See You in A Minute

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Ana looked down at her hands. The black tech gloves shone underneath the warm light of the bathroom bulb. The Time-Space GPS was strapped around her right palm while Stephen's broken watch was fixed on her left wrist. Usually when going into the field, Ana preferred to keep her hands free from accessories or gadgets. She ended up crushing whatever snazzy Stark tech she had on her given the chance of a good fight. She made an exception this time. For some reason unknown to her, Ana couldn't part with the watch just yet. Or maybe she did know. Her head was in such a flurry of thoughts and notions, she barely remembered how she got here, standing in one of the upstairs bathrooms, getting ready for the big mission.

Most of her uniforms were damaged or battle worn. Still, she kept them all. Each told a story. Held a memory. Reminded her of the events she survived. And the one she wore currently took her back to the day the Avengers first assembled in New York all those years ago. Her mission was 2012 — and joining her was Steve, Tony, Bruce and Scott. Ana had her old S.H.I.E.L.D. suit on. No cosmic armour or half cape. No vibranium plating or mystic robes. Just plain black kevlar-based material made for practical and protective purposes, with signature S.H.I.E.L.D. eagles on her shoulders. Fitting back into the suit was a surprising couple minutes. Her body was a lot more toned and she had grown taller. Natasha hadn't stopped staring when she first saw Ana back in the suit. When Ana had questioned her lack of words, Natasha only shook her head and smiled.

"It's nothing. Just proud."

Ana was glad Natasha had continued down the hall so she wouldn't see just how much those words meant to her. An onslaught of tears threatened to spill down her face. Ana held them back, the task taking a lot more strength than she thought it would've. After a series of halfhearted, motivational phrases to get herself to hold together, Ana proceeded to leave the bathroom and meet the others in the Hangar Bay. On her way, she passed Thor's bedroom, where she caught him sitting on the edge of his bed, gazing out the window, to the clouds that covered the sun that would've shone brightly. She hesitated to approach him. Knowing what was about to happen pushed her to raise her hand and knock on his door.

Thor turned to see Ana standing at his doorway. He hadn't suited up. Instead, he seemed content in his grey sweats, crimson wool coat and UGG boots. "Yes?" He spoke up.

Ana pushed the door open so she could step through. "Are you almost ready, bud?"

"I suppose so." Thor mumbled, paying close attention to her choice of gear. He hadn't seen her in a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform since the Battle of New York. It took him back to a place far away. He saw his brother. His father. His mother. Thor's hands fisted the material of his coat and he turned to face the window once again.

"You nervous?" Ana asked, hoping to coax him into something that resembled a friendly conversation. He would be pairing up with Rocket to take on Asgard in 2013. She couldn't even begin to imagine what he must be thinking. Returning to his home where his family and a vast majority of his people would still be alive had to be a heavy thought.

Thor breathed out. "Greatly." He admitted in a small voice.

Ana clicked her tongue and fussed around with her utility belt. "Same here."

It was quiet for a moment before Thor stood up and turned to face the woman at his door. Her nails were clinking against the metal compartments on her belt. "Speak, Ana. I know there is something you wish to discuss."

That was when Ana deflated and her eyes softened his way. She couldn't go forward without addressing the past between them. "I wanted to apologise. I made you a promise to look for a way to bring our people back home. To restore your new home with missing Asgardians. I gave you hope. Then I stopped. And I never told you why."

"Yes. Yes, you did. When you and Bruce and the little furry creature paid me a visit, you spoke of missing parts." He pointed to his head. "It reminded me of your visit before I told you not to show your face around New Asgard. I never gave you the chance to explain. All I heard was that you couldn't go on. And I remember thinking 'why would she do this? Ana made me a promise to reunite me with my people. How could she trick me?' All I thought about was how your actions affected me. I didn't even try to think how it affected you. You were the one putting your life, your sanity, on the line while I was tucked away in the darkest corner I could find with the strongest mead I could drink." Thor said, tone wavering. He looked to the flask on his bedside drawer. A new kind of spite burning in his being. Where he would once reach for the stuff, he couldn't bare to even spend another second looking at it. "I was weakened by alcohol and I couldn't stop myself from unleashing every hateful word I could think of towards you."

"I've moved past it." Ana shrugged nonchalantly.

Thor rose a brow. "No, you haven't. And I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make it up to you."

Ana lifted a shoulder. "I know what you can do. Right now."

Thor had a sparkle in his eyes that made Ana smile widely at the familiarity of it. She opened her arms wide. The space between them was removed entirely. They held each other as tightly as they could without breaking anything, and continued to stand there, taking it in before their time together was up.

"Five years ago, we lost. All of us. We lost friends. We lost family. We lost a part of ourselves. Today, we have a chance to take it all back. You know your teams. You know your missions. Get the Stones. Get back here. One round trip each. No mistakes. No do-overs. Most of us are going back to places we know. That doesn't mean we know what to expect. Be careful. Look out for each other. Improvise, if you have to. This is the fight of our lives. And we're going to win. Whatever it takes."

The Avengers stood in a circle in their Quantum suits on the platform at dawn. Steve Rogers gripped his Vibranium shield, sending Tony who was standing to his right a nod. Tony sent the Captain an impressed smirk after hearing that speech. It seemed to inspire something in all of them. Ana chuckled to herself. She glanced over at Natasha and Clint who were on her left, and once she caught their gaze, they shared a smile.

Rocket had his arms crossed over his chest. "He's pretty good at that." He said, looking at Steve.

Scott nodded enthusiastically next to him. "Right?"

Tony looked over his shoulder at Bruce as he stood over the controls behind them. "All right, you heard the man. Stroke those keys, Jolly Green."

Smart Hulk typed in commands on the console with his pencil. He heard a trill of beeps. "Tracking beacons engaged."

Clint checked his hand. A shrunken Benatar sat on his palm. Rocket sent him a look. "You promise to bring that thing back in one piece, right?"

Clint waved him off. "Yeah, yeah, sure thing. I'll do my best."

Rocket shrugged. "As promises go, that was pretty lame."

Once Bruce stepped onto the platform, everything started to whirl to life. The floor beneath their feet vibrated and the lights above them went brighter. Everything moved into place around the Avengers. The Quantum Tunnel powered up, giving them no time to deviate. It was now or never.

Natasha looked to Ana, and smiled, "See you in a minute."

Ana smiled back just before her helmet came on. "Already counting down the seconds."

Bruce looked to the women. "Actually, it'll be closer to seven or eight microseconds, give or—"

Suddenly, they all stretched and vanished, shrinking away into nothing.

The Battle of New York was raging on. The wormhole above Stark Tower held open by the Tesseract's power pulsed and brightened as Chitauri soldiers and ships poured through, scattering across Manhattan. They blasted at the civilians on the ground. Scaled tall buildings and knocked them to the ground. The Chitauri were unrelenting in their pursuit to cause chaos. Their ear-piercing shrieks filled the air along with energy blasts and shock waves. Total destruction was their goal, and they were well on their way to reach it. The only obstacle in their way...

Iron Man hovered in his red and gold armour, coming to a slow descent above Captain America, the Hulk, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Thor and Agent Michaels. They all stood in a circle, backs to one another, as they watched the Chitauri invaders near closer. The Hulk released a loud roar, the sound reaching far and wide through the disorder. One block away, tucked in a small alley just down the street, five flashes of light occurred. From those flashes, Steve, Tony, Bruce, Scott and Ana emerged in their Quantum suits, having travelled through the Quantum Realm to this very point in time.

The year 2012.

Ana looked down at her clothes, listening to the sound of a Hulk roaring with anger just around the corner. Her Quantum suit, along with the others, retracted into the Time-Space GPS on her hand. She held a hand over her lips, feeling nauseous. She was never going to get used to the aftereffects of time jumping. Nor did she want to. That would mean having to do it multiple times. She only intended to do it once more. Steve had his old-fashioned Captain America uniform, the one Coulson had designed and the one he wore during the Battle of New York. Scott was wearing his Ant-Man suit, while Tony and Bruce were both wearing casual clothes.

Steve launched into mission mode. He stepped out of the alleyway, looking up and down the roads, getting a refresher on his surroundings. "All right, we all have our assignments. Two Stones uptown, one Stone down. Stay low. Keep an eye on the clock."

They all turned their attention to the 2012 Hulk as he crashed onto the street with a totalled car in one hand, letting out a burly roar. This Hulk was not the same one standing next to Ana. He was angry. Singularly minded. And a complete beast. 2012 Hulk repeatedly hit a stray Chitauri soldier with the car in his possession. The Chitauri soldier was out after the first hit, but that didn't stop 2012 Hulk from hammering the downed soldier a couple more times until his body melded with the asphalt. Ana saw another Chitauri soldier who was present at the scene back away to avoid being seen by the Hulk. 2012 Hulk picked up a tire and threw it at the traffic light pole. He then jumped on top of the smashed car a couple of times, before running off with another roar.

Ana looked up at Bruce who covered his face with his large green hand in embarrassment. "Dude, what happened to you?" She snorted.

"Maybe smash a few things along the way." Steve suggested to Bruce.

Ana nodded. "Y'know, for appearances." She added.

"I think it's gratuitous, but whatever." Bruce sighed. He ripped off his shirt and walked onto the street, trying to mimic 2012 Hulk's roar as he flexed his fists and bumped into turned-over cars. He listened to Ana as she tried to direct him.

"Grab that bike, Bruce. Yeah! Now throw it! Throw it! Wait... no! Not at me!"

- - -

Ana often reminded herself not to turn her head or let her eyes wander. It was tempting. Distracting. Mentally visiting the past was one thing, but physically visiting the past was on a whole other level. Everything was right in front of her. She could reach for it and touch it solid. She could change things with everything she knew now but didn't back then. She had information. Experience. Regrets. Different ideas wormed it's way into her head, and every time an idea began to form, she was reminded with the alternate future she witnessed, and she let that idea fade away into the back of her mind where all it could do was provide her with a series of what if's. They were harmless back there, tucked away in a vault that would surely have cosmic alarms blaring if she decided to do the stupid thing and act on them all. Ana was given little solace knowing that somewhere, out in the vast Multiverse, another Ana had done what she wished she did in a moment of passing. To preserve that knowing, she was adamant to heed alternate future Iron Man's words of limiting the amount of times they jumped through time. If the Mystic Arts taught her one thing, it would be that the universe was fragile just as it was endless. Any one thing, no matter how minor or innocuous, could cause a catastrophic event unlike any other.

So, better stay on task.

Steve noticed Ana's singular focus. She was walking in a straight line, head lowered and eyes on the path ahead of her. Beads of sweat above her eyebrows. While he looked over his shoulder any moment he sensed a possible obstacle in their way or heard a noise he didn't like, Ana wasn't budging one bit. She made it to the front entrance of the tower, fingers wrapping around the silver handle. Steve placed a hand on her shoulder before she could open it. Ana went rigid and turned her head, glancing at him.

"Breathe, soldier."

Ana was never one to go against Steve's advice — the exception being to stop scaring Sam every time he turned a blind corner. How could she pass up on a chance to hear the Falcon squawk? She breathed out entirely, before filling her lungs with cool, fresh air. She let her hand ease up on the grip she had on the handle — which was now noticeably dented. Steve waited for Ana to compose herself. She stood up a little straighter. Neck muscles relaxing. Her jaw unclenched. She nodded her head when she was ready, and Steve returned the gesture, before they both walked inside the lobby.

"Better hustle, guys. Things look like they're just about wrapped up here." Tony warned over the comms. He was in his Mark 85 Iron Man armour, scanning the penthouse of Stark Tower to see the 2012 Avengers team assembled within, standing above a surrendered Loki Laufeyson.

"Got it." Steve replied over the comms. Ana directed him past the reception desk to the elevators where she continuously pressed the up button. "We're approaching the elevator now."

Tony flew through a broken corner window in the penthouse. His nano-suit started to recede back into the Arc Reactor housing on his chest, his feet free of the armour so when he landed, it didn't create a noise. He stuck behind a wall, with Scott the size of an ant on his shoulder, staying out of sight while also being in a perfect position to keep an eye on everyone inside.

"If it's all the same to you... I'll have that drink now." 2012 Loki said. He was on the floor, gazing up at the 2012 Avengers.

2012 Tony motioned to the fallen god at his feet. "All right, get him up. We can all stand around posing up a storm later." He said, "And by the way, feel free to clean up."

2012 Ana scoffed as she hauled Loki to his feet. "Is no one gonna help me with my back? It's friggin' charred!"

"Let me see." 2012 Steve frowned at the agent and moved to stand behind her, giving Tony a good look at his backside. "Mr. Rogers, I almost forgot that suit did nothing for your ass." He spoked into the comms. He heard Ana let out a burst of laughter on the line.

"No one asked you to look, Tony." Steve murmured.

"It's ridiculous." Tony whispered with a shake of his head, continuing to watch 2012 Steve as he moved around.

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

Ana grinned as she stared down at Steve's back as they took the elevator up. Steve looked over his shoulder at her, throwing her a disapproving look. Ana faced the front, grin widening. "Scott remind me to show you pictures of Steve in his stealth suit." She whispered into the comms, well aware of Steve hearing her every word.

"Send them to me ASAP." Scott insisted.

Tony inched forward, getting a better view of the 2012 Avengers as they broke off and scattered around his penthouse. "Who gets the, uh, magic wand?" 2012 Natasha asked as she carried Loki's sceptre.

"Not it." 2012 Ana responded lightly, standing beside a stationary Loki while 2012 Clint handed her a beverage. He chuckled at his protégé, shoving her shoulder. She winced at the pain coming from her back and his eyes widened before he let out a string of apologies. Ana glared at Clint and kicked him away. Loki rolled his eyes at the sibling-like exchange while Thor beamed at them.

"S.T.R.I.K.E. Team's coming to secure it." 2012 Steve responded.

On cue, the elevator doors opened, and the 2012 S.T.R.I.K.E. Team, including Brock Rumlow and Jasper Sitwell, walked out. Tony and Scott moved away from the wall to a pillar further away to avoid being seen by the hard eyed agents, and crouched down behind some furniture.

"We can take that off your hands." Sitwell said, taking the sceptre Natasha handed to him.

"By all means. Careful with that thing." 2012 Natasha warned.

Rumlow walked over to Sitwell with a large case and set it down on the couch in the centre of the room. Sitwell couldn't help himself, and reached up with one hand to poke at the Mind Stone housing. It glowed in response and he jumped, startled by it. He set the sceptre down inside the case then Rumlow locked it shut.

"Yeah, unless you want your mind erased. And not in a fun way," 2012 Clint added knowingly.

2012 Ana frowned at him, lost. "There's a fun side to having your mind erased?"

Tony sighed as he heard 2012 Ana's sentence. "Oh, kiddo, you sure had a bag over your head at that age."

Ana leaned her back against the hand railing inside the elevator and crossed her arms over her chest as she listened to Tony over the comms. Steve turned to face her, eyes flickering across her troubled expression. "Tell me about it." Ana sighed, hugging her arms to her chest.

Back in the penthouse, 2012 Rumlow gave 2012 Natasha a sharp nod. "We promise to be careful."

"Who are these guys?" Scott asked.

"They are S.H.I.E.L.D. Well, actually Hydra, but we... we didn't know that yet." Tony explained.

"Wha... seriously? You didn't?" Scott questioned in disbelief. He shoved his tiny hands at the men in black tactical gear. "I mean, they look like bad guys."

Tony rolled his eyes. "You're small, but you're talking loud."

2012 Steve walked past 2012 Ana as she chained Loki's hands together with bonds provided to her by the S.T.R.I.K.E. Team. "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue." He addressed the group.

2012 Ana went rigid when Loki changed his appearance with his magic, looking exactly like Steve. "On my way down to coordinate search and rescue." Loki mocked. His changed back to his trickster self and scoffed, "I mean, honestly. How do you..." 2012 Thor shoved an object over Loki's mouth mid-sentence. The device expanded over his jaw like a muzzle and 2012 Ana sighed in relief. "Oh, thank God."

"Lady Ana, if I may." Thor grabbed his brother's arm once Ana willingly stepped aside and pushed Loki towards the elevator. "Shut up, brother."

Loki went to look back at his brother and give him the best glare he could muster when movement further inside the penthouse caught his eye. Head tilted to the side in thought. Underneath his muzzle, Loki frowned, for as far as he knew, Tony Stark was just a mortal man in a tin suit. How could he be in two places at once?

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