a/n: I am so so sorry for the wait! Life has been kinda crazy, and I honestly have no excuse since I've written up to like 22 chapters or something. Anyway, to make for it, I've done a double update, so keep reading after this chapter. This chapter focuses a bit more on Scar again and then we'll go back to Gwen. Now, onto reviews!
Searece (both reviews): Thank you for your comments! And yeah, Gwen was always gonna go with her dad. It'll make more sense as to why as we continue. Thanks for reading and I'm glad that you're liking it!
Chimichanga1: Thank you so much for the compliments! And here's your update. Hope you enjoy!
HeavenlyCondemned: Thank you for reviewing! I totally know what you mean. I definitely enjoy writing Gwen more. This chapter is mainly Scarlet, again, but then we jump back to Gwen. The story will basically be just Gwen from now on, with little flashes to other characters here and there. I just didn't want to throw Scarlet into the story without giving her a proper background. Thanks for the constructive criticism! I hope you continue to read and enjoy!
Part Two:The Other Course of Heaven
"The time is with the month of winter solstice/ when the change is due to come/ thunder in the other course of heaven/ things cannot be destroyed once and for all."
- Chapter 24 by Pink Floyd
March 2013
Scarlet awoke quietly, the first sign of life being her blinking eyes. She cringed a little from the bright light but it didn't take long for her to adjust to the light. When she did, she didn't recognize the room she was in. The ceiling was white, and the walls surrounding her were made of tinted glass. She was lying on tissue paper on a small bed. When she shifted her arm a little, she noticed a needle stuck in her arm, attached to an IV. A heart monitor beside her beeped occasionally, letting her know that her heart was still beating.
The eighteen year old girl sat up and immediately ripped the IV out of her arm. She didn't know where she was, and she wasn't about to let some strangers pump her with unknown substances. The Scarlet Killer looked around at her surroundings more carefully now. At once it became clear that she was in a hospital of some kind. Definitely not a Hydra hospital though. Which meant that someone else had picked her up. No doubt she was in some sort of high security prison where they kept dangerous assassins and enhanced individuals. Scarlet knew one thing for sure. She wasn't staying here.
Scarlet got up from the bed and it was only then that she became aware of her outfit. She was wearing a flimsy blue hospital gown over a pair of underwear. The rest of her was bare. It was an uncomfortable feeling for her. She was used to wearing sturdy clothing that covered just about every inch of her skin. This gown made her feel exposed. She didn't like the feeling at all. Scarlet determined that she would find her suit before packing it up and leaving this place. But then what? Where would she go? Back to Hydra? She shook her head at the thought. Definitely not. They were no better than this place. On the run would have to do. Maybe she could find Winter, wherever he was, and they would find a way to make it. Without much of a plan in mind, Scarlet hopped out of bed and started towards the doors.
However, they opened before she could make it. Scarlet tensed and prepared herself for a fight. The man who had opened the door appeared to be in his late forties. He was tanned, with dark curly hair that was tinged with gray. He had a kind face, but that didn't make Scarlet trust him. She steeled herself for his attack, but it never came. Instead, he offered her a hesitant smile. "Hi, Paige," he greeted her. "My name is Dr. Bruce Banner. How are you feeling?"
The soldier ignored his question, though she did wonder why he was calling her Paige. "Where am I?" she asked roughly.
"You're in Avengers Tower, in New York," Bruce replied calmly. "Would you mind if I performed a quick check up? Just to make sure you're healthy?"
"Actually, I would mind," she answered plainly. "I am leaving now and I'll be thanking you to get out of my way. If you don't, you may regret it." She gave Bruce a threatening look.
Bruce held up his hands, trying for a calm tone. "I know you must be frightened," he began slowly. "But we're not going to hurt you, Paige. We just want to help you. But I can't do that unless you sit down."
"Have you ever considered that maybe I don't want your help?" Scarlet replied spittingly. "Well, here's your answer to that question: I don't want your help and I don't need your help. Let me go right now or I will kill you. Don't think I won't."
The doctor gave her an uneasy dry smile. "You don't want to be trying that," he informed her, still going for a calm tone of voice. "Would you prefer to have someone else look you over? Maybe Dr. Cho?"
It was then that two other people entered the room, outnumbering Scarlet three to one. Again, she prepared herself for an onslaught of attacks, and again they never came. Scarlet observed these newcomers. One of them she was very familiar with. It was Romanoff, the red headed spy. Romanoff looked at her with an emotionless expression and Scarlet had to commend her for it. Scarlet had always had trouble concealing her emotions. She could be a good little actress when she wanted to be, but more often than not, what she was feeling was plainly written on her face. The other guest Scarlet did not recognize. He was a tall blonde male, probably in his thirties or forties. He was looking at her with both sadness and curiosity. The sadness in his eyes gave Scarlet a fresh wave of anger. So he pitied her, did he? Well, he shouldn't. She was just fine.
"Hello again, Agent Romanoff," Scarlet greeted coolly. Natasha was reminded of herself when Clint tried to take her away from the KGB. He had to do some major convincing to get her to come along willingly. It seemed Natasha and Clint were going to have to do the same to get her to come willingly.
"I know how this must look," Natasha said, stepping forward slowly. "You probably think we want to throw you in prison. But that's not the case."
Scarlet gave a dry laugh which made Clint flinch. "Is that so?" she sneered. "I know what people like you want, Agent Romanoff. You want to turn me into a weapon, just like Hydra did. Well, let me tell you: I'm done being someone's toy soldier. I will do what I want, when I want, and I won't be made into a slave for SHIELD."
"No one is going to make you into a slave," Clint supplied helpfully. "And we're not going to make you work for SHIELD either. We just want to give you a home. Some place where you can do what you want."
She blinked, unsure of this. He didn't seem to be lying, but maybe he was a spy like Romanoff. They would be masters at lying. She shook her head in denial. "No. You're lying to me. You just want to use me."
"He's not lying," Natasha told her with a shake of her head. "We found you by the river. Steve- Captain America- he said that Barnes- The Winter Soldier- pulled you out of the river. He's left Hydra and he left you there."
Again, Scarlet shook her head. "No. Winter wouldn't do that to me."
"He did it because he knew that we could take care of you like Hydra never could," Clint said. "He wanted to give you a chance at a normal life, and he knew the only way to do that was by leaving you with us."
Scarlet paused for a moment to think about what they said. By looking at them they seemed to be telling the truth. But Scarlet had been fooled by that before. So she thought over all her options. One, fight her way out now. That was probably a bad move on her part. If this was actually Avengers Tower, that meant that they had reinforcements. Against these three she might take her chances but against all six Avengers... no, she wouldn't stand a chance. Option two was to stay here. At first she was repulsed by that idea. She wasn't the Avengers pet. She could take care of herself. She didn't trust them. She didn't know anything about them except that they worked for SHIELD, that they were Avengers, and that Romanoff used to work for the KGB. She couldn't trust these people and therefore she couldn't stay with them. But she couldn't leave either.
An idea started to form in her head. She couldn't leave... not yet anyway. If she pretended to go along with what they wanted her to do, she would eventually be able to gain their trust. They already seemed to trust her just because she was a child. If she acted like she was going along with their game for a while, and then she gained their trust, she could leave without them expecting it. That seemed like her best option at this point. So Scarlet allowed herself to relax.
"Fine," she said, feigning reluctance. "I'll let him give me a check up, even though I don't need it." She walked back to the small hospital bed and sat on it, allowing Bruce to look her over. The doctor looked relieved as she calmed down. He was worried for a moment there. Clint looked relieved as well, but Natasha was suspicious. It shouldn't have been that easy. However, she decided that it was best not to question her for now. For now, she needed to think about what she would do if she were in her position. Then she would be ready to question her.
Bruce did a basic check up; checking her height, weight, temperature, and other basic information. He then took a blood sample ("for scientific purposes") and that was that. He declared her healthy and allowed Natasha and Clint to take over.
"Let's go meet the family, kid," Clint said, clapping a hand on her back. Despite her plan to go along with whatever they said, Scarlet hesitated. She didn't like the idea of meeting all the Avengers right now. But she knew what she had to do to gain their trust. So for today, she would do as she was told. Soon, she thought. Soon I can leave and go find Winter. For now, however, these people didn't seem so bad. She grudgingly admitted that they were nicer than Hydra had ever been. Maybe this would be good for now.
Natasha handed Scarlet a change of clothes. "Here. These should fit you. We can go shopping for more clothes if needed." Scarlet nodded and took the clothes. The more time she spent with her, the more she respected Romanoff. She seemed smart, calculating, and intriguing. Scarlet thought that outside of Hydra and the Avengers, she might even like Romanoff just as she liked Winter. She waited until they left the room and then changed into the clothes Romanoff gave her. A dark gray shirt with long sleeves and thin black pants. They seemed comfy enough as she pulled them on and discarded the hospital gown. It was odd, seeing herself when she looked in the mirror. This was the first time she had been allowed to wear something other than her Scarlet Killer suit or the baggy jumpsuit that Hydra gave her. Her hair was combed and pulled back into a ponytail. Is this what normal girls looked like? She had no idea but she decided that Romanoff would know better than her.
Scarlet left the bathroom and nodded at Romanoff and the other man. "I'm ready," she said quietly.
"I should probably introduce myself," Clint spoke up first. "I'm Clint. This is Bruce. He's part of the Avengers too. That woman over there is Doctor Cho." Scarlet nodded at each of them, making a mental note of their names and appearances. It was something she had been trained to do from a young age. Besides, she would need to remember this information if she was ever going to escape. She needed to know these people; to study them and understand them. That way, she would have a much better chance of escaping without being noticed.
"Everyone else is upstairs in the kitchen, getting ready for dinner," Clint told her. "Come on." Scarlet followed after him, keeping a close eye on Barton and Romanoff. They took an elevator up to the kitchen, where several people were chatting amongst themselves. Scarlet recognized Rogers right away. Even without his star spangled outfit and striped shield, he still looked like an authority figure. He had dirty blonde hair that he kept neatly combed and matching blue eyes to pair off his look, along with the muscular, tall figure. She looked at him in distaste, still bitter over him defeating her recently.
Standing by Rogers was a man equally as buff and built as Rogers was, if not more. He too had the blonde hair and blue eyes, but his hair was much longer. If Scarlet had to take a guess, she would say he was Thor, the god from outer space. Well, he certainly looked like a god. Talking with them were two African American gentlemen. One looked sturdier and he held himself like he was a soldier. The other seemed a bit more relaxed. He was laughing with Rogers about something while Thor looked between them curiously, as though he didn't quite understand the joke. After a moment, she realized she did recognize him. It was Wilson. Rogers's friend with the wings.
Sitting on one of the barstools was another man. He however, didn't look anything like the other two Avengers in the room. He was dark haired rather than blonde, and his dark hair had sprinkles of gray in it that he covered with hair dye. He was shorter and not quite as muscular as the other two, but he was good looking in his own way, Scarlet supposed. He also had an odd looking goatee and a confident smirk on his face while he watched the other two cook dinner. She did a head count. She had already met Romanoff and Rogers, as well as Barton and Thor. That left the Hulk and Iron Man. If she had to take a guess this was Tony Stark. The Iron Man. She didn't know much about him other than he was a billionaire and an Avenger. This man definitely gave off that air.
He only confirmed her suspicions when he stood up to greet her. "Ah, there's Kill Bill," he said pleasantly. Scarlet furrowed her brow in confusion. Who was Kill Bill? Did he actually think that was her name? No, from his tone of voice, it seemed that he was joking with her. Scarlet wasn't sure how to respond. No one had ever joked with her before. Clint rolled his eyes at the nickname, being one of the few in the room who understood it.
"You'll have to excuse Tony," Clint told her apologetically. "He's a five year old trapped inside a fifty year old's body."
Tony gave Clint an insulted look. "I'll have you know that I'm somewhere in the low forties range, Legolas," he told him. Then, his attention turned back to Scarlet. "Tony Stark."
"Scarlet," she replied, taking his outstretched hand and shaking it. His hands were surprisingly soft. All her life she had been around rough men with rough hands. She almost didn't want to let go of his smooth hand, which sounded kinda creepy.
Thor stepped forward with an air of confidence. It was a different confidence than the kind Tony gave off. Tony's confidence seemed more smug and arrogant. Thor did seem arrogant, but also more bold than smug. He flashed a brilliant smile at Scarlet. "It is lovely to meet you, young Paige," he said in his deep voice. "I am Thor Odinson. The Captain and Romanoff have told us much about you."
Scarlet wanted to reply that they didn't know anything about her, but she figured that wouldn't help her in the long run. So she bit her tongue and shook Thor's hand as well, introducing herself to the god.
The sturdier African American man approached her next. "Rhodes," he told her, shaking her hand. "But everyone calls me Rhodey. It's nice to meet you, Scarlet."
"Likewise," she said pleasantly, nodding at Rhodes.
The other gentleman approached her and held out a hand for her to shake as well. "Sam Wilson," he introduced.
"I know," Scarlet said. Sam smiled a little at her. He wasn't terribly fond of her but he was also sympathetic enough to understand that she didn't want to be in Hydra. She was forced to and it wasn't her fault.
"Wilson is super pissed about you messing with his wings," Tony spoke up again. Scarlet blinked, unsure what to make of the billionaire. He was quite... eccentric. She had never met anyone like him before. No one in Hydra had a sense of humor like he seemed to have. Rumlow came closest but his sense of humor included teasing her about how she should smile more and that she was a grumpy little girl. Just thinking about it made Scarlet grit her teeth in anger. She hated him because he talked to her like she was a child, and she wasn't used to being treated like a child. Stark however didn't seem to be treating her like a child, like Rumlow did. In fact, he seemed to be talking to her like she was just another Avenger or something.
Wilson shrugged as if it couldn't possibly matter. "Lucky for you, I'm in a forgiving mood today, Anderson," he said. He too seemed to be teasing her and Scarlet gave a strained smile, as that seemed to be the proper response for such interactions. Though she couldn't think why he had called her Anderson. Paige, Anderson, Kill Bill. They all seemed to have some odd name for her.
"Why do you keep calling me Paige?" she asked them. "Or Anderson? Or Kill Bill? My name is Scarlet."
No one said anything for a minute. They didn't even think that Hydra wouldn't have told her her real name. It had never crossed any of their minds. "That's the name that your mother gave to you," Natasha finally answered. "Paige Anderson is your full name. Kill Bill is just a stupid nickname Tony gave you. He gives everyone a nickname so get used to that."
Scarlet nodded, unsure what else to say. "Dinner is ready," Rogers said to break the silence. "Is Banner on his way up?"
"He said he just wanted to finish up analyzing the blood samples before he joined us," Natasha, who had been surprisingly quiet, answered. She was too busy thinking about Scarlet. Obviously the girl had a strategy in mind. Natasha hadn't quite figured out what was on the girl's mind, but by the end of the day, she was determined to do so. That way she could have a serious talk with her, one on one about everything.
Rogers nodded and the group sat down at the large table that was already set with plates and forks. Rogers and Thor brought the dishes full of noodles and tomato sauce over to the table. Scarlet ended up sitting between Romanoff and Wilson, which was a little awkward if she was being honest. She had just tried to kill both of them recently, after all. But neither of them seemed all that intimidated or bothered by it, so Scarlet figures she would do the same. Follow the crowd was the number one rule of hiding in plain sight.
The food was passed around, each person dishing up a bit of noodles and putting some tomato sauce on top of it. Scarlet did the same when Wilson handed her the food, before handing it to Romanoff. She examined the food carefully for a minute before deciding that it was safe. She twisted some of the noodles onto a fork and stuck it in her mouth. She was surprised by how good it was. The food that Hydra fed her wasn't exactly five star. Most of the time it was old and dry or mushy and moldy. This was fresh and surprisingly delicious. Scarlet then began to scarff down the spaghetti as fast as she possibly could, all while listening intently to the others' conversation.
"No Pepper today?" Rhodes asked Stark curiously as he put a bit of mozzarella cheese on his spaghetti. The others did the same, but Scarlet was too busy eating to see this.
Stark shook his head. "Nah, she's busy in Malibu. She'll be here next week though."
"Pepper is Tony's girlfriend." Scarlet turned a little to see that Wilson was in fact speaking to her. "She practically runs Stark Industries, lots of the time from Malibu. Especially when Stark is driving her crazy. Which is often." Scarlet nodded at that. Stark did seem pretty eccentric, like he could easily drive someone crazy. However, Scarlet considered herself a patient person. If she could handle Rumlow, she could handle Stark.
"And what about Maria?" Steve asked curiously. "She normally joins us for dinner."
"I gave her the night off," Tony replied with a shrug.
This time, it was Scarlet who turned to Wilson. "Who's Maria?"
"She's kinda like the Avengers manager," he replied, looking a little surprised that she directly addressed him. "She works for Stark and basically goes over missions and assignments for them." Scarlet nodded thoughtfully. All of this information was very helpful. The more she knew about the comings and goings of the Avengers and their guests the better.
Tony then turned the topic over to what was on most people's minds because he was the only one with the gall to bring it up. "So, Kill Bill, how's your first day of freedom?"
Everyone at the table froze. Awkward silence filled the air for a bit until Clint broke it. "Tony, don't call her that," he said sharply.
"Why not?" the billionaire retorted. "You've seen her file. She's a little Beatrix Kidd in the making," he said. Then he turned to Scarlet. "It's a compliment. Seriously, you are straight up terrifying." He didn't seem very terrified, however. Scarlet's first instinct was to tell him that if he kept talking she'd give him a real reason to be terrified, but she figured that wouldn't blow over well with the Avengers. Instead, she stared at Stark as though he were some kind of alien. Which he was, in a way. Scarlet hadn't ever met someone like him and she doubted she ever would again.
"I do not understand," Thor said loudly. "Who is this Beatrix Kidd?" He had already finished his third helping of spaghetti and was going for a fourth plate as he spoke.
"She's a serial killer from a movie," Natasha answered bluntly.
"Nat!" Steve hissed from across the table, his eyes darting between the two ex-assassins at the table. "You can't just go saying stuff like that."
"He's not wrong," Scarlet spoke up now, addressing the whole group. Everyone turned to her in surprise. She hadn't said much up until now and she seemed pretty quiet when she did speak. Now she spoke clearly and loudly with excellent English. There was a bit of an accent to her words that they all caught, especially Natasha. When they were all looking at her, she looked eerily calm. "I've never heard of Beatrix Kidd but I'm going to guess that I'm a lot like her. Except I'm an assassin not a serial killer."
Everyone was surprised by how calmly she spoke about her past. It was almost as if she thought it was normal to be brought up an assassin. Though, they supposed that was her normal. Yet again, Tony responded with as much sensitivity as a blunt ax. "See?" he said, pointing at Scarlet gratefully. "Thank you. But seriously," he focused on her with an intense gaze that Scarlet returned. "I think it's super cool that you were trained to be a mini Beatrix Kidd in your youth. Wait. Did you say you've never seen Kill Bill?"
"Well, Hydra gave me permission to go to the movies, but I spent most of my time blowing off people's heads, so I was a little too busy for movies," Scarlet replied sarcastically and Rogers and Rhodes gasped a little at her bluntness. "So I didn't have a lot of time to catch up on American pop culture." Natasha gave a ghost of a smile at her reply. While the other Avengers had been sheltered for most of their lives, she understood Scarlet. Joking about it was a way of dealing with it. It may have been a terrible way to deal with it, but it was a way nonetheless. Natasha had moved past the phase a while ago, but she had been the same way at first.
"You have to see it," Tony determined. "I won't have some lame teenager living in my tower. Then you have to see..." Stark then proceeded to list off all the things she needed to be caught up on now that she was done being a "teenage mutant ninja assassin" as he called her. Scarlet found herself watching him with faint amusement. He really was like a child in some ways.
Well... maybe staying with these guys for just a little bit wouldn't be so bad.
Clara Anderson was watching from a distance, an aching longing in her heart. She had wanted to be the first one to greet her daughter, to tell her that she had a mother that had never given up on her. But the other Avengers hadn't been so fond of the idea. They thought that it would be better to have her get used to being around normal people in general, learning about how life outside of Hydra worked, and then she could meet her mother. Clara grudgingly agreed that that might be the best course of action. So for now, she could only watch from a distance and wait for the day that she would finally be reunited with her daughter.
June 2013
"My name is Captain Steve Rogers. I'm looking for Stephen Strange. Is he here?"
Stephen stole a glance at Gwen, who's eyes had widened. Captain Steve Rogers? As in Captain America? The Captain America?
"I'm Stephen Strange," Stephen supplied, extending his hand. "Hello, Captain."
"Please, call me Steve," the Avenger replied. "May I come in?"
"By all means," Stephen said, opening the door all the wider. Gwen dropped her hands, letting the shields disappear in a shower of golden sparks. The man that walked in was tall, about the same height as her father. He had blonde hair that was neatly combed and trimmed. He had a clean shaven face and piercing blue eyes. He was solidly built and wearing a simple black shirt with blue jeans and sneakers. "This is my daughter, Guinevere. I call her Gwen," Stephen introduced them.
Steve gave her a polite nod. "How do you do?" he asked kindly.
Gwen tried not to snort at the old fashioned sounding sentence. "Fine, thanks," she answered.
"Let's go find a place to sit," Stephen said and he led them to a sitting room towards the back of the Sanctum. There were two chairs waiting there.
Steve tried to let her have the seat, but she stubbornly insisted that he take it. Reluctantly, he took the seat. "So, do you mind explaining how you found out about this place?" Stephen asked, with a note of accusation in his tone.
"I'm sure you've heard about what's happened in D.C.?" Steve asked and they both nodded. It was all over the news, how both SHIELD and Hydra had fallen, and the destruction of the Triskelion building. "When I was investigating Hydra's affairs, one of their agents told me that they were keeping track of people they thought might be threats to them. Your name was on that list."
Stephen's eyes widened in surprise. He couldn't think why he would be considered a threat to Hydra. Unless they somehow knew about his presence here at Kamar-Taj. But how could they know?
"Hydra has spies everywhere," Steve said, answering his unasked questions. "That's how they found you. They had a file on you, too. That's how I found out about you and found you."
"Is there anyone else that knows about this place? About us?" Stephen asked urgently.
Steve shook his head right away. "No. Well, the other Avengers know, but no one else. That file was one of the first that I had restricted to the public."
Stephen leaned back in his chair, exhaling in relief. The last thing that needed was everyone knowing about the Mystic Arts. Gwen was relieved too. She couldn't imagine how many enemies that would attract if everyone knew about their existence. It was bad enough to know that Hydra had known about them.
"So, why are you here?" Gwen asked the captain. He turned to look at her. "Obviously you want or need something from us. Otherwise, you wouldn't be here."
Slowly, Steve nodded. "I have a job offer for you," he said, addressing Stephen. Stephen said nothing, so Steve went on. "You'll recall Loki, who attacked New York last year. The king of Asgard wants him to serve a year long sentence on Earth, performing community service as punishment. He'll be entrusted to our care. Thor has to return to Asgard, Stark is busy running a company, Barton disappears often, and Romanoff and I are hunting down remaining Hydra agents while searching for Buck- The Winter Soldier," he explained. "We can't be there to guard him around the clock. We need someone to guard him. When the other Avengers and I read your file, we realized that you have powers similar to that of Loki. You would be his equal."
"I'm sorry," Stephen said, raising his hand. "I'm sorry to say it, but I can't take this job." Steve's shoulders fell. "I already agreed to guard this Sanctum. I can't just abandon it."
"I understand," Steve said. There was a long, unbearably awkward pause.
"I'll do it," Gwen suddenly said, without even thinking about it. Both of the men turned to look at her. "My father and I have the same amount of training, the same skill set. He's agreed to guard the Sanctum, but I made no commitment. I can do it."
"I, uh, yes," Steve said, nodding. "Yes, that would be fine. As long as it's ok with you." He turned back to Stephen.
Stephen, however, was looking at Gwen. "Would you excuse us for a minute?" Steve nodded and Stephen and Gwen walked down the hall until they were out of hearing range. "Gwen, are you sure about this?" he asked her. He didn't like the idea of his little girl guarding a murderous immortal god. It scared him just thinking about it.
Gwen nodded, which surprised her. She had offered to do it without even thinking about it, really. It just seemed like the natural thing to do. "I am," she said.
"I'm not sure you've really thought- "
"Did I ever tell you what the Ancient One's last words to me were?" she asked him, cutting him off mid-sentence. Gwen never cut him off. He shook his head in response to her question. "She told me that I needed to step away from trying to follow in your footsteps," she said. "She also said that my destiny was connected to another world. What if that other world is Asgard?" Her father did not respond. Deep down, he knew that his daughter was right, but he didn't like the idea of her being so far away. "I have a feeling about this. I think this is what the Ancient One was referring to. If not… Well, what's the harm? They need help."
Stephen allowed a small smile. "Since when did you care about helping people?" he asked her teasingly. He had suspected that the battle against Dormammu had changed her quite a bit, but never this much. She was gentler now. Still quick to anger but also quicker to calm down. She smiled more often. She was still sarcastic, but she also knew when to stop. It was amazing how much both of them had changed over the past year.
Gwen made a face and shook her head. "I don't. But you know… It could be fun putting some all powerful god in his place." She shrugged. Her father chuckled and nodded.
"Alright. It's your decision, but you have my blessing," he said.
"Not that I need it, but thanks, dad," Gwen said back. Stephen rolled his eyes a little, but said nothing. With that, they rejoined Steve, who was standing, eagerly awaiting their answer. Gwen approached him with an outstretched hand. "Captain Rogers, you've got yourself a wizard on your team. When do I start?"