"The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone,

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with eager feet,

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say."

-The Hobbit

Jane sat alone at the table in the lab, making herself finish the last of the tomato soup she'd made for lunch. Darcy had gone, and Fenris was in Erik's trailer—though what he was looking for, Jane didn't know. He hadn't wanted to eat any of the breakfast Coulson had gotten for them at the hospital, and he hadn't even acknowledged her offer for lunch once they'd been dropped back off at home. She could count on one hand how many words he'd said to her today, and most of them were "yes" or "no."

She rubbed her forehead, wishing she could take a nap—but she knew she'd never be able to sleep. Too much spun through her head, mainly worry for Erik, confusion about Fenris, and deep dread about the Cube.

Her cell phone rang. She jumped, then got up and picked up her purse off the couch. She rummaged around as the phone sang Mozart's "Turkish March" far too loudly. Finally, she pulled it out, hit the button and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"Hey, Sweetheart," sighed a familiar voice. Jane straightened.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yep, that's me," he said, sounding very tired. "Glad I could catch you."

Jane's heart leaped.

"Did you find something?"

"Well…Yes, and no," he answered, and she could almost see his wince. "That's kind of what I wanted to call you about, but first I wanted to call you about a sort of hunch I had, and I wanted to offer my assistance."

Jane pressed her fingers to her forehead as she tried to follow him.

"Okay..."

"See, I had a hunch last night, while I was bent over a bunch of old papers with my head almost cracking open," he said. "And my hunch is that your Asgardian boyfriend is going to go after the Cube—and of course, if he did, he'd want to take you with him, so—"

"Wait, wait," Jane held up a hand. "Boyfr…Fenris?"

"Um, yeah."

Jane shook it off.

"What makes you think he's going after the Cube?" Jane demanded.

"Look, I may not be the best with people, but I know that guy," Tony answered. "Even if he is from some other planet—realm. His and my internal metronomes tick at about the same rate. He was easy to figure out." He heaved another sigh. "Anyway, I just have a gut feeling, and I'm usually right. So when you find out that I am right, call Pepper, and she'll set you up."

"Set us up?" Jane frowned. "With what?"

"With anything you need," Tony answered. "Here, let me give you her number."

"Okay," Jane said, scrabbling for a piece of paper and a pen. "I'm ready."

Tony rattled off a few digits, and she scribbled them down.

"Normally, I wouldn't even call, I'd just come pick you guys up and we'd go together," Tony said as she finished. "But I've got another lead I'm in the middle of following."

"What's that?" Jane asked. "Can you talk about it?"

"Yeah, I've secured this line," Tony said. "See, so far, SHIELD has been operating using their own research that started about forty years ago. But I was just digging through a bunch of my dad's old notes—found 'em in a box Fury gave me, actually—and found out that my dad actually dug up that Cube off the bottom of the ocean at the end of World War Two."

"He did?" Jane exclaimed.

"Yeah, nice of him to tell me, right?" Tony said sarcastically. "And nice of Fury to keep that little tidbit to himself…Anyway, that led me to a whole bunch of his other stuff about the Nazis and the Super-Soldier project and Captain America—"

"Wait—I knew about the Nazi part, and something about enhanced humans but—Captain America had something to do with the Cube?" Jane interrupted.

"A lot to do with the Cube, apparently—it's been kept top secret since," Tony said. "Anyway, SHIELD's got all the Allied bases covered—meaning, they know which of the good guys have had it and experimented on it and everything since then and before then, yadda, yadda. But the stuff I found in my dad's notes…"

"Show what bad guys have had it?" Jane finished.

"Yeah, pretty much," Tony acknowledged. "Guys like Johann Schmidt, and a Nazi deep science division called Hydra."

A cold shadow passed through Jane. She leaned against the side of the table, and wrapped an arm around herself.

"I've never heard of that," Jane confessed. "Which means it was probably very bad."

"Yeah, pretty much," Tony agreed. "And even Hitler was starting to think that this Schmidt guy was completely insane. But now…I'm not so sure."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked frowning.

"Well, Schmidt spent most of his resources looking for the Cube," Tony explained. "And he seemed to think that it was a jewel belonging to the gods. Specifically…the Norse gods."

Jane's heart started beating faster.

"Really…" she whispered.

"Yeah, that's what I thought," Tony said. "So I managed to trace some of Schmidt's movements during the war, and those took me to all sorts of places in Europe—but mostly ones that had to do with Norse burial sites and sacred places, stuff like that. He'd busted into them looking for something—probably this Cube. But apparently he stopped around the time that the Captain America project started."

Jane pressed her fingers to her lips, paying intense attention. Tony went on.

"My dad's efforts to keep it a secret apparently succeeded—and Schmidt seemed to have been a little tight-lipped about it." Tony took a deep breath. "But more recently, somebody else started looking for it."

"Who?"

"No idea," Tony admitted. "But for the past year or so, there have been break-ins at the same places Schmidt broke into, in the same order. But since nothing was taken, nobody really paid too much attention—and I wouldn't have either, except for all this Hydra crap I dug up."

"Do the thefts have an origin point?" Jane asked.

"A broad one. This guy is good, whoever he is."

"Where is it?"

"Latveria."

"Latveria? That's in the middle of Europe, isn't it?" Jane realized.

"Yep. And it's where I'm headed right now actually—but I figured I'm better equipped for overseas travel than you guys."

"So…Why would you think that Fenris is going after the Cube if you already know where it is and you're going there?" Jane asked, confused.

"That's the thing," Tony said. "That's where the guy's headquarters are. I'm not so sure that's where the Cube is."

"Why do you say that?"

"Some of my equipment picked up some really funky, pulsing energy readings last night, just for a few minutes, about three hours after the hijack. It almost looked like one of my arc reactors going haywire," Tony told her. "They came from Canada, in the mountains outside of Jasper. Seems to have come from someplace underneath a lot of rock. My man Fenris probably has some theories about it—I'd bet money he does."

"So you want us to go there?" Jane clarified.

"It's a thought," Tony said. "Might as well keep all our bases covered, right?"

"Right," Jane said uneasily. "So we should buy some plane tickets?"

"Heck, no," Tony said. "Like I said, call Pepper. She'll take care of you if you decide you want to make the trip."

"Okay," Jane agreed.

"Okay, got to go," Tony said. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Jane said, and heard Tony hang up. She paused, staring down at the number, closing her fingers around her cell phone.

The door opened. She turned to see a brooding Fenris walk in. His dark head lifted, emerald eyes met hers, then he looked away and strode in.

"Are you planning on going after the Cube?" Jane asked point blank. He paused, his brow furrowing even more, then kept walking toward the cabinets.

"I was considering it," he answered, his voice cool and even. He started opening the cupboards and looking through them. Jane stared at him for a long time, stunned.

"Were you going to tell me, or were you just going to leave?" Jane's voice had more of an edge to it than she planned—but it didn't make him turn from his search.

"I wasn't going to leave you here," he answered. "Erik told me to take you along if I decided to make the journey."

"Erik did," Jane stated, slightly offended.

"Yes," he mused. "He says you aren't safe."

Jane blinked.

"Why?"

Fenris shut one cupboard and opened another.

"He says, and I agree, that whoever stole the Cube may want to use you for information."

A chill passed over her skin.

"Where were you planning to start looking?" she pressed. "Did SHIELD tell you—"

"The Cube is north-west of us by a great distance," Fenris told, her. "In the mountains, in a cave."

Jane stared at him, her pulse accelerating.

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

"You…How do you know?" Jane stammered. Fenris turned and opened up the fridge, saying nothing. Jane's legs went weak. She sat down hard on an office chair.

"You've known where it is all day and you didn't say anything to me or Fury or Coulson or anybody?"

He closed the fridge and opened the freezer. Jane held out her hands.

"Why?"

He didn't answer.

"Tony Stark just called," Jane cried. "He's heading all the way to Latveria to chase a lead, and there's no reason to! We ought to call him and just—"

"No," Fenris said, shutting the freezer. "I am going after it with as few hangers-on as possible."

Jane watched him, her chest going tight, her head in a whirl.

"What's wrong?" she demanded.

"Nothing at all," he said lightly, opening the fridge again and pulling things out. "Except that a powerful, nameless person has hijacked the single most dangerous weapon in the universe, and because I cannot leave you here alone, I cannot simply snap my fingers and show up on his doorstep as I ought. Instead, I have to find some way of transporting a mortal woman into the nether regions of a range of snow-locked mountains whilst still remaining unseen by the thief, and I must keep her safe whilst trying to steal it back." His eyes finally flashed up to hers. "In short, I am gathering what little we have here that might be useful, and trying to organize a thousand other things in my mind, and you are distracting me." He turned to the groceries piled on the counter, and held both hands over them. He took a deep breath, then moved his hands. There came a blue flash—and the food disappeared.

Jane didn't move. She couldn't take her eyes from his hawk-like face. Finally, she swallowed the pain in her throat, picked up her phone again, and began to dial the number Tony had given her. She felt Fenris pause and watch her.

The phone rang three times. Then, a crisp, pleasant female voice answered.

"Stark Industries, Virginia Potts speaking."

"Hi, I need to speak with…Pepper?" Jane said.

"That's me," the lady said, and Jane could hear her smile. "Did Tony tell you to call?"

"Yes," Jane said, relieved that she'd found the right person. "This is Jane Foster. I—"

"Oh, hello, Miss Foster. He's told me all about you," Pepper answered. "Let me find your file."

Jane's eyebrows went up. She had a file?

"Here we are," Pepper said. "Mr. Stark's Alpha Two private jet is on call for you. Should you wish, I will send it out and it will arrive at the airport outside your town at nine o'clock tonight. A private airstrip in Jasper, Canada is waiting to receive you and put you up for the night. From there, whatever travel equipment you require will be provided."

Jane's mouth had fallen open. Finally, she managed to gather herself enough to talk.

"That…I think that works," she said. "Thank you."

"Very well. I'll put that through for you. Make sure you arrive promptly at the airport tonight—Happy will be there to meet you and escort you on board."

"Happy," Jane repeated.

"Yes. Good luck."

Jane ended the call and gazed down at the phone screen. She felt Fenris' eyes on her.

"Tony has arranged an airplane for us," Jane said quietly. "It'll be here tonight at eight, to take us to Jasper, Canada." She hazarded a glance up at him. He met her eyes for a moment, and something in his face softened. He glanced down, swallowed, and when he straightened, he looked at her differently.

"Come with me?" he asked. Jane's heart flickered, her brow tightened, but she nodded and got up.

"We will need the vehicle," he said, starting toward the door. "There is something I need to see."

LLLL

Jane drove, complete silence in the cab. The only other sounds were the rumble of the engine, and the hiss of the tires on the dirt road. Dust blew up behind the van and rocks crunched as they headed out into the boonies in the direction Fenris had pointed.

Three times, Jane opened her mouth to talk to Fenris, and three times she shut it again. His face was clouded, forbidding, his jaw tight, his mouth hard, and his gaze sharply focused out ahead. So she just drove, and hoped he would eventually tell her what was going on.

"There," Fenris nodded to a broad open space on the other side of a small hill. Frowning, Jane turned the wheel and headed that way.

"Stop here," he instructed. She did, and threw it into park.

"What are we—" she started, but he opened the door, got out, and slammed the door. She watched him for a second as he strode out, the wind blowing his hair and clothes. Jane sighed, pushed open her own door and hopped out, then followed him.

The wind had a bite to it, and it blustered through her hair. She trudged after Fenris' dark form, lit by the brilliant sun in the cloudless, pale sky. Fenris paused, staring down at the ground. Jane came up next to him—and saw it.

"Oh!" she gasped. "It looks just like the circle in the ground where we found Thor! Look! The same knots, the same border…" She looked up and searched Fenris' face. "What is this?"

"This is the circle that caused the convoy to stop last night. Fury told me where to find it," he answered. "Note all of the footprints around it, and tire marks." He pointed all around, but he did not look up from the design. His brow darkened and his mouth twitched. "But this…" He took a deep breath. "This is not right."

"What do you mean?" Jane asked.

Carefully, as if he were a cat walking on the top of a narrow wall, Fenris began circling the design.

"A mark of this kind is a signature. First, it bears witness to the fact that someone from Asgard has descended to Midgard," he explained. "Second, it pays tribute to the All-Father with its circular shape." His keen eyes roved across the intricate knots, which still held their shape despite the wind—as if by magic. "Third, it would acknowledge the one who opened the gate of the Asbru bridge, be it Heimdall, Odin, or Thor. And fourth, it would bear the name of the one who was sent. To use the firstborn prince, for example," Fenris stopped and pointed to the far side of the circle from him. "There would be the three knots meaning 'Prince Thor, son of Odin, son of Bor.' And here…" Fenris stepped around and pointed to three tangled knots, different at each end. "Would be the brother knot, meaning 'Thor, brother of Loki, and Balder the Dead.'" Loki paused as his gaze flickered. Then, he moved to the other side. "And here, in the center, would be Mjollnir the Mighty—a decorative version, but a hammer nonetheless. And fifth would be a series of symbols around the edge, detailing reason for travel…which is…" he trailed off, studying.

"So…This is Thor's?" Jane's eyes swept across the design—and she distinctly saw the three ancestral knots, the brother knot and the hammer. Fenris crouched down, and shook his head.

"No."

Jane studied him. He stayed still, like a wolf gauging the path ahead, narrowing his eyes as strands of his dark hair fluttered over his brow.

"Mjollnir is missing the knot of the One-in-Three. It should be there in the handle," he murmured. "A small detail, but a vital one. And the Loki bit of the brother knot…" he canted his head. "There are two lines in the middle, halfway through. There ought to be three."

"This seems so complicated…" Jane remarked.

"It's common tongue in Asgard." He shook his head and waved his hand over the design. "And this…this is illegible." He stood up. "It isn't right at all—not if you look at it properly." He paced around to the other side, across from her, again. "Not only is it not Thor's…" he said slowly. "It is no one's."

Jane's thoughts flew.

"It's a forgery?"

"A good one, for a Midgardian attempt," Fenris said. "But yes."

"It's Midgardian? But what about the storm?" Jane countered. "SHIELD is sure it was magic, that Loki—"

"There are obvious problems with that Loki theory," Fenris answered, lifting an eyebrow. "Remember what I told you about these circles?"

"They're signatures," Jane remembered. "And they mark that someone came from Asgard…"

He looked at her. It clicked.

"It would be Loki's signature," she realized. "Not Thor's. And if it was Thor, he wouldn't have taken the Cube. He would have come and found us."

"Besides which," Fenris added. "It lately came to everyone's attention in Asgard that Prince Loki can travel without the aid of the Asbru Gate. Which means—"

"If it was him," Jane finished. "He wouldn't have left a mark."

"Correct," Fenris sighed. "And…just to confirm that…" he walked all the way around the circle quickly, staring down, then stopped. "It's what I thought. This barely-readable bit around the circumference is the reason for passage, and it says something like…" he squinted at it. "'Thor Odinson, banished for…something, something, disobedience, defiance and recklessness, something, something…deprived of Mjollnir and sent to Midgard, something…until he proves himself worthy of his title. It also marks the date of passage—which is nearly two months ago."

Fenris lifted his head, and Jane met his eyes.

"This is a copy," he said, pointing at it. "A very convincing copy—but nonetheless, a mere replica of the one that Thor made when he first came and you met him."

"But who could have done this?" Jane asked. "You'd have to have satellite pictures—and even if you did, how could you manufacture equipment that could…And there's still the question of the storm—"

Fenris did not say anything for a long moment. The wind whistled through the hills and blew the dust.

"Here is something to consider:" Fenris said, still gazing down at the circle. "This could have been made with magic, just like the storm. And magic sometimes leaves echoes—like shouting down a canyon. And just as different people have different voices, types of magic cause different tones. And different predispositions give certain people an affinity for hearing one kind over another."

Jane came around the circle and stood next to him, considering what he said.

"So…is that how you know where the Cube is?"

His eyes flashed to hers. She didn't look away.

"You said that Stark's reactor was magic," she reminded him. "Is the Cube maybe the same thing?"

Fenris gazed at her a long moment, then turned back to the signature.

"I have thought of it," he confessed. "But I have to admit…That Cube feels as if it isn't from Midgard at all. It…Well, it feels as if its branches stretch higher. To Asgard." He took a deep breath, his eyes going distant. "But I have never heard of it before now."

"Well, I'm sure the royalty kept it a secret," Jane pointed out. "Odin wouldn't want Loki finding it, would he?"

Fenris blinked, and a smile twisted his mouth.

"No," he muttered. "He wouldn't."

Jane considered the signature for another moment.

"So…you were saying about the echoes…" she prompted. Fenris took a deep breath.

"I wondered if the storm might have left some—and if it did, if I could study them," he said. Then, he glanced at her and cleared his throat, raising his eyebrows. "Well, if I'm going to do this, you'll need to stand back. I don't want to be confused by your electric signature."

Jane nodded, then backed up, watching. He faced the circle, then held out his hands and closed his eyes. But this time, he held his hands out palms up.

For a long moment, he didn't move. Then, he beckoned with the first two fingers of his left hand. Then, he beckoned with all his fingers. He took a deep breath. He spread out his hands further, his brow tightening down.

He raised his arms until they were shoulder level, and straightened his elbows, as if he was expecting to be handed something. He moved his fingers slowly, exploring, and he canted his head to the left.

Then, he dropped his right arm, reached out with his left and took hold of something invisible—as if he was grasping a spider web with his fingertips. For an instant, he held it still.

Then, he jerked it toward him.

Howling screamed through the hills, shattering the silence, soaring on the wind. Jane's hands flew up to cover her ears. The earth rumbled under her feet. Fenris stayed where he was, eyes closed. Jane winced, lowering her head as the shrieking built, its voices multiplying until it sounded like a thousand.

Then, with a swift wave of Fenris' hand, they silenced.

Jane sucked in a breath, and dared to lower her hands. The wind whispered, ruffling her hair. Fenris opened his eyes. He glanced down, and his mouth hardened. Jane, trying to calm her heartbeat, waited.

"It was magic," he finally murmured. "But it was rough around the edges—tangled, erratic. It bears none of the refinement of the All-Father's schooling." He paused. His voice lowered. "It was not wielded by someone from Asgard." He took another breath. "But one thing is certain." He turned his head and met Jane's eyes. "I haven't felt power like that since I was thrown from the Asbru Bridge."

Jane gazed at him a long time, but he turned back to the signature.

"So…" she ventured. "Do you still think we should go after it?"

"Oh, yes," he murmured, not looking at her, his eyes blazing. "Now there is no question in my mind."

He fell silent. Jane swallowed hard—and then realized that the Lokistone was hot against the skin of her chest. She bit her cheek, resisting the curiosity that built inside her every time that happened—but now, as she watched his brooding form, she determined that she would not wait much longer before getting some answers from him.