Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

You put down your groceries to insert the key to your apartment into it’s lock. Opening the door and picking up the groceries again, you walked in and clumsily grabbed the keys before closing the door with your foot.

You nearly dropped your groceries again when you saw the distinct figure of a woman standing across from you. You didn’t recognize her, but the shadows of the dark room made it hard to make out her features. She could've been your best friend and you wouldn't have known.

Nobody but you and your landlord had your apartment key, not that the lock would’ve been very hard to pick.

“Can I help you?” You let out, trying to keep your voice calm and clear.

“I’m Laura Matthers. I’ve been assigned to take you to the Avengers Compound,” She turned around as she talked, obviously not seeing you as a threat. You huffed as you put your groceries down carefully and followed her towards your room. Excuse you if you were insulted but no one comes into your house apartment and decides to not consider you a threat. Of course you were scary. Terrifying, really.

“What makes you think I want to go to the Avengers Compound? And how do I know you’re not here to kidnap me? Or kill me?” You looked around your apartment, looking for something to use as a weapon. The closest thing you could find was an umbrella, the kitchen being too far away to grab any knives without the lady, Laura, being able to stop you.

So, you grabbed the umbrella and stood in the doorway of your room, blocking her exit.

“If I wanted to kill or kidnap you, I would have done it already,” She didn’t even look at you as she started taking clothes from your drawers and putting them into a duffel bag that was definitely not yours. 

“As for you wanting to go,” she nodded to the poster on the wall, “I don’t think that’s much of a problem.” You grimaced slightly. The poster was emblazoned with each of the Avengers who fought Loki in the New York invasion. Okay, so maybe you were a fan.

“That doesn’t mean I’m going with a stranger to somewhere that may or may not be the Avengers Compound. That’s like kidnapping a kid by telling them you’re going to Disney World,” You pointed the umbrella at her like a weapon as she zipped up the duffel bag and picked it up.

“I thought I already told you I wasn’t here to kidnap you,” She said, glancing at the umbrella. She walked towards you, casually pushing away the umbrella tip with one hand, carrying the duffel bag with the other. You stood your ground, trying to look menacing. She stopped about a foot away from you and flicked on the lights, revealing her features clearly for the first time.

You nearly gasped.

“Laura Matthers, my ass," You couldn't believe you didn't recognize her earlier, even if it was dark.

The lady stood before you was Natasha Romanoff, otherwise known as the Black Widow.

You turned away from her and put your umbrella down.

Breathe. Just breathe.

The Black Widow was in your room with a duffel bag, ready to take you to the Avengers Compound. That almost seemed scarier than a murderer breaking in with the intentions of killing you.

Just an average Saturday in New York City. Yep.

This caused a flurry of other questions to form and you weren’t sure where to start. You turned back around to find your room empty. You only had a millisecond to wonder if she’d left when you heard her voice from behind you.

“The car is waiting for us downstairs, grab anything else you need. We leave in five,” She passed you the duffel bag and looked to see what she had packed. There were the essentials and enough of your clothes to last you a couple of weeks. You didn’t have many sentimental objects, so the only things you need now were answers. You simply looked back at the Black Widow and said the first question that came to mind.

“Why do you need me?”

She smiled for a moment and, taking your question as a confirmation that she packed you everything that was necessary, took the duffel bag from your hands.

“I’ll tell you on the way.”

Of course she would.

And of course you were going with her. It’s not like your neighbors were going to miss you and you figured that the supermarket you worked at could survive without you organizing aisles 1-12 for a day.

A sleek, black car came to pick you up, driven by a man with a beard and a stoic expression. He spoke in short, clipped sentences when he talked to Natasha and he didn’t talk to you at all. Natasha said his name was Happy(which you found rather ironic) and that you could trust him to get the two of you to the compound safely. You sat in the back seat together, the duffel bag in the trunk, and you looked to her expectantly.

“We need you because of your history with quantum physics. We need your expertise on… a project that we’re developing. Call it a consultation.”

You frowned. You had written a couple papers on quantum theory and physics, but you weren’t a genius or anything. What project could they possibly be working on that would require your limited knowledge? Natasha must’ve seen the doubt on your face and you couldn’t have been more surprised at what she said next.

“Bruce Banner found your work and he was impressed.”

Bruce Banner. Bruce Banner. This day was just full of surprises, wasn't it?!

“Wait a second, did you just say Dr. Banner was impressed with me? Like, the gamma radiation genius that was on Oprah? That Bruce Banner? Do you know if I’ll be able to talk to him? Of course I will, he probably sent you. I have to talk to him about his work on anti-electron collisions, he’s a revolutionary in-”

You stopped yourself from embarrassing yourself rambling any further. You had been a fan of that man’s work since before he skyrocketed to celebrity status as ‘Smart Hulk.’ He had been one of your heroes, you used his work as a reference on your own about quantum interference. Natasha was looking at you as if she knew something you didn’t and it amused her.

“What? Why are you looking at me like that? Am I not allowed to freak out a little?” You said indignantly.

“It’s not that,” She turned away from you, looking out the window. If it wasn't Natasha Romanoff, you would've thought she was being dramatic. You waited for her to continue.

“I’ve only seen one other person recognize Bruce for his scientific work and not just for his tendency to turn into a green rage monster. That person is Tony Stark.”

Oh.

Good to know you had something in common with Tony Stark. You managed to calm yourself enough to not start talking about him as well. You tried to calm your breathing, trying to not let all the possibilities and absurdities of your situation get to you. What were you thinking?

You were both silent for a moment before she looked back to you and spoke up.

“If Bruce thinks you are good enough to call in, then so should you. And, just a warning, Bruce and I aren’t the only ‘heroes’ you’ll be seeing at the Compound.”

...

.......

Just a normal Saturday.

Chapter Text

The rest of the drive was spent with you asking various questions about the Avengers, herself, what the project was about(“It’d be better if Bruce explained it to you”), etc. Natasha didn’t seem to mind but you stopped when she started answering with ‘That’s classified information’ or ‘If I told you that, I’d have to kill you and then myself’ for nearly every question.

The driver, Happy, still didn’t say much except for how much longer it was until we arrived or when he updated Natasha on changes in the route due to irregular traffic.

For the most part, the car ride was quiet. Your mind, however, was a whole other story.

You wished your brain could enforce a speed limit because a thousand thoughts a second was a lot more than you could handle.

What could they be working on that they need me? I work in quantum physics.

What research is being done on quantum physics? Not much in the past five years. What about big names? Hank Pym. Darren Cross.

Both are assumed dead.

What would interest Bruce Banner about the quantum realm? The physics? Understanding it, he can do that on his own.

Mastering it. Navigating it.

No, not possible. Unless… No.

Maybe….

What if-

“We’re here.”

You looked up, startled from your thoughts. It was Happy speaking. You looked to Natasha, who was looking back at you curiously. Then she looked out the window and you followed her gaze.

The Avengers Compound, in all its glory… sort of.

It looked like a mix of a military base and modern office building, you appreciated the design. It seemed empty and worn down, though. Not how you imagined it, but you supposed it made sense. The entire world had felt empty and worn down since… for a while now.

Happy dropped the two of you off and Natasha led through various hallways and corridors of the Compound.

“Bruce, your protégé is here!” Natasha announced when you walked into what looked like the kitchen/living room. You turned the corner and were greeted with the glorious view of the Hulk’s body, controlled by Dr. Banner’s mind, making quesadillas on the counter. It was only a little unsettling… A little. You noticed Natasha moving to sit on a couch near the counter. Banner turned to you after giving a nod to Natasha.

“Wonderful, you must be Y/n, nice to meet you!” He wiped his hand on his apron and made a fist at you. Between your nerves and the fact that his fist was larger than your head, you flinched back. He simply smiled and point at his fist like a child would a balloon.

“No, I’m not gonna hurt you. It’s a fist bump, see?” He fist bumped himself and then pointed his fist at you again. You raised your arm and fist bumped him. He was careful not to break your arm, which you appreciated. Then he looked at you expectantly and you realized he was waiting for you to say something.

“Oh, sorry, I’m just a bit nervous and, to be honest, starstruck. It’s an honor to meet you, truly. It’s just- Well, an hour ago, I was doing some grocery shopping. Then one of my role models showed up to take me to one of my heroes.” You gestured at him and tried to give him a smile to show you meant all good intentions.

“Oh. Good to know you didn’t think I was gonna kill you,” He said cheerfully before turning back to his quesadillas. He placed a few finished quesadillas on a plate before speaking again.

“I asked Nat to bring you here so you could help us with a machine we’re experimenting with. It’s a compact quantum tunnel that was built and designed by Hank Pym. I’m sure you’ve heard of him.” He looked up at you and you nodded.

He piled more quesadillas onto the plate and continued to explain the situation. He told you about how Scott Lang(Ant-Man?) had been in the quantum realm when that guy snapped away Dr. Pym and Hope van Dyne, his daughter. They weren’t there to pull him out anymore.

Your mind was reeling. What did this mean? How did he survive that long in the quantum realm? Bruce seemed to read your thoughts and continued his explanation.

“Apparently, time passed differently for him. For Scott, it wasn’t five years, it was five hours. Then he showed up at the Compound with a crazy idea, just ‘crazy enough to work’.” You finished putting the pieces together seconds before Banner finished explaining it.

Time travel.

Entering the Quantum Realm in one point of space and time and exiting it in another. That means-

“-This could be a way to reverse what he did!” You exclaimed.

You ran your hands through your hair, of course .

“Bingo!” Bruce pointed at you in excitement. “I knew you would understand! The thing is, quantum physics isn’t exactly my area of expertise. That’s where you come in!”

Your mind was already swimming in ideas and equations and all the fun stuff that comes with being a scientist.

Bruce mistook your focused posture as nervousness or shock and did the best thing he could think of to snap you out of it.

He grabbed his plate of quesadillas and a napkin, now with twenty or so of them in a pile, and presented them to you, as if to say, Here, have a quesadilla.

You looked from the plate to his smile and you didn’t how you were supposed to say no. You took one tentatively and thanked him for the food and napkin. He put the plate down and began cleaning up the mess he’d made while making the quesadillas. Hmm, he made some tasty quesadillas. Yum. Then, a thought rang through your brain louder than any others(although the quesadilla thoughts were pretty loud).

“Why didn’t you just contact Tony Stark?” You asked suddenly, looking at Dr. Banner in confusion. You didn’t notice Natasha tense on the couch. Banner grabbed his plate of food and began walking out of the kitchen. Natasha followed him and you followed her.

“I’m sure he’s much more qualified than me. Is he okay?” You said, trying to keep up with the strides of the Hulk and an ex-spy. Natasha answered you this time.

“He’s retired now. He has a family and plenty to lose. He couldn’t just leave that.”

Then, you understood. He had actually gained from all of this. He had already given so much, you could understand how the guy could use a break. A part of you was angry at him for leaving this up to you. Angry for not chasing the possibility of bringing back half of the universe. Not just Earth, but the entire universe .

You sighed. You can’t be angry at a man for wanting to keep his family together. You were, once again, startled from your thoughts when Banner and Natasha turned a corner into a workshop of sorts.

You looked around the room. There was a beautiful view of the landscape through the windows on the opposite was. There was a van in the center of the room, which you found odd. There were parts of monitors and different wires scattered throughout the room. Someone, probably the green genius swallowing three quesadillas at a time beside you, had been trying to set-up the monitors for, well, monitoring the… van?

You didn’t bother asking for permission. You walked to the van and opened the back. Oh. It was wonderful.

It was the compact quantum tunnel Banner told you about. Wow, you had to see the schematics for this machine. How did Pym manage to fit it inside a van??? And it maintained functionality?

You practically ran to the front of the van, where you assumed the controls would be. Yep, there they were. You climbed inside and got to work, the rest of the world melting away the second your hands met the various buttons and complex wiring for the machine.

Chapter Text

1 week later

“No! Einstein, you absolute idiot of a genius!”

You ran your hands through your hair and started pacing. You had just watched Scott Lang's body be forced into different points of his life, including ones he hadn't reached yet. You had to focus on fixing the problem, forcing yourself to ignore all the ideas popping up in your head for reversing aging using this machine.

No, no, no.

That was not your goal. Right now you needed to find out why Einstein, Podolsky, and Rosen were being proved correct right now. This wasn't even a theory that was supposed to be possible.

No one told you that developing time travel would be so frustrating! The ragtag group of Avengers, aliens, and various failed experiments looked at you worriedly. If you spent too much time contemplating the existence of the beings before you, you would drive yourself crazy. There should be a limit to the number of extraterrestrial beings you could meet in a single week, but that's besides the point.

You continued pacing as you explained your predicament.

“It’s the EPR paradox. We’re adding and taking away years to and from his body instead of putting his body in different years. He hasn’t gone anywhere, but we’re lucky we got him back. This shouldn't be happening.”

A moment of silence except for your mumbling passed and you looked up to find the group staring at you blankly. Even Bruce seemed confused about what you were going on about.

“Stark can probably explain it better. He warned us.” Your eyes widened as you thought about what would happen if Tony Stark ever found out about this. 

“Oh I’m never gonna live this down,” You whispered to yourself.

Natasha was the first to speak up.

“What now? Do we know what we have to fix?”

You stayed silent for a moment as you thought up a plan.

“I’m going back to- Rocket, don't touch that!"

Breathe.

"...Back to the books. Don’t die or touch anything while I’m gone.”

You left without another word to find out how to conquer your paradox.

Meanwhile….

“Model rendering… Simulation successful.”

Tony froze for a moment at what he just heard his AI say. He did it. He fell back into his seat, mouth agape in disbelief.

“Shit.”