Chapter 12

Temperance wondered how anything surprised her anymore. In this new world she'd been living in for the past few years, there were millions of new "firsts" one could experience in a lifetime. So many, in fact, that there's really no way of naming them or guessing which one might come next. Today marked the first (but not the last) time that Temperance saw a man seventy feet tall.

"What the hell?" Temp murmured, her head tipping toward the sky as she tried to behold him in full. She had just been thrown into a shipping container, where the corrugated metal had crumpled under the force of impact. Wanda - who'd used Temp's body to practice her telekinetic hammer throw - didn't look the least bit sorry as she moved on to engage with someone else. This was fine, in theory - Wanda knew that Temp could take the impact. The problem was that she'd been almost as rough on Nat. When Wanda used her abilities to grab Nat by the foot and throw her around, Temp had intervened and invited the young girl's wrath on herself.

Temp watched as the giant began tearing apart a plane and throwing the pieces. One piece narrowly missed Tony as he flew by, and several of the others scattered to avoid the explosion. Temperance's expression darkened, her eyebrows knitting together. The other side was being so reckless, and she was quickly growing tired of it - they didn't even seem to care if their friends got hurt. Things were getting out of hand.

"Okay, anybody on our side hiding any shocking and fantastic abilities they'd like to disclose? I'm open to suggestions." Tony said over the radio in Temp's earpiece. Temperance pushed herself to her feet.

"Parker. Tag team?" She asked over the radio. She and Peter had gotten separated when she ran to assist Nat, but Temp hadn't worried too much about the kid, since she saw that he was engaging with Steve, who was sure to go easy on him when he realized how young Peter was.

"You got it," Peter replied, swinging around the large man in an effort to confuse him, "Hey Temp, have you ever seen that really old movie? Empire Strikes Back?"

Rhodey and Tony shared an exchange about how young Peter was, but Temp ignored it, making her way toward the fight again as Peter continued "You know when they're on the snow planet? With the walkie thingies?"

Temp smirked as she ran, heading for one of the only planes that was left on the tarmac. The kid really was a genius. "I go high, you go low?" She asked Peter, who made an affirmative sound. He swung low and began to string webbing around the man's ankles.

"Rhodey, a hand?" Temp said as she neared the plane. Rhodey swooped down and grabbed her outstretched hand, dropping her on-top of the plane as he ascended back into the sky. Temp watched as the man stumbled back and forth in response to Peter's wrangling.

"Bring him just a little closer, Peter." She said. The plane was only waist-height on the man, but Temp had a pretty good leap on her. She only needed to land higher than his center of gravity. The rest was all force. As the man stumbled right around the tail end of the plane, she took off in a running start and leaped high when she reached the end, landing a full-bodied kick to his stomach. Though the kick landed lower than she'd intended, the force was still enough to knock him off his balance, and he fell, shrinking back to his normal size as Temperance crashed to the pavement, rolling several times from the momentum. She heard him groaning in the aftermath.

"Does anyone have any orange slices?" He asked. Temp rolled to her side, preparing to push herself back to her feet.

"What's your name?" She asked, wincing. Her head had bounced off the pavement in the fall, and the resulting headache had already begun.

"Scott," He groaned, clutching his side. She wouldn't be surprised if he had a few bruised or fractured ribs. "Scott Lang."

Temperance nodded, before glancing over at the vehicles that were now rushing onto the tarmac. "I think you're about to be arrested, Mr. Lang."

The sound of a jet engine caused her to flinch and she cursed as it flew over their heads. Steve and Bucky had stolen their ride.

"Temp!" Tony called before taking off after the jet, "Stay with the kid."

Temperance saw Peter laying among the debris of some destroyed crates and rushed to help him up.

"You okay?" She asked, brushing his suit off a bit as he got to his feet.

"Yeah," He said, though his eyes were wide as he nodded. His mask had come partly off in the scuffle, "Mr. Stark says I'm done."

"Yeah," Temp agreed, watching the authorities flood in and surround Clint. She fixed Peter's mask, pulling it back down all the way. "Come on, let's get you out of here. The less Ross knows about you, the better."

"Who's Ross?" Peter asked as she led him away.

"The secretary of state," she answered, causing his spider-suit eyes to widen.

"The secretary of state is here?" He asked, "What would he want with me?"

"Your identity for one thing," Temp replied, leading him into an empty hangar, "He doesn't like vigilantes."

"I'm not a vigilante," Peter argued.

"Actually, you are," Temp said as she found an entrance back into the building and led him inside after checking in both directions for signs of other people, "And you don't want to get wrapped up in this accords stuff, trust me."

"I guess not," Peter agreed, "Hey, do you think I did okay? Like, was it what Mr. Stark had in mind?"

Temperance slowed down and threw a reassuring smile over her shoulder. This kid was quickly growing on her, "You did great, Parker. You showed up half the people out there without even trying."

"Thanks, you were really good, too," Peter assured her.

"Yeah, we make a pretty good team," She agreed.

"Oh, definitely," Peter said eagerly, "So, does this mean...I mean...am I on the team?"

Temp's smile fell a bit. She didn't even know if there still was a team, "We'll see, Peter."

Soon after Temperance had delivered Peter safely back into the hands of Happy Hogan and said her goodbyes, she got the call. She now stood with Tony, watching with teary eyes and a tight throat as Rhodey went through the MRI scanner.

"How?" She asked, clearing her throat.

"It was an accident," Tony replied. "Wilson ducked and Vision hit him instead. Knocked out his power systems."

"Is he gonna be okay?" She followed-up, though she wasn't sure she wanted to know the answer.

"He shattered L4 through S1. Extreme laceration to the spinal cord."

"Paralysis?" Temp asked, her voice barely above a whisper. Tony nodded. She could see from his eyes that this was another thing that would stick with him forever, and she wanted to scream for all the things he already carried on his shoulders. And Rhodey...who'd only ever been the good, and just, and sensible one of the group. Who only ever wanted to do what was right regardless of personal interest. It wasn't fair.

"Romanov let them go." Tony added. Temp's head turned to look at the side of his face, surprised by the revelation. She didn't know if she could handle anymore surprises.

"Does Ross know?" She asked. Tony nodded.

"They'll be here to start processing her any minute."

Temp's eyes twitched just a bit as she chewed the inside of her cheek. They were falling like dominos, and at this rate, there would be nobody left at the end. She felt a flare of anger at Steve for allowing this to happen. For tearing their family apart solely on principle.

"Friday, what am I looking at?" Tony asked. Temp glanced over to see him looking at his watch.

"Priority update from Berlin Police." Friday replied. Tony stared at it for another moment before giving Temp an ominous look. Temp had a feeling that she still had many more surprises in store before all of this was over.

"Friday, fire up the chopper."

"So it wasn't Barnes?" Temp asked as they sat in the chopper, swiping back to an image that Tony had swiped through too quickly on the holoprojector.

"No. He was wearing facial prosthetics," Tony replied, swiping forward again in annoyance and reading the next bit of the file, "The whole thing was a setup."

"And this is the guy?" Temp continued, unfazed, swiping back to the picture once again. "Helmut Zemo?"

"He was Sokovian Intelligence," Friday chimed in. Sokovian, Temperance's mind echoed as a chill ran down her spine. "Zemo ran Echo Sporpion, a covert Sokovian kill squad."

"I don't like this, Tony," Temp said, "Why frame Barnes and drag us into this? What could this guy possibly have to gain from it?"

"I don't know, Temp," He replied honestly. "Friday, send these files to Ross."

Temp shifted in her seat to face him. Everything was so messed up, and now it was only the two of them. "What are we going to do now?"

When Temperance stepped off the helicopter, she felt so heavy that she was sure she wouldn't be able to pick up her feet anymore if she learned anything new. She followed Tony dutifully and nodded at Secretary Ross as he moved to greet them.

"So, you got the files?" Tony asked him, "Let's reroute the satellites - start facial scanning for this Zemo guy."

"You seriously think I'm gonna listen to you after that fiasco in Liepzig? You're lucky you're not in one of these cells." Ross replied, his tone severe.

"We didn't break the accords," Temp reminded him with a dour expression, "Unless existing is enough to get us thrown in prison, too."

Ross chose not to address the accusation, instead leading them toward a heavily guarded door that slid open for them as they approached. As they walked, Temp snuck a wary, sideways glance at Tony, who was already watching her. The two shared a long look, having wordlessly reached an understanding. They were finished playing Ross's game. Temp was relieved.

They passed through a dark room full of security monitors, and then Ross ushered them toward the holding area, where the round room was lined with heavily-barred cells. Temperance stopped short in the control room, catching sight of Wanda on one of the monitors. She was staring eerily into the camera, as if she already knew they had come. Temp noticed that she seemed to be sequestered by herself in a solitary room. She was wearing a straight jacket.

"I want to see Wanda."

"Maximoff isn't taking visitors right now," Ross said.

"What's she going to do?" Temp asked wryly, "Glare at me? I want to see her."

Temperance's tone was firm, but she resisted the urge to pull on Ross's cords, which were curling away from her like she was the plague. He didn't trust her as far as he could throw her - and he couldn't even pick her up. She felt him give in a little, though, and then, to her surprise, he nodded at someone behind her who came up to escort her to Wanda's cell. She sent a reassuring nod to Tony that he could go ahead without her, and the two parted ways.

When Temp entered Wanda's cell, the door slid shut immediately behind her. She tensed a little bit, not liking the idea of being locked inside. She couldn't imagine being locked in here and being physically restrained by a straight jacket. Wanda didn't even turn her eyes to greet her, still staring menacingly at the camera in the corner of the room.

"Wanda?" Temp said, breaking the silence as she stepped further into the room. Wanda was sitting on the floor, propped up against her cot. Temp went to the opposite wall and slid down to a sitting position so that she was facing her. Wanda's eyes snapped down to meet hers, and they felt uncomfortably vacant.

"What did they do to you?" Temp asked softly.

"What do you care?" Wanda asked after a moment, her voice rasping. Temp's eyebrows furrowed, and she tried to ignore the pang of hurt the words caused. Just a few days prior, when they were sitting in a dimly-lit room in Lagos, Wanda had found comfort in her. Had looked to her for help and protection. And Temperance had provided it. How could she say that Temp didn't care?

"What happened?" Temp asked, fighting to keep her voice even. "You were home, and you were safe."

"I was on house arrest," Wanda argued. Temp could see the veins in her neck popping out from the force of the words.

"You were laying low," She retorted, "That's what happens after a media shitstorm. Sometimes you have to lay low. Why couldn't you just trust me?"

"So I'm supposed to live my life in the shadows?" Wanda said, "Because that's what's best for the Avengers' PR?"

"Because stepping out gets you here," Temp replied, "because, like it or not, we don't make the rules. This is the world we live in - I'm trying to help us navigate it."

"I was going to wind up here no matter what. This is exactly what they had in mind for me when they wrote those laws. The laws that you signed off on. No matter what I do, people will always be suspicious of me. They will always fear me."

"Yeah? Why don't you tell me what that's like?" Temp interrupted, her tone hard. Wanda paused, eyeing her for a moment.

"You should be more understanding, then." Wanda said, "It's only a matter of time before they throw you in here, too. They'll find a reason."

"Yeah, that's the difference, though, isn't it? I don't give them a reason."

This seemed to hit Wanda like a slap in the face.

"So that's it, huh?" She asked coldly, "You're better than me. Because you choose not to use your ability. Because you can choose not to care who you are."

"I'm not saying that," Temp argued, "Wanda, you were throwing cars at people. Our friends."

"They didn't get hurt."

"Rhodey did." Temp fired back, her voice rising, "and it could've just as easily been any of us, the way that you guys were fighting." Temp stopped for a moment and exhaled deeply, trying to regain control of her emotions. "Look, I didn't come here to fight. I wanted to make sure that you're okay. Once things settle, I'm going to push for better conditions for you all. Have they drugged you at all?" She asked. Wanda seemed relatively coherent right now, but Temp knew a straight jacket wasn't enough to control her - they had to be taking other measures to subdue her. Wanda snorted derisively and looked away, her expression turning sad.

"You can't fix this, Temp." She whispered. Temp opened her mouth to respond, but a loud buzzer sounded, and the door slid open, signalling that her time was up. Tony must've succeeded in knocking out their audio systems and caused them to panic. She nodded at the guard waiting at the door and stood.

"Hang in there, Wanda," She said, though she was sure it fell on deaf ears, "It'll all get straightened out."

When Temp reunited with Tony, he could immediately see the tension in her shoulders. They walked briskly down the catwalk to the helicopter.

"You okay, kid?" Tony asked, eyeing her.

"Did you get it?" She murmured back, ignoring the question. He nodded discreetly as the helicopter door slid open. Ross called out from behind them as Temp climbed into the vehicle.

"Stark," He said, "Did he give you anything on Rogers?"

"Nope, he told me to go to hell," Tony lied easily, "I'm going back to the compound instead, but you can call me any time. I'll put you on hold - I like to watch the line blink."

The helicopter door slid shut, and it immediately took off. Temperance tried to force herself to relax and take a few deep breaths now that she wasn't being watched anymore. The sight of the floating prison was enough to make her panic about the state of things. What kind of overstep would it take for her to end up there herself? And how would she ever get the others out?

"I take it Maximoff wasn't a welcome sight," Tony broke the ice, glancing at her.

"We can't leave her in there, Tony," Temperance said, panic seeping into her voice, "She's young, and she doesn't have anyone."

"She's an Avenger," Tony told her firmly, leaning forward to force her to make eye contact with him. "She'll always be an Avenger. We're gonna look out for her, and she's gonna be okay. She has us."

Temp nodded, still trying to manage her emotions, and exhaled deeply, returning Tony's stare. The look that passed between them was clear - they weren't actually talking about Wanda. Tony placed a reassuring hand on Temp's knee and squeezed. The gesture grounded her.

"I'll have Happy bring the jet by so that you can head back to the compound," Tony told her, pressing a few buttons on his watch.

"No." Temperance said firmly, "I'm going with you. I want to find Steve."

"Temp, you're-"

"It doesn't matter. We're low on numbers, and you don't even know what's waiting for you. You can't go alone."

Temp's tone left little room for argument. Tony was the only constant in her life since her father died, and she wasn't going to let anything put that at risk. Tony was quiet as he considered it, his brow furrowed with concern. Temp's lips quirked into a reassuring little smile.

"Besides, I'm not exactly fragile, Tony. What's the worst that could happen?"

"If there's one thing I've learned by now, it's that there's no use trying to negotiate with you." Tony said, a small smirk pulling at his lips as he shook his head.

"Good," Temp replied, "So where are we going?"

"Siberia."