After checking on Noah and making sure he was okay. I came back into the conference room, where Scott was pacing and mumbling to himself still. I stood next to Steve and crossed my arms over my chest watching him just as the other two were doing.
"Scott." Steve said and he continued pacing. "Scott." He stated louder and a little harder. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah." Scott said stressfully rubbing his face. "Have any of you ever studied quantum physics?"
"Only to make conversation." Nat replied.
"All right, so five years ago, right before... Thanos." Scott mentioned cautiously. "I was in a place called the Quantum Realm."
"How did you manage to do that?" I asked curiously. "You'd have to be microscopically small."
"Exactly. With my suit I can turn really big or really small. It's a microscopic universe. To get into the Quantum Realm you have to be incredibly small. Hope. She's my, uhm... She was my... She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened... And I got stuck there."
"I'm sorry that must have been a very long five years." Nat said.
"Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours. See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich?" Scott asked quickly. He moved to the desk and took the other half of Nat's uneaten sandwich. "I'm starving."
"Well, you were gone for five years. I'm not surprised. But Scott, what are you actually talking about?" I asked curiously.
"So..." Scott said muffled by food in his mouth. "What I'm saying is time works differently in the Quantum Realm. The only problem is right now we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if we could somehow control the chaos... and we could navigate it? What if there was a way that we could enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit the Quantum Realm at another point in time? Like... Like before Thanos."
"Wait." Steve stopped him. "Are you talking about a Time Machine?"
"No. No, of course not. No, not a Time Machine. This is more like, uhm... Yeah, like a Time Machine." Scott sighed. "I know, it's crazy. It's crazy. B-But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be... Some way... It's crazy."
"Scott, I get emails from a raccoon." Nat responded to him as he seemed to beat himself down about his idea. "So nothing sounds crazy anymore."
"So, who do we talk to about this?" Scott wondered.
"Well, there's only one person I can think of that would have the smarts, the access, and the know how to put together something like that. But he's not exactly on great speaking terms with nearly half the people in this room." I pointed out.
"We have to try." Nat perked up. "We'll go tomorrow morning. You guys are welcome to your old rooms. Scott, I'll set you up in one. Come with me."
Nat and Scott began to walk away from us and up the bedroom halls. I stopped and sighed looking up at Steve.
"You're thinking hard about something. I can tell. What is it?" Steve asked as he approached me.
"What if he's right?" I blurted quickly as he wrapped his arms around my waist. "What if Scott's right? What if Tony can do this? We go back in time and... and get the stones back. We snap and bring everyone back."
"Well, it's a long shot." Steve shrugged as he held me close. "But it's worth a try isn't it?" He asked.
"Of course it is." I sighed. "But, just think about it for a minute. We'd be bringing millions of people back into this world after being gone for five years. Our friends, the other parts of our families..."
"Noah's Dad." Steve sighed.
"Yeah." I nodded and looked up at Steve as his face sank slightly. I lifted his chin and leaned up and kissed him. When we pulled apart he looked upset.
"You'd go with Peter." Steve stated slightly bitter.
"Steve." I sighed.
"No, I get it." Steve said. "He's Noah's Dad and it's not his fault he's not here."
"And you'd go with Peggy if she was snapped away too." I mentioned softly. "This is all purely theoretical right now anyways. So we don't have to worry about making any decisions right now."
"No, you're right. We'll worry about it when the time comes. For now we need to get a certain boy to bed." Steve mentioned with a small smile and I nodded at him.
Steve and I got Noah ready for bed for the night. Having to explain to him that we were staying here tonight and not at our home because we had a big mission to go on tomorrow. As soon as he was asleep, Steve and I climbed into bed in our old room. We both stayed awake for what felt like forever before finally falling asleep. My mind was racing however, about everything. It had been five years. I never once believed in an opportunity to change things. That was for wishful thinkers. I was logical. But now here we were.
Peter had been gone for five years and there was a possibility he'd come back to me. But I was a different person now. Things had changed around here. I was a mother of a perfect five year old boy. I had a wonderful boyfriend who had been at my side every step of the way. We'd been together for the past two years. Could I really change it all just to get him back? The questioned ran through my mind over and over again. Just before I fell asleep I had already made up my mind if things did work out.
~~~~~~~~~~
The next morning Noah, Nat, Steve, Scott and I all climbed into Steve's car driving out to the lake where Tony's house was.
"What are you doing?" Steve asked as I pulled out my cell phone.
"I'm just gonna call Tony. Let him know that we're coming." I said as I was about to push send. Steve reached over and gently placed his hands over mine. I looked up at him and crooked my head slightly.
"That's probably not the best idea." Steve said gently.
"He's right, Y/n." Nat agreed and I turned to look back at her. "If Tony knows were coming he's less likely to hear us out."
"So we ambush him instead?" I asked concerned.
"Look, it's not conventional. I know. But you know Tony. Probably better than any of us at this point. You're probably one of the only Avengers he keeps in touch with." Steve pointed out and I sighed. "You know what were telling you is true."
"I guess you're right. But I don't feel good about showing up at his home unannounced." I stated, making my stance on the matter clear and Steve nodded his head. He leaned over from the driver's seat and kissed my cheek and then started up the car.
We made the near half hour drive all the way out to Tony's lake house. It was a beautiful cabin out in the middle of the woods on the lake. Perfect place for solitude and for Tony and Pepper to keep the life they built private. As we pulled into the driveway we noticed Tony outside by a small playhouse in the woods. He was picking up his little girl named Morgan H. Stark. She was about a year younger than Noah, but the two were pretty close friends considering they didn't have any other kids to play with.
"Hello, Tony." I said as I stepped out of the passenger side of the car.
"Hi, Y/n." Tony nodded at me. He turned and continued walking up the steps of his home.
"Is Noah here?" Morgan called out as Tony carried her.
I giggled and nodded. I opened up the back door and pulled Noah out of his car seat. I set him on the ground and he ran towards Tony and Morgan. Tony placed Morgan on the ground just before Noah reached them and the two kids collided into one another happily.
"Why don't you two go play, huh?" Tony suggested and the two ran off. "So, not that it's not nice to see you all. It's been a minute hasn't it? Except you." Tony pointed at me and I shrugged. "What brings you here?"
"Tony, we have something we need to ask you about." Steve piped up as we joined him on his porch.
"Hold up. Is anyone thirsty? I just helped make some Iced Tea. Believe me, it's better than last time." Tony mentioned as he looked at me and I laughed.
"As long as Pepper supervised I'd say it's safe to drink." I noted and he chuckled.
Tony walked back inside before coming out a few moments later with cups and the jug of Iced Tea. He began filling the cups as Steve and Scott began to explain Scott's idea for a time traveling device. The whole time I watched Tony's facial expressions. He seemed to keep a pretty straight face, but I could tell his brain was wracking whether or not he could actually pull this off.
"N-No. We know what this sounds like." Scott stumbled as he spoke.
"Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve asked.
"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck scale..." Tony interrupted Steve. "Which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that?"
"Thank you." I nodded as he handed me a glass.
"In layman terms, it means you're not coming home."
"I did." Scott pointed out.
"No." Tony stopped him immediately. "You accidentally survived." Tony sighed. "It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull a... What do you call it?"
"A-A Time Heist?" Scott offered as Tony gave him his glass.
"Yeah." Tony chuckled awkwardly. "A Time Heist. Of course. Why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable. Because it's a pipe dream."
"Tony, the Stones are in the past. We could go back and get them." I explained.
"We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back." Nat spoke up agreeing.
"Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?" Tony countered.
"I don't believe we would." Steve stated.
"Gotta say it. I sometimes miss the giddy optimism." Tony pointed out. "However, high hopes won't help... If there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist. I believe the most likely outcome will be our collective demise."
"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel." Scott piped in. "All right? It means, no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events."
"I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott." Tony held his hand up to him. "Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back To The Future? Is it?" He asked softly.
"No." Scott scoffed slightly.
"Good, you had me worried there. 'Cause that would be horseshit." Tony said. "That's not how Quantum Physics works."
"Tony." Nat spoke up. "We have to take a stand."
"We did stand. And yet, here we are." Tony said quietly and slightly bitter.
"Tony, look. I know you've got a lot on the line. You've got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important too me. A lotta people did. And now, now we have a chance to bring her back... To bring everyone back, and you're telling me that you won't even..." Scott began getting heated very quickly. I placed my hand on his shoulder.
"That's right, Scott. I won't even." Tony leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. "I can't."
The screen door opened from inside the house and both kids came outside. Morgan walked right over to Tony and Noah came over to me. I smiled down at my little boy and I picked him up, holding him in my arms.
"Mommy told me to come and save you." Morgan said quietly.
"Good job. I'm saved." Tony smiled as he picked up Morgan and held her close. "I wish you had come here to ask me something else. Anything else. I'm honestly happy to see you guys, I just... Oh, look, the tables set for eight."
"Tony." I sighed.
"We get it. I'm happy for you. I really am." Steve said. "But this is a second chance."
"I got my second chance right here, Cap. And so do you. I can't roll the dice on it. If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch." Tony said as he walked away from us all.
I placed Noah on the ground and held his hand as we walked back to the car.
"He scared." I stated softly.
"He's not wrong." Steve sighed and he looked over at me. I reached out and grabbed his hand, giving it a little squeeze.
"Yeah, but, I mean, what... What are we gonna do?" Scott asked. "We need him. What, are we gonna stop?"
"No, Scott." I sighed. "We're not gonna stop until it works or the plan fizzles out to nothing. That's what we do."
"Okay, so where do we go from here?"
"We're gonna need a really big brain." Steve said. Nat and I smiled over at him knowing exactly what he was thinking.
"Bigger than his?" Scott said confused.
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