𝐒𝐎𝐋𝐀𝐑 𝐄𝐂𝐋𝐈𝐏𝐒𝐄 ➳ 𝙥𝙟𝙤 // 𝙖𝙫𝙚𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙧𝙨

xiv

Nico wasn't quite sure why a meeting had been called by Steve and Natasha for everyone to meet in the lobby, but what he did know was that Clint had already been on a test run with the time travel suit, and by the looks of everyone's optimism, it had been successful.

Now, the team sat staring at a holographic board with all six infinity stones and their artifacts displayed on it.

"Okay." Steve took a deep breath. "Now that we've got how, we need where and when."

Everyone looked around the room at each other, wondering how they were going to pull this off. The thought of time travel was still something Nico couldn't wrap his head around, but he supposed he would only understand it when he experienced it. He simply hoped this time travel business wouldn't reveal anything about his past that might jeopardize his place amongst the Avengers.

"Most folks here have encountered at least one of the six Infinity stones," Steve continued.

"I think you mean damn nearly been killed  by one of the six Infinity stones," Tony added.

Scott looked lost. "I haven't..." 

Everyone glanced at him strangely.

"Just sayin'..."

Bruce sighed. "Regardless, we've only got enough Pym particles for one round trip each. And the Stones have been in a lot of places throughout history."

"Our history," Tony scowled. "Not all of them are going to be a fun drop-in."

Clint tapped the tattoos on his arm, squinting. "Which means we've got to pick our targets."

Steve pointed at him. "Exactly." He tapped the holographic screen, which showed a picture of a red glowing substance. "Let's start with the Aether. Thor, what do we know?"

Thor was passed out again.

"Is he asleep?" whispered Natasha.

Rhodey scoffed. "I'm pretty sure he's dead."

THE AETHER

Eventually, Thor woke up. "The Aether's not a stone, it's more of an angry sludge," Thor's words slurred together. "I heard someone call it a stone earlier. It's not. Anyway, my grandfather hid it from the Dark Elves in a rock that can only be accessed every 5000 years."

Thor's robotic eye started to wander off to the left, and he banged his fist against his heat to reset it, startling everyone in the room. 

"Or... by Jane. She stuck her hand inside a rock. Then the Aether stuck itself inside her. Then I took her to Asgard. We were dating..." Thor had a depressed look in his eyes. "We're not anymore.."

THE POWER STONE

Rocket paced on top of a table, a holographic image of the Power Stone behind him. 

"Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag."

Hulk frowned. "That's a person?"

"It's a planet," Rocket corrected. "Quill was a person."

Scott's jaw dropped. "Wait, like a planet... in space?!"

Rocket pinched Scott's cheeks. "Aw, look! It's like a puppy! All happy and everything!"

Scott glared, but Rocket continued. "You wanna go to space, puppy? I'll take you to space."

THE SOUL STONE

"Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir," Nebula said, a dark look in her eyes.

"And that is..?" Natasha raised an eyebrow.

"A dominion of death at the very center of celestial existence." She looked down. "It's the place where Thanos murdered my sister."

Nico frowned.

Everyone went silent.

"Not it," Scott muttered.

THE TIME, SPACE, AND MIND STONE

Tony, Nat, and Bruce sat in the office, trying to formulate a plan.

"So this 'Time Stone' guy... what kind of doctor was he?" Natasha asked.

"Strange?" Bruce suggested.

"Cross between ear-nose-throat and rabbit-from-hat," Tony snorted.

"Had a nice place in the Village," Bruce added.

"Yeah," Tony agreed. "Sullivan Street."

"Bleecker," Bruce corrected.

"Sullivan and Bleecker. They're cross streets," Tony shrugged.

Natasha sat up abruptly. "Wait, he lived in New York?"

The two men raised an eyebrow at her.

"Guys, pick the right year and there were three stones in New York."

Bruce gaped. "Shut the front door."

— — — — name the time skip! — — — — 

Nico hoped that the Avengers had come up with a tangible plan by now, because he was getting seriously impatient, along with the fact that he had no idea what any of these stone-things were.

The whole group met in the living area of the compound later that week.

Steve took a deep breath. "Okay, we have a plan. Six stones, three teams, one shot."

Nico sighed. Did these people only speak in inspirational quotes?

Steve gestured to a board, where a tangle of lines connected locations and stones.

They had their teams. Tony, Bruce, Steve, and Scott would go to New York in 2012 during the Chitauri Attack. Natasha, Nebula, Rhodey, Nico, and Clint would go to Morag in 2014. Rocket and Thor would go to Asgard in 2013. 

"You have your teams, and you have your assignments," Steve nodded. "Get your stone, and get back here. One round trip each. No mistakes, no do-overs." He gripped his shield tightly. "Most of us are going back to places we know. That doesn't mean we know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. Improvise, if you have to. This is the fight of our lives. And we're going to win. Whatever it takes."

"He's pretty good at that," Rocket whispered to Scott. Scott nodded enthusiastically.

"All right, you heard the man," Tony said loudly. "Stroke those keys, Jolly Green."

Bruce began to type commands into the computer with his pencil. "Tracking beacons engaged."

Everyone stepped onto the platform, suited up in the white and red suits Tony had created. Nico felt uncomfortable wearing something so constricting, but he knew that this would all be worth it once Will was back in his arms.

The platform began to vibrate.

"See you in a minute," Nico remarked.

Bruce interjected. "Actually, it'll be closer to seven or eight microseconds, give or-"

Just like that, everyone shrunk down and vanished, leaving eerie silence in the compound.