𝐷𝑒𝑎𝑑 𝑡𝑜 𝑚𝑒~ 𝐵.𝐵𝑎𝑟𝑛𝑒𝑠

FIFTY TWO

"Now, we know what it sounds like..." Scott says after he finishes explaining the plan to Tony, "Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve asks, "Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck Scale, which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that?" I had no clue what the hell he was on about and judging by the looks on my other three friends faces neither did they.

"In Layman's terms, it means you're not coming home." Tony says, "I did." Scott pipes up, "No, you accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull off a... What do you call it?" He asks, "A time heist?" Scott says straying to hide his pride. "Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipedream?"

"The Stones are in the past. We can go back and get them." Scott says, "We can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back." Nat adds, "Or screw it up worse than he already has, right?"

"I don't believe we would." Steve also speaks up, "Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said time heist. I believe the most likely outcome would be our collective demise." Tony tells us, "Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sporting events -"

"I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back To The Future?" I look to Scott, "No." he says embarrassed. "Good. You had me worried there. 'Cause that'd be horse shit. That's not how quantum physics works."

"Tony... We have to take a stand." Nat pleads, "We did stand. And yet, here we are."

"I know you got a lot on the line. You got a wife, a daughter. But I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did." His voice gets louder as he tries to sell his desperation to Tony. "And now, now we have a chance to bring her back. To bring everyone back. And you're telling me that won't even..."

"That's right, Scott, I won't even. I got a kid." Just then Morgan and Dean come running out. Morgan runs to her dad, who picks her up. "Mommy told me to come and save you." She tells him, "Good job. I'm saved."

"You've been awfully quiet Burns." Tony says turning to me, "I feel like we could pull it off." I tell him making him sigh before turning back to the others, "I wish you'd come here to ask me something else. Anything else. Honestly, I... I missed you guys, it was... Oh, and table's set for six."

"Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance." Steve tries, "I got my second chance right here, Cap. I can't roll the dice again and neither should you." He says glancing at Dean who I instinctively hold tighter. "If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch."

"You wanna stay for lunch?" I ask Dean who shakes his head and so we walk back to the car. "He's scared." Natasha says, "He's not wrong." Steve tells her, "Yeah, but I mean, what are we gonna do? We need him. What, are we gonna stop?" Scott asks. "No, I wanna do it right. We're gonna need a really big brain."

"Bigger than his?" Scott asks incredulously.

And that's how we find ourselves sat in a cafe with Bruce only this Bruce was um different. I sit beside Scott and across from Steve who has Dean in his lap and is feeding him.

"Come on, I feel like I'm the only one eating." Bruce says pushing a plate forward. "Try some of that. Have some eggs." I smile at the face Dean makes, he like me hated eggs.

"I'm so confused." Scott says as he looks at Bruce, who was permanently big and green now, he kinda scared Dean but that was understandable because as much as I loved Bruce I didn't like him like this, it was just a bit strange. "These are confusing times."

"Right. No, no, that's not what I meant." Scott says as he still stares at Bruce in bewilderment,
"No, I get it. I'm kidding! I know. It's crazy. I'm wearing shirts now." Bruce says, "Yeah! Wh...How? Why?"

"Five years ago, we got our asses beaten. Except it was worse for me. Because I lost twice. First, Hulk lost, then Banner lost. Then, we all lost." He starts off the explanation, "No one blamed you, Bruce." Nat tells him.

"I did. For years, I've been treating the Hulk like he's some kind of disease, something to get rid of. But then I started looking at him as the cure. Eighteen months in a gamma lab. I put the brains and the brawn together. And now look at me. Best of both worlds..." Three children behind Bruce then walk up to him tentatively. "Excuse me, Mr. Hulk?" The little girl asks. "Yes?"

"Can we get a photo?" She asks him, "100%, little person. Come on, step up." He says before holding out the phone to Scott. "You mind?"

Then after a painfully awkward moment where Scott offers to take a picture with the kids only for them to refuse and for Bruce to try and then talk them into it but for them to continue refusing making Scott upset  and lowkey annoyed.

"Bruce." Steve says trying to get the green mans attention as he continually rambles after the kids, "Bruce." He says again. "Listen to your Mom. She knows better."

"About we were saying..." Steve says trying to get the conversation back on track. "Right. The whole time travel do-over? Guys, it's outside my area of expertise." Bruce tells us, "Well, you pulled this off. I remember a time when that seemed pretty impossible time, too."

So we agree to try the whole time travel thing with Bruce tomorrow and honestly no I did not have high hopes for this, no offence to Bruce but I did not think that he knew what he was doing.

• • •

"You think this is gonna work?" I ask Steve and Nat as we get home, "we're gonna have to hope it does." Steve says Nat nodding along. I follow after Steve as he sets Dean in his bed, "he sleeps just like him." Steve says as he joins me at the door way, I let a small smile make its way to my face, "he laughs like him too." Steve nods, "and his smile, his smile is identical." I sigh, "I miss him." Steve nods wrapping an arm around me, "I do too, but we have a shot." I nod and lean into him not really believing in this shot, I wasn't gonna get my hopes up not yet.

Wait omg have I updated 4 times in one day?