I don't own anything except any original/own characters and any original plot.

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Chapter 24 - New York

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"New York is one of the worst places you could have picked to go to."

"I can shift into nearly any being in the universe. I'll be fine in New York for a day or two. It's been over a year since we went on that vacation for Varian's wedding, I need this."

"We never discussed two days."

"We just did. I'll be fine. Love you bye."

I hung up before Steve could continue the argument. He wanted to protect me, I understood that, but if he trusted me enough to travel to New York by myself, he should trust me to stay an extra night.

"This is it," I stared up at the tall building in front of me. The symbol displayed on the top-most window told me I was at the right place, "Time to fulfill my mission."

I lifted my hand and knocked on the sturdy door. Already having made it through all of the protective charms, they would have to answer the door.

"Who goes there?"

"You greet all your friends like that Stephen? Or has Wong rubbed off on you?"

"Little bit of both," Strange stepped aside to let me in, "What brings you here?"

"I need your help, and I want to pay my respects to the Ancient One. She told me what was going to happen."

"I prepared a shrine," Wong motioned for me to follow him, "It is for all the Ancient Ones that have passed."

"Thank you Wong."

It was a small room, lined with candles. In the center was a circle of chalk, magic consistently shimmering inside.

Slowly moving towards the circle, I knelt down and bowed my head. I reached inside my suitcase and pulled out a crystal the size of my hand. It was from my planet, fully charged and ready for use. Reaching forward I placed the crystal in the middle. The swirling light inside flashed rapidly until there was nothing left.

"Thank you for accepting my offering," I whispered to the empty room, "I hope your soul is resting well. Thank you for all your guidance. There are many things I wouldn't have been able to do without you."

I picked up my bag again and gave the magic circle one final bow of respect. It was short and sweet, but that was what the Ancient One would have wanted. There was no point in wasting time over what could have been.

Stepping out of the room I creened my head down either side of the hallway, searching for Wong or Strange so they could show me to a room I could stay in.

"Inviting yourself to stay with us, are you?"

I jumped as Stephen suddenly appeared behind me, "Atreya. You scared the crap out of me!"

"A hero who allows someone to sneak up on her? You haven't fought against a worldwide threat in too long it seems," Stephen teased, looking me over, "Or you're just losing your touch."

"Wouldn't you like to know," I pulled my bag behind me as he walked forwards, "How about a spar, me and you?"

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?"

"No reason," Stephen shrugged casually, stopping in front of a door, "We clean once a week so it should be fine. How long are you staying?"

"Just tonight. It was only supposed to be today, but there are more things I want to do," I explained while setting my bag on the bed.

"And your husband was okay with that?"

"I didn't give him the chance to argue," I chuckled, "Anyways, I need your help with one of the things I'm here for. I'm trying to track someone down. Odin, King of Asgard."

"Why would Odin of all people go missing?"

"It's a long story, but I'm pretty sure he's here on Earth. Location spells are not my thing, so I was hoping you'd be able to help me out with one."

"Do you have anything of his, or of Thor's?"

"I have this," I pulled a rolled up piece of parchment from my pocket, "Thor used it to write to me a while back. Will it be enough?"

"If there's DNA left on it then it should be fine," Stephen scratched the paper until it fell out of existence, forming a few complicated symbols and motions with his hands. I watched in muted interest until he stopped completely, throwing his hand out. A portal appeared at the end of the hallway, "There you go, have fun. I trust you know your way back?"

"I found it the first time, it shouldn't be that hard," I assured Strange with a smile, "Thank you for helping me. I might be back a bit late so don't expect me for dinner or anything."

"Oh, you were expecting us to feed you?" Strange asked, sarcasm dripping from his tone, "Why, I would have started making something an hour ago if I knew that."

"Haha," I said humorlessly, stepping up and through the portal.

The world around me shifted, until I was in the middle of a sidewalk in front of a retirement home. I rolled my eyes, groaning in annoyance. Of course. Classic Loki. Somehow defeat your father and imprison him in his least favorite realm with his least favorite people.

I glanced around the street, making sure no one was explicitly watching me before I shifted into what I assumed could be a female version of Thor. Muscles, blonde, large smile. The criteria fit, and hopefully the staff would see the resemblance.

Normally shifting in public, especially when I was running from the law would be a big no, but people on Earth were always too absorbed in their own lives, their own problems to worry about what other people were doing.

Sucking in a deep breath I walked up the concrete steps and through the automatic doors. A cheery woman was waiting at the front desk, on the phone. I stepped up to her, waiting patiently until she put the phone down.

"Hi, how can I help you today?" The woman set the phone down.

"I'm here to see my...Uncle. His name is Odin."

"Right," the woman used her mouse to click a few things on the computer, "What is your name?"

"Tanya," I choked out, blanking on names slightly similar to Thor's I knew no matter what my name wouldn't be on there, so I would have to figure something out. Probably a spell.

"I don't see you on here," the receptionist hummed in confusion.

"Are you sure?" I wiggled my fingers in a similar way Wanda did when she used her powers, "Can you check again?"

The woman squinted at the screen, "Oh, there you are. Sorry about that. Go on right ahead. They're in the main room right now."

"It's alright. Thank you so much," I beamed, passing by her and walking through the door labelled 'Main Room'.

Inside it was bustling with elderly people. I sent those who looked my way smiles, weaving way through the wheelchairs and walkers. When I was in the center of the room, I spun around in a circle, seeking out the familiar face. I found him in a corner, completely silent and staring off into space.

"Odin?" I cautiously approached the man, worried he would lash out in anger when he saw me for not coming sooner, "I came to get you out, or visit, whatever you want."

The man stayed silent. Brows furrowed, I pulled up a chair and sat across from him. It was then that I noticed that the eye free of the eyepatch was misty, fogged over. Almost as if he was under some sort of spell...

"Loki I taught you well," I whispered to myself, slightly proud that Loki was able to out such a powerful spell on the King of Asgard, "Alright, what can we do here?"

The Talisman pulsed against my finger. I glanced down at it. It was glowing and ready for use. I reached out for one of Odin's hands, receiving no resistance when I pulled it towards me. Acting on instinct, I pressed the ring into his palm, wincing for him when a bead of blood formed. It took a lot to get an Asgardian to bleed.

The Talisman pulsed again, brighter and hotter this time. A small ringing noise seemed to be rolling off of it, but I wouldn't put it past myself if it was just my mind creating it to fill the tense silence.

"Come on Odin," I muttered, an aggressive tone hidden behind it, "You're better than this, you can beat this spell."

Odin grunted, eye blinking rapidly. I pulled the Talisman back, hopeful that that was enough. Odin reached out for my hand again, squeezing it tightly. His stone cold expression had morphed into a slight upturn of his lips.

"You have found quite the artifact my child," Odin announced his mental revival.

I laughed happily, "I'm glad I could bring you back. You were under quite the spell."

"Yes. Loki's work no doubt. Frigga would be so...Proud of him," the far off look returned to Odin's eyes and I grew nervous that he was falling back under again, "I can hear her voice, calling out to me."

"Odin," I said warningly, "You can't. We still need you. Thor and Loki. Asgard. There's something going on, you know there is. Something is brewing and we can't face it without you."

"My child," Odin placed a hand on my cheek, his smiling dropping, "I will resist long enough to see my sons again. I was not a perfect father, perhaps I wasn't even a good one. But I gave my sons the tools they need to fight their wars on their own. You too (Y/n). You are strong, steadfast in your opinions. What is to come can not be stopped, all you can do is fight as you always have."

"Thank you Odin," I sniffled, "Do you want me to call Heimdall to take you to Asgard?"

"No, not Asgard now," Odin leaned back in his chair, "Asgard is a people, and they will find home."

"Odin?"

"I'll be alright. You broke me out of the spell, and that's all I needed. If you ever need anything, you have a short amount of time to come to me. I'll be here until then."

"I understand," I stated, hesitant to leave Odin here. But I couldn't be the one to question his orders. He ruled the Nine Realms afterall, "May your soul ascend to Valhalla so you may be with Frigga once again."

"Thank you (Y/n), may the Fates be in your favor. You and my sons are so very lucky to have each other."

With that, I nodded in respect and left. Glancing at the clock, I was surprised when the time said it was eight at night. Looking around the room, it was confirmed by very few elderly people sitting around. When I came in, the room was nearly full.

The spell. It must have taken much longer than I imagined, messed with my consciousness and warped time. So it really wasn't quick and easy. It was long and slightly easy with a painful goodbye.

"Oh wow, I thought I just missed you leaving," the same receptionist commented when I stepped out, "It was a day visit then."

"Yes, time definitely flew."

"It's strange, no one has said that they were here for Odin since his son dropped him off years ago."

"His sons have been extremely busy travelling, and I was out of country," the lies rolled off of my tongue easily, "We've felt incredibly guilty about not being able to visit, but business has dragged us everywhere."

"I totally understand," the woman nodded, "Anyways, it's important that I inform you that we'll be demolishing this part of the chain in November. If you would like me to give you some transfer papers I would be more than happy to."

"Oh, no. His sons should be here to pick him up before then," I waved my hand dismissively, "Thank you for informing me though, I'll have to talk to them about that. Have a nice night!"

"You too!"

I stepped out into the crisp New York air. The sun was rapidly setting in the sky, almost under the horizon completely. Knowing how dangerous the city that never slept could be at night, I lifted my ring to my lips, the cool gem starkly contrasting the heat it was emanating earlier.

"New York Sanctum."

My body flickered out of existence,through the different realities until it dropped onto the doorstep of the New York Sanctum. It was considerably quieter inside the sanctum that it was just outside the door on the streets. It was still relatively early in the night, meaning that Wong and Stephen were likely still awake and working away.

Not wanting to bother them, I opted to wander a bit before I retired for the night to prepare for what I had to do in the morning.

In the main hall was nothing special, different artifacts scattered as makeshift decorations and protections against any evildoers. My feet took me down a familiar hallway and I found the artifact room once again. It was a bit more disorganised, most likely from Wong and Strange using the items inside.

In the hall across from the artifacts was the training facilities. Small rooms meant for changing, a large room for general training, and a normally sized room full of normal exercising equipment.

Besides that there was the other side of the building holding all of the bedrooms and bathrooms. Straightforward and, thankfully, easy to remember. After that quick tour I stayed in the bedroom hallway and used one of the bathrooms to take a shower. There were towels in the cupboards and soap in the shower. Fully stocked and ready for guests, as all of the sanctums were.

When I was stepping out of the shower and wrapping a towel around myself my foot slipped on a wet patch. The sudden jerking of my body before I caught myself was disorienting and made me dizzy. I let out a slow breath, leaning my head against the wall, hand on my stomach as if it would keep the rising bile down.

"That sucked," I muttered bitterly when the feeling passed, "I knew I would catch something by riding the subway. They're hotbeds for all sorts of diseases."

Moving more slowly now, I picked up my dirty clothes and stepped out of the bathroom, speed walking down the hall to my room so I could change.

Donned in new clothes I dropped the wet towel back off in the bathroom before retiring to my room for the rest of the night.

I sent Steve a few update texts about the Odin situation and assured him that I would be flying back to Wakanda the next night. Within that time, I still had to complete my other mission and I could spar with Strange in the morning.

~*~

The next morning I awoke aching all over, sweat perspiring over my entire body. Groaning I stumbled out of the too hot guest room. After a brief struggle with the doorknob, I nearly fell into the bathroom. The air wasn't any cooler, but that wasn't why I went through the effort to get there.

Clothes sticky with sweat, I peeled them off of my overheating body. Sitting down in the tub I switched the shower on to its coldest setting. The raining droplets hit my skin like pellets of ice. A shiver involuntarily ran through my body, but I stayed there.

The quick pitter-patters of the water was only sounds in the bathroom for at least five minutes until I turned it off, staying on the floor for another few seconds before I slowly stood up. No new sweat was forming on my body yet, and my vision was no longer dominating by fuzz along the edges.

"What the qwip was that," I sighed tiredly, wrapping the same towel I used the night before around my body, "Please don't tell me I'm dying Atreya, I don't need that right now."

Bringing my moist clothes with my I went back into my former bedroom and layed down again. The towel was the only thing around me, but I wasn't going to take any chance if I was going to overheat again and need a quick way to get back into the shower.

Sleep came and went uneasily, plagued with strange flashes of light and aches in my stomach. Light waves of nausea rolled over me as well. Nothing too drastic that would make me scurry to the bathroom again, but just enough to make me uncomfortable.

When the alarm went off on my phone, I was already awake, just waiting for the telltale noise to ring through the room.

"Time to fight Strange," I mumbled to myself, rolling out of bed.

I pulled on some loose clothes. Sweatpants and a shirt that in no way hugged my curves. I didn't need any tight clothes to pick up any sweat I may emit while training. For a few brief moments, I considered cancelling our sparring session, but Strange would call me out, and I wasn't one to back down from a fight.

Leaving the guest room I took the staircase down to the kitchen, looking through the barren cupboards for some food I could eat without the worry of it coming back up. There was nearly nothing, just some sweets here and there, and some odds and ends that formed kitchen essentials.

"There are some crackers in the cupboard above the fridge," Wong passed by me, on a warpath for the coffee machine, "We don't have much besides that. Strange usually goes out and buys food instead of making something. I don't mind."

"Thanks," I went up to my tip toes, fingers barely reaching the cracker box, "I was feeling sick last night, so these will be great before our sparring match."

"Strange is waiting for you in the training room," Wong said in response, "He got up early this morning. I can't tell if he's taking this too seriously or not seriously enough."

"There's a strange middle in there somewhere and that's where he rests most of the time," I took out a small pack of the snack sized crackers, quickly shoving some of them into my mouth, "Are you gonna watch?"

"It'd be best if I didn't get in the way," Wong shook his head, "Strange will inform me who wins your little match."

"Wish me luck then. It's hard to believe that the student will have had the chance to overcome the master," I chuckled, throwing the empty cracker packet into the trash.

I walked back up the staircase and down the right hall that led to the hallway dedicated to training. Pausing at the doorway to the temple like room, I took in a deep breath. While I did want to win, I also didn't want to go through another sick episode again, though I didn't feel anything clawing at the back of my mind.

"Holding off the inevitable?" Strange opened the door before I could even move my hand to the doorknob, "I didn't take you as one of those people."

"First impressions are often wrong," I smirked, stepping inside, "I'd like to get this over with quickly, I have other things I need to do."

"Arrogance will be your downfall," Strange took up his starting stance.

"Look who's talking, you had your head shoved up your kid when I met you."

Without a word to signify go, or an official start, the both of us charged towards each other. Within the first thirty seconds, I realized just how far Strange had come from the first time I taught him. Spells came easily to him, his hands moving with a grace and elegance that took my years to master.

Guess that's what came with a photographic memory.

I was at an advantage at first. With quick thinking I formed a sparking whip, flicking it at Strange with a deadly efficiency. Put on the defensive, he threw up a shield around his body. Using his short time of peace, he moved his hands together and apart, swiping it low.

I wasn't even aware of the spell coming towards me until I was lying on my back, coughing for air. Strange, not giving me any time to recover, formed a whip of his own. I yelped, rolling to the side as it struck down, jumping up the first chance I got.

"Are you really sure you should be doing this?"

I ducked down, rolling to the side. Giving Strange a confused look, I tapped my wrists together to form twin discs.

"I thought your trash talk would be better than that. Unless you're trying to get into my head."

"No, I'm not trying to throw you off. I'm curious because it's not just you I'm fighting. Is the baby going to be fine while you're doing this?"

Every system in my body shut down. All of my senses muted. There was a lash from the whip coming towards me, too late for Steve to stop, or for me to defend. I screamed out when it struck the ground next to me before disappearing.

"I'm so sorry (Y/n), the only thing I could do was try to change where it was going," Strange rushed over to me, genuine worry written over his face, "Are you alright?"

"What?" Was all I could choke out, "What did you say?"

"Are you alright?" Strange repeated.

"No, no. Before that. You uh- You said that...How did you- Am I really-"

"Oh, you didn't know, did you?" Strange asked blandly, "Sorry, my doctor instincts were kicking in. You seemed a bit different, and I heard you running to the bathroom this morning. Morning sickness?"

"No. See, I wasn't throwing up. I was really feverish and overall sick which isn't a sign of pregnancy on Earth, but it is on my planet...Nersh. Can we call this a tie?"

"I won."

"Tie it is then," I wiped some of the sweat from my forehead, "You threw me off a lot more than I thought you would be able to."

"What are you going to do now?"

"I'm not sure," I sighed uncertainty, crossing my arms over my chest, "They have doctors in Wakanda, and I have books that will help. But we're still on the run, going on missions as much as we can. Everything is going to change."

"For the better I hope. This is a chance at a family, you should take it Rogers."

"Thank you Strange," I smiled gratefully, "This has been fun but it also moved my plans forward a bit. I need to finish the other half of my mission and head back to Wakanda to talk to Steve."

"I understand. How long do you think?"

"Well I don't know how far in I am, but our pregnancies last on average a year because of our uh, advancements compared to humans. So...April of next year? I'll keep you updated."

"Please do," Strange nodded, "I don't have many friends besides Wong these days, and I get sick of him easily."

I laughed, "Thank you for allowing me to stay here for the night Strange, and for sparring me. Even if it didn't end the way I thought it would. I'll take my leave now."

"As you wish (Y/n), visit again soon, or after the baby is born. As long as it behaves I'll be fine with it."

"You have no idea how children work," with a role of my eyes I left the training room.

I changed back in my room and used a shrinking spell to shrink down my suitcase so it could fit into my purse. Catching Wong on my way out I said goodbye and stepped onto the New York streets.

It was time for my final mission, locating my target.