Back to the Future

- - - - -

There was a coldness surrounding her. Water. Lulled her back and forth rhythmically. The left side of her face was against the floor. Her clothes were soaked just like her hair as it clung to her neck with a mix of blood and seawater. Her limbs were numb. The front of her body sank into the soft ground. Dragging her down. Engulfing half of her figure. It was freezing. Calm. Quiet. Ana's left arm was pinned underneath her torso while the right arm was bent above her head, fingers twitching around a small pouch. Her nails scraped against the black leather, knuckles white and fist like stone. Coarse sand and broken seashells rubbed against her cheek as the waves on the beach pushed her further into shore. The salt in the water stung her weeping wounds. It was partially the reason why she came to. The other, she couldn't even breathe.

Ana coughed when the tide reached her face. Eyes snapped open. Cosmic blue rings in her irises fading quickly. She inhaled the foul-tasting water, and gasped when her nostrils stung, eyes watering when she went into a coughing fit to expel the liquid from her lungs. She tried to hold herself up. Left arm gave her a series of sharp pains. Shoulders were stiff. Neck was tight. Body undeniably sore. She was a shivering mess. Barely able to move her arms and legs because of the cold. She pushed herself up, and crawled froward, away from the ocean. Hands were palm deep in the sand. She still held onto the pouch. As she moved and stretched, the tears in her black reconnaissance suit allowed the cool air to soothe her burning wounds. Half of the material on her back was gone. Shredded to bits. She was missing one armguard and the area above her right knee was scorched. Ana was afraid the material was burnt into her skin. Her nose scrunched up in disgust when she realised she'd have to spend a couple hours picking the fabric off with tweezers and vodka.

Ana swirled her tongue around in her mouth. She spat out blood and saliva with a grimace. She used the hand that wasn't holding the pouch to caress her jaw. She hissed when the soft pressure invited more pain. It was definitely bruised. And just like that, the moments that transpired right up until she found herself unconscious on a beach in the middle of the night hit her. Fully enlightened, Ana's mouth dropped open in shock. Eyes rounded out of fear. She glanced over her shoulder. Searched her surroundings for the ones she was running from. They had to be close. If not, they knew exactly where and how to find her. She was a sitting duck. On her own. Stranded. Unfamiliar with her location. Unable to go to anyone or anywhere for help. She looked at the pouch in her possession — a green glow hidden within. She got what she came for. Now, it was time to go.

Ana got to her feet, and ran.

"Ana, wake up."

Ana jolted awake, eyes frenzied. She darted up in her bed to come face to face with the man who had entered her room. The hallway lights were on, carrying the light inside her dark bedroom at the Avengers Compound. She blinked at the brightness while her chest tried to control the rate of her rapid breathing. Sweat lined her forehead as she reached up to brush the long, dark brown hair strands from her face. Her hands were quivering. She had just experienced a troubled dream. It left her disoriented. Forgetful. Shaken. Ana removed the sheets from her body, revealing her black tank top and matching shorts, and sat up, swinging her legs so her feet touched the timber floor. She groaned at the pounding in her head, and lifted a hand to cradle it.

"I'm sorry. I know it's late." Steve apologised, glancing over at the digital clock on her bedside table. The blue numbers read half past two.

"It's fine, Steve. I'm grateful." Ana mumbled out, tilting her head to look up at him as he stepped closer to her bed.

"Bad dreams?" Steve questioned, sitting with her. He was dressed in a blue shirt and knee length grey shorts. His hair was a little out of place. Blond strands fell over her forehead, casting a shadow over his features. She didn't need to see his face to know he had just woken up.

"Something like that." Ana replied after a while.

Steve nodded his head at the door. "Come on. I'll make you some coffee."

- - -

Ana drifted behind Steve as they trailed past the Quantum Tunnel. The 2.0 model currently in the process of being built by Tony and Rocket sat in the centre of the hangar bay. It was slowly coming together. Ana tried not to focus too much on it tonight, seeing as she was still trying to make sense of the dream she just had before being pulled out of it by Steve. She couldn't shake it. The feeling of being watched. She hugged her robe tighter around her and clinked her rings against the ceramic mug in her hands. Steve had stuck to his word and made her a warm coffee. He made minimal conversation. Ana had the sense he wanted to get into something a little heavier away from the compound. Just the two of them. She frowned into her mug, making out her reflection in the dark. She believed she knew what he wanted to talk about. She didn't know if she was ready to get into all that just yet.

Steve led her to a wooden bench by the lake near the perimeter fence. A tall tree loomed over them. Branches and leaves moving gently with the breeze. Ana and Steve sat together, looking out past the lake, not saying anything just yet. Maybe it was because neither one of them knew how to start. Even then, they sat in the quiet, finishing off their beverages. Ana pursed her lips and set her cup down on the grass by her feet. "Out with it, Cap." She voiced. "I know you didn't just drag me out here in the middle of the night to sit in silence. Something's bothering you."

Steve rubbed the back of his neck, lips quirking upwards at the corners. "I wouldn't say it's bothering me. Maybe pestering. Nagging. A bit of worrying..."

"Why can't you sleep?" Ana asked him bluntly, turning her head to face him instead of the gloomy lake.

"You know why." Steve answered, frown deepening. "The same reason you can't."

Ana doubted Steve's restless nights were because of missing memories revealing themselves in her deepest state of sleep. "Objection. You can't sleep because you're thinking too much about travelling through time and space to the past." She snickered to herself when Steve sent her a passive glance. "Yeah, we've reached that point in our lives where time travel is now a thing. Get used to it because someone around here has to."

"Time travel." Steve tried out the words. He blinked and shook his head. "Makes me think of a lot one can do with the power to go back or forward through time."

"Betting on winning baseball teams? Knowing exactly which numbers to put on a lottery ticket?" Ana listed.

"Among other things." Steve drawled. Ana knew exactly what he meant just by the look on his face. World domination. More wars. More death. A lot of people would give everything they had and then some to go back and settle scores across all time.

Ana gave him a half-hearted shrug. "It's still being worked out by the geniuses in there."

"So, you don't believe it'll work?"

Ana sighed. "Just the opposite, Cap. Unfortunately, I have an incredible amount of faith in our team. And I know you do too. Stop overthinking. Let the pros handle it. Your job is to give us commands. Lead us down the right path. Give us a stern talking to. Not to worry over the simple details of time jumping and whatnot. That's a bit beneath you, don't you think?" She rose a brow at him, and waited until he cracked a grin, before letting out a laugh. She nudged his shoulder and he matched her lightness.

"Now I don't feel guilty that I woke you up." Steve said.

Ana pushed a loose strand of hair from her face and stuffed her hands into her robe pockets. "You should. I was dreaming of teddy bears and rainbows and some random blind guy."

Steve chuckled and downed the rest of his coffee. "That random blind guy showed me one your moves yesterday at the gym."

Ana squinted at him. "Not the flying neck trapper."

Steve nodded, grinning. "Oh, yeah. The flying neck trapper."

Ana stood up. "C'mon, let's see. He probably butchered the whole thing. Do you have any idea how long it took for me to show him how to do it?"

"He dragged it out." Steve revealed.

Ana frowned. "Why would he...?" She trailed off, thinking back to how she would physically direct Matt in his movements. Her hands would touch his arms, legs and she had to readjust his torso too much. She performed the move on him so many times, she was beginning to think he enjoyed the feeling of having his neck squeezed with her ankles. Realisation showed on her face and she scoffed. "Oh, that's why."

Steve hiked his shorts up and clasped his hands in front of him. Ana nodded her head for him to proceed, waving her hands and gesturing to herself. Steve frowned again. Hesitant. Ana was about to open her mouth and give him a remark on how offended she'd be if he didn't tackle her when suddenly the ground underneath them rattled as if there was an earthquake. Rogers and Michaels both turned to face the compound when a crack of lightning narrowly missed the Benatar on the landing pad. Ana winced. Rocket would very well be pulling the fur off his head if he had known how close his ship was to becoming an expensive pile of scrap metal.

Ana rose her brow at Steve. "Rain check on that move. I think Thor woke up with a hangover."

Steve planted his hands on his hips, mouth set into a straight line. "Yeah, I'll need to talk to him about that."

Ana picked up their empty mugs and led Steve back to the compound. "All he really needs is us. Thor's been hiding away for years. Found friendship in every brown bottle and comfort in being alone. He's stubborn. Won't listen to reason. So, we'll make him. I'm done watching him do this to himself."

"Bruce told me his people blame him." Steve mentioned. "Is that true?"

"It shouldn't be." Ana replied. "They know nothing of what he's gone through."

Steve nodded as they made it to the hangar side entrance. Most of the team was up already when Ana entered the main living room space. She looked at Rhodey, Natasha, Clint and Nebula as they stood around in their sleepwear with tired and annoyed looks on their faces, having been rudely awakened in the middle of the night. Ana's attention was then drawn to the sound of rummaging in the kitchen around the corner.

"He's looking for a banana." Rhodey shrugged.

Ana squinted at him. "A what?"

"Guy's hungover as hell." Clint added.

"Saw it was a remedy on Buzzfeed." Natasha elaborated.

Ana sighed, shoulders deflating forward. "Thor's a damn god. One banana won't help him."

"Perhaps we can smuggle him with a pillow until he passes out." Nebula offered. "The lightning will stop. We all can go back to sleep."

Ana had a mildly horrified expression on her face at Nebula's suggestion. As the others listed less murderous ways to get Thor to be quiet, Ana rubbed at her temples and stormed into the kitchen. A red apple would have hit her square on the forehead if she hadn't caught it in time. She tossed it into the air once, before winding her arm and throwing it at Thor's back to get him to stop dismantling the pantry. He let out a shout, a lightning bolt firing at the roof, and he rubbed at his spine with the back of his right hand, turning to face Ana in her robe. She pointed at the dining table, "Sit." She said sharply.

"But—" Thor went to say.

Ana made a flicking motion at the corner seat at the table and the chair slid out with a trail of gold mystic runes, inviting Thor to sit down. He tugged his red cardigan over his stomach and leaned back into the chair, watching as Ana moved around the kitchen to collect certain items from different cupboards. In the meantime, the team members had moved from the living room to take their places at the dining table, knowing they won't be able to go back to sleep any time soon, a few sending Thor narrowed looks and exhausted glares. He paid them no mind while Ana set down plates, bowls and glasses in front of them.

Ana found a two litre jug of water in the fridge and set it in front of Thor. "Drink." She instructed. Steve openly smiled as Ana gave everyone their usual. Nebula had a blueberry muffin. Rhodey was given a cup of fresh coffee and cookies. Natasha smirked when she got gluten-free bread and peanut butter. Clint grinned behind his closed fist when Ana poured Frosted Flakes into his bowl and handed him the milk. Steve thanked Ana for the bagels and orange juice. She circled back to Thor and placed a bunch of bananas on his plate. He gave her the empty water jug and was handed another that she hid behind her back. She grinned at the confused look on his face and patted his shoulder. "Another, right?"

Thor's eyes glimmered up at her. "Another, yes." He replied softly.

"What are you gonna have?" Rhodey asked her.

Ana stuffed her hands into her robe pockets. "A few more hours of sleep." She said, and turned around to walk back to her room. "Don't forget to put everything into the dishwasher when you're done. Goodnight!"

Nebula picked out a blueberry from her muffin and squished it in-between her fingers. "So, there are other ways to get people to shut up?"

Thor chomped one end of an unpeeled banana and nodded along as he chewed, "Food tends to work."

Rhodey eyed Thor's large gut when the rumbling he heard hadn't been from the thunder and took a long sip of his coffee.

"I guess it does."

Scott Lang stood at the far end on the workshop in a pair of dark jeans and grey shirt, arms open at his sides, doing a great impersonation of a mannequin while Smart Hulk worked around him. Bruce was shuffling up and down the lab, picking up pieces of equipment and tools from the tables positioned against the walls and fitting a small device, a Time-Space GPS, on Scott's right hand that would allow a Quantum Suit to materialise over his outfit via nanotechnology. Nebula had proven herself well versed in the art of technology and software, being Bruce's second pair of eyes on the program he integrated into the Time-Space GPS. She had also taken components of the Guardians holographic space suit design and added it into the advanced tech suit's configuration while Tony flared it up a bit using Stark Technology.

Ana was in charge of fitting the Pym Particles into new housing tubes that would go into the regulator that was situated on the side of the Quantum Suit's compartment belt. There wasn't much of the Pym Particles left without their creator, Hank Pym, being alive. There was just enough to go around, with a few tubes spare. Scott was protective of Hank's work, and he insisted that one tube was to be locked away. He didn't want to risk losing everything. Ana wholeheartedly agreed with him, knowing if Hope was around that she wouldn't want to upset the young Pym by using up all of her father's work. Ana had one tube tucked away, planning on taking it to the Sanctum Sanctorum, knowing it to be the best place to keep objects of great importance safe and secure.

Ana was sat behind one of the desks, a pair of vision enhancing googles over her eyes as she hunched over and carefully filtered through the Pym Particles into more withstanding tubes. With a great deal of care and precision, Ana stacked the fresh tubes on a sterile dish. Bruce scooped them up, inspecting a few of the vials, then praised Ana's work. Ana beamed up at him in the googles, eyes massive behind the lenses. Scott's cheeks puffed up when he tried to hold in a laugh at the oddly sized eyeballs staring back at him. Ana shoved the eyewear off her head and put them aside.

Rhodey strolled inside the workshop, just in time for the Quantum Suit to materialise over Scott's clothes. The advanced tech suit was white, with red and black accents and an Avengers logo above the area of the heart. The look was heavily inspired by Scott's Ant-Man suit. Rhodey whistled lowly, breaking Ana's concentration as she awed at the suit. "Time travel suit? Not bad."

Bruce in the meantime was awkwardly trying to fit a pair of red test tubes filled with Pym Particles into the Quantum Suit's belt. Scott's eyes narrowed at the wide fingers barely balancing the tubes. The lack of precision made him nervous. "Easy, easy! Careful with those." He said, hands darting out to the tubes.

"I'm being very careful—" Bruce went to say.

"No, you're being very Hulky!" Scott snatched the tubes from him and inserted them himself. "These are Pym Particles. You can't shrink to the Quantum Realm without them, and since Hank Pym got snapped out of existence, this is it, this is what we have. We can't make any more. I told you. We've only got enough for one round trip each, That's it. No do-overs." Scott gently clicked the tubes into their housing. "Plus three test runs—" Suddenly, Scott shrunk into nothing, then grew back to full size within the same second. His helmet dissolved and he sucked in his lips with reddened cheeks. "Two test runs. Okay, maybe I'm not ready for this."

Ana had sent him a sympathetic smile before a voice at the doorway gained all their attention. "I'm game." Clint leaned against the threshold, arms crossed over his chest, the dark tattoo on his left arm exposed. Ana's eyes lingered on the tattoo, and she frowned, averting her gaze. She twirled an empty test tube in-between her fingers, before placing it on the table and standing up.

"You don't know what you're getting into." Ana told him.

"I'll do it." Clint said, stepping forward. His face was firmed with determination. Ana wasn't sure if she saw the addition of regret in his eyes when he looked at her. She let it go. Everyone was quiet while the two stood facing each other. It was tense. Nothing was being said.

Ana eventually lifted a shoulder in a half shrug and stepped aside. "Fine. I guess we're both going."

Rhodey frowned at Ana. "Both?"

Bruce adjusted the glasses over his nose. "Gotta test out the Time-Space GPS. We'll do one test run to calibrate the mapping system, then another when we've got everything set up to perfection. Ana volunteered herself to be the first."

"Why would you do that?" Rhodey asked, slightly surprised at Ana's decision to be the dummy in their project.

"Why not?" Ana remarked. "Someone has to go. Besides, if I get stuck in the past, where I hope I can find a Time Stone, I can use that and a spell to bring me back, and if I'm lost in the future... well, time travel would probably be more established and I can just politely ask the ruler or conquerer or whatever to let me borrow their machine and come back."

Scott squinted at her. "You've thought this through, huh?"

Ana smiled. "I'd like to say it all came to me in a dream, but I think everyone can agree with me on this one... sleep isn't easy to come by nowadays." There was a chorus of murmured agreements and Ana nodded her head once in confirmation. "Late nights are for strategising and watching one too many time travel flicks."

Nebula waved Ana over. "Come on. Yours is almost ready."