"Before that, time travel through the Quantum Tunnel needs to be tested in person."
A few more chairs had been added to the conference room at Avengers headquarters. Star-Lord stared at the projection of the Quantum Tunnel and the reconstructed high-resolution images floating in the air, looking as though he had something to say.
"Looks like someone wants to speak."
The change in Star-Lord's expression naturally hadn't escaped Tony's notice. He waved a hand, displaying considerable patience. "Go ahead. Everyone here is free to speak their mind this time."
"Time travel, huh? Well, it sounds pretty cool. I'm certainly not against it, but how do we decide who tests it?"
"Not that I'm scared or anything. It's just that movies have shown plenty of cases where this sort of time travel goes wrong."
Beside him, Rocket remarked dryly, "Only a coward like you would think that."
"Hey, that's a perfectly reasonable concern. That's what happens in The Butterfly Effect and Back to the Future."
Star-Lord looked to his teammates, hoping for their support.
Rocket looked exasperated. Gamora gave him a faintly disdainful look. Baby Groot raised the middle of his three fingers at Star-Lord, huffed, and turned away. Drax, meanwhile, had curled up in his chair and fallen sound asleep as soon as the meeting began.
Nebula made her feelings clearest of all. She rolled her eyes dramatically at Star-Lord and mocked him without mercy.
"Chicken."
"What did you say?!"
Star-Lord immediately took offense. "I'm thinking about everyone's safety here."
Seeing their new friends about to start squabbling, Tony quickly pressed his palms downward.
"I'll handle this test myself."
"Tony? Are you sure? If the test succeeds, that's one thing. But if it fails and you're gone, who else can pick up the pieces?"
Steve stood up to object. "Let