Quantum Adventures

Where?

I was still alive, but I was pruned. Variants of Loki's stood before me; a child, old man, black man, and a..(?).. crocodile.

I stood up. "What is this place? Where are we? Who are you?"

The old man walked up to me. "This is the Boid. That's Alioth. And we're his lunch. Come on?" They started walking away and I ran after them.

A giant monster formed out of purple clouds growled. We continued walking non stop with no words in exchange.

"I suggest we take a breather so I can ask several thousand questions." I said to Old Loki. Could Nedra be here?

"Gotta keep moving so we don't die." He replied.

"Okay, but what's your plan?"
"Don't die?"
"Okay but beyond that?"
"Don't die."

"Don't die. That's not a plan." How can these be Loki's? "It's a general demand of living. If you're Loki's you should always have a plan." They kept walking away from me. "Will someone please explain to me what the hell is going on?!" I yelled and they finally stopped and turned to me. "Look, it's been a very, very, very trying past few days. Months? I don't even know how long it's been since New York. All I know is, I got prunes and I woke up here." Nedra has to be here. "And now I'm surrounded by variants of myself, plus an alligator, which sadly I don't find all that strange. And now we are running from god knows what, to god knows where!" The child conjures a dagger and aims it at me.

"Stop wailing or you will signal Alioth." He seethed.

"You mean the monster in the sky?" Child Loki rolled his eyes and vanished his dagger. "This is the place where the TVA dumps its rubbish. Everything they prune." Nedra is here! "And Alioth, he ensures none of it ever returns."

"It's a living tempest that consumes matter and energy. They send entire branched realities here that are devoured instant-."

"We are a shark tank. Alioth is the shark." Old Loki summed up Bald Loki. The alligator growled. "Oh, there is no such thing as an alligator tank. Besides it's a better metaphor." Old Loki said to the Loki Gator and looked back at us. "He's overly sensitive like the rest of us." Is that a..?

"Hang on, you're telling me that things a Loki?"
"Uh, yes." Old Loki said like I am stupid for not knowing."
"Ok, fine. I'm willing to accept that. Why are there so many of you?"
"Because Loki's survive. That's just what we do."
"Great so how do we escape?"
"We don't. All of us were arrested by the TVA and pruned, just like you. And just like you we all stood around making bad plans that went nowhere."
"Yes, but have you thought of using a tempad?"
"Oh the one thing that could easily get us out of here, yes. They're all over the place, right, guys?" The other Loki's laughed.
"Fine. What about causing a nexus event?"
"The TVA doesn't care what happens here."
"Surely there is something to do."
"There is... Survive. That's all there is. All there will ever be."