Hela has other ideas

The impromptu team-up stormed through the TVA. The more gifted fighters were at the front, while the people at the back did what they could. Most of the combat seemed to be melee, close-range evasion of the TVA's batons, disarming them and turning the weapons back against them. Weapons, it was easy to steal. Clothes, less so in the heat of battle.

Hela was in the lead. Sif, Valkyrie, Okoye, Natasha and Gamora were a few steps behind, falling into familiar routines to distract themselves from their rather obvious exposure. Not far behind them, Sharon, Hope, Wanda, both Avas and Jessica were getting a few hits in on any who made it through.

Angie, Pepper, Jane and Darcy weren't much in the way of fighters. Darcy seemed to have elected herself cheerleader. They stayed back, apparently just here because they'd rather not stay in the cells. They, at least, had the luxury of trying to cover with their arms, sheltering behind them; those ahead had much less of a chance.

They didn't make it far. There was an area that looked like a library of some kind not far from the cells; Hela gestured that way with a sword, and the nude group poured that way.

There was just enough room between a pair of bookshelves for them to all hide between. It was uncomfortably snug, shoulder brushing shoulder, red faces looking side by side at equally red (or green for that matter) faces; it was hard to say if they were taking shelter for reasons of modesty or stealth.

"Sylvie," Hela said.

She gestured, the only one out more in the open. She sat by a desk, operating a remarkably old-fashioned looking computer. It took her a second to work it out; she pulled up a map of the facility.

"Why are you just talking to her?" Sharon said.

"She's been here before," Hela said impatiently. "The Timekeepers are our target, correct?"

Hela was still in pants; it was significantly more comfortable for her to be stood by the desk, an arm over her breasts, leaning forwards. Sylvie took a moment to psyche herself up, then squeezed down the aisle, brushing past the other variants. She tried not to think about what parts her elbow was touching.

As soon as she was out, she crouched, hoping that whatever Hela was showing her would distract her from the fact she was basically just showing off her butt.

The map looked unclear, a messy blueprint of a huge facility. Hela barely looked at it.

"Missions start here, it says," Hela said. "This is where we find spare TemPads."

"What?" Sylvie said. "What about the Timekeepers?"

Hela looked at her sharply. It took a moment for her to speak, apparently choosing her words with surprising care.

"We won't win this," Hela said. "Loathe as I am to say it. We are outnumbered with a team more concerned about holding their own bosoms than they are holding a weapon."

"Which you're doing as well," Sylvie said.

Hela opened her mouth to retort, and then paused. Her lip curled, but she lowered her other arm to her desk; that faint flush returned to her cheeks, but apparently the urge to win an argument outweighed her modesty.

"Which is not the point," Hela nevertheless said. "I prefer to have a more concrete advantage in my conquests."

"Why aren't you telling them?" Sylvie said.

"If we charge at the TemPads, we will be stopped, and even if we succeed, a dozen people will cause more variance than two," Hela said. "From what you have explained to me, speed is of the essence when hiding in the timeline, and speed is something we will not have. Better they distract the guards and allow us to flee to safety, than we all fall here."

Sylvie hesitated.

On one hand, yes, more than anything she wanted to leave this place. She was naked, in the base of the people she hated most in the worlds, she'd just found out she had a sister and now she was almost naked as well, she was being glared at by a lot of women who justifiably seemed to dislike her, and she didn't see that they had much of a chance at toppling the TVA when magic and stones failed.

And yes, Hela was right, she had no idea how they could hide so many people.

It was an easy choice. She had to be out for herself.

"I have been alone for a long time, sister," Hela said. "I would rather it not continue. Now that we know of this place's... uniqueness, we can prepare for a better strike and ensure they will have no sway over my future. You can be my executioner, by my side to execute my will and my enemies. Do you understand?"

It was, Sylvie reflected, a speech made slightly less dramatic by the boobs in her peripheral vision. Still, Hela stared.

Sylvie looked over her shoulder. Ava was smiling at her, still a little on-edge by the sheer amount of nudity that seemed to be going around.

And Hela was Queen of Asgard, family, and surely Odin must have trusted her to pass on the title? She was a little dark,yes, but she was facing Ragnarok. Sylvie could hardly begrudge her that.

"Should we take one of them with us?" Sylvie said.

"A lesser species wouldn't understand," Hela said. "Besides, who would you want to bring? The Midgardian? Don't tell me you care for one of them."

Sylvie faltered.

"No, no, of course not," Sylvie said quickly. "I was just... thinking."

The TVA wouldn't prune them, surely? They hadn't so far.

"Using them as a distraction is our only chance to survive," Sylvie said.

"Without question," Hela said.

Sylvie swallowed, then nodded. Grimly, Hela stood up, turning around. She crossed her arms anew, blades sticking dramatically out behind her. Sylvie did her best to stand behind her.

Hela opened her mouth to speak. Darcy interrupted.

"So, like, are those legs genetic?" Darcy said. "I know an Asgardian! And I think it's, like, four for four there, and..."

Sif reddened, looking back. Sylvie flushed; Hela raised an eyebrow. Perhaps wisely, Darcy paused.

"Shutting up," she said.

"That way, third left," Hela said. "There are a lot of doors that we'll be passing. Sylvie and I will cover the back."

There was a slight commotion in the distance, guards spotting the flesh-colored blur against the shelves.

"Move!" Sylvie said.

The formation re-formed itself, with Angie, Pepper, Darcy and Jane left trying to cover up between the bulk of the fighters, and Sylvie and Hela. Sylvie concealed her expression.

She shared another look with Ava. They hadn't managed to exchange words, or anything more than glances, yet; there wasn't time, and she had no idea what to say. If there even was more to say.

Hela gestured silently to Sylvie with her head alone. After a short bit of progress, they broke off from the main formation, dealing with a couple more guards as cover. By the time anyone realized they weren't with them, the two had shot off down a corridor.

It was done, now. Sylvie focused on that. She had no reason to doubt.

TemPad storage wasn't far. The duo ran in, Hela ahead; she'd lost one sword in the scuffle, but held her last ahead of her. A pruning baton jabbed at it, but she parried it, cutting at the TVA guard. Sylvie elbowed the last in the face.

"God!" Hela shouted.

Sylvie snatched up a TemPad, thinking quickly; she always seemed to end up on Midgard these days, but with the things she'd seen from enchanting memories, she probably knew more about it. She opened a doorway.

She ran through first, and looked back; her eyes widened.

"Look out!" Sylvie shouted.

As Hela followed her through the gateway, a TVA guard she'd thought was **** lifted themselves from the floor, throwing their baton like a javelin. Hela looked back, and was far enough away that it only barely brushed her leg.

But brushing was enough. It lacked enough pressure to breach her skin, but the torn pants she had on were another matter; even the finest asgardian armor, even in the real world with a touch of magic, couldn't stand up to simple erasure.

The gateway closed behind them, cutting the baton in two, but the damage was done. Erasure travelled up the Goddess's toned, pale leg, and up the other, baring shin, then knee, then thigh, then the patch of black over her core. It went up to her waist, where residual magic in the real universe saw the garment trying to repair itself and climb up her stomach to cover her anew; the erasure climbed faster than it could repair.

And when it was all erased, there was nothing for her magic to rebuild.

Indignant, Hela cried out, frustration more than anything, as the two Asgardian royal women were left stark naked.

"Report," Ravonna said.

"The uprising was dealt with," Mobius said.

"Pruned?"

"Not yet," Mobius said. "Once we were prepared, we could trap them. It wasn't too hard. The Loki variant escaped, though."

"I don't see why we still need to keep them around," Ravonna said. "Haven't you learned all you need to, now?"

"Potentially," Mobius said. "But there's more to it than that. It's better for the variant to be coming here than causing chaos on the sacred timeline."

"By the sound of it, she choice to leave them,." Ravonna said.

"She's a Loki. She does that," Mobius said. "But according to my interviews, she was... close with one of them. We should keep her here, so that she comes back."

"And the rest?" Ravonna said.

"Trust me. I'm the Loki expert," Mobius said. "She'll come back for Ava, and if we do that, then she's also going to try freeing everyone else. The one thing that drives a Loki to be better is the eyes of someone whose judgement they care about. The more variants we keep, the longer she'll end up here, and the more chances we'll have."

"Better she causes trouble here than where it would cause variance," Ravonna said. She nodded. "Are the variants secure?"

"All in isolation cells," Mobius said. He shrugged. "Random memories. I figure pretty much any point in their past is going to be something given their current state of dress. It'll keep them distracted at any rate."

"Then I'll leave it to you," Ravonna said. "Any idea where she is right now?"

"Not currently," Mobius said. "But the moment she causes a splash, we'll be after her again."