Empty Chairs at Empty Tables

06

CAFÉ

"Come on, I feel like I'm the only one eating," Bruce, who was Smart Hulk, pushed a plate forward and said, "Try some of that. Have some eggs."

"I'm so confused," Scott commented.

Bruce replied seriously, "These are confusing times."

"Right. No, no, that's not what I meant."

Bruce dropped the act. "No, I get it. I'm kidding! I know. It's crazy. I'm wearing shirts now."

"Yeah! Wh... How? Why?"

"Five years ago, we got our asses beaten. Except it was worse for me. Because I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then, we all lost."

"No one blamed you, Bruce," Natasha told him.

"I did," Bruce said. "For years, I've been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together. And now look at me. Best of both worlds..."

Three children behind Bruce walked up to him tentatively.

"Excuse me, Mr. Hulk?" a girl called.

"Yes?" Bruce asked.

"Can we get a photo?"

"100%, little person. Come on, step up." He held out the phone to Scott. "You mind?"

"Oh, yeah," Scott said.

"Thanks." He said to the children, "Say "green"!" The children and Bruce said green as Scott snapped the photo. "Did you get that?

Scott leaned forward to hand back the phone. "Don't you wanna grab one with me? I'm Ant-Man." He was met with blank looks. "They're Hulk fans, they don't know Ant-Man. Nobody does."

"Wait, no, no, he feels bad. No, he wants you to... he wants to..." He said to one of the boys, "You want to take a picture with him, right?"

The boy shook his head vigorously. "Stranger Danger."

"He's even saying no he doesn't," Scott said. "I get it. I don't want it either."

"But, come on, the kid! But he... but you..." Bruce trailed.

"I don't want a picture with them."

Bruce said to the children, "He's gonna feel bad." He said to Scott, "Sorry. They said they'd do it."

"I don't want it anymore."

"No, no...you feel bad."

"Just take the goddamn phone."

"Thank you, Mr. Hulk," the girl said.

"No, it's great kids," Bruce told them. "Thank you very much." He said at the same time as the kids, "Hulk out!"

"Bruce," Steve called.

Bruce stated awkwardly, "Dab!"

"Bruce."

"Listen to your Mom. She knows better."

"About we were saying..." Steve trailed.

"Right. The whole time travel do-over? Guys, it's outside my area of expertise."

"Well, you pulled this off," Natasha told him. "I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible time, too."

STARK KITCHEN

Tony was in the kitchen washing dishes after dinner. As he finished the last of them, he stumbled upon a photo of both himself and Peter, with Peter holding his Stark Internship certificate. Tony finally knew what he was fighting for.

---

Tony spoke to his computer, generating a holographic model of something he was working on. "Look at a mod inspiration, let me see what check out. So, recommend one last sim before we pack it in for the night. This time, in the shape of a mobius strip, inverted, please."

"Processing..." F.R.I.D.A.Y. said.

"Give me that eigenvalue. That, particle factoring, and a spectral decomp. That will take a second."

"Just a moment."

"And don't worry if it doesn't pan out. I'm just kinda-"

"Model rendered."

In a complete shock of amazement, the render came back as 99.987% successful. Tony fell back, bewildered.

"Shit!" Tony exclaimed.

"Shit," Morgan, who had been hiding behind him all this time, giggled as she repeated the word Tony just uttered.

Tony whispered, "What are you doing up, little mess?"

"Shit."

"No, we don't say that. Only Mommy says that word. She coined it, it belongs to her."

"Why you two up?"

"'Cause I got some important shit going on here." Morgan gave Tony an incredulous look. "What do you think? No, I got something on my mind. I got something on my mind."

"Was it Juice Pops?"

"Sure was. That's extortion. Great minds think alike. Juice Pops, exactly was on..." he looked back to the model, then turned back, "my mind."

MORGAN'S ROOM

"You done?" Tony asked. "Yeah, now you are." He wiped Morgan's lips and pushed her head onto her pillow. "That face goes there."

"Tell me a story," Morgan said.

"A story... Once upon a time, Maguna went to bed. The end."

Morgan giggled. "That's a horrible story."

"Come on, that's your favorite story. I love you tons." He kissed Morgan on the forehead.

"I love you 3000."

Tony silently said, "Wow." He turned off the lamp. "3000. That's crazy." He closed the door. "Go to bed. Or I'll sell all your toys. Night, night."

LIVING ROOM

Pepper was reading a book sitting on the couch. Tony paced in front of the fireplace as he said, "Not that it's a competition, but she loves me 3000. You were somewhere on the low 6 to 900 range." Pepper scoffed and Tony asked absentmindedly, "What are you reading?"

"Oh, it's just a book on composting," Pepper replied.

Tony's tone was still absentminded. "What's new with composting?"

"Just-"

"I figured it out, by the way."

"You know, just so we're talking about the same thing-"

"Time travel."

Pepper, amazed, said, "What? Wow... That's amazing, and... terrifying."

"That's right."

"We got really lucky."

"Yeah, I know."

"A lot of people didn't."

"No, I can't help everybody."

"It sorta seems like you can."

"Not if I stop. I can put a pin in it right now, and stop."

"Tony, trying to get you to stop has been one of the few failures of my life."

Tony smiled. "I sometimes feel I should put it in a locked box and drop it at the bottom of a lake... go to bed."

"But would you be able to rest?"