Little Situation

Chapter 32

"Clint." Steve shook his hand and then pulled him into a hug.

The two of them were in the exact same boat, knowing how it felt. Steve looked at the sleeve that Clint got. Clint pointed to Steve's tattoo on his bicep.

"Looks like we had the same thought."

"Ha, yeah. Spur of the moment."

"You never did have great impulse control."

"Not at all."

The two of them laughed. They weren't big laughs but they were genuine and that's all that really mattered. Clint decided he would go through for the test run of the machine now that Tony had worked on it. Clint suited up, ready to go. They sent Clint through and ten seconds later he came back holding a baseball glove. It worked. This time heist actually worked.

"Alright. We've got the how now we just have to figure out the when and where. We have limited particles to retrieve the stones. This has to be perfect," Steve entered into Captain mode, he might've stopped being Captain America five years ago but clearly leading never left his blood.

"We know almost everyone in this room has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones."

Tony paced back and forth in front of the holographic panel. They had to time this perfectly, no errors, no do overs. The teams were decided. Rhodey, Nebula, Nat, and Clint were going to space to retrieve the Soul Stone and Power Stone. Pietro, Thor, and Rocket were going to Asgard for the Reality Stone. Tony, Bruce, Steve, and Scott were headed to New York in 2012 to retrieve the other three.

Steve entered the large garage where the time machine was held looking like someone the team almost didn't recognize. He had shaved, his hair was cut short, and was wearing his old suit that still had the star underneath the nanotech of the time machine suits. He figured if they were going to be spotted in 2012, he needed to look like his former self. They all looked to him for a pep talk as he stepped onto the platform.

"Alright. There's enough for one round trip each. We can't mess this up. No mistakes. Most of us are going somewhere we know but that doesn't mean we should know what to expect. Stay sharp and stay safe. We meet back in five minutes."

Tony flew up to the top floor of Avengers Tower and snuck into the tower with a tiny Ant-man on his shoulder.

"Oh, Mr. Rogers I forgot that suit did nothing for your ass."

"No one asked you to look, Tony."

"I think you look great, Cap," Scott said. "As far as I'm concerned that's America's ass."

"Alright, STRIKE team's got the scepter. Going back down the elevator. Coming your way Cap," Tony said.

"On it."

Steve pressed the button to open the doors to a crowded elevator full of S.H.I.E.L.D— HYDRA— agents. This wasn't going to be like that last time. He knew who they were, what to do. Steve got in, settling himself right in the middle of all of them.

"Captain, I thought you were coordinating search and rescue," Sitwell said.

"Hey, Cap."

"Rumlow." Steve tried to keep his voice professional and light. "I just got a call from the secretary, I'm running point on the scepter."

"Hmm?"

"Got word there might be an attempt to steal it."

"I'm gonna have to call the Director." Sitwell started to reach for his phone.