*C78 - The eighth Entry.

'Inner dialogue/thoughts'

"Normal dialogue"

[System]

[Diary entries]

(Word Count: 1,985)

~ Later that night, with Steve inside his apartment in Los Angeles ~

Steve had been looking back into the records of the battle for the past few hours. Not only the records, but he had also been reading through the files of Natasha. Something was not adding up for him, and he intended to find out what it was using what he already had access to.

'So, this Red Hood in the battle is Luke Sullivan, and he's at least got some sort of connection with SHIELD, if not Natasha.' Steve had stayed in the café until the evening, taking note of the interactions between Luke and anyone he interacted with whilst in the café.

Of course, it seemed as if Luke knew what he was doing if the nod Luke sent him after his second hour in the café was any indication. Steve had also spent time getting to know Natasha better, as well as Luke. What he found from his observations was that Luke also had a hint of sadness, nostalgia and regret whenever Luke talked to Natasha.

The pieces of the puzzle that is Luke Sullivan was slowly coming together in Steve's mind. All he needed was that one event, scenario, information, or anything, to be able to piece them together.

'They're not from this world. I've had experience with them in another world. Second chance.' The words of Luke and Natasha replayed in his mind as he stared at an image of Red Hood on the table. With the gears running in his mind, he then placed Natasha's file just beside the image. As he did so, the hidden expressions of Luke whenever he spoke to Wanda and Natasha flashed in his mind.

'So that's what it is.' After long hours of investigation, Steve had finally made the connection. 'If what I think is true, then Luke Sullivan should be from another world. Possibly a world similar to this one. Natasha should have been someone Luke knew personally, maybe a teammate. Which could possibly mean that Luke was also from SHIELD in this previous world. And the girl, Wanda. She should be someone that he loved in that world.'

However, unlike earlier, the more he thought, the more confused he was starting to get. 'This is too much of a coincidence. Natasha working in the same place as Luke, seemingly aware of his background? And the fact that Pietro said that he and sister only moved into this country recently and met with Luke not too long ago.'

Steve's eyes hardened. 'Someone is pulling the strings in the backgrounds. Could it be Fury? Does he know about Luke as well?'

~ At the same time with Luke, in his apartment in Los Angeles ~

As Steve delved deeper into unravelling the mysteries of Luke, that said person was currently writing his eighth diary entry.

[Yesterday, the man, the myth, the legend Steve Rogers, Captain America himself appeared in my café. It was a massive surprise to me considering that he was awake almost two years too early. But then again, my presence in this world has already caused many changes in the timeline. I just hope this one wouldn't cause a time paradox.

But would it? Technically no one travelled through time, so a paradox should not have happened, and the TVA would not be alerted. It should be fine, right?]

With all the changes in the timeline that was happening, Luke had already confirmed with the system that unless he wanted to, the major forces would not easily get to know of these changes. Without the system's reassurance, he was certain that not only the Ancient One and the TVA, but even people like Heimdall would be able to see him.

The only reason that he even wrote in the diary about the TVA was to mess with Fury, since he knew that Fury was the one behind most of these changes. First, the Maximoff siblings were saved much earlier than they should have, and now Steve is awake earlier too.

This was bound to have butterfly effects, and Luke was sure that he would be the one to face those future challenges. 'At least Tony's nexus event played out like it should have, cementing the start of the age of heroes canonically. Hopefully no changes will occur in his storyline.'

~ At the same time with Fury ~

'Motherfu-'

~ At the same time with Natasha ~

Natasha had not read the previous entry when Luke had written it as she was busy with the whole situation with the captain. Even yesterday, she did not find the time to check the diary since she arrived in LA in the middle of the night, snuck in a light rest, and then left for work in the early hours of the day.

It was only tonight where she finally had the time, and she was more than shocked by what she read. Not only about the situation with Tony, but also about the Avengers breaking up over and both Steve's and Tony's future issues.

Thankfully, it wasn't all bad news for her since she found it amusing how just as Luke mentioned that Steve should still have been in ice, Steve suddenly appeared before him, very much awake. The irony in that situation was laughable to her, almost as if Luke was fond of raising flags for himself. Even now as she read, it seemed to her that Luke was raising another flag with the TVA.

[The captain. . . Something's bothering him and I'm pretty sure I know what it is. He wakes up seventy years into the future, everyone he has ever known has either died or is dying. He's all alone. Like me.

Sometimes when I look at him, I feel like I should tell him about my past. That way he would feel like he is not alone. Unlike him, when I woke up on this world, I still got to meet the people I was close with from my past, especially both Natasha and Wanda. Adding on to that, I even made new friends in my café, although I am also their boss.]

'Oh Luke, if only you knew what was going on in Steve's mind.' Natasha thought. She knew that Steve was already suspecting Luke's past, and if the legends and reports were to be believed, then Steve would likely be able to solve the mystery by the end of the week with all the subtle hints that she dropped.

~ At the same time with Wanda ~

'THAT'S WHO THAT WAS?! No wonder he looked so familiar.' Wanda mused. During her alleged 'date', as how Natasha and Pietro had claimed it to be in front of herself and Luke causing them to blush and turn the conversation into a painful awkward silence, a man had walked up to them.

When she saw who it was, initially she was surprised. But looking around at the other customers of the café, she noticed that no one seemed to notice who the person was, or maybe they did but did not care. The only stares she noticed were from the ladies, especially the office ladies. But she knew they were staring not because they recognized the person, but from the way he looked.

Steve Rogers. That was who she saw. However, when she noticed no one reacting, she thought that maybe she was wrong. 'Apparently, I am not. That really was Captain America. . .'

She knew who Captain America was. When she was saved and brought to the states, she had read up about their history. When she read about the captain, she had wished that Sokovia had their own captain who could have saved their country from what they've become today.

The other thing that surprised her was the fact that she was certain that this Steve Rogers, was the Steve from Luke's team of Avengers in his world.

[I'll have to see how it goes. The Steve from my world was a strong man. With the event that caused him to be woken up still two years into the future, he will need to find something to occupy himself, to give him a purpose in this new life.

Just like I had found mine. I still cannot believe how similar both Wanda's are, only the Wanda in this world is definitely more immature. Which is fine for me, it's just another part of Wanda that I get to discover all over again.]

Wanda, although a soft blush adorning her cheeks, was currently clutching her pillows tightly with veins popping out on her forehead. 'What did he just call me?'

Unbeknownst to Luke, he had just annoyed and irritated the one woman that he otherwise never would have, and would come to regret it in due time.

[Anyways, speaking of Wanda. Both her and Pietro's birthday should be coming up in a few days. She hasn't told me about it yet so I'll have to remember asking when her birthday would be in one of our little 'dates'. Hopefully by tomorrow so that I would have the excuse of having enough time to get her a gift.

I know what I would get Pietro. All the times we hung out, it's either about Crystal, gaming or talking about basketball. Imagine that, Pietro Maximoff, a baller geek. So, a basketball jersey or a gaming console should work just fine with him. But then what about Wanda. . .]

As Wanda read the latest passages, she felt a weird sensation within her. It was not a bad one, but rather, it felt like a wash of warmth spreading throughout her body. Thinking of why she would feel this way, she suddenly realized something about herself and Pietro. 'It's been a long time since we celebrated our birthdays.' Her eyes softened.

'The last time we did, it was when mom and dad were alive. We were never rich or well to do, so we had small celebrations and the best gifts we got were new pairs of clothing or shoes. But the best gift of them all was spending our birthdays together, as a family.' She thought, tears beginning to form in her eyes as she thought of her parents.

'Luke. . .' Slowly but surely, Wanda was starting to feel grateful for Luke's presence in her life now, even if she wished that he had come much earlier.

- End of Chapter C78 -

Next time in C79 - Tony is sick?

[But Natasha was sent to work here with me. And both Natasha and Pepper already know each other, so who can he send in her place? It was only because Natasha was constantly around Tony that she realized that Tony was dying due to the palladium poisoning of the arc reactor.]

[Author's note]