Hoping for a Hero - part II of II [COMPLETE]

Chapter 10: The Boys Are Back

Within the next few days, whoever was left of the Avengers were reunited for our new mission. Most hadn't changed significantly, but Thor and Hawkeye (now Ronin) struggled to process the tragedy that had occurred because of Thanos. To cope with their grief, Thor had turned to alcohol and video games while Clint sought to rid the remaining 50% of the population from evil men. Everyone was surprised at how the two warriors had changed so drastically, but deep down, they understood why. They experienced the same pain created by sorrow and anger. We all did.

"Hand me a wrench, would ya?" Tony's hand appeared out from beneath the new capacitor where he lay on his back making adjustments.

I did as requested and returned to the computer station to check the code again. "Tony, everything looks good from here," I said loud enough for him to hear me. "How many tweaks do you still need to make?"

He wheeled out on his creeper and sat up. "That's the last one," he said.

Rocket turned and walked to the lab, "I'll go get everyone."

"Great! Thanks, Ratchet," Tony waved.

"It's Rocket!" the raccoon shouted but quickly mumbled, "Oh, forget it. "

I shook my head disapprovingly, but Tony threw up his hands in defense. "Just keeping it light," he raised his eyebrows and came to my side. He looked over my shoulder at the computer screen and nodded in approval. "Still got your coding skills."

"Did you expect me to lose them?" I asked, confused if that was supposed to be a compliment.

"No—" he was spared from a poor recovery when the other Avengers approached us.

"Alright, let's give this a shot," Banner said as he came to observe the computer station. I moved aside so he could examine the monitors.

I was expecting to see Scott walk up onto the platform of the capacitor, but Ronin was wearing the new time travel suit. "Why the sudden change?" I whispered to Steve.

It took him a moment to realize what I was referencing. "He volunteered," he replied.

Bruce seemed satisfied with the equipment and said, "Alright, Clint." He flipped a switch and Ronin activated his helmet. "We're going in three, two, one."

And then he was gone.

"There's half the battle," I whispered.

Barton continued working with the grid, preparing for the next step. "Okay, bringing him back in three, two, one," he flipped another switch and Clint returned on the platform.

He was bent over and grunted loudly in pain. Instantly filled with concern, we all ran up the steps to meet him.

"Hey," Natasha knelt and grabbed him. "Hey, look at me. You okay?"

"Yeah," he replied between heavy breaths as he stood. "Yeah. It worked." He held out a baseball glove as evidence and threw it to Tony. "It worked."

This new development proved that we could have a chance at success, but it also increased the urgency of the matter. There was no time to rejoice at the milestone. We needed to focus on the next step and pinpoint the exact time in which we needed to return. To a certain degree, this seemed more challenging than building the capacitor.

The next day, we gathered in the conference room to discuss potential times and locations. Like old times, Steve led the meeting. "Okay, so the how works," he said. "Now, we gotta figure out the when and the where. Almost everyone in this room has had an encounter with at least one of the six Infinity Stones."

"Or substitute the word 'encounter' for 'nearly been killed by one of the six Infinity Stones'," Tony interrupted.

"Well, I haven't," Scott said, "but I don't even know what the heck ya'll are talking about."