INFERNO │ Marvel

10.4 preparing for the past

The Starks drove back to the compound the following day. It had turned out that the team had been too impatient for Amelia's return and had contacted Bruce instead. Amelia knew that was going to be a disaster. He was a brilliant scientist, but it wasn't exactly his area of expertise. Amelia had even warned them to wait, telling Steve with a quick text that they were on their way, although she didn't mention that they had figured it out. However, by the look on his face when they pulled up, they had tried, and it had, in fact, been a disaster.

Tony sped the car down the driveway and pulled to a stop right next to Steve. When he rolled down his window, Amelia leaned over and gave her friend a smug smile.

"I told you so," she said. Steve huffed and rolled his eyes.

"Why the long face?" Tony questioned. "Let me guess. He turned into a baby."

"Among other things, yeah," he confirmed. "What are you doing here?"

"It's the EPR paradox," Tony explained as they both got out of the car. "Instead of pushing Lang through time, you might've wound up pushing time through Lang. It's tricky. Dangerous. Somebody could've cautioned you against it."

"You did."

"Oh, did I?" Tony snarked. "Thank God, I'm here."

"Regardless, we fixed it," Amelia cut in. She held up a bracelet device. "A fully functioning time-space GPS."

"I just want peace," Tony said and threw up a peace sign while Steve smiled. "Turns out, resentment is corrosive, and I hate it."

"Me, too."

"We got a shot at getting these stones," he continued. "But I gotta tell you my priorities. Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I found? I have to, at all costs. And, maybe not die trying will be nice."

"Sounds like a deal," Steve agreed and held out his hand. Tony shook it. Amelia, meanwhile, moved to the trunk of the car with a smile on her face. She pulled out the shield and handed it to Tony to do the honours as a final peace offering.

"Tony, I don't know..." Steve sighed. Amelia scoffed.

"Why?" she questioned. "Our dad made it for you."

"Plus, honestly I have to get it out the garage before Morgan takes it sledding," Tony added. Steve smiled at them both before finally taking his shield back after so many years.

"Thank you, Tony."

"Will you keep that a little quiet?" Tony requested. "Didn't bring one for the whole team. We are getting, the whole team, yeah?"

"We're working on that right now."

Amelia had flown with Rocket and a new half-Hulk Bruce to Norway where the Asgardians had made their home. By flown, that meant she had ignited her wings for the first time in five years and literally followed them halfway across the world. It was so freeing to use her powers again after they had laid dormant for so long.

The Asgardians had repopulated a town called Tonsberg, now called New Asgard, where the Tesseract had been hidden on Earth for centuries before it was unearthed in the 40s. Amelia had visited a few times each year to see both Valkyrie and Thor. He hadn't been doing too well, but he had refused Amelia's help every time she offered to do something, anything. This time, she came with something that might change his mind. The three of them hopped off the back of the truck that had taken them the last leg of the journey.

"Kind of a step-down from a golden palace for an Avenger highness or whatnot," Rocket commented.

"Hey, have a little compassion, raccoon," Amelia chided him. "First, they lost Asgard, then lost half their people. They're probably just happy they have a home."