Chapter 40: The Man Who Stole Tomorrow

Kangtropolis, 4223

The entire city was crumbling, white light piercing through the earth's core and ripping apart entire square miles. Anyone unfortunate enough to get caught in this destructive white light barely had time to scream before they were erased from existence. Miles above the city, was a massive ship in the shape of a sword known as the Damocles. The crew inside was working at the controls as hard as they could, awaiting the arrival of it's commander and ruler. In a flash of light, a man with a blue face wearing purple and green armor appeared in a flash of light, standing in a commanding position as he addressed the crew.

"How much longer until the ship is ready for time jump?" He asked.

"Preparing the final coordinates, sir," one of the crewmen replied. "Were you able to find the temporal coordinates?"

"Indeed," the armored man replied. "Early twenty first century. The dawn of the so called 'Heroic Age'."

"Inputting coordinates now," another crewman declared, swallowing hard. "I only hope this works."

"It better," the armored man snapped. "I did not conquer the Earth just to see it wiped from existence. Where is Princess Ravonna?!"

"Kang!" A woman's voice cried out

Kang turned and saw a woman in a silver bodysuit and veil walking onto the bridge, much to his delight. As she ran towards him, the deadly white close crept ever closer. She got caught in the wave, much to Kang's horror. He quickly grabbed her arm and pulled her close to him.

"Jump us out of here! Now!"

The ship then began glowing with energy before disappearing out of sight. The very second it was gone, the rest of the Earth continued being consumed by the white light, until there was nothing left of the world that once was.

Upper atmosphere, Present Day

Miles above the Earth, the Damocles materialized. The crew got to work checking the systems as Kang held Ravonna in his arms as she kept phasing in and out of existence.

"Did we arrive at the correct time?" Kang asked, frustration emanating from his voice.

"We have, Lord Kang," a crewman responded. "We have arrived in the early twenty first century. The targets are located in the settlement that is known as New York City."

"Hang on my love," He spoke, turning to Ravonna. "I'll save you. I'll save our entire timeline… even if I have to conquer this one to do it."

At Avengers mansion, Steve was doing pushups and reading a newspaper in the kitchen while Tony was going over some Stark Industries from a holographic projection on his Avengers ID card.

"What's a futurist?" Steve spoke up.

"Excuse me?" Tony asked, looking towards him.

"This paper says you're a futurist, and unless you're into italian art, I'm afraid I don't know what that means."

"Ok, how to describe this for the twenty first century impaired…" Steve got to his feet, scooping up the paper as Tony began his explanation. "A futurist is someone who tries to predict the future. Or in my case, tries to create it. I'm working on technology for the next century. For example, delivering news and information via wireless signal, as opposed to a newspaper."

Tony looked up to see Steve dropping several eggs yolks into a glass and downing it whole, much to his disgust.

"I like newspapers," Steve insisted, showing the one he was reading. "For example, this one has a picture of you fighting HYDRA. And from the looks of the picture, anyone can see you don't know how to fight."

Tony looked up in shock.

"I'm sorry, what? There's about twenty super villains out there who would disagree with you."

"You think so?"

"Yes, I do."

"Fine. meet me in the training room in five minutes. We've got work to do."

Down in the training room, Spider-Man, Hawkeye, Rick and Hulk all took a seat on the large overhang that surrounded the area. Rick had a bucket of popcorn in his lab, offering it to the three heroes.

"Tell me I didn't miss it," he pleaded.

"Right on time," Spidey reassured.

"This is gonna be good," Hawkeye let out.

"Yup," Hulk agreed.

Down on the ground, the training hall was reconfigured into a boxing ring, with Steve merely in his usual casual attire. Tony, on the other hand, had on a boxer's padded helmet and boxing gloves, all three in his signature red color.

"I'm just saying, Mandarin, Whiplash, Living Laser, Abomination, just to name a few." Tony insisted. "I've gone against them all. You've even seen me fight."

"I have," Steve replied. "And from what I've seen, your fighting style seems to consist of tackling people or blasting them. If I had to guess, I'd say you've never been in an actual fight in your life."

"You really think so little of me?"

"I think you need to, at the very least, need to know how to throw a punch."

Tony snorted.

"I know how to throw a punch."

"Then punch me."

"You sure?"

"Do it."

"Ok, but gotta warn ya. I've been holding this back for a while."

Tony swung a punch at Steve, but quickly found himself knocked to the ground. Up with the audience, all four of the observers began laughing hard, Rick nearly dropping the popcorn.

"Wh… what just happened?" Tony asked, pulling himself up.

"Let's try that again," Steve suggested.

Tony managed to pick himself up and tried punching Steve again, only to get knocked down a second time. The four observers laughed even harder at this latest failure. Spidey almost fell off the ledge, but luckily Hulk grabbed him before he did, laughing the entire time. Tony got up once more and just started swinging wildly at Steve. Steve just dodged every blow before socking Tony once more, reuniting him with the ground and eliciting more laughter from those watching.

"Man, I so wish I had my camera," Spidey lamented.

"I'll send you the security footage later," Rick promised.

"I want a copy too," Hawkeye insisted.

"So, see my point?" Steve asked as Tony got back up.

"My armor protects me, you know," Tony insisted as he removed the padding. "It would've taken you down before you even touched me. And if the suit I was wearing couldn't handle you, I've got six more that could."

"You can't always count on your armor. You need to be ready for everything."

"That's the idea. I'll know exactly what to be ready for."

Across town at a Hammertech facility, a man in a blue and white parka with metal tubes reaching from a pack on his back to his hands and a rebreather on his face walked up to the building. He held one hand forward, shooting a stream of ice at several security guards who moved to intercept him.

"Huh, frozen in place," he remarked. "That's usually the reaction I get."

He continued walking towards the front door and froze it as well, allowing it to shatter as he walked inside. Before he could get much further though, Thor's hammer came in out of nowhere and struck him from behind, knocking him to the ground.

"Take heed, villain," Thor declared, reclaiming his hammer. "You will find us not so easily bested."

The man turned around and saw Thor joined by Ant-Man, Wasp, and Falcon as they all landed outside.

"So, what's the story with the cyborg eskimo?" Falcon asked.

"Dr. Donald Gill," Ant-Man explained. "Developed groundbreaking cryogenic technology that Hammer wanted for himself. Became a criminal to enact revenge. Calls himself the Blizzard."

"Pretty tacky, right?" Wasp remarked.

"Normally, I'd go straight for Hammer," Blizzard admitted, getting to his feet. "But someone's paying good money to get a few play things from his R and D labs."

"Like who?" Falcon asked.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" Blizzard remarked, firing at them.

All three heroes dodged. Falcon dove straight at him, decking him with one of his wings. Blizzard tried blasting at him, but Falcon quickly maneuvered around the blast, dodging it. Wasp meanwhile flew in close, blasting him in the face repeatedly.

"You know, this would be alot easier if you just gave up now," she warned.

"Not my style," Blizzard responded, trying to blast at her.

"Then prepare for a lot of hurt," Ant-Man warned, riding in on one of his ants.

Blizzard fired an ice blast at him, prompting Ant-Man to leap off his ride and throw a punch at him as he grew back to normal.

Back at the mansion, Cap had just finished donning his uniform and placing his shield on his back as Iron Man emerged in one of his suits.

"Thanks for the lessons," he remarked, rubbing the back of his neck. "And bruises, but the world's changing, and stuff like my suits are how mankind fights its battles. Even as we speak, I'm hooked up to a worldwide network of computers and satellites, learning and working to confront what's out there before it comes. While you, and I mean no offense, are still used to the old ways of doing things. Pugilism is in the past."

"There's a saying I've heard once or twice: those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it. If the old ways include simple training and preparation, then maybe you need to step back a little."

"Sorry Cap, not my style. I'm more of a press forward and never look back kind of guy."

"It's always good to know some basics, no matter what year it is. Somethings never change."

Suddenly, a flash of light appeared before them. Iron Man's faceplate down as some kind of shape emerged from the light. As the light faded, the shape revealed itself to be Kang, sitting on a golden high tech chair.

"Greetings, Avengers," he greeted, standing up before them. "I am Kang."

The two heroes looked on in confusion as a small portal opened up, Kang reached inside and pulled out a blaster.

"I have come from your future with a message."

Kang then opens fire on them, prompting Cap to raise his shield in defense. Iron Man returns fire with a repulsor blast, but the chair puts up a force field that deflects it.

"What the…" Iron Man let out. "JARVIS, initiate mansion defenses!"

At that moment, turrets came down from the ceiling and missile launchers emerged from the floor. All of them opened fire on Kang. This all resulted in a massive smoke cloud that covered the villain, only for it to fade and reveal Kang completely unscathed. Kang then pressed a button on his chair that sent out a shockwave, knocking Cap and Iron Man back and disabling the defenses. Iron Man skidded on the ground as Kang stepped off his chair and walked towards him.

"I don't know who you are pal," Iron Man addressed. "But you just made a serious mistake."

Iron Man then tried blasting at Kang, but he suddenly disappeared. Iron Man looked around for any sign of him, only for Kang to appear behind him and pick him up by the throat.

"Ok… didn't see that coming," Iron Man admitted.

"Your armor is… amusing," Kang admitted. "Primitive, but amusing."

As Kang held Iron Man in the air, Cap slowly crept up and threw his shield at him. Surprisingly though, Kang just held up his hand, causing the shield to stop mid air.

"Sorry, was that meant for me?"

Back at Hammertech, the building was half covered in ice by the time the battle ended and S.H.I.E.L.D. came to collect Blizzard, who was sporting a pair of cracked goggles and a large pair of cuffs.

"Well, that was fun," Wasp declared.

"So this is what the Avengers deal with day to day?" Falcon asked, rubbing his shoulder. "Might wanna make a brochure for newbies or something."

"You kidding?" Wasp replied. "This is a light day."

Aye," Thor confirmed. "Usually we face threats the likes of which would bring Midgard to their knees."

"Still, Blizzard said this wasn't personal," Ant-Man recalled. "He said someone hired him to attack this place."

"Any ideas who?" Falcon asked.

Suddenly, all of their ID cards started going off, much to their dismay.

"That might have to go on hold," Ant-Man told him. "We need to get back to the mansion. Right now."

Ant-Man quickly shrunk down and landed on an ant, flying away as Falcon, Wasp, and Thor followed after.

Back at the mansion, Kang sent Cap's shield flying right back at him, knocking him to the ground. Iron Man took this momentary distraction to try and blast Kang in the head with a repulsor. It stunned Kang, causing him to let Iron Man go as he blasted at him again. Kang skidded back and in retaliation, pulled out his blaster and shot at him, knocking him into one of the containers for his armor.

"Ok… I've had enough," Iron Man let out, pulling himself up. "JARVIS, give me full analysis of Kang's armor and weapons."

"Error. Unable to analyze."

"What? What about his chair?"

"Scanning… error. No matching technology on record."

"How is that possible?"

"Did I not say I was from the future?" Kang asked.

As he addressed Iron Man, Cap snuck up from behind and charged towards him. Kang then quickly turned around and reactivated his force field, blocking Cap's attacks.

"Then why are you here?" Cap demanded. "Why are you attacking the Avengers?"

"Ah, yes, that twenty first century small talk. Very well, I will indulge you. I am Kang the Conqueror. I have come from the forty third century, traveling to this backwater time for one simple purpose."

Kang then deactivated the force field and shot a laser blast at Cap, knocking him back into a pillar.

"To eliminate the Avengers from the timeline."

As Cap picked himself up, he saw Black Widow perched on one of the rafters above him. He gave her a nod, signaling her to leap down on top of him, wrapping her legs around him and flipping him to the ground.

"Nice timing," Iron Man replied as he and Cap walked up to her.

"Someone has to keep an eye on you boys."

"That… was a mistake," Kang swore, getting back up.

Widow ran towards him, attempting to kick him back to the ground, but Kang blocked the blow easily. Widow continued delivering strikes and kicks at the time traveler, but he was able to deflect every one.

"Did you honestly think I would come to face you blind? I've studied your skills and techniques, and am easily able to counter."

He suddenly grabbed her leg and spun her around, flinging her into a pillar.

"JARVIS, full power to unibeam!"

Iron Man unleashed the full power of his unibeam at Kang, only for his shield to absorb all of it. Iron Man was left astonished at the sight.

"That's… that's not possible."

"Stay focused," Cap told him.

The three heroes then began circling Kang, with Widow pulling out her guns and aiming them at him.

"Before we kick your ass, I gotta ask," Widow spoke up. "Why come all this way just to kill the Avengers?"

Kang remained silent before finally responding.

"To save the world."

The three heroes look at each other in surprise upon hearing this. Rick, who had been remaining mostly out of sight for this, came out of hiding.

"Man, I don't know what messed up time you're from, but the Avengers are the good guys. They're the ones who save the world, not the ones it needs to be saved from."

Kang turned towards Rick, only to see Hulk standing behind him, cracking his knuckles.

After letting out a massive roar, Hulk sent Kang flying through a wall, landing in the training room. As he regained his senses, he was greeted by Hawkeye, Spider-Man, and Black Panther staring him down.

"So Kang," Spider-Man spoke up. "If you're really from the future, how many times am I about to punch you."

"Now this is just some friendly advice," Hawkeye advised, aiming an arrow at him. "But I'd stay down if I were you."

Kang just glared at the three of them, before pressing a button on his belt that sent out a shockwave that knocked them off their feet. Hulk, having emerged from the hole, charged at Kang full force. Kang put up his force field, but Hulk just tore through it as he lifted Kang into the air.

"Hulk, wait!" Iron Man called out as he, Cap, and Widow rejoined the group. "We need answers. What did you mean by save the world?"

"In my time, I rule all," Kang explained. "But, a disruption in the space time continuum destroyed my reality, wiping everything from existence. I traced the source of the disruption to an anomaly in the timestream. Something that shouldn't belong. You."

"Us?" Spidey questioned. "What are you talking about?"

"I'm talking about how the Avengers' very existence has destroyed my empire!"

Kang then opened his hands, releasing energy spheres that electrocuted everyone present, including Hulk as he let go of Kang.

"But now, I'm going to reclaim it," he promised, aiming his gun at Cap's head. "Even if that means I have to tear each and everyone of you apart to do it."

Before he could pull the trigger, Thor's hammer sailed in and struck him in the chest, knocking him into a wall.

"You will not lay a hand on my friends, foul creature!"

Thor retrieved his hammer as he, Falcon, Ant-Man, and Wasp entered the room.

"Yeah," Wasp added as she shrunk to wasp size. "You mess with one of us, you mess with us all."

"That… is my plan." Kang replied.

Suddenly, Kang's chair came flying towards him, firing several lasers at the Avengers so he could reclaim his seat in it.

"You can't win Kang," Iron Man promised, aiming a repulsor at him. "Give up."

"Kang does not 'give up', but if you insist on fighting for your lives, allow me to show you what price the world will pay."

Kang then pressed a few buttons on his chair, creating a massive surge of energy that engulfed him and the Avengers. When the energy dissipated, they were all gone.

When the energy finally died out for the Avengers, they found themselves standing in the ruined remains of the mansion. Everything was brown and crumbling, not a single living being in sight. The smoke had completely blocked out the sky, making everything look dingy and bleak. As they looked around in horror, Kang appeared before them.

"Take a good look, Avengers. This is all your fault."

"Alright Kang, talk," Iron Man demanded. "Where are we?"

"Not where, when. You stand in your New York City, a mere ten years in your future."

"No… there's no way this is New York!" Rick insisted. "What happened?!"

"Very soon in your timeline, Earth will be consumed in a war. The Earth itself will be a casualty of that war, along with all life on it."

"Everyone, wait!" Iron Man let out. "JARVIS, connect to the Stark Industries network."

"No network found."

Then try S.H.I.E.L.D! Try everything!"

"Error. No networks found."

"There's… there's nothing out there…"

"What kind of war could have done all this?" Falcon asked.

"The details are unknown, but it does have a name: The Infinity War. All life on earth will be eradicated in the aftermath of this war, leaving only this burnt-out husk in its wake.

"And you think we're the cause of this?" Hawkeye let out.

"I do not think, archer, I know."

"You lie, conqueror," Thor protested. "The Avengers were created to protect the Earth, not destroy it."

"Perhaps you did so unknowingly, but the point still stands. Your group was never meant to be. I am here to rectify this problem."

"Stupid future man!" Hulk let out, charging at him.

Kang raised his shields once more as Hulk hammered his fists down on him. Finally, Kang fired a laser from his chair, blasting Hulk aside.

"Look," Spider-Man spoke up. "Even if we are the cause of this, you honestly think us just surrendering to you is gonna save the world?"

"It may," Kang answered. "But just to be sure, I'm going to advance the technology in your time. I will prepare your militaries for the coming war, and give the Earth the means to survive the coming conflict."

"And how exactly do you plan to accomplish all of this?" Ant-Man asked.

"By conquering the Earth."

"You know, I so saw that coming," Rick quipped.

"I tell you all of this as a courtesy. This is going to happen. Surrender to me, or face my wrath."

"Let's see, surrender to a nutcase from the future and surrender, or fight off a threat to the universe we might end up making," Spidey listed off. "Don't you just love it when life gives you choices?"

"What do we do, Cap?" Falcon asked.

"I don't think I'm the man to ask. I'm not prepared to let the planet pay for our mistakes, but as far as the future is concerned, that's your department Tony. You're the futurist."

Tony looked back at Cap, then turned to Kang. He looked overwhelmed and confused, but clenched his fists and steeled himself.

"The truth is, we don't know what's coming. What causes all of this. Kang has technology and resources that I've never even dreamed up. He could be the world's only hope… but he's being a real jerk about it."

"Just needed to hear it," Cap remarked. "Avengers, take him!"

As Cap threw his shield, Thor tossed his hammer, Wasp shot a bio sting, Hawkeye fired an arrow, and Falcon threw a metal flechette from his wing. All of these projectiles hit Kang at once, creating a massive cloud of smoke. Cap and Thor reclaimed their respective weapons as the smoke cleared, revealing a rather pissed off Kang.

"I hope you enjoy the rest of your days on this dead Earth, for this is where I am leaving you."

Just as he was about to press the controls to send himself back, hundreds of cockroaches began crawling up his chair, disrupting his circuits.

"Ok, gotta admit," Wasp commented. "That was clever."

"I sensed them the second we got here," Ant-Man replied. "Cockroaches can survive anything."

"That's great and all, but I hope we have more of a plan then cockroaches," Hawkeye spoke up.

"I got one," Hulk replied.

He then stomped on the ground hard, causing the rocks to shoot up under Kang and knock him out of his chair. He tumbled through the air before landing upright on the ground, with the Avengers surrounding him. Hawkeye fired two arrows at Kang, which he telekinetically caught and sent right back, causing him and Widow to dive out of the way. Iron Man fired a wrist missile at him, but Kang redirected its path towards Cap, who used his shield to block it.

"Tony, get to the chair! That's our ticket home."

"What?" Iron Man let out. "But I can't-"

"You're the only one who can! We'll try and buy you some time!"

Tony went to say something, but cut himself off. He rushed at the chair, taking a seat as the rest of the Avengers continued fighting off Kang. As he tried to figure out its systems, Hulk and Thor came charging at the time travelling villain.

"Yield!" Thor commanded.

In response, Kang produced an energy barrier that absorbed their attacks before pushing them away. Wasp flew around the barrier, firing one blast after another, to no avail. Kang just held out his hand and fired an energy blast, knocking her out of the sky. Falcon quickly dove in and caught her before she hit the ground, speeding out of their as Kang tried to fire another blast.

"Thanks for the save," Wasp commended.

"Don't mention it," Falcon replied, weaving out of the way of another blast.

As Kang continued firing at the two, Thor charged his hammer with lightning before throwing it at the barrier. As the hammer made contact, the resulting influx of energy caused the barrier to overload, sending Kang skidding back as Thor retrieved his hammer.

"Do you now see the folly in your attack?" Thor boasted.

"All I see is a bunch of pitiful insects to be squashed beneath my boot!

Kang then fired at Thor, prompting him to hold his hammer up to block it and causing him to skid across the ground. As this continued, Hulk threw a massive rock at Kang, which he caught with his telekinesis. Hulk tried throwing another one, but Kang just send the first one towards the second one, causing them to crash into each other.

"You thought you could beat me by throwing rocks? You mindless monster!"

"It's called a distraction, smart guy," Hulk remarked.

Just then, Black Panther appeared behind him and used his claws to slash at the back of his armor, revealing some of his natural blue skin. Widow took this opening to fire a widow sting at him, causing him to groan in pain as electricity surged through him. He spasmed furiously, then threw Widow off of him, right into Panther. The two tumbled onto the ground as Kang turned to see Iron Man trying to work his chair.

"You dare…"

As he started walking towards him, Spider-Man landed in front of him as he fired two web lines at him. Kang manipulated the webs to go around him and tie up Black Widow.

"Whoops," Spidey let out. "Uh, sorry."

Kang just blasted Spider-Man aside as he continued moving towards Iron Man. By now, the armored Avenger was having a very difficult time and was slipping into panic mode.

"Come on!" Iron Man let out. "This isn't magic, it's technology. There has to be logic to it."

As Kang continued walking, Ant-Man grew to giant size as he attempted to bring down a massive fist on him. Kang telekinetically stopped the fist as he sent Giant-Man spinning out of control towards a nearby building. Hawkeye pulled out a barrage of arrows and fired them into the air, causing them to land and explode all around Kang and leave a massive trench in his way. Kang just walked on the air above the massive crater like nothing happened. Panther tried attacking him again, but Kang simply suspended him in the air. Wasp and Falcon flew towards him and attempted to fire at him, but Kang moved Panther in the way and made him absorb both their attacks. He then tossed him aside and blasted them both out of the air. Hulk attempted to smash him again, but Kang simply fired a laser from his helmet, shooting him into a building and causing it to collapse.

Now, all standing between Kang and Iron Man was Cap and Thor. Kang fired two blasts at them, prompting the two heroes to use their respective weapons to block them.

"We're running out of time, Tony!" Cap called out.

"I know! I know! Come on JARVIS, there has to be something!"

"Unable to interface."

"Come on! I can't do it. There's just no way to… JARVIS stop! Connect to port 290926, now!"

JARVIS complied and was able to interface with the chair, causing it to glow with energy. Upon seeing this, Kang stopped his firing and looked on in disbelief.

"No!"

"A very smart man once told me, those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it," Iron Man remarked. "Your technology is very advanced Kang. Lightyears beyond anything I could come up with. But, some of its physical systems are based on very old technology… Stark Industries Technology. Activate time circuits. Now."

At that moment, Kang and the Avengers all disappeared from the dead Earth.

Moments later, everyone was back at the mansion, as if no time had passed at all.

"You will pay for this," Kang swore as he charged at Iron Man.

He quickly batted Cap and Thor aside as he dove for the chair, only for Iron Man to raise the shields and knock him back. As Kang picked himself up, Thor summoned a massive lightning storm and aimed it directly at him. The energy overloaded his suit, causing it to tear and leak electricity as he fell to his knees.

"This… is not… over."

"Cap and I don't agree on a lot, but I think we can make an exception here," Iron Man remarked, joining Cap as he aimed a repulsor at him. "It's over."

"Damocles, recall!"

Suddenly, both Kang and he disappeared, leaving the Avengers alone.

"So," Falcon spoke. "This is the usual threats you guys were talking about?"

"Welcome to the Avengers, rookie," Hawkeye remarked.

"Don't suppose this means we've seen the last of that guy?" Falcon asked.

"Not a chance," Cap lamented. "He'll be back."

"That's the thing about the future," Iron Man voiced. "It's always there waiting for you."

Back on the Damocles, Kang reappeared to see his crew finish putting Princess Ravonna in some kind of stasis tube.

"How is she?" He asked.

"Not good, your highness," a crewmember answered. "If the timeline isn't restored, Princess Ravonna will cease to exist."

"Then it is time for greater measures," Kang decided as his suit seemed to repair itself. "It is time to show the twenty first century how I earned the title of conqueror."

Just then, outside the ship, several golden flying saucers appeared until they almost overtook the night sky. Kang looked on at this in delight.

"Let the conquest begin."