Third Person's POV- 2016
"Guys I'm a fuck up. I cheated on Wren." Nora said tearing up. Tony and Rhodey shared a look. Rhodey shook his head letting Tony know not to say anything that could give away how things would turn out of their daughter.
"I thought you said it was a fake marriage?" Tony said sarcastically.
"Would a fake husband stage my dream wedding, give me a family heirloom and unconditionally stay by my side and even try to help my brainwashed assassin soulmate? Who the fuck am I kidding I'm in a committed relationship with my best friend and I cheated on him. I broke our celibacy pact. I'm a horrible human being." She cried.
'Why did it take her so long to figure that out?' Tony thought but said nothing on the matter.
"Okay time to cut you off." He said moving her drink away. "Kid you're not a horrible human being, you're human you make mistakes."
"I fucked up big time dad. Wren deserves better than me." Nora said crying.
"He's a former assassin and he knew what he was getting into. He stuck by you when he found out about the time traveling, about your real name, and he picked you over his girlfriend because he loved you more. He'll understand." Tony said.
'He loves you too much not to…' Tony thought.
"But I feel so guilty." Nora said as she started frowning and shivering. "Oh shit."
"What?" Tony said.
"It's starting." She said starting to panic.
"Crap, follow me." He said quickly standing up and leading her out of the pub and into an alley. "Look before you go remember what we talked about and promise me that if you start having feelings for someone, it doesn't have to be Wren you'll go for it. You put your life on hold for years and it almost destroyed you. I just want you to be happy kid. If Spangles and Tin man really love you they'll understand."
"Love you Dad." She said as she started glowing before she disappeared.
"She's grown up so much. It feels like just yesterday she was causing her first lab explosion." Rhodey said.
"Yeah…" Tony said sighing. "She knew what was going to happen, didn't she? That's why you came to look for us."
"She couldn't tell you Tony. You know how that works." Rhodey said.
"A warning still would have been nice." Tony said frustrated.
"Did she ever give you her blessing to propose?" Rhodey asked.
"Uh… Oh shit. That was her warning me?" Tony asked.
"Well she couldn't exactly come out and say it, and she isn't allowed to meddle." He said.
"How is she?" Tony asked.
"How do you think?" Rhodey said.
"Feeling guilty and probably beating herself up over it. Uh!" He groaned.
"Tony it's going to be okay." Rhodey said.
"No I was just thinking how are we going to get back without our passports?" Tony said.
"Our daughter's a teleporter." Rhodey said pulling out his phone and dialing Nora.
'Hey it's Nora, I'm probably in surgery or somewhere in the past, leave a message and I'll call back when I can.' The recording played.
"Friday give me Nora's location." Tony said taking his phone out.
"Nora's not available boss." Friday said. "It would be best to get in contact with the Compound immediately."
"That doesn't sound good." Rhodey said dialing Natasha.
"Rhodey where are you guys?" Natasha answered.
"Were outside a bar in Dublin. Past Nora teleported us here but she got sent back already so were kind of stranded." Rhodey said.
"Shit." Natasha muttered. "She got sent back already." She told someone else.
"Uh!" Someone groaned very loudly in the background.
"Who was that?" Rhodey asked.
"That was Barnes. We're in the middle of something over here." Natasha said before there was a flash of light behind them and suddenly they appeared in the compound.
"Uh, I think I'm gonna hurl." Rhodey gagged.
"Thanks kid." Tony said.
"Again, I'm not your kid." Aya said making her eyes glow to emphasize her point.
"Wah!" I baby cries were heard. Aiden walked in with a very cranky Wren in his arms.
"Sh, sh, it's okay bugger." Aiden said putting the diaper bag down and pulling out a bottle of milk.
"Hm, hm." Wren sniffled as he started drinking his bottle.
"What's going on?" Tony asked. "Where's Nora?"
"She's gone." Steve said.
"Time Jump?" Rhodey asked.
"Not exactly." Sam said.
"She lost Nora." Bucky growled glaring daggers at Aya.
"What?" Rhodey said.
"What do you mean lost her?" Tony said sobering up. "How do you lose someone you live inside?"
"She blasted her into another time and has no idea where or when she is." Aiden supplied.
"Then time jump around until you find her." Tony said.
"I can't time jump without a host." Aya said.
"Are you kidding me, you're the freaking time stone!" Tony shouted.
"And I need a host to time jump or else I risk tearing a hole in the universe." Aya said. "If you two had answered your phone earlier we could have had past Nora and past me help us."
"How did this even happen in the first place?" Rhodey asked.
"That's another problem we're dealing with." Steve said looking at Aiden.
"I have it handled." Aiden said.
"Your only lead is passed out and concussed in the interrogation room downstairs." Clint deadpanned.
"Not for long." Aiden said. "Who's watching Wren?"
"I'll take him back to the tower." Tony said. "I'm going to be in the lab working on trying to find Nora."
"No." Bucky said.
"Excuse me?" Tony said. "That's my grandson."
"He's not going anywhere." Bucky said getting between Tony and Aiden.
"Since when do you call the shots?" Tony said.
"Tony, calm down. Wren is safer here." Steve said.
"Safer from what?" Rhodey asked.
"Snow knows about Nora's abilities. Knows about her time traveling and knows how she's responsible for his son's death. He threatened to come after Wren and do to him what he did to me and my brother." Aiden said.
"Nora killed his son?" Tony said surprised.
"Back in 1980." Aya said.
"What the hell was Nora doing in 1980?" Tony asked.
"Taking you out to see Star Wars, cleaning up after Howard, and being a spy." Aya said.
Nora's POV-
"So that's it then?" Connor asked.
"Yup." Wren said.
"No, not happening." I said walking out of the throne room.
"Nora." Aiden said. "Where the hell are you going?"
"There is no way I am just going to sit around and do nothing until I get rescued." I said.
"Doll you heard Aya, there's nothing you can do. The only people that can do anything are in 2016." Bucky said.
"Then we find a way to talk everyone in 2016." I said walking out of the palace and towards the quinjet.
"Aunt Nora science has improved in the last thirty years but like Shuri said, time travel without the stone is impossible." Connor said.
"Then we don't use science." I said walking inside the quinjet.
"Is she talking about…" Wren said looking towards Steve.
"I don't know." Steve said. "Nora can you just stop for a second…"
"No. Every second I'm here is a second I'm away from my son who is a defenseless baby that can teleport. There's a deranged mad man who wants to take him and turn him into a mindless assassin and I'm not there to protect him." I said. "So no Steve I'm not going to stop for a second. A lot of things can happen in a second."
I walked over to the controls and started pressing buttons.
"Nora, we have it handled." Aiden said trying to reassure me.
"But I'm his mom. I'm supposed to be there." I said tearing up and turning away. I heard someone walk up behind me.
"Mom it's okay. " Wren said.
"No it's not." I said crying. "Nothing about this is okay."
"Yes it is. Mom, I'm right here. I didn't grow up to be a mindless brainwashed assassin. I'm a teleporting, time traveling double board certified surgeon that's helped save the world a few times. Snow didn't get to me. He didn't even get close because everyone, Aya, dads', Gramps, Uncle Aiden and you didn't let that happen. You never give up and no matter how bad things get you don't lose hope. You're my hero mom and I'm going to grow up believing that because you're going to make it back. You always do." Wren said tearing up.
I pulled him into a hug. He hesitated for a second and I thought I had overstepped but he wrapped his arms around me and just held onto me.
"I guess this means we're not going anywhere." Connor said.
"Yeah we are." I said pulling away from Wren. "There's one last place I need to check before I decide to do as Aya says and stay put."
"Where to?" Aiden asked.
"New York." I said.
"I'll go let Shuri and T'Challa know we're heading out." Steve said with Bucky following him out.
"What's in New York?" Connor asked.
"Do you still believe in magic?" I asked.
"Anything's possible." Connor said going to the controls.
By the time Steve and Bucky got back we were all buckled in and ready to go.
"So is there anyone we should call or are we just showing up unannounced?" Wren asked.
"Chances are they already know we're coming." I said. "I'm actually surprised they haven't popped in or zapped me over."
"You mean Strange?" Bucky asked.
"Strange?" I asked confused.
"Stephen Strange?" Steve added.
"The neurosurgeon?" I asked. "Why would I need a neurosurgeon?"
"Again you may have missed a few things in the past three decades." Aiden said.
"Oh please she's been around since Vikings started pillaging villages in Europe, she was there last time Aya stranded me in the fifties, and we have tea once a month. I am sure she'll be there." I said.
"Just you know, don't get your hopes up." Wren said.
"The past few days have been a lot of hits and misses but I am sure we'll get something out of this." I said.
"Always the optimist." Aiden said.
"Hope is always the last thing that dies." I said.
"I'm gonna activate the cloaking before I put her down on the roof." Connor said. "So remember where we parked."
"It wasn't funny the first time, and it's still not funny now." Wren retorted as he unbuckled himself and went to open the door.
"At least the New York skyline is still the same. Well kind of." I said looking the skyscraper long light up billboard. There were also a few more building in the area and some of them had a bridge connecting them. The one thing that did bring a smile to my face was seeing Avengers Tower in the distance.
"Remember the first time you took me to Brooklyn after I came back?" Bucky asked.
"You mean how you freaked out when I made you go into bar that also had to be an arcade?" I asked.
"It's a mystery juice bar." Bucky said.
"What's so mysterious about it?" I asked.
"You don't know what you're getting." Bucky said.
"That sounds like a really bad idea." I said. "and I kind of want to try it now."
"We can stop by later." Bucky said lifting his arm to put it around my shoulder but changing his mind at the last minute.
"Are we taking the stairs or the fire escape?" I said when suddenly there were sparks coming from the ground around me and I started falling. "Wah!" I shouted before I hit the ground. "Ow." I groaned. I looked up and noticed I wasn't outside anymore. I recognized the wooden stairs and patterned hardwood floors. The gloomy ambiance and smell of tea that permeated the room were exactly as I remembered it.
"Nora Stark." Someone said. I turned around and saw a levitating man wearing a blue tunic and a red cape. That immediately let go of him and flew over to me and wrapped around me tightly knocking me onto the floor.
"Oh, damn forgot how cuddly you were." I said laughing a bit.
"That's enough." The man said and the cape rubbed my cheek before flying back onto him.
"Good to know some things never change." I said with a chuckle but he didn't say anything. "Since you said my name I'm guessing we've met before?"
"We have but not yet." He said. "You know how that works considering you've been through this before."
"Yeah, though I prefer to be on the other side of this." I said. "So any chance you can point me in the direction of the Ancient One?"
"Ancient One?" He asked.
"Yeah, you know about yay tall," I said gesturing a few inches above me. "Bald, wears yellow tunics, talks like a fortune cookie? Also goes by sorcerer supreme?"
"I'm sorry to say she's unavailable." He said.
"How unavailable because if she's at the temple I can just borrow a sling ring and…" I started.
"She's dead." He deadpanned.
"You're kidding right?" I asked and he just glared at me. "Oh come on, the woman's been around since the Vikings."
"Everyone dies eventually as you know well," he said and I just stared at him.
"Who are you?" I said.
"Stephen Strange, Sorcerer Supreme." He said.
"Stephen Strange, as in the neurosurgeon?" I asked.
"I'm retired." Stephen said.
"Montgomery was right, you do have a shitty bedside manner." I said.
"I can see the family resemblance, you have your father's snark." He said.
"I'll take that as a compliment." I said with a smirk.
"Follow me, we have a few things to discuss." He said walking up the stairs.
"This place looks exactly the same as it did the last time I was here." I said looking around.
"It's easier to find things." Stephen said as he sat down in an armchair before gesturing for me to do the same. "Can I get you anything? Tea?"
.
"I'm not really a tea person." I said.
"Of course." He said before a Vietnamese iced coffee appeared in my hand.
"Thanks." I said taking a sip.
"I'm sure I don't have to explain to you how you're being here is a giant disruption to the natural order." Stephen said.
"I used to be my grandfather's wingman and I used to babysit my dad, I know all about going against the natural order." I said.
"Normally I'd be doing everything I could to send you back to your time before you do any irreversible damage but this is a special circumstance." He said.
"What do you mean?" I asked. "I ended up here by accident. Aya channeled more temporal energy and lost control blasting me here."
"Everything happens for a reason. You were always going to end up coming to this future." Stephen said.
"Time is fluid and constantly changing. There was no way I was always going to end up in this future." I said.
"You, your father, your soulmates, your son. You are all fixed points in time. You being the biggest of them all." He said. "You being here and knowing how it's going to end for you changes nothing. This is where you're supposed to be."
"Which is why you're not in a rush to set things right." I said.
"Even if I needed to I can't. There's only one way to time travel and Aya's not leaving your son anytime soon. The Aya from your time will find you and get you back as soon as she can until then I suggest you enjoy the time you do have here." Stephen said.
"That isn't going to work for me. Aya blasted me into the time stream without aiming where I was going to land. Meaning she has no idea where to even start looking. Maybe there isn't a way to send me back but maybe there's a way to send a message or even talk to everyone back in 2016." I said.
"All spells relating to time traveling were destroyed by the time stone and as for talking to anyone through time there's no spell that can do that." Stephen said.
"What about African Dream root?" I asked.
"That herb has been extinct for twenty years." He said.
"Astral projection?" I asked.
"Doesn't work through time. Like I said you're exactly where you're supposed to be and you're not going anywhere." He said as there was a loud thud followed by shouting. "Ah right on schedule."
"Not a word about…" I started.
"You knowing you're going to die? It's not my place to say anything." He said.
"Thanks." I said following him out. I took one last look around the room before something caught my eye.
It wasn't like he couldn't get another one and I'll just return it before I go back… if I ever go back. I quickly snuck into the dress pocket before catching up and following down the hall.
"Strange!" Steve shouted.
"Calm down." Stephen said as we started walking down the stairs.
"Nora." Bucky said eyeing me up and down to make sure I was okay.
"I'm fine we just needed to talk." I said.
"And?" Aiden asked.
"I'm stuck here." I said.
"So nothing?" Wren asked.
"I'm a sitting duck until Aya gets off her ass and gets me out of here." I said annoyed.
"I resent that. I'm actually working really hard to find you. I'm even helping your dad." Aya said appearing out of the blue.
"I can see that." I said sarcastically.
"How did I put up with you for so long?" She said before disappearing.
"Thanks for the coffee." I told Stephen before walking out.
"That's it?" Bucky asked.
"That's it. I'm stuck here and considering my track record with these things I'm probably going to e stuck here a while." I said.
"Let's just get back to the compound. It's been a long day." Steve said as ACDC started playing.
"Oh crap, it's Elle." Wren said answering the phone. "Hey babe I'm on my way back just went to check in on mom…" He said before teleporting away.
"So how long have those two been together?" I asked.
"Years." Connor said. "It's kind of gross how in love they are."
"You're one to talk, how's Morgan?" I asked making him blush and smile. "Thought so."
"I have to go. Are you going to be okay…" Wren started.
"Sweetie it's not the first time I get stuck out of my own time. I'll be okay." I said.
"I'll be by tomorrow for breakfast." He said hugging me. "Good night mom. Night Dads, Uncle and Connor."
"Night." They all said before he teleported away.
"What happens now?" Connor asked.
"Not sure." I answered.
"How long do you think it'll take Aya and everyone to figure out where you are and how to get you back?" Aiden asked.
"Well let's see. Dad's a genius but just got dumped and is probably hungover from a night out with past me. Then again dad is a high functioning alcoholic so that might actually help. Aya is probably just commenting and shooting down any ideas anyone suggests annoying everyone but actually trying to help. Bucky is probably freaking out and yelling. Steve is trying to keep calm but internally freaking out and when everyone else is finally calm he'll start pacing nervously…" I said.
"I don't pace nervously." Steve argued.
"Yes you do." They all said.
"You're probably compartmentalizing right now. Ignoring any worries and staying focused on the goal. Keeping Wren safe before going to squeeze all the intel you can out of Abernathy by whatever means necessary which isn't going to work. Pretty sure the only one holding it together right now is Natasha, so I give it a week." I told Aiden.
"A week?" Bucky said.
"Give or take a few days." I said as I started climbing up the fire escape.
Third Person's POV-
"That's why you sent her to the past, to turn her into a killer?!" Tony shouted angrily.
"There are things that had to happen, lessons she had to learn. Life is not easy and it's not fair. Choices have to be made and they're not always easy to make. It took thirty years for Nora to understand that and she hated me for it but she still made that choice." Aya said.
"And look at what happened." Tony said.
"What's done is done and Abernathy and Snow will be dealt with when we get Nora back. Until then we find her and bring her home." Aya said.
"You said it yourself time travel is impossible and you're basically grounded without a host." Tony said.
"I am, and as far as I can tell Nora's future is still the same meaning we'll get her back." Aya said. "I'm going to check in with someone who may be able to help until then if you could use that big brain of yours to think of something to help track Nora in at least one direction of time that'd be great."
With that Aya disappeared in a flash of green light.
"How the hell am I supposed to do that!?" Tony shouted.
Sanctum Sanctorum-2016
Aya appeared at the bottom of the stairs of the New York Sanctum.
"Aya, I've been expecting you." The ancient one said walking down the stairs. "I sensed a disturbance in the temporal stream. A massive amount of temporal energy being focused in one point of space in time, slowly growing before it suddenly disappeared."
"It's been a trying few days." Aya said.
"You seem troubled." The Ancient one said.
"I lost my… I lost Nora." Aya said.
"The timeline…." The Ancient one asked.
"Still in tact and there have been no alterations." Aya said. "She took the blast and got sent somewhere. I'm not sure where or when and I have no idea where to even start looking for her. For the first time in my entire existence, I'm lost and I have no idea what to do."
"That sounds very human." She said sympathetically.
"I've been called a lot of things, never human." Aya said.
"You're worried." The ancient one said.
"This has never happened before. In all my years of moving through time, living among humans, watching everything around me change and die I've never lost control." Aya said.
"That's because none of your previous hosts including myself have ever made you care as much as Nora has." She said.
"Nora is just a means to an end." Aya said.
"We both know she is much more than that." The Ancient one said.
"I need to get her back." Aya said.
"The timeline is in tact so she will return. How soon you get her back is up to you." She answered.
"What's that supposed to mean?" Aya said.
"In life there are no coincidences. Everything happens for a reason, every life serves a purpose. You have everything you need to save Nora. Once you figure it out she'll help you find your way to her." The ancient one said handing Aya a folded up piece of paper.
"The beacon spell?" Aya asked opening it up and reading the symbols.
"With some minor changes, specifically one to help transcend the limitations of space and time. Nora is very resourceful, you haven't given up and neither will she." The ancient one said.
"Thank you." Aya said.
"Now if you excuse me, I have an apprentice I must recruit." The Ancient one said before using a sling ring to open a portal and walking through it.
Aya looked down at the page before teleporting back to the compound to get to work.