"What do you mean the TVA is coming?" Loki asked. "Perhaps you are just stressed about what you need to do and it's getting to you...."
"I'm not making this up! Why don't you believe me? I have never led you astray before. They are coming."
Loki raised an eyebrow, "I am not saying you have or that you are lying. However, if they were coming, they would have already. Do you know how long you were unresponsive?"
That gave me pause, "Twenty minutes at most."
Titus laughed, "Try more than half a day. Mostly you didn't respond but twice you went completely berserk. Two people made the mistake of trying to touch you. Your eyes glowed, your hair and hands caught fire, for a moment no one could even look at you. Three people burst into flames just by looking at you. The two people unfortunate to touch you got a worse fate. As soon as they touched you their body parts were teleported to different places, completely separated. We're still cleaning up that mess. Honestly how we got you to that chair is beyond me."
How he talked about what I did to his men did not sound like he was mad. In fact, Titus sounded elated. It was as if he just watched his favorite show and could not wait to watch the next season.
"Did your men survive?" I asked.
"Nope." He answered cheerfully. "They didn't stand a chance. It was wonderfully chaotic. Of course, they knew what they signed up for, working for me. We all enjoyed the chaos, didn't we?"
The men and women that were around us all nodded and grinned in agreement and I realized that they were not just doing it to please their boss. They genuinely enjoyed the chaos I just caused. That is when I hit another realization that you would have thought I would have come to after all this time being here with them. I tend to be extremely dumb at times. What can I say? It's a talent.
Several people there were related to Cien and Set but mostly very very very distantly. Most of them did not even know their boss was a relative. Titus was still my closest relative there, but it was weird to think that some of these mercenaries were related to me.
They were either slightly or completely insane. Or they felt a draw to chaos, some people just like to watch the world burn. But I could sort of understand the draw. Don't tell me you haven't ever laughed at a video of someone running into a pole or other slapstick humor. Everyone has at some point. Poems and music are another chaotic way of expressing oneself. Chaos is not necessarily evil, but it can tend to lean in that direction especially when pushed by society to be that way. A lot like Loki, now that I think about it.
Loki said, "What Titus was trying to say, is that if the TVA were coming, they would have already come."
"You don't know the TVA like I do. Can we talk somewhere where there isn't a crowd?" I sensed that there was someone among us who should not be. I pulled Titus aside and whispered into his ear, "One of your people is not who they say they are. One of them isn't with us, if I were you, I'd find out who."
He raised an eyebrow but that was the only indication he gave that something was wrong.
He shouted, "Gather everyone into the courtyard, the war is beginning!" Then he said to me, "Why wait? I can kill two birds with one stone."
Several cheered and headed to the courtyard spreading the word to gather there as Loki and I moved to a private room.
"What was that out there?" He asked.
"You were wondering why the TVA wasn't here yet if they were coming? Well, they are here. I believe that the reason why they are keeping a low profile is because we have so many Infinity Stones, that they can't pinpoint which reality we are going to take. Each stone is determining completely different realities."
"They're waiting until we have a plan and decide which reality we are going to take," Loki got a chaotic gleam in his eyes. "Titus' people can still do their part for the upcoming battle, the TVA should not care too much about that. However we, we won't have a plan. We will win by winging it."
****
Things were hectic. Everyone was preparing for battle. Titus' men started dispersing in a huge army that no one would detect. We were getting the last two Infinity Stones and when we returned it would be a war of the likes that no one had ever seen in history. I too was getting ready for battle. I looked like I had when I was fighting the Avengers with magnificent wings and armor. My eyes outlined in kohl made me look fierce.
I practiced going into my true form in my room so as to not dissolve random people who were unfortunate enough to look at me at the wrong time. I already dissolved some of my cousins' mercenaries. I was not about to dissolve any more people by accident. My true form was similar to when I was dressed for battle but way more powerful and terrifying. Just being in the Duat would force me into my true form so I practiced being in it, that way it would not be a shock.
Somebody chose to come in without knocking when I was in full supernova mode.
Hearing the door open I warned the person coming in, "TURN FORTH THINE EYES AWAY FROM MY FORM, UNLESS YOU WISH FOR THYSELF TO BE DESTROYED INTO UTTER OBLIVION AND ENDLESS WOE!"
Unfortunately, being in my true form had the side effect of having a loud godly voice that can rattle you to the bone and make the Earth quake. Honestly, it is embarrassing. I was still working on it and hoped it would not happen in the Duat or even I would have a headache.
"Not looking! Not looking!" Titus closed the door while covering his eyes. "Cousin you really should not go supernova outside of the Duat. I mean it's fun and all watching people burst into flames just by looking at you, but I can't afford you turning any of my guys into dust. There is a war that is about to happen. More importantly, I don't want to turn into a pile of dust."
I let go of the power and changed back to my normal human form, "War is the exact reason why I'm going into my true form, in my room, with the door closed. Oh, and a sign that says knock or you might be incinerated. It's not my fault that you barged in."
Uncovering his eyes, he said, "I'm family, that means I ignore all polite norms of society and have the right to barge in and annoy you as much as I please. It's law, one of the only laws I follow."
"Whatever, why are you here? I thought you were finding the TVA agent and getting your people ready to fight."
"I was, but Loki has another idea. It won't matter if we find the imposter or not, it's just slowing us down and as you pointed out, time isn't really our alley."
I frowned, "What is Loki's plan? I thought the plan was no plan."
Titus shrugged, "No clue, but knowing Loki he'll have a plan inside another plan inside even more plans. Then ditch them all to do what will give himself the better outcome while formulating a plan on the fly. Whatever it is, we need to go downstairs."
Going downstairs and finding where Loki was waiting for us took about 10 minutes. He looked calm and collected but I knew that he had a twinge of anxiety and a devilish excitement that was about to burst. He was so close to winning and gaining everything that Odin never thought he would be able to. He would prove to everyone that he was more than the frost giant that was abandoned and was put up with from Odin. He would be better than the All-Father, he would finally be the son his parents wanted him to be. He would finally fulfill his true birthright. And he would do all this for his mother.
Giving me the Tesseract and Time Stone Loki simply said with no urgency in his voice, "Hurry."
I held the Tesseract in one hand and the Time Stone in the other. Closing my hand tightly over the Tesseract I crushed it to reveal the blue Space Stone inside. I made it hover just above my hand then carefully placed the Time Stone next to it, causing them to revolve slowly around each other. I held this hand up making it look like I was a battle-ready Lady Liberty.
"Titus the coordinates," I said, keeping my eyes on the stones.
Before he could a woman came running gasping for breath, "Sirs! ...And....mam....big news. There's....at the front......there's....."
"Spit it out, woman! What is it?" Titus ordered.
She took a moment to catch her breath, "At the front, we have reinforcements. Captain America and Hawkeye want to join us."
Until this point, I had kept my concentration on the stones, or else I could have dropped them or accidentally made their powers surge. When she said that I almost dropped them, nearly causing an explosion.
Steadying them in my hand once more I asked in shock, "What?"
"They want to join our side, from much persuasion on Agent Barton's part if I heard right," the woman repeated.
"Barton?" Loki asked. "Of all people why would he...?"
"Maybe some of the power of the Mind Stone is still affecting him," Titus suggested.
"No, I would've known, and believe me I would've strengthened the Stone's influence."
Another woman started coming our way, pushing aside anyone in her way, and she was wearing the same outfit as the people who had wanted to arrest and execute my dad. We were out of time.
"Doesn't matter," I interrupted the conversation. "We need to leave now before she and any of her companions try to stop us," I pointed to the woman who was now getting dangerously close.
The woman pulled out an all too familiar gun and pointed it at us, "Stop! You are under arrest by the Time Variance Authority. Put down the Infinity Stones and any other weapons you may have on you."
"Not happening," Titus said while finally getting the coordinates and time I needed and showed them to me. "Al now."
With the time and place in my mind, I used the stones' power. The stones and I began to glow, and the Time and Space stones spun around so fast that they looked like a blue and green blur.
The TVA agent shot her weapon, but we were already gone.