AN: I don't own the Avengers (yet). Please leave a review (ideas are welcome and may get used) or follow/favorite. Again, a huge thanks to SupernaturalBaby4Life and I-am-a-Ice-cream-lover for their ideas, both of which are getting used in this chapter. And thanks to everybody who sent in an idea or review, even if I didn't use yours.

~Marina Stark~

Jean, Thomas, and I watched disney movies while we waited for the Banner's to tell us what was going on. Natasha went and joined them, and all three of them talking quietly reminded me of how things were in our time.

Finally, they came back into the room. Natasha folded her arms and stood by the wall, but the Banner's stepped forward. Max turned off the TV.

"Hey!" I said, and Max shot me a glare. I recoiled.

Max had never been mad like this before, of that I was sure. He was our rock-he never got mad, always stayed calm, always understanding and kind. But now he was furious, and it was because of me. I felt just as bad about that as I did Dad being in the hospital. I had finally broken Max's control.

"Sorry," I muttered, but he was still mad.

"We figured out what made you fade like that for a minute." Max said grudgingly.

The other Avengers crowded around the couch where Jean, Thomas, and I were sitting. Eager to hear what had caused my break with reality.

"We called the hospital. Tony is in critical condition, but they think he's going to pull through." Bruce said. I felt more guilty then I ever had before, but was relieved to hear he would be okay. I looked down at my lap. "But earlier, they weren't so sure. His heart stopped for seventeen seconds, at exactly 9:23 this morning."

I felt like I was going to puke. I had almost killed my dad. Jean rested a reassuring hand on my arm, reading my thoughts. But her free hand was drawing on her jeans in silver sharpie.

"Also at 9:23 this morning, Marina nearly flickered out of existence." Bruce said, and I began to understand.

"Oh! Like Back to the future, where he keeps his parents from meeting and he almost stops existing!" Thomas said excitedly.

"By almost killing Tony before Pepper got pregnant with her, she almost prevented herself from being born. If Tony had been killed before Pepper got pregnant, then Marina would've fully disappeared, and our memories of her would also have been erased. It would've been like she had never been born in the first place. But since Tony came through, in the future Pepper still gets pregnant and has Marina, so Marina's still here." Bruce explained. "Like "back to the future"."

Max suddenly spun around and left the room, banging the door open and storming out. We stared after him for a moment, shocked, but I leapt up from the couch and followed.

"Max!" I called, following him down the hallway. We were far enough from the living room already that the rest of the Avengers wouldn't be able to hear our conversation. "Calm down!"

"Calm down? Calm down?" Max spun around on his heel to glare at me. His dark brown eyes had turned green, and I took a step back in fear. I had never seen that before. "How can you tell me to calm down? You almost died, and then I would've forgotten that you ever existed, just for some stupid stunt!" I was shocked at the angry words. Max had never raised his voice before.

"But I didn't die!" I said.

Max glared at me. "This isn't a game, Marina! This isn't one of your stupid pranks, where everyone laughs and goes home okay! If Tony had died, you would've been erased. I would never even have known your name! And that is not okay!" Yeah, his eyes were definitely glowing green.

"It was just for a little fun!" I yelled, getting mad right back. "It's not a thing to freak out about! And I'm okay, what's the big deal?"
"You nearly got yourself erased, why don't you see how important this is?" Max yelled.

"Why do you care so freaking much?" I screamed. "Why do you even care?"

"You still don't know, do you?" Max shouted. "You don't think about how you affect other people Marina! I can't lose you! I can't just forget about you!"

"Why the hell not?" I screamed. "It wasn't you, it was me! Why do you care so damn much?"
"Because I love you!" Max yelled.

A stunned silence fell in the hallway. I felt like someone had stuffed my head full of cotton, stuck a fork in a light socket, and punched me between the eyes all in the same second. My face was hot, my thoughts running at a thousand miles per hour.

Had he really just said that? Had he? For real?

"Maxwell Robert Banner. Say. That. Again." I said, voice flat. I wasn't sure I wasn't dreaming, but I needed to hear him say it again.

"I-I sh-should go back to the lab and check on the-" Max turned and practically ran down the hallway, face bright red. He wasn't getting away that easily.

I tackled him to the floor so that I was sitting on his stomach, his arms pinned under my knees. I had one fist raised threateningly, prepared to break his nose. "Say that again."

"I love you." He whispered, the green totally gone from his eyes. He looked like he expected me to start swearing at him.

I stared at him, and he stared at me. I let him up, and we both scrambled to our feet. He eyed me warily, and I tried to decide what to do. I didn't know what to say, or do, or think.

Max hurried past me, leaving me with my feet stuck to the ground in the hallway. He rushed back into the living room. I stared at the wall and tried to think.

Max loved me. He did. He really really did, and all this time I hadn't understood. I remembered the look on his face whenever he looked at me, and knew that it had been stupid of me not to know.

But I also remembered how he sounded when he laughed, and how excited he got when he was working on a new project. I remembered when my Dad went missing for two days on a mission, and he hugged me and told me everything was going to be okay. I remembered how he made me eat when I was working late on a project, and how he always brought me flowers before I performed in the school talent show, and how the corners of his eyes crinkled up when he smiled. I remembered how he made Dad apologize to me after our fight, and how he saved those kids from being crushed when we fought hurricane man, and how he woke up early to see the sun rise. I remembered him telling me how amazing I was when I won the science fair, and laughing with me at lunch, and defending me from Fury after one of my stupid stunts. I remembered how nice he looked when he went to the prom with some other girl, and that ugly unfamiliar feeling I had gotten when I saw them slow dance. I remembered signing his cast when he broke his arm in second grade, and playing hide-n-seek with him in the triskellion when we were little, and how excited I was whenever I saw him.

There was something else that I realized, then. Something I should've realized a long long time ago.

I spun around and ran into the living room. The Avengers were all still there, talking. Max stood in the middle of the carpet, talking to Steve with his back to me.

All eyes turned to me as I strode in. Steve quickly back pedaled away from Max, who turned to face me fearfully. I walked right up to Max, grabbed him by the collar to drag him down so our faces were level (he is five inches taller), and kissed him.

Everyone started cheering, but I hardly heard. I pulled away and said, "What're you doing going and kissing me like that, Banner?" I couldn't help but grin.

"You're full of shit, Stark." He mumbled, a dazed look on his face.

"Yeah, I am." And this time, he kissed me, his fingers getting tangled in my hair, my arms around his neck.

Thomas wolf-whistled, Jean clapped, and Lily said, "About time!"

And for once, I agreed with her.

AN: thanks for reading! If you haven't yet, please leave a review (ideas always welcome, and may get used) or follow/favorite.