Frostbite

Four

Once we arrived back at the compound, Natasha began making calls to everyone she could. We would need a team if we were going to pull this off. The sooner everyone could get here the better. It would take a little time for our friends out in space to get here. There was no doubt that they would come.

Scott pulled his old van into the compound's hangar, explaining to Bruce how it worked. I tried to follow their conversation, but I was lost within minutes. As long as they could figure out how to navigate us through time safely, I didn't need to fully comprehend the mechanics behind it.

It only took Bruce a few hours to get setup, believing he knew how to do it. Scott went and changed into his suit as we helped Bruce finish the last few things he needed. I opened the doors to the back of the van as Scott reappeared.

"Okay, here we go. Time travel test number one. Scott, fire up the uhhh... the van thing," Bruce instructed, flipping the last few switches on the console. Scott did as he was asked, and I moved over to where Steve was standing.

Steve made a gesture and said, "Breakers are set, emergency generators are on standby."

"Good. 'Cause if we blow the grid, I don't wanna lose Tiny here in the nineteen fifties," Bruce chuckled. The four of us all cast an alarmed look at him.

Scott stammered, his expression slightly unnerved now, "Excuse me?"

"He's kidding," I smiled at him in reassurance. Was I trying to convince him or myself? I shot Bruce a pointed glance.

"You can't say things like that!" Natasha berated him in a hushed tone. He glanced between us and then back to Scott as he realized he was gonna freak out.

"Just- It was a bad joke."

Natasha scooted closer and mumbled to him so that Scott wouldn't hear, "You were kidding, right?"

"I have no idea. We're talking about time travel here. Either it's all a joke, or none of it is," he admitted before turning back to Scott to give him a thumbs up, loudly saying, "We're good! Get your helmet on, Scott. I'm gonna send you back a week, let you walk around for an hour, then bring you back in ten seconds. Make sense?"

"Perfectly not confusing."

"Good luck, Scott. You got this," Steve nodded to him in encouragement. Scott focused on him and flashed a confident smile his way. I snickered in amusement. He was head over heels for him.

"You're right. I do, Captain America."

Bruce pushed the button on the console and Scott disappeared into the Quantum tunnel. Steve and I exchanged a look as we gave him a few seconds like planned.

"On the count of three. Three... two... one!" Bruce counted down. He pushed another button to bring Scott back. A figure appeared out of the tunnel, but it wasn't Scott. At least- not the one we knew.

"Uh, guys? This... this doesn't feel right," the teen version of him stuttered in disbelief, glancing at us in horror.

"What is this?" Steve turned to Bruce worriedly.

"What's going on?" Bruce muttered, fiddling with several knobs.

"That... who is that?" Natasha wondered, her face stunned, "Is that Scott?"

Bruce was panicking, pushing several buttons to reverse whatever had happened.

"Yes, it's Scott!" the younger version exclaimed. He was abruptly sucked back into the tunnel. He reappeared, but this time he was much older.

"Ow! My back!"

"What the hell is happening?" I demanded, stepping closer to Bruce as he worked the console.

"Can I get a little space here?" he said, clearly flustered.

Steve stepped over as well, "Can you bring him back?"

"I'm working on it!"

Scott disappeared again. A moment passed, but a smaller figure appeared on the floor. Oh no.

"It's a baby," Steve stated in absolute disbelief.

"It's Scott."

"As a baby!"

"He'll grow," Bruce reasoned, casting his arms out.

"Bring Scott back!" I told him incredulously. We couldn't leave him like that.

Bruce motioned to Natasha, "When I say kill the power, kill the power."

"Oh my god," she muttered, hurriedly making her way to the generator. She paused, waiting for his instruction.

"And... Kill it!"

Nat pulled the lever as he smashed down a button. Scott was spewed out from the machine as everything shut down. We all stared in shock. That had not been how we had expected it to go.

"Somebody peed my pants," Scott realized, standing absolutely still as he processed whatever just occurred, "But I don't know if it was baby me or old me... Or just me- me.

"Oh, thank god," Natasha sighed in relief. At least we had gotten our Scott back.

Bruce held his arms up in a dramatic flair, "Time travel!"

Steve shook his head in defeat and started walking away. I decided to give him a few minutes to himself. I knew how much he wanted this too and this hadn't been a promising start. He made his way out into the mid-afternoon sun, not looking back.

"What? I- I see this as an absolute win," Bruce told us with a big smile. I shook my head and gave him another pointed look.

"That was not how that was supposed to go," I reminded him.

He started resetting the console as he assured me, "It just needs tweaked, Mel. We'll figure it out, don't worry."

I locked gazes with Natasha, both of us unsure if it would be that simple.

"Uh- I think I should go change..." Scott mumbled as he brisked past us, "Yeah, I definitely need to change."

I let out an exasperated huff, running my hand through my hair. It was foolish to think it would have been that easy. Natasha began helping Bruce reset the console, and I wandered over to the wall, sliding down the length of it. Several minutes went by and Steve finally came back inside. Tony was trailing behind him.

I shot up from where I was sitting and jogged over to them. Steve had his shield on his arm, his expression more hopeful than it had been before. My eyes drifted from the shield and between the two of them. There seemed to be a new-found peace between them. Maybe we'd be able to move past what happened all those years ago.

"What's going on?" I inquired when no one said anything.

"Tony figured it out," Steve breathed, a smile spreading across his face. My head whipped to my brother, my face lighting up in response. I threw myself at him, and he wrapped me in an embrace with a chuckle.

"Thank you, Tony," I whispered, pulling back.

He shrugged, "I figured you were right. Don't let that get to your head, though."

I rolled my eyes and shoved him lightly with a laugh. He showed us the bracelet contraption he had made. We would get another shot to make things right. To bring everyone back. This was it.