"GWEN?!"
Jack looked at the two women. Both of them looked almost exactly the same, except the new Gwen had a more mature vibe.
"You must have already guessed who I am," Future Gwen said with a sly smile.
"Yeah, Future Gwen, right?" Jack asked. Even though he was almost certain, he wanted to make sure this wasn't some Gwen from a parallel universe.
"She is me from the future. There's no doubt about it. I already verified it," Gwen said, looking at Jack.
Jack sat down and put his hand on his head, thinking deeply. After a moment, he looked at Future Gwen.
"So whose idea was this? You appearing only after we fixed the time machine makes all the effort we went through seem like a joke."
"I don't know!" Future Gwen replied, not taking the blame. "We did what happened to us in the past. Likewise, you will do what happened in your future. It's a loop without an answer."
Hearing this, Jack finally understood.
A paradox.
"So, is the future war over now that you appeared here?" Jack asked, wanting to know what was happening in the future.
"No. It's still going on," Future Gwen said. "But you don't have to worry about people from our time coming to the past again."
Hearing this, Jack raised an eyebrow.
"Why?"
"Because this time travel is only possible because of what Future Jack did. Once this loop is completed, Future Jack will close this loophole. After that, the past will become fixed, and time travel to the past will no longer be possible."
Jack thought about it for a moment.
"So, even with the time machine, I won't be able to travel to the past again, like I did before?"
"That's right. You will still be able to travel to the future, but traveling to the past will become impossible."
"So it's basically a one-way trip."
"Yeah, that's it."
Jack nodded slowly. At least he finally understood what was going on.
"So then we should return as soon as possible?"
"Eventually, yes. But if there is anything important you need to finish before returning, do it now. Once the loop is completed, you won't get another chance."
Jack understood what she meant.
I can't change the past. Whatever I do here was already supposed to happen.
Future Gwen continued.
"Your future self already made an agreement to make sure this happens. You know how it is. Everything has a price."
Jack didn't fully understand what kind of agreement Future Gwen was talking about, but he could make a guess.
It probably has something to do with the Eternals, just like the Ancient One told me.
Jack looked toward Emma and Morgan.
Once they return, they won't be able to come back here either.
That meant the next time Jack met Emma and Morgan, it would be in his own future, after they were born. He would never be able to return to this moment again.
"Are you leaving soon?" Jack asked, since he noticed Emma and Morgan were sad.
"Yes. I'm here to take Emma and Morgan home. Once they return, the loop will be completed."
Hearing this, Jack looked toward Emma and Morgan.
"So... it seems it's time for you guys to leave."
Before Jack could finish what he wanted to say, Emma and Morgan hugged him.
"We'll miss you," they both said, their eyes filled with tears.
"Me too," Jack said, hugging them back. "I'm going to miss you for a long time."
Emma looked toward Alice, who was nearby in her humanoid form.
"Alice, you too. Take care of Mom and Dad for me, okay, sister?"
"Don't worry. I will," Red Queen replied.
Emma immediately hugged her.
"Are there no hugs for me?" young Gwen asked, trying to hide the tears in her eyes.
Emma immediately turned toward her.
"Little Mom, I'm going to miss you too."
She hugged Gwen tightly.
Future Gwen watched the scene with a small smile.
"Guys, don't make too much of a scene. We're all the same person, remember? I have these memories too."
"Yeah, but for us, it will be years before we meet Emma and Morgan again, right?" Jack said sadly.
Future Gwen nodded.
Jack didn't cry. He knew they would meet again someday. But knowing that didn't make saying goodbye any easier.
Emma looked at Jack again.
"I'll see you again, Dad."
Jack smiled sadly.
"Well then, it's time to go," Future Gwen said.
She took out her device and activated it. A blue portal soon appeared in front of them.
Future Gwen looked at Jack and Gwen.
"Take care of yourselves. And don't forget what I told you. You have one chance to finish everything you need to do before you return."
Jack nodded.
"We will."
Future Gwen stepped toward the portal with Emma and Morgan.
"Bye-bye, everyone!" Emma said.
"You all take care," Morgan added.
The two entered the portal with Future Gwen, and soon the blue portal closed.
"They left..." Jack said quietly, staring at the empty space where they had disappeared.
"Yeah..." Gwen said, her voice breaking slightly from emotion as she hugged Jack.
Jack hugged her back. For a few moments, neither of them said anything.
Then Jack finally spoke.
"It seems we need to change our plans. We don't have enough time to make another trip to Knowhere and give everyone instructions."
"Yeah. With us gone, it would be hard to keep the organization running for the next sixty-five years," Gwen said worriedly. "And what kind of organization leader leaves only a few months after creating the organization? Wouldn't it just fall apart?"
"I already thought about this problem when I created the Plumbers," Jack replied. "I just thought I would have a few more months to settle everything before we returned to the future. Now we don't have that time."
Jack paused for a moment.
"So I'll create a council to make the major decisions while we're gone. Three members will lead it. No single person will have enough power to control the entire organization."
"What if one of them becomes corrupt?" Gwen asked.
"I'll prepare countermeasures for that too. I'll make sure there are safeguards in place in case any council member becomes too powerful or tries to misuse the organization. For this, I plan for Alice to do it."
Jack looked toward Alice.
"She'll operate in the shadows. She won't run the organization every day. Her job will be to monitor things, protect important information, detect corruption, and activate emergency measures if something goes seriously wrong."
"Doesn't that mean she'll be lonely here by herself?" Gwen asked with a little concern.
"No," Red Queen replied before Jack could answer. "I can help Jack. I don't mind."
"Don't worry," Jack added. "I'll upload everything she needs to know. The plans, information, and instructions for the coming years. As long as the council doesn't do anything insane, most of the time she'll just monitor things."
He looked at Alice.
"And you can create sub-AIs to help you if you need them. I don't want you carrying everything yourself. Most of the time, you can just sleep and let the systems monitor things. You're only the final safety line."
Alice nodded.
"Understood."
"Do you already have any members in mind for the council?" Gwen asked.
"Zeyara is the only one I have in mind right now. For the other two, I'll give some tasks to people I've been considering. If they pass, I'll select them. You can recommend some people too."
With that decided, Jack immediately contacted the Plumbers headquarters. He explained that he and Gwen would soon have to leave for a long time and began preparing the organization for their absence.
Jack started arranging everything for the next sixty-five years, the exact amount of time between 1943 and 2008. He created long-term plans for each decade, including instructions for missions, responsibilities, training, expansion, and other matters. At the same time, he created countermeasures against possible corruption and made sure no single council member could gain too much control over the organization. He also told Alice about the future, like the Zen-Whoberi attack by Thanos, and told her to save Howard and Peter's parents.
It took an entire week for Jack, Gwen,and Alice to finish the preparations and select the three council members.
By the time everything was finally arranged, Jack felt that he had done everything he could.
"Are you sure there won't be any more trouble once we leave?" Gwen asked.
"I've done everything I can in the short time we have," Jack said honestly. "The rest isn't in my hands."
Gwen thought for a moment.
"Why don't we just travel in between? Maybe every ten or twenty years. We could go to the future, check on the organization, and fix anything if a problem appeared."
"I already thought of that," Jack replied. "But there's a problem."
He pointed toward the time machine.
"This thing doesn't have enough energy for that many trips. It only has enough energy for three more jumps before it completely shuts down."
"Ah... I thought I found a solution," Gwen said, clicking her tongue.
Jack smiled slightly.
Before leaving, he walked over to Alice and quietly gave her one final instruction.
Gwen noticed immediately.
"What did you tell Alice just now? Something you want to hide from me?"
Jack looked at her with a mysterious smile.
"That was a surprise. You know, once we go to the future."
"A riddle again?"
"You'll know soon enough."
Jack walked toward the time machine. Gwen followed him, still looking suspicious.
As Jack entered the coordinates, Gwen noticed the destination.
1991
"Why did you select this time?" Gwen asked. "Is there something important in this year?"
Jack nodded.
"Howard Stark supposedly died in 1991. But Morgan's timeline proves he was alive later."
He looked at the time machine.
"I already told Alice to make sure important people like Howard Stark and Peter Parker's parents are secretly saved. She'll handle that while we're gone."
Gwen nodded.
"But then why are we going to 1991?"
"To make sure she succeeded."
Jack's expression became serious.
"If something went wrong with Alice or the Plumbers, if there was an accident, or if someone interfered with the mission, I'll fix it myself."
Gwen understood.
"We're making sure what already happened actually happens," Jack said.
He looked at the year displayed on the machine.
"Once we're done in 1991, we'll continue toward 2008. And if everything went according to plan, there shouldn't be any more problems."
"That's a good idea," Gwen said, supporting Jack's decision.
Jack started the time machine.
"Goodbye, Alice. See you in the future."
"Goodbye," Gwen said.
"I'll be waiting," Alice replied.
The time machine activated, and Jack and Gwen disappeared.
Alice watched the place where they had stood for a moment before leaving Earth to begin her long mission.
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