Caffeine Rush (Avengers Fanfic)

Chapter 14: Making Headlines

*I'm changing the multiverse lore so it actually makes sense, sue me*

You could hear a pin drop it was so quiet. Before anyone else could say something, I jumped in to further explain, "people tend to get weird about doppelgangers, so let me explain something first. Just because another version of someone exists doesn't mean that its the same version as the person you know, they aren't copies, they're possibilities of another reality. You could look entirely identical to your doppelganger or only share a name, they could be evil versions that destroy the world or good versions that help save it, there are even some realities where your doppelganger wouldn't exist because of the decisions made by others and no two universes are the same so no two doppelgangers are the same either."

I took a breath and specifically addressed Wanda, "no version of me exists in this universe because of the events that prevented it. I don't technically belong here and my being here changes the course of your reality, though that is neither here nor there, not positive nor negative, it just is. We share a relationship with two versions of the same person who lived two different lives. My father is not your brother but they were the same person."

Everyone took in that explanation in relative silence until Sam cocked his head to the side and said, "that is some mind bending shit you got there."

"Lucky for you guys that you don't have to deal with it. Exceptions being speedsters, such as myself, or in the instance of someone breaking the multiverse, in which case it will become your problem very quickly. Stan Lee's got it covered though so I wouldn't worry about it."

"Who is . . . Stan Lee?" Came Dr. Banner who sounded confused and not used to being confused.

"Oh, you know, Stan Lee. He exists outside the multiverse, I'm half convinced he's a god, like a real one, not like them two." I waved half-hazardly in the general direction of Loki and Thor.

"I am certain that I am indeed a real god, my fast friend."

"That's not what she meant, brother."

"You both are gods only in the universes that you exist in and even then, you may be mortals, animals, anything really, nothing's off the table. Stan Lee is a god in every universe and he likes to check up on the heroes in each, that's the difference between you."

"What do you mean 'check up on'? Is this . . . Stan Lee friendly?" Steve asked, suddenly concerned.

"Oh, he's a very mundane person every time, the mailman, the guy on the bus, usually appears at the turning point in the hero's origin story. I nearly knocked him over the first time I was struck by lightning and I saw him at a cafe around the corner from where I left my universe."

"So you mean, we've probably seen him before?" Tony asked, disbelieving

"Most certainly."

"Like when?" Sam cut in.

"Well, when did you get folded into the hero gig?"

He took a moment to think about it before saying, "it was Steve. We both ran at the Washington Monument about the same time."

I nodded, "he was probably there the first time you introduced yourself to each other."

"What about me? Mine was more than seventy years ago."

"Stan Lee is ageless, Cap'n Frosty, he was most certainly there at some point. If anyone's got a pen and paper, I could make a quick sketch, see if you recognize him?"

Steve passed over a charcoal pencil and his notebook filled with drawings. I had noticed that he was particularly good at it, doodling in his spare time and leafed through his sketches at superspeed so he wouldn't notice. The monkey on the tricycle stood out as one of the oldest of the drawings, most being more recent. I flipped to the next blank page and consciously put my thoughts in superspeed so that I could make judgements about lines and shading that could keep up with my hand motions. Contrary to popular opinion, I was not a skilled drawer, but given time and proper motivation it was possible to create something resembling the image in my head. Or at least, superspeed my way through the required time with effort.