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Chapter 23
Jade sat in her chair on the Hellicarrier, chewing her lip nervously. The whole team was filtering into the briefing room slowly. Tony was the first, and he immediately pulled her into a hug. "Alright, who's the relative?"
"Eh…" She said, rubbing the back of her head nervously.
"Alright, what's wrong? That's always a dead giveaway." Pepper said. "For both you and your father."
"I'd rather just get it out in one go."
"That bad?" Tony asked.
"We have tried to tell her it isn't something that truly matters. Well, I have, Loki just tried to rile her up with the information."
Loki just shrugged and grinned. "It was too big to pass up. Be fair, she did stamp on my foot."
"After I got fed up." Jade muttered.
When the team and Fury were in the room, Fury cut straight to the chase. "Well, is she related to an Asgardian or not?"
"She is sitting right here, and yes, I am."
"Well who?"
Jade mumbled something under her breath.
"Jade, we didn't quite catch that." Tony said, frowning. "Come on, it can't be that bad, can it?"
"Amora."
"Ok, I think I misheard, did you say Amora?"
"She did, Tony." Thor said.
"Well, that's alright. I mean, if she's as far back as you suggested she would be Loki, she's not going to take any interest in Jade, is she?"
"Not unless she thinks she can use Jade for one thing or another, no." Loki said. "But, it would be better to keep her in the dark, all the same."
"See Jade, there's nothing to worry about." Tony said, pulling her into a one armed hug.
"My birth mother was adopted by the Evan's." Jade said. "Her side of the family has a few more surprises. Three to be exact." She said.
"Ok, tell me, whose coming to Christmas dinner from now on?" Tony asked.
"None of them. Never. Not even if two of them ever get out." Jade shook her head.
"They're in prison?" Pepper asked. "They're own fault. Nothing you should be ashamed of."
"It's her grandparents and great uncle. She doesn't like them being on her family tree, and I can understand why." Thor said.
"Are they anyone we need to be concerned with? Wouldn't they be old by now?" Clint asked. "I mean, they couldn't be any real threat, right?"
"They're… ummm…" Jade was chewing on her lip, trying to think how to say it. It didn't help that Steve was sitting right across from her.
"Jade, whoever they are doesn't change you. You're a good kid. They've had no influence on your life." Steve said kindly.
Taking a deep breath, Jade spoke again after a moment. "My biological grandfather on my mother's side is Gellert Grindelwald and my grandmother is Evelyn Schmidt- the younger sister of Johan Schmidt, and yes, I do mean the Red Skull."
The room was completely silent when they heard this. Clint, Bruce's and Tony's jaws dropped. Steve just stared at her, mouthing the name Schmidt over and over again, a bit like a goldfish.
"Come again?" Fury asked.
"I did try to get her to picture the family dinners but she was having none of it- must you stamp on my feet?!" Loki cried. "For a small thing you can't half put some force behind slamming your foot down." He grumbled.
"If you bring up family dinners again, it won't be your foot next time." Jade replied. She looked nervously around the room at people, trying to gage their reaction.
"You're telling me that Schmidt had a sister we didn't know about?" Steve asked, finally breaking out of his stupor.
She nodded. "Pretty much." She replied.
"Damn." He muttered angrily. Jade looked down at her hands which were entwined in her lap.
"Captain." Loki said motioning with his head towards the girl sat next to him. Steve's eyes widened as he realised how Jade had taken his reaction.
"It's just… if he finds out about Jade- it's not as if he's going to want to be a part of her life, the guy wouldn't give a crap- what I'm worried about is that he could try and use Jade. She's powerful, even if she is still learning. He would want to turn her into a weapon if he found out about her. Think about it, how's he going to see this? He's going to see a missed opportunity to have the perfect weapon. What if he had been the one to raise her? Schmidt would have been able to mould her into the perfect weapon for him to use. He finds out about this, then he'll be looking for a way to turn the tables in his favour."
"Roger's is right. This information doesn't leave this room. The last thing we need is to have the Red Skull bothering us as well. We do have a large problem in the wizarding world to deal with." Fury said. "If Schmidt discovers the truth, then things will start to get complicated."
"Things are already complicated." Tony said. "Did you see the way the press in the magical world tore into Dumbledore just for having a friendship with Grindelwald? What would they do if they found out Jade was his granddaughter?"
"I don't want to find that out. Ever." Jade said. "Is there a way to perhaps erase that information from my mind?"
"Tis probably best for you to retain the information, young Jade." Thor said.
"Thor is right. You may need it someday. For what, I don't know, but you might." Loki added.
"Is there any way to make absolutely sure that this doesn't get out?" Bruce asked.
"Not recording it on the database would help. And none of us talking about it when there is even the slightest chance of it being overheard by someone else. That will be all we can do." Fury said. "If there's anyone else who knows- well, we'd better hope that they keep their silence on the matter."
"Well then, is that all?" Tony asked. "I think we should perhaps head back to the tower. Especially after that bombshell. Pep, remind me to become the moody relative no one likes to visit once I get over this shock. I don't want any of them turning up on the doorstep."
"Alright Tony." Pepper said, humouring him.
"Alright Kiddo, lets head back. Don't you have lessons to concentrate on?"
"I don't get the day off?"
"With Voldemort after you? No."
"Aw, but daaad!" The rest of Jade's protests were cut off as they left the room, the family of three not noticing that the majority of Jade's tutors were all still in the room.
"Well, that was unexpected." Clint said.
"Tell me about it." Fury muttered. "Has Jade had any luck opening that diary?" He asked Loki. "Have you for that matter?"
"None. There is some sort of locking charm on it. It should release after a specific time or event. What that is, I don't know."
"That may have the information we learnt today inside it. If so, it needs to be gotten rid of. Add to the fact that it could have a more in-depth account of what happens to make the future go so pear shaped Jade had to send information back to fix it. We need to know its contents, and soon."
"I'll see what else I can do." Loki said. "The spell is complex. If I didn't know better, I'd say I did it myself. As it is, I believe it was Jade who sealed the diary."
"Then why can't she unseal it?"
"She's not that well trained yet. Her future self had years more practise on her."
"See what you can do. Now, unless there is anything else, I think that is all for today." With that, the team left the room in a hurry, the first members of the team plus Loki heading out to Stark Tower.
A/N: Not as good as I would have liked, but I spent quite some time trying to make it better, but my mind was drawing blanks on this one. I hope you enjoyed, please review- Angel.