This is a rewrite and repost of Ch4 which I have split into Ch4 and Ch5. There was just something about ch4 that did not sit well with me. I think I posted it in haste knowing it would be a bit of time before I could get something out. It now flows in a morning pleasing manner that stays true to character. Anyway I hope you enjoy the rewrite.
Ch 4 New York
Pop, we appeared on a bustling corner. I wrinkled my nose, the smell of exhaust fumes mixed with the sour scent of refuse, caused me to step back momentarily as I longed for the mountain air I had grown accustomed to.
"Where are we?" I asked rotating to take in my surroundings.
"Greenwich Village," he said.
I thought this was the part of town full of quaint local businesses with a coffee shop or dessert offering on every corner. Instead charred buildings, homes in disrepair, mixed with boarded up businesses and littered streets. I knew suffering existed but the number of unkempt and forlorn individuals on the streets of the city had increased exponentially since I had last been here. Sadly it reminded me of the Sokovia of my childhood.
What I felt must have shown on my face because he said, "We can fix this Wanda."
We walked for another fifteen minutes until we reached a massive ornate home that somehow escaped the fire that had taken out most of the block. We approached the great doors and knocked. A stoic Asian man greeted us. "He has been expecting you. This way please."
Both men stood as we entered the study. I recognized Dr. Strange from our brief meeting before. He looked as solemn as ever. The man with Dr. Strange was also very tall, a more slender fellow than Strange, he was in dark slacks, a dress shirt, and brown tie.
"Join us for tea?" Asked Dr. Strange as he gestured to the table already laden with four cups.
The dark haired fellow turned to me and extended his hand to mine. "Hi, I am Loki, it is a pleasure to meet you."
Thor's brother? But I thought he had died. "Oh hi, I am Wanda, it is nice to meet you."
He brought my hand to his lips and pressed a kiss to my hand as his eyes looked into mine as if divining my darkest secrets.
Turning to my companion. Loki spoke, "And you sir, have we met? Your name?" he asked, still charming but tempered with a demanding tone.
"Kang, but no you haven't met me. Though, you have met other versions of me."
We sat. Loki picked up his cup and resumed sipping his tea, though I saw his eyes dart to Kang often, as if trying to puzzle him out. Dr. Strange poured us two additional cups. I brought mine to my lips to sip. The aroma of toasted sesame seeds and green tea that wafted to me was pleasing after the air outside.
Awkward silence descended while we sipped our tea. Loki was alive? Was he another version of himself? What is the etiquette for such a situation? Hi, I thought you were dead, are you another version of yourself? Given the stories I had heard I wondered at the sincerity of Loki's charm. And Loki had met another version of Kang. Hmm. Was it the evil Kang we were going to bring down? And what of the Kang that had brought me. Loki seemed wary of him. Strange had his head leaning against the back of his great arm chair as if it took great effort to support his own head. Though maybe it was a quirk of his. His mannerisms were unknown to me as I only interacted with him briefly at Stark's funeral. He had been solemn as the occasion called for and I was in my own world then. I can't recall if we had even conversed.
Dr. Strange finally spoke, breaking the silence with a deep voice. "I like to know whom I am working with so I think we should clarify who we are. I am Dr. Stephen Strange. I worked with the Avengers and I am on the same timeline as this Wanda."
"How do you know?" I asked. Are there really multiple timelines?"
Yet to look at me, Dr. Strange began to speak, his gaze distant. "A multiverse has always existed, but it has never unraveled to the point it has now, splintering in so many directions. It needs to be restored." He sighed as if weighed down and then took a deep breath and turned to me. "There are other versions of you but it seems there is only one of me. I think it may have something to do with the time stone I wear. I can tell if others are not of this timeline. You have a different aura, a sort of time signature. Loki here is from another timeline." Strange turned to Loki, "Sorry to say you died confronting Thanos. It was a hero's death I heard from Thor."
Loki took on a somber look. "I watched my death," he spoke softly.
I felt his words tug at my heart, bringing the final moments with Vision to my mind.
"How?" asked Dr. Strange.
"Time is different in the TVA. It was on a reel to reel of all things, playing out like some Hollywood film. My life was finite. I saw my choices and their consequences. I caused my dear mother's death, grief and pain for others. I am … I am not a good man, a villain if you will, deserving of my lot. My only role it would seem I was to help others achieve greatness, just not my own. I used to dream of finding my glorious purpose. But that's just it. It was a dream and the variant that I am is not supposed to exist, yet here I am, a nexus event on the timeline to be pruned, so they came for me."
"Who came for you? What is a nexus event?" I asked.
"A nexus event is a decision that results in a branching of the timeline creating another variant or version of someone," said Kang from his slightly reclined throne-like position.
"My nexus event was stealing the Tesseract post the Chitauri invasion. I wasn't meant to escape. I was destined to continue my path of self destruction, harming those I loved in pursuit of my glorious purpose. A different way isn't possible for the sacred TVA. I want the ability to choose to be better." His head tilted downward as his eyes shone with a sort of sad resignation. "I imagine the numerous Loki in the void had similar tales. Did any of us ever have free will!? Is free will a right? Or does the TVA only allow your existence because you made their choice, or rather his choice," said Loki, looking at Kang. "Maybe she made the right choice to end it all? Yet there is more chaos and death now. I just want… it to stop… to know if she is …." He trailed off.
I felt my heart respond in kind to his angst. I wondered at his tortured past. I wanted to reach my hand out to touch his mind, to know more that I might help. Civility kept me in check.
"You've changed Loki," said my companion, Kang. "Be golly, the god of mischief may have a good heart that beats within that frost giant façade. Join Wanda and I in our quest to end this chaos and destruction."
"I came to Strange to fix this mess and find Sylvie," said Loki.
"Wait, Sylvie, the one that killed you?" I asked Kang. I felt as if I was doing mental gymnastics in my attempt to sort out the events and them.
"Yes, she did the other version of me in," he replied matter-of-factly as he sat back in the chair.
Loki rounded on him, "She had reason to. You destroyed her life. She was a child when the TVA took her. She had to fight and learn to live on her own. She was alone." said Loki passionately.
"Whoa, what does the TVA do? Why would they harm a child? That's not right." I pictured Billy or Tommy being taken from me. Forced to survive on their own and that did not sit well with me at all.
"Well, Sylvie is all grown up now. Her actions had consequences," said Kang from his reclined position in the chair.
"As did yours. Your TVA made her too scared to trust," cried Loki in rebuttal, leaning forward toward Kang as he gripped the arms of the study chair.
"I am sorry your girlfriend doesn't trust you. Maybe I was wrong and you can't be trusted," replied Kang nonchalantly as he flicked at a speck of dust on the knee of his crossed legs.
"You are just like your other version," said Loki. "You wanted her to kill you because you were bored. You are sick and twisted." He fell back in the chair in a huff as he ran his hands over his hair.
"I don't know Loki, sounds like something the god of mischief would do before he was born again," countered Kang as he examined his hands in detail.
"Gentlemen as lovely as this blame game is, it is not getting us further in our quest," chided Strange.
What had I landed myself in? "I need you to be honest with me". Would they be honest with me? "I need answers if any of you are to have my help."
I turned to Loki, his distraught so tangible, so real I felt I could trust his sincerity. I looked at his eyes, "Loki, tell me your story. Tell me all about Sylvie. And don't interrupt him," I said to the others.
Loki ran his hand through his hair again, pushing it back. "Ah where to start? Right, um, I was captured by the TVA and taken to their headquarters. Then I was taken on by one of their agents, Mobius, to assist in the capture of another Loki that was ambushing TVA workers called minutemen. That other Loki was Sylvie."
"She was killing them, Loki," said Kang. "Don't gloss it over."
I glared at Kang for interrupting and he had the grace to look abashed. He raised his hands palm up in an apologetic surrender.
Loki continued, "She had been hunted since the age of seven, a life on the run. Don't you think you would kill to survive? I had Mother, Thor and Father. Sylvie had no one." His eyes had become forlorn and reached, needing to physically connect to him. I took his hand in mine, wrapping mine about his long fingers and gave them a gentle squeeze. He gave me a closed smile as his eyes connected to mine. And then Loki told me about a strong fierce woman he met and came to admire that oddly enough was a variant of himself. He blushed as he spoke of kissing her and he looked sorrowful as he spoke of her rejection.
"The TVA she sent me to was not the one I knew. It was surreal, Mobius didn't know me. Kang's statue had replaced the Time Keepers. I tried to see Kang but all I succeeded in doing was making people suspicious of me. I realized I needed allies. I needed someone who understood time. Thor had spoken of Dr. Strange so I came here. I want to find Sylvie and I want to make the timeline right. She reacted out of anger and pain that I understand. I have been there. She needs me. I have to know she is okay."
"I have been there too," and I gently tightened my hold on his hand. I felt oddly comforted from my contact with Loki as I tried to offer solace to this man who was grieving the what if life with the person he loved. Fairy tales of happy endings were not real.
"Right, ah, thank you for understanding," he said, removing his hand from mine and his thumbs brushed at the moisture in his eyes. I stared at my empty hands. I had such powers yet I couldn't help my love. Loki too was powerful, yet feeling powerless.
"So where is Sylvie now?" I asked Kang and Strange.
"I don't know if we should bring Sylvie into our group," said Kang. "She is a bit of a loose cannon. This is why I went to get Wanda. She is a powerful enchantress in her own right, maybe more than Sylvie."
"It's not a contest," I said. "It's about doing what is right. It sounds like we need to find Sylvie. Wouldn't it be better to have more on our side. I turned to Loki, "Do you think she will join us?"
"Right, well I honestly do not know," he said as he raised his hands palm up and he looked like a lost child. "But I want her to," he added softly. "I need to know she is okay."
"But do you know where she is now, so we know she is safe?" I asked the group. "Loki, I know about mistakes, regrets, I've several of my own. Maybe she will have changed her mind?" I said turning to face the other men.
"Oh Wanda, I do love your optimism. We need to bottle it for the multiverse," said Kang.
"Dr. Strange, you have been awfully quiet," I said while my inner voice narrated, like my boys when they were up to no good. What were his thoughts? "Do you know where she is? What do you know?"
Xxx
Please be kind and review. Thank you for the kind reviews Winterwitchishere, Captain Moovel and Wesa. Your reviews motivate me to write knowing there are people enjoying this tale. I welcome feedback to improve. Wishing you all the best. Happy reading.