You Need to Calm Down

130 2 0
                                    

The trio returned to their chairs

Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.

The trio returned to their chairs. "I understand your moral objections to what the TVA does. And my methods are deceptive. But the mission, it never was. Without the me, without the TVA. Everything burns," the man exclaimed.

"Then what are you so afraid of?" Loki asked the man.

"Me," The man said, looking at the trio.

"And just who are you?" Sylvie asked.

"Oh, I've been dubbed many names by many people. A ruler, a conqueror, He Who Remains, a jerk," the man said, taking a seat in his chair behind the desk. "But it's... it's not as simple as a name."

He Who Remains messed with the TemPad and flicked off a silver liquid formation onto the table. "Eons ago, before the TVA, a variant of myself lived on Earth in the 31st century. He was a scientist and he discovered that there are universes stacked on top of his own. At the same time, other versions of us were learning the same thing. Naturally, they made contact. And for a while, there was peace. Narcissistic, self-congratulatory peace. 'I love you shoes,' 'I love your hair,' 'oh, man, nice nose,' et cetera. They shared technology and knowledge. Using the best of their universes to improve the others," he explained as the liquid formed into different shapes according to the story he was telling.

"However not every version of me was so– so pure of heart. To some of us, new worlds meant only one thing, new lands to be conquered. The peace between realities..." the man made an explosion sound and moved his hands as an explosion would have looked like. "Erupted into all-out war, each variant fighting to preserve their universe and annihilate the others. This was almost the end– ladies and gentleman, of everything and everyone."

"And then the Time-Keepers came along and saved us all," Sylvie hummed out.

"Amen," the man sang out and held his hands in front of him. The man cleared his throat and said, "No. No. nope, this is where we diverge from the dogma. That first variant encounters a creature created from all the tears in reality, capable of consuming time and space itself. A creature the three of you know."

"Alioth," Rebecca said.

"Bingo!" the man said pointing at Rebecca. "I harnessed the beast's power and began experimenting on it. I weaponized Alioth and ended- I ended the Multiversal War," the man said, slamming his fist on the table.

"Once I isolated our timeline, all I had to do was manage the flow of time and prevent any further branches. Hence, the TVA. Hence, the Time-Keepers and a highly efficient bureaucracy. Hence, ages– and ages of cosmic harmony!" the man said standing up on his desk. "Hence.... You're welcome," the man said as he went into a squat position on the table.

The trio looked at him wordless of his backstory. The man messed on his TemPad once more making the liquid form disappear.

"You came to kill the devil, right? Well, guess what? I will keep you safe. And if you think I'm evil," the man said, taking a step forward. "Well, just wait till you meet my variants."

MastermindWhere stories live. Discover now