The detectives opened their eyes again, finding themselves lying in a large coral bed. As they groggily got up, they noticed a cluster of faces watching them from behind the reef.
"What happened? Did the other Loki take us here?" Mobius wondered, his mind a bit hazy.
"It would seem so." Loki guessed.
"Oh hey, did any of you see how we got here?" Casey asked the hidden figures. "Did you see a purple jellyfish-looking lady?"
In response, one of them inched forward, revealing her as a beautiful red-haired woman with a long, glittering fish tail in the place of legs. "The servant of King Poseidon brought you here. She is gone now, but we're here." Then, the other mermaids rejoined her, checking out Casey and his friends.
Casey grinned. "Hey, if Atlantean Loki sent you to look after us, he seems like a pretty good guy to me!" The mermaids giggled and cuddled close to him, feeling through his pockets while he was enjoying their company.
"I'm terribly sorry, but I'm spoken for ladies." Loki excused himself, keeping them from searching him."Yeah, he's engaged: to me!" Sylvie asserted, doing the same as her fiancé.
"Heck, I'm not." Mobius admitted, curious, having never encountered mermaids, but cautious to the myths he'd heard of them leading men to their deaths. He was also wary of them being allies of the native Loki, privy to his variants' pickpocketing routine. "But Casey here loves mermaids more than I do, and he's the real catch here."
"I'm just a fan of amazing sea life. Are you friends with fish, like in the movies? Do you collect seashells? Do you have beautiful singing voices like in the stories?" Casey wondered curiously.
"We're friends with Atlanteans." One responded.
"We don't normally make friends with our dinner." Another added in order.
"We do like to collect rare things, not really seashells."
"We're not trained singers, but if you want to hear our chorus, we'd love to sing for you."
Loki, Mobius, and Sylvie winced as they began a round of wordless song, their lovely voices making the team feel drowsy again. Before they got in a full bar, however, tendrils sprang from Loki's body, muzzling the mouth of each mermaid.
"Do not make me come out there!" Healer threatened them. The mermaids promptly swam off, terrified and unable to take anything of importance from the detectives.
"Well, that was… effective." Loki sighed. "Healer, please tell me you got that sample."
"I did, just before he sang me to sleep. Hmmm, at least I think I did: I hopeee I was not only dreeeaming that I did." He paused to double check. "Ahhh, no, it was not a dream: here it isss."
"Ah, yes, good work, Healer!" Loki congratulated. "Now we can go to Olympus and do some comparing."
"After we return to Poseidon to turn us back into air breathers, you mean." Mobius reminded him.
"Yes, we'll certainly need to take care of that first." So they found their way back to the royal palace, where Ozoa met them and brought them back.
"You've returned so soon? Did you enjoy meeting the mermaids, Casey?"
"You mean that band of pickpockets you dumped us on while your pregnant prince escaped?!" Sylvie clarified. "What is it, National Sing Your Guests Unconscious Day!?"
"Pardon, but my first loyalty is to the Asgardian Royal Family, and the youngest prince often acts on whims: he asked me to be sure no harm came to you since one of you is pregnant. I brought you to the mermaids because you wanted to meet them. I didn't consider that they would try to take advantage of you, with you resembling Prince Loki; they must have known you were from the surface already."
"But his dad's the one who assigned you to us, and you interfered with the job your king wanted done by letting his son knock us out, carrying us off, and leaving us!" Mobius argued.
"Forgive me, but Prince Loki hasn't done anything wrong. And the king…" Her eyes shifted, not wanting to say too much.
"Well for now, we'd like to see the king."
She nodded, and they followed her back to the palace.
"So, do all Atlanteans have such mesmerizing voices?" Loki asked. "And how do they sing so well underwater, when the language we speak here doesn't allow for conventional speaking?"
"Actually, it's very rare for Atlanteans to have that ability, mostly just the mermaids: like His Majesty said, his youngest son is exceptional. I don't know how they do it."
"But none of them can glow as pretty as you can." Casey assured her.
"Many of us have bioluminescence we can utilize in the darker parts of the ocean." She answered, glowing purple again to demonstrate. "What about humans? I heard you have this force on the surface called 'gravity': do you ever get sore from it pushing you down constantly?"
"Oh no, we don't even feel it."
"Hm, so it's similar to the pressure we have deep in the ocean?"
"I guess."
"I heard some humans keep fish as pets. Do you keep jellyfish?"
"No, I don't think anyone does. I have a goldfish with three eyes named Stephen! Do you have any pets?"
"I have a pet starfish named Sticky, but the fish I find I usually prepare for royal feasts."
"Cool. I'm a fisherman, so it's the same with me."
When they reached Poseidon again, Loki greeted him. "Your Majesty, we have found what we need here, but to find solid results, we'll need to venture to Olympus and collect evidence from your son's possible partners."
"Ah. Do you need me to transport you there, or do you know the way?"
"That would be most helpful, but there's something I'd like to ask you first."
"Ask away, Asgardian Loki."
"Technically, I'm still a Frost Giant, but nevertheless, I'd like to know what you plan to do when you know the identity of the mother. Will you force your Loki to wed her, or do you have something… else in mind for her?"
Poseidon looked Detective Loki in the eyes. "You're quite sharp. Yes, I'm hoping to bring the two together: she is responsible for her baby, and Loki will certainly need the… company. Of course, I'll want to meet her too."
"But you're not planning on harming her or taking retribution of any sort for… well, you know?"
"Goodness no, no retribution, no revenge! I'd just like to bring the family together in love."
"Uhm, I see?"
"Is that all you wished to know?"
"Yes, thank you!" He replied, not completely convinced, but eager to get on with his task.
"Heheh, you're very well-mannered! Are you sure Odin raised you?"
"Ehehe, my mother taught me my manners. Well then, let us be off!"
Ozoa bid them farewell. "Casey, when you return, I will take you to friendlier mermaids: I'll be sure of it and accompany you myself."
Casey smiled. "Actually, I think I'd rather get to know you." She glowed bright red. "Can I stay here?"
Mobius smiled. "Sure. We'll see you when we get back, Casey."
Poseidon brought them back to the surface, reverting them to their natural forms as they stepped on the shore. They followed him to Mount Olympus, showing the secret passage that linked the two realms, and he wished them luck as they entered. Everything around them sped past in a colorful blur, similar to Loki's experience with the Bifrost, and when it slowed to a halt, they were up in the clouds, in the heavenly realm of Olympus!
In the meantime, the Atlantean Loki had surfaced at the kingdom of Athens on the back of his double-horned narwhal, visiting with his air-breathing brothers.
"I can't believe Father would stoop so low as to hire detectives to find out who the mother of my child is! It's- it's infuriating!"
"You know, can't say I blame him." A tall Cyclops replied. "We already have enough problems with one adopted, frosted freak in the family, and now he's multiplying!"
Loki Aegaeus shot his adoptive brother a nasty look. "Well Polyphemus, one upside is that my child won't be able to inherit your 'award-winning personality' or your ocean bottom temperature IQ."
"Ah, he's just jealous he can't get a lady into his bed, aren't ya, Poly?" A handsome, muscular man teased.
"Quiet your puny tongue, Theseus, before I do to it what Odysseus did to my eye!"
"Oh don't lose your itty bitty temper, you got Daddy to heal your eye years ago. It's your ego that needs recovering." Theseus quipped. "So basically, you're worried Poseidon will try to move in on your lady like he did with Proteus's ex?" Loki nodded.
"What did Amphitrite say?" A talking horse with a luxurious mane asked.
"Mother? She was no help. 'Let your father chase someone else around for a change, I'm tired!' Arion, maybe you could look into the future for me, see if you can find out for certain whose child I'm carrying and what I'm to do about it?"
"Let me see." The horse closed his eyes. "It looks like there's some sort of contest and… dancing."
"Dancing? I challenge someone to a dance competition?"
"Search me, I don't do interpretations. That's all I can see; maybe I'm getting old?"
"Well, don't worry yourself over it, Arion. You're still my favorite brother. Ah, is that my third-favorite brother about to join us?" Loki alerted them as he noticed someone rising from the waters. "Hm, fourth. Hello Triton, have you come with a message from our father, preferably an apology?"
"You'd have a better chance of getting a kiss from a Titan, Frosty." Theseus joked.
"Still chattering the time away, Theseus, yet nothing productive to say? Polyphemus, trying to pick fights with our younger brothers again, no doubt. Arion, most likely making wild predictions of the future. And Loki, up to your usual brand of mischief? I take it you came here to tell them the baby is about to be born? Even on Diplókeros, your trusty narwhal, you shouldn't be traveling about so in your condition: you look due!"
"Not yet, Big Brother. I was telling them how Father thought he'd be sneaky and hire detectives to find out who the mother is." Loki grunted. "You can guess as to why!"
"Don't worry, they'll never get a word out of me, Baby Brother! Are you planning to remain here then?"
Loki shook his head. "There is someone I know who might be able to get me out of this yet. Thank you, Triton, until next time, brothers!" He dove back underwater, a last-minute idea in his mind.
In Olympus, Detective Loki advised his friends. "If anyone asks, you're with Prince Loki of Atlantis. Now, let's go find some ladies. Shall we begin with Kore?"
"Sounds good to me." Sylvie concurred. They walked along the roads of the majestic city, marveling at how similar it seemed to Asgard, even more so than Atlantis. Loki nodded to passersby who recognized him, yet he didn't stop to chat until he found, or was found, by his first suspect.
"What are you doing back here?" A blonde woman marched up to him angrily. "You've got some nerve!"
"Ah, and it is lovely to see you again as well. Did I do something wrong?" While his host chatted with Kore, Healer detached a piece of himself that latched onto her, disappearing inside for the DNA sample.
"Don't play coy. You're looking for her, aren't you? You two are planning on making some kind of chaotic mischief together, no doubt."
Loki raised his eyebrows. "Her? And which her would that be, my good lady?"
She glared at him for a good few seconds, and then she attempted to slap him, but he grabbed her hand in anticipation, reminded a bit of Sif, and his hand glowed green, curious to see why she was so upset with his variant. Her mind flashed back to the party, where dozens of gods and goddesses drank, ate, got intimate, and went all out wacky, allover having a wonderful night! He spotted his Atlantean counterpart, drinking an unhealthy amount of wine with Dionysus and dancing like there was no tomorrow! He later snuck away from Zeus with the Olympian's daughters into a cloud below, where they all happily disappeared from sight! Sometime later in the night, Kore went searching for Loki, ready for another round, when she saw him with a different blonde woman with unkempt hair, a very particular one whom the rest of Zeus's family despised. Kore angrily stormed off, not seeing them again until Loki and his new lover had pulled naughty pranks together, including setting a minotaur loose in the good dinnerware room and casting Narcissus's reflection on every wine vase he held.
After he got all the information he needed, he let go of her. "Alright, you caught me, I'm looking for Eris. Have you seen her?"
This time, she refused to dignify a response and just walked away, though she used her powers to sic a carnivorous Olympian plant on him. However, Loki simply used his enchantment again to pacify the voracious flora.
"There there. Hungry creature, it reminds me of you, Healer."
"So, is it her?" Mobius asked the aforementioned Symbiote.
"Nope, not her!"
"Huh, you'd think it'd be the goddess of fertility! What did you find out, Lo? You said Eris, as in the goddess of chaos and discord, right?"
"That's right, he got especially intimate with her, despite Kore being the one on whose behalf he was invited."
"I wonder why her mom invited him in particular to an Olympian party?" Casey asked.
"Many months ago, she was kidnapped by her uncle Hades and held captive in the underworld, but it appears her Loki rescued her before Hades could get her to stay, and she invited him out of gratitude, like we theorized."
"So that's why she was so pissed at you- well, him." Sylvie surmised. "The other Loki saved her, she fell for him, and he chose her black sheep sister over her. I feel sorry for Kore."
"Did he come to the party to get to Eris, or did he fall for her here?" Mobius wondered. "The god of mischief and the goddess of chaos: gotta admit, they're perfect for each other!"
Loki nodded. "But there's still more ladies to check: before Eris, he also pleasured Aphrodite, Erida, Helen, and Hebe along with Kore simultaneously."
"So only five candidates, and they're all sisters?"
"That would be the gist of it."
Sylvie grinned. "Well, then let's get to it!"
Fun fact: Diplókeros is Greek for double-horned, pretty on-the-nose name for Atlantean Loki's narwhal.
On another subject, the Greek partying and characters make this case a bit kinkier than my usual, but nothing explicit, of course.