"Hello? Who's at the door?" A woman responded to the knocking.
"Time Detectives, ma'am! We're here to solve your son's murder, so we're asking questions of anyone who might have any clues about his killer." Mobius answered.
"Whoever did it, they're horrendous! It's been so many years since a Sovereign was killed, I can't imagine what kind of monster would be responsible!" Spadek's mom exclaimed. She wore her hair in an elegant golden bun that reminded Loki of his own mother.
"The last time? Did a monster kill the last Sovereign who passed all those years ago?" Loki followed.
"No, I heard he died in a house fire, by accident. Nothing related to my son."
"I'm sorry for your loss. Could you tell us what your son was doing and where you last saw him?"
"He- he was studying alien cuisine for the guests that were supposed to arrive at his restaurant today. He always did that: he put in his best effort to make his dishes exactly the way his customers expected! We've never had Badoon visit Sovereign before, so he really did his research to make it authentic!"
Mobius nodded. "You must have been very proud of him. It's a horrible thing, I know, for a parent to lose a son."
The golden woman looked at Loki. "And is this your son?"
"Technically no, but of all my father figures, he's been the best candidate by far!" Loki beat Mobius to the response. He smiled wistfully. "I wish he were."
Mobius paused his train of thought for a moment, distracted by the bittersweet sentiment, though he soon got back on topic. "Yeah, we both lost our families, so me, him, and his girlfriend, we're all we have. Getting back on topic, did you notice any signs that your son might be in trouble? Did anything about him seem off?"
"…no. He was a bit anxious, trying to get his recipe just right, but other than that, he was perfectly fine! If something was off about him, I would know: mother's intuition… after all. No, this sudden… it caught us all by surprise. I-I don't-" The heartbroken mother started weeping. "I-I don't know how I can help…"
"It's alright, you've helped very nicely, madam! We really appreciate you talking with us about this!" Loki assured her. "We'll find and catch whoever is responsible for this, I promise you!"
"That's right, ma'am, we're professionals. The person who did this is going to pay for what they did to your son!"
"Thank you… I sincerely hope they do."
The Time Detectives visited the neighbor to the right of the victim's house next. She let them in and told them what she knew.
"That's right, Spadek was a genius when it came to cooking, even among the best of us Sovereign! Sometimes, he'd even come to my house next door to borrow an herb or rare vegetable he needed! I was always happy to help out, especially because he'd give me a taste test of whatever he was making."
"Yeah, you've got a very lovely garden here, Miss Narceeni. It's obvious you put a lot of time and care into it as well!" Mobius complimented.
"Thank you, I have a strong passion for things that grow!"
"So, when did you see Mr. Spadek last? Did anything seem off about him?"
"Let's see… I saw him come home from work yesterday afternoon with a whole bunch of groceries, probably to practice a new recipe. So, same as usual."
As the nature-loving neighbor, Narceeni, talked to Mobius, Loki's attention shifted to a few pretty yellow flowers among a plethora of other varieties. "Have you been to Asgard?"
"What?" Narceeni replied, distracted from her story.
"These flowers here are only native to Asgard, realm of the gods." Loki explained.
"Oh yeah, the gylne maner: it means 'golden manes' in Asgardian language, right?"
"Yes, that's correct! Do you speak Asgardian?"
"No, an Asgardian told me about them on my trip there. He said the petals resemble the manes of Asgardian horses! I love everything about them!" She gushed, and then she added quietly, "Then again, those Asgardians aren't that bad-looking themselves."
"Oh they do! I grew up on Asgard myself. As a boy, I used to pick them for Mother: she loved them as well!"
"How sweet!"
After Narceeni told the detectives what she knew, they questioned Zeeb, the neighbor on the other side of Spadek's house.
"Oh, Spadek! I was sort of a regular customer of his- or, as regular as I could manage. Neighbor or not, I still need a reservation to get in! Last I saw him was, uh, about 3 or 4 yesterday afternoon: he asked me to pronounce the name of a Badoon dish he was making!"
"You speak any Badoon?"
"I do. I'm a linguist: I speak over 50 alien languages fluently, and I'm currently researching a hundred more!"
"Wow, this block has quite the talented group of people living on it!" Mobius remarked.
"Yes, quite impressive!" Loki agreed. "Do you speak Asgardian, perchance?"
"I speak Norwegian, which is grammatically and semantically similar."
"Because the Norwegians copied us." Loki whispered in Mobius's ear.
"I'm currently studying the more wild and primitive languages, like A'askavariian and Jotun."
"Pardon, did you say Jotun?!" Loki repeated.
"Native language of the Frost Giants, of Jotunheim." Zeeb explained.
"I'm aware; has a Jotun… or an A'askavariian… ever visited your late neighbor's restaurant, or your planet before?"
"A'askavariian, yes, Jotun, nooo, not that I can remember, but these days, you never know who could be coming over to your world, or what their intentions might be…" He brooded.
"Why are you so interested in learning all these different languages?" Mobius asked.
"Why not? I love learning languages, being able to communicate with so many different species of people! That's another thing I love about Spadek's restaurant: so many different species coming together!"
"So does every Sovereign have their own area of expertise, depending on their interests and passions?"
"Of course, we may all be perfectly created, but we're all unique. Even some of the most trivial activities, like the way we tie our shoes, is unique to each individual."
"I see. Well, thank you for you time, Mister Zeeb."
"No problem, Terran, Asgardian! Loki!"
The detective duo froze upon hearing Loki's real name spoken by this foreign man.
"I beg your pardon?" Loki inquired.
"Loki, it's the Jotun word for peace. Peace be with you, detectives!"
They both nodded, Mobius recalling the word from his TVA training. Loki turned away, feeling bitter emotions from the implications of that word that he didn't want this stranger to see. He swiftly walked out the door as Mobius noticed and followed.
"Well, now we've questioned the family and neighbors: all that's left on our list are his fellow chefs!" Loki summarized.
"Loki, you alright? You need to talk?"
Loki gave Mobius a charming smile. "No, I'm fine. It's just… I was…just…" Loki sighed as Mobius waited patiently for him to finish. "I was reminded of my father, of Odin. The reason he took me as a baby. Tch! His 'peace treaty.' But… that was my past, and right now I- we have a mystery to solve!"
"Okay." Mobius checked the time on his TemPad. "It's about 6:15 right now: that Strudel and Soufflé place doesn't close for another few hours. Wanna grab a bite somewhere, see the sights they're so proud of?"
"Might as well." They called the shuttle over to escort them around the city. "Do you have any wineries, perhaps one with sampling?" Loki inquired.
"We certainly do; may I recommend Le rêve du bosquet? It's pressed with the freshest white honeygrove grapes, blended with the finest ingredients and fermented to perfection! It pairs especially well with the salmon a la king they serve at the restaurant on 15th street: you don't need a reservation to get in there."
"That sounds delicious. Shall we?"
"Do you have strong coffee here? You know, in case someone has a little too much to drink on duty?" Mobius hinted.
"I haven't had coffee before." Loki remarked. "Is it good?"
"You can order it there as strong or as weak as you like it: there are hundreds of flavor shots to choose from too."
"Do you have ice cream shops here?"
"There are 15 shops in this city alone, with over a thousand flavors to choose from, not to mention toppings and mix-ins. They even have champagne-flavored ice cream!"
Loki grinned. "I think these people might be onto something." After their dinner and dessert, the detectives made their way back to question the cooks.
"Spadek didn't seem any different than usual to me yesterday." The sous chef told them. "He poured his heart and soul into the dishes he made, like he always does at work. All of our customers loved their meals: there were no complaints whatsoever, not that there ever are any! Whoever it is who killed him, they must just be out for blood!"
"So you believe the murderer didn't know the victim?" Mobius asked.
"Yes! I believe it was a monster! Ask the foreigners, not us!" The rest of the chefs and staff nodded and spoke in agreement.
"What were you doing at 1:30 am last night? Were you helping him prepare his new dish for the Badoon?"
"No, I finished preparations around 8 or 9 last night. If only I were there to help him, maybe I could have stopped that madman, maybe he'd still be here with us. And I wouldn't have been so overwhelmed this morning when those Badoon creatures showed up! I may have been the second-in-command chef here, but I feel so unprepared to run the place myself! It just… the place will never be the same without him."
Mobius and Loki thanked them for their time and information, reembarking on their mode of transportation.
"Well, it's a bit late to be questioning the foreigners, but we could at least ask the hotel clerks what species are staying, so we can deduce what kind of creature would kill this man and start to narrow down our options." Loki suggested.
"Sounds like a plan." They went to all three hotels that welcomed aliens, getting said information about them. Then, at the Grand Golden Grazes hotel they first visited, they took a room for the night while they researched the different species. Eventually, the investigating got them nowhere, as all the aliens species they researched were peaceful in nature. They worked late into the night until they got very sleepy.
Loki yawned. "It's almost 4 am, and we're no further along than when we started. Let's get some sleep aaand…" He trailed off into another yawn.
"Don't do that, it's contaaagious." Mobius tried to warn as he yawned too. "Now might be a good time for you to try that coffee. The cafe here's open 24/7. Loki? Loki!"
"Sounds lovely." Loki mumbled, jerking awake and fighting to stay that way. They left the hotel for the coffee shop next door. "I'll take the strongest coffee you have!" Loki ordered.
"Whoa, maybe you shouldn't start out that… strong." Mobius finished as he noticed Loki had already fallen asleep on the counter he was leaning on. "Then again… I'll have a Josta, please."
"What's a Josta?" The barista asked.
Mobius groaned. "I don't want to work on this planet anymore. Okay, I'll have a grande cappuccino, and that jelly-filled donut, thanks." He tapped Loki's shoulder as his drink was ready. As the sleepy Asgardian-Jotun prince grabbed it, payed, and thanked the barista, Mobius proposed a toast. "To caffeine."
"To caffeine." As Loki took his first sip, his eyes widened as new energy rushed to his brain. He took another sip of the coffee, and he suddenly felt his leg twitching uncontrollably.
"Hey, easy there, buddy." Mobius warned. "You're beginning to look like the rabbit from Bambi with that thumping leg!"
"Rabbit? What rabbit? What's a Bambi? Is that another Earth movie? Does it have magic?" Loki questioned in rapid fire succession. "Ah, never mind." He drank the rest and slammed the empty container onto the table. "Another!"
"No, no, no! No another, or you'll be moving so fast you'll be able to time travel by foot!"
"Fine, fine, just as well. Hey, I have an idea! I think we should take another look around the crime scene, see if we missed anything! What do you think?"
"Well, it couldn't hurt."
"Great, let's go investigate! Thank you for the excellent beverage, barista!" Mobius hurriedly bolted out the door as Loki's hyped-up speed walking seemed to break a world record.
"Slow down! I'm only human!" Mobius yelled as Loki noticed Mobius sprinting after him from several yards away.
"Oh, of course, of course, my friend, how rude of me!" Loki sped back to meet the analyst and spontaneously hoisted him up, resuming his speed walking as a bewildered Mobius rode atop his shoulders. "Onward!"
"Wait! You don't have to carry me: I can walk!" Mobius complained, embarrassed at being carried like a child.
"The longer we take, the more time the killer has to escape! Come on, Moby, before the morning light rises, to the Spadek residence! Before it's too- hey, look, a spaceship!" Their movement screeched to a halt as Loki stopped to gaze at the flying object.
"What?"
Loki pointed to the aircraft. "And not just any spaceship: that's an Asgardian ship!"
"Do you know who it belongs to?"
"It looks like a ship from the palace. Could it be-?" Loki sprinted toward its landing point as it touched down, with his crime-solving partner still along for the piggyback ride. As the door opened, he set Mobius down and cast an illumination spell, revealing a handsome, blond, bearded man in armor and a cape, who unsheathed and pointed a sword in the detectives' direction out of reflex.
Loki pulled down his sunglasses, recognizing the man but hardly believing his eyes.
The Asgardian stared back incredulously. "Loki?!"
