First Light | Steve Rogers (Book Two)

Chapter Forty-Three: The Return Of Ant-Man

It had been five years. Five years since the snap and we hadn't found a thing. Clint had gone rogue after his family disappeared, all we had to track him down was a trail of bodies across the world.

Steve and I had finally decided to get away from the terrible emptiness of the Avengers compound, getting a small apartment together in Brooklyn. Settling down into a quieter life wasn't as hard as I had expected. We'd both become regulars at the support club, making a few friends as the years went on. Joe had even convinced us to come along to Pride with him and his boyfriend, which was even cooler than I had expected. The press had a field day with that one.

The lights in the living area of the compound were still on when we got there. Nat was sat in the corner, trying to stifle her sobs. I guessed that Rhodey had told her about the bodies in Mexico. 

Steve and I exchanged a look of worry and he leant against the doorframe, "You know, I'd offer to cook you dinner... but you seem pretty miserable already"

She sighed heavily, bringing her hands away from her face. "You here to do your laundry?" she asked jokingly, a hint of resentment in her voice.

"And to see a friend" I added.

"Clearly, your friend is fine"

There was silence for a moment and she began to turn away from us. Unsure of what to say, I elbowed Steve in the ribs. He straightened up a little and cleared his throat, "You know, we saw a pod of whales when we were coming over the bridge"

She chuckled softly, "In the Hudson?"

"There's fewer ships, cleaner water"

"You know, if you're about to tell me to look on the bright side... I'm about to hit you in the head with a peanut butter sandwich"

He gave me an apologetic look as we headed over to her, taking a seat on the sofa next to her desk. "Sorry. Force of habit," he sighed as she passed us a plate of sandwiches, "You know, I keep telling everybody they should move on and grow. Some do... but not us"

The redhead frowned as she glanced at the various files piling up on the desk, "If I move on, who does this?"

"Maybe..." I murmured softly, "Maybe it doesn't need to be done"

"I used to have nothing. And then I got this. This job, this family... And I was better because of it. And even though they're gone, I'm still trying to be better"

I smiled sadly, "You know what? I think we all need to get a life"

"Like you haven't already," she scoffed as she gestured towards us, "I mean, you're living together. It's been... what, eight years? You're practically married by now"

"Married?" I rolled my eyes at her comment, "That's-"

A box of text popped up on a screen in the corner, warning us of a visitor outside the gates. Nat frowned and swiped her hand in front of us to show a video. "Uh, is anyone home? This is Scott Lang," my eyes widened in shock as he waved at us through the camera, "We met a few years ago at the airport... in Germany? I was the guy that got really big. I had a mask on, you wouldn't recognise me"

Steve slowly approached the screen, "Is this an old message?"

"It's the front gate"

We watched curiously as the man paced around, anxiously muttering to himself. "Scott..." Steve called after a moment, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," he span around to face us with wild eyes, "Have any of you guys ever studied quantum physics?"

"Only to make conversation" Nat shrugged.

He paused for a moment before jumping back into his rant, "All right, so... five years ago, right before... Thanos... I was in a place called the quantum realm. The quantum realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope! She's my, uh... she was my... sh-she was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened and I got stuck in there"

I sighed and crossed my arms as I watched his excitement falter a little, "I'm sorry. That must have been a very long five years"

"Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours. See, the rules of the quantum realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving" Nat was a little taken aback by his sudden diversion but nodded silently.

"Scott," Steve huffed, "What are you talking about?"

The man turned back to face us with a mouthful of peanut butter and bread, "So, what I'm saying is... time works differently in the quantum realm. The only problem is, right now, we don't have a way to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if we could somehow control the chaos and we could navigate it? What if there was a way that we could enter the quantum realm at a certain point in time... but then exit the quantum realm at another point in time? Like... like before Thanos"

We stood in a stunned silence, gaping at him in confusion. "Wait, I murmured quietly, "Are you talking about a time machine?"

"No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. This is more like a..." he sighed in defeat, "Yeah, like a time machine. I know, it's crazy. It's crazy. But I c-can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be some way"

Nat huffed as she studied him interestedly, "Scott, I get emails from a raccoon. So, nothing sounds crazy anymore"

"So, who do we talk to about this?"