Summary: Time itself is breaking, and Genevieve Williams is the only one who can stop it. With the end of civilization looming, she has no choice but to sacrifice everything to save the world, but she can't do it alone.
*Set after the events of Civil War, with references to future events of Infinity War.
"Genevieve Williams, you're an incredibly difficult woman to find." A soft voice cut through the silence of the empty bar. Romanoff wasn't normally someone to avoid confrontation, but she'd been trying to put this meeting off for a while. The woman tending the bar turned, smirking knowingly at the agent.
"It's nice to finally see you again, Tasha. It's been far too long." Gen continued wiping down the bar, much to Natasha's annoyance. This certainly wasn't their first time dealing with one another.
"Yeah. You could say that." Natasha muttered under her breath, rolling her eyes at Gen's casual demeanor. "I screwed up, okay? You asked me to keep the Avengers together and I didn't." The words escaped her mouth through clenched teeth.
Natasha had ended up doing exactly what Gen had predicted years earlier, back when she had been an advisor to none other than Director Nicholas Fury. It wasn't a secret that Fury had always wanted Gen on his team, working for SHIELD and using her abilities as a weapon. She hadn't spoken to him since she had informed him of Hydra's takeover of SHIELD over two years ago.
On the other hand, Natasha was someone Gen trusted, which was why she warned her of the impending war between Stark and Rogers. She'd figured that if anyone could be a voice of reason and bring them back together, it was the Black Widow. But that plan went out the window as soon as Stark discovered the Winter Soldier killed his parents.
"You tried. There's no way you could've anticipated this." Gen shrugged, grabbing her jacket from the behind the bar before starting to lock up.
"I couldn't have, but you definitely did. The only thing that I don't understand is why you didn't tell me. Why did you set me up to fail?" Natasha slammed her hand down on the counter.
"I didn't. The chances of this timeline occurring were small enough that I expected you to succeed." Natasha scoffed as Gen jumped over to where she was standing.
"All I'm hearing is that you kept me out of the loop, again." Natasha hated feeling this way. This was exactly why she and Gen had stopped working together.
"Get in." Gen ordered, ignoring Natasha as she approached her motorcycle.
"Where the hell are you going?"
"Well, if we're putting the Avengers back together, I need to speak to Rogers. I know you told him about me." Gen smiled, tossing a spare helmet to Natasha.
"You knew I was coming, didn't you?" Natasha's voice was flat. She had never liked Gen's ability to view future timelines.
"I know everything, Tasha…are you getting on, or what?" Natasha sighed in frustration, but nevertheless placed the helmet over her head and sat on the bike behind Gen. She wasted no time shooting off towards their old hideout.
Once upon a time, the two women had worked as somewhat of a team, but Natasha had never fully trusted Gen. It was why their relationship, both professional and personal, had ended on such a sour note.
"Why did you wait so long to come to me? This plan has been in your timeline for months." Gen reluctantly broke the silence, knowing the question would likely make Natasha upset.
"We didn't end things very well the last time we were together." Natasha's voice softened slightly in nostalgia.
Their falling out had truly been cataclysmic.
"Natalia, you are my closest friend. I will never not want to see you." Natasha hardened at Gen's use of her given name. "But the mi—"
"The mission comes first. I know. That's the only thing youtruly care about." Natasha quipped, feeling like an idiot for thinking anything would be different.
Some things would never change.
The rest of their ride was back to silence. It wasn't long before they reached the building. To anyone else, it was simply an abandoned warehouse shrouded by forestry, but for Gen and Natasha it was somewhat of a home. They had lived here together, years before the Avengers' existence.
Genevieve removed her helmet and hopped off the bike, stroking the plants which grew along the walls. They recoiled from her touch, shrinking into little seedlings as she reversed their growth revealing the concealed doors.
"I've missed this." Gen sighed, loving the feeling which came from accessing the time stream. She hadn't used her powers in far too long.
Genevieve was a time manipulator. Not only was she capable of viewing and altering timelines, but she was able to harness all facets of time energy and use them to her advantage. Her abilities were boundless, which made them dangerous.
Gen glanced up at the retinal scanner and within seconds the door lifted, allowing them to walk inside.
Gen walked further into the building, knowing exactly where she would find Steve Rogers. As she entered the training room, he immediately took a defensive position, wasting no time moving to attack her. He was frozen before he could even touch her. She unfroze his head, feeling somewhat amused by his panic as he unsuccessfully tried to move his body.
"Down boy. She's on our side." Natasha piped in behind her, though Steve didn't look too convinced.
"I find that hard to believe, considering she did…this…to me."
"Excuse me, if I hadn't frozen you, you would've mauled me. I'll unfreeze you if you promise not to attack." Steve glared silently, but she took that as a motion to continue, unfreezing him cautiously. "Captain, my name is Genevieve Williams, and I'm here to help you save the world."
"I'm plenty capable of saving it myself." His words were polite, but his glare spoke for itself.
"I doubt that." Steve scowled at Gen's words, and Natasha interrupted before he could respond.
"Steve, she's the woman I was telling you about…my old colleague." Gen snorted at Natasha's explanation. Steve relaxed slightly at the statement.
"We still don't need your help. You have no idea what we're capable of." Steve crossed his arms and stared her down. Gen couldn't help but grin at his words.
"I know exactly what you're capable of, I helped create you. Eighty years ago, I met doctor Abraham Erskine. He knew about my abilities, which is why he trusted me when I told him to recruit you. I encouraged Peggy Carter to form SHIELD after your disappearance. I'm also the person who kept you frozen and alive in the Arctic ocean for seventy years, and eventually I was the one who told Nick Fury where you were. Not to mention, I'm the one who put together the Avengers initiative six years ago. You're strong, Steve, but you can't do this alone." Gen waited, watching Steve's anger shift into confusion.
"How were you alive eighty years ago?"
"My abilities allow me to stop the effect of time on my body. It's similar to the effect of the super soldier serum on your own body." Steve relaxed slightly, but continued with his questioning.
"What exactly are your abilities?"
"I call myself a time manipulator. I can essentially control any factor of time. Primarily, I can view and alter timelines to change the future or the past. That includes being able to reverse, stop, and forward time. It's why I was able to freeze you." Steve's unease returned tenfold as she explained, shifting back to anger.
"If you're supposed to be on our side, then why the hell haven't you used your powers to help us? If what you're saying is true, you could've stopped wars and prevented countless casualties." Steve approached, staring her down as he spoke.
"With all due respect, Captain, some events are meant to happen. I don't interfere with it. What I do have control over is the ultimate outcome, which is why I put the Avengers together in the first place. But…" Gen trailed off.
"But then you went to war with Stark, and screwed the whole thing up." Natasha commented.
"If I remember correctly, you're the one who helped me go to war with Stark." Steve retorted, narrowing his eyes at Natasha.
"It doesn't matter who started it. There were timelines in which the Avengers stayed together, but it didn't end up that way, so now it's our job to put it back together before the entire universe suffers."
"What do you mean by that?"
Gen contemplated explaining the situation, but instead chose to approach Steve and Natasha, pressing her fingers against their temples to project the future timeline in their minds. They saw it all. Thanos' arrival, Tony's disappearance, the battle of Wakanda, Vision's death, and the decimation of half the universe. Gen knew this would only work if they saw exactly what they were fighting to prevent.
Steve staggered slightly as Gen pulled away. He could only say one thing.
"Oh, God."
Steve sank down to the floor, while Natasha just stared at Gen in disbelief.
"Altering time and reality doesn't just have immediate consequences. It will affect the entire balance of the universe. If we don't stop him, Thanos will destroy everything." Gen glanced between the two of them, waiting for some type of response.
"So, we're screwed." Steve laughed dryly.
"Not if we can get the Avengers working together again…which means we need Stark." Gen grimaced, knowing exactly what was about to happen.
"It's a darn good thing I'm already here." A familiar voice boomed through the training room, causing Steve to return to a defensive position while Natasha turned and glared at Gen.
"You really did know I was coming." Natasha growled at Gen, shaking her head in exasperation as Anthony Edward Stark made his way towards them.