___________________________

Loki persistently made appearances to her, but was now even more frustrated that she could barely focus on the task at hand. If there was one thing Loki was good at, it was invading her thoughts.

Thank god he couldn't read her mind.

"Something on your mind?" Thor's words startled her.

"Hm? Oh, no. Just tired."

"You act as if I do not know you."

"It's been years." She tried. "I've changed. We all have. You especially."

"Easy." He warned. "Your essence hasn't change. You may be broken down a bit, but you're still the same girl that was kidnapped and brought to Asgard."

She smiled slightly. "Abs or not you're still the same Thor."

"And I'll forever owe you a debt."

"Why's that?"

"You changed my brother. No matter how much he betrayed the both of us in the end, you did reveal the light in him. I know him better than anyone, and I have never seen him love something like that, other than our mother."

She winced. Thor wasn't making her situation any better. Not that he knew what was going on, and she did consider telling him. But, she wanted to see how that was to unfold without involving anyone just yet. And, though she wouldn't admit it, she wanted to protect him. Tony would sure as hell decapitate Loki on sight, astral being or not.

"Well, for what it's worth, he wasn't too bad. He ruined my life, but, he was alright."

She instantly wondered if Loki was on the aircraft at the moment, silently listening to her conversations. As he astral projected, he really could just come and go as he pleased. She would make sure to be careful in the shower.

As they approached the compound, Thor cracked open a beer. He began to chug it, most likely preparing himself for whatever was inside. Alex also contemplated drinking one, but hadn't had a drink in ages, so one might just send her over the edge.

Inside, Rocket was working on the enormous structure that was now in the middle of the testing room. Alex and Thor walked in, accompanied by Tony. Alex left them to find Bruce, who was fitting Scott in his new suit.

"Time travel suit, not bad." Rhodey commented. Nebula simply smirked.

Alex laughed as Scott scolded Bruce for not being careful, then accidentally used up a vial of Pym particles.

"I'm not ready for this." Scott confessed.

"I'll do it," They heard, all turning to see Clint standing in the doorway.

Suddenly, Clint was suited up and being debriefed by Bruce.

"Wait, wait a second. Let me ask you something." Rhodey interjected. "If we can do this, you know, go back in time, why don't we just find baby Thanos, you know, and.."

They all watched him make a strangling gesture.

"Jesus, Rhodey." Alex scoffed.

"First of all, that's horrible." Bruce exclaimed.

"It's Thanos."

"And second, time doesn't work that way. Changing the past doesn't change the future."

"Look, we go back, we get the stones before Thanos gets them... Thanos doesn't have the stones. Problem solved." Scott spoke.

"Bingo." Alex praised.

"That's not how it works."Nebula scoffed.

"Well, that's what I heard." Clint replied.

"What? By who?" Bruce asked.

"Star Trek, Terminator, TimeCop--" Rhodey counted.

"Quantum Leap--" Scott added.

"A Wrinkle in Time, Somewhere in Time--"

"Wasn't there a Phineas and Ferb episode?" Alex thought out loud.

"I don't know what that is."

"I don't know why everyone believes that, but that isn't true." Bruce frustratedly cut them off. "Think about it--if you travel to the past, that past becomes your future. And your former present becomes the past. Which can't now be changed by your new future..."

"Exactly." Nebula nodded.

"That literally made no sense, Bruce."

"So...Back to the Future's a bunch of bullshit?" Scott looked on the verge of tears. Alex patted his back comfortingly.

The whole team was now in the testing room, where Clint stood on the makeshift-time-apparatus.

"Alright Clint. We're going in 3...2...1!"

They watched as he disappeared into the Quantum Realm. The team stood quietly for a moment, amazed that it had actually worked.

"So, we just wait?" Alex spoke up.

"It'll only be a minute for us, but he'll be in there for about five."

"That's insane."

Suddenly, Clint reappeared, crouched on the floor like he had seen a ghost. Natasha ran over, helping him up.

"It worked."

✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦ ✦

They all sat collectively in a conference room, where several screens displayed the different stones and their names.

"Okay, so the 'how' works. Now, we gotta figure out the 'when' and the 'where'. Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones."

"Well I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones." Tony scoffed.

"Well, I bet none of your boyfriend's got you a present which so happened to be an Infinity Stone." Alex grinned.

"Is that..something to brag about?" Natasha asked.

"I don't know. I'm coping."

"I haven't, I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about." Scott confessed, causing Alex to chuckle.

"We only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places."

"So, we have to pick our targets." Clint reasoned.

"Exactly."

"Let's start with the Aether," Steve said. "Thor, what do you know?"

Their eyes all turned to Thor, who might as well have been unconscious.

"Is he asleep?" Natasha asked.

"No, I'm pretty sure he's dead."

"Definitely dead." Alex jumped at the voice next to her.

There was Loki, leaning on the edge of the table right in front of where she was sitting. Her startle caused everyone to look at her confusedly, and she just shook her head. She wasn't about to answer Loki and look mental.

She shot him a death look, turning back to Thor.

"Where to start? Um..the Aether, first, is not a stone. Someone called it a stone before." Thor stood up in front of everyone, obviously drunk and not coherent.

"It's more of an angry sludge thing, so...someone's gonna need to amend that. Here's an interesting story though, many years ago... My grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves...Woooh, scary things."

Alex rubbed her temples.

"So, Jane, oh there she is. That's Jane, she's... an old flame of mine... She... she stuck her hand inside a rock this one time... and then the Aether stuck itself inside her... And, she became very, very sick." Thor continued. "Alex, you were there. Alex saw Jane. Alex was in Asgard with my brother, Loki, who kidnapped her."

"What a time, hm?" Loki smirked at her.

"We were dating at the time, you see. I got introduce her to my mother... who's dead, and you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore, these things happen you know. Nothing lasts forever. The only thing permanent in life is impermanence--"

"Awesome." Tony intervened. "Eggs? Breakfast?"

"I'd like a Bloody Mary, thank you."

More time went on, and it was time for lunch. They ate Chinese food and kept on working. Rocket took his turn, walking on the table they were all eating on.

"Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag."

"Is that a person?" Scott spoke up.

"Morag's a planet. Quill was a person."

"A planet? Like in outer space?"

Rocket scoffed. "Oh, look. It's like a little puppy, all happy and everything. Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, puppy? I'll get you to space."

Natasha took notes, and they all intently listened to Nebula now. Loki had gotten bored during lunch, and disappeared for the time being.

"Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir."

"What is Vormir?"

"A dominion of death, at the very center of Celestial existence. It's where... Thanos murdered my sister."

An awkward silence fell on the room.

"Not it."

The last stone was the Time Stone, and it threw them in a funk. Alex sat with her feet up on the wall, as Natasha, Tony, and Bruce were also on the floor.

"The Time Stone guy," Natasha tried.

"Doctor Strange." Bruce replied.

"Yeah, what kind of doctor was he?"

"Ear-nose-throat meets rabbit from a hat."

"I met him. Real character, that one." Alex chuckled.

"Nice place in the village, too."

"Sullivan Street."

"No, Bleecker."

"Wait, he lived in New York?" Natasha sat up. "Guys, if you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York."

"No way." Alex also sat up. "Conference room."

They hurried to where the rest of the team was brainstorming. Tony put all the stones back on the screens, separating them by location. It read, Soul and Power Stones in space in 2014, Reality Stone in Asgard in 2013, and Space/Mind/Time Stones in NYC in 2014.

"Alright, we have a plan. Six Stones. Three teams. One shot."

"Here are the kickball teams: Clint and Nat, go to Vormir to retrieve the Soul Stone. Rhodey and Nebula, get the Power Stone. Alex, go with Thor and Rocket to Asgard for the Aether. Finally, I'll go with Steve, Scott and Bruce to New York."

"Everyone suit up. Testing room in 10." Steve spoke.

Alex approached Tony.

"What's this? You don't want me going with you?" She asked.

"You're strong enough to be out there without my help. Plus, we both know you know Asgard like the back of your hand."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "Thank you."

"You better come back from this. No getting hurt."

"I will. And you too. No funny business."

"No promises."

He left her so she could suit up, and she did so quickly. As she zipped up her suit, she saw someone staring back at her in the mirror.

"I don't know if it's a good thing that that doesn't startle me anymore." She said, turning around.

"Where do I get my matching outfit?" He poked. "Or must I be a member of this little club?"

"I'm trying to focus on the mission." She spoke firmly.

"How fortunate that you're going back to Asgard," He taunted. "Maybe we'll take a trip down memory lane once you're there."

He disappeared before she could object.

The team all stood on the time travel apparatus, nerves at an all time high. Their motivation was also high, desperate to do anything possible to bring back their fallen.

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends... We lost family... We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back." Steve strongly spoke. "You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win. Whatever it takes. Good luck."

"He's pretty good at that," Rocket confessed.

"Right?!" Scott replied giddily.

"Stroke those keys, jolly green." Tony called to Bruce.

"Ever thought you'd be going back?" Alex whispered to Thor, who looked more nervous than everyone else.

"Never."

"Me either."

"Alright, get ready." Bruce walked back to the apparatus after hitting the switches.

Alex took a deep breath and prepared herself for the unknown. She prayed they could pull this off.

There was no other option.

___________________________

𝙷𝙴𝙻𝙻𝙾 𝙼𝚈 𝙻𝙾𝚅𝙴𝚂 !!!!!

𝚒 𝚊𝚖 𝙱𝙰𝙲𝙺 𝚏𝚛𝚘𝚖 𝚖𝚢 𝚑𝚒𝚊𝚝𝚞𝚜 𝚒 𝚑𝚊𝚟𝚎 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚞 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚎𝚜𝚙𝚎𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚖𝚒𝚜𝚜𝚎𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚔𝚒

𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚆𝙾𝚆 𝚑𝚘𝚕𝚢 𝙵𝚄𝙲𝙺 𝚊𝚛𝚎 𝚞 𝚔𝚒𝚍𝚍𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚖𝚎 𝟷𝟶𝟶𝚔? 𝚢𝚘𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚖𝚎𝚊𝚗 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚕𝚍 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚎 𝚒 𝚗𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚛 𝚝𝚑𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚜 𝚜𝚝𝚘𝚛𝚢 𝚠𝚘𝚞𝚕𝚍 𝚎𝚟𝚎𝚗 𝚐𝚎𝚝 𝟷𝚔.

𝙿𝙻𝚂 𝚔𝚎𝚎𝚙 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚒𝚝 𝚖𝚊𝚔𝚎𝚜 𝚖𝚢 𝚍𝚊𝚢 𝚊𝚕𝚠𝚊𝚢𝚜 𝚡𝚡