The preparation for the time heist was swift and efficient. The universe had suffered for 5 years, they didn't deserve to wait any longer than they had to. The plan was for Steve to pretend to be his younger self and retrieve Loki's sceptre which housed the mind stone. A perfect plan... if not for the fact that Steve was now 150 pounds lighter and almost a foot smaller then his 2012 counterpart. To compensate for this, Steve's first Avengers uniform was literally stuffed with Stark technology intended to make Steve resemble his former self.
After Steve was suited up, he stared at Tony who was looking at him questioningly. "There's something missing… got it." Tony sprinted into his engineering lab and a few minutes later came out holding a realistic prosthetic chin.
"It wouldn't be Captain America without that red, white and blue jawline"
Steve sighed but offered no resistance as Tony placed the ridiculous prosthesis over his mouth.
"There he is! There's America's Golden Boy" Tony proclaimed mockingly as Steve looked at himself in the mirror. He had to admit that Tony did an incredible job. The eleven-inch robotic legs brought Steve's height back to his familiar 6'2", The gloves of the suit had similar prosthetics which were controlled by neuro-relay hidden in his helmet. Finally, the chest was filled out using a mesh of Tony's nanobots acting as a prosthetic torso. Steve was the perfect copy for his 2012 self… so why did it still feel wrong?
"Aw cap, why the long face?"
"You did an amazing job as always Tony but honestly, I just feel like a kid on stilts wearing my dad's clothing. Also, I feel like someone might notice my face has…seams"
"I'll use fake dust and blood to hide them, trust me no one will notice unless they were staring you dead in the jaw. And if you're concerned, you can always try to hide it with your gloves the entire time."
Regardless of Steve's concerns, he was ready. After the other avengers gave their praise and fair share of jokes, it was time to execute the time heist. The group stood on the glass platform that was the entrance to the quantum zone. Steve looked around to his friends and comrades and gave one last speech.
"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." With that line Tony gave Steve a look of recognition and respect. "Whatever it takes. Good luck."
It was time for Steve to finally, truly go back in time.