Chapter 114 – Wibbly Wobbly
114
Upstate New York
New Avengers Facility
5:07 p.m.
Scott Lang exhaled through his palms, letting them fall and rest on his hips. “And that’s how it happened.”
Natasha, Steve, and Matthew were all circulated throughout the living room, Steve and Murdock continuously moving back and forth, side to side, listening intently to every word that left Scott’s lips. Natasha, on the other hand, had remained situated on the lonesome couch, a hand resting on her chin and curiously deep in thought. For a couple of hours, that was how she remained… simply absorbing what Scott was trying to tell her and everyone else present.
As for the other pair of Avengers, Steve and Matt turned to one another once Scott had finally finished speaking, the man’s eyes waiting for their word. Their approval. Perhaps even their trust. Whereas Steve was somewhat hesitant in that regard, he still had no reason to distrust Lang, especially after all he did for him and Buck years back.
Scott’s heartbeat was certainly rapid, but Matt could tell he was far from lying.
Every word of it was the truth. He made that clear by lightly slapping Steve’s arm and nodding his way. Rogers took Matt’s wordless decree with a firm nod in return, finally resting his eyes back to Scott Lang and seeing the unease suddenly flush away.
“I’m sorry for what happened to you,” Steve told him, burly arms crossed and expression soft. Helpful. As strong as could be. “Being away from your family for that long… your daughter especially… God, I can’t even imagine.”
Scott nodded appreciatively to that, then paused. “You know, it didn’t feel that long,” he muttered. The room’s eyes were on him and he didn’t even meet them. “I mean, five years still, that’s just… Jesus, that’s… wow. But it felt different, for me, at least. You, Luis, everyone I come into contact with keeps telling me it’s been five years since I stepped in that tunnel.”
He stopped once again, faced away for a moment, then faced them all head-on with that widened expression.
“Well for me it’s been five hours.”
Their shared surprise was welcome, Steve tilting his head and furrowing his brow. Matthew breathed in that information and softly exhaled, taking a seat next to Natasha as he rubbed a palm through his hair. The Widow, on the other hand, refused to remain silent like the others. She leaned back, crossed her legs. “How is that even possible?” Natasha asked with a curious brow.
Scott slapped his hands together, breathed in sharply, and just as sharply exhaled, “You guys know anything about quantum physics?”
Neither Steve nor Natasha had an answer to that. Matt shook his head. “Just that it’s a theory.”
“Okay,” Scott mumbled, hope falling to see their downtrodden faces shared amongst one another. Still, at least one of them had a semblance of the idea, Scott jamming his finger towards Murdock and taking a step his way. “Okay, well, it’s a lot more than just a theory, Devil Man!”
“Daredevil,” Murdock corrected and groaned.
“Before I keep going, do you have any food?”
“Would you like a sandwich, Mr. Lang?”
“Oh, my God!” Scott gasped, clutching his heart. He promptly fell back to the nearest chair behind him, clutching it but somehow remaining on two feet. He pointed straight to the ceiling, trying to remember how to breathe. “Where the hell did that voice come from?”
“That’s just Friday. She’s the head AI here in the facility,” Steve replied.
“She keeps us patched in with everything going on around the globe and what’s happening above our heads,” Natasha added.
Scott mindlessly nodded to that, not even trying to imagine the complications that came with planetary contact. He was, however, interested on the planet. “With the ponies?” Scott asked.
“She’s currently situated in the Castle of Friendship,” Matt said with a firm nod. He leaned forward from the couch he sat upon, hands gripping his cane and eyes hidden behind the dark red shades. “But we’ve secured a distinct connection from there to here.”
“Yeah, I’m still… trying to believe that,” Lang said while rubbing the back of his head. After a few seconds of silence, Scott suddenly recalled that a certain voice was waiting on him. He eyed in no particular direction, not really knowing where to turn to respond to Friday. “Yes, a sandwich would be great.”
“Turkey, ham, or peanut butter and jelly?”
Scott lifted his head to the ceiling, almost apprehensive to that statement, unsure to where he was supposed to be speaking to. “Uh… all three?”
Friday’s continued silent that followed was as much confirmation as the group needed for what she had shipped off to do. Steve chuckled at that, smiling Scott’s way as he leaned against the nearest wall. “You sound like you haven’t eaten in five years.”
Scott took a seat on the couch opposite to the Black Widow, a palm rising to his head while the other rested on his abdomen. He breathed in deeply before softly sighing, “Maybe a part of me actually experienced that, most likely the stomach, but still…”
Natasha tilted her head at that. “What do you mean a ‘part of you’?”
And it was at that moment where Scott stopped talking. For the longest period of time since he stepped foot in the New Avengers Facility, his continued silence was unnerving to say the least. It was even more unsettling the way his eyes gazed in no particular direction, seeing no particular end in sight and gazing off into… nothing. He stared at nothing, spoke to nothing, and breathed for nothing. It was all the Avengers could experience out of him, but for Scott Lang he saw so much more. He sighed and leaned forward, elbows resting on his knees, his eyes low, and his breath tightened. The moment he lifted those large, desperate eyes was the moment the Avengers fully embraced him.
“All right, you guys are gonna have to really follow me on this one.”
It was when they knew they had to listen.
He began. “When I was stuck in the Quantum Realm, there was… something I probably shouldn’t have seen. Definitely something I shouldn’t have walked right into. Then again… if I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t even be here telling you guys about this. You see, before she was… taken… Janet told me about these anomalies called time vortexes. Basically, they’re these whirlpool spawns of… otherworldly energy. Janet said she crossed a couple in her time, but she never, under no circumstance, ever stepped inside one. Because she told me there was no way out if you do.”
Scott leaned back and shot out his arms, palms open wide to the world around him.
“And yet here I am. Janet told me that she had only seen a couple when she was stuck inside the Quantum Realm. But for me… there were hundreds. All of them compacted into the vast expanse, swarming around each other while others appeared to be miles away. I know it’s hard to picture… but for me it looked just like—”
“A universe.”
Scott turned to Steve. Natasha did, too. Murdock just listened, turned nowhere, and experienced the conversation on a level no one else could have. He listened to the various heartbeats in the room, listened as Scott’s only continuously rose. Never turning away from the truth, but fully unveiling every last image of what he witnessed. When Scott’s heart suddenly slowed to Steve’s interruption, Murdock could tell that Steve had hit it on the nail. Which only further left even more questions…
“Galaxies. Entire pockets of reality swirling in their own little worlds,” Steve continued, arms still crossed and eyes still latched with Lang’s. He shook his head from where he leaned against the wall. “I don’t know about you, Scott, but the Quantum Realm sounds a lot bigger than you made it out to be.”
Scott nodded for all to see. “That’s not even scraping the surface, because when I stepped into the time vortex—”
A drone flew up to Scott’s right, holding a metal plate with a sandwich resting on its surface. “Mr. Lang,” the drone called, Friday’s Irish tone softly evident within the voice. Turning to it, Scott could only gaze into the robotic iris for so long before he began to feel uncomfortable. Instead, he smiled thankfully and took the plate from the drone’s metallic arms. That smile slowly deteriorated, gazing onto the mess of bread, meat, and condiments slapped on the plate.
“You just put… turkey, ham… and peanut butter and jelly all together,” Scott observed, turning to the drone once more with that ludicrous expression on his face. Like someone had literally slapped him and had pissed all over the hand.
Friday wasn’t affected in the slightest, the iris widening slightly while hovering innocently by his side. “You said all three,” she responded, a slight sense of sass added to it.
“You know what? This is disgusting, but I don’t even care,” Scott said. He placed the plate down on the table, taking a large bite out of the sandwich and spewing the excess jelly and turkey back onto the plate. As Friday turned to leave, Scott chewed carnivorously and licked his fingers, the sides of his mouth leaking jelly and peanut butter. Natasha scrunched her face at that. “Anyway, as I was saying, after I stepped inside that time vortex, things only got weirder. I was basically free-falling from that point on, okay? And you know how you see your life flash before your eyes moments before death… well, I kinda saw that, too… only…”
He took a moment to swallow, but even then, he remained silent several seconds after.
“Only what?” Murdock asked.
Scott put the sandwich back on the plate.
“It wasn’t… all I saw,” he finally responded. The moment he lifted his head was the moment he saw their eyes. The strange looks on their faces said it all, followed by the rising disbelief the longer Scott rambled on about the impossible. On that basis, Scott rose up from the couch.
“Look, I know this is gonna sound crazy, but we live in a time where multicolored ponies are walking among us! Okay, literally everything is on the table at this point! What I saw when I fell in that time vortex were alternate versions of reality! Different dimensions! Various different timelines all swirling together in their own little pockets! On account to me actually witnessing my own birth, my childhood, when I first met Luis, when I found the Ant-Man suit, and even my own deathbed, I can only assume that what that time vortex showed me… was something I could have reached.”
The room was silent. The three Avengers kept their tongues frozen, their expressions even colder, as Scott lingered on his words. He laid a hand on his hip, the other rising up only to slap against his side. He sighed, shaking his head.
“I could feel it. These different pockets were trying to pull me in, l-like they had their own gravitational pull. And those flashes of my life that I mentioned… I can almost guarantee those weren’t flashes. They felt real, like I was right there once again reliving those moments. Maybe a part of me did. Maybe a part of me was able to go back—for a few seconds even—and relive those moments, see them again from another lens.”
“Scott, what you’re saying…” Natasha interrupted. She watched as Scott turned his astonished expression to hers, eyes wide and wild. Fully leaning on the edge of the impossible but still daring to take that leap. Natasha was wondering if she was even willing to gaze upon it. “You’re talking about…”
“Oh, yeah,” Scott said with a nod, a smirk, all of the above. “Time travel.”
He expected their reactions to be just as incredulous as the moment he convinced himself to believe the possibility. That was all it was, truly: a mere possibility. He could rave for hours and hours how time travel functioned in all of his favorite movies and television series, and even in science fiction in general. But for the possibility of the real, the consequences that came with it, when time travel was proposed as not just a possibility… but a reality… then Scott Lang had most certainly discovered something that could change the course of human history. Certainly, everyone would like to go back and kill Hitler, or prevent 9/11, or stop any other wretched event that cost countless human lives in the process. So much suffering could be prevented… but at what cost? They save how many lives in the past, and how many more would be affected in the future? Would the world still remain intact as it should? Would people who have made a definite impact in history not even have been born?
In a timeline of just five years, what could really be drastically changed?
Just one thing.
Scott walked about the living room, every word laced with the rising desperation in his heart. The Avengers were silent and let him vent. “I know it’s a long shot, but it’s a shot that we’ll have no choice but to take. There’s a chance, okay… for us to harness this power within the Quantum Realm and utilize it under our command! We can focus that power to several distinct moments in time! To the future… and even to the past!”
“Like before the Infinity Stones?” Matt asked, almost breathless.
Steve was completely breathless, his voice so quiet that even Matthew had struggled to hear him. “Before Thanos snapped his fingers.”
“Exactly!” Scott said, pointing directly to Steve Rogers with both hands and walking straight to him. He slapped his fist into his palm repeatedly, emphasizing almost every syllable that escaped his adrenaline-fueled tongue. “We can do this Back to the Future style, baby! We can change the past to save the future! We can bring everyone back!”
And he was finished. He let those words linger in the air, realizing shortly that it was more like a bad fart if anything, considering the expressions that filled the Avengers. They were uncertain, faces downtrodden once they took a moment to actually realize what Scott was trying to convince them of. Murdock never spoke up about Lang lying in any sense, so they could trust his story. His word, however, it needed a lot more than just a heartbeat to gain the full trust of the Avengers. Mostly all of them were still trapped on the possibility of time travel, and accepting that as a plausible option.
If there was ever a moment they could have gone back, changed one thing or several out of the many mistakes they made five years ago, they wouldn’t have hesitated to make that choice and follow through with it. Now, with Scott Lang literally giving them that moment, that opportunity, they froze. One of the Infinity Stones was the Time Stone, so the idea of altering time was possible and it existed. With time travel being considered, they could only wonder what repercussions came with it. They could stop Thanos from snapping his fingers, but what then? What would the world become then? It was impossible to fully understand it, yet if they could save… trillions of lives that were unjustly taken away by one man’s will… then what was stopping them from doing just that?
It would take much, much longer to fully understand it… but…
“Steve, this is…” Natasha gasped, shaking her head from where she sat. Right by Matthew’s side. Steve turned to her, stepping away from the wall to allow his arms to fall to his sides once again. He stared right into Natasha’s expression, watched as she shook her head and gazed straight on.
“This is out there,” she said and looked to him, met his eyes. Saw no sense of irresolution.
Just Steve Rogers.
And he said, “Just means it’s possible to reach.”
He nodded to Natasha Romanoff, turned to Matthew Murdock, and settled his strengthened eyes on Scott Lang. Said to all of them, “We need to get the team together.”
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9722322
Yeah, um, I don't know if you know this but, I was referring to her voice actress, I'm just calling her her character, hence the parentheses.
Oh Scott, you're gonna have your heart broken when you hear the truth about Back to the Future.
The spark of hope has been re-ignited. Time to get the team back together again.
...I'm expecting some to be harder to convince than others. We already know Tony and Clint are going to play hard-to-get, so there's that. I also can't help but wonder how hard it will be to get Twilight, Rainbow, and Rarity all back into a room together; given the little tidbits of information we've gotten so far, the three seem rather estranged from each other.
Only one way to find out, I suppose...
Wibbly wobbly timey wimey
Now that they have a chance to fix everything, it's time to bring the team back together and make preparations for the Time Heist. And I'm sure Twilight and Starlight are really going to have a field day about this considering their own experience with time travel and alternate realities.
Friday is not wrong there. Scott did use a poor choice of words. Should've said to give him one of each.
FINALLY! The plan is about to be set in motion! I only wonder if you will follow the exact storyline from the movie. Will the final battle be in the present post snap, or will it be in the past?
And now, GIANT GREEN HANDS GRABBING FOR A MOUNTAIN OF BURRITOS
9722651
Twi and Rarity will probably be difficult, ESPECIALLY Twilight. I can imagine Rainbow being easier to get on board
9722659
Hulk: You can't change the past to fix the future
Twilight and Starlight: I'm about to end this man's whole career!
And so with that Avengers: The Heist begins.
Hope is on the rise. But it is an uphill battle.
Given their experience with time travel, I'd imagine that Twilight and Starlight will shoot down this idea almost immediately. Although I am curious to see how Rainbow, Rarity and the others will react.
But before they can even start formulating a plan, there are at least five individuals (two humans and three ponies) that have got to work out their issues with each other if they have any hopes of pulling this off as a team.
9722705
If you ask me, all three of them are, more likely than not, going to say a resounding yes to trying to get their loved ones back (ESPECIALLY Twilight). The real challenge will be "Agree to work with and get along with these two other ponies who, at this point, probably hate your guts as much as you hate theirs."
Not an easy task, to say the least. Heck, you might as well try to get the Beatles back together. (Yay, callback to Infinity War!)
...Though, to be fair, the Beatles technically did get back together, so there is in fact hope. ;)
So not a time heist right away? Or is it going to be a different plan altogether?
The suspense is climbing!!
Also looking forward this sequence!!! Even if it's changed.
9722641
9722713
To be fair they're using the quantum realm instead of magic.
So it might work differently
Maybe
By having your young mother crush on you, giving
Donald TrumpBiff the key to unlimited wealth, and hijacking a steam engine?Oh FRIDAY you little Irish shit. Never change. Not in the slightest.
9722742
You forgot about Real Love
9722742
But yes, they got back together. Of course, someone had to DIE for that to happen Looks with intensity at Tony
9722807
I guess that technically means Pinkie, Applejack, and Fluttershy are all John. Let's hope nopony becomes a George. (Or a Paul, if you believe in that sort of thing.)
9722835
And Spike. OOF
9722835
By Paul do you mean a hollow shell of his former self just being there to be there?
9722839
By Paul, I meant dead.
Yes, some people still believe in that whole thing. Not me, though - I think he's died in a different way.
*proceeds to casually hide the vinyl copy of Egypt Station that I purchased for literally no reason*
9722845
Oh my god, I didn't realize that was a thing lol
Well, he looks dead every time he goes on stage, so there's THAT
Well considering this takes place in the same universe as mlp we already know time traveling is possible. I’m sure it will be brought up.
Operation Time Heist is in the works, baby!
I wonder how much it'll take to persuade Starlight to go along with this after what happened the last time she tried time travel.
Time Heist Bitches
Though JDPrime how are you gonna manage to tie this to the MLP logic which shows Back to the Future isn't a bunch of Bullshit
9723089
I don't think it's going to take much, considering it's a chance to bring half of the life in the universe back, including Spike, Fluttershy, Applejack, Sweetie Belle, etc....
We'll prove Back to the Future is a bunch of bulls**t.
Which is funny because Alan Silvestri made the score for that film.
Mr. Snarky wants to read two of your stories this war of ours and the infinity era.
Mr. Snarky is a youtuber that reads mlp crossover fanfics
9722620
yeah, i know that, i was only imagining.
9722641 We all had our hearts broken that day.
9722651 It HAS been five years. Maybe things will have cooled down?
9722659 Best Doctor, don't @ me. Gotta love Friday's Irish sass though.
9722691 I won't follow the film to a T. Things are REALLY going to diverge into uncharted territory later on.
9722700 sAy GrEeN
9722715 It's almost like it's a time travel heist. Wish we had a better name for that...
9722739 Either they do this as a team or not at all. Whatever it takes.
As for Twilight and Starlight... they may have a thing or two to admit about their experiences in time travel.
9722756 Looking for a heist that goes through time and space.
9722782 Friday is the hero we need.
9722909
Conflicting ideas and so forth.
9723089 They might have more assurances this time as opposed to what she did.
9723204 Or perhaps it truly is?
9723505 An absolute legend.
9723513 Yes, he informed that he is currently reading and planning the dramatic reading video. Very excited!
9724113
Look forward to what you do
9724113
Yeah, things have calmed down in 5 years. I mean that's how long the Cold War lasted, right?
9724113
Friday is not the hero we deserve, but she is the one we need
Again , an hour too late , I should have stopped my Equestria at War (Hearts of Iron 4 mod) session early XD !
Anyway , this chapter follows the movie perfectly while still putting some unique things to the story and has seen in your last comment , it's great to see that the story will diverge onto something totally unique , I am starting to wonder if the Movie conversion was really a bad idea 🤔 .
To finish , I have to say that this story (and it's prequels) have really came a long way , from a "simple" Heros in equestria to a total movie conversion that could be it's own movie . I applaud you (I know this is a end-of-story kind of comment but I probably won't remember it then XD) !
Time Heist, y’all!
After 5 years, they finally have a sliver of hope, but it’s a long shot so there can’t be any room for error. Will take some convincing though, especially on the ponies.
Which reminds me, I’m curious on how you’ll explain time travel logic since in MLP, time works as Terminator, Back To The Future, Hot Tub Time Machince, and all other time travel media referenced by Rhodey and Scott portrays.
9724113
Man, I can imagine what will Fluttershy think of Bruce like this. She'd be like...
(Bruce after he saves Flutters from an attacking Leviathan)
derpicdn.net/img/view/2014/11/2/756224__safe_artist-colon-decprincess_fluttershy_absurd+res_looking+away_raised+hoof_simple+background_solo_spread+wings_surprised_-dot-svg+available_t.png
Bruce? I-is that really you? Wh-what happened to-
encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn%3AANd9GcS57M7Q0b5UN37HSshlZ-jveQEUxs5kcxQboKmA4tVmweN-YDLw
Yeah it's... kind of a long story.
9724246 Yeah, I see what you're getting at.
9724320 Hey, I appreciate it nonetheless!
9724344 It's an interesting take on time travel. We'll see how it fits.
9724535 Bruce looks so depressed.
Finally caught up, and by the Emperor has it been a hell of a rollercoaster...
Activating tracking beacon.
9724639
Of course, he does. That picture was taken right after he had to give up one of his tacos
9724709 The hardest choices require the strongest wills.
9724980
And he has the strongest will of all. I don't think Sanota would have survived making that kind of choice. I think it would have broke her
Time to turn up the heat and get freaky here baby!!!
I absolutely loved reading this next installment you released, JD.
Time for the Time Heist! We're going to need to get the band back together (again).
Scott provides a lot of much needed comic relief, from getting Daredevil's name wrong to getting his three-in-one sandwich (totally saw that one coming). Then of course him bringing up Back to the Future, which is setting up one of the best puns for later.