Snakebite | Avengers: Endgame [8]

Chapter 15

"You do know how crazy this is?" I asked as I climbed out of the car along with Nat, Steve, and Scott. Tony was walking inside, a little girl in his arms and a blue Iron Man helmet in his hand. He turned around, looking at us, and Nat nodding, him nodding back. "Tony, we know what it sounds like," Scott stuttered. "Tony, after everything you've seen, is anything really craz--" Steve started.

"Quantum Fluctuation messes with the Plank scale, which then triggers the Dortch proposition. Can we agree on that? In layman's terms, it means you're not coming home," Tony said. "I did," Scott said. "No, you accidentally survived. It's a billion to one cosmic fluke. Now you wanna pull a...what do you call it?" Tony asked. "A Time Heist," Scott said. "Yeah, a Time Heist. Of course. Why didn't I think of this before? Oh, because it's laughable? Because it's a pipe dream?" Tony snapped.

"The stones are in the past. We can go back, we can get them," Steve said. "We can snap our own fingers, bring everyone back," I said. "Or screw it up worse than he already has," Tony said. "I don't believe we would," Steve said. "Gotta say, sometimes I missed that giddy optimism. However, high hopes won't help if there's no logical, tangible way for me to safely execute said Time Heist. I believe the most likely outcome will be our collective demise," Tony said.

"Not if we strictly follow the rules of time travel. That means no talking to our past selves, no betting on sports events--" Scott started. "I'm gonna stop you right there, Scott. Are you seriously telling me that your plan to save the universe is based on Back to the Future?" Tony asked. "No," Scott fibbed. "Good, you had me worried there, cuz that would be bullcrap. That's not how Quantum Psychics work," Tony said. "Tony. We have to take a stand," Nat said.

 "We did stand. And yet, here we are," Tony shot back. "Some of us are still standing, and yet you sit," I snapped. "I know you got a lot on the line, you've got a wife, a daughter, but I lost someone very important to me. A lot of people did. And now, we have a chance to bring her back. To bring everyone back. And you're telling me you won't even--" Scott starts. "That's right, Scott. I won't even. I got a kid," As if on queue, Tony's daughter Morgan came running up to him, and he picked her up. "Mommy told me to come and save you," She said.

 Seeing Tony with Morgan felt like a massive punch in the gut from the universe. All I could think about was going home and finding a bunch of dust on the lawn. My entire family, gone in an instant. Not one survivor. And I didn't even get to say goodbye.

"Good job, I'm saved. I wish you had come here to ask me something else--anything else. I'm honestly happy to see you guys. The table's set for 8," He said, standing up and moving to head back inside. "Tony. I get it. And I'm happy for you. I really am. But this is a second chance," Steve said. "I got my second chance right here, Cap. Can't roll the dice on it. If you don't talk shop, you can stay for lunch," Tony said. The others started heading back to the car, knowing they had been beat, but I hung around. "You got something to say? Some magical reason that'll get me to help you?" Tony asked, coming back outside without Morgan.

"Yeah, I do," I said. "I can't risk this, El. I've got a wife, a kid--" He started, but I cut him off. "So did I," I snapped. "What?" He breathed, shocked. "I had a daughter, way back in 2015. I was going to get married. And yet, I kept being a hero. I still helped people. Even when I had a family, I still helped. I risked my life several times, and what do I get? A pile of dust in my front lawn. She would've been 8 years old today. But I guess there's nothing I can say to change your mind," I said, walking off.

The others had already driven away, presumably to try somewhere else, so I just flew back to the base. 

a/n So, today is the birthday of Jensen Ackles, who is the face claim for Ellie's dad (if you want to know the other face claims, go look at the first chapter of Serpent, I updated it) so I said to heck with it, here's a free update. As always, there will still be regularly scheduled updates.