THE LOCKER ROOM - TIME VARIANCE AUTHORITY - TIME UNKNOWN

Loki stepped through the time door back into the TVA, now wielding his daggers as he surveyed the locker room, seeing no sign of the variant or anyone else for that matter. It was quiet, eerily so.

The variants plan was seems to have worked... It seems everyone is preoccupied...

Loki made haste towards the halls of the TVA, following his instinct to try and locate the variant woman. She was looking for the Time Keepers, so that was his best bet in finding her. As he stepped out into the hall, daggers in his grip defensively, ready to attack if needed, his eyes looked down to see minutemen unconscious on the ground.

She's quick and efficient it seems.

Blades glistening under the lights, he eventually heard some commotion up ahead, wasting no time in striding towards the sounds. It seemed where there was chaos, this variant seemed to follow. Or visa versa. Rounding the corner, he spotted the woman he'd been looking for, swiftly disarming and knocking out the two minutemen who had attempted to stop her.

The woman let out a breath, standing back up straight as she glanced back, seeing the familiar face of Loki looking at her mildly impressed as she let out a irritated sigh.

Of course he followed. Why wouldn't he?

"Haven't you ever heard of 'curiosity killed the cat'?" She quipped, raising a brow as her own dagger stayed tightly in her hand. Loki narrowed his eyes, holding up his daggers, tips of the blades pointing at her, taking a few cautious steps towards her. The woman made no move to lift her own towards him in return... Yet.

"I always prefer to be the cat who got the cream." Loki replied smoothly, tilting his head as he studied her. "A few questions-" He circled her, making her roll her eyes at his theatrics.

"I'm actually a bit busy at the moment, we can have a Q and A session later." She said wryly, eyes following his movements. "After I've found the Time Keepers and killed them." She added lightly, voice holding a dangerous edge.

"And why do you want to kill them if not for power?" Loki inquired, brows furrowing slightly. "My best guess is revenge."

"Revenge is a strong word-" The woman mused. "But, yes." She gave a curt nod, as he continued circling her. "For Gods sake, will you stop that-" She said exasperated, her own brows furrowing. "You're giving me motion sickness."

Loki blinked at the woman's words, taken back by her nonchalance about the whole ordeal. He paused his circling, standing still, but kept his body tense and poised.

"I thought maybe we could work together." Loki continued, raising his brows. "But now I see... You lack vision. Only aiming for vengeance." The woman let out a dramatic groan, rolling her eyes as she shoved past him to head towards the elevator doors, the elevator that would take her to the Time Keepers.

As she shoved past Loki, his hand shot out to grab her arm, dagger still in hand. The woman quickly whirled round, jabbing him in the shoulder to loosen his grip. Next thing they knew, they were in a scuffle.

She will not best me again.

"Get off!" The woman exclaimed as Loki grabbed her wrist, spinning in his grip to try and knee him in the groin, but Loki was quicker, side stepping to make her miss her mark as he flashed a pleased grin.

That's more like it.

As the woman stumbled forwards, Loki brought her arm behind her back, twisting as he pushed her forwards, leaning over her to keep her in place.

"Now, you can either come willingly, or not." Loki said slightly out of breath. "Makes no difference to me."

The woman grit her teeth, letting out a hiss of pain as Loki pulled on her arm. A noise of annoyance left her lips, her boot moving to hook round the back of his calf, pulling, making Loki's brow shoot up in surprise as he stumbled back, fighting to keep balance. The woman used this to her advantage as she straightened up, throwing her head back to hit his chin, making him let out a gasp and loosen his grip on her arm, as well as dropping one of his daggers in the process.

She spun round, lifting her dagger to take a warning swipe, making Loki jump back out of the blades path. "Do one!" The woman said with narrowed eyes, Loki giving her a look of surprise. "Or next time, I won't miss." She warned.

No, I wouldn't actually hurt him. But he doesn't know that.

Loki let out a few heaving breaths, chin aching from her hit, but his eyes flickered to the dagger in her hand, brows furrowing.

Is that...

Loki's hand snapped out, gripping her wrist tightly as he lifted her arm, dagger stopping in front of his face.

That's...

Sea-blue eyes met her deep brown ones, seeing them widen ever so slightly, both of them panting lightly from their scuffle. "I believe that's mine." Loki finally spoke, breaking the tense silence. The woman pursed her lips, lifting her chin. She didn't say anything. "Well?" Loki pressed, brows raising.

Why does she have one of my daggers?

"I didn't pry it from your cold hands if that's what you're worried about." She finally responded, tone a mix of annoyance and wry humour, making Loki narrow his eyes.

"And I'm supposed to trust your word, am I?" His brows creased, confusion and suspicion evident in his tone. "No, you tell me where you got that. Now."

Shit. What do I even say?

She held Loki's scrutinising gaze, his demand she told him echoing in her mind. She could see him trying to put the pieces together, to try and connect the dots... She couldn't tell him. She didn't know how he would react. He was young, still craving power and validation. Sentiment was something he thought was a weakness. Despite her knowing the man under the bravado, the mask, the illusion... He was still not ready.

Nor am I, if I'm completely honest. No. I have to stay focused.

With a grunt, she wrestled her wrist from his grip, shoving him back. He allowed her, but kept his eyes on her intently. She knew he wouldn't let it go.

"We can do this later." She told him lowly, no room for argument in her tone. "Right now, I need to follow through with my plan. So either you step aside and stay out of my way, or you shut up and help me."

Loki seemed to be thinking about it, considering his options, jaw tightening. "I don't want to rush you but we are on a time crunch." She added wryly, making a 'hurry up' gesture with her hands.

"Variants!"

The pair whipped round, seeing Judge Renslayer stood at the end of the small, oak wooded hallway, timestick in hand with two minutemen behind her. Loki tensed, shifting to face the Judge, glancing at the raven-haired woman beside him, seeing her jaw clench, eyes filling with rage. Before he could make a move or say anything, the variant pushed her knee into the back of his, making his leg buckle as he fell to his knee, glaring up at her. But his eyes widened as she once more put her dagg- his dagger to his neck.

What is it with her and putting a blade to my throat at every chance she gets?

"Come any closer and I'll kill him." The woman warned, voice low, the dangerous edge returning, shifting from her exasperated tone from when it was just her and him. The Judge simply raised a brow, smirking.

"Be my guest." Renslayer shrugged, clearly not bothered if either of the pair lived or died. "Although, we both know you're not going to do that."

Interesting.

Loki's brows twitched as he processed the woman's words, sensing the variant holding him hostage falter, the blade drifting from his neck slightly.

So, the Judge seems to know more than she's let on.

Loki seized the opportunity to blindly reach his arm around to the variants holster, searching for the TemPad he had seen her use back in the Roxxcart store.

The woman was barely containing her anger as the Judge dismissed her threat, along with even quipping about how she knew she wouldn't hurt Loki.

Damn woman.

But when she felt Loki's hand suddenly patting at her hip, she tensed, head snapping down to look at him in confusion.

What on earth is he doing?!

Before she realised it, Renslayer was lunging towards them both, timestick activated as she swung. But instead of being erased from time, her and Loki found themselves falling through a time door beneath them, narrowly escaping death. She let out an indignant yelp, limbs waving whilst she fell, suspended in air before finally landing roughly with a 'oof' on her front. Everything went dark for a moment, a wave of nausea hitting her.

A ragged breath left her lips, aches and pains shooting through her body as she opened her eyes, feeling something solid, yet soft, beneath her. "Fucking christ-" She muttered, groaning as she placed a hand on whatever she was sprawled on, hair blocking her face as she felt fabric under her fingers, making her brows crease.

Well, that could've been more graceful.

Loki blinked harshly, looking up at the ceiling of whatever structure they'd landed in. A purple hue filled the place, dark gravel on the ground as crates, shelves and equipment surrounded them.

Some sort of... mining tent?

As his senses slowly returned to him, he became acutely aware of a weight over his chest. Frowning, he lifted his head slightly from the floor, seeing strands of onyx hair sprawled over his chest, a hand resting over his heart. It was the woman. Loki let out a hiss, neck and back aching from the impact of their landing, before taking a moment. Clearing his throat, he raised a brow, seeing the woman slowly moving to raise her head, seemingly also becoming conscious of their position. She glanced up to meet his gaze, eyes a little wider than usual, a soft breath escaping her lips.

"Well, this wasn't exactly how I saw my day going." Loki commented wryly, voice slightly raspy from being winded. However, the woman swiftly narrowed her eyes at him, anger flashing through her features as she pushed herself off him, making Loki wince.

Idiot! Complete and utter... idiot!

Light panting breaths left her lips as her eyes scanned the floor around them, searching for the TemPad. She needed to get back. Finish the plan. He was wasting their- her precious time. Especially now that Renslayer knew she had been there, looking for the Time Keepers.

There!

She spotted the TemPad on the other side of Loki, quickly clambering over him, rather undignified in nature, managing to reach out her hand to try and grasp the device. Suddenly, a hand grabbed her ankle, making her snap her head round to see Loki pulling her back along the gravel.

"Get off me!" She cried, kicking her boot to try and get his firm grip from her ankle, but Loki didn't listen. He swiftly managed to pull her away, getting to his feet, to take a easy step over her body still on the floor. "Don't you dare!" She tried, pointing up at him, watching as he picked up the TemPad, giving a smug smile.

The woman scrambled to her feet, fists clenched at her sides. "Give it to me." She held out one of her hands as Loki scoffed, an errant curl resting on his forehead.

"Didn't anyone teach you to say 'please'?" He goaded, tilting his head.

He really is an ass.

"Didn't anyone teach you to mind your own business?" She quipped in return, anger evident in her tone.

Loki simply let out a brief breathy chuckle, stepping past her as he held the TemPad teasingly in his fingers, waving it mockingly. The woman's face was creased with anger, jaw tight, eyes following him. "Touché." He mused, stopping and turning on his heel to look down at her. "How about this-" He furrowed his brows, feigning a pensive look. "You tell me who you are and why you have my dagger, and you get this-" He waved the TemPad once again. "-little device back." He raised a brow, tilting his head. "A fair trade, don't you think?"

"I hate you." The woman muttered, making Loki's lips twitch upwards faintly.

She's quite amusing.

"That's not an answer."

"How about I shove my boot so far up your-"

"Now, now, there's no need for that."

"Give me the TemPad!"

"Tell me who-"

"Loki!"

The woman suddenly lunged, making to grab the device from his hand, but Loki quickly let a shimmer of green magic fall over the TemPad, sending it to his pocket dimension, out of reach to the woman. He gave a tight smile, looking pleased with himself.

"And that is what I would call a stalemate." Loki quipped, only irritating the woman further. She summoned her magic, fingers glowing purple as Loki's smile dropped slightly.

Oops.

"H-hang on just a second-" Loki held up a placating hand, but before the woman could do anything else, suddenly, a small rock came through the top of the tent, hitting the ground in a small poof of smoke a few feet away from them both. Their heads whipped round to look at it, brows furrowing before they shared a confused look. "Was that you?" Loki asked, making the woman tilt her head, giving him a look that said 'are you serious?'

"Does it look like that was me?" She replied sarcastically, letting her magic dissipate from her fingers. "Clearly, I'm just as confused as you are. And my magic doesn't just summon rocks out of thin air." Loki gave a small shrug.

"How am I supposed to know that?"

LAMENTIS-1 - 2077

The woman sent one last glare at Loki, before moving to pick up her dagger from the ground and heading towards the exit of the tent, shoving the fabric out of the way as she stepped outside, immediately met with the ground beginning to shake. Her eyes scanned the area, seeing large rocks falling and crashing into the ground, gravel flying up with the impacts.

Of course. Of course, he had to pick here.

"You idiot!" She exclaimed, Loki exiting the tent to join her as his eyes immediately were drawn to the sky. "This is Lamentis-1!"

"I don't know what that means!" Loki cried in return, just as a meteor hit close by, making them both have to shield their faces from the flying debris.

"It means if we don't get out of here now, we die!" She shouted over the chaos, turning to him as she held out her hand. "TemPad, now!" Loki seemed to pause, looking down at her, unsure whether to trust her. "Loki!"

"Alright! Alright-" Loki conceded, quickly summoning back the TemPad. The woman wasted no time in snatching it from his hands. "Hey-" She ignored his protest, going to activate the device as another meteor fell close by, making her stumble slightly.

"Uh uh uh, you're outta juice!"

No.

No, no, no- This cannot be happening.

She hit more buttons, shaking the device to try and get it to somehow miraculously work again, letting out a frustrated noise.

Loki watched anxiously as the woman fought with the TemPad, eyes flickering around them, more meteors falling, threatening to crush them. Loki made the quick decision, swiftly grabbing the woman's arm.

"Hitting it isn't going to help!" He shouted over the rocks crashing around them, pulling her with him towards a nearby large mining vehicle. "Come on-"

"This is your fault!" She cried in return, letting him drag her along. They both skidded to a stop, a large boulder landing in front of them as Loki turned his back to the rock, shielding her front from the flying gravel with his back.

"Really? Now?" Loki asked exasperated, before once more pulling her along. "We can play the blame game once we aren't being nearly crushed!"

The pair made, sliding under the large vehicle, panting. The ground continued to shake, the woman clutching the TemPad tightly in her grip.

"Of all the places you could've picked..." She said in disbelief, shaking her head.

She still wants to do this now?!

"I'm sorry, madam, I didn't get a chance to scan the brochure." Loki quipped sarcastically, side glancing at her. The woman suddenly thrust the TemPad against his chest making him let out a noise of shock, looking down in confusion.

"Safer in your pocket dimension." She told him simply.

"What happened to 'give me the TemPad'?" Loki reached to take it from her hands, fingers brushing.

"Well, gives me a bit of incentive to keep you alive then, doesn't it?" She replied wryly, raising a brow. "You get crushed, so does that thing." Loki sent her a glare before sending the TemPad back to the safety of his pocket dimension.

"Charming." He muttered.

Her eyes scanned their surroundings, breaths coming out quick and shallow. They needed to get somewhere more stable, less likely to be crushed.

There! A mining shack.

Now it was her turn to grab Loki's arm, pulling him with her before he got a chance to protest. Once more, they were off, running and swerving falling rocks.

"I don't need to be dragged like some infant!" Loki exclaimed, although made no move to dislodge his arm from her grip.

I forgot how much this man likes to make comments. It's exhausting.

"Yeah? Well stop acting like one and then we'll ta-" Her retort was cut off as Loki stopped, pulling her back, making her back collide with his chest, his free hand moving to her waist instinctively to steady her as another meteor blocked their path a few feet away. She let out a few ragged breaths, feeling Loki's chest heaving against her back. "Don't." She breathed out, already knowing he was about to say something sarcastic.

She missed his smirk, before he took lead once again, pulling them towards the mining shack. "You're so weird." He commented as they got to the door, swinging it open as he ushered her inside.

So, we live to see another day. Or at least... However, long until this apocalypse comes full force.