THE VOID AT THE END OF TIME:

Loki sat in the dilapidated bowling alley with his Variant counterparts, a glass of cheap boxed wine in his hand, misery overwhelming him. This was where he belonged, with those who'd failed before him. He couldn't help his new sister, he couldn't help Mobius and he'd hurt Sigyn. He'd blamed himself for her death since he was a child, and now he came to find she was alive. That day they'd played their game on the Rainbow bridge and she'd… He couldn't think of it. His childhood best friend that he'd run to every day when he felt lonely. No wonder he'd felt so drawn to Mabel. Sigyn's presence had always ripped his mask away to reveal who he was, who he'd been. Cutting through his defenses and accepting him, flaws and all. It was always her superpower, and it was his fault she'd died before she had a chance to live. His heart plummeted.

But then, she wasn't dead. Unless. Unless it wasn't his Sigyn. She must be a Variant from another timeline!

He thought of how she'd left him in the Time Cell. She'd accused him of doing something to her. It must have been a version of him. He was destined to hurt her in any timeline, and his hatred of himself grew inside his chest until it eclipsed everything, the blackness threatening to overtake him.

That ember she lit in him sparked and blazed. He could try to make it up to her.

And heaven knows, if she could ever forgive him, he'd spend his life listening to her bounce her ideas back and forth in her brain, absorb her deep emotions, worship her eccentricities and he'd tell her everyday he accepted her regardless. He'd actually work to know her.

"Why do you want to go back to the TVA?" asked the young Loki on the throne in front of him.

"To fulfill a promise and burn it to the ground," he said.

"You're a fool," said the boastful version of himself.

"Have you ever met a woman Variant of us?" asked Loki. He thought of their female counterpart. Maybe the perfected version of them. He missed Sylvie too.

"Sounds terrifying," said the older Loki.

"Oh she is," said Loki. "That's what's great about her. She isn't trying to rule the TVA, she's trying to bring it down. And we could help her. And then we could… I could… Make amends."

"To who?" asked the kid.

"Do you all remember Sigyn?"

All four Loki's including the alligator dropped their gaze to the floor.

"A Variant Sigyn and I…" he continued. "I hurt her again. I refuse to let that be my fate. I'm going to get out of this hellhole and free her."

The child took a sip off his juice box and sighed. "I wish you luck, but it's a fool's errand."

The other two looked away, and the reptile Loki growled mournfully.

"Alright. That's that then." Setting his glass down he said his goodbyes. He made his way up the alley to the ladder and climbed. He opened the hatch.

"Ah. Hello," said a voice above him. "Which one of us are you?"

An assemblage of Loki Variants were gathered around the entrance to the sunken bowling alley staring down at him.

He groaned. He'd had enough of himself, but he couldn't escape. He was everywhere. "This is a nightmare," he said.

Both Mabel and Scarlet sat huddled behind the desk in Courtroom 3, trying their best to keep quiet. Mabel had her hand over her mouth as Sylvie, Ravonna, and Miss Minutes went over their options to take whoever was behind the TVA down, revealing what had happened in the Time Keepers chambers.

So many things bounced in her brain. The Time Keepers weren't real. Pruning didn't kill, just transfer. But the part that stole her breath was Mobius and Loki. They were gone. At least, they were stuck at the end of time, out of her reach.

She'd never see her Loki again.

Her chest tightened so fearfully she couldn't breathe.

She'd never have the chance to hold his face in her hands again. She could never tell him she loved him.

"I think you'd have clearance. If it were true," said Sylvie, speaking about the time spaceship Miss Minutes was currently searching the files for.

Just then they heard Minute Men break into the courtroom, and Scarlet grasped Mabel's hand.

Sylvie jumped over the desk and landed behind. She looked up at both of them, her gaze growing curious. She searched Mabel's eyes.

"Sigyn?" she whispered.

Mabel gave an almost imperceptible nod.

Sylvie sighed. "I'm sorry," she whispered. Then switched on the Time Stick in her hands, stood and turned the weapon on herself, disappearing into nothing in a flash of sparks.

"She self-pruned," said a hunter below.

"Good. Then she's dead too," said Ravonna.

"She sent herself to the Void," whispered Scarlet.

"Scar…" Mabel looked at her friend. She gave her a half smile.

"Mabel you can't."

"I have to."

"There's someone back there!" shouted a Minute Man. "Behind the desk!"

Mabel and Scarlet jumped. There was no going back now.

"Scar, stay here, I'll create a distraction and you can sneak out when we're gone."

"No," said Scarlet. "We're going together. I have to see this thing through now."

They twined their pinkies together.

"I have to get back to my apartment first," said Mabel. "You could prune yourself now, and I'll join you there."

"Stop trying to get rid of me, you need my help. I'm with you through it all. We prune together."

Mabel squeezed Scarlet's shoulder. They stood and switched on their Time Sticks.

There were five Minute Men all together and Ravonna. It wouldn't be easy to get through them.

Ravonna narrowed her eyes. "Mabel. What do you think you're doing?"

"Saving Loki," she said.

Both girls jumped over the desk.

Mabel swung her Time Stick and connected with a hunter. He fizzed into nothing. She lifted her arm connecting with another's face. She grabbed his wrist and pulled him into the end of her stick.

A third hunter grabbed her around her shoulders from behind. She kicked backward, her foot wrapping around his ankle. She jabbed her elbow into his ribs and he fell backward onto the floor, tripping over her foot. She looked to the back of the theater for Ravonna but she was gone. The Hunter jumped up from the ground. He punched her in the shoulder. She used the backward momentum to lift her leg. Her foot connected with his chest, and he landed in the seats behind him. He struggled back up. She knocked him out with one punch to the head and he fell to the floor.

She looked over at Scarlet, who had just knocked out a hunter. The last hunter left, grabbed Scarlet's arm. He pulled her into a choke-hold, his Time Stick against her throat as hers clattered to the floor.

"Let her go," said Mabel, her Time Stick poised over her arm.

"It's ok," said Scarlet, lowering her head.

"No one gets the satisfaction of pruning you except for me," said Mabel.

The Hunter who had Scarlet in his arm gave Mabel a strange look. "What?" he asked.

"You heard me." She nodded to Scarlet who threw her elbow back, and Mabel jabbed at him. She connected and he fizzed out of sight.

"That was easy," said Scarlet.

Mabel gave her a look as she panted. "Ravonna's gone. I need to get to Zabu before she alerts everyone."

"Oh Pete," she said, speaking of her Tarantula. "I'll grab him and meet you at your place. We need to hurry." They ran out of the courtroom and down the hall to the transports.