There were birds chirping overhead, but Cassie could hardly hear them. Her hands were clenched tightly, and her teeth bit the inside of her lip so hard she could taste blood. There was a pounding in her head, probably due to trying to keep back tears. Thor had sent her with directions, apparently having called ahead. Slowly, she raised a hand and rang the doorbell.

     There was no answer, and Cassie began to breathe a sigh of relief. She hadn't wanted to come in the first place--she'd be much more comfortable on her own. That morning, she'd stopped by the Sanctum and, with her spare key, retrieved all of her stuff. She'd returned it under the mat and left without a word. Strange hadn't been there anyway. Now, with a sigh, Cassie turned, trying to quickly return to the street.

     "Excuse me?" a male voice answered, and Cassie stopped, rigid.

     Slowly turning, she met the gaze of a tall blond, his blue eyes focused kindly, though warily, upon her own.

     "May I help you?"

     Cassie adjusted the duffle bag on her shoulder and re-climbed the steps.

     "Are you Cassie?" he asked upon finding her silent.

     "Yes," she smiled.

     "Nice to meet you. Thor called ahead. I'm Steve."

     He extended his hand and, with a weight upon her chest, she grasped it. With a jolt of realization, Cassie realized that she recognized him.

     "Steve?" another voice from within the residency called out, and Cassie strained her neck as a young woman came up beside him. She had dark hair pulled back from her face, and she wore a sports bra and shorts, having apparently been working out.

     "Wanda, this is Cassie," Steve smiled.

     "Ah, yes," Wanda smiled, extending her hand as well. The accent in her voice was unfamiliar, yet intriguing.

     Cassie returned the smile gratefully and followed the two inside.

     "So," Steve smiled, extending his hands, "you're welcome to stay as long as you need to."

     "It won't be long," she explained, "hopefully only one or two nights. Until I can find an apartment."

     Wanda nodded understandingly, and Steve lifted the duffle bag and backpack from her shoulders.

     "Why don't you just make yourself comfortable. Do you want some breakfast?"

     Cassie quickly shook her head, still nauseated from her and Thor's return to Earth.

     "Okay. Well, why don't you tell us a little about yourself?"

     Taking a seat on the couch, Cassie bit the inside of her cheek. "Well...I graduated about four years back, and I teach. I'm a teacher."

     "That's great," Steve smiled.

     She smiled tightly with a nod. "I'd been staying with a friend for the past...while, but we got into an argument last night, and, well..." Cassie clenched her hands together tightly and stared at the ground, trying not to appear emotional.

     "How did you meet Thor?" Wanda questioned.

     "W-well...he was friends with-with the guy I was staying with."

     "He was?" Steve asked curiously, knitting his brows.

     Cassie nodded wordlessly.

     "Well, all right. That's fair enough. I'd be happy to give you a ride today to look for an apartment if you want."

     "That's all right... I can go alone..."

     Steve sat beside her, Wanda leaning against the far wall. "Did you know dried blood is caked all around your ears?"

     She shot him a look of panic and self-consciously lifted a hand to the side of her head. "Do-do you mind pointing me to the bathroom?"

     He smiled. "Sure. Just down the hall there."

     Cassie focused her eyes on the floor and walked quickly from the room. Opening the door, she let it squeak shut behind her and raised her eyes to the mirror. Steve was right--there was dried blood running from her ear down to her jaw. Taking some water in her hand, she gently tried to wash it away. There was no pain, except her headache, and Cassie wasn't even sure they were related.

     Finally, she had all the blood off, and she washed her hands vigorously. Silently, she wondered what Strange was doing. She hadn't meant to get so worked up...and it wasn't just that she'd almost exploded again. It was that her anger was directed at him.

     Slowly, she opened the door and glanced down the hall. From here, she could hear Wanda and Steve talking.

     "Yeah, Thor said she's the one behind those accidents."

     Cassie's blood ran cold.

     "Really?" Wanda asked, exasperated.

     "Yes. And when she had that fight with Doctor Strange, she had no one left to help her control it. She's completely alone."

     Cassie felt the heat spreading through her cheeks, and she quickly cleared her throat, entering the room again. "I'm just fine. Thank you though." The bitterness in her voice was obvious enough as both stared at her, open-mouthed.

     "I didn't mean anything by that, Cassie," Steve mumbled, eyes wide.

     "The incident was an accident."

     "I never said it wasn't..." he tried to reassure her.

     "And the fight I had with Stephen is none of your business."

     Steve stood slowly, eyeing her warily. "Please, I wasn't trying to insult you. Don't be angry."

     Taking a deep breath, Cassie nodded.

     "I do want to ask you some questions though."

     "All right." Her heart was pounding as she glanced up at him. He was much taller than her.

     "How did you find out you had these abilities?"

     "There was an accident."

     "What sort of accident?"

     "You see...I was-was trapped-" She shuddered involuntarily. "I should've been frozen. Like-like everyone else." Her eyes were focused on Steve no more. "It was terrible. I-I-"

     Suddenly, her voice cut off, and she started to panic. The walls were closing in, boxing her up. the air was leaving the room. She was suffocating--there was no way out! Spots danced before her eyes, colors lurching her forward, throwing her to the floor. Laughter filled her head, excruciating pain bearing down on her body.

     Suddenly, a hand on her shoulder brought her back to reality. Cassie opened her eyes and stared up at Steve, still on her feet, though feeling off balance. "I'm sorry... I don't want to talk about it anymore."

     "Of course."

     She grabbed her backpack and headed for the door. "Thank you for your hospitality. I'm going to look for an apartment. I'll be back tonight."

     **********

     A breath of fresh air was what she had needed. The tension in that apartment was suffocating.

     The vibration in her pocket caught her off guard. Tony Stark.

     "Hello?"

     "Hey, doll."

     "Hi, Tony."

     "So, why don't you let me pick you up, all right? I need you to help me with something."

     "You need my help?"

     "Well, it's more that we just sorta want to see if there's other things you can do."

     "Other...things?"

     "Yeah. You see, we have some projects, you could say, and your talents would come in handy. If you could control them."

     "I've already told you I can't do that."

     "But I figure that once you've had my help-"

     "Stark, not today. It was a long night and-"

     "Oh, had your boyfriend over?" he teased.

     A stab of pain spread through her. She hadn't seen her 'boyfriend' since her accident. Andy had promptly dumped her upon hearing about it. No one had taken an interest in her since.

     Tony's voice trailed off as he realized how silent she was. Now the only sound was the blaring of horns and the sounds of people all around her. It all blurred together, however, into one, low hum.

     "I can't today, Tony."

     "That's not really an option. You agreed that when we needed your help-"

     "No. You can't control my life like that, and you know it. There've gotta be ground rules. Unless it's an emergency, of course. If I'm teaching, Stark, then they come first--understand? I have a life of my own."

     "What's so important that you can't come now?"

     "I'm apartment hunting."

     "Thought you were staying at Stephen's?"

     "I was."

     More silence. Cassie was leaning against the facade of a brick building, keeping her eyes on the crowd level.

     "Tomorrow? After you finish teaching?"

     "I suppose so."

     "Great. Thanks, baby."

     Click. Cassie smiled and rolled her eyes at the phone. To be honest, he did make her feel better.