Lokius (Loki/Mobius) AU - What if Mobius, while looking for the Loki he knows from his timeline, encounters a different variant of himself...? A hunter Mobius.
+ Plot twist: Hunter Mobius is in love with Loki... but not the Loki we are familiar with. (L1145 is Loki in the alt. timeline where Hunter Mobius is in.)
PART I can be found here
Fic #2
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Flashback
“M2169, I want you to meet a new recruit. This is L1145. He’ll be learning from you this week before he goes into evaluation. We’ll need your final assessment report regarding the new recruit by the end of the week. Aim to have him fit for duty by next week. What with more frequent Nexus events occurring recently, Judge Renslayer wants all new recruits to be ready for the field as soon as possible. I trust you’ll be able to handle this task well, M2169?” LT-012 spoke.
Mobius looked at his team leader and gave a firm nod. LT-102 left him with the new recruit. Mobius’s gaze settled on L1145.
He was a tall man, broad shouldered, with an elongated face and sharp cheekbones. His hair was jet black and cascaded around his shoulders, the length long enough for the man to tie up in a bun, which Mobius noted was one of many things he’s going to have to teach this new recruit. He studied the man’s expression, trying to see if he was going to last enough to excel in his new position. He usually had an eye for sensing whether a new recruit was suited for the role of a Hunter from the look of determination or purpose in their eyes. They’ll need that drive, if they were to get on with the job.
As a created being made by the Time Keepers, Mobius took great pride in serving them and doing his job thoroughly. Pruning irregular timelines and correcting the flow of time and thus stabilizing the Sacred Timeline was the most satisfying areas of being a Hunter, although sometimes that meant he had to harden his heart at certain situations that he found morally objectionable. “For the greater good of all things Sacred”, was written in bold letters in the Hunter’s Instructional manual. Mobius’s manual was already fraying after having been repeatedly opened numerous times to remind him of his purpose. The new recruit’s manual, on the other hand, was brand new. The vibrant TVA logo on the cover, along with the words, “For All Time. Always,” emblazoned on the front gleamed brightly compared to Mobius’s, where the words were starting to fade off.
Usually, Mobius found it easy to figure out whether a new recruit would be able to get used to his role, but with L1145 he found he couldn’t read him. There wasn’t anything he could catch on to that he was usually able to recognize in most newly created beings of the TVA. When he was assigned to train a would-be Hunter (which was a lot of responsibility, although it seemed upper management trusted him enough with this task), they had a tendency to look either fearful or eager to start. But this one... L1145 carried the look of a marble statue, emotionless as an inanimate object. Mobius was worried. Was this new guy going to be able to handle the training he had to share? Or was he going to be pruned in spite of Mobius’s best efforts?
The ‘Newly Created’, as the TVA termed all their new recruits, were frequently mentioned in their daily agenda. They were, as Mobius understood, a vital part of the TVA’s overall operation as it consisted of fresh new recruits for each division within the TVA. And every man and woman assigned to their new division needed to excel and be the best they could be. But Mobius had seen some who failed to fit in to the role they were assigned, and the TVA was not a place that tolerated failures. He wasn’t about to break his track record now by failing to train a new recruit. He would not only let the TVA down, but himself most of all. No matter what happened, Mobius was going to train L1145 to the best of his ability and avoid this man from getting pruned.
“Come with me, L1145. I’m going to fill you in on what you need to know. Come on,” Mobius urged and L1145 followed him silently.
Mobius took him first to the locker rooms, where the Hunters got their necessary uniforms and protective gear. He quickly found the locker marked with the words, “L1145” chiseled on the front. He touched the keypad on the locker, putting in his own identification number, M2168 first. The locker promptly made a soft clicking noise. Mobius pulled open the locker door to reveal the familiar set of clothes and shoe-wear every Hunter was given for their position. He also took the liberty of handing L1145 a black rubber band, which L1145 took and stared at for a moment before looking back at Mobius. And Mobius saw the first flicker of emotion cross through the new recruit’s eyes - inquisitiveness.
“You’re going to need to tie your hair up, L1145.”
“Why?”
Mobius’s eyebrows quirked up. “Why? Because I said so, new recruit.”
L1145 stared at Mobius again. Mobius felt his skin prickle as he felt a sliver of unease run through his spine. The man did not move for a moment, and Mobius felt himself being studied, the same way he had been watching L1145 earlier. This was new. Not one of his previous recruits had challenged him before.
After what felt like an eternity, the new recruit did as he was told and Mobius realized with a start that he had been holding his breath. He exhaled, feeling the tension ebb away from his shoulders. Why am I feeling so nervous? This is just another new recruit. And he’s going to need to listen to me, instead of questioning me. I’m his superior… Mobius thought, trying to steady his beating heart. But with the relief came another new sensation, one he hadn’t quite found himself feeling for a very long time, not since the day he was a new recruit himself. This time it was his turn to stare at L1145, heat rushing up to his cheeks.
L1145 pulled his dark, mussed up hair using his long fingers and combed through the strands slowly, taking his time, before eventually twirling them into a bun, the black rubber band circling around it until it trapped the last of his unruly strands. But some of the strands around L1145’s forehead had come loose, falling around his face, making him look… well, Mobius didn’t know how to describe it. But he definitely wasn’t sure he should be feeling this way. His heart was pounding and his mouth felt dry. He caught L1145 looking back at him with furrowed eyebrows, and Mobius realized he’d been starring far too long.
Trying to avert his attention away from this fact, Mobius coughed and forced himself to pull his gaze away from L1145. He continued the rest of the tour through the locker room by briskly explaining what each part of L1145’s uniform and weapons were used for. Watching L1145, Mobius found the only other time L1145 react even a little was when he handed the Pruning Stick.
“Careful with that,” Mobius said as L1145 turned it on. The pruning stick hummed to life, the tip of the baton glowing bright orange, the heat emanating off of it like a hot rod. L1145 cocked his head a little to one side.
“What does it do?” L1145 spoke.
“It’s a pruning stick, which means any variants we catch on the field that causes a fuss will be eliminated for the good of the Sacred Timeline. Of course, we try and give them a good trial before we prune them. Each variant we take out will serve the TVA’s necessary efforts in keeping the timeline stable. You’re going to be a part of that, L1145. And I’m here to train you to become one of us Minutemen.”
“Why do we need to do that?” L1145 questioned.
“It’s for the good of-“
“But why?” L1145 interrupted, and Mobius pursed his lips. I just explained it to him, Mobius thought, frowning.
“So we can prevent a Multiversal War. Didn’t Miss Minutes give you the rundown in the recruitment video? Maybe we’re gonna need to do some practical learning first before we do any combat training. This is important,” Mobius said, feeling his confidence for the new recruit somewhat diminishing.
“I’m capable,” L1145 spoke, turning off the pruning stick. The hum stopped, the glow fading away.
“No, you’re not… Not if you’re questioning the general details of the-“
Mobius was cut off again as L1145 suddenly grabbed Mobius by the collar and flung him to the floor, catching him completely off guard. The shock of it, as well as the action, knocked the breath out of his lungs for a moment, enough for L1145 to push down the pruning stick on his neck. For the first time, Mobius saw anger creasing over L1145’s face, and it made his heart beat faster. Strands of messy hair had come loose from L1145’s bun as it fell around his face. Mobius thought he caught a scent of pine from L1145, which was strange considering every single recruit never had any recognizable smell on them. On top of this, L1145 was now putting his entire body weight on Mobius’s stomach, his legs holding Mobius’s own down on the ground, making it harder for Mobius to make a counter move to get L1145 off.
“No more paperwork,” L1145 snarled through gritted teeth, eyes glaring daggers down at Mobius. His lips parted, baring his teeth like a feral animal warning away a potential enemy.
“Get off, L1145,” Mobius ordered. L1145 did not let go; on the contrary, Mobius felt the pruning stick choke him just an inch.
That’s enough, Mobius thought, and he sagged just a little, letting his body’s tension dwindle. He felt L1145 narrow his eyes, but loosened his grip on the pruning stick just a little. And that’s when Mobius made his own move, grabbing L1145’s neck and tackling him to the ground in one swift movement, switching his position so that his body was now weighing down heavily on L1145’s tall and lean form as he was slammed squarely to the ground. The intake of breath from L1145 made it clear to Mobius that the new recruit hadn’t been expecting him to win him over. The look of surprise was evident, but more than ever it was the small smile that was forming on L1145’s lips that attracted Mobius’s attention the most.
“Put me to combat training,” L1145 said.
“I don’t think you’re in a position to demand anything, recruit,” Mobius said, raising an eyebrow.
“You said so yourself. There are variants out there that need to be found and brought to trial to the TVA. There’s no time to waste.”
Mobius didn’t let L1145 off the hook so quickly, however. He looked down at this strange new recruit, finding those ocean blue eyes reminded him of something he had long ago when he was a young recruit himself. The rebellion in them lit a sleeping emotion inside of Mobius that he hadn’t felt for a while. At last, here was a worthwhile challenge and not some recruit following his every move step because of protocol.
“Just make sure to keep up. I don’t tolerate any lack of diligence from any recruit,” Mobius said as he finally let L1145 go, rising to his feet. L1145 looked up at him, his lips quirking up a notch.
“Of course not… sir,” L1145 said.
“Don’t call me sir. Call me Mobius,” Mobius said as he reached out a hand. L1145 looked at it, and then grabbed it, letting Mobius pull him to his feet.
“Mobius…” L1145 murmured, and Mobius felt a shiver hearing it being uttered by L1145 for the first time. He wasn’t too sure why he was reacting this way, or even why he shared that name with the new recruit. It wasn’t his given name at the TVA, but it felt like his to own, especially when most of the Minute Men started calling him that. Hearing it from L1145 though made it enticing, like it was a secret being whispered into the night instead of a simple nickname given to him by others who fought alongside him.
“Come on, you,” Mobius said, “Training’s all good and all, but not with an empty stomach.”
The amused smile that broke through L1145’s lips was a pleasant sight Mobius found he wanted to replicate every day.
The Ocean Race 2027-28 will return to New Zealand for the iconic around the world offshore race. While the 2022-23 race extended non-stop fo
The Ocean Race 2027-28 will return to New Zealand for the iconic around the world offshore race. While the 2022-23 race extended non-stop for 12750 nm from South Africa to Brazil, the 15th edition will finish the stage in Auckland in March, marking a celebrated homecoming for an event deeply embedded in the city’s maritime heritage.
Auckland’s connection to The Ocean Race stretches back five decades, with the city first playing host to the 1977-78 edition of the Whitbread Round the World Race, the precursor to The Ocean Race. Since then, Auckland has been a host port 10 times (there was a New Zealand stopover in Wellington in 2006) and the 2027 stopover will be just one year shy of a 50-year golden jubilee anniversary.
Over the decades, Auckland has become synonymous with offshore sailing excellence, with Kiwi legends like Sir Peter Blake and Grant Dalton writing their names into the event’s record book over the past decades. The return of The Ocean Race is a reflection of its enduring legacy and a celebration of New Zealand’s passion for the ocean.
“We’re excited to be bringing The Ocean Race back to its spiritual home in Auckland, a city that embodies the spirit of human endeavor and resilience that defines this competition,” said Richard Brisius, Race Chairman of The Ocean Race. “While we celebrate the many Kiwi sailors who are legends of the race, we are also looking ahead and inviting a new generation of New Zealand sailors to take up the challenge of The Ocean Race.”
