2012/Time Heist

*"If you pick the right year, there are three stones in New York."*
―Natasha Romanoff to Tony Stark and Hulk[src]
This is a timeline of events that occurred in **2012** in a reality visited during the Time Heist.

## 2012

### May

#### 3rd

* Heinrich Schäfer is killed by Loki with the Retina Extractor.

#### 4th

* Phil Coulson is killed by Loki leading the Avengers to rally together to avenge him.
* **Battle of New York**:
	+ As the native Captain America gives the Avengers instructions, in an alley nearby, the older Steve Rogers, Tony Stark, Bruce Banner, and Scott Lang materialize, having traveled through the Quantum Realm from 2023. 2023 Rogers notes they all have their assignments.
	+ As the native Hulk leaps onto a building, in the alley nearby, 2023 Rogers reminds the other three of their individual assignments.
	+ As the native Hulk smashes a Chitauri, in the alley, the 2023 group hear the smashing nearby.
	+ The native 2012 Hulk leaps from building to building, pummeling Chitauri.
	+ Thor flies up to the Chrysler Building to use it as a conductor.
	+ Thor channels electricity through the Chrysler Building and fires it at the portal, taking out some Chitauri and an oncoming Leviathan.
	+ Meanwhile, the native Hulk of 2012 comes past the 2023 group's alley, on a smashing rage as he attacks Chitauri. He kills one using the wreckage of a car, before continuing on. The 2023 Hulk is embarrassed. Rogers encourages him to smash some things on his way to the New York Sanctum so passers by will believe he is simply the normal native Hulk.
	+ While Nick Fury surveys monitors on the Helicarrier, the 2023 Hulk leaving the alley in New York throws a motorcycle in an attempt to "smash".
	+ Maria Hill tells Fury that the World Security Council are calling.
	+ Hawkeye advises Tony Stark to lead the Chitauri around tight corners to have them crash. He does so, taking out the aliens tailing him, then goes to help Thor.
* **Battle of Hong Kong**:
	+ War Machine battles more allies of the Ten Rings.
	+ The native Iron Man contacts him to request help in the Battle of New York, but Rhodes is attacked by a tank using Hammer Industries technology.
	+ Unable to call for back-up because most of the United States Armed Forces is fighting the Chitauri invasion, War Machine manages to defeat the attackers and immediately flies to New York to help Stark.
* **Battle of New York**:
	+ From the battle, enormous damage is caused to midtown New York City, and many lives are lost, but the Avengers save as many civilians as they can.
	+ Darcy Lewis shows Jane Foster live footage of Thor fighting Chitauri in New York.
	+ In Asgard, Sif asks Heimdall if Thor survived his travel to Earth. While he confirms Thor is safe, Heimdall worries Loki's forces may be too much for Thor to handle.
	+ During the Battle of New York, the mother of Audrey Eastman and the mother of Ellen Nadeer and Vijay Nadeer both die.
	+ D.W. Griffith, a young boy from Harlem, records the Battle of New York, later selling the footage.
	+ A Leviathan whale heads toward a building, but Hulk runs through the building and leaps at it, attacking it in the mouth and redirecting it.
	+ Black Widow uses a Chitauri weapon against one of the aliens. The native Captain America arrives and she says they need to do something about the portal. To get up to it, she decides to board an oncoming Chitauri vehicle, and Rogers boosts her on his shield to get her up.
	+ Black Widow rides the vehicle, and the native Iron Man flies past. He joins the native Captain America, firing a repulsor blast off his shield to help take out alien combatants, before continuing on. Hawkeye continues to fire at aliens, as the native Hulk continues to fight Chitauri on a Leviathan, joined by Thor, who helps him hammer a piece of the vehicle into the Leviathan's back, killing it. It falls into Grand Central Terminal, where Hulk also punches Thor as retaliation for earlier.
	+ Erik Selvig wakes, his mind control broken, and sees what is happening around him.
	+ The military enter the streets to do what they can.
	+ Hawkeye directs the Captain America he is fighting with to a nearby bank, where he goes and stops a Chitauri attack from killing civilians, before being blasted out of the building.
	+ The World Security Council tell Fury that they have made the decision to make a nuclear strike on Manhattan so as to contain the threat only to the island, but Fury refuses.
	+ Black Widow finds herself fired at by Loki, on his own Chitauri vehicle. Hawkeye fires an arrow at him to help her. Loki catches it, but the arrow explodes in his face, blowing him onto Stark Tower, where his vehicle knocks the "S" and "T" off the logo.
	+ The native Hulk leaps onto Stark Tower and attacks Loki. Loki tries to intimidate him, but Hulk merely grabs hold of him and bashes him into the floor repeatedly, leaving him unable to move.
	+ Romanoff finds Selvig on the tower, who tells her that he believes Loki's Scepter, fallen on the floor below them, may be able to close the portal.
	+ The native Iron Man finds himself unable to break through the shell of a Leviathan whale, so instead tries flying directly into its mouth, managing to explode it from the inside. He falls to the ground and finds himself again battling Chitauri.
	+ Hawkeye runs out of arrows and has to kick an attacking alien off his perch. As his building is attacked, he leaps off, firing a grappling hook arrow to swing himself around, through a window below.
	+ Barton falls to an office floor, safe, but in pain.
	+ Meanwhile, the Ancient One helps fight the invading forces from the New York Sanctum.
	+ At the same time, the native 2012 Hulk is swarmed by Chitauri but keeps fighting them off.
	+ While the native 2012 Hulk is blasted at elsewhere, the 2023 Hulk arrives at the roof of the New York Sanctum and goes to break in, but is stopped by the Ancient One.
	+ As Fury fails to stop the World Security Council's missile jet, at the New York Sanctum, 2023 Hulk explains he is here to speak to Doctor Strange, but the Ancient One informs him Strange is not due to be at the sanctum for another 5 years and is currently performing a surgery on Metro-General Hospital. Hulk realizes she has the Time Stone, the thing he needs, around her neck, and goes to grab it, but she pushes his astral form out of his body to stop him.
	+ The jet gets away with the missile. Fury calls the 2012 Stark and lets him know that there is a missile heading for New York in the next 3 minutes.
	+ The jet pilot fires the nuke at New York on World Security Council orders.
	+ Thor and the native Captain America continue to fight Chitauri together.
	+ Having retrieved the Scepter, Black Widow and Selvig start to push through the Tesseract's defenses to shut down the portal. 2012 Stark orders Romanoff on comms to wait, telling them about the nuke, and having the idea to send it through the portal as he grabs the missile to redirect it.
	+ J.A.R.V.I.S. tries to call Pepper Potts for the 2012 Stark in case he dies taking the missile through the portal. However, Potts, on a flight, is too concerned watching the news to see her phone ringing.
	+ S.H.I.E.L.D. watch the news intently on the Helicarrier.
	+ 2012 Stark starts to turn the missile.
	+ 2012 Hulk gets up from under the rubble left by the Chitauri's attack on him.
	+ 2012 Stark diverts the missile up into the air at Stark Tower, and through the portal.
	+ S.H.I.E.L.D. cheer in relief for New York, though Fury is concerned for Stark.
	+ 2012 Iron Man finds himself in deep space, and his suit begins to fail. He lets go of the missile and it continues flying, hitting the Chitauri mother ship and causing an enormous explosion.
	+ On Earth, the remaining Chitauri and Leviathan fleet fail and fall down dead without the power of the mother ship.
* 2012 Iron Man falls back toward the portal, but the explosion threatens to get through to Earth as well, so the native Rogers orders Black Widow to close it. Stark falls back into the New York sky just before its closure, but continues to fall, unconscious. The native Hulk leaps and catches Stark to slow his fall.
* 2012 Captain America, Thor, and Hulk crowd around the unconscious Iron Man, and Hulk manages to wake him. Rogers notes that they just won, and Stark jokes about wanting to try shawarma, though Thor points out they are not quite finished.
* The 2023 Iron Man hangs onto the side of the Chrysler Building, watching as the native 2012 Avengers crowd around Loki to apprehend him.
* As Loki crawls in Stark Tower, 2023 Iron Man tells 2023 Captain America that things seem to be wrapping up for their 2012 selves in the tower, and Rogers reports he is approaching his elevator position.
* As Loki stops crawling inside, 2023 Iron Man flies over to the tower.
* 2023 Stark flies into Stark Tower, quietly landing and sneaking behind a wall so as not to catch the 2012 team's attention as Loki turns to find the team standing over him. A shrunken-down Ant-Man stands on his shoulder, preparing for their plan to be put in motion.
* Stark watches through a gap in the wall as Loki forlornly tells the 2012 Avengers he would like his previously offered drink now.
* 2012 Hulk grunts at Loki's request.
* The native 2012 Hulk grunts a second time, and the native Stark instructs the other 2012 Avengers to get Loki on his feet. The 2023 Stark makes a joke on comms to 2023 Rogers about his 2012 suit, as he watches the 2012 group wait for S.H.I.E.L.D.'s arrival.
* **Theft of the Space Stone**:
	+ The STRIKE team arrive at the Avengers' floor in Stark Tower to retrieve the Scepter. Jasper Sitwell takes the Scepter from Romanoff and he and Brock Rumlow pack it away, secretly taking the Scepter with the hope of getting it into HYDRA research hands, as HYDRA sleeper agents themselves.
	+ Ant-Man asks the 2023 Stark, as he continues to hide and watch, who the STRIKE team are, and Stark explains about them being secret HYDRA agents, without them having known at the time.
	+ As the 2012 team head to the Stark Tower elevator, Loki uses his powers to make himself look like Captain America and mock him. Thor takes a muzzle and places it on his brother to silence him.
	+ As the 2012 Stark goes to close the case containing the Tesseract, the 2023 Stark flicks Ant-Man at his younger self as planned. Lang climbs under 2012 Stark's clothes without him knowing. 2023 Iron Man jumps back out of the window and flies off.
	+ 2012 Iron Man, Thor, Loki, and several S.H.I.E.L.D. agents board the elevator. 2012 Hulk tries to get in himself, but Thor and Stark point out the elevator is full. Hulk angrily goes to take the stairs.
	+ From outside Stark Tower, 2023 Iron Man uses technology to track the STRIKE team's elevator as it descends past the 80th floor, and lets 2023 Rogers know on comms that they are coming. Rogers tells Stark to head to the lobby.
	+ 2012 Sitwell talks to Alexander Piece on the phone and tells him that there were no hitches in procuring the Scepter, and they are en route to Dr. List.
* **Theft of the Mind Stone**: The elevator stops and the STRIKE team are concerned when Captain America gets in, believing him to be the Rogers they know, as the 2023 Rogers pretends to be his younger self. Rogers claims to have been told by Undersecretary Pierce to take the Scepter. The STRIKE team are dubious, being aligned with Pierce and not knowing Captain America to have any allegiance with HYDRA. However, the 2023 Rogers, knowing the team's true allegiance after his experience back in 2014, mutters "Hail HYDRA" to Sitwell, tricking them into thinking he must be one of them, to know the secrets of the hidden organization. He takes the Scepter and leaves the elevator.
* 2012 Hulk continues to descend the staircase, enraged by how many stairs there are.
* As the 2012 Stark and Thor leave the elevator to the Stark Tower lobby with Loki, the 2023 Stark stands waiting, dressed as a S.H.I.E.L.D. guard. He orders Ant-Man to climb under 2012 Stark's Arc Reactor, as planned. Lang, who has been hanging onto 2012 Stark's hair, does so.
* **Theft of the Space Stone**:
	+ Alexander Pierce stops Thor and the 2012 Stark. Thor says they are going to get lunch, then intend on taking Loki and the Tesseract to Asgard, but Pierce insists they turn Loki and the Tesseract over to him. 2023 Stark recognizes the argument he remembers enduring beginning, and instructs Lang to pull the planned pin in his younger self's Arc Reactor. Lang does so, causing 2012 Stark a mild cardiac dysrhythmia and making him drop the case as he falls to the ground.
	+ Ant-Man crawls out of Stark's chest and kicks the Tesseract case over to the 2023 Stark, which no one except Loki notices as they tend to the 2012 Stark.
	+ 2023 Stark retrieves the case as planned and goes to leave with it, but as he heads for the door, 2012 Hulk comes bursting through, furious at having had to take the stairs. Stark is knocked flying, dropping the case, and the Tesseract falls out of it, tumbling to Loki's feet. Loki sees his opportunity and picks up the cube, using it to quietly open a portal and transport himself away without anyone noticing.
* Thor tries using Mjølnir on 2012 Stark's arc reactor, and the jolt of electricity fixes the device. However, they then look around and find the Tesseract and Loki both gone, to their dismay. 2023 Stark admits to Ant-Man that they have blown it.
* As 2023 Rogers makes his way through Stark Tower with the Scepter, he comes across his alternate 2012 self on the 14th floor, on the lookout for Loki after being alerted to his disappearance. 2012 Rogers believes 2023 Rogers to be Loki in disguise and engages him in a fight, the two men clashing shields. Their shields are then thrown at each other's, causing them to both fall aside, and the Captain Americas fight hand-to-hand. The Scepter falls to a lower floor, and the men soon fall themselves in their duel, to just beside it.
* 2012 Rogers spots 2023 Rogers' compass, fallen from his pocket in the fall, and asks how his opponent, still believing him to be an impostor, could have got it. 2023 Rogers, however, goes for the Scepter, but his 2012 self stops him and puts him in a stranglehold. Having been distracted by a mention of Bucky Barnes himself in 2016 against Crossbones, the 2023 Rogers uses the same tactic to distract 2012 Captain America, saying that Barnes is alive.
* 2012 Rogers momentarily loosens his grasp at the mention of his friend and 2023 Rogers punches him, then uses the Scepter to wipe his alternate self's mind and put him to sleep, before retrieving his compass and leaving.
* **Theft of the Time Stone**:
	+ The Ancient One continues to refuse to help Banner, saying in handing over the stone, she would be dooming her reality for the sake of his. She draws a magical line representing the flow of time, explaining how the set of Infinity Stones create the flow of time, so to remove one would split reality, creating a dark branch reality lacking an Infinity Stone, and if the Time Stone were taken they would be lacking a necessary item for protecting the world in that reality. Banner, talking to her still in his astral form, argues that if they return the stones to the point of their removal, they never left, so these branches of reality can be erased.
	+ Despite Banner's assurance, the Ancient One says she cannot risk giving the stone just because Banner promises they will survive and manage to return them, as it is vital to protect the Time Stone. Banner, however, then asks why, if that is the case, Doctor Strange gave it over to Thanos willingly in 2018, and this causes her to reconsider. She returns Banner's astral form to Hulk's body and removes the stone from its Eye of Agamotto casing. The Ancient One explains that, from her foresight, she knows Strange is supposed to be the best of them, so he must have had a reason for giving it over, and cautiously hands it to him. Hulk accepts the stone from her, as she says she is counting on him.
* Hulk shrinks back into the Quantum Realm to return home with the Time Stone. An older Steve Rogers than the 2023 one with the Mind Stone at Stark Tower arrives, again from 2023, via the Quantum Realm, and returns the Time Stone to the moment it was removed, erasing the dark splinter reality that was being created.
* The younger, Time Heist 2023 Steve Rogers arrives at the rendezvous point, where Scott Lang and 2023 Tony Stark are waiting for him. Stark dejectedly tells Rogers about losing the Tesseract.
* Lang angrily snaps at Stark for messing up their one chance, down only to a single particle each, necessary for their return to 2023. Stark has an idea, realizing if they travel further back in time to Camp Lehigh, the Tesseract will be there as well as a further supply of Pym Particles. Rogers is uncomfortable with Stark not being completely confident about the time period they are aiming for, but Stark says he has a reason for knowing they will both be there at the date he has in mind, and Rogers agrees they have to try. He hands Lang the Scepter to return to the Avengers Compound in 2023, and Stark has him program in the destination of April 7, 1970. Lang worriedly reminds them that if they jump and fail, they are out of Pym Particles and stuck in the past, but Stark just asks Rogers if he trusts him. Past rifts put aside, Rogers says that he does, and they shrink into the Quantum Realm to travel to 1970.
* Scott Lang shrinks back into the Quantum Realm to return home with the Mind Stone. The older 2023 Steve Rogers arrives and returns the Mind Stone to the moment it was removed, erasing the dark splinter reality that was being created according to the Ancient One.
* After traveling through the wormhole created by the Tesseract, Loki falls in the sand of the Gobi Desert, Mongolia. This led some natives from the nearby town go to investigate what happened.
* **Capture of Loki**:
	+ Loki tries to introduce himself to people he sees. However, they do not understand him and ask why he is there. Several Minutemen appear via multiple Timedoors to fix the Nexus event Loki caused when he picked up the Tesseract, when they are joined by Hunter B-15. Loki tries to intimidate them, but Hunter B-15 uses her Time Stick on him, slowing him down to 1/16th of normal speed, and arrests him. B-15 takes Loki with her to the Time Variance Authority's headquarters through the Timedoor as the Minutemen activate a Reset Charge to prune the branched timeline, sending the affected area to the Void.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 *Loki: 1.01: Glorious Purpose*
2. ↑ 2.00 2.01 2.02 2.03 2.04 2.05 2.06 2.07 2.08 2.09 2.10 2.11 2.12 2.13 2.14 2.15 2.16 2.17 2.18 2.19 2.20 2.21 2.22 2.23 2.24 2.25 2.26 2.27 2.28 2.29 2.30 2.31 2.32 2.33 2.34 2.35 2.36 2.37 2.38 2.39 2.40 2.41 2.42 2.43 2.44 2.45 2.46 2.47 2.48 2.49 In *Avengers: Endgame*, 2012 events are shown simultaneous to the events of *The Avengers*. With the Battle of New York playing out nonetheless the same in the new universe of *Avengers: Endgame*, and the 2023 Avengers making no impacts of significance until after Loki is apprehended by the Avengers, the events of the Battle of New York can be taken to play out essentially identically in that universe. Similarly, events such as Hulk smashing a Chitauri with a car or the Ancient One participating in the battle, shown only in *Avengers: Endgame*, are unaffected by the 2023 Avengers' actions, so can be taken to have also happened in the main universe.
3. ↑ 3.00 3.01 3.02 3.03 3.04 3.05 3.06 3.07 3.08 3.09 3.10 3.11 3.12 3.13 3.14 3.15 3.16 3.17 3.18 3.19 3.20 3.21 3.22 3.23 3.24 3.25 3.26 3.27 3.28 3.29 3.30 3.31 3.32 3.33 3.34 3.35 3.36 3.37 3.38 3.39 3.40 3.41 3.42 3.43 3.44 3.45 3.46 3.47 3.48 3.49 3.50 3.51 3.52 3.53 3.54 3.55 3.56 3.57 3.58 3.59 3.60 3.61 3.62 3.63 3.64 3.65 3.66 3.67 3.68 3.69 3.70 3.71 3.72 3.73 3.74 3.75 3.76 3.77 In *The Avengers*, during the Stuttgart scene, the museum's exhibition is shown on banners to begin on "4 MAI". The gala behind held would be an opening ceremony, and thus this scene would be the night before, on May 3, 2012. This lines up with the release date of *The Avengers* (May 4, 2012) being the date of the Battle of New York, and the fact that it is months (roughly 6, works out as 7) before *Iron Man 3*, which picks up in December 2012.
4. ↑ 4.00 4.01 4.02 4.03 4.04 4.05 4.06 4.07 4.08 4.09 4.10 4.11 4.12 4.13 4.14 4.15 4.16 4.17 4.18 4.19 4.20 4.21 4.22 4.23 4.24 4.25 4.26 4.27 4.28 4.29 4.30 4.31 4.32 4.33 4.34 4.35 4.36 *Avengers: Endgame*
5. ↑ *Loki: 1.05: Journey Into Mystery*