"...in the timestream. Probably on his way back here. And he'll keep coming back until I go with him..."

This told Billy all he needed to know.

1) he was alive.

2) Kang was gone – for the moment.

Teddy! Fuck, where's Teddy. I've got to find him. I -

Billy realised why he had woken up. Calloused fingers were stroking across his cheekbones and a deep voice was murmuring words of comfort to him. Billy relaxed and opened his eyes.

"Hello gorgeous," he said, but the words came out mangled from all the rubble dust he had inhaled that had left his throat dry.

"Hello there," Teddy replied, the smile he reserved only for Billy crossing his face.

He leaned down and took Billy's face into his hands, crushing their lips together until Billy was gasping for breath. "Don't scare me like that again."

Billy snorted. "Guess we're even," he said.

"I'd rather we didn't have to be even."

"Me too," Billy replied softly, leaning up to press soft pliant lips together. He caught Teddy's lower lips between his teeth and sucked, drawing out a whimper of pleasure from the larger boy that made Billy glow. The kiss soon turned into a hug, both of them holding each other as if if they let go they would lose the other.

"I can't lose you," whispered Teddy.

"You won't," replied Billy.

"If we get out of this..."

"We will."

Billy had never been the strong one in any relationship, but with Teddy he found he could be.

"I love you," Billy reiterated.

"I love you," Teddy responded, clasping Billy's hand and pulling him to his feet.

Together they staggered to rejoin the group in time to catch Nathaniel's statement,

"I am going with him."

There was a cacophony of objections, most of them coming from Cassie and Billy wondered what had happened between them whilst he had been out.

"I have to. Look around. Everything's falling apart. But Kang says if I go back, it'll all be exactly the way it was before I got here."

"How?" asked Eli. "We'll just wake up tomorrow morning and it'll be like none of this ever happened?"

"Wait," said Teddy. "We wont be Young Avengers?"

"Will we even... know each other?" Billy asked tentatively.

"Probably not. I'm sorry."

Billy's heart felt like it was breaking, his head span and he nearly passed out cold. The thought of life without Teddy was unbearable.

Cassie threw herself into Nathaniel's arms, sobbing.

"There has to be another way," Patriot stressed.

"There's no time," Nathaniel responded. "The second Kang shows up here..."

"Then lets get out of here. Go someplace else," Teddy suggested.

Billy offered the use of his house, that was assuming it still existed in the current altered universe. Nathaniel countered that Kang could still track him because of his armour, but that deterred no one, especially not Kate,

"So, take it off," she said.

"Without my armour, I'm powerless -"

"We'll protect you," Cassie said earnestly.

"- and a little under-dressed."

"Want my cape?" Billy asked, trying to suppress a grin.

"Thanks, but its the not-wearing-pants that concerns me."

Patriot shouldered his shield, "Can we just get to the upper west side, please?"

"What about Cap and Jess and Iron Man?" asked Kate.

"They're as good as dead," said a familiar voice. "Unless the boy comes with me."

Kang stood atop a heap of rubble, huge gun in one hand and Captain America in the other.