Title: Temporal Quandary (1/11+epilogue)
Pairing: Staine
Rating: PG-13/T overall
Summary: "Tell me it's not aliens again."
Disclaimers: Do I even need these anymore? Nothing is mine. I just can't stop playing in the sandbox.
A/N: So, this is the beginning of another drawn out action-y fic. I'm so sorry. There are allusions to some of my fic not posted here. They are not necessary reads, but can be found at my tumblr under jaylie12. Part of my Catching Time 'verse.

...

"Did you get all that?" Bruce asked, pen still held aloft and pointing at the screen filled with blueprints and equations. He looked at Steve and Blaine in turn.

"I have," Blaine started with a deep breath, hopping down from his perch on the table, "no idea what you're talking about." He smiled, half apologetically and half chagrined, and Bruce chuckled.

"You get a pass," Bruce said pointedly, "for now." His stern tone was tempered with a fond smile, and he turned to Steve. "And what about you?"

"I'm going to need you to go over it again, Doctor," Steve replied honestly. "Where does the energy go after it gets converted into current?"

"I should head out," Blaine said quietly to Steve as Bruce tapped at the screen to bring up a close-up of a portion of the schematics.

"Class?" Steve asked, though he already knew the answer.

"Hmm," Blaine confirmed, giving Steve a quick kiss on the cheek. "See you tonight at the bar?"

"I'll be there at 10 p.m. sharp."

"My very own groupie."

"What?"

"I'll explain later," Blaine said with a smile and a squeeze of Steve's arm. "See you later, Bruce," Blaine directed at the other man as he slung his bag over his shoulder.

Bruce smiled and nodded before launching back into his explanation. Steve's attention dutifully returned to the screen.

Blaine was just about to turn the corner of the hallway when he heard the lab's door sliding open again. Thinking Steve must have forgotten to tell him something, Blaine turned back. He stopped short when the door remained open after several seconds, but no one came out. A series of thuds startled him and he crouched on instinct. He hastened to the door and peeked around the frame, eyes wide as he watched an unconscious Bruce disappearing from his view, leaving only a barely-there shimmering of light where he was slumped on the floor. Blaine's eyes darted around the room, and he could just make out two shapes moving around the room, transparent but shimmering just like Bruce's body now was. Blurry and moving quickly, Blaine blinked fast to keep up with their movements and made out arms reaching down to Bruce and another almost-invisible body that must be Steve. Blaine heard quiet, low-pitched murmuring as Steve and Bruce were lifted and the shimmers of light moved toward the door.

Blaine jumped back, heart pounding as his mind raced. Forcing his body into motion, he raced down the hall and around the corner, only risking looking back when he heard the lab door slide shut. He watched the two masses of flickering light move down the hallway, away from him. It wasn't until they had opened another door that Blaine realized they had gone into the stairwell. Glancing behind him at the elevators, Blaine had no idea which way they were going so he could not risk taking the wrong way. Taking a deep breath, he ran back down the hallway and caught the door just before it latched shut. He slipped in, staying against the wall as the door fell back shut and clicked loudly in the isolated stairwell.

Ignoring his still racing heart, Blaine quietly stepped to the railing and looked down. He leaned a bit further, scanning the descending stairs as best he could. Seeing nothing, he looked up, craning his neck and pushing himself a little further over the railing. It took a few seconds, but he saw it-a flicker of light two, maybe three, flights up. He stepped back out of view and took another deep breath, trying to decide what to do. Not wanting to lose sight of whoever was up there, he gripped his bag and started up the stairs, careful to keep his footfalls quiet and fast.

The research labs were already high up in Stark Tower, and the roof was only seven floors up. Surely, they must be headed there. At every new floor, Blaine chanced a glance over the railing, hoping to catch a glimpse of anything. He did not linger too long in looking, trusting his instinct and continuing on his way when he did not catch sight of the shimmering light.

Blaine was only one flight of stairs from the roof when he heard a door burst open. He kept going, a shaft of light slicing through the artificially lit stairwell confirming his suspicions. He sped up, thanking his affinity for running as his preferred form of exercise.

The door, opened with such force as to pull it off its hinges, hung open to reveal the small landing that held a ladder up to the upper portion of the roof. Blaine traversed the small space and climbed the few steps, casting his eyes about as he scrambled up. No light shimmered, but the strong wind had Blaine looking up.

He stopped, crouched on the roof and breathing heavy as he took in the sky above him, shimmering in the same way the moving bodies had. He followed the edges as best he could, finding two hulking masses slowly moving up what looked to be some kind of rope hanging down to the roof. It looked to be moving up as well, and the edge looked to be a few feet up from the roof. Without any thought, Blaine launched himself toward the barely there line, jumping as it moved higher.

His fingers grasped around a thin, cool cord, as his body's momentum carried him past the line. He swung back easily, and hauled himself up the line until he could hook his feet around the bottom of it. He held on, muscles straining and fingers protesting, and looked around. The shimmering light was nearing, and the roof was shrinking. He could not make out the bodies above him against what must be a ship of some kind.

Before he could think what to do next, the line jerked and he clenched his teeth to keep from crying out. He was almost to the ship, but it was moving, and now the line was swaying dangerously high in the air. Blaine had to close his eyes tight against the panic, had to force himself not to look down when he opened them again. Which he had to do, he told himself as the seconds ticked by, so he could see what he was getting into.

The wind that had picked up in the moments the ship started moving, suddenly lessened and Blaine finally opened his eyes. He could see the inside of the ship now, dark metal floor and walls, and a large grinding pulley above him. Large gray crates lined the walls, and only the sounds of machinery reached his ears. Blaine let out a breath as the now visible line still clenched in his fingers came to a stop and the sky below him slipped away with a closing panel.

Blaine dropped to the floor, crouching with the landing. Despite no one else being in the room, he scanned his surroundings again and hastened over to a pile of crates. Hiding behind it, he pulled his phone from his bag and turned it on. Sighing with relief that he still had reception, he opened up his contacts. But not knowing how long it would last, Blaine typed a quick message and sent it before he could doubt himself. Then he slipped out from behind the crates and hurried to the door, large and imposing, which slid open on his approach. Peering around the edge, he scanned the corridor before venturing out. Careful to keep track of where he was going and listening intently, he made his way looking for any signs of Bruce and Steve.

Pepper set down her tablet, picking up her vibrating phone. Her eyes went wide and she clicked the communication controls on the table before her.

"Jarvis, lock down Stark Tower. We have a security breach. And I need Tony and Fury now."

The alarms sounded immediately.

"Agent Fury is indisposed," Jarvis informed.

"I don't care. Patch into my phone and send him the last text I received."

Pepper's phone lit up with the connection just as the elevator doors slid open.

"Tell me it's not aliens again," Tony said, stepping off the elevator.

"I'm pretty sure it's aliens again."

Pepper grabbed her phone and strode over to meet him in the center of the room, showing him the message.

Steve and Bruce taken. Invisible ship above ST. Snuck on with them.

"Jarvis, get me Banner and Rogers, now," Tony barked.

"I do not currently read Dr. Banner's or Captain Roger's life signs within or in the vicinity of Stark Tower."

"When did they leave?"

"Readings indicate they did not leave."

"Where did they go?"

"Readings indicate they disappeared from Dr. Banner's lab 34 minutes ago."

"Disappeared?"

"I have no explanation for that, sir," Jarvis replied, the normally staid voice sounding confused.

"What about Blaine?" Pepper spoke up.

"Mr. Anderson exited Stark Tower via the stairwell and roof."

"And where did he go after that?"

"He also disappeared."

"Show me what you have," Stark instructed. Images popped up on the table screen. Pepper and Tony looked on as Bruce and Steve fell to the lab floor unconscious and disappeared from the footage; Blaine raced down the hallway and climbed the stairs; the roof access door exploding open; and Blaine ran onto the roof, jumped, and reached for something before he too disappeared.

"Stark, this better be good," Fury's irritated voice came crackling over the comm.

"It's quite the opposite," Tony quipped wryly. With a flick of his finger on the table, he said, "Video coming up. We have a situation."