Inquiry

Stepping into his new apartment with Romanoff to accompany, Selvig hastily removed his coat and hung it on the coat hanger meeting them by the front door, and carelessly threw his binder on the couch on the way in. Erik Selvig's apartment resembled very much of himself; a cluttered mess with every branch of science spilled all around it. Textbooks lay in the corner, some stacked on the coffee table in the living area, papers lying here and there contained with diagrams of who-knows-what type of scientific data, and a coffee mug knocked over at the kitchen bar table, but nothing spilled. All at once, it looked cluttered and messy, but to Natasha, she sort of understood what he meant by his 'organized mess' motto he explained in the car on the way here. At least he wasn't disgusting by leaving food out or smelly clothes. A set of Newton Balls sat on a nightstand by the shelf, along with a picture of him and his two old colleagues, Jane and Darcy, and Thor behind them all smiling for the camera. His signature green board hung against the wall ahead by a completed bookshelf, with a model of looked like some sort of molecule he was researching, to which Natasha only felt more lost at the sight of it all. Science may not have been her forte, but she knew enough to get herself out of a sticky situation.

"Coffee?" he asked, as he grabbed the knocked over mug from the bar and made his way into the kitchen.

Natasha cocked a brow, intrigued by Selvig entirely but also realizing she lacked the energy to have his full attention.

"Sure," she shrugged. The man turned on the coffee maker and began making a new pot. "Please tell me you're gonna wash that cup? And if you're not, please don't give it to me."

"Of course I'm going to wash it. I'm disorganized, not disgusting." Romanoff smirked. "Plus this mine that I use. Oh and by the way, if you don't mind me asking, why is your hair different?"

The spy was actually surprised he didn't ask the question earlier when she confronted him, but perhaps that wasn't what crossed his mind upon seeing one of the deadliest assassins in the back of his car.

"Red hair is kind of my trademark," she spoke, walking over by the bar and resting her arms against it. "Also it stands out in a room full of others. So... to hide in the meantime, blonde is all I got to work with."

"Brunette maybe?"

She tilted her head at the statement. "I guess that'd be more discreet, huh?"

"Perhaps it would." As he finished preparing the coffee, Selvig then scurried over to the tall bookshelf and with his finger scanned through the many items on display. "You know, I've had many crazy experiences with portals and gateways to other dimensions and whatnot - you can thank the Asgardians for that one - but not so much with 'alternate dimensions' and warped realities."

"Well, you and me would be in the same boat on that one," Natasha remarked, having vivid memories of New York all over again.

"I mean, the knowledge I have on it, and have researched on it... i-it's theoretical at the most. You know, it's... it hasn't been scientifically proven yet."

"Yet."

Selvig found the book he was looking for and then grabbed it from off the shelf. Flipping through the pages, trying to remember the exact spot he needed since he last picked up the book, he then multitasked by flipping the board over a full 180 degrees, revealing an empty slate for him to draw and write on. He returned to the kitchen and poured Romanoff and himself two mugs of coffee. Asking if she wanted sugar, to which she declined, he preferred the same, and prepared their coffee black. Placing hers on the bar before her and sliding it over, she nodded to him and took a whiff before drinking.

"Let's hope you're not poisoning me," she dryly humored.

"Well, if I'd wanted to do that then I'd be bored explaining this all to myself," he remarked. Making his way back to the board, he took a sip, then another shortly after, and got down to it.

"The interesting paradox about the multiverse theory is that it sets itself up to where there are no 'right' or 'wrong' answers about it. People can't seem to agree on a single consensus, which is kind of the point I guess. There's infinite possibilities." Finding the page he needed, Selvig then began copying the diagram in the book onto the board. He drew circle labeled Earth at the top of the board, and then an arrow pointing downward extending from it, and from there drew several more 'Earths' trickling down. In descending order, he labeled them as different numbers from 1 to 7. He pointed at the first 'Earth' he drew, "This is us, right now, in this existence." His finger traveled up and down the rest of the board over the other ones he drew under it. "These are the other possible parallel realities of our own world that may exist simultaneously. Even these can have their own twist on reality with other dimensions and whatnot, which is where it gets even more confusing." As he said this, he drew more arrows pointing from one of the 'Earths' labeled as '3', showing that it had multiple versions of itself as well.

"So... is it possible for two realities to 'merge'?" the spy wondered. "Can things from other dimensions start to appear in another?"

"Well, the internet has been plagued with the 'Mandela Effect' theory going around. I'm guessing you don't know what I'm talking about?" Natasha shook her head. "Basically, what many - like myself - believe is simply false memory, others are starting to speculate is actually the result of multiverse forces at hand. Certain brand names that you might have remembered as a child suddenly seem mind-blowing once you realize they weren't actually called what everyone said they were. Vader never said the whole "Luke, I am your father line," Nelson Mandela died in prison many years long before, the list goes on. I like to believe people just have poor memory of these things happening, but in science you have to question everything."

"So, with the whole situation with there being two 'Peter Parkers', despite no one else possibly knowing of the other's existence besides me, is it safe to say that this could be evidence of this... Mandela Effect being real? Or at least a byproduct of whatever's behind it?"

Selvig looked at a loss, but he knew that wasn't what Romanoff wanted from him. She wanted answers. "Possibly," he added. "From my experience dealing with portals, or I should say 'our' experience, given what happened in New York some years back, we know a portal can open on one side and things can enter our world from there, but that can only happen if it has a 'source'."

"A 'source'... the Tesseract."

"Yes, the Tesseract. And the sceptor, Loki's sceptor. Remember, that was what it took to close it. A portal needs a source, but it also needs an 'end source' if that makes sense. Even if you can't create or destroy energy, you can dispense it at your will, as long as you know how to control it."

"You're suggesting someone, or something is controlling this whole situation?"

He looked at her, for a while. "I don't know. But it's a start. We can use this formula to at least have a set and stone idea that this certainly couldn't happen by accident."

"Oh, I know it's not an accident. It's not just coincidental, it's weird beyond hell. I go my whole life up to this point knowing I've been an agent of SHIELD, an Avenger, dealing with the Accords, Stark and all of them; at what point could I have forgotten that these memories inbetween actually happened? It's like they're implanted in me now, I can't unsee them. There really was another Peter Parker, and he went by the identity of Spider-Man also. The same concept and everything, being superpowered and donning a similar suit. Another May Parker exists, and who knows what else. I was already suggesting before that perhaps one of the 'Infinity Stones' had been compromised, the 'Reality Stone', and that's what was behind all this."

"The one that possessed Jane?"

"Yeah. The Aether. But I don't know for sure. What I do know is that whatever's causing this, whoever, I can't quite tell what their intentions are yet, but so far they're not sitting well with me. It knows me. Whatever it is, it knows me well."

Thoughts of Loki came back to Selvig. The power he had over him and the others he took control of. And then the realization came to him that even someone more powerful than Loki existed, long before him.

"You know, whatever religion people have, or even those who believe in a higher deity at hand manipulating everything, as much as people feel that this gives them some sort of peace of mind, being under something… isn't that kind of devilish in itself?" he said. "To have that kind of power manifested for yourself, over others? I don't know what the source is for everything in existence, but if it really is the why we're suggesting, I don't think it would sit well with me either."

His words spoke more volume than Romanoff believed they would. He actually made more sense than she initially thought he would as well, thankfully not confusing her with concepts that made no sort of sense. But she guessed this really wasn't something he was quite familiar with either, so it seemed they would both learn about this along the way. Selvig couldn't lie, this genuinely sparked his curiosity. He always loved finding a new scientific puzzle to solve, and figuring this one out will definitely prove to be a beast of its own. Hesitant at first to help her since Romanoff confronted him in his own car, Selvig then remembered that day back in New York. Atop the Stark Tower, when she came to his aid, just after he'd returned to consciousness from being under Loki's spell, he felt at the time that she was one of the 'good ones'.

It's not your fault, you didn't know what you were doing…

He remembered her words clearly. After feeling guilty for what he had done, despite being under Loki's control, she understood, perhaps more than anyone what it was like to be used. To be brainwashed.

"Romanoff… I've never had anything against you. I don't know all the details of what went down between you and Stark, but… even though I work with him and the rest now, as far as I'm concerned I have no part in it all. For the sake of my sanity, and my unconditional love for research, I'm willing to keep this between us. Why… because you'll probably kill me."

Natasha shook her head and almost gave him a similar look to the one back in the car when he'd said the same thing, a mix of humor and offense.

"Thanks, Selvig," she replied, taking another sip of her coffee. He nodded.