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went to Scott Lang, who they had counted in the Vanished. Seeing him gave her an ounce of hope, but then again, so did seeing Loki. And he, apparently, didn't vanish. He just disappeared from her.

No hard feelings, as you can see.

However, she rushed outside to embrace Steve. She suddenly became emotional upon seeing him, and remorseful that she dodged so many calls.

"God, you look so different," He mumbled into her hair.

"Mourning will do that to you," She half-laughed, half-cried.

After embracing both Natasha and Scott, Alex stepped aside so Tony could walk over. He looked positively peeved that they had dropped in unannounced, and ignored a 'be nice' look from Alex. He sighed, and gestured for them to come inside.

Alex got a pitcher of sweet tea for everyone, sitting down on the porch with the group. She poured the glasses, listening to Scott talk for about ten minutes about absolute nonsense.

And by nonsense, she meant time travel.

"Now, we know what it sounds like..." Scott said to Tony, who was deep in thought.

"Tony, after what you've seen, is anything really impossible?" Steve jumped in.

Tony sighed. "Quantum fluctuation messes with the Planck Scale, which then triggers the Deutsch Proposition. Can we agree on that?"

Everyone displayed a blank face.

"In Layman's terms, you're not coming home."

"I did," Scott chimed.

"No, you accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. And now you wanna pull off a... What do you call it?"

"...A time heist."

Alex snorted, then tried covering it up with a cough.

"Yeah, a time heist. Of course, why didn't we think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipedream?" Tony jabbed.

"The Stones are in the past. We can go back and get them."

"Tony, we can snap our own fingers. We can bring everyone back," Alex spoke up.

"I can't believe you're considering this." Tony said to her. "Or, we screw it up worse than he already has? What are your motives for this, hm? Go back and save Reindeer Games so he can break your heart again?"

Alex fell silent. She was unsure whether or not it was a good idea to disclose that Loki never vanished. Then again, she had no reason to protect him.

"I don't believe we would," Steve responded.

"Gotta say, sometimes I miss that giddy optimism." Tony mocked. "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."

Scott shook his head. "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, Lang. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back to the Future?"

"..No."

"Good. You had me worried there. 'Cause that'd be horse shit. That's not how quantum physics works."

"Tony," Natasha pled. "We have to take a stand."

"We did stand. And yet, here we are."

Alex's eyes fell to the floor as she felt eyes on her. She still felt responsible for the team's failure to defeat Thanos, even moreso now that some of her teammates were there.

"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." Scott's voice rose as he grew desperate. "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 can't."

Morgan came running out, interrupting the solemn conversation.

"Mommy told me to come and save you." She spoke.

"Good job, I'm saved," Tony scooped her up. "I wish you'd come here to ask me something else. Anything else. Honestly, I...I missed you guys. Oh, and table's set for seven."

Alex smiled softly, knowing that it pained Tony to say he missed Steve. Although he said 'you guys', she knew it was directed toward his on/off frenemy.

"Tony, I get it. And I'm happy for you, I really am. But this is a second chance."

"I got my second chance right here, Cap." Tony was swaying with Morgan. I can't roll the dice on it. If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch."

The group ate lunch and talked about anything but their previous conversation. Mostly, it consisted of Stark Industries' growth under Alex's supervision. Once they were finished, Alex stepped outside with Steve.

"So, how have you been?" He asked politely.

"Steve, I'm sorry I've been a ghost. I just...I can't go back to the life you want me to--"

"Hey, hey, no hard feelings. I just wish you'd kept me a bit more in the loop. I want nothing but what's best for you, and if that's not this life, then so be it."

She sighed, leaning against the porch railing. "I've been lost, truthfully. That day haunts me every night."

"Thinking it's your fault?"

She humorlessly chuckled, nodding.

"We all get it. That feeling that you didn't do enough. But, Alex, nothing could've prevented this. Not in this narrative, anyway. But, we have the opportunity to change it. We just need everyone onboard."

"I hate to say that I'm considering it. God, how crazy is that? I'm thinking that time travel is possible. What a world we live in, right?"

"I know."

"It just makes you wonder," She thought aloud. "You know when you say 'if I could go back'....well what if you really could go back? The fact that might be actually possible, it terrifies me. What if I go back, and nothing changes? Or, I do worse?"

"I just know that even if it does, I can said I tried." Steve gave her an assuring smile.

Natasha and Scott walked out of the house, indicating they were ready to leave.

"Please, call me if you change your mind." Steve whispered to Alex, patting her shoulder comfortingly.

She watched them get in the car, and pull away. Once they were out of sight, she went back in the house. Tony was putting the leftover food in a container while Morgan ate her ice cream.

"Can you believe it?" Alex broke the silence.

"No." He sighed. "No, I can't."

"I guess I wonder if it's worth it to try."

"If the worth is measured by the cost," He paused, watching his daughter eat without a care in the world. "Then no, it's not."

"Then that's that."

Alex left the kitchen, going back to her room to finish packing. Her mind swirled with scenarios and outcomes that could become a reality. Her head began to ache as the words 'second chance' echoed in her brain.

All thoughts ceased as she walked into her room to find, yet again, Loki.

"What a vigorous conversation, hm?" He spoke.

"Will you stop doing that?" Her hand had flown to her chest in surprise.

"It's like I'm reading a book. What will happen next? Will the valiant superhero rise up to the challenge, or will he cower in fear of failure?"

"Why is the superhero a 'he'?" She scoffed.

"It would feature you, but I already know how your story would end. With cowering in fear of failure." He deadpanned.

"Ouch,"

"Am I incorrect?"

She groaned, throwing shirts into her suitcase. "I don't know."

"You seem tense," Loki's voice soothed, a smirk evident. "Might I offer some...relaxation?"

"Nice try, wiseass. You can't even touch me."

"I just wanted to see what you'd say. And it wasn't necessarily a no."

She rolled her eyes. "It's a no in every language. How many times do I have to explain that I've got no room for any emotion besides hatred toward you?"

"As many times as it takes before you believe that."

"Whatever. Besides, what do you gain from me reversing everything that happened? So you can betray me in a different fashion?"

He shook his head, his condescending laughter echoing in the room. "You still don't get it, do you?"

"Get what," She grew tired of his games.

"No matter. Eventually, you will."

"The only thing I want to get, Loki, is rid of you. Stop appearing or astral projecting or whatever it is you do, before I call Tony in here."

"Good luck finding someone to believe you," He smirked. "I'll be seeing you."

Alex picked up a heel, and chucked it right at his grinning face. Right before it reached him, he disappeared. She sat on her bed, screaming violently into a pillow. Once she got that out of her system, she buried her face into her hands.

Her distress between the time travel and Loki's antics only grew as she came to the disdainful realization that her heart was beating a million times a minute.

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𝚘𝚔 𝚜𝚘 𝚎𝚗𝚍𝚐𝚊𝚖𝚎 𝚑𝚊𝚜 𝚘𝚏𝚏𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚊𝚕𝚕𝚢 𝚋𝚎𝚐𝚞𝚗 𝚢'𝚊𝚕𝚕! 𝚒 𝚑𝚘𝚙𝚎 𝚞 𝚐𝚞𝚢𝚜 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚑𝚊𝚝𝚎 𝚖𝚘𝚟𝚒𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚗𝚝𝚎𝚗𝚝 𝚋𝚌 𝚢'𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚊𝚕𝚛𝚎𝚊𝚍𝚢 𝚔𝚗𝚘𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎𝚛𝚎 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚕𝚘𝚝𝚜 𝚘𝚏 𝚒𝚝

𝙱𝚄𝚃 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚠𝚘𝚛𝚛𝚢 𝚊𝚋𝚘𝚞𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝙱𝙴𝙲𝙰𝚄𝚂𝙴 𝚘𝚞𝚛 𝚏𝚊𝚟𝚘𝚛𝚒𝚝𝚎 𝚕𝚒𝚝𝚝𝚕𝚎 𝚏𝚞𝚌𝚔𝚎𝚛 𝚠𝚒𝚕𝚕 𝚋𝚎 𝚜𝚙𝚒𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚐 𝚝𝚑𝚒𝚗𝚐𝚜 𝚞𝚙 ;)

𝚒 𝚌𝚊𝚗'𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚗𝚔 𝚢'𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚎𝚗𝚘𝚞𝚐𝚑 𝚏𝚘𝚛 𝚊𝚕𝚕 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚟𝚘𝚝𝚎𝚜 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚌𝚘𝚖𝚖𝚎𝚗𝚝𝚜 *𝚒𝚗𝚜𝚎𝚛𝚝 𝚝𝚑𝚊𝚝 𝚘𝚗𝚎 𝚎𝚖𝚘𝚓𝚒 𝚠 𝚝𝚑𝚎 𝚙𝚞𝚙𝚙𝚢 𝚍𝚘𝚐 𝚎𝚢𝚎𝚜*