The story has been updated, so I apologize for any inconsistencies.

The TVA

Back at the drab Time Variants Authority, Hunter B-15, one of the high ranking officers, decked out in her matte black and green armor, searched for the analyst who specialized in dangerous variants, Mobius M. Mobius. He was becoming more elusive since he kept one of his variant pets. She never understood his fascination with Lokis. She could only assume that the elite Time Keepers created him for the insufferable job, only he seemed to enjoy it. Perhaps the variant was rubbing off on him. B-15 would kill for a reason to prune Loki, and she might just have the perfect one, if she could find Mobius. B-15 rested her hand on her pruning baton, holstered in her belt. Bright orange lettering stamped near her shoulder pads marked her identity as hunter 'B-15.' The analyst wasn't at his desk and she didn't think he was out in the field. His precious Jet Ski magazine laid next to his computer unprotected. She assumed he had to be working if he was this distracted to leave it out in the open.

Locked in one of the interrogation theaters alone with a holoprojector, Mobius anxiously flipped open his TemPad. He had left his station immediately when he saw a spike on Loki's timeline. It wasn't big, but it was enough to have him concerned, which happened more often than he liked to admit, and with his safety jeopardized if he were to enter that world, Mobius had snatched one of the TVA's orange retro devices to see what he was missing from afar. He switched on the holoprojector, a mechanism designed to review the past, present, and future of an individual. This one belonged to his current Loki. A beam of light shot out from it and projected a holographic movie. Mobius clicked away scanning the reel after Loki left the TVA. He saw him and the old wizard analyze the victim in a dark room of the castle.

"Ah jeez … " Mobius whispered to himself, sad that such a young life ended so brutally. He flipped further into the future, continuing to search for the cause of the spike. He saw them leave the room, travel through the school and end at a classroom where Dumbledore left him. Mobius was not exactly sure what they were doing, but he could not help but laugh when the kids laughed, especially when one of them made a giant spider wear roller skates. If he could portal to a lake and summon a jet ski like that he would. When the teacher addressed Loki, Mobius's ears perked up.

"Yes! You see? Very good, very good! Marvelous! Absolutely, very, very enjoyable! How about you Mr. Laufeyson!" He said.

The analyst scrunched his face taking in the scene, wondering curiously what would happen next. Subconsciously, he rubbed his mustache triggered by the sight of the scruffy professor.

"I beg your pardon?" Loki responded.

Mobius snickered. "Not big on trust … " he mumbled to himself as if he was in the classroom with them.

"Show us what you see," said the professor.

Once the shape-shifting creature transformed himself into the incredible Hulk and smashed the Trickster around the room in front of a bunch of kids, Mobius abruptly stopped the reel, and let out a shaky breath.

"Damnit Loki!" he hissed sharply, thumping his first against the cold table. He fast forwarded through the rest of the reel to make sure he was ok. It looked like the teacher and three students took him to some kind of medical bay. Mobius let out a sigh of relief, when a knock at the door nearly made him jump out of his brown work blazer. The analyst switched off the holoprojector and unlocked the door, opening it just enough to stick his head through the crack.

"Thought I might find you here," said an overly satisfied Hunter B-15.

"Yeah, I'm doing my job, do you mind?" he said, irritated.

"Yeah, Judge Renslayer wants to see you," she said smugly. He sighed deeply, hanging his head, hoping her summoning had nothing to do with his current mission, but with his luck, it probably did. Mobius locked the door to the theater behind him before briskly walking down the dimly lit corridor of the TVA, leaving B-15 in the dust. He didn't need any of her unsolicited opinions.

The winding hallways and windowless walls gave the illusion of the entire facility existing somewhere underground, a distant, secret society, living in a closed off labyrinth with no beginning and no end, as its workers march down the paths created for them like ants in a glass farm. If an individual so desired to venture outside the invisible bubble where more natural experiences could blossom, the kid with the magnifying glass might get angry.

Mobius arrived at Renslayer's office as requested. Her door littered with a pattern of hourglasses, a common theme at the TVA. He opened the door where he found her at her 1940s retro style desk, an improvement from his own, but a greatly dull contrast in comparison to the wizard's. She too possessed shelves upon shelves of books and various trinkets and trophies from previous missions, but not nearly as many as Dumbledore. Her ceiling stopped short of the artificial light glowing not too far out of sight and no fiery animal waited to greet him. Everything looked dim and claustrophobic to him now, even her leather upholstery he once thought as regal felt cold. He almost wished he never saw the wizard's office.

"Is it just me, or does this office keep getting better and better?" he lied once he was inside. A glass ball filled with water and white flakes resting on one of her shelves caught his eye.

"Where'd you get that one, the snow globe? I love those. I don't remember bringing back that case," he deflected while taking a seat. A square, crystal bottle popped open and Ravonna Renslayer, a high ranking judge of the Time Variants Authority, poured them both a glass of scotch, which he thought could be a good sign … or a bad sign. Her uniform matched the boring brown colors to the rest of the people at the TVA, except her long power suit and well tailored pants suggested she had a bit more authority than most. She was a slender woman who carried herself with elegance and grace. Her brown eyes pierced with determination while her dark curly hair was delicately pulled back to show her poised face.

Mobius had known her for a very very, very long time, and still he could not help but be swayed by her presence.

"You're not the only analyst working for me," she replied snidely, taking a seat across from him, handing him a glass. The comment stung a bit.

"But, would you say, maybe, I'm your favorite one? And why do you get to keep all the trophies from my cases in here? You don't think I'd love having that roller skate there sprucing up my cubicle?" he flirted.

"Because I approve the missions," she reinforced. He paused.

"Good point," he said, leaning back into her dark leather couch, taking a sip of his drink.

"Speaking of which, let's talk about the one you just botched," she said. Mobius paused, holding the liquor in his mouth before swallowing. Then he let it pass, burning his throat.

"Botched? Ahem, How was it Botched?" he asked curiously, clearing his windpipe.

"Really, Mobius? Your variant destroyed a classroom full of kids on his very first day," she said with a bit of condescension. He groaned, there it was.

"But it didn't cause a Nexus event," he retorted.

"But it could have! And it could have killed someone!" she argued. He took another quick sip of his scotch.

"Listen, Ravonna, I'm sorry. I realize that my, you know, methods with this Loki are controversial, but... " he began.

"Towing a dangerous Variant into the field is controversial," she snapped.

"Yeah, it didn't go exactly the way I wanted it to," he said, which was an understatement, "but learning about this new world will help us get closer to the variant we're chasing. Right?" Renslayer sighed. An awkward silence filled the room. She finally took a sip of her own drink.

"Look, I know you have a soft spot for broken things," she said, trying to break the ice between them.

"I don't think so."

"Yes, you do. But Loki is an evil, lying scourge. That is the part he plays on the Sacred Timeline." The agent shook his head and put his glass down on the brown table.

"Maybe he wants to mix it up. Sometimes you get tired of playing the same part. Is that possible? He can change?" he pleaded.

"Not unless the Time-Keepers decree it. And then, it shall be so. Besides, this variant murdered a child, do you really think Lokis are even remotely capable of change?" she said as a matter of fact, pondering the paradox. Mobius didn't respond. He had a hard time believing that a Loki could do such a heinous act, but Lokis were known for doing horrible things and getting away with them. He sighed, peering over at one of the Time Keeper's statues lingering in her office. They really did look like space lizards. He wished he could replace them with something from the grand wizard's office.

"And how are the old Time-Keepers?" Mobius dared to probe. Ravonna let out another sharp exhale, losing what little patience she had left for her dear friend.

"How do you think?" she said sarcastically. Mobius chuckled.

"I don't know. 'Cause I've never met 'em. Thankfully. Although, I shouldn't say that. That one looks... " he said about to make a joke.

"Mobius," she said, cutting him off, "They want that Variant caught."

"So do I!"

"And this is the last chance you're gonna get with this Loki."

"Great! That's all I'm gonna need," said Mobius, finishing off his scotch. A sigh escaped as he placed the empty glass back down, suggesting otherwise. Renslayer handed him paperwork to sign from the mission, which he did with his left hand. He gave it back to her and got up from his seat, hoping the end of the conversation was very near. He faced towards the door when Ravonna stood up to speak, an invisible leash holding him back.

"Mobius?" she asked more sincerely. He turned back to her.

"I was almost gone," he teased with a forced smile to mask his nervousness.

"You really believe in this Loki?" she asked. The analyst thought for a moment. Oddly enough, he did, but he couldn't say that to her.

"Mmm... Luckily, he believes in himself enough for the both of us," he said, reaching for the door handle, finally leaving the room.