Lost Our Minds |5| The Ascension

Chapter Forty Three: Endgame-Try, Try Again

Rhodey raised his eyebrows as Scott modelled the new quantum suit. "Time travel suit? Not bad. Di Angelo's blueprints really came through, huh?"

Bruce grinned. "You bet." He inserted a red glass tube into the suit.

"Hey, hey, hey!" Scott complained. "Easy, easy!"

"I'm being very careful," Bruce assured him.

"No, you're being very Hulky," Scott corrected nervously. "These are Pym particles, alright? And ever since Hank Pym got snapped out of existence, this is it. This is what we have. We're not making any more."

"Scott, calm down," Rhodey said, clapping him on the back.

After a long moment, Scott sighed. "Sorry," he replied sheepishly. "We've got enough for one round trip each. That's it. No do-overs. Plus two test runs." He accidentally hit a button and shrank, then regrew. "One test run."

***

A little while later, the Avengers had gathered in the newly built testing chamber.

"I'm not ready for this," Scott admitted, remembering what happened last time he tried the suit.

McKenzie stepped in. "I'll do it."

Zosia blinked. "Wait, no, that's too big a risk. What if something happens to you?"

"Dying doesn't scare me," McKenzie said, shrugging. "Been there, done that." She frowned, distracted. "Maybe I could get an actual t-shirt..."

"Yeah, but she's right, maybe I should—" Clint tried.

McKenzie rolled her eyes. "Who here has the most experience with time travel?" Everyone was silent. "Exactly. I'll be fine."

***

Five minutes later, she walked back into the room, wearing the quantum suit.

"Kenzie, now you're gonna feel a little discombobulated from the chronoshift," Bruce warned as she took her position on the platform. "Don't worry about it."

She flashed him a smile, tying back her hair. "Lovely word choice."

"Wai-wait a second, let me ask you something," Rhodey interrupted. "If we can do this, you know, go back in time, why don't we just find baby Thanos, you know, and..." He trailed off, miming a garotting.

McKenzie paled considerably. "I'm not killing a baby. Even a Thanos baby."

Rhodey's eyes widened in realisation. "Oh, man, I'm sorry, I didn't even think!"

"Also, time doesn't work that way," Bruce added. "Changing the past doesn't change the future."

"Look, we go back, we get the stones before Thanos gets them... Thanos doesn't have the stones," Scott explained. "Problem solved."

Clint shrugged. "Bingo."

Nebula rolled her eyes. "That's not how it works."

"Well, that's what I heard," he told her.

"What?" Bruce spluttered, incredulous. "By who? Who told you that?"

Rhodey started to count off on his fingers. "Star Trek, Terminator, TimeCop, Time After Time—"

"Quantum Leap," Scott interjected.

"A Wrinkle In Time, Somewhere in Time—"

"Hot Tub Time Machine—"