Chương 78: Chapter 78: The "Narcissistic" Loki and the Thor x Loki Ship 

Since the Time Variance Authority's so-called 'omnipresent' power didn't extend to the Infinity Stones, Luke had absolutely nothing to fear. 

Their temporal manipulation technology was certainly annoying, but their actual combat capability was pitiful. They couldn't even defeat a standard Shadow Ninja without relying on their cheap reset gadgets! 

Let's mess them up! How dare they abduct my Shadow Ninjas?! 

Luke frowned, remembering the ninjas B-15 had pruned. He had tried to forcefully recall them to the Dark Dimension through their mental link, but the ninjas were currently trapped in some unknown, bizarre spatial void. He couldn't pull them back. 

He definitely needed to find a way to rescue his lost ninjas. Furthermore, having a secretive organization constantly monitoring the timeline and arbitrarily deleting anyone they deemed an 'anomaly' was a massive threat. He needed to figure out exactly what this TVA was and completely dismantle it if necessary. 

"So, shall we go pay them a visit?" Luke turned to the Ancient One, smiling fiercely. 

The Ancient One nodded. She was incredibly curious about the TVA as well. 

With both heavyweights in agreement, the Ancient One took the retro-futuristic 'TemPad' she had confiscated from B-15 and began analyzing its interface. 

"Are you planning to destroy the Time Variance Authority?" Sylvie suddenly asked, her eyes wide with hope. 

"I don't know yet. I guess we'll go take a look around and see what kind of place it is first," Luke replied thoughtfully. 

"Can you take me with you?" Sylvie pleaded earnestly. Ever since she was a little girl, when the TVA had violently invaded her timeline, arrested her for existing, and pruned her home, she had dedicated her entire life to destroying them and reclaiming her lost memories. 

"Why? Do you have some kind of vendetta against them?" Luke asked, curious. 

"Actually..." Sylvie glanced sideways at the variant Loki, who was currently being forced to eat another plate of barbecue by a massive Troll Ninja. "I am also a Loki." 

"WTF!!!" Luke jumped slightly, genuinely shocked. He remembered reading weird fan-fiction online calling Loki 'sister Loki,' but he hadn't expected a literal female Loki to just pop into existence! 

"You're saying... you're a Loki Variant?" Luke asked in disbelief. 

Sylvie nodded firmly. 

"When I was a little girl, I lived in a beautiful palace exactly like Asgard. Then, suddenly, the TVA showed up, labeled me a Time Variant, and arrested me. They called me a 'Loki.' I eventually managed to escape, but they've been hunting me down across the timeline ever since." 

"Well, that definitely sounds like a massive vendetta," Luke rubbed his chin, looking over at the Ancient One. 

"I have no objections. In fact, I am heavily considering dismantling this organization myself," the Ancient One stated calmly. 

In the infinite Multiverse, the Sorcerer Supreme knew for a fact that there were countless incredibly powerful beings and metahumans capable of easily defending Earth from threats like Thanos. Yet, in this specific universe, Earth's roster of defenders was suspiciously thin. 

If her suspicions were correct, this 'Time Variance Authority' had likely been secretly abducting incredibly powerful individuals when they were still weak and vulnerable, preventing them from fulfilling their true potential. By aggressively pruning anomalies to maintain their 'Sacred Timeline,' the TVA had actively weakened Earth's defenses, indirectly causing the catastrophic defeat against Thanos in Future Tony's timeline! 

Therefore, she needed to meet the masterminds behind this organization. If their ultimate goal somehow actually benefited Earth, she would simply issue a stern warning. But if their actions actively harmed Earth's future... there would be no warning. She would just erase them. 

Is there a flaw in this logic? Absolutely not. 

Luke ordered a Shadow Ninja to drag the Variant Loki over. He looked the bruised, battered god up and down with utter disdain. 

"You're also a Loki! Why the hell did you surrender and start working for the enemy?!" Luke scoffed. 

"I was merely faking my surrender! It was a tactical deception! I didn't actually join them!" Variant Loki protested loudly. 

He then attempted to spout a series of convoluted, nonsensical excuses about 'knowing when to retreat' and 'biding his time to strike from within,' which were clearly desperate attempts to save face. Everyone listening burst into laughter, instantly lightening the mood. 

After having a good laugh at Loki's expense, Luke turned back to the Ancient One. 

"So, do we just open a door and walk in right now?" 

The Ancient One shook her head slightly. "A piece of advice, little brother. Allow these Minutemen to reset this specific branching timeline before we leave. If you don't, the future of this Earth will be incredibly chaotic and dangerous for you." 

"Why?" Luke asked, confused. 

"Because if you don't allow them to erase the memories of the Time Variance Authority, the world governments will inevitably summon you for 'talks.' They will demand answers regarding parallel universes and time travel. Knowing your temper, you will inevitably flip the table. That will spark a massive global conflict, which will ultimately end with them frantically launching nuclear weapons at you in sheer panic," the Ancient One stated calmly, predicting the inevitable geopolitical disaster flawlessly. 

"Uh... the knowledge of the TVA makes them that nervous?" 

"Indeed. If you allow the timeline to be reset, wiping their memories of this encounter, the governments will still inevitably summon you for 'talks' regarding your shadow army. However, because they won't feel the absolute, existential terror of time-traveling, multiverse-pruning organizations, they won't resort to mutually assured destruction when you inevitably refuse their demands." 

Luke nodded slowly. It made perfect sense. He was a single, immensely powerful individual without a massive, officially recognized nation backing him. While governments feared his raw power, they would tolerate him to an extent. But if they discovered he could casually interact with terrifying, omnipotent, timeline-destroying organizations... their paranoia would skyrocket, and their tolerance for his existence would drop to zero. 

He pulled B-15 out of the pile of captives and ordered her to prepare her Reset Charge. 

Luke glanced back at the exhausted Avengers and S.H.I.E.L.D. agents who were watching him warily. He turned back to the Ancient One. 

"Just for the record," the Ancient One whispered softly so only Luke could hear. "In a darker future, the Avengers will eventually oppose you. With the sole exception of Tony Stark, every single person standing there will eventually attempt to defeat you." 

Luke shrugged. He knew he wasn't particularly close with the Avengers yet, but hearing that they would eventually backstab him to defend the 'status quo' was still slightly disappointing. 

Watching the hushed, serious conversation between Luke and the terrifying Sorcerer Supreme, Steve Rogers, Clint Barton, and Natasha Romanoff grew incredibly tense. They had only known Luke for a few hours. They hadn't built any genuine trust yet. Hearing the Ancient One's cryptic warnings, they were deeply afraid they were about to have to fight the horrifying 'Demon God' who had just casually soloed the entire Chitauri invasion. 

Seeing their wary, defensive postures, Luke forced a bitter smile. 'I genuinely thought we were starting to become friends. But I guess they're just waiting for the perfect opportunity to stab me in the back.' 

"Tony! Come with me to check out this weird timeline place! I'm not going to reset you," Luke called out, ordering the Shadow Ninjas to tightly encircle the rest of the Avengers, completely restricting their movements. 

"Oh, thank god. I honestly thought you were going to reset my memory too," Tony sighed in profound relief, walking over to Luke. 

"Of course not. By the way, aren't you going to bring Saturday and the other armors?" 

Tony glanced back at Saturday, who had eagerly detached from Natasha's group. "Never mind. If I bring them, their internal servers will retain all the data regarding this event. I don't want them accidentally leaking our little secret." 

Tony looked at Saturday, who immediately drooped, looking incredibly dejected at being left behind. 

"Relax, buddy. Even if this 'reset' wipes your memory and turns you back into a normal suit of armor, I promise I'll use the AllSpark to bring you back to life," Tony promised softly. 

Saturday's posture brightened instantly, clearly trusting Tony's promise. However, the other older suits looked incredibly agitated, realizing they were likely going to be permanently deactivated. Tony noticed their distress, but remained silent. 

"Do not worry. Resetting the timeline will not drastically alter reality. It will simply erase their memories of the Time Variance Authority. At most, the timeline will skip forward a fraction of a second," the Ancient One reassured them. She watched B-15 activate the Reset Charge and use her TemPad to open a glowing orange Timedoor. 

The Shadow Ninjas forcefully escorted the captive Minutemen through the Timedoor. 

After Tony and the Ancient One stepped through, Luke took one final look at the tense, defensive faces of the S.H.I.E.L.D. agents and Avengers. 

With a thought, he instantly recalled the tens of thousands of Shadowkhan across the city back into his dimension, and stepped through the Timedoor. 

"NO!" Steve Rogers yelled, finally breaking out of the ninja encirclement. He dove desperately toward the glowing Reset Charge sitting on the floor. 

But he was too late. The Reset Charge pulsed, and a blinding wave of purple energy erupted outward, instantly sweeping across the entire timeline... 

Stepping out of the Timedoor into a sterile, retro-futuristic hallway, Luke looked slightly depressed. 

"Honestly, I really thought I had finally made some super-powered friends." 

Tony walked up and patted him reassuringly on the shoulder. 

Luke quickly recovered his composure. He knew deep down that he and Steve were merely acquaintances who had fought one battle together. They had no genuine bond. But it was still incredibly annoying. 

'The Avengers are fine to watch in movies, but actually trying to join their little clique is way too much drama.' 

Glancing at Tony, Luke smiled. The Ancient One had explicitly stated Tony was the only one who wouldn't turn on him. At least he had one genuine friend willing to stand by his side. 

"Alright, B-15. Lead the way. Take us to these so-called Time-Keepers." 

With a thought, Luke's casual clothes instantly morphed into his signature, pitch-black hooded combat attire. He also casually conjured a heavy, full-body suit of medieval plate armor constructed entirely of dark energy and slapped it onto Tony to provide some basic protection. 

Tony slapped the incredibly thick, ominous-looking black breastplate and shrugged helplessly. Thankfully, because the armor was made of magic and not actual steel, it was incredibly light, allowing him to maintain his mobility. 

"Wait... how are you using your magic in here?!" Variant Loki stared in absolute, jaw-dropping disbelief. 

Sylvie looked equally horrified. 

"Why? Is there a problem?" Luke asked, looking at the Ancient One in confusion. 

"This entire dimension is permeated by an incredibly potent, highly advanced dampening field. It naturally suppresses and neutralizes any energy signature that possesses a lower fundamental 'tier' or frequency than itself. Therefore, normal magic and mutant abilities cannot function here," the Ancient One explained, analyzing the ambient energy of the TVA. "However, your dark energy possesses a conceptual 'tier' significantly higher than their dampening field, so it remains completely unaffected." 

Ah. So my magic is just built different. 

The massive group followed B-15 down the sterile, endless corridors of the TVA. Naturally, a group this large—especially one accompanied by terrifying shadow-monsters—drew a lot of attention from the office workers and passing Minutemen. Alarms quickly began to blare, and panicked agents scrambled to call for backup. 

Seeing the TVA mobilizing against them, Luke decided to stop being subtle. He slowly began summoning his entire Shadowkhan army. 

Tens of thousands of pitch-black, lethal shadow assassins began silently flooding the endless, bureaucratic hallways of the Time Variance Authority, brutally knocking unconscious any Minuteman or office worker who dared to cross their path. 

"Honestly, when I first heard about this organization, I thought they were going to be incredibly powerful. But since they don't have their little time-twisting gadgets active, their actual combat strength is literally identical to a normal human," Luke commented, casually stepping over an unconscious Minuteman. 

"That's because they are just normal humans," Sylvie explained bitterly. "The Time-Keepers abducted normal, mundane people from across countless different timelines, completely erased their memories, and brainwashed them into believing they were created by the Time-Keepers specifically to work as eternal slaves for the TVA." 

"Wait... so the Time-Keepers are literally just mass-kidnappers running a cosmic sweatshop? Well, that makes me feel significantly better about beating the crap out of them," Luke laughed. 

"You seem to know quite a lot about the inner workings of the TVA," Loki noted, smoothly sliding up next to Sylvie. 

"I've been running and hiding from them my entire life," Sylvie offered a bitter, exhausted smile. 

"So, what exactly do you plan to do after we completely dismantle this organization?" Luke asked, intentionally wedging himself forcefully between Loki and Sylvie. 

What the hell is wrong with this guy?! Is he seriously trying to flirt with a female version of HIMSELF?! Are you really that unbelievably narcissistic?! 

Sylvie thought for a moment. "Once this is all over, I want to see if I can use their technology to return to my original timeline. To my original home. I don't know why, but I've permanently lost all my memories of my home. I want to find them." 

Luke nodded slowly. Suddenly, he frowned, a brilliantly chaotic, absolutely insane idea forming in his mind. 

"Hey, instead of wandering the Multiverse alone, why don't you just come live in my universe? I actually know Odin personally! I could introduce you to him and bring you to Asgard!" 

If I bring a female Loki to Asgard and have her meet Odin... the family drama would be absolutely legendary! If this female Loki doesn't actually share any biological DNA with Odin's family... maybe the legendary Thor x Loki ship could actually become a reality! 1

Luke was utterly astounded by his own terrifying genius. Seeing Sylvie hesitate, Luke began aggressively, relentlessly trying to persuade her to join him.