"Payment?" Thor repeated.
"Yes, we are, first and foremost, detectives for hire, and we've just solved a major crime for you. Korg, you hired us, did you not?"
"Yeah, I did!"
"Heh. I like the way you think, Prince Charming." Rocket smirked.
"Loki, you'd charge your own people, your own family?" Thor scolded. "Oh, I get it, you're joking."
"I'm not. We may not pay rent, but we do need to eat."
"He's not wrong, Thor." Mobius defended. "Besides, do you have any idea how much it costs just to feed Loki and Grievance together!?"
"So, how much do you charge?" Korg wondered.
"It depends on the mystery solved, the clientele, and sometimes the location. For you…" Detective Loki looked out the hospital window and pointed to an ice cream shop called Infinity Conez, featuring a giant display cone with six Infinity Stone-inspired toppings! "You must treat us to all the ice cream we can eat!"
Thor and Korg turned to each other and nodded, both also wanting to try the new shop. The team, minus one Fire Giant, enjoyed their dessert, Detective Loki wolfing down cone after cone after the others had already finished, and they discussed their future.
"If there's one thing that Midgard has going for it, it's their ice cream! Moreover, it's wonderful to get the taste of brain out of my mouth!" Detective Loki rejoiced.
"Speaking of which, after that chocolate-coated brain, I have a new idea I want to try, and a new goal in life."
"And what's that, Grieves?"
"Picture this: a dessert shop, run by yours truly, that specializes in brain-flavored sweets, like brain-flavored ice creams, puddings, parfaits, popsicles, every kind of yummy, cold dessert you can imagine!"
"I don't even want to picture it, for fear of spoiling my appetite. I don't believe you'd garner much appeal for that anyhow, unless you're planning on marketing to zombies and however many other Symbiotes are out there."
"No. I guess I've still got some deeetails to work out, but it's a nice thought."
"Oh yes, a true shame." Detective Loki sarcastically snapped his fingers in mock disappointment, taking another Infinity Cone in the other hand. Thor jumped a little at seeing the snapping motion, but the sight of his loved ones around him calmed him down quickly as they enjoyed the happy moment.
"Sif, have you thought about taking Heimdall's old position? You not only helped Jane find me on Mount Olympus, you saw that attack on New Asgard before any of us, and you alerted Loki's friends of our return as well! I think you'd make a great gatekeeper!" Thor praised.
"As long as I still get to fight off the intruders." She replied. "And are you finally going to be our king? You are the rightful heir."
"Maybe I was, but I need to find my destiny my own way, not by merely taking what's been handed to me. I need to discover who I truly am. Loki, however, has earned his chance today to lead New Asgard."
"And.. you're saying that of your own free will. He hasn't bewitched you into doing so."
"Haha, yes, I mean it. It was his plan and his magic that destroyed the god butcher and his sword for good."
"Are you sure?" King Loki asked. "It's the throne of your favorite planet on your favorite realm."
"And such is why I'm leaving it in the hands of my favorite sibling."
"And what's that supposed to mean?" Detective Loki interrupted.
"Loki."
"I know, just teasing. Here's an idea though: you're two brothers, why don't you rule together?"
"Together?"
"Yes, combine your abilities in leadership and balance out what the other lacks, like a team!"
"Yeah, I see what he's saying." Mobius added. "Loki, when you pretended you were Odin, the Asgardian people loved you, you were a fun king, but you didn't do anything to help the other realms. Thor, traveling the realms and helping people is your jam, but you get too busy with that and don't stick around your home for long, especially with that new sense of wanderlust you've got going on. But with both of you working together, everyone's happy, everyone wins!"
"Exactly! The other me can lead while Thor goes out having violent, bloody fun on adventures, and the other me can go out and meet new friends, or maybe more-than-friends, when the time comes for Thor to return to his little slice of Asgard on Earth! And with that regal mane of yours, you're sure to be mobbed by admirers of your own any minute!"
King Loki nodded. "Hm, sounds good to me, Brother."
"True." Thor agreed. "I'm the king who kicks asses, while you're the king who kisses them."
King Loki's eyes shot daggers at his foster brother. "That's a good way to get a stab to the mouth."
"What, I'm not allowed to tease you back?"
"No, you're supposed to be the deadly serious brother. I'm the smartass brother, remember?" King Loki complained while his brother chuckled.
2012's Loki stood up, magically changing his outfit back to his detective trenchcoat. "Well, we'd better return everyone to their timeline. I'll come visit you every now and then. You're both definitely invited to our wedding!"
"When is it?" Thor wondered.
"…I have no idea."
"Yeah, it's difficult to set a date for events when your guests live in different time periods." Sylvie admitted. "How about we get you when the time comes and wait for everyone to arrive?"
"Well, in the meantime, I had better let Zeus know his son and the rest of the gods are safe." Thor announced. "After that, who knows?"
"You coming with us again, thunderhead?" Rocket asked Thor.
"Not this time, sweet rabbit." Thor waited until he saw Jane, flying her new winged horse to rejoin the group.
"Hey, you need a lift?" Jane offered.
"I thought you'd never ask. Farewell, friends!"
"Perhaps I could join you on your next adventure?" King Loki offered.
Thor beamed. "I'm counting on it!" He hugged both Lokis and joined his now-current girlfriend, the couple riding into the sunset.
"When he returns, I'm going to transform his axe into something ridiculous." King Loki muttered.
"How about a toilet plunger?" Rocket suggested. "Cuz that'd be pretty frikkin' hilarious!"
King Loki grinned. "I like the way you think, rabbit!"
"Best of luck, King Loki!" His variant wished him.
"And you as well, Detective Loki! Both of you." He smiled at Sylvie. "Perhaps I'll find a Loki of my own someday, perhaps someone else. Thank you… for everything. And thank you, Mobius and Sylvie, for making him feel so loved."
The two Lokis hugged each other one more time before the detective led his squad through another series of time doors, returning the Brazier of Bom'Goliath to the Sanctum Sanctorum and escorting the disbanded members each back to their own time and place, and the original trio, plus Grievance and Jörmungandr, returned to the Null-Time Zone.
"Well, that was quite a case!" Mobius remarked. "We might need to take a vacation after that one!"
"I'd like that. It was nice to see Norway though, and our family." Sylvie added. "Maybe we could visit Sweden next, or Iceland?"
"Yeah, somewhere by the water, where they allow jet skis!"
"Someplace nice and cold."
"Maybe, but there's a lot more out there than just Earth! We could-" Loki was cut off as the detective hotline rang. He sighed. "Or not. Hello, Time Detectives on the call, have you got a mystery for us?"
"Loki, I know you're there. I see everything."
"Heimdall!? When are you calling from, and why are you calling me? I know this will sound strange, but I'm not your Loki."
"No, but I know you're the one who snuck past me yesterday and messed with Bifrost."
"What's wrong with your Bifrost?"
"You left it open all day! Did you even realize it can run for that long?"
Loki paused. "Well, I suppose, but it wasn't me who left the Bifrost running!"
"Well, you'd better go catch it!"
"What?" Loki winced as the phone was quickly hung up from the other end. His eyes narrowed.
"The prank-caller Loki strikes again?" Mobius figured. Loki nodded. "Looks like we've still got a mystery to solve before we can relax. Loki, Sylvie, let's track down this jokester of a Lokester!"
Loki and Sylvie smiled and searched through their clues and recorded evidence, determined to find the location of the mysterious Loki! Whoever and wherever he was, he would rue the day he tied up the hotline of The Time Detectives!
Hey readers, thanks for reading and supporting the story so far! There's more to come, but I feel this would be a good point for me to take a break and come back to it after a while. Probably a month at least?
I've already got some ideas for future cases, like the mystery of Røskva's parents' disappearance, meeting more Loki variants, including the prank caller, maybe Casey joining them to solve a case involving fish people or mermaids, and more details of Loki's own untold origin story!
Also low key daydreaming of a Rocket and Loki pulling pranks on Thor and/or the other Guardians of the Galaxy fanfic series, because it sounds like a lot of fun!
Until then, I hope you've enjoyed this series so far!
