In the castle, Baron Mordo was standing by an altar, erected on the epicentre of a new junction point, summoning all the energy he could in order to tear the barriers between universes apart.
His other self was back in his own reality, doing the same thing. They would eventually seek out other universes to bring them into line, but for now, they were satisfied with only their own gateway.
Mordo could almost feel victory within his grasp. For years he had been denied what had always been his destiny. The last Sorcerer Supreme had always kept the power from his grasp, but when Stephen Strange showed up, being passed over for that honour, that power, had been more than he could bear. An outsider, an intruder that had only been at the temple a few years had robbed him of what was rightfully his. A selfish, spoiled, arrogant man who had only even sought out the power of sorcery to fix his hands and return him to a career that was largely based solely on his own ego had stolen everything from him.
But soon, with the power he would share with his other self, even the Sorcerer Supreme would be unable to stop him. They would wrest the power and the title for themselves, and continue to do so across every reality. By the time they were done, every incarnation of Mordo would have the power to mould the world to their own image.
He heard some explosions outside, and his face twisted into an enraged expression.
One of the Mindless Ones presented itself to him, wordlessly informing him of the invasion coming in from the outside.
"Mordo!" His other self called out. "Concentrate!"
"Easy for you to say, you don't have The Avengers knocking down your front door as we speak!" Mordo answered.
"Concentrate! The ritual is already at a dangerous juncture!" His other self warned him.
"You, go and stop them!" Mordo snarled at the Mindless Ones. "Whatever it takes! GO!"
"Mordo, you must concentrate!" His other self reiterated. "I can't control all this power by myself!"
"In a moment!" Mordo screamed. Just then, he saw the portal flare up. He barely ducked as a huge ball of energy escaped, flying from the portal and smashing through the wall.
"I warned you! We must control the portal!" The other Mordo told him. Mordo just nodded, before returning to the task at hands.
"We must hurry!" Mordo told him. "Once we complete the ritual, I'll have more than enough power to destroy them all!"
Outside, the team were on the walls of the castle, fighting their way towards the courtyard. Peggy and Steve fought back-to-back, fending off Mindless Ones on all sides, slowly grinding their way towards the main keep.
"Cap, things are getting more than a little crowded!" Kate called out.
"There's a lot of roadblocks between us and Mordo." He agreed. "Kate, drop a singularity. Kamala, you do the rest!"
It was a simple gameplan, one they had used a few times. Notching a singularity arrow into her bow, Kate let fly, hitting the ground and creating a miniature black hole in the middle of the courtyard. It drew in many of the Mindless Ones, collecting them all in one space. Kamala leapt high into the air, growing as she went, before bringing two gigantic fists down on them, smashing them into oblivion.
"There, that's cleared us some space!" Cap called out. "Peggy..."
He looked around to see that she was already on her way into the castle.
"Peggy!" He called out, before he saw something coming. It was a massive energy ball, which was flying right for him. He was barely able to get his shield in the way, deflecting it as it knocked him from his feet. He could only watch as it flew straight towards Kate's position.
"Kate, heads' up!" He yelled. Too late, the ball smashed through the section of wall she was on, sending her flying off the wall and over the cliff. He looked to Kamala.
"Already on it!" She called out, sprinting in the direction of the wall. Cap didn't like the idea of abandoning them, but seeing the door, he knew that Mordo's ritual had to be close to being complete. Peggy would need him.
Kate was resilient, she had managed to survive for years on her own, long after everyone else had believed she had perished, and Kamala would never let anything happen to anyone under her watch.
Seeing cracks forming in the wall, the decision was made for him. He sprinted as fast as he could, smashing another Mindless One out the way as he dove through the door, moments before it came crashing down, blocking his way in. He got to his feet, finding Peggy already surrounded, and fighting with a rage he could only compare to Bruce's. Every strike of her shield destroyed whatever it struck. She was making her way towards Mordo, slowly but surely.
Looking to the Sorcerer, he knew he had to help. If he completed the ritual, there was no telling what carnage he could unleash. He somersaulted through the air, landing by Peggy, once again joining her.
"Nice of you to join me!" Peggy stated.
"It's a little hard keeping up." Steve answered.
"You're already too late!" Mordo warned them. "In mere moments, I will have the power to rewrite all of existence as I see fit!"
"Then I guess we're on the clock!" Peggy responded.
"You can't stop me!" Mordo told them.
"I'm willing to take that bet!" Peggy answered him.
"What do you plan to do?" He asked. "I am one of the most powerful sorcerers in existence. You're just two soldiers with shields."
"This shield helped defeat one of the most dangerous men in existence before, it'll do it again!" Peggy told him. "You're going to find it hard to cast spells without a head!"
Outside, Kamala made her way down the cliff face, rapelling down quickly, stretching her limbs to their limit as she looked frantically for Kate.
"Oh, no, no, no, please be alright!" Kamala rambled as she made her way down the cliff. "Please, please, please, please..."
"Kamala!" Kate called out, reaching out from a ledge some way down. Kamala swung herself into it, landing by her and immediately enveloped her in a massive hug. "Ow, ow, ow...pretty banged up here!"
"But your teleporter..."
"Yeah, I was concentrating more on just getting someplace I wouldn't...you know...die instantly than going for a Gold Medal landing." Kate said as she started to struggle back to her feet. She looked down the remainder of the cliff. "Given the alternative...I think I'm happy to settle for bronze."
"Here, let me help." Kamala told her, beginning to heal her. Kate just looked to her.
"Kamala, where are Steve and Peggy?" She asked.
"They went into the castle." Kamala told her.
"We need to get up there, fast!" Kate told her.
"Kate, you're pretty..."
"My bow fingers still work, I'll be fine!" She grunted. "I'll definitely be looking for a spa day soon, but right now, we need to stop this guy."
"One elevator coming right up." Kamala said, wrapping one arm around Kate and throwing the other as high up the cliff as she could. "Top floor, rock monsters, deadly energy blasts, reality-threatening portals and evil sorcerers!"
Back in the castle, Steve and Peggy fought hard to clear a way towards Mordo. Steve launched his shield, which started rebounding around Mindless Ones, clearing a path for Peggy.
She sprinted towards Mordo, launching herself into the air, and coming down towards him shield-first, only to rebound with a flash off a hastily-erected magical banner. She threw her shield at him again and again, forcing him to divert attention to protecting himself from her frenzied assault.
"You fools, you don't know what you're doing!" Mordo warned them. "If I don't complete the ritual..."
"Save it pal!" Steve responded, catching his shield and launching it at Mordo. He could deflect one shield, but not a second at the same time. He was knocked off the altar, sprawling across the floor. "We've both seen what happens when one person has too much power!"
"You dare to compare me to HIM?" Mordo roared. "Power is not a bad thing if it is in the right hands."
"And yours are the right hands?" Peggy scoffed. "Sorry, I'm not buying that!"
"Do you really trust those in charge of this world?" He asked her. "They allowed AIM to hunt people merely for existing, entirely within the law! They allow people to live in fear and in poverty all so that the right people have all the power and the resources."
"And what makes you any different?" Peggy asked as she came at him, throwing kicks and punches. Mordo was forced to resort to his Martial Arts training to try and fend her off, blocking and dodging her blows as best he could.
"I could make the world a better place for all." He told her. "You see the good you and Steve do, imagine if you could have an ARMY of Super Soldiers, all fighting for those who can't fight for themselves. Imagine if you could see an end to AIM without throwing that shield one more time. Imagine all those that perished under AIM's evil all coming back."
"Wait, what?" Steve asked. He just nodded.
"When the ritual is complete, I will have the power to simply have willed all of this to have never happened." He stated. "A-Day. The imprisonments, the experiments...all gone, with just a thought."
"That sounds...that sounds tempting." Steve answered. "The only problem is, I've heard things like this before."
He turned in time to smash down some more Mindless Ones who were coming up through the floor, keeping them at bay while Peggy fought Mordo.
"The problem with the promise of easy answers is there's always a price." Steve stated. "And with very few exceptions, that price is always far too high!"
The portal flickered and started to waver. Mordo looked towards the portal in a panic.
"No!" He called out. "I must..."
He was silenced as Peggy took advantage of the distraction, getting through his guard and smashing him to the ground with her shield. She threw out her shield, clearing some space as Mindless Ones came for her, trying to protect their master, before mounting Mordo and starting to hammer into him with her fists.
Kamala smashed through the wall, allowing her and Kate in, beginning to take down some Mindless Ones.
"Glad to see you back!" Steve stated. "Give us some room!"
"On it!" Kamala responded.
Steve turned his attention to Peggy, who was now covered in blood, pounding into Mordo's face. The portal flickered and finally faded, before disappearing completely.
He couldn't feel too relieved though, watching as she continued to pound his face into burger meat. He watched in horror as she caught her shield which was coming back to her. She took it in both hands, and held it aloft, aiming to bring it down. He could hardly believe his eyes as she brought it down into his chest.
He ran forward, skidding to his knees before her, catching the shield as she was about to bring it down on his throat.
"Peggy, what are you doing?" He yelled at her.
"Steve, can't you see how dangerous he is?" Peggy asked him. "He's already tried this twice, you really want to risk us not being able to stop him the third time?"
"Peggy, this isn't right!" Steve told her. "He's already beaten, we can send him to the RAFT!"
"Where he'll just get out and try again?" She demanded. "As long as he's alive, he'll always be a threat!"
"We'll destroy the tome!" Steve told her. "Without it, he'll never be able to try this again!"
"We'll destroy it alright." She responded. "Right after we end him for good!"
"I can't let you do that!" He said as he stood up. He and Peggy fought for the shield, struggling to keep it, before Steve finally wrested it from her, throwing it aside. She tried to get past him, but Steve shoved her back.
"Steve, let me past!" She warned him.
"Peggy, he's already beaten!" Steve told her. "This isn't necessary..."
"It is for her plan, isn't it?" Kate asked. Steve and Peggy both looked to her.
"What are you talking about?" Steve asked. He looked to Peggy.
"Kate, you don't know what you're talking about..."
"I know a lot about losing people, and I know what I'd give to get them back." Kate replied. "Look at her dog tags Cap."
"Steve, she doesn't know..."
Steve reached across, taking the dog tags. He looked at them, reading them out loud.
"Private Steven Rogers." He read aloud, before looking to her. Peggy's eyes were already starting to tear up.
"Cap, we can destroy the book, and that means no more portals." Kate told him. "But without Mordo, there's no way to send her home first, is there?"
Steve looked to Peggy, seeing tears run down her face.
"In my universe, I can't have Steve." She told him. "Here, you can't have Peggy. Why do we have to be the only ones who can't get what we want? Why can't we think of ourselves, just this once?"
"Because this world needs Captain America, just like your world needs Captain Carter." He told her.
"So we have to miss out?" She asked. He just sighed sadly.
"Yes." He answered, taking her in his arms. "Even though it hurts like Hell."
Sometime later, back on the Helicarrier, the team were assembled in the hangar, with a very heavily guarded and closely watched Baron Mordo. He was allowed to conjure one more portal, this time to Avengers Tower back on Peggy's world. They could all see her team assembled on the other side of the portal. Steve came to her side, leaning over her shoulder.
"Are you ready?" He asked her.
"Not really." She answered. "I don't think anyone's ready to say goodbye to the love of their life. Certainly not twice."
He picked up the tome, handing it to her.
"Take it to your side, just to be extra safe." He replied. "If you destroy both copies on one side, there'll be no way anyone can try this ever again."
"It'll also mean..."
"I know." He interrupted her. She pulled in closer, placing a hand on his chest.
"I know...I know this isn't real." She told him. "I mean, I know you're not MY Steve, any more than I'm YOUR Peggy. I guess for a moment, the illusion was enough."
"It was definitely nice." Steve agreed.
"I just want you to know, if Peggy, YOUR Peggy, was anything like me, she loved you with all her heart." She told him. "And I don't mean this."
She patted his pectoral.
"She was in love with Steve Rogers, not Captain America." She told him. "I loved my Steve from the day we met."
"And if your Steve was anything like me, I can assure you, the feeling was mutual." He answered. With that, he pulled her in, kissing her softly.
As they parted, Peggy turned and stepped through the portal, before looking back one last time. It closed, once again sealing the barrier between universes.
Kamala approached Steve, putting her hand on his shoulder.
"Are you alright?" She asked him. He just sighed.
"Not really." He answered. "But I will be."
The team gathered around him as SHIELD agents loaded Mordo into the Quinjet, taking off to take him to the RAFT. Kate approached him.
"I'm really sorry about this." She told him. "I know it has to have been pretty tempting."
"It was." Steve admitted. "There was a part of me that wanted her to stay too."
"Aye, I know that there are many of my brothers I would love to have returned to me." Thor added. "But I know the day will come when I feast with them once more in Valhalla."
"Still, it's pretty rough." Tony added. "If you need some time or..."
"No, it's fine." Cap assured them. "It hurts for sure, but I think for now it's best I just stay busy. There'll always be more fights."
"Do you really think Mordo was on the level about being able to just...you know...wish all this never happened?" Kamala asked him. Steve just looked to her.
"I have little doubt." He replied. "But do you really think anyone should have that kind of power? To just arbitrarily make decisions what reality is?"
"I guess when you put it like that, it is a pretty scary thought." Kamala answered.
"For what it's worth, if we left those decisions to you, I think we'd be alright." Nat said, putting her arm around her.
"Nah, I think that's too much responsibility for me." Kamala admitted. "I mean...I know my fanfics get pretty wild, imagine if they were real!"
She just shuddered at the thought as the others laughed.
"Still, at least we ensured that the portal is closed and no one is opening a Multiverse portal again." Bruce added.
"Too right." Clint agreed. "No more Multiverse insanity."
Just then, alarms started blaring. JARVIS' voice boomed through the Helicarrier.
"Warning, incoming energy signature!" JARVIS called out. They all scattered as an energy ball smashed through the roof of the Helicarrier, before slamming into the ground.
"What in Bast's name was that?" T'Challa asked.
"It looked a little like that energy ball that escaped earlier." Kamala commented.
"Um...yeah, that's all well and good." Kate stated. "But I think the better question is...who's that?"
As they all got to their feet, they looked to where the energy ball had landed. There, as the smoke started to clear, they could see a figure standing. She was wearing Asgardian armour, and a long, flowing cloak. She stood to full height, looking at the team.
"Friend of yours?" Tony asked, looking at Thor.
"Never seen her before." He answered. Just then, Mijolnir started to glow in his hand, lightning sparking around it. As he held it up, he saw the stranger doing the same.
"OK, that thing we were just saying about no more Multiverse stuff?" Tony asked. "I think we can safely say that just went out the window."