Bruce could not stop thinking about the Quantum Realm. It was so dangerous and mysterious...he and most people knew hardly anything about it.
But Hank Pym did.
And Scott Lang was the bridge to that knowledge.
Maybe there was something there they could work with that could help them get a step ahead of the game.
Because really, who knows what they will be facing? What, with Thanos becoming a literal god wielding more power than any other in the entire universe.
Bruce had a sinking feeling that Thanos went way too easy on them all. He only caught a glimpse of him, but when the Hulkbuster was fused into the rock wall in the jungles of Wakanda, Bruce could see almost everything. With a flick of the wrist here and a punch there, the Avengers were flung away like gnats.
He would hate to see what Thanos could do with all of those stones if they were his actual target.
Brought back to the present moment by yet another loud crash that was a little too close for comfort, Bruce literally jumped out of his seat.
There was Tony, once again covered in muck and frantically searching for something while spitting out orders to Friday.
"Tony?"
...
"Tony?"
"Yes, dear?" Tony let out a yawn and immediately regained composure. "Were you in your head again?"
"I've been thinking..."
"That's usually what occurs when one drifts."
"Scott went into the Quantum Realm..."
"That's me, hi!" They turned to see Scott drinking a protein shake and waving like he was being introduced to new classmates. He started rambling. "I did, and I'm never going back. Scariest moment of my life. If it weren't for Carol, I'd still be down there."
"But what if we all go down there?" Bruce wondered. "And somehow..."
"Go back in time and kill that purple cancer when it was benign?" Tony snarked off. Although he wanted his revenge to be a little more, personal, that would get the job done. Then none of this would happen.
"Now Tony, we have to be careful with time travel. One person can alter several people's lives."
"He destroyed mine, Bruce..." Tony remarked sadly. "He..." Tony went back to work before he had another breakdown.
Bruce thought a moment. He turned to Scott, who shook his head, clearly not the therapist type. "Look, Tony. Hear me out." Tony looked up and it hurt Bruce to see his friend in so much pain. Dammit, Hulk, look at what we've done...We let our friend down. "We can't go back that far because...think about it. If it weren't for Thanos, we would have never met. I mean, the Avengers may never have been a reality."
Tony spaced out as Bruce kept talking. He did have a point.
No threat, no Avengers.
No Avengers, no Steve...
No Steve, no Peter...
At all.
Tony cursed out loud. He hated time travel.
"Ok, Doctor, I get it." He took a deep breath. "I'm just saying, we need to go through all of our options." Tony thought back to those exact words being said two years ago about the Accords.
Had I have just considered all of our options and talked with Steve, none of this would have happened.
Tony's chest ached. Two years was a long time to go without seeing the love of your life. Even if you were so mad, you almost killed each other. He should have called. He should have gone out looking for him. He could have built an underground apartment underneath the complex to house the "rogue Avengers" and settled things with Ross sooner. He could have...
Tony's mind clicked back over to Bruce's conversation, and after hearing the word van, he nodded. "Right, let's go check out that clunker."
Together, he, Bruce, and Scott brought in all of the equipment to go over piece by piece. Scott luckily had some notes of Hank's that helped Tony and Bruce further understand what was going on with this new realm of science.
Of course, Friday helped too.
Thor got up panting, then turned to see Natasha wink at him.
"What was that?"
"It's a photon blast." Carol said, like it was obvious and nothing out of the ordinary. "Sorry about the punching bag."
"Nonsense, you should see me sparring with Banner. It's loads of fun." Thor missed the other side of his friend. Sure, he liked Bruce, but he was all numbers and science with a lot of PhD's...the Hulk was more his style.
Carol looked horrified. "Is there something I don't know about?"
Clint called from the corner of the ceiling, one of his many nests around the complex. "When Banner gets mad, he turns into a huge green monster called the Hulk. Science experiment gone wrong. So, you could say he's a..." pausing for dramatic effect, "mad scientist."
"Just...stop..." Natasha rolled her eyes while Clint did the blow horn, cupping his mouth with his hands.
"Well, you can't judge a book by its cover." Carol liked these Avengers. They were all so different, and yet, she could see they really got along together, like a family. A very different kind of family, but still.
Steve got off the treadmill, and reached into the mini fridge where they keep water bottles and sports drinks so nobody gets dehydrated. "You should have seen me back in the day." Steve smiled fondly. "I was 5'7 and weighed 110 pounds. I was so sick, I shouldn't have even left the house."
Carol blinked, and could not help but stare at the super soldier. "Wow...impressive..."
"I used to have a real eye here," Thor pointed to his fake eye, "and long, luscious blonde hair."
"Yeah, and you were the prettiest princess in the land." Clint teased.
Thor nodded proudly as Clint doubled over, almost losing his balance.
"Everyone goes through dramatic changes in life sometimes, and it can be a very fruitful learning experience." Thor tried to sound philosophical, and he truly was, but Clint was not in the mood to listen. He enjoyed listening to Thor being all, ancient and medieval, sounding "serious" while all he can think of is The Princess Bride. It was inconceivable Thor had never seen that movie, and he wanted to change that.
"Well, I'm glad we had our daily philosophical lesson," Natasha said as she nonchalantly put away her guns and knives. "Clint, you hungry?"
"Always!" Clint climbed down to the ground, then was immediately reminded how short he was compared to Thor and Steve. He frowned. Then he went back to focus on food, and followed Natasha out.
"Where is Tony?" Carol asked. "I'm surprised he wasn't down here with us."
"Well, Tony is not the type to hit the gym. I've tried for years to get him to start a healthier routine, but, well, he's Tony." Steve thought back to all the times he would find Tony passed out from exhaustion in the lab and how many countless lectures he would give the genius about eating healthier, sleeping at night, and working out. And he does workout, just when he is not...pre-occupied with other things. Which is never, but still. Tony does try...when he wants to. And honestly, besides being a little more healthy, Steve would not change a thing about his little genius. He loved seeing Tony work in the lab, doing what he does best. Everyone on the team brings something different to the table, and without Tony well...
...I just pay for everything, and design everything and make everyone look cooler.
Speaking of Tony, Steve looked at the time and sighed. It was time for another round. "Alright, let's call it a day."
"Splendid! I could eat a cow!" And even the others knew that when it came to Thor, he was not exaggerating.
After cleaning up, Steve went to the lab to fetch the two geniuses.
"Scott, I'm glad you found some new toys to play with." Tony commented as Scott was beaming like a kid as he kept fireballing Tony and Bruce with questions while they were going through Hank's notes.
"Are you converting him?" Steve smiled. Tony kept his thoughts to himself because unfortunately, playtime was over.
"Actually, I have a Master's in electrical engineering." Scott waved his hand, gesturing to the lab. "This is fun!"
"See Bruce? I told you...it's like Candy Land." Tony was proud to have another little mad scientist running around...Peter would love this guy.
"Well, it's time to eat real food." Steve raised his eyebrow as Tony wined.
"Not hungry."
"Yes, you are. You only had a bowl of cereal for breakfast."
"I'm hungry!" Scott raised his hand.
"Is everyone I meet a Captain America suck-up?" Tony wondered out loud.
"I'm a huge fan!" Scott defended.
"Of course you are." Tony's jealousy peaked slightly. But then again, he was pretty lucky to have snagged the oldest and most gorgeous bachelor out there.
