A series of clips that I had never seen before began to flip through on the screen until it stopped on an image that I recognised but did not understand. Queen Frigga, though she did not look how I remembered her. Lying on the ground, looking eerie and silent.
I glanced over at Loki, who had a downcast expression on his features. "What is this?" I asked curiously, glancing back at the screen.
"My mother," Loki stated simply. "In the future." He took a deep breath that shook slightly in his throat. "She dies because of me."
I leaned back from him slightly, squinting in confusion. "What?" He looked at me as if he had expected me to recoil. ''This is in the future?"
He nodded, turning back to the screen. "Apparently."
The clip sped up again, this time landing on a scene of Odin, sitting in between Thor and Loki. Thor was dressed casually, in jeans, while Loki was wearing a sharp, black suit. The atmosphere felt off though, but I continued watching.
"I love you, my sons," Odin said genuinely, looking between his two children. "Remember this place." Loki sniffed quietly. "Home."
I reached over and grasped Loki's hand firmly in mine, just as Odin—on the screen—began to fade away in an orange shimmer of dust. I scooted my chair closer, as his face began to contort in sadness. I moved beside him and wrapped my arm around his torso, drawing him into a tight, comforting hug. He leaned into me, as we continued to watch.
The next scene was of Thor and Loki, in a glass elevator.
"Loki, I thought the world of you," Thor said. "I thought we were gonna fight side by side forever."
Loki continued to sniff sadly, as the future played out before our eyes. My own eyes began to water with sadness, at what Loki's future would have looked like if he had not stolen the Tesseract. It would have been pointless.
"Well, maybe you're not so bad, after all, brother," Thor said.
"Maybe not."
"Thank you." Thor stared at his brother. "If you were here, I might even give you a hug."
From beside me, Loki chuckled, watching the interaction between him and his brother in the future. Thor suddenly threw something at Loki, but on-screen Loki caught it easily.
"I'm here."
Loki pressed a button on the projector and the scene changed drastically. What looked like ruins were behind Loki on the screen, and the devastation in the background made the breath hitch in my throat.
Suddenly, Loki materialised a blade in his hand and drove it towards a large being in front of him. Loki, beside me, gasped in astonishment and fear, as the blade was stopped in mid-air, never reaching the creature in front of him.
"Undying," the creature said, grabbing Loki's arm and forcing him to drop the blade, letting it clatter to the ground. "You should choose your words more carefully."
I stood up, intrigued by the scene before me. Loki stood up beside me, as the creature grasped future Loki by the neck, lifting his struggling form into the air. I watched in shock and horror, as future Loki struggled in the tight grasp.
Loki, beside me, approached the screen, fear and concern laced in his expression. I stayed where I was, too fixated on the screen to move a muscle.
With one final breath, the Loki on the screen spoke, his voice raspy. "You," he began, mustering all the strength he had. "Will never be a god."
Suddenly, to my great disdain, the intimidating creature glared at Loki, before snapping his neck, easily, with one final squeeze. I let out a loud gasp of horror, as Loki was dropped to the ground, by a defeated-looking Thor.
Is this the future? I asked myself, watching as a version of me dashed, forward hovering over Loki's unmoving body, with tears streaming down her face. A few tears pricked my own eyes, as I turned to face Loki.
The screen fizzled out, displaying the three final words. End of Life. Loki turned to face me, letting out a cackle, as the door behind us opened. I whipped around, to see who it was, as Loki continued to laugh, hiding his true emotions by doing what he did best. Lying.
I had expected it to be Mobius, but I was equally surprised and disappointed to see it was the hunter who had arrested us. She walked inside, ignoring my presence and turning to Loki. "What's so funny?" She questioned his uncharacteristic laughter.
Loki's laughing ceased, as the door closed behind the hunter. I glanced back and forth, between the two, with bated breath, waiting for the next move. Loki spoke first, quietly, but audible to both me and the hunter.
"Glorious purpose."
Loki spun around to face the hunter, as she took a slight step toward him. Just as Loki lunged at her, I stopped him, stepping into his path, and placing my hands on his chest.
"What are you doing?" I demanded incredulously. "Didn't you see what happened to that other guy?"
Loki looked down at me, before shaking his head and side-stepping me. I sighed defeatedly, turning around to observe, as Loki lunged towards the hunter and struck out with his fist, nearly colliding with her face, if she had not blocked the attack.
Despite Loki's strength, he was no match for the trained hunter. She twisted his arm painfully, before slamming him against the table, with his hands behind his back. I jumped forward, really not wanting to get involved, but knowing I had to protect my friend. I lunged at the hunter, grabbing the remote that controlled our collars, and pressing a random button.
The collars around our necks unclasped and I ripped mine off, letting it fall onto the ground. But, Loki seemed to have other ideas. He ripped the collar off of his neck and slapped it around the hunter's, imprisoning her in the Time Twister's control.
She struggled for a moment, pulling desperately at the band, before turning around and lunging for me. I took a step back, but it was unnecessary. Loki flipped a dial on the Time Twister and she was gone, looped into some other point of space and time.
Loki turned to face me, flipping his hair out of his face dramatically, before moving to stand beside me. I did not speak. I was so severely disappointed in his lack of self-control, I could not even look at him. He seemed to realise this and sighed defeatedly, before facing the door.
He switched another dial on the remote and the hunter appeared in front of us, already running towards us, before she disappeared again, with another flick of the switch.
Loki flipped the switch again, this time, flipping the hunter in and out of the room faster. She blipped in and out with immense speed, until she was almost a blur, disappearing and reappearing in the same place.
I turned to Loki, looking up at the sadistic grin on his face. I rolled my eyes, crossing my arms over my chest, as the hunter disappeared again, though this time, Loki did not summon her back. He just dropped the remote on the ground and walked past me.
He bent down to the ground, picking up the Tesseract, which had been discarded there. He held it in his grasp, before walking past me again. He looked down at me for a split second, before he kept walking, over to the steps at the side of the room. With a begrudging sigh, I followed him.
I sat down on the step, beside him, leaning my head against the hard, cold wall behind me. Loki placed the Tesseract gently onto the ground, before placing his head in his hands with a heaving sigh.
I turned my head to face him. He was clearly struggling, although I would be lying if I said I was not struggling either. I scooted closer to him, placing my hand on his knee and squeezing it reassuringly. He turned to face me, his eyes brimming with tears, that I could tell he was doing his best to contain.
"We'll be okay," I reassured him, holding the end of my sleeve in between my thumb and index finger, and bringing it up to his face. He watched me carefully, as I gently dabbed at his eyes, wiping away any trace of tears that lingered. "We'll find a way out of here."
He smiled slightly at me. "Thank you." He reached forward and placed his hand over mine, completely covering my much smaller one. I leaned into him, placing my head on his shoulder and sighing deeply. He turned his head towards me. "We're gonna burn this place to the ground."
We remained silent for the next few minutes, the only change in our position was Loki's hands, no longer resting on my knee, but propped on his own knees and cradling his head. I leaned my head back against the wall, sighing in frustration and confusion.
Suddenly, the door slowly clicked open, revealing a very relieved, yet slightly annoyed face. "Loki?' Mobius called out, turning to face us, sitting on the step in the corner. Loki did not look up, only continued to sit with his head bent low, in his hands. "Abi."
I looked up at Mobius, eyeing the glowing stick he was wielding. I shuffled back ever so slightly, not inclined to be anywhere near it, knowing what it could do.
Mobius began to walk slowly towards us. "There's nowhere left to run."I glared at him as he approached us, but his attention was focused on Loki, who dropped his hands when Mobius silenced.
Loki looked up at Mobius, with an unreadable expression on his face. "We can't go back, can we?" I looked at him in confusion, as he continued. "Back to our timeline."
I stared up at Mobius, willing him to deny Loki's evaluation, but he stayed silent, a sympathetic expression on his face.
Loki took a deep breath from beside me. "I don't enjoy hurting people." I turned to face him, my expression, matching Mobius's. "I don't enjoy it." I reached over and squeezed his hand, knowing how tough it was for him to admit his faults. "I do it because I have to—because I've had to."
Mobius looked somewhat proud to see Loki making progress, like a therapist witnessing their patient recover. "Okay," he responded gently. "Explain that to me."
"Because it's part of the illusion," Loki explained, turning to look at me. I nodded in encouragement "It's a cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear," he said.
I sighed. "A desperate play for control." Loki nodded, as I summed up his explanation.
Mobius nodded, impressed. "You do know yourself." He turned to me. "And it seems like you know each other pretty well, too."
I blushed slightly, averting my gaze, as Mobius turned back to face Loki. He was still wielding the intimidating stick, and I was watching it warily.
Loki looked down at his feet. "I'm a villain." He sighed defeatedly, looking up at me, through his lashes.
Mobius shook his head. "That's not how I see it." He took another step closer, just as Loki picked up the Tesseract, which had been discarded on the floor beside him. "You try to use that?" Mobius nodded at the blue cube.
"Oh, several times," Loki answered nonchalantly. "Even an Infinity Stone is useless here." He grasped it between both hands, glaring at it and its utter uselessness, before letting out a breathless laugh. "The TVA is formidable." He placed the Tesseract back on the ground and I immediately picked it up, examining it.
"That's been my experience," Mobius responded. "Listen." He was more urgent now. "I can't offer either of you salvation, but maybe I can offer you something better."
My interest perked up at this, as he had spoken directly to Loki when he said this. Loki stood up, and I followed suit, still grasping the Tesseract in my hand.
"A fugitive variant's been killing our Minutemen," Mobius explained. The Minutemen must be the hunters.
Loki took a step forward "And you need the God of Mischief and the Asgardian Warrior to help you stop him." I smiled slightly at the title he gave me, but the compliment was short-lived.
"No," Mobius responded. "Just you."
I opened my mouth to protest, but Loki beat me to it. "Why me?"
"Because," Mobius said. "The variant we're hunting is... you."
"What?" I exclaimed incredulously. "What are you on about?"
Mobius turned to face me. "The fugitive is a Loki variant." He turned back to face Loki. "Just like you."
Loki's eyebrows raised higher than I'd ever seen them lift before, as he stared at Mobius in shock and confusion. "I beg your pardon?"
I stared between Loki and Mobius, confusion clearly evident on my face. "What do you expect us to do?"
Mobius looked at me with a sad expression. "Not you," he said quietly, making my heart beat quicker. "The Time Keepers have allowed Loki to assist in tracking down the variant." He sighed deeply, almost as if he was considering keeping his mouth shut. "You will be placed in a time cell."
Loki had remained very quiet the past few minutes, but his head immediately shot up at Mobius's words. "What?" He exclaimed, turning to face me. I stared at Mobius with a blank expression on my face, fear welling up in my chest, as I struggled to grasp the situation.
They're going to separate us! Loki is going to track a variant and I'm going to be locked away in a prison cell forever.
I shook my head, not ready to believe the idea that I would spend the rest of my life in solitude, behind bars. I stared at Loki, with wide eyes, willing him to help me, as guards began to enter the Time Theatre, heading towards us.
He stared at me, his mouth parted and his eyes wide. Mobius stepped back, turning to the guards, who had lined up behind him. Loki rushed forward, placing his hands on my shoulders and staring deep into my eyes.
"Abi," he said quietly, but urgently. "Abi, listen to me."
I stared up at him, swallowing the lump that was forming in my throat. "Please don't leave me," I whimpered pathetically, as his grip tightened, his nails digging into my shoulders.
He nodded vigorously, letting go of me briefly, before leaning forward and embracing me tightly, in his arms. "I will get you out of here. I promise." He held me tight, whispering into my hair, as Mobius conversed quietly in the background.
Loki leaned back, moving his hands to cup the sides of my face, as his eyes bore deep into mine, the traces of water forming in their blue depths. He swallowed, taking a deep breath, as I stared up at him, the fear in my chest subsiding, as I stared into his eyes, so full of compassion and emotion.
His thumbs traced my jawline, as he leaned down slightly. "Abi," he began, his eyes on me as if there was nothing else in the room. "I love you."
I stared up at him in shock, my eyes filling with tears, as I tried to hold back the extensive emotion that I was experiencing at that very moment. I nodded quickly, swallowing hard, to stem my tears. "I love you too."
Loki immediately leaned forward—still cupping my face in his hands—and pressed his lips against mine. This kiss was not hungry or desperate, though. It was sad and... final. I pushed on the balls of my feet, not wanting to let go of this precious moment, but it was over in a few fleeting seconds.
When Loki pulled away, his smile was unmistakable. It was small—barely gracing his lips—but it was there. Sad, hopeless, but there. I smiled back, as the guards rushed forwards, binding my hands behind my back, as they led me out of the room. I did not struggle. I just looked back at Loki, as a stray tear leaked from my eye.
He lifted his hand, to his face, wiping a tear from his own cheek, as the smile on his face still remained, directed at me, as his eyes, blinked slowly as if they were taking me in one last time.