The last place that the Doctor expected to end up was a shopping centre. Under the instruction of Wong, they had travelled to Kamar Taj through one of the doors in the sanctum. If that wasn't enough of an impossible marvel to occupy their minds, the Time Lord doing her best to try and rationalise such an incomprehensible contraption, then finding themselves in the training centre of the masters of the mystic arts was enough to blow their minds. Even in its devastated state, it was a magnificent sight to behold. Most of the repairs had been almost finished, thanks to the magic that was on offer, meaning that the majority of the people there were practising their powers. The Doctor only wished that she'd been able to sit there and watch the spectacle, fascinated by how so many people could conjure the same sparky, golden energy into existence.
They had another mission to occupy themselves with, though the Doctor vowed to return. It transpired that the girl they were searching for wasn't in the same place that Wong had left her, making this much more difficult than it really needed to be. According to the Sorcerer Supreme, the girl had a tendency to wander off, especially since Doctor Strange had exemplified such behaviour. Wong could control an army of sorcerers but couldn't corral a teenager. It was something that left him grumbling under his breath as he shook his head constantly. At the very least, it made him look more human. After the display he had greeted them with, appearing as some all powerful entity, it was a much needed rest bite to become more comfortable in his company.
It was back through the doors they went, with Wong telling them that he knew exactly where she would be if she'd skived off her training. As much as Nepal was a vibrant city with plenty of opportunities for shopping, it seemed that their target had a taste for the American way of life, Wong telling them that there was a mall down the block from the sanctum that she had a particular favouritism for. When asked why he wasn't coming with them to help identify her, he claimed that it was his duty not to leave the building unguarded. And that he didn't want to give her the satisfaction of chasing after her.
"What's her name again?" Yaz asked, looking at Kamala.
They were walking through said shopping centre, weaving in and out between the other people going about their business. It was busy, which shouldn't have been surprising. As much as things were incredibly different to their reality, lots of things were still the same. Most of the annoying parts of life that they'd hoped wouldn't be hanging around, like getting caught behind a slow walker. Dan was about to shove the person in front of him for not going at an appropriate speed, before realising that it was a little old lady. He still gave it some thought.
"America Chavez," Kamala answered.
"And is she some sort of superhero as well?" Dan queried. He was losing count of how many there were. If only he knew the half of it.
"I've never heard of her before."
"Then she must be new because you're obsessed with this sort of thing."
"It's not an obsession! It's just a…healthy interest that…dictates my every waking thought."
"Sounds super healthy."
"If I had such incredible powers as Wong was describing, I wouldn't be risking walking around unguarded," the Doctor commented. "It's reckless. I bet there's loads of people who would be willing to get their hands on her. I don't know whether to believe the point that she can actually travel in between universes…but I definitely know some people who would like to have someone by their side who could do that." She trembled at the thought. What would existence look like if the Daleks could cross over between realities? The Cybermen had managed it before and had almost destroyed both Earths in the process.
Yaz was giving her a disapproving look. "Oh, come on. We know that you'd be more reckless than anyone if you could do anything like we've heard so far."
"I'm disappointed that you think so little of me, Yaz."
"And, you've got to remember…she's still a teenager! It's basically in their DNA to disobey direct orders, especially when they come from people older than them. No matter if she's got powers, she's still a human. Right?" She was quickly realising that she didn't actually know how it worked.
"I understand the feeling," Kamala said, idly looking through the window of a clothes store. It wasn't often that she got to go shopping without her parents' supervision, who would invariably make all her choices for her as well. "The only reason that I discovered my powers the way I did is because I snuck out of the house when my mum expressly told me I wasn't allowed to leave. It's like a red rag to a bull, being told not to do something. It's too tempting."
"See!" The Doctor waved her hands as if she was making a point. "This universe is chaotic because things like that can happen."
"All I wanted to do was go to Avengers Con!" Kamala protested.
Dan frowned. "These Avengers…are they important then? Famous?"
"Only the most well known people on the planet!" Kamala looked as if she still couldn't believe they didn't know who they were, even though she'd learnt of their alternative origins. She spied the perfect shop to be able to make her explanation for her, knowing that it would take ages to go through it. Mainly because she would want to go through all the details with meticulous precision. She was sure that she had a powerpoint presentation saved on her laptop that would help with this. "Come on! In here?"
"What? Have you found America?" the Doctor wondered, turning her neck in every feasible direction.
"Nope. This is a little detour. The only way you're going to be able to survive in this reality is if you know a thing or two. You don't look particularly strange or any different to our people but you're still managing to stick out like a sore thumb."
"I'm trying to not take that as an insult," Dan complained.
"Avengers Superstore?" Yaz read the sign, her nose wrinkling as she watched their newly appointed tour guide head towards it.
It was a bright shop, large and colourful. It stood out from the more refined stores surrounding it in the mall, probably explaining why it was much more crowded than its counterparts. People were constantly filing in and they were beginning to wonder how so many of them were able to fit inside, before they realised just how large it was. There were two floors, making it seem more like the department stores Yaz had been dragged around when her mum had wanted to buy her some 'proper' clothes. Each aisle was just as vibrant as the one next to it, popping out in a similar fashion to the comic books they were selling. It was almost cartoonish, especially when the employees' uniforms, matching the decor, were added to the mix.
Comic books, lining a complete wall of the store, weren't the only thing on offer. Kids were dragging their parents to the toy section, which was catching the eye of Dan. There was a homeware aisle, making Yaz question why anyone would want to eat off a giant green man's face. Adorning any empty space were large cardboard cutouts of the superheroes they had briefly seen decorating Kamala's bedroom walls, all bedecked in their signature costumes. The Doctor struck a pose, placing her fists on her hips and puffing her chest, to try and match the figures. Yaz simply patted her on the shoulder and told her that she was at least a powerful superhero in her eyes.
"I drag my family here whenever we go shopping," Kamala explained. "There's usually one in every shopping centre now and the ones that don't have one aren't really worth visiting in my view. Although that's a bit odd. They seem to have gotten rid of the Scarlet Witch stuff." She was looking around, trying to find that specific merchandise. One of the aisles looked strangely empty compared to the rest of them. "There's obviously been chatter that she was involved in something weird. You hear stories about a town or something. I wouldn't blame her though for not wanting to be involved in this anymore, after she lost her love. I cried for a day when I heard about Vision so I can't imagine what she must have been like."
Kamala shuddered and they wondered whether she would be okay, suddenly looking very subdued. But then she was plastering a smile on her face to convince them that she was fine. "But plenty of people lost someone around then. And look! There's Captain Marvel! Or should I be calling her Carol now? She has her own dedicated section, obviously . It's what the most powerful Avenger deserves."
"Where is our resident superhero, anyway?" Dan wondered. "Is she too big and mighty to come investigating with us?"
"We're not really investigating. We're just…stalking someone. I probably could have worded that better." Kamala shook her head. "Don't you listen though? Wong sent her on another mission. Something about a spike in strange energy somewhere off the coast of Norway." She grinned in excitement, bringing her hands to her chest. "Isn't this amazing? I'm talking about super secret hero missions because I'm in the loop now."
"Because those super secret details are going to remain private if you carry on shouting about you knowing them," Dan pointed out sarcastically.
"Hey, I'll admit that I'm still getting the hang of this. But give me time! I'm new to this, even if it feels like I've been connected to it since I was a child."
Yaz nudged her with her shoulder. "You never know. You might have your own dedicated section in here one day. Right next to Carol."
Kamala blushed, though she grinned dreamily at the thought. "I don't think people will ever be interested enough in me to warrant that. I'll be happy with a couple of comics. That's more than I could have ever imagined."
"That's something that's been bugging me," Dan commented, walking up to the magazines. "How can you have comics about people who actually exist? From where we come from, we have comics about superheroes but they're completely made up."
"I don't know…I suppose it helps connect the public to their stories."
"Probably a nice and innocent way to keep the PR machine rolling along," the Doctor said, surprising herself with her cynicism. "Although the artwork does look gorgeous."
"The best artists seem to want to be included. It's the biggest market going. I dreamt of creating my own comic series once. Now I'm living in one." Kamala idly flicked through the pages of the closest one to her, realising she already owned it. "If you want to learn about the Avengers, then this is the way to go to get all the details. They started out with Captain America during the Second World War. He was touring the army camps and they created these to go alongside the figure…I guess you could call that propaganda too, like you were saying." She frowned. She hadn't expected her view on the process to be tainted like that coming into the store.
"And who's this one?" the Doctor asked. "The one in the robot. It looks awfully like a red Cyberman, though they'd never be down with a new paint job. It goes against their morose, emotionless vibe."
"Cyber…what? I'm just going to have to accept that I'm not going to understand most of your references."
"Welcome to the club," Dan remarked with a smirk.
Kamala took the comic from the blonde woman. "As for who that is…it's the man who started it all really. Iron Man. Tony Stark. When he unveiled his alter ego, it was like a dam burst. The world couldn't ignore superheroes anymore because they were on the news, doing press conferences."
"I reckon I'd suit a suit like that." The Doctor winked at Yaz, who didn't seem to have found her play on words as funny as she'd done. "Do you think he'd build me one if I asked nicely?"
Kamala's smile fell. "He…um…he died, a few years ago now. He sacrificed his life to save humanity. To save existence across the universe."
"Can one man really be that important?" Yaz asked, doubting it.
"He was. Because the other option was Thanos and we'd already seen what he was capable of."
The Doctor sidled up next to her, all thought of the comics forgotten as she saw the weariness in Kamala's eyes. It was a strange look on the girl, who was normally so energetic and full of life. "You've mentioned that name a few times already."
"It's hard not to think about him after the impact he had on our lives. Everyone's lives."
"Would you tell us about him?" Yaz asked softly, knowing it was potentially opening up old wounds.
Kamala seemed to bite her lip in thought, as if considering now was the right time and place for such a heavy conversation. She wandered away from that part of the store, coming up to a large tub that was filled to the brim with plastic, golden gloves. The Doctor, the big kid that she was, simply had to put one on, admiring the colourful gems that had been stuck on with cheap glue.
"Thanos was this…alien," Kamala began. "They called him the Mad Titan. He had this grand idea that, for the universe to be balanced, half of existence had to be removed. And, to do so, he collected six Infinity Stones, the most powerful objects in the cosmos, controlling different aspects of our existence, all meant to be hidden across the stars. He used the Infinity Gauntlet, which these are cheap knock-offs of, and brought their power together. He became the most powerful creature in the universe."
"I dealt with something similar once," the Doctor remarked, breaking the tension that had been building. "The Key to Time, it was called. Six pieces as well, spread out across the galaxies. If you put them together, you'd have control over Time itself. So you can imagine how important it was for me to stop anyone from finding the different segments."
Yaz stared at her. "You've never mentioned this before."
The Doctor shrugged. "It was a very long time ago. I've had plenty of faces since then. I couldn't possibly tell you about every adventure I've been on, Yaz. There isn't enough time, even for me."
"I'd like to try."
"But you're right, Doctor," Kamala continued. "Thanos had to be stopped from collecting the Stones. The Avengers were the ones to try. They…almost succeeded. But, in the end, the Mad Titan fulfilled his promise. Using that invincible power, he wiped out half of the universe's population with a click of his fingers. Within moments, people across the world were turning to dust."
Yaz was holding a hand over her mouth. "That's not…possible."
"I really wish you were right. But it happened. The Avengers lost. Five years went by and only then did they find a way to reverse what had happened. The people came back in the exact same spots, thinking that no time had passed at all, only to discover that the world had tried to move on. You can understand how difficult that was."
The Doctor was giving her a sincere look. "Did you…"
"I was one of the lucky ones. I didn't get dusted. But I knew plenty of people that did. We have big families in Pakistani culture. It made it impossible not to know someone who had vanished."
"I can't imagine the torment the world must have gone through. And it was this Tony Stark that reverted everything back?"
Kamala nodded her head. "He used the same Stones that Thanos had wielded to destroy him. But the process killed him too."
"But…everyone seems so happy!" Dan commented. "This shop…it's so bright and colourful! How could you have moved on so quickly after something like that?" He looked down at the toy gauntlets on sale. "They're selling these as if they're not a reminder of what happened. How does that work?"
"It's all part of the process, I guess. Everyone had to come to terms with that. I think…people were just happy to have their friends and families back. Making toys and things like that sort of…trivialises it. People needed that. Still need it. Because how else could you comprehend something like that?"
"And here I was, thinking that our world was pretty bad," Yaz said.
"I think it must be. Because you don't have the superheroes. You don't have that group who are always there, waiting in the wings to save the day. And they might not always succeed, like they did with Thanos. But they continue to fight because no one else can."
"It sounds like someone I know." Yaz surreptitiously cast her gaze over to the Doctor, who suddenly looked rather shy and embarrassed.
"Let's not put me on any pedestal," she said.
"Too late," Dan replied. "Have you seen the way Yaz looks at you?"
The woman in question narrowed her eyes. "I'm now friends with a girl that could hit you very, very hard. Do you really want to be pushing your luck?"
Dan looked helplessly at Kamala, nervous all of a sudden. "You wouldn't hurt me, would you?"
"I'm probably expected to use my powers responsibly and only for good," she responded. "But that doesn't mean there couldn't be an accident of some kind if you annoy Yaz."
"This isn't fair! Now there's three of you against me. I'm never going to get my own way."
"We can take up your complaints at a later date, Dan," the Doctor told him, looking out through the shop window. "Because I think I may have spotted our target." She dug through her coat pockets, which were much larger than they seemed (obviously. She had a track record), and pulled out a small device that Wong had given to them. Upon activation, it displayed a hologram of a girl's face, the one they were searching for. An image that matched the person that had just walked by.
The Doctor was ready to run out of the store and chase after her, before Yaz was grabbing her arm. The blonde woman frowned at her companion. "What?"
"You can't do that," Yaz instructed her.
"Do what?"
"Run after her like that! We have to be…stealthy, I don't know. I've never done this before! But I get the impression that chasing someone with superpowers that we don't understand probably isn't the best idea. We don't want to scare her off. I get the sense that Wong is testing us with this task, like he wants to see whether we're up to the job. I'd hate to miss out on the chance to impress him."
"Me too!" Kamala agreed. "If I do well here, he might use me for more missions! Hopefully bigger ones."
"We're not here to impress some sorcerer," the Doctor argued. "At least we're not. I can't control Kamala, but I can certainly try my best with you and Dan. We're trying to find a way out of this universe. That's what's important."
"You're no fun," Yaz grumbled.
"I can be fun! Just not when we're breaking most of the laws of the natural world. We're not supposed to be here. What if we get trapped? You might never see your family again!"
"And what if we're already trapped? What if there isn't an easy fix?"
The Doctor looked at the ground. "I don't want to have let you down like that. You're under my protection. You're my responsibility. I've put you in danger just by bringing you here."
"It's not as if it's your fault!"
"Guys!" Dan interrupted. "Can we have the domestic once we've actually got the girl? 'Cos she's getting away."
They emerged back into the bustling crowd, trying to look as innocuous as one could be in this situation. They were following the back of her head, tracking her through her distinctive denim jacket. America would occasionally turn her head or stop to admire the stall she was passing, making them free and look around naturally, as if they were really interested in the menu of the fruit smoothie place. The Doctor was leading the way, slowly getting closer to their target, until America rounded a corner. They followed, not really thinking, and found the girl waiting for them, her fists clenched.
"I don't know who you are but you're going to stop following me now," she said. Her eyes were starting to glow ominously and the Doctor was looking at her hands warily, expecting an attack at any moment.
"Could we go five minutes without dealing with someone who can glow?" Dan complained. "Can everyone do it in this universe?"
"This universe? What are you talking about? Who are you?" America had already dealt with one person recently who was obsessed with another universe. She didn't have the patience to go through that again. She idly noticed that other shoppers were looking at them, some getting their phones out to capture the potential situation and she cursed her luck. She was going to have to find a different mall now.
"You knew we were following you?" the Doctor wondered.
"You didn't exactly hide it. What? Is this your first time?"
"You could say that, yeah."
"Are you going to tell me why you've been snooping on me?"
"Wong sent us," Yaz said simply, cutting straight to the point.
America grumbled something under her breath, the menacing glow dissipating. "What does he want? Can't he give me a moment's peace?"
"Sadly not," the Doctor told her. "Because, from what we've been told about your powers, we could really do with your help."
xxxxxxxxxx
She landed on an open, grassy field, looking at the sign that greeted her. At least she was in the right place. It was pretty hard to miss on the coastline, sticking out like a sore thumb. The buildings were vastly different to everything else in the region, not that there was much else in terms of built-up area nearby. She watched, fascinated, as a ship flew through the sky, over the glistening buildings. She had to admit that she was impressed. They'd done a lot of work since its conception. But obviously something was wrong for her to be sent here. She didn't normally take orders anymore but she was doing her best to learn how to work as a team. Small steps.
Two men approached, covered in armour, wielding golden spears. Needless, really. They wouldn't be able to do much to stop her if she'd intended on doing anything malicious. She simply rolled her eyes at their presence, more interested in the woman they were escorting through the fields. They shared a smile. They hadn't exactly spent much time together but fighting alongside one another on the battlefield was usually enough to create some sort of bond.
"When we saw that the perimeter border had been breached, I really wasn't expecting to see you here, Captain," the woman remarked, gesturing for her guards to stand down.
Carol admired the woman's sharp suit, fashionable business attire definitely suiting her. "What can I say? I'm full of surprises. I wish I could say that this was a social call."
Valkyrie nodded her head, understanding. The Captain was renowned for her no-nonsense approach to these sorts of situations. "I thought someone might be popping by after the latest developments. I just thought it might be someone else. Anyway…where are my manners? Welcome to New Asgard."