A few hours later, Morgan, Peter, and Cassie pulled up to the Avengers Facility and were greeted by Maria Hill.
"Thanks for coming, guys."
"No problem. Who all's here?" asked Peter.
"Come see for yourselves." The director said with a smirk, opening the door for them.
"Oh, and Morgan?" She smiled, handing Morgan a thick envelope. "Happy birthday. Nick and I got everybody here to sign it."
"Thanks, Aunt Maria." The teen said, pulling Maria into a hug. "How's Uncle Nick?"
"Oh, good as ever. I've been trying to stop him from getting another cat."
"Fury's a cat person?" Cassie asked, as the group walked down the hall.
"Oh, you have no idea."
They finally arrived in the main laboratory, where Bruce Banner and Natasha Romanoff were hard at work with two teen boys serving as their assistants. They perked up when they saw the group approaching.
"There she is! The birthday girl!" Bruce called.
"Happy birthday, sweetie." Nat said, fondly placing her hand on Morgan's cheek.
"Thanks, guys."
"Oh! I don't think you guys have met the new interns? Pete knows Harley, of course."
"Hey." Harley Keener said with a genial wave.
"And this is Amadeus Cho."
"Call me Ames." Said the second young man, with a warm smile that reached all the way to his eyes, causing Morgan to blush.
"Are we waiting on everyone else?" asked Cassie, looking around the room.
"Oh no, we're here." Said a voice, emerging from the shadows as a young woman in purple leather, a crossbow slung across her back.
"We just wanted to check out the lounge first." Added another girl, who was wearing a red Air Force shirt, a bomber jacket, and her hair in space buns.
"Everyone, this is Monica." Nat said, gesturing to the girl with the Air Force t-shirt, who flashed a peace sign from behind the straw of her boba tea.
"And Morgan, you know Lila."
"Hey, squirt." Lila Barton said, waving a hand wrapped in protective leather.
"And last but not least, Kamala."
A girl in a bright pink headscarf and Captain America t-shirt gave Morgan an exaggerated wink and finger guns.
"Wait, Kamala Khan? Don't you run that superhero fan blog, Captain Marvelous?" Ames asked.
"That's me!"
"I love your work!" Morgan exclaimed.
"Thank you, thank you. I do try." Kamala replied with a dismissive wave, pretending to blush.
"Alright, now that everyone's here…" Director Hill stated, as everyone formed a circle around her. "Let's debrief."
"So, we all know that what Tony did impacted all of our lives." Said Bruce. "His sacrifice led to families being reunited, the beginnings of time travel research, and the discovery of the Multiverse. But this all came at the greatest possible cost to him, and his family, and all of us. We lost one of the greatest minds, the bravest man, of our generation. Morgan lost a father. But, we're starting to think it's outside the realm of possibility that we could bring him back."
"Wait." Peter interrupted. "If we do bring him back, how do we know that we're going to grab the Tony from our timeline, and not someone else's?"
"Because there's evidence to suggest that the Tony Stark from our dimension is still alive, just barely, clinging to consciousness in the realm beyond the planet Vormir. The Soul World."
"But…that's impossible." Kamala whispered.
"Not as much as you'd think." Natasha continued, shifting uncomfortably before locking eyes with Bruce, who gave her a reassuring nod. "I escaped from the Soul World nearly ten years ago, along with a Zehoberi named Gamora"
"Wait, the Zen Whoberians? I thought they were extinct." Ames asked.
"All but this one. And technically her daughter, but she's also half human." Cassie answered.
"So how did you get out?"
"To make a long story short, aliens and magic. But Gamora and I found that the Soul World gave us both this…sensitivity. I can feel people's souls, their essence. And here recently, I've felt something…distinctly Tony Stark."
"Which means he's out there, somewhere. And we just might be able to bring him back." Bruce added.
"And bring him…home?" Morgan wheezed, clutching her hand to her chest as she struggled to breathe.
"Hey, hey. It's alright." Natasha said, wrapping her arm around Morgan's shoulders and soothingly rubbing her back. "It's alright. A lot to take in, I know. But this might just work."
"And if it doesn't?" asked Peter, keeping a cautious eye on Morgan.
"Then everything will still be exactly how it is now." Bruce said, stepping forward to hand Morgan a glass of water. "Nothing changes."
"Well, a lot can change, if you ask me." Cassie interjected, crossing her arms over her chest. "What if something goes wrong? What if we bring Stark back, and lose the Decimation victims all over again? What if…what if one of us dies?"
"Don't stress the details until you hear the full plan. We wouldn't have called you here if we didn't think every last one of you is capable of seeing this through." Said Maria. "But if any of you want to back out, now would be the time to do it."
The new recruits looked around at each other, their expressions resolute.
"I'm ready." Kamala said with a nod.
"So am I." Monica echoed.
"Me too." Lila said.
"We're just the lab boys." Said Harley, raising his hands defensively, as Ames nudged him in the side.
"But we're here to help, too." Ames continued. "Whatever it takes."
"Morgan?" Peter asked, tentatively.
The youngest Stark shared a look with her aunt, before surveying her new teammates, who were all watching her expectantly. She pulled away from Natasha and squared her shoulders.
"Count me in."
