Chapter 135
Arc 9 - Ch 2: The Time Variance Authority
Location: Time Variance Authority
Hunter B-15 marched Loki and Tyson through a set of imposing double doors into the TVA courtroom. Rows of pews stretched before them, reminiscent of a church. A judge's platform dominated the front, elevated above the floor. The height wasn't merely practical; it forced defendants to crane their necks upward. Behind the judge's seat hung three enormous heads carved into the wood. The walls featured murals depicting the TVA's version of history. In one, the Time-Keepers stood like benevolent gods, their hands outstretched. Another showed TVA Minutemen as heroic figures. The artistry was impressive, but the propaganda was unmistakable.
No jury box. No defense attorneys or prosecutors to present evidence. The entire layout suggested that justice here wasn't something to be debated; it was predetermined, waiting only to be announced.
"You." B-15 pointed at Tyson. "Sit there." She gestured toward the pews.
Tyson slid into a seat in the front row while B-15 escorted Loki to the defendant's position, a small podium directly facing the judge's elevated perch.
The judge was already seated, her uniform more elaborate than standard TVA attire, with a gold and red sash running from shoulder to waist.
"Judge Ravonna Renslayer presiding," announced a clerk.
Renslayer flipped through several pages. "Variant L1130, also known as Loki Laufeyson of Asgard, is charged with sequence violation 7-20-89. Crimes against the Sacred Timeline include unauthorized deviation resulting in a Nexus-Event, theft of the Tesseract outside its predetermined path, and potential causation of a branch timeline, pruning halted based on the outcome of this case…" She paused, seeming confused. Her eyes found Tyson, narrowed, then returned to Loki. "How do you plead?"
Loki chuckled. "Madam, a god doesn't plead. This has been a very enjoyable pantomime, but I'd like to go home now."
"Are you guilty or not guilty, sir?"
"Guilty of being the God of Mischief? Yes. Guilty of finding all this incredibly tedious? Yes. Guilty of a crime against the Sacred Timeline? Absolutely not. You have the wrong person."
"Oh, really? And who should we have?"
Loki pointed at Tyson. "I suspect, him. I was only able to come into possession of the Tesseract because of his efforts, no doubt in his quest to prevent me from becoming God-King of Midgard."
He tried and failed to suppress his laugh. "God-King of Midgard," he repeated mockingly, "Give me a break." Tyson had to hand it to Loki, he had balls. Sitting there collar-bound and powerless, throwing Tyson under the bus with casual arrogance. It was almost admirable in its shamelessness. Almost. Loki had been in the TVA's custody for what, an hour? And he was already rewriting history, casting himself as some grand conqueror rather than what he'd actually been, a puppet on Thanos's strings, getting his ass handed to him, only able to finish his villain monologue because the Ancient One had been clear that Tyson had to let the portal open, that the invasion had to happen.
"That's quite an accusation," the judge said. "We'll get to him next." She said, inclining her head toward Tyson, "What you did was not supposed to happen."
"'Not supposed to happen'? According to whom?"
"The Time-Keepers." Her tone was one of frustrated wonder, as if she were confused why Loki couldn't keep up with simple facts.
"Oh, the Time-Keepers. Right. Well, perhaps I should speak to these Time-Keepers, gods to gods."
"I'm sorry, but they're quite busy."
"Oh, they are? What are they doing?"
"Dictating the proper flow of time."
"I see. Right. And then what do you do?"
"Dictate the proper flow of time according to their dictations." She raised her voice, clearly tired of Loki's irreverence. "How do you plead?"
"Guilty... Of this." Loki spread his arms and closed his fists dramatically.
Nothing happened.
B-15 let out stifled laughter.
"What's going on?" the judge asked.
"Everyone, quiet," Loki commanded.
"Already tried it, bud," Tyson called from the pews. "The tap is dry."
"He's trying to use his powers, ma'am," B-15 explained.
Loki tried again, reaching for the familiar well of magic that had always been there, as natural as breathing. Nothing. Not even a flicker. The absence was worse than pain; it was a void where something fundamental should be.
"Damn it! Why won't it work?"
"Magic powers?" The judge's tone was condescending. "They're no good in the TVA, Mr. Laufeyson. The court finds you guilty, and I sentence you to be reset." She hit the gavel. "Next case, please."
"Reset? What does that mean?" B-15 and a Minuteman moved Loki away from the stand. "Is it bad? What does it mean? You ridiculous bureaucrats will not dictate how my story ends!"
"It's not your story, Mr. Laufeyson. It never was." Tyson stepped up in Loki's place, and her next words silenced Loki.
"You, on the other hand. It appears that this is actually your story."
Tyson raised an eyebrow. "I'm sorry, ma'am, what does that mean?"
The judge held up a folder and opened it to a single sheet. "Tyson Smith, also known as Mirage and Valravn. This is the thinnest case file I've ever encountered in all my time in the TVA." She pulled out a polaroid and studied it with a furrowed brow. "Temporal auras are red, green, maybe blue. Yours is gold and silver. We don't get either here in the TVA."
"Forgive my continued ignorance, but what does that mean?"
The judge's expression grew more serious. "Gold is a Nexus-Being."
"What is a Nexus-Being?" Loki called from the side, where B-15 still held him firmly.
The judge looked at him, exasperated, but answered. "Nexus-Beings are those with the power and capability to drastically affect probability and the timeline. They're usually pruned, as the Sacred Timeline only has a single Nexus-Being, and it's not supposed to be you." Her fingers tapped against the polaroid. "You and your entire timeline somehow managed to evade our detection. Until Mr. Laufeyson created a Nexus-Event by acquiring the Tesseract."
The weight of her words settled over the courtroom. An entire timeline, undetected. Tyson felt the enormity of what she was describing, the implications branching out in his mind like cracks in glass. This was somehow worse then what he expected.
"If I may, ma'am," Tyson said carefully. "Loki was only in possession of the Tesseract momentarily. He didn't escape with the artifact. I was responsible for his capture during the Battle of New York, and would have detained him within moments, had your agents not arrived."
The judge's lips pressed into a thin line. "Be that as it may, we now have an issue. We have a case of an unauthorized branch timeline." She pointed to the polaroid again. "That silver, it means you're an Anchor-Being. The unauthorized branch timeline revolves around you. Without you, it would eventually cease to exist."
Tyson processed this quickly, his mind racing. Nexus-Being. Anchor. His entire reality was tied to his existence. His mind immediately went to faces that didn't belong. Amora, Felicia, Logan. Illyana and her attitude. Jubilee's laugh. Peter swinging through the city. Every person, every moment, every choice he'd made that mattered. All of it unauthorized. All of it existing on borrowed time that the TVA didn't know they'd borrowed until now. His hands clenched at his sides. They were talking about his entire reality like it was a clerical error, a filing mistake that needed correction. Everyone he'd ever known, everyone he'd ever saved or failed to save, reduced to a branch that shouldn't exist. The indifference of it made his jaw tight. He'd faced down the Abomination, Magneto, demons, and gods, but he'd never imagined someone could simply declare his entire world shouldn't exist and have the power to make it so.
"In that case, would it not be prudent to return me with Loki and the Tesseract, so that I can return them both to Asgard, and the timeline may continue uninterrupted?"
A murmur rippled through the courtroom.
The judge leaned forward, hands clasped together on the bench. "I don't think you understand the significance of your deviation. Returning you is the last thing I want to do. An entire undetectable branch timeline running parallel with the Sacred Timeline cannot be allowed to exist."
They wanted to prune him. Fine.
But his entire timeline? Everyone he knew? That changed the equation entirely. This wasn't about his survival; it hadn't been since they'd arrived. They'd erase billions of lives and call it 'maintaining the Sacred Timeline.' Probably file it in triplicate. The TVA was worse than Thanos.
"If it was undetectable and hadn't been causing any issues, I don't see the problem."
Her voice hardened. "There can be no other timelines, or we risk reigniting the multiversal war." She straightened in her chair, decision made. "You're to be pruned and your timeline shall be reset."
She raised her gavel.
Reset. The word was clinical, bureaucratic. It made erasure sound like routine maintenance. Tyson thought about what that meant in concrete terms. Everyone he'd encountered that didn't belong… The X-Men, Spider-Man, Amora, and so many others. The House of Ms. His suite at the Four Seasons Downtown.
All of it would simply cease to have ever existed. Not destroyed, erased. Unmade. Less than forgotten, because there would be no one left to forget. Starting with him and Loki.
"Your honor, a word, if I may."
Tyson turned. A man in a brown suit, like most TVA agents, stood in the pews, grey-white hair marking him as older than most here.
Tyson muttered, "Hansel."
The judge lowered her gavel slowly. "Approach the bench."
The man approached. "Your honor."
Judge Renslayer's expression tightened. "If you're thinking what I think you are, it's a bad idea."
He shrugged slightly. "Okay, I'm just chasing a hunch." He gestured toward Loki and Tyson. "I'd like to request custody of these Variants before reset."
"Agent Mobius, you can't be serious." Her eyes darted to Tyson. "This one threatened an entire squad at the same time. He's not just any Variant, he's a Nexus-Being and an anchor to an unauthorized timeline."
"He was acting the part of a hero. It's understandable." Mobius took a step closer to the bench, lowering his voice. "Their unique perspectives might help with the situation we're facing." He pointed toward Tyson. "And he had already apprehended this Loki. It's exactly what we need."
Tyson strained to hear, catching fragments of their conversation, his hearing dulled to frustratingly normal levels by the collar. It was like trying to listen underwater, sounds reaching him muffled and incomplete. He'd grown so accustomed to Sabertooth's enhanced senses that their absence created an almost constant disorientation. His proprioception was off, making his movements feel sluggish and imprecise, and his vision lacked its usual clarity.
The collar wasn't just suppressing his abilities. It was reducing him to baseline human, and after years of being more, the regression felt like a form of sensory torture.
Thankfully, his metaknowledge provided what he expected was the outcome.
Mobius was offering a stay of execution. The TVA would use them to catch their rogue variant, and then what? Another trial? Another reset order? They'd proven they could delete him and his entire timeline with a gavel strike and no apparent remorse.
But time was time.
He could work with this opportunity. Getting Mobius to trust him enough to remove the collar was step one. Finding a way back to his timeline with Loki was step two.
He didn't have a step three yet, one that would stop the TVA from pruning his timeline, but he'd figure it out. He had to.
The judge's fingers drummed against her desk. "Anything goes sideways, it's on you."
Mobius smiled. "Okay." He glanced up at her elevated position. "I feel like I'm always looking up to you. I like it. It's appropriate."
"I'm granting temporary custody conditionally upon the Variants' cooperation." She fixed her gaze on Tyson and Loki. "If either of you attempts to escape or interfere with TVA operations, you'll be reset immediately. Is that understood?"
Before either could respond, she slammed her gavel down. "Next case."
Mobius gestured for them to follow. As they walked through the corridor, Loki's face darkened with rage.
"I'm gonna burn this place to the ground."
"I'll show you where my desk is," Mobius said without breaking stride. "You can start there."
Loki's pace slowed as the hallway opened to the outdoor sky. His expression shifted from anger to astonishment.
"Have a look," Mobius encouraged.
Tyson joined them at the railing, getting his first proper view of the TVA in its entirety.
The TVA stretched out before them like an impossible cityscape of retro-futuristic architecture. Disc-shaped buildings stood atop thin pillars that seemed to defy structural logic, connected by a network of tubes and walkways that crisscrossed the open space like a three-dimensional transit map. Flying vehicles that resembled a cross between 1960s automobiles and futuristic hovercrafts navigated between the buildings. The color palette was dominated by amber, bronze, and gold. But it was the scale that truly defied comprehension. The TVA appeared to extend infinitely in all directions; up, down, and across, with no visible boundary or horizon. Distant buildings seemed to fade at the edge of vision rather than reach a true endpoint.
What struck Tyson most was the strange uniformity beneath the apparent complexity. Despite the grandeur, it seemed overly artificial, as if the entire landscape had been designed by someone with a limited architectural vocabulary who simply repeated the same elements to create the illusion of endless variation.
It reminded him of a massive movie set, spectacular at first glance but potentially hollow behind the facade. Or a digital representation, copied/pasted ad infinitum.
Though it did make him think of the TVA's motto. "For All Time. Always."
Perhaps this place truly did extend forever, mirroring the infinite nature of time. Or perhaps it was an elaborate illusion, a Potemkin village designed to impress and deceive those who found themselves working under the Time-Keepers.
"Home sweet home," Mobius said with a casual air, like he had seen this view countless times, but still remembered the impact it had upon first sight.
"I thought there was no magic here," Loki said.
"There isn't."
"Then that's not real."
"It is, and, unfortunately, so is all the paperwork. Good tinder for your fire, though. Come on."
As they continued walking, Loki muttered, "This place is a nightmare."
"That's another department. Now that department, I'll help you burn down."
They stepped into an elevator. Tyson stared at the control panel, baffled by what he saw. Instead of numbered floors, the buttons were labeled with cryptic combinations of letters and numbers: 'TSY', 'SYF', 'J3E', 'TE7', and dozens more. There seemed to be no logical pattern that he could identify.
"I'm Agent Mobius, by the way," their escort said as he selected a destination.
"Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?" Loki asked.
"No. That's where you just were. I'm taking you somewhere to talk."
"I don't like to talk."
Mobius smiled knowingly. "But you do like to lie, which you just did. Because we both know you love to talk. Talkie-talkie."
"He's got you there," Tyson said, earning a glare from Loki.
Loki turned his attention back to Mobius. "How long have you been here?"
"I don't know. It's hard to say. Time passes differently here in the TVA."
"So, you're part of the TVA's courageous and dedicated workforce? Created by the Time-Keepers to protect the Sacred Timeline. The idea that your little club decides the fate of trillions of people across all of existence at the behest of three space lizards. It's absurd."
"I thought you didn't like to talk."
By the time Loki's rant ended, they reached a room. A Minuteman guard opened it to allow them entrance.
The room was sparsely furnished with a central table surrounded by chairs. One wall featured a large screen, currently blank. The lighting was dim, giving the space the feel of an interrogation room.
"For the record, this really does feel like a killing-me kind of a room," Loki said.
"Not big on trust, are you?"
"Trust is for children and dogs."
"There's only one person you can trust."
"Yourself? I like it. Slap it on a T-shirt."
Tyson took a seat without invitation. Loki remained standing, arms crossed defensively.
"If the TVA truly oversees all of time, how have I never heard of you until now?"
"Cause you've never needed to," Mobius explained, settling into a chair. "You've always lived within your set path."
"I live within whatever path I choose."
"Sure you do. Okay, come have a seat." He gestured to the empty chair. "I told you, time moves differently in the TVA."
Loki reluctantly approached but remained standing beside the chair. "What do you want from me?"
"Well, let's start with a little cooperation."
"Not my forte."
"Really? Even when you're wooing someone powerful you intend to betray? Come on."
"You don't know anything about me."
"Maybe I'd like to learn. I specialize in the pursuit of dangerous Variants."
"Like myself?"
"No, particularly dangerous Variants. You're just a little pussycat."
Tyson snorted.
Mobius continued, "I got a set of questions for you. You answer them honestly, and then maybe I can give you something you want. You wanna get out of here, right? So we'll start there. Should you return, what are you gonna do?"
"Finish what I started."
"Which is?"
"Claim my throne."
"You wanna be king?"
"I don't want to be, I was born to be."
"I know, but king of what exactly?"
"You wouldn't understand."
"Try me."
"Midgard."
"AKA Earth."
Tyson leaned forward. "You weren't going to succeed at that, you know."
Loki turned to him, eyebrow raised. "And who are you to make such a claim?"
"Did you forget when I use Mjolnir to send you on vacation? I could've killed you a dozen times over if it wasn't for Odin wanting you returned. I could have single-handedly destroyed your army. You brought a cybernetic invasion force to my city. I have control over metals. Your strategy was flawed. Even without the Avengers, without SHIELD, you would have failed."
"You underestimate—"
"All right," Mobius interrupted. "Let's say he's not there because he wasn't supposed to be. Now you're the king of Midgard, then what? Happily ever after?"
"Asgard, the Nine Realms."
"Space?" Mobius suggested.
"Space?"
"Space is big. That'd be a nice feather in your cap. 'Loki, the King of Space.'"
"Mock me if you dare."
"No, I'm not. Honestly, I'm actually a fan. And I guess I'm wondering why someone with so much range would wanna rule?"
"The first and most oppressive lie ever uttered was the song of freedom. For nearly every living thing, choice breeds shame and uncertainty and regret. There's a fork in every road, yet the wrong path is always taken."
"Jesus, that's lyrical," Tyson commented. "Do you just sit around thinking about things like that to say? Have a journal filled with them? Or does it just come to you?"
"He is good." Mobius agreed. "But you said 'nearly every living thing,' so I'm guessing you don't fall into that category?"
Loki chuckled, then sighed. "The Time-Keepers have built quite the circus, and I see the clowns are playing their parts to perfection."
"Big metaphor guy. I love it. Makes you sound super smart."
"I am smart."
"I know. Okay." Mobius turned to a control panel on the table. "Okay."
The screen on the wall came to life with a whirring sound, displaying the New York skyline after the recent battle.
"Hey, there's my House," Tyson said, pointing at the Flatiron Armory visible in the distant south.
"What is this?" Loki asked.
"A sampling of your greatest hits, if I may."
The screen displayed Loki, defeated after the Battle of New York, saying, "If it's all the same to you... I'll have that drink now."
Mobius held out his soda to Loki mockingly.
"No. And I remember. I was there. Anything else?"
"It's funny, for someone born to rule, you sure do lose a lot. You might even say it's in your nature."
"You know, things don't turn out so well for those who talk to me like that."
"Oh, yeah, Phil Coulson."
The screen showed Loki stabbing Coulson through the chest with his scepter.
"That's not right," Tyson said.
"What do you mean?" Mobius asked.
"Coulson didn't die. All the high-level SHIELD agents, including Coulson, survived Loki's attack." He pointed at the screen. "Our timeline didn't play out like the Sacred Timeline, like this."
"Didn't the Avengers come together to literally avenge him by defeating you?" Mobius turned back to Loki.
"Nah," Tyson answered. "The Avengers came together because they're all my pals, and I was trapped in space when he arrived and the Tesseract activated."
"You should have remained there," Loki quipped.
The screen showed scenes from the Chitauri attack.
"Do you enjoy hurting people? Making them feel small? Making them feel afraid?"
"Your games don't frighten me."
"Making them feel little?"
"I know what I am."
"A murderer?"
"A liberator. I don't have to play this game. I'm a god."
"Of what, again? Mischief, right? I don't see anything very mischievous about this invasion."
Loki said quietly, "No, I don't suppose you do."
Mobius tapped the control panel, and the screen shifted to show Loki's arrival on Earth through the Tesseract portal. The God of Mischief watched himself emerge, wild-eyed and disheveled, a far cry from his usual composed demeanor.
"What makes Loki tick? That's what I'm trying to figure out."
The screen flickered through several moments. Loki's jaw tightened, but his eyes never left the screen.
"You know what I see? Someone who's lost, playing a part even he doesn't understand." Mobius paused the footage on a frame showing Loki's face during the Stuttgart confrontation. "Look at yourself. Is that the face of someone who's in control?"
Tyson leaned back in his chair, studying the frozen image on the screen. "The explanation is simple. The scepter."
Both Mobius and Loki turned to look at him.
"It housed the Mind Stone. The Infinity Stone's influence was leaking out. That's why the Avengers would've turned on each other without my intervention. It amplifies negative emotions, turns people against each other, and makes them paranoid and aggressive. You had to have known it would influence them. That's why you allowed yourself to be captured, isn't it? Get on the helicarrier, let the Stone work its magic, watch the Avengers tear themselves apart from the inside."
The God of Mischief said nothing, but his fingers curled slightly.
"But if you knew... How did you not realize it was influencing you, too?"
Loki's jaw tightened.
"You're supposed to be clever. Mischievous. The invasion was heavy-handed in the extreme. It wasn't your style." Tyson gestured at the screen. "Announcing yourself in Stuttgart? Demanding people kneel? Bringing an army through a portal in broad daylight over Manhattan? Sure, it's all very theatrical. But where's the subtlety? Where's the cunning?" Mobius watched the exchange with growing interest. "Had it wormed its way so deeply into your mind that you didn't notice?" Tyson pressed. "Or did you notice and convince yourself you were still in control?"
"I was in control," Loki said, but the words lacked conviction.
"Were you? Because from where I stood, you looked like a puppet on strings. The Loki I've heard about, the one I fought on the Rainbow Bridge, wouldn't have been so... obvious. So theatrical in all the wrong ways." Tyson stood, moving closer. "The real question is, who gave you the scepter? Who put that weapon in your hands, knowing what it would do to you?"
Loki's eyes narrowed. "You presume much."
"I held the Mind Stone, communed with it directly. It doesn't just influence others. It feeds on the wielder's darkest impulses, magnifies them, twists them into something unrecognizable." Tyson crossed his arms. "So who benefits from a God of Mischief losing his mind and launching an invasion of Earth? Rhetorical question. We all know the answer. Thanos."
Loki's hands clenched into fists at his sides. "You know nothing of what I endured." But then his eyes narrowed. "Wait. I know what this place is."
"What is it?" Mobius asked.
"It's an illusion." Loki turned, accusing Tyson with a pointed finger. "Did you do this? Is this all your attempt at controlling me? Tricking me as you did when we fought on the Rainbow Bridge? Using the scepter against me?"
Tyson shook his head and gestured around them. "This is way out there. I would've been more direct. No need for all the extra frills, and the backstory that's beyond belief. If this were my doing, I'd have you somewhere more familiar with a greater impact, like Asgard's throne room or dungeons."
Loki paced the room. "True. If this is real, then it's a cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear. A desperate attempt at control. Now, you all parade about as if you're the divine arbiters of power in the universe."
"We are."
"You're not." Loki stopped pacing. "My choices are my own. I was... I am on the verge of acquiring everything I am owed, and when I do, it'll be because I did it. Not because it was supposed to happen. Or because you or the Time Variance Authority, or whatever it is you call yourselves, allowed me to." His voice dropped to a venomous whisper. "You're a detour. A footnote to my ascent."
"You finished?"
The calm response seemed to take some wind out of Loki's sails.
"You're gonna start taking things seriously. If you hadn't picked up the Tesseract, you would have been taken to a cell on Asgard." Mobius reached for the control panel again, ready to advance the footage.
Tyson held out a hand. "Stop, please."
Both men turned to look at him.
"When this is all done, and we've helped with whatever it is you want us to do, we're returning to our time with the Tesseract, and Loki will face Asgard's justice." His expression grew serious. "If you show him what happens, it will change what happens. I'm a Nexus-Being, and if I understand things correctly, that means I can change events. He cannot. If he does, it puts our reality right back on the TVA's radar." He leaned forward. "So please, don't show him what happens next."
"You act like you know what's to come," Loki said.
"Odin named me Valravn for a reason. Prophecy is within my godly portfolio. It's a little more useful than Mischief, I'd say."
The room fell silent. Mobius studied Tyson with renewed interest, his fingers hovering over the control panel.
"What exactly does he mean?" Loki demanded, looking between them. "What happens to me?"
Mobius ignored the question, addressing Tyson instead. "You understand that your very existence threatens the Sacred Timeline?"
"I understand that's what you believe. But our timeline has existed alongside it without incident until now. Perhaps there's room for both."
"There isn't. That's not how this works."
"Then why are we here? Why not just reset our timeline and be done with it? You saved us for a reason," he pressed.
Something flickered in Mobius's eyes. "Like I said, I'm pursuing a dangerous Variant. One who's been causing significant problems for the TVA."
"And you need our help."
"I need his help." Mobius nodded toward Loki. "I'm still trying to figure you out."
"So I'm to be your attack dog? Sent to hunt down some troublesome time criminal?"
"Something like that. However, I wouldn't flatter yourself with the 'attack dog' analogy. More like... bait."
Tyson knew what Mobius wanted, but he needed to find a way to turn the situation to his benefit. He shifted closer to Loki, who was too focused on his wounded pride to notice Tyson positioning himself within striking distance.
"You know what your problem is?" Tyson said, drawing Loki's attention. "You talk about being a god, but you fight like a spoiled prince."
Loki turned, his face contorting with indignation. "You dare—"
Tyson struck without warning, launching a precise jab toward Loki's face. The Asgardian's reflexes were impressive; even without his powers, he still had millennia of combat experience. He blocked the punch with a forearm, but he missed Tyson's foot hooking behind his front chair leg. With a quick pull, lift, and a push, Tyson unbalanced him, sending Loki tumbling backward.
As Loki fought to regain his footing, Tyson chambered his fist and wound up for what appeared to be a devastating blow.
Loki's eyes widened, then squeezed shut, bracing for impact.
The blow never landed.
Loki cautiously opened his eyes to find Tyson's fist frozen inches from his face, the larger man looming over him with a calm expression. For a heartbeat, neither moved. Tyson could see the realization dawning in Loki's eyes, the understanding that he'd been completely at Tyson's mercy, that the blow could have landed, that here, stripped of divine power, he was vulnerable.
"Even without powers, I can still beat Loki." Tyson's voice was matter-of-fact, without a hint of boasting. He looked back at Mobius. "Don't mistake that you don't need me."
He backed away, leaving Loki sprawled awkwardly on the floor. The fallen god's face flushed with humiliation as he glared up at Tyson, then at Mobius, who had observed the entire exchange without intervening.
Mobius approached, hands in his pockets. "You weren't born to be king, Loki. You were born to cause pain and suffering and death. That's how it is, that's how it was, that's how it will be." He paused, letting the words sink in. "All so that others can achieve their best versions of themselves."
Loki's face went through a complex series of emotions. Anger, denial, something that might have been genuine hurt, before settling into a mask of cold indifference.
Mobius offered his hand. "Come on."
Loki hesitated, pride warring with practicality. Finally, he reached up and allowed Mobius to help him to his feet. As he straightened his clothing with exaggerated dignity, the door to the room slid open.
Hunter B-15 stood in the doorway, all business. "What are you doing?"
"My job. Is it yours to interrupt?"
"We have a situation."
"There's always a situation." Mobius turned back to Loki and Tyson. "Don't go anywhere. It was just getting good."
As Mobius followed the officer out, the door sealed behind them with a decisive click.
The moment they were alone, Tyson quietly asked, "Did you get it?"
The sullen expression on Loki's face transformed into a sly smile. He reached into his pocket, retrieving a small device, the collar controller he had pickpocketed from Mobius during their brief physical contact.
"God of Mischief indeed." Tyson laughed.
"You created the diversion and opening so that I could grab it." Loki examined the device.
"Of course."
Their eyes met in a moment of unexpected camaraderie.
"He was partially right, you know."
Loki scoffed, examining the device with feigned disinterest. "Doubtful. But enlighten me, oh insightful Valravn."
"It's true you were part of what pushed me to achieve the best version of myself. When you beat me on the Rainbow Bridge, I didn't have control of my power. Immediately afterward, I learned there were depths to my abilities I didn't know existed. I used your dagger to trap a god, saving my world."
Loki's fingers stilled on the controller.
"I struggled for a year, making zero progress in controlling my power before we fought. Three months afterward, I had full control." Tyson crossed his arms. "Sure, there was a lot that happened in that time that didn't involve you, but our fight that day was a catalyst that led me to being who I am now."
The god turned the controller over in his hands, studying it with renewed focus. "So I'm to take pride in being your stepping stone? How generous of you to share."
"Take it however you want. I'm just saying Mobius wasn't entirely wrong about you serving a purpose in others' growth." Tyson watched him work. "The question is whether that's all you're meant to be."
Loki's jaw tightened. "Well, thanks anyway. Goodbye, Valravn," he said as he turned the dial on the controller. The collar around his neck emitted a soft beep.
Then he was gone.
The room felt suddenly empty.
Tyson moved to one of the chairs and sat down, crossing his legs casually as he waited. Loki's actions were as expected. During their intake into the TVA, Loki had acted as expected at every turn, even so far as mimicking the words of the other man when brought in, and the screen when Miss Minutes gave her bit of exposition. So many times since he arrived in this world, things had changed, becoming more complicated. But it seemed the TVA was following the script thus far.
A script he knew.
A script he could manipulate to his benefit.
Less than a minute later, the door slid open. Mobius strode in, already speaking.
"Sorry about that, just some standard—" He stopped mid-sentence, scanning the room. "Where's Loki?"
Tyson gave him a deadpan look.
Mobius's hand went to his pocket, then patted his other pockets with increasing urgency. Realization dawned, followed by something almost like admiration.
"Mischievous scamp… Come with me."
Tyson uncrossed his legs and stood. He followed Mobius into the hall where B-15 waited, her face tight with barely contained frustration. She gestured, and nearby Minutemen joined them, weapons at the ready.
"Wish I could say I was surprised."
"Yeah, I wish you hadn't interrupted us."
B-15 stopped in her tracks. "Me? It's my fault?"
"We had him talking. He was opening up."
B-15 caught up to them. "Opening up? He was playing you."
"Look, he can't have gotten very far."
"Split up," B-15 ordered the Minutemen. "Prune on sight."
Mobius whirled around, hand raised. "No, no pruning, no resetting. He can still help us!"
The Minutemen hesitated, looking between their direct superior and Mobius.
"You really think you can control him?" B-15 asked.
"I think I understand him." Mobius turned to Tyson. "Since you're an expert on catching Loki, where would he be?"
Tyson didn't need to think about it. "He's predictable when he's desperate. In the desert, when he realized I was there, he immediately went for the Tesseract. It's not just about power for him, it's about proving he can still win, even after losing."
B-15 shot him a sharp look. "You sound like you almost understand him."
"The Tesseract is his security blanket, proof he's still dangerous, still relevant, still can be more than an outcast. Plus… He said he would continue what he started. Well, he stopped with the Tesseract, so that's the key to getting what he wants, and continuing what he was doing."
Mobius stopped and changed directions, heading down a different corridor. Tyson kept up, his long strides easily matching the hurried pace.
B-15 studied Tyson while they walked. He recognized the look; he'd seen it from enough SHIELD agents while he was at Project PEGASUS. She was cataloging threat levels, calculating risk factors, deciding whether he was an asset or a liability.
"What about you?" she asked suddenly, her attention fully on Tyson now. "You've been awfully quiet for someone whose entire timeline is about to be erased. No protest? No desperate pleas? Just helpful suggestions?" Her hand rested casually near her pruning stick. "Makes me think you're planning something."
"I figure if I play nice, you'll spare my timeline. Besides, I'm an Avenger, we're supposed to be the good guys, right?"
"Sure." Her lips twitched, not quite a smile. "I'm not sure if that's an honest answer or a convincing lie. I'll be watching you, Variant."
"I'm not surprised. You seem diligent. You're misreading our portfolios though. Convincing lies are more within Loki's purview than mine, though. I'm more prophecy and battle"
Finally, Mobius led him to an area with desks. In the center of the room, they found Loki with the Tesseract in his hand. The clerk from earlier stood behind him with a cart holding what looked like a bunch of confiscated goods.
Loki stared at the glowing cube in his hands, the object he'd orchestrated an invasion to possess. His eyes drifted to the cart beside him. Infinity Stones. Plural. Multiple stones of immeasurable power were scattered like beach pebbles in a bin. He picked up a Reality Stone, felt its weight. On Asgard, this would have been locked in Odin's vault, guarded by the destroyer.
A laugh bubbled up from his chest, brittle and sharp. He'd tried to conquer a world for less power than what was currently holding down someone's quarterly reports.
"Is this the greatest power in the universe?" he mumbled.
"Loki!" Mobius yelled.
The God of Mischief disappeared again, the Tesseract clutched firmly in his hand.
Mobius walked up to the TVA agent that Loki had just left behind. It was Casey, the guy at the front desk when they'd arrived. "Hey, are you alright?"
Casey looked shaken. "He threatened me. He said he was going to gut me like a fish." His voice rose with genuine confusion. "I don't even know what a fish is, and he didn't bother to explain."
Tyson blinked, slowly, he had to ask, "You don't know what a fish is?"
Casey shook his head emphatically. "Should I? Is it dangerous? The Variant seemed to think gutting me like one was a threat, but I have no frame of reference. We don't have..." He gestured vaguely. "Whatever those are. Is it a type of temporal anomaly?"
"It's an animal," Tyson said slowly. "Lives in water. People eat them."
"Water with animals in it?" Casey looked genuinely horrified. "That sounds unsanitary. Why would anyone eat something from unsanitary water?" He glanced at Mobius. "Is this one of those things from the timeline I'm not supposed to understand?"
While they continued talking, Tyson shook his head, the movement causing him to look at the cart next to Casey. Inside were a bunch of Infinity Stones. Most were not set in artifacts, but rather sat loose, scattered like worthless trinkets, jumbled together in a cart, mixed with random confiscated items. A Walkman, what looked like a Roman gladius, and some kind of crystal orb; they looked wrong, like finding a million dollars in a trash compactor. These were objects that had shaped civilizations, ended worlds, and created legends. Thanos would eventually kill half the universe to possess them all.
Here, they were drawer stuffing.
He shook his head, recalling the conversation he had with The Ancient One. She had said that Infinity Stones did not work outside their reality, and that was why the time heist would never happen.
Yet somehow, Loki had still ended up in the TVA.
Seeing all that power sitting there, wasted, was the worst part. But Tyson saw something else in the cart. A small ring with two loops and a bar running along the top, connecting them.
A goddamned sling ring.
Tyson had used one months earlier, when Illyana had visited him the first time, the day they had gone to Monaco. The memory of that day flashed through his mind, the sun on the Mediterranean, Illyana, Jubilee...
His heart rate kicked up despite his best efforts to control it. The collar was still dampening his abilities, which meant his usual dexterity and enhanced reflexes were operating at maybe thirty percent, probably less. His fingers felt clumsy, too thick, as he calculated angles and timing.
Casey was still rambling about fish to Mobius, gesturing wildly with both hands. B-15 had moved off to check the adjacent corridor. Tyson had seconds before someone's attention shifted back to him. The cart was close enough. He shifted his weight, angling his body to block the sight line from Mobius, and reached in with his left hand. His fingers found the ring's metal. The movement felt glacially slow, every nerve screaming that someone would notice, someone would turn, someone would see.
The ring slipped into his pocket just as Casey said, "He just started demanding to know what we did with the Tesseract."
Mobius scanned the cart's contents, but Tyson's hand was already back at his side, his expression neutral, his breathing controlled. Close. Too close.
Now, if things went sideways, he had an exit.
Maybe.
He'd still need to get out of the TVA itself since magic didn't function here.
"Did he say anything else?" Mobius asked, scanning the area. "Anything about where he might be going?"
Casey shook his head. "No, he just seemed upset after I told him some of the guys used Infinity Stones as paperweights. That was after he threatened to turn me into a fish."
Mobius turned to Tyson. "Where would he go next?"
"If I were him, I would go back to the viewing room and see what the future had in store. If he has the Tesseract, now all he needs is a plan, and knowing the future would be a blueprint on what to do next."
When Tyson and Mobius returned to the viewing room, Loki was sitting on the ground with the Tesseract discarded next to him. The God of Mischief stared at the screen, his face ashen, eyes red-rimmed and hollow. Whatever Loki had witnessed had stripped away his arrogance, leaving something raw and vulnerable in its place.
"Loki?" Mobius approached cautiously. "Nowhere left to run."
Loki didn't look up. His voice came out hollow, devoid of its usual silky confidence. "I cannot go back, can I? Back to my timeline."
Tyson knew exactly what he'd seen. His time imprisoned. Frigga's death at the hands of Malekith. His own failed redemption on Svartalfheim. Ragnarok and Asgard's destruction. Thor's grief. And finally, inevitably, Thanos's hands around his throat, squeezing the life from him while he choked out, "You will never be a god."
He'd known this would happen if Loki saw his future, but knowing it intellectually was different from watching it break someone in real time. This Loki, this version who'd just escaped New York, still drunk on dreams of conquest, had just watched himself die a failure. Not in battle, not in glory, but on a lonely spaceship by a purple titan.
Tyson had watched the movie. He'd seen Loki die and felt the appropriate emotional response, the kind you feel when a fictional character you've grown to appreciate meets their end. But standing here, watching this Loki, flesh and blood and currently drowning in existential horror, process his own death, Tyson felt something else entirely.
Something uncomfortably close to guilt. But then he felt something else.
Anger.
Tyson cursed under his breath. "Fuck, you watched the footage." He began pacing the room, mostly because he had no idea how he was going to salvage this. His mind raced through possibilities, each one colliding with the reality of what Loki had just learned. "I was supposed to bring you back to Odin. What the hell am I supposed to do now?"
Mobius and Loki ignored him, locked in their own exchange.
Loki drew a shaky breath. "I do not enjoy hurting people. I..." He sighed. His shoulders hunched forward as if the admission physically hurt. "I do not enjoy it. I do it because I have to, because I have had to." The vulnerability in his voice was startling. This wasn't the smug, theatrical Loki or the defiant god who'd tried to use his powers in the courtroom. This was something stripped bare, forced to confront truths he'd spent lifetimes avoiding.
His hands were shaking now; no point in hiding it. He'd just watched himself die, not in some distant future, not as an old god fading peacefully. He'd watched Thanos, the one who'd given him the scepter, who'd held the Other's leash and sent Angela along with him, choke the life from his throat. He'd watched his brother cradle his corpse and heard Thor's anguished cry.
But worse than the death itself was everything leading to it. He'd watched himself try again and again to be more than what everyone expected. Watched himself save Jane Foster and fail to save Frigga, and sacrifice himself for Thor on Svartalfheim. Watched Odin's face when he thought Loki had finally died doing something noble. And then he'd watched himself survive, scheme, take Odin's throne through deception once more, proving everyone right. Loki the liar. Loki the traitor. Loki, who couldn't help himself.
The cruel joke was that his final act, trying to stab Thanos with a dagger, the same dagger he'd lost to Tyson on the Rainbow Bridge, while the titan held the Infinity Gauntlet, had been genuinely heroic and genuinely stupid.
He'd died trying to save Thor, and it hadn't mattered. Thanos had killed him like an afterthought.
"Okay, explain that to me." Mobius settled into a chair across from him, leaning forward with genuine interest.
"Because it is part of the illusion. It is the cruel, elaborate trick conjured by the weak to inspire fear."
"A desperate play for control. You do know yourself."
Loki looked up finally, meeting Mobius's eyes. The word came out like a confession, like something he'd never allowed himself to truly acknowledge before. "A villain."
"That is not how I see it."
Loki reached for the Tesseract, turning the glowing cube in his hands. The light cast strange shadows across his face, making him look both ancient and, at the same time, lost, like a terribly young child.
"You try to use that?" Mobius asked.
"Oh, several times." Loki let out a bitter laugh. "Even an Infinity Stone is useless here." He scoffed, setting the cube back down with uncharacteristic carelessness. "The TVA is formidable."
"That has been my experience. Listen, I cannot offer you salvation, but maybe I can offer you something better." He raised his voice, trying to catch Tyson's attention. "Offer both of you something better."
Tyson stopped his pacing, his attention snapping to Mobius.
"A fugitive Variant has been killing our Minutemen."
Loki raised an eyebrow, some of his old self returning. "And you need the God of Mischief to help you stop him?"
"That is right."
"Why me?"
Mobius paused, weighing his words carefully. "The Variant we are hunting is... you."
Loki blinked. "I beg your pardon?"
Mobius watched both of them carefully; Loki with his barely-concealed shock, and Tyson with his studied lack of reaction. Interesting. The Nexus-Being wasn't surprised. Either he'd expected this revelation, or he already knew somehow. Mobius filed that observation away for later. In his experience, people who weren't surprised usually had information they weren't sharing.
"A variant of you has been ambushing our teams across multiple timelines. Killing Minutemen, stealing reset charges. We don't know why, we don't know their endgame, and conventional hunting methods aren't working because they think like you think."
He glanced at Tyson. "Both of you have unique perspectives. One of you knows how to fight Loki. The other is Loki, so you know how you'd operate if you were the one running." He spread his hands. "Help me catch this variant, and maybe we can figure out what to do about your timeline situations before Renslayer makes a decision none of us wants."
The room fell silent.
Tyson almost laughed. He'd known when the minutemen arrived in the desert, it would lead to the variant hunt. But he still had an issue with this Loki. He knew what was going to happen. If Tyson took him back, he would just get the TVA's attention again. During the events of Thor: The Dark World in the 'future', he would do what he could to save Frigga. He wouldn't allow himself to be killed by Thanos. Each thing he tried to change would cause another branch, leading them back here.
What the hell was he supposed to do about it?
He thought back to Odin's exact words, the task he'd been appointed back on Asgard. He hadn't actually been ordered to retrieve the Tesseract, which was somewhat strange. But Tyson sighed and shook his head, but then he started to smile.
Odin was older than most human civilizations, had played political games, had even revealed to Tyson that holding court had been a show for the realm. He had to have chosen his words deliberately. 'Retrieve Loki.'
The solution crystallized in his mind with sudden clarity, the kind of elegant simplicity that made him want to laugh at how obvious it was.
Not 'retrieve MY son,'
not 'retrieve Loki from Midgard,'
'Retrieve Loki.'
The All-Father had left him a loophole wide enough to drive a timeline through, and Tyson had been too focused on the obvious interpretation to see it.
Maybe Odin had known something like this might happen. Maybe he saw more with that one eye than he let on. Maybe the old god had given Tyson a mission that sounded simple but was actually a test of lateral thinking.
Or maybe Tyson was giving Odin too much credit and just betting on semantics.
Either way, the path forward was clear. There was a Loki variant out there killing TVA agents.
Tyson had spent months adjusting his preparations for the Battle of New York to exploit the loopholes in what the Ancient One had shown him. The battle needed to happen. Once he knew it and accepted it, he did his best to account for it.
Why stop now?
This wasn't any different; he had a new set of guidelines to follow. Playing the game would lead him to the outcome he wanted…
No. The outcome he needed. Saving his timeline from being pruned, reset, whatever, was necessary. Completing his mission from Odin was necessary.
The TVA hadn't only ruined his mission, it had presented a replacement option. The organization's purpose itself was proof of his path to success.
Multiple versions of the same person could exist simultaneously. If he couldn't bring back this Loki, who knew the future and would try to change it, without triggering more Nexus events...
He'd simply have to bring back another Loki.
Mission accomplished, loophole exploited, everyone wins.