"So, I'm very certain that one of your variants is behind this." Mobius summariazed. "Any ideas, anything only a Loki could see?"

"Hm, so he was dressed in the same exact Sakaaran armor and helmet that I was, days after our previous case there… that can't be a coincidence."

"Days for us, hundreds of years before this timeline's date, unless you're saying this variant can time travel."

"Why not? If he is a Loki, as you figure, he's likely familiar with advanced technologies and cosmic gateways that can transport him anywhere or anywhen he wishes to go. He may have even been brought in by the TVA at one point and escaped with a tempad."

"Maybe? Then again, time works pretty weird on Sakaar, even more so than the Null-Time Zone sometimes."

"As for that witness, you make an excellent point: he was obviously left alive on purpose. This Loki most likely watched my fight on Sakaar and conjured my outfit for himself. Perhaps he was seeking to conquer Sakaar, changed plans, and set his sights here after the revolution. Or a good whiff of the stench."

"Yeah, and he picked a pretty good time to take over, since the people here are weakened due to hundreds of years of war. By the way, thanks for waiting and not breaking out: I'll get you acquitted in no time!"

"I have no doubt, but you needn't worry about me: I'm getting along quite well here. In fact, one of the guards is rather… enchanted with me." Loki hinted.

"Oh, is that right?" Mobius casually looked around the room. "Pretty secure place they're keeping you in; good thing I didn't bother baking you a cake with a file in it, though I doubt you'd need it anyway."

"A file on whom? Me?"

"No, I meant… you know… a nail file…"

"Who would put a nail file in a cake?! That is disgusting!"

Mobius groaned. "When we get back, we really need to have a movie marathon!" He turned to a guard nearby. "Hey, you understand the 'file in the cake' reference, don't you?"

"No."

"Did you enchant him to say that?"

"No." Loki stated.

"No." The guard confirmed. Mobius raised an eyebrow.

"Ask anyone here; ask one of your guards."

Mobius did as Loki suggested. "Do you know the 'bake a nail file in the cake' routine?"

"Uh, no…" Corpsman Dey replied. "but maybe if you hum a few bars, it'll come back to me."

"Oh come on!"

"See, it's not just me who doesn't get your nonsensical Earth references!" Loki assured Mobius.

Mobius groaned. "Alright, fine: you win this one." He thought for a second and stifled a chuckle.

"What now?" Loki wondered.

"Oh, nothing, it's just, heheh."

"What?"

"Loki in the Pokey!"

Loki raised an eyebrow, unamused. "Hysterical. They did allow me a phone call though; I tried to reach Sylvie, but she hasn't contacted me back yet."

"You called her to help me?" Loki nodded. "A bit ironic, if you think back a bit…"

"You're welcome!"

"Yeah, thanks, I guess it takes a Loki to bring down a Loki, right?"

"This must be a regular field day for you, Mr. Loki specialist, my biggest fan!" Loki smirked. "Just be sure not to lose your focus with all this Loki chaos ensuing!"

"Pff, lose my focus… with all of… all the Loki ch-" Mobius's eyes brightened. "Of course, my focus has been all on Loki! Thanks Loki!"

"What?" Loki asked as Mobius stood from his seat.

"You just gave me an idea! I'll see you when I find the killer, Lokes!"

"Indeed." Loki agreed. "But forget the cake: if you plan to bring me any sustenance, bring me some ice cream, file-free! The food here is dreadful!" Mobius smiled as he was escorted to rejoin the Corps, ready to get back to work.

Mobius began to interrogate his two Corpsmen guards as they walked outside along a long path. "You know, I just realized I haven't asked much about the victim, compared to the killer. What can you two tell me about this Centurion?"

"Centurion Kul? She was just promoted about… 55 years ago, after she helped us drive back the heavy fighting back to the Kree world and saved thousands of innocent lives! She was always looking for ways she could help the helpless: I can't imagine anyone would want to kill her, unless they're Kree."

"Or one of their allies." Mobius responded. "Do the Kree have any other people on their side, maybe someone who would profit from helping them win?"

Corpsman Dey scoffed. "Not anyone I know of, or would want to run into. No one on the battlefield, at least! Then again, we're just Corpsmen: the Nova Prime is the one you want to be asking about these big war questions!"

"I think I'll do just that." Mobius concurred as the Corpsmen led him back to Nova Prime Headquarters, asking permission for the detective to question her.

"Madam Prime, it occurred to me that maybe, just maybe, this Loki variant we're looking for isn't a Loki after all, but an enemy of Xandar, or an ally of the Kree. Could you tell me if you have any enemies capable of shapeshifting or DNA cloning?"

"I should think not!" Prime looked thoughtful for a moment, but maintained her stance. "The only people that would sink low enough to aid the Kree would be the Sakaarans, and they don't possess any kind of supernatural abilities. The only shapeshifters I can think of would be the Skrulls, and… they're allied neither with us or the Kree. Perhaps it could be?"

"The Skrulls? But they're victims of the Kree, just like you are! At least, the ones I know of are. I brought in a few Kree myself at my old organization, and from what I saw, all those stories about the Skrulls invading planets is nothing but Kree propaganda and scapegoatism. Then again…"

"So you're going back to the 'clone of your friend' theory, I take it?"

"Well, maybe… there are exceptions to every rule. …Do you suppose it's possible a Skrull could have gotten stranded on Sakaar for a thousand years or more, before the Kree attacked, and came back, convinced the Sakaarans were on his side? Or maybe just went a little bonkers from the time difference? Time doesn't flow normally on Sakaar, after all, so a thousand years here could be a few years or even months there!"

"I… I suppose."

"And, if I remember correctly, Skrulls can replicate the DNA of whoever's form they take to an exact match and can even see their most recent memories. I don't know exactly how recent."

"Yes, that's correct."

"Could you look into it for me please, maybe look through your database and see what you can find out about the Skrulls? Anything would help!"

"But a Skrull siding with allies of the Kree? That sounds like a pretty wild conclusion to jump to, but… you don't seem the crazy type, so I'll have someone look into it."

"Thank you, Madam Prime!" Mobius bowed his head respectfully and started to leave until a magnificent sight caught his eye, sitting outside the building. "Is that a luxury jet ski?"

"Oh yes, we learned to manufacture watercraft vehicles from the Terrans: we've managed to give our top models significant upgrades, but those Terrans sure know how to have a good time! Mine's an Ultramarina 5000LX Prime; there's a shop in the center of the square called 'Intergalactic Marina Emporium.'"

"Really? Well, thank you for that information too!" The two Corpsmen exchanged glances as they and Mobius exited the building.

"Okay, the source of power he's after is surely secure by now, so our killer is probably going to make his next move soon, try to get information from Saal." Mobius brainstormed. "There's no telling if this killer is a Loki or not, and if so, he can use enchantment, so we'll all have to be on guard."

"Enchantment? Like magic?" Xandarian Corpsman Senn inquired.

"Yeah, looking into someone's memories: if he knows enchantment, it'd be no problem for him to find out how to bypass even your toughest security, especially given that Lokis are experts with alien technology."

"An expert with swords, magic, and technology? Sounds like a really dangerous guy." Corpsman Dey added.

"If he is a Loki… if not, he might be out of my area of expertise, which could make him even more dangerous! Hey, how much time do you suspect we have before we regroup?"

"Well, Saal's very thorough when it comes to protecting Xandar's security, so probably another 20 or 30 minutes from now? Why?"

"I was thinking we should look around the city square, like maybe around the Marine Emporium…" The Corpsmen gave Mobius a suspicious look. "You know, just in case this criminal made his escape by water, or hid a body in the lake. Just to be sure."

"Right."

"Okay."

In the meantime, at the Kyln, the prison guard holding Loki's possessions was alerted as his TemPad made a beeping noise, and a voice called from the other end.

"Hey detective, call for you!"

"Ah, finally!" Loki eagerly grabbed his device and answered. "Hello?"

However, after he finished, the other end was silent for a good 5 seconds, until Loki eventually got a response.

"Hello? …Time Detectives?" An elderly-sounding man asked.

Loki frowned. "…yes?"

…do you have Prince Thor in a can?"

Loki scowled, his patience wearing thin. "No, I do not, you asinine-" Loki suddenly paused his chastising, a theory forming in his head. "Wait- wait just one moment: I'll check!" Loki turned to his enchanted guard and whispered to him. "Psst, could you do me a favor and trace this call? Thank you." The guard nodded and Loki spoke back into the TemPad. "Yes, I'll just let him out for you!" Loki lowered his voice into Thor's and pretend scolded, "Brother. Getting into mischief, are we? Should I tell our father what you're doing?"

"Your father, not mine." The prankster corrected.

"Aha, so you are a Loki! Disguising your voice with magic, no doubt!" The imprisoned Loki deducted in his head. He spoke aloud again "Where are you? I long to see you."

"Oh, deep in one of the dark, bottomless pits of Niflheim: why don't you go jump in and try to find me?!" Loki subsequently heard a loud buzz of static as the connection was lost.

"Droll, very droll. Got anything?" Loki inquired of the guard.

"No, either the equipment is malfunctioning, or he's in a whole 'nother reality!"

"Do you know where or when?"

"Not even remotely."

"Well, I thank you nonetheless: at the very least I know who I'm looking for and where not to look for him. Now, may I ask just one more favor of you: just provide some cover for me. Yes, there's a good man!" Loki said as he set his next move in motion, thinking, "I can't just sit around here anymore: Mobius needs help! He needs a Loki!"