Chapter 2: Take Me Away With You
"Damn it! Where the hell is it?!"
Tony Stark tore through the warehouse like a man possessed, his repulsors casting eerie blue shadows as he searched every container, every crate, every corner. The Tesseract was nowhere to be found.
"What the hell?" He stopped suddenly, his HUD highlighting some kind of energy residue near one of the opened containers. The readings were definitely consistent with Space Stone radiation, but the artifact itself was long gone.
Just as he was about to investigate the signature more thoroughly, a familiar voice called out from across the warehouse.
"Tony? Is that you in there?"
Tony's blood froze. Through his faceplate's display, he could see the biometric readings of the man approaching, and they matched perfectly with someone who should have been dead for decades.
His father. Howard Stark.
No matter how old Tony got, no matter how many times he'd saved the world, facing his father still made him feel like that scared kid who never seemed good enough. Especially when that father was supposed to be six feet under.
"I'm looking for Dr. Erskine," Howard continued, stepping into the storage area. "Have you seen him around?"
"No, haven't seen anyone," Tony managed, grateful that his armor's voice modulator disguised the emotional crack in his voice.
While Tony was having the most awkward family reunion in the history of time travel, Steve Rogers was dealing with his own problems topside.
After being unceremoniously kicked out of Hank Pym's lab by that mysterious operative, Steve found himself pacing the corridor like a caged animal, weighing his options. Should he risk blowing their cover by forcing his way back in? They needed those Pym Particles, but creating a scene could compromise the entire mission.
His internal debate was cut short when he spotted the same woman from the elevator approaching with two security guards in tow, their eyes scanning the hallway methodically. Steve quickly ducked into the nearest office, holding his breath as they passed by.
That's when he saw it.
On the desk sat a framed photograph of himself—but not the Steve Rogers of today. This was the scrawny kid from Brooklyn, all ribs and determination, before the super soldier serum had transformed him into Captain America. The sight hit him like a punch to the gut.
He picked up the frame with trembling hands, his mind instantly transported back to those early days of the war, when everything seemed so much simpler. When the lines between right and wrong were drawn in bold, unmistakable strokes.
Turning toward the door, his heart nearly stopped. Etched in black lettering on the frosted glass were the words: "Director Margaret Carter."
Peggy.
A shadow moved behind the venetian blinds, and when the figure stepped into view, Steve Rogers—Captain America, the man who'd faced down cosmic threats and interdimensional armies—couldn't move a muscle.
Meanwhile, back in Hank Pym's lab, Rory was making the most of his unexpected opportunity. After successfully redirecting Captain America's attention, he quickly surveyed the remaining Pym Particles on the laboratory counter.
Eleven vials in total, each containing enough subatomic particles to shrink a person down to quantum size—or enlarge them to the proportions of a building. The applications were limitless, and in the Marvel Universe, size manipulation was just another Tuesday.
He carefully placed ten of the eleven vials into his backpack, leaving one behind. No need to be greedy—plus, if the Avengers found nothing at all, they'd tear the base apart looking for him. Better to let them think they'd salvaged something from this disaster.
Before Dr. Pym could return and discover the theft, Rory retraced his steps through the underground facility and took the elevator back to the surface level. The chaos from his earlier explosive distraction had died down, and the fire department had the cafeteria blaze well under control.
Perfect timing.
He strolled casually to where he'd spotted a military jeep earlier, tossing his briefcase and backpack onto the passenger seat like he owned the place. The engine turned over with a satisfying rumble, and he was just about to drive off when he caught sight of two figures emerging from the base entrance.
Tony Stark—though still in his 1970 disguise—was deep in conversation with an older man who bore an unmistakable resemblance. Howard Stark, no doubt. Even from this distance, Rory could see the tension in Tony's body language as he said what appeared to be a heartfelt goodbye to his long-dead father.
As Tony turned away from the emotional encounter, their eyes met across the parking area. Rory flashed him a cheerful wave and a knowing smile, then gunned the accelerator and peeled out in a cloud of dust.
Tony stood there for a moment, puzzled but not overly concerned. He had bigger problems to worry about—like the fact that the Tesseract was missing and his world's survival hung in the balance.
He was about to head back inside to continue his search when Steve Rogers emerged from the underground facility, looking like he'd seen a ghost.
"Hey, Cap," Tony called out, jogging over. "I can't find the Tesseract anywhere. Please tell me you got the Pym Particles."
Steve shook his head, his expression grim. "That's a negative. Remember the guy from the elevator? The one who seemed to know more than he should? He ran interference, got me kicked out of Pym's lab. When I went back, there was only one vial left out of what should have been a dozen."
"That guy..." Tony pointed toward the dust cloud Rory's jeep had left behind. "He just took off. You think he grabbed the Tesseract too?"
The realization hit them both like a cold slap. They'd been played by someone who knew exactly what they were after.
"We have to go after him!" Tony's arc reactor flared as his nanobots began forming around him.
That's when the base erupted.
BOOM!
BOOM! BOOM!
A series of explosions rocked the facility—not powerful enough to cause serious structural damage, but more than sufficient to release thick clouds of green gas that quickly enveloped the entire complex. Personnel who got caught in the chemical fog began collapsing within seconds.
"Son of a bitch!" Tony cursed as his suit's environmental seals kicked in. "He's covering his tracks!"
"We need to help these people first," Steve said, immediately prioritizing civilian lives over their mission objectives. "Whatever that gas is, it's taking people down fast."
Tony's frustration was palpable, but he knew Cap was right. As long as their mystery thief was still breathing, they could track him down later. The unconscious soldiers and scientists scattered around the base needed immediate attention.
Twenty-seven kilometers away, cruising down Highway 1 toward Trenton, Rory casually tossed the remote detonator for his smoke bombs into the roadside brush. Phase two of his escape plan had gone off without a hitch.
The chemical compound he'd used wasn't lethal—just a fast-acting sedative that would keep everyone unconscious for a few hours. He wasn't a monster, after all. He just needed time to get clear of the area before Earth's Mightiest Heroes came looking for their stolen artifacts.
An hour later, Tony Stark—now fully suited up in his Mark L armor—followed the jeep's tire tracks to an abandoned barn on the outskirts of Trenton. The structure looked like it hadn't seen maintenance since the Eisenhower administration, all weathered wood and rusted hinges.
CLANG!
The Iron Man suit hit the ground with its characteristic metallic impact, repulsors charged and ready for action. Tony stood motionless for a moment, scanning the area through his HUD while keeping his eyes locked on the military jeep parked outside the barn.
Rory sat perched on the hood of the vehicle, casually skipping stones across a nearby pond like he didn't have a care in the world. When he noticed Iron Man's arrival, he looked up with an expression of genuine admiration.
"You know, you really are a genius," Rory said, hopping down from the jeep. "That armor is a masterpiece of engineering. The seamless integration of the arc reactor technology, the neural interface, the materials science required for the nanobots... it's beautiful."
Clank! Clank!
Tony took several measured steps forward, his suit's targeting system tracking Rory's every movement. "Flattery's nice, kid, but you've got something that belongs to me. Actually, something that belongs to the entire universe. I'd prefer to handle this diplomatically, but I'm not above using more persuasive methods if you make me."
"Oh, I'm absolutely willing to negotiate," Rory replied, walking closer and running his hand along the Iron Man armor's surface like he was examining a priceless sculpture. "As long as you can meet my terms."
Tony instinctively stepped back, unnerved by the casual way this stranger was touching his tech. "What terms? Let's hear them."
"Simple." Rory grinned as he spotted Steve Rogers approaching on a military motorcycle, the engine's roar announcing his arrival. "I want you to take me with you."
Steve killed the engine and dismounted, taking his place beside Tony. Only then did Rory finish his thought.
"My condition is passage to your timeline. I want a one-way ticket to 2023. How's that sound?"
"What?!" Tony's faceplate retracted, revealing his shocked expression.
"Absolutely not!" Steve added immediately.
"How the hell do you know about that?!" Tony demanded.
Rory shrugged with infuriating casualness. "Relax, gentlemen. There are a lot of special people in this world. You two aren't the only ones with access to... unconventional knowledge."
Tony and Steve exchanged a loaded glance. After a brief whispered conference, Tony shook his head firmly. "Not happening, kid. The temporal implications alone could be catastrophic. I think it would be much simpler if you just returned the items you stole and we all pretended this never happened."
"Stole?" Rory chuckled. "That's a strong word. I prefer 'strategically relocated.' And I'm afraid returning them isn't really an option, since I've hidden both artifacts somewhere you'll never find them. Without my cooperation, you gentlemen will be spending the rest of your lives in 1970. Hope you like disco and Vietnam War protests."
It was a calculated bluff backed by careful preparation. Rory had indeed hidden both the Tesseract and the Pym Particles in a location known only to him—a fallback plan he'd developed specifically for this scenario.
"Look," he continued, spreading his hands in a gesture of reasonableness, "the risk to your timeline is minimal. I'm just one person who wants to see what the future holds. I'm not asking you to change history or prevent any major events. Just... give me a lift to tomorrow."
"We need to discuss this," Tony said grimly.
The two Avengers walked several yards away, engaged in heated whispered debate. Rory could catch fragments—something about temporal paradoxes, acceptable risk levels, and whether they had any real choice in the matter.
When they returned, Tony's expression was resigned. "Alright, we'll consider your proposal. Now, as a show of good faith, can you at least show us that you actually have what we need?"
Rory fixed Tony with a look that could have melted vibranium. "Did the man who built an arc reactor in an Afghan cave just try to run the dumbest con in history on me?"
"I mean... just to verify the items are undamaged," Tony backpedaled frantically. "Quality assurance, you understand."
"First, you need to lose the armor," Rory said firmly. "I'm not negotiating with someone who could vaporize me with a sneeze. We're going to have a civilized conversation between equals, or we're not having one at all."
Reluctantly, Tony triggered his suit's dispersal protocol. The nanobots flowed off his body like liquid metal, reforming into a compact housing unit on his chest. Rory watched the process with fascination—even knowing it was possible from the movies, seeing Stark tech in action was genuinely awe-inspiring.
"Incredible," he breathed. "The computational power required for real-time molecular manipulation... if I could get my hands on that technology..."
"You can't," Tony said flatly. "I'd rather spend the rest of my life listening to Beatles covers and eating TV dinners."
"Fair enough." Rory turned his attention to Steve instead, pointing at the quantum time travel device strapped to the Captain's wrist. "But I will need that little gadget you're wearing, Cap."
Both heroes stiffened. Without the quantum tunnel device, Steve would be stranded in 1970 with no way back to his own time.
"Hey now," Tony interjected quickly, "how about you take mine instead?"
"Not a chance," Rory replied. "I know your suit can fabricate decoys and holograms. I'm not falling for the old switcheroo. Don't insult my intelligence."
He kept his attention focused on Steve. "Captain, I need that device right now, and then we have a deal. This is a one-time offer with a very short expiration date. You've got three seconds to decide."
"I'll do it," Steve said through gritted teeth.
The two superheroes were completely outmaneuvered, with no leverage and no good alternatives. Steve reluctantly unstrapped the quantum device and handed it over.
Tony watched the exchange with barely contained frustration. "Okay, you've got what you wanted. Where's our stuff?"
"Patience, Mr. Stark. All good things come to those who wait." Rory secured the quantum device to his own wrist and climbed back into the jeep. "I'm starving, and stress makes me even hungrier. How about we grab some burgers and discuss the finer details of our arrangement?"
Without the Tesseract or Pym Particles, and with Steve's time travel device in Rory's possession, the two Avengers had no choice but to follow along.
The jeep rolled into downtown Trenton and pulled up outside a classic American diner—the kind of place where the milkshakes were thick, the fries were crispy, and nobody asked too many questions about unusual customers.
They found a booth in the back corner, ordered their food, and settled in for what promised to be the most surreal meal of their lives.
Tony was the first to voice what they were both thinking. "Alright, kid. Cards on the table. How do you really know who we are?"
"You mean how do I know that you're Tony Stark, the armored Avenger who built his first suit in a cave with a box of scraps?" Rory took a sip of his Coca-Cola and smiled. "Or how I know that Captain Rogers here spent seventy years frozen in ice before joining Earth's Mightiest Heroes?"
Both men leaned forward, their food forgotten.
Rory's expression grew more serious. "Because I'm not from this timeline either, gentlemen. I'm a displaced person, just like you. During an experiment with temporal displacement technology, I got caught in a cascade failure and ended up stuck in 1970. The difference is, I've been here for over a year, and frankly, I'm getting pretty tired of the limited technological resources of this era."
Tony activated his glasses' scanner mode, running Rory through every biometric analysis his AI could perform. When Friday's assessment appeared in his HUD, Tony's eyebrows shot up.
"You're telling the truth," he said, more to himself than to Rory.
"I know about the Battle of New York, the Chitauri invasion, your daddy issues, Cap's romance with Peggy Carter, the Winter Soldier, Ultron, the Sokovia Accords, the Infinity Stones, and yes—Thanos snapping half of all life out of existence." Rory leaned back in the booth. "I know you're here because you're trying to undo the Snap by collecting the Stones from various points in history. The question is: do you believe me now?"
The silence stretched for several long moments as Tony and Steve processed this revelation.
"So your theft of the Tesseract and Pym Particles," Tony said slowly, "that was just your way of buying passage home?"
"More or less. I figured you'd need them badly enough to negotiate."
After finishing their burgers, the three men walked back outside to the jeep. Rory hopped into the driver's seat and started the engine.
"I still need to make a few preparations before we make the jump," he called out. "Tony, if you don't want to leave Captain America stranded in the disco era, I suggest you start working on a replacement quantum device. Meet me back here tomorrow at sunset."
He fixed both heroes with a meaningful stare. "And gentlemen? Please don't try to follow me or track me down. I've rigged the storage location where your precious artifacts are hidden with enough explosives to turn them into quantum particles. One wrong move from either of you, and we all get to experience the 1970s for the rest of our very long lives."
Tony raised his hands in surrender. "Hey, kid, the last thing I want is to be stuck in an era before the Internet was invented."
With that, Rory drove off into the gathering dusk, leaving two of history's greatest heroes standing in a parking lot, wondering how a single time-displaced scientist had managed to completely upend their carefully planned mission.
End of Chapter 2
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