Wanda looked up from the book she was reading at the sound of knocking on her door. She swung it open to see James, Sarah, and Morgan on the other side. "Yes?"
"We need your help. Doctor Strange won't tell us what we need to know about the alternate timeline. You need to help us get to the other dimension." Sarah said bluntly.
The Scarlet Witch massaged her forehead as she scrunched up her brows, considering their request, "It's late. It's dangerous. I'd rather figure out a different way."
Sarah looked to James, who just sighed and put his hand on the door, forcing Wanda to let them in, "Please. Help us figure out that different way."
"What does Strange say is coming?" Wanda's words died on her lips as the compound began to shake. She looked at the trio in her doorway and pushed past them to see Tessa and Bucky lean out of the door of their apartment.
"What the hell?" Bucky asked as he entered the hallway, keeping a tight grip on Tessa. A blue portal blew open at the end of the hall, and they caught a brief glimpse of the Titan on the other side. He tried to push through, but seemed to struggle as he smashed his gauntlet against whatever barrier kept him at bay. Wanda and Sarah leapt forward, blasting at the hole and causing the portal to collapse.
Tessa's knees buckled and she started to go down until her husband looped his arms under hers, helping stand as she screeched, "What the FUCK was that?"
Wanda clenched her chest as she panted, looking up at Sarah as the taller girl clamped her hand onto her brother's arm, "Thanos is coming? A different Thanos from a different timeline?"
"Yes."
Everyone turned around to see Doctor Strange standing behind them as the Cloak of Levitation seemed to turn and look at him curiously. Sarah and James looked to each other, then James strode forward toward the man, "What do you know? This isn't a game anymore, tell us, now!"
"I know that your parents inadvertently caused another timeline in an effort to save ours. There's no way to eliminate it, but Thanos won. He beat the Avengers, he achieved his goal, and those left weren't able to stop him." Strange admitted to James as he studied the boy, "I took the Time Stone when I arrived. I looked into the future, every outcome ended in Thanos winning, just like it did here. The only problem was, they won't be able to set it right."
"Why not? Why can't they do what they did here?" Sarah asked nervously as she walked past Wanda, Bucky, and Tessa to face Doctor Strange. Her eyes glowed gold, then she furrowed her brows, "You feel guilty. Why? What did you see?"
Morgan grabbed James's arm tightly as she gasped, having an idea, "They can't defeat Thanos because something throws it all off. You said 'those left' weren't able to stop him. Meaning the wrong people were left behind to figure out how to defeat him."
Doctor Strange looked between Sarah and James, and they looked to each other, seeing Morgan was right, "Mom and Dad?"
Bucky shifted uncomfortably, and Tessa rubbed his back, gazing up at him worriedly. He noticed Doctor Strange looking down sadly after his gaze landed on Morgan, "Steve and Kayla weren't the only ones who didn't make it in the other timeline, were they?"
Doctor Strange groaned, looking up at the assassin, "No. Captain Rogers and Stark both perished in the battle of Thanos, for very different reasons."
Morgan gasped as James grabbed her, pulling her close and kissing her head. Sarah looked back at Bucky, who just clenched his jaw tightly, not saying a word. His wife, on the other hand, was very curious about this development, "What does that mean?" Tessa asked as she leaned forward, "And why is it significant?"
"I didn't know Captain America's wife well, but what little time I spent around her, I didn't enjoy. Looking through the alternate timeline's outcomes, one thing was clear- she was always more level headed, easier going. The super soldier serum she received in our timeline did a number on her personality. The Kayla I experienced was volatile and uncontrollable."
"Hey, that's our mom you're talking about." James sneered, but Sarah put her hand up to silence her brother, shooting him a warning stare before looking back to Doctor Strange.
"So Mom didn't receive the serum? And it changed her personality?" Sarah pressed and Doctor Strange nodded slowly, "How did this effect Dad?"
Bucky, Tessa, James, Morgan, and Wanda all turned to Doctor Strange to hear his answer, seeing where Sarah's question was headed. Bucky held his wife a little tighter, wondering how Steve Rogers managed to mess up this alternate timeline so badly that it threatened the very fabric of reality.
Doctor Strange's cape turned to wait for his answer as he sized up the bold young woman who faced him down, "It changed him instead."