Chapter Text
The year is now 2023. The New York City landscape has become a silent, gray, and lifeless sight. The city’s harbor is filled with hundreds of rusty ferries, abandoned on the water.
The once-grand and lively Citi Field baseball stadium now stands completely empty, surrounded by wire fences overgrown with weeds. Along the city streets, piles of neglected garbage bags tower over the sidewalks. The loss of half the population leaves a gaping wound that never seems to heal.
Inside a simple meeting room in the middle of the city, a support group is taking place. Several men sit in a circle on folding chairs, trying to support one another through their losses.
Steve sits among them. He is no longer wearing his Captain America uniform, but rather a simple jacket. His face looks older, marked by deep lines of grief.
A bearded man in the circle begins to speak in a trembling voice. “So, I take a chance last week. I go on a date for the first time in three years. We just sit there together. The restaurant is so quiet. She even cries when the appetizer comes out because she remembers her missing wife. But you know what? When the salad is served, we start talking. And by the time the sun is setting, it feels... it feels not so bad anymore.”
Steve nods slowly, looking at the man with a warm yet sympathetic gaze. “That’s progress,” He says softly.
“You know, I see a pod of whales swimming in the Hudson River today while I’m crossing the bridge.”
Another man in the room turns toward him in surprise. “In the Hudson? Really?”
“Yeah,” Steve smiles faintly, a bitter smile.
“The river water is much cleaner now because there are far fewer boats sailing through it. There’s less pollution. If we keep looking back and mourning what we’ve lost, we’ll never be able to move forward. We have to try to live this life, because those who are gone surely want us to keep living.”
Meanwhile, deep inside a dusty storage facility for confiscated property in San Francisco, an old van belonging to Luis, Scott Lang’s friend, sits parked in a corner beneath a tarp. In the back of the van is the Quantum Tunnel generator, inactive and covered in dust.
Suddenly, a small rat walks across the control panel inside the van. Its tiny feet accidentally step on the red activation button of the main circuit.
BZZZZT! CRACKLE!
The generator suddenly comes back to life. The indicator lights begin flashing rapidly, sending waves of electrical energy through the Quantum tube at the back of the van.
The next second, a Quantum portal opens with a small burst of energy.
BOOM!
A man wearing an Ant-Man suit is thrown out of the portal, landing face-first on the dusty floor of the storage facility.
The man is Scott Lang. He groans in pain. He hurriedly removes his Ant-Man helmet and tries to catch his breath. His face is filled with confusion as he looks around the dark and unfamiliar storage facility.
“Hope? Janet? Hank?” Scott shouts, calling for his teammates through the communicator. But there is no answer. Only the empty hiss of static.
He packs his belongings into a large backpack, then walks out onto the streets of San Francisco. His footsteps suddenly stop. He stands stunned at the sight before him. The streets are empty, cars are abandoned in the middle of the roads, and hundreds of missing-person notices cover the utility poles.
“What happened here?” he mutters in panic.
He walks quickly along the sidewalk until he reaches a city park that has been turned into a memorial site. There, dozens of massive marble walls stand in rows, carved with thousands of names of people who disappear because of Thanos’s snap.
Scott runs frantically between the stone walls, his eyes searching for a name under the letter ‘L’. His heart pounds when his eyes catch a name carved there: SCOTT LANG. The world believes he is dead.
Scott’s greatest fear suddenly hits him. “Cassie...” he whispers softly, thinking of his little daughter.
He immediately runs as fast as he can toward his old home. He pounds impatiently on the front door. The door slowly opens, revealing a tall teenage girl with brownish hair. The girl stares at Scott, her eyes widening in complete shock.
Scott freezes. His daughter, who is still a little girl in his memories, is now a fifteen-year-old teenager.
“Cassie?” Scott asks, his voice caught in his throat.
Tears immediately stream down Cassie’s cheeks. She cannot believe what she is seeing. “Dad?” Cassie whispers.
Scott immediately steps forward and pulls his daughter into a tight embrace. The two of them cry uncontrollably in the doorway. For Cassie, her father is dead for five years. But for Scott, he is only inside the Quantum Realm for five hours. This insane difference in time makes Scott realize a concept that can save the world.
“I can’t, Nat,” Carol replies firmly. “The problems happening on the planets out there because of the population loss are far worse than on Earth. I have to stay here.”
After receiving all the reports from Okoye and Nebula, Natasha sighs. “All right. Stay alert. If anything strange happens, contact me immediately.”
One by one, the holograms shut down, leaving James Rhodes. “Nat,” Rhodes calls, his voice softening.
“I just get some information from the Tokyo police. They find a pile of dead Yakuza members. The bathroom is covered in blood. It’s him again.”
Hearing that, Natasha’s eyes fill with tears. She knows exactly who Rhodes means. Clint Barton, her best friend, has become a killing machine known as Ronin.
“I’ll handle it, Rhodey,” Natasha whispers, holding back her tears.
“Nat, the person he is now... he’s not the man we know anymore,” Rhodes warns before finally ending the communication.
Once she is alone in the large room, Natasha can no longer hold back her grief. She lowers her head onto the table, covers her face with both hands, and begins quietly sobbing in the silence.
The glass door to the room slowly opens. Steve walks in carrying two cups of hot coffee. He places one of the cups on Natasha’s desk.
“I come to see if you want some lunch. But it looks like you’re in the mood to cry,” he says, trying to lighten the atmosphere with a gentle joke.
Natasha quickly wipes away her tears before forcing a smile. “I made soup yesterday. It tastes pretty good.”
“Nat, you need to get out of this compound. Go for a walk, enjoy the world,” Steve says as he sits on the couch across from Natasha’s desk.
Natasha firmly shakes her head. “I used to have nothing.”
“No family. Then I got this... this job, the Avengers.”
“This family. And when this family falls apart, I make a promise to myself to keep this place from falling apart, too. So don’t tell me to leave, Steve.”
Steve falls silent, looking at his friend with deep respect. “We both have to start putting our lives back together, Nat.”
“You go first,” Natasha replies with a bitter smile.
Suddenly, a loud alarm begins ringing throughout the room. Red lights flash on the main control panel.
BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!
A CCTV video feed from the front gate of the Avengers Compound automatically appears on the large monitor in front of them. On the screen, Scott Lang is jumping around frantically in front of the gate camera, waving his hands excitedly.
“Hello? Is anybody in there? This is Scott Lang! We meet at the airport in Germany a few years ago! I’m the tiny guy! Ant-Man! Please open the door, this is very urgent!” Scott shouts through the CCTV feed.
Steve and Natasha immediately stand from their seats. Their eyes widen as they stare at the computer screen in complete shock.
Natasha turns toward Steve, holding her breath. “Is that... an old video recording?”
Steve steps closer to the screen, narrowing his eyes as he reads the timestamp blinking in the bottom corner of the video. “No. That’s a live feed from our front gate. Right now.”
Steve and Natasha look at each other. Someone who has been registered as dead for five years suddenly returns, standing alive at their front gate, carrying the key to an answer that can change everything.
The iron gates of the Avengers Compound open wide. Scott runs inside, panting heavily, carrying a large backpack containing his Ant-Man suit. Steve and Natasha welcome him into the common room. The three of them immediately gather around a large circular holographic table.
Scott paces around the room frantically, holding his dizzy head while Steve and Natasha watch him in confusion. Scott looks completely disoriented.
“Can you explain it slowly, Scott?” Natasha asks, trying to calm the man down. “You say you’re trapped where?”
Scott stops pacing and looks at the two of them with wide eyes. “The Quantum Realm. The Quantum Realm. A microscopic dimension where the laws of physics and time don’t work the same way as they do in our world.”
Steve furrows his brow. “Scott, the whole world loses half its population five years ago. We think you’re one of the victims.”
“That’s the problem!” Scott exclaims, pointing at Steve’s face.
“For you, five years pass. But for me? In there? I’m only trapped for five hours!”
Natasha freezes, straightening in her seat. “Five hours? How is that possible?”
“Time works very unpredictably inside the Quantum Realm,” Scott explains, his voice rising an octave with excitement.
“Everything feels random. Hank Pym, Janet, and Hope... they all turn to dust right before they can get me out of there. So I’m trapped. But the important point is: time works differently in there. So what if there’s a way for us to enter the Quantum Realm in the present, then come out at a point in the past? What if we can control that chaos of time?”
Steve looks at Scott skeptically, though there is a glimmer of hope in his eyes. “You mean... you want us to time travel?”
“Not time travel,” Scott quickly corrects himself, though his face looks uncertain.
“Well, actually, yes, time travel! It sounds crazy, but hear me out. We can go to the past, take the six Infinity Stones before Thanos gets them, then bring the Stones back to the present, snap our fingers, and bring everyone back!”
Natasha looks at Steve. The idea seems completely impossible, but they have no other choice. “Scott, to do something that complicated, we need a brilliant mind. Someone who truly understands advanced quantum physics.”
Steve lets out a long sigh, a name immediately coming to mind. “I know someone who can do it.”
Several hours later, a black electric Audi drives along a beautiful rural road, leaving the bustle of the city behind. Steve, Natasha, and Scott head toward a secluded area beside a peaceful lake.
There stands a beautiful and quiet wooden cabin. In the front yard, a little girl around four years old is playing inside a toy tent.
Tony steps out onto the porch of his house, carrying a bowl of food. His face now looks much healthier, fresher, and happier compared to five years ago. His hair is slightly grayer, giving him the aura of a mature father.
When the Audi stops and Steve steps out of the driver’s door, Tony stops in his tracks. The two Avengers leaders who once have a falling-out exchange a look. There is no anger anymore. Only an awkward sense of longing between them.
A few minutes later, the four of them sit on the wooden porch, enjoying the warm tea that is served. Scott enthusiastically explains his entire Quantum Realm theory to Tony again.
Tony listens while leaning against the wooden post, occasionally taking a sip of his tea. His face shows no surprise, but rather the expression of a professor listening to an elementary school student speak.
After Scott finishes speaking, breathing heavily, Tony slowly places his cup down.
“Quantum fluctuations trigger Planck-scale structures, which then trigger the EPR paradox,” Tony says in an incredibly casual tone, filled with complicated scientific terminology.
“Do you understand what that means?”
Scott, Steve, and Natasha simply fall silent, exchanging glances.
“It means your theory is nonsense,” Tony continues, shaking his head. “Time travel doesn’t work like that, Scott. You can’t just jump into a portal and hope to change the past without disrupting the timeline of the present. That’s cosmic suicide.”
Steve leans forward, looking at Tony seriously. “Tony, we have to try it. This opportunity is right in front of us.”
“Steve, I manage to survive in space. I return to Earth, rebuild the shattered pieces of my life, and you know what I get?” Tony turns toward the toy tent in the yard, where his daughter, Morgan Stark, is peeking out.
“I get a miracle. I have a daughter now. I’m not going to do something stupid that can risk my life and the life I have now.”
Natasha tries to appeal to Tony’s emotions. “Tony, we’re happy that you have this happy life. We really are. But for the people out there... this world isn’t done grieving yet.”
“I know, Nat. I know exactly what it feels like to lose someone,” Tony interrupts, his voice softening while remaining firm.
“But I can’t help you. I’m not going to figure out how to solve that time-travel theory. I’m retired from the superhero business.”
Suddenly, Morgan runs out of her tent and into Tony’s arms. “Daddy, Mommy says you have to come inside,” Morgan says in her adorable little voice.
Tony immediately smiles warmly, carrying his little daughter into his arms. He looks at Steve, Natasha, and Scott one last time.
“I’m sorry, guys. I can at least host you for lunch, but I can’t join this crazy mission,” Tony Stark says finally, closing their discussion for the day.
Steve nods understandingly, respecting his friend’s decision even though he feels deeply disappointed. The three of them eventually walk back toward the car empty-handed.
As they stand beside the car, Scott kicks a pebble on the ground in frustration. “So what now? If even Tony gives up, who else can help us?!”
Steve looks ahead with the determined gaze of the old Captain America.
“We’re not giving up, Scott. If one genius scientist turns us down, then we’ll go see another genius scientist.”
Natasha turns toward Steve. “Who do you mean?”
Steve smiles faintly.
“Bruce Banner.”
-
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Night has fallen over the countryside where Tony’s wooden cabin stands. The outside is completely quiet, with only the sound of crickets and the night wind sweeping across the surface of the calm lake. Inside the house, the entire Stark family is already fast asleep, leaving only silence in Tony’s private workshop.
Tony stands in front of his advanced electronic workbench. He holds a warm cup of coffee, but his mind is somewhere else. His eyes are fixed on a small framed photograph displayed on a wooden cabinet.
In the photograph, he is standing with his arm around Peter’s shoulder. They are both smiling widely while holding a fictional internship certificate from Stark Industries. Peter in the photo makes a two-finger pose, his youthful face looking innocent and playful. Tony stares at the photograph with eyes filled with deep guilt.
Peter’s last words on Planet Titan—
"I'm sorry."
They echo in his head again and again, as if they have only just happened yesterday morning. The pain of losing him never fades, even after five years have passed.
Tony lets out a long sigh. He puts down his coffee cup, then walks toward the main hologram table in the middle of the room.
"J.A.R.V.I.S. is gone, so... Friday, are you still there?" Tony asks the AI system in his workshop.
"Always for you, Boss," Friday’s gentle voice responds from the ceiling.
"Let's run one last simulation before I go to bed," Tony says as he rolls up his sleeves.
"Use the Inverted Möbius Strip model. Let's see if the structure can maintain subatomic mass consistency while passing through random time coordinates."
"Yes, Boss. Starting the inverted Möbius model simulation now," Friday replies.
A bright blue 3D holographic projection immediately appears, spinning above the table. A figure-eight-shaped structure, the Möbius Strip, begins twisting and turning as red digital energy lines flow through it, simulating Quantum particles moving within it.
Tony stands with his arms crossed, preparing to see another red result—another failure, just like the hundreds of simulations he has run over the years. The computer screen begins calculating the structure's success rate: 20%... 50%... 80%...
Suddenly, the indicator on the screen changes to a bright, glowing green. A pleasant digital chime rings throughout the room.
"Simulation complete, Boss. Model success rate: one hundred percent. Mass consistency and timeline stability are successfully maintained," Friday reports in her computerized, emotionless tone.
Tony freezes. His eyes widen as he stares at the perfectly rotating green holographic ring before him. The genius remains silent for several seconds, unable to believe what he is seeing. The time-travel formula that every scientist on Earth considers impossible has just been solved by him in a single night.
"Remarkable..." Tony whispers to himself, a faint smile mixed with both excitement and fear appearing on his face. He realizes that the world now has a second chance.
Tony quickly shuts down the hologram when he hears the sound of small footsteps coming from the wooden staircase.
"Dad? Why aren't you sleeping?"
Tony turns around. His little daughter, Morgan Stark, is standing near the stairs while hugging an old Iron Man helmet belonging to her mother, far too large for her head. Morgan rubs her sleepy eyes.
Tony immediately softens his expression. He walks toward his daughter, then kneels in front of her.
"Hey, what are you doing with Mom's helmet? And why aren't you asleep yet, young lady? It's already past ten."
"I can't sleep. I was thinking about you," Morgan answers innocently as she takes off the helmet.
Tony chuckles, scoops Morgan into his warm embrace, and carries her toward the living room.
"You were thinking about me? Really? You know, Dad just saved the world inside his head, but now the most important mission is getting you back to bed."
Tony lays Morgan down on her little bed, gently tucks her under the blanket, and kisses her forehead.
"I love you so much, Daddy," Morgan whispers as she closes her sleepy eyes.
Tony smiles, looking at his daughter's face with deep gratitude.
"I love you too, Morgan." Tony pauses for a moment before adding their familiar expression of affection,
"I love you three thousand."
-
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The next morning, outside the Avengers Compound, Steve and Natasha are standing at the edge of the grassy field. Both of them look exhausted after the failed test with Scott yesterday. They are discussing how to convince Bruce to try again with different calculations.
Suddenly, from the highway, the roar of a sports car engine echoes loudly.
A sleek black electric Audi speeds into the compound, performing a sharp, impressive drift across the asphalt before finally coming to a stop right in front of Steve and Natasha.
The driver's door opens. Tony steps out wearing sunglasses and a stylish leather jacket, his confident and arrogant attitude returning, just like the Iron Man they used to know.
Tony takes off his sunglasses and looks at Steve with a crooked smile.
"Why do you two look so gloomy? Don't tell me the Ant-Man guy accidentally gets himself stuck inside a blender?" Tony teases casually.
Steve steps forward, surprised to see his friend. "Tony... what are you doing here?"
Tony walks toward the back of his Audi and opens the trunk. Inside is a very iconic circular metal shield with a star emblem in the center—the original Captain America shield, which Tony keeps after their dispute in Civil War.
Tony lifts the heavy shield with both hands, then holds it out toward Steve.
"I make a few small modifications to the vibranium's vibration structure," Tony says, his voice softening as his old ego fades away.
"And I think about one thing, Steve... this shield belongs to you. It deserves to be in your hands more than it does in my storage."
Steve looks at the shield with tears welling in his eyes. He reaches out with trembling hands and accepts his identity as Captain America back from his best friend.
Their friendship, which has been broken for years, is finally restored completely in that moment.
"Thank you, Tony," Steve says, his voice heavy with emotion.
"Don't thank me yet," Tony cuts in as he closes the trunk of his car.
"I come here because I have solved the problem. The time-travel formula is complete. We can do the Time Heist now."
Natasha immediately smiles widely, a great spark of hope finally returning to her exhausted face.
Tony looks between Steve and Natasha, his expression becoming serious and filled with the determination of a hero.
"But I have two absolute conditions that are non-negotiable. First: we have to bring back everyone who is gone. And second: we have to protect what I already have here in the present. I don't want to lose my daughter or the life I have now. Do we agree?"
Steve firmly shakes Tony's hand.
"We agree, Tony. Whatever it takes."
Whatever it takes?