TM 256: What do you hope for?

[iron_tony]

Tony hopes this will go well. A year ago, he wouldn't have had any expectations, but a year ago, he wouldn't have expected any of this to work out as well as it has. He and Steve are married, they're working on rebuilding a United Avengers team, and. . .he doesn't have to lie about anything. He doesn't have to hide

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[starspangledcap]

As they stepped out of the train station into what could only be described as a crisp New England afternoon, Steve reached down to squeeze Tony's hand. The train had been Steve's idea. They could easily have taken a quinjet, or other private transportation, but Steve insisted on doing this the way any other parents meeting up with their child at college might. In reality, the situation was anything but normal--most parents weren't visiting to tell the child she was their daughter from an alternate universe--but there was a thrilling normalcy to the idea of taking a train ride as a proudly, openly married couple, in a car full of other normal, married couples.

Steve hadn't had a honeymoon (no time for such things, in this line of work), but he was starting to understand why honeymoons existed in the first place. That blush of joy and newness was hard to contain, and Steve had barely been able to keep his hands off his new husband. Hence the winter gloved hand that was, currently, gripping his partner's at his side.

"Where did you say you'd meet her?" Steve asked, turning to face Tony on the windy platform. He wasn't nervous. Why should he be nervous? Everything had worked out well so far. This was simply the last hurdle toward the life Steve had dreamed about. What could possibly go wrong?

[iron_tony]

Tony didn't care what anybody thought of them. Really. But he did notice people watching them on the train. Most of the reactions, he thought, were the typical awestruck-civilian stuff. But of course there was an undercurrent of gossip, and with it the possibility of deeper-seated ill-will. They'd made themselves heroes to some people in the past weeks -- more people than he had guessed; the outpouring of supportive messages from unexpected quarters took him aback. But it would be naive not to realize they'd made themselves targets for some of the worst kinds of people.

Riding the train with all these people made him nervous.

He wasn't worried, of course. Steve had his shield fastened snugly under his jacket; Tony could call up his armor with a thought. They were equipped to handle anything up to and including supervillain attack. Which, Tony thought, as they got off the train in Boston, was maybe not the worst idea in the world. Not that he wished any ill on these(mostly) innocent bystanders, or any property damage on Amtrak. But if, say, the Melter just happened to materialize and they could win a fast, easy fight before turning him over to local authorities. . .well, it would be good for Steve. Give him some focus for his nervous energy, ensure at least one small victory for the day.

But no Melter appeared, and Steve touched Tony's arm -- which he'd been doing a lot, which was a focus for his nervous energy that Tony was quite okay with. Steve leaned close and asked where they were meeting Sally.

"Study room at the library," he answered, taking Steve's hand in his, and rubbing a thumb across his palm. "I told her it was about the scholarship."

[starspangledcap]

Steve hailed a cab to take them to the library. He almost wished they could walk--it wasn't that cold, and Steve had always enjoyed walking, and the wind was blowing through Tony's hair in a way that was, well... sexy. (Not a word that had ever been at the top of Steve's vocabulary, but damn it, he was married now; he was allowed to think those thoughts.)

But the train had been a bit late, and Steve wasn't looking to be tardy for their meeting. It was bad enough that they'd had to lie to even arrange it.

"I hope to God that's the last lie we ever have to tell her," Steve said, gravely, as they climbed into the taxi. At the thought, a niggling seed of doubt began to burrow into his brain, but he tried his best to ignore it.

Surely Sally would forgive the lies when they finally revealed the truth.

[sal_starkrogers]

It was possible to rent a study room at the library. After a soul-searching scrutiny, Sally Stetins had determined that making coffee in her room and bringing it in a thermos rather than buying from Starbucks would cover the cost. She needed the space to spread out, to leave her things arranged over the course of a day. It was practically like having an office. The door even locked. Which was why, without thinking it all the way through, Sally had told Tony Stark to meet her here.

Sally didn't completely understand or trust the interest Mr. Stark had taken in her life. But despite all her misgivings and dislikes of Mr. Stark she'd come to respect him. Not trust; never trust. But respect. She'd cried in the student union at the news footage of his marriage to Steve Rogers. Hadn't even been embarrassed.

Sally checked her computer for the time. Mr. Stark should be here soon.

[iron_tony]

Tony hadn't needed to rent a study room when he was at MIT. He had lived in private rooms close to campus, and when he needed more space, had a personal driver to whisk him to the labs at the R & D labs at the Boston office of his father's company. Any books he needed he could get copies of there. He'd never precisely done "homework," either, but turned in whatever project he happened to be working on that vaguely corresponded to the assignment.

So he couldn't really relate to what Sally had done here, but he was proud of her initiative. He could even see, through the room's window, that she was staring at a laptop, seeming intent on her work. Hating to be interrupted in deep thought himself, almost stepped back and suggested they wait until she was ready for a break. But he saw the equally intent look on Steve's face, raised his eyebrows, and gave a jaunty knock on the door, vaguely to the rhythm of "Give My Regards to Broadway."

[sal_starkrogers]

Sally jumped, even though she was expecting Mr. Stark's arrival. She got up, smiling as the approached the door. She looked out the window before unlocking it. Habit of caution, working long, late hours alone. There was Mr. Stark. And next to him was --

She realized her mouth was hanging open when Mr. Stark raised an eyebrow and made sarcastic door-opening motions. Sally unlocked the door and stepped back.

"Mr. Stark," she said. "Captain Rogers, it's a pleasure to see you. Please, come in."

[starspangledcap]

"Sally," Steve breathed. Not "Ms. Stetins," the careful address he'd been so diligent about using for so many months. Now that they were finally here, ready to reveal everything, he could feel the walls he'd put up collapsing.

Steve pulled out a chair and sat down, waiting for Tony to do the same.

"I'm sorry to arrive unexpectedly," he apologized. "How are you? How has your semester gone? It's... been awhile, since we've talked."

Best to ease into the conversation, before getting to the heavier stuff.

[sal_starkrogers]

Sally remained standing. No matter how odd her life had gotten in the last two years, this was still not normal. Captain America -- he always would be Captain America, Sally didn't care what anyone said about him, whatever "official position" the government took, whatever his rank in the military he was always Captain America -- sitting in her study room at college was not a sit-down-and-chat experience.

She started to make a casual reply, but -- but, no. Internal honesty wouldn't let her pretend that this was all casual.

"I'm fine, sir," she said. Sally crossed her arms, looking back and forth between the two men. "Why don't you two tell me what this is about? My mom's okay, I just talked to her a half-hour ago."

[iron_tony]

Sally's mention of her mother took Tony by surprise, and assuming that Sally's telepathy was tuned in at all, she would notice his confusion.

Toni Stetins was the factor they really hadn't taken into account here. She was a good woman, she had done a great job of raising Sally, and what they were going to say here would shake up that relationship just a little.

"That's good. Your mom, she's ahh. . .a smart lady. She. . ." He glanced at her computer. "So is the, you know, coursework going well --?"

He asked the question of Sally, but glanced at Steve hoping he would maybe jump in.

[starspangledcap]

It took Steve a moment to recover from the surprise of Sally's mention of her mother. Of course she'd think something was wrong, if the two of them were showing up like this. And of course she would assume that that "something wrong" would have to do with her mother. The most important person in her life. The only parent she'd ever known.

Steve felt a twinge of guilt. But having more parents had never hurt a child, had it? He and Tony weren't seeking to replace Mrs. Stetins, Steve told himself. They just wanted to... supplement the good work she'd done. No one could possibly be hurt by that.

"Sally," Steve cut in, watching Tony's uncharacteristic floundering. "You're right to wonder why we're here. And, in a roundabout way, it does have to do with your mother."

"Please, sit," he said, reaching out to gently touch her arm. "And tell me what you know about alternate universes."

[sal_starkrogers]

Sally sat in front of her computer, still frowning a little. Something was going on here. Okay, that was obvious. But, no, something big was going on, here. Sally could feel things she was pretty sure were coming off of the two men, emotions and images that didn't belong to her.

With a little concentration, she could fix that. Or -- Sally briefly, briefly considered trying to listen in and get a clearer picture of what was happening. Use her telepathy for a change instead of lock it down. Sally gave herself a little mental shake. This wasn't a dangerous situation, there was no ethical reason for her to spy on the minds of the heroes in front of her.

Sally concentrated and reached for her telepathic shields. She patched them up, focusing on not letting anything else through. Except -- as she did so, she caught sight of an image from the mind of one of the men. Of herself, in armor a lot like Iron Man's armor, visor up, talking to a frowning Steve Rogers. That means this has to be Mr. Stark's thought.

Sally frowned at Mr. Stark. "I don't know much," she replied. "Just, that the Fantastic Four do a bit of work to keep the universes from conflicting. I know some of the X-Men have experience with alternate versions of reality. Guardian of the Omniverse is one of Captain Britain's titles." She glanced back and forth, trying to watch both of their faces at once. "Does this have anything to do with me?"

[starspangledcap]

"It does," Steve said. But then he stopped. Now that this moment was finally here, he realized that he'd done almost no preparation for what they would actually say. He knew what Sally needed to learn. But how could he explain it? How could he say it in a way that made any sense?

"There was... an alternate universe. Created by--do you know who the Scarlet Witch is? It was a universe of her creation. And Tony and I were... temporarily transported there."

Steve glanced from Sally to Tony, unsure how to continue. A lump in his throat seemed to be growing by the second.

[sal_starkrogers]

"Of course I know who the Scarlet Witch is," Sally replied somewhat sharply. She was getting nervous. It was obvious, now, perfectly obvious, that Mr. Stark and Mr. Rogers were nervous. It was catching.

"On-again, off-again member of the Avengers, founder of the West Coast Avengers. Daughter of Magneto, sister to Quicksilver, half-sister to Lorna Dane." Sally tapped the desk, thinking. "There's a girl on the anon sites, goes by the name 'Princess Powerful' who claims to know two boys who claim to be the Scarlet Witch's sons. There's no record of her ever having children, but there's no record she didn't." Sally glanced at Captain America. "Lots of rumors put you and she in a sexual relationship, in past years. Do you have kids we don't know about?"

[starspangledcap]

Steve couldn't help letting out a strangled cough at Sally's suggestion, as beside him Tony's eyes widened. Sally certainly had a way of being perceptive in all the wrong ways.

"Those rumors are completely untrue. Which shouldn't be a surprise, considering my recently professed orientation," Steve responded, a little more defensively than he would have liked. The thing was, the rumors weren't completely untrue. He'd never slept with Wanda, but the fact remained that Tommy had been his biological son in Wanda's world, and who was to say that it hadn't carried over to this one? He'd never even thought to ask, and it was only occurring to him now what a major oversight that had been.

"But," Steve added, softening his tone and trying to steer the conversation back on track and away from these newly-plaguing thoughts, "Wanda Maximoff does have a history of... creating children."

[iron_tony]

Tony had unconsciously allowed Steve to take the lead in this conversation, figuring that he could be diplomatic about what they were saying, but he could see Steve starting to lose his stride. The Wanda question obviously distracted him (it had the potential to distract Tony, too, as he'd never really gotten a handle on Steve and Wanda's relationship in either universe) but at some point one of them was just going to have to come out and say it.

"You didn't originate in this universe, Sally," Tony told her. There. It had been said. He wondered how she'd react. How was somebody supposed to react to a thing like this?

Maybe they should have brought Sue Richards with them. She'd know how to explain this kind of thing.

[sal_starkrogers]

Sally sat very still. She was thinking, quickly. Perhaps more quickly than she ever had. The possible ramifications of what Mr. Stark had said were -- but, no, wait. First, was it even true? Sally's eyes narrowed briefly as she considered Mr. Stark. She rapidly discounted any possible motivation the two men might have for fabricating such a claim. For one thing, the amount of evidence, the conspiracy they would have to engage in would be enormous. She certainly wouldn't take their word for it, there would have to be tests, independent corroboration --

It dawned on Sally that she wasn't thinking like a teenager. Not even like a college student. This was the much more calculating sort of thought that Sally found herself using when the stakes were very high. When something -- her slight telepathy, she suspected -- led her through all the possibilities to the right answer.

In any event, Sally decided Mr. Rogers and Mr. Stark weren't lying. Which left . . . the truth.

"That explains a few things," she said carefully. "The interest two Founding Avengers have in me, for instance." She pursed her lips and speared Mr. Rogers with a thoughtful look. "And I'm guessing that whatever I might have come from has to do with The Scarlet Witch, and her children, and not the Negative Zone. Or else I'd be talking to Ms. Storm-Richards."

Sally leaned forward, her eyes locked on Mr. Rogers' brilliant blue ones. "Alright. Just tell me. Is Wanda Maximoff my mother?"