The Third Black Widow

Five Years Later

A lot has happened since Thor killed Thanos a few years ago. I turned 13, and Nat dyed her hair red again, and she is growing it out. She left the tips blonde, though. Tony and Pepper are living in a cabin still in New York but still far from the compound. Nat and I are the only people who live in the compound full time. Even Steve lives in an apartment part-time off-campus.

I miss Yelena so much. I miss always having her there to talk to. I miss her hugs. I miss when she comforts me after I have a nightmare. I miss her energy. I miss everything about her.

The world hasn't been the same without everyone who disappeared. Nat is in contact with Carol, Okoye, Rhodey, Nebula, and Rocket. They're all in different locations keeping peace on Earth or, in Carol's case, the universe. Steve regularly visits, though. We haven't heard from Tony or Bruce in three years. We know Clint's alive, but we haven't contacted him. He's been on a killing spree since the loss of his family because of Thanos's snap. I know all of this from Nat explains things to me.

I am sitting in my room just watching TV like I normally do. Tonight I am watching Friends, which is one of my favorite shows. Nat is letting me watch it even though it's meant for kids a little older. I love watching it. I find it funny and sometimes relatable. My favorite character is either Phoebe or Joey. I'm watching The One With All The Poker. "I have got your money and you'll never see it. And your flies still open. Ha, I made you look," says Rachel. I laugh as she talked she brushed two poker chips against each other on each word. A little while later, I finish the episode, and I'm tempted to start another one. Instead, I turn off the TV and I walk downstairs and into the kitchen to see if Nat's meeting with Carol, Okoye, Rhodey, Nebula, and Rocket is over.

As I walk down the hallway, I hear talking. I can definitely hear Nat but I can't tell who the other person is at the moment. I arrive in the kitchen and see Nat and Steve talking and I announce my presence. I look around the room, and I notice Nat's point Ballet shoes on the chair next to me. She must have been dancing recently, I think to myself. I'll admit, I dance for fun sometimes too. I even dance while I watch Friends sometimes. "Hi, Lizzie. How was Friends?" says Nat. "Great! I just finished The One With All The Poker," I say.

A device chimes and Nat swipes it, and we see camera footage. "Oh, hi, hi! Uh, is anyone home?  This is, uh, Scott Lang. We met a few years ago at the airport in Germany? I was the guy that got really big. I had a mask on. You wouldn't recognize me." says Scott Lang. The airport in Germany? The guy who got really big? What is he talking about? "Is this an old message?" asks Steve. "Ant-Man? I know you know that," adds Scott. "It's the front gate," says Nat. "I really need to talk to you guys," says Scott. Nat clicks a button and lets him and his van in.

We bring Scott to the kitchen where we are, and he paces, muttering to himself. "Scott. Are you okay?" says Steve. "Yeah. Have any of you guys ever studied quantum physics?" asks Scott. "Only to make conversation," says Nat. "I have but only a little. I know about as much as Nat does give or take a little bit," I say. "All right, so five years ago, right before Thanos, I was in a place called the quantum realm. The quantum realm is like its own microscopic universe. To get in there, you have to be incredibly small. Hope. She's my, um... She was my... She was supposed to pull me out. And then Thanos happened, and I got stuck in there." says Scott. "I'm sorry that must have been a very long five years," says Nat. "Yeah. But that's just it. It wasn't. For me, it was five hours. See, the rules of the quantum realm aren't like they are up here. Everything is unpredictable. Is that anybody's sandwich? I'm starving." says Scott. He grabs Nat's sandwich and takes a bite. "Scott. What are you talking about?" asks Steve. "So, what I'm saying is time works differently in the quantum realm. The only problem right now is we don't know how to navigate it. But what if we did? I can't stop thinking about it. What if we could somehow control the chaos, and we could navigate it? What if there was a way that we could enter the quantum realm at a certain point in time but then exit the quantum realm at another point in time? Like...Like before Thanos." says Scott. "Wait. Are you talking about a time machine?" asks Steve. "No. No, of course not. No, not a time machine. This more like a... Yeah. Like a time machine. I know, it's crazy. It's crazy. But I can't stop thinking about it. There's gotta be... some way... It's crazy," says Scott. "I think it's worth a shot," I say. "Scott. I get emails from a raccoon, so nothing sounds crazy anymore," says Nat. "So who do we talk to about this?" asks Scott. "Tony Stark," says Steve.

Great! We're going on a road trip. Tony hasn't even properly met me yet. After we got back from killing Thanos, he and Pepper left the compound and I personally haven't seen them since. I know Nat has. I mostly stay here at the compound these days. Once in a while I'll leave the compound and go on a walk but that's about it. I prefer staying here where it's not so dramatically different. The world has changed and not necessarily in a good way.