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Wearing a 70s dress that was too scratchy to ever be considered comfortable, Izzy looked around with wide eyes as she walked with Tony and Steve through Camp Lehigh. Her short heels clicked sucked and she had hurriedly twisted her too long hair up to avoid attention, which still didn't stop some of the whistles directed at her. However, everything she could complain about faded into the back of her mind. She was finally getting to see what Peggy had always talked about.
"Clearly, you weren't actually born here, right?" Tony asked, referring to the sign on the gate that said, "birthplace of Captain America."
"The idea of me was." Steve said quietly.
"Right." Tony muttered. "Well, imagine you're SHIELD, running a quasi-fascistic intelligence organization. Where do you hide it?"
Steve stepped forward, staring straight ahead. "In plain sight."
Izzy followed his sight line and stared at the munitions building recalling what Natasha had told her when they had discovered Zola was still alive right before DC. She and Tony activated their glasses to see two men riding down in an elevator.
The three stepped onto the elevator heading downstairs. They were silent, avoiding eye contact with the woman who was riding down with them. Izzy and Tony were trying to subtly block the woman's view of Steve considering his picture would surely be one that the employees saw very day. Finally, they reached their floor. Unfortunately, Steve had one more to go.
"Good luck on your mission, Captain." Tony said.
"Good luck on your project, doctor." Steve replied a little awkwardly.
Izzy followed Tony through the underground maze, following the energy signature from the Tesseract. As Tony cute open the door, she looked around watching for anyone coming.
"Gotcha." Tony said suddenly drawing her attention. She turned to see him pulling the cube from its vault. "Back in the game."
"Arnim, you in there?" Both tensed as they heard a very familiar voice. One Tony had grown up with and Izzy had only heard on recordings. "Arnim?"
They both looked up to see a young Howard Stark coming around the corner.
"Look out?" Tony said under his breath as they turned away.
"Yeah, my bad." Izzy said back.
"Hey!" They both froze as Howard called out to them. "The door's this way, pal."
They let out a collectively held breath and turned around. "Oh, yeah." Tony said.
"I'm looking for Dr. Zola." Howard said. "Have you seen him?"
Izzy pulled on every bit of spy training she had not to react to that name, but she smiled politely as they approached.
"Yeah, no, Dr. Zol... No, I haven't seen a soul." Tony said accidentally bumping into a chair. "Pardon me."
Howard looked at Tony curiously. "Do I know you?" He asked
Tony paused for half a second before he shook his head. "No, sir. I'm, a…visitor from MIT." He said holding up his stolen badge.
"Huh. MIT." Howard said. "Got a name?"
"Howard." Tony said involuntarily.
Izzy cringed internally. She had never seen Tony this flustered though she couldn't blame him. It was just inconvenient currently.
"Well that'll be easy to remember." Howard said.
"Howard…Potts." Tony said reaching out his hand.
Howard nodded. "Well, I'm Howard Stark." He said. "And this is?"
"Piper." Izzy said pulling a name out of thin air, drawing a little inspiration. "Potts, sir."
"Piper Potts." Howard smiled. "Related?"
Tony nodded. "My oldest daughter." He said looking at her with a proud smile that he didn't have to fake. "She's a recent graduate from MIT."
"Really?" Howard said looking at her.
"Yes sir." Izzy said. "Engineering and mathematics. Top of my class."
Howard smiled. "If you guys are still visiting tomorrow, I should introduce you to Director Carter." He said. "She would be thrilled to meet a smart young lady like yourself."
Izzy felt her heart race at the thought of seeing Peggy in this time period even though she knew it was impossible. "Thank you, sir." She replied.
Howard looked at Tony who was staring at him a little in awe. "You look a little green around the gills there, Potts."
Tony shook his head. "I'm fine. Just, long hours." He said.
"Wanna get some air?" Howard asked.
"Yeah." Tony said. "That would be swell."
Howard indicated the way that he came. "That way." He said.
Tony nodded. "Okay." He said starting to walk towards the exit.
"Need your briefcase?" Howard asked. Izzy watched the reassuring smile in Howard's face and saw it put Tony at ease. She followed them out. "You're not one of those beatniks, are ya, Potts?"
Following Howard into the elevator, they spied what he was holding.
"So, flowers and sauerkraut." Tony commented on the weird combination. "You got a big date tonight?"
"My wife's expecting." Howard said looking down at the can of sauerkraut. "And, uh... Too much time in the office." He said holding up the flowers.
"Congratulations." Tony said the irony not lost that he was talking about himself.
"Thanks." Howard said. He held out the items he was carrying. "Hold this, will you?"
Tony took them, passing Izzy the briefcase. "Yeah, sure." He said. "How far along is she?"
Howard shrugged. "I don't know…uh…" He measured out with his hands for a second. "She's at the point where she can't stand the sound of my chewing." Tony and Izzy chuckled. "I guess I'll be eating dinner in the pantry again. You're lucky. A girl would be nice. Less of a chance she'd turn out exactly like me."
Izzy glanced at Tony out of the corner of her eye to gauge his reaction.
"What'd be so awful about that?" Tony asked carefully.
"Let's just say that the greater good has rarely outweighed my own self-interests." Howard replied.
They reached the top level and exited the building.
"So, where are you at with names?" Tony asked.
"Well, if it's a boy, my wife likes Elmanzo." Howard replied though his tone indicated his distaste for it.
Izzy quickly coughed to disguise her laugh.
Tony cleared his throat. "Might wanna let that one stew. You got time." He said.
"Let me ask you a question." Howard said turning to Tony. "When your kids were born…were you nervous?"
Tony let out a small laugh. "Wildly. Yeah." Tony replied.
"Did you feel qualified?" Howard asked. "Like you had any idea how to successfully operate that thing?"
Tony looked Izzy who smiled back. "I literally pieced it together as I went along." He said. "I thought about what my Dad did, and…"
Izzy glanced over her shoulder and saw Steve waiting a short distance from them. He gave her a thumbs up, he got the particle. She nodded subtly holding up the briefcase to show they had the cube.
"My old man, he never met a problem he couldn't solve with a belt." Howard commented.
"I thought my Dad was tough on me." Tony said looking at Howard. "And now, looking back, I just remember the good stuff, you know. He did drop the odd pearl."
"Yeah?" Howard said. "Like what?"
"No amount of money ever bought a second of time." Tony replied.
That comment sat between them for a moment, the weight of that statement known only to two of the three at the moment. "Smart guy." Howard said quietly.
"He did his best." Tony said quietly as well.
A car pulled up behind Howard and a man stood at the driver's door. Izzy focused on the man for half a second, startled to realize it was Edwin Jarvis.
"Let me tell you." Howard said smiling. "That kid's not even here yet and, there's nothing I wouldn't do for him." Izzy smiled softly as she heard this, she knew what good it would do for Tony. "Good to meet you, Potts." Howard shook hands with Tony.
"Yeah, Howard…" Tony said shaking his hand. "Everything's gonna be all right." In an uncharacteristic move from Tony, he hugged Howard. "Thank you for everything…you've done for this country."
It was not a smooth save, but Izzy couldn't bring herself to care. She sniffled slightly and she walked with Tony towards Steve.
It was time to go home.
…
Izzy released the air from her lungs as they arrived back in 2023. They had done it. She looked at Tony, his eyes finding her as well. Something was wrong, her brain just hadn't caught up to what it was yet.
"Did we get them all?" Bruce asked.
Rhodey grinned. "You telling me this actually worked?" He asked.
Izzy's joy was immediately cut short as Clint dropped to his knees. She crossed in two quick steps, dropping in front of him.
"Clint, where's Nat?" Bruce asked.
That was it. The count was wrong. They were one person shy.
Izzy looked at Clint, watching as his eyes filled with tears. Vision blurring as tears flooded her own gaze, she wrapped her arms around Clint, feeling him simply bow his head to her shoulder, arms limp at his sides.
…
Izzy found Clint standing on the pier not far from the compound. After everyone had separated to get cleaned up and process, Izzy had started looking for him.
"Hey." She said softly as she approached.
Clint turned his head slightly, not looking at her, but acknowledging that she was there.
"Clint." She said quietly. "Please talk to me."
He took in a shaky breath. "What is there to say?" He asked.
Izzy walked up. She tugged gently at his arms that were crossed tightly across his chest until he loosened enough for her to wrap her arms around him. It didn't take long before she felt him hug her back tightly, her head tucked under his chin. "It's not your fault." She said softly. His arms tightened around her even more. "It's not your fault."
After a while, Steve, Tony, Bruce, and Thor joined them on the pier.
"Do we know if she had family?" Tony asked after a minute.
"Yeah." Steve said. "Us."
Thor turned to him. "What?"
Izzy looked up at the angry tone in his voice.
"Huh?" Tony looked up.
"What are you saying?" Thor demanded.
Tony saw the worked-up state Thor was in and said tiredly. "I just asked him a question…"
"Yeah, you're acting like she's dead." Thor growled. "Why are we acting like she's dead? We have the stones, right? As long as we have the stones, Cap, we can bring her back, isn't that right?" Steve bowed his head, a silent tear falling down his cheek. "So, stop this shit. We're the Avengers, get it together."
"We can't get her back. Clint spoke suddenly.
Thor turned to look at him. "What?" He asked.
Clint turned his eyes to Thor. "It can't be undone. It can't." He said.
"I'm sorry. No offense, but you're a very earthly being. Okay?" Thor said. "We're talking about space magic. And 'can't' seems very definitive don't you think?"
"Look, I know that I'm way outside my paygrade here." Clint said honestly. "But she still isn't here, is she?"
"Now that's my point." Thor said.
Clint's voice broke. "It can't be undone. Or that's at least what the red floating guy had to say." His tone changed to anger as he continued. "Maybe you wanna go talk to him? Okay? Go grab your hammer, and you go fly and you talk to him." Izzy placed a gentle hand on his shoulder, and he sagged slightly. "It was supposed to be me. She sacrificed her life for that goddamned stone. She bet her life on it."
Bruce suddenly grabbed one of the stone benches and hurled it across the lake. "She's not coming back." He said turning to the others. "We have to make it worth it. We have to."
Steve stood up with determination in his expression. "We will."
…
The designs for a gauntlet that would hold the stones and channel their power were not simple. Considering the last one was made by some cosmic blacksmith in a dying star somewhere in space, the fact that they were able to do it was pretty impressive.
Izzy gathered with Bruce, Tony, and Rocket as they set the stones into the gauntlet. Focusing on the stones and trying not to set off a major reaction, there was dead silence in the lab.
However, just as the stones were put into place. "Boom!" Rocket yelled making the other three to jump.
It took everything in Izzy not to backhand the raccoon and Tony came pretty close.
Calling the others into the lab, they all stared at the gauntlet in reflective silence for what this meant.
"All right. The glove's ready." Rocket said. "Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?"
"I'll do it." Thor said walking forward. "It's okay."
"No, no, no, no." Izzy said holding out her hands. "Stop. Stop."
"Hey, hey…" Tony spoke at the same time as he, Scott, and Steve all moved between Thor and the gauntlet.
Steve spoke firmly, but gently. "Thor, just wait." He said. "We haven't decided who's gonna put that on yet."
"I'm sorry. What, were you just sitting around waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asked.
"We should at least discuss it." Scott said.
Thor sighed in frustration. "Look, us sitting here staring at that thing is not gonna bring everybody back. I'm the strongest Avenger, okay? So this responsibility falls upon me." He said. "It's my duty—"
Izzy shook her head. "It's not that…It's…"
"Stop it!" Thor said firmly before his eyes filled with tears. "Just let me. Just let me do it. Just let me do something good. Something great."
"Look…" Tony said. "It's not just the fact that that glove is channeling enough energy to light up a continent, I'm telling you you're in no condition."
"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor asked.
"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey replied.
Izzy shot him a glare. Really?
Thor pointed a finger at him but returned his attention to Tony. "Lightning."
Tony shook his head.
"Lightning won't help you, pal." Everyone looked at Bruce as he spoke. "It's gotta be me."
Izzy's breath hitched a little. "Bruce."
"You saw what those stones did to Thanos." Bruce said walking forward, looking at the gauntlet and stones. "It almost killed him. None of you could survive."
"How do we know you will?" Steve asked.
"You don't." Bruce said. "But the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like…I was made for this."
Everyone spread out as Bruce picked up the gauntlet.
"Good to go, yeah?" Tony asked somberly.
Bruce nodded. "Let's do it."
"You remember everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago and just bringing them back to now, today." Tony instructed. "Don't change anything from the last five years."
"Got it." Bruce replied.
Izzy activated her suit as Tony did, Rhodey and Scott were in their suits, Steve stood with his shield at the ready. Thor had Rocket stand behind him, and Tony brought up a shield in front of Clint. Izzy brought her shield up in front of Johnny. They had no idea how this was going to turn out, but they had to brace for a massive energy blast.
"FRIDAY, do me a favor and activate 'Barn Door Protocol' will you?" Tony instructed.
"Yes, boss." FRIDAY replied as the doors and windows closed, reinforced steel coming down creating a blast shield that would hopefully be able to contain any explosion from the stones.
Bruce closed his eyes. "Everybody comes home." He said before the gauntlet resized and closed around his hand. The power was immediate as the gauntlet lit up, bands of energy lacing up his arm from the stones searing his arm. Bruce cried out in pain as he dropped to his knee.
"Take it off." Thor said. "Take it off!"
"No, wait." Steve said. "Bruce, are you okay?"
Izzy gasped. "Bruce?"
"Talk to me, Banner." Tony said.
It took a second, but Bruce nodded. "I'm okay. I'm okay." He said.
With obvious effort, Bruce raised his hand and with a cry, snapped his fingers. His eyes rolled back into his head as the gauntlet slipped from his hand and he collapsed backwards.
"Bruce!" Steve said as they all ran up and Clint kicked the gauntlet away
"Don't move him." Izzy said as she and Tony knelt on Bruce's right side.
Tony sprayed the seared skin on Bruce's arm trying to limit the damage.
Bruce grabbed hold of Steve's arm. "Did it work?" He asked.
"All worth a shot." Thor said. "It's over. It's okay."
The doors and windows opened again, sunlight seeping through into the lab. Izzy heard a faint buzzing and looked up seeing Clint walk over to the table where his cell phone had been sitting. She saw tears form in his eyes as he picked up the device, placing it to his ear.
Scott, who had walked further away from the group towards the windows, spoke. "Guys…I think it worked!"
Tony looked up and Izzy followed his gaze to the skylight to see the massive ship in the sky seconds before it fired down on them.
AAAAAAHHHHHHHH!