The future Reid couldn’t trust his past self.
Because once the two tilines were connected, both versions would have to factor each other into every plan, complicating everything.
So, the future Reid gave Steve only one rule before he returned to the past: not to reveal anything beyond the few changes he had been granted permission to make.
Likewise, the past Reid could not trust this Steve from the future either.
He couldn’t stay alive. At least not for long.
Reid wasn’t so emotionless machine. Since the future Steve had lived in this world for a long ti without using his foreknowledge to hinder him in any way during his rise, he was willing to make a concession.
He would allow the man to live in this era until Peggy Carter of this tiline passed away peacefully.
That was his final compromise.
Once he confird that Steve would die alongside Carter, Reid turned to leave. But just as he was about to go, the older man suddenly spoke.
"Reid... thank you."
Reid stopped and looked back, curious. He didn’t believe there was anything in Steve’s life that warranted gratitude toward him. After all, he still had plenty of plans in mind to ruin the man’s reputation if needed.
"You could’ve turned this world upside down if you wanted to. But... you still gave it a bright future."
* * *
Those words echoed in Reid’s mind even after he returned to the LexCorp headquarters in New York.
"You’re actually thanking for that? Steve..."
The man hadn’t explained the details of what he had gone through. But as the person who had started everything, Reid didn’t need him to. Although it hadn’t happened yet, he could roughly guess what that future looked like.
Steve must’ve lived through a dark, painful life, and only after his rcy was he able to return to the past.
But instead of holding on to hatred, Steve let it go. Even with his life destroyed, he chose to look past it and thank the man behind it all.
"That’s Captain Arica for you...".
Only a hero like him could still put the greater good above his own.
And Steve’s words reminded Reid of how much he had changed over the years.
Back when Gotham was full of danger, he had been cold and ruthless. Playing as the Joker, he had killed many people and used brutal ans to carve out a place for himself in this world.
That was how things had to be. Reid was selfish by nature. When even his own life wasn’t secure, he did whatever it took to survive.
But as the situation gradually stabilized, and after gaining the Martian Manhunter’s powers and the ability to protect himself, his true nature began to show.
He was never born a killer or a lunatic.
In his previous life, he had been just an ordinary person. Naturally, if given a choice, he would choose a better way. That’s also why, even though he could have used force to seize control of the world instantly, he ultimately chose the slow approach.
Reid didn’t want a world so similar to the one he ca from to collapse the mont he left or stopped paying attention.
Nobody in this era could truly understand him or knew the kind of terrifying potential he held, with the entire DC universe in the palm of his hand, except Steve from the future, who had already witnessed how everything ended.
* * *
Elsewhere, while Reid was talking to future Steve, the Captain Arica of this world had also gotten in touch with Tony.
"So? What did your investigation show?" Tony’s voice ca through the phone.
Steve replied, "It’s confird. It was Hydra. It was Bucky. If you need any help, just let know. The man who hurt Howard and Maria shouldn’t be allowed to stay free."
"Alright." Tony agreed. Then he added, "Co to the new villa I bought in LA. There are things we need to plan out carefully. With everything going on in S.H.I.E.L.D., you should know how serious this is."
"Understood."
After Steve said that, he went silent, while Tony too didn’t speak.
Both of them were waiting for sothing.
The forr was waiting for Tony to erupt in anger, to lash out at Bucky. That way, he could use it as a chance to talk him down and hopefully calm the fury burning in his heart.
The latter, on the other hand, was waiting for Steve to plead. To beg him to spare Bucky.
Before they t, Tony had asked Luthor what kind of choice Steve would make. Would the man focus entirely on capturing the killer of his mother? Or would he side with Bucky and try everything to protect him?
At the ti, Luthor hadn’t known about the existence of the future Steve, or how his interference might change the judgnt of this tiline’s one.
So he had given a clear answer: Steve would definitely try to save Bucky. For that, he’d even be willing to work with S.H.I.E.L.D., despite knowing Hydra had infiltrated it. He wouldn’t destroy the agency outright, not at this stage.
Ti passed slowly, until Tony, impatient as ever, broke the silence first.
"If there’s nothing else, I’ll see you when you get here."
"I... got it."
In the end, neither of them spoke honestly.
* * *
The next day, Steve halted all hero-related activities with Vought and made his way to Los Angeles, a city that was also about to fall under the growing influence of LexCorp.
At the new Stark Industries headquarters, he t Tony.
After the fallout between Stark Industries and LexCorp, Tony had taken the opportunity to pull his company out of the weapons industry completely, handing over the entire military production sector to LexCorp.
Stark Industries had then shifted its focus to one of the few remaining industries that LexCorp had yet to touch: energy.
With the Arc Reactor, and thanks to the butterfly effect of Reid’s actions, Howard had stepped in early to help miniaturize and upgrade the technology. As such, even after leaving the arms business, Stark Industries didn’t decline. In fact, it quickly rose to dominate the global energy market.
As for antitrust laws? In this era of rapid developnt led by LexCorp, anyone who still cared about antitrust regulations was simply seen as a fool.
To Steve, the Stark HQ wasn’t just as impressive as the news had said; it was even more extravagant.
If LexCorp was all about futuristic tech and sleek innovation, then the design of Stark Tower was pure luxury.
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