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Chapter Text

“Where is my soulmate?”

“Not here, whoever they are.  Now leave.  Thanos may have won but we,” Steve motioned to himself and Natasha, “still have our morals.  We don’t want to associate with you.”

Ra’s al Ghul stepped forwards, “I will not be lectured by a petulant toddler concerning morality.” The assassin responded coolly, “Your morals and rigidity shattered your team.”

“Even if we knew who your soulmate is, why would you think we would help you?” Steve argued.

“Because she’s part of your team.  Tell me where I can find (Name).”

“There’s no way,” Natasha shook her head in denial.

“Has any of the intelligence you’ve gathered about me during your time with SHIELD or the KGB ever indicated that I am prone to lying?” Ra’s arched an eyebrow.

“Nat?” She faced the other assassin to avoid making eye contact with Steve, “The last time I saw (Name) or Tony was twenty-three days ago.  There’s been no trace of them since the battle of Wakanda.”

The room fell into silence and then it was plunged into darkness.  Natasha leaped to her feet and Steve moved forwards confidently.  Thanks to the super serum, he was able to see in the dark and he had no hesitation about engaging Ra’s al Ghul in a fight.  When the backup generator powered up, the legendary assassin was nowhere to be found.

Steve and Natasha shared a horrified look and both of them immediately agreed that they would not reveal the identity of your soul mate to you whenever you and Tony returned to Earth.

Chapter Text

Nebula let out a startled grunt as the metal piece you were playing with landed behind your hands.  She looked at you as if she expected you to deny her victory.

“You won.”

“Of course I did.  There’s no denying it.  My strategy was superior.”

Tony stretched as he made his way over to the two of you.  There wasn’t much to occupy yourselves with on The Sanctuary II.  Supplies had run out a day ago and despite Tony’s best efforts, the engines had run out of fuel so now, the three of you were just drifting aimlessly in deep space.

“What was the final score?

“Eleven to eight.”  Nebula boasted, “She is a good opponent but she like you needs her rest.”

“You need rest too Nebula,” you retorted.

“I am a cyborg.  Humans tire quicker than us.”

“Tell you what,” Tony butted in, “You can stay here and I’ll play Nebula.”

Unable to stop yourself, you yawned, “That’s just another way of ordering me to stay here so you can keep an eye on me.”

“I think it’s an acceptable plan.”

“Fine,” you swapped spots with Tony and leaned against the wall of the room, closing your eyes.

Your ears registered a ding and seconds later, Tony let out a quiet, happy noise.

“Throughout the galaxies, there are legends of soulmates.  Do they exist on Terra as well?  I won’t be surprised if they don’t; Terra is primitive.”

“Ignoring that you’ve insulted my home world without ever being there, yes they do,” you replied without opening your eyes.  “It’s such a common occurrence that legislation is in place for businesses and the armed forces regarding soul mates.  You would know if you had a soul mate if you had a red line stretching from your left elbow to the tip of your left ring finger.  Many people were born with their red lines but it isn’t unheard of for people to develop soul mate lines later in their lives.”

There was a lull in the conversation and for a while, all you could hear was the constant dings as the piece of metal flew through the air and landed on the table repeatedly.  You were tired enough that even with your slightly uncomfortable position, you could feel your breathing start slowing.

In an effort to be comfortable when you succumbed to sleep, you slid down the wall, sat on the ground, and rested your head against the cooler piece of black, unbreakable metal that framed the doorway.

“Do you have a soulmate?”  Nebula asked.

Your eyes opened and you pulled up your left sleeve all the way to your elbow to reveal no red line on your skin, “I think it came down to a choice between having powers and having a soul mate for me,” you revealed, “and the universe decided to give me the power to manipulate time.  Besides,” you let out another yawn, “I’ve always thought having a soulmate meant that if the two of you ever argued, it’d be like talking to a mirror.”

Your vision was going blurry, “Tell me who wins,” you ordered in a low voice as the sounds of Tony and Nebula playing lulled you to sleep.

Chapter Text

When your mind registered movement, your first thought was that you were imagining things.  You wrapped your arms around yourself and your fingertips brushed unexpectedly against a soft material that was covering your shoulders.

The Sanctuary II let out a metallic groan.   Tentatively, you opened your eyes and your mouth fell open at the sight that lay in front of you.

The floating blue rock, Earth, was visible.  Not only that but with each passing second, the distance between The Sanctuary II and the blue planet was decreasing quickly.   You scrambled to your feet.

“If this is some cruel form of torture or lucid dreaming, let it end now.”

“T…”

As if speaking the first letter of his name summoned him, Tony and Nebula appeared next to you in similar states of awe at glimpsing Earth.  “We’re here.”  Tony assured you, “It’s real.”

The Earth’s gravity pressed down on The Sanctuary II as it passed through the atmosphere and the ship grew uncomfortably warm.  From your vantage point, you could see so many familiar structures, buildings, lakes, and oceans, and for a second, it was easy to forget what had happened.  It was easy to forget what you had let happen.  That was until the ship moved closer and you saw that many of the buildings were smoking and in various states of disrepair.

You were so close to the ground now that Earth’s gravity began to affect you.  Your knees buckled and you slid to the hard ground.  Your body had grown used to the artificial gravity on board The Sanctuary II and so, having Earth’s gravity and the artificial gravity on board the ship was too much for your weakened body.

Tony was in a similar situation to you but because she had seen you slide to the floor; Nebula was able to react in time and hold Tony up.  Her free hand clenched and unclenched and her right leg shook as indecision appeared on her face.

A wave of exhaustion overcame you – with the last of your flagging strength, you leaned forward and braced yourself on the floor by pressing your palms to the ground.  The ship landed silently.  Your only indication that the ship had landed was the hydraulic hiss of the passageway in and out of the ship descending.

“Go ahead,” you instructed Nebula.  “He needs the Cradle.  I’ll be right behind you.”

“You cannot stand.”

“Nebula,” you protested weakly.  “Help him.”

“You are a loyal fool,” she declared as she guided Tony out of the ship.

“I’m gonna take that as a compliment.”

Footsteps reached your ears as you moved from bracing yourself to raising yourself to a kneeling position.  You looked up, expecting to see Nebula but instead, you were greeted by the anxious face of Natasha.

“Hey Nat.  It’s been a while, huh?”  You greeted her.

Nat stooped.  She gently but firmly grasped one of your arms and pulled it around her shoulders while she wrapped her other arm around your waist.  Using the hold that she had on you, she escorted you out of the ship that you had been trapped in for so long.

“You dyed your hair.”

“Save your strength,” she urged in a whisper.  “We’ll talk later.  I promise.”

“We lost ‘em.  Stephen.  Quill.  Drax.  Mantis.”  You choked on a sob, “And Peter.  We failed, Nat and they’re gone because of it.”

Your legs wobbled and you leaned into Nat’s touch.  On The Sanctuary II, there had been several times that you had cried but you always had time to make an excuse so that you could find a private space but now, with Nat by your side and knowing that if you had defeated Thanos on Titan, he never would have been able to Snap, the tears fell thick and fast with no warning.

Not wanting anyone else to see you cry as you and Nat approached the Avengers compound, you ducked your head.  Nat’s hand moved from your shoulder to your back and she rubbed a few circles soothingly before replacing her hand on your shoulder as the two of you walked into the medical wing.  By the time you reached the wing, Tony was sitting in a wheelchair and hooked up to an IV.

You couldn’t even muster the energy to glare at Steve after he announced that the briefing would take place after you emerged from the Cradle. 

“Thank you for your generosity, Rogers,” Tony snapped as Natasha and Nebula worked together to ease you into the Cradle.  “It is truly unmatched.”

Chapter Text

You breathed in and out through your nose as the piercing headache that had plagued you ever since you had emerged from the Cradle showed no signs of abating.   A spike of pain shot through your skull and you winced, dropping your head into your hands as Steve continued talking about what he, Natasha, Rhodey, Rocket, Okoye, and Carol Danvers had been doing for the past days.  As an afterthought, Steve introduced you and Tony to Rocket and explained that Carol Danvers had been the one to find The Sanctuary II.

Steve mistook the reaction to the pain that you were feeling as an unwillingness to discuss Thanos’ effect on the universe.

“I know it’s hard but I have to ask.  Did he give you any clues or coordinates?”  You raised your head, temporarily forgetting the pain you were experiencing.  Astonishment swept over you, “There’s no way he just asked us that.”

Tony scoffed and shook his head in disbelief.

“Actually, as a matter of fact, he did.  Between him throwing a moon at us, soundly kicking our asses, and preparing to punch a hole through my chest, he said that if we ever want to find him, to just speed towards the nearest black hole.”

Tony and Rhodey snorted at your sarcasm.

Steve blew out a long breath, “We don’t need your sarcasm right now.”

“Then don’t ask stupid questions.”  Rocket piped up as a cry of pain slipped past your lips and your hands pressed themselves against your temples.

“I thought Doctor Cho’s cradle was supposed to completely heal the injured person once they were in it.”

“What she’s feeling isn’t physical.  It’s mental.  It’s a reaction to the presence of her soul mate.”

“What did you say?”  Rhodey gaped, “(Name) doesn’t have a soul mate.  She has no red line on her arm.”

Out of the blue, the pain began to slowly fade away.  You lifted your sleeve to prove that there was no red line on your arm and because you were concentrating so intently on that, you missed the uneasy glances that Nat and Steve exchanged.

“See?  Rhodey’s right.  I don’t have a red line on my arm therefore, my body can’t be reacting to the presence of my soul mate.”

Rocket jumped onto the table and walked over to you, “Soul mates have existed on Terra for thousands of years.  The red line only started appearing in the 1800s and since nothing appeared after that, your people forgot about the other ways that soul mates can be identified.”

“Hold up.  You’re saying that her soul mate was born before the 1800s?”

“Yeah,” Rocket squinted at you.  “The headache’s gone now, isn’t it?”

“Yeah, it is.  How did you know?”

“Your body is getting ready to move to the next stage.  If the bond progresses any further, you and your soul mate will be able to tap into the other person’s skills and abilities.  That will only happen if the two of you find your way to each other.”

“That’s not going to happen.”

There was something in Steve’s voice that disturbed you, “Why not?  Steve, I…..I actually have a soul mate.  In this screwed-up world, the universe has chosen to give me something good!  Maybe it’s a sign that there’s hope!”

“It’s not.  He won’t help us.”

“Steve didn’t say can’t.  He said won’t.  How is Steve so certain?  More importantly, how does Steve know my soul mate’s a he?”  You tried to make sense of the rapid amount of information that you were receiving but things weren’t adding up.

“It’s a reaction to the presence of her soulmate.”  Rocket had said.  Your soul mate hadn’t stuck around to wait for you, and judging by the way Steve was reacting, he had met him but Rhodey and Rocket hadn’t been at the base for as long as Steve and Natasha had.  Rocket and Rhodey had only appeared at the Compound when they had been informed that Carol had located The Sanctuary II which meant…

You stood up, “You and Nat met my soul mate.  Who is he?”

“That doesn’t matter.”

“STEVE!”

“It doesn’t matter because the soul bond isn’t going to progress between the two of you.”

“Why the hell not?”

“Yeah, why not?”  Rocket crossed his arms over his chest, “What is he?  Some kind of intergalactic warlord?”

“He’s an assassin.”  Nat revealed, “The Master of the League of Shadows.”  She closed her eyes so that she wouldn’t have to see yours or Steve’s betrayed expressions, “His name is Ra’s al Ghul.”

“And you were what?  Never going to tell me?”

“He’s not someone you should have as a soul mate so no, we weren’t going to tell you,” Steve declared authoritatively.

You stepped away from your chair, “That wasn’t your call to make.  He’s not your soul mate.”

“He’s not going to be yours either.  We can’t have the deadliest assassin in the world developing the ability to manipulate time.”

Tony pushed down on the wheel covers of his wheelchair and stood up, “Back off Rogers.”  He warned, “There are some things that even Captain America can’t oppose.”

Ignoring Tony’s words, Steve moved from the front of the table towards where you were standing.  Luckily for you, the table was ostentatiously big and so, you had enough time to evade him by darting around to the other side of the table.  Steve realised what you had done and tried to go back to his original spot to capture you but you moved in the opposite direction.

You had a quick flashback to the games you and Tony used to play when you were younger.  At their most intense, none of those games had high stakes like what you were experiencing now.

“Steve.  Until the bridge, you believed Bucky was dead.  Then you found out that he was alive, innocent and that HYDRA was controlling him.  You had only faith to drive you forward and try to bring him back and you did.  You reunited with your friend!  Give me a chance to have something like that.”  You pleaded.

“If she’s unconscious, will the bond progress?”

Rocket’s chest heaved as he gazed down at the table, “I’m not gonna help you do this.”

“Then we’ll just have to find out.”

Several things happened at once.  Nebula let out a defiant scream, Tony yanked the IV from his arm, Rhodey stepped forwards and his War Machine gauntlets powered up and Steve sped around the table coming to a stop half a metre in front of you.

“I’m doing this for your own good.”

“I hope that platitude keeps you warm at night,” you sneered at the same time that you summoned your power.  The world around you slowed down to a crawl as you disappeared from the Compound.

Chapter Text

Steve stared at the monitor in front of him.  As much as he wished that his eyes were deceiving him, the longer he watched the screen the less possible that wish became.  It had been a long five years since he had seen you or Clint and despite Scott Lang’s sudden appearance with the Pym Particles, Steve didn’t have much hope that he and the rest of the assembled Avengers would be able to reverse what Thanos had done.

Your disappointment and fear that day in the Avengers Compound haunted him every time he was alone with his thoughts or closed his eyes and the worst part was that you were right.  You and Nat had stood by him when he found out about Bucky after Fury had ‘died.’

If Steve were being honest with himself, he would admit to himself that the cracks in your friendship had formed because of his refusal to sign the Accords.  The only reason they had been so delayed was because you had been the one to save a Senator’s son in Sokovia.

The rift in your friendship deepened when he and Bucky fled the Leipzig-Halle Airport and left their team members behind.  Prior to Thanos’ attack, Wanda pointed out to Steve that you had worn Ross down to the point where he ordered the removal of the collar around Wanda’s neck and that the rest of the imprisoned Avengers deserved the decency to have their hands and feet unbound as they were kept behind cell doors made of pure energy.

But now as he watched the footage on the monitor, Steve couldn’t see the friend who had fought beside him in the Battle of New York and Sokovia.  The woman he saw on the monitor was ruthless.  This was the fifth report in two months about you pursuing HYDRA agents that had survived Thanos’ Snap and leaving a trail of disappearances in your wake.  Part of Steve was fearful that you and Ra’s al Ghul had found your way to each other and that there was no way back for you.

“Ronin’s been sighted again.  This time in Japan.”

“And you’re sure it’s him?”

“It's definitely Barton.  What he's done here, what he's been doing, for the last few years - if you'd seen what he's left - I gotta tell you, there's a part of me that doesn't even want to find him.”

Steve closed his eyes for a heartbeat, “Natasha.  Since Thanos, we’ve had to do things we don’t want to do.  You track Clint down and bring him back to base.  Tell him we’ve figured it out.  Tell him that we’ve found a way to get them home.  I’m gonna track her down.”  He pointed to the screen.

He turned and Natasha grabbed a hold of his arm, “Steve, what if she doesn’t listen?  We’ve seen the level that her powers have advanced to and you can’t tell me that you’re not the least bit concerned about what she does to the HYDRA agents after she’s finished with them.”

“I’ve gotta believe that she’s still in there.”

“And if she’s not?  What if she and Ra’s al Ghul have solidified their bond?”

“I don’t know Nat,” Steve sighed heavily.  He shook off the other Avenger’s hand and with one last glance at the picture of you on the screen, he left the Compound.  Tracking you down wasn’t easy.  While Steve knew that you had been last sighted in Cairo, the Egyptian capital was huge and it would take days to search the capital city.  Steve didn’t have days. 

The heat of the afternoon faded into a humid night and Steve carefully picked his way through the shadows.  It felt like he was straining every enhanced sense that he had in the gradually diminishing hope that he would find a clue that would lead him to you.

Feeling mentally drained, Steve lingered in the shadow of an abandoned building on the outskirts of the city.  His skin prickled exactly as it used to when Steve was standing next to you and you were about to use your powers.  He stepped back and examined the entry points to the house.

“One door, four windows.  The roof is sturdy and would make noise if something hit it.  Windows are single pane glass with metal bars creating a cross guard behind the class.  The door is probably barricaded but it would be the best entry point.  There is the chance that there is a back door but will using it be worth the time I waste time locating it?”

A tortured yell wrenched Steve from his thoughts and abandoning his idea of finding a back door into the building, Steve raised his shield to his chest and propelled himself through the front door.  He didn’t encounter as much resistance as he thought he might and picking himself up from the floor, Steve padded through the building.  He spotted light at the end of the corridor and he followed it until he came face to face with you and a man in chairs.  The man sitting opposite you was absolutely terrified but for some reason, he wasn’t moving from the chair which worried Steve.

“Ah, hello Steve,” you acknowledged him as if all the two of you were doing was meeting for coffee and not reuniting after five years of being apart following an argument that Steve knew had irrevocably damaged your friendship.  “Johannes and I were just about to have a little chat regarding the activities he took part in while he worked for HYDRA.  I’m particularly interested in how he and Baron Von Strucker acquired Loki’s sceptre which cleverly concealed the Mind Stone.”

“The Mind Stone,”  Steve uttered the last three words at the same time you did causing your voices to overlap.  “He might be more willing to tell you what he knows if you remove whatever hold you have on him.”

“See, I tried that,” you reminisced conversationally.  “Despite our tumultuous past, I made the mistake of approaching them person to person.  I thought we would have some common ground after everything that happened.”  You flicked your finger and Johannes stiffened, “But then, they tried my patience.  They were more interested in trying to kill me rather than revealing their secrets.  So, I changed my approach.”

“I noticed,”  Steve replied icily.  “I’ve been keeping an eye on you.”

“Well do something to stop her then!”  Johannes ordered.  “Free me and I’ll tell you whatever you want!”

“No, you won’t.”  You and Steve disagreed in unison. 

“Your loyalty to HYDRA is too strong to permit you to do that.”  You leaned forward and placed your hand on top of Johannes’ left one.  The HYDRA agent flinched and golden images appeared above his head.  Seeing the result of your advanced powers was one thing but actually being in the room and witnessing the degree to which they had grown had Steve’s heart beating erratically and sweat forming on his brow.

You raised your free hand and made a swiping moment.  The images moved with each gesture of your hand and Steve picked up on some of the comments that you made as you scrolled through the golden images, “Not that one.  Nope not interested in that either.  Boring.  Hmm, mildly entertaining.  So, that’s how you found out about the castle.  You hacked the remnants of the SHIELD servers.  Doesn’t anyone have any originality these days?  Oh, now this is what I’m looking for.”

Steve watched as the golden image directly above Johannes’ head began to play.  The sceptre was lying on the footpath underneath the crumbling STARK tower and Steve ground his teeth as he watched the STRIKE team, led by Rumlow, discover the sceptre, and retrieve it.  The image blurred and then refocused to show the sceptre in a glass case.  Two agents stood over it, examining the weapon and talking about the power it wielded.  One of the agents turned their back and the other agent used that moment to kill their partner.  That same agent that had betrayed their partner smuggled the sceptre out of SHIELD and then, with the help of a HYDRA agent, delivered the sceptre to Strucker.

By the time you were finished, Johannes was panting.  At first, Steve thought it was a trick of the light but then he realised that Johannes was aging rapidly.  His slick, brown hair turned grey, then white and became an unkempt mess.  His eyes became dull and the skin on his face sagged and became leathery.  You pulled your hand away from his and Johannes crumbled into dust.

“Why did you do that?”  Steve burst out, gesturing to the dusty pile on the floor.

You rose from your chair in a fluid manoeuvre, “Because I wanted to know the exact time that the Mind Stone was in New York and now that I do, I can prevent Thanos from taking it out of Vision’s head in Wakanda because it will never be in Vision’s head.”  You stated calmly.

With that sentence, Steve was stunned into silence.

Chapter Text

“Hi, I’m Scott!  We haven’t officially met but I was the giant man at the airport in Germany.”

“The one who tried to drop-kick me after I shrunk you the first time?”

“Yeah, sorry.”  Scott said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck, “Opposite sides you know?”

A small smile crossed your face, “Yeah.  I know.   You were the one who brought the Pym particles here?  How were you not caught up in the Snap?”

“Oh, I was in the quantum realm.”  Scott explained quickly as if it were completely normal to travel to a different dimension, “Time moves differently there.  I thought only a couple of minutes had passed.   When I eventually got out Hope, Hank, and Janet were gone.  I found the memorial to the Lost Ones, found out five years had passed, reconnected with my daughter, and pieced together what happened.”

“That’s a lot to process.”

“It was a lot to experience.”

“You’re back,” Nebula’s throaty voice sounded from the doorway, “Did you find your soul mate?”

You lowered your eyes and shook your head, “I searched for him during the first year that I was on my own.  I’d hear whispers but whenever I thought I was close, he’d slip away.  The second year I tracked him to this mountain range in Nepal.  For all of my efforts, a villager stopped me before I could reach the summit and cautioned me away.  “Knowing you’re the Master’s soul mate isn’t enough.  You need to prove that you’re worthy of the position.”  You recited the words that had been seared into your memory.

“Is that the reason you started hunting down the members of HYDRA?”  Tony questioned from his spot in front of Nebula.  Rhodey stood on the other side of him with an expression that was half relief, half worry.  Natasha and Clint stood on the other side of the doorway with neutral expressions; out of all the team, they were probably the ones who could comprehend your motives and how much your powers had grown since you had last set foot in the Compound.  Steve stood behind you as if he expected you to disappear from the Compound again.  Despite their different positions, you weren't feeling as if it was you against the Avengers.

“It’s part of it,” you confessed.  “When the villager said that to me, I was so angry, hurt and frustrated.”  You stared down at your hands, “Since my powers activated, I’ve been tested by everyone who wanted something from me.  SHIELD, HYDRA, Thanos.  The list goes on.  I remember wondering why I was so surprised that my soul mate wanted me to jump through hoops to prove that I was worthy of him.  I turned my back on the summit and as I was descending the mountain, I thought about how I had fought alongside the Avengers.  I never had to prove myself as a person to you.  To any of you.  That’s the reason why I started hunting down the HYDRA agents.  I realised that I could use my powers to help make things right and the best way to do that was to find out about the Infinity Stones.”

“In Cairo, you said that part of your plan was to stop Thanos from claiming the Mind Stone by making sure that it wasn’t in Vision’s head in the first place?”

“Ye-es?”

“How exactly were you going to accomplish that when the Mind Stone was one of the crucial elements that brought him to life?”

“I was planning to store some of my power in a resilient, enchanted gem, travel back to the past, destroy the Mind Stone, and put the gem in Vision’s head instead of the Mind Stone.  It would have the same effect on Vision.”

Slow clapping punctuated the end of your sentence.  You cast your gaze around the room and at first glance, none of your teammates were clapping and they appeared to be as confused as you were.  By the time you returned to your original position, your eyes had just enough time to catch a flicker of movement from the only unoccupied corner in the room.  One second no one was there and the next second, a tall man dressed in a black stealth suit with piercing, solid blue eyes and short brown hair stood in the corner, blocking your view of where the two walls connected.

“The will to act is a powerful thing,” he said.  “The ability to do so while being mindful of your surroundings is the only thing that is more important.  I have waited a long time to introduce myself to you, my soul mate.”

Chapter Text

“Thanks for finally deciding that I’m worth a personalised introduction,” you replied scathingly.  “But at the moment, I'm a little busy trying to save the world with my team and I don't have time for my soulmate’s manipulations.”  Inwardly you celebrated that your voice remained steady even though your emotions were a churning mess.  In the distance, you could hear loud clanging and heavy footfalls.  Figuring that Tony had created another AI and was using his suits to help him build a machine to undo Thanos' Snap, you dismissed the noises, despite the heavy footfalls growing louder as they approached.

Ra's stepped out of the shadows, “You had time then,” he argued, referring to your journey to Tibet and telling you that he'd overheard your conversation with Tony, Steve, Nebula, Nat, Clint, Rhodey, and Rocket.

Anger rapidly spread through your body like wildfire at the fact that he’d watched you from the shadows again and only revealed himself when he thought it would benefit him the most.  “I wouldn’t be surprised if he expected me to fall into his arms like some forties starlet.”  

You scoffed, “As I walked down that mountain, I thought if I ever met you I'd ask why I wasn't worth your time.   But now that you're standing here, I can't bring myself to care about your reasons anymore.  You had your chances and you squandered them by hiding in the shadows and treating me as if I was nothing more than a toy that you could pick up and put down whenever it amused you.”

You lifted your chin trying to project a confident air, “You can use the door at the end of the hallway to leave.  Please don't come back.”

“Are you so confident in your plan to undo Thanos' Snap that you're willing to throw away my assistance?”

“Wow, you'd think being the leader of a criminal underworld organisation would mean that you're a better listener.”  A familiar voice sounded and your eyes widened.  Though you were reluctant to turn your back on the leader of the League of Shadows, it'd been years since you'd seen Bruce.  The last time you'd seen him was when he crash-landed into the New York Sanctum.

“Besides,” your mind rationalised, “Everyone here's got my back and even if Ra's decides to attack, he can't defeat all of them without me noticing.”

You spun around to face Bruce and your jaw dropped, “Bruce!  You...um...Trying out a new haircut?”

He held up a hand, chuckling slightly, “I know, I know.  Tony said the same thing.  Hulk and I came to an arrangement.  Personally, I think the big guy was annoyed at only being able to say a few monosybillic phrases.”

“They call him Professor Hulk,” Tony put in, glaring over your shoulder at Ra's.

“So you’re teaching?”

“No,” Bruce denied, “though I still do some hero stuff like the occasional rescue.”

“Go show her what we’ve been working on,” Steve instructed.

Wanting to get as far from Ra’s as possible, you sped over to Bruce and the two of you left the cramped room.

“Steve told me what you’ve been up to,” Bruce rumbled, as the two of you walked.  Well, while he walked and you had to almost jog to keep up with him.

“It wasn’t like I snuck up behind them and plunged the dagger into their unsuspecting backs.”  You retorted defensively.  “Now that I think about it, if I’d done that, HYDRA probably would’ve mistaken that as me wanting to join them and that could’ve earned me a promotion after they stopped trying to avenge their teammates' deaths.”

Bruce shuddered, “There’s a horrible image.  You working for HYDRA.  But no, that’s not why I brought it up.”

“Then why did you?”

“Because all of us have done the revenge thing to some degree and it leads to a hollow victory even if you started with good intentions,” Bruce answered, making his way over to a console off to the side in a room that was spacious enough to be an aircraft hangar.  Racking your brain, it finally clicked that this was where the quinjet was stored when all of you were at the Compound.

“I didn’t realise you were a philosopher.”

Bruce didn’t answer and instead busied himself with fiddling with the console.  He twisted knobs, pulled levers, and pushed buttons.  With a whir, the tunnel-like machine powered up behind you with a constant hum.

“WE’VE RUN A FEW TESTS WITH THE MACHINE!” Bruce called over the din, “SO FAR THE MACHINE’S NOT WORKING LIKE WE HOPED IT WOULD!”

You clapped your hands over your ears to muffle the noise and stepped to the side of the machine.  “DOES THE MACHINE NEED TO BE ON RIGHT NOW?!”  You yelled, “WHEN WE RETURN TO THE PAST, I’D LIKE TO KEEP MY HEARING!”

As Bruce switched off the machine, he ducked his head to hide the sheepish expression on his face.  When the machine was completely off, Bruce gave you a thumbs up to let you know that it was safe for you to remove your hands from your ears.

“Who’d you run the tests with?”

“Scott Lang.  He’s the one who-”

“Brought the Pym Particles.  I know.  He told me.  You mentioned that the machine wasn’t working the way you wanted it to?”

“After every test, Scott came back as a baby or as an old man.  We can’t risk that happening to us when we go into different time streams to find the Infinity Stones.”

Your ears were still ringing as you made your way over to the console and peered at the various settings.  Your fingers skimmed along the buttons, knobs, and levers and a date appeared on the digital display.

You recoiled as if the display had scorched your fingers, “The reason Scott’s body is aging and de-aging rapidly is because you’re all viewing time as linear.  It’s not.  Time isn’t something that can be commanded either.  You need to think of it like a river that flows out to sea.  The current’s strong and fighting against it will only tire you out before you inevitably give up.”

“So the date’s the boat and we’re just along for the ride as opposed to the date’s the destination and we’re gonna get there come hell or high water.”

“Yeah.”

The two of you lapsed into a companionable silence which was only broken by Bruce’s groan, “HYDRA were experimenting with time travel too, weren’t they?”

You hummed an affirmative.  “They went about it a different way,” you grimaced.  “Because of their access to SHIELD’s database, resources, and records, they managed to acquire some of my blood and since Wanda and Pietro both volunteered to be test subjects for the Mind Stone, they already had her blood on standby.  After they isolated where our powers came from, HYDRA’s scientists extracted that fragment of DNA, bound the fragments together, and injected them into other…subjects.”

Bruce exhaled heavily, “Judging by your tone, is it safe to say that didn’t go well?”

You let out a hollow laugh, “There’s an understatement if I’ve ever heard one.  They kept detailed notes about every test subject and HYDRA aren’t exactly known for their willingness to surrender.  There were files for fifteen people in one base and they all met the same horrific fate.”

Bruce swallowed, “Your powers and Wanda’s aren’t meant to be in the same body.”

You stared straight ahead blankly, “They’re destructive on their own.  Combined?”  You shuddered, the hair on your arms standing upright as you remembered walking through the still-burning HYDRA base.  You could hear the screams echoing through the base and see the broken bodies strewn across the once-pristine floors.

Words continued to tumble from your lips uncontrollably, “I wouldn’t be surprised if Wanda’s powers are capable of so much more than we saw when she fought alongside us.  She had to watch Vision die.  That kind of thing is bound to leave a mark on a person.  Not only that but she lost her home and spent years hating Tony because of it.  Then she volunteered to be experimented on by HYDRA, was manipulated by Ultron, and lost Pietro fighting for her home which ended up being destroyed because of us and Ultron.”

“Now who’s the philosopher?”  Bruce joked weakly.

You shook yourself, “Because we’ve got the bug with the time travelling machine sorted, does that mean we’re ready to find the Stones and stop Thanos?”

Grateful for the change in topic, Bruce informed you that yes, now all of the Avengers would be travelling to retrieve the stones.  He handed you a change of clothes and grinned at your confused expression.

“They’re called Quantum Suits.  Tony designed them with nanotech ability and embedded time/space GPS in each of them.  He also made it so we would travel through the quantum realm using the Pym Particles.”

You ran your fingers across the soft fabric, “He thought of everything.”  You murmured, marvelling at Tony’s brilliance.

“Not everything,” Bruce corrected.  “You were the one who figured out why Scott was aging and de-aging.”

You didn’t respond until you shifted your arm and another suit fell to the ground.  Operating on reflex, you put your suit on the console next to you and immediately bent to pick up the suit that had fallen.  As you straightened up, you realised that this suit was designed for someone taller than you with broader shoulders.    

Awareness dawned on you and a part of you wished you’d left the suit on the ground.  Sensing your newfound understanding, Bruce plucked the suit from your limp fingers.  “Tony thought there’d be a possibility that he turned up and if he did, there was no way Tony was going to leave him here by himself.  Between us, I’m sure we’ll be able to keep him in check.  Persuading the Ancient One to relinquish the Time Stone should be easy after that.”

Bruce strode out of the room before you could reply and with a growl, you snatched your suit off of the console.  Minutes after you’d changed, the other Avengers walked into the hangar with their heads held high.  Ra’s was the last in line and you bit your lip, trying to ignore the fact that the suit fit him perfectly and that he looked damn good wearing it.

“He rejected you.”  Your brain helpfully reminded you.

Your team arranged themselves in a circle on the platform and you fought back another growl when you observed that while there were two empty spots, the one next to Ra’s al Ghul was meant for you.  Determinedly not looking at him, you stepped into the gap and Nat winked at you with a grin.

“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, that 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 going to win.  Whatever it takes.  Good luck.”

Rocket let out a low whistle, “He's pretty good at that.”

“Right?”  Scott agreed.

“Your captain is a sentimental fool.”

“You’re reminding me a lot of my brother, Loki.  Until the end, he never set much store by his feelings.  Aside from our mother, everyone was a nuisance and a brainless oaf to him.”

“Press those keys, Jolly Green,” Tony called over to Bruce and the scientist rolled his eyes before tapping the keys.

“See you in a minute,”  Nat said.

Bruce stepped back onto the dais as Clint promised to take care of Rocket’s ship.  The raccoon wasn’t too convinced by Clint’s promise and muttered to himself about the kind of people he usually let around his ship.  Seconds apart, your helmets slid down to cover your faces, and the enormity of what you were about to do overwhelmed you.

The inside of the machine began to spin, quickly becoming faster and faster while the humming grew louder and louder.  You were grateful for the helmet covering your face because it blocked out some of the noise and vibrations.  Then you were in the air, flying through the machine.  Before your very eyes, you could see different paths appearing and branching off in the swirling blue main corridor that you were all travelling through.

Making a conscious decision to control your breathing, you manoeuvred yourself so that you were flying behind Bruce, Scott, Tony, and Steve.  You could feel Ra’s trailing after you.   As you flew through the air, you felt a swooping sensation in your stomach and inexplicably you knew something was about to go very wrong.

Seconds later, your fears were proven correct.  The corridor that Bruce, Tony, Steve, and Scott passed through slammed shut in front of you.  Another one appeared half a heartbeat later but this one curved and then descended.  There was no way for you to stop in time.  There was no way for you to stop at all.

The only thing you could do as the swirling green corridor pulled you along was hope that wherever this new path took you, you and Ra’s would be able to find your way back.  Because the alternative was too horrible to consider.