Chapter 75: "Blood Ties and Crossed Destinies"
"Blood Ties and Crossed Destinies"
"Then, the reason you rejected your family was because they discovered Natasha's blood and wanted to use it for themselves," said Perenelle as everyone sat down after Natasha's surprise.
Mary nodded and began to tell everything that had happened and how she had lived hiding.
Meanwhile, Natasha, Wanda, and Stephen were sitting not too far away, having another conversation.
"To be precise, we come from the same universe, but from different timelines," Stephen explained to Natasha.
"True. In my timeline, I never met you, but I could see your timeline through your Wanda," explained Wanda.
"That's right. In my timeline, the one I changed, we did know each other. But you come from a timeline where you didn't meet me," Stephen added.
"I see. I thought the Avengers failed, and that we all ended up here," said Natasha with understanding.
She came from the original timeline where she sacrificed herself to get the Soul Stone and never knew how everything ended.
"Can you guys know how it ended?" she asked, a little cautiously.
Wanda and Stephen understood Natasha's fear, so they answered with everything they remembered.
"Before dying, I saw part of your timeline. Wanda was fighting alongside a large army against Thanos again," Wanda explained.
Stephen had to tell the ending as if he had seen it, but obviously, it was from his first life's memories. It could even be from a different timeline, but it would still help Natasha.
"After coming back from the past, they managed to bring everyone back. Except for you," he said, looking at Natasha's face. But since he didn't see an ounce of regret, he continued. "Then, Thanos found out, one from a different time, but he was defeated, thanks to someone who sacrificed themselves," he explained.
"Who?" Natasha asked, a little sadly.
"Tony," Stephen said seriously.
"Alright. Thanks," Natasha replied, feeling lighter from the worries about her old life.
Now that she knew her sacrifice meant something, she could live in this world peacefully.
Especially since she had her adoptive mother here, and now she knew she had blood siblings. Although she would miss her sister Yelena and her friends from the other life, that no longer chained her to keep thinking about that life.
So, she was finally able to let it go.
"By the way, did you tell your grandparents about your past life?" Natasha asked, a little surprised.
"Yes. Thanks to that, I don't have to make excuses when I show something that's not from this world," said Stephen, looking toward the corner where his grandparents were listening to Mary's story.
"Although they're the only ones who know. Harry just thinks I'm some sort of prophet, and it's better that it stays that way. His occlumency isn't good enough yet to know more," he explained with a smile, pointing at Harry, who was sitting in the other corner, occasionally glancing at Natasha with a flushed face.
Natasha gave him a gentle smile, making Harry nervous and look in another direction.
"I prefer not to tell my mother. She can be a bit obsessive with protection," Natasha explained with a smile. "If she knew I died once, I'd be wrapped in a cotton blanket, unable to move. She already did that when I scraped my knee as a child," Natasha said, remembering and smiling.
"Really? My grandmother wouldn't let me near the other kids. Once, she punished the boy who gave me flowers on my birthday for a week," Wanda said, remembering her grandmother with a nostalgic smile.
"Before creating the tool to hide my features, grandmother would paint a huge scar on my face and put a dirty wig on me because she was afraid a bad witch would kidnap me," Stephen also shared about his childhood experience.
"Ah, that's why I found pictures of you as a child dressed as a girl," Wanda said with a teasing smile.
"No... Grandma wanted to see if I'd look good as a girl, so she dressed me up," Stephen explained, a little annoyed.
Both of them started laughing uncontrollably.
The day passed quietly as Natasha bonded with her new siblings, until it was time to say goodbye.
In a couple of months, Mary was going to move, this time for good, without having to move every week. She would live in a village at the tip of a mountain.
Although it was hard for her to let Natasha go, she knew she couldn't force her to stay. That's why she was calm knowing Natasha would live with the Flamels, especially now, knowing she had siblings.
Natasha would stay with her until she accepted the new job, so she wouldn't go to the Flamel house for a few more weeks.
"Goodbye, Naty. We'll be waiting for you," Wanda said, giving her a big hug.
As Stephen was saying goodbye, Natasha asked him:
"Do you think Tony could be here too?"
The question caught Stephen by surprise.
"Honestly, I can't answer that. Even if he were, we don't know if it would be in the same time," he said thoughtfully. "But you can say he died the same way we did: giving his life for the universe," he added.
"I see. I'll look into it a bit on my own," Natasha said, understanding.
"Since there's nothing highly advanced technologically in the muggle world, at least we know he's not there," Stephen joked.
But that joke gave Natasha an inspiration to look for information.
Before leaving, Stephen asked her:
"Did you finish off your mother's old family?"
With a soft smile, Natasha replied:
"I don't know what you're talking about." She then said goodbye to Harry, who foolishly could only wave his hand.
Stephen, seeing this, felt disappointed in his younger brother.
"You know, since she's my sister now, technically she's your sister too, right?" Stephen said, shattering Harry's daydreams.
"What? Yes, I already knew that," said Harry, a little down.
"Harry, do you like redheads?" Wanda asked in a teasing tone.
"Of course not!" Harry defended himself, a bit embarrassed.
"You know? I'm also a redhead, but I leave my hair blonde to mess with Stephen," Wanda explained. "So you can't fall in love with me because I'm your sister," she added with a teasing smile.
"I know! Who would fall in love with you?" Harry said, a little angry, as he walked away.
"Seeing how sometimes you're stunned even by Stephen's real appearance, he should be careful too," Wanda continued teasing.
"Is it true, Harry? And I thought of you as my brother!" Stephen said, pretending to be disappointed.
Normally, Wanda and Stephen fought all the time, but when they teamed up to tease Harry, they had a mutual understanding.
"Don't worry, Harry. Even if you like men, we're your family, and we'll understand you," Stephen said as he and Wanda followed Harry, who wanted to walk away.
"Now that I think about it, there is someone who's a redhead and a man... Ron Weasley," Wanda said with a smile. "Could it be...?"
"Enough already! Grandma!" Harry shouted, unable to take it anymore, looking for his best shield.
"Mummy's boy," Stephen and Wanda said in unison.
"You two, stop bothering your brother!" shouted Perenelle, seeing how both of them were teasing Harry, who ran for help.
Both ended up being punished.
Meanwhile, in a hidden orphanage in the slums of France...
"Stupid human, more respect! I'm a god."
"Shut up, idiot. I told you not to play with my computer."
"Pff, that caveman technology can't be called a computer."
"Your brain is from a caveman, calling yourself a god all day."
"Insignificant human, this god will beat you up!"
"Whenever you want, idiot. I already beat you once, I can do it again."
Two children, strikingly similar, with hair so black it seemed to devour light itself, and yet so beautiful that it seemed to show stars like a night sky, were arguing. Their bright blue eyes were partially hidden by contact lenses, and their faces, very similar, with slight differences, made it clear they were twins.
That was the daily argument of these two in the orphanage.
The other children, used to their temperaments, usually ignored them or kept their distance.
Some went to call the director to stop them again.
The director was already fed up, but she couldn't throw them out of the orphanage, so she could only pray for someone to adopt them once and for all.
End of Chapter
I lost what was supposed to follow from the previous chapter, so if it doesn't connect well, I did the best I could, haha.
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