May 1, 2015

"You know, you can plug your music into the car and then we can both hear it."

"I know, but I prefer it like this," she replied as she scrolled through her playlists, settling on a mix of The Shins songs.

"I have a feeling we're gonna find the right dress, mija."

"Pero Ma, I'm not even sure I want to go to prom," she sighed rolling her dark brown eyes in the passenger seat. They were driving on the 101 freeway, sun high in the sky on their way to the mall.

"Ay no seas terca," her mom scolded telling her not to be stubborn. "It's a rite of passage. You'll be glad you did! We can even pick one to match your favorite necklace."

She looked down at the necklace her mom had motioned to. On a black strap was an old jade stone carved in the shape of a sun. Her mother had bought it for her the last time they were in Yucatán visiting extended cousins. The Mayan shaman that had sold it to them said that stones such as hers had been worn by people of importance: royalty, healers, and sacred sorcerers. He had then blessed it and said it would bring her luck.

"I can wear a fancy dress to any number of things with Dad. I don't need to go to this dance with a bunch of people I don't even talk to," she waved a hand dismissively, "Es una pérdida de tiempo."

"It is not a waste of time. Is anyone at school bothering you?" her mom asked with a narrowed side glance.

"Of course not. No one ever bothers me, just like no one ever talks to me or gets within fifteen feet of me. They just love to gawk at Iron Man's daughter from afar like they're in a zoo."

At this her mom made a disgruntled hmm sound. In the three years since he'd revealed himself, she still hadn't totally forgiven Tony for the havoc it had caused and continued to cause.

"Besides, Dad didn't go to his prom, and he turned out fine," she muttered as she pulled her hoody down over her eyes to block out the sunlight and conversation.

Her mom tsked, "I'm not sure we can say with certainty that your papi turned out fine. And getting shipped off to a reform school that doesn't have a prom doesn't count as not going to prom."

June smirked slightly to herself and turned up the volume on her iPod. She knew the story. Her dad had a knack for oversharing anecdotes of his youthful dalliances with his teenage daughter before finding himself at the end of each story with the same rhetorical question: "Why the hell am I telling you this?"

He had been sent to reform school for using school computers to break into the Pentagon on a dare, which had taken him less than half an hour. It had taken his father less than a day to retaliate by putting him on a plane to Phillips Academy. The next decade would see him find numerous creative ways to thumb his nose at the old man until, very suddenly, Howard Stark died. The years that followed were a worthy sequel to his chaotic youth. Unsure who he was most angry at, himself or his father, Tony Stark had flitted from one impulsive brainwave to the next: consequences be damned. He liked to say that of all his flights of fancy, June was his favorite.

Maria Juniper Stark was the result of a long weekend tryst in Cancún. Her mother, Dr. Teresa Santiago Ceballos had been at an archaeological conference in the Yucatán Peninsula. Tony Stark was on his third month of vacation. Nine months later, she had been born in Los Angeles, her mother supported rather awkwardly through the labor by her one-time fling and his loyal assistant. Out of gratitude, she had allowed him to choose her first name: Maria for his late mother. Juniper for Teresa's favorite tree. Yet nobody ever referred to her as Maria. There had already been a Maria Stark. Most everyone, except for her parents, called her June.

She felt her mother tapping her on the wrist as they drove. "¿MJ, me oíste?"

"What, sorry. I didn't hear you," she said pulling out the earbud.

"Those things are going to damage your hearing if you keep listening to them con el volumen tan alto," her mom said shaking her head, "I said that your papi texted saying he won't make the opening night of your show tomorrow, but that he's sorry and he'll take us out to dinner next week after he comes back to town."

June quirked her brow at this. "¿Dijo por qué?" She wondered if he'd said why.

Her mom shook her head. June pulled out her phone and dialed her dad's number. It was weird for him not to show up on such a big night for her. They'd been talking about the senior showcase for months. He had helped her prepare her songs and even put her in touch with Natasha to help her with the routine. He knew theater club was pretty much the only thing that gave her joy at the snooty private school he sent her to. The feeling she had on stage was special, because people saw June not Tony Stark's daughter. She knew he wouldn't miss it, but then it felt like the last five years had been nothing but an onslaught of near-death experiences that threatened to take her father.

Her call went to a voice she didn't recognize. "Umm hi, where's Jarvis?"

"Good Afternoon, June. I'm Friday, your father's new interface. Is this an urgent call?"

"Umm yeah, can you put me through?" She waited a couple seconds then heard the familiar sound of her father clearing his throat.

"Hey, June-bug, now's not really the best time." She could hear the forced attempt at ease in his voice.

"Oh, sorry. Rough day Avenging?" she asked.

"Yeah, something like that."

"What happened to Jarvis?" she asked.

"Oh he's um he's resting up." She didn't buy it. "Hey, I don't think I'm going to make it to the show, kiddo. I'm really sorry," he said sincerely, but left out the part about potentially being a wanted fugitive at the moment.

"Yeah, Mom said. We're going to the mall to look at prom dresses," she heard a notification go off on her phone and checked the headline, "Holy shit, Dad! Where are you? There's a story about you and Bruce destroying Johannesburg yesterday."

"What?!" her mom cried jerking the wheel slightly, "Tony, are you alright?"

"I'm okay, we're dealing with it. I can't tell you where I am, but just know it smells like the petting zoo I took you to at Disneyland for your fifth birthday," he said trying to make light.

"Dad…" she trailed off shaking her head as she looked at the footage, "Is everyone else okay? This looks bad."

He sighed, "That's why I can't come see you just now. We're dealing with it, then Pep and I will take you both out to dinner anywhere you want. How about Tokyo? Or maybe Le Jules Verne? Haven't been to Paris in a minute."

She exchanged a worried glance with her mom. "Yeah, honestly anywhere is fine, Dad, but are you sure–"

"He had the nerve to call you his greatest creation," came a metallic voice from her phone.

"Dad? Was that on your end?"

"Shit no, June hang up the phone now."

"Dad?"

"I'll show him there's room for improvement."

Her mom yelled and jerked the car to a halt. The car behind them crashed into their bumper and she felt her right temple hit the window as the airbags exploded open. Cars all around them on the freeway were skidding and crashing. Her phone fell to the floor as she steadied herself and looked at her mom.

"¿MJ, estás bien?" her mom asked frantically rubbing her own wrist.

"Yeah," she said holding her head, "I think so."

"Junie! What's happening?" She lifted her head and looked out the windshield to see what her mom had avoided.

"Dad…that's not one of your suits in the middle of the Hollywood freeway is it?"

"June get out of there! Terry get her out!" he was yelling. She could hear other people in the background on his end; Steve, possibly Nat.

"Come on, baby, we gotta go," her mom said unbuckling them, "Grab your bag."

She reached down and grabbed her backpack and phone, vaguely aware of two more outlines moving closer to them. Her mom ran to her side of the car and grabbed her, taking off her own cardigan and pressing it to June's forehead.

"Keep applying pressure," she said cradling her wrist. Other drivers had begun exiting their cars and running down the shoulder to the off ramps.

"June, do you have your thermos?" her dad called from the phone in her other hand. "Have it ready."

"Okay," she said weakly digging the metal thermos from her backpack.

They were running full speed in the direction of freeway exit when they crashed into a solid mass. The man with the silver hair hadn't been there a second ago.

He tutted. "It's impolite to leave guests, Ms. Stark." Her mother pulled her behind her back and began leading them through the maze of cars left abandoned. In less than the blink of an eye the silver haired man was there again blocking their path. June turned to see several identical metal men, sophisticated in their build and wholly distinct to her father's suits now that she got a good look at them. Next to the metal men was a young woman, slightly older than she, moving her hands and casting a red glow in their direction. With ease, the cars which had shielded them began to clear a path.

"June! Junie, talk to me; what do you see?"

"Hello again, Mr. Stark," said the silver haired man, "We thought to ourselves of making this a family affair."

"Dad?"

"Terry, thermos now!" he cried over the phone. Her mother wrenched the thermos from her hands and pulled the handle. The repulsor blasts shot out of the metal cylinder and hit two of the metal men before the silver haired man grabbed June from behind and spirited her away from her mother.

"MJ!" her mom cried.

"What the hell is happening?!" yelled Tony from the other end of the phone. One of the two remaining robots picked up the phone and dusted it off.

"It seems to me your daughter is in need of an upgrade, Stark. For being your 'single greatest creation,' I find her woefully lacking, but don't worry. I now have the resources to do just that," said the metallic voice.

"Let her go. Let her go, your fight isn't with her," he said savagely on the other end.

"She is a Stark," said the young woman in the same accent as the man that restrained June, "Our fight is with all Starks."

"Ultron," she heard Steve's voice, "You don't need June. If you just let her go–"

"We'll have to pick this up later, Avengers. You know how long and tedious updates can be," the robot holding the phone joked.

"You're not taking her," her mother said adamantly as she aimed the thermos at the two metal men.

"I beg to differ," said the other robot before shooting a projectile straight into her chest.

"MOM!" June cried breaking free of the silver haired man, unaware of the shock on his own face. He locked eyes with his sister. This had not been part of the plan.

"Junie! What happened?!" Tony yelled frantically.

She dropped to the ground and began pressing the cardigan into the wound. Deep red blood bloomed across her mother's chest as she coughed and sputtered. Teresa reached her hands shakily to June's.

"He shot Mom," she whimpered, "I'll fix this. We'll get help. We'll–" June sobbed as the warm blood began to spill over her hands and onto the pavement, her mom's white sweater already soaked through and her olive skin growing paler.

Her mother shook her head. "Look at me, MJ," she wheezed, "This isn't for you to fix."

June shook her head as she shivered from her sobs, "Mami, please. I'm going to save you. Tienes que vivir." You have to live, she begged.

"Sh," her mom hushed, "Sigo viviendo en ti." Her mom gave a weak smile. "Te quier–"

The words died on her lips, eyes still open as she smiled lazily at her daughter. June rocked her mother's body in her arms, cries rippling from her. Tony yelled frantically on the phone, desperate, helpless. Wanda was reluctant to comply with Ultron and force the girl to lose consciousness. She and Pietro had agreed to kidnap Stark's daughter. They had by no means set out to kill someone's mother. Grudgingly, she tapped the girl's temple, ending the sobs immediately.

June lost time. She wasn't sure how long, lucidity ebbing and flowing as it was. They arrived at what seemed to be a glowing lab, she knew not where. Blinking some awareness into herself she took in her surroundings. A metal casket-like object was on the opposite side of the room from where she was bound against the wall and on the table next to it…

"Oh shit," she said eyeing Loki's staff.

"Good, I'm glad you're awake for this," came the metallic voice. A larger, sturdier version of Ultron strode toward her, his sidekicks hovering by the door.

She bared her teeth, "You killed my mother."

"Yes, I did that. I've killed many people over the last few days and I'll probably kill some more before everything's said and done," he answered nonchalantly.

"Is that what you're gonna do to me? Kill me?" she smirked defiantly, "Because if you do there isn't a hole remote enough in this world for you fuckers to slink off to where my dad won't find you."

"Not at all, June-bug. May I call you June-bug?" she gave no answer, "My plans for you are not so pedestrian. Your father made some rather arrogant remarks. I see that same arrogance in you. This is the price of his hubris."

He grabbed the staff and beckoned for the young woman in the doorway to follow. June began to struggle on her restraints.

"Sh sh sh. Save your strength," he mollified, "Why settle for iron when you can forge an alloy?"

It had been excruciating and June had prayed for death. She had watched, almost from outside her body, as at Ultron's command the woman from the freeway summoned more red energy on her fingertips. It had circled above them before illuminating the stone within the staff and hitting her directly in the chest. Before this the eighteen-year-old June had thought bikini waxes to be the worst pain she'd ever feel, followed closely by the time she skinned her left leg when Happy had taught her to ride a bike.

Pain like this had never and would never exist again. The woman's magic had to be the only thing keeping her conscious. She stayed lucid in and out of her body. The woman's power may have acted as a conductor, but it was the stone that reached in, findings layers and dimensions to June she had not known were there and rooting something deep within her. Amid the pain there was gold light seemingly swaddling her, giving her the drifting feeling of being submerged in a lake or river. Time did not exist. A red spider swung toward her. There was someone in her periphery. She turned to see a pair of soft brown eyes before everything went black.

June 24, 2016

More than a year had passed.

Ultron was destroyed. Her mother was Avenged. But it didn't matter. The damage had been done and life for June Stark was irreparably altered.

The Maximoffs had turned on Ultron and broken her out, returning her to her father. The kidnapping they had come to terms with but murdering her mother in cold blood and allowing Ultron to experiment on her, they had not. Tony and Pepper had been with her for every scan, every test and procedure, but there were no answers save the scant ones Wanda could give. Herself having been exposed to the stone's energy, all she could offer up was the meager explanation that so long as June's emotions were volatile, so too would her newfound powers be.

"How does she access these powers? How do you access them?" she heard her father ask from the next room.

"That's the thing, I simply think and they act. There's nothing else," Wanda replied.

"Fantastic," her father said sharply.

"Most who Hydra subjected to the stone died," she had said, eyes still red rimmed from the loss of her brother, "But I felt something unexpected when the stone made contact with her."

"What did you feel?" June had heard Nat ask. She feigned sleep, not that it would make a difference. At that point in her recovery everyone still talked about her as if she wasn't there.

"She was tethered. Pulled…to something beyond this world. To what, I don't know."

"Little Stark has a warrior's heart. Her resilience will see her through," Thor said confidently.

June heard her father sigh. "I wish Teresa was here."

No one knew what it meant; what Wanda had felt in her when the two of them connected through the stone. Vision, the newest Avenger, for having that damn thing in his head offered no hypothesis either.

Months passed and she recovered physically at least. Mentally, spiritually she was no better than she had been two weeks after burying her mother. In her recovery she missed her graduation, let alone prom and her showcase. The diploma was instead FedExed to her new address: The Avengers Compound.

It had been nice for a time. At the Compound she could walk around unencumbered by the metal wristbands her dad had made to dampen her powers— June had all but destroyed her mother's house the first time she returned after Teresa's death. Throughout the Compound she could come and go across the grounds without Steve or Nat, her ever-present babysitters when she ventured into the outside world. She had made friends, too; her first real ones now that she was among peers who were unhampered by her father's reputation. They had not made her an Avenger perse, but she didn't care. Despite her not going on missions with them, she was granted a security codename: Ferric, that which relates to iron. Her father loved his puns.

It had been a nice dynamic: Sam's playful brotherly nature, Steve and Nat's training sessions giving her a distraction, and the constant amusement of Vision discovering new aspects of the world each day. Despite their first encounter, she and Wanda had even formed a pseudo-friendship with one another. She had been mistrustful of the woman who had been the cause of these strange powers she did not understand nor could not control. Yet the grief that enveloped them both after Sokovia seemed to transcend the semantics of their situation and form some semblance of alliance. It was not uncommon to find them both quietly eating ice cream in the late hours together watching reruns of old sitcoms.

Sadly, those times were gone. As soon as she had been given this new family and the feeling that they could help pull her out of the abyss, it had all been taken away by the events surrounding the Sokovia Accords. Steve, Sam, Nat, and Wanda were gone, and she had not followed. Her powers as volatile as they were, June knew she could not go with them without the risk of revealing their whereabouts. She also knew Tony would stop at nothing to find her despite how their relationship had deteriorated. Deep down she could not do that to him even after they had fallen out.

She had sided with Steve in the matter of the Accords. June had allowed her father to control her powers for the better part of two years. Rather than try to understand them, Tony had unilaterally decided they were too dangerous to test. While Steve and Nat had trained her in hand to hand fighting, even they could not have been prepared for the power that broke free from her and almost destroyed the Leipzig-Halle Airport. She hadn't meant to lose control, but the pep talk and advice Wanda gave her going into the fight had not been enough. She lost her handle on them fast and gold energy flowed from her at a horrendous speed peppering the tarmac and the building beside her.

"Bench her! NOW!" she had heard her father yell, "Underoos!"

"Holy crap! Holy crap! Holy crap!" she heard a young voice shout before she suddenly found herself bound to the wheels of 777. The energy stopped and suddenly she was back in her own mind in control of her faculties again. She shook from the adrenaline still surging.

"Shit," she muttered catching her breath.

"Hey, you okay?" said a voice above her. She looked up and saw the red-suited kid her dad had recruited crawling along the side of the plane. Something in her seethed at the realization that he believed in this random kid no older than her. June felt her eyes begin to glow. "Hey wait wait wait, I come in peace!"

"So typical of him. I can't be in the fight but you can," she said dissolving the web-like tethers around her wrists.

"No no, that's not it. Wait a sec," he said holding his hands up before removing the mask. God, this kid was years younger than she was. "See I'm some random guy to recruit for the team. You're his daughter. Of course, he can't risk you."

"Don't defend him–"

"I'm not. I just wish my dad were around to do something like that for me. It's gotta be nice to have someone looking out for you like that," he said quickly. The plainness of his innocence disarmed her.

"What's your name, kid?"

"I'm Peter, Peter Parker."

She nodded feeling her eyes dim. "I'm–"

"Oh, I know who you are, Ms. Stark," he said somewhat obsequiously.

She chuckled despite herself and the situation. "Call me June." The light interaction was overshadowed by the chaos that ensued. Nat allowed Steve to abscond with Bucky; Rhodey fell and was clinging to life while a guilty Vision looked on; Clint, Wanda, Sam, and her new shrinking friend were arrested. In the chaos of it all, her father begged King T'Challa to leave her out of it, that he would handle her. The Black Panther relented. She and Peter, the latter sending her looks of concern, were quiet as Happy loaded them into the jet. Her father glared hard at his shoes unable to look at her.

It had been their worst fight in living memory. June had resented it in the moment, but it had perhaps been for the best that her dad had clamped the metal bands down on her wrists the moment he joined her in the jet. She wouldn't have been able to live with herself if she'd hurt Pepper who watched as father and daughter wounded each other viciously with their barbed words. The whole thing was made worse by the bruises and cuts he had smattered across his face. They hadn't had a chance to speak before he had taken off after Steve, but she knew the moment he walked through the door of the Compound that the Avengers, her new family, were over.

"You're doing exactly what Grandpa Howard did to you! You don't believe in me at all or what I can do!" she lashed out delivering what she knew to be a low blow.

"Exactly. I don't know, but more to the point is that you don't know! You have no idea what you could have done! If T'Challa changes his mind they can come after you for this and I won't be able to stop them," he raged.

"Because you signed those damn papers," she scoffed, "You are so sure I can't handle myself, that I can't protect myself, but you won't even let me try!"

"Handle yourself? YOU LITERALLY COULDN'T HANDLE YOURSELF! If Peter hadn't stopped you when he did, you could have done serious damage to yourself, to everyone around you," he motioned to her wrists, "You're not taking those off again."

Her eyes swelled with angry tears, "You can't make me! These are my powers! You wouldn't force this on Wanda or Steve or anyone else on the team."

"Oh yeah and where are they now hmm? Where is the team now? Locked up in a maximum security sea prison; endlessly hunted for his own self-righteousness; having spinal x-rays taken," he seethed momentarily, the vein in his temple flexing, "I am trying to keep you safe if you would just listen to me!"

"Why can't you let me just try? These powers are a part of me now–"

"They never should have been–"

"Well they are and there's no changing that!" she snapped, "You didn't exactly hide yourself from the world when you became Iron Man. You did the exact fucking opposite!"

"That's not the same thing–"

"No, it's worse because not only did no one stop you from figuring all your shit out, you went and broadcasted it to the whole fucking world!"

She hadn't meant for that last bit to come out in the roar that it had. The silence that hung between them was by far louder than any words they'd hurled at one another.

She shook her head crying, "You don't know what that did you me."

He sighed looking slightly disarmed for the first time since they'd begun their argument.

"June-bug–"

"No," she shook her head holding up a hand, "Just let me finish. I…" her breath became shaky, "I love that my dad is a hero. You've no idea how proud I am that you're my dad, but you opening yourself up to the world like that opened me up, too. I didn't have friends, I didn't have anyone except for you, Mom, and the people in your lives."

"And now you don't even have her," he said fixing his gaze hard on the floor.

"I don't blame you for that."

"Why not? I do. Ultron was my–"

"Tony," Pepper interjected from her seat on June's bed, "let her finish."

June shot her a grateful look. "My life here," she said motioning to her room in the Compound, "I've been happy. I've had friends for the first time in my life, but more than that they understood my struggles with this."

She held up her hand. Though the bracelets inhibited her power, Tony knew she imagined the gold energy that would have emanated from them otherwise.

She looked back at her father, their eyes such a similar shade and shape. "I deserve the same chance as you. I deserve the same chance as Peter and Wanda and everyone else."

He sighed, turning and plopping himself into her armchair. She thought she'd never seen him look so old.

Pepper cleared her throat, "She's not asking for a lot Tony. We should give her a chance."

He pursed his mouth and looked to the two women in his life. Eyeing his daughter, he readjusted himself and fixed her with a steady gaze, "You will be smart, you will not take chances, and if it gets to be too dangerous it all stops."

"Can't we talk about–"

"Are we agreed?" he cut off.

She nodded slowly, unsure if this was a promise she'd actually be able to keep. Tony suspected as much but said nothing.

"So…what happens now?" she asked tentatively. Tony groaned slightly.

"You'll need training." June eyed him curiously.

"But Wanda's gone. Who else do we know who knows anything about…?"

Pepper perked up, grateful at the newfound truce between Starks, "I think I might know of a place."

Two weeks later

The Ancient One wore a discerning gaze through the entire conversation. June could tell it made her father uncomfortable. Pepper's intel had led them to the New York Sanctum where the Sorcerer Supreme had, unsurprised by their visit, invited them to tea. There was no hypothetical undercurrent to the conversation either; the woman spoke as if June joining their ranks was a given. This did not ease her father one bit.

"There is one slight…accommodation we will have to make," the Ancient One said taking a sip of her tea.

"Oh?" her father had asked cynically, "Will you take a check?"

Pepper elbowed him and gave June an apologetic look.

The Ancient One smiled, "No, it's nothing like that. The simple fact is that June may require a more independent manner of tutelage. She can engage in basic spell work with her peers, but for the more advanced incantations and such, I believe we should work on her witchery privately."

"Witchery?" June asked suddenly. The Ancient One turned her omniscient eyes to the confused girl.

"Your magic is not unlike our sorcery in some regards, Ms. Stark, but it is witchcraft. For that reason, I would like your study to be unhampered by the preconceived notions that some sorcerers have on the matter."

"But…you will let me learn?" Tony's resolve wavered at the desperate quiver in his daughter's voice. He feared how much she wanted this, how like him she wanted to be the hero.

The Ancient One smiled, "There is a place for you at Kamar Taj."

Now as she stood facing the doors to the New York Sanctum, duffle bag slung over her shoulders, her father and Pepper standing at the bottom of the stoop watching her go, she had the strangest flashback of her parents dropping her off at musical theater camp. She smirked lightly.

"Thinking about camp?" her dad asked knowingly.

She nodded, "Yeah, I was thinking about how you and Happy had to steer Mom back to the car. She kept making excuses to stick around—did I have enough toothpaste; had I brought the right shoes for dance class— anything she could think of to not leave."

Tony smiled sadly at the memory. "I think I know a little bit how she was feeling. Though I doubt you'll do much tap dancing at this camp."

She laughed despite herself. "I never did any tap dancing."

"Ah well, see maybe we oughta send you to tap camp instead. Still time to change your mind, June-bug," he said lightly. She smiled, stepping down the steps to hug him.

"I'll miss you, too," she said inhaling his scent like a comfort blanket. Her father hated being touched, but she was one of the few exceptions; he hugged her back and planted a kiss on the crown of her head. It was for the best, he had to remind himself: she could take control of her powers and realize her potential without fear that people would use Accords to come after her.

"I know you're a sage nineteen-old now but give your old man a break. If you need anything, call me, okay?" he muttered into her hair.

She nodded, "I will." It's what he needed to hear, but she had every intention of standing on her own two feet, so to speak. She would prove herself; not to him, not to the world. She had to do this for herself.

"And please," he said pulling away and taking out a glasses case from his lapel, "Keep these with you, just in case. Help me sleep a little easier."

She eyed him warily but nodded and put the glasses in her jacket pocket. Pepper gave her a tight hug, hand caressing the back of her head as she did.

"Have fun and be safe," she said affectionately, "I know you'll do great." June patted her on the back appreciatively.

"Thanks, Pepper. You know," she said turning to her dad, "You oughta pop the question soon before she realizes she's way out of your league."

"Yeah okay, smartass, we'll miss you," he said as Pepper laughed. They watched her disappear behind the great oak doors before peeling off in the direction of Queens, Tony wondering if his parents had felt any bit of what he did now when they'd left him at MIT.

June was led by an acolyte up the stairs down a hallway to a door with runic carvings. Opening it she found herself, astonishingly, in an outdoor courtyard in the middle of a mountain range.

"What the–"

"Maria Stark," her attention drew to the middle-aged man in front of her, "I'm Dr. Steven Strange, this is Mordo. Welcome to Kamar Taj."

She shifted the duffle on her shoulder, observing the two men. The one who spoke, Dr. Strange, had facial hair to rival her father.

"Hi, I go by June. It's nice to meet you."

"You won't be needing that," said Mordo waving his hands. Orange sparks came around her before the weight of her duffle disappeared, "Everyone starts anew at Kamar Taj."

She nodded, grateful she had slipped her father's glasses in her jacket. They showed her to her room, the sparsest she had ever had, though the simplicity of it was mentally soothing after the chaos of recent events. She changed into the robes they provided, the deep blue fabric soft and embroidered with small gold stars. She tightened the fabric around her waist preferring it snug. She slipped the glasses into the deep pockets of the robes and eyed herself in the mirror, straightening the jade necklace on her collarbone.

Strange showed her around Kamar Taj; she met Wong, the librarian who provided her with some rudimentary texts to get her started; they showed her the gardens for peaceful meditation, the training yard where sorcerer's practiced, and most importantly, the kitchen.

Dr. Strange reached deep into a cabinet and pulled out what looked like a centuries-old jar. Opening the jar, he flicked his fingers summoning a mini Kit-Kat bar from within and handed it to her.

"Secret chocolate stash for rough days. Just make sure to leave me some of the Almond Joys," he said with a playful wink before magically setting the jar back and taking her to the Ancient One to begin her training.

January 19, 2017

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" she cried running erratically down the halls of the Hong Kong Sanctum. They were under attack from Kaecilius and his zealots, which had to mean that the Ancient One was dead. June was frantic as she sped down the winding halls. She had never met anyone with the permanence of presence her mentor had and so could not believe her dead. But Wong had insisted she run back inside the Sanctum, head to one of the portal doors, and find Strange. He had all but shoved her through the doors of the building which now shook around her, saying that as the most novice member of their order she was not ready for such a battle.

June heard screaming from above her as she delved further into the bowels of the Sanctum. She screamed as the force of a nearby explosion threw her forward into one of the relic cabinets. Glass shattered around hitting her cheeks and forearms, but she made a swirling motion with her fingers and was cocooned in the gold glow of her powers before she hit the floor. Thrown forward by her powers, she landed suddenly and held her head one handed as she dug into her robes for her glasses. She put the gold metal cat-eye frames onto the bridge of her nose and tried desperately to gain her bearings. The schematic scan of the floors above her glitching, not from any fault in the tech but from the interference of the magic around her.

"Shit," she muttered tapping the side of the lens trying to get a better read.

"I'm having trouble surveying the total extent of the battle," said the crips English voice, "But I'm detecting at least six unfriendlies and several casualties."

"Thanks, Babs. That's something at least," she replied struggling to get any further readout. Babs, or Best Available Babysitter, often voiced her own frustrated at the limitations the magic of the Sanctums imposed on her. June wondered often if that was just a part of her personality programming; Tony had sent his daughter off with an austere English governess for an interface. The irony was not lost on her.

"I'm picking up something within close distance. Startling levels of CMBR on the left," said Babs.

"What's CMBR?" June asked turning her head to look for the source as the building above shook further.

"Remnant radiation left over from the Big Bang, dear. The same energy signature your own powers create, only I find it's more concentrated here."

The small hairs on her arms stood on end as her powers detected the source of the energy before her sights did. It felt ancient. Within the smashed cabinet had not been relics at all. Instead, there was what appeared to be the wooden door to a dumbwaiter. Her glasses began to glitch like crazy with feedback as runic waves appeared on the screen and purple light emanated around the door like a halo. Another explosion went off, June raised a glowing gold hand above her head as this time it felt closer and more violent.

"Potentially stupid question, Babs, but does this chute go down to the Sanctum terminal?" she asked tapping the lens into submission again.

"From what I can detect the chute does go down, but I wouldn't suggest–"

"We don't have time to debate. They've breached the Sanctum and I need to find Strange," June replied darting forward and sliding the door up with a sharp yank.

"You may be acting rashly. This opening was guarded and it might be for–"

"I won't let anyone else die, Babs!" she cut across the AI and shut the door down firmly. "I need help. I have to find help." Illuminating the small space with gold sparks on her fingertips, she began the slide the dumbwaiter down one-handed. The lower she went, June could feel the energy charging her own powers like a battery and found she had to pull back the amount of effort she had been putting into creating her lights; they began to waft around her effortlessly so that she could continue her descent with both hands. A warmth spread through her body and it became difficult to distinguish where her powers ended and the raw energy began.

"CMBR readings…growi– interf…alternate…detec–"

"Babs?" No response came through, "Babs?!" The magic as she reached the terminal to the other Sanctum doors must have overwhelmed Babs. If she was offline for too long, she could certainly expect a call from her dad. Another minute of pulling the dumbwaiter down with the warm golden glow before June felt a thud. She wrenched the door to the dumbwaiter open and threw herself out expecting to find the stone foyer she had come through hours before but was instead blinded by a light. The fluorescent streetlight above her was blinding and she quickly waved her hand to dim it down.

"Wait…where the fuck am I?" she said turning on the spot. The doors to the other Sanctums weren't there; she wasn't even sure she was in Hong Kong anymore. From the alley she found herself in she could see the lights from the Chrysler Building twinkling in the near distance. Avengers Tower, however, was nowhere in sight.

"What the fuck?" she immediately started to tap her glasses. "Babs? Babs, I need you to call Dad immediately….Babs?!" There was no response, but she wasn't convinced magic had anything to do with it. In fact, since coming through the dumbwaiter, the warm feeling within her had gone, leaving her with only her own magic. She turned to go back the way she came but came face to face with only a brick wall with a faded painted advertisement for Lucky Star Cab Company.

June palmed frantically at the brick wall, waving her hands trying to reproduce the small door, but to no avail. For all the spellwork she tried, the opening was gone. Sirens startled her as they rushed by the alley opening in pursuit. If there was police activity there'd be cops and probably people who could get her to her dad. She ran out of the alley and turned left. They were going fast and she would need to use her powers to keep up. Pocketing her glasses, June twisted her fingers twice and tapped herself to create a chameleon-like visage. Feeling the effects of the spell, she blasted herself off the ground. Her pursuit continued from rooftop to rooftop, wind whipping her wavy brown hair as she propelled herself through the air in arcs. The Ancient One had predicted in one of their sessions together that she would eventually master flight with more time and practice.

"I should like to be there to see that," her teacher had said. She felt an ache in her throat at the thought, realizing the old woman had known she would not be there. June pushed forward. Finally, after taking a sharp left, she spotted their quarry. The five police cars joined with at least a dozen others in pursuit of…a metal rhino? She kept onward after them, maintaining her distance for at least another mile wondering when the big guns would arrive. Where was her dad? Before reaching a bridge, the rhino did an about turn and charged toward the cruises.

She didn't have time to think or wait for Iron Man or anyone else who had signed the Accords to act with government permission. She landed uneasily on a rooftop and aimed her hands forward pouring all her intention behind the spell. The giant rhino was lifted off the ground before it could make contact with the cars, hoisted through the air, and landed on its side with the shrieking sound of grinding metal. The police cars screeched to a halt with officers piling out, aiming their guns at the rhino while looking for the source of the gold light.

A large, bald man was controlling the rhino suit, shouting in Russian as he righted himself. Without Babs she couldn't translate what he was saying, but the unmistakable clicking and whirring that started up gave his intentions away. He began to pepper the police cars with ammunition until she conjured a shield to block his bullets.

"Who dares to challenge the Rhino?!" he shouted theatrically as he continued to take aim around the street, "Come now, coward, and show yourself!"

June kept the shield up, expanding it as she gritted her teeth. Suddenly she heard a familiar swishing noise and breathed in relief as Spider-Man came around the corner.

"Hey, Aleksei! Aren't you a little early for parole?" he laughed as he swung through the air, "I could've sworn they had your reservation down for at least another sixty years."

"Ah, the Spider-Man! My nemesis!" yelled the Rhino.

"Umm I'm not sure I'm ready to make such a commitment quite yet," Spider-Man joked as he shot webs at one of the guns, jamming it in the process, "We don't know each other like that."

June drew back her shield now that the Rhino was distracted with Spider-Man. But…was it Spider-Man? It didn't look a thing like the suit her dad had given Peter. While it had been a minute, she was also pretty positive the voice and height were all wrong, too. She watched as he handled himself with ease, much more fluid and sure of himself than the kid she had met at the airport. He hadn't even needed help taking down the Rhino, save for one moment where a bullet came a little too close. June had intervened, shielding him at the right moment before the shot could hit his hip. She could've sworn he looked in her direction as she did, but the chameleon spell was still active. Not ten minutes later, the Rhino was in a heap of scrap metal, its operator ranting in Russian from the back of a police car. Spider-Man, she saw, said something to the cops before swinging away.

This was her chance, she had to speak to him if she had any hope of finding her dad. She took off in the same direction she had seen him swing but not ten seconds had passed and June had lost him completely. She catapulted herself onto a nearby rooftop, chosen for its height and tried to see if she could scope out his direction. Behind her was an abrupt thud.

"You know it's not polite to stalk people," came a teasing voice behind her. She whirled around seeing Spider-Man standing there. A Spider-Man, because up close like this it looked nothing like the one she knew. "I know you're there."

"Peter?" she questioned, though she was sure he could not see her.

"Umm…who?" he feigned.

"Peter Parker?" she emphasized his last name before ending her chameleon spell. "It's me. It's June."

The eyes on his mask widened and he cleared his throat snapping himself out of his shock.

"I'm sorry," he said waving his hands, "I think you've got the wrong–"

"I know it's you, Peter. What'd you do with your other suit?" she asked. "And what the hell happened to Avengers Tower? I did some magic to come back to New York and nothing is making any sense."

"Okay, okay," he said holding his hands up in surrender before coming closer, "I think you're a bit confused talking about magic and all. What's Avengers Tower?"

She started to panic, tears pooling in the corners of her eyes.

"What the fuck is going on, Peter? Why don't you know what I'm talking about?" her hands began to shake with the sudden glow of her powers.

"Hey, hey, hey, calm down, you're okay," he soothed, "You don't need to do that."

She stilled a minute, the glow fading, slightly resentful at his implication and said, "I'm not going to hurt you. I just used my powers to save you."

He slowly removed his mask. Had he not been so attractive, she might've spun out into a full panic attack given that the guy before her was decidedly not the Peter Parker she had met in Germany.

"Sorry, you're right. Okay…I am Peter, but I gotta be honest. I have no idea what you're talking about. But it's alright, we'll figure this out."