"Loki, what in Odin's name are you doing here, at this hour?" The blond-haired Asgardian man in the green cape wondered.

"I could ask the same of you, Fandral! Are Volstagg and Hogun with you? Or Thor?"

"Oh, cease your jesting, you know your brother's on that royal hunt with the Allfather! Volstagg and I are on a little vacation. Hogun, he's no fun, he'd never enjoy the likes of a planet with no wars or conflicts! And what of you?"

"I was called in to solve a murder that took place here, in the wee hours of last night."

"Odin's making you do detective work now? I suppose that's fitting: you do have a rather bad habit of snooping around where you're not supposed to be."

"Not Odin, I'm doing this of my own free will, thank you!"

"A murder, you say? That's an odd coincidence: I just left this planet in the wee hours last night myself, but I came back to see my good golden lady." Fandral explained with a charming smile. "Volstagg managed to stuff himself full at the Strudel and Soufflé establishment, but he's back on Asgard now. Woo, you would not believe how hard it is to acquire a reservation there!"

"Wait, you didn't… sleep with a Sovereign woman, did you?" Mobius cut in.

Fandral looked the mortal mustached man over. "Pray tell, who is this, a new servant of yours?"

"No, this is Mobius, my partner and dear friend. And therapist, sometimes. And yes, he's Midgardian."

"From Midgard, eh? Then mayhaps you know me better by my alias, Sir Robin of Loxley!"

"You were Robin Hood, the one from the stories?!" Mobius gaped. "Robber of the rich and giver to the poor? Funny, you remind me more of the thief from Tangled…"

"Like I said, 'twas only an alias! Fandral is my name on Asgard, and most other places."

"Well, I have some interesting news for you, Robin of Loxley." Loki interrupted. "You might not believe this, but we're both actually from the future."

Fandral blinked and turned to Mobius. "Whatever method of therapy you've been using, it clearly isn't working."

"No, Loki's actually telling the truth." Mobius defended.

"I find that even harder to believe than the time travel." Fandral retorted.

"Long story short, he was taken from the year 1999, and I was taken from 2012 by the time police to find a so-called time criminal, and when they disbanded, we formed our own detective organization. I actually met my girlfriend even farther in the future, in an apocalypse on Midgard!"

"You have a girlfriend? That is a sign of the apocalypse!"

"Could you just answer my question?" Mobius requested.

"Apologies, boys, but I don't kiss and tell."

"Likely because he retains more damage from the slaps of rejection than the blows of battle." Loki teased.

"Oh, this is bad." Mobius frowned. "Well then, tight lips, you might be interested to hear that the Sovereign genetically engineer their offspring to be 'perfect,' and any sexual relations with non-Sovereign are forbidden, and punishable by death."

"Eahhh what now?"

"So you might just want to head back home in that ship before someone…" Mobius paused, a realization forming. "…before someone finds out! That's it! What's her name, Fandral?"

"Come now, that's private!"

Loki crossed his arms. "I doubt he even remembers her name."

"Yes I do, and nice try!"

"Fandral, this is serious! Someone was killed last night, and I'm starting to think the culprit was Sovereign! We need to be sure!"

"Did someone walk in on you two during the night? A man, maybe?" Mobius questioned.

Fandral squinted. "How did you know that?"

"Just a hunch. Did what's-her-name tell you to leave and come back tonight then?"

"Well, she said to leave and not come back, but I doubt she meant it. Just playing hard to get, you know?"

Mobius and Loki exchanged an "are you thinking what I'm thinking" glance.

"Lo, do you think-"

"Yes, she seems the most likely-"

They turned back to Fandral, a devious look on their faces.

"Of course." Mobius coyly said. "What woman could resist such a dashing rogue?"

"Oh yes, and I'll wager you went all out with her, right?" Loki guessed. "You brought her some fine wine and golden roses…"

"Roses? Hah, any suitor could bring roses, but I brought her a boquet of top quality Asgardian gylne maner!"

Loki smirked. "Ah!" The two detectives faced each other once more, whispering their plan. "Narceeni, I figured as much! It all makes sense now!"

Mobius nodded. "But we don't have any evidence yet, though we might have a witness. Do you think he knows anything?"

"No. He's no saint, but he'd never willingly go along with a murder like this. So how do we find proof, in case he's unwilling to believe us?"

"Well, you could always enchant a confession out of her, like Sylvie did with the last criminal we caught, but…"

"But then he would suspect I was using my magic to brainwash her into a false confession: he obviously doesn't trust me."

"Yeah. Oh, I have an idea! Maybe if you looked into her memories back to when the crime took place, you could study the scene in your mind and look for any condemning evidence there?"

"Yes, that just might work, if she truly is the culprit! If not, we'll soon know for certain! Great idea, Mo!"

Mobius motioned to Fandral. "What about him? He's going to see her again tonight, and I don't think he'll appreciate us investigating his date!"

"I think it would be simplest to just tell him the truth right now. If we investigate without his knowledge, he's sure to distrust us even more and possibly tip off the killer to us, or hinder us some way!"

"Okay. Poor guy." They both looked back to where Fandral was, but no one was there. Looking around, they saw his silhouette sneaking off a small distance away.

"Wait!" Loki teleported right in his path.

"AAAGH! Loki, don't do that!"

"My friend and I have reason to believe your girlfriend is a suspect in our murder case. He was killed around the same time you were told to leave last night."

"What? No, she would never!"

"I know it must sound farfetched, but it's the only lead we have so far."

"Surely you're up to some sort of mischief! Why would my fair Narci murder someone?"

Loki paused, thinking of a way to show him. He shapeshifted into a more lively illusion of Spadek's corpse. "Did you see a man that looks like this sometime last night or early morning?"

"Why, that's the fellow who barged in on us last night! Just before… Narci told me to go…" Fandral trailed off, a look of shock and realization in his eyes.

"Yes, her neighbor: his corpse was found this morning, hung by the neck from the ceiling to appear as suicide, but we found evidence to the contrary. She also told us that he often would visit her unexpectedly for ingredients, such as rare herbs, when he prepared new dishes, as he happened to be doing that very night! Believe me, this is no mischievous trick: this is a serious matter. I'm sorry that it's turning out this way, Fandral, but could you please allow us to investigate her, not only to do that poor man justice, but for your sake as well?"

Fandral took a deep breath. "Before all else, even the fairest of maidens, I am a man of honor and integrity. Yes, I will help you."

KNOCK, KNOCK, KNOCK! The slumbering Sovereign woman stirred at the noise. Narceeni groggily sat up and stretched, still half asleep. She heard another knock and noticed it was coming from outside her window. She walked over and pulled up the curtain, revealing Fandral crouched in the windowsill, waving with a grin. Narceeni gasped and looked him over, unsure if this was real or a dream. When he persisted, she motioned for him to come around to the door as she shuffled to the other side, peeking out to make sure no one was watching, and he was finally let inside.

"Fandral, what are you doing here? I told you not to come back!"

"I know, but after last night, you are all I've been able to think about, fair golden maiden."

"Yeah, you've been on my mind a lot too! But… I don't know if I can see you anymore. My people are so very elitist- if anyone ever found out about us, they'd at the very least expel me from the planet, if not order the firing squad on us both! You're my diamond in the rough, Fandral: I couldn't bear the thought of any harm coming to you!"

He fought the urge to wince. "Damn it, now I'm starting to feel sorry for her! But no, I can't lose my nerve now: I need to know for sure if she's really guilty!" He thought. He put his hand on her shoulder. "Worry not for me; just relax, calm your troubled mind." As Narceeni exhaled, the disguised Asgardian's hand flashed green as he was handily transported into her mind.

"Like she said, Fandral is still on her mind, so finding last night's memory of him shall be child's play!" Loki thought, still appearing as Narceeni's lover in her mind. "Now, let's just fast-forward through the scenes of passion, and…" He resumed the memory as he heard a knock at her door, and a man came in, interrupting the lovers' romance.

"Narceeni, it's Spadek: do you have any angelica seeds I could use for my Moordish crepes?" Spadek gasped as he saw the two together on her couch, staring at them in disbelief.

"Good very early morning!" Fandral greeted. "Did I hear you say 'crepes' just now? Sounds delicious!"

"Foreigner! A foreigner with my neighbor!"

"Wait!" As he turned around to leave, she called him back. "I've got just the seeds for your recipe, just give me a second to let my other guest leave."

"Same time of night, on the morrow?" The playful Asgardian asked quietly.

"No, you have to go now, and not come back, do you understand?"

"Why? Was he your previous partner?" Fandral wondered as he got his full outfit back on. "I'm sure we can reach a gentlemanly agreement- and if not, he surely won't best me in swordplay!"

"No, it'd just be best for us both if you left and didn't return! I'm sorry, Fanny!"

Loki sputtered with a laugh. "Fanny?! Oh, that is going to be used as leverage for something! Ehehehe!"

With her lover out the door, she showed her neighbor to the flowery herbs he needed. As he harvested the seeds, he gulped and said quietly, "Narceeni, you realize I'm going to have to report this offense tomorrow…"

"Unfortunately, I do." Narceeni grabbed a rope from her supplies and strangled him until he fell limp. Seeds spilled from his hand as his lifeless body hit the ground.

"The seeds… they've been removed from one of her angelica plants!" Loki noticed. "But I need more evidence than that, especially if she's cleaned up the mess. Wait, he is a chef: I wonder… well, no way to know of that until we get back to present day."

Loki followed Narceeni as she tied her rope around the dead man's neck and dragged him into his own home. She stepped up on his chair and hung him from his ceiling. As she stepped down and snuck out the door to return to her slumber, Loki studied the noose. "Yes, the manner in which she tied that knot… perhaps that could identify her as well! Alright, that should do it!" Loki brought them back to the timeline's present day, his suspect asleep as he snuck into her garden, still shapeshifted into Fandral. "Yes, the plant is still untouched, perfect! Oh, these people: her arrogance will be her downfall!"

Loki eagerly paced Spadek's livng room. "So, with the missing seeds, the specific knot in the rope, and this medical report we just made, that makes 3 pieces of evidence against her, in addition to a witness, proving that the victim visited her right before he died! It will probably be another hour or two until most people awaken, which will allow us ample time to prepare our testimony!"

"Zzzzzz-"

Loki frowned, looking back at his partners to find them asleep. He groaned in irritation, yet he soon flashed a mischievous look. Loki shapeshifted into a rooster and walked up on the couch between his snoring companions.

"COCK-A-DOODLE-DOOOOOOO!"

The two men startled awake at the loud crowing, and their mischievous friend chuckled, reverting to his usual form.

Mobius glanced at Fandral. "Ughhh, hey, if I ever decide to give that guy caffeine again, slap me."

"Can I just slap Loki instead?"

"Yeahhh, that'll work too…"

"Ehehe, sorry, I couldn't help myself!" Loki admitted. "Are you both ready to reveal the truth and catch this killer?"

Fandral yawned. "Uhhmmm, ready as… I'll ever be…"

"Yeah, me too. But, uh, we're really sorry the killer turned out to be your sweetheart." Mobius apologized. Loki nodded sympathetically.

"Yes, well, you know the saying, "Tis better to have loved and lost, than to have loved and lost and been complicit in your lover's neighbor's homicide.' Or something of the sort." Fandral shrugged.

"Besides, you might not be so irritable towards me when you see what I brought you from Earth!" Loki conjured a pack of Josta energy drinks from his magical stash. "Ta-daaa~"

Mobius gasped. "Loki, you are my absolute favorite person in the whole multiverse!" The trio each grabbed a drink and held it upward.

"To Josta!" Loki began.

"To Josta!" Mobius affirmed.

"To Josta!" Fandral repeated. "Whatever that is!"