I'm sorry, Kiara, while your husband-to-be is very charming, your father...

I took a rough shot at the punching bag in front of my face. I had no wrappings on my wrist, or boxing gloves. In hindsight, with how my fists were throbbing, I should have invested in either or.

You think it's right to just walk back into our lives like this, after what you pulled? Your mother and I thought you dead for years!

The bag swung dangerously in front of me, almost attacking back. I kicked it away each time it tried to bowl me over. My breathing was a bit labored. I continued my workout.

And you thought not once to visit? I'm ashamed of you, daughter. I truly am. I'm ashamed that you ran off, and now you're—you're marrying off to—to a Midgardian.

I let out a frustrated yell. The punching bag broke free from its chain, sending it midair. It didn't hit the floor; red swirls caught it. Wanda Maximoff gently set it down with her magic, giving me a rather concerned look.

"Is this a bad time, because I can totally find something else to do," she said quickly. For a minute, I thought she was afraid of me. Wanda Maximoff, the girl who can control people, afraid of me.

I put my clenched fists against my hips. My frustration was dissolving, but not fast enough. "No, I was...finished, actually."

"I was going to see if you wanted to train, but I would rather you be...focused, so nothing bad happens."

"Give me some time to cool off, and then we'll do a few rounds." I went to the punching bag, giving it a spiteful kick. "They need to make these more durable."

"Well, I'm sure whoever made these did not think that Asgardians would use them. You're a bit stronger than us."

I don't know about that. I ignored the bag, and Wanda followed me out of the training room. I went to the kitchen, grabbing a cold bottle of water. My body temperature lessened some.

"So...is it wrong of me to ask how your visit to Asgard was?" Wanda asked me carefully. Red tendrils wound around her fingertips. She was still wary of me.

"It didn't go like I had hoped," I said bluntly. I could see Father's disgusted face glowering at me. I saw Mother's face, not as upset as Father's, but...mournful. She was not abused by Father, but she had never been one to stand up to him. She would side with him, even if he was being an absolute arse. "They're not coming."

"I'm sorry, Kiara."

I shook my head. "I burnt that bridge when I made a life here. I dug my own grave on that one." I exhaled loudly. "I still left it open, if they changed their minds, but...it's being too hopeful."

"I could always—"

"I want them to go because they want to, Wanda. I don't want anyone forced at my wedding against their will. It kind of defeats the happy atmosphere of the ceremony."

"How does Steve feel about it?"

"He's taking it better than I am. He wants them here, too, because I'm the only child. So I guess having my father walk me down the aisle is out of the question."

"We'll find someone, Kiara. There's still time."

Yes, which is running out day by day. Dress shopping is next on the list. There still felt like so much to do. Nobody really knew just how much got put into a wedding until they were undergoing the process themselves. Hell, I wasn't even planning my wedding, Pepper was!

I'd owe her so much for handling all this stress. I'd need to figure out a really nice way to say "thank you" to her. Words certainly wouldn't cut it.

"I'm surprised Aria didn't want to make a surprise visit," I mentioned to Wanda.

At this, the witch blushed, messing with her fingers. "That might be my fault."

"I'm not knocking you for making her love Earth, Wanda. You and Todd have made her like it here. Speaking of my best friend, have you seen him lately?"

"He's probably training with Natasha."

I frowned slightly. "I have no problem with them training together, but, I thought that would be our thing."

"He'll do what he wants to do." Wanda shrugged. "So...are you good?"

I nodded. "Yeah, let's get to work."

I grabbed the water bottle as Wanda and I went to a separate training room. This room had props, and scorch marks thanks to me. This was a room more suited for enhanced people like Wanda and myself, and Aria.

Wanda and I took our positions across from each other. I'd discarded the water bottle at the door. She watched me carefully. Exhaling, I called fire to come out and play. I didn't create my normal fireball or a stream, instead, I crafted a sword of flame. Wanda's eyes widened in awe at the spectacle. She did every time. It was something new that I'd been working on.

I held the sword with one hand, being that it was light at my touch. The nice thing about my fire was that my skin was impervious to it.

"What do you expect me to do against that?" she said. "I can't make a magic sword from my powers!"

"How do you know if you've never tried? Okay, you want a little less of a challenge?" I converted the sword into a flaming knife. "Catch." With a grunt, I flung it towards Wanda, who stopped it, breaking the mold apart. The flames died in the air.

"We should focus more on hand-to-hand," she suggested. "I can worry about this piece when I'm alone."

"All right then." I squared myself up. "Show me what you've got."

Though I couldn't say I was the greatest fighter, Wanda certainly had a lot of work ahead of her still. Her methods were predictable, and sloppy. I had her on the ground within a minute. She popped herself right back up, only to be smacked down on the floor again.

"What am I doing wrong?" she protested as I helped her up.

"Do you really want me to answer?" I teased. "I'm by no means a master at hand-to-hand, but you don't show your enemy your move. You get them to make a mistake. You fake them out."

"Show me how."

Midway through my training with Wanda, Aria stepped in. I let her switch off with Wanda, as once she realized what we were up to, she wanted to partake. Like with Wanda, I landed Aria on her back pretty quickly.

"I hate that we don't use our powers in this," she complained.

"You could, but we need to know we can handle our own without our power. We want to be formidable all around, body and ability. You two try now. Learn from each other."

"What, are you afraid we'll team up against you?" Wanda helped Aria to her feet.

"If you want a challenge, then let's do it. Last one standing wins. No powers, even if you feel the urge."

Though they both looked unhappy, they followed that important rule. For a time, they thought they had the edge over me. Until I put Aria on the ground and then proceeded to knock Wanda down.

"You've still got a long way to go," I told them both. "Keep at it. We're done for now."