The street is littered with bodies. It's a horror scene. There's no sign of life anywhere. The rain washes the blood into the street, staining the concrete red. The stench of iron is thick in the air.

Emily walks through the rain, not bothering with an umbrella. She shows up just in time to find Clint fighting with the leader of the Yakuza. A rope of light whips out and knocks the man down. Despite that, Clint doesn't hesitate to slice his throat, letting him fall to the ground.

Emily's eyes narrow, "Hey a-hole!"

"Banner-"

"You know I had pretty bad abandonment issues already. Leaving me behind was such a crappy move and you know it! You had no right to-"

"Em," Natasha warns in a stern voice. "You're not a child anymore."

"I know. That's why I'm not beating him senseless right now."

"You were out of control. And pregnant."

She thrusts her finger into his chest, "Yeah and instead of maybe telling me that I was pregnant you roofied and abandoned me. You had no right to make that decision for me."

He moves her hand off his chest, "You shouldn't be here."

Natasha steps forward. "Neither should you."

"I've got a job to do."

"Is that what you're calling this?" Natasha gestures to the strewn bodies. "Killing these people... it won't bring them back. But we found something... a way maybe."

Clint slowly shakes his head, "Don't do that. Don't give me hope."

"I'm just sorry I couldn't give it to you sooner," Natasha takes Clint's hand, holding it.

"Um, okay. So we invented time travel. Yay. Now we have to figure out where we can find the Infinity Stones. Essentially everyone here has come into contact with one-"

"You mean nearly been killed by one of them," Tony corrects.

Scott weakly raises his hand, "Um, I haven't."

"So we have enough Pym Particles for one round trip so we have to plan carefully. The Stones have been littered everywhere throughout history. Our history," Emily continues. She taps the Reality Stone. "Thor, you're up."

The god of Thunder is slumped over in his chair, wearing dark sunglasses. Natasha frowns, "Is he asleep?"

"Pretty sure he's dead," Rhodey observes, watching the man in slight disgust.

Thor stands in front of the screen, very clearly drunk. Although, that's not much of a surprise these days. "The Aether's not a stone... it's more of an angry sludge thing. My grandfather hid it from Dark Elves in the rock between dimensions that can only be accessed every 5000 years or by Jane. The Aether stuck itself inside her. Then I took her to Asgard. We were dating..."

Emily pats him on the back, "Sorry, buddy. Why don't you take a seat? You want some beer?"

"A bloody mary would be nice."

"If that's what you need, pal."

Three days later

"Okay, guys, Mommy has to go. Have fun with Daddy and ! Love you!"

"Bye, Mommy!"

Emily turns off the phone as the call ends. She closes her eyes, smiling at nothing in particular.

"Don't worry. Everything's going to be okay."

"I know. This is just my first time doing something like this since the twins."

Bruce laughs shallowly, "What? You were constantly time traveling before that?"

"Uh... well remember that time I was in a coma? The second time?" Emily chuckles nervously, "To get my life and body back Oblivion, a cosmic entity thing told me I had to kill a celestial. I don't recommend it at all. It took forever and he was about a thousand feet tall. Not fun. I won, of course. Went for the head."

Bruce laughs, gazing at his daughter with all the love he has, "Have I actually apologized yet?"

Emily gives a dismissive wave, "Dad, we've spent more time apart than together and five years ago we were in the worst possible situation. We took it out on each other and I don't know whether or not I'm speaking for myself but I regretted the moment I stepped out the door. Look at us now though. Back together as a family. I even get Hulk-Dad and Bruce-Dad at the same time."

He pats her tiny head with his large hand, "Come on, let's go. It's time. You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be."

All of the heroes circle around the Quantum platform. They're all partnered up, Rhodey and Nebula, Emily and Bruce, Natasha and Clint, Thor and Rocket, and Steve, Tony, and Scott.

Steve looks around, inhaling deeply, "We lost friends. We lost family.We lost a part of ourselves. But today we have a chance to takeit all back. You have your teams and you have assignments. Get your stone, andget back here. One round tripeach. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going back to placeswe know. That doesn't mean we knowwhat to expect. Be careful. Lookout for each other. Improvise, if you have to." He nods at them all. "This is the fight of our lives. And we're going to win. Whatever it takes."

The thickened air is cut by Rocket whispering to Scott, "He's pretty good at that."

"All right, you heard the man.Stroke those keys, Junior Jolly Green," Tony orders.

Emily rolls her eyes but types in commands, lights illuminating each pad. "Okay, tracking beacons engaged." She takes her place next to her dad.

Natasha nudges her, "See you in a minute."

"Actually, it's more like 10 microseconds."

Bruce corrects her, "More like seven or eight."

"I was-"

They all shrink down to nothing with a whoosh.

11 years before... 2012

Aliens fly overhead. The city is in ruins. In the middle of the chaos, the Avengers stand in a circle, facing against impossible odds.

In a nearby alley, Steve, Bruce, Tony, Scott, and Emily pop up. They all touch their cuffs, retracting their quantum travel suits.

Emily pops her head around the corner, seeing their old outfits, "Wow. Um. I don't want to say anything offensive but you guys do not look your best. I mean, Tony, that suit is the equivalent of an automatic trash can. You know the ones that sense when you come by?"

Steve immediately takes charge, "We've all got our assignments. Twostones uptown, one stone down.Stay low, keep an eye on time-"

2012 Hulk bounds down the street, recklessly throwing cars around.

Emily and Bruce cringe simultaneously, She glances at him, "Might need to smash a few things, Dad."

"How about you? You can't get seen."

"Right because a woman in civilian clothes walking around is really eye-catching."

Bruce sighs, tearing off his shirt, "All right, but I have to say, it seems gratuitous." He walks off, half-heartedly smashing a few cars. "Grr...grrr..."

"Try not to mess things up too badly. The bar is set at... whatever you say I know you're going to somehow go lower," Emily realizes, shaking her head and running after her dad. "At least give me a ride! I can turn invisible you know!"

Emily and Bruce land on top of the Sanctum Sanctorum's roof balcony. Bruce heads straight for the door while Emily stares at the bald woman in a robe. "Hi! I'm Emily, this is my dad. We need to talk to Doctor Strange."

"You're about five years too early.Stephen Strange is currentlyperforming surgery, 20 blocks thatway. What do you want with him?"

Emily facepalms, "Wait, I knew that. All this stuff was so long ago. Sorry."

Bruce points at the Eye of Agamotto hanging around her neck, "It's fine. That's what we need."

"Ah," she follows her gaze to the Time Stone, "I'm afraid not."

Bruce cracks his knuckles and moves in, "I wasn't asking. I need that stone and-"

The Ancient One slams her palm into his chest and blasts human Bruce out of his oversized body.

Emily switches her eyes into aura seeking mode, allowing her to see her dad in his lilac spirit form. "What the hell did you just do?"

The Ancient One turns to her, "You know as well as I do how dangerous it is for you, in particular, to be around him."

"He's my dad. I don't care how dangerous it is."

"Em, what does she mean?"

Emily looks between him and the woman, taking a step back, "You know what? Dad, you can handle this I'll be right back. I don't think she'll even negotiate with me around."

She gives a small wave before flashing away. She lands on the street, almost on the other side of town. She kicks an alien corpse, letting it fly a few feet away. She takes out one of Bucky's old knives, twirling it in between her fingers. Her eyes burn a fearsome jade.

A being barrels straight into Emily, knocking them both to the ground. There's a flurry of brown hair. Emily lands on her feet, one hand on the ground. The being turns out to be tween girl in the exact same position as her.

The twelve-year-old mutters something under her breath, standing up and running off in a new direction.

Emily brushes herself off, staring after her past self. Ohhh, she's going to regret this. She starts running after.

This moment had completely escaped from her memory. She was here in the city, on some mission before the sky came crashing down. The strange situation was enough to clear her head and make a run for it. They caught her of course. She never could escape on her own.

There's a good chance one of the three stooges already messed this timeline up. So there can't be that much harm in doing this.

Emily speeds up, almost catching up to her.

2012 Emily zips through debris and people. She constantly looks over her shoulder. So much so that she doesn't even notice the Hulk smashing cars until he lets out an ear-splitting roar. She stops in her tracks, staring at the green beast.

The Hulk freezes as well, looking at her strangely almost in recognition. He shakes his head, growling loudly at her.

She doesn't move an inch, blankly staring at him.

"PUNY HUMAN!"

She blinks, continuing to look at him.

Natasha and Clint both come running, seeing a small child having a staring contest with the Hulk.

2012 Emily finally speaks, "Out of my way."

Hulk roars in response, the wind blowing her hair back.

She quirks an eyebrow, "If you're going to kill me then do it. It'd be better than letting them get me again. So you have my consent. Kill me."

The Hulk leans down closer, sniffing the stoic girl. He stumbles back, shaking his head and gradually shrinking. He devolves into a very naked Bruce Banner who lies onto his back, panting. The green recedes from his eyes. Natasha runs over to him, handing him a jacket "Banner, you good?"

"He... said something. Something important... what was it?" Bruce scrambles up, spotting the small girl. Their eyes meet. Something unsaid passes between them. "...Tiny Banner. He called her Tiny Banner. Holy... who is she? Does anyone know her? What's her name?"

2012 Emily tears her eyes away from him, focusing on Clint, who's approaching her. He promptly ends up flat on his back

Emily watches this from a distance, behind a building. "Wow, she really doesn't pay attention to her surroundings."

"Woah that's insane."

Emily whips her head around. There's a man with curly brown hair and a kind face. Her eyes flick all over his. There's something familiar about him."Oh. Yeah, it is. Do... I know you?

He rubs the back of his head, "I don't think so. Maybe we saw each other doing all the chaos."

"Chaos? Oh, right, the alien thing. Yeah, probably. I'm Emily."

"Uh...Steve. My name is Steve." He takes her outstretched hand. "So what do you think is going on over there? "

"I'm not totally sure but I think they're about to have a great adventure."

"She was going to let him kill her. Who does that?"

Emily turns back to the scene, "Notice how she wasn't scared? She didn't even freak out. I'd say she's unbelievably tired and lonely. Death seems like the best option."

"Do you think Iron Man is too? That's why he went into that black hole? He sacrificed himself because he wasn't happy? "

"I wouldn't say that. What she did and what he did are two very different things. Sacrifice is about dying so others can live," her gaze shifts up to the sky. "It's about the hope of a better future for those left behind."

"But people would miss him. Their lives would be worse."

"But they'd be alive and they'd be together. A united family can overcome anything."

Emily tenses up as Steve pulls her into a hug. She awkwardly pats him, "It's fine. Iron Man is still alive."

"Yeah, sorry! Just the whole thing with the aliens... a lot of people got hurt."

Everything clicks into place. Dang, she's slow. "Oh... hey Steve, let me tell you something. I don't know who you lost today but remember that they love you and that you must be alive for a reason. Find that reason."

The man nods, his eyes watering up, "Thank you. I will."

Emily flashes a smile, "Of course. Oh and Steve? You might want to follow that girl's story. I have a feeling it's going to be an interesting one."

"Okay, ready?" Emily asks, back on the Sanctum roof.

"Where did you go?"

"Oh, you know... just looked around. You guys really crapped on the city. Especially you."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Come on, let's get back."

Their suits form around them. At the same time, they press the buttons to shrink.

As soon as Emily enters the Quantum Realm, a strike of pain hits her. She clutches her chest, her feet would've given out had she been standing on anything. Her helmet clouds up with her own breath and hot tears. She tears off from the path to 2023 instead moving another way.

She rolls out on a cold platform. Her suit retracts, allowing the wind to bite at her skin. She slowly makes a 180 turn, finding a body at her feet. The by bottom of her shoes are covered in blood. She doesn't even notice. Her eyes are glued to the body on the ground.

She stumbles back, falling to the ground. Her hands stop her head from hitting the ground. Her breathing is fast and heavy.

She's next to body before she even realized she was moving.

Her hands shake as she lightly touches Natasha's face. It's real. It can't be. She can't be...

Silent tears splatter onto her cold body. "Natasha, please wake up. Natasha... Natasha wake up! Come on this isn't funny. It's not. Wake up! Natasha, come on! Mom, please don't leave me. Please! Not you too!"

She lets out the most piercing scream she ever has, the world around her shifting to a dark setting.

She stands, hands gripping her hair. "GET OUT HERE! RIGHT NOW!"

The wind stops its brutal assault. Emily turns on the hooded figure in front of her, "Bring her back! Right now!"

"I can't do that."

Emily clenches her fists, "Bullshit! Bring her back."

"It's the Soul Stone, I-"

She fires off a few blasts of light that go straight through Death. "Tell me. What happens if Death dies?"

"Amelia."

"Please... I need her. She's... the only mother I've ever known and I never told her that. I never told her... please I need to."

"I'm sorry."

Emily bites her lip, blinking furiously, "No, you're not. You like this. You love torturing me and I don't know why. Why does everyone around me die? Why am I cursed?"

"You're not cursed," Death lifts her hood up for the first time, revealing her face. Emily stares at her in shock, unable to say or do anything. Death smiles at her, "Let me explain."