~~~Loki's pov~~~
As we made our way down to Repairs & Advancements, I couldn't stop thinking about what happened when I saw Linda in the past.
I'm not sure if I did the right thing or not, but I knew I couldn't just leave her there. So, I did what I had to do to make sure she had hope that I would be back.
I talked with her and explained as much as I could before I teleported back to the present. I told her what to look for when the day came for my 2012 variant to be arrested and brought to the TVA and many other things that would probably help her in the near future.
Following that, I just sat there with her, telling her I loved her and that I was proud of her for how far she'd come.
I felt that she needed to hear that more than anything else. She had to know that even if I couldn't be with her for the remainder of the three years, I still cared about her more than anything in the world.
She was heartbroken when I told her that I couldn't stay. And I was even more heartbroken at her reaction.
She begged me not to go, but I had no choice. As much as I wanted to stay there, with her safe in my arms, I couldn't. There was no way for me to control the teleporting.
"What are you thinking about?" Linda's voice pulled me from my thoughts as we exited the elevator behind Catherine and Mobius.
"Just how much I've missed our training sessions." I smiled down at her, her hand grasped tightly with mine while we walked. "Do you still practice with your dagger?"
She nodded enthusiastically, smiling from ear to ear. "Every day! Just like you taught me! I even managed to do your dagger flip!"
"Really?" I gasped, not all that surprised. She was a smart girl. I knew she'd figure it out with a little practice.
"I was only able to do it once though..." She murmured. "Probably just luck."
"Luck or not, that's still extremely impressive." I told her, stopping for a moment to kneel to her level. "How's this? As soon as we get out of here and get back home, I'll teach you how to do it every time, without fail."
"I would love that." Her smile grew wider as she wrapped her arms around me in a tight hug. "I'm really, really glad you're back." She whispered.
"So am I, sweetheart." I whispered back, kissing the top of her head softly.
~~~Catherine's pov~~~
"You sure you know where you're going?" I asked Mobius as we went through a dimly lit hallway, clutter lining the walls.
"Yeah, it's just right up here." He nodded, gesturing to an archway a few feet ahead that led to a larger warehouse looking room. "It's been a while since I've been down here." He commented as we entered the room, Loki and Linda close behind us.
"Actually, I'm not sure I've ever been down here..." He muttered under his breath, looking around the workshop.
The whole room was fairly large, a dim lighting illuminating the space. There was a large desk/working counter in the center of the room that was covered in various papers and inventions.
As I was looking around, I saw a man descending from the ceiling in some kind of chair.
What on Earth...
"Oh, hey." The guy smiled at us as he got to the ground. "Welcome to R&A."
"Good, we're in the right place." Mobius sighed, no longer unsure of himself. "We have a little bit of a situation we wanted to run by you."
"Mobius!" The man's eyes widened in surprise. "Wow! Great to see you again!"
Hang on. They know each other?
Mobius looked confused however as he tried to come up with a response. "Good to see you too. Yeah, I..." He trailed off, looking around at me, Loki, and Linda. "Guys, I wanna introduce you to..." He was really struggling here. It was actually kind of funny.
Thankfully, Linda saved him from that awkward moment and stepped up onto a small stool in front of the desk. "Hey, O.B.!"
Loki and I exchanged a look, perplexed as to what was going on.
How did Linda know this guy?
~~~Linda's pov~~~
O.B. grinned instantly and waved at me. "Hey, kid! Any luck finding your dad?"
I gestured to my dad beside me with a smile and nodded.
"Congrats! Told you it would all work out!" He high-fived me, our conversations over the last three years finally reaching their conclusions.
I used to come down here all the time, talking to O.B. about my dad, what happened at the park, and possible solutions to get my mom's memory back.
"Wait. Hold up. How did you-" Mom looked between me and O.B., extremely confused.
"Oh, Linda's told me all about this stuff." My friend nodded. "You got your memories back, I see." He smiled at her before high-fiving me again.
Getting my mom's memory back was the main problem we had been working these past few years. Our ideas ranged from reversing the memory-wipe serum to using magic to jog her memories.
Who knew the latter would actually be the solution?
Mobius turned to me, eyes wide. "You told him everything?"
I just shrugged. "I mean, I was in here like, everyday, all the time, and we ran out of things to talk about." I answered honestly.
O.B. was the only one I've really been able to talk to freely these past years. In a way, he was kinda like my therapist. But like, a science therapist if that makes any sense.
He kinda reminds me of my grandpa. Working on inventions in here made me think of him a lot.
I'm sure he'd be happy to know the necklace worked like a charm.
"So, your name is O.B.?" My dad asked from behind me.
"No, my name is Ouroboros. But Linda calls me O.B." The inventor smiled happily before retreating to the back of the warehouse when a new order came through.
"The work orders really pile up if I take a break, so I just keep at it. Forever. No sleep. Of course, Linda's helped me out a lot these past few years. So, I've been getting a little sleep." He explained, walking back over to us as he filled his newest work order. "She is very bright for her age."
Aww, thanks, buddy!
My dad rested his hand on my shoulder and looked down at me with a smile. "She most certainly is." And then his eyes moved to see a small corner made up of blankets, pillows, various files, and books. "How often were you down here?"
Way too often. This place became like a second home while my mom was out on assignments and stuff like that.
I did all my research down here. About pruning, time-slipping, and the... more negative side effects of the memory-wipe serum.
O.B. answered for me though. "Time works weird here, but I'd see her at least once every day. Usually when she said her mom was on an assignment and she didn't want to be near Judge Renslayer," He stopped for a moment before adding, "Understandably so. But I havent seen you in a while. What have you been up to?"
"That's a long story, but right now, we need your help." I sighed, think back to the events of the last couple of weeks.
"Sure, what do you need?"
Mobius took this time to speak up, stepping forward. "Well, something's gong on with Loki, and we don't exactly know what it is-"
He was cut off as my dad time-slipped again.
"Awesome, it's happening again." I groaned, running a hand over my face.
O.B. answered without hesitation. "Time-slipping."
Told you so, Mobius.
The TVA analyst in question stared at me with wide eyes. "You were right?"
I looked up at him with a raised brow and my arms crossed. "You seriously still doubted that?"
My mom looked over to O.B., confused. "Wait, so you know what that is?"
"Yeah."
"You've seen that?"
"Yeah."
"Can you fix that?"
"No."
Oh, come on.
"It's impossible to time slip in the TVA." My friend shrugged.
"But we just saw it happen." Mobius prompted.
"Yeah. I'm having trouble reconciling that."
This was getting old.
"O.B., please. Just tell us how to fix it." I was practically begging at this point.
Time-slipping was extremely painful. And my dad keeps going through it over and over again. There has to be some way to make it stop.
"I know it looked like your dad was time-slipping, but it must have been something else. I've never seen anything close to that happen before." He stopped for a moment, looking off into the distance, confused. "Wait. No. There was one time." He turned to me. "What's your dad's name again?"
"Loki."
"Yeah. A long time ago, he came to me about time-slipping. How did I not remember that?" He furrowed his brows.
My mom seemed to understand. "Wait. Is he talking to you in the past and you're just now remembering it?"
O.B. smiled, content with that explanation. "Wow. That makes perfect sense. There's no flaw in that logic. So, time-slipping is possible at the TVA."
"Alright, so what did you tell him?" Mobius asked.
"I told him that it was impossible. But theoretically, if you wanted to fix time-slipping, someone in the time you want to end up in would need a Temporal Aura Extractor."
"Do you have one of those?" I asked him, trying to remember if I ever saw one while working in here.
"I do not." He said confidently, until another look of confusion washed over him. "No. Wait. Yes? I actually do have an Extractor here." He reached down under the workbench and brought out some kind of contraption. "One Temporal Aura Extractor."
"And did you happen to discuss how to use this thing with my friend?" Mobius questioned, still trying to wrap his brain around the time stuff that was happening.
"You need to get to the Temporal Loom, so the Extractor can pull Loki directly out of the time stream."
That makes sense, yeah.
"But it could be dangerous."
That definitely makes sense.
"How dangerous?" I asked, various thoughts of what my dad could be going through echoed in my head.
"Oh, not too bad if you're quick about it." He assured me.
"Gotta be quick about it." Mobius nodded with an impatient smile.
"If you spend too long in it, that kind of temporal energy will peel the skin right off you."
What?!
My mom's eyes widened. "You said, 'not too bad' and now you're talking about me or Mobius getting our skin peeled off of us?"
"I meant not too bad compared to what Loki has to do." He clarified, making my heart race.
"Why? What does my dad have to do?" I tried to hold back the fear in my voice.
"Violently rip himself from every thread of time and space all at once. Meaning he has to prune himself."
Oh no. No, no. Not freaking happening!
"Why?" The fear in my voice was no longer masked. "Why does he have to do that of all things?"
"Well, when something is pruned, it's released from time, so the hope is that after he prunes himself, the Extractor will pull him into the present." O.B. explained, oblivious to the panic I was feeling.
My mom, however, was not. She walked over and placed her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it reassuringly. "And what if it doesn't do that?"
"You heard about how if you fall into a black hole you turn into spaghetti?"
What the heck? No!
"No."
"Good. The less you know about that the better."
This is getting less and less comforting by the second.
"Is there any other way we can do this that doesn't involve me watching my dad disappear from existence again?" I asked, the desperation in my voice unparalleled.
He can't do that. Not again. Not after last time.
Mobius nodded, gesturing to me. "Yeah, another way that doesn't involve someone getting their skin peeled off!"
And then my dad time-slipped back, bracing himself on the edge of the countertop.
"Hey, Loki's back!" O.B. smiled, still completely clueless. "I guess you guys are ready to go." He held up the Extractor for us.
"Hold up, hold up." My mom raised her hands in protest. "We have to decide who's going to go out to the Temporal Loom and start up the Extractor. Now, I'm good to go-"
"No!" Me and my dad said in unison.
My mom stared at us like we had three heads. "Why not?"
My dad stared at her, brow raised. "You heard the part about the skin peeling off, correct?"
She just shrugged. "Been through worse."
"Still no." I shook my head. "I already have one parent that's doing something incredibly dangerous. I don't need both of you risking your lives."
My dad pointed to me, as if I just proved his point. Which I did.
Mobius just sighed, knowing what this meant. "I guess that just leaves me. Fun. Y'know, I'd rather switch places with Loki."
My dad looked at him like he was crazy. "You would rather be atomically dissembled and then possibly never reassembled?"
That's a nice way to put it.
"Than get your skin peeled off?! Yes!" He exclaimed.
"At least you get to live!"
Now it was time for Mobius to look at my dad like he was crazy. "Live?! What's the quality of life with no skin?!"
This, while absolutely hilarious, was going on for far too long and we had to get going. Hopefully before I had another episode.
"Look, there's no other way out of this, so let's just get it over with before I have another Inhuman power flare up and teleport myself back to Medieval England or something." I said, trying to put a stop to the back and forth.
O.B. nodded and handed my dad a time-stick.
I winced almost unnoticeably and moved away from the weapon. Just the sight of a time-stick makes my heart race and my anxiety grow. It's an involuntary reaction at this point, happening every time I was in close proximity to the weapon.
As we were about to leave the room, the lights started flickering again. This time concentrated in O.B.'s table lamp.
"Huh. Been doing that all day." He hit the top of the light fixture, trying to stop the flickering.
Mobius sighed. "No, it's not the lamp. We're having power surges all throughout the TVA."
O.B. stared at us, his face dead serious for the first time since I met him. "What did you say?"
I'm sensing another future problem.
You have got to be kidding me. Even the power surges are another problem we have to deal with before we leave this place?!