Upon hearing Natasha's words, Lorien instantly knew who it was—two Lokis, along with others. The Time Variance Authority had arrived.
But something felt off to him. He remembered how the Parallel Universe Loki had been taken by the Time Variance Authority. It happened during another universe's Avengers 1. He had just gotten hold of magic, teleported to a desert, and was immediately snatched up by the Time Variance Authority.
The whole thing happened so fast, it was like they had been waiting for it. The moment that Loki made a move, the next second he was taken away.
But in this universe, the Sacred Timeline's events... To be honest, Lorien had already thrown them completely off course. People who should have died were alive. People who shouldn't have died were dead. Events that should have happened didn't. Things that shouldn't have happened did. In short—it was a mess.
Most of what was happening now no longer lined up with the original storyline, the timeline itself. Logically, the Time Variance Authority should have shown up at his door long ago. The fact that they were only appearing now left a few possibilities:
1. The Multiverse is too vast—they didn't notice right away and only just discovered.
2. They came with a purpose, something specific this time.
3. They're here to say hello—or to scout things out, report back, and let the big boss decide.
Honestly, among those, Lorien leaned toward the third. The Time Variance Authority almost never acted on the first or second. The first was extremely unlikely. Otherwise, why would that Loki have been taken during Avengers 1? That plot had only just begun.
The second was even less likely. The Time Variance Authority wasn't some agency like SHIELD or SWORD. you could compare it to. They were established across the Multiverse itself. They were the authority managing time itself. They didn't need favors from anyone. And if they had a purpose, it wouldn't be one that required anyone's help.
Which left only the third. Bound by their own rules, they came to check things out. Though, of course, maybe not just to check. Maybe they had other business as well.
He hung up the phone. Lorien got out of bed and changed clothes. Wanda and Gwen also got dressed. Once they were ready, Lorien nodded, then remembered something.
He went to Hela, who was still gaming.
"There are two Lokis outside the Avengers Compound. Want to go take a look, Hela?"
"Two losers?"
Hela shook her head hard, eyes on her game.
"Not going."
"...."
Two losers... she hadn't even thought before saying it. It was obvious. Hela didn't like either of her brothers. She made her stance clear: no closeness, only basic courtesy at best.
"Alright then, we'll go."
Lorien waved his hand.
The next moment, the three of them appeared on the lawn outside the Avengers Compound. The moment they arrived, they saw the place filled with people.
They were split into two groups. One group: two officers in combat gear with batons, a suit-wearing agent, and one Loki. The other was simpler: Natasha, Thor, Loki, and the later arrivals.
Both sides stood face to face. The two Lokis glared at each other, squinting as though trying to read each other's mind.
Thor looked at the other Loki, then turned to the Loki beside him and asked.
"Is that your clone?"
"?" Loki stared at Thor in disbelief. "Am I crazy enough to pull this stunt? And on such a grand scale?"
"True." Thor nodded.
Loki had mellowed considerably. He didn't cause trouble anymore. So this couldn't be the Loki by his side.
"Wait." Thor suddenly thought of something and turned to Loki. "So is he the real Loki, or are you the real Loki? Which one is actually my brother?"
"Oh no..."
Seeing his brother's clear yet foolish expression, Loki slapped his forehead.
"You're hopeless."
Even now, you're still wondering which one is the real brother? I've been right here beside you the whole time, and now you're asking which one is real? If I'm fake, then how could the one standing against me be real? What kind of brain is that?
Nearby, Natasha overheard the brothers' discussion. She turned her head and said,
"Quiet. Wait until Lorien gets here."
Loki and Thor nodded immediately upon hearing this. Discussing it now was pointless. Better to wait for news.
Just as Natasha turned her head, she spotted Lorien, Wanda, and Gwen approaching.
"You're here."
Hearing Natasha's words, not just Loki and Thor, but every member of the Avengers—including the newcomers Moon Knight and Venom Eddie—turned to look.
Feeling all eyes on him, Lorien nodded and led the two women forward. He didn't mind the crowd. After all, it came back to that same principle. Here, anyone he chose to ignore wouldn't trouble him afterward.
Just as he'd said before:
"True strength is not doing anything you don't want to do."
As for Wanda and Gwen? They weren't fazed by all the stares, were they? Wanda had been the center of attention since her days with the Avengers. The moment she cast a spell on the streets, eyes would naturally turn her way.
And Gwen? She was already a New York celebrity. Wherever she walked, people would cheer and greet her.
Stares? She was long accustomed to them. Even the Avengers didn't faze her. Besides, none of them were stronger than her.
...
When Lorien arrived with the two women, the Avengers all nodded to him. He turned his gaze toward the other Loki—the one from another reality.
The agent standing beside that Loki quickly bowed his head in a formal salute upon noticing Lorien's attention. Yes, it was a salute. Clearly, he already had some idea of Lorien's strength. Seeing the agent salute, the soldiers behind him immediately followed suit, bowing respectfully toward Lorien as well.
Lorien gave a slight nod in acknowledgment. He glanced around the area, then at everyone present, before finally settling his gaze on Natasha.
"Let's discuss this in the conference room. Lead the way."
Natasha nodded at once. She stepped to Lorien's side, turned, and led the way inside. As Lorien and the two women moved after her, the rest of the group followed close behind.
...
Not long after, they gathered in a conference room.
Once Lorien, Gwen, Wanda, Thor, the two Lokis, the Time Variance Authority agent, and two of his staff had entered, Natasha paused outside. She turned back and gave the Avengers waiting in the hall a meaningful glance.
The message was simple: too many people inside would only cause confusion. She would go in to record everything. They should wait outside and receive the summary later.
Everyone understood the look and agreed without protest. Natasha was the last to step inside, closing the door behind her.
Within the Avengers, Natasha had, almost without anyone realizing, become the de facto leader.
Why?
Because after Tony went into seclusion and Captain America voluntarily stepped away, Natasha was the only active member left from the original team.
As for Hawkeye, Hulk, and even Thor, they only carried out missions. None of them dealt with management. Natasha, however, had taken responsibility for coordinating the Avengers. That was why her influence kept growing.
On top of that, she could contact Lorien—and she was one of the very few who could actually persuade him to show up. And since she remained consistently active, her position as team captain was quietly established. No one opposed it. Everyone supported it.
...
Inside the conference room, Lorien walked to the far end and sat down. Gwen and Wanda took the first and second seats to his left. Loki and Thor sat to his right, in the second and third seats.
The other Loki and the TVA agents sat across from them. Natasha entered last, surveyed the arrangement, and chose the third seat on Lorien's left—beside Gwen.
With that, everyone was in place.
Lorien spread his hands, signaling for them to begin.
The TVA agent was the first to speak.
"Honorable Hosts of the Three Cosmic Powers, I am Agent Mobius M. Mobius of the Multiverse Time Variance Authority.
We have brought Loki from a parallel universe after discovering a peculiar anomaly in this one. We are here to ask whether you deem it necessary to resolve.
And we are also tasked with gathering intelligence related to missions issued by our Authority."
Three sentences, three clear points.
Lorien immediately understood all of them.
First, they knew of his and Wanda's power, at least to some extent, but not in detail. He figured they considered his Phoenix Force to be about the same level as Wanda's Chaos Magic. After all, both were Hosts of one of the Three Cosmic Powers. In their eyes, even if his readings on their scanner showed higher danger levels than Wanda's, it couldn't be by much. At most, he was just a little stronger.
Second, they had found an unusual loophole in this universe. In other universes, infinite timelines followed certain patterns. But here, things were different. The arrivals were all Spider-Man variants—and almost all of them were good. Hardly any were villains. That was what made it strange.
Third, Mobius had casually introduced this Loki's identity and their purpose. They were here to carry out a reconnaissance mission, and this visit was part of that task.
Lorien pieced it all together instantly. And it matched exactly with the third possibility he had anticipated.
As for their so-called reconnaissance mission, he already knew what it was about.
Looking for that beautiful Lady Loki, wasn't it?
Well, he had to admit—she really was beautiful.