Chapter 50

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It had been a week or so since Tony and the raccoon Rocket had come and retrieved Anya from Wakanda.

They had finally figured the 'how', 'when' and 'where'; the "Time Heist" was officially a go.

The group stood in the conference room where the holograms displaying the different locations; the Soul and Power Stones in space in Two-thousand and Fourteen, the Reality Stone in Asgard, Two-thousand and Thirteen; and the Space, Mind, and Time Stones in New York City, Two-thousand and Twelve.

Steve stood tall, inspiration flowing from his form. "All right. We have a plan. Six Stones, three teams. One shot."

All of them walked up and looked at the screens determinedly. Avengers walked in a file to the Quantum Time machine, wearing the Quantum Suits, albeit with some minor differences for different people.

Steve smiled at his family, his team. "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."

Tony gave Steve a look, which caused the other man to smirk in response. "Whatever it takes. Good luck."

Rocket referred to Steve's speaking. "He's pretty good at that."

Scott nodded excited. "I know right."

Tony shook his head in exasperation at Rocket and Scott. "All right. You heard the man. Stroke those keys, jolly green."

Bruce stood by the controls. "Tractors engaged."

Rocket turned to Clint who held the ship Benatar in his palm. "You promise to bring that back in one piece, right?"

Clint smirked, teasing the racoon. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay. I'll do my best."

Rocket frowned but shrugged. "As promises go, that was pretty lame."

Natasha and Anya both laughed. Anya turned to her twin and hugged him, whispering in his ear, "Till the end of the line Stevie."

Natasha nodded to her husband before kissing her wedding rings. "See you in a minute."

They all shrunk and entered the Quantum Realm, splitting at different intervals, destined for different places in different time in history.

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Bruce stood watching as the body of his version of the Hulk laid on a beach chair, looking as if she was sleeping with a hat on.

Bruce pleaded with the woman; The Ancient One, "Please, please!"

"I'm sorry, I can't help you, Bruce. If I give up the Time Stone to help your Reality, I'm dooming my own."

Bruce followed the woman around her rooftop garden, looking down at his transparent body with distaste. "With all due respect, I'm not sure the science really supports that."

Sighing the Ancient One created a projection with a long ray that simulated the flow of time. "The Infinity Stones create what you experience as the flow of time. Remove one stone and that flow splits."

She flicked the projection of the Time Stone away and a black stream indicating a point of divergence formed.

"Now, this may benefit your reality, but my new one...not so much. In this new branched Reality, without our chief weapon against the forces of darkness, our world will be overrun. Millions will suffer. So, tell me, Doctor, can your science prevent all that?"

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