"Sigyn?" asked Kid Loki. He was walking next to her across the fields almost skipping. Mabel smiled.
"Yes?" She like the boy. Though he looked different than the Loki she knew as a child, he had the same countenance. She could tell that he'd let down his guard with her which warmed her heart. The way he spoke with everyone else informed her that he was used to exuding authority beyond his years and accustomed to being in charge. That seemed to melt away with her.
"I was wondering, once we save your Loki… May I come with you? All of us?"
Mabel looped her arm through his. "Of course. Yes, I'll get you out of this place."
"But beyond that. Maybe I could travel with you and your Loki? You could… adopt me… if you wanted to."
Mabel swiveled her head as her heart melted. "I'll… We'll have to see what happens."
"Alright," he said, his shoulders sagging a little.
"No matter what, I'll make sure you're safe."
He gave her a faint smile, picked up alligator Loki and walked on ahead. She shook her head. Her fate was to always be entangled with Loki's apparently. She looked over at the older version.
"Do you take care of the boy?" she asked.
"We take care of each other. But yes. He's given me a new purpose."
"What was his Nexus event?"
The older Loki sighed. "After he killed Thor, he went to make amends to Odin and Frigga. It was a prank gone wrong. His event wasn't killing Thor, it was when he tried to fix it. If he'd just gone on and become the scoundrel he was supposed to, he would have stayed in his timeline. Apparently the TVA doesn't allow us to be anything other than what they deem us. The gods of the outcasts. Miscreants to the end."
Mabel put her hand over her heart. "It shames me to think of how long I stood by and let it happen."
"It wasn't your fault my dear. How were you to know?"
"It don't know if can call that an excuse. Regardless, I can do something now."
"Why this one?" he asked. "Why, when we've all betrayed a version of you in some way or another, have you chosen to love one of us again? He seems… he seems like…"
"Like a Loki?" she asked.
"Precisely."
"It's different this time. I know myself more, I know what I want and I'm not as naive. We seem to have met in the middle as he's learned more about himself. He's made different choices. He's been through the fire and come out changed. I don't think it's ever too late to change and start making different choices."
"I hope you're right. For your sake."
"What was your betrayal of me- of my version if I may ask?"
Classic Loki looked straight into her eyes. "I didn't know myself. And I didn't make different choices."
Mabel nodded.
"You've always had a calming presence Sigyn," he said. "That makes us nervous. Us who create mischief and crave chaos. We push against it, even though we should chase it. Maybe your Loki has finally learned to do that."
"And me, embrace chaos."
He gave her a little smile. "Maybe this could work after all."
She smiled back and they continued to walk together.
Mabel wrapped her arms around herself. Loki, please hold on.
…
"You alright?" asked Scarlet at the outskirts of the ruins. She put her hand on Mabel's shoulder.
"What if we can't find him?" asked Mabel her heart sinking once again. The Void stretched on and on and on. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack.
She was braiding her hair to keep it from getting tangled. Memories of her intricate braids came back to her. She'd forgotten what it was like to have long hair like this. Why she'd kept it short at the TVA was a mystery. Maybe it was another device to cut away who she used to be.
"We'll find him," said Scarlet.
The rest of their party sat on the grass eating a snack before the plunge into the endless building remnants to find Loki.
"Why could I hear him?" asked Mabel.
"Victory," said Sylvie. She walked up to them shyly as if she was afraid to join. "When you set your mind to finding your chosen, since you're the goddess of fidelity, you can connect your consciousness with theirs. It takes quite a lot of energy though."
"I felt it," said Mabel. "How do you know?"
"I've studied sorcery my whole life. That particular branch of magic isn't as accessible to me as it is to you."
"Why not?" asked Mabel.
Sylvie shrugged and lifted her eyebrow mischievously. "Your intentions are more pure than mine."
"I'd say bringing down the TVA seems pure enough," said Scarlet.
Sylvie snapped her gaze to her. "I'm still the goddess of mischief."
"Why are you helping us?" asked Mabel.
"So you'll help me," said Sylvie. She looked back at Alioth, descending again, miles away now after a fizz and pop in the sky dropped a new discarded object for it to consume.
"We will," said Mabel. "I promise."
"I know." She sighed, giving her curls a little shake. "And, I'll admit, I grew rather fond of that tall emotional mess on Lamentis. I care about him. We're the same."
"Thank you," said Mabel.
Sylvie nodded. She looked off into the distance, gauging. She opened and closed her mouth several times. "You know… I never had… at least I haven't in so long… anything resembling..."
"Welcome to the girl gang new friend," said Scarlet putting her arm around Sylvie's shoulders. She held out her pinkie and Sylvie looked at her stricken and utterly confused. Mabel snickered, and put her pinkie in Scarlet's, and gave Sylvie a nod. Sylvie linked hers too, her eyes a little misty, trying to hold back a smile.
"The three S's, Scarlet, Sylvie and Sigyn," said Scarlet. "Hey wait. Mabes, what do we call ourselves now?"
Mabel removed her pinkie. "I honestly don't know. I don't feel like Sigyn yet, but I don't feel like Mabel either."
"That's why I chose a new name," said Sylvie. "Give it time. You'll figure it out."
Mabel smiled at her.
They heard a rustle behind them.
All the members of their party jumped up.
About twenty Loki Variants had climbed over the precipice of a fallen building with brandished weapons.
Zabu and Kid Loki were beside her in moment with a snarl and a conjured dagger.
"Oh my god," said Mabel. Aside from the multitude of army members standing in her way, there was a sight that made her stomach plummet. A Variant stood in the back on a piece of crumbled building, his hands in the pockets of a suit. A double of her chosen Loki. In lime green. With long hair, long horns. One that chilled her down into her soul. Somewhere deep inside she knew. He was her Loki. The one from her timeline that had betrayed her. And he was staring back at her with absolute recognition.
