A/N: This first chapter takes place almost exactly one year later from the end of Unseen Curve.

I don't own The Avengers, Loki, Iron Man, or anything of the like. Just the thoughts inside my head. And taking some personal freedoms with mythology and lore.


Eindride walked into the living room after making sure that Cyrus, Key, and Melisande were occupied in the play room. Balder was talking to Loki as they waited for Emma to show up. Elpis came up behind him and put a hand on his back, nodding once.

"Alright, I'm here." A few eyes looked over as Emma walked into the room, sitting by Tony. "Do we have good news?"

"We have progress," Balder said carefully. Tony was sitting on the couch, Emma on one side and Kaia on the other. Sander and Fay sat on another couch while Eindride and Elpis stood behind them. "I've been able to track and single out the power signature of the one who took Tomas. Unfortunately, I can only track the power when they show up in different Realms, and not back to where they dwell."

"They?" Kaia raised an eyebrow. "There's more than one?"

"That's the interesting part," Balder supplied. "There is more than one, but the power is all the same. For instance I would be able to track Loki's power and find any one of you, but I would be able to tell there was a difference."

"How do you know that there is more than one then?" Loki asked with a furrowed brow. He wasn't sure how this was going to get them closer to finding their son.

"Because the power shows up in different Realms at the same time. I've been able to locate three at once," Balder explained. "And after living with you," he looked at Loki, "I know the difference between clones and real people."

"What are they doing on other Realms?" Emma asked. "Is there anyone else looking for these people?"

"As far as I can tell, we are the only ones who have actually seen them, or at least one of them. Others have gone missing just like Tomas, but there is no pattern. At the moment, we're the only ones who have any idea of what might be happening."

"But we're not any closer to finding them yet?" Tony asked. Balder nodded slowly and Tony let out a slow sigh. Sander seemed to sink back into the couch, Fay twining her fingers with his.

"We're on the right track though," Balder pressed to reassure them. "I'm still accessing all of the knowledge of, well, everything, but this will help."

There was a small moment of silence and Elpis looked at Eindride, the two communicating with their eyes and eyebrows, as was completely normal between the two. Eindride wiggled his nose a little and pulled off his glasses, cleaning them in a nervous habit while clearing his throat. "I'm not sure if we have anything that could help find Tomas, but we have some interesting news about it." Eindride put his glasses back on. "Well, not us, persay."

"Stop being cryptic, it's not very becoming," Kaia told her younger brother. Elpis slipped away back down the hall. "What do you have?"

"Who," Eindride corrected her. "One of my secretaries, Chandra, has apparently been having some of the strangest dreams." He didn't glance back when he heard the two footsteps approaching, the newcomer drawing the gazes of the rest of the family, and concerned looks from Loki and Balder. Elpis walked over with a woman that same height as her, looking just a little older than Sander was. She had long, thick, black hair, and her tanned skin told of family roots from India. Her big eyes also told everyone how nervous she was feeling at the moment.

"Anders-" Tony started, but was cut off by the one he was addressing.

"Believe me, I get it, but this is important." Eindride didn't need to hear how it was possibly a very bad idea to bring in someone to see the inner workings of their family. To let them in on knowledge they shouldn't have, like knowing about Balder's new role, or even about how Tomas was missing.

Chandra looked around the room in curiosity but froze for a second when she looked at Sander. Sander noticed and blinked, trying now to frown. She took a breath and cleared her throat a little. "I'm not actually sure what's going on, but over the past four months, maybe, I've been having some reoccurring dreams. It used to be just a couple of the same dreams every week, but now, they're almost every night." She reached one hand over to rub at her arm, never really focusing her eyes on one family member.

Eindride could practically feel the same question that was on everyone's mind, directed at him. 'What's the point of this, Anders?' "I didn't think anything of the dreams at first," Chandra continued after a second. "Until I went into Mr Stark's office to leave some papers, and I saw a family picture on his desk. I'm just a secretary, usually just a go between for messages and phone calls between a couple of departments, no one particularly exciting." Her fingers picked at the long skirt she was wearing. "But when I saw the picture on the desk, I kind of froze, because the person in my dreams, was in the picture."

"Tomas?" Tony asked, frowning a little as she nodded. "You were seeing him in your dreams?" He felt, more than saw, Loki glance over at him. "I haven't had any visions of him, or anything related," he directed towards his husband. "I've been waiting for them, that's for sure. This wasn't set up by the Norns, I can tell you that."

"Why would you be seeing him in your dreams?" Sander asked, looking over at her. "Did you know him at all?" Fay could feel him trying to contain all the questions he wanted ask, and some other emotions she couldn't quite pin down.

"We had a few classes together in University," she admitted. "We were in a study group together. Then he went for his Master's in Astronomy and I went to a different school and things got silent. I guess I know why though, if he's been missing..." Chandra looked at Sander. "When I first saw you I guess I got a little startled because you look just like him. He told me he had a twin, but that was just something I had filed away."

Sander stared at her, studying her for a moment, trying to process some thought. "I don't understand. Why you?" Fay frowned a little and leaned over, trying to catch his attention. "Why would you be seeing him? You don't even know him that well, not really."

"Sander," Kaia frowned and spoke up. It was very rare that they saw Sander being anywhere close to being rude to someone who didn't deserve it.

"It doesn't make any sense," Sander stood up. "And you guys don't understand," he directed towards his family. "Yeah, we're family, yeah he's a brother to you guys, but he's not Your twin. I Am. We have a different connection, we always have, it's just something that's always been there." He rubbed his face with one of his hands quickly. "I'd die again for him, without a second thought, and that's what he did for me five years ago. So you'll excuse me if I'm finding it a little hard to just easily accept that some, practical, stranger is suddenly having dreams about my brother, and I'm sitting here twiddling my thumbs because I can't do anything! I can't, we had," Sander blew out a frustrated breath.

He turned when he felt a hand on his arm and saw Chandra looking at him. "There's a connection that twins have, right now you're feeling a little lost without it, aren't you?" Sander frowned a little, but nodded once. "I know what you're feeling. I had a twin as well. I don't know why I'm able to see him, and you aren't, but I want to help you. When I saw the picture, I told Mr Stark right away about the dreams, and now here I am. To help."

Sander felt Fay put a hand on his back and he leaned a little into her touch, feeling his previous emotions leave him in a rush, giving him a drained feeling. "Why don't you tell us about your dreams." Loki said softly, catching their attention again.