Chapter 2

Sorbet Town

New Avengers Compound

"So, what you're saying is that time didn't pass for you, am I right?" Tony asked, for the umpteenth time, as he paced the floor of the Avengers compound. He hadn't stepped foot in it since Wong brought him back two years ago, and he was so uncomfortable that he snacked nonstop. Natasha and Steve were almost thrilled to have him back. Steve did not enjoy the 'really, old man?' look Tony gave him over the oatmeal raisin cookies anyway – those were Nat's, not his.

"Yes," Scott said, with exasperation. He half turned toward Steve. "Are you sure this guy's a genius? He sure doesn't seem to get it."

"What does it mean for us?" Steve asked, brows furrowed.

"What does it mean?" Tony repeated, past a mouthful of apple. "It means that this guy is either crazy or he's lying, probably."

"He was missing for two years, we know that much," Nat said, circling Scott with a thoughtful frown. Scott kept her in his sights – he had experienced what she was capable firsthand in the airport in Berlin.

"He's a criminal – he could have been lying low," Tony pointed out.

"Was. Was a criminal, and I've done my time," Scott corrected.

"Fine – let's say you're telling the truth. Then you're saying that, using quantum physics, we can create a – forgive the layman's term – time machine. Go back in time and screw the world up even more majorly than before. Who's to say we wouldn't accidentally make two Thanoses - plural?"

"Or, it means we've got another chance," Nat pointed out, but her face, too, was dark.

"What are the odds that we go through and fix things rather than screw it up worse than before? Nil. Nada," Rhodey retorted, arms crossed. "Do you want another world war on your hands, or a war between the worlds?"

"Exactly," Tony said, pointing to Rhodey. "We'd be completely culpable for whatever happens, and it's an endeavor no one's ever gone through before. We'd be completely in the dark."

"When has that ever stopped you?" Steve asked, with an edge in his voice. He was obviously forcing his calm.

"You know what, Cap, it sounds like you're being entirely too reckless, something I thought I had monopolized," Tony countered, chewing manically.

"Oh?" Steve said lightly, one brow dangling skeptical high on his brow. His lips were pressed tight, as though he had a million things to say. Tony had seen that look one time too often.

"I retired," he snapped, and crushed the empty bag of blueberries in his hand.

"Look, guys – all this is highly hypothetical. There's no actual proof that this- Scott guy is right," Bruce pointed out loudly, shoving his hand in Scott's direction.

"I took a watch, since last time I didn't know how long I was under. It feels like both a lifetime and a couple moments, but time goes on through there as well," Scott explained quickly. He was thoroughly unimpressed with their squabbling – then again, present for the biggest squabble in Avengers history a couple years back. "5 minutes. I kept watch, since no one was responding. 5 minutes. And I come back and they tell me it's 2020."

"What if your watch was wrong?" Tony countered.

"Professor Pym engineered it specifically to work in both our world and in the quantum realm," Scott said scathingly.

"Pym. Wasn't he a traitor?" Rhodey asked quizzically.

"Ugh!" Scott said, with no small amount of disgust. "Just like a lackey of a Stark!"

That was enough to light the tension in the room. They started to argue fiercely. When she could take it no longer, she shot at the plum Tony was reaching for. It erupted, spraying Tony in fruit pulp. Everyone looked to her. Tony looked like he was going to erupt.

"Shut up. All of you – shut up," she said, putting her gun away and rubbing at her forehead. "Let's say Lang is right – what are we going to do about it?" she asked, looking down each of those gathered there. They were all of them silent for a moment.

"If what he's saying is true," Bruce said, a while later, "I think we'll have to try and get them all back."

"We owe it to them," Steve said, looking at Tony.

"Yeah well, you can't do it without me, and I'm not up to the risk," Tony said with a shrug. "I've retired – I've given all this world saving stuff up to you. I mean, remember Ultron? Remember when I tried to prevent something like Thanos? Huh? Does anyone remember that?"

"I remember Sokovia," Thor said, from the doorway. It was the first time he'd spoken since they'd started. They fell silent again.

"Would you still be like this if the people you'd loved were gone, Tony?" Steve asked, staring at his hands.

"That," Tony said with emphasis, "that is beyond the point, Cap-."

"He's not wrong," Nat interrupted. "You've still got Pepper, Happy, Rhodey, and now even Morgan. I don't begrudge you this – you got lucky. The people you love got lucky. But what about Sam, Ali, Wanda, Bucky? What about the Pyms? Nick, Maria? The Bartons? What about them?"

Tony pointed a finger at Nat, and his eyes were shining.

"There is a seventeen year-old – dead – don't tell me that I didn't lose anyone I love," he yelled, his voice raspy with emotion.

"So do something about it," Steve replied. Tony turned around and slammed his palm on the counter and leaned heavily against it.

"I need more information to do something about it," he said at last, looking up wearily at Scott. "We'll use BARF – Bruce?"

Soul World

"Where's Thanos now?" Ali asked Stephen in private.

"Oh, you don't have to worry about him just yet," he replied with dark mirth. "He's going round and round in a little loop I've set up for him."

"Cool. Do we have to worry about him later on?" she asked brusquely, crossing her arms. "I don't want to go back to Earth and then end up dead, this time permanently."

Stephen searched her face gravely for a moment before finally responding.

"By trapping him in the time loop, I've ensured that we have some time as leverage. He'll surface in 2020 after finding out how to undo the loop, that is, if we're lucky – he might surface much more quickly and realize what we're trying to do."

"That's the only scenario where we win, right?" Ali muttered. "Usually we talk about worst scenarios and act accordingly."

Stephen nodded grimly.

"I need you to locate someone – three someones, actually – for me. They're the Pym-van Dyne family – Hank, Janet, and Hope. They were somewhere around the west coast, last time I checked," he said.

"West coast – earth?" Ali said, with a delighted laugh. "It took me ages to get here, and I'm not sure of the way."

"Best thing would be if you taught yourself how to fly again, and fast," Stephen suggested as he walked away.

"And how do you suggest I do that?" Ali called after him.

"Some things I just don't have the answer to," Stephen said, with a mystical smile.

"What do you want with them?" Ali shouted.

Stephen waved his hands unhelpfully.

[]

Wanda caught up to her a little down the plateau.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked.

"San Francisco, you?" Ali replied easily.

"Perfect. I've never been there – we can go together," Wanda said decisively, and fell into step.

Sam caught up quickly.

"Road trip?" he asked pointedly.

"We've only just got here," Ali said, a little apologetically.

"You'd be bored without us," Bucky assured her, appearing on her other side, and that was that.

[]

Walking back to the Earth equivalent in Sorbet Town, as Ali liked to call the Soul Realm, took longer than any of them expected, and the four of them became quite close. When they finally arrived, Wanda could make small red sparks. Ali was not at all enhanced, and not for lack of trying. Once she tried throwing herself off a steep slope and rolled the entire way down. She was not hurt, but she couldn't so much as stumble without Sam bursting into laughter. Once, she tried to take off with sheer willpower and ended up letting out a long and inquisitive fart. Bucky choked on his laughter and ended up slapping his knees silly.

"You enjoying your stay in Sorbet Town?" Ali asked caustically, face scarlet from embarrassment.

"I didn't even know you could fart here," Wanda said, and for Ali's sake, kept a straight face.

"The more you know," Sam agreed, and he grinned openly as Bucky succumbed to all fours, wheezing. Ali smacked Bucky in the head as she passed by.

[]

They didn't need to sleep or eat or go to the bathroom, so they had plenty of time to invent new ways of keeping themselves occupied as they walked. Wanda taught them Sokovian drinking songs, Bucky told them stories of Steve (and later, Ali) being an idiot, and Sam relayed stories of growing up on the streets of New Orleans.

"We should all go some time," Ali said, remembering their famous beignets with some fondness.

"If we ever get out of Sorbet Town," Bucky agreed.

"I thought we were going for San Franciscan chowder first?" Wanda asked.

"I'm afraid you won't find any of that here," a man said from behind them and they all turned to him. He had handsome swept hair, a full bushy beard, and his eyebrows were hidden behind clear glasses. Ali recognized him from an old photo she'd seen of him in the SHIELD headquarters.

"Professor Pym," Ali said respectfully. "We're not only here for the chowder."

"You're a friend of Stark's," he said dismissively, and turned instead to the other three. "I know you – you were criminalized with Captain America – Scarlet Witch, Falcon, and the Winter Soldier."

"I was a criminal long before Steve came along," Bucky corrected as they shook hands.

"And I was criminalized when I helped Natasha Romanoff escape Tony, actually," Ali said loudly, not enjoying being left out. Hank still wouldn't shake her hand.

"Great," he said, pushing his hands into his pockets. "Whattaya want with me?"

"We were actually searching for you and your family, professor," Sam explained, giving Ali a look. "Doctor Strange thought you could help us get back to earth."

"None of that made sense, but," he spread his arms in mild defeat, "I have nothing better to do than to listen to you whackos, so start from the beginning."

"Could we find your wife and daughter first?" Ali asked, and Hank pointedly ignored her.

"Could we find your wife and daughter first?" Bucky repeated, and Hank nodded.

"Yes, we can, Mr. Winter Soldier, sir! I'll lead you to them now."

"His code name is now the White Wolf," Ali piped up as they followed Hank. She was ignored.

"You never give up, do you?" Wanda asked, with both admiration and exasperation.

"You think I'd learn, wouldn't you?" Ali agreed, grinning broadly.

"Steve's just the same," Bucky grumbled.

"Amen to that," Sam agreed. "He wasted two years of our lives-," he gestured to Ali and himself, "-looking for an asshat such as yourself."

"Ooooh, d'you need ice for that burn, Buck?" Ali asked, getting obnoxiously in his face. He smiled down at her.

"Or a dictionary to search up asshat, gramps?" Wanda drawled. Sam burst into peals of laughter, and Bucky looked torn between being annoyed and amused.

Ali distinctly heard Hank Pym mutter, "Great, more idiots," under his breath.

[]

Janet and Hope were much more amiable.

"Tempest," Hope van Dyne said respectfully as she and Ali shook hands.

"I'm afraid I don't know your alias yet," Ali replied apologetically.

"Typical," Hank muttered and Janet quirked a perfectly manicured brow at him in warning.

"I'm the Wasp," Hope explained helpfully. "Actually, I work with Scott Lang, Antman."

"Tic Tac," Sam piped up. "We met – in Berlin." He cleared his throat and shifted uneasily, and Hank's eyes twinkled at him.

"And I'm Janet van Dyne, the original Wasp," Janet said, finishing up the introductions.

"And you and professor Pym specialized in quantum physics, am I correct?" Ali asked, nodding respectfully to Hank as well.

"It was much more than just quantum physics," Hank snorted. "I singlehandedly came up with a particle that could alter the space between molecules without damaging the molecular structure, altering the mass, or any other number of problems that could come with such an endeavor."

"And you talk to ants, too, is that right?" Sam asked, and Wanda gave him a look. "Just checking," he explained, putting up a hand in defense.

"Yes, we've mastered the science of communicating with ants, though I highly doubt that this will come in handy given our predicament," Hank said impatiently. "As far as I know, we're stuck here, you haven't explained the reason for your friendly visit, and we don't know this Mister Strange guy who sent you."

"Doctor Strange is a defender of the earth like the Avengers, but against more mystical threats," Ali explained. "At least, that's the introduction I got – we still don't know what he does, either."

"That explains the frequency of the times you Avengers screw up," Hank said haughtily.

"Hong Kong – 2016. There was a viral live video that was disconnected, which showed the streets being destroyed and strange robed men and women fighting with mystical lights. The video was three seconds, and the streets where it was filmed was quiet. The world thought it was a hoax. I believe it wasn't," Ali explained, with a quiet shrug. Bucky watched her, fascinated. 2016, she was with him on the farm, taking care of goats. He had no idea she'd kept one eye open the entire time.

Janet and Hope exchanged looks.

"What does he want with us?" Hope asked.

"I suppose it would have to do something with manipulating the quantum realm," Wanda said. Everyone stared blankly at her. "What?" she asked with a shrug, and looked down to her hands. "I dated an android for 2 years – I know too much about science and technology now, if anything."

"You dated Stark tech?" Hank demanded incredulously.

"He was… something more, actually, and we're not talking about him now," Ali said quickly, as Wanda's jaw started to work.

"Was she right? About the quantum realm?" Sam asked, stepping forward and lightly shielding Wanda from view – more for the Pyms than for Wanda's benefit.

"I was in there for 30 years, so yes, I should think so," Janet replied at last.

"Great – Strange uses the multiverse, so he may be able to move from realm to realm, but he must need your expertise on the matter. If you ever want to return to earth, whether it has a Stark in it or not, you're gonna have to come with us," Ali said decisively.

The family exchanged serious looks, and turned to her as one.

"We'll go," Hope said, the same moment her father said the opposite. "Like hell we'll go."

Ali and Bucky exchanged looks and faced Janet.

"We'll go," she said solemnly, and that was that.

[]

On their way back, Ali sent Sam and Wanda to get the Black Panther and the Wakandan army, or what was left of it. In the remaining group, Ali kept to herself, leading the way rather than joining them, wishing that her powers would manifest in some way or another. The only new occurrence having to do with air was her newly found habit of sighing deeply and quietly every half hour or so. Hank in particular was more than happy speaking with Bucky of days (assassinations) gone by, and eventually bugged Bucky so much he came to walk with Ali.

"Want to talk about it?" he asked after a while.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said shortly, and he gave her a look. "Continue on without us – it's just straight ahead," she called, as the Pym-van Dyne family walked around her and Bucky. "You got something to say to me, old man?"

"You just seem tense is all," Bucky said with a grin that made the hairs on the nape of her neck stand up.

"I'm fine," she snapped, moving past Bucky. He kept pace with her a couple feet behind.

"You were fine on the farm. This? I don't know what this is," he called helpfully, and she whirled on him to find that he was much too close. He looked steadily down at her, and Ali glared back.

"Can we just drop it? I'm as fine as anyone who's on the short end of the apocalypse, I'm sure," she said, stepping back and nearly tripping. Bucky caught her, set her back on her feet, and took a step back himself.

"You shouldn't repress your feelings like that," he advised.

"Coming from the-," Ali caught herself before she went on, bit herself hard on her lower lip, and banged her forehead to Bucky's chest. He held her head there for a moment before she straightened up. "I'm just super frustrated – I can't use my powers, I'm the worst negotiator on this team, I don't know if I'll ever see Steve or Nat again, or eat nachos, or a million things."

"I know, I know," Bucky said softly, smoothing out her forehead with the pad of his thumb. "I feel the same way – I was just freed from my own brain, and now I'm stuck in this Soul World or whatever."

"Sorbet Town," Ali corrected him out of habit. Bucky laughed, his eyes crinkling fondly. Ali felt the urge, for the millionth time, to lean in and kiss him.

"Ready to go?" Bucky asked, and the spell was broken.

"Yeah. And Bucky?" she said as they went on. "I'm grateful you're here with me to keep me sane."

"No problem," he drawled easily. "Just… returning the favor."

He had a puzzling look in his eyes as he walked past her, and Ali trekked on after the group in silence as hill after sandy hill of orange and purple unfurled before them.

Hope this distracts you guys for even a moment!

Review, tell me what you think, suggestions, the works. :)