Glorious Purpose

**Loki**: Season 1, Episode 1

**Glorious Purpose** is the 1st episode of the 1st season of Loki and the 1st episode overall.

## New York City 2012

**STEVE ROGERS:** On my way down to coordinate search and rescue.

**LOKI:** [*Transformed into Steve Rogers, mocking.*] "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue." [*Transforms back into himself.*] I mean, honestly, how do you keep your food down?

[*Thor puts a gag on Loki.*]

**THOR:** Shut up.

[*Everyone gets into the elevator, Tony carrying the Tesseract in a case, and Hulk makes to follow.*]

**TONY STARK:** Hey! Whoa, whoa, whoa!

Hey, hey. Buddy!

**TONY STARK:** What do you think? Maximum occupancy has been reached.

[*Hulk growls. Loki waves.*]

**THOR:** Take the stairs.

**TONY STARK:** Yeah. Stop, stop.

[*Loud thud and Hulk growls as the elevator doors close.*]

[*On the ground floor.*]

**AGENT:** Hand over the case, Stark. Hand it over.

[*The Agents and Stark struggle for the case. It falls to the ground. 2023 Ant-Man kicks it so it slides away.*]

**PIERCE:** Stark?

**THOR:** Stark?

Breathe, breathe.

[*Tony Stark from 2023 picks up the case and begins walking to the stairs.*]

**2023 TONY STARK:** Good job. Meet me in the alley. I'm gonna grab a quick slice.

[*Hulk slams out of the stairs, knocking down 2023 Tony, the case falls and opens, the Tesseract slides across the floor to Loki's foot.*]

**HULK:** No stairs!

[*People run and scream. Hulk roars. Loki picks up the Tesseract and transports away. Screen goes black.*]

**THOR:** Where's Loki? Loki! Loki!

[*Marvel Studios logo.*]

## Gobi Desert, Mongolia 2012

[*A portal opens and Loki falls through to the ground. He groans and gets up. At seeing people approach, he quickly stands on rocks above them.*]

**LOKI:** I am Loki of Asgard.
And I am burdened with glorious purpose.

**WOMAN:** [*In Mongolian*] *Who are you? Why have you come to our home?*

**LOKI:** [*In English*] I...

[*A Timedoor opens and several Miuntemen come through.*]

**LOKI:** Never mind. [*To the Minutemen, referring to the Tesseract.*]
Don't touch that.

[*Another Timedoor opens and Hunter B-15 steps through.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** Appears to be
a standard sequence violation.
Branch is growing
at a stable rate and slope.
Variant identified.

**LOKI:** I beg your pardon.

**HUNTER B-15:** On behalf of the Time Variance Authority,
I hereby arrest you
for crimes against the Sacred Timeline.
Hands up.

[*Weapons power up.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** You're coming with us.

**LOKI:** I'm sorry. Who's "us"?

**HUNTER B-15:** Last chance, Variant.

**LOKI:** [*Chuckles.*] It's been a very long day,
and I think I've had my fill of idiots
in armored suits telling me what to do,
so, if you don't mind,
this is actually your last chance.
Now get out of my way.

[*Hunter B-15 strikes him with her weapons. He falls back in slow motion. Hunter-B15 approaches and places a collar on Loki.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** You are now moving at 1/16th speed,
but feeling all that pain in real time.

[*Loki falls to the ground, returning to moving in real time.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** Reset the timeline.

[*A Reset Charge is placed and activated. Loki is pulled through the Timedoor.*]

## TVA

### Evidence log room

**MAN 1:** What species?

**MAN 2:** Variant Skrull.

**LOKI:** What is this place?

**MARTIN:** My dad is on the board of Goldman Sachs.
One little call and your whole job is privatized.
Your little job.

**MAN 3:** All right.

**MARTIN:** Your little job, how'd you like that?

**MAN 1:** Hello, sir.

[*Loki tries to run, but Hunter B-15 uses the Time Twister to pull him back.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** Come on.

**LOKI:** You're making a terrible mistake.

**MARTIN:** You're making a big mistake. Whoa whoa whoa!

**CASEY:** Hello, ma'am, uh...

[*Hunter B-15 places the Tesseract on the counter.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** Log this as evidence.

**CASEY:** Oh... Can you at least tell me what it is?

**LOKI:** It's the Tesseract.
Be very careful with it.

**CASEY:** It sounds dumb.

**LOKI:** Know this.
You cross me,
there are deadly consequences.

**HUNTER B-15:** We'll see.

[*Hunter B-15 pushes Loki into a room.*]

### Clothes room

[*The door closes behind him. A machine begins to pluck at Loki's clothes.*]

**LOKI:** Hey, hey!
Absolutely not.
This is fine Asgardian leather.

**MACHINE:** Hold very still.

[*The machine zaps off Loki's clothes, leaving him naked.*]

**LOKI:** [*Stuttering*] Now, hang on just a minute.

[*A door open beneath Loki's feet and he falls through.*]

### Paperwork room

[*Loki screams as he falls into an office room, newly dressed in TVA processing clothes. A cat purrs in the corner.*]

**PAPERWORK CLERK:** Please sign to verify
this is everything you've ever said.

**LOKI:** What?

[*Printer whirs as it prints another page. Paperwork Clerk adds it to the pile.*]

**PAPERWORK CLERK:** Sign this, too.

**LOKI:** Oh, this is absurd.

[*Printer whirs as it prints another page. Paperwork Clerk adds it to the pile.*]

**PAPERWORK CLERK:** And this.

[*Loki sighs and signs his name. Again a door opens beneath him and he falls into the next room.*]

### Scanning room

**SCANNER CLERK:**
Please confirm to your knowledge
that you are not a fully robotic being,
were born an organic creature,
and do in fact possess
what many cultures would call a soul.

**LOKI:**
What? "To my knowledge"?
Do a lot of people not know
if they're robots?

**SCANNER CLERK:**
Thank you for your confirmation. Please move through.

[*Machine energy pulsates.*]

**LOKI:** What if I was a robot
and I didn't know it?

**SCANNER CLERK:**
The machine would melt you
from the inside out.
Please move along, sir.

**LOKI:** Okay, I'm not a robot, so I'll be fine.

[*Loki steps through. The machine hums with energy and a bright light flashes.*]

**LOKI:** What?

[*The machine prints out an image.*]

**LOKI:** Oh, what's that?

**SCANNER CLERK:** Your temporal aura.

**LOKI:** What's *that*?

**SCANNER CLERK:** Please, through the door.

### Ticket room

**MINUTEMAN:** Take a ticket.

**MARTIN:** What is this, a deli? No.

**MINUTEMAN:** Take a ticket.

**LOKI:** There's only two of us in here.

**MINUTEMAN:** Take a ticket.

[*Loki takes a ticket begins walking through the empty line.*]

**LOKI:** This is a mistake! I shouldn't be here!

**MISS MINUTES:** [*On TV video presentation.*]
Hey there! You're probably saying,
"This is a mistake.
I shouldn't even be here."
Welcome to the Time Variance Authority.
I'm Miss Minutes,
and it's my job to catch you up
before you stand trial for your crimes.
So let's not waste another minute.
Settle in, sharpen your pencils,
and check this out.

(THUNDERCLAP)

**MISS MINUTES:** Long ago, there was
a vast multiversal war.
Countless unique timelines
battled each other for supremacy,
nearly resulting
in the total destruction of...

(EXPLOSION)

**MISS MINUTES:** ...well, everything.
But then, the all-knowing
Time-Keepers emerged,
bringing peace by reorganizing
the multiverse into a single timeline,
the Sacred Timeline.
Now, the Time-Keepers protect and preserve
the proper flow of time
for everyone and everything.
But sometimes, people like you veer off
the path the Time-Keepers created.
We call those Variants.
Maybe you started an uprising,
or were just late for work.
Whatever it was, stepping off your path
created a nexus event,
which, left unchecked,
could branch off into madness,
leading to another multiversal war.

(BEEPING)

**MISS MINUTES:** But, don't worry,
to make sure that doesn't happen,
the Time-Keepers created
the TVA and all its incredible workers.

(BEEPING)

**MISS MINUTES:** The TVA has stepped in to fix your mistake
and set time back
on its predetermined path.
Now that your actions have left you
without a place on the timeline,
you must stand trial for your offenses.
So sit tight, and we'll get you
in front of a judge in no time.
Just make sure you have your ticket,
and you'll be seen
by the next available attendant.
For all time.

**ONSCREEN GROUP VOICES:** Always.

**LOKI:** [*Scoffs*]
Time-Keepers? The Sacred Timeline?
Who actually believes this bunkum?

**MINUTEMAN:** Ticket, sir?

**MARTIN:** The guy didn't give me a ticket. I tried to ask for one.

**MINUTEMAN:** Ticket, sir!

**MARTIN:** I tried to ask that guy for a ticket!

**MINUTEMAN:** Sir...

**MARTIN:** What, you're raising
your voice at me, bucket head?

[*Martin screams as he's pruned. Loki shudders in surprise.*]

**MISS MINUTES:** Thanks for visiting the TVA.
Don't hesitate
to let us know how we're doing.

[*Opening theme.*]

## Aix-En-Provence, France 1549

**MINUTEMAN:** The hunter and his Minutemen
responded to a routine nexus event.
It appears that when they arrived,
somebody got the jump on 'em.

**MOBIUS:** You think?

**HUNTER U-92:** It's him.

**MOBIUS:** Yeah, stab wounds look
consistent with the others.
Positioning of the bodies indicates
they didn't know what the hell hit 'em.
And reset charge is gone.

**HUNTER U-92:** That's the sixth attack in the last week.

**MOBIUS:** That we know of.

[*Clatter in the back when a young boy enters.*]

**HUNTER U-92:** Hey!

**MOBIUS:** Wait, stand down! Stand down.
It's just a kid.
[*In French*] *I'm sorry... my friend is an imbecile.*

**HUNTER U-92:** Hey, yo! [*In French*] *I speak every language on the timeline too. Jackass.*

[*Mobius pulls out a device, draws a stick figure on it, and hands it to the boy.*]

**MOBIUS:** [*In English*] Tap it.

[*The boy does so. The stick figure animates, and the boy smiles.*]

**MOBIUS:** [*In French*] *Do you know who did this?*

[*The boy points to a stained glass window depicting the devil.*]

**MOBIUS:** [*In English*] Don't worry,
that devil's afraid of us.
We're gonna take care of him.
And we're gonna put you
back where you belong.

[*Mobius tabs the boy on the chest, and he smiles, revealing blue around his lips and teeth.*]

**MOBIUS:** [*In French*] *That blue... What is that?*

[*The boy hands him a stick of "Blooberrie"-flavored Kablooie gum.*]

**MOBIUS:** [*In English*] Devil bearing gifts.
[*Hands it to Hunter U-92.*]
Go ahead and run this for sequence period
and any hints of temporal aura.

**HUNTER U-92:** You know we won't get anything.

**MOBIUS:** Yeah, just give it a shot.

**HUNTER U-92:** The branch
is nearing red line. We need to go.

**MOBIUS:** Okay. [*In French*] *Go wait outside.* [*In English*] It's okay.

**HUNTER U-92:** Set a reset charge.

[*Another door appears and a man steps through.*]

**MAN:** Sir, there's something you'll wanna see.

[*He hands Mobius the files on Loki.*]

## TVA

### Courtroom

[*Gavel bangs. Hunter B-15 escorts Loki into the courtroom.*]

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** Next case, please.
Laufeyson. Variant L1130,
AKA Loki Laufeyson,
is charged with
sequence violation 7-20-89.
How do you plead?

**LOKI:** [*Chuckles.*]
Madam, a god doesn't plead.
This has been a very enjoyable pantomime,
but I'd like to go home now.

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** Are you guilty or not guilty, sir?

**LOKI:** [*Scoffs.*] Guilty of being
the God of Mischief? Yes.
Guilty of finding
all this incredibly tedious? Yes.
Guilty of a crime
against the Sacred Timeline?
Absolutely not, you have the wrong person.

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** Oh, really? And who should we have?

**LOKI:** I suspect, the Avengers.
I came into possession of the Tesseract
because they traveled through time,
no doubt in a last-ditch effort
to stave off my ascent to God King.

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** That's quite an accusation.

**LOKI:** Oh, believe me, you can smell
the cologne of two Tony Starks.
You speak of Time Criminals?
It's they you should be after.
Perhaps you could provide me
with a taskforce and resources,
and I could return
and eliminate them for you.

[*Mobius enters the courtroom and takes a seat.*]

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** We're not here to talk about the Avengers.

**LOKI:** Oh, no?

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** No.
What they did was supposed to happen.
You escaping was not.

**LOKI:** [*Laughs.*]
Right. Uh...
"Not supposed to happen"?
According to whom?

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** The Time-Keepers?

**LOKI:** Oh, the Time-Keepers. Right.
Well, perhaps I should speak
to these Time-Keepers, gods to gods.

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** I'm sorry, but they're quite busy.

**LOKI:** Oh, they are? What are they doing?

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** Dictating the proper flow of time.

**LOKI:** I see. Right. And then what do you do?

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** Dictate the proper flow of time
according to their dictations.
How do you plead?

**LOKI:** Guilty... of this.

[*Stifled laughter from the room.*]

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** What's going on?

**LOKI:** Hang on. Everyone quiet.

**HUNTER B-15:** [*Chuckles.*] He's trying to use his powers, ma'am.

**LOKI:** Don't rush me. [*Grunts as he tries again.*]
Damn it! Why won't it work?

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** Magic powers?
They're no good in the TVA, Mr. Laufeyson.
The court finds you guilty,
and I sentence you to be reset. [*Bangs gavel.*]
Next case, please!

**LOKI:** "Reset"? What does that mean?
What, is it bad? What does it mean?
Hey! You ridiculous bureaucrats
will not dictate how my story ends!

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** It's not your story, Mr. Laufeyson.
It never was.

**LOKI:**
You have no idea what I'm capable of!

**MOBIUS:** I... I think I might.
Have an idea of what he's capable of.

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** Approach the bench.

[*Mobius does so and they speak softly.*]

**MOBIUS:** Hi.

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** If you're thinking what I think you are,
it's a bad idea.

**MOBIUS:** Okay, I'm just chasing a hunch.

**JUDGE RENSLAYER:** Anything goes sideways, it's on you.

**MOBIUS:** Okay. I feel like
I'm always looking up to you.
I like it. It's appropriate.

**LOKI:** And who are you?

### Hallway

**LOKI:** I'm gonna burn this place to the ground.

**MOBIUS:** I'll show you where my desk is,
you can start there.

[*Loki pauses as he sees the city through a window.*]

**MOBIUS:** Have a look. Home sweet home.

**LOKI:** I thought there was no magic here.

**MOBIUS:** There isn't.

**LOKI:** That's not real.

**MOBIUS:** It is, and, unfortunately,
so is all the paperwork.
Good tinder for your fire, though.
Come on.

**LOKI:** This place is a nightmare.

**MOBIUS:** That's another department.
Now that department
I'll help you burn down.

[*Loki sighs.*]

**MOBIUS:** I'm Agent Mobius, by the way.

**LOKI:** Are you taking me somewhere to kill me?

**MOBIUS:** No. That's where you just were.
I'm taking you some place to talk.

**LOKI:** I don't like to talk.

**MOBIUS:** But you do like to lie,
which you just did.
Because we both know you love to talk.
Talkie-talkie.

**LOKI:** How long have you been here?

**MOBIUS:** [*Sighs.*] I don't know. It's hard to say,
time passes differently here in the TVA.

**LOKI:** What does that mean?

**MOBIUS:** You'll catch up.

**LOKI:** So, you're part of the TVA's
courageous and dedicated workforce?

**MOBIUS:** Yes.

**LOKI:** You were created by the Time-Keepers.

**MOBIUS:** Yep.

**LOKI:** To protect the Sacred Timeline.

**MOBIUS:** Correct.

[*Loki laughs.*]

**MOBIUS:** Is that funny?

**LOKI:** The idea that your little club
decides the fate of trillions of people
across all of existence
at the behest of three space lizards,
yes, it's funny.
It's absurd.

**MOBIUS:** I thought you didn't like to talk.

[*Scoffs*]

[*Sighs*]

**MOBIUS:** After you.

### Time Theater 5

**LOKI:** For the record, this really does feel
like a killing-me kind of a room.

**MOBIUS:** Not big on trust, are you?

**LOKI:** Trust is for children and dogs.
There's only one person you can trust.

**MOBIUS:** Yourself? I like it.
Slap it on a T-shirt.

**LOKI:** If the TVA truly oversees all of time,
how have I never heard of you until now?

**MOBIUS:** 'Cause you've never needed to.
You've always lived within your set path.

**LOKI:** I live within whatever path I choose.

**MOBIUS:** Sure you do. Okay, come have a seat.

**MOBIUS:** I told you, time moves differently in the TVA. Come on, sit down. Let's get into this. Go on, have a seat.

**MOBIUS:** If looks could kill.

**LOKI:** What do you want from me?

**MOBIUS:** [*Inhales.*] Well, let's start
with a little cooperation.

**LOKI:** Not my forte.

**MOBIUS:** Really?
Even when you're wooing
someone powerful you intend to betray?
Come on.

**LOKI:** You don't know anything about me.

**MOBIUS:** Maybe I'd like to learn.
I specialize in the pursuit
of dangerous Variants.

**LOKI:** Like myself?

**MOBIUS:** Mmm...
No, particularly dangerous Variants.
You're just a little pussycat.
I got a set of questions for you.
You answer them honestly,
and then maybe
I can give you something you want.
You wanna get out of here, right?
Yeah, so we'll start there.
Should you return, what are you gonna do?

**LOKI:** Finish what I started.

**MOBIUS:** Which is?

**LOKI:** Claim my throne.

**MOBIUS:** You wanna be king?

**LOKI:** I don't want to be, I was born to be.

**MOBIUS:** I know, but king of what exactly?

**LOKI:** [*Scoffs*]
You wouldn't understand.

**MOBIUS:** Try me.

**LOKI:** Midgard.

**MOBIUS:** AKA Earth.
All right. Now you're the king of Midgard,
then what?
Happily ever after?

**LOKI:** Asgard, the Nine Realms.

**MOBIUS:** Space?

**LOKI:** Space.

**MOBIUS:** Space is big.
That'd be a nice feather in your cap.
"Loki, the King of Space."

**LOKI:** Mock me if you dare.

**MOBIUS:** No, I'm not. [*Chuckles*]
Honestly, I'm actually a fan. Yeah.
And I guess I'm wondering why does someone
with so much range just wanna rule?

**LOKI:** I would've made it easy for them.

**MOBIUS:** People like easy.

**LOKI:** The first
and most oppressive lie ever uttered
was the song of freedom.

**MOBIUS:** How's that one go?

**LOKI:** For nearly every living thing,
choice breeds shame
and uncertainty and regret.
There's a fork in every road,
yet the wrong path always taken.

**MOBIUS:** Good. Yeah.
You said "nearly every living thing,"
so I'm guessing
you don't fall into that category?

**LOKI:** [*Chuckles*]
[*Sighs*]
The Time-Keepers
have built quite the circus,
and I see the clowns are playing
their parts to perfection.

**MOBIUS:** [*Chuckles*]
Big metaphor guy. I love it.
Makes you sound super smart.

**LOKI:** I am smart.

**MOBIUS:** I know.
Okay.
Okay.

[*A video starts onscreen.*]

**LOKI:** [*Scoffs*] What is this?

**MOBIUS:** A sampling of your greatest hits,
if I may.

[*Loki sighs.*]

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** If it's all the same to you...
I'll have that drink now.

[*Mobius offers Loki a drink.*]

**LOKI:** No.
And I remember. I was there.
Anything else?

**MOBIUS:** It's funny, for someone born to rule,
you sure do lose a lot.
You might even say it's in your nature.

**LOKI:** You know, things didn't turn out so well
for the last person who said that to me.

**MOBIUS:** Oh, yeah, Phil Coulson.

[*Onscreen, Loki stabs Coulson.*]

**ONSCREEN THOR:** No!

**MOBIUS:** Didn't the Avengers come together
to literally avenge him by defeating you?

**LOKI:** Little solace to a dead man.

**MOBIUS:** Do you enjoy hurting people?
Making them feel small?
Making them feel afraid?

**LOKI:** Your games don't frighten me.

**MOBIUS:** Making them feel little?

**LOKI:** I know what I am.

**MOBIUS:** A murderer?

**LOKI:** A liberator.

**MOBIUS:** Of eyeballs, maybe.

[*A man onscreen screams as Loki stabs a device over his eye as part of Loki's attack on Midgard.*]

**MOBIUS:** Look at that smile.
You are enjoying that.
Did you enjoy hurting them?

**LOKI:** I don't have to play this game. I'm a god.

**MOBIUS:** Of what, again? Mischief, right?

**MOBIUS:** Yeah. I don't see anything
very mischievous about this.

**LOKI:** No, I don't suppose you do.

**MOBIUS:** [*Sighs.*] Let's talk about your escapes.
You're really good at doing awful things,
and then just getting away.

**LOKI:** What can I say? I'm a mischievous scamp.

**MOBIUS:** This is one of my favorites.

**CAPTAIN:** [*Over PA.*] From the flight deck,
Captain William A. Scott,
Northwest Orient Airlines 305,
on schedule to land in Seattle.
Flight time today, approximately...

**FLIGHT ATTENDANT:** Bourbon and soda?

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** Thank you.

**FLIGHT ATTENDANT:** Absolutely.
Is there anything else
I can do for you, sir?

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** I suppose we'll find out, won't we?

[*Chuckles*]

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** Uh, Miss?

**FLIGHT ATTENDANT:** Yes, Mr. Cooper?

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** You might want to take a look
at that note. [*Whispers*] I have a bomb.

**LOKI:** I fail to see how this has
any relevance or bearing on...

**MOBIUS:** [*Shushes*] No. This is the good part.

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** See you again someday.
Brother,
Heimdall, you better be ready.

**MOBIUS:** I can't believe you were D.B. Cooper.
Come on!

**LOKI:** I was young, and I lost a bet to Thor.
Where was the TVA when I was meddling
with these affairs of men?

**MOBIUS:** We were right there with you,
just surfing that Sacred Timeline.

**LOKI:** So that had the Time-Keepers'
seal of approval, did it?

**MOBIUS:** Well, I wouldn't think of it
in terms of approval and disapproval.
That's sort of a...
Let's get back to escapes...

**LOKI:** [*Sighs*]

**MOBIUS:** ...and a little psychobabble.
What is it that you think
that you're really running from?

**LOKI:** Enough.

[*Loki stands up. Mobius uses the Time Twister to return Loki to his seat.*]

**MOBIUS:** Back in your cage.
See, I can play the heavy keys, too.

**LOKI:** I was just standing up to make a point.

**MOBIUS:** [*Chuckles*] I'm sorry, go ahead.

**LOKI:** It won't be as meaningful now.

**MOBIUS:** Okay, well, stay seated.

**LOKI:** I'll do what I want to do!

**MOBIUS:** Sure.

**LOKI:** [*Sighs*]
What exactly is it that you want?

**MOBIUS:** I want you to be honest
about why you do what you do.

**LOKI:** Liar.

**MOBIUS:** I'm serious.
All I seek is a deeper understanding
of the fearsome God of Mischief.

[*Loki scoffs.*]

**MOBIUS:** What makes Loki tick?

**LOKI:** I know what this place is.

**MOBIUS:** What is it?

**LOKI:** It's an illusion.
It's a cruel, elaborate trick
conjured by the weak to inspire fear.
A desperate attempt at control.
Now, you all parade about
as if you're the divine arbiters
of power in the universe.

**MOBIUS:** We are.

**LOKI:** You're not.
My choices are my own.

**MOBIUS:** Your choice is your own.
Good, let's go with that.
I think this one's gonna fire you up.

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** The bright lure of freedom
diminishes your life's joy
in a mad scramble for power...

**LOKI:** Precisely.
I was...
I am on the verge of acquiring
everything I am owed,
and when I do, it'll be because I did it.
Not because it was supposed to happen.
Or because you
or the Time Variance Authority,
or whatever it is you call yourselves,
allowed me to.
Honestly, you're pathetic.
You're an irrelevance.
A detour.
A footnote to my ascent.

**MOBIUS:** You finished?
You're gonna start
taking things seriously.

[*Loki groans.*]

**MOBIUS:** If you hadn't picked up the Tesseract,
you would have been
taken to a cell on Asgard.

[*Onscreen, Loki walks in chains.*]

**ONSCREEN FRIGGA:** Loki.

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** Hello, Mother.
Have I made you proud?

**ONSCREEN FRIGGA:** Please don't make this worse.

**LOKI:** What is this?
This is nonsense, more tricks.
This never even happened.

**MOBIUS:** Not to you.
Not yet.
Look, the TVA doesn't just know
your whole past,
we know your whole life,
how it's all meant to be.
Think of it as comforting.

**LOKI:** This is absurd.

**ONSCREEN FRIGGA:** And am I not your mother?

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** You're not.

**ONSCREEN FRIGGA:** Hmm.
Always so perceptive
about everyone but yourself.

**MOBIUS:** And then the Dark Elves
attack the palace,
and you think you send them to Thor.

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** You might wanna
take the stairs to the left.

**MOBIUS:** But instead, you send them...

**ONSCREEN FRIGGA:** I'll never tell.

[*Frigga groans as she's stabbed with a sword.*]

**LOKI:** [*Breath shudders.*]
Where do you have her? Where is she?

**MOBIUS:** You lead them right to her.

**LOKI:** I don't believe you.
You're lying. It's not true.

**MOBIUS:** It is true.
That's the proper flow of time,
and it happens again and again and again
because it's supposed to,
because it has to.

**MOBIUS:** The TVA makes sure of it.

**LOKI:** Where is she?

**MOBIUS:** Now why don't you tell me,
do you enjoy hurting people?

**LOKI:** I don't believe you.

**MOBIUS:** Do you enjoy killing?

**LOKI:** I'll kill you.

**MOBIUS:** What, like you did your mother?

[*Loki throws a chair at Mobius, who stpes out of the way. The chair goes through the screen; the image is disrupted but returns. Mobius uses the Time Twister and Loki is returned to where he was seated, but with no chair there he drops to the floor.*]

**MOBIUS:** Sorry, the Time Twister just loops you,
not the furniture.
You weren't born to be king, Loki.
You were born to cause
pain and suffering and death.
That's how it is, that's how it was,
that's how it will be.
All so that others can achieve
their best versions of themselves.

[*The Chitauri onscreen screech. Mobius offers Loki a hand.*]

**LOKI:** What is this place?

**MOBIUS:** Come on.

[*Loki takes Mobius's hand and gets up. The door opens.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** What are you doing?

**MOBIUS:** My job. Is it yours to interrupt?

**HUNTER B-15:** We have a situation.

**MOBIUS:** [*Sighs*] There's always a situation.
Don't go anywhere.
It was just getting good. Spirited.
[*Sighs*]

**HUNTER B-15:** Talking to that Variant is a mistake.

**MOBIUS:** That's your position. I think the opposite.

**HUNTER B-15:** He should be reset!

**MOBIUS:** You think everyone should be reset.
I'm getting good stuff in there!

**HUNTER B-15:** We just lost another unit.

**MOBIUS:** Okay, Loki, I think we can
finish up tomorrow and just pick it...

[*Mobius looks around the empty room. Checks pockets. Realizes the Time Twister is gone.*]

**MOBIUS:** Mischievous scamp.

### The chase

[*Loki sees Casey and follows after.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** Wish I could say I was surprised.

**MOBIUS:** Yeah, I wish you hadn't interrupted us.

**HUNTER B-15:** Me? It's my fault?

**MOBIUS:** Look, he can't have gotten very far.

**HUNTER B-15:** Split up. Prune on sight.

**MOBIUS:** No, no pruning, no resetting.
He can still help us!

### Casey's desk

**LOKI:** [*Whispers*] Hey.

**CASEY:** Hey. I know you.

**CASEY:** You're that criminal with the blue box.

[*Loki shushes him and pulls him down to hide behind the desk.*]

**CASEY:** [*Whispers*] Ow.

**LOKI:** What's your name?

**CASEY:** Casey.

**LOKI:** Give me the Tesseract,
or I'll gut you like a fish, Casey.

**CASEY:** What's a fish?

[*Loki shushes him.*]

**CASEY:** [*Whispers*] What's a fish?

**LOKI:** How do you not know what a fish is?

**CASEY:** I've lived my entire life behind a desk.

**LOKI:** Well, what difference does it make?

**CASEY:** I wanna know exactly what I'm being
threatened with before I comply.

**LOKI:** Death, Casey. Violent, painful death.

**CASEY:** Okay, okay. I comply, I comply.
I comply. Jeez!

**CASEY:** Um... Oh.

**CASEY:** This it?

**LOKI:** What?
Infinity Stones?
How...
How do you have these?

**CASEY:** Oh, we actually get a lot of those.
Yeah. Some of the guys
use them as paperweights.
Some of 'em.

**LOKI:** Is this the greatest power
in the universe?

[*The elevator door opens. Hunter B-15 enters and swings the pruning stick. Loki uses the Time Twister to get himself away. The pruning weapon strikes Casey's cart, disintegrating it.*]

**CASEY:** Oh, you almost hit me!
That is so messed up.

**HUNTER B-15:** Split up.
Check the lower concourse.

**CASEY:** I do not forgive you.

### Time Theater 5

[*Loki lands back in Time Theater 5. He resumes watching the video, going to Frigga's death, and looking forward.*]

**ONSCREEN ODIN:** I love you, my sons.
Remember this place.
Home.

[*Loki breathes deeply.*]

**ONSCREEN THOR:** Loki, I thought the world of you.
I thought we were gonna fight
side by side forever.

[*Fast-forward.*]

**ONSCREEN THOR:** Maybe you're not so bad after all, brother.

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** Maybe not.

**ONSCREEN THOR:** Thank you.
If you were here,
I might even give you a hug.

[*Loki chuckles*]

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** I'm here.

[*Fast-forward.*]

**ONSCREEN THANOS:** Undying?
You should choose
your words more carefully.

[*Onscreen, Thanos chokes Loki.*]

**ONSCREEN LOKI:** [*Straining*] You... will never be... a god.

[*Loki gasps as he watches Thanos snaps his neck onscreen. He continues watching as Thor holds his body and the* Statesman *explodes. The tape ends and the screen goes blank. Loki scoffs and then begins to laugh. The door opens behind him and Hunter B-15 enters.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** What's so funny?

**LOKI:** Glorious purpose.

[*They fight. Loki uses the Time Twister device to remove his collar and puts it on Hunter B-15. He uses the Time Twister to rewind her out of the room. He sighs. Experimentally, he then winds her back into the room, and away again. He then goes back and forth, winding her in and away.*]

**HUNTER B-15:** Stop...
It.
Stop it!
St... Stop it...
It... Stop it...
Stop... I... St... Sto... St...

[*Loki rewinds her away and drops the Time Twister on the table.*]

### Hallway

**CASEY:** And this guy kept saying
he was gonna turn me into a fish,
whatever that is,
and then they show up
and just prune my cart,
so there was nothing I could have done.

[*Hunter-B15 appears before them.*]

**CASEY:** [*Gasps*]
Hey, there you are.
You know, that Variant you had got away.

**HUNTER B-15:** [*Sighs*]

### Time Theater 5

[*Loki sighs and sits down. The door open and closes.*]

**MOBIUS:** Loki?
Nowhere left to run.

**LOKI:** I can't go back, can I?
Back to my timeline.
I don't enjoy hurting people.
I... [*Sighs.*]
I don't enjoy it.
I do it because I have to,
because I've had to.

**MOBIUS:** Okay, explain that to me.

**LOKI:** Because it's part of the illusion.
It's the cruel, elaborate trick
conjured by the weak to inspire fear.

**MOBIUS:** "A desperate play for control." You do know yourself.

**LOKI:** A villain. [*Sighs.*]

**MOBIUS:** That's not how I see it.

[*Loki picks up the tesseract.*]

**MOBIUS:** You try to use that?

**LOKI:** Oh, several times. Even an Infinity Stone is useless here. [*Scoffs.*] The TVA is formidable.

**MOBIUS:** That's been my experience.
Listen, I can't offer you salvation,
but maybe I can offer you
something better.
A fugitive Variant's been killing
our Minutemen.

[*Loki stands up.*]

**LOKI:** And you need the God of Mischief to help you stop him?

**MOBIUS:** That's right.

**LOKI:** Why me?

**MOBIUS:** The Variant we're hunting is... you.

**LOKI:** I beg your pardon?

## Salina, Oklahoma 1858

[*Hunter U-92 and three Minutemen arrive. A Minuteman scans a device.*]

**MINUTEMAN:** Time signature is early third millennium. Definitely anachronistic.

[*Hunter U-92 checks the ground.*]

**HUNTER U-92:** Oil. I think some jackass found himself a time machine, came back here to get rich.

**MINUTEMAN:** Should we fan out and look for him, sir?

**HUNTER U-92:** Nah. It's not worth the paperwork. Just prune it. Let's bail. Set a charge.

**MINUTEMAN:** Wait. Someone's out there.

[*A hooded figure stands in the distance.*]

**HUNTER U-92:** Check it out.

[*They power up their weapons and head toward the figure. The hooded figure raises a lantern and drops it. It breaks, igniting the oil. The fire rushes toward Hunter U-92 and the Minutemen.*]

**HUNTER U-92:** Get down!

[*The Minutemen scream as the fire catches them. Hunter U-92 falls to the ground, fire around him. He crawls toward the reset charge, but is pulled back, screaming, before he can get to it. The hooded figure picks up the reset charge.*]

## Credits

**MISS MINUTES:** Thanks for visiting the TVA. Don't hesitate to let us know how we're doing.