Grace looks at this woman, her panic beginning to settle. "I'm so confused."

"I know," the woman replies. "Let start with an introduction. I'm the Ancient One. And that's really all you need to know about me, except for one more thing: I guard this Stone-" she holds up the pedant on her necklace "-and I cannot let this out of my sight."

"But surely you know why we need it?" Grace replies desperately..

The Ancient One turns, walking to yet another part of the roof — the thing was practically a maze — and forcing Grace to follow her. "I do," she says, "but you must understand that if I give up the Time Stone to help your reality, I'm dooming my own."

Grace's brows furrow. "How?"

They end up next to the door again, and the Ancient One stops. Wordlessly, she reaches far to her left, then pulls to the right, revealing a long, string of orange electricity stretched out to forever. It moves forward, though doesn't change in length, and it sounds like rushing water but crackling. Grace's eyes are wide in amazement.

A circle of orange appears on the line as the Ancient One speaks. "The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of time." The circle turns into the Stones, which move around the line slowly. "Remove one of the Stones," the Ancient One says, flicking the Time Stone away, "and that flow spilts." A black line appears, moving away from the orange one, far in another direction. The Ancient One continues. "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 would be overrun. Millions will suffer. The Peter here will suffer, you see? The Tony here will, the Grace here."

Grace looks at it helplessly, then up at the Ancient One. "So what can we do?"

She shrugs. "Well, you're 'Saving Grace,' aren't you? You tell me."

Grace looks back at the line between them, thinking. How could they prevent that? They can't bring all the Stones here, to this point, because they don't have enough Pym particles. But there's no other way to get the Stones all together in order to put them in a gauntlet and snap everyone back. Not without taking them out of this time — this reality.

But what if they could... bring them back here?

"We can't prevent it," Grace says, eyes alight with an idea, "but what if we erase it? Because once we're done with the Stones, we can return them all back to where we got them, right at the moment they were taken. Hank Pym will be alive then, so he can make more particles. Chronologically-" Grace reaches into the air hesitantly, grabbing the Time Stone out of it, "-in that reality-" she replaces it in the circle, and the black line disappears "-it'll be like it never left."

The Ancient One, to Grace's surprise, turns and walks away. "Yes, but you're leaving out the most important part." She stops at the end of the roof, then turns again, her face absolutely serious. "In order to return the Stones, you have to survive."

Grace walks over to her. "We will. It only takes one to return the Stones. We can do it. I promise."

The Ancient One frowns slightly. "I can't risk this reality on a promise." She sees Grace's face fall and continues. "It's the duty of the Sorcerer Supreme to protect the Time Stone."

Grace shakes her head, a bit angry now, frustrated. "Then why would Doctor Strange give it away?"

The Ancient One stops. "What?"

"Strange gave the Stone away to Thanos," Grace repeats. "Why? Just to save my dad? Because Dad told me everything. Strange said that he would let both him and Peter die before giving up the Stone. It doesn't make sense."

"He gave it willingly?" the Ancient One asks.

"Yes. Thanos was about to kill my dad unless Strange gave him the Stone, and he did — he gave him the Stone. He did the exact opposite of what he said he would."

The Ancient One is quiet for a moment, then she asks, "Why?"

"That's what I'm asking you," Grace replies. She sighs. "Maybe he made a mistake?"

The Ancient One steps forward, quiet again, then finally saying, "Or I did."

She reaches behind Grace, turns her wrist, and then Grace's body flies forward, connecting with her consciousness again. It's an odd feeling, and, while getting over it, Grace nearly misses the Ancient One magically opening the pendant.

It glows green, and the Ancient One takes it out, though it seems as if her fingers aren't touching it at all. She holds it out to Grace.

"Strange is meant to be the best of us," she says.

Grace looks at it, a thousand thoughts and hopes and worries rushing through her head. "So he must've done it for a reason."

"I fear you might be right."

Grace finally holds out her hand, and the Ancient One places the Stone in it. Grace looks up at her. "Thank you."

She takes Grace's free hand and places it over the right one, both her hands now over Grace's as she looks at her seriously. "I'm counting on you, Grace. We all are."

Grace nods, a compartment opening on her suit when the Ancient One pulls her hands away, and she places the Stone in the compartment for safe keeping.

"You're a smart girl, Grace Stark," the Ancient One says. "Well-loved, and greatly loving. That I do know. What I don't know is what's in store for you; that is beyond me. But Stephen knew, and he gave up that Stone because of it." She sighed. "Take heart, Savior. And live up to your name — for multiple realties."

Grace nods once at her. "I won't let you down."

The Ancient One nods back, and Grace's helmet raises, and she takes off into the sky.

~~~~

Tony walks into the ground floor of Stark Tower, very close to his past self, Thor, and Loki. He's disguised in a Shield uniform, this one with a helmet. When the group turned left, Tony moves off from them and stops at the front desk. He turns to watch as the group continued on, quieting saying, "Thumbelina, do you copy? I've got eyes on the prize. It is go-time."

Scott, in reply, says, "Bombs away." Tony watches as his past self scratched his beard a few seconds later. Then, Scott asks, "Is... Is that Axe body spray?"

Present Tony sighs. "Yeah, I had a can in the desk for emergencies. Relax. Can we focus, please?"

"I'm going inside you," Scott replies, "now."

Tony watches in his peripheral vision as a large group of Shield — actually, Hyrda — agents walked up in front of Thor, Loki, and his past self, with the Tessaract in hand. The guy at the front of the Hydra agents, Pierce, asked, "Uh, may I ask you where you're going?"

"Bit of lunch and then Asgard," Thor replied. "I'm sorry, you are...?"

Past Tony answered for him. "Alexander Pierce. He's the man above the folks behind Nick Fury."

"Oh," Thor replied quietly.

"My friends call me Mr. Secretary," Pierce added, then pointing at Loki. "I'm gonna have to ask you to turn that prisoner over to me.

Thor disagreed. "Loki will be answering to Odin himself."

"No, he's gonna answer to us. Odin can have what's left," Pierce argued. "And I'm gonna need that case; that's been Shield property for over seventy years."

But past Tony wouldn't give it to him. He pulled it back, prompting a Hydra agent to reach forward. "Hand over the case, Stark."

Present Tony turns around, talking Scott. "Alright, move it, Stuart Little. Things are getting dicey out here. Let's go."

Past Tony still had a hold of the case. His hand was out in placating gesture. "I'm not gonna argue who's got the higher authority here, alright?"

"You promise me you won't die?" Scott asks.

"We're only giving me a mild cardiac dysrhythmia," present Tony replies.

"That doesn't sound mild."

"I need the case," Pierce was insisting.

"I know you got a lotta pull," past Tony said, unaware what was in store for him. "I'm just-"

"Okay, then give me the case," Pierce interrupted.

"Well, jurisdiction-"

And then multiple people, including Pierce, grabbed past Tony's arm, trying to get the case from him. People were demanding and shoving and pulling.

"Do it, Lang," present Tony commands.

"Get your hands off me!" past Tony shouted.

"Window's closing. Pull my pin," present Tony insists.

"Here goes!" Scott replies.

And past Tony gasped, choking and dropped the case. He began to collapse, and the agents stopped. Pierce actually sounded worried. "Stark?"

"Stark!" Thor shouted, walking into the gap the agents made by moving away. Past Tony hit the floor.

"Look, he's convulsing," Pierce said. "Give him air! Medic!"

Present Tony halfheartedly shouts, "Medic! Give these guys some help!"

"Speak to me," past Thor said. "Stark, is- is it your chest machine?

Present Tony watches as the case comes flying towards him, and he quickly picks it up before walking away, barely listening to the chaos still happening behind him.

"Good job," he says to Scott. "Meet me in the alley. I'm gonna grab a quick slice."

But he does no such thing.

As he reaches for the door to the stairs, past Hulk bursted through it, hitting present Tony in the face with the door. He drops the case as he hits the ground, and it opens, the Tessaract popping out of it and sliding across the ground, literally right to past Loki's feet.

"NO MORE STAIRS!" past Hulk shouted, smashing the wall as people ran out of the building, screaming.

Loki, realizing he was unsupervised by anyone that could do anything to him, wasted no time in picking up the Tessaract and teleporting away.

People, meanwhile, were still trying to help past Tony, until finally Thor got an idea. "I'm gonna try something, okay?! I have no idea if it's gonna work!" He placed his hammer on Tony's chest, then tapped the back of it, sending electricity through it and into Tony's chest. Past Tony began breathing. Thor, in excitement, shouted, "YES!"

"Oh, that worked a treat," past Tony said. "Dude, that was so crazy."

"I had no idea if that was gonna work," past Thor repeated.

"The case?"

"The case is, uh," Thor said, turning around. He quickly realized it was gone. "Where's the case? Where's Loki? Loki!"

Present Tony only then manages to tear the mask off his face, his heart dropping.

"That wasn't supposed to happen, was it?" Scott asks.

Tony sighs, wondering how they're going to get out of this mess. "Oh, we blew it."

~~~~

Tony and Scott have nothing else to do but go back to the meeting point and wait for everyone else to get there. Grace arrives before Steve, landing next to the car Tony and Scott are sitting in. Grace can tell something is wrong. "What happened?"

Tony sighs tiredly. "I'll tell you when Steve gets here. I don't want to say it twice."

"Well, I need to tell you-"

And then Steve gets there, interrupting her, jumping down from a nearby fire escape. His back is to them, so Tony says, "Cap." Steve turns, and Tony shakes his head. "Sorry, buddy. We got a... problem.

Scott laughs mirthlessly. "Yeah, we do."

Tony tells them everything — how they lost the Tessaract. Grace is just sad and disappointed. Steve is angry.

"Well, what are we gonna do now?" he asks.

"You know what?" Tony says. "Give me a break, Steve. I just got hit in the head with the Hulk."

Scott, now out of the car, scoffs. "You said that we had one shot. This- This was our shot. We shot it — it's shot. Six Stones or nothing. It was six Stones or nothing-"

"You're repeating yourself, you know that?" Tony interrupts. "You're repeating yourself."

"You're repeating yourself," Scott argues. "You're repeating yourself. You know- No-"

"Dude, come on-!"

"You never wanted a time heist, you weren't on board with the time heist-"

"-I dropped the ball-"

"-and you ruined the time heist."

"Is that what I did?"

"Yeah!"

"How old are you two, exactly?!" Grace says, finally able to get a word in edgewise. "Here's the thing: Strange wasn't there. Strange is still just a doctor, performing surgery as we speak. But the Ancient One was there, and, according to her, Strange is the best of them — either the wizards or the Sorcerers Supreme, I'm not quite sure, actually — but, anyway, because she believes he had a reason for giving up the Stone, she gave it to me. However-" she pauses, looking at them all in turn, making sure they're paying attention "-we must return the Stones to the very moment they were taken from once we're finished with them or else this reality is screwed. So-" she takes a breath -"are there any other options with the Tesseract?

"No." Scott sighs. "There's no other options. There's no do-overs. We're not going anywhere else. We have one particle left. Each. That's it, alright? We use that — bye, bye. You're not going home." But Grace sees a look on her father's face — a promising one.

Steve says, "Yeah, well if we don't try, then no one else is going home, either."

"I got it," Tony says, getting out of the car. "There's another way. To retake the Tesseract and acquire new particles." He walks over to Steve. "Little stroll down memory lane. Military installation, Garden State.

Steve is quiet, thinking. "When were they both there?

"They were there at a time- I've a vaguely exact idea," Tony replies.

Steve looks like he wants to roll his eyes. "How vague?"

"What are you talking about?" Scott asks. "Where are we going?"

Tony ignores him. "I know for a fact they were there-"

"Who's they? What are we doing?"

"-and I know how I know."

"Guys, what's up? What is it?"

Steve sighs. "Looks like we're improvising."

"Great," Tony says.

"Right. What are we improvising?" Scott asks.

Steve finally turns to him, holding out Loki's scepter. "Scott, take this and go back to the compound with Grace."

"Okay, wait, hold on," Grace says as Scott takes the scepter. "Where are you going and why am I not going with you?"

"New Jersey, and because we don't need more than two people for this, especially considering we don't know how many Pym particles we're gonna get," Tony replies. He looks at Steve. "Suit up." They stand in front of each other, syncing their time travel devices.

"What's in New Jersey?" Scott asks.

Grace shrugs. "I guess the Tessaract and some Pym particles."

"Zero four," Tony says.

"Zero four," Steve repeats.

"Uh, zero seven."

"Zero seven."

"One nine seven zero."

Steve looks at Tony. "Are you sure?"

"Cap?" Scott interrupts. "Captain? Steve? Sorry- America. Rogers. Look, if you do this, and it doesn't work, you're not coming back."

Grace's heart stops at this, and she looks at her father. He looks back at her and nods, then says to Scott, "Thanks for the pep talk, Liliputian." He turns to Steve. "Do you trust me?"

Steve nods. "I do."

"Your call."

"Here we go."

They hit their devices, their suits transform, and then they're gone. Grace sighs and turns to Scott. "Well, I guess we better head back. We'll see them in, like, two seconds anyway." As they turn towards each other, she sighs. "Man, time travel is so weird."