A/n: I only own Ellie, Grant, Beckie and Kasie, and Sarah; all other characters that you recognize are property of Marvel.
a/n2: I am so disappointed in myself. I had goals to get this chapter out so fast and it didn't happen. I did meet my goal of finishing this chapter before Black Panther at least. I'm determined to finish this story. The end is near, and I only foresee three, at most four chapters remaining. I will definitely be taking this through Endgame and just a little aftermath. I wanted to go through Falcon and the Winter Soldier, but it's not in the cards at the moment with my 6:45-5:30 schedule. In the future, I'm planning on breaking this monster up into three stories. There are some areas I'd like to expand or rework. I'm going to finish this first though. As always, thank you to everyone who has stuck around.
As always I am grateful to the new followers, as well, such as AlukaXD, ysizzle32, and genawortman.
And if I lose it all
There'll be nothing left to lose, and I would take the fall
'Cause knowing you are out there breathing
It's so wonderful. It's a chance I take even if I break it
I lose it all. If I lose it all
And we will be waiting when I fall into your open arms
I believe you'll find me there
You'll find me there
~ Lose it All by Backstreet Boys
*~*~* August 20, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
Ellie closed her eyes and remembered, "The clock on the microwave said 3:15, so take me back to 3:14."
"At least the location will be easy," Bruce said as he entered the coordinates.
Tony tapped her shoulder, and the display presented the coordinates and date listed.
Ellie closed her eyes and changed it to 3:13 am to test her capabilities.
"Bruce, you typed 3:13 am," Tony told Bruce.
Ellie opened her eyes and looked at Scott, who let out a breath, "It will be fine. I won't notice anyways until 3:15."
"Alright, I will countdown from five and then send you. So you will have five minutes, then I will pull you back," Bruce told her.
"Got it," Ellie said as she looked at Steve, "Don't be so worried."
"I love you," Steve told her as Natasha approached him.
"I love you too, goob," Ellie said as she looked at Bruce, "Let's do this."
"5… 4… 3… 2… 1."
Ellie felt like she was being sucked through a straw. Racing through a tunnel of light, her legs hit the ground and nearly buckled if she had not put her hands out to steady herself with her powers.
"Holy shit, it worked."
Quickly turning the suit off, she looked around the empty hanger. Looking up at the ceiling, she grinned. She grabbed a Sharpie she found on the ground and flew up to the roof. Uncapping the Sharpie, she wrote in large letters CHILL. Pocketing the Sharpie, she flew over to the living quarters and walked through the door as her feet hit the ground. Slowly walking towards the kitchen, she saw her and Bucky's backs as she walked towards the left side of the kitchen.
"I just wish I knew, you know," Ellie heard herself say as she took a big breath and then let it out slowly, "I know, I know, no one knows how the future will go but knowing that I have the power to do that now, is just torture."
Ellie watched Bucky squeeze her hand, "You can always visit me whenever you need it after I am gone. You probably visited in our past too, and we didn't know." Bucky told her.
"I wish it was more than mentally time traveling, like physically traveling."
Bucky shook his head, "Your powers have developed more. You couldn't time travel at first, but now you can. Maybe eventually you can physically do it."
Ellie quickly moved over to the oven as she saw herself turn around.
"Okay then, if my powers develop more and I can physically time travel, I will travel to this moment right here," Younger Ellie stated.
Bucky turned as she moved towards the sink and watched, "Guess not."
Ellie grinned, "God was I really this oblivious?"
Her own body gasped as she turned and looked on the other side of the island, "Holy shit."
Bucky looked at her, then at the younger version of herself sitting next to him, "How?"
Ellie swallowed, "Time travel is real. That is all I will say."
Walking around the island, she walked over to Bucky, put her arms around his neck, and kissed him. He smiled as he kissed her back. Then, with a quick kiss on his nose, she looked at herself, "What you are waiting for will happen sooner than you think. Just be patient."
"Wait, I have questions," Ellie said as she saw herself looking up and down her body.
"You know I can't answer them. I wish I could spend more time here, but they will pull me back soon. Enjoy your time together," She told them as she looked at Bucky, "I love you."
"I love you too," Bucky told her as she activated her suit. Flipping the helmet on her head, she closed her eyes and focused on the coordinates to the hospital she had memorized, and then hit the button.
The same feeling happened again as she landed in the hospital. Out of breath and had to jump out of the way of a cart. Quickly hitting the button, she looked at her watch to see she had two minutes. Then, rushing to her Mother's room, she opened the door.
"Ellie!" Sarah said, startled.
"Mom, I don't have a lot of time," Ellie told her, trying to catch her breath as she pulled the picture out of the back of her pants.
Sarah took it and then looked up, "You did it. You time traveled for real."
Ellie smiled, "I had help. Steve helped to figure it out," Ellie said as she sat on her bed and took her hand, "And I am healthy as a horse. I can't get sick. But, I wanted you to see my face."
"You are so beautiful, my love," Sarah told her as she reached over to her notebook, "I want you and Steve to read this together."
Ellie took the paper, "What is it?"
"Just something that I wrote," Sarah said as she held the picture to her, "Now go."
Ellie quickly kissed her forehead, "I love you."
"I love you more," Sarah said as Ellie took the Pym particle out of her pocket and activated the suit.
Quickly replacing the vial, she looked at her Mom, "Welcome to the future, Mom."
The suit beeped, and Ellie felt herself being pulled away with a quick wave.
Again, she was sucked through the colors and followed the arrows showing her through the twists and turns before she landed hard on the platform, her knees buckling and sending her to the platform floor as she returned. She tried to stand up, and her knees again hit the platform.
"Ellie!" Steve yelled as she looked up at him, breathless.
"I did it," Ellie said, exhausted, "It just seems to have sucked all the energy out of me."
Steve helped her sit back on her bottom as she deactivated the suit, "It worked?"
"Yeah, I think it needs a little more," Ellie stopped to catch her breath, "Phew, a little more power. I could feel it pulling on my energy at the end."
Looking up at the ceiling, she pointed, "Look."
Steve looked up as Bruce laughed, "Chill?"
"Yeah, you," Ellie said as she pulled the Sharpie out of her pocket and threw it at Tony, "Sorry I defaced property."
"I've never been so proud," Tony said as he looked at the Sharpie, "Tony's DON'T TOUCH. It happened for sure. Hawk, you ready?"
Ellie took off the bracelet and handed it to Clint, "Your turn, I assume?"
"Did you have to use your powers at all?" Clint asked.
"Not really. As I said, it was like it was drawing on my powers when going through the Quantum Realm, but that could have just been the energy it was producing," Ellie told him.
"I never felt anything like that," Scott reassured him.
"Okay," Clint said as he activated the suit so that Nebula could work on it.
"Where do you want to go, Clint?" Bruce asked.
"Home, before the snap," Clint told him, looking straight forward.
Nebula paused and looked over at Ellie.
Ellie cleared her throat and shakily stood up, "I'm going to go lay down in Nat's office."
Steve took her arm, and she stumbled.
"I'm okay, Steve. It just drained me," Ellie told him as she squinted at the light, "Although I do have a bit of a headache."
"Go, be with her. I'll monitor it, Mr. Mom," Tony told him as Ellie stumbled again.
"I'm okay," Ellie yawned.
"Let's go," Steve told her as he led her out of the hangar, "This is why I didn't want you to do this."
"We didn't know it would drain me," Ellie told him as she plopped down on the couch when they made it into Nat's makeshift office.
Steve sat down at her feet, "How do you feel?"
"Just like I haven't slept for a week," Ellie told him honestly, "The Chronoshift thing that Bruce talked about is disorienting but not too bad. It wasn't until the Quantum Realm that I felt anything. The first time, nothing, but I did something I didn't want you to be mad at me for."
Steve narrowed his eyes, "What did you do?"
Ellie reached into her pocket and pulled out the folded piece of paper, "I hacked the suit."
Steve unfolded the paper, "This is Mom's writing."
"I hacked the suit and went back to see her. I stole the picture of us from the kitchen and brought it to her. It was black and white, so it blended in with everything else. Plus, you know, all her belonging were burnt after she died. That picture left with her," Ellie told him, "She said she wrote it and wanted us to read it together, so go ahead and read it."
Steve swallowed, "I'm so proud of you both. When tomorrow starts without me, and I'm not there to see if the Sun should rise and find your eyes all filled with tears for me. I wish you wouldn't cry the way you did today thinking of me. I know how you love me, as much as I love you, and each time you think of me, I know you'll miss me too. When tomorrow starts without me, please try to understand that an angel came and called my name and took me by the hand. He told me that my place was ready in heaven above and that I have to leave behind all those I dearly love. So when tomorrow starts without me, don't think that we are far apart. For every time you think of me, I am right there in your heart. Love forever, Mom."
Ellie wiped her eyes, "Damnit, Mom."
Steve sat back against the couch, "This is going to work, El. We are going to get them all back."
Ellie let out a shaky breath as she thought of Steve leaving her, "Yeah, we are."
Tony walked into the room, "He's back. It worked for him. So now it's just building all the suits and figuring out when to go."
Ellie rolled her head to look at him, "How long did the suit take to make?"
"The hardest part is getting the elements to control the time circuits. Probably another two weeks, maybe three," Tony told her.
Ellie nodded, "Alright, we hopefully will have them back within the month."
*~*~* September 1, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
Steve nodded at Rhodey as he came into the room and sat down at the table, "Alright, now that everyone is here-"
Scott looked around, "Where is Ellie?"
"She has her monthly budget meeting that she couldn't reschedule. So she won't be participating in the mission, so she isn't essential to this meeting," Steve told him as Tony brought up 'TIME HEIST BRAINSTORMING SESSION' with pictures of each stone displayed with information about them.
"Okay, so the "how" works. Now we gotta figure out the when and the where," Steve told them all, staring at the monitors and then looking out at the other Avengers, "Almost all of us has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones."
"Well, I'd substitute the word encounter for damn well near been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones," Tony said as he paced in front of the monitors with his coffee in his hand.
"I haven't. I don't even know what the hell you're all talking about," Scott said honestly from the table.
Bruce walked behind them, "Regardless, we only have enough Pym Particles for one round trip each, and these stones have been in a lot of different places throughout history," He stated as he walked over to Tony.
"Our history. So, not a lot of convenient spots to just drop in," Tony stated as he walked behind the table.
Clint was standing against the wall with his arms folded, "Which means we have to pick our targets."
"Correct," Tony agreed.
"Let's start with the Aether. Thor, what do you know?" Steve asked as he looked over at Thor, sitting in a chair behind Natasha with sunglasses on, reclined, with a drink in his hand.
Natasha turned towards Thor, "Is he asleep?"
"No, I'm pretty sure he's dead," Rhodey stated as Steve sighed.
Steve walked over to him, "Thor, Thor, wake up. We are planning the Time Heist."
"What?" Thor asked groggily.
"We are planning the heist, and you know the most about the Reality Stone," Steve told him.
Thor downed the rest of his drink and then stood up, walking over to the monitors.
"Where to start? Umm... The Aether, first, is not a stone. Someone called it a stone before," Thor stated, pointing at Steve, "It's more of a... an angry sludge thing, so..." Thor stated as he put some eye drops in his eye, "Someone gonna need to amend that. Here's an interesting story, though, many years ago... My grandfather had to hide the stones from the Dark Elves..." He wiggled his fingers, "Wooooh, scary beings. So Jane," Thor moved the image, and Jane's picture appeared on the screen, "Oh, there she is. That's Jane... She's... an old flame of mine... She stuck her hand inside a rock this time... and then the Aether stuck itself inside her... And, she became very, very sick. So I had to take her to Asgard, which is where I'm from. And we had to try and fix her. We were dating at the time, you see. I got to introduce her to my Mother... who's dead."
Steve watched Thor start to fall apart and remembered Ellie's words that Thor was very fragile.
"And oh, you know, Jane and I aren't even dating anymore," Thor trailed off as Bruce motioned for him to stop, "These things happen though, you know, nothing lasts forever."
Tony walked over to him, "Why don't you go sit down?" He said, trying to push Thor back to his chair.
"I'm not done yet. The only thing permanent in life is impermanence," Thor stated.
Tony clapped, "Awesome. Eggs? Breakfast?"
"I'd like a Bloody Mary, thank you," Thor told him.
Steve sighed, "Everyone take a break."
Tony led Thor out of the office, and everyone else scattered. Natasha walked over to Steve as he stared at the monitor.
"None of us are the same as we were when Thanos found us," Steve stated.
"We all knew that," Natasha told him as she laid her hand on his arm.
"Even if we get them all back, are we going to be us anymore? Can we be the Avengers still?" Steve asked.
"What we once were? No. That doesn't mean that we can't be something new, or maybe we all decide to become shadows," Natasha told him, "You know, get a life."
Steve scoffed, "I thought that was what we had been doing Nat, with Sarah."
"You know what I mean," Natasha told him as she looked around, "Wouldn't you like to have the kind of life where all this was in the past, Steve?"
Steve looked at her, "We have been living that life since they all left. At least I have. I moved on Nat."
"But that threat is always there around the corner," Natasha told him honestly.
"Are we ever going to truly escape it?" Steve asked her.
Natasha gave him a sad smile, "When we are dead we will rest."
Steve looked at her, "I hope we rest before that."
"Hopefully, but no guarantees," Natasha told him, "But until then, we are going to live every moment to the fullest."
Steve sat down at the table where everyone was eating the Chinese food that Tony had ordered, "Alright, first stone. What do we have?"
"Power stone, who has experience with it?" Tony asked the collective group.
"The Guardians locked it away years ago, and it was stolen from the Nova Corps," Nebula stated.
Rocket pulled himself up on the table and hit the button on the control to display the stats that they knew about it.
"Quill said he stole the Power Stone from Morag," Rocket told them all.
"Is that a person?" Bruce asked Rocket taking another big spoonful of ice cream.
"Morag's a planet. Quill was a person," Rocket told him.
"A planet? Like in outer space?" Scott asked amazed as he ate a big bite of lo mein.
"Oh, look. It's like a little puppy, all happy and everything," Rocket said as he petted Scott's head, "Do you wanna go to space? You wanna go to space, puppy? I'll take you to space."
Steve looked at his phone as it rang, "It's Ellie, I have to take this."
"Go ahead," Tony told him as he sighed sitting back in his chair, "I think we are done for the day anyways."
Steve got up and then walked over to the windows, to answer his phone, "Hey sis."
"Hey, sorry. I'm just letting you know, we are going to the beach house tonight," Ellie told him from the other line.
Steve frowned as he saw it was 7:30 pm, "Everything okay?"
"Yeah, it's just been a hard day. Jamie isn't doing well and we went to visit him. Plus, I took the kids to Coney Island. They are exhausted and I am too. The Beach house is closest at this point," Ellie told him with a yawn, "So we will see you tomorrow."
"Are you sure everything is okay?" Steve asked again.
Ellie looked out at the beach in front of her as a group of people were dancing, "Yeah, I'm just tired, Steve. Did you guys get any progress on the plan?" She asked as she glanced in the rearview to see Beckie was already asleep in her car seat.
"Not really, we are trying to get as much information about the stones as possible. We have only gone over the power and Aether at this point," Steve told her as he watched a plane go overhead, "These stones are in our histories, but the amount we know about them is limited. The biggest thing is where to find them in our past. Rocket wasn't there when the Power Stone was found originally. He was told where it was found, but there is so much that can go wrong. Thor wasn't there when Jane was overpowered by the Aether, but he was there when she was infected by it."
Ellie swallowed hard as she glanced at the skin of her arm, where once red energy flowed over it. She put the key in the ignition and started the car, "From what he has said, that isn't a stone. It's a glowing, fluid, overwhelming parasite."
"Thor has talked about it?" Steve asked as she fastened her seatbelt.
Ellie bit her lip as she backed out of the parking spot, "A bit. Just make a note to be careful about that one. It sounds nasty. He said that it could change what you see. To make what was not real, real. That is why it is called the reality stone, it alters reality. You don't know what is real and what is not."
"Well that's fucking scary," Steve said.
"Daddy, that is a dollar for the swear jar!" Sarah stated.
"You didn't tell me that I was on speaker," Steve told her.
Ellie grinned, "You are. I'm driving so of course you are."
"Did you guys have dinner yet? If not I can order something," Steve told her.
"We had food before we left Coney Island," Ellie told him as she pulled up to the gate to the Beach House's neighborhood and entered the code so that the gates opened up.
The security guard glanced at the car and waved as he saw the sticker as she drove into the community.
"I wish now we would have brought more clothes, we should have had a beach house weekend for the last weekend before school," Ellie told him as she took the curve at end of the road and then pulled into the driveway, "Anyways Steve, we are here. Beckie is already asleep, and Kasie is nodding off so I'm going to get them inside."
"We all have some clothes there I believe," Steve told her, "You should be set at least for tomorrow."
"Thanks, Steve, have a good night," Ellie told him.
"Night sis, love you," Steve said.
Ellie took her phone out of the holder and threw it into her purse, then looked back at the kids, "Girls, wake up. We are at the beach house."
After making sure everyone was in bed, and asleep, Ellie set the portable FRIDAY on the table, "FRIDAY, monitoring mode."
"Starting monitoring mode, is everything okay Ellie?" FRIDAY asked.
"I just am so scared of the future, but so excited at the same time," Ellie told her, "The kids are all out cold, so I'm going to go listen to the water and sit on the beach for a while. I have my watch on if you need me."
"Enjoy," FRIDAY told her.
Ellie opened the door to the balcony and walked out to the backyard. Opening the gate, she walked down the stairs to the private part of the beach which belonged to them. Kicking her shoes off at the bottom of the steps, she sighed in relief as the sand warmed her feet. Walking halfway down the beach, Ellie sat down and crossed her legs. Closing her eyes, she listened to the water crashing against the beach. The boats and the cars were in the distance, as their motors hummed. She tried to listen closely to hear breathing or anyone else near, and only heard her breath through her nose and her heart beating.
Ellie swallowed, "If you can hear me. I'm not visiting tonight. After talking to Steve, I am worried that I am going out of my mind. Am I seeing you or are you just a figment of my imagination that is manifested by the tiny bit of the reality stone in me? If you are real, I know whatever happens, whether it is the time heist or something else, happens to bring you all back, I have one request."
Looking out at the rippling water, "When you are back, the first thing I want to do is just dance with you," Ellie swallowed back her tears, "I just want you to hold me close and for just a few moments make time stand still as we dance together."
A warm sensation covered her hand and she smiled, "Oh how I wish you were actually touching me right now."
Ellie heard footsteps crunching on the sand and saw a young gentleman walking up the beach. She watched him about 100 yards down from where she sat, pick up a rock then throw it so it skipped across the water. He continued walking then paused as he saw her.
"Go ahead, you aren't bothering me," Ellie told him with a smile.
He smiled as he walked closer to her, "Hello there neighbor. I'm Frankie."
"Hello Frankie, I'm Ellie," She said as she went to get up.
"No need to get up," Frankie said as he looked up at the house, "I have been away at college, so I didn't even realize this house had finally sold."
Ellie smiled, "It's my brother's house, but we share it. It's a nice house. Did you know the previous owners?"
Frankie nodded, "They were like family. Stargazing from the top floor is awesome when there are no boats in the distance."
"Good to know," Ellie said as she stared at him, "Do I know you from somewhere?"
Frankie shook his head, "No, I just must have a familiar face. I won't bother you any longer. Have a nice night."
"You too," Ellie said as she watched him walk off.
Ellie dug her toes into the sand and took a deep breath. Lying back in the sand, she closed her eyes and listened to the water around her.
Suddenly she heard a scream and opened her eyes to see it was daytime. Five kids were playing in the water and on the edge of the beach, running in and out of the water.
An older Grant kicked the water and laughed as he ran off from Annabelle who was chasing him.
"Carter Johnson Riley, please do not go any farther into that water!"
Ellie looked over farther on the beach to see Amy lying on the beach on a chair.
A kiss was laid on her shoulder making her jump and a familiar chuckle came next to her, "Relax it's just me."
Ellie looked up to see Bucky as he sat down next to her and took her hand in his.
"I'm glad Steve got this place," Bucky told her as he kissed the top of her hand.
Ellie laid her head against his shoulder, "Me too."
"Now, go back. I love you but I don't know where you are coming from, but you need to go back," Bucky told her.
Ellie looked at him, "What do you mean?"
"You are traveling from the past into the future. You can't control it even now, but your eyes are glowing. You can't know too much about the future. Close your eyes and just relax," Bucky told her.
Ellie closed her eyes and took a breath. She tried to focus on the sound of the water and ignore the sounds of the kids in the water. When she opened her eyes, she could see the stars above her again.
Looking out at the dark water, she could almost see the kids, about five years older laughing as they splashed each other.
"We are going to have a great life," Ellie said with a smile, "It will be coming. I just have to be patient."
*~*~* September 2, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
Steve walked into the room that they had dubbed the planning room to see everyone already there sitting on the couches that had said they could be there. Natasha, Scott, and Bruce were on the couch, while Clint and Rocket sat in the chairs with all their materials that they had been investigating both lore and knowledge that they had accounted, spread along the coffee table and floor, "Good morning everyone, Nebula have you collected the data for the soul stone?"
Nebula walked forward, "I do not have much, I can just tell you all what I know."
Bruce turned the screen on and 'Soul Stone' appeared with an image of what they thought it may look like.
"Thanos found the Soul Stone on Vormir," Nebula told everyone.
"What is Vormir?" Natasha asked writing notes on a notepad.
"A dominion of death, at the very center of Celestial existence," Nebula told them causing Natasha to look up when she saw the most emotion that she had ever seen on Nebula's face, "It's where... Thanos murdered my sister," Nebula informed them.
Everyone looked to the ground and then awkwardly around at each other. Steve sighed as he realized that this was going to be the hardest stone.
"Not it," Scott states breaking the silence.
Natasha kicked her foot out, "Asshole."
"Captain Rogers, sir said he had to see you," FRIDAY informed him.
"Alright guys, start thinking about any details that we may have missed while I go talk to Tony. I can't stay long today. I am taking Sarah to get a new pair of shoes," Steve informed them.
"Wait, I just bought her shoes," Natasha said confused.
"Yes, but she needs shoes specifically for the gym now. It was on her school materials list," Steve told her shaking his head, "Back in my day, the school was just happy we had shoes."
"Oh, you whippersnappers don't know how good you have it," Clint joked.
"Ha ha Clint," Steve said as he walked off to go see what Tony needed.
After everyone else had left for the day, Natasha, Tony, and Bruce were brainstorming what they knew about the time stone. Tony had the most experience with it, but even that was very little. Wong had shared some information that Bruce had been reading over.
Natasha had found herself on the table in the planning room on top of books next to Tony, looking up at the ceiling as they discussed what they knew about the time stone.
"That Time Stone guy-" Natasha says as Bruce interrupts her, "Doctor Strange," He said.
"Yeah, what kind of doctor was he?" Natasha asked twirling her pencil in her fingers.
"Ear-nose-throat meets rabbit from a hat," Tony informed her rubbing his eyes from the pillow at her hip.
"Nice place in the village, though," Bruce stated from the floor next to her.
"Yeah, on Sullivan Street," Tony said.
"Hmm... Bleecker Street," Bruce corrected.
"Wait, he lived in New York?" Natasha asked.
"No. He lived in Toronto," Tony said sarcastically.
"Uh yeah, on Bleecker and Sullivan," Bruce told her.
"Have you been listening to anything?" Tony asked.
"Guys, if you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York," Natasha said.
Bruce sat up and looked at her surprised, "Shut the front door," Bruce said surprised.
"No seriously. The space stone, we had it, and the mind stone too with Loki when we battled him. Was Dr. Strange in New York at the time?" Natasha asked.
Tony sat up, "Oh this changes everything. FRIDAY, where is Steve and everyone else? Tell them to come to the planning room."
"Captain Rogers has left the compound as well as Mr. Lang, sir," FRIDAY replied, "Should I wake Mr. Thor and notify Miss Ellie?"
"Notify everyone but Ellie," Tony said as he sat up and jumped off the table.
Natasha frowned, "Why not Ellie?"
"Because she won't be part of the heist. Steve and I discussed it, she can't be here when we do it," Tony told her as Bruce sat up.
"Why not?" Natasha asked.
"If something goes wrong she is the only one that can save us. We can't have her with us when she is the one to be able to control it if needed," Tony told her.
Bruce sighed, "That's a smart plan."
"Even if she was the backup, don't you think she should be here to see the plans? To know what is happening?" Natasha asked.
"FRIDAY, what is the protocol if we don't return?" Tony asked.
"I am to notify Miss Ellie, of the plan and where to find each perspective person. If sir is trapped in the past, he will make all efforts to find and conceal more particles so that Miss Ellie can come back and save the heist party members," FRIDAY informed.
"Steve knows about it?" Natasha asked.
Tony thought about it, "Steve wants to protect her. She is too valuable of an asset, Natasha."
Natasha jumped off the table and shook her head, "I can't believe you used that word about anyone from my family."
Tony sighed, "It's not like that, and you know that."
"She and Bucky were created to be weapons. Assets to Hydra, and I was too. So yes, I am not a fan of that word. FRIDAY, call me when everyone is together. I need some air," Natasha told them.
Bruce looked at Tony as Natasha left the room, "You know that was a poor choice of words."
"I didn't think about it, okay?" Tony groaned, "Now I'm on the widow's bad side."
*~*~* September 2, 2023- New York, New York *~*~*
Ellie collapsed to the ground as her leg was swept out from under her. Groaning as her wrist bent at a weird angle. She hit the ground with her other fist in frustration.
"Get up."
"Give me a minute," Ellie snapped as she got up.
"I thought you were superhuman," Her trainer said as he walked around her.
Ellie glared at him even if he couldn't see her, "And I thought you were blind."
"I am, but all my other senses can still sense you," He told her as she rubbed her wrist, "I hear the bones in your wrist in fact."
"I just tweaked it," Ellie said as she made a fist and focused on it, and the pain went away, "Let's do this again. I only have a short time left before-" Ellie dodged him as he came at her and he dodged away from him, hitting him from behind with her elbow then turning to catch him behind the knee to send him to the ground.
"Oh come on, Matt!" Ellie groaned as he jumped back up, "This is an unfair advantage. I'm a 104-year-old woman and a mother of three. I haven't done this level of training since the 40s. Hell in the 80s I wasn't even doing this level of martial arts."
"Just means that you have to get back into practice," Matt told her as he went to get his water bottle, "Muscles have memory. We just have to refresh yours."
Ellie grabbed her bottle, "Have you run into that situation that you were dealing with anymore?"
Ellie had run into Matt Murdock, a secret vigilante that went by the name Daredevil late at night a month ago when she was in Brooklyn after a meeting late in the evening. Two people had jumped her trying to get her bag and her purse; she had one against the wall with her powers when a dark figure in red had come to help her with the other. After he had knocked out both individuals, he asked who she was. A sort of alliance had been made after she had asked him amazed at his level of martial arts. He would train her, and she would use his real-life services of a lawyer if she needed them. He had already aided her in a sticky contract with a merchant that was trying to overcharge the foundation.
Matt shook his head, "No, he is lying low."
Ellie set her water bottle down, "It just pisses me off, you know, Brooklyn had its moments growing up, but nothing like it is now. There were what we called slums then, but not where people took advantage of the less fortunate. Those people would have been us growing up."
Matt nodded, "I just want to take care of my community."
Ellie smiled, "I'm going to head out, thanks for another challenging session," Ellie started to pack up her bag.
"Ellie, I don't want you to get discouraged. I am purposely being hard on you," Matt told her.
Ellie zipped up her bag, "I know, and I need it. I don't plan on being the superhero that my brother is, but I should keep top shape in case I need to step into something."
"You know, that strength and those powers would be wasted if not used for some purpose," Matt commented.
Ellie slung her bag on her shoulder, "I don't want to be a weapon. If I need to be, I will, but I would rather be proactive and ready than react. Anyways, I am going to go take my kids to a special dinner. Thanks again Matt, call me if you need something. I'll send the new contract over for you to go over when I get it."
Matt nodded, "Have a good day."
Ellie walked out of the gym and opened her trunk. Placing her gym back inside, she made a fist, and energy flowed over her skin that she had been holding back. Despite Matt having skills, she still did not trust herself to hurt him.
Standing back, she looked around the area that the gym was in. Years ago, Bucky had brought Steve here to train him in boxing. Memories overwhelmed her and overlapped her vision as she could see Bucky and a small Steve kicking a soda bottle along and laughing. Bucky of her memory looked up towards her and smiled. When she blinked they were gone.
Climbing into her car, she laid her head back on the headrest, "I don't know how much longer I can do this Buck. It's physically getting painful."
"Is everything alright, Miss Ellie?" FRIDAY asked.
Ellie leaned up and started her car, "Yeah, just a hard day FRIDAY. Any news from the compound?"
"They are still discussing the plan," FRIDAY told her, "I was told to tell you to enjoy dinner and not to worry."
"Can you tell Annabelle that I am on my way back with an ETA?" Ellie asked.
"Certainly," FRIDAY told her.
Ellie yawned as she pulled out of the parking lot and headed home.
*~*~* September 2, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
"All right, we have soul and power stones in space in 2014, the reality stone in Asgard in 2013, then of course here in New York in 2012 for the Space, Mind, and Time stones. We have the time periods, now is just who will be going for them," Steve said.
"I know where the Power stone was," Nebula stated.
"I will go with her," Rhodey volunteered.
"Space, Mind, and Time stones," Steve said looking at everyone.
"We need more than two for this one. How about you go after one stone, I go after the other and we bring tiny as support," Tony suggested, "If needed he can shrink down and do some damage."
"Less damage the better, I can go to New York for the Time Stone. I've been to the Sanctum to visit Wong a few times," Bruce stated.
"Alright, so we have the New York stones settled. Reality stone in Asgard, correct Thor?" Steve asked.
"Yes," Thor said.
"I'll go," Rocket stated, "Someone needs to go make sure he doesn't lose it."
"Guess that leaves us for the soul stone in this Vormir place," Clint said as he looked at Natasha.
Natasha nodded, "That's our stone."
"So soul and power stones in 2014, team one with Rhodey, Nebula, Clint, and Nat. Reality stone, in 2013, team two with Rocket and Thor. Team three, space, mind, and time stones in New York, with me, Scott, Bruce, and Tony," Steve said as the display changed.
Everyone stood up and looked at the information.
"All right. We have a plan. Six stones, three teams. One shot," Steve told them.
"We can do this, Captain America, sir," Scott stated.
"Yes, we will. We will get them all back," Steve said.
*~*~* September 5, 2023- Irvington, New York *~*~*
"Grant!" Ellie yelled up the stairs, "We have to leave in five minutes." She glanced over at Steve, who was helping Sarah tie her shoes, "What the heck is taking him so long? He was dressed and was playing with his toys when I came down here."
"Probably just nerves," Steve said.
"FRIDAY, can you tell me if Grant is nearly ready?" Ellie asked.
"He is sitting on the stairs, Ellie."
Ellie walked up the stairs slowly and saw Grant sitting on the stairs against the wall, "Hey sweetheart, you almost ready to go?"
Grant looked at her with his big blue eyes, "What if no one likes me, Momma?"
Ellie sat down next to him and touched his knee, "They will love you, honey. You are a beautiful and wonderfully sweet little boy. There is nothing to not love about you. I'm proud of you and so is your Dadda."
"Am I scared?" Grant asked.
"If you are, it is okay to be," Ellie told him, "I've been so scared many times in my life. I'm not scared but I'm worried."
"About me?" Grant asked.
"I'm worried that someone will hurt your feelings. I'm worried that you will be bored. I'm concerned that someone may discover your abilities. Overall, I'm your Mom. I'm always worried about you," Ellie said as she kissed the top of his head, "But despite my worries, I know you are going to do amazing things. You are going to make so many friends. Your Dadda was that popular kid in school that had so many friends. He would stick up for Uncle Steve when people would pick on him. Be like your Dadda, if you see someone being picked on. Tell someone."
"I will," Grant said as he stood up.
Ellie stood up and pulled him into a hug, "And remember no matter what, I love you. Your Dadda loves you and you have a huge family of love behind you."
"I love you, Momma," Grant said.
Ellie smoothed his hair back, "Are you ready to go now?"
"Yeah," Grant said.
Ellie stood in front of Grant and Sarah's school waiting for the doors to open after their first day of school.
A woman walked over to her, "Kindergarten parent too?"
Ellie looked over at her and smiled, "That obvious?"
"This is my third time, I can spot a newbie," She joked, "I'm Faith."
"Ellie, what class is your child in?" Ellie asked her as she glanced at the door.
"Miss Paige, yours?" Faith asked.
"That's my niece's class. My son is in Ms. Santora's room," Ellie told her as the doors opened, "Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you as well," Faith said as two other children came over to her.
Ellie walked up to the door as Sarah came out, "Hey Sarah how was school?"
Sarah shrugged, "It was alright. We had music class and they all stared at me when I was dancing. The teacher said I danced better than she did."
Ellie frowned at Sarah's reaction, "That's your mother in you showing. Be proud of it."
"They didn't hurt my feelings. I just thought it was weird," Sarah told her as Grant came out of the building.
"How was your first day, bud?" Ellie asked Grant as she hugged him.
"Boring. Mom, I know how to do everything we did today," Grant whined as they started walking back to Ellie's car.
Ellie sighed, "It was only the first day, Grant. You have to give it some time and the teacher will figure out where everyone is."
Loading all the kids up in the car, she made sure that all the kids were fastened in before she climbed in the car. Glancing at her phone as soon as she started the car, she saw that she had missed a call from Steve.
"FRIDAY call Steve," Ellie said as she pulled out of the parking lot.
"Hey sis, sorry I didn't realize what time it was. Did you get the kids?" Steve asked.
"Yep, the first day is complete. Any new developments today?" Ellie asked.
"We think we will be able to attempt it next week," Steve told her as someone yelled in the background, "The suits are nearly finished and Rocket is finishing up the Quantum base. We hope that in less than a month. They will all be back."
Ellie glanced at Sarah in the rearview mirror, "That's great Steve."
*~*~* September 17, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
Ellie sat up as her bedroom door opened. Rubbing her eyes, she looked to see who was entering and frowned when she saw Natasha, "Hey Nat. What's wrong?"
Natasha leaned on the doorframe, "Can't sleep. I know I should because tomorrow is the big day, but you and I both know that tomorrow is probably it."
Ellie blew out a breath as tears pooled in her eyes, "Maybe the future changes."
Natasha pushed herself off the doorframe, "Can I just stay in here tonight?"
"Of course," Ellie said as Natasha walked over and climbed in on Bucky's side. Ellie rolled over and looked at her, "Even I don't know if tomorrow is it."
Natasha rolled over on her side and looked at her, "I do. Nebula said that Thanos went to this Vormir with her sister and came back alone with the stone. It's the soul stone. I have this awful feeling that someone must be left behind to obtain it."
"It's not worth it then," Ellie stated.
"Without it, we aren't getting them all back. Bucky deserves to be back, and so does my sister," Natasha told her.
Ellie looked at her, "Sister? What do you mean sister?"
Natasha laid back looking at the ceiling, "Not biological. I don't remember either of my parents other than my Mother gave me up," Natasha explained, "But when I was young, my first mission was with Melina, my mother, Alexi was assigned as my father and there was a young widow in training named Yelena. We all lived in Ohio under the cover as a family while Alexi worked at this lab to steal intel for Hydra. When it was over, I was taken back to the red room and I lost track of them all. I hoped that Yelena had gotten out, but when the accords first went down and I went on the run, I found her. Well, she found me. Turns out that when we were in Ohio, the intel that Alexi stole was used to brainwash and program widows. Ellie, these girls could be killed by a click from a computer halfway around the world away. He had control of them, but Yelena was cured by a widow who had escaped. For just a few days, my fake family was back together. We cured all these widows and gave them back their lives. Then I went back with Steve and Sam. Yelena went off to save more widows. When Thanos happened, she didn't make it."
"Oh Nat," Ellie said as she swallowed hard, "I didn't know."
Ellie grabbed her hand, "She will come back, and I will find her, and I will make sure to tell her how much you loved her."
Natasha took a large breath, "In my room, I left behind some videos for Sarah and Steve. I put them on a tablet. She should be able to charge it in the past as well as the present."
"I'll make sure she finds it," Ellie told her as her bedroom door opened and she looked over, "Sarah."
Natasha sat up and wiped her tears, "Hi honey, what is wrong?"
Sarah frowned, "What's wrong Mom? Why are you crying?"
"Just remembering some things, what is wrong?" Natasha asked motioning her over.
Sarah walked over to her and climbed onto the bed, "Friday is making weird noises in my room and I can't sleep. You weren't upstairs so I thought I would check in with Aunt Ellie."
Natasha pulled her down next to her and kissed the top of her head, "We will check her out in the morning. It might just be one of the speakers going bad."
"You guys can stay in here tonight," Ellie told them.
Natasha looked at her, "Thank you, Ellie."
"Night girls," Ellie said as she reached up and turned the light off.
*~*~* September 18, 2023- Esopus, New York *~*~*
One by one the Avengers going on the mission, all but herself came out of various rooms and labs in their Quantum suits. Natasha came out and walked over to sit next to her. Taking her hand Ellie squeezed it.
"I can't do this Nat," Ellie whispered.
"You can. He is coming home, she will come home. My sacrifice is worth it to get them back," Natasha told her.
"It shouldn't be this way," Ellie said sadly as Scott glanced at her.
"I wasn't supposed to get this life," Natasha told her with a smile, "I was one of only a few widows that survived. Then I survived being a widow, an Avenger… I had the life never thought I would have."
Natasha cleared her throat as Steve came closer with a frown.
"Everything alright?" Steve asked looking between them.
"Ellie is just having some anxiety, but as I told her, this will work. We will get Bucky and everyone else back. It's going to work," Natasha said as she squeezed Ellie's hand again.
Ellie stood up and hugged Steve, "Just stay safe okay? Don't do anything stupid."
"How can I? He took the stupid with him," Steve told her as Ellie groaned.
"Really? All these years and that still comes up?" Ellie asked as Steve laughed.
Looking over everyone as Rhodey made it into the room in his armor, Steve asked, "Everyone prepared? Ready for the mission?"
"As I'll ever be," Scott announced.
"To the tunnel," Steve stated.
Ellie stood up and followed them all to the Quinjet hangar where the large Quantum tunnel base had been built. As they filed one by one onto the platform, she gave them each a hug, lingering longer with Steve and Natasha. Bruce looked at her, "Remember the sequence?"
"Yeah," Ellie said he leaned down and hugged her, "Keep them safe."
"I'll do my best," Bruce told her as he walked up to the base.
Ellie swallowed hard as she looked over them all, "Mind your six and watch out for each other."
Steve looked at them all, "Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends... We lost family... We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams, you know your missions. Get the stones, get them back. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going somewhere we know. But it doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. This is the fight of our lives. And we're gonna win."
Ellie saw Tony give Steve a look, "Whatever it takes. Good luck."
"He's pretty good at that," Rocket stated.
"Right?" Scott said excitedly.
"All right. You heard the man. Stroke those keys, Agent Gorgeous," Tony told her.
Ellie looked at Natasha, took a huge breath, and put the first sequence of buttons and knobs in.
"Tractors engaged," Bruce said as the beans started fluctuating under the base.
Rocket looked at Clint who was holding a shrunken Benatar in his hand, "You promise to bring that back in one piece, right?"
"Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll do my best," Clint said as he patted the pocket that held the shrinking and enlarging discs.
"As promises go, that was pretty lame," Rocket stated.
Ellie saw Natasha look over at Steve, "See you in a minute," Natasha told him with a smile.
With a beep, everyone shrunk in front of her disappearing and Ellie crumpled to the ground in tears, "God be with them."
a/n3: Thank you all again. No preview but there was one review:
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