This is more of an interlude now that we are moving into the next phase of the story. Expect a time jump (probably bigger than you think!) in the next chapter.

Chapter Eight

Tony had explained the readings to her as well as he could (the jumping lines indicated the increased brain activity in the person being influenced, yadda yadda), but the truth was, he and Bruce couldn't actually tell her anything about how her abilities worked. It was a wearying subject for Temperance, and, since someone working in the lobby of Stark Tower had overheard and leaked the information to the media, it couldn't be ignored. She had been staying at Stark Tower for about a week now, partially because the media was so interested in her, and partially because the team was still concerned about her being alone.

Siren. That's what they had taken to calling her in the news reports. Just saying the name left a bitter taste in her mouth, and she wished there was a way to erase it from the public consciousness. She knew, though, that it would be like a childhood nickname - once it took hold, it was impossible to control, impossible to erase.

She wondered, against her better judgement, what her mother looked like. She must have been beautiful, but the picture that Thor and Loki had painted of her wasn't a pretty one. She had been deviant. Manipulative. Banished. Temperance had taken to thinking of her in the past tense, though no time frame existed in which she'd actually known the woman. Nobody had seen her in a long time, and Thor had reasoned that she was either dead or lightyears away, living a new life and making new mischief elsewhere. It was just as well, for Temperance, to think of her as dead.

At first, it had bothered her to think of what had possessed her kind and gentle-hearted father to love such a woman. Then, thinking about what Thor had said, it made her sick to think about. A master of persuasion, particularly when it came to the manipulation of men. The picture Thor had painted was that of a woman who used people without hesitation - who charmed them into servitude and then disposed of them the moment they became inconvenient. Is that what had happened to her father? Had he no choice in the matter? Her chest clenched when she imagined this scenario, knowing that her father had never treated her differently for it - had always shown his daughter the tenderest affection. And she had the same ability, the same dark potential, hiding in her all this time.

The team readily sensed that this was a touchy subject for her, and Tony had suggested turning their attention to her physical qualities and abilities. He had attached wireless electrodes to her and forced her to spar hand-to-hand with Natasha, and sword-to-sword with Thor. Exercising her combat affinity wasn't easy. The observation phase took time; she couldn't pick up on a person's fighting style and start anticipating their next moves until about halfway through the fight, which meant that she always spent the first half getting her ass mercilessly kicked. Her form was still sloppy, but she was learning quickly. By the end of her first fight with a person, she could just barely hold her own. By the time she'd fought with the same person multiple times, she could be a worthy adversary. Natasha was the one exception. She was an innovator and knew how to use her body in clever ways to inflict harm. Just when Temperance thought she sensed a pattern, Nat would adapt and come up with something new to get around her ability.

The readings for these tests still meant nothing to Temperance, but they were apparently gold for Tony, who had immediately begun designing a protocol in his suits to help him analyze combat styles and compile defensive responses.

Temperance sat on the couch in the common area of the floor she'd been staying on at Stark Tower. The sun was setting in the floor-to-ceiling picture window behind her, but she didn't turn around to watch it. She couldn't bring herself to look at the damaged buildings, and she knew her eyes would dart to that gap northwest of here where her father's firm used to jut sharply into the sky and reflect the sunlight.

"Dinner's here," Thor spoke as he walked down the two shallow steps that led into the living space, "Stark ordered out."

Temperance nodded with a close-lipped smile and a "thanks," but didn't move to get up. Thor watched her for a moment before coming to sit next to her. She shifted, pulling her legs up underneath her. He would be going back to Asgard tomorrow to deal with his own affairs, and Nat, Clint, and Steve would be going their separate ways soon after. Tonight was the last night they would all be together for a while.

"You can come with me, you know," Thor said. "To Asgard. You would be welcomed there."

Temperance smiled and patted him on the knee gratefully, "I appreciate the offer, but I can't leave New York. Not right now."

Thor didn't argue. He had been hesitant to offer, knowing that the shock of traveling to another world was probably too much after what she'd already been through in the past few weeks. She needed time, that much was clear. It was also clear that she was not comfortable with her powers of persuasion. Thor had given his own theory as to how the abilities worked.

When the conditions were right (a stressful situation, an emotional response, etc.) Temperance subconsciously cast "spells" on people. The cord, he said, was probably the person's will responding to, and fighting against, the enticement. If she grabbed it and pulled, she could bring them into line. If not, they slipped away, and everything was normal.

It wasn't a terrible theory, Temperance thought - if she believed in magic. Still, regardless of the source of the power, she thought he was probably right about the mechanics of it. It was somewhat comforting, knowing that she had some semblance of control. She couldn't control her subconscious coaxing, but she could choose not to "pull the cord." Thor had encouraged her to hone her abilities better, but Temperance had resolved not to use them at all.

"You're not her, you know." Thor said, pulling her from her thoughts. "You're nothing like her."

"We don't know that." Temperance said quietly.

"I do." He assured her.

"You don't understand," She said, turning to face him more fully. "There's an urge that

comes with it. A temptation. I may not be like her now, but I could become her."

"Then become something different," he told her, as if it was the simplest solution in the world. "Who would you rather become?"

Temperance turned to look over her shoulder at the damaged skyline of Manhattan. The sun had just disappeared behind it in a sea of pinks and purples. As if pulled by a magnet, her eyes drifted northwest, and she bit the inside of her cheek. There was no shimmering reflection, no jutting corner. Just a gap, begging to be filled.

When Temperance finally caught a moment alone with Tony, it was at two o' clock in the morning. He'd been sitting in the bar area of the lounge room for a while now, and Temperance knew that he'd gotten about as much sleep as she had since the attack. She didn't know what he'd seen in that wormhole, but it had certainly affected him in a profound way. Her stomach sank when she thought about how far out of his way he'd gone to watch out for her and comfort her in the last few weeks.

"Pondering the secrets of the universe?" She asked, announcing her presence as she sat next to him at the bar.

"Trying," He quipped, pushing off his elbows and leaning back in his seat so that he could look at her, "I had almost solved time travel, but you interrupted, so there goes that."

Temperance chortled, "We'll just have to do without." She joked. Her smile fell a little bit as the melancholy settled back in. It sure would be nice to go back to a few weeks ago. She pushed the thought away - it wouldn't matter. Things happen exactly as they should. She needed to believe that. "How are you holding up?"

Tony was perplexed by the question - after all, he hadn't lost anyone. His eyebrows furrowed and he nodded, "I have bruises that I'm starting to think are permanent, but other than that, I'm alright."

Temp nodded, too, though she didn't believe him.

"What about you?" He asked, watching her closely, "What's been going on in that head of yours?"

Temperance was silent for a minute, and just when Tony was certain she wouldn't respond, she blurted, "I want to rebuild Manhattan."

It certainly wasn't what Tony had expected her to say, and he wasn't exactly sure what she meant by it, but there was a familiar spark in her eye that had been missing lately, and he jumped at the chance to keep it there. "Okay. What do you have in mind?"

"We make a division of Stark Enterprises that exists solely for rebuilding and reparations," She explained as Tony poured her a glass of wine. "I would work with the city on plans, supervise the use of the funds, manage the publicity aspect - you wouldn't have to do anything."

She could see the gears working in Tony's brain, "Would we need to manage the building ourselves? Move into construction?"

"No, we would use contractors," Temp explained, taking a sip of her wine. "My dad knew pretty much every contractor in town. I can think of five off the top of my head right now who would definitely work with us. And these guys are good - they know how to stick to a schedule."

Tony smiled softly as he watched her piece through the plans, completely in her element. "I think if I talk to the city, I can probably get them to contract Ward & Crantz to do some of the building plans, too. My dad's house has dozens of sketches and floor plans that I haven't even seen before."

Tony and Pepper had been surprised when Temperance had left Stark Tower earlier that day and hadn't asked too many questions - after all, all of the other Avengers had gone their separate ways earlier in the week. Why shouldn't Temp disappear for a few hours to be alone as well? Tony was surprised, however, to hear that she had gone to her father's house to look through his things. He made a mental note to offer his and Pepper's assistance for next time.

"I have to say, it sounds like a solid idea, Temp," He said, and he saw her smile, fully, for the first time in weeks. "There's only one problem."

"What's that?" Temperance asked, her brow furrowing.

"I'll have to find another assistant," He said with a teasing smile.

"You do go through those pretty quickly, huh?"

"Yeah, well, they keep promoting themselves. What can you do?" He replied with a shrug.

Temperance, Pepper, and Tony went to city hall and negotiated their involvement with the clean-up of New York the very next day, emerging with an agreement that pleased Temp well enough. City government had been receptive to the idea - though the attack wasn't the fault of the Avengers, their involvement in the cleanup made sense after their involvement in the conflict. Already, some media outlets were questioning whether the Avengers cared at all about the mess they had left behind, and the mayor appreciated that Stark Enterprises was willing to step up and ease those doubts.

When the work started, Temperance oversaw Stark Enterprises' involvement in every aspect. She organized contracts with local contractors, solicited designs and feedback from her father's design firm (and his personal collections), and managed all spending. She worked with the city of New York to develop an ideal timeline for the revitalization efforts and kept a firm hand with all contractors to ensure that the schedule was adhered to. Temperance became the face of revival efforts in New York City, and the message of her philanthropic efforts could be best summed-up in the televised speech that she was asked to give once at a gala celebrating the inauguration of a hospital in midtown that had been rebuilt quickly, with high priority:

"After I learned that I lost my father, a very good friend told me that I had to find a way to keep living. That seemed impossible at the time, especially with so much destruction right in front of us. But he was right. Heroes aren't just people who win fights and save lives. Heroes are people who get up again - who rise when the dust settles and find a way to continue living their lives. A large community of heroes has come together to make all of this possible, and it's my hope that these changes will be embraced as a way of remembering, as well as a reminder of the hope that lies ahead."

About a year into Temperance's new work, S.H.I.E.L.D. decided that they wanted to get involved. The proposal was that Stark Enterprises join forces with their department of Damage Control to ensure that all alien technology and weaponry that they had found (and continued to find) during the clean-up process was appropriately handled.

Temperance was adamant about her disapproval, but in the end, Tony's appeal for diplomacy won out. They were wary of S.H.I.E.L.D. after the incident with the nuclear warhead, and Tony had argued that, if Temperance was able to oversee Damage Control, she'd at least be privy to what they were doing. The merger had meant that many of the contractors Temperance had hired were laid off, and she had itched so badly to meddle with the people at S.H.I.E.L.D. more than she should.

Now that she had a better sense of when her abilities were activating, they were difficult to ignore. When a person was susceptible to influence, it was as if Temperance was a cat, and someone was dangling a feather on a string, back and forth across her face, so close it tickled. In fact, part of the hardball, no-compromise persona she was achieving in the business world was due to the fact that she would often cut people off and abruptly walk away without explanation in order to avoid the temptation. She was determined not to use this advantage, ever, and though the temptation was almost always present, it soon became a normal part of her daily grind. On some days, when she didn't interact much with anybody, it was almost - almost - possible to forget that she was even different. But then those invisible cords would tap on her shoulders again, and she would remember everything. The niggling question would form in the back of her mind, when will the world need the Avengers again?

It would only be a matter of time before the call came, and when it did, she knew she would have no choice but to answer.