Odin's study back on Asgard provided formidable privacy for the continued investigation. An array of books lay opened and stacked atop Odin's desk and the floor surrounding it. The research had continued for hours.

Thor was determined to map out his journey, his father guiding every step as their head astronomer created the galaxy path. It would not be a safe trip for him. The holographic map glowing before them showed the evidence of that. In the sector he would be exploring, Thor could see worlds and stars collapsing into a black hole.

"All these books and still no evidence of the other Fractals..." Thor slammed the book he had been holding, his eyes sore from hours of reading.

"We have no choice but to act upon what we already know." Odin's response came out devoid of emotion, clear that it was his own exhaustion. His gaze drifted. "You know where three of the Fractals are, now take our best soldiers and go. We have tired ourselves aimlessly long enough."

"But surely we cannot make the trip. Look at the map! The sector is barely stable, it is covered in black holes. It might as well exist no longer."

"These books have been thoroughly searched, we have found what we can and we will secure what we can."

"I still have not returned to Midgard and retrieved what information Loki could gather from the books I left behind."

A silence stirred, Odin's jaw locking. The room grew uncomfortable and Thor almost regretted speaking. His father answered.

"You do know my feelings towards Loki helping on this venture."

Thor swallowed to moisten his dry throat. "I do."

"And that does not change your position?"

"No, it does not. Loki is talented. I wish you could see that."

Odin had hardened his heart towards the remaining sympathy for the youngest of his children. He had always been afraid of Loki's magic since he was a small child. Had Frigga not trained him, he would have kept that magic locked up inside the boy for eternity. There was a strange comfort that came with knowing Loki was mortal, but to involve him with the Fractals took that comfort away.

"What will you have him do? Read the runes that we cannot? Teach us how to pass between worlds without the Bifrost?" Odin scoffed. "The Infinity Stones and the Fractals exist in harmony throughout the universe, but as long as there are people out there like your brother, we cannot risk anything but to secure what no one else can control."

Thor was growing impatient. "We know more about the Stones than we do the Fractals."

"Precisely. You will not just be going for the Fractals but the Stones as well."

Oh by the branches of Yggdrasil... "I fear that these Fractals pose a greater threat than the Stones do. Father, I have a friend who is in danger because of them. We need answers. For the good of the Nine Realms–"

"I am always taking the Nine Realms into consideration, Thor." Odin's grip on Gungnir seemed to tighten. "You simply need to trust my judgement."

It was that phrase that always seemed to silence Thor's tongue. Those words were always spoken when Odin expected kingly wisdom from his sons, when he wanted respect or loyalty. It would be foolish to disappoint him.

"Now," Odin redirected his attention to the map, "you said the world encasing the Fractals is still stable enough?"

"Yes, Sire." The astronomer, Stjörnur, answered as he swiped his hands across the holographic stars, expanding the map to bring it closer to the sector. "The planet is unnamed, as far as is recorded, but is withstanding amidst the storm. Most of the stars around it have collapsed, however, making for a very risky journey. If the Bifrost cannot avoid the storms, you will be ripped apart."

Thor's heart dropped into his stomach. "Is it avoidable?"

"Very much so. Just risky. I will have to create a safe route before you leave. Do not make haste."

Nodding, Thor took in the contents of the holograph, how it filled up the space of the circular study, tinting the bronze furniture with a bluish glow. He stifled a yawn as his hands found the book again.

"Your book spoke of a temple, did it not?" Odin asked, tiring of Stjörnur's silence.

"Yes, that is where the Fractals are held."

There wasn't much to read about the temple, if it was heavily guarded, where the Fractals were kept inside... It was mostly pictures to guide the way, along with a seam where a page had been torn out. It concerned him with an agonizing curiosity, wondering what clues that missing page could be holding, but there was nothing he could do about the matter.

Maybe his father was right. It was best to move forward with what information they had.

Thor began to feel less worthy of this mission with every passing minute. What would he do once the Fractals had been secured? Keeping them all in one place would make it easier to steal, despite Asgard's treasury being heavily guarded. Loki had snuck in Frost Giants once. Who's to say someone couldn't pull that trick again? And all that energy in one stronghold; it sounded like a recipe for tearing their world apart. He hadn't thought farther than that point, but maybe the answers would come... they would come if he would just press forward.

"Sire," Stjörnur grasped their attention again, but his voice was ridden with concern. He had expanded the map close enough to see the details of the planets and stars, even under the blue glow.

"Have you found something?" Odin asked, approaching the astronomer and frowning at the man's obvious worry.

Stjörnur nodded. "I have... but it is not what I was expecting." He swallowed. "There are no black holes, no storms."

Thor's eyes burned as he could not take his gaze off of the image. The man was right. There were no black holes, but there was darkness. Like Malekith's dream, magic of the Dark Elves. The stars, the planets, covered.

The sector was swallowed in darkness...

...

"I need to see Loki." Thor made his presence known, bursting through the doors after passing security. Every head in the room lifted. Only three.

"You've been pretty busy since I left." Natasha stood from her seat at the coffee table, the room being the lounge in the Avengers facility. She crossed over to where the thunderer stood, seeming a little distasteful. "Mind explaining why I came back to find your brother living with us?"

"It was only temporary, I assure you. I needed to keep him somewhere safe after banishment."

"I know, these two told me everything." She motioned to Wanda and Vision. "But I'm sure you had other places you could have kept him."

A heavy sigh released itself through Thor's nose. "I understand that you do not care for Loki. He has not been honorable in the past but he is formidably skilled in assisting the matter that is at hand. It is more dire than I first realized."

"What have you discovered?" Vision joined the conversation, keeping Wanda's hand locked in his and gently pulling her with him.

"There is dark magic at hand... I saw it, as did my father." Thor's soul grew heavy. "The sector that held the fractals we found is covered in darkness, swallowing it. I do not know why or how, but I have returned to see if my brother has found something in the books I left with him."

He was met with staggered looks, only worsening the pit in his stomach. He needed answers, he needed the next step.

"Loki is in Tony's study with Jennica." Wanda told him. "Last I heard..."

His blue eyes met hers. "Thank you." Rushing past them, he didn't even bother to give them permission to follow.

The study was nearby, the door secluded in a corner of the hallway. Thor entered. It resembled the laboratory, white walls with hard, grey floors, and filled with technology. Across the room, crowding a desk, stood Tony with Loki and Jennica. They all heard him enter.

"Brother?" Loki was first to speak, knitting his brow. "You're back quicker than I expected."

"What have you found?" Thor asked, approaching them.

"Your brother found one heck of an issue." Tony spoke for Loki. "Look... these burnt pages signify that he activated some magic, or so these two told me. Just by reading it, they said."

The pit in Thor's stomach deepened. "Magic... in the book?"

Loki pointed to the runes. "Brother, I read them aloud and magic burst forth. It only spoke of the sorcerers who created the temples for the Fractals, but it opened a path of what I believe to have been dark magic. They must have been so rich with it at the time that it seeped into the book."

"That is your theory?"

"It is the only logical one. We haven't discovered anything else except that dark magic could be at use to manipulate Jennica's fractals into acting out, and that, according to this book in particular, a page from one of the volumes is to be used as a key to get into one of the temples. I believe these books only speak about the temple that you and Father found."

"Loki, there is dark magic over the temple."

Loki was taken aback, scoffing in disbelief. "What?"

"I saw it! The sector is covered in darkness, eating it away. We do not know why."

"Can we not retrieve the fractals, then?" Jennica asked, one of her hands coming up to grip the charm of the locket.

Thor shook his head. "Not until we discover how to do it safely. Did the books say anything about this?"

"Sorry, Point Break." Tony closed the book and stepped away. "Just history. Rough building plans for the temples. Backstory on the Fractals but not enough on what they do."

"What's frustrating is how vague the books are." Loki added. "They give so much information but so secretly. The volumes have something to hide, it seems."

Jennica bit her lower lip. "But if the books speak of using a page as a key, then we may not find more answers until we visit the temples. It sounds like they work hand in hand."

"It seems a little far fetched..." Thor crossed his arms. "But you may be onto something. We need to act fast."

"How much time do you think we have?" Loki began to convey more urgency in his tone.

"I'm not sure, but we need to act now–"

A brown out flushed itself through the facility, flickering the lights and shutting down some of Stark's technology.

"Again?!" Tony whined, having just dealt with the fried circuit breaker not too long ago. "Jennica, what did you do this time?" He frowned when his eyes met where she was doubled over the desk, clutching onto the edge.

Loki was at her side in an instant. "Jennica?!" He held her up.

"Chest... h-hurts..." she gripped where the locket felt like it was burning a hole through her sternum. "Dizzy..."

"She needs water!" Loki's worry was evident, now. He picked her up and carried her off, Thor and Tony following close behind, still not trusting enough to let him out of their sight.

"What is going on?" Steve met them in the hallway as they entered the lounge, Loki setting Jennica on the nearest sofa before rushing to get water.

He was answered with Vision hissing in pain, pressing a palm to the yellow stone on his head. "S-Something's... coming..."

Loki swallowed. The dark magic. Both the fractals and stone acting out. Something really was coming.

"Front door entrance requested..."

F.R.I.D.A.Y.'s voice echoed over the intercom, its voice crackling with the fading brown out, eerily dropping octaves with the flickering lights. Everyone froze.

Tony pulled up a security screen on his watch, frowning deeply.

"Steve..." he spoke, his voice low. "Follow me to the front."