Late at night, the lakeside cabin was quiet except for the sound of running water in the kitchen.
Tony Stark stood at the sink washing dishes with obvious distraction written across his face.
Crash.
Another plate shattered in his hands.
Pepper looked up immediately from the table.
"Tony," she said slowly, "you've been acting strange since this afternoon."
Tony forced a casual smile while tossing the broken ceramic pieces into the trash.
"I'm fine."
Pepper folded her arms.
"Really? Because Morgan also told me she saw two dads in the woods today."
Tony nearly dropped another plate.
Pepper narrowed her eyes instantly.
"Tony."
He coughed awkwardly.
"It's probably just Morgan being imaginative," he said quickly. "You know how kids are."
"Uh-huh." Pepper clearly didn't believe him.
Seeing that she was preparing to continue the interrogation, Tony immediately changed the subject.
"It's late. You should get some rest."
Pepper stared at him for several seconds before finally sighing.
"Fine. But don't stay up all night again."
"I'll clean this up and come to bed soon," Tony promised.
Pepper nodded and walked toward the bedroom.
The moment she disappeared, Tony's relaxed expression vanished completely.
Slowly, he picked up the broken dish fragments and threw them away.
Then, as he turned to leave, his gaze accidentally landed on a framed photograph sitting on the kitchen counter.
It was a picture of him and Peter Parker.
Tony stopped moving.
For several silent seconds, he simply stared at the photo.
Then he reached out carefully, wiped dust from the frame with his thumb, and placed it back exactly where it belonged.
Afterward, instead of heading toward the bedroom, he walked directly to the nearby workbench.
The holographic systems immediately activated.
"Friday," Tony said quietly.
"Yes, boss?"
Tony hesitated for a moment before speaking again.
"I had an idea earlier. Run another simulation."
"What kind of simulation?"
Tony stared at the floating formulas in front of him.
"Temporal navigation through a Möbius inversion model."
Friday paused briefly.
"Processing."
Compared to J.A.R.V.I.S., Friday's voice sounded sharper and more feminine.
Tony worked quickly across the holographic displays.
"Feed in the particle eigenvalues and spectral analysis data," he said while typing rapidly. "There's probably interference in the quantum response calculations."
"Understood."
Tony exhaled slowly.
Honestly, he didn't even know why he was doing this.
Everything about the idea sounded absurd.
Time travel?
Quantum timeline navigation?
It sounded like science fiction written by people who didn't understand science.
His rational mind kept telling him it was impossible.
And yet...
He still couldn't stop himself from trying.
Because what if Locke was right?
Even if the odds were one in a billion...
What if it worked?
Several minutes later, Friday spoke again.
"Simulation complete."
Tony didn't even look up immediately.
"Result?"
"The temporal model has successfully stabilized."
Tony froze.
Friday continued calmly.
"Rendering complete. Probability model confirms successful theoretical implementation."
Silence.
Tony slowly sat down in his chair with a blank expression.
For nearly ten full seconds, he didn't move.
Then one word escaped his mouth.
"Shit."
"Shit?"
A tiny voice suddenly echoed from behind him.
Tony jumped so hard he nearly launched himself out of the chair.
Turning around, he saw Morgan sitting halfway down the stairs in oversized pajamas while staring at him curiously.
Tony immediately raised a finger to his lips.
"Shh."
Morgan blinked innocently.
Tony walked over and crouched in front of her.
"Why aren't you asleep, little princess?"
Morgan tilted her head.
"Shit."
"Nope," Tony said instantly. "That word is banned. Only your mother can say it because she invented it."
Morgan looked deeply suspicious of that explanation.
"Then why are you awake?" she asked.
Tony pointed toward the holographic displays.
"Because I'm working on something important."
Morgan thought about that very seriously.
"Like popsicles?"
Tony blinked.
Then he laughed helplessly.
"You know what? Sure. Exactly like popsicles."
Morgan nodded proudly like she had solved a great mystery.
Tony picked her up and carried her toward the kitchen freezer.
After stealing the remaining popsicle for himself and taking a dramatic bite, he sighed happily.
"Okay. Now bedtime."
Morgan crossed her arms.
"Story first."
Tony looked horrified.
"A story?"
Morgan nodded firmly.
Tony pretended to think very hard.
"Alright. Once upon a time, there was a little girl named Morgan who fell asleep immediately." He pointed toward the bedroom. "The end."
Morgan looked completely unimpressed.
"That story is boring."
Tony laughed softly.
"Hey, that used to be your favorite."
He tucked her into bed carefully before kissing her forehead.
"Now sleep."
Morgan grabbed his sleeve before he could leave.
Tony paused.
"What?"
Morgan looked at him quietly for a second before speaking softly.
"I love you three thousand."
Tony froze.
For a moment, he just stared at her.
Then an expression softer than anything else slowly appeared on his face.
"Wow," he whispered. "That's... a lot."
Morgan nodded seriously.
Tony smiled and gently turned off the bedroom lights.
"Goodnight, kiddo."
As he closed the door behind him, the smile still remained on his face.
Walking back into the living room, he discovered Pepper sitting silently on the couch.
Tony immediately grinned.
"I don't mean to brag," he announced proudly, "but our daughter just said she loves me three thousand."
Pepper laughed softly.
"And I assume you calculated my score too?"
Tony sat beside her dramatically.
"I estimate you're somewhere around eight hundred. Maybe nine hundred on a really good day."
Pepper rolled her eyes affectionately.
Then her gaze shifted toward the glowing holographic model still floating over the workbench.
Her smile slowly faded.
"What happened?"
Tony looked at the model too.
For several seconds, he didn't answer.
Then he finally spoke quietly.
"I solved it."
Pepper stared at him.
"What?"
Tony leaned back slowly against the couch.
"This afternoon, I met two people."
Pepper's expression sharpened immediately.
"The two dads Morgan mentioned?"
Tony nodded.
"They claimed to be from another universe."
Pepper blinked.
Tony continued calmly.
"They said there might be a way to fix everything."
Pepper looked confused.
"How?"
Tony hesitated briefly before answering.
"Time travel."
The room became silent.
Pepper looked genuinely stunned now.
"You're serious?"
Tony nodded again.
"Theoretically... it works."
Pepper looked toward the holographic model.
"That's terrifying."
"Yeah," Tony admitted quietly.
Both of them fell silent after that.
They had survived Thanos' Snap.
Pepper survived.
Tony survived.
Morgan existed because of it.
Compared to many others, they were unbelievably lucky.
Some Avengers had lost everything.
Clint Barton alone had lost his entire family in an instant.
One in sixteen odds.
And every single one of them disappeared.
Pepper finally spoke again.
"A lot of people didn't get that luck."
Tony lowered his eyes.
"I can't save everyone."
Pepper watched him carefully.
"Maybe you can."
Tony leaned back heavily against the couch.
"I could ignore this," he muttered. "I could stop thinking about it right now."
Pepper smiled faintly.
"Tony." Her voice softened. "You wouldn't be able to live with yourself if you did."
Tony didn't answer immediately.
Instead, he stared at the holographic equations again.
Then Friday's voice suddenly echoed through the room.
"Boss. The individuals from the alternate universe have been located."
A surveillance image appeared instantly.
Tony and Locke were currently inside an enormous entertainment center, completely focused on arcade games like two unemployed teenagers with unlimited free time.
Tony stared at the screen in disbelief.
"…Seriously?"
According to Locke, they were supposedly leaving tomorrow.
But judging from the way those two idiots were acting, they looked fully prepared to spend another forty-eight hours playing video games instead.