𝐀𝐕𝐀𝐓𝐀𝐑 - MCU

IV. TONY'S TIME TRAVEL MACHINE

IV. TONY'S TIME TRAVEL MACHINE
_________

The quinjet descended, the Avengers compound gradually coming into view. Her nerves were rising, now that there was no way back to her peaceful life at the Southern Air Temple. Luna gripped the metal case in her hands tighter. She had almost cried when Queen Ramonda gave it to her. It was from Shuri. It was a promise Shuri had made all those years ago, when they had first met.

"Did you open it?" Derek asked, looking at his sister intently. "See what it looks like?"

Luna fingered the handle of the case, not looking up. "I already know what it looks like. She showed it to me when she first started to design it. I'll open it when I need it."

Derek nodded at her slowly, before standing up and walking to the pilot seat. He leaned against the metal wall, looking out the window. "Why is this place so massive?" he asked, seeing the compound appear. "There's only seven of you."

Steve sighed, and waited until the quinjet had fully landed before getting up. "There used be a lot more," he said, heading to the bay doors.

The bay doors opened slowly, the bright morning sun beaming down on the trio as they stepped out. It was still chilly outside, and Luna pulled her jacket tighter to her body. She would have to start getting used to the New York weather again. Holding the handle even tighter, the skin on her knuckles whitening, she gritted her teeth. There were so many memories in this place. Ones that she would rather forget, but were impossible to remove from her mind.

Derek placed an arm around her shoulder, pulling her into his side for a second before letting go. She gave him a reserved smile, and the two siblings followed Steve inside.

The compound still looked the same as it had done five years ago; large, spacious, a lot of shades of white and grey and many wall-consuming windows that let in natural light. However, it had never seemed this empty before. The compound used to be filled with heroes, scientists, journalists and politicians rushing from place to place. People used to work there. Without the babble of people, their footsteps echoed uncomfortably.

"Where is everyone?" Derek asked, pushing the button for the elevator.

"Upstairs," Steve said shortly. The elevator arrived, and the three of them filed in. Steve pushed the button for the fourth floor. "We've been operating from the fourth floor. It's where Tony's lab is. The team should be waiting for us; I texted Nat when we landed."

Luna leaned against the elevator wall, her hands clenched in the pockets of her jacket. She had taken her outfit out of the emergency clothes chest in the quinjet, and this was the best she could scrounge together; straight denim jeans, a t-shirt with the logo of some old rock band that must have belonged to Tony at some point, and a maroon leather jacket that Natasha had stored there. She had cut her hair better when she had gotten her hands on a pair of scissors.

The only thing of her own that she still wore were her doc martens. They were half falling apart, but they had been hers since she was fifteen. Almost a decade old, Luna realized as the elevator dinged. She shook off her existential thoughts and followed Steve and Derek out of the elevator.

They went down another corridor and turned the corner. They were walking past a wall made of windows now, looking into the room they were headed to. Luna averted her eyes. Everybody was there.

Tony, Rhodey and Natasha were sitting on the couch chatting, while Clint sat beside them broodingly. The Hulk was there. Luna had to do a double take. It certainly looked like the Hulk, with green skin and standing at a generous seven feet tall, but he was behaving strangely calm. He wasn't as big, or as muscled as the Hulk, and his face looked like Bruce; normal, human Bruce, except green. He was even talking normally with Rocket the talking raccoon and Nebula.