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❛ ᴇᴡᴛʀᴛᴡ​​​​​​​​​​. ❜ ° . ༄
- ͙۪۪˚   ▎❛ 𝐒𝐄𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐓𝐄𝐄𝐍 ❜   ▎˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
»»————- ꒰ғʀᴏᴍ ᴛʜᴇ ᴠᴏɪᴅ,
ᴡɪᴛʜ ʟᴏᴠᴇ! ꒱


❝ YOU'RE STILL
AN ASS, THOUGH ❞

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Needing a break from the hers and Lokis, Jimin took refuge away from the abandoned and dilapidated shelter they'd found to spend the next few hours in, though she could still see the glow of the fire from her place on the crest of the hill. Sylvie had taken her own leave to go on a very careful walk (as to not attract the cloud's attention) and she didn't know what the original Loki was doing.

The brunette sat with her legs crossed and her back straight, her eyes closed against the wind that wound its way through the scraggly grass. All of the events from the past few days— weeks?— were both incredible and— and— well, she wasn't sure what, but not all of it was good, certainly. It was, however, a lot to process, especially for a simple 'mortal' as the Lokis would put it.

Truly, it all should've been impossible.

An organization that controlled time? Many variations of herself all in one place? A giant space cloud that ruled over the end of the world?

Somehow, though, it was all real— unless she was having a very vivid dream, which she didn't think was the case (she very rarely had any and she didn't sleep much, especially in the past few years.)

A throat cleared above her. Jimin sighed.

"Can I join you?"

She cracked open an eye. "I'm meditating."

There was a pause. ". . .so—?"

"Fine."

Loki sat down next to her. "Does that help?" He gestured to how she was sitting.

"If I do it in peace and quiet."

"I can—"

"I said it was fine, didn't I?"

Silence fell between them until she relaxed slightly, resting her hands in her lap instead of on her legs, though her posture nor position changed. "You know, you've been burdened with glorious purpose ever since we landed in that desert."

He turned to look at her, obviously confused. "What do you mean?"

Her tone was almost self-deprecating as she replied, "that's what my name means. Hui, glorious and Ji, purpose." She gave a slightly mocking laugh. "I'm sure my parents hoped I would live up to my name but they— at least, my father— has let me know how I've failed in every aspect."

Jimin was always serious so this was nothing new, but the openness with which she spoke was. He wasn't sure what to say in response but luckily she carried on, "I suppose since it's because we're facing certain death— now more than ever— and that we have time that I'm rethinking my life choices. My father always told me not to be a hero, that that's what got you killed. He was big on self-preservation."

"My father always said that we should never seek out war but to always be ready for it. I suppose mortals and gods aren't so different."

The Asian woman glanced over at him, a slightly exaggerated look of shock on her face. "It really must be the end of the world for you to admit that."

The Asgardian chuckled. "That's in bad taste," he told her lightly. "But after getting to know a mortal, I've found that they're not entirely awful." They were quiet for a moment before he spoke again, "it's a bit chilly."

She made a sound of assent and in a glimmer of green, a piece of cloth appeared around him. She eyed it with amusement. "Is that a horse blanket?"

"No!" he exclaimed, immediately offended. "It's silk."

"Right. Why does it look so rough?"

"It's not rough," Loki protested. "I'm Asgardian royalty, why would I want a horse blanket?"

"That's why I asked."

"If you wanted one, you could've just said so. You don't have to make fun of it."

"I'm not—"

There was another emerald light and the blanket sudden expanded, covering both of them. Jimin frowned suddenly. "Wait a minute, aren't you a Frost Giant?"

". . .yes?"

"Doesn't that mean you shouldn't get cold?" she questioned him suspiciously.

Damn her and her ability to see through lies. ". . .yes."

The woman's eyes narrowed slightly. "Are you—" she paused, remembering what he'd been about to say before she'd been pruned. Her tone came out a bit more incredulous than she'd intended: "are you trying to flirt with me?"

The god avoided her gaze as he looked out at the barren landscape. "What would you say if I said yes?"

(He wasn't sure if he was relieved or not when she didn't answer right away.)

Finally, she spoke, her reply coming out slowly, "I would say. . ." Jimin wanted to immediately deny him, say that the whole idea was just plain stupid but as honest and blunt as she was, she also wasn't insensitive, so she chose her words carefully. "I would say. . . that we wouldn't work. As you've reminded me this whole time, I'm a mortal. I'll probably die in about seventy years if this thing doesn't kill me first. Meanwhile, you'll keep on living and in several eons, probably forget that I existed. Not to mention you tried to conquer Earth— that's not something I'll take lightly. Besides, this happened rather suddenly, don't you think? We hated each other only a few days ago."

Loki wasn't surprised by her direct answer, though he was by her reasoning. "For the record, I don't love you," he started, watching her reaction cautiously. She almost looked relieved. "And I certainly wouldn't be so childish as to call it a crush, but I will admit that I've developed a. . . particular fondness for our constant arguments. I agree about the suddenness of it all, though it is said that life-shattering events tend to draw victims closer together." He paused. "And for what it's worth, I'm sorry about— well, about New York."

The Asian woman was slightly surprised by his apology— something that she knew he didn't do often and knew he wasn't lying about— and nodded. "'I'm sorry' doesn't fix the damage already caused but I appreciate it. How about this?" She glanced over at him. "I could use a friend."

The god considered her proposal for a second before he held out a hand, a faint smirk pulling at his mouth. "Friends it is, then."

As she shook his hand, the agent added, "you're still an ass, though."

He grinned. "Why thank you."

✧✧✧

Awhile later, Mobius and the Variants gathered at the top of the rise to watch the purple cloud crackle with lighting. They all felt something along the lines of unease, nerves and trepidation but they also all knew that this wasn't something that could be left alone. Even the teens had stopped arguing in the face of their enemy.

"Okay, so what's the next move?" Mobius called above the noise.

"The TVA needs to be brought down," Sylvie answered promptly, her voice calm and even. "We don't know who created it or where they are, but that thing out there does." She pointed to the being. "When it hit me earlier, I linked to it. It was brief, but I caught a glimpse of something and I think if I can get close enough to it, I can enchant it and it's gonna take me to whoever's behind all of this." She produced one of the TVA's TemPads.

"I'm staying," Loki announced as he took it from her, causing Mobius to look over at him.

"Loki, I don't know if this is gonna work."

"You go, I go," he handed the device to Jimin.

Her lips thinned as she pressed them together before giving it to Mobius. "I've never tried to be a hero but if there's one thing I know about being a team leader, you don't abandon them when they can use backup. I'm coming too."

"It's happening, guys," the boy said, indicating the cloud. "The branch will be right out there."

"I'll give your regards to Renslayer," the man promised.

"Oh, please do."

"You boys want a ticket out of here?" he asked the Variants.

"What? No," young Loki protested. "We're staying here."

Mobius turned to the Jimins. "Does that apply to you too?"

The teen looked at the crane before she glanced at the other Lokis. "Someone has to stick around to keep the chaos in order."

"You sure?" the Asgardian questioned his counterparts. "What about Alioth?"

"We've survived this long," Wise Loki answered. "We know what we're doing."

"Loki, you're gonna need this on your journey," the boy spoke up, producing a short sword with a flash of green. He extended the weapon to the god. "Go on."

The girl gave her older self an unusually sheepish look. "I didn't get sent here with any weapons. Just take care of yourself, alright?"

Jimin nodded to her. "I always do, don't I?"

Loki placed the blade in the sheath he'd created as the eldest said goodbye. "Good luck. I hope you find what you're looking for."

The groups began to separate, the teen girl sending Jimin a two-fingered salute as she turned away. The woman responded in kind as a golden portal appeared beside them.

"Looks like you got away in the end," Mobius observed.

"I always do," Loki replied. "What will you do at the TVA?"

"Burn it to the ground, thanks for the spark." His words caused the god to smile. "Well, see you later, Loki." He held out his hand.

There was a moment of hesitation before the Asgardian responded by embracing him in a hug, the man easily returning the gesture. Mobius looked over Loki's shoulder at Sylvie to whisper loudly, "you're my favorite."

He nodded to Jimin, who mirrored him, before disappearing through the rectangular gateway. The remaining trio took steadying breaths to prepare themselves for the oncoming battle.

✧✧✧

"When a branch appears, Alioth will focus on it," Sylvie called above the howling wind. "That's when I'll enchant it."

They'd descended the hill to meet the cloud head-on and the gales had grown stronger as they closed in on the being. Besides the purple lightning, Jimin could see three spots of red glowing within that could have been it's face had it been. . . normal. The light disappeared as the cloud tumbled down to the ground as if sensing their arrival, the barrier of shadow plunging towards them.

The trio stopped to wait for it to come to them as Loki brought up a point they hadn't considered before, "what if we don't have time to wait for a branch?"

"We'll have to cause a distraction," the blonde answered loudly.

The Asian woman knew that this was really Sylvie's fight. She'd been after the T.V.A. her whole life and that it was her goal to bring it down. Jimin had just been an accidental variable, someone disposable should she get in the way. While it went against all of her self-preservation instincts, an idea formed in her mind as it did in Loki's, the two sharing a nod as the Asgardian placed a reassuring hand on the goddess' shoulder.

Together, the pair took off around the side of the cloud to provide the necessary diversion. Behind them, Sylvie's magic began to glow green as she summoned it in her hands, ready to fend off the fingers that would come for her.

Loki and Jimin stopped once they'd made it a good distance and the god pulled out his gifted sword, illuminating it with fire as he called, "come and get me!"

The agent pulled out her remaining weapon— the jang bong— and waved the long staff above her head as she shouted, "we're over here!"

Together, they tried to catch the cloud's attention with loud noise and light to keep it's focus off of Sylvie, their plan working somewhat as the fog rushed forward. A branch emerged near the blonde as she tried to grab hold of it, but the head turned in her direction.

Seeing what was happening, the god ran towards it. "No! This way!"

Jimin was fast on his heels. "Come and get us!"

The head emerged from the mass, the red light more prominent than ever as a mouth-like opening appeared, heading directly for the goddess. As futile as it was, the pair continued to try and distract it— when their efforts suddenly seemed to work.

Jimin turned to see the brightest emerald light appear some distance away, a skyline of a city becoming visible from the glow. One of the Lokis had come back to help them.

She watched as a golden palace-like structure developed, the tallest of all the buildings. "Is that—"

"Asgard," the god confirmed before grasping her wrist. "Come on!"

They raced to join Sylvie on the other side of the cloud. "How is he doing that?" she asked as they met up.

"I think we're stronger than we realize!"

An echo reached their ears: "GO!"

Jimin startled at the feeling of someone taking her hand and she looked down to see Sylvie's clasped in hers as she stood between the two Lokis. "What are you doing?"

"We're going to enchant it!"

"But I don't have magic!"

"And I don't know how!" Loki added.

"You're a conduit!" the blonde explained. "And you do, because we're the same!"

The mist thinned around them as the cloud became distracted with the illusion, allowing them time to grab a branch. Sylvie was the first as Loki followed, similar green lighting up around their hands.

Jimin felt a rush of adrenaline sweep through her— as if she'd ridden twenty roller coasters in a minute, the feeling of pins and needles sweeping over her body as the Lokis' magic moved through her. While it wasn't her power and she couldn't use it, she could feel the strength of it as their grip on her hands secured, tensing as she saw the red light turn their way.

There was a surge of power that made her feel as if she'd been electrocuted and green lit up the dark cloud, blowing it to pieces and freezing it in place.

Note: if you'd like to know more about Hui Jimin and her character, feel free to take a look at my 'meet my ocs' book, Room With A View— I published her section today!