative, and it was time for Mobius to do the same. He pulled out his pruning stick.
“You’re not Hunter S-70, are you?” Mobius said, his voice devoid of any emotion.
Loki turned back around, staring at him with a mixture of pain and regret. But Mobius didn’t let her fake display of feeling stop him from doing what needed to be done.
“Loki.”
He said it as though it were an accusation, which in a way, it was. Loki flinched. Good , Mobius thought. You deserve it .
He jabbed Loki in the side with the stick, finger just above the button to turn it on and permanently delete Loki from reality as they knew it.
“Mobius-” Loki tried, but Mobius wasn't having any more of her tricks.
“Don’t,” he said with finality. Loki gulped, but didn't continue speaking.
Their eyes met, and they stared at each other for what seemed like an eternity. There was a time when Mobius could’ve gotten lost in those eyes, but now all he felt was a cold sense of bitterness. Still, he couldn’t bring himself to push the button.
I should prune you , Mobius thought. Why can’t I prune you?
It didn't take Mobius long to realise his fatal mistake of accidentally speaking those words aloud. The admittance of his weakness was a chip in his armour that Loki wasted no time exploiting. She leaped towards him, and in an instant, Mobius’s wrist was encircled by her surprisingly strong grasp. The pruning stick fell from his hand, clattering to the floor, but Mobius barely registered the sound. Instead, all his attention was focused on the weird tingle running through his body from where Loki touched him. He tried to yank his hand away, but it was as though his entire body had been paralysed.
That’s when the pain hit. His brain lit up like a wildfire, spreading and consuming everything in its path. Unimaginable agony wreaked havoc in his mind one minute, and then the next, there was nothing. Just a numb, cold nothingness.
He promptly passed out.
YOU ARE READING
A Guide to Fixing Broken Things
Fanfiction"I'll kill Loki!" Maybe in hindsight, Mobius promising to kill the Variant he had grown unreasonably attached to was a bad idea. He had been told he had an affinity for broken things. And maybe that was true- after all, he had placed faith in Loki...
