Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. I really appreciate all your feedback.
Welcome to a pure in-person conversation. We haven't done one in so long that I actually had to look up what number to use.
Mood music: Bridge over troubled water
In-person conversation 6: It's Okay to Cry on Me
"This is a nice setup you have here. Nicer than your rooms last time." James said as he walked in carrying pastries and 2 cups of coffee. He had gotten both from the café near the palace.
"It's the guest suite closest to the labs. I think they may have been added since we were here last time. There are also rooms for the kids. It might as well be considered an apartment." Steve led him to the sitting area of the suite.
"Probably."
"I'm trying to decide when it would be a good time to grab Tony to actually get some sleep. Afia and Peter just went down to join him. Cindy went to pick them up some food. Thankfully the other two need a normal amount of sleep. Although we probably should keep it down since they're sleeping in the other room." Steve pointed to the nearby door.
"Drag them all in around sunset. It will be the only way to deal with the jet lag. Work on the others tomorrow. How long are you going to be here?"
"Originally, the kids, not including Cindy, were supposed to spend their entire break, but who knows now. At least until the mission is over. Everything's a mess. I don't even remember the last time Tony and I slept. Maybe at the compound two or three days ago.
"Not on the plane?" James asked.
"I rarely sleep on planes. Besides, too many things to look over." Steve said, holding up his encrypted Stark pad.
"The Princess let you bring in prehistoric technology?" James joked.
"I can't read off of a hologram. I can barely deal with the tablet. She thinks they're quaint."
"What are you reading?"
"Transcripts of Bobbi's interviews with my alternate self from yesterday. They should be leaving San Francisco soon for here. He's coming to help us with Thanos." Steve explained.
"That sounds like something a version of you would do. So, you're reading to figure out what they did wrong?"
"Yes. So far, the answer is a lot." Steve sighed. "We also have to compare it to the beta timeline to figure out what was already changed and didn't work."
"Ana, will your boss let me read this?" He asked the AI directly. He is sure that the Princess has her in here somewhere. She probably made this entire apartment for Afia. "Maybe a fresh set of eyes will help."
"Dr. Stark says yes, you can read it because you might see things that Cuddle Bunny will not," Ana answered. "He also wants you to know that you, Polly, and Robin are invited to the Malta compound. Dr. Stark also says you are right about not sending the kids to the other timeline if the stones are going there."
"Your fiancé can see reason," James remarked.
"Sir also realizes the teenagers will refuse to go." The AI added.
"Probably. Do you think we should leave?" James asked. "Robin is at an age that she will listen to us."
"The US government won't show up to arrest you in Malta. They won't try to grab Robin, either. The last time Wakanda was one of the major battle locations. That happened in both the alpha and beta timelines. It's where the last stand took place. I don't know if you're ready for another battle. If that happens, I doubt you want to be here with your stepdaughter." Steve once again mentioned alpha and beta timelines which confused James.
"Ana, can you please explain why this guy keeps mentioning the alpha and beta timelines because I know he won't?"
"We have decided to use the Greek alphabet to differentiate the different timelines." The AI explained. "The Alpha timeline refers to the timeline that Grant Roth came from. The beta timeline refers to the timeline that James Leopold originally came from and is where Agent Laura Barton is currently."
"We have the full history of their battles against the purple monster. There were shields, so the people of Wakanda were safe. However, there were casualties outside of those that were blipped." Steve explained.
"Children were also evacuated," Ana added.
"Why was it a major battle location?" James asked. There had to be a reason why the last stand happened here.
"Because the Princess was trying to get the stone out of Visions' head so that Wanda could destroy it." The AI answered before Steve could.
"And you guys did that last summer when I taught my niece how to milk a goat." The youngest Stark was not amused, especially because she got kicked twice.
"How do you know that?" Steve asked. "We are only now starting to tell people that the stone in Vision's head is a decoy and has been since last summer."
"My soon-to-be stepdaughter that draws the future. Sometimes she shows me things." James explained.
"Fine, you can help." Steve hands him a Stark pad. "But you should know in the beta timeline, Polly dies before you two even met and May and I adopt Robin. I don't want you to stumble across that by accident." James isn't as surprised as he should be. He expected a lot of casualties in the other timeline.
"Thank you for telling me. I appreciate the warning. There isn't anyone else I would trust with her." He's grateful that Robin is not alone in the other timeline.
"In that time, I married May, and now we're in the middle of a divorce because she's ready for me to move on to Tony."
"Smart woman," James commented.
"In this one, she's dead. She was my first friend in this new timeline." James wanted to make a joke about how "friend" wouldn't be the exact word he would use, but instead just decided to go over and hugs Steve. Once in his arms, James could feel the other man begin to cry.
"It's OK."
"I am trying to hold it together for Tony. He almost had a relapse yesterday." Steve confessed.
"It's OK. It's just us now." James patted his back.
"In the alpha timeline, Tony died to beat Thanos. It's why my variant came back to start again." Now James understood why Steve was such a mess.
"That absolutely sounds like something you would do."
"Yep. He also tried to get you away from Hydra, but that led to them trying to kill Howard and the rest of his family, so he stopped. He went off and settled with Artie in San Francisco and became a comic book writer and artist. He is responsible for the good Captain America comic books." Steve explained.
"Also, something you would do. I wouldn't want you to risk Howard's family for me."
"They still died."
"Because I killed Maria and Howard, but not your boy." James is very grateful he never got that mission. "You will be walking down the aisle soon enough."
"Grant Roth tried so hard, and very little changed. The most he accomplished was keeping the US government from burying Isaiah Bradley in prison." 'You and your boy are also getting married. That's an accomplishment in itself,' but James chose not to mention that.
"But that's still a change. The future isn't written in stone. It can change. So, we will analyze these reports to figure out the best way to bring the fight to Thanos instead of waiting to be ambushed."
"Do you think we'll be able to do that?" Steve asked.
"I know you will."
To be continued…
