I don't own anything except any original/own characters and any original plot.

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Chapter 29 - Time Travel

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5 Years Later

"Elora, buckle up. We're landing soon."

"Alright Mommy," Elora dutifully plopped down in the co-pilot seat, buckling up, "I can't wait to see Daddy!"

Sending her a small glance of surprise, I smiled. Because she grew up around two different languages, she often slipped into one or the other, calling me ejo and Steve gysk in an English sentence. She was young and struggled the same way I did.

Flipping the necessary switches for a smooth landing. Sighing dreamily, I nodded in response to her earlier statement, "Me neither."

The ship rumbled as it passed through Earth's atmosphere. Check, double, triple check. All to make sure we would land correctly. Even though we never had any problems when returning home.

The ship passed through the atmosphere. Leaning our heads against our seats, we waited until New York was in sight to unbuckle and move around again. Automatically, the ship landed in the parking lot of our apartment building, barely any cars in the surrounding spaces.

Quickly, I whipped out my phone and texted Steve to tell him we were on Earth. Based on our last conversation, he should have been back from his group therapy session and at the apartment.

"Do you have everything?" I questioned Elora, grabbing my own bags and slinging them over my shoulders.

"Yep! I even have the present quekni and quekno gave me!" Elora embraced the stuffed Orflak- sort of a wolf but with longer, blue fur- my parents had gifted her before we left for Earth.

Smile stretching across my face, I chuckled. Elora was adorable, full of light and life. She was what I needed to keep pushing on. Her and Steve.

Stepping out of the ship I took in a deep breath. Earth's pollution levels had dropped exponentially since the snap. A plus side within the darkness of the overall situation.

We took the elevator up to our level. After a brief struggle with my keys, I managed to swing the door open.

"Gysk!" Things forgotten in the threshold, Elora jumped into her father's arms. Steve laughed, spinning Elora in the air, "I missed you!"

Steve set Elora down, kneeling to her short height, "I missed you too. Did Grandma and Grandpa give you that stuffed animal?"

"Yeah! It was a present because I've been doing good in school! I'm gonna put it on my bed."

"Awesome! I was thinking of visiting Auntie Nat tonight. What do you think?"

"Yeah, yeah!" Elora ran back to the door, picked up her bag and stuffed animal, and sprinted to her room.

Taking advantage of the time we had, Steve, and I greeted each other with a long kiss and a tight hug. Squeezing him tightly, I sighed.

"She stays with you the next time I have to go to Orveon to rule."

Steve chuckled, the sound vibrating off my cheek, "How's co-ruling going?"

Sighing again, I stepped back, "My parents said they can handle things for the next month, but they want me to start ruling for longer periods of time. Within the next ten years, they want me to be officially coronated."

"That'd mean-"

"They want me to move to Orveon in the next year or two," I nodded.

"They're bringing that up again?" Steve grabbed a stack of papers from the counter, "But I just found some new houses. I understand if you want to move to Orveon, but we can't within the next year. Not with everything that's going on."

"Nothing's going on Steve," I flipped through the houses he laid down, "We tried our best. What we need now is to think about the future. I know how much you love Earth, I love it too. But maybe moving to Orveon is-"

"Daddy, I can't find my shoes."

"She was wearing shoes when she got here," Steve hurried off, making me laugh.

Staying on Earth or moving to Orveon had been a big debate between me and Steve the past few years. In the past, the close past, I had wanted nothing more than to get away from home and explore the universe. But I had changed, developed. War wasn't something I sought out. Steve was the same way. He wasn't fighting in different countries to calm the world down; he had settled and was leading group therapy. I was co-ruling and making Elora grow up on two different worlds. She needed something more constant.

Waiting for Steve and Elora, I finished looking through the house options Steve printed. Upstate New York, like the Barton household. Most of them were four bedrooms.

Reaching into my duffle, I pulled out my own stack of homes. Printing potential forever homes was impossible at first until I physically brought one from Earth to Orveon and figured out how to make it work there.

On the top, was one I marked with a star. 10 acres, by a pond, modern in terms of Orveon's magical advancements- 5 bedrooms, cheap. All real estate was since there weren't many to compete against.

Steve and Elora reentered. Shoe problem solved, we could travel up to the compound.

"You got everything you need?" I asked the two, leaving my bags in the kitchen and replacing them with my purse.

"Pretty sure. Mind if we fly there?"

Chuckling, I shrugged, "Sure, not like we just spent five hours on the ship or anything."

With that, we left. Despite the distance between our New York apartment and the compound, we visited often enough to have our old rooms full of clothes, meaning we could either stay, or I could at the very least shower and shake off the space travel.

Loading up on the ship yet again, Steve sat in the co-pilot seat instead of Elora. Our daughter settled in the back, yawned, and closed her eyes.

"Space travel always tires her out," I giggled, inputting the compounds coordinates, "The same could be said for both of us though, I could use a good nap."

"Let's switch seats then. I know how to use the ship well enough to get to the compound," Steve offered. Without hesitation, I unbuckled and sat down again in the co-pilot seat.

"Thanks, neod. I love you."

"I love you too."

Leaning back against the head of my seat, I closed my eyes and happily drifted off, feeling complete with my family around me.

~*~

"Weird that the base is still so well kept," I stepped into the large building, looking around the clean halls. There was no staff, so it was just Nat making sure things were clean.

"Auntie Nat!" Elora ran ahead of us, peeking into every room around her to see if Nat was inside, "Auntie Nat!"

"Hey, munchkin!" Nat was inside one of the offices, what had become her base, "What are you doing here?"

"We thought it'd be nice to visit," I noticed her red eyes and wavering smile, "Elora, you know where our old rooms are, yeah? Can you go get Mommy a sweatshirt?"

Elora gave Nat another hug and ran off, giving us a chance to talk alone. Steve leaned against the bookshelf, sighing. I stepped closer to Nat, squeezing her shoulder comfortingly.

"You know I'd offer to cook you dinner but you seem pretty miserable already."

Nat chuckled, and sniffled, "You guys here to do your laundry?"

"And to see a friend," Steve shrugged.

"Clearly, your friend is fine."

"Oh, Nat," I pulled her closer, rubbing her arm, "We're sorry to leave you here alone so often."

Nat decided to stay at the compound after our failure with Thanos. With the others traveling around the universe, Bruce off doing science, Thor MIA in New Asgard, me traveling to Orveon often, and Steve leading therapy in New York, she didn't have much to ground her.

"You know I saw a pod of whales when I was coming up the bridge," Steve shifted the topic of conversation to something less depressing.

"In the Hudson?"

"There's fewer ships, cleaner water."

"You know if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side. I'm about you to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich," Nat motioned to her unfinished sandwich.

"Sorry. Force of habit," Steve sat down across from us, "You know, I keep telling everyone they should move on and... grow. Some do. But not us. Elora's all that keeps me from losing my mind most days."

I nodded in agreement.

"If I move on, who does this?" Nat motioned to the room around her.

"Maybe it doesn't need to be done, Nat," I stated quietly, noticing the ballet shoes beneath her desk, "Coming from someone who was focused on seeking out fights for most of her life, you're allowed a chance for peace."

Nat nudged the slippers under her with her foot, "I used to have nothing. Then I got this. This job, this family. And I was- I was better because of it. And even though... they're gone... I'm still trying to be better."

"All of us need to get some therapy."

Nat sent me a smirk, "You first."

"Here you go ejo," Elora threw a sweatshirt at me and climbed onto Nat's lap. Laughing, I pulled it over my head to continue the ruse that I actually needed it, "Can I eat that sandwich Auntie?"

"Sure munch-"

"Uh, hi. Hi! Is anyone home? This is Scott Lang. We met a few years ago, at the airport? In Germany? I got really big, and I had my mask on. You wouldn't recognize me."

Elora picked up the peanut butter and jelly sandwich and took a big bite out of it, "Who's that?"

"Scott Lang," I whispered, jumping up, "He supposedly disappeared in the snap."

"Is this an old message?"

Moving Elora from her lap to her feet, Nat stood, "It's the front gate."

"Ant-man? Ant-man, I know you know that. I need to talk to you guys."

Nat pressed a button on her desk and the gates swung open. Scott jogged back to his car and drove inside. The moments up to his arrival inside were tense and silent, the only sound being Elora humming to herself.

"Oh God, hi," Scott ran inside the office, panting, "I don't know what's going on. Is that- that kid is purple?"

"And you're white," Elora shot back, causing me to snort despite the circumstances.

"Scott, this is our daughter, Elora. I had her right after the snap. But that isn't what's important. How are you alive?"

"What do you mean?"

"What she means is that everyone thought you turned to dust in the snap. But now you're here, alive, and you haven't aged."

Scott began to pace, obviously lost in his thoughts while muttering to himself. Our hero trio shared confused looks.

"Are you okay?" Steve finally asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Scott waved his hand, then blurted, "Have either of you ever studied Quantum Physics?"

Nat shrugged, stating sarcastically, "Only in mid-conversation."

"Alright. So... five years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope, she's my- She was my- She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and that snap thing, I got stuck in there."

"I'm sorry. That must've been a very long five years."

"Yeah, but that's just it. For me it was five hours," Scott expanded on his rant about the Quantum Realm, "See, the rules of the Quantum Realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving."

"Don't take my sandwich," Elora picked up the other half of the sandwich, holding it close to her chest.

"Elora," I warned. Elora sighed and gave Scott the half.

"Thanks, kid," Scott bit into the bread.

"Scott, what are you talking about?"

"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 to enter the Quantum Realm at a certain point in time but then exit at another point in time? Like before Thanos."

"Scott, you're talking about a time machine," I scoffed at the concept. Sure, magic and science both were vast and many aspects of them were unknown, but time travel? It had been tried time and time again and always failed.

"No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. It's more like a- Yeah, a time machine. I know it's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way- No, it's crazy."

"I get emails from a raccoon, so nothing sounds crazy anymore," Nat shrugged.

"If we're actually going to try to do this, then we need to visit Tony."

~*~

"Can I go play with Morgan?" Elora was bouncing in her seat, head practically outside the window as she looked for her friend.

"Absolutely, remember your manners!" I called as Elora jumped out of the car and sprinted up the porch, hugging Tony's legs before running into the house with Morgan.

"You actually brought the husband this time?" Tony motioned to Steve, "And friends. Is there a birthday I forgot about?"

"Sorry, Tony, but there's something else we're here about."

While the others barely visited Tony, preferring to let him lead his life, I tried to visit as often as I could. Not only to help out around the house and help Tony through what had happened to him- as both of us loved Peter- but because Morgan was only a year younger than Elora and both of them needed good friends. Steve had come along twice, both times more awkward than I cared to admit.

Stepping onto the porch, Scott explained his entire idea/plan to the genius in front of him. Everything from what the realm did to his own experience with only being there for five hours. When he was done, he noticed how skeptical Tony seemed.

"Now, I know what it sounds like-"

"Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve interrupted, eyes bright with hope. I hadn't seen him like that since we were flying to space five years before.

"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck scale, which then triggers the Deutsch proposition. Can we agree on that?"

I shrugged. Scott, Steve, and Nat shared confused looks. Science wasn't their fields, but magic was mine. And magic and science often overlapped.

"He's basically saying that we won't come home," I clarified, nodding when Tony thanked me.

"I did."

"No, you accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull off a... What do you call it?"

Scott shifted in embarrassment, "A time heist?"

"Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipedream?"

"The stones are in the past. We can go back and get them."

"We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back."

"Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?"

"I don't believe we would."

"Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism. 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 would be our collective demise."

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events-"

"Scott that's not how time travel would work if we can do it. Are you basing your knowledge off of Back to the Future?"

"No," Scott leaned in, "I thought you were on my side, (Y/n)."

"Tony, we have to take a stand."

"We did stand. And yet, here we are," Tony pointed at the house behind him, and the surrounding land.

"I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did. And now, now we have a chance to bring her back. Bring everyone back. And you're telling me that won't even-"

"That's right, Scott. I won't. Leave it. Got a kid," Tony looked to me and Steve, "So do you. Have you really thought about the risks of this mission? About what could happen to you, or in turn, what could happen to Elora?"

Morgan and Elora ran outside. Morgan jumped into her father's arms, and Elora jumped into Steve's.

"Mommy told me to come and save you," Morgan told Tony.

"Good job. I'm saved," Tony turned back to us, "I wish you'd come here to ask me something else. Anything else. Honestly, I  missed you guys, it was- Oh, and the table's set for eight. It's a big table."

"Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance."

"I got my second chance right here, Cap. I can't roll the dice again. If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch."

The group let out a collective sigh and walked back to the car. I hesitated, running a hand through Elora's hair, "Do you wanna spend a night or two with Morgan and her parents?"

"Yeah! Sleepover!" Elora moved from Steve's arms to mine.

"I'll be back in a sec," I carried Elora back to the house, knocking on the door before stepping inside, "Hey, would it be okay if Elora spent a day or two with you guys? Things are going to get kind of crazy, so I want to make sure she's safe and having fun."

"Sure," Pepper stood to get a plate for Elora, hugging me on the way, "It's good to see you (Y/n)."

"You too Pepper," I smiled, turning to Tony when she was in the kitchen, "Tony, whatever you choose, I'll understand. We'll understand. But that doesn't mean we're going to give up."

Tony sighed, "I know. All of you are too stubborn for your own good."

Pepper returned, and we stopped speaking about the mission. I gave Elora a tight hug and promised to drop off some clothes for her later that day.

"Thank you again."

"No problem. Good luck (Y/n)."

With that, I left and met the others at the car where they were already discussing our other options so we could continue.

"What are you guy thinking?" I questioned.

"Bruce," Steve stated, starting up the car.

"Alright. We'll see how that goes."

~*~

The last time I saw Bruce he was working on his connection with the Hulk. Sitting inside a booth at the cafe, I saw how well that worked out for him. The Hulk and Bruce had become one person, working in unison. If I wasn't an alien and purple with scales, I would stop to stare at how strange he looked.

"Come on, I feel like I'm the only one eating," Bruce pushed one of the many plates on the table forward, "Try some of that. Have some eggs."

"I'm so confused," Scott mumbled.

Bruce's expression became serious, "These are confusing times."

"Right. No, no, that's not what I meant."

"No, I get it. I'm kidding! I know. It's crazy. I'm wearing shirts now," Bruce pointed out his shirt, laughing happily, "Five years ago, we got our asses beat. Except it was worse for me. Because I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then, we all lost."

"No one blamed you, Bruce," Nat assured gently.

"I did. For years, I've been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together. And now look at me. Best of both worlds!"

Three kids approached Bruce nervously. The girl in the middle spoke first, "Excuse me, Mr. Hulk? Can we get a photo?"

"One hundred percent, little person. Come on, step up," Hulk gently took the phone and held it out to Scott, "You mind?" Scott took it and held it up, "Say 'green'!"

"Green!"

"Did you get that? That's good."

Scott leaned forward to hand back the phone, "Don't you wanna grab one with me? I'm Ant-Man."

Groaning, I buried my head in my hands. Things were already weird enough with Scott being so confused and out of touch.

"Wait, no, no, he wants to- You want to take a picture with him, right?" The boy shook his head vigorously.

"He's even saying no he doesn't. I get it. I don't want it either. I don't want a picture with them."

"He's gonna feel bad. Sorry. They said they'd do it."

"I don't want it anymore."

"You'd feel bad."

"Just take the goddamn phone."

"Thank you, Mr. Hulk."

"No, it's great kids. Thank you very much. Hulk out!" Bruce dabbed, "Dab. Listen to your Mom. She knows better."

"Why am I friend with you people," I asked myself, pinching the bridge of my nose.

"Burce. About what we were saying..." Steve cut in, as uncomfortable as I was.

"Right. The whole time travel do-over? Guys, it's outside my area of expertise," Bruce shrugged simply.

"Well, you pulled this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible time, too."

My phone dinged with a text from Tony.

I'd like the record to state that I didn't teach your daughter how to say shit. That was obviously Pepper.

Shaking my head in disappointment, I left him on read to focus on convincing Bruce.

"This is our chance Bruce," I added, sticking my phone back in my purse, "Think about how much good this would do."

Bruce hummed in thought, silent for a few seconds before he nodded, "Alright. Let's do this."