Loki followed Mobius into the grand hall of the Time Variance Authority.
Hunter B-15, began briefing:
"Shortly after entering the 1985 branch, C-20 and his squad went missing."
"We have collected enough present-time auras to confirm that the culprit is the Variant Loki."
"But the exact type of Loki is still unknown."
Hearing this, Loki quickly interjected:
"That Loki must be far inferior to me, there's no doubt about that."
To emphasize his point, Loki even nodded seriously to the audience.
"What an arrogant, egotistical guy."
Watching Loki's performance on screen, Tony Stark muttered under his breath.
"Oh?"
Loki glanced at Tony and smiled lightly:
"At least I haven't written the word 'arrogant' all over my face like someone else."
"Hmph!"
Tony snorted and lifted his head proudly, clearly unconcerned by Loki's remark.
Hunter B-15 let out a sigh, then a faint smile appeared at the corner of her mouth:
"Loki, let me see the back of your uniform."
"Hmm?"
Loki looked at the coat he had just put on and spun around on the spot, puzzled.
When he turned, everyone present could see that the back of the coat Mobius had given him bore a single word:
Variant.
"Hehe…"
A low chuckle echoed, as if reminding Loki that, for now, he was nothing more than a criminal.
Loki's expression darkened as he sensed the point. He turned back and said:
"That was subtle… nicely done."
Hunter B-15: "I don't want anyone to forget your true identity."
Loki shot back without hesitation:
"Your only hope of catching a murderer!"
Hunter B-15: "Of course not. You're just a cosmic mistake!"
"Alright, that's enough."
Mobius quickly stepped in to smooth things over:
"Everyone, remember, when we enter a time branch, our target is not just any Variant."
"Our target is a Loki!"
As Mobius spoke, he pressed a small device in his hand.
Soon, one mini-illusion after another appeared in front of Loki.
Each illusion had his exact face, though their races and forms were all different.
In Asgard, Odin and Frigga both froze in their breaths, a trace of tension appearing in their eyes.
On the screen, the first illusion to appear was a Loki with blue skin.
Seeing this, Thor couldn't help but exclaim in surprise:
"That's Frost Giant Loki… how is this possible?"
The mini-illusions kept rolling. Loki's forms continued to shift: athlete Loki, Hulk Loki, barbarian Loki, clown Loki…
Seeing the many versions of himself, Loki's eyes widened in shock.
"Our Time Variance Authority has pruned more than one Loki. More than any other Variant."
Mobius continued explaining the different Lokis across timelines:
"They are all different. Sometimes the differences are minor; other times, very noticeable."
"Although their abilities differ, they generally include: shape-shifting, illusion creation, and—"
Before Mobius could finish, Loki interjected:
"Not illusion creation, but creating duplicates. These two are completely different!"
He then proudly elaborated:
Illusions at most produce a hollow image of Loki.
But duplicates create a living, tangible Loki.
Clearly proud of this magical innovation of his, Loki rambled on before deliberately asking:
"You all knew this information already, right?"
Seeing Loki's haughty expression, Mobius' face fell as he moved on to assign tasks:
"This time we'll split into two teams. I'll go, along with the all-knowing Professor Loki."
This immediately drew protests from others:
"Why bring Loki along?"
Mobius sighed.
No matter which Loki this Variant was, they had never been able to locate him.
"So this time, we're bringing in an expert!"
Loki grinned smugly, pointing at himself:
"That expert, of course, is me!"
~~----------------------
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