Our little family (sequel to Baby Captain Widow)

Chapter 15: New York part 2

Steve walked down a corridor in the Avengers Tower, looking around. "Tony, what's going on? Tell me you found that Cube." He looked in front of him and stopped still. "Oh, you gotta be shitting me." In front of him, walking towards him, was his past self.
"I have eyes on Loki." His past self spoke into his earpiece. "14th floor."
"I'm not Loki." Time travel Steve said, slowly placing down the case containing the scepter. "And I don't wanna hurt you." He straightened up. His past self ignored him, lunging at him with his shield, Time travel Steve blocking it with his own. They fought on the glass bridge, lunging at each other with their shields, kicking and punching. Past Cap threw Time travel Steve backwards, causing him to land on his back. He skidded.
"I can do this all day." He said, staring at his future self.
"Yeah, I know." Time travel Steve said, picking himself up off of the floor. "I know." He threw his shield as his past self threw his, and they collided in the air, bouncing off of one another and dropped to the ground below. They were locked in hand-to-hand combat, deflecting each other's attacks, throwing each other to the floor. One of them smashed the glass barrier, knocking the case off of the bridge, the scepter falling out. They slipped, plummeting to the hard floor metres below them, shattering the glass internal structure, and landing on shards as they fell down stairs. If they didn't have the super soldier serum flowing through their veins, they would've perished long before they had hit the ground. Time travel Steve's pocket compass fell out, the photo turned to face its owner. Past Steve grabbed it, turning it over to inspect the image, waiting for the old photo of Peggy Carter, was shocked to find one of Black Widow and a tiny blonde girl. The two super soldiers groaned as they stood up, panting. Past Steve held up the compass.
"Where did you get this, and what happened to the photo of Peggy?" Time travel Steve lunged for the scepter containing the Mind Stone, but his past counterpart stepped on it, tackling him to the ground. They rolled over, as Time travel Steve desperately tried to reach for golden spear, Past Steve holding him back, arms around him, strangling him.

"Bucky is alive." He gasped, fighting for air. Past Steve let go in shock as Time travel Steve heaved, coughing as oxygen filled his lungs.
"What?" Time travel Steve punched Past Steve in the face and grabbed Loki's scepter, pressing the tip of the blade to Past Steve's heart, the Mind Stone taking control of the Past Captain's mind. He fell to the floor, Time travel Steve panting as he stood up, grabbing his compass. He looked down at the super soldier who was lying face down, and then looked around.
"That is America's ass." He walked off, away from the disastrous scene that he had caused.

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"Please, please." Bruce begged, still in his Astral form.
"I'm sorry, I can't help you, Bruce." The Sorcerer Supreme said, turning away from him. She walked around, Bruce following her like a shadow. "If I give up the Time Stone to help your reality, I'm dooming my own."
"With all due respect, all right... I'm not sure the science really supports that." They stopped walking, and the Sorcerer Supreme conjured a golden line, drawing it between them.
"The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of time." She explained. "Remove one of the Stones..." She demonstrated as the Infinity Stones appeared in a circle, with the golden line running through the centre, removing the green Time Stone from it. "And that flow splits." The line grew a branch, as black as night. "Now this may benefit your reality... but my new one, not so much. In this new branch reality... without out chief weapon against the forces of darkness... our world would be overrun. Millions will suffer. So, tell me, Doctor. Can your science prevent all that?" Banner looked at the glowing thread in front of him, deep in thought and contemplation.
"No... but we can erase it. Because ones we're done with the Stones... we can return each one to its own timeline at the moment it was taken. So, chronologically..." He plucked the illusion Time Stone thin air, and returned it to the circle, causing the black line to erase. "In that reality... it never left." The Sorcerer Supreme walked away.
"Yes, but you're leaving out the most important part." Bruce followed her, confused. "In order to return the Stones, you have to survive."
"We will. I will. I promise."
"I can't risk this reality on a promise. It's the duty of the Sorcerer Supreme to protect the Time Stone."
"Then why the hell did Strange give it away?" The Sorcerer Supreme's face changed, and she grew silent for a moment, taken aback by this new information.
"What did you say?"
"Strange. He gave it away. He gave it to Thanos."
"Willingly?"
"Yes." Her face changed again.
"Why?"
"I have no idea. Maybe he made a mistake." She stood up to her full height, staring him in the eyes.
"Or I did." She murmured, looking down at the ground behind him. She flicked her hands, and Hulk's unconscious body flew over to them, colliding with Bruce's astral form, re-joining them. He breathed in deeply, as she moved her hands through the air, unlocking the Eye of Agamotto around her neck, unleashing the Time Stone. She pulled it out, her fingers never touching it, and handed it to Banner. He looked at it, confused. "Strange is meant to be the best of us."
"So, he must've done it for a reason." Banner concluded.
"I fear you might be right." He clasped the Stone gently in his hands.
"Thank you." The Sorcerer Supreme put her hands on his giant ones, and looked up at him earnestly.
"I'm counting on you, Bruce. We all are."