You Could Make a Case for That

Quite a few people were saying this after Endgame. Apparently there were a LOT of characters more appropriate to be involved in the research for the time heist than Tony Stark. (And even more appropriate than Bruce Banner.) Shuri, Hank Pym and Janet Van Dyne, Ava Starr, Bill Foster, Jane Foster, Erik Selving, and even Wong through his knowledge of the Time Stone.

What if Bruce, Scott, Natasha, and Steve were allowed to mention them?

Note: I didn't see Ant-Man and the Wasp, so I may not be representing Ava's and Bill Foster's expertise accurately. And if either of them actually got dusted, then this is an AU.

After the first rush of hope passed, Scott, Natasha, and Steve settled in to really discuss their options.

Steve sat back and said, "I guess we go to Tony. He's got the tech. And from what he said, he did figure out how to find the Tesseract overnight so I guess he has the smarts."

Natasha frowned and said, "Actually, Bruce was the driving force behind that. And even if Tony does have the smarts, does he really have the motive? After everything that happened, he just abandoned the world. We both know he's living in a cabin by a lake, and doesn't seem interested in making things better for anyone but himself."

Steve asked, "So you think he won't want to help?"

Natasha shrugged.

Steve sighed, then said, "You may have a point. But almost all the folks we would call are gone--Princess Shuri, Jane Foster, and Dr. Selvig. Bruce is the only other big brain who survived the Snap."

Scott shook his head and said, "Maybe not. I mean, yeah, Hank and Janet seemed to have bit the dust, along with Hope. But we met two people who are clued in to the Quantum Realm: Ava Starr and Dr. Bill Foster. If we talk to them, they'd at least try to help--I know it."

Steve and Natasha looked at each other. Then Steve said, "All right. Natasha will try to find out if they're still around and if so, where to find them. You and I will go to visit Bruce."

Natasha nodded and said, "I'll also see if Rocket can come back to Earth. Or at least join us for a consultation."

Bruce put his elbows on his Hulk-sized desk and said, "It MAY be possible. But we'll be flying blind. Unless..."

He sat back and thought for a moment. Then he said, "It would really help if Star and Foster can be found. But there may be someone else on Earth who has information about the Infinity Stones: Wong."

Steve shook his head and said, "I don't know anyone involved with the stones named Wong. Who are they?"

Bruce replied, "Wong had magic, like real magic--he could open portals to other places. And I'll bet he knows a lot about the Time Stone, and maybe knows about the others too. It can't hurt to ask."

Steve said, "You didn't mention Thor, who left Earth the same time you did to find information about the Infinity Stones. Or Tony."

Bruce rubbed his eye and said, "From what I hear, I'm not sure how much help Thor will be. He's in pretty bad shape."

Then he sighed and continued, "I'll admit, I get the same vibe as Natasha. The world collapsed and Tony just...walked away. I'm not sure he's the best person for this job."

Steve nodded and said, "All right. We'll keep Tony in our back pocket if all else fails. Do you know how to contact Wong?"

A VERY different group gathered to work out the way to use the Quantum Realm to get the Infinity Stones. Steve went to visit Thor, and being involved from the beginning in the brainstorming helped Thor find ways to deal with his depression and alcoholism. The group didn't think it was fair to ask Rhodey to keep information from Tony, so Okoye was recruited instead.

Wong joined Bruce, Scott, and Steve for the NYC part of the time heist. He was able to avoid getting hit by the Hulk in the lobby, so they got the Tesseract without a problem and Loki didn't escape. Clint and Natasha still went to Vormir, but Natasha came back. Okoye was able to keep Nebula from being captured, so past-Nebula and past-Thanos were never an issue. Ava and Dr. Foster kept a watch on the compound to make sure no one interrupted.

When the group regathered to do their Snap, they agreed that the universe should be changed to bring everyone back--including all the people lost after the Snap. Thor was in a better place mentally and physically, so he joined Ava and Bruce to snap together. They remade the universe to match the one that was before Thanos captured Nebula to force Gamora to reveal the location of the Soul Stone. With Nebula out of Thanos's hands, Nebula, Gamora, and the rest of the Guardians were able to kill Thanos before he reached the Asgardian ship. The Guardians then made the Power Stone disappear.

Thor and Bruce made sure that everyone who was born in the five years also had the potential to be born in the remade universe. But things did work out differently. The team that worked on the Time Heist still remembered everything that happened, so they still felt connected in the remade universe. They worked together to abolish the Accords and get things ready for the Asgardians to arrive.

Rocket urged the Guardians to visit Earth, so Peter Quill got to fanboy over Captain America. Thor took his second chance to be a leader to his people and stayed on Earth. Steve never saw Peggy, so he stayed in the present. He kept in touch with his friends, but retired to help build New Asgard. Wong was surprised when a portal opened up with a woman who asked him to deliver a present to Thor: an apple of Idunn that would let him offer immortality to a Midgardian.

Thor proposed, Steve accepted. Everyone from the Time Heist came to the wedding, along with all their loved ones who were brought back.

Tony never gave up his grudge. His constant rants about "Team Cap" made Pepper realize that Tony's bitterness wasn't good for her unborn baby. So she never married Tony. When Steve and Thor's marriage became public, Morgan and Pepper POTTS sent a lovely note and wedding gift.