Sinbound: Variants

Part 4

Loki and I return to the living room as if nothing happened. I avoid eye contact with Bucky who doesn't notice our return. Just then, Beth comes back. I rush to her, and ask her what happened.

"This is so fucked up." She begins.

"Tell us everything." I say, leading her to the sitting area. We crowd around her, but I motion with my hand for everyone to back off a little.

"Ok, first of all, she hates you." She says, pointing at Loki.

"She what?" He asks, concerned.

"Told you so." I say, reminding him of when I mentioned that the last thing she would have remembered was him leaving her. "Go on." I tell my sister.

"Ok, second, she still has magic but it's like, the basics. I don't know anything about the relationship she has with Thanos, but she kept mentioning his... powers?"

"Right, he believed I was his daughter or some shit." I explained briefly.

"Yeah, so... that makes no sense since your dad is right there?" She says, pointing at Tony.

"Let met think." I say, standing up and pacing beside them. I touch the side of my index finger to the crease of my lips and furrow my brow as I pace back and forth, trying to make sense of this. First of all, I'm human, so I'm not his daughter. Second, I'm not human, so what's the connection?

"You know what I think?" Steve speaks up, but I snap my fingers at him and hold one up in the air, silencing him. "Ok, sorry." He says, clicking his tongue and looking at his feet.

"I need to talk to my mom." I say suddenly, having an idea. I race to the door, grapping my coat. "Mind the variant." I say as I speed towards the elevator to get to the garage. I turn my car on by the key from across the garage while I jog towards it. I get in and drive towards the institution.

When I arrive, I'm greeted by Sarah Grafton, the one who first brought me to my mother when I came here the first time. I told her I was in a rush, and she promptly showed me to my mother's room. When I enter, I take my jacket hood down and sit on the bed. She's in her chair, reading.

"Mom?" I ask her softly.

"How's married life?" She asks, not looking up from her book.

"Blissful. Mom, I need to ask you something." I say, trying to sound serious. She takes in a breath, holds it a moment, then releases it. She shuts her book and places it on the wide windowsill next to her.

"What is it, buttercup?" She asks, folding her hands in her lap.

"Tony Stark is my father. David was the man who raised me, but what is my connection with Thanos?" I ask her, not beating around the bush.

"I was wondering when you would ask me that."

"So... you knew?" I ask, now paying complete attention. I wish I could fast forward her words so I could know this instant what her answer is going to be.

"You are my daughter, and you are Tony's daughter. That much is certain. But, my sweet buttercup, you were destined to be more than that. When I was a Valkyrie-"

"WHAT!?" I shriek, my mouth dropping open so much I thought it would fall off, my eyes watering from pure shock. "Rewind... and freeze."

Just then, the door opens and Sarah peaks her head in. "Everything ok?" She asks, but I twitch my hand to shut the door in her face. It sparks a reddish purple, then slams shut.

"There's so much you don't know about me, buttercup. I wish I could tell you all of it, but I'm running out of time."

"Mom... what do you mean? You're still young, you're fine!" I say, my voice cracking.

"But I'm tired." She says softly, looking down at her hands. "Buttercup, do me a favor. Go back to your home. In the attic under the floorboard by the window, you'll find a book. Read it. It will tell you everything."

"Why does it sound like you're leaving?" My eyes start to tear up.

"I've been gone a long time, sweetheart. You'll be alright."

"But you're right here, talk to me now!" I say, unable to control my sobbing.

"The necklace I gave you... never take it off and I will be with you. You can manage on your own, you're a grown woman now. My mind is getting further and further from me, and I cannot stop it. You, my buttercup, you're just beginning." She says, reaching out to put her hand on top of mine. I hold hers, pulling her chair closer to me. I lean in to hug her, wetting her shoulder with my tears.

"I love you, mom." 

"I love you too, Mrs. Laufeyson."

I leave with my head down, focused on my next mission. The newspapers were flooded with the death of David Beckland, and the house is for sale now, by state. I doubt anyone will want to buy it considering it's known throughout New York to be haunted. Yeah right, as if that moron has the balls to come back and test me again. I'm alive and I'd haunt his ghost.

I park in front of the house. The sign is still up in the front yard, although the flower garden along the walkway has been trampled on. I have a weird sense of deja vu, but almost like I've experienced this exact moment three times already at least. Strange.

I get out of my car and try the front door. It's locked, of course, so I take the narrow path to the back of the house. The back door is locked too, and I almost forgot I have magical powers. Like an idiot. I use it to open the back door that leads into the kitchen. I sneak in, passing the spot where I had choked David. I snicker, then make my way to the upstairs hallway. I pull the string to the attic ladder and unfold it, then climb up.

There's a light switch around here somewhere, I know it. I find it and flick it, but nothing happens. I grumble and take my phone out to use it as a flashlight. I crawl to the window at the front of the house to find the loose attic floorboard my mom told me about. I knock around on the wood, listening for a hallow spot. I find it, then push lightly on the plank. It pops up on the other side like a charm, and I reach in to find the book. It's gross and dusty, but I stuff it in my jacket and hurry back to my car.

I lock the doors and dust the book off to find that it's a diary. My mother kept a diary of her life before she gotten taken away! I read the first entry and cannot believe the words I'm reading. I flash through the entries, learning so much more about her and my family that I've ever known. Turns out she's kept a lot of secrets, and for good reason. 

Then I get to one entry in particular, one that explains absolutely everything. "Oh... my... god..." I say, shutting the diary and turning my car engine over, then pressing my foot hard on the gas to return back into the city.