Out of touch (1)

t e n

- p a r t  f o u r -

Anita almost fell through the door from the speed she had ran at to get to her saviour. As they stepped out, she recognised their surroundings to be those of the TVA.
"So much for escaping" she mutters and Loki turns to her.
"You followed me"
"No shit"
"Why did you follow me?"
He had stepped closer to her now, she knew he was leaning over her small body. She didn't feel intimidated though. Instead she shook her head and started to walk away from him.
He quickly retrieved his knives from a nearby locker before following after the girl who had her gun drawn as she made her way down the dark corridors. Minutemen were lying on the floor and she felt an uneasy amount of memories wash over her. They looked lifeless like the countless bodies she had disposed of.
After a minute they soon came across the variant and Loki flipped his knives whilst she draws a sword.
"A few questions"
"Have you really got nothing else better to do?" She asks as the two of them start to walk around each other in a circle.
Anita holds up her gun and points it at the woman, ready to shoot if things escalated. She still had her killing instincts. It hurt.
"Rude, are you sure you're a Loki?" He asks the variant who's back was now to the black haired girl, her gun hidden from her eye-line.
"You're in my way"
"You are my way"
She lurches at him and they start clashing their weapons together. Anita shakes as she attempts to pull the trigger, something in her is stopping that action though. She tries to push through but she can't. She is fighting too much of herself.
"I thought perhaps we could work together, the three of us" Loki comments.
She attacks him again, sending him skirting back to where the assassin is stood. If only Dreykov could see her now. He would be so disappointed. She would be thrown out. Disposed of. Murdered.
"But now I see you lack vision" the God continues next to her.
"So either you'll come willingly.." he starts as he grabs her.
"Or you won't, either way thats how I get to the time keepers"
"Oh god shut up!" The variant snaps as she flips them over.
The girl tries to keep her gun steady on her figure as if she will gain the courage to fight back against her. Footsteps can be heard behind her and she paces forward to stand by Loki who is in the middle of a fight with the woman. She keeps her gun pointed forward, now aiming it at the lady who had interrogated her the other day.
She shouts on them to grab their attention before her and two of the minutemen light up their pruning sticks.
"Come any closer and I'll kill him" The variant starts as she pushes Loki onto his knees and holds the sword to his chest before turning to his companion.
"And her, I'll kill this one too"
"Go for it" Renslayer smirks and Anita glares at her.
This woman was truly so cold and heartless. She thought she had escaped from the gruesome power that controlled her but she was learning that it was all around her.
The judge rushes towards the trio before they feel themselves falling through a void and landing on something hard minus Anita who had managed to fall onto the God of mischief.
She rolls herself off of him and sighs as she catches her breath, feeling the lifetime of bad memories starting to exhaust her. She didn't want to keep going. She was tired. She was weak.
The variant moves to grab onto the device that has fallen to the floor and Loki goes to grab her.
"Get off my leg!"
They fight about like small children reaching for the tempad before Anita pushes them both back and grabs it, holding it in her hand and pointing her gun at them both. The woman reaches for it and the black haired girl kicks her down.
"It's dead, this is pointless" she says motioning to how they were all fighting.
"Just give it back to me, you don't know how to recharge it" The woman growls angrily.
"She might not, but I do, you're not the only tech savvy Loki" the god of mischief smirks as he takes the device from the girl.
"Don't ever call me that" the woman snaps at him.
"Tech savvy?"
"No, a Loki" she snarls as she reaches for the device and Loki makes it vanish, smirking proudly at how he was toying with her.
"So you're just fully a magician then"
"Fine, for my next trick, I'll make you disappear" he smirks again drawing his knives before Anita places a hand on his chest urging him not to advance towards her.
They all flinch backwards however when a small explosion hits in between them making the younger girl step behind Loki in fear.
"Is that one of your powers?"
"Where did you send us?"
The three make their way outside to see an ominous purple hugh planet with mini explosions happening around them. Anita was scared. She found that to be her main emotion recently. When she escaped, she imagined she would spend the rest of her days running through forests and wheat fields. She would be free. But all she has known since is fear, confusion and confinement.
"You idiot! This is Lametis one!" The variant yells at the pair.
"I don't know what that means" Loki calls back as the girl latches herself onto his arm.
An explosion happens in front of them and she sinks further into his side making him grasp onto her to make sure she is alright.
"The moon that planet is about to crash into and destroy, of all the apocalypses saved on that TemPad, this is the worst!" She shouts as they all start to run.
Lokis hand clutches tightly onto Anitas. Her hold is so strong that he can feel her pulse beating quickly through her skin. He can feel her adrenaline and her fear.
"No one makes it off here, watch out!" She yells pulling them back to avoid an explosion.
"I'm sorry madam, didn't exactly have time to scan the brochure" Loki snaps back as they continue to run before sliding under a structure to avoid another blast from the sky.
The girl keeps her eyes closed and both variants can see how scared she is. She fights the tears that want to come out. She doesn't want to appear weak.
"By the way, I thought you wanted us both dead"
"I don't know where you hid that TemPad but if you blow up, it blows up and then I end up blown up"
Once they are clear, they all climb out and Anita dusts herself off before her and Loki grab hands again.
"There!" The woman shouts pointing to a small caravan type structure.
"So we're a team now?"
"Oh god no!"
They are struck by another explosion and the girl trips up, losing her balance making Loki wrap an arm around her waist as he sweeps her feet off of the ground to protect her before he sets her down on his other side. The three of them make it to the structure before the god slams the door shut behind them. Anita let's her legs give way as she falls to the ground.
"Are you alright?" He asks her and she nods as she pulls her knees into her chest and closes her eyes.
She doesn't know it, but he is staring down at her with worry written across his face. He has not known her long but it is clear that he cares for the girl. He trusts her. And maybe it is because she gave up her safety for him or maybe it is because they have this unspoken connection. Whatever the reason, he is worried for her.
Anita is brought out of her moment of solitude when she hears Loki speak up.
"What are you doing?"
She looks up to see the woman with her hands on his neck and she wonders if she is trying to silently strangle him.
"What are you doing?" She asks back.
"Are you trying to enchant me? It won't work"
"Why, because you're a magician?"
"No because my mind is too strong"
"Okay, I'll just do it to her" she motions to the girl on the floor and Loki pushes her away.
"Don't you dare touch her"
"Fine" she growls drawing her sword.
"Look are we really about to do this here? Again?"
"What do you propose instead?"
"I don't know, a truce?"
The woman scoffs. She deems them pathetic. That is clear.
"Listen, none of us are getting off of this rock if we can't turn that TemPad on"
"Where do you have it hidden?"
"In my heart" he smiles sarcastically.
It was however, currently residing in the pocket on Anitas jacket, not that she knew.
"Well then, I'll cut it out"
"Nice, very droll, lovely, okay yes, I do have the TemPad but I'm not gonna get very far if you keep trying to kill me every thirty seconds!"
"Well you're full of it because you need me to get that thing recharged, that's the only reason you saved us all out there"
"Maybe, yeah sure that too, or we could slaughter each other here in this abandoned mining shack in front of my companion, what do you say?"
"Good for me"
He sighs and looks down to Anita who is looking at him with sorrowful eyes. He crouches down beside her and she shakes her head.
"I can't keep going please" she starts, eyes filling up with tears making his heart ache for the girl.
"Im scared"
"It's going to be okay I promise, I've got you" he whispers as he holds her hand that is shaking.
"That plan you two interrupted was years in the making! Years!" The variant emphasises.
"Okay! We get it!"
"And as soon as I turn that TemPad back on, I am going straight back to the TVA to finish what I started, I'll kill you both then"
"Or we'll kill you"
She scoffs before she heads towards the door and starts walking away from the pair.
"Where are you going?"
"There's power somewhere on this moon, we just enough to travel through inter dimensional time and space"
"Sounds easy" the assassin mutters under her breath as she stands weakly, attempting to follow after the woman.

•••

"So what's the plan?" Loki calls out to the woman who is walking in front of them.
Anita is once again clinging to his arm but she is tired and he fears he may have to carry her if she starts struggling again.
"There a town near here and can you shut up? Just because I have to work with you doesn't mean I want to hear your voice"
Anita laughs. It is the first time she has shown any form of enjoyment since they got there. It relaxes the man next to her.
"Alright well slow down variant!" He calls back to her as he rushes him and the girl next to him along making her stumble a few times before she finds her feet again.
"What part of imminent death confuses you? And don't call me Variant!"
"I'm sorry but I'm not calling some faded photocopy of me, Loki"
"Good cause that's not who I am anymore!"
"Who are you?" Anita asks making the woman turn to her.
She hasn't heard much out of the girl and does not know what to truly think of her. She is quiet and timid and clings to the god like he is a support beam. She knows she could be trusted though if she really tries but also knows she is not so easily fooled.
"I'm Sylvie now, who are you exactly?" She asks back, slight disgust in her tone.
"I'm Anita" she smiles slightly, hoping it comes across as a friendly gesture.
"Oh you changed your name, brilliant!" Loki smirks.
"It's called an alias"
"Well it's not very Loki like"
"Yeah? What exactly makes a Loki a Loki?"
"Independence, authority and style"
"Well the last one clearly went out the window with what you're wearing" the raven haired girl smirks and he shakes his head at her.
"So naturally you went to work for the boring, oppressive time police"
"I don't work for them, I'm a consultant"
"And what about you?" She asks turning to their companion.
"I was just taken from my time, I just wanted a way out"
She nods before turning back to Loki.
"You don't know what you want!"
"Oh yeah and what about you? Your years in the making plan to tear the place down, create the ultimate power vacuum and then just walk away, Id never have done that"
"Yeah? Well I'm not you, can we get on with this now?" She asks before she walks away from the pair making Loki sigh.
"Are you alright?" Anita asks as she places her hand on his shoulder and he turns to her nodding before he takes her hand into his and they follow after Sylvie

•••

Abandoned towns were things that Anita had only seen in old western movies that used to play on the tv in her home. She could almost remember the feeling of wondering what would happen next. The vision was blurred. All her memories were. They were like photos with the edges burnt off. You could still see the main picture but the little details had been singed off.
As they walked through the street, sand blew into her face. Little grains hitting her lightly making her brush them off as they stuck to her skin.
"It looks like everybody already fled"
"If they did, it was in vain"
Anita started to walk away from the pair and sat herself down on one of the pavements at the side of their path. She had to stop. She needed to rest. The variants acknowledged this and continued on as she sat back and tried to catch her breath. Her mind had been whirring about all the things she had experienced in the past few weeks and then to everything she was going to miss out on. She knew she could never have children due to the harsh reality of what the red room had done to her. But now knowing she would never have love or friendship or a family, it pained her so. And now, whilst she was face to face with something that would kill them, none of it mattered.
She sat there for around thirty minutes before Loki came back for her. He saw her slumped state and sat in front of her.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"I've just missed out on so much, what more will I miss"
He looks at her sad form and sighs deeply.
"Everything if you continue to sit here" he whisper to her and she nods.
She takes his hand once again and they walk off. She hopes that this is the start of a friendship. She needs it to be so badly.