Case 1: Ouroboros

"Time detectives?" Mobius repeated.

"Yes!" Loki answered excitedly. "I thought about my purpose, now that the TVA has been burned to the ground and its victims freed, and Sylvie, you've gotten your revenge. Mobius, I remembered we made a rather good team, figuring out where to find Sylvie, back when we were trying to capture her. I was thinking the three of us should go into detective work, and you would make an excellent partner!"

"I'm your partner?" Mobius questioned. "I have a lot more experience as an analyst than you, and I'm your partner?"

"But I was the one who figured out the majority of our plan."

"You got lucky." Sylvie replied.

"No no, my dear, you got lucky that the TVA never had a Loki search for you before me, and that it was I… well, we, who found you before one of those other idiots." Loki corrected her. "But you, Sylvie, you were able to outsmart the TVA for over a thousand years, more or less, so there's no doubt the three of us would make an unstoppable crime-solving force! Anyway, Mobius, you even said yourself I could take your job."

"Well, yeah… I mean, I'd be more than happy to solve mysteries and crimes with you, Loki. We make a great team. And with your experience as a professional liar, and my experience dealing with Lokis, and Sylvie's and your enchantment powers, we don't need a lie detector."

Loki clapped his hands together. "Exactly! We could set up an agency right here in the Null-Time Zone, where the TVA used to be! We have plenty of supplies and equipment here! We'll advertise throughout the multiverse!"

"Yeah, I'm not too crazy about the idea of office work, but I'd be more than happy to kick some dangerous criminals' asses!" Sylvie told them.

"Okay, okay. First things first: what do we call ourselves?" Mobius asked.

"What do we call ourselves?!" Loki repeated. "The Time Detectives, I've already told you."

"No, I mean aliases. I mean, you're pretty much infamous throughout a good portion of the multiverse: not the kind of attention we're trying to attract!" Mobius explained. "You know, like you did as D. B. Cooper?"

Loki squinted. "I'll think of something."

"Well, anyway, I'll do the talking to the clients, since you're so much more… infamous throughout the multiverse than I am." Mobius continued. "And you'll need to disguise both your appearance and your voice on the timeline, just in case. So, if the 'Great Investigative Mastermind' doesn't object, I'll have to be the main sleuth of our team, okay?"

Loki nodded, getting the point. "Okay."

"We also need to go over some ground rules. I'm sure I don't have to tell you, but no killing the bad guys! We give them to their timeline's authorities to face justice."

"Yes, yes, I know."

"And it'd be best not to use any magic against or in front of them unless absolutely necessary."

"Obviously. And what, should I instruct you not to prune them as well?"

"Okay, let's just start advertising for now, alright?"

The Time Detectives spread word of their new agency as far as they could, passing out flyers and spreading word of mouth in as many timelines and worlds as they could. They got themselves an enhanced telephone that could be reached by any place, any time period, and waited for their first client. After a great deal of waiting, though Sylvie didn't stick around for it, they finally got their first call. Mobius eagerly picked up the ringing phone.

"You've reached the Time Detectives. What heinous crime do you need solved today?"

"Hello? There's been a series of robberies on my street. And I have a suspect, but he's managed to escape the law in every situation!"

"I see. Can you tell us his name?"

"Yes, but he goes by an alias: first name Harry, last name Pitts."

"Harry Pitts? What kind of name-" Mobius was cut off as his first client began to laugh hysterically. "Oh haha, a prank caller." He turned to Loki and whispered quietly. "Hey, have you traced the location of this joker? We could probably book 'em for false alarm and obstructing… justice…" Mobius trailed off as he noticed Loki also laughing to himself until the prankster hung up. Mobius rolled his eyes. "For the love of mischief…"

"I'm not so much laughing at the joke itself, as it wasn't that funny. I'm laughing because you actually fell for a prank call! Ehehehehe!"

The duo continued to wait until later that evening, they got another phone call.

"Hello, detectives? My name is Ada Nielsen, and I'd like to report a case of vandalism!"

Mobius breathed deeply, hoping he wasn't being set up for another prank name. "Alright. What sort of vandalism are we dealing with?"

"Graffiti: someone drew this awful graffiti mess all over my house!"

"Graffiti?!" Loki repeated, overhearing the conversation. "That's our first big assignment, stopping some child from drawing on the walls?"

Mobius ignored him. "Did you or anyone you know see the artist, any description we can go on?"

"No, whoever it was was long gone by the time I noticed it."

Loki shook his head while Mobius sighed.

"Well, my partner and I both feel this is more of a matter for your local police than going to detectives from across another universe."

"I did: all the police officers I called down here, they all disappeared!" Loki turned his head back toward the hotline, both detectives' interest piqued. "Please, I think whoever did this might be after me next!"

"Alright, ma'am, we'll be on our way to check it out. Thank you for your call." Mobius hung up the phone. "Alright, the call came from Løgstør, Denmark, year 2016, universe 51120. Come on, it's our first case: let's go!"