When she lands, it's snowing. The flakes come down like ash, covering the landscape in a depressing grey. The entire town is pulsing with energy in her scanners, but there's one place where it's particularly thick.

Toni walks up to the warmly lit house and is somewhat blindsided by its homey feel. She was expecting something a tad more hovel-like, to be perfectly honest. She pauses at the front steps.

"Are you sure you would like to continue, Ms. Stark?" Friday asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm sure. It's just…"

Even though Friday's an AI, Toni feels understanding wash over her. "Should you be… unavailable in the future, I'll keep an eye on them," Friday says.

Toni violently deactivates her suit. The metal folds in on itself until the entire thing is a small briefcase. She leaves the box at the bottom of the steps, marches toward the door, and knocks.

A minute later the door swings open to reveal a woman somewhere in her mid-twenties. She smiles at Toni, and asks a question in Russian.

Huh.

Somehow, the genius had never considered that there might be a language barrier when consulting with a magical being. "Uh, do you speak English?" she asks hesitantly.

The woman frowns, and asks another question in Russian.

Toni rubs her temples wearily. "Well. This is awkward."

The woman says something else, and this time Toni understands. "You seek my help."

"So you do speak English." Okay, so perhaps that's not the most appropriate thing to say right now, but Toni's never been one to worry about what the right thing to say is in a situation.

"I speak the language of retribution and searching souls," the woman replies, pulling her into the house. She leads Toni down the hall into a sitting room. It's lit by a fireplace, and the woman sits down on the cream couch facing the flames. Toni hovers next to the woman, unsure of what to do.

"Sit," the woman gestures, pointing at the floor by her feet. Toni settles down on the carpet, crossing her legs, hoping that their positions are not in any way symbolic.

For a full ten minutes, the woman stares at her, and neither say anything. Toni fidgets, but doesn't break the silence. She has a feeling that one wrong move could leave her very, very dead. Better to let the witch dictate the conversation.

At last, the woman speaks. "You have come to me with a wish. What is your desire?"

Toni hesitates. She's heard enough stories about wishes going horribly wrong that she wants to carefully sort through her words before she replies. She opens her mouth, once, twice, but stops herself.

"Don't worry," the woman says, waving a hand. "This isn't official. But I must hear what burdens your heart."

WIthout Toni's permission, everything just sort of spills out. "I… I've made a few mistakes. And the people I love, they're hurting because of it, and it's going to get a lot worse, and they've already had terrible lives, and now they hate me, and I just… I just want to fix things."

The woman eyes Toni, and a smile spreads across her face at the speed of molasses. A shiver travels up the inventors spine. "I see."

"I wish I could just go back, and fix everything, and then maybe they'd be okay, and they wouldn't hate me, and-" Toni slaps a hand over her mouth, horrified. She hadn't meant to say any of that. It was as if she had no control over what was coming out of her mouth.

The woman grins. "I can do that," she says. "But it will cost you."

Toni swallows nervously, but she's not going to go back at this point, no matter how dark the witches' words are. "How? And what?"

"I'll send you back to points in time. Points where you can say a word of comfort, give advice, steal an object, destroy things that later lead to grief… but you must never directly interfere. You can not leap in front of a bullet before it hits someone. You may not warn someone of an oncoming threat. You will be a shadow, unimportant to the moment. But if you are careful, take all the right steps, you will be able to impact the timelines far more than you could ever imagine."

"I'll do it," Toni says, and she means it in a way she's never meant anything before. It's more than a promise, it's stronger than an oath, it resonates through her body and settles beneath her skin.

The woman's eyes glitter. "Oh, you shouldn't have said that before you heard the rest. I'm afraid that was official, my dear."

Toni knows she should be afraid, or at least a little apprehensive, but inside all she feels is a deep determination. "I don't care."

The woman throws back her head and laughs. "We will see. The rules are thus. You can not tell anyone who you are, or what you are doing. Should you decide to tell someone that you are Toni Stark, that you are walking through time, it will all be for nothing. Events will revert back to their original course.

"Secondly, if you die before your quest is complete, I can do nothing. You will be dead. This is not a simulation where if you fail, you wake up. The events that you have changed will remain altered, and these changes may affect the present to the extent you wish, or they may not. It is of no concern to me.

"Thirdly, should you alter events past the extent allowed, the price will be unbearable. I do not control time, I am merely allowed to interfere occasionally. If you directly intervene in an event, it will not be me who punishes you. Time itself will curse you, and the effects will be… well. I would not envy you.

"Finally, my gifts do not come without a price. You may be able save those you love. But even if you do, you will lose them. Not to death, not to tragedy, but you will lose them. Such is the the cost of balance."

Toni closes her eyes, bracing herself. "What do you mean?"

The witch smiles sympathetically. For some reason, Toni feels that the expression is false. "You'll figure it out."

Toni forces herself to inhale and exhale normally, fighting the panic that's rising up like a tidal wave within her. This doesn't sound good. And not being able to directly interfere? How is she supposed to change anything, then? "I'll still do it."

"Of course you will. You no longer have a choice. Any questions?"

Toni thinks for a moment. "Will I be able to tell if I'm changing anything?"

"Every so often, I shall let you return to the present for a day. Anything else?"

"Do I control what points I go back to?"

"For the most part, yes. But if it becomes necessary, I am able guide you to a critical moment. Anything else?"

The woman's voice is getting progressively more irritated. Toni decides that the rest of her questions really aren't that important. Oddly enough, being turned into a frog still isn't an appealing idea. "Not really."

This time, the woman's laugh is an outright cackle, and her words change from moderately old and elegant to blatantly modern and informal. "Suit yourself. But I'd watch out for the side effects. The tattoos hurt like a bitch, and it takes an unfortunate amount of time to get used to a different body."

"What?"

"Too late. Question time's over."

Abruptly, Toni finds herself encased in a white box. It's not a room, because rooms have doors, and sometimes windows, and this has neither. The box is big, but there's no furniture, nothing but white on the ceiling, floor, and all four walls.

"Ready?" The woman asks in Toni's head.

"What?"

"Ugh. I already said that question time's over. Don't make me repeat myself."

"Um. What do I do?"

"Sit down for one. Or your legs will be cramped to a frankly pathetic extent if you wake up."

Toni sits, and tries not to contemplate the "if" in that statement.

"Good. Now think of where and when you want to go. Use an image, or describe it to yourself, but focus on that place entirely."

Toni closes her eyes, and holds a single thought in her head.

"Good. Oh, and one last thing before you go. When I let you return for a day, don't touch Wanda."

"Wh-"

"I said question time's over. Don't do it, or the deal's off. Everything reverts back to the original timeline. Call it an extra challenge for my amusement."

A moment passes, then Toni feels a draft on her skin. She opens her eyes to find herself in a spartan bedroom with ballet music drifting through the open door.

A/N: So, this is obviously a time-travel fic that's going to involve the individual background and histories of each Avenger (And others…).

There are two paths I've been considering for this story. One, I do a LOT of research because I haven't read the comics, I use that, and probably get a few things wrong. Two, I just use the information I've gained from the movies and the snippets I've picked up from my friends. The rest of this story is based off the movies, anyway. If I went with the second option I could probably make this fic more angsty, and it would be easier for me to write.

So as long as no one reviews with "Don't you DARE mess up the backstory of my favorite character," I'm going with option 2. Fair warning.

And yes. I'm one of those people who haven't read the comics. I acknowledge I am lame.