Imperious Son

by Shadow Master

(BtVS/Young Avengers/Marvel Universe) The Past. The Present. The Future. We all think about these things but eventually we come to believe that we can only accept the first, attempt to control the second and influence the third. For one man though all that is needed to change all three is the right plan and the right team. This is their story.

1. Chapter 1

"IMPERIOUS SON!" by Shadow Master

(BtVS/Young Avengers/Marvel Comics)

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the copyrighted material contained herein. They are the rightful property of their respective creators and associated companies. I make no profit off of this whatsoever and do not intend to change this at any point in the future. I write because it's fun and because there are those readers who enjoy reading my stories. Therefore I would greatly appreciate it if any of you people who have lawyers on speed dial would refrain from filing a lawsuit against me. I can absolutely promise you that what you'd get from me wouldn't even cover half your legal fees.

Note 1: I apologize in advance if I get the characterization of Namor wrong but most of my information sources comes from Wikipedia and the website. I'll do my best to be as accurate as possible but please forgive any mistakes.

Note 2: I know that some of the events I'll be using don't happen in the marvel universe at the same time as in the BtVS universe (as far as when the episodes aired and when the comic book issues came out) but seeing as how Marvel changes its timeline regularly just assume this is how things went on Earth-617 rather than 616.

Note 3: As always if you are someone who despises even the slightest deviation from canon or characters that stray too much to become OOC then I suggest you turn back now. While I always do my best to keep as close to canon as I can I place the story I want to tell at the top of my priority list. Therefore I will make changes as needed in order to make it all mesh.

IMPERIOUS SON!

The 30th Century, Schoolyard,

Point Three Five seconds Out of Sync With the Rest of the Time Period

Kang the Conqueror's POV

"So it has begun," he said, knowing that none in his current time period could hear him.

Contrary to what his younger self might think, he had known exactly how the encounter between the two of them would go from the moment he'd first spoken to the boy. He remembered how it'd gone because the microsecond he'd arrived and began interacting with this time period, he began to change it and so the changes had rippled forward in time changing things as they went.

Changing things such as his memories.

He knew precisely where his younger self had gone, what his plans were and how their inevitable confrontation would turn out once he too arrived in the past. The foolish Avengers thought that they had defeated him all those times in the past but how can you possibly defeat someone who has mastered time travel and therefore knows what you will do before you even think of it. The simple answer is you can't. Indeed, every single one of his previous encounters with them had been planned out and choreographed to the smallest degrees, even with their 'victory' being what he'd always wanted. The point of it all was to force the Avengers to use their meager intellects to develop certain technologies while also refining their skills as warriors with each encounter. The reason was because the origins of his own technology, his own tactics, were born in this era and over the centuries evolved into what he used now. THAT was the great truth: all he was doing was planting the seeds for his rise to greatness in the past. Even this little altercation with his younger self had its role to play in bringing about his destiny.

However it was as he was about to release the simuloid into the past to usher in the next phase of the performance when he considered all that would happen afterwards. The formation of the team, their rise to greatness, the trials they would face and… the losses they would suffer. He snorted in amusement at the fact that his old memories the time stream had bequeathed to him still affected him even though it'd technically been decades since they'd happened. He remembered how he felt about her, how he'd fallen in love with her and how her death had set him on the path to becoming who he was today. As a man who'd mastered the intricacies of time, he knew what had to transpire in order to keep his preferred timeline in one piece, and yet…

…and yet he could not help but wonder if he should modify his plans.

Just a little.

All that was necessary was for circumstances to force the young heroes into fighting so that they could gain the courage to continue, as well as the camaraderie that only comes from fighting side by side against a common foe. To achieve that, Captain America, Iron Man and Jessica Jones needed to be removed from the equation in such a way so as to provoke the young team into taking action. In his memories this occurred by persuading the three Avengers to hand over 'Iron Lad', causing the younger heroes to rebel, ultimately resulting in them fighting against him. Their 'teamwork' and his 'unfamiliarity' with their powers would lead them to defeat him temporarily allowing them time to realize that his younger self needed to return to his own time in order to avoid destroying all they knew. Thus would the Vision be reborn and the bonds needed to sustain the new team would form allowing history to follow the course HE had laid out for it.

The question became how he could alter what he desired without overly affecting the overall sequence of events that needed to happen.

He would not be able to directly intervene and save the woman who he'd fancied in the past, for that would tarnish the image he'd carefully crafted in the minds of all his enemies in the twenty-first century. They would ask questions, make suppositions and potentially view him from an angle they had not previously considered. This could NOT be allowed to happen. Therefore, if he wished to change what did happen so that what he desired to happen would come to pass, he would need to camouflage his intent behind a façade that was in keeping with what his enemies would expect from him. He needed to appear arrogant. He needed to employ a measure that would push his adversaries to their limits in order to show his power and his belief that in all conflicts the opposition needed to be crushed. He needed to step all over the morality that his foes clung to and use underhanded methods to achieve his goal.

It was then, almost faster than he could comprehend, that an idea burst forth from his mind that made him laugh as he had truly outdone himself this time. Not only would this assure the return of his younger self to his proper moment in time but it would also put five new pieces into play in the past that hopefully would prove to be enough to save… her.

With but a thought he opened a temporal portal to his base of operations in the fortieth century and, once he was on the other side, proceeded to his private laboratory. Of all of his subordinates only three were permitted to enter it and not one of them knew the full breadth of what he did in that room, which was just how he preferred it. He of all people knew that information was power and he would be a poor conqueror indeed if he allowed anyone to gain more power than him. Nevertheless there were times in which he had to leave an experiment or project in the hands of a subordinate while he tended to important matters elsewhere.

It didn't take him long to reach his lab and, after the security scans verified his identity beyond question and he spoke the necessary passwords, the door slid open to admit him. Only peripherally was he aware of the door closing and securing behind him as he walked over to holographic controls for his temporal signature locator. Bringing it online he began to search for the ones that he would need in order to bring his modified plan to fruition. They would have to be powerful, resourceful and possess traits that would affect those that would oppose them when they arrived on the path. They would also have to be suitable qualities to ensure that they would be accepted in the way he desired.

Hmmmm… I shall need to also factor in the possibility that my 'old friends' might not accept them even if things play out as I intend, he thought as he continued to sift through his databases. It is even possible that my potential agents will choose NOT to join the group even if given the chance. In that case I will need my emissaries to stick together at the very least so as to ensure that the fated event occurs differently.

To that end the solution was simple: find something to tie them together.

He considered any one of a number of technological and biological possibilities before discarding that avenue of thought as being too artificial in nature. His warriors would resent their hands being forced in any way and that resentment could taint how they felt about their comrades, resulting in a split up that would ruin his intentions. It didn't take him long to find the correct solution but it would require reaching a little further afield than he usually did for moments such as these. Nevertheless, he was certain that it would induce the conclusion he wished and so he entered the new parameters into the console and then watched as those that didn't fit were removed from consideration.

Sifting through the possibilities, he came across a file that rung a bell of epiphany in his mind and then a delicious idea occurred to him. Indeed, the more he considered it, the more it seemed appropriate. It felt like he should follow the pattern he saw in his mind if only to ensure a complete set. After locking in the first choice he began to select the remaining four, ensuring that each one fit the new parameters he had inside his head until finally he had his 'team'. Now, though, all that was left was to recruit them or, in the case of some, 'acquire' them since they likely wouldn't come willingly no matter what he promised them.

And he knew just where to start.

The Harris Household, Thursday, 1999, Two Days After the Graduation Battle, Xander's POV

Well that's it. He slammed the trunk on his car shut. The start of my cross country road trip as well as my journey of discovery begins today. Too bad all I have to come back to is a basement that I have to pay my parents rent for.

It never ceased to aggravate him that his parents… no, Tony and Jessica Harris… were so completely incapable of behaving like parents should. Tony didn't make any effort at all at being a good father, instead choosing to perfect his skills as a world class slave owner with his SON as his practice dummy. Whenever the asshole had a problem at work, at the bar or with life in general he was the one that was always to blame, even if every SANE person could tell there was nothing he could've done. All he was to Tony was a way of venting his rage and dissatisfaction about where the bastard's life had wound up thus far. Sometimes this popped up just as your general volley of verbal abuse that lasted about half an hour or so before the bastard stormed off. Other times it was physical coming at him in the form of fists, feet, bottles, bats and anything else Tony managed to get his hands on at the time. It was often sheer luck that kept the blows from landing on parts of him that couldn't be covered by some ill chosen clothing. It was one of the reasons his fashion sense was as poor as it was!

Jessica was only marginally better but that was more because she had the sense to do her drinking in moderation and only go on binges when she didn't have to work for two days or so. She was the real bread earner in the house since she managed to hold down a decent job and get few, if any, complaints from her boss. However at home she was far from mother of the year since she couldn't do even the simplest of household chores right and that meant he'd get saddled with them. Even though they had a fully stocked kitchen with appliances and everything, Jessica couldn't cook an edible meal to save her life. As for the other chores she screwed them up enough that Tony forbade her from trying again before ordering him to do them instead. He learned quick but that was mostly because he managed to trick Mrs. Rosenberg or Mrs. McNally into showing him how during the times he stayed overnight.

The only good thing he could say about Jessica was that she wasn't abusive like Tony was and occasionally made an effort to do something motherly. This usually backfired on her somehow, like with the clown at his birthday, but still at least she made the effort to do something right.

All in all he'd been tempted to write off his road trip and put the money towards an apartment or something so he could finally move out but the desire he had to get away from it all was just too great. Out on the road he could put the insanity of the Hellmouth and his parents behind him so, for once, he could pretend that he was just like every other high school graduate. He'd see the sights and maybe even catch a superhero duking it out with someone along the way before making sure he was back before things got busy in Sunnydale.

Maybe I should just leave and… not come back.

It wasn't just the fact that he'd be sleeping in the basement of the house and paying rent for it, despite its questionable cleanliness, but also the rest. He didn't have the money or the brains to follow Buffy, Willow and Oz to UCCS so that was not an option for him. With college out of the question that meant job hunting but, as he figured any high school graduate knew, there weren't a lot of job openings for people with zero experience at anything. That meant he'd be stuck with minimum wage jobs with only his eventual seniority possibly elevating him up to managerial position eventually. Not exactly respectable and, if his friends caught word of it, they'd likely pity him and treat him like a charity case. They probably wouldn't see it that way or think anything bad about doing so but to a man like him with as much pride as any other guy, it mattered.

He might not have any bright ideas as to HOW but he'd be damned if he'd mooch of other people his entire life or make barely enough money to get by!

I'll figure something out. He moved to the driver's side door. Maybe I'll get some inspiration from some of the places I'll be visiting.

Just as he pulled the door open he heard the house door open up and so he turned, hoping that it wasn't Tony looking to fire off a few parting shots of verbal cruelty. Fortunately lady luck chose to take pity on him as it turned out to only be his mother in her usual casual clothes for when she didn't plan on leaving the house to go anywhere the entire day. Looking her in the eyes, he was surprised to see quite a bit of life in them rather than the blurred drunkenness he'd come to expect from her usually. She had a small bag in her hand, looked like a cross between a purse and a doctor's bag, and just when he was about to ask her what she wanted she shoved the bag into his hands. For a moment he wondered what the heck was going on but on a whim he decided to take a look in the bag in order to find out why she'd have given it to him.

What he saw inside was NOT what he'd expected.

Money, a LOT of money, all put together in wads of bills with those paper bands around the middle. He honestly didn't know how much was in there but he'd be willing to bet that it was enough to fund his trip to all fifty-one states of the country if he was half decently efficient with it. The question… well, two questions, he had were where she got the money and when were the cops going to show up?

"Um…Mom…what is—" he began to ask before his mother put her hand over his mouth to muffle his words.

"I'm afraid we don't have time for explanations, Alex." She looked back at the front door. "Tony might be on his way to passing out but he isn't quite there yet. If he finds out about this… it'll be bad for both of us. Let's just say I've been saving up for this day ever since your first day of school. Tony never suspected and I've changed where I hid it all at least once a week since I began just to make sure."

"So a little over ten years worth of skimming off your paycheck and Tony's bank account?" he asked, trying to get a grip on everything.

"Pretty much," she replied turning her eyes back towards him. "I snuck out as much as I thought I could get away with but now it's time to put it to use. It's not enough to put you through college, Alex, but it's enough to give you a head start on the rest of your life. I'd tell you to leave Sunnydale and never look back but I know you're too loyal to Willow and Buffy for that. Still, use this money on your trip, use it to find out who you really want to be, and then come back to make it happen."

He honestly didn't know what to say to that. This wasn't the mother who'd stood by and let Tony beat on him whenever the asshole wanted to blame the world. This wasn't the mother who'd get drunk just to escape from the crap hole her house had turned into.

This was someone completely new and he found himself wanting to know more but a sharp sound from inside the house and a look of fear on her face make it clear that won't be happening.

"Get going, Alex! I'll try to keep him occupied with another bottle or two." She made her way back to the front door. "Enjoy your trip! See you when you get back!"

With that his mother was gone, back into the hellhole she'd been living in for as long as he could remember, leaving him wondering what had caused such a change in her. Had she just been acting all his life or did she suddenly have some kind of moment of clarity that got her to finally get her act together? Sure, she said that she'd been skimming since his first day of school but that didn't make much sense to him. In the end he decided he needed to shelve the whole thing and think about it later. Sticking around until Tony got the inclination to step outside was not something he planned on doing and he could always ask his mother for the whole story when he got back in a few months.

Getting into his car he started it up, backed out onto the street then drove off for the city limits and whatever lay beyond.

Jessica Harris' POV

May fortune favor you, Alex. I doubt we'll ever see each other again.

Fifteen years.

For fifteen years she'd been preparing for this moment.

Ever since the dream had come to her showing her what might come to pass in the coming years and terrified her to the very core of her being. She'd tried to ignore it, tried to convince herself that she wasn't her mother, but when the dream kept coming to her every other night for three months straight she finally gave in. As much as she'd wanted to believe otherwise, she'd been forced to accept that she really was her mother's daughter after all and so she'd have to deal with what she'd seen. For weeks she considered the possibilities, the options, employing the same methods that her mother had already proven worked. In the end though only three possible outcomes manifested themselves with the things that needed to be done to bring one of them into being laid out for her.

One possible outcome had him returning to Sunnydale, living out his life, and helping his friends fight monsters that scared her to the bone. He'd face hardships, he'd face loss and he'd be scarred in every way imaginable, causing him to change in ways both good as well as bad. While not completely bad she'd known enough that she refused to see her darling baby boy put through such horror and pain.

The second possibility had looked like she'd hit the mother lode early on but it soured quickly after a year or two. One of the reasons why she'd chosen to come to Sunnydale in the first place was to hide from HIM and it was inevitable that they'd be exposed if they left. By 'they' she had meant her and Xander once she went to the police and filed assault and battery charges against Tony, among other things. If she'd done that they would've left Sunnydale just before Alex would've met Willow Rosenberg and Jesse McNally to restart their lives someplace else. If they'd done that, though, HE would've found them or one of the enemies he no doubt had and then it would all end badly.

In the end she'd been forced to go with this third possibility, wherein she would give her son the means to break free from the hell he'd been put through all his life. It was not without heartache, not without sorrow, but it held the promise of one day bestowing upon her son the happiness and contentment she fervently believed he deserved. Sadly with this possibility she hadn't been able to see herself enjoying that future with him but she'd gone ahead with it just the same. From that day onward she'd worked to a plan only she knew doing things by the numbers no matter how much it hurt her to do them or how much they hurt Alex. It was torture for the both of them but it also helped lay the groundwork for what was to come so some might call it an even trade off.

There was just one more thing to do and then she'd be done.

"WOMAN! GET ME THAT SIX PACK FROM THE FRIDGE NOW!" Tony yelled from his recliner in the living room.

"Yes dear!" she yelled back before making her way to the kitchen.

It didn't take her long to get there but, unlike what the drunken piece of shit probably thought, she had no intention of getting him ANYTHING anymore. Moving over to the gas stove, it took some doing to get access to the gas line in back but she managed to yank it out, just the same letting all that invisible death come pouring out. It'd take a while for it to fill up the house but that'd make sure that Alex was well out of Sunnydale when the time came for the final step. Thus, with her course set and fate chosen, she pulled out one of those cheap lighters from the convenience stores everywhere and waited as long as she could to do what needed to be done. Minutes ticked by and, if Alex was driving at the posted speed limit, he'd just be leaving the outskirts of Sunnydale in time for the big finale.

"WHERE THE HELL IS MY FUCKIN' SIX PACK, BITCH!?" Tony yelled from the living room, his patience just about gone.

Got to drag this out a few more minutes. If Alex hears anything suspicious he might turn around and that'd ruin everything.

She stalled for as long as she could but eventually the scraping footsteps of Tony reached her ears and she knew he was on his way to the kitchen to 'convey his displeasure' at how long she was taking. Getting back into position near the stove, she estimated that the entire first floor of the house was now filled with gas and, while she'd prefer that the ENTIRE house was filled, she was out of time. As she watched the filthy, drunken, abusive piece of SHIT come into view, she had to wonder what she'd been thinking when she'd thrown her lot in with him. Sure, he'd seemed charming at the time and with Alex to take care of she hadn't really been in a position to be picky when it came to sources of support but his drinking issues has been visible from the first date. Now, though, it was time to say the one thing she'd always wanted to but never could before now.

"You nickel and dime WHORE! I told you to get my BEER!" Tony roared with a slight slurring to his words. "I am the KING of this CASTLE! You'll do as you're FUCKIN' told!"

"Not any more, Tony," she said as she took off the bracelet she'd worn since she was a teenager. "Not ever again. SEE YOU IN HELL!"

With that she ignited the lighter and in the blink of an eye fire and pain became all she knew.

A pain that she knew would last for as long as her guilt did.

Approaching Oxnard, California

Early Evening, Xander's POV

It's never a good thing when you see smoke rising from the hood of your car, especially not when it's accompanied by the sounds of an engine struggling to keep chugging along like a good little soldier.

He eventually wound up doing what anyone would do in his position and that was pull over to the side of the road so he could try to fix the engine in peace. Coming to a stop right below a nearby lamp post, he turned the engine off and got out of the car, hoping that his time spent with Uncle Rory could help him out. While not entirely respectable, given the man's compulsion to hit on anything with a good rack and a heart-shaped ass, Uncle Rory was an excellent mechanic and made most of his income restoring old cars for people. During the summer he'd often go to his uncle's place to get away from Tony and his mom, often getting roped into helping with the work in the process. He picked up a lot of things and, since the work was restoring cars, he learned all the problems that an automobile could have as well as how to fix them. Naturally whether or not he could fix his car would depend on how bad it was because, if it needed something more than tools he had in the trunk, he was essentially stuck.

Popping the hood, he waited for the smoke to clear before flicking on the flashlight he'd grabbed on his way out of the car. Panning the light over the engine, it didn't take long to find out where the problem was and so for a solid three minutes he went through every curse word he knew. He'd been SABOTAGED! Rather incompetently, too, from the looks of the handiwork, but fortunately whoever it was proved that he was too stupid to live by practically signing his work. Wrapped around one of the tubes sticking out of the engine was a torn sleeve belonging to a shirt owned by Tony Harris. It didn't take him long to figure out why his oh-so-hated sperm contributor had done this since all he had to do was think like a selfish and abusive prick. The bastard probably hadn't wanted to go even a week without his own personal punching bag and slave, so the asshole sabotaged the car so that it'd break down before getting very far.

Of course Tony probably wanted me to break down before getting out of Sunnydale. Idiot couldn't even rig the car right!

After ten minutes of contemplation regarding the state of his car's engine, he came to the inescapable conclusion, based on his limited mechanical knowledge, that it was a total write off. He'd probably need to have the entire engine replaced and lord knew how much it'd cost him to get one compatible with the car, never mind one that was made the same year as the car itself. He thought about going through his sizeable list of curses again but, with a sigh, he realized that there wasn't much point in doing that since it wouldn't fix the car. Instead he popped the trunk and grabbed his bags so he could hoof it into Oxnard to find a garage that was still open so he could get his car towed in. Thanks to the stash of cash his mother gave him he should be able to afford repairs if the mechanic there turned out to be more knowledgeable and more resourceful than him, or at least get him a decent rental.

Once he had everything he needed from the car he turned toward the distant lights of Oxnard but stopped when a flash of light from a source behind him caught his attention. Turning, he found himself looking at a man in his mid-forties wearing a suit that looked like it cost more than everything he owned striding towards him. Considering he didn't see another car and hadn't heard his approach as long as he should've, it was understandable that his Hellmouth-o-meter was beginning to ping a bit. He didn't go immediately to red alert since he should've been far enough from Sunnydale to not be affected by the weirdness that was vamps, demons and magic. Nevertheless, he was still wary enough to slip a hand slowly towards the blessed dagger he kept tucked beneath his belt right under his shirt.

"Having some trouble, young man?" the unknown guy asked, strolling up as casually as possible.

"Yeah. My engine gave out and I don't have the tools or the parts to fix it out here," he replied as his fingers wrapped around the hilt of the dagger. "I was planning on walking into to town to get a tow truck."

"You can't call it in?" the man asked without giving off any suspicious signs.

"Nope. Don't have a cell phone."

"Right. I guess it would be rather hard to get one saving up all the spare change lying beneath the sofa cushions, Alexander Harris," rhe man said with a twinkle in his eyes and with a small smirk.

His Hellmouth-o-meter just spiked to yellow alert since it was not a good sign when a complete stranger both knew his name as well has how he'd gotten his spending money the last ten years. Taking a step back and falling into a somewhat casual defensive posture, he waited to see what the stranger's next move would be.

"Be at ease, Alexander," the man said bringing his hands up in the universal 'I mean no harm' position. "If I wanted to hurt you, I'd have done it when your back was turned."

The guy had a point.

Most bad guys didn't care all that much about how bad it made them look to shoot an enemy from behind. Still, he wasn't about to let his guard down just yet since it was still possible that he was experiencing a 'lull into a false sense of security' moment. Until this guy did something specific that didn't fit with the usual big bad M.O., he would assume the worst and be prepared to fight.

"So what DO you want?" he asked, hoping that it wasn't something weird.

"Suffice it to say I have a proposition for you," the man replied with his smirk evolving into a smile. "I'm aware of your 'nighttime activities' and how your friends tried to force you off the battlefield against your will. I imagine you're concerned that once you return from your little field trip they'll try it again. What if I could help prevent that?"

"What exactly do you have in mind?" he asked, deciding to find out what kind of juicy treat was going to dangled in front of his eyes.

"What would you say if I told you that Anthony Harris isn't your biological father?" the man asked, never losing his smile.

"I'd say 'what's your proof?'."

"Well, I could give you the detailed genetic explanation but I think this will suffice." The man tapped his watch, causing a hologram of two strands of DNA floating side by side. "The strand on your left is your DNA while the strand on the right belongs to Anthony Harris. As you've no doubt been taught, a child's DNA made from the two halves of his parents' DNA, but when I compare these two strands…"

The two strands overlapped one another before 'NO MATCH' began flashing on and off every couple of seconds.

"Doesn't really prove much," he said, not willing to be sold just yet. "Just means you've got a fancy light show and a hologram that says what you want it to say. Just out of curiosity, though, if Tony isn't my Dad then who is?"

"He's someone who's been in the news from time to time alongside some other rather colorfully dressed individuals." The man tapped his watch again to change the image being projected. "Tell me, do you recognize this man?"

The image now being projected was of a man in the air with short black hair and pointy ears wearing what looked to be a green scaled Speedo and golden armbands. Also, if only to add to the weird look, there were a pair of little wings on each foot right about where the ankles were located but still he did recognize the man.

"Of course. That's Namor. Avenger, businessman and supposedly the King of Atlantis."

"Supposedly? You mean you don't believe that to be the case?" the man asked with genuine surprise.

"People can claim to be a lot of things but I haven't seen any news footage or pictures proving Atlantis exists, much less that Namor's really the king there," he replied, laying out his opinion. "Sure, there've been a couple of so-called invasions from armies that look like they could be from there but in this day and age it can be faked."

"An interesting position, Alexander. Nevertheless, he is your biological father," the man said, turning off the hologram generator. "While not all incidents have reached the ears of the media, Namor is something of a ladies man. It is not uncommon for him to enter into temporary relationships with a woman that has caught his eye only to cast her aside a few months later. While not reaching the disgusting levels of Tony Stark or Jonathan Storm, Namor did enjoy his conquests and that includes your mother Jessica."

"Slight hole in your story, buddy. If Namor is my dear ol' bio-dad then where are the point ears? Hell, where are the wings that're supposed to be growing out of my ankles?"

"As any genetics expert could tell you, Alexander, that sometimes a child takes after their mother while other times they take after their father. At the same time how heavily the child takes after one of their parents varies as well," the man, replied not looking discouraged in the least. "In your case you take strongly after your mother, which is why the genes you inherited from Namor never manifested physically. That doesn't mean you didn't get any benefits from him though or did you really think you just got lucky all those times a vampire or a demon hit you?"

An interesting point that was at least enough to convince him to listen to the stranger a little longer to see where all this was leading.

"So if I'm dear old Namor's bouncing baby boy then where's he been all my life?" he asked with a trace of true bitterness in his voice. "Why leave my Mom in Tony Harris' not so kind clutches?"

"It's likely your mother didn't even realize she was pregnant until weeks after her encounter with Namor. As for your biological father, he likely had other concerns at the time, such as Avenger duties, and so never gave the encounter a second thought." The man sounded like he was trying to appear sympathetic, but something was still missing. "Once your mother realized she was pregnant she likely didn't know how to get in touch with him or even if he would take responsibility for what he'd done. Easier to just marry a man more accessible like Anthony Harris than file a paternity suit against an Avenger and Atlantian royalty."

Point.

You'd need a seriously high flying lawyer to make something like that work and those were pretty expensive last time he checked. Plus, in all the TV interviews he'd seen of Namor, the guy sounded about as arrogant as a person could get and still survive. A person like that probably thought that he can bed as many women as he liked and not have to take responsibility for any children that are born. Jerk probably figured it was his royal right to do things like that and that the women should be grateful that he deigned to notice them enough to embark on a night of pleasure with them.

"Okay, assuming I buy all this and you're not just making it all up, what exactly are you offering? Bottom line?" he asked, deciding it was time to get to the fine print.

"I have the means to reverse things for you, genetically speaking, thus making your father's genes dominant rather than your mother's genes." The man looked glad to get to the core of the matter. "As a result you would gain many of your father's special abilities, including superhuman speed, stamina, agility and durability, as well as, of course, strength. Not to the same degree, of course, since you will be only one quarter Atlantean, but still quite sufficient to make you a match for any threat you might face in your hometown fighting alongside the Slayer."

It was an interesting proposition but he was still wary since he knew next to nothing about the guy, much less whether or not he was trustworthy. For all he knew the guy was planning on using him for some science experiment to turn him into some kind of zombie soldier. Still… he had a chance to finally become a real contributor to the Scooby gang, in a way that would make it impossible for anyone to kick him out, and save some real lives. Not that he hadn't done so already the last three years but superpowers meant more options and that'd leave to more lives being saved. Plus, if this wound up giving him a buff bod, then maybe his luck with women would finally change for the better.

However there had to be a catch, an angle, because no one would offer something like this without wanting something in return especially if they used the word 'proposition'.

"So what's the price tag for this 'upgrade'?" he asked, looking the man right in the eyes to make sure he spotted any signs of deception. "You said this was a proposition and that usually means both sides get something out of the deal."

"The 'price tag', as you put it, is quite simple." The man again looked pleased that he was being asked such relevant questions. "I have a… well, let's call him a little brother shall we… who's run away from home and I fear he may have gone to some rather annoying individuals for protection since it's inevitable that I'll find him. If you agree to the proposal all that I ask is that you retrieve him and bring him to me."

"And the reason why you can't get him yourself?" he asked as things began to sound like a kidnapping.

"I could go myself but that would only complicate things and potentially make a mess. The people my little brother has gone to don't exactly like how I do business and I fear they'll fight me out of sheer spite if I go in person." The man looked amused at the concept. "However if an unknown shows up requesting my brother's return, they're less likely to react violently, especially if you don't mention me by name. Basically it'll mean less of a commotion if I'm not there in person."

"And I take it since you plan on giving me the Namor makeover that you don't think your brother's just going to surrender without a fight?" he asked, figuring that'd be the only reason to give him super powers for a job like this.

"Yes. Unfortunately he's something of a rebel and, despite having certain obligations to both our family and our business, he chose to reject both before running off." The man gave a disappointed shake of his head. "As such the moment you mention returning home he'll reject the idea and use anything or anyone he can to prevent you from retrieving him. Thus it will be necessary for you to be more than just a brave young man. You will need your father's strength."

This sounds fishy. If his little bro doesn't want to have anything to do with his family or business then that's that. It's a free country after all and that means it's wrong to force someone to do something he doesn't want to do. He frowned as he thought things through. The only way it'd even be close to being right is if the little brother signed a contract knowing exactly what he was getting into. If that's the case then little bro is a welcher, in which case dragging him back wouldn't be a bad thing. Guess there's only one thing to do.

"Alright you've got a deal. Under two conditions."

"And they are?" the man asked, looking pleased.

"I'll do your little deal but the second something pops up that contradicts your little story or makes retrieving your little brother less than legal, I get to walk away, with the upgrades, without any nasty consequences from you." He made it clear he wouldn't budge on this issue. "And secondly YOU pay for the repairs to my car here to get it in perfect working order."

"Done and done. I'm glad we could reach an agreement," the man said before extending his left hand for a handshake. "To the successful conclusion of our arrangement, Alexander."

Not seeing the harm in it he took the offered hand and gave it a good shake.

When light blinded him and disorientation followed, he seriously began to wonder if he'd made a terrible mistake.

The Fortieth Century, Kang's Private Laboratory, One Second After Leaving This Time Period

Kang's POV

The boy certainly has one thing over his moronic father, he thought soon after temporal transit concluded. He is not so foolishly arrogant so as to think he can overcome anything with his power. This one actually uses his mind first.

"Where the hell…?" Alexander asked, looking around in disbelief at the advanced technology that surrounded him. "Where are we?"

"The correct question would be 'when', not 'where', Alexander, and the answer to that is my lab in the fortieth century," he replied as he used his armor's functions to change into something more appropriate. "To help fill in the blanks for you my name is Nathaniel Richards and, before you ask, yes, I am a descendant of Mister Fantastic, aka Reed Richards. It is from this time period that my little brother, who has taken on the name 'Iron Lad', chose to flee into the past. Ever since the time of the heroic leader of the Fantastic Four our family has always striven to guide humanity and protect it. Sadly Iron Lad chose to reject the responsibility and obligation of his lineage and, before I could persuade him otherwise, he took his armor and fled. It is he who you must retrieve."

"And you didn't think to tell me all this before WHY?" Alexander asked, sounding a little irritated at the fact that relevant information had been omitted.

"You might've rejected my offer out of fear." he replied honestly even though he would've taken the boy by force if that had happened. "Now that you're here and hopefully realize that I am the only one capable of returning you to your correct era, I hope that things will go a lot smoother."

"You tricked me!" Alex growled, clearly not happy about being manipulated.

Predictable.

"Not in the slightest. I laid out my proposal and agreed to your terms." he said calmly as he prepared the genetic remodulator for the boy. "The fact that I omitted when your upgrades would take place was not relevant to our arrangement. Now while attacking me might be your first impulse, Alexander, I suggest you consider when you are and what the odds are that you'll be able to operate my technology to send yourself back without me. Like me or not, I'm you're only way home."

For a moment he could tell that the teenager was contemplating attacking and taking his chances but fortunately he surpassed his father once more by not acting on his hot headed impulses. With visible reluctance the boy took on a more at ease posture but the look of anger never left his eyes.

Not unexpected but acceptable.

After the pod connected to the genetic remodulator opened, he gestured for the lad to get inside and, with a sour look on his face, he did. Once the door slid shut he immediately administered a sedative to the teenager and employed a focused neutron wave to remove the inappropriate clothing. Alexander would need to wear something decidedly more durable as well as suitable for him to complete his task and besides, those Hawaiian print shirts had wisely been outlawed since the twenty-third century.

It began with a basic scan of the young man's body, focusing on his DNA, naturally, in order to see precisely what he had to work with. He was certain there'd be enough of Namor's DNA to ensure that his son would prove a formidable warrior but he wondered if he should not go a little bit further with his efforts. It wouldn't be too difficult to bring young Alexander closer to being a half Atlantean and half human but the question was whether or not that would have any downsides. After all, Namor did have a number of weaknesses due to his mixed lineage, such as his superhuman abilities being dependent on regular exposure to water and his susceptibility to oxygen imbalance. Would these same flaws appear in Alexander if he were brought too close to being a half-breed? Possibly. Therefore he would increase the presence of Atlantean DNA by increments while watching for the genetic markers consistent with those weaknesses.

There's also the matter of Namor's ability to fly, he thought as he finally located the genetic material that came from the ruler of Atlantis. It isn't a trait of his underwater brethren but rather a mutation unique to him.

"Computer: access DNA database. Locate and open flight database," he ordered as he finished his scan on Alexander. "Access file: Namor. Begin computations for gene integration into current subject."

"File accessed. Beginning computations," the artificial intelligence of his computer network said as a window in the corner of the holo-screen began to display complex formulas. "Estimated time to completion three point four five minutes."

Leaving the A.I he had created himself to its task, he began examining the results of the scan, dividing them into genetic material from Alexander's mother and genetic material from his father. It was a rather rudimentary process to look it over since he'd long since mastered the science of genetics, so before much longer he had already located the genes responsible for Namor's superhuman abilities. Cataloguing each as he found them so that they could be activated later, it didn't take him long before he found all the ones he needed. Looking at the mother's genetic information, he decided that he might as well give that information a once over as well just in case there was a latent x-gene to be had or some other anomaly he could exploit. It was as he reached the halfway point that he discovered something intriguing that made him wonder if the Atlantean king had seen Jessica Harris as something more than just a conquest when they'd met. The genes he found were just barely enough for him to give the teenage boy the desired ability but it would prove quite useful, especially if the lad for some reason was unable to be close to the people he desired. Marking the relevant genes for enhancement, he finished his perusal of Jessica Harris' DNA just as the computations for flight finished.

"Target selected gene sequences. Prepare to initiate full genetic resequencing and augmentation on my mark." He began to manipulate the necessary settings to what his vast intellect told him they needed to be at. "Bring primary, secondary and tertiary safety protocols online."

"Targeting selected sequences. Ready for full genetic resequencing and augmentation. All safety protocols online." The artificial intelligence said as the relevant readouts appeared on the holographic screen.

"Then INITIATE!" he ordered and watched as the pod containing young Alexander Harris filled with a combination of white and gold energy.

It was a process he'd seen many a time during his long years of forging his empire but still it held some fascination for him watching as his machines disassembled the young man, resequenced the genetic material to make the desired traits dominant, and then reassembled him. In a way it looked like the teleportation special effects shown in that twentieth century science fiction show about a Federation and a continuing mission. The process repeated itself multiple times, once for every gene that needed to be resequenced and enhanced, but after an hour of work he was able to smile at a job well done. Performing an after action scan on young Alexander, he was pleased to see that all the changes had taken nicely and there were no signs of rejection or cellular breakdown. Not that he really expected any differently, given his intellect, but he'd been surprised enough over the years to know better than to take careless chances.

Looking at the young man physically, he could see that Alexander now sported the pointed ears of his father and a quick check confirmed the presence of gills behind the ears. Vestigial wings adorned both sides of each foot and preliminary scans confirmed the presence of an invisible energy field consistent with what his armor's scans had detected around Namor while the ruler was in flight. All in all it looked as though everything had turned out precisely as he needed them to be but he'd have to wait until the young man woke up to see if his mother's donation was active.

It will be a while before the sedatives wear off and his body recovers from the alterations. He set his artificial intelligence to monitor the boy and notify him if anything life threatening transpired. I believe it's time I acquired his teammates.

Of the four he'd selected he predicted only the two muscle bound ones would give him any trouble due to the fact that the first might recognize him and the latter would be so focused on her mission that she wouldn't even listen to him. Fortunately he had ways of making them listen to him and incentives that would make each of them pause to consider the pros and cons of carrying out his request. A much needed circuit board here, a forgotten mystical hammer there, upgrades that would put her suit twenty years ahead of its original creator and last but not least, a new lease on life.

Now who could say no to that?

Earth, New York City, Beneath Park Avenue, Early Afternoon, 2009 A.D

When he arrived at the required space-time co-ordinates he looked about and saw much what he'd come to expect based on historical records as well as his own experiences.

A subway tunnel with the sound of a train swiftly approaching with various amounts of graffiti decorating the walls, with flickering light fixtures illuminating the area every dozen or so feet. It would still be a minute or two before his next recruit showed up so he had time to alter his appearance into something a bit more… reassuring. With a slight tingle he could feel his armor shift and its built in solid light holographic generators produce an image of a woman clad in primitive armor with a few technological devices scattered throughout. To the one he was to meet he would appear to be a woman not unlike herself, who while unknown held the means to not only help her accomplish her mission but also grant her people the means to avoid their little problem forever more. Once his new female appearance was in place and the vocal processors were set to a suitably Amazonian voice, there was just one final precaution.

He modulated the energy he and his armor were giving off so that it would fool one capable of perceiving gamma energy and its interactions with things both natural as well as artificial.

With the familiar effect he watched her appear and, once the young woman's temporal transition finished, he immediately locked both of them in the space between seconds. After all he imagined that it'd take more than the sixty seconds it'd take for the subway train to reach their position to convince the lovely green-skinned lady to take his offer.

"Welcome Lyra, proud warrior of the United Sisterhood Republic, to the twenty-first century." he said while affecting a wise and experienced tone of voice.

"Who are you?" Lyra asked, not sounding as though she'd come to her own conclusions just yet.

"My name is Revanna and I have been anticipating your arrival in this time period for quite some time."

"MISTRESS, BEWARE! A CHRONAL STASIS FIELD HAS ISOLATED YOU FROM THE TIME STREAM!" spoke the digitized voice of the A.I known as Boudicca from the wrist device Lyra had.

"Indeed. The history files I have access to tell me much about you, when you come from and why you have come to this time period," he said, taking the honest route with his recruit. "It is why I am here. I need your help."

"I have no time to help anyone. I am on a mission of my own." Lyra said politely yet firmly. "Now release me from your stasis field."

"I am well aware of your mission to mate with the strongest warrior of this time period in order to ensure the future of your sisterhood," he said before dropping the first bit of information to get her interest. "I also know that the only reason you've been sent here is because a valuable circuit board from the Cradle of your enemies was destroyed during a fight with one whom you considered a sister. What if I told you that I could not only give you a replacement circuit board but also a selection of genetic samples of the strongest warriors, both men and women, that this time period has to offer? Would you be willing to listen to my request then?"

He could tell just from the look in Lyra's eyes that he did indeed have her undivided attention but just to seal the deal he took out the circuit board he'd replicated back in his lab for just this moment. It was identical to the one the daughter of the Hulk had been sent to retrieve and had even had the programming on it upgraded to maximize how long the Sisterhood could continue its method of replenishing their numbers. When added to that the genetic samples, they would be able to produce warriors capable of finally wiping out the tribes of men scattered over their timeline's Earth, achieving the peace they desired.

"What is it that you want?" Lyra asked, taking a more at ease posture.

"There is someone I need you to retrieve for me in another time period. Someone who is unlikely to come willingly and who I believe has recruited powerful individuals such as yourself to protect himself from me," he replied, deciding on a summarized version of the story he'd given Alexander. "This is who I need you to bring to me."

He utilized the controls on forearm of his armor that coincided with what his disguise was wearing he projected an image of his younger self clad in the 'Iron Lad' armor minus the helmet. Allowing it to rotate so as to show Lyra what he looked like from all angles for a few minutes, he could tell her suspicion level had gone up. A natural response to someone raised in a society that taught its members that all men are evil, destructive and that the planet would be better off without them.

"Why do you need this man?" she asked, sounding like she wanted a good reason.

"Unlike the time that you come from I live in a world where we have finally managed to purge men of their destructive impulses, taught them a better way and have enjoyed a peace that has lasted for over three centuries," he replied, spinning a tale Lyra would be more receptive to. "Sadly this one… my little brother… has always had a fascination with the past and the old ways. He is a student of history and when he came upon the tales of what you refer to as the overmen, he desired more than anything to become one of them. I learned the hard way that the thirst for power is not something that can be purged.

"The armor you see him wearing is a new creation of our people designed with the intent of exploring the stars. However he modified it into a weapon and, with our time travel technology, he is more dangerous than you can imagine." He then pretended to get emotionally upset. "I just want to get him back home where he can get the help he needs. He's young and the young make mistakes. Will you help me?"

There was silence for a time as the green skinned woman thought over what he'd told her and, much like Alexander, he suspected she was weighing the costs against the benefits. While this was good in that it proved that two of his recruits had minds of their own and could actually use them effectively, it also meant that those same sharp minds could turn against him. Thankfully all he needed was for his recruits to allow him to transport them out of their current time period and he would have a sizeable bargaining chip to work with to ensure their compliance. For the time being, though, he would keep up his current charade if only because it amused him a bit and would be less bothersome than fighting each of his new agents to force their submission.

"Fine. I will aid you in retrieving your brother, however I want the circuit board now." Lyra declared, holding out her right hand for the requested item.

It was a risk, the woman could simply run off with one half of her compensation and leave him behind, but heroic types tended to be honorable enough to hold up their end of the bargain. Levitating the circuit board over to Lyra, he decided to help her just a little bit more. Without warning he teleported the two of them to the location where the young woman originally buried the replacement part in the old timeline before he interfered.

"Where are we now?" she asked him with a touch more suspicion.

"A place far from the law enforcers that claim jurisdiction over any temporal incursions that occur without their permission. I thought it prudent to put some distance between us and them in order to ensure that they do not damage your prize before you can hide it for your Sisterhood to find in the future." He gestured to the land around them, "This place is just a short distance from your Republic's capitol and I've scanned the historical records to ensure that it won't be developed or changed between this time period and the one you come from. Bury the circuit board here, have your 'assistant' notify your leadership of its location and it will find its way into their hands without fail."

With a nod Lyra went to work placing the circuit board in a sealed plastic bag before using her superior strength to make easy work of digging a sufficiently deep hole to keep her prize concealed until her Sisterhood found it in the future. It only took a few minutes for the woman to complete her task and, when she was done, she stood before him ready to aid him in the recovery of his younger self.

"Now we can go." She declared looking ready to fulfill her end of the bargain.

"Then let us be off," he said, never dropping his disguise. "I still have three more members of your team to recruit."

"Team?" was all Lyra was able to get out before he activated the temporal displacement generator taking them to the next stop on his travels.

Earth-982, New York City, Avenger's Mansion, Training Room

In a flash he went from a patch of wilderness to the inside of a primitive training room for beings with superhuman abilities.

Neither he nor Lyra could be detected by those training below because he'd made sure that the two of them were slightly out of sync with the timeline, making it so that only the most sophisticated technology would even know something was amiss. He supposed that it might be possible that the cavemen of this timeline might be capable of some measure of detection but only if they knew in advance what they were looking for.

In this case they did not.

"Who are you here to recruit?" Lyra asked, looking at the assortment of costumed individuals below.

"Her," he replied, pointing to the blonde teenager currently smashing a robot with a large metal hammer.

Given her garb it was obvious who the young woman was trying to emulate but fortunately his armor's sensors, as well as the ones back at his lab, confirmed that she was indeed who she claimed to be.

Thena, daughter of Thor and the Lady Sif, princess of the mystical realm of Asgard and resident of a timeline fifteen years ahead and to the right of the one he needed her to be in.

The young blonde possessed all the natural gifts that Asgardians possessed: superhuman strength allowing her to lift up to forty-five tons, increased durability, endurance and longevity. She also possessed the ability to fly and summon violent thunderstorms even though she did not possess Mjolnir like her father did. Trained by the warriors of Asgard, her only weapon at the moment was a hammer provided to her by the new generation of Avengers made out of one-ton titanium alloy. While not nearly as potent and durable as her father's hammer, it was still enough to suit her current level of opposition. However against what he would have her face, she would need something more and thankfully he already had it stored away in a pocket dimension.

All that he needed to do now was to speak with her and ask for her aid.

However, given her lineage, it was possible that her father had told her about him, or at least this timeline's version of him. He would need to retain his current disguise and pull Thena out of time with the world around her so that the mansion's primitive sensors would complicate matters. With a mental command the world around Lyra and him froze, leaving only the potential recruit with the ability to move about.

"What sorcery is this?" Thena asked, sounding ready for a fight.

"Not sorcery, princess of Asgard," he replied through hid female disguise. "Technology. More precisely I have stopped the progression of time for you so that we now exist between the previous second and the next. I wanted to have a word with you in private on a matter most important."

"Then speak, woman! The heir royal shall hear what you have to say." Thena said arrogantly, making him think of how her father had been prior to gaining a measure of humility.

She told the hammer wielder the same story she told Lyra, not wanting discrepancies to breed suspicion, and then waited to see if need would be enough to secure the young woman's aid.

"If it is so urgent that your brother be retrieved then why do you not retrieve him thyself?" Thena asked, sounding like such a simple chore was beneath her.

"I would if I were able to without causing damage to the timeline," he replied, placing a bit of the truth in with the lie. "Due to the nature of the time travel technology available to my family, if two members exist in the same period at the same time, ripples would be sent both forward as well as backward along the timeline. Think of it as a sort of temporal resonance. That is why I have chosen to find allies whom I can send without disrupting the timeline irreparably. Lyra here is one, you would be another should you agree to aid me, and there are two more that I will seek out for aid. Together, no matter whom my dear brother hides behind for protection, you will prevail."

"If the opposition that awaits is so fierce then allow my allies here to join the fight," she said, gesturing to the still frozen next generation members of the Avengers. "They are worthy warriors."

"Sadly I cannot. Removing one person from a specific timeline is difficult enough," he replied with feigned regret. "To remove more, even if I returned then one second after they left, would cause a temporal anomaly that would be beyond my ability to remedy."

This was not entirely true, he could fix such a time problem with his abilities, but they didn't need to know about that.

"While I am sympathetic to your cause, I must decline," she said with remorse in her tone. "As the heir to the throne of Asgard I have certain responsibilities and have already divided my time enough to become a member of the Avengers. Also my father would no doubt not approve of aiding one as powerful yet unknown as you."

What a transparent effort! The girl thinks to induce me to sweeten the deal rather than nobly aid a stranger in need. He barely restrained a snort of contempt. Clearly this timeline's Thor sent her to receive the same medicine he partook of when exiled by Odin to Earth. It is only right, then, that I do what I can to ensure humility keeps the young thunderer from making any foolish mistakes.

With a single command to his armor be brought the 'incentive' he had picked up after leaving Alexander to recover into the timeline for all to see.

"Why is Mjolnir in your possession!?" Thena asked with growing rage. "What hast thou done with my father!?"

"Calm yourself, daughter of Thor, for this hammer does not belong to your father, but rather to a Thor that has long since fallen into darkness. In the timeline I took this from he had already succumbed to a terrible ailment that cursed both mortals and gods into becoming the walking dead," he replied while gesturing for her to calm down. "It was a disease brought forth from a neighboring reality and all it took was a single bite, a single scratch, to begin the transformation from living being to rotting body. The Thor of this reality was infected while defending a device that could've allowed the infected mortals to cross over into yet another reality to ravage it as they already had their own. In the end, though, he was forced to destroy the device when it became clear that he and his allies would lose and soon after became infected with the disease himself."

He could see that the news had shocked Thena but, like most, there was growing denial within her that refused to believe one she admired so much could fall in such a manner.

"Thus with his fall into darkness he was no longer worthy to wield the Mjolnir of that timeline and so it fell to ground, never to be lifted by another living soul." He used his powers to levitate the acquired hammer to Thena's feet. "Will you be the one to redeem it, Lady Thena? Will you take up this fallen Thor's hammer? Try it. See if it finds you worthy of its might."

He could see the forces warring within her, the battle between caution and desire, but her arrogance and her admiration for her father won just as he'd expected. Casting the titanium alloy hammer aside she reached down and wrapped her fingers around the hilt of the hammer before bringing her Asgardian strength to bear. For a moment nothing happened, and he thought perhaps he would have to revise his plans, but then, to his glee, he watched as the hammer left the ground and knew the enchantments had decided in Thena's favor. Lightning arced over her body from the head of the hammer as the power that had once been the zombified Thor's filled the body of his other dimensional daughter. While the young blonde woman didn't physically change, his armor told him that her power had grown significantly but, while it potentially matched his records of Thor, it wasn't quite as… refined as the thunderer he'd fought before.

No matter. It will suffice for what I require her to do.

"GLORIOUS! I can feel Mjolnir's power coursing through me!" Thene exclaimed, sounding overjoyed at the development. "It is redeemed! It is reborn!"

"Indeed it is, Lady Thena," he said, genuinely happy for her. "Do you think your Lord father would permit you to aid me in exchange for such a precious gift?"

"Indeed he would, kind lady!" Thena replied, all previous reservations obliterated. "You shall have my aid in the retrieval of your brother!"

"You have my thanks, Lady Thena." he said before locking onto all three of them for temporal displacement. "Now onto our next stop and our next potential ally."

In a flash they were gone without anyone in that particular time period being the wiser.

Earth-904913, New York City, The Rooftop of the Tomorrow Academy, Noon, Patricia Potts' POV

I cannot believe those two! she thought angrily as she stormed out of the door that led to the stairwell onto the roof of her high school. I mean, sure, I might have been a little careless with those last few repulsor blasts and, yeah, a FEW cars might've blown up, but that SO doesn't mean they can treat me like some kind of amateur! I've been a part of Team Iron Man pretty much from the beginning! I've saved BOTH their lives! You'd think that'd mean they'd cut me some slack! UGH!

And things had been going so WELL up until eight in the morning, too.

It had been a little over a month since they'd defeated the Makluan armada and since then the three of them had been mostly going to school or handling whatever emergency situation came up in their armor. It'd been kinda nice, getting a break and all, but the honest truth was that she was beginning to get a little bored of catching bank robbers and fixing bridges. It was just TOO easy! Guns and grenades couldn't get through their armor but the crooks kept trying. Doing roadwork that was the job of city maintenance felt like such a waste of their time! So she'd just tried to liven things up this morning by trying a few trick shots she'd seen in some of her favorite sci-fi movies. She'd even let the bank robbers get into their getaway car and drive off before she'd chased after them, figuring it'd be more sporting to give them a fighting chance. It'd been FUN!

Well… up until she'd messed up a few shots with her repulsors and blew up some parked cars.

Thank God they'd been empty at the time.

Still, it'd been enough to make Tony and Rhodey butt in and end things quickly. Of course as soon as it was over both of her friends had gotten in her face, calling her reckless, careless and irresponsible. They'd had the nerve to lecture her about how bad things could've gotten if one of her blasts had hit an occupied vehicle or a gas station. Like she didn't KNOW how bad things would've gotten if one of those things had happened! She'd told them to get over it all and that she'd try to do better next time but they just wouldn't let it go. They kept hammering her with the same words over and over again until they'd returned to Tony's lab so they could get out of their armor and go to school. She'd been so mad at them that she'd ignored them from then on and planned on continuing until they apologized for being so mean.

Considering she usually talked enough for five people, that was saying something.

Sitting down on her usual spot, she took out her lunch and began to eat aggressively since her temper still hadn't cooled. If Tony and Rhodey knew what was good for them they wouldn't come up like they usually did… but that would make it impossible for them to say they were sorry, wouldn't it? Okay, so maybe it'd be okay if they came up there but they'd better not expect a warm welcome! She wasn't just going to forgive and forget like some people might consider doing! Nope! Not going to happen!

In a rage she crumpled up the empty bag of chips she'd finished and threw it as hard as she could away from her. The further it went the more of her anger she let out of herself but then something really, REALLY weird happened when all of a sudden the bag froze in mid-air. She thought she might be seeing things so she waited for the bag to continue on the path she'd sent it on, but nothing happened. Moving over to the plastic bag she tried to figure out what was going on and she even tried to push it but it wouldn't budge.

"What's going on?" she asked out loud, not caring that she was asking this of open air.

"I have taken you outside your timeline. You now exist in the space between seconds, Patricia Potts." Answered an unfamiliar voice to her question.

She jumped in surprise since she definitely hadn't expected anyone to answer her question.

Turning around, she saw something that looked like it belonged in a comic book. Floating a good ten feet off the ground were three women that looked like they couldn't decide whether they wanted to be Vikings or post apocalyptic warriors. Were they superheroes? Were they trying to follow what Tony and Rhodey and her were doing? Were they fans? Were they here for her autograph? Or were they super villains? They didn't look like super villains. Then again what did a super villain really look like? Were their certain colors that only villains used?

She must've been staring and thinking for a while because the woman in the middle coughed once to get her attention.

"I have come from a distant future, Miss Potts, to gain your help in a matter that is of the utmost importance," the woman said with all the seriousness required. "Will you hear what I have to say?"

"Sure. Why not?" she asked rhetorically, still in a bit of shock over the whole situation she'd landed in.

For what could've been half an hour she learned of how the woman sought to retrieve her little brother from the past of her timeline in order to prevent him from doing damage, as well as get him a head shrinker since he obviously needed it. However she still didn't see how she could be of much help. This was so very far outside her realm of experience.

"It sounds pretty bad and all but what can I do?" she asked, hoping that part could be explained to her.

"One of the people that my little brother will likely recruit is the Tony Stark of my timeline. He is in his thirties and has long since been the CEO of his own company. The Iron Man armor he possesses is far more sophisticated than what the Tony Stark you know wears and he is considered to be one of the most brilliant scientists on the planet in his era. However the history files of my time also see a dark path awaiting him. He will turn against his closest friends and imprison other heroes for no other reason then they possess super powers and will not bow to his wishes. I wish for your aid because of who you are and how he will react to you. While his armor might be superior to yours, once he knows who's inside it his ability to fight will be halved."

This sent her back into a state of surprise for a moment before her loyalty to Tony caused her to reject the idea that he would ever betray his friends or imprison the innocent.

"Tony, ANY Tony, would never do that!" she exclaimed, making it clear she didn't believe him.

"Time changes people, Patricia Potts. For the Tony Stark of my timeline, his ambitions and goals delude him into believing that the ends justify the means. That when he's achieved what he desires, all those he betrayed and all those he imprisoned will say 'you were right, Tony. Thank you'," the woman said with sympathy and compassion. "Still, perhaps it is not too late to change that. Perhaps if you catch him in the moment in time you and your teammates will be going to you'll be able to persuade him to alter his course."

It didn't even take her one minute to decide what to do.

"I'm in!" she declared with the resolve. "Just let me get my armor from Tony's, my Tony's, lab and we'll get going!"

"While impressive, I think you'll need something a little better than that." the woman said before a flash of light temporarily blinded her.

When she got her eyesight back standing in front of her was a suit of armor with a white and red color scheme that really looked like what Tony would've worn if he'd been born a girl rather than a guy. Well, the lens for the Uni-beam was a little higher up on the chest and the faceplate as a little more arrow shaped and all, but it still looked way more high tech than her Rescue armor. Best of all, though, it looked like it'd been tailor made for her and would fit like a glove!

"COOL!" she exclaimed as she began to circle the armor so she could see it from all angles.

Needless to say, the more she saw, the more she liked the new armor.

"Want to try it on for size?" the woman asked before the back of the armor opened up like it'd been made with origami.

The second the armor opened wide enough she immediately stepped into it, sliding the rest of her body into it. Once she was in she felt the back plates fall into place until she could feel it covering her body, just like her Rescue armor did, and then the H.U.D flicked on. Watching as it went through some kind of boot up sequence with each function activating in the center before being shrunken down and moved off to the left side or the right side of her field of vision.

"Rescue armor model two online. Scanning operator bio-signs. Saving to security programming authorization sub-routines." Came the voice of one Roberta Rhodes from speakers near her ears. "Welcome, Patricia Potts."

"What the-? Mrs. Rhodes!?" she exclaimed in surprise at this unexpected development.

"It is not actually Roberta Rhodes speaking. Given the differences between this armor and the armor you know, I thought providing you with an artificial intelligence assistant program might help you get used to all the features," the woman explained with a kind smile. "Once you have fully mastered those features, the artificial intelligence will then be charged with monitoring and managing armor systems, as well as alerting you of any important developments."

"Like what?" she asked out of curiosity.

"Such as the level of damage to armor systems, what functions are still available for use and the results of any scans you ask it to do of an object or person," the woman replied, listing a few examples.

"Neat!" she said, bringing her armored hands up to look at them.

Then something occurred to her.

"How long will I be gone? I mean, it won't be more than a couple of days, right?" she asked, not wanting to worry her dad too much.

"If all goes well, Miss Potts, you should not be gone more than a day from your point of view." The woman gave her a reassuring smile. "One of the strong points of being able to travel to any point in time you desire is that you can return home as soon as one second after you left."

"Then let's get this adventure started!" she said, putting her hands on her hips in a heroic pose.

She knew she should be asking more questions, getting more information, but she was just so thrilled by being picked for something like this she didn't want to think about any of the possible bad points. This was her chance to show Tony and Rhodey that she could do the hero thing just fine and that they didn't need them yelling at her all the time.

Plus she might just get to keep this armor when it was all over with and it'd make Tony SO JEALOUS!

Earth-1610, Stark Mansion, Fifth Avenue, Manhattan, Two Weeks After Liberator Occupation

Janet Van Dyne's POV

It's gonna be me, she thought as she looked down at the rest of the team. I mean, who else is qualified and has the least amount of baggage to deal with.

It was something they'd been talking about ever since the team had officially broken away from the military and S.H.I.E.L.D, along with all the other concerns involved with going independent. Tony had been able to handle the financial side of things and he was also able to use his company to get them the technology they needed as well. It was still in the works, though, some parts or pieces of equipment were still in transit, but one of the things that hadn't been settled officially yet was who the team leader would be. It'd been debated, of course, during the various meetings they'd had so far but nothing unanimous had been decided.

Tony hadn't been an option due to his playboy lifestyle and drinking issues. They needed someone whose judgment wouldn't be impaired by seven alcoholic drinks a day and someone who didn't have an ego the size of Manhattan. Fortunately the C.E.O had declined after a bit highlighting his inability to see the Black Widow's treasonous nature before she'd all but declared it herself. Naturally the rest of them had tried to reassure him that he wasn't the only one who'd been fooled by the Russian super spy but he wouldn't listen.

Steve had been considered for the role but some of them had been worried about the problems that'd crop up due to the generation gap between Cap and the present. The man had been raised on early twentieth century values and a lot of them were obsolete in the here and now, with others being modified over the years. Sure, he was great on the battlefield, he could fight and knew his tactics, but off the battlefield the man was either clueless or behind in the times. This would cause friction between him and the others on the team, leading to anger as well as mistrust that could manifest itself when they needed to work together the most. A team couldn't function if most of them didn't trust their leader or were angry enough at him for something to ignore his orders. Maybe one day Steve would be able to lead but not until he came more into the twenty-first century in how he thought.

Hawkeye wasn't an option no matter how you looked at it. Ever since his family had been murdered by the Black Widow and her team, the man had either been someone with a death wish or someone just looking for an excuse to use lethal force on a target. When it came to marksmanship there was no one who was better at it but, until he got over the loss of his family and possibly saw a therapist, there was no way he could lead.

No one even considered Thor but thankfully the Norse god wasn't insulted. The man had made it clear that between his duties in his… homeland… and his efforts to help enlighten the world, he barely had the time to be a regular member of the Ultimates. He didn't believe he'd be able to find additional time to take on the responsibilities of team leader as well. No one had a problem with this because, while the blonde guy was a powerhouse, he was clearly the person you sent into a fight, not the one directing it.

As much as people tried to tip-toe around it, neither Wanda nor Pietro were good picks for team leader due to their pasts and the current national opinion of mutants. No one would trust a team led by a mutant. Hell, they had a hard enough time trusting a team with two mutant members! When you added that to the attitude both had gained after years of persecution and their… odd… sibling relationship, you had two people who'd put themselves first over the success of a mission.

Of all the members of the Ultimates, only she had enough experience with being a superhero and with all the team members to qualify for the role as team leader. She also had the least amount of personal baggage that could get in the way of doing her duties. All she had going against her was her chaotic relationship with Hank that kept going from loving to angry to abusive to loving in a cycle that never seemed to end the way she wanted it to. They'd tried everything from marriage counseling to medication for Hank to keep his violent tendencies at bay but nothing really took for very long. Sooner or later he always reverted to type and she wound up with a reason to visit the hospital, or at least take out the first aid kit. Aside from that the only thing she had to deal with was the fact that she was a mutant, but since the only people who knew were her teammates she hadn't had to deal with anti-mutant bigots. She'd been able to keep it a secret ever since her powers had first shown up but more due to luck than skill. If the truth ever came out it would be a nightmare both for her as well as the team.

Still, despite her being the best candidate for team leader, she wasn't sure she was up to the challenge.

After all, how can you trust someone who hides what she is from the world and didn't have the sense to walk away from an abusive husband as soon as his true colors showed up? she thought bitterly as she started walking to her room.

Others might be willing to make excuses for her that didn't nullify the facts as they stood.

Entering her room, she sat down on the bed and wondered if there was any way she could head off what she felt was coming her way. She'd do the job if she was chosen, do it to the best of her ability, but that didn't mean she wouldn't jump at the chance to pass the buck to someone else if a good enough opportunity presented itself. No one asked for the burdens of leadership, no one who deserved to lead at least, but if they were lucky they managed to do those under their command proud. If they weren't lucky though they lived just long enough to see all that they were responsible for protecting turn to ash.

She never wanted to see that dark outcome.

Just as she was about to find a distraction for herself, a flash of light lit up the room, instantly gaining her attention and putting her on the defensive. She shrunk down to wasp size and prepared to fire her stingers if it turned out that whoever had shown up wasn't friendly. What she saw made her wonder if more superhero fan girls had decided to show up because that's certainly what the four women that stood in her room now looked like. One looked like a female Hulk, only less monstrous, another looked like someone who fit the name 'Thor Girl' to a T, the third looked like someone who'd make Tony's day if he saw her and the last one… well she didn't know how to classify that one. That woman looked like a cross between Amazon warrior and a post apocalyptic warrior but somehow it kinda worked.

"Now I don't mind an all girl slumber party every so often but I usually like to know who'll be coming in advance," she said, not taking her eyes off any of them while hoping mansion security would get her some back up. "Mind telling me who you are and what you're doing in my room?"

"I am the reason we are here and the reason I have come is to seek your aid," the post apocalyptic woman replied respectfully with a nod. "I have a brother who is lost, confused and is playing with forces he cannot comprehend. Not fully. I have gathered these three to help me and I hope that you will join them. Will you hear what I have to say?"

"Sure. Why not?" she asked rhetorically, figuring it'd buy the others enough time to close in and secure the area.

She listened and learned how the leader of the group in front of her tell her the tale of the distant future she came from that, quite frankly, sounded like paradise with only a few snakes living in it that usually didn't live very long. Then came the telling of her little brother who had a serious love of superheroes and super villains who took time travel technology to go back to when they actually existed. The thought of a teenager possessing such advanced technology to rub elbows with his idols, not realizing how different history and reality really were… well, that was enough to worry her. Then the explanation got to the point where the reason for the team came into play, as well as names of her potential new teammates. She'd naturally asked why the woman didn't just go get her little brother herself but when she got the answer, she got the impression the question had been asked before. It all sounded reasonable but in the end she knew she wouldn't be able to take advantage of the situation due to her responsibilities to the Ultimates.

"I'm sorry but I already have a team and I have a responsibility to them."

"That is understandable. However your responsibility to your team and aiding me need not be mutually exclusive," the leader said before holding out a disk with a curved piece of glass in the center.

A moment later it was revealed to be a holographic projector as images appeared mid-air but it was what the images showed though that held her attention the best. First was an image of Wanda's lifeless body lying on a bed in the mansion's infirmary, with a bloody hole in her stomach easily being defined as lethal. Next were images of a massive tidal wave hitting Manhattan with hundreds dying, including people she was able to identify as belonging to the X-Men. However it was the last image that hit her the hardest because it showed her on the ground, eyes rolled up in the back of her head with the mutant known as the Blob EATING HER. It was so shocking that she almost dropped from the air, but fortunately she was able to return to her normal size and get to the bed before her legs gave out.

"These are images from your future, Janet Van Dyne. I would be willing to provide you with the information of how all this came to be so that you can save all those lives, including your own, if you would agree to join this team in the retrieval of my little brother," the leader woman said with some discomfort. "Understand that I find tactics such as these distasteful but the need is great and the threat dire. Please… help me."

While it did rub her the wrong way that this woman would withhold information that could save hundreds of lives, that she would resort to blackmail, she was not completely beyond understanding. The woman's family was at stake as well as her entire timeline if the time travel technology her little brother had fell into the wrong hands. In the end the need to gain the knowledge of how to prevent the catastrophe and save the teenager from his own recklessness decided things for her.

"Very well. I will help you. Just make sure you deliver on your side of things."

"Of course. I wouldn't have it any other way," the lead woman said with a smile of gratitude.

Then in the blink of an eye light filled the air and she knew there would be no going back now.