August 1 - Variants (BtVS/MCU)
Title: Variants
Author: Glitterangelem
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Marvel Cinematic Universe (Loki)
Characters: Kid Loki, Alligator Loki, Buffy
Rating: PG
Word Count: 765
Notes: The concept of Variants from the Loki series really intrigued me. I think the Avengers tag works for this?
“To be perfectly honest, I’m not quite sure where to go from here,” Loki - Kid Loki, as the others called him, as he’d taken to calling himself - said quietly as he headed towards what he hoped was a safe place.
A growl from his companion had him shaking his head, and he spared the alligator a glance before saying, “No, we can’t wait. You know he’s gone. He always wanted to go back to his family and the TVA would never allow it. If he could help bring it all down?”
He shrugged. “Of course he’d go back to help. We Lokis always have a longing to be part of something greater. And he could.”
Alligator Loki grunted his agreement and silence fell between the pair.
They walked through the rubble of all the pruned timelines, climbing carefully through shattered buildings and decimated streets, not wanting to make any noise, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. There was no one to trust, now, other than each other. They were alone.
As they were destined to be alone.
His legs began to grow weary from the walk, but a glance around gave him no sense of comfort. He paused and turned to look back the way they had come, wishing vainly for the sight of Old Loki appearing behind them. Wishing he could talk to him one last time, wishing he could thank him for staying with him all this time. Wishing…
“He’s not coming back, is he?”
Kid Loki jerked at the sound of voice, spinning around to see Alligator Loki growling and stalking forwards, towards the blond woman casually leaning against an empty doorframe that once stood at the entrance of a building.
“Your old friend,” she clarified, her eyes shifting to the alligator for a moment, before redirecting her gaze back at him. “I saw him sacrifice himself. It was noble.”
He couldn’t help the sneer that curled his upper lip at the word. It seemed almost mocking, in a way. Whoever heard of a noble Loki?
“Who are you?” Kid Loki asked instead of answering her question.
She gave him a small smile back, “The name’s Buffy. It looks like you guys could use a place to crash, what with horde of annoying Loki busting into your old place. Or do you have a special name for a large group of you. A flock? A murder? A pride? A murder of Lokis? A pride of Lokis?”
“How did you know about that?”
Buffy shrugged. “Just call me Miss Stealth. I have my ways.”
Alligator Loki grumbled and Kid Loki sighed, mentally loathing himself as he said, “We could use the help. He’s getting ornery from all the walking.”
“Great!” she chirped, turning away from them and calling over her shoulder, “Just play follow the leader and I can get you somewhere safe. Well, safer at least. Nothing’s truly safe here, but I’ve carved out a nice Buffy approved living space. You’ll like it.”
Following her back through an old destroyed building, pausing long enough to pick up Alligator Loki when it was clear he was having trouble maneuvering through some of the rougher terrain, he called, “Why are you helping us? Lokis aren’t exactly known for being trust-worthy, you know.”
“Fair point,” she acknowledged as she scrambling over a rusting bridge, “Honestly? I’m a little bored staying off the grid. I could stand to have someone else to talk to, and you two seem a lot more approachable than the others.”
“Why are you even here?” he couldn’t help but ask.
That caused her to freeze in her tracks and she turned to face him, her chipper expression dropping, her voice turning hard. “Turns out the TVA doesn’t like when you stake your soulless vampire ex, because apparently he had a big destiny in front of him that included killing good people before he would turn non-evil again and help save the world.”
Kid Loki startled at the admission, shaking his head as if to comprehend both what she was saying and what she was implying. As she spoke, her entire aura seemed to change, seemed to grow more aggressive, more powerful.
She felt dangerous.
Taking his silence for understanding, she relaxed and the predator in her seemed to bleed away. “So. Onward?”
“Yep,” he said as they continued their trek, both him and Alligator Loki keeping a wary eye on her. There was more to Buffy than she let on. Maybe this new life wouldn’t be as lonely as he had anticipated. Maybe he had least had that.
Author: Glitterangelem
Fandom: Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Marvel Cinematic Universe (Loki)
Characters: Kid Loki, Alligator Loki, Buffy
Rating: PG
Word Count: 765
Notes: The concept of Variants from the Loki series really intrigued me. I think the Avengers tag works for this?
“To be perfectly honest, I’m not quite sure where to go from here,” Loki - Kid Loki, as the others called him, as he’d taken to calling himself - said quietly as he headed towards what he hoped was a safe place.
A growl from his companion had him shaking his head, and he spared the alligator a glance before saying, “No, we can’t wait. You know he’s gone. He always wanted to go back to his family and the TVA would never allow it. If he could help bring it all down?”
He shrugged. “Of course he’d go back to help. We Lokis always have a longing to be part of something greater. And he could.”
Alligator Loki grunted his agreement and silence fell between the pair.
They walked through the rubble of all the pruned timelines, climbing carefully through shattered buildings and decimated streets, not wanting to make any noise, not wanting to draw attention to themselves. There was no one to trust, now, other than each other. They were alone.
As they were destined to be alone.
His legs began to grow weary from the walk, but a glance around gave him no sense of comfort. He paused and turned to look back the way they had come, wishing vainly for the sight of Old Loki appearing behind them. Wishing he could talk to him one last time, wishing he could thank him for staying with him all this time. Wishing…
“He’s not coming back, is he?”
Kid Loki jerked at the sound of voice, spinning around to see Alligator Loki growling and stalking forwards, towards the blond woman casually leaning against an empty doorframe that once stood at the entrance of a building.
“Your old friend,” she clarified, her eyes shifting to the alligator for a moment, before redirecting her gaze back at him. “I saw him sacrifice himself. It was noble.”
He couldn’t help the sneer that curled his upper lip at the word. It seemed almost mocking, in a way. Whoever heard of a noble Loki?
“Who are you?” Kid Loki asked instead of answering her question.
She gave him a small smile back, “The name’s Buffy. It looks like you guys could use a place to crash, what with horde of annoying Loki busting into your old place. Or do you have a special name for a large group of you. A flock? A murder? A pride? A murder of Lokis? A pride of Lokis?”
“How did you know about that?”
Buffy shrugged. “Just call me Miss Stealth. I have my ways.”
Alligator Loki grumbled and Kid Loki sighed, mentally loathing himself as he said, “We could use the help. He’s getting ornery from all the walking.”
“Great!” she chirped, turning away from them and calling over her shoulder, “Just play follow the leader and I can get you somewhere safe. Well, safer at least. Nothing’s truly safe here, but I’ve carved out a nice Buffy approved living space. You’ll like it.”
Following her back through an old destroyed building, pausing long enough to pick up Alligator Loki when it was clear he was having trouble maneuvering through some of the rougher terrain, he called, “Why are you helping us? Lokis aren’t exactly known for being trust-worthy, you know.”
“Fair point,” she acknowledged as she scrambling over a rusting bridge, “Honestly? I’m a little bored staying off the grid. I could stand to have someone else to talk to, and you two seem a lot more approachable than the others.”
“Why are you even here?” he couldn’t help but ask.
That caused her to freeze in her tracks and she turned to face him, her chipper expression dropping, her voice turning hard. “Turns out the TVA doesn’t like when you stake your soulless vampire ex, because apparently he had a big destiny in front of him that included killing good people before he would turn non-evil again and help save the world.”
Kid Loki startled at the admission, shaking his head as if to comprehend both what she was saying and what she was implying. As she spoke, her entire aura seemed to change, seemed to grow more aggressive, more powerful.
She felt dangerous.
Taking his silence for understanding, she relaxed and the predator in her seemed to bleed away. “So. Onward?”
“Yep,” he said as they continued their trek, both him and Alligator Loki keeping a wary eye on her. There was more to Buffy than she let on. Maybe this new life wouldn’t be as lonely as he had anticipated. Maybe he had least had that.