"You really should have researched your basics about regeneration, Kang."

The Doctor had watched the incident play out with growing interest. Going from feeling weak and dejected to being consumed by a surprising amount of optimism, a realisation had hit just as hard as the Hulk had smashed into the proclaimed ruler of the multiverse. The Time Lord's body was still struggling to cope after Kang's experimentation but, through a combination of her renewed belief and the sensation of Yaz's arms wrapped tightly around her, the Doctor was able to stand much taller. Even with everyone else still fearful, and a looming monster poised to wreak havoc if it so wished, she refused to back down. Even with Kang standing up once again, a triumphant smile plastered onto his face, she refused to give into defeat.

"Doctor," Yaz said in a warning tone. "What are you doing? You're not thinking straight. You're going to get yourself hurt if you're not careful."

The Doctor quickly glanced back at her, trying to ignore the fuzziness of her brain. Things were starting to become clearer, the remnants of a plan she'd formed before her regenerations had been taken. A plan she'd started to concoct as soon as Kang had shown himself, falling into the trap that most villains seemed unable to avoid: spending ages doing a monologue. Kang had claimed just moments before that he wasn't susceptible to such follies, and yet he'd done exactly that in the privacy of his own kingdom. He'd believed the Doctor to be inconsequential, and she took offence at that quite considerably.

"Your emotional support isn't as good as your physical support, Yaz," the Doctor remarked as she pushed off her companion, taking a few tentative strides forward. "Though I'm thankful for the latter. It would have been embarrassing if I'd fallen over. Surrounded by a bunch of superheroes, and me not even able to stand on firm ground? That'd be my reputation over with."

"What do you want?" Kang snapped, his hands still glowing though the full process of change hadn't started yet. The Doctor presumed he was holding it off until he was the centre of attention once again. "This is my moment, Doctor!"

She cocked her head to the side. One might have thought it was an act born out of confusion, but Yaz had seen that smirk before. It was one that greeted monsters and evil-doers across the universe, and now even beyond that. It was one that ridiculed her opponent without the need for any words, allowing her to gloat in a fashion where only she knew she was actually gloating. It was a cocky smile that should have sent everyone in her path running away out of fear. It was a smirk that signalled that, for the first time in a while, the Doctor believed that she was going to win .

Yaz hadn't felt this much excitement since they'd stepped foot in this new, impossible world.

"I'm just trying to give you a few helpful hints and tips," the Doctor explained casually. "Starting with the fact that you should have accounted for the wobbliness you tend to have right after regenerating. Lord knows I've done some weird things in the post-regeneration phase, including having a sword fight and eating food combinations that'd even make your red friend here wince." She paused when the Hulk huffed threateningly but she didn't appear phased by the display of dominance. "No wonder this chap managed to whack you halfway across the continent before you could react. You weren't mentally stable at the time, so you can't be blamed for the error."

"There have been no miscalculations!" Kang argued. "Everything has been planned from the very moment I brought your Tardis into this realm. Everything has worked out accordingly, as the timelines suggested."

"Including getting smashed in the face?"

"It was a tactical choice."

"You're bluffing!" the Doctor countered with a laugh. "Trust me, I've done that plenty of times when I've been caught with my pants around my ankles…not literally…most of the time. At least I have the grace to own up to when things don't work out."

"The injuries give me a chance to show everyone what I'm capable of. They will watch as I'm reborn, and realise that they stand no chance against me!"

"Does he literally mean reborn because I don't know whether I can fight an actual baby," America said, her nose wrinkled, but most of the group chose to ignore her query (regardless of whether they were puzzled by the same questions), instead focusing on the interaction playing out in front of them.

"Did you intend for your suit to become so damaged?" the Doctor asked carefully, standing close to the man now, close enough to contemplate poking him if the desire was there.

"Collateral damage," Kang replied dismissively. "It can be repaired. It's the least of my concerns."

"You should be worried about nothing else! Not the heroes surrounding you, not the rather cute blonde currently being a thorn in your side…that suit has been holding you together and it's about to burst like a dam."

"Who's the one bluffing now, Doctor?"

"What was the first thing I did when I met you?" She didn't wait for him to answer, too empowered by the thoughts returning to her head. "I bet you didn't even notice, that engrossed you were in your own story. I scanned your suit with my trusty sonic." She brandished it happily, always drawing comfort from its presence.

Kang looked far from impressed. "And?"

"You'd be right to be so dismissive under normal circumstances. After all, I didn't tamper with the suit in any way. I just scanned it. That's all. It told me that your suit has been designed to harness regeneration energy. I knew as soon as I scanned you what your plan was going to be, and I still allowed you to go through with it."

"I'm sure you want me to ask you why that is…"

"I'm not really bothered what you choose to do now. Because you're trying to mimic something that is inherently biological. You've shrouded yourself in technology all your life, but technology can break . I met a woman once who tried to do the same as you. She tried to place regeneration energy into her own body. It took a lifetime of trial and error, and great personal loss on my behalf. You didn't bother with all that. You believed that technology could overcome that obstacle. And it did. Until a great big red hulk smashed into it."

Kang looked down at his chest, observing the visible crack running across the suit that had seemed irrelevant when he'd first noticed it. "Like I said…it can be repaired."

"True. But all I had to do was wait for that suit to be damaged. Because to do that would invariably threaten your life too, triggering regeneration. But you no longer have the systems in place to control it." The Doctor looked as his hands shone brighter, the energy growing wilder. "That amount of power…it isn't going to just dissipate. It's going to surge out from your body and look for a suitable host to contain it." She wiggled her fingers. "And I'm the person it originated from. I've been at odds with my origins for quite some time, but it's going to work in my favour today. I think I deserve that."

The process had already started and, where Kang had looked at the golden glow in admiration and self-glory a few seconds ago, he now looked at the phenomenon in abject terror. The chestplate of his suit sparked dangerously and the Doctor jumped back in trepidation of the fireworks about to unfold. She idly noted the heroes around her, all ready to defend themselves, but this was personal now. This was between her and Kang. She might have celebrated in the face of his look of defeat as it slowly dawned on him what was happening, but she simply hardened her face in preparation.

After all, this was going to sting for her just as much as it was going to do for him.

"I was going to build an empire," he said surprisingly softly.

"Built on the backs of people you manipulated. Not very sturdy foundations if you ask me. It was always destined to crumble to the ground."

Any softness Kang had used dissipated as he took a menacing step towards the Doctor. Yaz attempted to move closer, for what good she could do in defending her friend, but there was no need. The regeneration energy was beginning to consume the man, making him shout out in agony. It spread from his fingers, moving down his arms. His eyes transformed into pits of fire as his chest lit up, making the crack illuminate strongly. He looked at the Doctor one last time in anger, the energy binding together until, after a brief second of strange silence, it erupted from him, expelled from his body.

The others were only just able to shield their gaze from the eruption, the Hulk crying out in fury at the spectacle. They didn't know whether to keep an eye on the creature or to concentrate on the main show. For the time being, Wanda twirled her fingers cautiously, attempting to soothe the lumbering monster. With the wild distraction taking place, and the pure strength of the subject she was dealing with, it was a difficult spell to control. She was sure that it would break upon the lightest of resistance, but the Hulk was thankfully too disturbed by Kang's apparent destruction to notice her machinations.

The Doctor didn't have much time to react before the fiery energy source was hurtling straight towards her. She was faintly aware of Yaz yelling her name, attempting to protect her from what was about to happen. One wave of the hand was enough to prevent her friend from getting too close, before she was thrown back by the sheer power of the life force. It was almost like being reunited with an old friend. It should have burned, and yet felt like nothing more than a warm, if peculiar, hug. Her body had felt empty without it, and she could feel the energy reaching over every cell of her body, reconnecting with, reattaching itself to its true host.

She remembered a time she'd gone through something similar on the planet of Trenzalore in a small village named Christmas, when the Time Lords had chosen to grant her with a new set of regenerations. This latest process seemed more visceral, as if the force was needy to be with her again, rushing into her as if it had never left. The Doctor squirmed in discomfort, not knowing whether every ache and pain that came was a good sign. The only thing she knew was that she felt more like herself with each passing second, imbued with more strength.

When she opened her eyes again, she was on the floor. She didn't know how or when that had happened, simply grateful for the soft ground of fallen leaves. Though there was one twig that was rather unfortunately placed. The jungle was towering above her, mighty trees looking down at her prone form, almost in judgement for the disturbance she'd caused to their peace. She silently apologised for creating such a big scene. And then the scenery was replaced with something that was somehow even more impressive, gorgeous and enticing. The sort of welcome back to reality that would have the Doctor questioning whether things had actually gone wrong, causing her to die and go to heaven. If she believed in such things.

The sight of Yaz's face was always something that had the Doctor questioning how such beauty could be created by chance.

Yaz smiled when she realised that the Doctor was moving, albeit groggily, getting a small smirk in response that set her heart at ease. She collapsed on top of the other woman, hugging her tightly, doing her best not to consider just how much she'd thought she'd been about to lose the focal point of her life. She repeatedly checked over the Doctor's limbs, as if she could assess whether the other woman was on the brink of regenerating herself. The process had seemed manic and difficult, potentially enough to trigger a change in the Time Lord's appearance. Yaz doubted she'd be able to cope with losing that face, no matter if the personality stayed the same.

"Yaz?" the Doctor groaned.

"Yeah?"

"You're kind of crushing me."

"I don't think I can physically let go. This is too nice." If anything, Yaz clung on tighter out of protest.

Despite her obvious discomfort, the Doctor returned the hug. "You might be right about that."

"You could have warned me about what you're planning." There was a hint of annoyance in her tone. Only a hint. She was too relieved to be properly angry. That would come in time.

"I couldn't risk Kang cottoning on to what I knew. He would have been more careful, although his mind was so addled from the regeneration that that might not have even been enough to save him."

"I was worried about you though."

"Where's the change there, hey?"

"Do you think now's the right time to be joking around?"

"Probably not. But now's also not the best time to be holding onto you for dear life, and I'm still doing that."

Yaz blushed at the reminder of their close proximity, before realising that there were other people still around them. It was the sort of prompt that served as a bucket of ice cold water being thrown over her, completely ruining the tender moment they were sharing. She was constantly cursing the universe, no matter which one they were in, for endeavouring to get in the way of them having a much needed conversation. Once they were done, she was adamant that words would finally be exchanged, which was a prospect more daunting than any madman with plans to rule all realities.

"We'll finish the conversation later."

The Doctor gulped audibly, not just because of the intensity of Yaz's gaze. "I wouldn't doubt that for a second."

"That doesn't mean that you can run away before we have that chat."

"You always see through my cunning ruses."

Yaz smirked as she gently detached herself from the Doctor, just about having the strength to get back onto her feet. Offering a helping hand, she was able to get her friend vertical once again, though there were some serious wobbles that she had to contend with. On the bright side, most of the group were more focused on the threats still at hand, rather than their private matters, although America was sporting a knowing smirk that Yaz was doing well to ignore.

Kang was on the floor, propped up against a tree where his body had finally fallen. His face was gaunt and his skin was pale, seemingly drained of all his energy. The Doctor, restored to full power, simply glowered at his presence. She shared a look with her team of Avengers, some of whom she was still yet to properly meet. They seemed faintly in awe of her after the show she'd just put on, which was rather impressive given the audience she was working with.

"I have got a long list of questions that need answering," Shuri remarked, staring at the blonde woman in amazement. "First of all, who the hell are you? And how can I be your friend?"

"You've got more important things to worry about," Kang whispered, eyes barely open. "You think you've defeated me…"

"It's rather difficult for a man in your state to be making threats," the Doctor returned fiercely.

"This is just the beginning. There'll be more of me out there, across all the universes. And they'll want to do the same as me. They might just not be as lenient as I." He smirked, though there was no true mirth behind it. He had no energy left for humour. "It might take some time, but they'll find their way. I'll return."

And then his eyes closed permanently, his chest no longer rising feebly, his desperate attempts to cling onto life finally ceasing. The Doctor tried to find a part of herself that was sad about his demise, never wanting to celebrate in the face of death. He might have been a brilliant man, who could have achieved brilliant things. In many respects, he'd already done so in his universe. But he'd used that brilliance in ways that were at odds with everything she stood for and, as she gazed down upon his body, she wasn't surprised at the lack of sympathy she was feeling. Even so, she was grateful for the sensation of Yaz's hand slipping into her own, a show of support that she hadn't asked for. She didn't need to.

"It's a shame," a voice said, bringing them all back to reality as they looked at Killmonger. "He made a pretty decent boss. Then again, I ain't the sort of person to be directed by strings like some sort of puppet. His death is just going to free me." He flexed his muscles and cracked his neck, as he was considering fighting them all at once.

"Please," Carol replied with little care. "One good hit from me and you'd be out like a light."

"No," the Doctor ordered. "No one else needs to get hurt today. No one else needs to die."

"He'll face Wakandan justice," Shuri suggested, though it sounded more like there wouldn't be a debate.

"For what crimes exactly?" Killmonger argued. "All I've done so far is tamper with your shield. Are you going to throw the book at me just for that?"

"If I have to."

"I'm sure we can resolve this more peacefully," the Doctor pleaded.

"And how do you suggest we do that?" Wanda asked. "I'm struggling to hold the big guy at bay as it is, and I'd hate to see him cause any more damage."

The Doctor was saved from answering when the same portal that Kang had stepped through opened for a second time. It had a similar distorting effect on their surroundings and they were immediately on edge for what it signalled. Was Kong right? Had his alternate selves already chosen to come to finish the job? But then they were greeted by the sight of the Scarlet Witch, the one who had caused them so much torment in San Francisco. Red magic was flowing from her hands, powering the machinery behind the portal, adding a scarlet tinge to the opening. There were two boys visible behind her, and a whole host of broken robots on the floor.

"Wanda!" the Doctor shouted in surprise. "What are you doing?"

"Doctor," came the much calmer reply. "You placed my sons' lives above your own. I couldn't, in good conscience, allow that to go unrewarded. It didn't take a lot of effort to overpower his security." She paused as she took in the scene before her. "Although it looks as if my services may no longer be required."

"I wouldn't say that! You've got impeccable timing! Would you mind if I just hop through for a little bit? I've got some things that I need to investigate. Oh! And would you be a massive help and bring a couple of Kang's lackeys over the divide as well? Seriously, well done. This solves two of my major problems."

"Doctor?" Yaz shouted worriedly as she saw the Time Lord stick one leg through the large hole. "What are you doing?"

"I won't be a minute, Yaz! Don't you worry! I'm just working on getting us home. If you see Dan, try to keep him in the loop, but be gentle. His head might explode from all the information."

The portal didn't remain open for long, the Doctor giving more whispered instructions to Wanda who, with a careful flick of the wrist, lifted Killmonger and the red Hulk from where they were standing and carried them into the other reality. They protested vehemently, their cries only being silenced once the tear was eventually closed. Yaz was left on her own, which was becoming far too much of a familiar feeling. Until a second portal manifested itself, smaller this time and recognisably golden in colour.

Wong stuck his head out and smiled at them in relief. "Ah! We've been looking for you. You haven't happened to see a Hulk anywhere, have you?"

Carol rolled her eyes. "Wong…you've got a lot of catching up to do. And a lot of explaining too…"