The darkness behind the glass panels of the laboratory in Puente Antugoe was an unusual sight. All the residents of the small town were already used to the odd young doctor who studied the stars and would stay up late to do so.
So when Erik stepped in front of the building and realized there were no signs of life coming from the inside he wasn't sure what to think.
It was possible Jane decided to grab diner at Izzy's for a change, instead of few Pop Tarts that were her usual meal of choice. Or she was bored alone in the lab, now that her intern returned to college, and went to bed early. It was unlikely but one can never know.
Last night he went out through the back door to meat with Coulson. The SHIELD agent wanted to talk to him personally about some of the more dangerous aspects of Jane's research. Namely, what could be at the source of the things.
Or rather who.
Erik wondered if Phil would tell him the whole story why SHIELD was so interested in the research and the readings if they weren't old friends. Probably not since it was classified as national security. He probably suspected Erik was second-guessing his decision to spy on Jane for them.
As it turned out a blue skinned man was at the center of the tale. A man capable of vanishing in thin air like he never existed.
He first appeared on radar in World War II, a terrorist organization called Hydra tried to locate him in an effort to use him as either a guinea pig or, if they succeed in persuading him to work for them, as an agent. After a raid on a Hydra headquarters they found detailed notes and maps about sightings.
They were limited to Europe, with most of them in Norway.
Erik was shocked to learn the terrorists even located and questioned the man who wrote the silly book Jane was reading about Norse mythology. They tortured him for informations, hoping he could tell them something useful.
According to the notes the man claimed the blue skinned man was Jotun prince.
He didn't want to tell Phil he thought SHIELD was just wasting their resources chasing a fairy tale, but that doesn't mean he didn't think it.
A character from old tales does not live on Earth, that is just absurd.
But SHIELD still persists and Erik agreed to get them Jane newest readings. Because in all it's absurdness their multi million dollars machines and whatnot could not accomplish what Jane's self-made scanner could.
He thought Jane would have willingly help SHIELD if she knew they were in need of her help. Coulson disagreed and quoted some psycho-test Jane allegedly took while in college which claimed she would be unwilling to cooperate without full insight into matters and they would never allow her full access. It simply wasn't done with external associates.
Erik was told some things but he wasn't under the impression he knew the full story.
Getting the keys out of his jacket pocket he unlocked the lab door and turned on the fluorescent lights. It took them a few seconds to warm up and illuminate the large space. A clear sign they haven't been working recently.
When they finally turned on Erik stood frozen in his spot as he looked around. He could not believe what he was seeing.
The machines that were normally lined the east wall and humming constantly were now silent; their parts removed and stashed in two large boxes by the metal tables that they lied on.
Scanners Jane designed and built herself were also turned off and dismembered. Among them was the one she used to track down the strange radiation readings from Norway. It was now only a husk of the machine, it's inner parts in a plastic bin mixed with miscellaneous metal parts and wires.
And Jane was no where in sight.
Erik left the lab and went to the camper that served as Jane's home. The door was locked and there was no light on inside. She wasn't there either.
After returning to the laboratory Erik noticed his phone on the desk where the main laptop used to be. The phone he forgot to take when he said he was going to bed early.
Now both the laptop and the research were gone.
"Damn it." he muttered and called Jane first. Her phone started to ring from somewhere in the cardboard box with machines parts.
Next on his call list was Darcy. She and Jane have gotten pretty close and he hoped the former intern would know something.
"You should have thought about Jane before you became a traitor." Darcy said it as she saw it, "She called me and said what you did. And you call yourself her friend."
Erik sighed when the loudmouthed girl disconnected the call. There was only one choice now.
He had to call Coulson and inform him of the new development.
Jane looked out of the tall window at the gloomy sky and sighed. London weather matched her mood perfectly.
She could hear her mother move things around the kitchen as she prepared tea for the two of them and looked at the clock on the wall for the fifth time in just few minutes. It felt like she was running out of time, and yet she still had an hour before she needed to go to catch the flight for her actual destination.
London was just a necessary stop.
Maura Foster was quite surprised when her daughter called, but happy to hear from her little girl. Even when Jane got to the point and asked for financial help. At first she believed it was for research, or for one of her machines. But it was for a trip.
"Now, tell me about this sudden trip of yours." she spoke before placing a silver platter with two cups of tea and a pot on the coffee table, "Is it because of a man?"
Jane blushed and shook her head. She wasn't sure how to explain to her mother what was going on. Instead she took the lovely hand painted porcelain cup and sipped the piping hot tea. She preferred coffee, but right now she needed the warmth the tea provided.
"It's more job related. But a personal trip nevertheless." Jane decided to be as vague as possible, before adding to calm her frowning mother, "And who knows, maybe I do meet a nice man there."
Maura hummed as she watched her daughter squirm under her gaze. She knew Jane wasn't telling her things intentionally, but she was willing to let it slide this time. Instead she focused on another matter, "Just remembered what you promised me for this sudden financial assistance."
Jane quietly nodded, a blush of mortification spreading over her cheeks.
Like all mothers hers too demanded grandchildren.
And she made sure to remind Jane of it an hour later when they said goodbyes at the airport, before Jane got on the plant for Tromso.
Unaware of the course her life would take very soon.
Unaware the SHIELD was already checking her passport and sending two agents to track her down and follow her every move. If she knew something, if she found something, they had to know.
Coulson took his phone and dialed the number that would connect him with SHIELD's director Fury. He needed to inform him doctor Foster just might find them that radiation source.
Ami Hotel was lovely and Jane was glad she managed to snag one of the single bed rooms. She had no idea how long she will have to stay and she needed to be careful with her funds. There was no way he mother would be willing to lend her more money.
She was tired and needed to sleep, jet lag was starting to kick in and she could barely see properly at the screen of her laptop. But before getting to bed she needed to check just one more thing.
According to the readings the source of the radiation was outside of the city so she needed a way to investigate the surrounding fjords. First she checked out the tracks but soon found Fjord Excursion, a group tour that showed tourists the wonders of the nature. It wasn't a perfect setting but Jane decided it was better if she went out there with the guide, at least for the first time.
Next trip was tomorrow at noon and they still had few spaces open. To Jane that was perfect. She had time to research a bit before it was time to go.
Eventually, after checking few more pages online, and making some notes on the pad she got in the airport duty-free, Jane set the alarm on the clock on the bedside table and went to sleep.
She had a long day in front of her.
Brown eyes closed... green eyes opened.
Lael awakened and exited the cave that was his home for centuries. A cave he would abandon to travel but always found himself returning to. It was familiar. It was safe.
He could see the bright lights of the city in the distance. They were bright, too bright, for they made it impossible to see the stars once one was walking the wide streets.
But he had no choice bot to go to Tromso every once in a while, in the dead of the night and hidden from sight with an unusual ability he had discovered by accident. It allowed him to watch the words changing while he remained unseen to all but few individuals throughout the history.
That night he stole food again to survive.
He knew she would hate him doing that, his mother that left him too soon, but he did not see another option. He could not live among the people as one of them.
How could he when he was a monster parents tell their children about?
Tromso library and archives left Jane in awe as she approached the building. The tall walls made exclusively out of glass, arched roof on all four sides that made it look symmetrical. It was quite an architectural venture, and it looked amazing.
It was fairly early, only people in the library the older woman behind the counter that smiled kindly at Jane as the astrophysicist entered and few students that were surrounded with thick tomes and making notes.
It was no trouble to find the historical section and after skimming over the titles she couldn't read Jane managed to find few English editions of the Norway and, more specifically, Tromso history books.
The books contained the more general historical stories, nothing meaningful really, and soon Jane found herself frustrated by it. But she was a researcher. She was used to hard work, to long nights and even longer days of sitting in front of a computer screen and working on equations. It was foolish to expect results within an hour.
Especially since she didn't know what she was hoping to find.
The truth was the trip to the library was more a way to spend the time before the tourist track through the fjords.
She mindlessly turned few pages as the story from the mythology book popped back in her head. It was distracting her from work, but Jane couldn't help but thinking about it.
It captivated her from the moment she read it the first time. She couldn't explain it, it never happened before that a work of fiction got her attention like that and she couldn't stop thinking about it.
After an hour and a half of going through few books in English Jane decided to simply ask for assistance. Cause all she found were mentions of the old settlement that existed in this area and the old maps of what this area looked before geologically, with few rivers and caves marked.
She really needed help. And who is better then the woman who lived and worked in Tromso.
"I'm sorry, do you speak English?" she asked the librarian.
The older lady smiled at her, "Of course dear. How can I help you?"
Jane breathed a sigh of relief at her luck, "I'm trying to find out more about Tromso, but all the books are just general informations."
"Yes, and you wish to know something more. In that case I suggest visiting the Tromso University Museum, it has quite an extensive collection of historical items and photos. Even an old letter that was dated to be over a thousand years old. It is one of the more interesting exhibits in the Cultural history section."
Jane opened her mouth to ask additional question, to inquire about the book, but out of the corner of her eye she noticed two figures near the rack that held today's issues of local and international newspapers. She wasn't sure what made her suspicious of them but the feeling told her she needed to avoid them at all cost. So she thanked the older librarian and left the building.
A quick check on her watch told she she still had plenty of time before she had to meet up with the group of tourists that went on a hike at the fjords. And the city map on the square in front of the library told her in which direction to go next.
Unlike the library, Tromso University Museum wasn't housed in a spectacular building. Plain white walls and several buildings that formed the museum weren't mush. But inside they had an amazing selection of over two thousand exhibits.
Jane wasn't really sure what she was doing there, what she was hoping to find. It's not like there will be a sign in the museum saying "You are looking for the source of unusual radiation? Well, look no further."
She was wasting her time.
But still she walked in.
It was a strange feeling, like what ever she was looking for was here, when she knew for sure it wasn't. The results of the final scan showed clearly the source she was looking for was few miles away. She just didn't know exactly where.
A small portable scanner would have been perfect for this but she never had enough funds to acquire one. She will have to rely on luck. Or fate. Or... something.
A letter stood framed in glass, damaged on the edges and looking incredibly fragile. It must have been if it was over a thousand years old like the little tag at the bottom claimed. In truth Jane doubted it, it seemed unlikely that paper would remain preserved for such a long time.
"Oh, why not..." Jane muttered and transcribed the few words that she managed to read in the pad she carried in the jacket pocket.
It was good thing she stopped because in the reflective surface she could see two men from the library, only now they were too carefully observing a tunic decorated with stitching that was falling apart at the seams. Still, it must have looked amazing when it was first made.
Sudden sound of children laughter, as an entire class of kids followed by three teachers, entered the room gave Jane the perfect excuse to move towards the exit. She did stop few times at various exhibits and made few notes but within few minutes she managed to leave the large room and the men she would bet were following her.
Once she was back in the hotel Jane turned on her laptop and rechecked the final scan results. She was certain she was in the right place but without additional data she was fishing in the dark.
And she knew it.
"Damn it..." a curse escaped her lips just as tears escaped her eyes.
She was looking for a source of unusual radiation that isn't usually found in nature. Therefore it was only logical that that source isn't commonly found. But what could it be?
That frustrated the astrophysicist the most.
And Jane realized how reckless and badly thought through her plan was.
She didn't pause to think, to consider the options. She read the messages Erik received and reacted explosively, flying half way across the planet on a wild goose chase and looking for something she didn't know where to look for. Or what to look for.
If she wasn't so stubborn to admit defeat she would have packed her things and went to the airport right this minute. But pride and desire to prove herself prevented her from doing that.
She look the pad out of the pocket of her jacket and opened to the page where she wrote the words from the letter. The translator didn't help her much, the language was archaic and no longer used. So she did a search of the actual words in hope that would give her some results.
Some had no search results; some were fascinating.
Jane wrote a translation below every word she managed to translate and once she reached the end of the list she looked over what she now had. And brown eyes widened.
Black on white stood the words 'sister son', 'friend', 'cold', 'blue' and 'monster'.
"What was going on back then?" Jane asked.
The silence was her only response until a book fell out of her bag that barely hanged on the back of the chair. It hit the wooden floor and made Jane jump.
Looking at it she noticed it opened upon the fall and was now open on the section about Loki Laufeyson. A Frost giant.
A cold blue child that was left on Earth as punishment.
"Oh, come one." the logical side of Jane instantly reacted and she picked it up again and stuffed it back in her bag. Two sandwiched she got from the hotel restaurant and two bottles of water followed.
She believed it was possible to create an Einstein-Rosen bridge, but some theories are just crazy.