The matching white and red suits that they all wore were surprisingly comfortable, Elizabeth noticed. All of them walked up the ramp leading to the platform in the middle of the hangar, each of them standing according to their teams.

Elizabeth stood between Steve and Tony, smiling at the two widely as she tried to get rid of all the jitters she felt from around her. She rolled on the back of her heels lightly before she looked up and met Natasha's eyes, who stood beside Rhodey. The redhead winked at her with a smile which Elizabeth reciprocated happily.

"Everyone know their missions?" Steve asked everyone, looking at each one of their nodding faces carefully. "You get the stones then we can get them back," he reminded them all what they were doing it for in the first place as he lifted up his wrist, asking all of them to check the time travel band that they each had.

"We have one round trip each. No mistakes and no do overs," he told them all. "Just because most of us are going somewhere we know doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful, and look out for each other," Steve said. Across from her, Elizabeth saw Pietro nudge his sister's shoulder playfully making the twins smile at each other.

"This is the fight of our lives," Steve continued as Tony and Elizabeth both shared a dramatic 'wow' under their breaths. Both of them not doing well under the pressure. "And we're gonna win, whatever it takes." Steve said determinedly before he sucked in a deep breath. "Good luck," he ended with a sigh.

Rocket looked around at all of them, as if asking if they all heard what he did. "He's pretty good at that," he looked up at Scott with a shrug.

"Right?" Scott exclaimed, all giddy and excited as he stared at Steve in awe. "It's so cool," he whispered to Rocket as if Steve couldn't hear him from three feet away.

"Alright you heard the man," Tony called out to Bruce who stood by the control panels. "Press those keys Jolly Green."

Elizabeth looked between Steve and Tony with a shrug. "You think 2012 New York had some good food?" She asked the two, trying to ease the anticipation she could feel from all of them.

Tony smirked at Steve quickly before answering her. "I know a good shawarma place," he said with a grin and even Steve managed to smile a little at that. "But maybe after we get the stones and save the whole world," he added nonchalantly.

"Right," Elizabeth nodded with a smile, happy that she got the two to relax. "After," she repeated what Tony had said just as Bruce came up to the platform. He looked around to check that everyone was ready before he pressed a button on the watch around his wrist.

There was a distinct beep from somewhere in the room before the platform they stood on slowly moved its gears below the surface. The tangle of wires and metal from above came down to dangle above their heads, with the whirring of machinery.

Each one of them keyed in the year and place on the devices around their wrist carefully, making sure not to mess it up. Elizabeth read over the dates she had placed in twice over, New York, 2012, before pressing the confirm button.

The helmet of her suit activated and covered her head so everything she saw was tinted blue from her visor. The last thing she was was Pietro waving at her before she got shrunk down into the quantum realm.

***

A blur of colours flashed past Elizabeth's eyes and she felt herself grow lightheaded. Just when she thought she was going to pass out, she felt the soles of her feet land on solid concrete.

She blinked rapidly to let her eyes adjust to the bright sunlight that shined in through her visor. Her helmet opened and the rest of the white suit she wore disappeared into the fabric of her usual dark suit.

Steve saw Elizabeth hold a hand out to steady herself and he offered her his arm even though he himself was slightly dizzy. Elizabeth looked up and saw Steve look around with a dazed look in his eyes.

The two of them looked around at the ruined buildings of New York City around them from where they stood in a deserted alleyway. The roads were littered with abandoned cars along with some crushed bricks and debris. There were a few things that Elizabeth remembered from the news as the Chitauri that ran around the city with their guns.

"Yeah, you'll get used to that." Steve and Elizabeth turned to see Scott looking at them with a shrug. Elizabeth looked behind her and saw both Tony and Bruce leaning against the wall of the building with their eyes shut.

Elizabeth rubbed her eyes before standing up straight and releasing her grip on Steve's arm. "Well a little warning might be nice next time," she muttered as they all managed to take a few steps forward without veering off track.

"All right, we all have our assignments." Steve shook his arms out before taking a single step out of the alley. "There's two stones uptown and one stone downtown, stay low and keep an eye on the clock."

Elizabeth was midway through nodding when a loud roar made her head snap in the direction of the sound. She watched with a frown at 2012 Hulk ran up to two Chitauri with a flattened car in hand before proceeding to drop the vehicle on the two aliens.

As if the loud sound that rang through the air wasn't enough confirmation that they were dead, the Hulk proceeded to stomp on the flattened car. Just when Elizabeth thought he was done, the Hulk picked up another stray car before smashing it down on the spot where the Chitauri were three times. Finally, with one last roar, the Hulk ran off out of sight.

Elizabeth turned and along with Scott, Tony and Steve, looked at Bruce with a raised eyebrow. "And maybe smash a few things along the way," Steve added to Bruce who simply nodded before tearing the black tank top he wore in half in order to blend in. 

"I think it's cathartic," Bruce commented to Steve. Bruce turned to look at Elizabeth as he spoke, "I'll meet you there," he said before going off into the main road. He roared every now and then and flexed his muscles, but if anyone looked hard enough they could tell something was very clearly not right. 

Elizabeth checked to see if the main road was clear for her to go to downtown New York. Just as she was about to walk out, she felt someone pull her back by her arm softly. She turned around and saw Tony release her arm.

"Remember, no one can see you," he reminded her for what must've been the tenth time.

"I know, I know," Elizabeth rolled her eyes at him, hearing those words so many times before. "I'm not supposed to be here."

"Exactly," Tony pointed a finger at her, happy that she understood. "You're supposed to be in Washington right about now. So, if anyone saw you who knows what could happen."

Elizabeth nodded at him once more. "I got it," she repeated exasperatedly. She looked away from Tony to Steve and Scott. "See you boys in a few hours," she told the three of them with a smile before leaving them behind.

***

"There you are!" Bruce exclaimed as he waved at Elizabeth from the door on the rooftop. "What took you so long?" He asked.

Elizabeth sent him a glare as she climbed up the fire escape. "Unlike you, I couldn't just go around smashing stuff up," she remarked as she landed on the rooftop with a grunt. She walked towards him, not noticing the array of plants and small trees by the side. "I had to actually sneak around, I was practically an undercover spy." She swatted at the leaves that were in her way as she came to stand next to Bruce.

They both stared at the door that had an intricate wooden carving around its frame. The door itself looked fancier than she expected. "I guess we just open it," Elizabeth shrugged as she reached for the door handle.

"I'd be careful going that way, we just had the floors waxed," a voice with a British accent startled Bruce and Elizabeth, the latter stepping back from the door to face the sound of the voice.

A few feet away from them stood a pale woman in a bright yellow robe that was layered with different shades. The paleness of the top of her bald head contrasted against her clothing nicely. She held herself gracefully and had a posture that made Elizabeth marvel at how straight her back was. But what caught Elizabeth's attention was the brass necklace that hung around her neck in the shape of an eye.

Elizabeth shared a wary glance with Bruce before they came to stand directly in front of the woman in yellow. "We're looking for Doctor Strange," Bruce said as a form of greeting, hoping that the woman could help them.

The woman tilted her head at the words in surprise. "You're about five years to early," she informed them before walking to the edge of the rooftop. "Stephen Strange is currently performing surgery about twenty blocks that way," the woman said as she pointed to one of the buildings in the distance.

"What do you want from him?" The woman asked them curiously as she held her hands behind her back.

"Well, that actually." Elizabeth pointed toward the necklace that hung around the woman's neck.

The woman in yellow looked down at the item with a sigh. "Ah, that." She looked back up at them with an apologetic gaze. "I'm afraid I can't give that to you."

"I'm sorry but we weren't asking," Elizabeth sighed out as she nodded to Bruce telling him to take the necklace.

She watched silently as Bruce walked towards the woman who looked unusually calm as the large green man made his way toward her. "You don't want to do this," she told him as he came closer to her.

"You're right I don't," Bruce agreed with a frown as he reached out to grab the necklace. "But we need that stone and I don't think that-"

It all happened too fast. Right before Bruce could wrap his hand around the brass eye, the woman pushed her hand flat against his chest and Bruce fell back with a loud 'thud'. He landed with his face staring up at the sky, despite his eyes being closed.

"Bruce?" Elizabeth whispered as the man still laid unmoving on the floor. When she saw that it didn't look like he was going to wake up any time soon, she turned her focus onto the woman who didn't move from her spot. "Alrighty, then," Elizabeth sighed out.

Elizabeth made her way towards the woman with her mind focused. The woman cocked her head to the side, wondering what Elizabeth was doing as she walked slowly towards her. Elizabeth stopped when she stood three feet away from the woman.

Without having to move a muscle, Elizabeth watched as the woman in yellow winced and turned her head to the side in pain. Elizabeth used the woman's surprise to her advantage and raced forward to snatch the necklace.

She had no plan except to grab the necklace and run, she could come back for Bruce later. But she never made it that far, because the minute she felt her arm wrap around the eyes of the necklace, there was a palm flat on her chest.

Looking up, Elizabeth met the green eyes of the woman in yellow before she felt the her soul leave her body. Quite literally.

Her eyes widened when she suddenly felt taller than she was before and looked down to see her own body collapse to the floor. While she knew that the ick she got at seeing her own body was not the main priority here, she couldn't help but frown as she looked down at herself.

Lifting her hands up, Elizabeth saw that they were still in fact her hands. The only difference being that they looked more translucent than usual, like how she'd imagine looking through a ghost would be like.

"You look like you've seen a ghost," Elizabeth heard Bruce say from her side and she turned to see him in his complete human form, without all the green and added muscles.

"I kinda have," she admitted before they both cautiously turned to look back at the woman in yellow.

She looked between the two of them with a shrug. "Impressive," the woman nodded to Elizabeth curtly. "However, let's start over shall we?" She asked the two of them. Elizabeth turned to Bruce with a sigh, telling him that explaining this whole mess was up to him to explain.

As Bruce explained to the woman - who they had learned goes by the name The Ancient One- she listened intently, letting her face show how worried she was every so often. But when Bruce has finished, she simply picked up a metal watering can on the ground and walked past them towards her plants.

"If I give up the time stone to help your reality, I'm dooming my own," she told them as she watered her plants.

"With all due respect," Bruce began as he tried to keep up with the fast pace of the Ancient One, who moved all around the rooftops as she met the needs of her plants. While Bruce tried to explain to the Ancient One why they needed the stone, Elizabeth tried to step forward, experimenting with the new form she had taken on.

Soon enough, she found out it was just the same as walking or running, the only difference being that she could practically walk through any solid object. Elizabeth heard Bruce talking frantically on the other side of the rooftop and she quickly made her way over the them.

She came to stand beside Bruce just as the Ancient One drew a line in the air with her index finger. In the air was a thin gold line that went between the two of them and the Ancient One, the start and end of it too far for either one of them to see.

"The infinity stones create what you know as the flow of time," the Ancient One informed them as she tapped her fingers to a spot on the line, the six infinity stones appearing around it on cue. "Remove one of the stones." Elizabeth watched as she flicked one stone out of the picture, resulting in a separate, darker line appearing, creating its own path.

"And that flow splits," she continued as Bruce and Elizabeth looked in awe at the explanation they were getting. "Now this may benefit your reality. But my new one, not so much. In this new branch reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world will be overrun. Millions of people will suffer, now tell me doctor, can your science prevent all that?"

Elizabeth and Bruce stayed silent, both of them trying to think of a way that this would work out for both realities. "No," Elizabeth agreed, seeing that there was indeed, no way to prevent it. "But we can erase it," she carried on as Bruce nodded in agreement, seeing what she was getting at.

"What?" The Ancient One asked, not understanding.

"Once we're done with the stone, we can simply put them back from the exact moment it was taken." Bruce reached into the air and pulled out the missing stone, much to Elizabeth's surprise, before putting in back into place.

The three of them watched as the darker reality retreated back into the main line, before disappearing completely. "So, chronologically, it never left," Elizabeth finished with a grin.

The Ancient One averted her eyes to the floor before walking away, the timeline leaving with her. "But you're leaving out the most important part," she said. "In order to return the stones you must survive," she said, pessimistic.

"We will, I will," Bruce said too quickly for Elizabeth's comfort. "I promise," he said, making her doubt his words even more.

"I can't risk this reality on a promise," the Ancient One said and Elizabeth had to hand it to her, she had a point. "It's the duty of the Sorcerer Supreme to protect the time stone."

At those words, Elizabeth pushed Bruce aside so she stood directly in front of the woman in yellow. "Then why the hell did Strange give it away?" She asked in confusion, remembering what Tony had told her about their fight with Thanos.

That did the trick, Elizabeth thought in satisfaction when she saw the woman's face falter for a split second. "What did you say?" She asked in disbelief.

"Strange gave the stone away to Thanos, willingly," Elizabeth repeated slowly, making sure that the older woman knew she was telling the truth.

"Why?"

Bruce came to stand beside Elizabeth with a shrug of his shoulders. "We have no idea," he admitted. The sorcerer turning to dust before anyone could question his motives. "Maybe he made a mistake," he suggested.

The Ancient One paled even more, if that was possible, at Bruce's words. She came to stand inches away from both their faces, inspecting them carefully. "Or I did," she whispered, her mind clearly someplace else.

She brought a hand to the side of each their faces and with one flick of her wrist, Elizabeth and Bruce were inside their own bodies again. Elizabeth patted herself on the cheek to make sure she was real. But for extra measure, she kicked over a nearby empty pot, happy when the ceramic knocked over with ease.

Elizabeth watched the Ancient One step back from them before putting her hands in front of her necklace and opening it. She moved her hand forward and the bright green stone moved along with it.

"Strange is supposed to be the best of us," she said with a faraway look in her eyes as she guided the stone to stop above Elizabeth's open palm.

"So he must have done it for a reason," Elizabeth finished and the Ancient One nodded.

"I fear you might be right," she agreed before dropping the stone into the palm of her exposed hand. Elizabeth had expected the stone to eat away at her skin or burn her hand. Instead it just felt cool against her palm.

Closing her hand into a fist, Elizabeth looked up and saw the Ancient One looking at them carefully. "I'm counting on you," she said to Bruce before she turned her head to look at Elizabeth. "Both of you," she added as the two of them nodded. "We all are," she finished, as if that just added a lot of pressure that was very much not needed.

***

Bruce and Elizabeth walked down the alleyway talking amongst themselves quietly before they got interrupted. Their interruption being Steve jumping down from the fire escape of a nearby building.

As he got up from his crouch, Elizabeth sighed in relief when she saw the scepter in his left hand and the shield in his other. "I see it went well," she observed as the three of them began to walk to the entrance of the alley.

"I'm guessing I can say the same for you two?" Steve asked hopefully and Bruce nodded. Elizabeth opened her palm and showed Steve the ball of newspaper she had in her hand. "Are you two visually impaired?" He asked the two of them honestly as she stared at the trash in the palm of her open hand.

Elizabeth scoffed at his comment before unwrapping the newspaper gently, revealing the time stone in the center of it. "We had to make do with what we got," she explained before wrapping the stone back up. "Wouldn't want it to break."

"Guys," the three of them heard Tony's voice from the entrance to the alley. Elizabeth was the first to move, rushing past the two to frown at the sight before her.

Tony sat in the front seat of a car that looked like it had been through hell and back. He rested one arm out the broken window and had a disappointed look on his face as he looked at them. Behind, Scott sat with a more frustrated expression rather than defeated as he glared at the back of Tony's seat.

"Sorry gang, we got a problem," Tony said defeatedly.

In the back seat, Scott scoffed at Tony's words. "Yeah, we do," he snapped back.

From the front seat, Tony turned to send Scott a silent glare before the two of them opened the doors and got out of the car. As Tony opened his door, it came off its hinges and fell to the floor with a clatter. Tony merely looked at the minor inconvenience with a sigh and stepped over the car part.

"What happened?" Bruce asked.

"We lost it," Scott said angrily. "We lost the tesseract."

"How?" Steve asked Tony who leaned by the wall of a building with his hand over his face.

Tony groaned at the question, giving a one worded answer. "Loki." The rest of them just shook their heads, not surprised at the God of Mischief being the one to spoil their plans.

"Well what are we gonna do now?" Steve sighed as he looked to Tony with a shake of his head.

Tony crossed his arms over his chest defensively as he stared at Steve. "You know what?" He asked tiredly. "Give me break, Steve. I just got hit in the head with a Hulk." Elizabeth saw Bruce look away slightly in shame.

Scott had begun to pace back and forth as he rubbed his hands together. "You said we had one shot," he muttered. "This was our shot. We shot it, it's shot. Six stones or nothing, six stones or nothing," Scott repeated his words over and over as Elizabeth tried to calm him down.

"You're repeating yourself, you know that?" Tony pointed out in annoyance.

"You're repeating yourself, you're repeating yourself," Scott fired back at Tony like a parrot, only with way more hostility.

Bruce, Elizabeth and Steve only watched as Tony and Scott got into an argument about 'who dropped the ball' or 'who ruined the time heist.' Growing tired of their bickering, Elizabeth gave them both a small pinch of pain, just enough to make them shut up for a second.

"Are there any other options with the tesseract?" Steve asked the two.

"No, no, no. There are no other options," Scott groaned as he held his arms out. "There's no do overs, we're not going anywhere else. We have one particle left, each. That's it," Scott reminded them as he raised his voice slightly in Tony's direction.

Upon hearing the lack of the usually loud voice, Elizabeth turned to see Tony staring ahead with a blank expression. "Tony," Elizabeth got his attention. "What do you got?" She asked, knowing that he had some sort of idea or plan.

"There's another way to retake the tesseract and acquire new particles," Tony announced. He moved to he was standing right in front of Steve. "Little stroll down memory lane, military installation, Garden State."

Recognition flashed in Steve's eyes at the words. "When were they both there?" Steve asked.

"They were there at a time," Tony stuttered as he tried to make the information they had sound better than it was. "I have a vague idea of when."

Bruce shook his head as he looked between the two. "What are you talking about?" He asked as Elizabeth nodded in agreement, wanting to be filled in.

Steve and Tony talked between each other before turning to the rest of them. "Looks like we're improvising," Steve stated.

He handed the scepter to Elizabeth. "You guys get back to the compound," he told her.

"You two better be right about this," she muttered, having enough information to know what they were going to try and pull off. "Cause if this doesn't work, there's no coming home."

Tony heard her and grimaced at her words. "Thanks for the pep talk, Lizzie," Tony said sarcastically as she held a thumbs up to him.

"Anytime," she returned the sarcasm with her words.

The two of them activated their suits and keyed in the dates into their watches, syncing the time up. The helmets covered both their faces and Elizabeth waved at the two before they disappeared into the quantum realm.

"Right then," Elizabeth handed the scepter off to Scott before looking down at her own watch. "Let's go home," she told the two as she keyed in the dates into her watch. "God, I hope this works," she muttered to herself before the white and red helmet covered her face.