I form a small ball of light with my hands and play with it in my fingers. My powers are the same but they feel different. Nothing is the same as they used to be. I'm not the same as I used to be. I thought I knew what I used to be but I'm not so sure now.

My eyes flick up as the guest room door opens and sky-blue Steve slides in.  The ball of light dissipates, "Hey, Grandpa."

"Hey Emily, how are you holding up?"

"Good. I'd be better if they'd stop keeping me so drugged up," I admit. "How's Bucky?"

"He's doing okay. Shuri set him up with a place on the outskirts of the city. He's raising goats now."

I smile, "Good for him. He deserves a break... I think I owe you an explanation on how I know him."

"Really? You're finally going to tell me?"

"Yes, I am so you should probably shut up before  I change my mind," I warn, he nods so I continue. "As you know, I moonlighted for HYDRA. I was a great asset so they paired with their best, Bucky. At first, we'd barely even glance at each other but there was one mission. It was a tough one. We almost didn't make it out... it was..."

"Emily?" Steve questions with a concerned look.

I shake it off, "I'm fine. It was just something I don't particularly enjoy thinking about. After that mission, there was a bond between us. He started getting protective of me on missions. It was really annoying. Anyway, I got used to the idea of someone taking care of me and caring about my safety. He was like an older brother to me. He named me- he gave me a name."

"Amelia was the name of one of his sisters. The youngest one," Steve informs me.

"Even when he couldn't remember, he always did. He gave me a set of words to recite before they'd... wipe me. It worked until they put him back on ice. A few years later, after his battle with you, he came to my- where I was being held and he put two bullets in my handlers. The rest is history.

Steve's eyes widen, "He killed your parents?"

"Don't tell him I said this because it'll go straight to his head but he brought out a spark of humanity in me when I was purely robotic. He did more for me than anyone and that is saying a lot because you, the others... my dad, all did so much for me."

"Aw, you make me blush," A familiar voice calls out from the doorway. I glance at the light gray man.

I roll my eyes, "I heard you take care of goats now. Lame."

"Rude. How long they got you holed up in here?"

"Until they know I won't go on a rampage," I sigh. "Or unless I show no signs of mutating into a Hulk jr. There might also be a few therapy sessions I have to suffer through. Maybe one or two anger management lessons. I know you got your goat friends. How about you, Steve? You hanging around?"

"Well, I actually caught wind of a trafficking ring, I'm deciding whether or not to run it down. Scott and Clint took a deal for their families. They're out. Maybe I should be too."

"Do it. Steve, you slept for 70 years I doubt the last thing you want to do now is to settle down and retire. You're young, go live your life."

He gives me a strange look, "I'm young?"

"I don't count. I've been told that I have the soul of an old lady from the 1900s," I explain.

Bucky nods, "That's true you remind me of my grandmother."

I ignore Bucky and continue, "That makes me at least 40 years older than you. Seriously, the government is going to be chasing you down anyway. At least give Thaddeus a hard time."

"Well, I don't think I can call myself Captain America anymore."

"Then don't. You're not tied to that name. You're a person under it named Steve Rogers. You're more than just a shield."

"Like always, she's right," Bucky agrees. "Although, I think she should do the opposite."

My eyebrows furrow, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you have gone through way too much for your age. The last thing you need is stress. I don't want your name to be in the newspaper for leveling a town."

"Okay, I hear you. I'll take it under consideration but no promises. New York isn't exactly stress-free," I remind him.

"Then maybe that's not where you need to be, " Steve suggests.

"Yeah, maybe."

***

"Harley!" I engulf him in a hug as soon as I step off the jet. "I can't believe they wouldn't let you stay in Wakanda. How'd you get there anyway?"

"Wizards," He answers simply.

"I'm not going into the fact there are suddenly wizards now but how do got know them?"

"I have a life besides hanging out with you and Peter. I actually go on many zany adventures."

"Ok, I've got to meet these wizards now. Do they have like long robes or something?"

***

"Blecker street? You know this is where I met-" I sigh, spotting dull gold Odi on the street again.

"Maybe he used to live around here?" Harley suggests.

"I guess, it's probably just a coincidence."

"I thought you didn't believe in coincidence."

"I don't. Let's take Odi with us to go see the Wizard of Oz."

"Okay, but you have to knock on the door."

"Odi!" I call him over.

He slowly turns to face us. When he sees us he grins and walks towards us, "Hello, children."

"Odi, why aren't you at Shady Acres?" I ask with a fake disappointed look.

"There...is something different about you."

I give him a strange look but shrug it off, "We have to run one errand then we'll take you back to the home. Okay?"

"Yes, I suppose so," Odi agrees.

"It's just a few buildings down," Harley says, leading us down to 177A Blecker Street. A weird tingling sensation crawls over my skin. The building is all distorted and just... wrong.

I cringe at the sight, "This place is so weird."

"It's about to get a lot weirder," Harley knocks on the door and steps off to the side out of the way.

"You okay?"

"Yeah, but they're most likely to open the door if it's not me."

"I thought you were friends with the wizard?"

"Friend would be a generous term.".

The door cracks open, a short bald man with a velvet outline seemingly inspecting us before opening the door fully, "Are you a Girl Scout?"

Harley steps out, "Hey, Wong. How you doing?"

Wong groans, "Oh geez."

Harley pushes past the man, I mouth an apology to him as Odi and I follow. My eyes widen in shock as I look around the humongous room. "This may be my only opportunity to say this and I'm totally taking it. It's bigger on the inside. Harley, it's actually bigger on the inside."

"Doctor Who. You must be the girl," A  forest green lit man in a red cape steps out of an orange portal.

I blink twice as his face clicks in my mind, "Aren't you Stephen Strange?"

"You know me?"

"I thought that would be made obvious by the fact I know your name. How do you go from a world-class surgeon to wizard?"

"I'm not a wizard, I am Sorcerer Supreme, master of the mystic arts, defender of the unseen reality."

"That's cool and all but you still didn't answer my question."

"You're the one trespassing in my sanctum. You and your... pirate grandpa?"

"Oh, he's not my grandpa. That'd actually be Captain- sorry, Steve Rogers."

"Um, what?" Strange asks then is distracted by Odi touching a basin. "Can you not?"

"Woah, isn't that Asgardian?" I inquire.

"How could you possibly know that?" Strange asks.

"The price of pop tarts was very high."

"Lady Emily is very knowledgeable in many different subjects," Odi adds.

The obvious finally clicks in my mind, "Oh, I am an absolute idiot. You were right, Harley."

"What are you- wait do you mean...?"

"He's Odin." We both say at the same time.

"As in King Odin from Asgard?"

I ignore him and gently touch Odi's/Odin's shoulder, he turns around with a small smile on his face, "Yes, darling?"

"What's the name of your eldest son?"

His face contorts slightly, "I... don't... remember..."

I turn to Strange, "Can any of your fancy titles lift a spell?"

***

"Dude, we've been talking to Thor's dad this whole time!"

"How did I miss this? This is so bad."

Harley and I share a serious look before bursting with laughter.

"The king of an alien planet was spilling chocolate pudding on himself."

"Now we're standing in the home of wizards."

"What's next?"

"I kind of need to concentrate here," Strange scolds.

"Sorry," Harley and I apologize in unison, stifling our laughter.

Strange sets the book he was reading down and begins using his gloved hands to form orange sigils over Odin.

"His hands..."

"What about them?"

"The brainwashing is gone but the information is still stuck in there. His hands were the worst thing damaged in his car accident other than his pride. He spent millions on fixing them," I glance at his shaky hands, "I guess not everything can be fixed."

"Yet he's still going strong."

"I can't believe you met him before I did. I literally know most powered people in the city."

"Sh!" Strange harshly scolds.

The orange sigils surround Odin and spin around him. He looks up with new clarity in his eyes as they disappear.

His gold aura brightens even more if that's possible. "Are you okay... your majesty?"

"I do believe we are familiar enough with each other to forgo the formalities. I appreciate you spending time with me these past months. You have grown a lot since we first started conversing. You have a great power inside you, the potential to do an outstanding amount of good or horrendous evil."

"A healthy dose of gamma radiation will give that to you," I shrug.

"Wait, hold on," Strange interrupts, "Gamma radiation?"

"It was indirect," I vaguely explain.

"Why would anyone administer any amount of gamma radiation to a child? That doesn't make any sense, how could-"

"Well,  seeing as my dad handled a lot more exposure pretty well. There was pretty little concern that it would kill me. Although, there was a lot more concern about a certain... mutation would take place."

Wong intrudes, "What? Like the big green monster that tore up Harlem and-"

"That's my dad," I bluntly announce. "And before you ask, no... actually, I might hulk out. I haven't yet so the jury's still out on that one. Sorry, I skipped a few steps, hi, I'm Emily Banner."

"One hell of an introduction," Strange comments. "What are we supposed to do with the king?"

I turn to Odin, " Do you want to go back to Asgard?"

"I have lived a long life and I have made many mistakes, more than any other. Perhaps it is time to let others take my place. They cannot do any worse than I did," He glances around the sanctum, "This planet is very special. I'd like to stay here. Live out the rest of my days in peace."

"Basically anyway far away from these two," Wong remarks.

"We are very peaceful," Harley protests.

I ignore both of them, deep in thought. I finally speak, interrupting Wong and Harley's battle of witty one-liners, "How about Norway? Norse mythology and all."

"I once fought there, it's where I left the Tesseract. Those lands are exceptionally breathtaking," Odin agrees.

Strange opens an orange circle leading to a scenic view, " The choice is yours."

Odin takes my hand, "You are strong, my dear. You have survived much and you will continue to do so. You are worthy, never forget that."

"Thank you."

Odin turns to Harley and whispers something in his ear. He nods to us and walks through the portal as it closes behind him. I turn on my heel and face Strange, " You have an Infinity Stone, don't you? I could feel it halfway down the street."

"It's cloaked," Strange tells me.

"Infinity stones are so powerful it's almost as if they're alive.  They each give off similar signatures and I've spent a lot of time around one. So much time that it's become apart of my aura."

"You have life magic?"

"I have light manipulation, I can see things on a different level including life forces which are so strong that I can track them. Apparently, that includes colorful stones," I explain.

Strange reveals an amulet around his neck, "The eye of Agamotto. It holds the Time Stone."

"I'm beginning to think that Thor's theory is correct. The Stones have been popping up recently and-"

"Do you ever stop thinking about everything but yourself?" Harley interrupts. "This is not the time to be thinking about magic space stones."

"Can you give us a minute?" I ask Strange and Wong who promptly leave the room. "What did Odin say to you?"

"Why did you leave Wakanda so early? You could've rested there."

I look away from him, "I came back to tell you something but after Odin..."

"What is it? What did you want to tell me?"

"... I was thinking about going to Calcutta for a while. You heard Odin, I can do a horrendous amount of evil. I don't want to hurt anybody... I don't want to hurt you."

"Why do you always focus on the bad? You completely left out the part where he said you could do good. If you feel like you need to go to Calcutta then I'll support you but it should because of a good reason. Don't go there because you're scared of yourself."

"How do you always know exactly what to say?"

He smiles, "I read books."

I look up at him and press my lips to his cheek, "Thank you."

And with that, I'm gone.