Back at the Null-Time Zone, Røskva Madsen answered the detective hotline.
"Hello, Time Detectives here."
"Hey, is Mobius there? Could you tell him his friends are in danger?" Verity Willis replied.
"Okay." Røskva turned to see he was awake. "Uncle Mobius, there's a lady on the phone who says Loki and Sylvie are in trouble! She... wait!" She spoke into the phone once again. "How do you know Uncle Mobius's real name?"
"Huh? Oh, his son told me. And that would make you Loki's cousin?"
"No, 'Uncle Mobius' just a nickname, because Mobius is my therapist too."
"What kind of trouble is my son in?" Mobius asked. "And is he the cause of it?"
"No, he and the others found the guy who's been causing several women to disappear from their homes, but when they confronted him, the communication lines were cut, and we can't reach them!" Verity replied. "The last thing Loki said before he cut out was that his partners had been turned against him and had taken him prisoner!"
"Huh. I dunno it might be part of his plan to get caught; he can be pretty... ah, ah, achoo!" Mobius sniffled. "Pretty crafty. Did he say anything about the guy?"
"He didn't get the chance, if he knew, but President Loki and I dug up a bunch of information about him, and we found out he's Thanos's brother, Eros!"
"Eros! So he's using his brain pleasuring powers against people to take them from their homes, and now he's got my Loki and my future daughter in law. Wait, ih-is Loki president in your timeline?"
"Yes, yes, and yes. You've heard of Eros then?"
"I have; back when I worked for the TVA, I brought in so-called time criminals from the planet Titan, among many other worlds. I also know there's one being who his powers don't work against: his older brother, Thanos the Mad Titan, and I just happen to know where to find a good variant of him! The Lokis and I kinda befriended him when we helped him solve his own case!"
"That's awesome! Could you ask him to help us?"
"That's exactly what I'm going to do! In fact, he's not the only person I'm thinking of that can fight an empath! I'll send them your way in a jiffy!" Mobius promised Verity before he sneezed again.
"Thank you, Mobius! I hope you get better soon!"
"Thanks." Mobius hung up and took the device with the Ravagers' logo that Thanos gave him from his pocket. "I hope I can reach him." He pushed the button on the side, and a holographic image of the Mad Titan was displayed in front of him.
"Mr. Paradox, you need my assistance with something?"
"Boy, do I! We've run into a case, wh- A-CHOO- where your brother Eros is kidnapping women with his pleasure powers, and he's even got the rest of my team on board! You're immune to his powers, right? And since you know Eros better than anyone, we could really use you on this case!"
Thanos nodded. "You certainly could: I was born without a pleasure center in my brain, so he has never been able to influence me like the others."
"That's... a-choo- sad but useful! So, you wanna come over and kick his ass for us?"
"I will, as soon as we finish our current mission. Give us another hour or two, and then open a portal for me. As for reversing his powers on your family, however, we'll have to force him to do that: it takes an empath to counter an empath."
Mobius grinned. "Oh, I have someone else in mind for that!" When they finished speaking, Mobius opened a Time Door with his TemPad. "Røskva, how about we take a quick trip back to New Asgard? There's someone in King Thor's circle of friends I need to recruit."
"Yeah, let's go!" She excitedly cheered.
As they arrived in the village of New Asgard, Korg greeted them. "Oh hey, Ghost's biggest fan and therapist dad! The king version of him is busy with public relations and things, and his bro's out on an adventure with his girlfriend."
"Aw. Is there a way we can contact Thor this time?" Mobius wondered.
"Yup, his girlfriend got him a cell phone to contact him, and he told me to give you or his brother his number."
Korg gave Mobius the number, and he immediately dialed it.
"Thor, son of Odin, speaking."
"Hey Thor, it's Mobius."
"Hello Mobius! I see you received my contact information from Korg... have you need of me, or merely one of my goats?"
"Actually, I was going to ask you if you know where the Guardians of the Galaxy are: I need Mantis's powers this time!"
"Ah, how fortuitous: they decided to join us on our quest today! We're on Broodworld, freeing the peaceful Acanti and getting them off-world to safety; they're so large and majestic, we couldn't see them harmed! We're going to take care of the bad guys after."
"Then I'll pop in and say hi."
Mobius took Røskva to Broodworld, immediately spotting Thor and Jane liberating the whale-like creatures. They approached the Guardians. "Hey guys, I don't know if you remember me, but I'm-" He sneezed.
"Yeah, we remember ya!" Rocket the raccoon-like Halfworlder replied. "You're the detective partner of Thor's undead brother!"
"Uh yeah, that's me."
"Who's the kid?" Peter Quill's Starlord wondered.
"This is Røskva, Loki's number one fan.
"I'm watching Mobius while he's sick." Røskva explained.
"A-CHOO!"
"Prosit!" She blessed him in Danish.
"Thanks, um... mange tak!"
"Did you bring the funny horse man who thinks he's Thor?" Drax laughingly asked.
"Yes, I wanted to feed him a carrot!" Mantis innocently requested.
"Well that's not the least bit offensive." Starlord mumbled.
"That is good; I didn't mean it to be."
"Hi Mantis, you're actually the one I need a favor from." Mobius continued. "We need your empathic abilities to free Loki, Sylvie, and their baby from the powers of another empath!"
"Their baby?!" Peter Quill repeated.
"Yep, Syl's pregnant."
"Awww, I can't refuse to save a baby!" Mantis cooed. "Can I go with him?"
"You don't have to ask us, Mantis." Quill told her. "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy: we help people everywhere, even if the galaxy is in another timeline, or something like that!"
"Bring back the Thor horse for me!" Drax told them.
"I'm not making any promises." Mobius answered as he escorted Mantis back to the Null-Time Zone.
In the meantime, Eros and his gang of emotionally-controlled ladies paid a visit to Sweden next, at Sylvie's suggestion, visiting Drottningholm Palace with the Lokis by his side, among the natural landmarks, the forests, and the dancing cranes in Lake Hornborgasjön. The birds took jumping leaps, took a bow, and repeated while Eros, Loki, and Sylvie watched.
"That looks like fun." Loki remarked, still in female form. "Shall we join them?" She bowed and extended a hand to each of them, and they danced with the birds. The Lokis imitated the jumping at either side of Eros until the duo shapeshifted into cranes themselves.
"You're both shapeshifters!" Eros exclaimed as the two perfected the crane dance together. "Can you fly me to the stars?"
And they picked him up off the ground with their talons, carrying him across the lake and flying him in the sky, over the mountains, and then they brought him back into the closest city, where he sought out more companions.
The next morning, Eros returned to their ship with a couple of blondes, while many of the others protested as their group grew bigger. However, Eros amplified his pleasure-inducing abilities to calm them, and they appeared even happier than before.
Eros found Sylvie on her way to his ship at the same time, and he called to her. "Hey Sylvie, I'd like to thank you for the marvelous idea to see the wonders of Sweden!"
"You're welcome!" She briefly spun around to face him and headed back towards his spacecraft.
"Hey, wait!" He ran after and caught up to her, cutting off her path. "What's the hurry? We haven't had any real fun together, and I thought the two of us could go somewhere a bit more romantic than my spaceship." He took her hands in his, bowing his head. She remained under his spell, though she didn't seem as euphoric as before, looking uncomfortable. "What do you-"
Eros was interrupted by a horrendous retching noise as Sylvie puked all over him. He gritted his teeth, shuddered, and let her go.
"Uuuugh, sorry; morning sickness-" Sylvie muttered before she bounded the corner and shut herself in the bathroom. Loki then changed Eros's clothes with magic and peeked inside the ship.
"Sylvie, do you need to return home now?"
"BLEAAAAHHHH-" She hurled again. "No, I just need to puke myself empty again, and then I'd like to lay down until I die!"
"And she calls me dramatic!" Loki faced Eros. "Just give her time to rest."
"I got the message loud and clear." He replied, just thankful most of the vomit was cleaned off of him. He went into the other bathroom to wash himself off, and then he rejoined the other ladies while Loki stayed put.
"So, did your little spy discover anything new with my variant?" Detective Loki silently asked Healer.
"Yesss, he and his redheaded VP are hatching a plan to find Eros and usss; they are forming a team to thwart him, currently recruiting his nutjob of a brother Thanos!"
"Thanos?!" Loki glanced back at the dark-haired man. "Eros is brother to Thanos, the Mad Titan!?"
"No, he is brother to Thanos, the radish farmer. OF COURSE THE MAD TITAN THANOS!"
"Oh, very appropriate time to master sarcasm, very mature."
"Likewiseee. And he is the Thanos we solved the poached animal case for!"
"Ah, the reformed yet still mad Thanos; then he's nothing we need worry about, I'm sure: he did say he was trying to work things out with his family."
"So, any suggestions on where we should head next?" He asked the new ladies on either side of him, and then he turned to the others. "Any more ladies with a love of adventure to find?"
"I just had an idea." Loki said. "Back in the United States, in the capital of Washington DC, there's a lovely young redhead that president Loki took as his vice, named Verity Willis. She is most likely currently solving the mystery I was, yet she'd be far better off joining us, don't you agree? Not only does she have a love of adventure, but she has the extraordinary ability to know when someone is lying or being truthful, so if you recruit her to your side..."
"She can't use her power to incriminate me, and we can explore the rest of the world undeterred!" Eros finished.
"Precisely."
"Alright, great idea, Loki! But what about the president? Will he try to protect her?"
"I doubt it." Loki figured. "The two aren't friendly; they can barely even stand each other. He'll betray her the first chance he gets, if he gets a good enough offer. And even if he doesn't, he and I are the same, so he'll fall for you no less easily than I did."
"Then it's only a matter of getting in."
Loki smiled. "I can help with that: my stealth and your charm, and it'll be no matter at all! And a little distraction goes a long way! Though they did recruit you brother Thanos as well."
"Thanos!? I'm not thinking this is such a good idea after all!"
"Fret not, I know this particular Thanos isn't the monster you grew up with anymore: he's reformed, and he trusts me! We'll need him off your case anyhow; therefore, it would be best for us to land the preemptive strike! Leave your brother to me; I know just how to keep him away while you make your move." Loki assured as she leaned in close to Eros.
"Why don't we go to a nice volcano and jump in together while it erupts?" Fiamma playfully suggested to Eros.
"Uhhm... let's not and say we did." He replied. "Why don't we stick with Loki's plan? I'm glad I have such a brilliant detective on my side!" Eros leaned over to Loki, attempting to kiss her, but Healer quickly sprang out from her torso until the Symbiote was face-to-face with the empath.
"Wait, don't! Loki is in a relationship with Sylvieee! I, howeverrr, am not!" Healer licked her black, goopy lips as Eros grimaced and nervously backed away from them. "PUCKER UP, PRETTY BOY!"
"AAAAAAAAH-" Eros shouted, sprinting away from Healer as the Symbiote stretched after him, while her host just stood in place and facepalmed. "Quickly ladies, we're going to the White House!" He announced as he boarded his ship and slammed the door behind him, only opening it when Healer backed off.
"Too strong?"
"Indefinitely." Her host confirmed.
Back in the White House, President Loki and Verity continued to brainstorm ideas in tandem until they noticed a glowing orange door spontaneously appear in the middle of the room. Mobius stepped out first.
"Hey, President and Vice President of 2150." He greeted them. "I'm not staying myself, but I brought a couple friends to help even the odds against this hedonistic empath!"
President Loki's face fell in horror as Thanos the Mad Titan walked into view, and Mantis followed afterwards, also wary of the purple giant.
"It's okay, Loki, Mobius says this Thanos is a good one, and he's here to help us!" Verity reassured him.
"Y-y-yes, I recall, b-but..." President Loki's hands glowed green with his magic. "I most definitely don't trust him!"
"I know, but Mobius at least believes what he said about him, so it's worth a shot, isn't it?"
"Thanos, you did come here to help us capture Eros, didn't you?" Mobius questioned him for the others.
"Yes, I intend to bring my adopted brother to justice and put an end to his perversion, no matter what. Even in my universe, where he is law-abiding, I never liked Eros: people who live for pleasure make me sick."
"He's telling the truth." Verity verified. She turned to Loki and quietly asked. "So, is that why he didn't like you so much in your timeline?"
President Loki simply rolled his eyes in response. "So, do you have a plan?"
"Thanos will separate his brother from his victims while Mantis here uses her own empathic powers to free his victims." Mobius discussed. "That way he-hhhe-he- a-CHOO! Hhhh.. he can't take over their emotional states again." He gave Thanos a pair of power-dampening cuffs. "These will stop him from using his powers when you take him into custody. Good luck." Then he looked at President Loki. "And PL, if you even think about betraying us for any reason, we have a Thanos."
"Yes, I've noticed." He sighed. Mobius promptly left them via TemPad while Loki anxiously mouthed his protestations in vain. "Aghhh, don't leave me alone with him!" He then audibly groaned. "Lovely."