Chapter 1
A day or so passed while Cat carefully ministered to Mobius’s hurts. Cat wished that he had spent more time studying and practicing healing magic over other things back in Asgard as a young man, but that was water under a bridge he had left behind forever ago.
Mobius had his memories back, though, and he was regaining his strength. A worrying warmth had settled in the skin around his chest, though, and Mobius was clearly not healing up as nicely as Cat had hoped. Mobius was asleep and Cat fretted next to the bed.
Could he find antibiotics in the Void if Mobius needed them? He recalled getting incredibly lucky once before, but the odds of him being so lucky again were slim. He knew President Loki and his cabal had a stash of medical supplies, including antibiotics, but Cat didn’t think he could pull off breaking in, stealing precious medicine from the cabal, escaping with his life, and then returning to the cabin with the medication without unintentionally leading the group back to Mobius, Kid, and Croki. He didn’t have anything to barter with, either, and he was certain President Loki would be absolutely unwilling to help him, not after embarrassing him the way they did.
He would have to leave to go to some place or another on the timeline, then, but that would be a tricky endeavor in and of itself. And Ravonna had escaped, so who knows if she managed to rally her more staunch supporters into rounding up and brainwashing the entire group at the TVA again? Maybe it was paranoia, but Cat didn’t trust anyone at the TVA with Mobius’s life. They had failed him more than once and Loki was never one to forgive easily.
Cat was becoming fairly certain Mobius’s wound was infected despite his efforts at cleaning it when Kid shouted from outside their ragged little cabin. Cat jumped up immediately, grabbing his knives.
“I said not to come any closer!” Kid Loki shouted at a pair of TVA hunters, who, to their credit, obeyed.
Cat burst out the door, looking as menacing as he could. “What do you want?” He demanded.
B-15 was at the front of the little group and she stepped forward, looking worried. “I want to know if Mobius is okay. If he isn’t, we want to help him.”
“You want to help him,” Cat repeated, watching her and the other two carefully. “How did you even find us?”
“Ah, that’s because of me!” Oh. The other Loki- the Loki that dressed like a TVA analyst. “When B-15 said you ran away with Mobius after he was shot, I knew you’d go to the one place you would consider safe and, well, this place isn’t readily accessible by the TVA unless they prune themselves, which they are unlikely to do-”
“Do you always talk this much?” Cat snapped. “If any of you hurt him or he gets worse because of you, I’ll kill all three of you.”
“H-7 is a medic,” B-15 explained. “He can help.” H-7 nodded in the affirmative, avoiding Cat’s gaze. The guy was scared? Good! He should be! Cat was the most powerful Loki! Okay, maybe that wasn’t exactly true, but Cat was good at what he did and woe to anyone who hurts Mobius!
Cat reluctantly allowed the group entry to the little cabin and it immediately felt claustrophobic with so many people inside. It felt even worse when they all tried to pile into the room with the bed and Mobius in it. B-15 and Loki agreed to wait with Kid and Croki in the front room while Cat kept a careful eye on this supposed medic and Mobius. They kept the door open so everyone could see in and out of the room to help everyone feel more at ease.
H-7 checked Mobius’s vitals and then unwrapped the bandages to give him a good lookover. He frowned at what he saw and Cat felt his heart clench. H-7 went about checking and cleaning the wound before bandaging it up again. By the time he was finished, Cat had relaxed significantly as far as trusting him went. He had helped, but it looked like he had bad news. Well… Cat would do whatever he said was necessary to help Mobius recover.
The medic and Cat stepped into the front room together so the medic could give his report. “We need to take him back to the TVA-”
H-7 was now laying on his back while Cat straddled him with a knife pressed against his throat. “Try that again?” Cat growled as B-15 and Loki protested Cat’s actions.
“Mr. Loki, if you want him to survive, he needs antibiotics. He needs a sterile environment to heal in, with sterile bandages.” H-7 said with a tremble in his voice.
“Mobius deserves better than to die in a cabin that is falling down at the end of time,” B-15 said, gently placing a hand on Cat’s shoulder. “I know you love him. I saw that the minute you guys helped me escape that time cell. H-7 says he can’t be treated effectively here. I care about him, too. We all do. Please, let us help you help him.”
Cat looked up at her and slowly sheathed his knife. “I can’t use my powers in the TVA. We will be completely at your mercy there.”
“I won’t let anyone hurt you or Mobius. With Ravonna gone, I’m in charge now, but even if I wasn’t, we all care about each other.”
“Naive of you,” Cat said.
“I won’t let anyone at the TVA hurt Mobius or you. You can trust me.”
Cat had to. The alternative was not an option. His alternate self was remarkably quiet over there, which struck Cat as odd. When Cat looked up at him, there was an expression on his face that Cat knew very well. Longing, grief, love, and despair- all at once.
His alternate self had it bad for Mobius. Of course he did. What Loki in their right mind wouldn’t love Mobius in one way or another? It was fate. It just was how it was. Unavoidable. And it was clear that Loki saw he had no chance with Mobius now because Cat was with him. Cat was his original Loki, the one Mobius fell in love with in the first place. That didn’t stop the roaring monster of jealousy and possessiveness from rearing its ugly head in Cat’s imagination, though.
Cat gently woke Mobius, a little concerned that the man hadn’t woken up with all the poking and prodding. It was apparently much worse than he had thought. Guilt ate at him, but Cat pushed through it. Guilt was a hindrance, not a motivator.
“Mobius, your friends from the TVA- B-15 and that other Loki are here with a medic. H-6 or H-7 or something like that. The medic says you need better medical care than I can give you. To do that, we have to go back to the TVA. Are you okay with that?”
“Sure, why not?” Mobius answered, clearly exhausted. “Couldn’t hurt, probably. Ravonna isn’t there, anyway, you know? She was hightailing it out of there.”
“It’s time to go, then.” Cat said, hoping Mobius was right and his TVA friends weren’t lying to them.
It didn’t take long for them to get Mobius settled in the infirmary in the TVA. Mobius was pretty popular, it seemed, because it seemed like every single member of the TVA wanted to see him and see how he was doing for themselves. Before Cat could flat out refuse anyone entry, B-15 set everyone straight and, to avoid overwhelming Mobius (and Cat, although she would never tell him that to his face), set up a sign up sheet and rotation for visitation over the next several days for short periods of time.
B-15 wasn’t so bad, Cat decided.