Chapter 1

Twenty-Nine Years Ago

Erik moved through the high snow, lugging his telescope to his usual spot for star-gazing when something pale and small appeared at the edge of his flashlight's reach. Doing his best to discern what exactly it was, he eased closer to it and peered through the darkness. His mind told him it was just an animal, but an eerie feeling racing down his spine told him it was more.

After several steps, the details finally became clear. His equipment fell from his slackened grip and he darted to the anomaly with his heart in his throat.

A baby girl slept soundly on a bed of pine needles.

He dropped to his knees and wrapped her in a blanket, even though she was somehow warm in the extreme cold. She instantly woke up at his jostling and smiled at him. The sweet innocence in her sparkling brown eyes ensnared him so fully that he decided right then to raise her if no parents could be found.

oOoOo

Twenty-Seven Years Ago - Two years old

Erik passed Jane's room on the way to his, and paused at the sound of her voice. He gently grasped the doorknob and peaked inside the dark room. A small nightlight by her toddler-bed gave him just enough illumination to see that she was alone and asleep. Mostly. Her mouth moved, forming muffled words he couldn't quite understand.

He crept in and reached out a hand to wake her, but stopped when she said something vaguely familiar. His brows scrunched together in confusion.

It was a word from his past, a word she shouldn't know as he had never taught her Old Norse. The ancient language was mostly foreign to him and he knew of no other who spoke it fluently. He sat back on his heels and watched her for a long time, uncertain what to make of the oddity.

oOoOo

Twenty-Six Years Ago - Three years old

"Dr. Selvig—"

"Erik," he corrected the school maiden. At her look, he added, "Ma'am."

"Nap time is meant for the children to rest and not be disturbed."

He nodded in understanding.

"You're new here, so that's why I'm giving you this warning. She must be quiet during nap time."

He shifted in his seat, officially confused. She wasn't a hyperactive kid. "Maybe if you gave her a project to work on, I'm sure she'll behave."

"That's not the problem, Doctor. She talks in her sleep."

He clenched the armrests of his chair. If she'd found out that Jane muttered words in another language, then his little girl would be looked upon with suspicion.

She took a deep breath, as if readying herself to deliver bad news. "She speaks Old Norse, and yet has no recollection of it."

They stared at each other. He put as much disbelief and indignation in his expression as he could fake, hoping it would plant seeds of doubt in her mind.

Leaning over the desk, she lowered her voice and said, "Some think she's possessed."

He shot to his feet. "This is absurd."

"You might contact a priest."

"Absolutely not. I am a man of science, and will not subject Jane to this kind of primitive thinking." On his way out, he removed her from the daycare and never looked back.

oOoOo

Twenty-Four Years Ago - Five years old

"Did you know that stars are nearby planets and far away suns?" Jane asked the housekeeper. Pappsen had told her not to bother the woman as she worked, but she was bored.

"Is that so?"

"And that planets revolve around the sun, except for Asgard. But it's not really a planet—"

"It's from an old tale," she said smiling. "My papa used to tell them to me when I was your age."

"But it's real. Magic permeates everything there. That's why it doesn't have to follow our laws of physics. That's why it's not shaped like a ball, or why the water can flow off the edge and never run out."

She laughed, but stopped at Jane's lowered brows. "I wouldn't have thought Dr. Selvig would allow you to believe such fables."

Jane sighed, as if the woman was slow. "Pappsen only tells me what he knows of our universe. Loptr tells me of the others."

"There's no one by that name in our village, Sweetie."

"I know. He visits me in my dreams."

The lady shivered and gave her a funny look.

oOoOo

Twenty-Two Years Ago - Seven years old

"My mom said she's only smart because of the demon in her," a teenage girl whispered to another.

Jane had gone to the library to do her school work because she loved being surrounded by so much knowledge, but now she was thoroughly distracted by the group at the table next to hers.

"I heard it talks to her in her sleep, and she talks back."

The girl nodded, as if it were old news. "One day, it'll consume her."

"Where'd you hear that?"

"From everyone. It's an old legend." They leaned in closer, forcing Jane to listen harder. "The demon choses a baby to live in. At first, it plays with them, then when it gets bored, it drives them mad."

The boy gave a devilish smile. "The demon eventually swallows their soul and kills the body."

As one, they turned to look at her, and she rushed back to writing the answer to her math problem. The pencil slipped out of her sweaty grasp, and she nearly fell out of her seat trying to catch it.

At the sound of their hushed laughter, she ducked behind her hair to hide the warmth in her cheeks.

Loptr wouldn't kill her. She bit her lip and stared vacantly at her paper. Would he?

oOoOo

Twenty Years Ago - Nine years old

"But why haven't we achieved interstellar travel yet?" Jane asked.

Some of Papa's friends chuckled and looked at her as if she were cute. She did her best not to let her irritation show.

"Well, it's a bit complex, Sweetie," one of the older men said.

She pulled out her notebook. "When it comes to manned spacecraft missions, the dilemmas are always propulsion, energy, and cost. We're not anywhere near achieving the necessary technology for at least a century, but if we were to chose a different path—"

"Surely you're not suggesting an Einstein-Rosen bridge?"

She wanted to tell them it'd been done before, on Asgard, but she knew not to bring that up. "It would eliminate one of the criterion—"

"And introduce others," a not-unkind woman pointed out.

"Of course, but—"

"This is all just science fiction," the older man harrumphed.

Jane stood taller at Erik's encouraging look. "Which is a precursor to science fact."

oOoOo

Seventeen Years Ago - Twelve years old

After many hours of traveling and unpacking, Jane sat on her bed and looked at her new room in the faculty condominiums. She'd chosen Culver over the other prestigious universities, mainly because Erik was offered a position. It was a good school with a distinguished physics department, and she wouldn't be the only twelve-year-old there.

Snuggling under her covers, she closed her eyes and quickly fell into a deep sleep born of exhaustion.

Jane found herself on the beach overlooking the watery edge of Asgard under a night-sky filled with galaxies. She didn't have to turn to know Loptr, or more precisely, Loki, was behind her. She'd found out his more popular name just the other day, leaving her to wonder why he hadn't used it, and why the God of Mischief had taken it upon himself to supplement her education.

"Are you ready for your lesson?" he asked.

She kept her gaze on on her galaxy. "Why can't I use magic to build the Bridge?"

He sighed. "Really, Jane, must we go over this again?"

"It just doesn't seem fair that one species is capable of magic while others aren't." She looked down at her bare feet in the sand and whispered, "It isn't fair that I'm always the outcast."

He stepped closer to her, but kept his distance as he always had. "Do you really want to be as mundane as them?" He didn't wait for an answer. "Besides, not much in life is fair. For anyone, including me."

She spun around. This was the first time he'd ever shared anything about his life. "But you're perfect, and you can do all of this." She gestured to the dream-world around them.

His smile was bitter. "You are kind, but you do not know what you speak of."

"Then tell me."

He ignored her request and walked down the coast, forcing her to follow him. "I haven't shown you Jotunheim yet, have I?"

"No, but I've been reading about it."

He looked at her with disappointment. "I told you to not bother with your mortal books. They are mostly lies. Ramblings from drunken, old men."

"So, you're not really a Jotunn?"

His steps faltered. "I think we are done for today."

"But you've only just brought me here."

"Good night, Jane."

oOoOo

Eleven Years Ago - Eighteen years old

Jane walked into the court house and handed the name changing forms to the clerk.

She'd chosen this path not because she didn't like Erik's surname or that she was angry with him. She took the matter very seriously and had spent many years debating the pros and cons. Ultimately, it had been for his sake as much as hers.

She didn't want to be a drag on his career, not with the way her thesis had been treated among the scientific community, nor did she want to gain access to people and places because of her last name.

Erik didn't know she was doing this, but he would be okay with her decision. She hoped.

The young clerk took Jane's payment with a smile, and said, "Have a good day, Miss Foster."

oOoOo

Ten Years Ago - Nineteen years old

Jane threw her purse on the countertop and tore into the letter from Stark Industries. No one had accepted her grant request for her project and they were her last resort. Having just finished her PhD, she wanted to start work on the Einstein-Rosen bridge as soon as possible. She just needed the funds.

Dear Dr. Jane Foster,

We are pleased to inform you that the board has reviewed your grant request and have awarded you the amount on the condition that you work at Stark Tower.

Her instantaneous elation at not receiving another rejection letter deflated. She fiddled with the edge of the paper and looked around at her one bedroom apartment. Erik had left a year ago to work for SHIELD. She'd been planning to move to New Mexico for the location of her project and was actually looking forward to the quiet solitude. New York City was so busy and full of light pollution. Plus, working with others did not come easily to her.

On behalf of Stark Industries, may I extend our admiration for your vision, direction and project plans. We look forward to working with you and sharing in your inevitable success.

She smiled at the person's confidence. Maybe a partnership would be good for her.

Enclosed you will find a Grant Agreement formalizing our grant relationship. Once the form is received in our office, we will assist in your relocation.

Sincerely, Pepper Potts, CEO

She let out a breath and flopped onto the barstool. If she had any alcohol, she'd pour a drink and toast herself.

Loki would've been mildly pleased at this next stage of her life. He hadn't visited her dreams since she was twelve, though. Part of her wondered if she'd made him up, if he really had been an imaginary friend.

oOoOo

Five Years Ago - Twenty-four years old

Jane waited with Pepper Potts and Agent Coulson, as well as a slew of other SHIELD personnel in her lab. She typed in the commands and called out the last coordinates of the anomalies.

They'd been popping up everywhere and wreaking havoc. People had wandered in and never returned, planes had disappeared, and alien creatures had stumbled out, albeit confused but very dangerous, not to mention the aliens themselves.

There'd been a Frost Beast, a Bilge Snipe, a Rock Troll, a Bog Bear, and many others that only she had the names for, as well as the knowledge of how to defeat them. It was also her research that had allowed them to locate and close the arbitrary portals before any more disasters happened.

SHIELD had ignored her attempts to contact them when she'd detected the first anomaly, but not Tony. He had believed everything she'd said, no matter how insane it'd sounded. And now the Avengers were heading back to the Tower, tired and sore, but victorious.

"The first Quinjet is dropping off Team One," a uniformed man announced, "Team Two's expected arrival is in ten minutes. Team Three will be two hours from now."

Pepper grabbed Jane's arm and pulled her to the elevator, for which she was grateful. She didn't like SHIELD, not after they'd tried to shut down her project. If she hadn't been at Stark Tower, they would've easily absconded with all of her equipment and years of research.

Tony walked out of the jet and straight to Pepper. His suit had seen better days, but he looked healthy.

Captain America smiled at Jane. She swallowed hard.

"You're our hero?" He held out a hand.

She glanced down at it, then at the incredible blue in his eyes and forced herself to shake his hand. He was as famous as Tony, but far more humble. At least, that was the rumor. She'd never met him.

"Doctor Foster, am I right?" he asked when she'd said nothing.

"Yes, sorry. It's been a long day." She took her hand back. "I'm glad I was able to help."

"We couldn't have done it without you."

Tony ushered them inside so the next Quinjet could land. She was excited to see Bruce again. They'd worked together on numerous projects and had grown close over the years. He was basically a second father.

"Hey kid," Tony said, "once everyone gets back, come with us to celebrate."

The realization that her childhood imaginary friend was actually real finally hit her, like a sucker punch to the gut. She stammered out an excuse and escaped to her room.


Author's Note: Jane is 29 in my story. Don't ask me why. As I'm sure you've noticed, I've thoroughly mixed up the MCU timeline for the sake of the story. Lastly, I don't live in Sweden and I've never been there, though I'd love to, so if I got anything wrong, let me know. I feel the need to say that my fictional superstitious town is not a reflection on your society. Please don't hate me. :) Oh, and the legend is made up.

Much love to my sister for looking this over. And much love to everyone for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and/or following.

Up next: one consistent POV from Jane herself, and Loki makes his grand entrance.