Loki: Becoming A Fugitive

Part 2: Welcome Party

Ren felt a tickling sensation on her spine once she walked through the portal. She looked back and saw the portal closing already. There was no going back now.

"Where are we?" she wondered to herself as she scanned her surroundings.

They were in a circular room with a reception in the middle. There was nothing special about the room, but it smelled musty, and the design felt a little off as if it was stuck in time. A few soldiers were escorting some prisoners wearing the same collar as Ren.

"Move," D-19 grunted and nudged Ren forward.

Ren dragged her feet and made her way to the reception hesitantly. She was not looking forward to what was in store for her.

"Your full name please?" the receptionist asked with a pleasant smile. He was a small man and wore a name tag with "Casey" printed on it.

"I'm Renee Miller," replied Ren.

"Ah, one moment," Casey typed furiously into his computer.

The computer made a sharp "ding" sound and Casey's eyes darted back and forth as he read the report on his screen.

"Okay! So you're an express case. This way on your right, please," Casey said cheerfully and gestured to a grey door with his hand, "Have a pleasant day!"

Ren forced a polite smile back at Casey and was escorted towards the door by the soldiers with Loki trailing behind. Through the door, she found herself in a waiting area. There was a door on the other side of the room and a row of seats in the middle. Above the door was an ugly red neon sign with the words "DO NOT ENTER" flashing brightly. The room felt empty and depressing.

Ren walked to the seats and sat down. The room was quiet except for a soft hum of electricity. She tugged on her collar; it was uncomfortable but bearable. She tried to make sense of everything, but it was impossible.

"What is TVA? How does the portal work? What did I do wrong?"

Ren's thoughts were bouncing around in her brain, and questions were piling up with each passing second. She was overwhelmed and felt like she was about to burst into tears, so she turned towards Loki. He was nice to her earlier, and he might provide some answers.

"Hi," Ren said shyly, "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure," Loki replied, "Ask me anything."

D-19 glanced at Loki disapprovingly but did not say anything.

"So, what is this place?" Ren inquired.

"This is the headquarters of the Time Variance Authority," Loki explained, "We're in charge of preventing a multiverse disaster by making sure that everything happens according to the Sacred Timeline."

Seeing that Ren looked puzzled, Loki continued, "You would usually watch a video explaining everything, but since you're an express case-"

"Yeah! Why am I different? What's an express case?" Ren interrupted.

A look of worry flashed across Loki's face. He has been working at TVA for quite some time, and things don't get any easier. He had fantasized about quitting, but there is no such thing in the TVA. Not for him. It was either work or get reset.

"It means-" Loki was interrupted again, and this time, it was by a loud annoying buzzer. The red neon sign flickered and changed colour to green. The words warped and changed to "ENTER".

"It's time for you to go in," D-19 announced.

Loki sighed softly. Ren stood up and took a long shaky breath. She turned to Loki again, and he gave her a small encouraging smile. Despite the smile, Ren could see he was troubled about something. She took another deep breath and walked bravely through the door. She was determined to get answers.