"Hey there, Doc. I didn't expect to see you so soon. Finally taking up the offer of staying at Casa de Stark-" The Iron Man was eager to greet, but his eagerness fizzled out when he saw that I wasn't alone. 

Instead, getting out of the car alongside me was Steve, Natasha and Scott as well. 

"Huh, you brought a posse with you..." 

..........

Though less than keen on playing host to his old teammates the retiree still offered refreshments as we gathered on the front porch. It had been a quiet five years between the heroes and though on the surface it seemed like bygones were bygones the jagged chip on Tony's shoulder still wasn't totally sanded down. 

He was done with the hero life, done with the Avengers and he had strived in making that real clear. So, with me being accompanied by the rag-tag bunch Tony wasn't too enthusiastic about it. Or, about the concealed reason behind our sudden presence. 

The mechanic was smart and he knew just by the looks on all our faces that we didn't just come here for a friendly get-together and some lemonade on ice. 

And, while Scott offered up some sort of explanation and made his case known I was as silent as the grave. Not too delighted in us being here either. 

Was I desperate? Yes. Did I want this outlandish notion to somehow come into fruition and fix this colossal mess? Yes. But, did I want to bother Tony with it? No. 

"Believe me, I know it sounds crazy." Scott clarified again after hashing out some of the details. 

"Tony, after everything you've seen is anything really impossible?" Steve vouched before being interrupted by the retiree who was more than ready to dole out some scientific facts.

"Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck Scale which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition..." 

"And, then there are the problems with Quantum Decoherence and the wave function collapse and then there's the Copenhagen Interruption. I know." I was quick to add, understanding perfectly well how impossible this seemed. 

"See, thank you, Doc. Popsicle here get's it," Tony asserted, agreeing with me. "In Layman's terms it means you're not coming home. Plain and simple." 

"I did." Scott interjected. 

"No, you accidentally survived. Total fluke, pal. And, now you wanna pull a, what?" The Iron Man disclosed, seated at a wicker-back patio chair. 

"A Time Heist." Ant-Man broadcasted, lemonade in hand, the ice clinking in his glass. 

The billionaire just mustered up a mocking chuckle, not getting on board with this flimsy, improbable theory at best. 

"Uh-huh. Why didn't we think of this before? Oh, that's right because it's laughable. Unrealistic. A fantasy straight out of a Sci-Fi movie." 

"The stones are in the past. We could go back, we could get them." Steve pressed on, his determination and desperation steadfast. 

"We could snap our own fingers. Bring everyone back." Natasha continued to try and persuade their former teammate, who wasn't having it. 

"Or, screw it up worse than the giant purple grape already has." 

"I don't believe we would." The Captain denoted. 

"Wow, gotta say I missed that giddy optimism, Cap. It's a great, misguided trait you have there," Tony chastened. "But, optimism will be of no help if there's no logical, foreseeable way for me to execute said "Time Heist". The most likely outcome will be our collective demise." 

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel," The Little Guy kept at it, hellbent it seemed on proving his point. "No talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events-" 

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott," Tony interrupted. "What you're talking about is just loosely based off from every movie, TV show and book about time travel. And, I guarantee that's not how Quantum physics works. This isn't some made up story strictly serving as entertainment." 

"Tony, we have to take a stand." Black Widow nagged further and I just sat back, taking a sip of my lemonade, knowing full well the Iron Man's response. 

"We did stand. And, yet here we are." 

"Tony, I know you got a lot on the line. You've got a wife, a daughter, but I lost someone really important to me. A lot of people did. And, now... Now we have a chance to fix this, to bring our loved one's back, undo this mess and you're telling me that you won't even-" 

"That's right, Scott. I won't even. I can't-" Tony intervened just before we heard the screen door squeak open and saw as Morgan came out. 

Hopping onto her dad's lap she rested her head on his shoulder. 

"Mommy told me to come and save you." 

Tony just wrapped his arms around his daughter and sighed. 

"Good job. I'm saved." 

With that, the Iron Man stood, the discussion done. Nothing more needing to be said. 

"I wish you all came here to ask me something else, or to even just visit. Catch up. I'm modestly happy to see you guys and all but I can't. No, I won't."

"Tony, I get it," The Captain empathized, standing before his once teammate. "And, I'm happy for you, I really am. But, this is our second chance." 

"I got my second chance right here, Cap," Tony defied, Morgan snug in his arms. "I can't roll the dice on it. And, look if you don't talk shop you can stay for lunch if you'd like." 

But, we didn't. 

There wasn't much else to say anyway. And, after the bomb that we had dropped it didn't feel like we could just go back and chit-chat about idealistic things. 

But, while the others headed to the car I couldn't seem to leave yet. It seemed I was frozen on the porch. 

"So, you were kind of quiet throughout that riveting debate. I assume you weren't really on board with the rest of them," Tony alluded, walking back out and taking a seat beside me. "You don't really want me helping out, huh?" 

"No, I don't." I truthfully bared. "As much as I want certain people to come back and as much as I want there to be hope... I can't ask you to put at risk what you've got here. Like you said, this is your second chance and you can't roll the dice on it." 

"Well, that's very considerate of you, Doc. Why'd you let them come here at all then?" The Iron Man grilled. 

"Listen, I lost the vote," I retaliated. "It was 3 against 1. They were gonna ask you whether I wanted them to or not." 

"Well, thank you. How about the next time you come here it'll just be to eat my famous vegetable stew. Pepper's been giving me some tips and I've got a garden out back. The veggie's this time of year are truly delectable." Tony said and I just smiled. 

"I'll be sure to take you up on your offer. See you later." 

"Bye, Doc."

With that, I ambled down the steps of the porch and made my way down the dirt path where the car was parked. By now I had made them wait much longer than intended. 

But, standing out of the vehicle for me was Steve. 

"You don't agree with us having asked him." Was the first thing my friend said the second I got within ears reach, him knowing exactly how I truly felt. 

Desperate times called for desperate measures but not at the expense of the simple life our friend had managed to salvage these past few years. 

"Well, I mean, come on. If I had what Tony has. James alive and a kid of my own... Would you really ask this of me either?" 

"No, I wouldn't." Steve agreed and I just lightly smiled at him.

"We'll find some other genius, okay? What's Bruce been up to nowadays? He's got 7 PhD's. Let's ask him." 

"Okay, I agree, Becky. Tony's got too much on the line. We don't." 

"Yeah, we don't." I repeated before we left.