Disclaimer: I do not own Daredevil, Arrow or anything else you may recognize
Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed or reviewed this fic so far.
From now on, Earth-199999 Natasha will be called Natasha while Earth-X Natasha will be called Black Widow.
And Ray Palmer will be called Atom while Ray Terrill will be called Ray.
Jason Hunter: Thanks for the review. Glad you liked Firestorm surviving.
Chapter 11- Recovery and mourning
The Waverider took off into the sky after everyone boarded.
Barry and Caitlin hugged each other tightly and kissed.
"I thought I'd never see you again", she said tearfully.
"Me neither", Barry said, "But the thought of you kept me going."
The two smiled at each other and kissed again.
"Is anyone injured?" Banner asked out of concern.
"No", Nate said, "I think we aren't."
"Some of us weren't that lucky", Stein said with a sad sigh.
In a room, Rene had his head in his hands. He was sobbing. He didn't hear Matt and Oliver come inside.
Oliver gently put his hand on Rene's shoulder and he finally looked up. The look on his face alone was enough for a pang to go out for him. He was always so tough and serious. And now he was crying.
"Talk to us, Rene", Matt said as gently as he could.
"I-I don't know what's there to say", Rene said in between sobs, "I just wonder why this happened to me. They are both dead and I'm not. Why?"
"Rene, I know how you feel", Oliver said, "I felt the same way when my father died. And you have every right to be sad and angry and question all this. All of us feel the same way."
"But know this, Rene", Matt said, "This is not your fault. It's the fault of Hydra. Only theirs."
"And do not wish for death, Rene", Oliver said, "Your daughter needs you."
On hearing that, something familiar returned to Rene's eyes. He managed to reach up and wipe his tears, though they were still there.
"The evil-doers will be punished for what they have done", Matt assured, "We will make sure of it."
Rene just nodded simply but Matt and Oliver knew he needed to be alone so they walked out.
"I'm sorry", Matt said to Oliver, "I didn't answer your call and all of this happened."
"It's not your fault, Matt", Oliver assured him, "None of us knew this was going to happen. But still, how did you all come prepared to deal with these Hydra soldiers?"
"When the mission ended, me, Elektra, Jessica and Luke decided to come after all", Matt started explaining, "So we used the interdimensional extrapolator to come to S.T.A.R. Labs. But my senses detected a lot of stuff was wrong. So the four of us then snooped around and discovered what was actually going on. We managed to capture one of their soldiers and took him to our Earth where we interrogated him with Frank's help. After he revealed everything, we asked the Avengers for help and got here just in time."
"Well, that's good", Oliver said, "I don't know what would've happened if you all hadn't come. It would be worse than what has already happened. Just wondering though, what was the mission?"
"Oh! That", Matt said, "A dangerous terrorist who goes by the name of the Mandarin. He leads an organization called the 'Ten Rings.' They ended up capturing Rhodes on a mission. And because of how powerful he was with his ten powerful rings, the Avengers called us to help too."
"And how did Nuke turn good?" Oliver asked, "Wasn't he destroyed?"
"This isn't that Nuke", Matt revealed, "Turns out Trask had made another one exactly like the one we destroyed. But it wasn't operational yet. The government wanted to use it for themselves but the Avengers didn't trust them for good reason. So as a compromise, the government gave Nuke to the Avengers after putting a different chip in it. So this Nuke fights for us now."
"Well, we're gonna need all hands on deck on this one", Oliver said and Matt nodded.
Jessica was drinking heavily in a room. Elektra and Luke walked in. Her eyes were red and it was clear she had been crying.
"Jess, talk to us", Luke said gently.
She looked at them with a blank look that broke their hearts.
Taking another sip, she just said, "He was a good guy. Mick."
Luke sat next to her and she fell into his arms and cried her heart out as Elektra watched.
"Those bastards will pay for everyone they killed", Elektra said with gritted teeth, "Mick, Dinah and Curtis's deaths will not be in vain. We will kill them. All of them."
Luke nodded.
"So you're my doppelganger", Natasha said to Black Widow, "On Earth-X."
"Yes", Black Widow said, "And I'm a spy too."
"Well, looks like we both are the same", Natasha said, "And you were married to Steve Rogers, who on your Earth is Captain Hydra."
"It was just part of the mission", Black Widow said, "Infiltrate and kill. Rene Ramirez was a spy too along with me. I only managed to kill Winter Soldier. But Rene ended up being caught in my place and he was executed. I wish I could've stopped it. But I couldn't."
"Sometimes, we spies have to let bad things happen for the greater good", Natasha said, "Even if it rips out pieces of our soul."
Black Widow simply nodded.
Wanda stood in a corner when she heard someone approaching. She turned to see Ultron.
"Stay away from me", she said simply.
"Did my doppelganger do something bad to you?" Ultron asked.
"He destroyed my home", Wanda said bitterly, "And he killed my brother."
"I am sorry", Ultron said that surprisingly sounded sympathetic, causing Wanda to turn to him, "I know. Sorry doesn't cut it. And whatever my doppelganger has done can't be taken away. But let me tell you this, whatever happens, happens for a reason. Whether it's good or bad, there is always a reason behind it. And something comes out of all the things."
Wanda simply nodded. She realized there was a tear in her eye.
"What happened?" Ultron asked as he noticed the tear.
"Nothing", she said as she wiped it, "As surprising as it sounds, you remind me of someone I used to love."
Bucky noticed Logan sitting on a couch and smoking.
"Hey pal, want some?" Logan asked as he held another cigarette, "Funny I am offering one to the Winter Soldier's doppelganger who is Captain America."
"Well, it would be very shocking for you to know that my predecessor in this role was the doppelganger of Captain Hydra", Bucky said and Logan looked at him with wide eyes.
"This multiple Earth bullshit is going to drive me nuts", Logan said.
"You know, I think I have seen you somewhere before", Bucky said as he observed Logan.
"Really? Where?" Logan asked.
With a sigh, Bucky said, "I can't really remember. Let's just leave it."
That moment, Frank Castle walked in.
"You want one?" Logan asked him as held up the cigarette, "Funny. Now I'm offering one to the Executioner's good doppelganger."
"Good might be an overstatement", Frank said, "And I don't really want it."
"Thank you for coming", Oliver said gratefully to Slade and Nyssa as he stood with Matt.
"No problem, kid", Slade said, "Though after hearing everything that's going on, I really miss the island."
"Me too", Oliver said.
"We ran into your friends, these Legends on the way", Nyssa said, "Though it was all for the best."
"I think we should prepare for whatever they're going to do next", Matt said, "Because they won't really give up."
"They are going to use their Waverider into leveraging us to hand Kara and their Natasha over", Oliver said.
"How do you know that?" Nyssa asked.
"Because that's exactly what I would do", Oliver said.
"So what are you exactly?" Cisco asked Nuke as he stood with Harry.
"I am a cyborg", Nuke said, "Fitted with a chip to help the Avengers."
"Can you learn stuff that you haven't been programmed with?" Harry asked.
"My CPU is a neural net processor, a learning computer. The more contact I have with humans, the more I learn", Nuke said.
"Cool!" Cisco said with a smile as he geeked out, "You're like a real life Terminator."
Harry simply rolled his eyes at Cisco's antics.
Sara was sitting in her cabin when Oliver walked in with Laurel.
"Are you all right?" he asked her.
"Are you?" she asked.
"Right", Oliver said, "Stupid question."
"I don't know what to say", Sara said, "I just expect him to come around and say something insulting or dumb."
"You never know what might happen", Laurel said, causing Sara to look at her, "You just have to appreciate the people in your life while you have them."
Sara simply nodded as Oliver and Laurel hugged her and she hugged back.
Bucky and Natasha stood in a room together.
"Well", Bucky said, "This all seems-"
"Weird", Natasha finished for him, "I know."
"And this is after what happened with Thanos", Bucky muttered.
"You sure you will be able to do it, Buck?" Natasha asked.
"He may look like Steve, but he is not him", Bucky said firmly.
"Don't worry", Natasha said as she held his hand, "No one's going to face this fight alone."
Bucky nodded and the two kissed.
"I'm sorry", Overgirl said to Dark Arrow on the Wellnereiter.
"For what?" Dark Arrow asked.
"For being so weak", she said.
"I've managed to stabilize her deterioration", a holographic head similar to Gideon spoke, "But without a transplant she'll be dead within an hour."
"Quiet!" Dark Arrow yelled and the head vanished.
"Now don't you listen to her", Dark Arrow said to Overgirl as his eyes softened, "There is more strength in you than in this entire planet of lesser humans combined."
He walked off into the hallway where Emperor Stark, Captain Hydra and Darkdevil stood.
"We're preparing for war", Captain Hydra growled and he nodded.
"Those people will pay", Darkdevil said.
"And our friend is almost cooked", the Iron Emperor said as they looked at a pod with an old man in it.
On the Waverider, everyone gathered on the bridge.
"Where are we with locating the other Waverider?" Oliver asked.
"We got a pretty good idea", Cisco said, "I mean, we've all heard of the Chandrasekhar Limit, I assume?
"The data indicates it's still in the vicinity of Central City", Zari said.
"Which also indicates that Overgirl isn't long for this world", Ray said.
"Which means that this world isn't long for this world", Cisco said.
"Failure's not an option", Oliver said.
"Losing is not an option", Matt added.
"We are gonna win", Oliver said in a determined tone, "And we are gonna show these people that this earth - belongs to us."
"You get hurt, hurt 'em back", Bucky said, "You get killed, walk it off."
"Great speech", Killer Frost commented.
That moment, a blue portal opened and out walked Rhodes with a tall man who wore an ancient battle armor and a red cape that flowed behind him. He had short blonde hair and a beard of the same color. He carried a battle axe in his hand.
"Good to see you again, Thor", Bucky said as the two hugged.
"You too, friend Barnes", Thor said with a smile.
"Thor?" Barry asked, "As in the Norse God?"
"We're not Gods", Thor said, "We're just powerful beings from other realms."
"Well, thank you for coming", Oliver said sincerely and Thor said, "This one looks like he has a heart of a warrior."
That moment, Gideon's voice spoke up, "Sorry to interrupt, but we're being hailed by a fellow Timeship."
"Put it on", Sara said.
As all the heroes gathered around, a hologram of an unmasked Captain Hydra popped up.
"What do you want?" Sara asked.
"To offer a truce", Captain Hydra said.
"In exchange for what?" Barry asked.
"We will return to our Earth peacefully if you meet our one demand", Captain Hydra said before revealing, "Supergirl and our Black Widow come with us."
Everyone turned to Supergirl and Black Widow. The former winced while the latter was emotionless.
"Here's a difference between you and me", Bucky said as he looked at Captain Hydra, "I don't abandon my friends."
Logan added as he stepped up, "Go fuck yourself pretty boy!"
Bucky then cut the call.
"All right", Sara said.
"Everybody ready to go?" Matt asked.
"Never been more", Nate said firmly.
"We can't bring Mick, Dinah and Curtis back, but as the Avengers say, we can avenge them", Atom said.
"For Mick, Dinah and Curtis", Oliver said as everyone nodded firmly.
Bucky then looked at everyone and gave his order, "Assemble!"
There is this one-shot in the MCU called 'All Hail the King!' In that one- shot, it is revealed that a comic-accurate Mandarin does exist out there in the MCU and he is furious with Slattery's portrayal of him so he breaks him out to meet with him. It would be awesome if we see him in the movies sometime in the future. He is very powerful so I think it makes sense that all the Avengers and the Defenders went to fight him along with Punisher and Elektra.
Bucky saying he remembers Logan is a reference to the fact that Logan fought in World War II in the comics.
I would have said "Avengers Assemble!" but not everyone there are Avengers. I hope you liked this chapter.
The final battle is next.
The Avengers, the Defenders, Team Flash, Team Arrow, Team Legends and all the other good guys vs. Hydra. I hope you're all excited.
Please review. I always appreciate your feedback.