Memories
Talking to the Dead
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If you want to use Tora, or any of my other characters, PM me.
She was sitting in the cafe, bored out of her wits. No going on missions, although training was still allowed.
"Hey Tora."
"Steve. Glad you could come."
Captain America slid into the seat beside her. He was still limping slightly and was careful not to overstretch, which would have Pym refusing to allow him back on duty. Cracked ribs were no joke.
"Both of us invalids meeting up to gripe about our doctors eh?"
She laughed.
"Well at least you're only off for about two weeks. Hank won't want me to go back to work for another nine months."
"How far…"
His ears went bright red.
"Three months. Anyway, I suppose you're wondering why I invited you here today."
"Actually, I just thought you wanted someone to gripe at."
"Well there's a bit of that. But really, I want to talk. About Etana."
His face didn't change much.
"Tora…"
"Look, I know it hurts. But you know what I can do, what I can see…"
She didn't have to say anything else. Steve's eyes told her that.
"She's…she's still alive?"
"In many worlds. But I normally only talk to one Etana. The split point between these worlds was the eighteenth of May."
"You mean…"
"The world is identical except for the fact that Etana is still alive. She wasn't as fast as Piotr. He got there first and made the sacrifice."
"She's… she's…"
"Do you want to talk to her?"
His mouth opened.
"I know it would be hard. But you never really got a chance to say goodbye."
"And…and she's fine with this?"
"It was her suggestion. An act of closure for you."
"And… you're talking to her? Right now?"
She nodded and Steve closed his eyes. Then opened them.
"Hey 'Tana."
Tora's eyes unfocussed and she spoke, sounding uncannily like Etana.
"Hey Discus-Boy. Heard you missed me."
"It's true then. You're alive."
"What do you think, idiot?"
Steve smiled.
"That's you alright."
"I'm sorry about me…you…me… Tora, help me here. Right. OK. The Etana you knew was a… Tora, I can't say that. Tora? A version that doesn't sound like you've been talking to Richards. Oh. Fine. Sorry about this Steve. Anyway, the version you knew was a woman exceptionally similar to me but differing in tiny, seemingly inconsequential ways."
"Like being alive?"
"Like having a seizure when preparing to walk downstairs to steal a vial."
"You…"
"It hurt. But I survived and I woke up with you yelling at me for being an idiot."
"I was yelling?"
"Telling me that I could be a hero in my own time, thank you very much, and not to die on your watch."
"I actually said that?"
"Well I don't think you meant it."
"What makes you say that?"
"You kissed me."
His ears went red again.
"I did what?"
"You waited until Hank had left then you kissed me."
"And you came out with a sarcastic comment I bet."
"Actually, I did. 'If I knew all I had to do was almost die, I'd be suicidal by now.' You didn't think that was funny for some reason."
"Tora, this really is Etana, isn't it."
She nodded, too absorbed in listening to Etana and copying her pitch and tone. The other Tora was doing the same for Steve.
"Oh, it's me Discus-Boy. You want proof. The first thing I ever said to you was 'If any of you Nazi dogs enter my village', proceeded to tell you what would happen to each of your body parts and I had a knife to your throat."
Tora chuckled slightly.
"I then told you your German accent was appalling and you took my appearance a lot better than most. Do you want me to say any more?"
Steve smiled sadly.
"That's you alright. Do you remember the flower I gave you?"
"A snowdrop. I still have it. Pressed. If you want it, it's in the secret drawer in the Manhattan house, where I keep my DVDs."
"I never saw anyone who guarded their DVDs so fiercely."
"And? I've had people filch my videos before, thank you very much."
Steve sighed then smiled. Etana had been right. This was helping him get the grief out.
"How are you?"
"Better than I've been in years, thanks to you and that avian specialist friend of yours."
"'Tana?"
"You got my wings reset. And then you asked me to marry you, all polite and proper like. Told me you wanted to be alone with me for five minutes, then went down on one knee and came out with a beautiful piece of Hebrew. Who taught you that anyway?"
"Hebrew? I don't speak Hebrew."
"Oh. Then that's really sweet that you learnt that paragraph just for me. What…? Steve, I'm a bit bus-"
Tora stopped dead but the damage had been done. Steve reeled back.
"That's me, isn't it?"
A tear slid out of Tora's eyes as she nodded.
"Yes. That's you."
Steve slumped then looked up with a fierce resolution in his eyes.
"Tell him he's a lucky guy."
And Tora's voice deepened until it sounded identical to his.
"I know I am."
Phoenix smiled slightly but sadly.
"Poor guy."
Death laughed.
"Really? The Shadow sat outside my realm for over sixty years, waiting for Steve Rogers to turn up."
"She wouldn't enter?"
"She was always very useful for questing heroes."
"Yes. I remember going to Hell to rescue Wolverine. Etana sat at the point between the afterlives, pointing out where people were to go. We had a nice little chat and she babysat for me."
"You left your kids with a dead person?"
"She was the Shadow. She was the safest person to leave them with."
A.N. As the ever-observant Jeanniebird (my first and 100th reviewer) pointed out, Tora told Scott that radiation was responsible for her being changed in a different reality, yet when Tora was 'lodging' there, I stated that the Scarlet Witch was responsible for it. The reason is thus… Tora has accepted that just because you do something in one world doesn't mean you'd do it in another. Cyclops may have trouble with this personal philosophy and to make life easier for Wanda, Tora lied about the cause of her transformation. And she has also requested Aca (from Cells) makes a cameo. All I can say is, yes oh mighty readers! And I'm thinking of making every chapter ending in 5 a sojourn to other realities. Roll on Chapter 85!