Chapter Four

The third time Temperance ran into Stephen Strange, she was in Central Park. When she first spotted him, she considered turning the other way and acting like she hadn't seen him. A twinge of guilt over the temptation pushed her forward - he hadn't really done anything to her. Besides, he had already spotted her. In fact, the way he approached her with purpose indicated that this encounter wasn't coincidental.

It had been a month since he told her about her parentage. She had kept the information to herself, opting not to tell Tony and Pepper. They had been enjoying each other so much lately, and she hated feeling like her problems made her the center of gravity in their relationship. Besides, in truth, the revelation hadn't delivered the killing blow to her sense of identity that it would have a year ago. She didn't know all the circumstances surrounding her birth, but she knew that her father had chosen to make her his own - probably knowing the risk she brought with her. He'd loved her better than anyone, and this new information only strengthened that assurance.

She stopped in front of the wizard, tucking her hands into the front pockets of her jeans.

"Dr. Strange," She greeted with a nod.

"Temperance," He responded in kind, "please, call me Stephen."

After their last two encounters, he'd been uncertain about how she'd receive him. She didn't seem too upset to see him, but she'd been in good spirits last time, too, and the encounter had still gone south very quickly. He had resolved not to approach her again, until...well, until necessity forced his hand.

"I need your help." He told her, shoving his hands into his pockets. Temperance gave him a once-over. This was the first time she'd seen him wearing normal clothes - dark jeans, a white t-shirt and a gray zip-up sweatshirt. The image was so different from the peculiar one she'd committed to memory, and it was a bit jarring.

"With what?" She asked, putting a hand to her brow to shade her eyes from the sun. They hadn't established the kind of relationship that included favors, but getting involved in other people's problems was a hard habit to break, and it had been a while since someone besides Peter had needed her help.

"Can I take you somewhere?" He asked, his voice lowering to keep the conversation confidential as he stepped closer. Temperance instinctively took a step back, but then steeled herself. She looked up into his eyes, debating the proposal. She didn't exactly know him. But he had seemed to want to help her, even if his approach was ill-judged. It seemed appropriate to extend the same goodwill, and her gut told her she could trust him.

"Okay," she said after a moment. A flash of yellow sparks appeared next to her, and she gave him a wary look as the portal materialized.

"It's alright," he assured her, "Just step through. I'll be right behind you."

"You alright?" Stephen asked, putting a steadying hand on Temperance's back as she swayed on her feet.

"Yeah." She replied, a hand to her temple. "Do you ever get used to that sensation?" She asked. She felt like her stomach had turned inside out.

"Sooner than you'd think," He told her, the corner of his mouth pulling up.

"This is where we're going?" She asked, taking a look at their surroundings. They stood on a sidewalk in front of an assisted living home. She followed him inside and signed her name on the sheet at the front desk when Stephen finished writing his own name and slid the clipboard toward her. They asked to see her ID, and she provided it, pleased to see that the women working the front desk either didn't know or didn't care who she was as long as she signed in and followed the rules.

Temperance hadn't recognized the name Stephen gave when asked who he'd come to visit, and it made her more curious and uneasy about the favor. What if he was going to ask her to use her ability on somebody? The desk workers buzzed them through, and Stephen led her down the hallway and around a corner. They stopped outside of an open door and Temperance glanced into the suite to see an old man sitting in a chair by the window. He had white hair and a beard, and Temperance was positive she'd never seen him before in her life.

"How much do you know about Odin?" Stephen asked in a low voice.

"Not too much," Temperance answered, "Thor's told me a little bit about him." Her eyebrows rose, and she glanced back over Stephen's shoulder at the old man, putting two and two together, "wait, that's him?"

Stephen's expression confirmed it, and Temperance's eyes widened, "How? Why is he here?"

"I don't know," Stephen said, "I was hoping you could help me figure it out."

"How long has he been here?"

"I'm not sure. I just discovered him about a month ago. He's here under a fake name, and as far as I can tell, nobody is visiting him besides me. I've tried speaking to him, but his mind is...not quite right. I think there's some kind of magic at work." He replied, glancing at the man in question, "I was hoping it would help him to speak to an Asgardian. And that you might know how to ask the right questions."

"I've never met him, and I know very little about Asgard…" Temperance replied with uncertainty, "but I'll try."

"Thank you." Stephen said earnestly. He gestured for her to go in ahead of him, and she took a deep breath before walking over to Odin and taking a seat in the open chair near him. Stephen stood nearby.

"Odin?" She said softly. He continued to stare at the window through his uncovered eye. She glanced uncertainly at Stephen, who nodded for her to continue. "All-father?" She tried again. That caught his attention - he slowly turned to face her, revealing that his right eye was covered by an eye patch.

"Yes, my child." He replied automatically, as if it was a reflex response his brain had held onto.

"Do you know where you are?" She asked him, rubbing her hands on her knees to dry her sweaty palms. She'd heard a lot about Odin from Thor and hadn't formed the best impression of him, despite Thor's high regard. Odin stared at her unflinchingly but did not respond.

"Do you know who I am?" She asked calmly after a long pause. She didn't expect him to, but she was trying to get him talking - get him thinking. She might as well start with an introduction.

"Of course I know who you are, Amora." He said, noticeably irate. Temperance's breath caught in her throat. "How many times have I told you that you can't trick me?"

She glanced at Stephen, whose expression urged her to press on.

"Right." She replied, feeling guilty - she really was going to trick him. Just like her mother, apparently. "How...how long has it been, Odin?"

"Apparently, longer than I thought." He told her. "You seem different."

His eyes were searching hers suspiciously.

"So do you. You seem...lost. Do you know how you got here?" She asked, her voice still soft. He scoffed.

"Like you don't know, Amora. You were always conspiring with my son." He told her gruffly. "Leading him astray from such a young age."

She tried to ignore everything he was saying about her mother - resist putting together the pieces of her life that were being spewed out, so that she could do what she'd promised Stephen - she needed to figure out why he was here.

"Your son did this?" She asked, her brow furrowing. Thor's face had been the first to pop into her mind, but then:

"That's what happens when you have mercy on a god of mischief. My reward for adopting such a child."

"Loki." She breathed, looking to Stephen. He nodded, pleased with the revelation.

"Odin." He addressed the man, clearly wanting to take advantage of this moment of clarity. "Do you remember why Loki sent you here?"

"Would've been difficult to use my seat if I was still in it," He said simply.

"Loki's on the throne?" Temperance asked, "In Asgard?"

"I've had enough for today, Lady Amora. If you could send Frigga in on your way out, please." He said resolutely. His mention of Thor's mother made Temperance deflate - they'd lost him again. She shook her head at Stephen, and he nodded toward the door, telling her they'd done enough.

"I'll be back to see you soon, Odin." She assured him gently. She didn't know why she said it - she didn't know if she would be back to see him, but it seemed like the right thing to say. When they emerged into the hallway again, she turned to Stephen.

"So, Loki's usurped the throne." He began, all business as they walked down the hall and straight through one of his portals. Temperance considered reminding him that they hadn't signed out, but didn't want to seem like a stickler for rules. The portal spit them back out on the sidewalk, and Temperance crossed her arms, ignoring the vertigo feeling as she turned to face him.

"It looks that way."

"Do you think he'll come back for earth, then?" He asked morosely. The idea clearly didn't sit well with him.

"I don't think so." Temperance replied. He raised an eyebrow at her certainty.

"I've spoken to Loki before," She informed him. "His end game has always been Asgard. I think earth was just the means to an end. After Manhattan, we sent him right back where he wanted to be." She explained, guilt solidifying in her gut like a rock. She wondered what state Asgard was in. What state Thor was in. This could be why they hadn't heard from him in so long. Was he wandering around lost and confused in a magic haze somewhere, too? And all this time, the Avengers had been on Earth bickering like children. She didn't realize she'd begun to chew nervously on her lip, and now Stephen was watching her. She suddenly felt the need to retreat.

"Well...I'm sorry I couldn't be of more help." She told him, beginning to back away.

"Do you like Chinese?" He asked.

"Do I like…?" She repeated, trailing off as she stared at him.

"Chinese food. Do you like it?"

She gaped at him for another moment.

"Yes," She replied, though the inflection of her voice made it into a question.

"Do you want to get some?" He asked, his sudden confidence not waning.

"Well, I was…" She began to gesture in the direction of central park but stopped herself. "Okay." She found herself saying. Once she said it out loud, she realized it was what she wanted -what she needed- right now. It was that, or go back to her lonely apartment or lonely office and sulk. "Yeah, okay." She repeated, more enthusiastically this time. He looked a bit surprised, as if he'd expected her to say no, but nodded.

"Alright then, I'll just...I know a place." He explained, creating a portal. "Is it okay if…?" He trailed off, motioning to it.

"Yeah," She said with a small laugh. "I think I'm already adjusting to it."

"So...do you just…never use transportation?" Temperance asked before biting into a steamed pork dumpling. They were sitting inside the restaurant Stephen had chosen at a table by the front windows. A storm had begun to roll in after they arrived, so the sky had darkened, and rain was falling to the pavement in heavy sheets.

"Rarely." Stephen admitted, popping a piece of sweet and sour chicken into his mouth.

"What a convenient ability." Temperance mused, envy in her voice. She would kill to live in New York without experiencing the headache of transportation.

"More convenient than being able to make people do anything at any time?" He challenged lightly, and Temperance shifted uncomfortably.

"I'm serious." She said. "You can do that all you want without having to worry about hurting anyone."

He conceded that point to her, nodding. She took a sip of her water, biting the straw in the silence that followed.

"So, when did you become a...sorcerer?" She asked. The title still sounded so strange to her ears.

"A few months back," he told her. Her eyebrows raised. She didn't think that was the kind of thing you could just learn. "I was trained in a monastery of sorts."

That was enough context for their first real conversation about it, Temperance decided, opting to move on. She didn't like it when people showed too much interest in her own abilities, so she didn't want to pry.

"What did you do before that?" She asked.

"I was a surgeon." He replied.

"Oh, wow. Why start learning magic with a salary like that?" She asked jokingly.

"I...lost the dexterity of my fingers." He told her. "In an accident."

Temperance thought back to the time she'd seen his hands shaking and not thought anything of it. She was ashamed that she hadn't thought to display more sensitivity. She'd done what she'd been trying to avoid - pushed deeper in conversation than the occasion called for. She pushed down the urge to apologize when he mentioned his accident. She didn't want him to think she was pitying him.

"Well, for what it's worth, Sorcerer Supreme is a much more impressive title than surgeon." She said instead, smirking at him over her water glass. The corners of his mouth pulled up the tiniest bit, and he looked back down at his food.

"You said Tony Stark is the only Avenger you keep in contact with." Stephen reminded her, changing the subject. She nodded. She secretly prayed he wasn't going to ask her about the others or about what happened. She'd accepted this invitation so she could distract herself from all of that for a while. And, you know, maybe make a new friend for once, instead of moping over her old friends and her old life.

"So, you two are close?" He asked. She was relieved that he had enough tact to put a positive spin on the subject.

"Very," She confirmed, putting her water glass down, "Tony and I are like family. We knew each other before The Avengers. I worked for him."

"Oh, really?" Stephen said, leaning forward a bit in interest, "what did you do?"

"I was a contract negotiator," She answered. He chuckled.

"I bet you were good at that," He guessed, "where did you go to law school?"

She shifted uncomfortably.

"I didn't," She replied, "I actually didn't finish school."

"Really?" Stephen said, disbelieving.

"Really. I got an internship at Stark Enterprises, and then I moved up the chain so quickly that it seemed silly to leave all of it and go to school."

"And you say your ability isn't convenient." He joked, taking a bite of white rice.

Temperance bit the inside of her cheek and adjusted the napkin laying in her immediate instinct was to retort, but she held back, not wanting him to think that she was insecure about her intelligence. She knew that she was bright and hardworking, and that was all that mattered. She wasn't insecure about that - but she'd be lying if she said she wasn't still insecure about what she could do. She didn't like to think about the possibility that she'd been coercing people on her way to success her whole life before she learned to be aware of it.

Stephen seemed to have picked up on her discomfort.

"I didn't mean to suggest-" he began, but she cut him off abruptly.

"I know. It's okay. Trust me, I'm used to people thinking all kinds of things about what I can do." She assured him. He sighed, his guilt clearly not assuaged.

"I manage to offend you every time we meet." He acknowledged, placing his hands flat on the table as he leaned back in his seat. Temperance smiled at that, feeling better now that he'd put it out in the open.

"Well, luckily for you, I spend a lot of time with Tony Stark, so I'm used to it." She replied, "and he doesn't even attempt to hold back."

"I take that to mean there's a chance our friendship will survive," He said.

"I hope so." Temperance replied without taking a moment to think about how forward it might sound. The corners of his mouth lifted, and he opened his mouth to reply but was cut off by a buzzing sound. Temperance's phone had begun vibrating on the table, and the noise was jarring enough to make her jump. She glanced at the screen. Peter.

Her gaze darted between Stephen and the phone. Knowing Peter, it probably wasn't anything important, but with the trouble he sometimes got into, she didn't like to take that risk.

"I'm sorry, would you mind-" she asked, feeling like a jerk.

"No, of course, go ahead." He urged her. She gave him an apologetic smile and swiped the phone screen to answer it, placing it to her ear.

"Peter?" she said, "what's up?"

"Hey Temp, I think I might need your help with something," Peter said, getting right to the point.

"Is everything okay?" She asked. His tone was the kind that a teenager used with their parents when they were trying to break some news gently.

"Yeah, I'm okay. I'm just...well, I'm sort of stuck."

"Stuck where?" She pressed, mouthing a 'sorry' at Stephen. He was doing a good job of pretending like he wasn't interested in the half of the conversation he could hear.

"In a...bank vault?" Peter answered after some hesitation.

"What?" Temperance barked, louder than she intended. Stephen leaned forward, his eyebrows furrowed in concern, "Where?"

"At 5th and 20th." He told her sheepishly.

"Okay, sit tight. I'll be right there."

"Should I call the police?" Peter asked.

"No, just...don't do anything. Just wait for me." She insisted, hanging up before he had the chance to ask any more questions.

"I am so sorry," Temperance told Stephen, pulling out her wallet, "I have to go."

"Is everything alright?" Stephen asked, beckoning the server over to their table. She'd apparently already printed the bill, because she pulled it out of her apron pocket and handed it to Stephen.

"Oh, can I get mine separated so I can-" she began to ask the woman, but Stephen cut her off.

"No, I've got it." He insisted, already slapping a few bills on the table.

"Thank you so much. I owe you," She said, slinging her purse over her shoulder and heading for the door. Stephen told the server to keep the change and jumped to his feet, following her out.

"Temperance!" He called out as he caught up to her on the sidewalk. It had stopped storming, but the ground was still littered with puddles. She was trying to hail a taxi, "Look, I don't want to slow you down, but perhaps I could help."

"No, it's...complicated." She replied, thinking about Peter's secret identity. She needed to get him out of that vault without anyone realizing he'd been in there. The police already didn't like Spider-Man, and she was sure they'd love to pin whatever had happened on him if they found him inside that bank. She growled when a taxi passed her without stopping. Stephen grabbed her shoulders gently and turned her so that he could pin a firm stare on her.

"I'd like to help you. You can trust me," He told her. Temperance sighed, her thoughts still moving too quickly. It wasn't that simple. She would have to...what? Use her strength to destroy the vault door? Call someone who worked at the bank and persuade them to let him out and never tell anyone? Her stomach turned at the thought of having to do that, "at least let me take you where you need to go." Stephen insisted.

That caught Temperance's attention. Of course. Maybe it was that simple.

Stephen stood next to Temperance, looking up at the large brick building - the bank she'd asked him to take her to.

"Inside the vault?" He repeated. Temperance turned to face him, nodding.

"I know it looks bad," She said, "but I promise, it's not. A friend of mine was trying to stop a bank robbery, and he got stuck inside."

"Alright then," Stephen replied, glancing around to make sure nobody was watching before he created a portal.

"Now I really owe you." Temperance told him gratefully, surprised that he hadn't needed more convincing. The two of them stepped through the portal.

"Woah!" Peter exclaimed, jumping back as Temperance stepped through the circle that he'd just leaned forward to inspect. "Temp! What was that?"

Stephen stepped through the portal behind her, walking right into her back when she stopped short to address the teenager.

"Are you okay?" Temperance asked, eyeing the boy up and down. Peter barely heard her, watching Stephen with curiosity. He wasn't wearing his mask, and there was no point in grabbing for it now. The man had already seen him.

"I'm fine. Who's that?" Peter asked, gesturing to Stephen. Temperance rolled her eyes.

"How did you get here?" She asked, ignoring his question.

"Temperance, perhaps this is a conversation best held elsewhere," Stephen spoke up from over her shoulder.

"Right," She agreed, "could you take us back to my apartment?"

"Of course," He replied, conjuring yet another portal. Peter's eyes widened.

"We get to go through that?" He asked, his voice rising in anticipation.

"Yes." Temperance told him flatly, grabbing his shoulder and pushing him through ahead of her. When they arrived in Temperance's apartment, Peter grabbed his head, groaning.

"It'll pass." Stephen told him. Temperance motioned for Peter to sit on a bar stool and went to grab a first aid kit from the bathroom. He'd managed to cut his forehead. Peter obeyed, and Stephen stood with his hands in his pockets. An awkward silence fell on them once Temperance left the room. Stephen eyed Peter's costume.

"I'm Peter." Peter said with a timid, tight-lipped smile.

"Doctor Stephen Strange."

"That's a cool name." Peter replied. Temperance hurried back into the room with rubbing alcohol, cotton pads, and a bandage.

"So let's hear it," She told the boy, pouring some alcohol onto a cotton pad and dabbing it to his forehead. He glanced hesitantly at Stephen, "He's okay." She assured him. That was all the assurance Peter needed.

"Well, I was in the middle of making these guys put back the money they stole from that bank, and they managed to trip the alarm and slip out before the doors shut," He explained, "Are you gonna tell Mr. Stark?"

The last bit sounded apprehensive, and she gave him a sympathetic smile.

"I don't suppose there's any reason he needs to know," She replied.

"Thanks, Temp," Peter said, visibly relieved. He glanced over her shoulder at Stephen, who had drifted away to give the two some privacy and was pretending to be interested in the wall art in Temperance's living room.

"Were you on a date with that guy?" He asked, his expression turning mischievous.

"No," Temperance replied in a hushed tone, indicating that he should also keep his voice down.

"He said he's a doctor. Are you dating a doctor?" He continued, and though he'd lowered his voice a bit, too, it was clear that Stephen could still hear them.

"No," Temperance repeated, her voice now holding a warning in it, "I'll tell you more about it later." She pressed the cut on his forehead harder, and he jerked back with a loud ouch. She smirked triumphantly, placing a bandage over it, "There. All better. You should get home before May worries."

"I was kind of hoping I could grab a shower before I head home. I fell into a dumpster earlier, and May's gonna be on my case if she smells it, and I really don't feel like telling this story ever again," He explained. Temperance took in his hopeful expression and sighed. She had a very hard time saying no to Peter Parker.

"Alright. You know where it is," She caved, nodding toward the bathroom.

"Thanks, Temp," He exclaimed, jumping up and moving in to hug her. She reared back out of his reach.

"After. After the shower. Go."

He hurried off to the bathroom, and Temperance turned to face Stephen with an apologetic smile.

"So, that's Spider-Man," Stephen began. Temperance chuckled, nodding.

"Yep, that's him."

"A little bit young to be going after criminals, isn't he?" He asked, moving back across the living room to stand in front of her. She shrugged a shoulder.

"Yeah, well...teenagers, you know? They do what they want."

Stephen chuckled at that, and Temperance smiled. Stephen stepped closer, and Temperance reached up to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear, suddenly looking for something to do with her hands.

"Listen, I can't thank you enough for helping with that," She began, her voice lowering in volume as he stopped just two feet in front of her.

"You helped me with Odin. It's the least I could do," He reminded her. She'd almost completely forgotten that they'd been to see Odin earlier that evening.

"Right, about that. I meant what I told him. About visiting again. So, I'll keep an eye on him - let you know if I learn anything else," She told him, choosing to shove her hands into the back pockets of her jeans so she would stop fiddling with them.

"You don't have to do that," He insisted.

"No, I do. I don't know where Thor is, but I do know that he wouldn't want Odin to be alone like this," She argued gently, "He was there for me when I lost my dad, and I just...I owe him this."

Stephen nodded, clearing his throat and taking a step back. "Right. Well...from what I hear, Odin is a force to be reckoned with, so let me know when you plan to go back, and I can come with you."

Temperance nodded gratefully. There was a long moment where the two held eye contact and said nothing, before Temperance heard the bathroom door open.

"Temp?"

She looked over to see Peter's head poking out of a crack in the door.

"There are no towels in here."

"They're in the hall closet. I'll bring you one in a second," She called. He thanked her and closed the door before opening it again.

"And some clothes?"

Temperance rolled her eyes playfully at Stephen, and the corners of his mouth quirked.

"I'll see what I can find. Give me a minute," She called again. She turned her attention back to Stephen.

"So, if I want to get a hold of you, do I have to use some kind of summoning circle?" She joked. Stephen's eyes crinkled at the corners. The card he'd left for her had only an address.

"I'll leave my number with you."

By the time Peter emerged from the bathroom in the sweatpants and t-shirt Temperance had given him, Stephen had left, and Temperance was sitting on the couch with her feet propped up, scrolling through an app on her phone.

She heard the sound of the tv clicking on as Peter plopped down on the couch next to her, holding the remote. His feet settled on the coffee table next to hers, and she used her own foot to push them off.

"You're supposed to be going home," she reminded him. May really would be starting to worry if he didn't at least call to check in.

"So how'd you meet that guy?" He asked, ignoring her remark, "who is he? Is he going to be an Avenger?"

"Yeah, about him," Temperance said, returning the gesture by ignoring his questions, "You know how I said I wouldn't tell Tony about the bank vault?"

Peter nodded.

"Well, how about we both just agree not to tell him about tonight at all."

Peter's eyes narrowed just a bit, evaluating her as he thought about the proposition, "You don't want me to tell Mr. Stark about this Strange guy," he said, "Why?"

It was a good question, and she didn't know the answer to it. She wasn't sure why she wanted to keep this from Tony for now. Maybe she was enjoying having this to herself - the discovery of Odin on earth and the things she'd learned about her own past through Stephen. Her whole life had been steeped in the Avengers Initiative for years, and everything she did was Tony's business - was everyone's business. But not this.

"It's not a secret. It's just not any of his business," She tried to explain. His eyebrows raised.

"So, the two of you are…?" He trailed off, his eyebrows waggling just enough to show what he was implying.

"No," she said, "he's just helping me figure some things out. That's it."

"Oh." Peter replied, his expression thoughtful, "So… is he from Asgard?"

"No, he's a sorcerer. He's charged with protecting this realm or something."

"A sorcerer" Peter repeated, "that's so cool."

"It is pretty cool." She agreed after a moment, taking the spoon from him and stealing a bite of moose tracks.

"I should've had him put me back in my room before he left, huh," He said after a moment, earning a laugh from Temperance.