Chapter 3: Wanda's Decision
Sitting in the dining area, Stephen shook his head in answer to the question Bruce had just asked. "The Stones weren't placed in them, exactly. It’s hard to explain because, as we've learned, time is not linear."
Bruce’s green head tilted slightly. "That doesn't answer my question."
Tony seemed to understand immediately, moving to stand beside Bruce. "Something happened in the past to change this present?"
Strange nodded, tilting his hands in a vague, circular gesture. "Sort of. We now know there are a multitude of different universes. I’ve been made aware of several massive universe incursions that have caused this."
Everyone exchanged apprehensive, confused glances. Stephen sighed and explained, "An incursion is a catastrophic cosmic event where the boundaries between two universes erode, causing them to collide and destroy one—or both—realities."
Natasha chewed on the end of a pen as she looked down the hall toward Wanda’s room. "Is this her doing?"
Tony shook his head. "No. I reckon her revival is an uncalculated side effect of these... what, incursions?"
Stephen nodded, glad to be understood. "Exactly. When realities bleed together, those who were lost can sometimes find themselves..." His eyes, heavy with sympathy, found Natasha’s. "...rewritten back into the fold."
The room went still. Everyone, including Natasha, looked at Stephen agape. "What exactly do you mean?" Natasha asked quietly.
He rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. "Technically, in this universe, you died reversing the effects of Thanos acquiring all the Infinity Stones."
Bruce snapped his head to Natasha, his voice thick with a mixture of hope and terror. "Are you positive?"
Stephen nodded firmly. "I’m positive. In the timeline I'm from—the one that has now bled into this one—you sacrificed yourself on Vormir for the Soul Stone. But here you are, standing in front of me, while a version of Wanda who should be dead is lying in the medical wing."
"Actually, I’m standing, and I’m feeling much improved," Wanda said, her voice steady as she strode toward an empty chair. "Is there any way to determine which universe we originated from?" she asked as she sat, picking up an apple from the basket in the middle of the table.
Tony pulled at his beard for a moment before nodding. Standing, he swiped a holographic screen out of the air and pulled up an image titled Yggdrasil.
"Friday, run a comparison between Natasha’s bio-signature and the local timeline," Tony commanded. "Tell me if we're looking at a branch or a whole different tree."
Friday paused before responding. "Scans indicate a 99.8% match to the prime timeline, Boss. However, the Chronos-radiation suggests she originated from a reality where the Soul Stone was never retrieved from Vormir."
Tony rolled his eyes, swiping through data points with exasperation. "Yes, yes, obviously. But that could describe a hundred million different universes and timelines!"
Natasha wrinkled her nose. "So why don't I—or any of us—remember?"
Stephen shrugged. "You may not be from a different universe, but perhaps another timeline... or maybe both. Since time is not linear, the people from this universe wouldn't notice the switch. Their memories would be overwritten in real-time."
Wanda set down the empty apple core. "So that means I’m just from a different universe, and not a different timeline?"
Tony and Bruce eyed each other, then nodded in silent agreement. Wanda nodded back. "Well, I think we need to go to Texas." She stood and looked directly at Tony. "I think we should all go."
Wanda closed her eyes to search for the "home" signature. Suddenly, she stiffened. Her hand rose slowly, her fingers miming the motion of holding a steering wheel.
"You're late, Scarlet Witch."
Wanda’s mouth moved, but the voice wasn't hers. It was steady, calm, and vibrated with an unfamiliar authority. "I suggest you tell your friends to land that jet softly when you get here. I just finished painting the fence, and I'd hate for it to get messed up."
As the connection broke and she regained control, Wanda’s hand traveled to rest above her heart, her breathing shallow.
"Tony," she whispered, her eyes snapping open, revealing not her normal green or red but an electric blue. "Start the jet."
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