Thank you to everybody who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are wonderful. We are still in the beta timeline.

Text message key:

Angry girl: Valkyrie

Everyone else is self-explanatory

Drafting timeline: The initial draft was written before Eternals came out, but the rewrites were done afterward. Unlike other recent chapters, I did not have to do emergency rewrites after No Way Home. This is being uploaded after week three of Moon Knight because I went on a writing binge between 10 Rings and No Way Home and wrote about nine months' worth of chapters. It's the reason why I have time to write letters I can never send. I plan to do the same thing again between Multiverse of madness and Thor 4. Especially with Ms. Marvel coming out in between.

Conversation 50: Greetings from Norway

Angry girl: You could have told me that your friends were planning an intervention. I wouldn't have come otherwise. I don't want to be part of this.

Angry girl: They don't work anyway.

Bruce: You stopped drinking.

Angry girl: My people need someone to lead them, which requires at least one of us to be sober. Unfortunately, it had to be me.

Angry girl: I'm older anyway.

Bruce: How is it going?

Angry girl: Nobody has tried to take his beer away yet. So it is going better than I thought it would. I expected everybody to be kicked out by now.

Bruce: They didn't take Simmons's bottle of vodka away, so I assume the beer would be no different. Also, how much beer does an Asgardian need to drink to not be sober? I can now drink a jumbo size Margarita with extra tequila and not feel anything.

Angry girl: Constantly, to be honest. At least that was my experience, but the liquor was more potent elsewhere. So who are these people really? They are not all actually Avengers. I don't think you ever had a therapist on call.

Bruce: Clint and Steve are. They fought with Thor before. Laura is Clint's wife. Steve is now a trained grief counselor, and Laura is working on her doctorate in clinical psychology. But she's already a high school guidance counselor. Her specialization is children and young adolescents with superpowers.

Angry girl: They seem like the best people to be here.

Angry girl: The man of purple just said his wife died during the decimation. So how is she here now?

Bruce: This is a Laura Barton from a different timeline. Dr. Simmons may have figured out time travel. Unfortunately, she was a little inebriated at the time. We have not been able to re-create her work yet.

Bruce: Although Tony had a breakthrough last night, so we almost have it. Maybe. Natasha won't let us try until everybody is back. We might even wait until our next update from the other timeline.

Angry girl: It seems that the warrior Natasha is as intelligent as she is fierce. I wish to make her acquaintance.

Bruce: Yes. No, I will not introduce you.

Angry girl: I'm sure the Lady Barton will in your absence. You're in communication with the other timeline?

Bruce: Yes, but the windows are sporadic. Friday believes the next window will be sometime Thursday afternoon.

Angry girl: I'm sure they'll be back by then.

Bruce: Why are you not surprised at the mention of time travel and the ability to communicate with the other timeline?

Angry girl: I've lived for millennia. I've heard many tales of those that have come from other dimensions and times. Legend had it that some could communicate with other worlds. Before Hel killed them all.

Angry girl: Also, many believe that Sakaar wasn't just a dimensional pocket outside of time, but you could travel back in time when you arrived there.

Bruce: Interesting theory.

Angry girl: People are crying now.

Bruce: Good crying or bad crying?

Angry girl: I'm not sure. Thor is now hugging Clint. He just asked Thor to help him bring his family back.

Angry girl: And then save the Loki in the other timeline?

Bruce: In the other timeline, it's still 2018, and we are still on Sakaar. Of course, things are different there this time because Daisy is there.

Angry girl: That explains why they asked so many questions on the drive to Thor's house.

Bruce: Did you answer any of them?

Angry girl: No, but I might now. At least about the battle and Asgard. Maybe they can save more people.

Bruce: We are trying to figure out why the Steadman was attacked.

Angry girl: Because Loki brought the tesseract aboard. It should have burned in Asgard.

Bruce: Not possible, even if we didn't need it. Unfortunately, we do need that stone.

Angry girl: You're really going to try to bring everybody back?

Bruce: We're going to try at least.

Angry girl: I wish you luck on your foolish quest. I want no part of it.

Bruce: That's fair.

XXXX

Tony Potts: Hey, we think we have something, but Natasha doesn't want us to try until everybody's back, at least.

Tony Potts: Bruce and I think we should wait until after our conversation with the other timeline to coordinate things. I don't think I want to materialize in my other self's bedroom.

Laura: This might not be a bad idea. I think we will be back Wednesday evening. Thor is going to be with us along with his friend Korg. I invited him to come as I believe it would help Thor. Do we have any beds at the compound that will support someone that is essentially a rock creature and 8 feet tall?

Laura: Sorry, he's actually eight-foot-one.

Tony Potts: We do, but Bruce is in that room. I will order something, possibly custom. I'll have a whole suite set up for you before you get back.

Tony Potts: Actually, Friday believes we might be able to make a frame in the lab. But I will order a mattress. The fabricator don't do well with memory foam.

Laura: I've witnessed one of those experiments, so yes, definitely order something online.

Tony Potts: So, did you do your Laura magic to convince him to visit the Avenger rehabilitation center for superhero mental health and substance abuse?

Laura: You're still horrible at naming things. I'm grateful Afia named herself. Granted, it means a daughter born on Friday.

Tony Potts: Which is precisely the name I would have given her. I named Morgan. I think I'm getting better.

Laura: You still have a satellite network named Edith, don't you?

Tony Potts: Yes. Obviously, I don't in the other timeline. What's it called there?

Laura: Screw Thanos, every villain's end, a.k.a. Steve. You changed it from the original after Steve found out what the previous acronym meant. He made you change it.

Tony Potts: That definitely sounds like a name chosen by a man who didn't get his ass handed to him by the purple one. Although I still like it. I've already asked Friday to change the name designation.

Laura: Name aside, I didn't do anything to get Thor to come with us. That was all Clint.

Tony Potts: Just like the picture?

Laura: Yes. But I think this is less about healing and more about vengeance or fixing things in the other timeline.

Laura: He's not ready for recovery yet. I believe Thor wants to help us mostly to make sure gamma timeline Loki doesn't die. They were just starting to fix their relationship when he was killed.

Tony Potts: I get that. At least they were starting to fix things. It would be much worse otherwise.

Laura:?

Tony Potts: The last conversation I had with my father was a fight. I didn't exactly want him to spend Christmas elsewhere. He said he had to go. After reading the truth about Hydra and watching that fucking video again, I wonder if he knew the end was at hand. That in the end, Hydra was going to get him. But if he knew that, why didn't Howard leave mom behind.

Laura: I never met Maria, but I've worked with many people who knew her at the foundation. She doesn't seem like the type of person who would want to be left behind. Do you think Steve would let you leave him behind if you were in danger?

Tony Potts: Not at all.

Laura: From what everybody told me about your mom, she was that person. I wish I didn't drop this on you. You don't need to be dealing with old Howard stuff right now.

Tony Potts: I needed to know. I can't move forward without knowing the whole truth. If we're going to bring Steve's BFF back, it's probably best to get myself to a space emotionally where I won't punch him on sight.

Laura: I don't think you would do that.

Tony Potts: I thought you knew me well.

Laura: That's why I think you won't. At least not now that the anger is not as raw.

Tony Potts: Maybe you do know me. Sorry, I was in the science zone and couldn't text you back after Pepper's little stunt. Only Steve's messages were getting through. Did I tell you that Pepper Pot purposely placed a bottle of KY jelly on Hunter's bed just so I would spend the night with Steve? I think she ships us, which is weird.

Laura: I started laughing so hard everybody is staring at me right now, especially Valkyrie. Pepper definitely ships you and Steve. Now at least.

Laura: That is such a Pepper thing to do. It's fine. Sharing a bed with an alternate timeline version of my estranged husband is not the worst person I've had to share a bed with. It was still better than that time I got kidnapped by Ross.

Tony Potts: Did you get a bed?

Laura: No, just the stone floor and a very thin blanket. He was hoping it would break me faster. I'm pretty sure Phil punched him with the robotic hand for that.

Tony Potts: That seems like something Agent would do.

Laura: I think footage of that is the only reason why Clint ever forgave Phil.

Tony Potts: Understandable. I wasn't exactly thrilled about Agent only telling me the truth because he needed me to keep the world from cracking apart. Especially considering he was terminally ill. It wasn't the best experience.

Laura: I'm sure it wouldn't be.

Laura: So, do you want to talk about the fact that even though you're in the science zone, Steve can still contact you?

Tony Potts: Bruce needs me. I need to go.

Laura: You are so predictable. I'll have Stevie bear text you when we're on our way back.

To be continued…