The detectives entered the library, picking some Loki books that involved Jörmungandr. "Hey, here's the book that Røskva girl was reading: 'Loki and His Children.' Funny, I don't remember ever becoming a father!" Loki did a double take as he glanced through Sleipnir the 8-legged horse's section. "Or… a mother?! What? Sleipnir is older than I am! How is he my son?!"
Mobius laughed. "I don't know, but it's hilarious! Hahaha, man, this is even better than D. B. Cooper! Heheheh, but humor aside, I found something a bit more useful. Here." He pointed to a much newer book called "Loki of Asgard and His Army," to a page showing Loki riding an alien hovercraft, leading the Chitauri and Leviathan army he brought to New York in 2012. "Loki, the god of mischief, returned to Earth with an army of monsters to rule the city of Manhattan, but his brother Thor stopped him with his own team of human heroes, The Avengers. Thor took him back to Asgard to be judged by the All-father Odin, but when he returns, the heroes will be disbanded and the entire Earth shall be his." Mobius read the text out loud. "Wow, that's spooky!"
"Yes, a lot of humans believe me to be evil, I know!"
"No, not that, the 'heroes disbanded' part: by this time, The Avengers would have just disbanded a few months ago, after being turned against each other by Hydra!"
"Are you serious!?" Loki asked incredulously. "That was my plan, and those humans manage to pull it off?! How dare they?! Who do they th-"
"SHHH! Not so loud! And get your priorities straight, detective!" Mobius whispered. "What I'm saying is, if you're right about this vandal being partnered with Jörmungandr, then maybe she's a member of Løgstør's own Loki Fan Club, planning something mischievous now that the time is right?"
"That child at the bakery fantasized about me ruling Denmark; do you think she's trying to get my attention, or the attention of this timeline's Loki?"
"A desperate cry for attention." Mobius summarized. "It can make someone do some messed up things."
Loki paused for a second and nodded. As they returned to silently reading, he borrowed every book the library had on Jörmungandr, curious if anyone knew the location of the serpent's Midgardian lair and lived to write it down, but he was disappointed to find nothing of the sort. A few hours passed, and they finally decided to return to the house of their next interrogation. As they followed the path back, they noticed there was a vehicle in the driveway.
"So, you still want to interrogate the pet snake?" Mobius asked Loki. "I mean, we've got an actual suspect now, with a motive. If we find where she went, you could easily look into her mind with your enchantment powers and find out what she knows, where your old pet is, and what happened to the Danish police!"
"Mobius, I'm not going to enchant a child, and I recall you specifically telling me not to use magic unless absolutely necessary."
"Why do you always pick the worst few times to do as you're told-"
"Besides, we don't want to make this too easy, do we? I want to solve our first mystery the old-fashioned way!"
"By talking to snakes?"
"By interrogation, my friend: I am known for my silver tongue, after all! Interrogation, observation, and ingenuity! Those are the keys to solving any case!" Loki pulled a cinnamon roll from his magical stash and held it before Mobius. "Here, let's say this cinnamon roll is our first case!"
"Oh no, not this again!"
"I could merely stuff the entire thing in my mouth and eat it whole, but to truly savor it, to make the best of it," Loki explained as he unrolled the treat into his mouth in a circular motion, "I'd much rather unravel it piece by piece, getting all the information from various sources I can before I arrive at the delicious conclusion in the center! Do you understand what I mean?"
"I understand: you want to solve the Loki case in your own Loki way. Wait, wasn't that Sylvie's cinnamon roll?"
Loki stared at the crumbs in his hand with mild guilt. "I'll buy her another one afterwards. Now, let's get to our next interrogation while his owner will allow us!"
When the detective duo reached the house once more, Mobius knocked at the door, announcing themselves and which case they were investigating. A blond woman opened it slightly and answered. "Am I a suspect in some sort of crime?"
"Yes and no. We've found serpentine evidence at the crime scene, so we're asking all the snake owners in your town." Mobius explained, distracting her while Loki snuck over to Mr. Slitherpuss, who was napping on a tree-shaped furnishing.
"Good day, Mr. SsSlitherpuss. We're sssearching for my old friend Jörmungandr: are you acquainted with him?" Loki interrogated through the silent snake language.
"You musssst be Loki, from the sssstoriesss I've heard. No, I don't know him perssssonally, but I've heard him ssssslithering underneath the sstreetssssssss."
"I sssee. Did you ever hear any human voiccesss with him?"
"Maybe, once? A high-pitched one. I think… a girl'sss or woman'sss? I can't tell much difference myssself."
"Wasss it your owner's?"
"…no."
"I thought not. Then it must be… Do you know if Jörmungandr ssstaysss in a cccertain placccce? I sssusspect that he or his accomplice may have taken the missing police officerss sssomewhere-"
"DO YOU THINK THIS IS SOME KIND OF JOKE?!" The blond woman's voice suddenly rang and interrupted Loki's conversation, along with his train of thought. He and Mr. Slitherpuss both stared at her, their tongues sticking out still.
"I know it seems crazy, but my partner really can understand your snake!" Mobius defended. "He's an expert in human and animal linguistics! He's not insane, he's just… unorthodox!"
"I think you're both crazy! You, get away from Mr. Slitherpuss and leave my house!"
"Madam, if you please," Loki began, "he just has one more question I'd like answered and then we'll kindly take our leave-"
"Out!"
Loki turned to Mobius, who sighed and headed out the door. Loki followed him, glancing back to see Mr. Slitherpuss slip out a "Sssorry about her: sshe'sss not a bad lady."
"So, any leads?" Mobius asked.
"Well, he said-" Loki blinked, feeling he was being watched, and turned back to the house. Mr. Slitherpuss gazed at them from the open window and pointed his tail towards a church a ways to the north.
"Under the church?" Loki tongue-flicked questioningly.
"Yeah." Mr. Slitherpuss affirmed.
"Thank you!" Loki replied just as the window was shut. They followed the road to the church.
"So what now? We grab a pair of shovels?" Mobius wondered.
"Oh no, that sounds like far too much manual labor!" Loki headed past the church farther north to the open canal, smirking down at his reflection on the water's surface. "No, I believe our best bet would be to dive into the canal and search for the humongous tunnel, leading to his underground nesting area." Loki looked to his left, seeing Ada Nielsen's marked house in the distance. "Most assuredly, you were correct about Jörmungandr traveling by water: he could easily swim straight from his hideout here to the Nielsen house."
Mobius caught up to Loki a few seconds after he finished speaking. Suddenly his eyes widened. "Can we dive down in jet skis?"
Loki grinned. "Absolutely! Hold on, I believe I saw a marine equipment store… somewhere…" He climbed up to higher ground to quickly scan the buildings for a boating goods store. "Oh, there it is! Perhaps we can take a time door there and back: I don't much feel like walking ba-"
SPLASH! "LOKI!" Loki spun around to barely glimpse his friend get snatched by the mouth of a huge golden-scaled serpent!
"Mobius!" Loki ran back to the canal and dove in, catching sight of the beast's tail and tailing it as it swam swiftly through an underground tunnel. Fortunately, it didn't take long for them to reach their destination and a breath of air. The underground lair was dark, but Loki could make out the silhouettes of humans a short distance away.
"Good, it looks like everyone made it." They heard a familiar voice between two wall torches, illuminating a figure holding a giant snake fang to Mrs. Nielsen's neck.
"AHHHH, POLICE, DETECTIVES, SOMEBODY, HELP MEEE!" Their client screamed in a panic.
"I warned you what would happen if you didn't shut your mouth, Ms. Nielsen, but I'm not going to kill you. No, that pleasure is going to go to the great Loki when he returns to reclaim his throne!" The teenage girl exclaimed. "As for you nosy detectives, congratulations! You get the honor of being two of the first to witness the god of mischief as he makes his glorious ascent to power! Now that The Avengers are through, the only obstacle left to overcome is the law enforcement, and once you representatives here submit and kneel before him, the law of the rest of the world will soon follow!"
Loki shook his head, a bit chagrined at the way his young fan patronized him. "Røskva, this isn't what Loki would want. Those books they've written about him, those aren't prophecies: they're myths, humans making guesses!"
"And how would you know what Loki would want, detective?" Røskva mocked. "THe pOwEr oF deDucTiOn?" She faced The Midgard Serpent with an ominous expression. "Jörmungandr, how about you show this blasphemous jerk just what Loki and his allies are capable of? Swallow him."
Loki turned from his client, being held hostage by Røskva, to Mobius, still in Jörmungandr's widening jaws, both frightened of the fangs that threatened them. "STOP!" Loki shouted, his voice reverted from its magical filter. Not seeing a better way to resolve this peacefully, Loki removed his hat and sunglasses, lighting himself green with his magic.
"I am Loki."
Røskva's eyes widened as Loki revealed his identity; Ms. Nielsen appeared even more terrified. Loki looked his old serpentine friend in the eyes as Jörmungandr returned the gaze, his jaws frozen.
"Loki Odinson. Jörmungandr, please put my friend down." Recognizing the timbre of his former owner's voice, the serpent released Mobius at once. He began flicking his tongue to take in the once-familiar scent of his friend. He slithered over to Loki, coiling his body around him in an affectionate way.
"Are you alright, Mobius?"
"Y-y-yeah, I j-just… am terrified of snakes now!" Mobius answered, his shaking visible even in the darkness.
Loki then expanded the green light enveloping him to light up the entire space, and he saw the missing police officers, tied up and afraid. There were 5 more teens and young adults in front of them, who Loki surmised were more of his fan club members. Then he turned to Jörmungandr's latest partner.