Mobius excitedly sped from the various jet ski models on display, as his guards did their best to keep up with him. "Let's see... that's some good horsepower, ooh, but this one's a three-seater! Don't need GPS... hey, this one has 5 cup holders! Hm, but this one has a built in stereo... Yeah, I'll take this l one!"

As Mobius paid the proprietor, Corpsman Senn was distracted as he noticed something out the window. "Hey, did your friend escape prison? I saw him, over there!"

"What?! No, he wouldn't have escaped, would he? ...would he? No, it's more likely the killer." Mobius peered out the window, trying to spot the mischievous variant, yet there wasn't a trace of him in sight. "Where did you see him?"

Receiving no answer, the grey-haired detective glanced to both sides, realizing that his two Corspmen escorts weren't there either. "Hey!" He harshly called out the door, "Loki or not, do not underestimate him! You rush after him, and you fall right into his trap! We don't even know what he's-"

Mobius was cut mid-sentence as he heard a blood-curdling scream from the other side of the store. He gulped, taking hold of his Time Stick, and cautiously snuck out the door. "It's a trap, what am I doing? I'm no match for him, in stealth or combat! But- I can't just let him get away with another murder! ...Including mine." Mobius quietly mused. As Mobius tiptoed toward the other side, he suddenly ducked, just barely missing a blast from a Xandarian gun.

"Don't move, Detective Paradox!" Corpsman Dey commanded, his gun aimed at Mobius's head. "I've called it in, and you'll be surrounded soon. You're under arrest for murder!"

"What? I didn't murder anyone!" Mobius protested.

"You did, I saw you just now! You stabbed Senn from behind!"

"That wasn't me, it was the shapeshifter! First he was Loki, now he's me. Loki was right: he's definitely trying to frame us, to get us out of the way and continue taking out Nova Corps members at the same time!"

"Are you telling the truth?" Dey asked.

"Yes! I was in the jet ski shop when I heard the scream!"

"We'll see about that." Denarian Saal retorted as Mobius was caught by the tractor beam of his spacecraft. Saal beamed down, cuffing Mobius's hands and following Dey to his partner's corpse, a bloodied sword stuck in his neck.

"One stab to the back of the neck; Senn never saw it coming." Saal stated. "But a grave mistake to leave the murder weapon behind; scan this for DNA!"

"Ow!" Mobius yelped as the Denarian yanked a hair from his head, comparing DNA samples.

Saal frowned. "Just as I thought: the DNA on this sword matches both yours and your partner's perfectly! Come quietly: you're going to join your friend for execution!"

Mobius gaped incredulously as he was led back to the hovercrafts. "That's it! Lokis can't copy someone's DNA: their shapeshifting powers are illusionary! And two variants of the same person still don't have the exact same DNA! This criminal is no Loki: he must be a Skrull!"

"It's no use making up stories, your little game is over. You and Loki have both been found guilty, so there's no use arguing any further."

"No, the real murderer is still loose: he's a shapeshifter who can replicate anyone's DNA and take out one of your most powerful members!"

"I tire of your tall tales, Mr. Paradox."

"He wants me and Loki out of the way before he makes his move, I just know it! You can't let yourself fall into another one of his traps! Trust me, I want to catch this guy just as much as you do! We need to anticipate his next move before it's too late!"

Corpsman Dey, seemingly convinced by Mobius's argument, looked to Denarian Saal, who sighed. "And just what would that be?" Saal asked, his voice lowered.

Mobius put a hand to his chin. "...the Nova Force: he wants your powers too!"

"And just how would he take it? I increased the security on the mainframe so much-"

"Only you can access it?" Mobius finished the thought. "Or someone who can copy your DNA!"

Saal paused for a few seconds, but he shook his head. "No, I think you're lying: you're trying to get us to lead you to the Worldmind Computer Mainframe so you can take the Nova Force for yourself, aren't you?"

"No, all I want is to solve this case and free my friend! Believe me, please!"

"Stop resisting and come with us."

Mobius sighed in exasperation, looking out to the lake with regret where his new jet ski was and would stay parked. Or would it? Mobius took a deep breath and focused his mind on his handcuff chain. He made a motion with his hand, hoping a cast a small flame on his target. He kept trying and trying, until he decided to change tactics, getting nowhere with his attempted spell. Mobius reached the switch on his Time Stick and touched his cuffs to the end, pruning the material off his wrists. His hands freed, he made a run for his aquatic ride and started the motor, speeding across the waves before he could be caught. He quickly mastered the controls, zigzagging to avoid the tractor beams of the Xandarian vessels from above and any obstacles in the lake. He pulled up a map of Xandar on his TemPad, setting his destination for the Worldmind Control Center. "I just need to catch him in the act: then those justice-loving assholes might finally believe me! Boy, now I know how ya feel, Loki!"

As Mobius spotted the headquarters from a distance, he and his vehicle were enveloped by a bright red tractor beam. "No, no!" Unable to escape or even move, he watched in frustration as he was lifted higher and higher into the air, until...

Whoosh! The ships were blasted by a great stream of fire, evading in the nick of time. As the tractor beam was disrupted, Mobius fell until he landed on the back of a red and black dragon, its rider smiling back at him.

"Sylvie? Is that really you?"

"I brought a new friend." Sylvie replied. "Meet Frelsir."

"'Frelsir,' I like it! Literally riding on the wings of 'freedom!' But is it really you? Are you the real Sylvie?" Mobius cautiously questioned.

"Ah, right, the shapeshifting murderer. Yes, I'm the real me."

"Right. So... do this mean you forgive me for taking you from your timeline when you were a little girl?"

Sylvie furrowed her brow. "What are you talking about, Mobius!? That was Renslayer that took me from my home, not you!"

Mobius sighed in relief. "Good, good, just making sure you're really you! So you finally got Loki's transmission!"

"No, I wasn't paying attention to the TemPad transmissions." Sylvie patted her dragon. "I was a bit preoccupied. I traveled back to earn myself a dragon's fang, like the Valkyries from the old stories, and I did, but I thought, 'Why stop there?' He found me with an astral projection and told me everything. So Loki was framed by another Loki for murder? Sounds about normal for us by now."

"Nope, by a shapeshifting alien species called a Skrull. They can become anyone they see, even down to their DNA."

"And what about you? How do I know you're the real you?" As he pondered which memory to share as proof of his identity, Sylvie simply placed a hand to his forehead, looking into his memories herself. She nodded and returned her attention ahead of her. "So, where are we headed?"

"Nova Worldmind, that way!"

The fleet of airships remained in position, clearing as much of the smoke obstructing their view as possible. "Was that a dragon?"

"And who was that riding it?"

"I don't know; let's just focus on clearing this smokescreen and beating them to the Worldmind!" Saal ordered.

"Sir, I began an autopsy on Senn, and..." The team's coroner squinted. "well, it just doesn't make sense!"

"What doesn't make sense?"

"Well, from what I can tell, he was killed at around 28 hours ago!"

"But- b-but he was by my side all day!" Dey argued. "Are you saying, this whole time, we've been walking around with... a zombie?!"

"Don't be ridiculous! Zombies don't exist! Could it be...?" Saal was cut off as they all got an incoming transmission.

"Corpsmen, I looked into Mr. Paradox's request, and it turns out we had a Skrull in the Corps thousands of years ago named Muraitak, who mysteriously disappeared on a mission long before the war with the Kree began. I'm not sure if his theory about this Skrull losing his grip and turning traitor is correct or not, but I believe it's worth looking into."

"Madam Prime, Corpsman Senn has just been murdered!" Saal responded.

"Saal? What are you- How are you here, when you're still working on improving our security?"

"No, I finished: I'm in pursuit right now of the detective in Section 563C!"

"Then why does the live security footage show you working on the mainframe?" Nova Prime showed them the live footage on their monitors. "You don't think-"

"I think Mr. Paradox was telling the truth, and the killer was among us longer than we realized! We have to stop that shapeshifter at all costs!"

Reaching their destination, Mobius and Sylvie dismounted their respective rides, heading to the Nova Worldmind, until they were fired at by Denarian Saal. "Mr. Paradox, you're under arrest!"

"Hey, Denarian. What are you doing here already... all by yourself?"

"Keeping Xandar safe from you, that's what! Now freeze!"

"When's your birthday?"

"That's none of your business? Now, are you going to come quietly, or will you resist further?"

"I won't resist if you prove you're not a Skrull!"

'Saal' responded by firing his gun at Mobius, but Sylvie grabbed him out of the way. She focused a green energy blast and fired it in Nova officer's path. He countered with an energy wave of his own, deflecting Sylvie's back in her direction. Sylvie dodged it, but it flew past her into the water.

"Oh no. Please no." Mobius very hesitantly turned around to see his brand-new jet ski had been obliterated by the blast. "Nooooo!"

As Muraitak ascended into the sky, Sylvie remounted her dragon, Frelsir, and gave chase. The shapeshifted Skrull dodged streams of fire as he was pursued.

"Why didn't I get the insurance?" Mobius sulked. He faced his enemy and angrily shouted, "Give it up, Skrull! Whatever you're planning to do with that power, you won't get the chance!"

"Skrull? What Skrull, Mr. Paradox? I'm bringing you in for murder!"

"Oh, give it a rest!" Sylvie fired another energy blast at the imposter, who was momentarily stunned after a direct hit.

"Why are you aiding this criminal, Miss?" The fake Nova asked. "He and his associate are both proven guilty of killing members of my Corps!"

"Because I know a pack of lies when I hear it, impostor, and I'm here to clear both Lo and Mo of all charges!" Sylvie responded.

Realizing he was no match, even with the Nova Force, for the combined might of Sylvie and her dragon, the villain countered a blast of fire with an energy wave. Using the smoke as cover, he shapeshifted into a tiny fairy fly and disappeared into the crowd.

"Where'd he go?" Sylvie questioned Mobius. "Do you see him?"

"No, I don't see him anywhere! You didn't blow him up, did you?"

"Don't be an idiot. He must have changed shape!"

"You don't have to be rude about it." He glanced towards the scattering citizens. "We need to figure out his next move, now that he's stolen their power..."

"He's going after the one in charge." Sylvie surmised. "If he can't get us out of the way, he needs more power, more authority."

"Nova Prime, of course!" Mobius gasped. "Hey, I've got an idea! Can you have your dragon create another smokescreen?"

"Absolutely."

As the disguised killer slipped through another crowd, he was halted as the smoke surrounded him. In the confusion, he transformed back into Denarian Saal and slowly made his way toward Nova Headquarters, but as the smog cleared, he noticed Nova Prime coming to him.

"Denarian, I saw the fight. Was it that blonde girl?" She asked. "Is she the shapeshifter that murdered Centurion Kul?"

"No, her murderer is still in prison, but Mr. Paradox just murdered Corpsman Senn, and the blonde is his backup muscle. We need to bring the entire Corps to take her down: she's the one who transformed into me to steal from the Nova Force energy, and she has a dragon under her command! I believe she means to take out Xandar while we're weakened from the war! We must stop them immediately!"

"We certainly cannot let that happen!" She stepped towards him, putting a hand on his shoulder. However, her hand glowed with a green light. Nova Prime's appearance reverted to Sylvie's as she took hold of his mind, preparing to reveal the real identity and motives of the mysterious shapeshifter.