24 – Playing with Time – June 18th, 2023

"Is this going to work?" Aspen was holding onto Steve's arm tightly enough to hurt, but Steve didn't pull away. He was feeling just as nervous as she was. He thought maybe they all were. Today was the day they tested the time machine Bruce and Scott had built and though they were all feeling optimistic, Steve was braced for disappointment.

"I hope so," he told Aspen, glancing at her. She was biting her lip, green eyes filled with worry. "Hey." He gently tipped her chin toward him so she would meet his eyes. "Whatever happens, we're closer than ever to getting her back."

Aspen nodded. "I guess I'd just feel a little more confident if the time machine wasn't in the back of a stalker van."

Steve smiled at that. "I mean, do we ever do anything the traditional route?" Aspen frowned and shook her head.

"I suppose not."

"Okay, here we go," Bruce said, working the control panel with his big, green fingers. "Time travel test number one. Scott, fire up the uhhh...the van thing."

"Van thing…" Aspen muttered under her breath. "I'm not sure I can watch this." She put a hand over her face. Steve kissed her cheek and pulled away from her to help. Not that he had a particularly clear idea about how any of this worked, but he could press buttons or grab for a fire extinguisher if necessary.

"Breakers are set, emergency generators are on standby," he said. They had no idea what kind of power surge this was going to take, but if Steve was going to go out on a limb he would say a lot.

"Good," Bruce said. "'Cause if we blow the grid, I don't wanna lose Tiny here in the 1950s." He pointed at Scott.

"Excuse me?" Scott gave Bruce an alarmed look, and Aspen groaned.

"He's kidding," Natasha said, looking up from her tablet with a forced smile. "You can't say things like that!" she hissed at Bruce.

"Just… It was a bad joke," Bruce muttered.

"You were kidding, right?" Natasha whispered, looking more worried than she had a minute ago. Steve looked between them as Scott prepared himself feeling his own nerves twisting his stomach. This had the potential to go really, really wrong.

"I have no idea," Bruce whispered back. "We're talking about time travel here. Either it's all a joke, or none of it is."

"So if we were to throw out a percentage here of say, how confident we are that Scott is coming back…" Aspen said.

"Ah, 85 percent or maybe...you know what, it's gonna work," Bruce told them. Aspen didn't look convinced and Steve was feeling quite a few reservations of his own.

Bruce gave Scott a thumbs up. "We're good! Get your helmet on, Scott. I'm gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in 10 seconds. Make sense?"

"Perfectly not confusing," Scott called.

"It's been really nice knowing you, Scott," Aspen said, and Steve elbowed her.

"Good luck, Scott. You got this," he said, hoping that was true.

Scott beamed at him. "You're right. I do, Captain America." Aspen coughed to disguise a laugh.

Bruce pushed a button on the panel, and Scott disappeared into the Quantum Tunnel. Aspen slipped her hand into Steve's, and he could feel her trembling.

"He'll be okay," he told her, though he didn't know that for sure. So much hope rested on this moment.

"On the count of three. 3...2...1!" Bruce pressed a button and Scott reappeared. But...it wasn't the Scott who'd disappeared a moment before.

"Is that...?" Aspen tilted her head at the figure. He was dressed in the Ant-Man suit, but it wasn't the Scott they knew.

"Uh, guys," he said. "This...this doesn't feel right."

"What is this?" Steve asked. Clearly something had gone wrong.

"Is that a teenage Scott?" Aspen asked.

"Yes, it's Scott!" teenage Scott said indignantly.

"That wasn't supposed to happen!" Aspen told Bruce, though Steve was sure Bruce already knew that. "We can't fight Thanos as our teenage selves! We're the Avengers not the freaking Power Rangers!"

"Hold on!" Bruce scrambled with the controls, clearly panicking, which did not instill confidence.

Scott disappeared again before reappearing-this time as an old man. "Ow! My back!" he said.

"What is this?" Steve demanded. This wasn't any better because they were certainly not defeating Thanos as elderly versions of themselves. Aspen had her face in her hands again.

"Can I get a little space here?" Bruce asked, pressing buttons here and there with desperation.

"Yeah yeah," Steve backed off, pulling Aspen with him to give Bruce space. "Can you bring him back?" Preferably the same age as when he'd first left them.

"I'm working on it!" Bruce continued tapping buttons. He slapped the monitor a few times as if that would fix the problem. Scott vanished and then reappeared again.

Steve had to blink a few times to take in Scott's newest appearance. "It's a baby." He wasn't even surprised at this point.

"Oh my god…" Aspen shook her head. "This is a disaster."

"It's Scott," Bruce defended.

"As a baby!" Steve retorted, motioning toward baby Scott.

"He'll grow."

"Bring Scott back!" They were not making him grow up again.

Bruce motioned to Natasha. "When I say kill the power, kill the power."

Natasha rushed off muttering, "Oh my god," under her breath. She stopped at the generator and waited for Bruce's command.

"And...kill it!"

Natasha pulled the lever. Scott disappeared once more and came back-thankfully-as the Scott they knew this time.

"Somebody peed my pants," Scott said, standing stiffly and looking mildly traumatized. This had been a terrible idea.

"Oh, thank god," Natasha said, putting a hand over her heart.

"But I don't know if it was 'baby' me or 'old' me...or just 'me' me."

Bruce threw his arms open. "Time travel!"

Steve couldn't process any of this right now. He shook his head and walked toward the doors needing some fresh air and some space to think.

"What?" Bruce called after him. "I see this as an absolute win!"

Aspen caught up to him, saying nothing. He knew she must be feeling the same disappointment he was.

"Well, that wasn't a total failure, I suppose," she finally said with a sigh.

"It certainly wasn't a total success." Or a success at all, really. He certainly didn't know how to fix it. They were completely reliant on Bruce, and this wasn't his area of expertise. It wasn't anyone's area of expertise. It hadn't been done before. Maybe it couldn't be done at all and they were naive to think they could do it.

"We're closer than we were yesterday," Aspen offered, twisting a strand of her hair around her finger in a distracted way.

"Now who's the optimist?" Steve asked, grateful she was here. He couldn't imagine going through this if she were still gone. He didn't always feel optimistic, but she gave him hope.

"I mean, he could still be a baby," she said wrapping her arms around him and tipping her head back to look up at him.

"That would be awkward."

Aspen stood on tiptoe to kiss him. "It's going to be okay," she said, and he believed her.

Off in the distance, a rumbling caught their attention as a car tore toward them. "I only know one person who drives like that," Aspen said, voice tinged with disbelief. They exchanged a hopeful look and stepped foward as the car came closer. It braked to a stop a few feet ahead of them and then backed up so that the driver's side window was level with Steve and Aspen. Tony rolled down the window.

"Why the long faces?" he asked. "Let me guess: he turned into a baby."

"Among other things, yeah," Steve said, trying not to think of their failure and the close call they'd had with baby Scott. "What are you doing here?"

Tony got out of the car and walked around to the back. "That's the EPR Paradox," he said, not answering Steve's question. He had no idea what the EPR Paradox was and Aspen gave him a shrug at his questioning look. Fortunately, Tony was in an explaining mood. "Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lange. It's tricky. Dangerous. Someone should have cautioned you against it."

"You did," Steve said though he knew Tony was perfectly aware that he had.

"Oh, did I?" Tony asked. Now wasn't the time for making jokes, but he was so grateful Tony was here, Steve let it slide. "Thank God I'm here. Regardless, I fixed it." He showed them a device on his hand. "A fully functioning Time-Space GPS. I just want peace." He flashed the peace sign. "Turns out resentment is corrosive, and I hate it."

"Me too." It was a relief to say that, a relief to finally-hopefully-put their differences aside. Better late than never. Aspen smiled at them, and he could tell she wanted to say something but was trying really hard not to ruin the moment.

"We got a shot at getting these stones," Tony said, and Steve's relief grew. He had been so sure a minute ago that it was false hope, that they'd never perfect the time machine, never go back, never save Mara. Now, Tony was telling them they had a chance. "But I gotta tell you my priorities," Tony continued. "Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs. And...maybe not die trying will be nice."

"Sounds like a deal." Steve held out his hand and Tony took it.

Aspen couldn't seem to contain herself anymore. She threw her arms around Tony in what looked like a crushing hug. Tony reciprocated-with a little more reserve but no less affection. "Thank you," was all Aspen said, but Steve could hear the emotion in those two words.

When she pulled away, Tony popped his trunk and pulled something out. Steve felt a jolt of surprise at the sight of his shield. He hadn't held it since he'd dropped it after his fight with Tony in Russia after keeping him from killing Bucky. Tony held it out, but Steve hesitated. Did he really deserve it back after everything? It was a symbol of something he wasn't sure he could fully uphold anymore. Not when saving the world sometimes required breaking the law.

"Tony…"

"Why? He made it for you. Plus, honestly I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding."

Steve took the shield, sliding it over his arm. It was such a familiar weight and it took him back for a moment. "Thank you, Tony." He looked up to meet Tony's eyes. It meant the world to him to have that trust back.

"Will you keep that a little quiet? Didn't bring one for the whole team." He hesitated, glancing between Steve and Aspen. "We are getting the whole team, yeah?"

"We're working on that right now," Steve told him. "Clint's still MIA, but Natasha's been tracking him. Thor is in New Asgard. We can contact Rocket, Nebula, and Danvers."

"Rhodey's just a call away," Tony said.

There were so many missing pieces, but they had their original team back plus some of their newer members. They would get everyone else back. Now that Tony was here, Steve felt sure of it.

"All right," Tony said, gesturing toward the building. "I'll go check in with the big guy."

He left Steve and Aspen standing outside, Steve still readjusting to the comforting weight of the shield on his arm. "I think we have a chance at this," Aspen told him, smoothing a hand over the front of the shield.

"I think so, too."

Steve put the shield in his room before returning to the hangar with Aspen. Tony was consulting with Bruce, and Steve couldn't understand most of what they were saying. Aspen stuck close to him, which he appreciated. They'd been spending as much time together as possible as if each other's presence was the only thing keeping them together. Their hope felt much less tentative now that Tony was here, but he knew they were both nervous about Mara and about what they would face to get her back.

"You picking up on any of this?" Steve asked Aspen as Tony and Bruce continued to talk. Scott joined in occasionally. Natasha had disappeared, and Steve wondered if she was working on tracking Clint.

"Like 3 out of 10 words they say in every sentence," she told him. "I had a knack for science at one point, but this is so over my head. Even with the Superhero Serum, it's a stretch. Honestly, I'm happy to let them figure it out. I'm too nervous to concentrate on my powers."

Steve knew she'd been using her powers only when necessary. Her help around Brooklyn and around the state had really made a difference, but she hesitated to use her mental abilities. She'd confessed that she still had nightmares about fighting Thanos, nightmares about how her abilities hadn't been enough. Her confidence had taken a hit, and he knew she was afraid she wouldn't be enough again.

"We should let them work and start contacting people," Aspen suggested. "We're only in the way here."

"All right." They headed back to the main building and found Natasha already deeply focused.

"I think I found him," she said, glancing up at them. There was a haunted look to her eyes, and neither Steve or Aspen needed to ask who she meant. "I'm going to go after him."

"I want to come," Aspen said at once. "Please," she added at the look on Natasha's face. Steve could see the conflict in Nat's expression, but she slowly nodded.

"Okay," she said.

Aspen turned to Steve. "I need to be there. I feel like I've let him down."

"You don't have to explain yourself," Steve told her. "You didn't let him down, but I know you need to do this. Just be careful. Both of you."

"It's Clint," Aspen told him. "Whatever he's done, whoever he's become, he's still Clint."