Afterward.
Once Lorien brought Wanda and Gwen back home, the Avengers' meeting quickly disbanded. Agent Mobius and the outsider Loki were promptly expelled from this universe.
Why?
Because when Loki claimed that the Loki standing beside Thor should have been strangled long ago, Thor lifted Mjolnir and nearly caved in the outsider Loki's skull with a single swing.
You dare curse my brother to death? Eat my hammer!
Seeing a fight about to break out, Agent Mobius immediately grabbed Loki and bolted. If they didn't run now, they'd be finished. He was just an agent, and Loki was still only a temporary recruit. The two TVA staffers with him could barely handle Elder God–level beings. To subdue a Sky Father–level target, they'd need special weapons and equipment from headquarters.
But they were at the Avengers Compound. Surrounded by superheroes.
And if that man and the two women who had just walked out got annoyed, they could be erased in an instant.
So the moment things looked bad, Mobius dragged Loki away. If they didn't escape, they were doomed.
...
Back at the Time Variance Authority, Mobius pointed at Loki, thought for a moment, then said,
"That missing Lady Loki is most likely hiding in that universe."
"?" Loki froze. He had expected Mobius to lecture him, not give an analysis.
"Why? We haven't even started investigating."
"Instinct," Mobius replied, recalling the situation. "That universe's spacetime is a mess. Our scans and recon all failed. If hiding in the shadows doesn't work, then if you were her, wouldn't you hide in plain sight inside that universe?"
Loki considered it from her perspective, then nodded.
"I would."
Seeing him nod, Mobius smiled. They were all Loki, after all—sometimes their thoughts aligned.
"Think about it. Plan it out. Tell me what you would do," Mobius said. "If it works, your century in the Time Prison could be reduced to ten years. And if you capture Lady Loki, you might not even need to serve time at all—you could become one of us, a TVA agent."
Those words stunned Loki.
"Didn't you say that man was dangerous? Why does it suddenly not matter anymore?"
Why didn't it matter? The answer was simple.
Mobius tapped the badge on his chest.
"We may be ordinary agents, but we are agents of the Time Variance Authority. We deal with timelines. Right now, we can't afford to provoke that man. But what about his past self? Couldn't we?"
"Is Lady Loki necessarily at the time point we visited? What if she's at the WWII node? Or WWI? Or even the Roman Empire?"
"We can traverse the timeline. We can't mess with him now, but what about ten years ago? A hundred years ago? A thousand years ago?"
"As long as he doesn't get angry in that era, and we don't deliberately provoke his other selves, we can investigate all we want. Even if he forbids it, we can conduct it in secret. He wouldn't even notice."
"This is what it means to walk alongside time. Do you understand?"
As Mobius laid bare the TVA's true ability, the outsider Loki was left stunned. His face went blank, but inside he was shaken to the core.
Mobius's meaning was clear. Lady Loki wasn't necessarily hiding at that present node. She could be in WWII, WWI, the Roman Empire, even the Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming, or Qing dynasties.
And that man named Lorien? He was only powerful now. Before he became strong, he had to have been weak. No one is born powerful. During the Roman Empire, he couldn't have been alive yet, could he?
If he hadn't even been born, then how could he stop them from acting in that time?
On the timeline, the TVA could go wherever it wanted.
That was the true strength of its agents—the ability to jump between time nodes. And humans were the least resistant of all creatures to time travel. Humanity had only existed for a few thousand years. Change the timeline slightly, and the so-called powerhouses of today wouldn't even exist.
That was Mobius's plan.
We can't deal with you now. But can't we avoid you?
That is the Time Variance Authority.
Loki understood.
"So that's how it works."
He nodded in sudden realization, finally gaining a new understanding of the true Time Variance Authority. This was what it meant to stand above the Multiverse. Even if they couldn't confront someone directly, they still had ways to bypass them and get things done.
"So what do we do?"
"Tell me your plan first," Agent Mobius said.
The outsider Loki thought carefully, then began laying out his plan.
"If I were the fugitive Loki, I'd anticipate what you're thinking and do the opposite."
Mobius raised a brow. "So she'd go back to her original plan?"
"Not necessarily."
"Huh? Didn't you just say she'd do the opposite?"
"But if I know you'd anticipate me doing the opposite, then I'd flip it again—then go with the obvious choice."
"?? What the hell does that even mean?"
"It means the most dangerous place might actually be the safest. I'm anticipating your anticipation of my anticipation."
"??? You're seriously insane."
"Can't help it. That's why they call me the God of Mischief."
"Forget it. Let's hurry and scout other timelines. Don't forget—if we don't catch her, you're still headed for the Time Prison."
"....."
...
Meanwhile, back at the Northern Tower, Wanda turned to Lorien with a puzzled look.
"Lorien, it seemed like you deliberately let them go?"
"Yeah," Gwen added with a sly smile. "Feels like you're fishing, Lorien~"
Lorien chuckled helplessly. He really was fishing. The logic was simple.
"The Time Variance Authority has considerable backing. It was created by someone named Kang the Conqueror."
Gwen frowned. "Is he that powerful?"
"Not really." Lorien shook his head.
"Then why call it considerable backing?" Wanda and Gwen both looked confused.
"Because the TVA isn't just one. There are infinite branches. If you don't find a reason to deal with them, they'll be a massive headache later on."
"..."
That counts as not much backing? Fine. With that many branches, the backing really was substantial.
At the very least, their numbers were overwhelming.
The power of the Multiverse was such that even those at the Universal-level couldn't completely avoid it. Only the Omniversal-level could. After all, the Marvel Universe itself was an infinitely replicating universe. Unless you were some parallel exception—like Gwen—the only way was to become something like the Living Tribunal, a being that stood above all Multiverses.
But the Living Tribunal was already the ceiling of the Marvel Universe. Beat the Tribunal, and the next step was the One-Above-All.
And under the One-Above-All's rules, you couldn't kill the One-Above-All. The only way would be to step into the Reality Universe itself and kill the editors—but the Reality Universe couldn't be found. That would take sheer coincidence, pure luck. Like Deadpool.
So if you wanted an organization from the Multiverse to completely give up on interfering in your universe, there were only two choices.
One: you actively or passively give them a warning so great they can't ignore it—or take them out directly. Then they won't dare.
Two: your universe remains problem-free or too uninteresting to bother with. Then they won't come.
But the TVA? Managing timelines was their whole purpose. They exist to monitor, repair, and adjust timelines again and again.
"So if we want our universe free from their interference, there's only one option."
Lorien spread his hands helplessly.
"Bait them, let them bite, and then give them trouble."
Saying it aloud, Lorien almost touched himself with his own kindness. He had the power to wipe them out directly, yet instead he chose to fish, waiting for them to slip so he'd have the moral high ground. If that wasn't kindness, what was?
Hearing his words, Wanda and Gwen burst out laughing. They gave him a playful shove.
"No wonder you left them with that little reminder before walking out. You did it on purpose. You're awful."
"Exactly. Just waiting for them to mess up so you can take them down. That's entrapment."
But though they teased him, the affection in their eyes was impossible to hide.
As the saying goes, a man with power who's a little bad is the one women love.
Lorien only sighed, spreading his hands again.
"I told you—for the peace and natural development of our universe, this is the only way. You have to understand me."
"Pfft~"
Wanda spat playfully in mock disgust.
"Mwah~"
But Gwen wrapped her arms around Lorien's neck and kissed him on the cheek.
"?"
Wanda stared at Gwen speechlessly. They were supposed to be acting. And here she was, breaking character.
"I want one too!"
"Mwah~"
Wanda quickly leaned in and kissed him as well.
"Alright, alright." Lorien pulled both women into his arms, patting their backs. "It's the weekend. Let's think about where to spend a day together."
"Iceland! I want to see the Northern Lights!"
"Lorien, what about Provence? Let's visit the City of Knights and the sea of lavender."
"Okay, okay. Provence in the daytime for the flower fields, Iceland at night for the Northern Lights. Deal?"
"Deal!"
As they finalized their plans, a woman in a hooded cloak stood quietly among the crowd outside the Northern Tower. A small-horned crown rested on her head, and her pale green eyes shone beneath the hood.
Though the streets were crowded, people instinctively gave her a wide berth, stepping aside as if by pure instinct.