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lailyn · 11 months

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A Face In The Crowd, Chapter 4

Loki may be sedated, but his slumber was hardly peaceful, as evidenced by the constant mumbling and jerking of his limbs. Vincent had half a mind to strap his subject to the table lest he fell to the floor from whatever battle he was fighting in his sleep.

Music, Vincent thought suddenly. Mothers all across the universe sang lullabies to their children, it would make sense that music would help.

But what to play? Choosing music was always an intuitive choice, but now that Vincent was choosing for someone else, it had become the most difficult of conundrums.

Vincent did not know anything about Loki’s taste in music, or if the god even liked music at all; Loki certainly was critical about Vincent’s last playlist.

There must be something in his collection that appealed to all creation, man or alien.

Then he found it: Gustav Holst’s The Planets.

It was the perfect choice. No other composer ever came close to expressing such love and awe for the cosmos as deeply and as emotionally as Gustav. If there was something to love about, and in Loki, Gustav would find it.

The first movement was Mars, the Bringer of War. Despite it being his favourite, his companion on many, many monotonous days, it seemed a questionable choice given the circumstances.

After some hesitation, Vincent decided to skip it. He tried not to think about why he was being so accommodating toward a lowly Variant, beyond the clinical need to provide an optimal clinical environment for an extraterrestrial brain wave tracing.

The second movement of the orchestral suite soon filled the treatment room, its acoustics tranquil and calming.

Venus, the Bringer of Peace.

Perfect, Vincent thought.

**************************

“Agent Mobius. May I have a moment of your time?”

“Oh no…” Mobius groaned at the sight of the man marching down the hall. His hand flew to his forehead. “What has he done now?”

“If you mean your pet…" Vincent drawled, "It’s not so much what he’s done that’s the problem, but what’s been done to him.”

Mobius stopped massaging his head. “Meaning?"

“He’s under a lot of stress,” Vincent said. “And I mean, a lot.”

“Doctor, this is Loki we’re talking about," Mobius reminded him. "Stressed is his default setting.”

“He’s not in the best of shape, I’ll give you that,” Vincent said. “But - ”

“Wait,” Mobius interrupted. “If you’re here then where's Loki? Did you take him back to his cell? You were supposed to inform me once you’re done.”

“Done? Far from it,” Vincent said, shaking his head. “We’ve barely started, which is what I came to talk to you about.”

“You left him in the lab? Alone?” Mobius exclaimed. “Damn it, Strange, you know better than that!”

“It’s not like he’s going anywhere,” Vincent said with a nonchalant shrug. “He’s not exactly conscious.”

Alarm turned to abject concern. “Loki's unconscious? What the hell happened?”

“Let me rephrase that,” Vincent said hurriedly, “He’s fine. I simply put him to sleep."

Though Mobius' expression remained carefully schooled, Vincent felt called to defend himself. "I had to.”

“Vincent, what is going on?” Mobius asked. "Did he try to attack you again?"

Vincent raked a hand through his hair, suddenly acutely aware of his rumpled appearance. "It was nothing I couldn't handle."

"I thought it was a routine EEG session."

"Nothing is ever routine with Loki, is it?”

“Another one of your rhetorical questions, Doctor?”

“My next one isn’t,” Vincent fixed Mobius with a hard, probing stare. "Loki seemed out of sorts today. I was wondering if you could tell me why?"

Mobius was quiet for a while. "Out of sorts how?"

"On edge, like the smallest thing could set him off." Which it did, Vincent added silently.

The thoughtful silence lingered, uneasiness creeping in as seconds passed.

"You don't look surprised," Vincent said, careful to keep any accusation out of his remark.

“Loki’s unpredictable. Who knows what he’s thinking?”

"You," Vincent said bluntly. "You're the Loki expert. And you were also the last one to talk to him."

“Of course I was. No one else talks to him.”

“Is there something you’re keeping from your dear Variant?”

Mobius laughed. “Now what made you say something like that?”

Vincent looked pointedly at the fat bundle of folders Mobius was carrying. “Doing research all by yourself?”

“I…don’t see how that’s any of your business.”

“I have made it my business. What is the TVA planning to do with him?”

Mobius pursed his lips, looking thoughtful.

“Careful, Doctor," he cautioned lightly. "Your compassion is starting to show.”

“I like him. He’s entertaining," Vincent deadpanned. He took a step closer toward the increasingly wary analyst. “But so were all the Lokis before him, in their own way. So why is this one still alive?”

“How does it go, ‘Ours is not to question why’?”

“ 'Theirs not to reason why, theirs but to do and die',” Vincent corrected indignantly.

"Huh. I suppose you're right." Mobius' eyes disappeared behind his smile. “You’re the Shakespeare fanatic.”

“It’s Tennyson,” Vincent said, his frustration growing by the second. “You're avoiding the question, Mobius.”

Mobius drew in a measured breath, taking his time to choose his words, as one must. “He is on his last legs.”

“And what happens if he fails?”

“You know the answer to that, Doctor.”

Mobius watched the myriad of expressions cross the doctor's face. “You shouldn’t trust him, you know."

“I don’t trust Loki as far as I can throw him,” Vincent said swiftly. "I am simply exercising my duty of care."

Being all too versed in the effects Loki could have on people, Mobius could only roll his eyes. "Yeah, you tell yourself that."

"What is your problem with me, Agent Mobius?"

"I can't read you," Mobius said flatly. "You're as clear as mud, and frankly, I don't trust you."

"Wow." Vincent stared at the analyst with new eyes. "How long have you had that one in the barrel?"

Mobius shrugged. "It only just came up."

"Right," Vincent said with a snort. “You’re not as convincing as you think.”

"Wasn't trying to be. But I wouldn't worry about it," Mobius said. "My reservation about you is entirely professional."

Vincent let out an incredulous laugh. "I am not a spy, if that's what you're implying."

"That's…exactly what a spy would say."

"Is it? Clearly I don't have what it takes to be one."

"What exactly do you want, Doctor?" Mobius asked in exasperation.

"I want to help."

"Why?"

Instantly, Loki's battered, haunted face flashed through Vincent's mind. Set me free.

Kill me.

Vincent forced the images out of his head, but transference won out, bleeding desperation into his plea.

"The faster you find the Variant, the better."

Suddenly Mobius looked every inch of his years. "Just what do you think I've been doing, Vincent?"

"How are you choosing your apocalypses?"

"You don't have the clearance, Doc, you know that."

"How?" Vincent pressed.

“I don’t think you understand what’s at stake here,” Mobius said tightly. "I follow orders, just like you."

"Loki took an arrow for you."

"I am his ticket to staying alive," Mobius said with no trace of arrogance. "And he was trying to get into the Time Keepers' good - "

"It was poisoned. And he took it anyway," Vincent growled.

Mobius paled.

"If there was one figure in history who loved his poisons, it was King Mithridates of Pontus," Vincent said, recalling what Loki had shared about his childhood fascination. “Loki knew more than he was letting on.”

He watched Mobius' throat bob up and down, but felt no satisfaction.

"Sounds like you don't know Loki all that well, Agent Mobius."

"Come on, Doctor. This is Loki we're talking about. He didn't do it to save me," Mobius said, finally tired of playing games. "He had an ulterior motive. We both know what it was."

Vincent felt an inexplicable rush of anger. "For someone so smart, you're incredibly off the mark."

They stared each other down, until they garnered suspicious looks from passing Minutemen.

"If we're going to fight, can we take it somewhere else?" Mobius asked brightly.

"Thought you'd never ask." Vincent turned on his heel and began to walk. "Come with me."

*************************

“What’s with the music?”

“Music helps me work. The louder it is, the better.”

“How can anyone sleep through this racket?” Mobius muttered, crouching down next to the bed. He poked Loki's face a few times. "Wow. He's really out, huh."

"Like a light."

"What did you give him?" Mobius asked suspiciously.

"Nothing all that potent," Vincent murmured, skimming through Loki's vital signs and brain wave tracing on his monitor screen. "It's mostly exhaustion."

Satisfied with the readings, he turned off the music, cleared the table of clutter, and gestured for Mobius to sit.

"No, thanks. I'm good."

Vincent would not take no for an answer, not when he was offering the only stool in the lab. "It swivels. It's really fun."

Mobius reluctantly obliged, albeit with a bemused expression. "You're very strange, you know that?"

"Thanks, I really don't hear that enough," Vincent said dryly. “I would offer you coffee, but it is cold and black.”

“Seriously, Doctor, I’m fine.”

"Great. Now where were we?"

Mobius shrugged. "Nowhere helpful. We might be colleagues, but I don't know what I can tell you that doesn't go against TVA policy."

"You don't need to go into detail. I'm only interested to know how you're choosing your next destination, besides depending on your usual Variance Energy surveillance reports."

"Well, we go through historical records and Loki would then stratify the apocalypses based on a combination of risks and resource availability," Mobius explained. "Which in turn will tell us how likely the Variant would stay in a particular place, for any length of time."

Vincent tapped a finger against his coffee cup. "So you're saying that your main variable in your search is the level of comfort?"

"Not comfort," Mobius said. "Survival capabilities. The Variant needs food, weapons, energy source, that sort of thing."

"Maybe you're looking in the wrong place."

Mobius heaved a weary sigh. "If you have a strong opinion you simply can't contain, I am more than happy to hear it."

"Find the apocalypse that is the least comfortable," Vincent suggested. “Anywhere else, the Variant is just going to lay in wait and pick you off one by one.”

"Doctor, all apocalypses are uncomfortable," Mobius said incredulously. "Deadly, even."

"Least comfortable for you," Vincent clarified. "You and your men."

Mobius blinked owlishly at him. “I hate to admit it, but you’ve lost me.”

“The answer lies in Loki's biology,” Vincent said triumphantly, like he had made some kind of grand discovery.

“What about his biology?”

"Look. The Loki variants may not all look the same, but you won't find any of them treading lava in Pompeii or braving the Great Fire of 1910, Agent Mobius."

"That is stating the obvious,” Mobius muttered. He stole a glance at Loki to make sure he was still sleeping. “He’s a Jotun.”

"Exactly. Essentially, this means that there are places the Variant would thrive in, places we can't reach. Places that are inhospitable," Vincent stressed, wagging a finger back and forth, "- to us."

“You know, Doc…” Mobius drawled, eyes gleaming as understanding began to dawn on him. “I think you’re onto something here."

A grunting sound from the bed had them turn simultaneously.

"What…what is this?" Loki asked hoarsely. Clearly disoriented, he struggled against the restraints, muscles bulging with exertion. "No, no, no…"

Mobius and Vincent exchanged looks.

“Loki,” Mobius called. “Calm down.”

Loki’s gaze darted around the room, and when their eyes finally met, terror turned into confusion. “Who are you? What is this place?"

Mobius rose to his feet in alarm; there was no recognition in the cloudy green eyes at all. “What’s going on, Doc? Is this a side effect from the sedation?”

“I’m not sure,” Vincent said, shaking his head slowly. “Maybe.”

The doctor peeled himself from the wall and approached the bed with care.

"Loki."

Loki's head whipped around at the sound of the doctor's voice. An ugly snarl contorted his face.

"You," Loki hissed, eyes wild and crazed. "You second-rate charlatan."

Without taking his eyes off Vincent, Loki called out roughly, “Thor, he's here again!"

He threw back his head, his bound arms and legs thrashing about, but there was no escape.

"Thor, you bastard, where are you?"

Vincent held out a placating hand, but in his psychosis, Loki shrank back in the bed and shrieked, "Don't touch me!"

"It's okay," Vincent said soothingly. "You're okay."

Against his better judgement, he reached down and gripped Loki's shoulder.

The grounding effect from the touch was immediate; like fog lifting at dawn, the dazed look cleared from Loki's eyes.

"Vincent?"

Vincent ignored the overfamiliar mode of address and repeated, "You're okay."

"I'm…okay."

Awareness returned to Loki in overlapping memories; as they unravelled, piece by broken piece, the devastation mounted, stacked on layers of fury and grief.

"I'm still here."

He closed his eyes, but the tears seeped through all the same, bitter and hot.

"I'm still here."

#strangefrost #lokius bromance #fic #mth 2022

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no-pretence-of-something · 7 years

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Do the whole gosh danging orchestra

OK so I would like to thank this anon for RUINING ASKS FOR ME ..im 100% kidding I need the validation and attention thanks anon lol

Violin - Are you a perfectionist?Yes but to the point that im too scared to actually do the thing bc it inevitably WONT be perfect so nothing ever gets done

Viola - What makes you different?….ive been hit by a car…..idk what you want from me man like I like to think im pretty different from lots of people.. like different in what way??

Cello - Favourite place to be?ok theres this like this bunch of cliffs and rocks in dunsborough and theres like this giant rock pool that you have to climb down to and HUGE waves break over the top of it and its AMAZING but we usually cant stay for very long bc my mom gets nervous lol

Double Bass - How do you like to relax?Playing video games or exercising or writing or literally anything that i don’t HAVE to do

Acoustic Guitar - What instruments do you play?What DO I play or what CAN I play lol I play the trumpet

Electric Guitar - Do you experience synesthesia?nope

Electric Bass - What do you want to study?well I am currently doing a bachelor of music for jazz so I think its safe to say that I really wanna study…..archaeology

Electric Cello - Favourite composer?ok so I do not have a fav composer(i know right bad music student oh well) BUT im in the latin ensemble at uni so I have recently become a p big fan of tito puente’s work and stuff

Electric Violin - Have you ever been in a musical/play?I have been in the band for my high school’s productions of sweet charity and hairspray

Harp - Favourite piece you’ve played?song for my father by horace silver or the second movement of gustav holst’s first suite in Eb

Ukulele - Are you a good performer?HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA my parents say im good so lets just say that

Sitar - Where do you see yourself in 10 years?I dont wanna go too in depth bc its v lame and cheesy but I wanna be happy and I wanna be performing and writing my own shit and I wanna have lots of doggos

Balalaika - Do you enjoy playing sports?I love soccer and played it for 9 years and was p good if I say so myself but I’ve been taking a break for music

Mandolin - Who inspires you?FUCK IDK lots of people I guess. Spite mostly

Piccolo - Describe your personalityannoying?????I like to think im funny and creative.

Flute - Have you ever gone overseas?I grew up in the US of A and now im in Aus and I’ve been to Europe

Oboe - Favourite kind of weather?COLD AND WET PLS

Cor Anglais - Introvert, ambivert, or extrovert?introvert?????

Clarinet - How much time do you spend online?As much as possible lol

Bass Clarinet - Favourite item of clothing?I dont?? have one? I really like my dress pants and shirt that I perform in?? ooo also a ghostbusters t-shirt thats like a size too big and its soft as fuck

Bassoon - Do you enjoy online shopping?yeah but im wayyy too impulsive for it

Contrabassoon - Are you brave?I like to think I am but im really not

Bass Flute - Can you dance?NOOOOOOOOOOO and its the bane of my existence do you know how much my PASTY WHITE ASS would love to be able to impress people like Eva and my gf with some SICK MOVES

Soprano Saxophone - How many times have you broken a bone?I have broken my wrist twice my thumb once and 3 teeth(teeth count as bones right???)

Alto Saxophone - Have you ever pulled an all nighter?do you mean in the last week or????

Tenor Saxophone - Favourite film?at this very moment in time its wonder woman but all time constant favs are master and commander and wall-e

Baritone Saxophone - Describe your dream bedroombigger so as to hold all of the crap that I hoard like a dragon oo also with one of those cool bunk bed things with a desk or storage space underneath

French Horn - Where are you from?Perth, home of absolutely nothing interesting

Mellophone - Favourite musical?wicked bc im v basic

Trumpet - What makes you happy?I mean lots of stuff?? not having any work to do, having time to do stuff I like to do, rain, being able to sleep, not having a headache, performing, and on a more lame note my gf and my best friend

Slide Trumpet - Do you like being outdoors?yes

Cornet - Favourite genre of music?uggghgh i dont have one??? am i obliged to say jazz????????

Flugelhorn - How do you feel about your past?It was good and I miss it sometimes

Bugle - Would you ever join the army?I would join the air force

Trombone - Describe your dream mealmashed potatoes and veggies and crumbed cutlets

Valve Trombone - Do you suffer from imposter syndrome?idk what this means but according to wikipedia its a thing that high-achievers get?? so probs not lol

Bass Trombone - Are you reliable?oooooOOooo i dont think im at liberty to judge myself lol. i hope so?

Tenor Horn - What do you aspire to be?Happy and talented and rich

Baritone Horn - Do you have perfect pitch?I FUCKING WISH

Euphonium - Favourite food?…..crumbed cutlets

Sousaphone - Who is your hero?julie d’aubigney, hatshepsut, goddesses, my pup, whoever invented milo, the cool moustache guy that works at the ice-cream place, any girl I have ever seen busking in the city, my late crawfish, whoever invented rocks, rebecca sugar, oh i was supposed to take this seriously hello afraid of sincerity pleased to meet you??

Tuba - How/Why did you join Tumblr?honestly im p sure it was just bc my gf had it

Melodica - Do people consider you annoying?It wouldnt surprise me

Harmonica - What makes you laugh?anything with a dog doing anything

Accordion - Favourite Tumblr blog?I dont have one

Air Horn - Are you good with kids?short answer..no …long answer….consider dogs

Ocarina - Do you know how to do CPR?I think we did a class on it in like year 8???? but I dont think id be able to do it now?

Whistle - Favourite smell? fire or rain

Slide Whistle - What TV shows have you binge-watched?lots: game of thrones, SW the clone wars, orange is the new black, brooklyn nine nine to name a few

Didgeridoo - Tell a funny story!When I was in 4th grade me and my 2 best friends were goofing off in the bathroom (bc naturally) and one of the stalls didn’t lock so my and my friend Grace were like guarding the door for my other friend Jill and we had the smart idea to like hold the door so she like cant get out (bc friendship!) and she starts trying to pull the door open and like shove it open and the door came off its hinges and all three of us were stuck there holding a bathroom door. My other 2 friends told us to drop the door and run as they were running from the bathroom and I was v close to running but they made me stay lol. i forgot what happened next but next thing I knew we were getting told off by Jill’s mom bc she was a teacher at the school and we saw the vice principal and had to write out what happened and i know this doesn’t sound v funny but i found out a few years ago that when my parents got the call from the vice principal they couldn’t stop laughing WHILE ON THE PHONE WITH HIM and he was like telling them how serious it was and my siblings all told me how funny it was seeing all 3 of us walking around the school, crying, looking like we were walking to our deaths. Ok but they didn’t even fix the door???like????????

Recorder - How well did you do in school?I definitely did not do as well as I could have

Xylophone - Do you like classical music?I dont have anything against classical music?

Marimba - What’s your ringtone?honestly no idea my phone is always on silent

Glockenspiel - Are you talkative?depends on who im with..actually it depends on what mood im in tbh

Bongos - Can you jumpstart a car?no…?

Wood Block - Describe your dream house@evaaupaysdesmerveilles its gonna be big and awesome and have lots of windows and its apparently gonna have an art studio and an observatory and a library and a music studio thing and a room ENTIRELY made of pillows

Snare Drum - Favourite colour?dark purple

Bass Drum - Would you want to be able to read minds?yesssss

Timpani - Do you enjoy meeting new people?…..noooooooooot really

Gong - Are you a loud or soft person?it depends

Triangle - Could you imagine being the President/Prime Minister?nope

Steel Drum - Favourite season?winter

#ask meme #this took fucking ages #and answering seriously is not my forte lol #and also no-one is actually gonna read this lol

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