"Morning, Jae, I'm glad you're up." Pepper stood at my door in a pair of shorts and a white blouse tucked loosely into the shorts. Her red hair held loose waves. She leaned against the door frame. "Just wanted to check in. I've scheduled the interview for later, after the whole...you know." I nodded, thanking her. "Do you have any idea what you want to wear today?"

"No clue." She gestured to the closet and I gave her an okay to go ahead and look through it to find an outfit. As she did so, I walked over to my computer and checked the trending. The Avengers was still the top tag. Which didn't surprise me, as we did save the world from an invasion. Following that was New York Invasion. Followed by other tags that were related to the attack. Pepper caught my attention by placing a black top with polka dots, a grey blazer, and black jeans with ankle boots on my bed. "Thanks, Pep, I don't know what I would do without you."

"Perish." I laughed, and she rested her hand on my shoulder, squeezing it before leaving the room. I took a quick shower and did my makeup. As I walked down the steps, I saw Pepper sitting on the couch. The whole tower was being remodeled, dad was installing a security system. We had to fix the place up still, but it was going pretty well. I heard the footsteps of dad above us in Pepper and his shared room. Probably fussing over me and the day ahead of us. "Anything fun on the news?" I asked aloud, and opened my hand, the remote teleporting from the table next to Pepper and into my hand. Flipping it on and through the channels was real boring. All about the invasion and then the Avengers. Dad and the others were real popular, and now the whole world knew about gods, secret agencies, and everything in between. Just hoped they hadn't figured out about me and if they knew what I was. It would be useful to me if they shared their knowledge. I sure as hell didn't believe whatever Shield was telling me.

"Hey there kid," I looked over toward the voice, spotting dad. He shot me a smile and kissed Pepper's cheek. I rolled my eyes at the show of affection and continued to stare at some video caught on a phone. It showed the Hulk leaping through the air and slamming into a Chitauri vehicle. Another video took its place and it showed the energy from the tesseract's beam growing stronger, most likely from when I stepped into it. Dad took a look over my shoulder and snatched the remote from me. "You don't need to pay attention to that, Jae."

"Oh? And why not? Like it or not, sometime, someone is gonna piece it together. Where I was, what happened to me. What part I play in it. I should be able to see what the civilian population is obsessing with, right?" I turned around on the couch, my arm wrapping around the top half. "Plus, if I'm gonna be apart of the company, I should be able to answer questions that the press is gonna ask. I can't be the one to dodge all the questions."

"Well, that's true. But, right now, we have to go down to the car. Happy is waiting to take us to Central Park. I have to get something from the lab, but I'll meet you down there." He motioned to my wrists. A way to tell me to go and get my braces. I grumbled under my breath about how I didn't like them, nor did I want them. I did need them though. So I got up and ran upstairs before I made my way down the steps and into the elevator. I put the braces on my wrists and felt my energy merge with the bracelets.

"Bye, Pep!" I yelled to her as the doors slid shut. I saw her wave bye and smile to me. Rolling on the balls of my heels I watched the floor number decrease. Happy met me on the ground floor. The floor was pretty filled with its workers. Some spotted me and gave a nod. All knew of Tony's daughter who's used to being kidnapped and tortured by now. Little did they all know, that I'm not being kidnapped anymore. I'm not being tortured anymore.

"Miss Stark?" I looked to the voice and saw the badge instantly. It read Press. "I wanted to ask you about the events that transpired here a little while ago." Happy began to walk toward me but I rose my hand to stop him.

"I'm giving an interview to a reporter later today. So no, you can't ask me about the events that happened here during the invasion. Look, I'm sorry, but I've got to get going. I have an appointment I have to stick to." I brushed by her and sent her a soft smile as my way to say sorry. Happy patted me on the back as we exited the building.

"I'm sure if your dad had seen that, he might have gone off. But you kept it to the point, but refused her approach. He's gonna be proud when you tell him this." I rolled my eyes and entered the car when he opened the door for me. The radio was on, discussing the damages that the invasion caused. Redirecting traffic from certain streets that were too cluttered with debris. My eyes fell back to Happy and I saw him on his phone. He nodded and I could see him mouth alright and yes. After he hung up, he entered the car. Starting it up, he adjusted the rear view mirror, his eyes landing on me. "Your father has told me that I'm to take you to Central Park. He's gonna meet us there." I nodded and looked out the window, the city starting to pass us by, the Stark Tower fading into the distance as we turned down a street and went toward the park.

Surprisingly, it wasn't that far of a drive. I remembered it being much longer when I was younger. My attention span was a lot shorter back then. Then again, so was I. Rolling my window down, I was met with the warm air and horns honking from blocks away echoing to me. I rested my arm and head on the window. "Jaedyn, you alright?"

"Hmm?" I turned to face the rear mirror, his eyes meeting mine. "I'm just out of it, I'm good Happy. Thanks." I passed him a smile through the rear view mirror, then went back to spacing. We made a few bit more stops than planned due to the New York traffic. Happy kept sneaking glances back to me, trying to be slick. I caught him almost always, though. He must have been told by dad to keep an eye on how I was doing. The funeral of Alec had been a horrible idea to go. And ever since then Happy has been keeping an even closer eye on me.

"You know what, Happy, I'm just gonna walk from here. It's, what, half a mile to the meeting point?"

"Yes, Miss Stark. Wait, what?" I heard Happy answer, then realize what I had said. By that time I had already undone my seat belt and was out the door.

"Just meet me there, Happy!" I yelled back to him and he looked disappointed, in himself most likely. Laughing to myself, I made it to the sidewalk unscathed by cars and bicyclists. Reaching a park gate, I checked my phone and entered in the correct information to navigate to the meet up. Though when I saw a portion of the park blocked by large black SUV's, I got the picture. Shield presence. I jumped a fence line to jog through the grassy field. A few groups of families and friends crowded the field. Dogs chasing after play toys. When I spotted the kids with their kites, I stopped. My head tilted to the side, seeing a memory of dad and I. I had a blue kite that dad was running with and throwing it in the air until it caught a gust of wind and shot up high into the sky. Dad picked me up and held me on his shoulders as we flew the kite, making it dive down and fly higher until we could barely see it.

"Hey, Miss!" a figure in the distance waving to get my attention caught my eye. "Could you give that back, please?" Looking a few feet from me, there was a Frisbee. Assuming it was the couple's, I grabbed it and threw it back to them, the disk gliding on the wind easily getting caught by its owner. He waved it at me then tossed it back to his girlfriend. After a bit more sight seeing, I continued on, jumping the next gate and coming to a stop when I saw the other vehicles parked. A classic motorcycle, a chrome car with a black shiny shield logo on another.

"Miss. I'm gonna have to ask you to step back over the gate, you're not authorized to be here," the Shield agent spoke to me, putting their arm out to block me from walking.

"Agent Jaedyn Stark, reporting..." I moved his hand down meeting his eyes, even though they were hidden behind shades. "I'm expected." Taking a deep breath, I crossed the street and spotted the large truck, probably carrying Loki in his locks and chains. My instincts kept telling me to turn the other way, but I knew that I must continue. I shouldn't be scared of a man in chains, but he had an effect on me.

"Stark!" Clint's voice called to me and I sighed, relieved. He was able to see that I was still on edge, even if I kept up a facade. "Glad you could make it. I was sure Tony was going to say something against it." We shared a brief chuckle before seeing a dark red convertible pull up. The license plate read 'Stark 33'. Of course, dad would take the flashiest car.

"What's the saying? Speak of the devil and he shall appear?" I flashed a smirk and nodded over to Natasha, who held her arms crossed over her chest. That's when I spotted Steve leaning on the fence line, looking over a much larger grass field. "Guess we're starting now?" When I went to turn again, I stumbled. My knees feeling weak, they almost gave out under me. Clint caught me and gave me an arm to support me standing.

"You alright, Jaedyn?" I spotted the silver briefcase that dad got out of his car and carried over. I pointed to it, feeling the energy in the box.

"The Tesseract's in that. I can feel her."

"Do you think you should get out of this area?" I glared up at him and tore my arm from his grip. "Hey, I'm just saying, Jae, you're not looking so good."

"Oh, thank you, Clint, 'cause that's what every woman wants to hear," I rolled my eyes and smoothed out my shirt. Standing straight, I took a long, deep breath. My eyes closing as I did so, I held it for ten seconds, then released it and slowly counted to ten aloud. "I'm fine. I'm good."

"Alright..." Clint reached inside his grey jacket and pulled out some sunglasses to block off other's looks. "Let's get this over with." He pressed a light hand to my back, ushering us over. The doors of the stopped truck opened and Thor came out with Loki, muzzled and handcuffed. That didn't stop the whispers of Loki starting to speak inside my head. I rubbed my temple as we walked over and formed a half circle, dad moving to the center with the case. Erik Selvig moved around Thor, giving him a pat on his back as he moved over by dad. Selvig held a glass container up and looked to dad. He knelt down and opened the box. Bruce took a pair of specialized tongs and grabbed the Tesseract. I felt my body start to twitch.

"Jaedyn... Young one." I spotted Loki eyeing me, and I clenched my fists. Bits of my energy started to crackle along my skin. "Listen to my voice. Heed my words, should you do this. Danger will come." Thor was starting to shake hands with some of the team members, nodding to those who didn't shake hands. Myself included. As Selvig handed the case with the Tesseract inside, him and Thor shared in a quick hug.

"I don't want to heed any word you have to say to me, Loki. Not anymore," I took a step forward, gaining looks once more. "He's talking to me," I motioned to my head. "In here, and I'm not going crazy."

"Jaedyn. Just take a breath alright? He's not gonna harm you anymore," Bruce tried to calm me down, which only ended up making me more riled up.

"He should be the one relived I won't harm him." A hand gripped my arm when I went to step forward. Dad. He shook his head at me and I shrugged him off. "You have no power over me anymore." I looked to Loki's blue eyes and narrowed mine. To make sure he got the picture, I wove my fingers and he spotted the blue energy around my fingers forming.

His eyes widened and met mine. His eyes told me he was smirking below the muzzle. I wanted to slap it off of him. Though, I wouldn't do so while he was defenseless. "Are you sure I have lost all power over you?" I flicked one of my fingers and sent a wave like a fist hitting his stomach.

"Thor, get him off my planet." Thor nodded at me and handed Loki the other end of the glass tube. Reluctantly, Loki took the other end. Thor twisted the end of it and the blue energy shot into the sky, enveloping the two of them, shooting the two Asgardians into the sky. The beam intimidated the others, causing them to take a cautious step back. I remained still. When the beam vanished, I felt like a weight was lifted off my shoulders. The Tesseract and Loki were both gone somewhere else, probably Asgard if I was lucky. The Asgardian king, Odin, would know what to do.

Soon after they left, the others started to disperse. Steve and Tony shook hands and exchanged what I could only hope were pleasantries. Over by the chrome Shield car I saw, Nat gave Banner a bag, probably stuff to have a fresh start, plus a way for shield to keep tabs on him. Dad locked eyes with me and mouthed, see you at home. I barely caught what it was, but figured it out when he pointed to the tower peaking through the tree line. I nodded and waved over to Bruce, who was getting into the convertible. The two geniuses sped off down the street and out of Central Park. Steve was walking over to me. The look in his eyes was sympathetic, but held an inner confusion and anger. Instead of yelling, he extended his hand to me.

"You take care of yourself, Stark." I scoffed and motioned to the convertible that was turning onto the actual street. "Well, try to not let Tony get you too caught up in his trouble."

"No promises, Captain. I am a Stark after all." He nodded and moved over to his bike, turning the key and starting her up. Revving the engine alive, he started down the street. I gave him a two finger salute and he smiled as he drove passed me.

"Jaedyn," Clint called my name and I started to walk to him. He was leaning against the back of the Shield car, Nat peaking through the rear window waving briefly at me. "What did you mean when you said, you didn't want to heed any word Loki said to you?"

"He wanted to warn me of something dangerous that was going to come, or something like that. Honestly, Barton, I just think he was trying to get under my skin. I'm sure he was just trying one last play to get me to lose it. I didn't, though!" The last part made me excited and smile at him.

"That you didn't. I'm glad you're getting better control." Clint uncrossed his arms and stuck them in his pockets. "It seems like you and Loki shared a bond while he was here. I'm wondering why that is. Though, I think it's because of the scepter and the Tesseract. With one of the two gone, I'm wondering how powerful the bond is."

"Well, I'm not gonna test it, if that's what you're asking me to do. I've got one too many voices in my head. I don't want to go poking for a third right now." Looking past Clint, I spotted Happy parked down the street. He reached out the driver window and motioned for me to come over to him and it was time to leave. "Clint, I'm happier now that they are gone, I'm getting my life back together. I'm trying to balance having abilities and being a hero with my civilian self. Let me get this part figured out first, before I go diving off the deep end again, yeah?" Smiling at him, I smacked his arm as I passed him. "Start the car up, Happy, I'm ready to leave," I got in the back and buckled in, rolling the window down. "I'm ready to go home."

The elevator dinged and the doors opened. Stepping off the lift I saw dad and Pepper looking over some holographic designs. I went over to the kitchen and grabbed three mugs, making us all hot chocolate. A tradition we hadn't done in a while, but I knew we needed something. Dad even had the mug I got him for father's day. A universe with a rocket ship taking off. The phrase, the best dad in the whole universe, was written on it. Pepper's was one that she had got in Morocco. A picture of the beach was printed on it. Mine was one of dad's black, red, and gold mugs for Iron Man merchandise. I started over to them. I was holding mine in my hand, but dad's and Pepper's were being carried by my energy. I spotted them kissing as I was walking over to them. For them to realize I was there, I verbally gagged. and it caused Pepper to laugh. Dad turned to look at me and spotted the hovering mugs. Hesitantly, he grabbed his. I moved Pepper's around to her view and she jumped in shock. She must have figured out it was me and took the mug in her hand.

"This was nice of you, Jaedyn," Pepper flashed a smile at me and I did one back to her. "What made you decide to make this?"

"Just glad to have my family back, and feel relative normal," I looked over and down to who had whipped cream stuck in his goatee, causing Pepper and I to laugh. He sat his mug on the table in front of him and moved in between us, kissing my forehead, getting whipped cream on me, and then kissing Pepper again, getting it on her lips. I elbowed his side gently and he flinched, a hand going to his ribs. "You earned that."

"Oh, yeah? And you've earned this," Dad set my mug on the counter and flung me over his shoulder, stepping over to the couch, throwing me onto it. Grabbing a throw pillow, he started beating me with it. The other was tossed to the corner of the room. I reached my hand out and teleported it to my hand, using it as a shield. When I could feel him tire, I hit him back a few times before he gave up and threw the pillow at me as an act of defeat. "Alright you win!" He gave Pepper a defeated puppy dog look and she rolled her eyes, grabbing her mug and sipping it. I lifted my hand and my energy wrapped around my mug, bringing it over slowly so it didn't spill.

"You two are like children," Pepper said. Dad and I both shared a look and she took her tablet and moved away from us. Dad followed, though. I didn't even want to know what they were doing. Pulling my laptop into my lap, I pulled up my recent searches, seeing the few lofts I had found an interest in. I did have a trust that I could now access, being an adult. I think a place to myself would help me branch out into adulthood and give me a space where I could be myself.

The Author

Here's another chapter of Phantom.

I graduated High School! Finally.

Though now I have to get a job to help with next fall, where I'm going to college.

Anyway I hope you enjoyed the chapter.

If you have the time could you please leave me some feedback. It helps a lot!

Thank you again and I hope you have a great Day/Night!

~C.K.O~