Case 8: Sweet Child of Mischief
"Really? He's not the one for you!?" Mobius asked in surprise. "What made you change your mind about that Loki?"
"Meh, he's just too immature for me. He lacks any real ambition, other than causing harmless mischief." Fiamma explained.
"Well yeah, but he is very powerful, and you are attracted to power, aren't you?"
"I am, but I'm just not attracted to him for some reason. And the feeling is mutual: if he does not wish to be my mate, I won't force him. I'm doing this the 'civilized way,' remember? …That and he told me the radiation he took in a month back made him sterile."
"Ohhh, and you want children, right!"
"So I will keep searching the multiverse until I find my perfect Jotun mate!"
"Well, good for you, you've got your unwavering dream!" As she left, Mobius whispered to his newly adopted Loki, "How much you wanna bet he told her that story to get rid of her?"
"There's no doubt, Mobius." Loki agreed. "A clever lie, I'll admit, but I'd expect no less from a Loki." He turned to Grievance, who looked away uncomfortably.
"Hey Loki, can I see that weird fish you were talking about again, the one in the pond near the power plant?" His friend Casey requested. "I wanna take a picture!"
"Certainly." Loki held out the 3-eyed fish in a glass bowl. "You can keep him if you'd like, as long as you don't eat him. I named him Stephen." Loki chuckled.
"Thanks! He's so weird, he kinda fits right in here, doesn't he?"
"And don't let Jörmungandr see him: he loves fish!"
"Uh, okay."
Suddenly, the phone rang, and Mobius went to answer it. "Now if this is a prank call, I'm just giving up. Time Detectives, on your case."
"Onkel Mobius, det er mig, Røskva. Jeg har et arbejde for jer." The Danish girl told him.
"Røskva? You have a case for us?" Mobius replied in Danish and motioned for Loki to come listen in. "Hey Røskva, how've you been? Staying out of trouble?"
"Yeah, I'm good, but since we finished our therapy sessions, and with Jörmungandr with you guys, I'm, uh, kinda alone here, so I was wondering if you could help me find my parents? They went missing a little over 3 years ago on their trip to the United Kingdom. I don't have any money to pay you, but I don't think I could ask the police after what I did to them last year."
"Røskva, we'd be happy to help you." Loki told her. "What kind of god would I be if I wouldn't help my biggest fan find her lost family?"
"Loki! Thank you! Meet me at the bakery we met at?"
"We'll be right over. Bye."
"See you soon." Mobius added before he ended the call. "Well, it's back to Denmark, then."
"It would seem so, 'Uncle Mobius.' Ehehehe, does that make Røskva my mortal cousin?" Mobius ignored Loki's teasing. "Sylvie, would you like to meet our number one fan? I mean, you being a Loki, and such an incredible Loki at that, I'm sure she'd love to meet you as well!"
"Well aren't you the flatterer today? This is the young teenage girl that tamed your snake?" Sylvie asked.
"She is."
"Then I'd be delighted."
"Oh, Grievance, since she knows my identity already, you won't need to disguise my face this time. No offense, but it would probably be for the best if you remained hidden to avoid scaring anyone."
Grievance groaned. "Normal people are such pussies."
The detectives opened a Time Door to Earth 51120's Løgstør, Denmark in early 2017, and the trio entered the bakery.
"Hello again!" Loki greeted.
"Loki!" Røskva got down on her knees in reverence.
"Easy there, kid, you don't have to kneel every time Loki walks into the room." Mobius stated. "We're like friends now, aren't we?"
"Well, I'm not exactly offended by the gesture, but he's right: kneeling before me is no longer mandatory." Loki explained.
"It's not very dignified either." Sylvie added.
Røskva turned to Sylvie. "Who's she?"
"This is Sylvie Lushton, my fiancée who also happens to be my female doppelgänger from another universe. She's the Loki really worth kneeling for: she can do anything I can do and more!" Loki introduced.
"Not everything." Røskva corrected. Loki raised an eyebrow. "I'll bet she can't be as handsome as you with that charming smile."
Loki chuckled. "You did hear me say 'fiancée,' did you not?"
"Yeah, but I'm just a kid to you anyway: I'm no threat." Røskva winked and grinned.
"But to counter your wager, Sylvie can be as handsome and charming as me, because she can shapeshift into me now." Sylvie playfully punched him on the arm. "Not that she needs to, of course. She's the loveliest, most beautiful person in the multiverse, and I say that with complete honesty. So, what can you tell us about your parents: their names, their appearance, the exact date of their vacation, any information on them that could help us know what to look for and where."
"Their names are Rasmus and Karina Madsen. Here's a photo of them they sent me on a postcard from Ireland." She showed the detectives the blond man and red-haired woman. "They left… I think it was the middle of October of 2013. Oh yeah, they started their trip on a Monday morning to take me to school before they left."
"How many postcards did they send you, and from how many cities? Did they have any sort of travel itinerary?"
"They were… I think they were going to visit England, Wales, Ireland, and Scotland, but I don't remember the cities."
"That's fine. Actually, if you don't mind, Sylvie or I could look into your memories to find more specific information, even if you can't presently recall them."
"Whoa, you can read minds? That's so cool! Yeah, go ahead."
Loki faced Sylvie. "Would you like to do the honors or shall I?"
"She's clearly more your fan than mine: you do it." Sylvie reasoned. "And I'm sure you wouldn't mind having your ego stroked a bit more."
Loki scoffed. "When you grow up in a land of magic-fearing muscleheads who mistake your powers for cowardly parlor tricks and mock your abilities to the point of you feeling like a joke, you need someone to stroke your ego." Sylvie nodded and Røskva listened intently as her hero continued. "And no offense meant, but it's rather nice having someone favor me for a change."
"You just won't let me live that down, will you?" Mobius snipped.
"Never in a million years."
"You mean someone favoring you other than me?" Grievance asked Loki in his head.
"Well yes, I mean people who don't live inside my body." Loki replied telepathically.
Sylvie spoke again. "You also need your ego stroked when you're hunted down like an animal, just for being yourself, any time you make an impact on anyone or anything, so I know how you feel: 'tis the life of a Loki, right?"
Loki nodded. He turned back to Røskva, placing a hand on her head and activating his enchantment. "They took the 9am ferry to Edinburgh, Scotland, then they planned on visiting Belfast, Northern Ireland, seeing Cardiff, Wales, and saved London, England for last before they returned home."
"So where do you think they were when they disappeared?" His young client asked.
"You said your postcard came from Ireland, correct? Then that narrows it down to three major cities: Belfast, Cardiff, and London. They traveled primarily by train and ferry, so if we travel along the same routes they took, find the engineer and captain who drove their respective modes of transportation at the time, or perhaps the guards or other menial laborers, I could scan their memories for any appearances of your parents."
"Awesome."
