The Future-Present
Present time: Within the Avengers Missing Minute
“What the- where am I?” Natasha asked, slowly sitting up inside what looked to be Tony’s workshop. She tried to think back to the last thing she remembered. She had come down to get her suit with Nebula and Bruce. Yes, she remembered that.
Tony had gotten Brue his suit first and sent him to get changed while Nebula had taken hers next. Carol had come in briefly to say goodbye as she needed to go back and alert Telos to the development in the infinity stones problem. Natasha couldn’t find her suit, though she remembered looking. All she remembered was suddenly feeling unbearably tired, and seeing a flash of candy red hair before she was out.
“You’re awake,” a voice said. She turned to see Mestin Garmage sitting on Tony’s worktable, a timer in his hand.
“What did you do to me?” Natasha demanded to struggle to her feet but swaying slightly. The effects of whatever spell Mestin had put on her had yet to completely wear off.
“Nothing serious, I just needed to get you out of the playing field or else Silven’s plan would never have worked,” he said thickly. It was then that Natasha noticed that he was crying.
“Silven’s plan- what happened?” she demanded. Mestin sighed, shaking his head.
“When Silven came to me and told me that we needed to come to help you guys get the stones from the past, he meant it. The soul stone, the stone you and Clint were meant to retrieve requires a payment that few are willing to give. A soul, for a soul,” Mestn explained.
“So you’re saying-” Natasha began only to be cut off by the mage.
“Yes. In order to acquire the stone, you must sacrifice that which you love. Had you gone with Clint Barton, you would have ended up dead.”
“But if Clint went alone, then how is he supposed to get the stone?” Natasha demanded. Mestin shook his head.
“He wasn’t alone.” It was then that Natasha remembered the flash of red hair and the tears on Mestin’s face.
“Emilia,” she breathed. Mestin buried his face in his sleeves when she said the name. Emilia Corvell, Lady Love, was dead. “But Clint didn’t love her… he barely knew her!”
“He didn’t have to. When Emilia shifts form, her DNA changes to match the person she’s becoming. So long as Clint believed that it was you who was dying, then it would work.” Natasha sat back down. Emilia Corvell was dead in her place, and Clint believed that he had killed her.
“The other’s will be back in a few seconds,” Mestin said. “You should probably stay here o as not to sare Barton.” Natasha nodded and watched as the mage composed himself and left the workshop. She was alive. Emilia was not.
~
Within the time jump
Nebula and Rhodes watched as Peter Quill danced his way towards the large cavern that held the power stone. Rhodes’ expression could rival that of a mother watching her five-year-old son playing with dog poop, while Nebula just looked done.
“So he’s an idiot?” Rhodey asked while Quill grabbed a little alien creature to use as a microphone.
“Yes,” came Nebula’s reply.
“And your sister is dating him?” Rhodey questioned, unable to believe that the man in front of him had a girlfriend.
“Sadly,” Nebula said. With that she leaped forward and slammed her metal elbow against his head, successfully knocking him unconscious. “He was heading in there, so the stone must be somewhere inside,” she said. Rhodey nodded and followed her in.
“You know, Tony’s quite fond of you, “he said as they walked through the large, stone hallway.
“He is an interesting person,” Nebula replied. “He is good at paper football.” Rhodey s unsure as to what that meant but decided that he’d just ask Tony later.
“You’re a good friend for him to have,” he said. Nebula considered his words before nodding once.
“I enjoy being his… friend,” she agreed, seeming to test the word out. It occurred to Rhodes that she probably had not had many of those before. “That’s it,” Nebula said, pointing to a black and purple orb contained behind a strange energy field.
“That looks pretty powerful,” Rhodey said, throwing a rock against it and watching as it disintegrates within seconds. “We should try to find a way to-” He stopped talking as Nebula reached through the field with her robotic arm and grabbed the orb before pulling it back out and handing it to Rhodes. Her arm was burnt and broken but she didn’t seem to care.
“Or we can just do that,” he said. “Alright, time to jump back,” he said. “Ready?” Nebula gave a no as they prepared to jump forward and return the stone. Rhodey flickered and then was gone back into the quantum realm. Nebula began to follow suit only to collapse, her memory files scrambling and projecting a conversation with Thanos that she knew had never happened.
“He knows,” she whispered, scrambling to press her back against the wall. “He’s coming here, and he knows,” she said again. Already she could hear the sound of incoming warships.
~
Loki, Thor, and Rocket ran through the palace, the guards only a few hallways behind them. Rocket had been able to lure them away, but they knew that eventually they would be caught again.
“We have to go now,” Thor said. “They know this palace well, it will only be a matter of minutes until they’re on us again.” Loki nodded, looking around one last time at the palace he used to call home.
“Alright, everybody ready to go?” he asked. Rocket and Thor nodded. The last glimpse they had was of the guards rounding the corner before they are back in the quantum realm and speeding towards the future-present.
~
Steve and Scott watched from inside the tower as the Avengers talked to S.H.I.E.L.D and Loki were put into cuffs. Bruce was watching from outside the building as the Hulk form would likely draw too much attention, and Tony was on his way.
“There’s the scepter,” Steve said as he watched it fall into Hydra’s hands. “I’ll go get it. You guys stay here,” he ordered Scott and Bruce. He quickly slipped into the elevator with a very familiar looking group of Hydra agents, Rumlow amongst them. He felt a wave of fury towards the other man, Bucky’s suffering playing through his mind, but kept himself in check.
“I’ve been instructed to take the scepter from here,” he said.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve got my orders,” Rumlow said. “This thing’s going straight back to S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters.” Steve nodded and waited for a moment before leaning over to Rumlow.
“Hail Hydra,” he whispered, holding out a hand for the case. Rumlow looked up at him in shock but handed Steve the case nonetheless. One down, one more to go. He wasn’t sure if Tony had gotten the third stone, but he didn’t doubt that it would be their soon enough.
“I have the scepter,” he alerted the others.
“Well that’s good because I’ve got the time stone,” came Tony’s reply. “Past-us is heading down the elevator, so let's get downstairs, he said. “All that’s left now is the Tesseract.” One left. Shouldn’t be too hard.
Turned out that it could be very hard. After giving pst Tony a heart attack, almost losing the scepter, and watching then-evil Loki escape with the space stone, Steve decided that he should really stop jinxing all their missions. Fighting himself had been bad enough, but at least he got his shield back out of it. This though, this was useless.
“Great. Fucking great, we lost it!” Tony growled, pacing back and forth in the ally they were hiding in.
“Why don’t we just jump to a different time? Get it some other way?” Bruce asked.
“Because we only have enough Pym Particles for a one-way trip, that’s why!” Scott snapped. At that Tony stopped, considering.
“Unless we can get more,” he said. “Rogers, the Tesseract was at shield the entire time before New York, correct?” he asked.
“Yes, if you don’t count the time Mar-Vell had it,” Steve replied. Tony seemed to be working on something in his head.
“We could get more particles, and grab the Tesseract in one jump,” the iron hero said finally. Suddenly it hit Steve like a ton of bricks.
“Oh my God, you’re right,” he said.
“Right about what? Can someone please fill me in here?” Scott asked.
“We’d have to time it perfectly, but it shouldn’t be too hard,” Tony was saying as Scott and Bruce both tried to get answers. “We could pull this off,” he said finally.
“I trust you,” Steve said. “Scott, Bruce, take the scepter and the time stone back to the present. Tony and I’ll be right behind you.” The two other heroes, while very confused, did as instructed.
“You sure about this?” Tony asked. “‘Cause I can do this myself if need be.” Steve shook his head.
“I owe this to you. To all of you.” Tony nodded and took a deep breath. “S.H.I.E.L.D here we come,” he said before closing his eyes and hitting his button.
~
The soul realm, the ‘missing minute’
Peter watches as Wanda and Jax practiced their offensive plan for Thanos, he himself had already perfected his webbing technique on a Thanos-shaped pile of rocks. Dr. Strange was talking with T’Challa and Falcon, the latter saying something about needing his portal to appear on the left of Steve while Dr. Strange looked thoroughly amused.
“Peter, you ready for this?” Oliver asked, coming up beside him. Peter nodded.
“As ready as I’ll ever be,” he said. “Riri’s still practicing blowing up Thanos rock piles with her suit.”
“Yeah, I was just electrocuting a few as well,” Oliver admitted. “We’ve only got a few minutes till we go,” he said. “Emilia just died, so they’re in the past.” Peter cast his eyes to the ground. He had never met Emilia Corvell, but through Frost’s stories, he had gotten to know her. Lady Love, one of Frost’s best spies. He knew that her sacrifice as necessary to save Natasha, but he still wished that he could have met her.
“Guess we better get ready then,” Peter said. It seemed the others were getting the same idea as they were beginning to gather around Silven.
“Alright, when you wake up it will be at the same location that you died,” the mage said. “Most of your memories from your time here will be jumbled if not completely wiped, butDr. Strange and I have made sure that you will remember the plan. He will alert Wong and the other sorcerers of your locations and you will be portaled back to the compound. Once you get there, there will be no friendly reunions or time to fill in anyone else. Once we arrive the battle starts,” Silven said. The others nodded and Jax’s darkness swirled quickly around her in anticipation.
“Can we be expecting anyone else from Enexion?” Stephen asked the mage.
“I’ll see what I can do. My first priority will be getting to Earth from Enexion, but I’ll try to make contact with some of my friends,” he said. “Olive,r your first priority is to find Orûk. You will not be able to survive long without him. Don’t waste any energy fighting unless you have no other choice.” The ex-assassin nodded his agreement and they all turned towards the orangey light of the soul realm to await the resurrection.
~
The retrieval of the Tesseract was a surprisingly easy process given all the trouble it had given them throughout the years, Tony thought. Sure, he could have gone without a run-in with his father, but all things considered, it could have been way worse.
“You got the particles?” he asked Steve.
“Right here, the Tesseract?” the soldier questioned.
“Boom,” Tony said, holding up his briefcase. Steve nodded and they ducked behind a building to prepare their suits to return to their present.
~
Nebula woke up to the sound of a horrifyingly familiar voice. Her eyes slowly opened to see herself staring at a mirror reflection of herself. Gamora stood behind her.
“You disgust me,” Nebula watched herself say as a knife slide under the copper piece that Tony had given her to make protect her wiring. “But you still have your uses,” she noted.
“He doesn’t care about you, he never will,” Nebula forced out. Her past self paid her no mind, and so she turned to Gamora.
“Do you know what he does to you to get the soul stone?” she asked. “You don’t live to see his success.” Gamora stared at her for a second before hurrying after her sister to Thanos’ throne. They would send past-Nebula to the future, Nebula realized, and the Avengers wouldn’t have a clue. She struggled weakly against the chains keeping her strapped to the ship, but she knew it was useless. Her arm was already damaged, and even without the wounds, she doubted she would have been able to break through.
Nebula stared blankly at the wall in front of her until the sound of footsteps brought her attention back to the present. She looked up to see Gamora standing over her.
“In the future…” Gamora began, looking around to make sure no one was listening. “In the future, what are we?” she asked. Nebula looked at her calculatingly before deciding that the question was sincere, and not just a trap to get information.
“We’re sisters,” Nebula said. Gamora looked at her thoughts for a moment before reaching out her hand.
“Then let’s go.”
~
Tony and Steve reappeared to see Bruce, Scott, Loki, Thor, and Rocket already there. A few seconds Later Rhodey popped up followed quickly by Clint and then Nebula.
“Clint, where’s Nat?” Steve asked, looking around. Tony squeezed his eyes shut as to avoid having to see the broken expression on Clint’s face. To avoid having to have to see the dawning horror on the faces of the others.
“Did you get the soul stone?” Mestin asked coming into the room. Tony could see that while his face was clear, his eyes were red from crying. Cint nodded silently and handed his the orangey goldstone. Mestin nodded and turned to someone in the doorway before nodding. Natasha Romanoff stepped out.
“Nat?” Clint asked weakly, stumbling forward. “I- I don’t understand,” he was saying shaking badly.
“Natasha, take him to sit down,” Tony said. She nodded her head and led Clint over to the nearest chair.
“You died, I watched you fall-” Natasha shook her head.
“You watched Emilia Corvell fall,” Mestin said. “When Silven contacted us and told us to come here, he told me what would happen to Natasha. He also told me that we had to stop her from dying and that Emilia was our only chance. When Natasha went down to get her uniform, I put a spell on her and Emilia took her place.”
“I had everyone wear the helmets so that people wouldn’t realize it was her,” Tony said. “Stephen let me in on the plan as well,” he informed them. “We had to make sure that you thought it was really Natasha or else you wouldn’t have gotten the stone,” he said, looking at Clint. “I’m so sorry.”
“Guys, we need to get the stones on the gauntlet,” Natasha said, looking around. That snapped them back into action.
“Right, I’ve got the gauntlet right here,” Tony said, grabbing it from where it was sitting by the door to his workshop. Nebula hung back as they decided that Bruce would wield the gauntlet, and when they sealed themselves inside the room where they would perform the reverse-snap, she quickly made her way over to the time machine.
“Father, they have the stones. I’m bringing you through now,” she said, reactivating the machine.
“It’s like I’m made for this,” Bruce said, sliding the gauntlet onto his hand.
“Be careful, big guy,” Clint warned, still leaning heavily on Natasha. The emotional drain was taking its toll on the archer. They all watched as Bruce carefully examined the gauntlet, weighing it on his hand.
“Too late to turn back now,” he said. Then, without so much as a breath, he snapped. There was a flash and they heard Bruce yell in pain as the power of the infinity stones coursed through him, eating away at his arm and neck. Everyone got up from where they had crouched down slowly, looking around in confusion. Bruce yanked the gauntlet off and cradled his mangled arm to his chest while Tony told F.R.I.D.A.Y to bring up the metal coverings that he’d had brought down to reinforce the windows and doors. Scott slowly approached the now clear windows and watched as a flock of birds flew around in a panic.
“Guys, I think it worked,” he said, watching as they slowly settled. Then everything blew up.
~
When Bruce Banner reversed the snap, the dusted could tell instantly. The orangey gold light of the soul realm began to flicker and dim, and those with magical abilities could feel the regular, steady rhythm of the stone’s power ebbing.
“Dr. Strange?” Peter asked nervously, moving closer to the other man. He smiled when the Cloak of Levitation wrapped one of its corners around his shoulder.
“It’s starting,” the sorcerer said. “Everyone remembers the plan?” he asked anxiously. They all nodded. Normally they would be annoyed by the constant nagging about the same plan, but they could all understand Stephen’s fear. Even if they were to succeed with their original plan, it would mean the death of Tony. Hopefully, the introduction of Silven and his people on the battlefield would produce a better outcome.
“We’ll make sure he survives,” Wanda said at his other side. Stephen nodded
“Remember, once everyone’s back, start portalling people to the compound. More sorcerers will join you, but we need to start getting people across as quickly as possible,” Stephen said. Wanda nodded in determination. “Jax, you sure you’ll be able to teleport you and Silven back to Earth?” he asked. The Shadow Wielder nodded shortly.
“I can teleport us through the Nox in under five minutes,” she confirmed. Silven looked like he’d rather be using any other means of transportation, but remained silent.
“Bring as many people as you can,” Stephen said. Silven nodded his agreement right as the first large crack appeared in the soul realm energy.