The Prince and the Sol

Chapter 18

ELIZA'S POV

"Okay, here we go. Time travel test number one!" Bruce calls, leaning over controls. "Scott, fire up the uh... the van thing." I give Scott a thumbs up, showing off the false confidence I definitely don't have.

"Bruce, I'm supposed to be advising you on this, correct?"

"Yes."

"Let me enlighten you, then. This isn't going to work. It's not ready yet," I mutter. Scott approaches the van. "We could be messing with the EPR paradox."

"I don't think it's as serious as the EPR paradox. We've got to try it, it's the only way to see how close we are." I roll my eyes. For someone so smart, he can be quite an idiot.

"Breakers are set, emergency generators are on standby," Steve says.

"Good. 'Cause if we blow the grid, I don't wanna lose Tiny here in the 1950s." Everyone takes a minute to send my brother a panicked look.

"Bruce!" I screech.

"Excuse me?" Scott asks with eyes bigger than the moon.

"He's kidding," Nat tells Scott. "You can't say things like that!"

"Just... it was a bad joke," he admits. Her eyes narrow and she lowers her voice.

"You were kidding, right?"

"I have no idea! We're talking about time travel here. Either it's all a joke, or none of it is." He gives Scott a big thumbs up, as if absolutely nothing will go wrong. I groan and stand near Steve. "We're good! Get your helmet on, Scott. I'm gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in 10 seconds. Make sense?"

"Perfectly not confusing," Scott replies, nodding.

"Good luck, Scott," Steve says. "You've got this."

And in perfect fangirl fashion, he says, "you're right. I do, Captain America." Bruce presses a button, which makes Scott disappear into the Quantum tunnel.

"On the count of three. 3... 2... 1!" Bruce presses another button, and a teenager in a Quantum suit appears. I lunge forward, Steve grabbing me so I don't trip or do something stupid.

"Uh, guys? This doesn't feel right."

"What is this?" Loki asks, confused.

"Who is that?"

"What did you do?"

"What's going on?"

Bruce keeps pressing buttons, which is probably a huge mistake. "Hold on!"

"Is that Scott?" Natasha asks.

"YES, IT'S SCOTT!" Scott says indignantly. He gets sucked back into the tunnel, only to appear as an old man moments later. "Ow, my back!"

"What is this?" Steve yells.

"Can I get a little space here?" Bruce demands, running his hands over controls.

"Yeah, yeah. Can you bring him back?" This time, a baby appears. I just stare.

"It's a baby." Loki states the obvious and everyone fights to stay calm.

"It's Scott!" insists Bruce.

"AS A BABY!" Steve yells.

"He'll grow," Bruce says dismissively.

"Bring Scott back!" Steve demands. I shove my brother out of the way and turn to Nat.

"When I say kill the power, kill it." She nods. "And... kill it!" She pulls a lever on the generator, shutting everything down. The Quantum tunnel tosses normal Scott out of it.

"Someone peed my pants. But I don't know if it was baby me or old me." He looks up at us. "Or just me me."

Bruce holds his hands out. "Time travel!" Steve just shakes his head and leaves. I approach Scott.

"Seriously, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," he says, though he really doesn't look it. But I have other matters on my mind.

"I'm going to find Steve." No one stops me, so I run down the hallway Steve did and eventually wind up outside. I see a familiar blond and someone I didn't expect to see.

"Tony." Standing next to Steve, I address him. "What are you doing here?"

"Saving you all. As usual." He flicks his right hand up, showing off a small, metallic device. "I thought you'd get wrapped up in this. Nice to see you, Eliza."

"Is that-?"

"Of course it is. You are very welcome." I smile. His tinted glasses and fancy car take me back years, back to when we all used to be some sort of family. Maybe we still are, but I don't think Steve and Tony have really met since Germany. He addresses the two of us. "We got a shot at getting these stones, but I gotta tell you my priorities. Bring back what we lost? I hope, yes. Keep what I got? I have to, at all costs. And... maybe not die trying will be nice."

"Sounds like a deal." Steve sticks out a hand, and Tony shakes. I offer my hand, and he smirks.

"Do you seriously think I'm shaking your hand? I don't think you were even that formal the time we first met. Get over here." I grin and give him a hug. Now we've got a team. Tony seems to remember something and opens the trunk of his car, pulling out the Captain America shield. I stare at it, but Steve hesitates.

"Tony..."

"Why? He made it for you. Plus, honestly, I have to get it out of the garage before Morgan takes it sledding." I turn a laugh into a cough. He doesn't know that when he and Pepper left for a trip, we let her do that.

"Thank you, Tony." Steve fits the shield on his arm, where it's meant to be. He looks like a hero again.

"Will you keep that a little quiet? I didn't bring one for the whole team." He raises his eyebrows. "We are getting the whole team, yeah?"

"We're working on that right now." Steve leads us back into the compound, a place I don't think Tony's been in for years.

"Is Reindeer Games here with you?" Tony asks. Steve snorts, probably remembering my headwear from a few days ago. I shove him playfully.

"Yeah, he's around here somewhere. Now that you're here, we can start bringing everyone else home." I think about the people we'll have to track down. Thor, Nebula, Rocket... and Clint. I've had Natasha keep me updated on Clint these past few years. I honestly don't want to believe the things she tells me, but grief does terrible things to people.

"The team's in there," Steve says, pointing to the room where the van is. Tony straightens his sunglasses.

"Well, let's go say hello, shall we? FRIDAY, play Iron Man." He pushes open the doors to make his grand entrance. I shake my head, a small smile spreading on my lips.

Heyyyyy!!! Currently writing this while jamming out to "Iron Man" by Black Sabbath. Excuse me for a moment.

*headbangs in the distance*

Okay, I'm back.