Warning: This chapter contains depictions of grief (loss of a parent) and the aftermath of a large-scale disaster. If it's not something you can read, but you'd still like to know all the pertinent information from the chapter, feel free to stop by my tumblr (username: siren-meets) and send me a message.

Chapter Seven

When aliens attacked Manhattan, the world changed irrevocably. The evidence of it was all over midtown, where rubble still covered the streets, and buildings stood in disrepair. The 24-hour news cycle was relentless, and the panic was widespread. Everyone had to find a way to move forward, knowing that earth was not alone in this wide universe. They had to find a way to sleep anyway. But for the people who lost something more than a building, or a car, or the ignorance of what's beyond our atmosphere - sleep evaded them the most. Temperance Ward, as one of these hapless souls, didn't give a damn about aliens.

Although it was days before the crews had actually found him. Temperance knew that her father was gone when she saw that the offices of Ward & Crantz had fallen in the invasion. She didn't remember the walk home to her apartment later that evening, or her assurances to the others that she wanted to be alone, and that she'd be okay. All she knew was that, as the dust of Loki's chaos settled onto the streets of New York, she was alone in her apartment, and she was alone in the world.

Today, she had emerged to begin making arrangements for her father's funeral. Tony and Pepper had promised to help her with the process, so she had come to Stark Tower to meet them. Walking through the aftermath of the battle had been surreal, and she felt guilty for not helping with it more. She wasn't the only one who had lost someone. Some were still hanging in suspense, worrying, because their loved ones hadn't yet been pulled from the rubble.

She hadn't meant to stay in her apartment all this time. But every time she had considered leaving, she was overcome by the reminder that the one person she'd had in this world - her one refuge - was gone. But that same reminder - that she was the only person he'd had on this earth - had also dragged her back out. She had to take care of his affairs.

"We've all been terribly concerned for you," Thor told Temperance when she entered the penthouse of Stark Tower, placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Thank you," She whispered.

"I know you probably had some questions that you wanted to ask your father," Thor continued, his tone sympathetic. To be honest, she hadn't thought too much about it. None of it seemed to matter after she received the news.

"Yeah, I did." She agreed.

"Well, I just wanted a moment to speak with you, because I haven't had the opportunity to be completely honest with you," Thor continued. Temperance fidgeted, looking around anxiously. Whatever this was, she wasn't sure she wanted to hear about it right now. She was tired of learning new information. She needed time to deal with everything else she had heard in the last week.

"Okay," She replied weakly after a moment.

"You're not the first person I've met that can do what you do," Thor told her, getting straight to the point. Temperance waited, eyeing him - he'd managed to catch her attention.

"You mean the persuasion?" She asked, then amended, "the alleged persuasion?"

"Yes. It's rare, but there have been a few other Asgardians with this talent."

"Asgardians?" Temperance parroted. "You think I'm Asgardian?"

"That part I'm sure of," Thor said. Temp considered it. It would explain why she could take so much damage and still walk away from a fight, but it certainly wasn't the only possibility. "I hate to put all of this on you right now, but you see, I'm taking Loki back to Asgard to serve his prison sentence today, and I think he may know more." Thor explained.

"What makes you say that?"

"The way he spoke to you on the helicarrier." Thor reminded her. She had forgotten about that - and she'd definitely forgotten that the others had been listening to all of it. "I was thinking that I could bring you to speak with him. Before we leave."

Temperance's throat felt dry.

"It's up to you, kid." Tony interjected, stepping into the room to announce himself. Temp chewed on her lip as she thought about it.

"Um," She began, "I appreciate the offer, but...I don't think so." She told them, clearing her throat. Thor and Tony exchanged a look, and Tony gestured for him to give them a moment alone. Thor obliged, murmuring a half-formed excuse as he left the room.

"You said it's up to me," Temp reminded Tony, already defensive.

"I know, and it is," Tony said, "But why don't you take a seat and just think about it for a minute, because it's not something you can change your mind about later." He told her, his tone soothing as he pulled out one of the kitchen island stools and helped her into it. He pulled one out next to her and took a seat as well.

"Is this about facing Loki?" He asked, "Because if it is, I'll go with you. Hell, I could go for you, if you just tell me what you wanna know."

"It's not Loki," Temp said, "My dad kept all this from me for a reason. Maybe he was right. Maybe I shouldn't know any more than I already do. Maybe the best way to honor him is by staying in the dark."

Tony nodded, taking a moment to form his response.

"I don't know exactly what Alan's plan was...but I know that he loved you more than anything. Until now, the best way for him to love you was to keep you in the dark. Keep you safe. But now, things have changed, and the best way to love you is to help you understand who you really are. I'm sure that's what he would be doing if he were here." He said gently. Temperance didn't respond for a moment. Her eyes filled with tears that she didn't want to cry - she was so exhausted from crying - and she swallowed the lump in her throat.

"If I do this," she tried to explain, "if I learn too much, I can never go back to the way things were." She said, her voice thick.

"Temp, I think you're already there." He told her as tenderly as he could. "Things aren't going to be the way they were."

Temperance's lip quivered, and she pulled it between her teeth to stop it.

"I just think," Tony continued, "That eventually, when the dust settles, you'll want to know."

Temperance nodded after a minute.

"Okay. I'll talk to him," She said, clearing her throat in an attempt to make her voice stronger. "But I don't want to be there long, because I need to get on with the other stuff."

"Of course. We'll drop in, see what he knows, and then be gone." Tony insisted, getting up.

Temperance looked at Loki through the glass of the detainment room. Thor had asked if he could take Loki outside for this discussion, but S.H.I.E.L.D. had been adamant about not letting him out of their sight while he was still on earth. It was already a big deal that they were letting Thor return him to Asgard for sentencing, so Thor didn't push the matter.

"You ready?" Tony asked. Loki's head turned to watch her, and she had to remind herself that the other side of the glass wasn't transparent. Still, he managed to look her directly in the eye, and she willed herself not to look away. If he hadn't come here, her father would still be alive. Her shoulders tensed at the thought, and she willed them to relax, pushing the thought away. Anger wouldn't get her anywhere in this interaction, and it wouldn't bring her dad back.

"Yeah," She finally responded, "Can you guys wait out here?"

"Sure. If you change your mind, just say the word." Tony told her, shoving his hands into his pockets. Temperance took a deep breath and turned to Thor, nodding. He opened the electronic locks on the door, and she went in.

Loki didn't look up at her right away, instead fiddling with his thumbs until she sat down in the chair across the table from him. When he did look up, it was with that same wolfish smile he always had plastered on his pale face.

"Here we are again," He said, leaning back in his chair comfortably, bringing his cuffed hands into his lap. Temperance didn't respond. "I suppose they've sent you to get something out of me again."

Temperance stared at him wordlessly, and he took in her appearance. Her hair was unruly, and her eyes were puffy with bags. She didn't sit nearly as tall as she had the first time they'd spoken - the confidence and the determination was absent. She didn't much care if he cooperated with her today, and he could sense it.

"On the helicarrier," she began softly. "You said that you know what I am."

Loki's eyes searched hers in the ensuing silence, putting the pieces together.

"And you don't," he replied, realizing the truth of why she'd come.

"I know that I'm Asgardian," She said, though he could see her watching his reaction closely for confirmation that it was true.

"Did my brother tell you that?" He asked. Temperance nodded. "And what else did he tell you?"

"Not much," She admitted. "He thought you might know more about it."

Loki's smirk grew at the admission.

"Of course I know more about it," He answered smoothly. "My brother couldn't recognize such magic if his life depended on it, and I speak from experience, believe me."

"Magic?" she echoed. Loki's smile grew again.

"I recognized the signature the moment you opened your mouth. Nobody wields magic like that except Amora."

"Who is Amora?" Temperance asked, leaning forward in her chair the slightest bit.

"Your mother, I'm guessing. You're the spitting image," he said, adding as an afterthought "though, her hair wasn't as dark."

"And how do you know her?"

"We've had our dealings," He explained, "She's a bit of a black sheep in Asgard, too, to put it lightly. Pops up from time to time and causes all sorts of trouble. Though, I don't believe anyone's seen her in a while...how old are you?" He asked. His tone had taken on a taunting quality. He knew that this information was troublesome for her. Temperance refused to answer, gritting her teeth.

"Anyway, I suppose this is where she disappeared to after her banishment. The point is, you're not just any Asgardian."

Temperance raised an eyebrow, urging him to continue, and he did.

"You're a sorceress. An enchantress. A cunning minx who happens to have an affinity for magic." He told her. He wanted to get under her skin and burrow around, and he was succeeding. "Of course, you're only a shadow of what your mother could do. Your magic's weak, and your blood's been tainted with migardian rubbish. Your father's obviously -"

Loki was interrupted as the metal table, which Temperance had been gripping hard from underneath, flipped to his right and hurtled into the wall with a loud crash. He glanced at the now empty space between them. It had been bolted to the floor. Temperance had risen from her seat and was towering over him threateningly, her fists clenched. She forced herself to utter the words as calmly as she could.

"My father is dead. Thanks to you."

Loki's eyebrows furrowed the tiniest bit as he was confronted more personally by the consequences of his actions, but she didn't stick around to see it, immediately turning around to press the door buzzer and make her exit.

After her conversation with Loki, Temperance went right back to locking herself in her apartment whenever she wasn't dealing with her father's arrangements. The team agonized over what to do about it. The Avengers had made the decision to go their separate ways, but none of them felt good about leaving while Temperance was heartbroken, despondent, and confused about her identity. Thor even returned to earth after delivering Loki and the tesseract to Asgard, insisting that he spend an extra few weeks helping to get Temperance sorted out. He was, after all, her only connection to Asgard.

One week after her father's memorial service, and two weeks after the attack on Manhattan, they managed to get her to Stark Tower again. Stark had been working on renovations and repairs, and had insisted that she come over to look at something he'd developed. She agreed, knowing that she would eventually have to come back to work anyway.

"What is this?" Temperance asked, looking around at the large open room with matted floors. The entire team was waiting inside, and Temperance wondered briefly why they were all still in New York.

"This is our new training room. Well, floor." Tony answered.

"It's...nice." Temperance replied, not completely able to feign interest.

"Well, we didn't just bring you here to see it." He told her. She glanced hesitantly around the group.

"It's time to figure out what you can do." Nat said.

"I really don't think -" Temp began, crossing her arms over her stomach.

"Temperance, I've gotta tell you - I don't think you're doing your dad any favors by locking yourself away and denying who you are." Tony told her. "If you don't want to do this, that's fine. But you've got to find a way to keep living."

Temperance chewed on the inside of her cheek, willing herself not to cry as she considered his words. She had been actively repressing the information that Loki had given her. Every moment that she thought about that stuff instead of mourning her father felt like a betrayal. But she wasn't alone in her apartment anymore, and she wouldn't be able to ignore it forever.

"I can try," she said after a while.

"Good," Tony said, throwing an affectionate arm around her shoulders. "It'll be good for you, I promise. And you can still wear yoga pants every day."

Temperance ignored the not-so-subtle jab and let him guide her to the center of the room. Thor and Natasha followed, and Steve, Clint, and Bruce stood off to the side, watching.

"Does everybody have to be here for this?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

"They all want to help." Thor said. "We're going to put you through a number of tests."

"Tests?" Temp echoed.

"Yeah," Tony jumped in, "Later, Bruce and I are going to hook you up to some machines and see what we can learn about your make-up and what happens when you're being persuasive."

Temperance sighed at the thought of being poked and prodded by Tony and Bruce.

"Right now," Thor began, "We're going to see where your natural affinities lie."

"My natural affinities?" Temp repeated.

"Is there an echo in here?" Tony quipped, earning a glare from her. "There she is!" he exclaimed triumphantly, glad to have finally gotten some kind of reaction from her.

"Every Asgardian has their own special affinities," Thor explained. He was wearing training clothes as well, his hair pulled back into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.

"Like the strength and durability?" Temp asked.

"No, that's just your physiology. These are abilities - more like talents." Nat interjected. They'd obviously already been discussing this for a while. If Temp had to guess, Nat was probably the one who had masterminded this whole intervention to get her out of her apartment.

"So what kind of abilities are we talking about?" Temperance asked as Tony shoved a water bottle into her hands.

"Well, there's horsemanship," Thor began. Temp sent Nat an incredulous look.

"We won't test that one right now." She interjected as Thor continued to list off abilities on his fingers.

"There's combat, marksmanship, weapons proficiency, allspeak-"

Tony continued to pester her about the bottle in her hand, so she took a drink of it, giving him a silencing look.

"What affinity did her mother have?" Nat asked with furrowed eyebrows. This brought Temp's attention back to the matter at hand.

"Amora, as you know," Thor addressed Temperance, "was a master of persuasion, particularly when it came to the manipulation of men. She was also highly skilled in all matters related to physical pleasure."

Temperance choked on her water, burying her mouth in the crook of her elbow to cover her coughs. Thor, oblivious to her discomfort, reached out to give her a helpful pat on the back.

"I think we'll save that one for another day, too." Tony said, "although, as a quick aside, I would like to know how you know that."

"Everyone in Asgard knows that," Thor replied with a casual shrug, "It's common knowledge."

"Alright, well, let's stick to what's most relevant for now. Combat." Steve said, earning a thankful nod from Temperance.

"Right," Nat said, "We saw a little bit of natural instinct from you during the invasion, but I wanna see how far that extends. Asgardians are supposed to be a warrior race. Steve, why don't you help us out?" She called. Steve came over, and Tony and Thor stepped off to the side.

"Him?" Temp asked. "Why not you?"

"He packs a harder punch." Nat answered with a smirk as she backed away from the pair.

"Exactly," Temp said, exasperated. "I should start with something ea-"

Temp was cut off as Steve's fist came flying at her. She pivoted to the side, just barely leaning away from it in time.

"Nice reflex!" Clint called out from the sidelines, impressed. Steve delivered a side hook next, and she ducked under it, backing up as he advanced on her.

"Stop!" She growled, frustrated.

"Don't stop!" Tony called. Steve tried to hit her once more, and when she dodged it, he stuck out his foot and tripped her.

"I can't believe you're helping him bully me. Bitter ninety-year-old man." Temp grumbled from the floor.

"Hey, he's trying to help you," Tony argued, "And you're gonna hurt his feelings."

"I was talking about you, Tony." She called as she climbed back to her feet. The team erupted in cheers as the insult landed, and Steve tried to suppress his laugh. Temp took the opportunity and swung at him. He dodged it, surprised.

"There you go!" Nat yelled, fully invested. "That's it. Get in one hit, Temp. Just one hit."

The two of them circled each other. Once again, Steve made the first move, and she dodged it.

"Quit holding back, Rogers." Clint called out.

"She's agile," Steve admitted. Temp shook her head. She was sure he could have hit her by now if he really wanted to. She tried to hit him a few more times, and he blocked every time. She noticed how he kept his arms up to protect his face and brought her own arms up so that she could do the same. Clint gave out a low whistle as he noticed her picking up on it. He glanced down at their feet.

"She's already adopted his footwork," He pointed out, a hint of disbelief in his tone. Temp had tuned the others out, focused closely on the rhythm of the fight. She decided to pull back and let him advance on her, since she couldn't get past his blocks.

He moved in quickly, and as she dodged, she realized that his right-hand swings left him open. The next time he struck with his right fist, she pivoted to the side and grabbed his arm, yanking it forward to throw him off his balance. As his upper half leaned forward, her leg came up to meet it in a swift kick to the abdomen. Not wanting to give him a chance to recover, she immediately followed up with a downward swing to his jaw. She hadn't expected to knock him to the floor, and she gasped when he rolled over to reveal that his lip was bleeding. The others were whooping and hollering in the background.

"I'm sorry! Are you okay?" She asked, helping him up. He laughed.

"Next time, we fight for real." He said.

"I told you to stop going easy on her." Clint said.

"How do you feel?" Nat asked Temperance. She was already eyeing the table set up on the other side of the room.

"Is that a sword?" She asked eagerly, walking over to it. Tony and Nat shared a relieved look and a smile. Temperance Ward was officially on her feet again.

Temperance was pretty good with a sword, better with daggers, and absolute rubbish with a bow and arrow. Shooting with a pistol turned out to be a lot more difficult than a large chituari gun, and shooting bullets was much harder than shooting large beams of energy. Natasha had been incredibly patient with her bad aim, but Clint was having more trouble. He ran a hand over his face as he watched her miss the target for the fourth time in a row.

"I told you, your elbow is too high."

"Okay, I'm trying." Temperance replied, her voice rising in frustration. Pulling the bow string back properly required her to tense up a lot of muscles, and her arms were still sore from swinging a heavy sword around, not to mention the times that Thor had clocked her in the ribs with his own fake sword. He hadn't gone nearly as easy on her as Steve had. "This is obviously not one of my affinities."

"Why don't we take a break, and you can visit Stark and Banner down in the lab." Natasha suggested. The two men had excused themselves to go and prepare her 'tests' about an hour ago. Temperance sighed - she didn't like being evaluated in front of everybody, but they would never rest until they knew what she could do, and if she had to do it, she'd rather get it all over with now.

"Okay, now tell her to put her hand on her head," Bruce said. Temperance was currently sitting across from Nat in a glass cell that Tony had built in the center of the room. Bruce and Tony were speaking to her through an earpiece - they had decided that the test results would be more accurate if the person being 'persuaded' couldn't hear all of the commentary. Both women had what felt like a thousand electrodes stuck to their bodies, the readings for which appeared on a series of monitors that Tony and Bruce were watching closely. Thor, Clint, and Steve stood behind them, trying and failing to make sense of the readings themselves.

"Put your hand on your head." Temperance told Nat, staring intently into the woman's eyes.

"No." Nat said. Temperance could hear the men groaning through the earpiece, and she shot them a reproachful glare.

"Think hard about it," Tony told her, and she resisted the urge to roll her eyes.

"Wait, I have a better idea." She said. The men leaned forward in their seats as Temp focused hard on Nat again. There was a long, tense moment as everyone waited. "Simon says put your hand on your head."

Everyone groaned again. "Come on, Temp, you're not taking this seriously." Clint said, leaning forward to speak into the mic. Of course she wasn't taking it seriously - she still hadn't fully bought into the persuasion theory. In fact, she hadn't bought into it at all. She turned back to Nat without arguing - the team was trying to help her, after all. She was quiet for a long time, and the rest of them went silent as well, not wanting to break her concentration.

"Touch your chin," She told Nat, trying to surprise her with the command change. Nat shifted the slightest bit, but shook her head, instead moving to clasp her hands together. Temperance's eyes narrowed when she felt it.

The sensation was faint and difficult to pinpoint; she'd certainly never noticed it before, but it was there. It felt like a cord that extended from Natasha was whipping around in front of her, but as quickly as it appeared, it was miles away. Having noticed it, she felt the insatiable urge to reach out with her mind and tug on it - hard.

"Maybe we should make her medita-" Tony was saying in her earpiece.

"Shut up, shut up, shut up," She interrupted him quickly, glaring hard at Natasha as she attempted to get it back.

"I said, touch your chin." She repeated. Natasha's eyes narrowed and Temperance felt the cord again. Her mind practically dove for it, and for a glorious, triumphant moment, she thought she had grabbed hold of it, but it slipped away again and disappeared.

"Damn it!" She exclaimed, falling back against her chair in defeat.

"Woah, hold up!" Bruce said, "Try that again."

Temperance put a hand on her forehead - she was exhausted and the frustration of failure now had her at her wit's end. She didn't want to do this anymore. "There's no point. It's not working. She didn't even move!"

"No," Tony replied, looking down at the readings, "but she wanted to."

Temperance looked back at Natasha, who gave the barest of smiles.