I've never had a friend
Summary: After arriving in the Void, Loki's goal of getting back to the TVA is put on hold when he learns that Mobius might still be alive in the Wasteland.
The blinding white flash and the sensation of ground under him was the first thing Mobius registered.
The second was the sound of a familiar voice.
"Well, what have we here?"
Mobius opened his eyes, squinting up. It took a moment for the circle of half-formed shadows to come into focus. When they did, he locked in on the most familiar one in the middle.
They both stared at each other, processing. Mobius knew this Loki from past files.
Wanna-be President Loki. Variant L - something something
Selfish, destructive, petty, vindictive to the point of sadistic.
Oh crap.
But he was pruned. Mobius had been pruned. Where WERE they?
"Loki?"
"Agent…Mobius. I presume."
His men closed in with lots of pointy sticks.
"Wait…just…where are we? When are we?"
"You don't know. You have no idea." President Loki sized him up, predator to prey. Mobius read the dark delight in the Asgardian's eyes, and felt an icy fear creeping in which had little to do with the coldness of his surroundings. Something was horribly wrong.
"This IS going to be…fun."
The Bunker - Later
Loki was standing to the side, watching the petty power play being staged before him between four Lokis. Experience taught him to be patient. To watch, to listen, and wait for the right moment. His planning was disrupted by one of President Loki's men, who was wearing a familiar looking brown tie as an accessory on his helmet.
"Where did you get that?"
"This? Souvenir from TVA." Grins. Thinking Loki would be amused. He wasn't.
Loki grabbed the man with his Frost Giant strength and shoved him so hard into the closest wall he's about to go through it. "Where? From whom?"
All the banter in the room came to a grinding halt. Even Alligator Loki glared from his swimming pool.
President Loki stepped in from Loki's right with narrowed eyes. Calculating. Not friendly.
"A TVA agent dropped from the portal recently. Very exciting stuff. Now, knowing how the TVA is responsible for us all being here...well, you can imagine how happy we were to see him." He paused for effect (because that's what Lokis do)
"You might say we couldn't keep our hands off him."
"Is he still alive?"
Everyone burst out laughing but him. All eyes were on him now, and they were not friendly. The animosity in the room towards him was palpable. He had to get out of here. Every cell in his body wanted to flee the bunker, this horror show of Lokis.
"Why do you care?"
He recalled what Mobius had said to him about his eyes, how it was so obvious about his feelings for Sylvie. If Mobius could read his momentary weakness, what chance did he have against a room full of the darkest, most ruthless versions of himself?
Well, except for the alligator. The jury was still out on him.
Acting like he simply didn't care wasn't going to cut it. He was going to have to up his game.
He smiled back, trying to match darkness for darkness. "He put me in a Time Cell. Paraded me around the TVA as his consultant while making me wear a Time Collar like a dog. Made me wear this. Why do you think I want to see him? To get my revenge, of course."
Beat. A staring contest…and then President Loki broke out into a grin. "Head for the Bus stop. You'll know the building. It's marked with a familiar looking jacket hanging outside.
"Thank you."
Loki stepped past the President heading for the ladder.
"Try not to get eaten by Alioth...and give Agent Mobius my regards ...Loki."
He could feel their gaze on him as he left.
Don't stop. Keep walking. Don't say a word. Don't let your guard down.
His hands were on the ladder. He was climbing.
Monsters
Loki exited the bunker and surveyed the landscape, trying to get his bearings. The city was out in the distance to the left. The ever shifting cloud of Alioth was off to the right.
Too far, his mind snapped at him. You'll never make it before you get eaten. Go back inside where it's safe.
Shut up.
He could navigate the series of broken down vehicles and dilapidated buildings towards his destination. Loki wondered, briefly, if there was ever a night here. He knew so little about the Void, and no one had cared enough to answer his questions.
Survive, they said. Don't die. That was the order of the day.
In all his years of existence, he had never felt so alone.
He started his descent down the hill.
Later...
Loki had lost track of how long he had been walking, his mind racing faster than his feet could possibly travel. The city was still quite a distance away, and his mind so fixated on the journey that he literally walked right by a T-shaped metal frame wearing a familiar looking brown jacket. Loki regarded the bombed out one story concrete structure next to it. It was one good stiff wind away from collapsing.
President Loki had lied about where Mobius was.
Of course he had.
Loki approached the entrance, making his way over the rubble, his senses alert for any signs of a trap.
"Mobius? Are you here? It's Loki."
He realized, too late, how ridiculous those last words must sound to a man who had devoted his life to tracking down Lokis.
He halted in his tracks. His Jotunheim hearing picked up the sound of someone to the left, and he instantly teleported out of the way in a flash of green smoke, reappearing a few feet away facing the threat.
It was Mobius.
The Time Agent came at him with a rusty metal pipe. In one fluid move, Loki dodged the frantic swing and grabbed the pipe with both hands, freezing Mobius in place. He saw Mobius's face, not expecting the look of wide-eyed fear on his attacker.
"Mobius stop...stop...it's me.". Loki registered the beating, the bruises, the dried blood on his face.
Mobius froze, the shock still there, now mixing with confusion.
"Loki?"
"Yes. Of course. Look at me. Who else would be wandering around the endless Void wearing these ridiculous clothes?"
He was making a joke, trying to break Mobius out of his fear. It didn't work.
"Prove it."
"The last time you came to get me from the Time Cell. You asked me to trust you. You said...you said I could be anything I wanted to be. Even someone good."
And then Renslayer had you pruned in front of me, and I mourned for you. He added, unspoken.
His gaze held steady on the shell-shocked man in front of him.
Mobius, please….
Loki could see the fear begin to lift, like a dense fog. The TVA agent loosened his grip on the pipe and dropped it. He tried taking a step forward, but the last of his strength abandoned him and his legs gave way.
Loki stepped into the gap and caught the falling Time Agent, draping one arm over his shoulder so he could guide the exhausted man to the nearest place to sit.
"All right...C'mon. This way…that's it." he eased Mobius into a dirty, beat up stuffed chair. It was the only thing available. He'd have to conjure up something better, and Loki was reminded briefly of all the times Thor had gotten too drunk at parties and Loki had looked after him.
He wished that was the case now, but the bruises on Mobius's face told a different story.
As he finished easing Mobius down, it was clear to Loki that the man was too exhausted to do anything. His eyes were already closed. For one panicked moment, Loki thought that his friend had just died.
"Mobius?" No response. "Mobius!"
Loki reached out with one hand and none too gently gently shook him.
Mobius managed to open his eyes just enough to squint. "What?"
"Hi."
The pained look on Mobius's face said it all. "Seriously?"
Mobius kept his eyes open, and for the first time gave Loki a quick once over. "Looks like you got into a bit of a scrap. You and your girlfriend have a fight?"
"She's not my girlfriend. Funny enough though, Renslayer brought us into the room with the Time Keepers right after you were..." he paused. It hurt too much to say that word ".. gone."
Mobius was convinced he misheard. "What?"
"I know. I think her plan was to have us pruned. Anyway Hunter B-15 shows up unannounced, frees us from our Time Collars, throws Sylvie her sword, and we get into a nice little fight with Renslayer and five Minutemen. We beat them up, Sylvie throws her sword and beheads one of the Time Keepers. Severed head then rolls down to our feet. Silvie picks up the decapitated head and….." he paused for dramatic effect. " turns out they were mindless androids after all. Finally, I get up enough nerve to confess my true feelings to Silvie and Renslayer prunes me from behind. Very rude. So, I woke up here in the Void surrounded by four other Lokis, one of which is a green alligator."
Mobius blinked. Once.
"Wow."
"Anyway, enough about that. I'm going to conjure up some stiff drinks and some decent chairs. All this walking and talking is exhausting."
Loki waved his hand, and from the green glow he conjured up a rust colored metal barrel with some wood stacked within. The glow transformed into a fiery spark, which blossomed into a small, warm bonfire.
Satisfied, Loki stepped outside to scope out his surroundings, mindful of anyone - or anything trying to approach. The wind remained steady, but it felt colder. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mobius's jacket still blowing in the wind.
Well, that won't do.
"Here. Sorry I couldn't get your tie back."
"It's okay. I have spares in my desk."
As the fire bathed Mobius in a warm golden glow, he reached out to take the offered jacket, but Loki had already changed the plan. He kneeled in front of the chair and leaned forward, their faces just inches apart as he draped it over Mobius's shoulders, making sure it was even.
"There. Much better."
Loki could now more clearly see the torn skin beneath the tattered shirt. It was the same color as the ground outside. Dirty. Dead vegetation. Then he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.
Rope burns. On his wrists.
"What's this?"
"Nothing."
"Liar." Off Mobius's look he continued. "No offense, but you look like someone who was literally dragged across this rubbish landscape."
"Not exactly." the time agent said quietly.
A Short Time ago...
They took off his jacket and tie. Next, they bound his wrists with rope and took turns pulling him along as they walked across the desolate landscape... until they got tired of him walking too slow. Of him tripping, being half dragged. They stopped outside a bombed-out one story structure. The debate raged. Leave him behind for Alioth. He wasn't worth the trouble.
President Loki had other ideas.
"Oh no my friends. This one does not get the quick death of so many before him. He gets a slow, painful I-wish-I-was-dead-already death. So I give you all a once in a lifetime chance. Here is your enemy. Remind him of the daily pain that we go through...as unwilling citizens of the Void."
President Loki was about to walk away to let the small mob rule, with one caveat. "Just don't kill him...oh, and ...not the face.." As he turned away, he grinned with satisfaction at the sounds of his small angry army descending on the helpless, gray haired, human Time Agent.
The Present
"Who did this to you?"
"Doesn't really matter. They're gone. Said something about heading for a bunker. Their Loki was a bit of an asshole."
"Ah yes. I'm familiar. When I left the bunker they were all at each other's throats."
"Not surprised." Pause. "Wait…they? How many Loki's are we talking about?"
"More than I care to be around. Get some rest. I have a feeling we won't be able to stay here for very long."
"What about you?"
"I'm a Frost Giant."
Mobius called his bluff. "I've seen you passed out in the Library."
"I was resting my eyes."
"While drooling."
"I do not drool."
He closed his eyes again and was asleep shortly after. Loki smiled at the sight of the gray-haired man. It was only now, away from the chaos of the other Lokis, that he allowed himself to once again feel the affection he had for Mobius. He had been convinced up until recently, that caring for others was a weakness to be exploited. Mobius had changed that. He knew all of Loki's flaws, his penchant for abandoning people and causes in an instant in favor of his own self-interests. He could have given up, thrown him in a Time Cell and forgotten about him, writing him up as a failure.
But he didn't.
So, that was a friend.. Caring about someone no matter what, even in their worst moments when you wanted to walk away. Or did walk away, but knowing in your soul that at some point you would have to go back to them. To fix what was broken, because, well, you had to. Simple as that.
Mobius stirred in his sleep, frowning. His eyes went back to the rope burns on Mobius's wrists.
He didn't think it was possible for him to empathize with someone in pain. Thor would tell him it wasn't exactly in his skill set. He didn't even know if that was what he was feeling now. All he knew was that his friend was hurt. The desire, the need to help him, to undo the damage the other Loki had done was almost overwhelming. He reached forward with his hand, palm open, and concentrated on a healing spell. One of his most reliable. Loki touched Mobius's wrist and watched as a green glow gently emanated from his fingers and traveled down the length of the sleeping Time Agent's arm, then further, until it made its way over every inch of the sleeping form. Bruises faded, cuts healed, and his wrists became smooth and unmarked once more.
Once the spell faded, Loki dared to touch Mobius's palm with the tips of his fingers, feather light.
Without warning, Mobius's fingers gently encircled his own, the surprise reaction holding Loki in place. Was he supposed to stay until Mobius released his hand? Was it rude to pull away? How exactly did the rules for friends go, anyway?
He dared to gaze up at Mobius's face. His eyes were shining with unshed tears and filled with gratitude at being released from his pain.
"Thank you."
Loki couldn't talk. He could barely breathe. It felt like Mobius was gazing into his soul, all his inner turmoil being laid bare by those blue eyes. He had never felt more exposed in his life. The ache in his chest was almost painful. And he still hadn't moved.
Say something.
"You're welcome."
Mobius released his grip and went back to sleep. Loki pulled his hand back, trembling. He half-stumbled back to his own chair and practically fell into it. He felt something running down his face and he quickly wiped them away. Tears. He was crying. Why was he crying? He had cried tears of happiness in the Time Theater, of happy memories with his brother. He had cried watching his mother's death. Watching Odin tell both his sons he loved them before he passed on. Now he was crying over Mobius.
Brother, Mother, Father. Despite all his flaws, they had loved him. The adopted son of a Frost Giant.
Mobius. Despite all of Loki's flaws, even after abandoning him in Alabama... he had never given up on him.
"I believe you can be anything you want to be. Even someone good."
And then it hit him, the revelation almost knocking him over with all the strength of a physical blow. He loved Mobius. His best friend. His only friend. . He smiled, even laughed at the revelation as the tears continued to run down his face.
And there, in a small broken house, in a broken pocket universe with his recently unbroken Time Agent, he loved every moment of it.