Whatever it Takes: Endgame

Chapter 2

Scott was pacing and mumbling to himself. Natasha and Bruce stood side by side on one end of the desk with Steve on the other, while Clint was leaning against the wall.

Natasha pushed back her thoughts and emotions as Scott paced in front of them. She knew that now was not the time to break down. She had to stay strong, at least for the next few minutes.

"Scott," Steve said, getting the other man's attention. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," Scott replied, them rubbed his face with his hands. "Have any of you guys ever studied quantum physics?"

"Yes," Bruce replied.

"Only to make conversation," Natasha said.

Scott addressed the group, "All right, so six months ago, right before... Thanos. I was in a place called the quantum realm. The quantum realm is like it's own microscopic universe. To get in there you have to be incredibly small. Thanos happened and I got stuck in there, until Dr. Banner pulled me out."

"Sorry, buddy," Clint said. "That must have been a long six months."

"Yeah, but that's just it. It wasn't," Scott said. "For me, it was six 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."

Scott ran to the last half of Natasha's sandwich and took a bite out of it, causing Bruce to grimace in disgust.

"Scott," Steve said, trying to get the man to focus. "What are you talking about?"

Scott turned his attention back to the group, eating as he spoke, "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."

"Wait," Steve said. "Are you talking about a time machine?"

"No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. More like a...," Scott tried to scoff it off, but then gave in. "Yeah. Like a time machine. I know, it's crazy. It's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be... some way... it's crazy."

"Scott, I get emails from a raccoon, so nothing sounds crazy anymore," Natasha said.

"So, who do we talk to about this," Scott asked.

Natasha turned her attention to her fiancée. "Bruce?"

"I can do it," Bruce said. "But Tony is more advanced in this field than I am and he's an engineer, so I'll need his help to build the machine. I'll call him and let him know we're coming over."

___

When Bruce went to call Tony, Natasha went up to her room for privacy. She took a breath as she tried to calm herself down.

"Too soon," Natasha whispered as she sat on the couch and put her head in her hands. "It's too soon."

She lifted her head when she heard the door open to see Bruce come inside and shut the door behind him. He looked at her as he walked to the couch and kneeled in front of her to look her in the eyes.

He took her hands in his and asked, "What's wrong?"

"I thought we'd have more time," she answered. "I know finding the stones and bringing everyone back now is better than later, but there's this part of me that's terrified of going back to Vormir. I thought I'd have a few more years to brace myself for that. And as selfish as it sounds, I wanted more time with you."

She couldn't fight her tears anymore as Bruce sat next to Natasha and hugged her to him.

"It'll be okay," he whispered, but his voice gave away his own fears. She knew that he was trying to be strong for her sake.

She buried her head in his neck and let him comfort her. She usually tried to be stronger than this, but in that moment she was terrified. But she knew if it came down to her and Clint again, she'd still make sure her best friend and half of the world got home. She would still jump.

When they both broke the hug, Bruce wiped Natasha's tear streaks and told her, "I called Tony. Steve went to get the car with Clint, and Scott is downstairs eating whatever's in sight."

Natasha nodded and got up. Bruce followed her lead, but softly grabbed her hand to stop her before she could open the door. When she turned to face him, he kissed her passionately.

When he broke the kiss, he said, "I adore you."

"I adore you too," Natasha told him as she pressed her forehead to his.

They stayed like that for a few seconds until there was a knock on the door.

Clint's voice was heard telling them, "Nat, Bruce. We got to go."

"In a minute, Barton," Natasha yelled out, then composed herself.

Natasha kept her eyes locked on Bruce as she told him, "We need to bring them all back. Whatever it takes."

Bruce nodded in agreement and they both left the room to see Clint waiting in the hallway. The archer didn't say anything as they all got on the elevator and made their way to join Scott and Steve in the car.