Summary: Sequel to Echoes Of Experience. "They were an odd bunch, but they made things work. They were friends, out of place and out of time." B-15, Sylvie, Loki, and Mobius have a new life. But there are still past tensions in the group, and opening up to one another is still a struggle. One-shot. Spoilers up to Loki episode four. AU.
A/N: Inspired by See Another Picture by sweatervest on AO3. Plus, Echoes Of Experience really deserves a sequel because I'm so proud of how it turned out.
Remnants Of Endurance
It took quite some time before the dust settled following the disbanding of the TVA.
Mobius, not wanting to return to his pre-TVA life, settled in 20th century America. The others- Loki, Hunter B-15, and Sylvie- followed him, but he didn't mind. He appreciated the company of people that he already knew to some degree. He wouldn't be completely alone.
He had slipped a TemPad from the TVA headquarters before they'd left. He used it quite a bit in the beginning, after they'd built up a small place to call home nearby a lake. He purchased some older cars in one year and brought them back with him, as he did various other things- including a jet ski. It'd be nice to have something from his old life with him, even if he did not wish to return to it.
Loki and Sylvie used the TemPad more often than he did, though he suspected that it was often just so that they could visit Asgard. With the fall of the TVA, a multiverse had bloomed. He just wished that the pair wouldn't encourage the branches of time as much as they did. But he didn't complain much. At least B-15 never used it.
Neither of the former TVA workers mentioned their past often. When they did, it was vague and not in much detail. B-15 refused to give them her real name. Mobius tried to forget his.
He tried reintroducing himself to the same type of pistol he had once used as a police officer, but had found that the memories it brought to be more painful than it was worth. He ended up throwing the weapon into the lake.
Even as the first few months passed, the group found it difficult to get along. Only Mobius and B-15 got along well, though the former TVA agent didn't have the worst relationship with Loki, given how closely they had worked together while trying to find Sylvie before they'd known things weren't as they thought. Loki and Sylvie were constantly at odds with one another. B-15 struggled to trust either of them, due to experiences during the TVA's time. Mobius was often the peacekeeper when things went drastic and any of the others were at each other's throats. He hated having to be the role model, for it was something that reminded him of his career before the TVA. Occasionally, even he would snap and the others would obey him due to the sheer shock of his impatience. It was hard, being the leader.
When he wasn't busy trying to sort out this new reality, Mobius made use of his time customizing or repairing parts of the jet ski in a beachside workshop he'd built. His time spent there was peaceful, as there were no pressing matters to deal with. There weren't any crises to solve, or threats to take care of. For now, he enjoyed himself as best he could, trying to ignore the desperate calls of a past life that was no longer his.
Sleep was torture. He had nightmares from both his life before and during the TVA. Sometimes they were failed hostage situations, the pruning of a child, or the explosion that had made him take Ravonna's offer to heal him. He didn't sleep much. It made his patience wear thin, and the others more wary around him.
"Sometimes I wonder if you'd have been better off if I didn't give you your memories back." Loki once told him. He hadn't said it to tease him, or as an accusation. Instead, he just sounded sad.
Mobius didn't reply, but he understood why the god felt that way. And, sometimes, he agreed.
The others often had nightmares too. But no one ever dared to ask another what they had been about. All of them had secrets, and none of them expressed desire to share theirs. It was easier to just accept that they suffered, that the memories would never fade.
It wasn't all bad, though. Some days were quiet. They would go out in the evening and sit in the workshop together, taking long walks along the water as the light faded away from the sky and the stars began to come out one by one. Those were the best days, when no one argued or fought. Those days were precious, ones that should have been treasured forever.
The only problem was that sometimes those days meant nothing more than a brief respite for everyone's sanity. And the day following, they would go back to their bickering.
It was nearly a year after the fall of the TVA when the group finally began to grow closer and cease their fighting. That choice had come mostly from Mobius threatening to prune the others if they didn't start to work on getting along; he'd kept his TVA baton.
Sylvie was the hardest to get to change. In many ways, she remained the same girl who had grown up at the ends of worlds, snappy retorts or the drawing of her weapons her first instinct when she disagreed with them. It had taken her stabbing- and nearly killing- him in a fit of anger for her to realize how much that she needed to work past her violent background.
Things slowly began to get better after that.
But the nightmares remained. Mobius would go out to the workshop and mess with the jet ski on the nights when they were the worst. He'd stay up the remainder of the night, keeping his focus on something that wouldn't bother him as much as his nightmares did.
On this particular night, his awakening had been rather loud. His throat stung from the intensity of the waking cry that had torn from it. His hips ached from the intensity he'd bolted upright at.
His face burned in embarrassment upon seeing the startled faces of his friends in the doorways of their rooms when he slunk from his own. "No need to look at me like I'm wounded."
He wasn't aware of Loki following him until he sat down in the shop and heard the god clearing his throat behind him.
"Do you...do you want to talk about it?" Loki inquired, seemingly uncomfortable with asking, even if he'd also seen each of the other man's memories when he'd restored them.
"No." The answer was automatic, though his tone was quiet. He flicked the switch of the overhead light. "Go back to bed, Loki."
"Come on, Mobius, you know I'm not going to listen to that." The god told him, quickly growing bolder. "Besides, back on Asgard, Mother always told me that talking about it made it easier to bear."
"You don't need to know what goes on up here." Mobius assured him, tapping one of his temples with an index finger. He picked up a wrench and began tightening a loose bolt on the jet ski.
"Let me guess. Was it that murder scene again? That one time when Sylvie st-"
"-Stop."
"-abbed you?" He might as well had said nothing. "How about when-"
"Shut up!" He hissed, the wrench in his hand flying from his grasp as it slipped free. It hit the wall loudly and let out a muffled thud as it hit the ground. He stared at it, mildly surprised, then sighed. "Why don't you go spend a few hours in Asgard and catch up with your mother?"
"You told me not to encourage the other timelines." Loki reminded him.
"Grow up." Mobius scowled, getting to his feet and crossing his arms as he gazed out the open wall at the gentle waves on the lake.
"No, you need to grow up." His friend shot back pointedly. "You can't just bottle everything in forever, Mobius. That'll only make it worse. Trust me, I know how that is. When I learned that the Allfather had lied to me for so many years..."
"Yeah, he nearly died from grief, I know. I know your life as well as you know mine."
"Mobius, come on, what's the worst that can happen?"
"Well, you could use this against me the next time-"
"I wouldn't do that."
"Right." Mobius paused briefly, half-turning to face his companion. "Fine. I forgot how adamant you could be when you want something."
The god raised an eyebrow, frowning slightly. "And I forgot how hard it is to get you to agree with anything I say. Though this time felt a little easier."
"I'm tired, Loki. There's only so much arguing I can do anymore." He sighed, shaking his head lightly. His friend remained patient when he took his time in replying, listening to the gentle ripples of the water and the chirping of crickets. The cool summer air was refreshing, compared to the stifling heat he'd felt following his awakening. "It was a bit of everything. Shootings, explosions, prunings, my own pruning...Some of the things we faced before we got back to the TVA too. Did I mention that I got caught up in a bank robbery in 2017 New York last week?"
Loki gaped at him. "What? You didn't tell any of us about that."
"Didn't think so." He muttered unabashedly. "Yeah, things didn't go too well there. Had to stay a little longer than I wanted to so I could stop by a hospital."
"You got shot?"
"Don't worry, it wasn't bad."
The god didn't look convinced in the least. "Right..."
Now look who's not agreeing with anything I say. Mobius smiled a little at the thought, turning his head to look back out over the water. It was soothing to watch the slight ripples in the water in the soft midnight breeze.
"Do you remember when I offered to use magic to help you sleep?" Loki asked, sounding more relaxed than he had during their whole conversation. "It still stands, by the way."
"Not tonight." He murmured. "I'm definitely considering it though."
"You know, we wouldn't have made it this far without you." The god admitted.
"You wouldn't have gotten anywhere without me." Mobius chuckled half-heartedly. His chest felt a little lighter, talking about a time before everything he'd known in the TVA had gone completely downhill. "Maybe past interrogation, but I'm pretty sure B-15 would've pruned you after the stunt you pulled."
"That's not funny. I'm not a child."
"Whatever you say, Loki."
"Don't tell me you actually saw me as a scared little boy." Loki frowned at him, appearing the slightest bit offended.
"No, of course not." There was a mischievous twinkle in his eye. "Just a confused teenager. You can't tell me it didn't look like that."
"I'm insulted." The tone of his voice didn't back up his words. "I'll have you know that I am not so immature as to act as though I need anyone's help. In fact, if my magic hadn't been banned, I would've handled myself just fine."
"But it was banned. And I was your ticket to keep you from getting pruned right at the stand. You're welcome for that, by the way."
"Oh, don't push it, Mobius." Loki huffed.
Mobius laughed softly and shook his head before clapping his friend on the shoulder lightly. He retrieved the wrench he'd accidentally thrown, seating himself back beside the jet ski. The god remained at the edge of the shop, looking at the reflection of the night sky on the lake's surface.
The former TVA agent couldn't help the tranquil calm that washed over him. It felt nice, to sit at the side of the lake with a friend who had seen him at both his best and worst, having so little to worry about. The land seemed so peaceful and at ease; it almost felt wrong to disturb it.
"Hey, thanks for following me out here." Mobius spoke up quietly, popping open the vehicle's engine coverings. "I guess I kind of needed to blow off some steam. This place isn't exactly the most social environment."
"Mother was always right." Loki replied, sounding rather wistful. "Sometimes, the best way to deal with something is to simply let it out. If nothing else, it keeps us sane."
"Sane? Oh please, Loki, we both lost our minds a long time ago."
The god chuckled. "I suppose you're right."
They fell into a comfortable silence, the soft sounds of the water lapping the shore, the leaves rustling in the breeze, the crickets chirping, and the sounds of metal on metal filling the void as time slowly ticked by. Neither of them said a word, letting themselves savor the moment.
They knew they were being watched from the house, B-15 and Sylvie no doubt making sure that Mobius's previous anxiousness didn't lead to him attacking his companion. But neither minded it much, even when the women eventually did come down to the shop to join them.
B-15 asked Mobius if he was any better, and he assured her that he was. Sylvie stood at Loki's side like the latter had his. None of the four of them spoke after that, a silent word of understanding passing between them.
They were an odd bunch, but they made things work. They were friends, out of place and out of time, until the end. Mobius hoped things would stay that way.
One day, he knew, the remnants of the past would fade away completely. Then they'd finally be free from the TVA and the horrors that had come with it. No one, not even their nightmares, would deny them their right to live it as they wished.
They would be free from their ties to the past, and then they could finally enjoy their new life.