Plans going wrong

Hela walked forwards, pulling one of her swords from the body of a fallen TVA guard. In the absence of any ability to summon more, she was limited to just the two she'd come through with.

Doubtfully, Sylvie stood behind her, holding a dulled blue cube, the tesseract barely shining at all. She hadn't known about that safeguard.

Meanwhile, there was a pile of bodies by the gateway they'd come through. Hela's army had lost whatever flame animated them as soon as they crossed the threshold; with no need to keep it open, they'd shut the gateway, hopefully distracting some corner of the TVA with dealing with whatever variance Hela's departure had caused.

They'd lost the TemPad in the opening squabble; it had been the first target of the guards, ensuring they had no escape.

"Maybe we should leave," Sylvie said. "Figure out a better way."

"I do not flee," Hela said. "I don't need my full powers to prove a threat to irritants like this."

Another guard lunged closer. Hela sidestepped, parried the pruning stick of a second guard, reversed it, and stabbed the first while erasing the second with their own weapon. Undeniably impressed, Sylvie raised an eyebrow.

Okay. If infinity stones didn't work here, then the TVA couldn't use them either. Maybe they had a chance. Maybe.

"We just need a slight change in plan," Hela said. "A place like this will have vulnerabilities. Tell me what you know."

"I've told you," Sylvie said. "I was only here briefly, centuries ago: I didn't even know that magic doesn't work here."

"Then we use the normal flaws," Hela said. "I've conquered worlds grander than this one."

Sylvie hesitated a moment. It wasn't something she'd expected to hear from a monarch of Asgard; then again, maybe times had changed by her era. Odin did sometimes talk about the Nine Relams needing a stronger hand.

The problem with the TVA wasn't that their guards were strong, it was that they never stopped. Half a dozen more rushed in; Hela tackled four at once, effortlessly weaving between their strikes and dealing back the same. Sylvie faced down two, using a stolen baton to prune when she could.

"You!" Hela shouted, when one was left, blade pressed to his throat. "This place has cells?"

"What?" Sylvie said.

"More enemies of the TVA would make worthwhile allies," Hela said. "If you want to live, tell us where."

The guard hesitated, then stammered out directions. Hela smiled, stabbed them, and turned around.

"Stay close," Hela said. "If this place thinks they can prevent my rule, they are sorely mistaken."

She didn't hesitate. Sylvie stayed close behind, a baton in each hand, prepared for anything.

Well, almost anything.

The cells weren't far away, as it turned out, and most of the TVA beyond the entryway were clerks and office-workers, more likely to flee at the sight of Hela than fight. Progress was comparatively easy.

And then Hela opened the door, and Sylvie was greeted with a host of familiar faces. Well, faces and other parts.

"You!"

"Sif?!" Sylvie said, stunned, as a very naked, very toned black-haired warrior charged at her.

The TVA's cells were as drab as the rest of the place. Not much made it look different to an ordinary room. The door could only be opened from the outside, but beyond that minor detail, there were a few tables, a few chairs, an odd couple of red rectangles sketched in the air that didn't look dissimilar to normal time doorways, and otherwise just the inhabitants of the room.

The very naked inhabitants of the room.

Sylvie tried to sidestep, but couldn't keep Sif from grabbing at her, getting the easiest handhold she could - the collar of her stolen catsuit, a couple of fingers slipping into Sylvie's cleavage to keep her grip. Sylvie tried to pull back.

"Her! That's mine!"

Sylvie glimpsed a redhead barrelling towards her too. She whirled as best she could, but trapped as she was by Sif's grip, managed just a vague wobble and heard an unnerving tear.

"What did you do to them exactly?" Hela said, lifting an eyebrow.

"Um. Sort of the reason they're here," Sylvie said. "I think."

The TVA took variants, she knew that much. She hadn't thought that they'd keep them.

And then there was an enraged screech and another woman streaked out from the cell. Sylvie flinched, but instead of going after her, they barrelled into Hela. Sylvie didn't get a good look at her face, by a combination of skin-tone and how clearly in-shape she was going from a back-view, identified her as the Valkyrie she'd run into a while ago.

"What did you do to her?" Sylvie said.

"Worse," Hela said, shortly, as Valkyrie closed the distance between them.

For her part, Sylvie was still wrestling with Sif and Natasha, a rip forming beside the central zip of the outfit. For a moment, she hoped it could be repaired, only for Natasha to tackle her legs and bring her to the floor; Sif still held the collar, and stayed standing, seeing the rip travel from shoulder-height all the way down to her thigh. Sylvie yelped.

Valkyrie was at Hela's throat, too close for Hela to effectively use her swords; they clattered to the floor as Hela tried to push Valkyrie off, though within the confines of the TVA, their strength was matched. Hela managed to get a rather unfortunate handful, as Valkyrie tore at Hela'sarmor, eager for whatever vulnerability she could get.

"Stop! Stop! They're here to help, they have to be!"

A familiar voice cried out. Sylvie froze for a moment, her struggling cease just long enough for Natasha to grab at the tear. She pulled, not clear if she was somehow trying to get her catsuit back, or if she was just being petty. Sif, overhead, hesitated, a moment before she continued seeking ****.

Ava's voice. Sylvie tried to look over Natasha's shoulders. There were two of her, somehow, though one was keeping back, expression guarded. The other was moving forwards, an arm over her breasts, but the other reaching out as if to placate.

"She's a good person," Ava said. "Don't hurt her!"

Sif looked at her doubtfully. Natasha stayed pinning her. Valkyrie and Hela stayed tussling in one corner; Hela's crown was on the floor, and the fact Hela's armor came with bare shoulders had seen Valkyrie's fingers find enough purchase to leave her sleeves in tatters.

"What did you do to her?" Hela still found enough time to remark.

Sylvie blushed.

"Get off me!" Sylvie said, trying to wriggle free.

"I'm not working with her," Valkyrie said. Suddenly she and Hela were on the floor, a tear down Hela's neckpiece. Hela kicked, rolling the two of them over.

"We all want to stop the TVA, don't we?" Sylvie said. "I'm not going to apologize for wanting to get dressed - pretty sure most of you would have done the same - so can we stop this?"

There was a pause. Neither Natasha or Sif were actively trying to hurt her now, at least, though she had the sinking feeling the damage to her outfit was done. Valkyrie, meanwhile, was unsure.

"I think she means it," someone else said. Sylvie got a glimpse past Sif's bare crotch to see Hope, an arm over her chest and a hand over her core, blushing but reluctantly speaking up. "Believe me, not a fan of what she did to us, but it sounds like she hates the TVA too, and they're the ones that took us from our lives and did all this."

"I'd be dressed by now if they hadn't taken me," Angie said, voice high.

There was a momentary pause. Valkyrie and Hela still struggled.

"We need her!" Sylvie said. "She's powerful."

"I will burn this place to the ground, I can assure you of that," Hela said.

Valkyrie glowered down. It seemed to be a constant strain for her to withdraw, eyes fixed on the Goddess. Even without her powers, Hela seemed formidable; if the TVA was a common enemy...

When Valkyrie at last stopped fighting, Hela stood up, and only then did the damage to her outfit become fully apparent. Her arms were bare, and with the collar and sleeves torn, her cape crumbled to the floor; more notably, the lack of a coherent collar saw the top half of her armor droop with surprising flimsiness, revealing the bare chest beneath, firm breasts with no sign of a bra and remarkably pale nipples stiffening in the cool air of the TVA. The slightest of flushes tinged Hela's icy pallor.

The weight of the top half of her outfit threatened to push down the rest. She kept a hand at her waist, glaring pointedly at Valkyrie.

"This isn't over," Valkyrie promised. "As soon as we're done here..."

"It certainly isn't over," Hela said.

Then it was Sylvie's turn to stand. She did so carefully, holding a stray flap of her catsuit with one hand in the hope it would help.

It didn't. A slash went down her side, from the cleavage, down one leg, all the way to the ankle; half of her costume fell off of her body, and as soon as she let go she knew the rest would drop as well. It was times like this she really regretted not taking Natasha's bra as well.

Reluctantly, Sylvie let the costume drop; practicality had to rule her, and practicality wasn't going to see her getting anywhere if she used one hand to hold up the catsuit, and had half the costume flailing behind her. That left her wearing nothing but snug black panties.

Taking the same guiding principle, Hela was reluctantly taking her sword to the top half of her outfit, both stopping it trailing behind her and keeping the weight pulling her pants down. By the time she was done, she'd be left in nothing but pants.

Crossing her arms, and feeling the stares of all the women on her, Sylvie looked up. She gestured with her chin to the back of the room.

"What are those?" Sylvie said.

"Isolation cells. Trust me, stay out," Valkyrie said. "Had me in one for a bit."

"More people?" Sylvie said.

"Let her go in them. Go on," someone else said; it took a moment for Sylvie to recognize Jessica Jones.

"She might be able to," Natasha said. She looked at Sylvie: "They trap you in a loop, but the TVA people can come and go freely. I think it's something to do with these collars that traps us. You can get them out."

Sylvie hesitated. Two more people; she didn't remember everyone she'd encountered, but there was the striking lack of green skin in here, which meant Gamora was probably in one of those cells. She was a good warrior to have on their side.

Slowly, Sylvie walked nearer to the first doorway, debating whether or not she wanted to risk it; then Sharon Carter gave her a shove and she stumbled through anyway.

And then she wasn't in the TVA anymore. It looked like some kind of basement area, one Sylvie had certainly seen before; there was a redhead standing not so far away, clad in red satin underwear. As she watched, a second Sylvie approached her, and with a quick enchantment saw the redhead swiftly undressing like it was the only thing in the world she wanted to do.

So this was the isolation cell they'd left Pepper in, reliving this one memory. Hesitantly, Sylvie stepped forward; Pepper immediately caught sight of her and yelped, already bright red. She covered up with her thin arms, doing very little to hide the skin on display.

"Um. It's okay?" Sylvie tried. "The way out's this way."

"You're helping me?" Pepper said, voice going up an octave in disbelief.

"Kind of?" Sylvie said. "Look, either come out or stay in here, up to you."

A doorway opened, TVA agents walking through, exchanging pre-determined dialogue. Pepper yelped, and immediately hurriedly over to Sylvie, shaking behind her arms.

The two went back through the red gateway, guided by Sylvie's lack of a time-twister collar. Pepper slumped in relief. Wisely, Sylvie stepped away, leaving the explanations to the women that Pepper hadn't been being stripped by in an endless loop.

The second gateway then was presumably Gamora. Sylvie took a step through, and stiffened as she felt a sudden rush of air. Outside, then; she bit her lip, suddenly incredibly aware of the air against her skin, her bare legs and chest.

Still, the TVA was her priority. Sylvie moved forwards, the red gateway bright behind her.

There was an indignant cry; Sylvie moved towards the sound, greeted by the sight of her past self vanishing through a gateway, and a Gamora left naked in front of her friends. She caught sight of Sylvie.

"You!"

"Now wait a second!" Sylvie said.

Gamora went right for her panties. Sylvie stumbled back vainly, though Gamora caught her; she grabbed the sides of Sylvie's stolen panties, no doubt wanting to pull them down and take them for herself, only for Sylvie to stumble. The panties made it as far as her knees before tearing completely off of her as Sylvie landed on her butt.

Gamora still glowered at her; Sylvie blushed deeper, a hand moving from her breasts to cover her core.

"This is a rescue! Honest!" Sylvie said. "Have I been in any other loop?"

"You put me here!"

"The TVA did that," Sylvie said. "I just borrowed your clothes."

Gamora glared.

Then a second later vanished, re-appearing only a short distance away in the middle of being enchanted by the memory's version of Sylvie. As soon as Gamora was naked again, she caught sight of the real Sylvie, her face a darker green.

"You can get me out of here?" Gamora said.

"This way!"

It was something of a mixed blessing to leave the cooled air of the memory. The TVA was hardly a sanctuary, but at least it was warmer. Even if now she'd lost even the panties she'd had to her name.

Sylvie stood, trying to cover herself with her arms, trying to recall the names of the women around her. Of all of them, the only person left wearing anything was Hela, in the torn-off bottoms of her green and black outfit. She did her best to seem dignified, but was crossing her arms like everyone else, saved only by the lack of any need to cover her core.

"We're storming the TVA with this?" Okoye said doubtfully.

"I did fight an army of nudists one time," Valkyrie said. She paused. "Or we might just've all been really drunk. I don't think it went well for them anyway."

"I don't see that we have any choice," Natasha said.

Valkyrie still glared at Hela. Hela glared back; Sylvie suddenly felt very doubtful. No TemPad yet again, no clothes, and a ragtag group of people that mostly knew her as the woman who'd appeared out of thin air to take their clothes.

Quietly, Ava moved closer to Sylvie's side. Sylvie shared a silent, grateful look.

Hela, meanwhile, seemed detached from everyone.

"Woo! Go team!" Darcy said.