A/N: End of the cliff-hanger!
Diana woke up with a groan. The conference room was dark, lit only by the soft glow of the hallway. She checked her hands - no longer glowing. "Seriously?" she asked aloud, climbing to her feet. "You literally just left me here? FRIDAY, status report on the mission? How long have I been out?"
"Intruder alert," FRIDAY announced calmly, and the doors to the conference room slid open to reveal Tony and Vision pointing weapons straight at her.
"Don't move," Tony ordered.
She put her hands up slowly. "Tony, what's going on?" she asked. "Where's Steve? Did you get my mom?"
Tony's shoulders tensed. "Who are you? How did you get into this facility?"
"It's me," she insisted.
"Who are you?" Tony repeated.
Diana's jaw dropped. "What?" she asked weakly.
"Who. Are. You." His face was hard and there was no spark of recognition.
She sighed. "You wouldn't happen to have a soul mark on your forearm would you?" she asked.
He frowned. "What?"
She sighed again. First time travel, now alternate universes? Unless this was an impostor of some sort. But Vision's presence meant that was highly unlikely, since he would know. "Okay," she said, letting her hands rest by her sides, "my name is Diana Lawrence Rogers, and I'm from another universe. I think. Since you obviously don't recognize me."
Tony's arm lowered slightly, his curiosity piqued. "Okay. Convince me."
She glanced behind them. The corridor was empty. "Where's everyone else?" she asked. "I only want to do this once because it's kind of extremely complicated."
"It's just us," Tony said, his expression darkening.
Diana's eyes widened. "Where's Steve?"
"Not here. Start talking."
"All right, fine. My name is Diana Rogers, I'm head of Accountability for both SHIELD and the Avengers. I liaise between the two organizations and get permits for work on foreign soil on their behalf. I also have ultimate veto power on projects, missions, and long-term initiatives."
"Why you?" Vision asked, eyeing her critically. "You appear to possess no enhancements or special powers whatsoever."
She pulled off her cardigan to reveal the marks on her shoulders and arms. "Because in my universe we have soulmates, and I'm yours. All of yours."
"So those aren't tattoos," Tony said, his mind obviously going a mile a minute.
"No."
"Fascinating," Vision said. "How many do you have?"
"Ten."
"Who are they?"
She touched her left shoulder lightly. "Steve is my romantic soulmate. We've been married a year and a half. But I'm platonic soulmates with you Vis, Wanda, Pietro, Tasha, Clint, they're platonic with each other, Bruce, Thor, Bucky, and you Tony. You and Pepper are romantic soulmates. Oh, and are you guys having a baby here too? Because that's happening. We're all very excited. Planning a baby shower soon."
Tony looked like he'd been sucker punched in the gut. "Pepper and I, we're not, together, anymore. Haven't been for a while."
Diana frowned. "I'm sorry Tony."
"Yeah, well, lots of things are different around here."
"I'll say." She took a seat. "Where is everyone, anyway? Mission?"
Vision clasped his hands behind his back. "The Avengers suffered a schism due to the Superhero Registration Act over one year ago. The only ones who signed were Mr. Stark, Colonel Rhodes, King T'Challa, and myself. Ms. Romanoff signed as well but she left when the government demanded Captain Rogers' capture, and therefore invalidated her signature. Peter Parker also refuses to sign, although no one knows of his identity as Spider-man. The rest of the superheroes formerly known as Avengers are now outlawed by the UN and considered dangerous fugitives." The android looked pained.
Diana's jaw dropped in astonishment. "The Superhero Registration Act?" she echoed, almost yelling. "You let that ridiculous stack of paper split you guys up? It's not even worth the paper it's printed on, and I should know because I used to be an editor!" She stood up and started to pace, unable to even contemplate a split in her team. "What about Baron Zemo?" she demanded, turning to Tony. "Did you get him? Or were you all too focused on proving you were right?" She suddenly felt sick. "Oh my goodness. Did you actually fight each other?"
Tony and Vision's faces showed her the truth, as well as a crippled Col. Rhodes appearing silently in the doorway, leaning on his braces.
Diana's stomach dropped to the sub-basement. "Seriously? Are they okay? Where are they? You couldn't have captured them, not permanently, did you-" She sat down, suddenly overwhelmed by the implications of an Avengers Civil War. And if she coulnd't get home... "What did you do?" she whispered.
"Oh sure, like you could do any better," Tony retorted angrily.
"We did a lot better," Diana said calmly, now angry on everyone's behalf.
"All right," Rhodey said, sitting down across from her. "HOw did you guys deal with it?"
Diana explained briefly what they'd done, concluding with Steve's fake death and arresting the government officials involved. "And now, every time a mission comes up, I either approve it or send it to the appropriate authorities, and infomr the UN where the Avengers are going to be operating."
"And the WInter Soldier?" Tony asked, his face carefully blank.
"Bucky?" she asked, surprised. "He's fine." Her eyes narrowed. "Why?"
"He killed my parents."
Her gaze softened. "I know. I'm sorry."
"Does your Tony know?" Tony spat. "Or are you and Captain Righteous keeping it quiet, too?"
Diana shook her head, remmebering the day that revelation had come up. It had taken a few weeks but everyone had made their peace with it. "We dealt with that a long time ago," she said softly.
Tony folded his arms. "How nice for you."
Diana turned to Vision. "Vis. What happened to Bucky in this timeline?"
"We do not know his current whereabouts," Vision replied. "After Iron Man's final fight with the two super-soldiers, we have seen no trace of him."
"He's in cryo," a new, yet familiar, voice stated firmly.
Diana's head jerked up and she saw the rest of the Avengers (former Avengers?) standing in the doorway, fully suited up and armed.
"Rogers," Tony said cautiously, as he and Vision stood to face the others.
"Stark," Steve replied, equally cautious.
"What are you doing here?"
"Wanda felt an echo of her powers," Steve said. "We needed to know what was going on."
"It was just me," Diana said, nodding at them. "How long have you been listening?"
"Since you woke up, really," Natasha said calmly. She looked at Stark. "Your security's awful by the way."
Diana sighed. The tension in the room was enough to strangle an elephant, and the separation from her soulmates was making her irritable and headache-y. "All right," she decided, standing up, "everybody shut up and siddown."
They all stared at her.
"I said sit," she repeated, giving them her best 'I am the Boss' glare.
Surprisingly, they all sat. Steve and Tony continued to glower at each other cautiously.
"Where's Clint?" Diana asked, noticing the empty spaces.
"With his family," Scott said.
"Peter?"
"School," Rhodey supplied.
"Thor is off world, I know. Bruce?"
"Don't know," Natasha muttered.
"Bucky?" Diana asked.
"Cryo-stasis till we figure out how to wipe his programmed triggers," Steve replied, with a sigh.
"I'm sorry," Diana said sincerely. Without a soulmate bond and absolute trust as a channel, she guessed Wanda wouldn't have been able to help him. She rubbed at the words on her calf with her opposite foot. "Where's Pietro?"
Wanda closed her eyes briefly, and Steve shook his head.
Diana's stomach sank further. "Is he..." She gulped. "Ultron?" It was a quick nod from Sam to confirm, and she bowed her head, fighting off a wave of emotion. "I'm sorry," she said.
Wanda nodded tightly in acknowledgement.
Diana changed the subject. "And Coulson? Please tell me that there's at least one sensible person in this universe?"
"Of course. Director Coulson is in Utah, I think," Tony said, leaning back in his chair.
"So you're not Director of SHIELD?" Diana asked.
"No..."
Diana frowned. "So if you're the 'official' Avengers," she turned to Steve, "What does that make you? The secret Avengers? The unofficial Avengers? Are you all retired, or what?"
Steve gave her a wry grin. "Hardly. We try and keep out of the way-" he shot a glance at Tony, his meaning plain, "but we're there."
"Outlaws, but they stick their noses in anyway," Tony added. "Technically I should arrest you all." he folded his arms. "But since I'm in sweats, I don't think I'm going to even try today."
Diana stared in disbelief around the table. "So you're really divided them?" she asked, shaking her head. "I can't believe it."
"Hey. You know nothing of this universe," Natasha said sharply.
Diana glanced at the Black Widow. "No, but I know you. You all... this wasn't even about the SRA, was it?" She glanced around the table, reading their expressions which, to her, had become second nature. "It was guilt," she guessed, and smirked internally when Tony and Steve snapped their gazes to her. "Guilt for losing Bucky and guilt for making Ultron, and neither of you were willing to listen to the other side or work together to find a compromise." She turned on the others. "And the rest of you- the rest of you took sides."
"It was complicated," Tony muttered, glancing at Steve.
Diana shook her head and turned away from them all at the table. "You need to find a way to take me home. Right now. I need to get back to my team."
"All right," Steve said, "tell us what happened. How did you get here?"
Tony glared at him half-heartedly but let him take the lead.
Diana pushed down her annoyance with the entire universe and focused on business. Mission briefing. She related the details of the pseudo-kidnapping of her mother, and how Wanda had used her image to pretend to be her. She described the red glow on her skin, Vision's last words, and then waking up on the floor. "And that's all I know," she said.
"Sorry," Wanda said quietly.
Diana gave her an easy smile. "It's not your fault, Wanda. Literally, not your fault. Too bad it's not time travel. They would've brought me back by now. Let me tell you, the 1940's, harder than they look."
They all stared at her.
"What?" she asked innocently.
"Did you just say time travel?" Tony asked.
"No."
"Yes you did."
"Nope. We're going to forget I said that and move on to inter-dimensional universe hopping. Focus, Tony."
"You're not my boss," he muttered, but he stood up. "Little Red, Vis, and Mr. Lang, come with me. Rhodey, keep an eye on the rest of 'em. FRIDAY, I hope you got readings on our visitor. And tell Peter to get his spidey-butt down here ASAP." He left.
Diana looked uncomfortably at the assorted Avengers, and sat down again. "So," she said, "how's life?"
"Weirder than an hour ago," Rhodey volunteered cheerfully.
She leaned back in her chair and spun around, staring at the ceiling tiles. "How's Asgard, by the way?" she asked, sitting up.
"Fine."
"Good. Good. Rebuilt?"
"They're working on it."
"Hm. How's T'Challa?"
Steve tensed. "He's fine."
"Cool."
"So you're married to Steve," Natasha said suddenly, grinning wickedly. "How's that?"
Diana blushed, but returned the Russian's smirk. "Well, I haven't heard him complain."
Steve's ears turned a dull red and he stared up at the ceiling with a long-suffering expression.
"FRIDAY, is there a Diana Lawrence in this universe?" Natasha asked, still grinning.
"Cancel request," Diana said abruptly. To Natasha she said, "you can find out after I'm gone. Right now we've got other things to worry about."
***A***
Meanwhile, in Diana's home universe...
"What do you mean she's gone?" Steve asked, clenching his fist in a supreme effort to stay calm.
"She was here one second and then she was gone," Sam said for the fourth time.
"I believe she phased out of this dimension," Vision said helpfully.
Steve pressed down the rising panic at the thought of his soulmate just being gone, and turned to Tony.
The inventor nodded. "On it." He snagged Vision and Bruce, and the trio left.
Then Steve turned to Wanda.
She looked two seconds away from tears, but she lifted her hands in a helpless gesture. "I don't know what happened," she said tearfully. "I just used her outer image as an illusion for myself. I didn't- it shouldn't have done that. I don't think I did it, Steve. At least, I hope not?" A couple tears slid down her cheeks. "What if she's dead? What if I killed her?"
Steve grabbed her in a comforting hug. "You didn't," he said firmly. "We can all sense through the bond that's it just a separation, not a cancellation. She's not dead, Wanda. And whatever happened, we're going to fix it." He leaned back slightly. "But I need you to focus on finding her. Focus on using your powers to trace her. Can you do that?"
She nodded. "I can do that."
Good." He released her. "Sam's going to help you, okay?"
"Okay."
Steve watched them leave, and turned to face the screen. He hit 'replay', and watched Diana slowly fade out of the conference room. He dropped his head into his hand, heart sick with worry for her.
***A***
Diana dropped her head into her arms, and sighed. She, Rhodey, and Natasha had been comparing universes for the last three hours and her head ached from trying to recall all that information. She closed her eyes, letting herself focus on her soul bonds. They were muted and blank, almost non-existent. She wondered vaguely if Steve was freaking out yet.
"Hey."
She lifted her head to look up at the supersoldier-not-my-Steve that stood there. "Captain," she said formally, sitting up and tugging at her blouse.
"Just Steve," he said, shaking his head. "I'm not Captain America anymore."
"Oh yeah." She raised an eyebrow. "Just, The Soldier. Very imposing."
"Thanks." He eyed her awkwardly, and his gaze focused on the ring on her finger. "Uh. Would you like to get something to eat?"
"Sure." She stood up and walked out towards the cafeteria. "This way, right? I hope everything's still in the same spots."
"Should be, if your Steve is anything like me." He matched her pace. "Are we?"
She shrugged. "I don't know."
"You married him, you have to recognize some differences," he argued.
Diana stopped in her tracks and turned to face him. "All right." She waited till he squared off against her, and met his gaze. "Same color eyes," she said, nodding. "Same color hair." She turned his head away slightly. "Same devastating jawline."
He grinned.
She nodded approvingly at his shoulders. "Same Dorito-like shape and waist of a Disney princess."
Steve's whole face turned red. "That's a new one," he said.
She grinned. "That was Clint, after we spent a whole three days doing nothing but binge-watching Disney. He was very proud of that one. Bucky almost peed himself laughing so hard."
Steve smirked. "Sounds like them." Then his grin faded and he looked away, withdrawing into his 'Soldier' persona.
Diana realized, watching him walk for a few moments, that it was different than his
'Cap' persona. The 'Soldier' was harder, colder, more cold steel than warm apple pie. "This world's been cruel to you, Steven dear," she said softly.
He turned to her, startled. "How do you-"
She smiled. "You can't fool a wife, Steve. You're tired. More tired than I've ever seen you."
Steve sighed. "Yes."
"Have you talked to Tony about it?"
Steve scoffed. "I don't know if you noticed but we're not much on speaking terms."
"Oh I noticed. And I think it's disgraceful."
"That's just how it is. And besides, he knows that he can call on us if he ever needs anything."
"What about you, Steve?" Diana pressed gently. "Do you have anyone to call on when you need help?"
Steve shook his head.
"What about Natasha?"
Steve rolled his eyes. "After Banner, she's not into emotional overtures of any kind. And she's got enough problems of her own to deal with, after falling out with Stark herself."
Diana gaped. "Bruce?"
"Yeah, just for a while, during that whole Ultron fiasco."
Diana started to laugh. "Bruce?" She was laughing so hard she felt herself tipping over. "Natasha, and Bruce?" She gasped for breath and wiped her eyes, trying to stifle her giggling. "That's the craziest thing I've ever heard!"
Steve did not look impressed. "Well it happened."
"Is that why Bruce hasn't come back yet?" Diana asked seriously.
"Yeah."
"You need to find him. Our Bruce has done some serious progress with the Hulk, and you could use him in fights."
"All right, we'll keep an eye out for him."
Diana nodded. "What about Sam?"
"For Natasha?"
"No you dork, for you to talk to."
"Oh." Steve shrugged. "He's helped me deal with a lot of things already, I don't want to burden him."
"And Wanda's got enough problems to deal with, poor child," Diana said sympathetically. "Scott's not much of a counselor, and since Bucky's not available... that leaves Tony." She ignored his sigh. "Out of all the Avengers, Steve, you and him have a bromance like no other. And if you guys haven't talked yet since the whole SRA thing, you need to do so."
"Yeah, I know."
"Well then do it."
He huffed. "I will. Later. We still have to get you back to your universe."
Diana frowned. "Thanks for reminding me." She went into the kitchen. It was empty. "Whoa. Where's everyone?" There was usually at least one or two people in the kitchen. Usually one of the guys with the super-metabolisms...
"Only three people live here permanently," Steve reminded her.
"Oh yeah." She poked around for foodstuffs, and found enough to make grilled cheese sandwiches for her, and a block of lasagna that should handle Steve's appetite. While she was at it, she made herself a cup of tea, and poured one for Steve, absently adding the cream and sugar before handing it to him.
He took a sip, and raised his eyebrows. "Just the way I like it."
"I know." She flipped the grilled cheese, ignoring the feeling of his gaze on her shoulder blade. "What?" she finally asked.
"Nothing. Just... never thought I'd get married, settle down." He sighed. "Do you, you know, have kids?"
Diana shook her head. "Nope, not yet. We haven't really had a chance to talk about it though, with our jobs." Diana turned to look at him. "Anyone special in your life?"
"Uh, no."
"Really?" Diana asked, surprised. "Why not?"
Steve cleared his throat. "I'm kind of a fugitive, if you haven't noticed."
"Oh yeah." Diana grabbed a plate. "I still can't believe you guys fought."
"Really? Your Steve and Tony get along that well?"
Diana shook her head ruefully. "They've gotten into cat fights quite a few times, since as you know you're both drama queens of the highest order, but we love you anyway. Just usually when the two of you, them, start arguing, Natasha or Pepper or I separate you and knock some sense into the both of you."
Steve eyed the 5'4" curvy brunette and raised an eyebrow. "Really."
She smirked. "I train with the Black Widow every morning, mister. I could knock half the Avengers on their butts. At least once. Except Vision, of course."
"Of course."
Diana grinned. "The day I knocked you down flat, Natasha and Bucky took me to Italy for gelato in celebration, they were so proud."
Steve scowled at hte mention of his friend. "Is he, in your universe, is he okay?" he asked quietly, poking at the lasagna in front of him.
Diana gave him a small smile and patted his arm reassuringly. "In my unvierse, he's all right. The occasional nightmare, but who doesn't have them? I'm sure that with time, and help, your Bucky will be fine, too."
"Thank you."
She nodded, and applied herself to her sandwich. "You got pickles?" she asked the man in the doorway casually.
Rhodey startled. "Uh, in the fridge, bottom shelf."
"Cool."
"How did you know-" Steve started, not having heard the colonel come in.
"I train with spies," Diana reminded them. She grabbed hte pickles and refilled her tea cup, and then poured another cup for Rhodey. "Two sugars, no milk?" she asked, handing it to him.
"How did you- right." Rhodes sat on the stool next to Steve. "It's so weird. What's the other me like?"
"Honorable, a bit by-the-book, hilarious, and can make the actual best smores in the world," Diana said, grinning at him. Her grin faded slightly as she caught sight of the braces on his ankles. "Um, I don't want to be insensitive, but-"
He followed her gaze, and pulled up his pants-leg slightyl to let her see the exo-skeleton-like brace. "They help me walk. I'm getting my spinal damage repaired, but Dr. Cho doesn't want to take it too fast. In another couple of years, I should be back to a hundred percent, but in the meantime, Tony made these for me. I hate crutches."
"I don't blame you," Diana said sympathetically. She got up to start the coffee machine.
"More caffeine?" Steve asked.
Diana snickered. "No. YOu do not want to see me in a hyper-caffeinated state. The only one that can keep up with me is Darcy on energy drinks. POssibly PIetro." She rummaged till she found the coffee beans and the little grinder. "No, I'm making some for the geniuses in the lab. It's been at least an hour and the one in Tony's lab is probably broken again."
"How could you possibly know that?" Rhodey asked.
"U, DUMM-E," Diana replied abstractedly.
"Ouch, that's harsh," Rhodey said, insulted.
Diana realized her mistake and laughed. "No, I mean the robots. U and DUMM-E, they're fixated on the coffee machine for some reason and keep trying to 'improve' it. Am I wrong?"
Rhodey shook his head, grinning. "You're right. They broke it just yetserday."
Diana nodded smugly. "I know my robots."
"Well, if you do get stuck here, you'll fit right in," Rhodey commented.
Steve turned to glare at him.
Diana froze, her hand halfway to the coffee filter. "I can't stay here," she said firmly. "My soulmates need me, and you're not them. You might look like them, but you're not them. And you've taken care of yourselves just fine so far."
Steve and Rhodey shared a glance. "But just in case," Steve said gently, "you'll need a place."
Diana shook her head, tears filling her eyes. "You don't understand," she said, trying to not let her voice break. "You're not my Steve, you're not my family. We are literally bonded together as soulmates; I can't be separated from them."
"What happens if that bond breaks?" Rhodey asked.
"For them? Probably nothing. It's just one soulbond for each of them, and half of them are enhanced. But for me?" Diana shook her head. "Ten bonds severed at once... I would die." She took a deep breath to compose herself, unable to even think of the possibilitty of losing her soulmates. "So, you really, really need to find a way to take me back."
Steve grabbed her arm gently and turned her to face him. "We will," he said. "I promise."
"So do I," Tony said, from the doorway, where he, Vision, and Peter were standing, blatantly eavesdropping. "YOu'll get home, one way or another."
Diana gave them a grateful smile. "Thank you guys." She stepped out of Steve's grasp which was familiar-yet-strange, and opened the cabinet with the mugs. "So. Coffee."
***A***
"A stress fracture," Bruce announced to his quiet lab. He tapped a snoring Tony on the head. "Hey. Tony."
"Whu- I signed them, I totally did, Pep," Tony mumbled, sitting up hastily. He blinked awake. "What?"
Bruce snickered, and then sobered. "A stress fracture," he repeated, showing Tony the screen. "A little seam in the skin of the universe. That's where Diana vanished into."
"So where did she end up?" Tony asked, his eyes lighting up with the challenge of the new puzzle. "We might have to find Reed and bring him in on this."
Bruce grimaced. "Must we?"
"Nobody knows alternate universes better," Tony reminded him.
"I know, but he just sets my teeth on edge." Bruce shuddered. "He makes the Hulk itch."
Tony nodded absently. "He's too arrogant, I know. It's irritating."
Bruce snorted. "Pot, meet kettle."
Tony pressed a hand to his heart, an offedned look on his face. "Me? Brucie, I am the humblest man on the planet." He smirked when Bruce rolled his eyes. "If it makes you feel better, I'll handle all our dealings with Dr. Richards. FRIDAY, bring up my address book. We need to find out where our four friends have been vacationing for the last few years..."
***A***
"A stress fracture!" Tony shouted triumphantly, from the depths of the lab. "Peter! We need to rig a scanner! FRIDAY, tell the others we got something! Ugh, I wish we had a quantum physicist..."
Steve refrained from mentioning a Dr. Reed Richards, who they'd encountered on a mission a few months ago. The scientist, his wife, her brother, and their friend were in hiding in a country not part of hte UN until the SRA was repealed or amended in some way. He didn't want to give away their secret.
Diana gave him a sharp glance, but pressed her lips together. She had no right to interfere. Not in this universe.
***A***
With Reed's help, Tony and Bruce pinpointed the exact universe that Diana had phased to, and managed to construct a signaling device. "Hopefully, there's another me," Tony said, powering up the device that looked like an overgrown radiator.
"What if there's not?" Bruce asked.
"Well then there should be a you, or a Reed, or a Peter, or even a Hank Pym. And if there's not, well... we'll figure something else out. Don't be so negative, Bruce, wow. Have a little faith."
"Sure Tony," Bruce replied calmly. He knew Tony was just as stressed about finding their soulmate as he was. Except Bruce's anxiety manifested as pessimism and Tony's manifested as pest-isism. Bruce smirked inwardly at his own pun, and he felt the Hulk roll his eyes.
"All righty." As soon as Steve and Natasha entered the room, Tony flipped the switch to 'transmit'. "Tony Stark calling other universe at frequency... whatever this is. Anyone happen to have found a Mrs. Diana Lawrence Rogers floating around?"
Steve gave him a Look that could have killed him dead.
Tony cleared his throat. "I repeat, anybody out there?" He put it on a loop. "Somebody should get it eventually," he muttered. "Maybe SETI is still running in that universe."
***A***
It was the strangest moment of Tony's life, hearing his own voice coming out of a crack in the universe.
"-I repeat, we're looking for a Mrs. Diana Lawrence Rogers, she's about 5'4", got ten tattoos that are half Shakespeare, married, able to type a gazillion words a minute, Steve will you stop hovering! I repeat, we're looking for a Mrs.-"
Tony turned to Vision. "Go get the others."
They all listened to the recording, and Diana grinned when she heard 'Steve will you stop hovering!'. "Those are my people, all right," she said. "How do we send a message back?"
Tony held out a wireless mic. "Have at it."
Diana held up the mic. "Diana Lawrence Rogers calling her home universe. Tony, you'd better have built your doohickey for two way comms."
Rhodey snickered, and adopted a serious expression when Tony turned to glare at him.
Diana waited breathlessly for a reply.
"Oh ye of little faith," came the mocking, perfectly-familiar voice of Tony Stark.
Diana closed her eyes against the hot tears of relief. "Oh thank goodness."
"We're working on a way to get you back to us," Steve put in over the comm, making the Steve Rogers from this universe startle.
"I trust you," Diana said simply. She handed the mic to Tony. "Go forth and do science."
After a long discussion in techno-babble containing a truly disgusting amount of sass, the two Starks, two Parkers, two Visions, and one Banner managed to discover that unless they wanted to literally rip a hole between the two universes, Diana needed to go back the way she came - via Wanda's powers.
"All you have to do is give her a little push," Tony coaxed the reluctant young woman. "A teeny push and your counterpart will catch her on the other side."
"First you lock me up so I won't use my powers, and now you want me to use them?" Wanda asked bitterly.
Tony winced. "Wanda-"
She folded her arms and raised an eyebrow. "If I don't, will you lock me away again, Mr. Stark?"
There was a heavy silence from the other end of the inter-universal comm. Then, Soulmate-Tony asked, "Wait, what's going on over there?"
"Hold on, guys," Diana murmured into the comm. She turned to look at Wanda, putting gentle hands on her arms, breaking her staring contest with Tony. "Listen to me. I trust you. I don't care what's happened in this universe with your powers, I know you. You're the strongest woman in the world, and you can do this."
Wanda's gaze softened. "You truly believe that?"
Diana's reply was instantaneous. "Yes."
"All right." Wanda reached out to put her hands on Diana's shoulders, red energy sparking from her fingertips and winding around Diana's arms, making her glow just as before. Behind her, Vision was murmuring coordinates and frames of reference, helping her locate the stress fracture in spacetime. Then Wanda just, pushed.
Diana felt herself tumbling backwards, and tripped over her own feet. Instead of landing on her butt, she fell into a pair of arms that were glowing red. "Wanda!" she said cheerfully, standing up straight and turning to face her soulmate. "You guys did it!"
Wanda's eyes were focused a million miles away. "She lost him," she said faintly.
"Wanda?" Diana asked gently.
The young woman shook her head, her eyes focusing on her soulmate. "Sorry," she murmured, rubbing at her temple. "The transfer, you brought the other Wanda's afterimage with you. It's gone, now." She smiled brilliantly. "And you're back!" She hugged Diana tightly.
"Yes, thanks to you all," Diana said. "Where's everyone?"
"They wanted to give me some space to concentrate," Wanda explained. "Here they come now."
The rest of the Avengers flooded into the room. Steve was the first to reach his wife, and he swept her up into a hug. "You're making a habit of disappearing," he said, kissing her lightly, "I don't like it."
"Me either," Diana replied, returning the kiss.
"AHEM!" The loud voice made everyone jump. It was Other-Steve, from the comm device Vision was still carrying. "Is she back safe?"
"Yes," Steve replied, his arms around his wife. "Thank you."
"It was our pleasure," Other-Steve said solemnly.
Tony ruffled Diana's hair in welcome, and then addressed the comm device. "I'm going to go ahead and heal the stress fracture from my side. Mr. Stark?"
"On it," Other-Tony replied.
Diana leaned closer to the comm unit. "Guys, thank you. And, please talk to each other."
"We will," Other-Steve and Tony chorused. With that, the comm device went silent.
Natasha elbowed Steve out of the way for her own hug. "Were they fighting?" she inquired of Diana.
Diana shook her head. "It was awful. They were split up as a team, three quarters of them were actual fugitives, and-" She caught sight of Pietro and grabbed him in a fierce hug. "And it was awful," she mumbled into his shoulder, extremely thankful that her universe had turned out far different. "Let's not talk about it anymore."
Pietro patted her back gently and gave the others a curious look. They all shrugged.
***A***
Steve Rogers and Tony Stark looked at each other across the conference table. "So," Steve said. "I think we need to talk."
***A***
Diana went straight to her mother's side, and they reassured each other that they were both perfectly fine. Reluctantly, Diana let her mom out of her sight to go to bed, and returned to the common room, where Tony and Coulson were vid-conferencing about the fate of the French terrorists. They would be turned in to Interpol.
Diana sat down next to Bucky and Natasha with a yawn. The horror of her mother's near-abduction seemed ages ago, and all Diana wanted to do was snuggle with her soulmates. Bucky provided a shoulder to lean on, and Steve sat on her other side, pulling her feet into his lap.
"It's late," Steve said gently, massaging her arches. "Wanna head to bed, doll?"
Diana reluctantly pulled herself to her feet. "I guess." She hugged Bucky and Natasha goodnight, and blew a kiss to the others in the room. "We are such stuff as dreams are made on, and our little life is rounded with a sleep," she announced dramatically, making them all snicker. "Exit, stage left!" She walked out with Steve.
"Which play's that from?" Steve asked.
"The Tempest, Act 4 Scene 1."
"I see."
They both got ready for bed, and Diana sighed happily as Steve's arms wrapped around her, her back to his chest. "How come I'm always the little spoon?" she asked drowsily.
"Because I'm Captain America," he replied teasingly, and pressed a gentle kiss to her jaw. "If we could avoid any extra-universal trips in the future, that'd be great," he murmured. "We were all really worried, doll."
Diana sobered, and brought his strong hand up to her lips for a kiss. "Not as worried as I was," she replied quietly. "I think, if we were ever separated Steve, I might die."
His grip on her tightened, and he buried his face in her hair. "Never," he swore. "Not ever. I don't know what we, I, would do without you."
Diana thought about the broken team in the other universe, and closed her eyes against the sting of tears. "I don't want to sound indispensable, but I think the Avengers will always need someone normal to balance them out, whether it be me or someone else."
"In this universe, only you," Steve said firmly, brushing the hair from her eyes and turning her face to meet his eyes.
"I love you."
"I love you too." He bent his head to kiss her.
Held securely by her husband, she drifted off to sleep.
A/N 2: I had to do it. I had to deal with the MCU Civil War somehow, and this was it. Thanks for reading! Next chapter will be filler, or something else. Haven't quite decided what to do yet...