"SOMEBODY, HELP!" A woman screamed as the detective trio rushed to the burning building. A crowd of people had just run out in a panic.
"Is everyone alright?" Sylvie asked.
"My little boy is still trapped inside the temple!" The lady cried. "Please, save him!"
"You two, stay here in case the arsonist comes out!" Loki told his partners. "Which area is the child in?"
"He's trapped in the storage room, in the back area!" Loki cast a magical barrier around him and entered the temple, calling out for the child.
"HELP US!" A small voice yelled from behind a wall of flame. Loki pushed at the flame with his telekinesis, but the force pushed some of the fire upward, causing a large piece of roof to collapse, just narrowly missing Loki's head. Glancing up at the hole in the ceiling, Loki gathered up a massive amount of snow from the outside and thrust it down onto the wall of flame, extinguishing it. He knocked on the door.
"You can come out now: you're safe, as long as you hurry!" He opened the door and climbed onto Loki's trench coat. "You said 'us': is there anyone else still inside?"
"No, no one! Come on, hurry!" He shouted nervously.
As Loki turned to leave, a tiny black blob leapt from the boy onto Loki's leg and joined them for the ride. Loki transported a flurry of snow from the outside atmosphere again and swirled it around them, acting as an improved barrier from the intense heat. As they reached the exit, the boy ran to his mother while Loki inspected a handful of the sparks on the ground.
"Mommy!"
"My son! Thank you so much!"
Loki nodded as he and Sylvie clasped hands, combining their telekinetic powers to blanket the entire building with a snowy force, extinguishing the rest of the building from the outside-in! The Contraxians all clapped and cheered as the spellcasters took a bow, hands still clasped.
"We didn't see anyone suspicious on the outside, so I'm thinking the perpetrator fled the scene before the fire spread out enough to cause a commotion!" Mobius theorized.
"I found a fresh lead." Loki said. "These are no ordinary sparks here: we should have them analyzed to be sure, but they look like those cast by a being from Muspelheim."
"You think a Fire Giant was behind this! Well, let's see if your theory is right!" Mobius took the sparks from him and analyzed them with his TemPad. Soon, a blazing red world appeared on the screen, captioned "Muspelheim."
"Makes sense: from what I remember hearing about them as a child, they just go around incinerating anything in their path." Sylvie recalled. "Can we track this Fire Demon down with this?"
"With just these, no, unfortunately. But if we were to take a trip to Muspelheim, perhaps we could find out exactly who our fiery culprit is!" Loki replied.
"Muspelheim, as in, the bloody planet of fire?! Yeah, lovely tourist destination, especially if you're a Frost Giant!" Sylvie sardonically remarked.
"Yes, it's true, none of us would be able to withstand the extremely hot atmosphere long enough to accomplish anything worthwhile, so I believe it's time we make a pitstop back in 2025, at the Sanctum Sanctorum, to learn a useful new heat resistant spell!"
Meanwhile, in the bustling city of New York, in a tall townhouse on the corner of Bleeker Street, a black-haired man with a streak of grey, in a blue robe and red cloak, was meditating. He opened one eye as he noticed an orange portal open nearby. He sighed. "Should have known it'd be one of those days: it was almost starting to feel peaceful around here." Doctor Strange remarked.
"And lovely to see you as well, Strange." Loki responded sarcastically, Mobius and Sylvie standing at either side of him.
"I wish I could say the same."
Loki raised his eyebrows in amusement. "You aren't still mistrusting of me, are you? You know I've deviated from the darker path that the Loki from your timeline followed: my friends here and I are actually in the detective business now, solving crimes across the timelines of the multiverse, and we need a bit of assistance solving a case."
"You're a detective? Doesn't really seem like your cup of tea."
"And I suppose you're a regular Sherlock Holmes!"
Now was Doctor Strange's turn to raise an eyebrow. "You know who Sherlock Holmes is?"
"Of course I do. As a matter of fact, I've been recently reading his books for inspiration between my own cases! Dare I say, I'm becoming a real fan of Midgardian entertainment and literature!"
"Well, consider us 'Midgardians' flattered." Strange winked. "So, who's trying to conquer the multiverse this time?"
"Worry not, Strange, your universe is safe! We're after an arsonist from the future, who, as far as we know, can't travel through time or dimensions."
"Oh, good! So, do you have time to stay for tea, or do you prefer wine?"
"Don't trouble yourself on our account; if you'll pardon the wordplay, we're only dropping in for a spell."
"Ahahahahaha, that's good!"
Strange gave his friend in the red, blue, and gold robe an irritated look. "Really, Wong?"
"What? Are you going to tell the Sorcerer Supreme that he is forbidden to laugh at jokes?" Wong teased.
"Yes, you're the one I came to see, Sorcerer Supreme, good day." Loki bowed his head, glancing at Stephen Strange, amused at his obvious irritation. "We're looking for a cooling spell, powerful enough to shield us from the scorching hot atmosphere of Muspelheim."
"That would be the Wards of Weather Book: this way." Wong led them through the library until they reached the shelf, and he handed him the book.
"Thank you." Loki turned to the page marked Heat Resistance and studied it with Sylvie. They left the library and practiced the spell together in the training area while Mobius made another attempt at the fire-casting spell Loki taught him, among a group of Wong's practicing students.
"Hey Loki!" A dark-haired teenage girl waved to him.
"Hola America!" He waved back. "Qué pasa?"
"Lo mismo, cosas mágicas." She replied.
"Igualmente."
"Show-off." Strange muttered.
"Hipócrita." Wong countered.
Strange winced. "Did you just call me a hypocrite in Spanish?"
"Oh, good," Wong sassed, "he is learning!" He, Loki, Mobius, Sylvie, and America all chuckled.
The pair of Lokis easily mastered the heat resistance spell, so they practiced some ice-casting spells too, though Mobius didn't have as much luck making any progress, and they returned the book. "Maybe next time we can stay for tea?" He winked at Strange. "I promise I'll speak English the entire time."
"Maybe you could be less of an arrogant prick while you're at it? Unfortunately, we don't have a spell for that."
"That is unfortunate: you sound as if you need it more than I do. I was merely reciprocating in kind."
"You managed to copy my wink easily enough."
"Copy? I've been winking this way since before Henry IV organized his first rebellion for the throne of England! If anything, you're copying me!"
"Henry the fourth?! Maybe you should apply for the title of Ancient One!"
"Now that's rude! At least I don't have grey hairs!"
"Girls, you're both pretty, can we go now?" Sylvie sighed.
Loki and Strange exchanged unamused glances and nodded. The trio waved goodbye as they opened a time door back to the year 7450. Loki cast his new spell around his teammates.
"Now, this barrier may protect us from the realms's blistering temperatures, but we're still very vulnerable to flames and lava, so it'd be in our best interests to stay close together and avoid physical conflicts." Loki instructed. "Fortunately for us, the reverse is also true: Fire Giants are weak to the bitter cold, so our frost casting abilities will work in our favor."
"Right, we ask around, look for clues, use a little enchantment if necessary." Mobius hinted.
"And if worst comes to pass, we keep our distance and blast them with ice?" Sylvie suggested.
Loki nodded. "That would be our most effective plan, though any sort of long-ranged blasts would likely work to keep them at bay."
"In that case, maybe I should just wait here for you?" Mobius suggested. "I'd just be a defenseless target they could use against you if a fight did break out."
"That's why our plan is to stay close together: Fire Giants fight with brute force, not magic, so they won't be able to harm you if they're kept at a distance."
"I dunno, it just seems to have been a pattern in most of our cases that I get captured and/or threatened, and you both are still weak to fire, being Frost Giants. I'm wondering if this whole trip is a grave mistake."
"I could fetch you a casket, just in case." Wong offered.
Loki shook his head. "You'll be fine, Mobius, we'll protect you. But if you still don't feel safe, I won't force you to join us."
"… a casket, that's it!" Mobius opened a different time door with his TemPad and hurried into it alone.
Sylvie folded her arms. "Nice to see he has such unshakeable confidence in us."
"He's got an idea of some sort, I can tell." Loki reassured. "And I might just have an idea what he's planning!"
In less than a minute, Mobius returned with a rectangular blue casket with a swirling power inside. "Great idea, Lo! This should be of real help in case things go too far south!"
"The Casket of Ancient Winters!" Mobius handed the ancient artifact to the Jotun prince. "Well now, this shall make things a great deal more favorable for us!" He tucked it away into his magical inventory.
"Remember, ask first, blast last!"
"We know, Mo." With that, the three stepped into the future, fully prepared to face the heated challenge that awaited them.