Thank you to everyone who read or reviewed the last conversation. You are so wonderful. Your reviews keep me happy and writing.
I'm going to apologize now. We're going to have a lot of notes. This is the first section that I've written post Agents of Shield. This seems odd because this is also the first chapter I am posting after WandaVision has premiered. I enjoyed it. Although I feel like we're in the framework again. Please remember no spoilers in the comments for 30 days.
This also seems odd because there are many similar beats between this story and season seven of AOS. Daisy even has a long lost family member and a crossover love interest that came about only because of timeline shenanigans. There were even more similarities if you could see my planned outline. I love it. However, I'm going to keep traveling in my own timeline. We are in our own part of the multiverse now. This also applies to what we see now in WandaVision.
In the original story, I said that our timeline diverged from the main MCU in mid-May 2016 when the main timeline 2018 Leo Fitz went back in time and created this new timeline. His absence was the reason why things deferred from the prime reality/main MCU timeline. Which is how we got May married to Steve and Tony and Pepper pretending to still be together in public for Morgan's sake.
When I started plotting this story, I did not realize that season five of AOS took place in a branch timeline because the agents created a new timeline when they went back through the monolith. Oops. But in my defense, neither did the AOS writers. Sometimes you have to just roll with it. They didn't even think they were going to go past season five.
The rest of this A/N contains spoilers for season seven of AOS, especially episode 7.4. But hey, it's on Disney plus and Netflix now (depending on your country) so go watch it. However, because of events in Agents of Shield season seven, I decided that our timeline actually diverged in 1955 slightly. Most things happened in both timelines. However, there were a few differences. Such as Aunt Peggy being there to help Tony come to terms with his sexuality and letting him know that Steve Rogers was not heterosexual.
If you remember, in this story Peggy and Daniel are married to each other. However, in the prime timeline, Daniel was murdered by Hydra in 1955 under the guise that it was the Russian government. This makes Steve Prime seem like less of a dick because Steve going back in time to be with Peggy didn't mess up another relationship (because he couldn't deal with Tony's death). Hydra already took care of Daniel for him. Although not doing anything about Hydra would still make him a dick. Steve's a dick in my story but not that much of a dick.
So why did the timeline change in 1955? Were there time travel shenanigans involved? If so, who was it? How did the diversions in the timeline bring us to where we are now? You're just going to have to keep reading to find out.
So this chapter is different than what I had outlined originally. The plan was either to do an in-person conversation between Leo and the Princess or go directly into a text messaging conversation with Lauren the other timeline. However, I did the initial draft of this chapter the day after the death of Chadwick Boseman. (Yes, the lag time is ridiculous right now). That made me want to do a chapter between the Princess and her big brother instead. Writing is how I deal with things. See my story, the Denial Phase, and most of my Dear Spock universe for proof.
A few weeks later, I came back to turn it into something coherent that fits with the rest of the story. And brings us to a significant plot point.
It turns out Tony did make T'Challa's call sign Kitty brother. Kitty brother is obviously concerned. But what else is Kitty Brother up to?
Conversation 23: Super overprotective Kitty brother
Kitty Brother: I have been informed that you are still in your lab at the embassy even though it is 7:42 AM local time. Why have you been working through the night?
Genius Princess: I could've just woke up very early because I am not used to the time difference.
Kitty brother: Per multiple sources, you have been in there since 1:08 PM PM EDT. You are not allowed more than 16 hours of continuous lab time.
Genius Princess: That limit was implemented when I was 12. I am no longer 12.
Kitty brother: I am well aware that you're an adult on a mission, but you still need to rest. At a minimum, please eat something and take a nap.
Genius Princess: I can't. Not now. Not when we're this close, we almost have it.
Kitty brother: You could get hurt, again. You almost destroy your lab once due to inventing when sleep deprived. It's why limitations were imposed on you when you were 12.
Genius Princess: First, I'm not working with any dangerous chemicals. I learned that lesson when I was 12.
Genius Princess: Second, Chief Monkey Lover is with us. Along with teenage mutant ninja spider and the time-traveling R&D guy. Football Hunter just brought me coffee. I'm actually out of the lab drinking it. So technically, I have left the lab.
Kitty brother: Why are you drinking coffee? You hate coffee.
Genius Princess: But this is frozen coffee with whip cream and chocolate sauce. I believe it's called a frappe. He also brought me a croissant. Technically I'm no longer in the lab while I'm eating. See, I took a break.
Kitty brother: That is not a break. At least take a nap. You don't have to do this alone. Let Chief Monkey Lover take over whatever you're working on until you rest.
Genius Princess: I can't, mostly because Chief Monkey Lover and the time-traveling R&D guy cannot be left in the room alone. Hunter can only keep the peace long enough for me to eat something, and TMNS might just web them up. That would be bad. Besides, we almost have it. Are you back home yet? I know you're not in Mumbai anymore.
Kitty brother: I'm in Norway working on a special project related to the current situation. However, unlike you, I know that sleep is necessary. I'm planning to return home with the artifact. Stark feels it's safer with us.
Genius Princess: Because he still doesn't trust his bosses. Especially the one that made him go to the Rose Garden to make the American people think nothing was wrong. I assume that you are with the team trying to recover the shards of Thor's hammer?
Kitty brother: Trying is the operative word. They are unable to remove the shards of the hammer.
Genius Princess: The Bulletproof Pacifist should be able to along with Vision. He may even be able to reassemble it. Please secure the object in my lab. I think I'll be back by next Saturday. I may even bring some guess because their spring break is coming soon.
Kitty brother: I will convey that to the team as well as have guest rooms prepared. Please sleep.
Genius Princess: Sleep is overrated. I know you were part of the briefing, especially because Stark asked for a favor. We have a month until Thanos arrives if things stay the same as they did in the other timeline. We may not have that much time. I promise all rest once we get this done.
Kitty brother: That is not our path. Things have changed. I doubt that we will be battling Thanos as you remove an infinity stone from Vision's head.
Genius Princess: Because I change them. But did I change things enough? I don't have an answer. Too much is at stake if I'm wrong.
Kitty brother: How long have you known of my potential death?
Genius Princess: I found out during November of 2016. Of course, you have access to the events from the other timeline.
Kitty brother: Yes, I do. As king, I have access to all our Intel. At least what's in the files.
Genius Princess: It was something you didn't need to know.
Kitty brother: I don't dispute that. It is better to live without a possible expiration date. And your own death?
Genius Princess: A while. The future is fluid. With each choice, I make Robbin's drawings change. When she first arrived, she was drawing pictures of a cracked earth like you were aware of. Then they switched to a battle that was similar to what happened in the other timeline. You saw those pictures.
Kitty brother: Not the ones of me dying.
Genius Princess: One does not need reminders of their own mortality. But this is not death. You are literally removed from existing, and the only thing that remains is the memory of you.
Kitty brother: If memory exists, then one is never truly
gone. You have merely moved on to the next adventure. One has only ascended to be with the ancestors.
Genius Princess: Dad always believed that.
Kitty brother: But you do not?
Genius Princess: Nothing is written in stone. It can be changed.
Kitty brother: Somethings cannot be changed. We must accept the inevitable.
Genius Princess: All things can be changed through science. Nothing is inevitable. Not if we fight.
Kitty brother: What are you working on? You're not actually trying to perfect time travel?
Genius Princess: Of course not.
Kitty brother: Good.
Genius Princess: I need to run additional tests on the white monolith before accomplishing that. We also need Pym particles. I could probably reverse engineer them, but I try to respect the intellectual property of my elders.
Kitty brother: You are exhausting, sister. What are you actually working on?
Genius Princess: Transdimensional text messaging.
Kitty brother: I apologize for asking.
Genius Princess: I have my mission, and you have yours.
Genius Princess: Another mission other than keeping alien weapons out of the Norwegian and American governments' hands.
Kitty brother: What is the other mission sister of mine?
Genius Princess: Prepare world leaders for the inevitable alien invasion.
Kitty brother: I thought we had two alien invasions Friday? I'm at the side of one right now.
Genius Princess: A third invasion. As you can see from yesterday, the American president is too busy prancing the happy couple around the Rose Garden to actually do anything useful. Despite Steve telling the president that the Confederacy told them that Thanos was on his way to destroy the earth.
Kitty brother: Not actually what he does according to the other timeline's intelligence reports but an action that warrants attention nonetheless.
Genius Princess: You have to be the leader to change things. We need to take the threat seriously.
Kitty brother: I assume I need to schedule a call with the American president sometime this week?
Genius Princess: That would be most prudent.
Kitty brother: Will the fight come to Wakanda this time?
Genius Princess: That's one thing that has hopefully changed because the stone will not be there.
Kitty brother: But we should be prepared?
Genius Princess: I have to go. Deke just punched his grandfather. I really thought Hunter could keep them under control while I eat something.
Kitty brother: Is that the traveler from the future? Who is his grandfather?
To be continued…
This chapter was originally going to end with meeting up with the last one and seeing events from the 2018 perspective. However, I decided that the brother-sister conversation needed its own chapter. So we will meet up with the bad timeline in the next chapter. Besides, remember time is relative in the story.