As Steve, Tony and Scott huddled in the alleyway after learning Tony had lost the Tesseract each one of them looked at the other blankly.
"What other options did we have on the Tesseract?" Steve asked.
"Whoa, whoa! We don't have any other options! We can't go to any other times! No do-overs! We've only got one particle left, each. Use it now, that's it, bye-bye, we don't come home." Scott answered passionately.
"But if we don't try, nobody else comes home, either." Steve replied.
"I got it! There's another way to re-take the Tesseract, and acquire new particles." Tony interrupted, Steve imagined a lightbulb appearing over his head as he spoke. Tony turned to Steve and pointed at him. "Military installation, Garden State." He told Steve. Steve nodded slowly, beginning to understand what he was saying.
"When were they both there?" he asked him.
"I have a vaguely exact idea," Tony answered him quickly as Scott eyed them both.
"How vague?" Steve asked.
"Hang on, what's in New Jersey?" Scott interrupted as the other two men seemingly planned another mission.
"I know they were there, and I know how I know." Steve studied Tony for a moment before answering.
"Looks like we're improvising," Steve was ready to go.
"Wait! What are you improvising?" Scott asked again as Steve handed the staff to him.
"Scott, take this back to the Compound." He told him.
"All right, suits on. Try these coordinates. 04-07-19-70..."
"Steve… Cap… Captain America, if you do this and he's wrong...you're not coming back." Steve and Tony looked at Scott knowing he was right.
"You trust me?" Tony asked Steve quietly.
"I do," staring at one another both of them hit their cuffs at the same time, disappearing into thin air.
Camp Lehigh - 1970
Tony and Steve rounded the corner, Tony sporting a lab coat and Steve in green khakis, low pulled cap and mirrored sunglasses.
"All right, if I was SHIELD and I wanted to hide my quasi-fascistic black site, where would I hide it?" Tony asked.
"In plain sight," Steve answered as he nodded towards a man in a grey suit approaching a building with the sign 'Munitions' nailed above. They watched as he opened the door with a punch card. Tony touched his glasses, the x-ray vision allowing him to see that there was twenty floors of a seemingly secret, underground base. As Steve and Tony rode down with a female SHIELD agent she began staring awkwardly at Tony. Steve tried to keep his hat down as low as possible to obscure her view of his face, knowing full well she would recognise him. As the door opened Tony stepped out and then turned back to Steve.
"Good luck with that mission, Captain." He said professionally.
"Good luck with your project, Doctor." Steve replied, as the door closed the agent turned to Steve.
"You new here?" she asked him.
"Not exactly," he answered quickly before leaving the elevator.
"Hello?" Hank Pym said as he answered the phone in his lab.
"Dr. Pym?" Steve asked.
"That would be the number you called, yes." Steve heard him reply.
"This is Captain Stevens, from shipping. We have a package for you…"
"So bring it up," Pym answered with annoyance in his voice.
"That's the thing, sir, we can't." Steve said thinking quickly on his feet.
"Maybe I'm confused. Isn't that your job?"
"It's just...sir, the box is glowing. And to be honest, a couple of our mail guys aren't feeling great…"
"They didn't open it, did they?!" Pym interrupted him. When the phone went dead Steve watched from a distance Pym rushing from his office, once clear he quickly made his way in and finally opening the fridge saw the tray of brand new Pym particles in front of him. Exiting Hank's lab he headed for the elevator but as it opened, revealing the female agent from earlier with an M.P. Steve knew he was in trouble.
"You've never seen either of these men before?" he heard the M.P. ask.
"No but I have an eye for this, something looked fishy." She answered.
"Describe 'fishy'?"
"One of them had a hippie beard,"
"We talking Bee Gees or Mungo Jerry?"
"Definitely Mungo Jerry," she answered as the M.P pulled out his walkie-talkie.
"This is Chesler, we need every available agent to sub-level 6. We have a potential breach…" not waiting any longer Steve ducked through the nearest door. As he entered a darkened office, he walked towards a glass wall that separated the room he was in with another bullpen. Looking around his attention was caught by two picture frames on the desk. Stunned, he stared in silence at the pictures of Peggy Carter with JFK and the other was of him. Steve slowly turned the desk nameplate around, seeing that it read Margaret Carter. Steve realised in that moment that even twenty-five years later, Peggy had never forgot about him. Snapping him from his thoughts the bullpen door flew open and the lights snapped on.
"So, send them in." Steve stood astonished as he watched Peggy walk in.
"They're trying, ma'am, but Braddock's unit has been stopped by lightning strikes." A man's voice answered from the other room.
"Oh, for the love of… I'll find the weather projections. You call Braddock and tell him to shelter in
place. Assuming he's bright enough to come out of the rain." Steve's heart was pounding out his chest, a part of him wanting to just knock on the glass and get her attention and the other knowing he simply couldn't do it.
"Yes, ma'am." He watched as she rifled through a filing cabinet.
"Here we are..." Flipping through a file, reading in the darkness Steve slowly approached the glass. "Crikey O'Reilly, Sergeant? Hang up and call Air Command. Braddock needs back up, immediately." She shouted.
"Ma'am?"
"Those aren't lightning strikes he's looking at..." Slapping the file shut and hurrying out the office and out of his sight Steve balled his fists tightly. All he could do was stare after her.
Avengers Compound – Hangar
The pencil finally clattered to a stop as each one them realised they were back. Everyone looked around exhausted and amazed they had actually managed it.
"Are you telling me that actually worked?" Rhodey asked.
"Did we get them all?" Hulk said as he watched Clint drop to his knees, Steve turned concerned.
"Clint? Are you okay?" he asked as Clint just stared at nothing.
"Where's Nat?" Hulk asked as everybody realised she was missing. "WHERE'S NAT?!" he shouted as Clint looked up, his eyes glassy with tears.
Hulk stood beside a bench on the dock, behind him Steve, Tony, Thor and Clint stood staring at the water.
"Do we know if she had family?" Tony asked nobody in particular.
"Yeah, us." Steve whispered.
"Why are you doing that?" Thor asked Tony.
"I'm just asking a question…" Tony started but Thor interrupted him.
"Why are we talking as if she's dead? We have the stones, bring her back. C'mon, stop this shit." Clint squeezed his eyes shut in response.
"We can't get her back," Clint told him.
"What's he talking about? Of course, we can."
"It can't be undone, that's why." Steve saw that all of them were in pain, never in a million years had he thought this could happen.
"No offense, but you're...a very earthly being. We're talking about space magic, here. "Can't" seems a little definitive, don't you think?" Thor argued.
"Well, I know I'm a little outside my pay grade here, but, she still isn't here, is she?" Clint argued back, everybody's emotions getting the better of them.
"That's my point…"
"It can't be undone. At least that's what the red, floating guy said. But why don't you go talk to him, okay? Why don't you grab your hammer and fly to that place and talk to him. IT CAN'T BE UNDONE!" Clint stopped himself, taking a deep breath he closed his eyes. "It was supposed to be me, she sacrificed her life for that goddamn stone. She bet her life on it." All of them didn't know what to say, all of a sudden Hulk grabbed the bench and hurled it across the water like it was nothing more than a skipping stone.
"She's not coming back. We have to make it worth it, we have to." He said a moment later.
"We will," Steve told them.
As Steve watched Tony and Rocket fine tune the glove his mind was racing, all he wanted was to see Alice. It had been the only thing on his mind since they'd realised there might be chance or bringing everybody back.
WASHINGTON DC
"Hey!" he greeted her and when her eyes lit up in recognition Steve's heart skipped a beat.
"You still at it?!" she asked bemused. The coffee cup had been replaced with a water flask and her hair was wrapped in a scarf.
"Keeps me busy," he told her as she fumbled in her bag.
"You want some?" she asked him as she held out a brown paper bag. Intrigued Steve made his way towards her and sat on the bench himself. Now that he was beside her he realised she was quite petite compared to him and as she looked up at him expectantly he wondered what her delicate hand would feel like in his. Still offering the bag to him he looked in it and saw it was full of sunflower seeds. Taking a handful he thanked her and watched as she did the same. "I'm Alice," she told him quietly.
"Steve," he told her.
"Nice to meet you Steve," Alice said. "I mean, rather than…" shrugging and not finishing her sentence Steve knew what she was trying to say. Rather than catching glances at one another every day.
"You've changed your glasses?" Alice creased her brow and her hand instinctively went to the new tortoiseshell rims on her face.
"Oh, yes. I broke the other pair." She cringed. "I have a tendency to sit on them, or fall asleep with them still on."
"Reading?" he asked her with a hint of humour in his voice.
"Yes, reading!" she laughed.
"I like them, they suit you." He told her.
"You do?" she asked genuinely and Steve simply nodded. "Thank you," Alice liked the way he looked at her. It was calm and collected, he didn't leer or make her feel uncomfortable.
"Are you on your way to work?" he asked her not wanting the conversation to end.
"No, I work from home but I go get a coffee or whatever and come here before I start. It clears the head." She explained as she offered the bag to him again. Taking another handful Steve thanked her as she did the same, laughing quietly when she dropped some on her front and she hastily picked them from her dress.
"I know what you mean," Steve said as his phone buzzed in his pocket. Pulling it out his face darkened, "I have to go," he said standing. Alice looked disappointed but gave him a smile.
"Of course," she told him respectfully.
"It was nice talking to you Alice," he told her earnestly.
"You too, take care." Steve reluctantly pulled himself away. "Will you be here tomorrow?" he asked suddenly and the bright wide grin she gave him made sure that Steve was going to ask her on a date the next day.
"Yes," she whispered.
"Good," he replied liking the way she gave him a little wave and as he walked away hearing her give a big sigh made his face light up with pride.
"All right, the glove's ready. Question is, who's gonna snap their freaking fingers?" Rocket asked as everybody stared at him.
"I'll do it," Thor said as he reached for the glove.
"Whoa, whoa, what are you doing…?"
"Thor, we haven't decided who's putting that on." Steve told him.
"Oh, were all of you just waiting for the right opportunity?" Thor asked glibly, still in pain.
"Maybe I was getting around to it…"
"We should at least discuss it…" Scott interrupted.
"Staring at the thing isn't going to bring everybody back, is it? Look, I'm the strongest Avenger. It's my
responsibility. Fate wills it so." Tony held his hands up at Thor.
"Hold on, hold on…" Tony said as he tried to stop him.
"Stop it! Let me do this, let me do something good. Something right…"
"That thing is channelling enough energy to light up a continent. You're in no condition…" Tony tried to calm him down but Thor wasn't having any of it.
"What do you think is coursing through my veins right now?" Thor asked angrily.
"Cheez Whiz?" Rhodey said sarcastically.
"Lightning," Thor replied, hurt by the remark.
"Lightning won't help you, pal. It's gotta be me." Hulk interjected, making his way to the glove as he did. "You saw what those stones did to Thanos, they almost killed him. None of you could survive."
"And how do we know you can?" Steve said concerned.
"We don't but the radiation's mostly gamma. It's like I was made for this..."
"Good to go?" Tony asked a while later when they had all finally agreed that Hulk was the one to do it.
"Let's do it," Hulk said determined.
"Okay, remember, everyone Thanos snapped away five years ago, you're just bringing them back...to today. Don't change anything from the last five years. Got it?" Tony told Hulk.
"Got it," he answered as the rest of the Avengers readied themselves. Steve stepped forward, his shield on his arm ready. Scott deployed his helmet and Rhodey his repulsors. As Tony armoured up and protected Clint with a Nano shield he told Friday to activate the Barn Door Protocol. Steel doors slid shut all around the workshop and finally Hulk held up the gauntlet.
"Everybody's coming home..." Hulk whispered to himself as he slowly slipped his hand into the glove. Suddenly he began to spasm, taking in the power as Thanos once did.
"What's happening? Take it off, take if off!" Thor shouted.
"Bruce, you okay?" Steve asked him.
"Talk to me, Banner." Tony said.
"I'm...okay..." Hulk finally managed to tell them as he reached out his hand and snapped his fingers. As the stones flared and a bright surge of energy raced up his arm he roared in response. From high overhead the time energy signature shot from the hanger, a ripple warped across the sky as finally, Steve opened his eyes just as the gauntlet fell from hulk's arm and rolled across the floor. Running to his side he could see that Hulk's arm was withered and all his side burnt black, checking for a pulse he shouted his name.
"Bruce!"
"Don't move him!" Tony said quickly as the blast doors opened and let the light flood back in. Steve heard birds, he could hear birds! Watching as Scott walked towards the courtyard his attention was brought back to Bruce.
"Did it work?" he asked him and Steve didn't know what to say. A phone ringing caught all their attentions and Steve watched as Clint pulled out his phone and stared at it. Bringing it to his ear Steve held his breath.
"Honey?"
"Guys, I think it…" Steve didn't hear anything else as an almighty bang filled his ears and then everything went black.
A mushroom cloud billowed over the Avengers compound, nothing moved. As the smoke cleared it revealed a bombed out crater a mile wide. The Sanctuary hovered over the ruins like a vulture and then an energy beam dropped to the ground releasing Thanos flanked by a squad of Outriders.
"Daughter?" Thanos said over the comm.
"Yes, father..." Nebula appeared out of the smoke as she answered, bruised and filthy.
"So this is the future, well done." Tearing off the orange head-plate that had tricked everybody into thinking she was their Nebula she turned to her Father.
"Thank you, Father. They suspected nothing."
"The arrogant never do," taking off his helmet he stared up at the crater's edge. "Go, find the stones. Bring them to me."
"What will you do?" she asked him.
"Wait."