Veronica Barnes: Trained to Kill

XXXVI.

Date: 09/16/2023
Location: Avengers Compound, Manhattan

Thor cracked open his beer, a drop falling to the floor as he walked at the front of the group.

Tony rounded up behind him, dragging behind him the tubing for the machine. "You're drifting left. One side there, Lebrowski," he spoke, walking towards the time machine. "Ratchet! How's it going?"

"It's Rocket." The raccoon looked up, dangling from the metal of the machine. "Take it easy. You're only a genius on earth, pal."

Thor burped, Veronica shaking her head as she walked off down the lighted halls to where Scott was getting fitted for his suit. Scott yelled from inside the room as the girl looked inside to see the man dressed in a white suit with red and silver accents. Nebula buttoned up the back of it as Hulk proceeded to be yelled at by Scott as he spoke of Pym Particles, of which he only had enough of for one round trip for each of the Avengers.

"Scott," Rhodes spoke softly. "Calm down."

The man nodded, pushing the vial into place. "Plus two test runs." He glowed, shrinking as he yelped, popping back up to full size. "One." Rhodes shook his head. "All right. I'm not ready for this."

"I'm game," Clint spoke from behind Veronica, the girl turning her head to look at him as he popped out of thin air. He leaned against the door frame, arms crossed, wearing a green sleeveless shirt, showing off his tattooed arm. "I'll do it."

...

"Clint, now, you're gonna feel a little discombobulated from the chronoshift," Hulk spoke, Nebula pressing buttons as she readied the suit as Clint now wore it. "Don't worry about it."

"Wait a second," Rhodes spoke. "Let me ask you something." He looked up at Hulk, who stared back down in confusion. "If we can do this, you know--go back in time--why don't we just go find baby Thanos? You know, and..." he moved his fingers around each other in a wrapping motion before pulling back, insinuating strangulation.

"First of all, that's horrible," Hulk spoke.

"It's Thanos."

"And secondly, time doesn't work that way. Changing the past doesn't change the future."

Scott held out his hands, dressed back in his normal clothes and a baseball cap as he sat next to Veronica on a chair. "Look, we go back and get the stones before Thanos gets them, Thanos doesn't have the stones. Problem solved."

"Bingo," Clint replied.

Veronica leaned down, rubbing her forehead as Nebula muttered "that's not how it works" under her breath.

"Well, that's what I heard."

"Wait, but who?" Hulk began again. "Who told you that?"

Rhodes held out a hand, ticking off things as he named them. "Star Trek, Terminator, Time Cop, Time After Time..."

"...Quantum Leap," Scott added.

"Wrinkle in Time, Somewhere in Time."

"...Hot Tub Time Machine."

"Hot Tub Time Machine, Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure. Basically any movie that deals with time travel."

"Die Hard," Scott spoke. "No, that's not one."

"This is known," Rhodes continued.

"I don't know why everyone believes that, but it's not true," Hulk spoke, ranting about how he was wrong as Veronica zoned out.