Adventures like this happen once in a lifetime! A stranger from the future claims the key to success lies in the destruction of the past… the destruction of Captain America! You're in for a tumultuous ride, true believers, as the Avengers confront-
Chapter 13: The Man Who Stole Tomorrow
New York seemed to have a lot of beautiful days, Connor Peterson noted as he glanced at the weather on his phone. Barely any clouds, a balmy seventy-five degrees out, if he had his way the team would make use of that rooftop pool.
That is, after Steve finished his morning workout and Tony finished his breakfast… which consisted of mere tofu cubes eaten with a pair of chopsticks. The technopath helped himself to some meagre toast.
"What's a 'futurist'?" Cap wondered, halfway through a series of one-armed pushups On the kitchen floor.
"What do you mean?" Tony pried, triggering his Avengers ID card to pull up some holographic displays of economic graphs and charts.
"Well, the newspaper calls you a futurist," Steve explained, studying a simple paper copy on the floor in front of his face, "and unless you're into Italian art, I'm not entirely sure what that is." He elaborated.
"Isn't that was Doc Brown was?" Connor quipped, his twin slices popping up black. "Dammit… I said medium." He grumbled, shooting the toaster a scornful look.
"No, not really." Tony replied. "Hm, how to explain… A futurist is someone who tries to predict the future, or, in my case, try to create it. I'm building technology for the next century, trying to make the world a better place." He described. "For instance; having news and information delivered via wireless signals as opposed to a newspaper." Cap picked himself up and took his newspaper with him to the fridge, collecting half a dozen eggs.
"Ohhhh… so you're the guy who says 'where do I see me in a hundred years' and asks 'what can I build now to help me then'." Connor surmised, slowly eating his near-briquette pieces of toast.
"Something like that." Tony agreed as Steve set down a glass on the table. Cracking the yolks into it, he ditched the shells and chugged the whole thing in a few gulps. Connor and Tony watched in mixed shock and mild disgust.
"And here I thought you were gonna scramble those." Connor mused, scratching his head. "How's that taste anyway?"
"Like a good start to the day." Steve replied. "And as for what you were saying Tony, I like newspapers. For instance, this one has a picture of you fighting Hydra." He said, dropping the pile of paper down atop the holographic projector, revealing Iron Man up against a mechanical dreadnought. "And from the picture, anyone can see that you don't know how to fight." He added.
"What?!" Tony cried in disbelief, raising a brow. "There's about twenty supervillains out there who would disagree with you."
"Were they all encased in metal as well?" Connor queried with a subtle smirk. Steve shook his head in amusement and laid a massive hand on Tony's shoulder. The supersoldier serum had certainly left its physical mark behind, Steve Rogers being twice as broad and tall as his two compatriots. Eyeing his burly shoulders, Connor couldn't help but gawk before sorrowfully studying his own thin limbs.
"Meet me in the training room in five minutes. We've got some work to do." Steve ordered. Connor and Tony watched him go, the billionaire offering a questioning glare at his retreating form.
"I can only imagine what he's got in mind." He muttered, taking another bite of his tofu. "You coming, Connor?" He wondered. The technopath ditched his charcoal remains.
"Sure thing. I'll just grab the nearest medical bag first." He agreed, making to step out.
"Why?" Tony slowly questioned.
"I've sparred with Cap, trust me, we'll need it." He explained, leaving Tony only slightly concerned.
Five minutes later, Hawkeye scampered across the upper rafter and found a quick seat next to a waiting Hulk, rubbing his hands together gleefully as he stared down into the sparring ring below. "This is gonna be good." He mused with a grin.
"Yup." Hulk agreed, also grinning. Down on the ground, Steve dropped into the ring expertly from a pair of gymnast rings and proceeded to lace up a pair of boxing gloves, while Tony had stripped down to a tank top and sweatpants and had also donned a pair of boxing gloves… as well as a head-protector. Connor leaned on the edge of the ring, a bag of medical equipment sitting by his feet.
"From what I've seen, your fighting style is to either tackle people or blast them. If I had to guess, I'd say you'd never been in an actual fight in your life." Steve determined.
"Guess that depends on how heated board meetings get." Connor quipped.
"Aren't you supposed to be on my side?" Tony wondered with a sideways glance.
"Just trying to lighten the mood." The technopath defended.
"Punch me." Steve abruptly ordered. Tony held up his hands in excuse.
"I'm not gonna-"
"Do it." The order was firm, Steve's eyes narrowing in disapproval. Tony sighed in relent, shrugging before winding up to deliver a quick left cross…
And promptly found himself laid out flat on the floor, reeling from the blow that struck his jaw.
Connor winced as Hawkeye and Hulk snickered up above, Tony groaning as he rolled over and lifted his head. "What just happened?" He wondered, sounding dazed.
"Let's try that again." Cap suggested, offering him a hand. Tony accepted, getting back to his feet and catching his breath. Thinking quickly, he sought to use his moment of apparent unreadiness to land a quick straight jab…
And found himself bouncing off the border ropes, landing hard on his face with a red mark on his cheek.
Hulk and Hawkeye burst into uproarious laughter, clutching their stomachs as it echoed throughout the room, Connor cringing as he watched Tony moan in pain. Crawling to his feet, Tony somehow managed to stand as Steve showed no mercy, assuming a boxer's stance as the armored Avenger turned to go another round. Determination filled Tony's eyes, ready to land a solid hit before going down. He rushed Steve, swinging wildly with left and right jabs the supersoldier avoided with ease, grabbing his third attempt and landing a hard straight jab that put Tony flat on his back.
"Been there, done that." Connor sighed, Hawkeye and Hulk beside themselves with hilarity.
"My armor protects me, you know," Tony grumbled as he pushed himself up, "it would've taken you down before you even touched me." Steve offered him a hand up, but Tony refused this time, standing on his own. "And if the suit I was wearing couldn't handle you, I've got four more that could." He boasted, tearing off his gloves.
"You can't always count on your armor. You have to be ready for anything." Steve retorted, crossing his arms.
"That's the whole point. I'm working to know exactly what's coming, I'll know exactly what to be ready for." Tony stated, stripping off his gloves in a huff.
"You just don't like working out, do you?" Connor wondered.
"I get plenty of exercise fighting bad guys!" Tony snapped. "Stop giving me a hard time about it."
"Now that just sounds like someone trying to compensate for something." Connor mused, rolling his eyes. "Come on, Tony, would it kill you to learn how to box? I mean, maybe Cap's method isn't the greatest… I know I learn better from actually being taught what to do than getting my ass handed to me all the time."
"You're missing the point, Connor. I don't need to know. Why? Because we've come a lot farther than basic training in World War Two and I'm capable of things that would rattle any veteran's mind." Tony responded sharply, leaving the ring. The technopath raised his hands in surrender.
"Alright alright, no need to start taking shots."
"Only because none of his hit Cap!" Hawkeye guffawed from above.
Elsewhere…
One of New York's many towering skyscrapers, the Baxter Building was a well-known focal point for scientific endeavours within the rooftop laboratories. And it was in one such wing that the rest of the Avengers could be found. "These… Fantastic Four as you call them, they are mortal heroes as well?" Thor wondered, pausing a by a picture of the team to study it briefly.
"Mm, they're more like explorers." Hank replied. "I think Reed said they were heading off to the Earth's core today."
"This isn't fair… none of you could've taken me alone!" A shackled Blizzard complained from between him and Janet. Supervillain Donald Gill, gifted with a power pack that allowed him to produce freezing blasts of liquid nitrogen from his fingertips, was once a longtime foe of Iron Man. A reputation now for nought after the Avengers subdued him.
"Man, you are a whiner!" Janet sighed, shoving him forward. "You've been complaining ever since we caught you, Blizzard… which was really easy by the way." She added with a snide smile.
"Where are you taking me?" Blizzard grumbled, doing his best to ignore her. No one answered him, not until they arrived in a large open room. "What is this place?!" He demanded. Before them stood what appeared to be a giant door, guarded by a pair of SHIELD mandroids with the number 42 emblazoned on the two halves.
"It's a… well, honestly, I'm not sure. I haven't seen it yet." Janet answered, Thor raising a brow in suspicion as he noted the size and shape of everything. This did not look like a criminal detention facility.
"Well, Iron Man, Reed Richards and I had a meeting after the breakout." Hank explained, swiping his ID card and performing a handprint scanner for verification. "We brainstormed ideas to make the world a better place, and this was number forty-two." Alarms began to sound as the two halves of the door slowly slid apart.
"Truthfully, friend Pym, I do not think this will hold anybody." Thor remarked, only to stop and stare with ever-widening eyes as the doors of 42 revealed a portal on the other side. Swirling and churning blue energy illuminated the whole room, Hank casting a smile over his shoulder before entering fearlessly. Seeing his lack of hesitation, the Thor and Janet made to follow, shoving the less-than-confident Blizzard ahead of them.
On the other side of the portal, they were met by a corridor containing a single robot, one of Hank's custom-built android units.
"Greetings, Doctor Pym." It stated in voice that was a strange blend of humanoid and monotone.
"Good morning, Ultron-Five. We have a new guest for you." Hank cordially replied, as if talking to another human being. "This is Blizzard, he's awaiting trial." He explained, gesturing to the captive villain. The robot's blue-shaded optics turned to register Blizzard, the villain shrinking back out of fear of its oddly-designed head… little did he know that Hank had based Ultron's design off the heads of ants.
"Greetings Mister Gill, AKA Blizzard. May I call you Donald?" Ultron inquired.
"W-What? No!" Blizzard stammered, his eyes searching the area behind his mask in an effort to try and find an escape route. With a simple gesture, Ultron formed a stasis sphere from the floor, levitating Blizzard into the air. "What're you-Agh!" The villain cried, suddenly trapped within and forced to hover behind Hank and Ultron. A curious Thor and Janet followed not far behind, taking in everything as Hank led them deeper into 42. At the end of the corridor, the two Avengers stopped and stared in awe as a massive sanctum was revealed, filled with ray-shielded prison cells and each guarded by an Ultron unit.
There were too many of both to count at a glance.
Even higher up revealed a glass dome surrounding a pipeline of golden energy that powered the station, the twinkling lights of a galaxy on the other side. "Oh… wow!" Janet breathed in awe. Blizzard saw it too and swallowed nervously.
"Did I mention I was really… really sorry?" He wondered.
"What realm is this?" Thor questioned. Hank sighed in frustration.
"We went over this at the mansion, Thor. Remember? The 'Negative Zone'?" He asked in an exasperated tone. "It's a universe comprised completely of anti-matter. By placing the supervillain prison in the Negative Zone, even if there is another mysterious breakout there's nowhere to breakout to." Hank explained as Blizzard was deposited into an empty cell, the stasis bubble around him dissipating as the cell's ray-shield was raised, trapping him within.
"And what of these metal, uh… things? They are the jailers?" Thor queried as he and Janet looked around at all the Ultron units.
"Yes. Ultron is a robot that Iron Man and I designed together, I've been mass-producing them since the breakout to act as wardens on Forty-Two." Hank explained, turning over Blizzard's paperwork to Ultron-5. The android warden moved away, pausing to visit a cell containing Mandrill, caught by the team months prior.
"How are you doing, Jerome?" It inquired, prompting the beastial supervillain on the other side to lash out and rage against its cell door, Ultron unfazed by his actions.
"Ultron can't be hurt, can't be corrupted, and I've programmed them to help rehabilitate the prisoners." Hank stated proudly. "Pretty great, right?" Janet did not respond immediately, studying the floor to ceiling rows of cells, each with a dozen Ultron units on standby. There had to be hundreds, possibly thousands of them.
"That's… a lot of Ultrons." She mused. "I bet Connor would have a field day with them."
"What makes you say that, friend Wasp?" Thor asked.
"I mean, he can talk to technology with his mind, right? Imagine having a metal friend like Ultron around." She replied. A thought came to her and she giggled, "I bet he could get to know one of them so well he'd start dating it!" Hank and Thor did not respond, merely exchanging puzzled looks.
Back at the Mansion…
Steve suited up in his Captain America costume, taking on his iconic appearance as the 'sentinel of liberty' as he, Tony and Connor geared up for another round of heroics. Connor slipped on his Cybernaut costume, pulling the mask up around his head and over his eyes as his irons hovered passively around him. "I'm getting good at multitasking." He mused, using his technopathic control over his magnets to direct the irons into their respective pockets as Steve slipped his shield across his back.
"The ability to perform more than one job will make you an asset in the field. There's a lot to being a hero than just punching out bad guys." He commented.
"Let me guess, you played radio operator when you weren't rearranging Nazi teeth." Connor deduced.
"Even better; I was on KP duty." Cap replied with a grin. As he finished, Tony emerged from one of his armor chambers, fully armed and operation in a buffed and puffed Mark VII Iron Man suit.
"Ahhhh, well, I appreciate the lessons… and the bruises… but the world has changed, Cap, life moves faster now than ever, and it's only gonna get faster still." He remarked, rolling his arms as he tested out his suit's servomotors. "I'm wired into a worldwide network of computers and satellites. The goal is to see danger before it gets here." He announced, his optical HUD displaying a complete bio-scan of the Captain, revealing key aspects of his physique as well as a complete physical analysis for Tony's databank. "I'm ready for the future and I'm working to get humanity there in one piece. You're still used to the old way of doing things." Cap shook his head in a bemused manner.
"They say those who forget history are doomed to repeat it. If the old ways include training and preparation, then maybe you need to slow down a bit."
"Uh, slow… down? I hear you talking but the words don't make sense." Tony remarked sarcastically, his faceplate retracting to reveal a somewhat smug look.
"I think I'm gonna have to go with Cap on this one, Tony. Sure, tech is nice and useful, but we need to slow down and pause for a little bit once in a while." "My family has this cabin in Montana, right in the mountains, where we can go to get away for a while. It was perfect for me growing up, no tech to barrage my mind, no prowling mutant hunters, just the peace and quiet that comes with nature."
"Well said, Connor. Always a good idea to get back to basics." Cap agreed. "It's always a good idea to know some basics, Tony, no matter what year it is. Some things never change." He finished and the technopath wagged his finger and continued,
"That being said, Steve, there are some things from your day that can be accomplished better in our day and age with modern advances. Like getting in touch with someone, you can use a phone sure and that'll connect you to them in a heartbeat. But you can also shoot off a text, see their face in a video chat, do more than just write a letter or try to patch through on a rotary phone." He described, throwing his arms around both of his teammates, "Now… can old meet new in the middle or is this like oil and water trying to mix?" He wondered, shifting glances back and forth between Steve and Tony.
"That's your position, Connor?" The Captain wondered.
"And I'm sticking to it." Connor affirmed. "I've been a technopath my whole life, I can trailblaze a path to the future probably better than Tony can. Technology is basically and integral and intricate part of my life, so I know exactly what it's like to live in the now. But it also gives me an appreciation for getting back to basics, for taking things slowly." He described. "Technology for me is like a voice, a language. And every day, everywhere, I'm constantly hearing this language like I am right now. So an opportunity to slow down, go to the mountains and live tech-free for a bit? That's my idea of a vacation." He mused wistfully, earning a sideways glance from Tony and an approving nod from Steve. "I know when it's time to get back to basics, to play things old-school and just slow down. But I also know how to live in the now and get used to the speed life has reached. To that end, I think I might be the living embodiment of both of your ideals." Connor surmised. At that, Tony and Steve shared a glance.
"Well…"
"There's still a few things…"
"You half-right…"
"Almost…" Connor's expression deadpanned.
"Ugh, fine, be that way… two old men set in their ways." He huffed, turning to leave. "If you two start a civil war over this, remember, I tried to find middle ground." He called over his shoulder, walking towards the armoury exit.
He didn't get very far, a flash of white light jerking his attention back to beyond Tony and Steve.
Instinctively, the Avengers made ready as Captain America took hold of his shield, Iron Man triggered his faceplate, and Cybernaut formed his twin batons. The light was blinding, the trio shielding themselves as they waited in anxious expectation.
Then, a shadowy shape began to emerge, slowly taking form as it gradually encroached on the three, hovering several feet off the ground. To Cap's eyes it looked like a chair, to Tony it resembled a throne, to Connor, well, he was more interested in who was seated on it.
"Greetings, Avengers," a male voice spoke, its tone neither friendly nor provocative. The light receded, revealing a man in robes of green overlaid with indigo armor, his face concealed behind a blue-masked helmet as he stood from his seat and towered above them all, "I am Kang. I've come from your future to deliver a message to Captain America." He announced, a portal forming by his side and allowing him to reach in and draw a rifle of odd proportions, taking aim with both hands as a green glow lit the barrel.
His sights on Captain America, Kang fired.
A burst of high-frequency rays struck his shield like a tank round, throwing Cap off his feet. Stepping in between, Iron Man generated a forcefield with his repulsors, deflecting a sustained round that pushed him to his limits. "JARVIS! Initiate mansion defences!" Tony cried, prompting sections of the floor and roof to give way and reveal a series of rotary cannons and missile emplacements. Multiple warheads streaked towards Kang, impacting with explosive force and filling the room with smoke. Cybernaut regrouped with the other two, watching hopefully for signs of a successful hit.
The smoke cleared, revealing instead the emerald outline of Kang's own forcefield.
The cannons opened fire next, barraging Kang with limitless energy bolts that impacted with his field, nearly hiding him from view amid a surge of constant blue. But a mere press of a button on his throne unleashed and electromagnetic surge that ripped through the room, shutting down the weaponry. Connor felt and sensed each device be crippled, like a voice abruptly cutoff in mid-sentence. Directing his rifle towards the ceiling, Kang unleashed a threefold blast of ultrasonics that obliterated the room's remaining defences with ridiculous efficiency.
"Either this guy is just that good, or he knows us way too well for my liking!" Cybernaut remarked. Kang's throne lowered to the floor, allowing him to step down as he holstered his weapon across his back.
"I don't care who he is, this ends now!" Iron Man declared, unleashing a repulsor blast intended for the time traveller. What he struck instead was the shielded throne, Kang nowhere to be seen. Momentarily confused, Iron Man looked around only for Kang to appear quite suddenly beside him. A vice grip ensnared his throat as Kang hoisted the armored Avenger into the air. "Okay, now I care who you are…!" Tony rasped, triggering a remote alert to the ID cards of the rest of the Avengers. Cybernaut jumped in to intervene, bringing his batons down and slamming into an electric field generated by Kang's belt, throwing him off with concussive force. The time traveller turned his attention back to Iron Man, studying him.
"Your armor is… amusing. Primitive, but amusing." He commented. A whizzing through the air caught his attention as Captain America hurled his shield at top speed. But without even looking, Kang raised his arm, stopping his weapon with shocking ease. "Now… where were we?" With a simple gesture, he sent Cap's shield hurtling back with equal force, slamming into his abdomen and crumpling him into a heap on the floor. Exercising impressive strength, Kang then turned and threw Iron Man into a wall, the Avenger falling to the floor as Kang turned on Captain America.
"JARVIS, give me full analysis of Kang's armor and weapons." Tony demanded. His screen flickered, a red error sign popping up on his HUD.
"Unable to analyze, alloy is impenetrable to armor systems." Tony shook his head in bewilderment.
"What…? What about his chair?" He asked.
"Error, no known technology on file. Extrapolating…" JARVIS replied, pausing as the suit's scanners swept over the chair. "Error, unable to comprehend give current level of technology." He reported.
"Unbelievable…" Tony groaned, turning to find the recovering Connor close by. "Cybernaut, anything on the tech he's using?" He asked.
"There's… There's so much of it." Connor answered after a moment. "So advanced, so complex, all of it found or hidden somewhere on his body…" His mind was awash with new data signals and code transmissions, all of which stemming from Kang. His entire body was brimming with these, so much so Connor was left rather awestruck.
"Can you hack any of it?" Tony asked.
"No, I need to study it. It's too advanced, I can't just tap in like I normally do." The technopath replied with a shake of his head.
"We'll have to find a way to get you close enough." Iron Man determined as the two helped each other up. Meanwhile, Captain America had started wailing on Kang, launching punch after punch and kick after kick, all of them meeting a simple force field generated by Kang's belt.
"Who are you?" Steve demanded. "Why are you attacking the Avengers?!"
"Oh, not the Avengers, Captain. You." Kang answered, giving Cap pause. "As for your questions, I am Kang the Conqueror. I have come from the forty-first century, travelling to the backwater time period for one simple reason: to eliminate you from the timeline." He declared, toggling a button on his chest piece, a shockwave of energy erupted from his suit, blowing over the Captain as Iron Man and Cybernaut moved to take his place.
"JARVIS, full power to unibeam!" Tony ordered, unleashing an almighty blast from his central reactor.
"I really need something like a unibeam." Connor said wistfully as he hurled his irons with the force of a railgun. The twin sets of projectiles struck Kang's force field harmlessly, the Conqueror unfazed behind it.
"That's… not possible." Tony gasped.
"Stay focused." Cap urged, advancing slowly as his allies flanked him.
"Kang, you say you're from the future, why do you want to take out Captain America?" Iron Man questioned.
"To save the world." Kang answered, stunning them all.
"How on Earth does killing him save the world?" Cybernaut demanded. "Sounds like that's the trigger for ending the world instead."
"I do not expect you to understand," Kang replied, "only that you will step aside and let me-" he was stopped by a snarling, growling noise from behind, constant and moving until it was above him.
Kang looked up and found the Hulk towering over him.
His body pitched through a series of walls, Kang soon found himself crashing into the mansion's training room, slamming into a wall and coming to a halt. The surprise attack hadn't given him any time to prepare his defences and only a single hit from Hulk had propelled hm far away from his chair. He needed to move, get back into fighting shape, and Kang made to stand only to find himself staring down the head of an arrow as well as a Vibranium dagger.
"Now this is just some friendly advice… I'd stay down if I were you." Hawkeye cautioned, both him and Black Panther at the ready. With a frown, Kang remotely triggered the emitter on the forehead of his helmet, unleashing another blastwave that sent the two Avengers sprawling. Hulk charged back into the room as Kang climbed to his feet, smiling as he primed his forcefield.
The green giant's fists plowed into the seemingly impenetrable aura, rebuffing him as Hulk landed blow after blow. But then the monster started to power through, his hand reaching and bending the field around him until he broke through to Kang's shock. Two meaty hands grabbed his body, trapping his arms by his sides and lifted him into the air, Hulk threatening to tear him apart.
"Hulk, wait!" Tony cried, entering the room along with Cap and Cybernaut. "We need answers… what did you mean by save the world, Kang?"
"In my time, I rule all. But a disruption in the space-time continuum destroyed my reality, erasing everything from existence." The Conqueror answered. "I trace the cause of the disruption to an anomaly in the timestream; something that should not have existed in the twenty-first century… Captain America!" He revealed, the Avengers pausing to dissect this information. Taking advantage of their stillness, Kang fleshed his hands a loosed multiple orbs from the fingertips of his gloves, each one settling on an Avenger and unleashing an electric shock that drove them to the ground, writhing and screaming in pain. Not even Hulk was immune to such extremes, forced to drop Kang as he fell to the ground with a pained roar.
Unopposed, the Conqueror moved on Captain America, drawing his rifle from behind. "Your actions in this era have destroyed my empire, Captain! Ending your life is the first step in restoring it," he vowed, taking aim and charging his weapon to maximum power. He had every intention of taking a shot…
But was kept from doing so when Mjolnir slammed into his chest, driving him back and smashing him into another wall.
Taking advantage of his technological prowess, Kang used the antigravity pads in his boots to gracefully set him feet first on the ground, Mjolnir retreating back into the hand of Thor, flanked by Ant-Man and the Wasp. "You wish to end a life, villain? Then try ours!" Thor roared as Hank grew to Giant Man and Wasp shrank down to take flight.
"Yeah!" She echoed, surging ahead only to stop abruptly as the meaning of his words set in. "Wait, what?" Kang merely beckoned them onwards, or so it seemed, Thor turning as he was beset by a barrage of emerald laser beams, fired from Kang's chair. The hovering platform entered the room as a dozen micro-turrets blitzed the Avengers with sustained fire, forcing them all to step back in avoidance as Kang reclaimed his seat.
"Give it up, Kang!" Iron Man commanded as the entire team assembled behind him.
"Kang does not give up, primitive." Kang retorted, clearly unimpressed. "If you insist on fighting for the Captain's life, then I will show you fools exactly what you are fighting for!" He promised, keying in a command into the chair as the Avengers rushed him, all promptly enveloped by a white light that whisked them away…
Ten years later…
Slowing their assault, the Avengers paused as the metal floor around them gave way to ashen dirt, stopping as a new landscape was revealed to them…
Well, hellscape might've been a more appropriate term.
All around the Avengers lay the shattered and ruined husks of buildings, all of which were recognizable to some degree. Before them sat the remains of the wireframe globe that stood before the United Nations building on the edge of New York harbour. The globe, like the building behind it, had been mangled almost beyond recognition. All around them, the scene was bathed in the red light of distant flames, the air thick with ash and decay, and above them sat a sight most sinister… the sun had been split in two.
"No…" Tony gasped, the others looking around in equally frightened awe. Before them, Kang's chaired warped into existence, the Conqueror seated on it with a look of grim satisfaction on his face.
"This is what Captain America's presence in your time has caused." He proclaimed. "This is all his fault."
"Where have you taken us, Kang?" Iron Man demanded.
"Not where, Avenger, but when." Kang corrected. "You stand in your New York City, just ten years from your present day." His revelation horrified them all.
"You did this!" Hawkeye angrily accused, lifting his bow with a fitted arrow ready to loose.
"You are not listening, archer." Kang growled. "I am not responsible for destroying your world, Captain America is."
"Everyone just… just wait!" Tony ordered, trying to cool heated heads. "JARVIS, connect to the Stark Industries network."
"Network not found." His AI stated.
"Try SHIELD, try everything!" Tony insisted frantically.
"Error, no known networks found." JARVIS answered. Tony staggered back.
"There's… there's nothing out there." He breathed. "Connor? Can you sense anything?" He asked. Cybernaut stopped, reaching out with his senses…
For the first time in a long time, everything was deathly quiet.
"There's… nothing." He said quietly, looking up. "Tony, guys, there's nothing left… there's no one left."
"Of course not." Kang stated. "You see very soon in your timeline, your Earth will be consumed in a war. Earth's sun will be a casualty in the war, along with all life on the planet." He explained.
"What kind of war could do that?" Wasp queried.
"A war between two alien empires: the Kree and the Skrull." Kang's answer shocked the team, nearly all of them familiar with those terms after their encounter with the sentry and Mar-Vell. "But in the end, it was Captain America who was truly responsible."
"Nay! You lie, Conqueror! No one man could be responsible for such destruction!" Thor retorted. "Least of all, Captain America!"
"Not knowingly." Kang interjected. "But the captain should not exist in your time. He should not be alive. I am here to correct this."
"Let me get this straight; handing over Cap to you is gonna save the world?" Hawkeye asked incredulously.
"Stupid future man!" Hulk roared, unable to bear the constant talking as he leaped ahead and brought his fists crashing down into Kang's forcefield. Toggling a single panel on his chair, Kang unleashed an electric feedback shock that sent the Hulk flying past the Avengers, tumbling to a halt in the ground a good ways off.
"It may." Kang continued calmly. "I came to eliminate Captain America, but just to be sure I'm going to advance the planet's technology. I will ready your military and prepare for the coming war." He offered. "Earth will be able to repulse the alien forces."
"And how do you plan to accomplish all this?" Ant-Man questioned.
"Simple. By conquering your world."
"As expected. Hence the title." Connor remarked.
"I tell you this as a courtesy. This is going to happen." Kang stated flatly. "Hand over Captain America, stay out of my way, or face my wrath." He threatened.
"If I really am responsible for all this, I have to stand down, there's too much at stake." Cap determined ruefully. "But the rest of the world… it's your decision, Tony. You're the futurist after all." He relented, turning the decision over to his teammate.
"Tony, you can't possibly-" Wasp trailed off.
"There's no way we can just give him over to this guy… who might not even be who he claims to be." Cybernaut echoed.
"We know the Kree are coming, we've already met them. Kang has technology more advanced than anything I could ever dream of, he could be the world's only hope." Iron Man surmised, his grim tone startling the team as they believed he might give in to the grinning Conqueror's offer.
Then Iron Man snapped up his head, optics ablaze. "But he's being a real big jerk about it." He added. "Avengers! Take him!" Without any hesitation, the team rushed in, a volley of arrows, repulsor rays, lightning, biostings, irons and Vibranium daggers hurtling towards Kang. They impacted with an almighty explosion, each one striking his forcefield. Kang went untouched and frowned.
"I hope you enjoy the rest of your days on this dead world, for this is where I am leaving you!" He snapped, pressing a switch on his chair as he prepared to teleport away… only to be stopped when millions of insects started crawling up his body and chair. Everyone paused.
"Okay… I'm impressed, and grossed out." Janet mused.
"I sensed them the second we got here." Ant-Man replied, his helmet activated as he used it to control the insects. "Cockroaches can survive anything."
"Ingenious. But also… ugh!" Connor shuddered in revulsion. Taking advantage of Kang's loss of focus, Hulk drove his foot into the ground, creating a miniature fault line that caught underneath Kang's chair, catapaulting him from his seat and into the air. His boot tech allowed him to land gracefully, encircled by Hawkeye, Black Panther, Thor and Iron Man. The archer loosed a pair of arrows, both stopped by Kang's stasis field gloves. Iron Man snapped up his arm, a micro-missile launcher popping out and loosing a warhead that Kang promptly redirected into Cap's shield. Steve tanked the shot, holding fast.
"Iron Man, get to the chair! That's our ticket home!" He ordered.
"What?" Tony protested. "But I can't-"
"You're the only one who can!" Cap shouted as he absorbed an incoming blast from Kang. "Cybernaut, go with him!" He tasked. Although eager to pitch in, Connor knew his talents were best used elsewhere.
"On it!" He affirmed, making a break for the chair while Kang was distracted by Hulk and Thor. Iron Man joined him, taking a seat as socket ports in his armor opened up and plugged into the chair's armrests.
"Alright, I'm in. Not sure how much good this'll do." He muttered.
"What're we looking for?" Connor asked as he stood by.
"Something that will give me access to this chair's functions." Tony answered, already running preliminary diagnostic scans. "Which might be impossible, seeing as his tech is so advanced I can't even scan him properly."
"Here, let me try to boost your capabilities." Connor offered, one hand touching Iron Man's gauntlet while the other rested on the back of the chair. At once his senses came alive with two conflcting forms of technological transmission, one familiar the other strange and alien to him. The chair was not unlike the Kree Sentry, and Connor knew he'd have to focus hard. "Kang is organic, like we are. He has to have a simple way to access things, like the way we use computers."
"Except his buttons are telepathic," Tony surmised, "you start looking, try to break down the programming barriers while I start searching files." He tasked, his HUD racing with data streams as Connor bridged the gap between them, using his technopathic skills to act as a bridge between his understanding and Tony's.
Kang had an answer for everything the Avengers dished out; a kinetic feedback field, impact energy spheres, stasis field gloves, the Conqueror proving to be as potent as a one-man army singlehandedly stopping everything from Thor's hammer to rocks thrown by Hulk.
"You really hope to defeat me by throwing rocks at me? You mindless monster!" He belittled.
"It's called a distraction, smart guy." The green giant retorted with a grin. Sensing the truth behind his words too little too late, Kang felt claws tear through the back of his clothes as Black Panther landed a perfect hit from behind. Momentarily stunned, Kang's robes self-repaired as he turned and unleashed an impulse beam from his glove, bowling over the Wakanda before his shields deployed to stop Hulk.
"Ugh, this data… his tech is like ours, just light years better!" Connor grumbled, struggling to make sense of the futuristic technology. Tony was grappling with a similar battle.
"Error, unable to analyze." JARVIS intoned.
"Come on! This isn't magic, it's technology, there has to be logic to it." Tony griped, tapping buttons and toggling commands in an effort to break down the truth behind the chair's abilities.
Amid battling Thor, Kang finally noticed the ploy. "You dare?!" He growled, discarding the Asgardian and marching towards the duo.
"He's going after Iron Man and Cybernaut! Avengers, stop him!" Cap ordered, Hank growing into Giant Man as he brought his fist crashing down. Kang held him at bay with his stasis gloves, turning Giant Man's size against him as he knocked the towering hero into the ground with a flick of his wrist. Hawkeye moved in next, fitting half of his arsenal into his bowstring and launching a barrage of explosive arrows that cratered the ground.
Kang should've been taken out along with the pit that formed, but casually strode free and cleared the smoke.
His forehead beam sent Hulk flying into a ruined skyscraper, collapsing the rest of it atop the green giant. His stasis field snagged Panther and used him like a shield to block a biosting from Wasp, before another impact ray knocked her out of the air. With only Captain America and Thor between him and his chair, Kang unleashed heat rays from his gloves that impacted with shield and hammer as the two Avengers held him at bay. "We're running out of time here!" Cap called over his shoulder.
"I know, I know!" Tony called, back, frantically searching. Connor remained quiet, his eyes closed as data filled his head. The language was refined and advanced, almost human but not quite. It had to have an end point, just like the Zodiac Key did. He focused harder, a vein on the side of his head bulging as he grappled with the vast input of numbers and symbols, raking them over one by one…
Until he found it. A pinprick of hope.
"Tony, I think I've got something. Access the coding in the two-hundred-thousands range." He hurriedly said. Tony did as asked, JARVIS bringing up line after line of green code as Connor helped speed through it, numbers and text rolling past his vision.
"I don't see it… ugh, I can't do it!" He groaned. "There's just no way to-" He stopped suddenly, his vision scanning a singular line of code, buried under millions, that he immediately recognized. "JARVIS stop!" He shouted, the text coming to a total halt. "Connect to port two-nine-zero-nine-two-six now!" All other text faded away, the numbers 290296 flashing before him for a moment until they turned green. Connor allowed his mind to dive in as Tony connected, the armor interfacing with the chair seamlessly as its functions were made available for Iron Man to command.
Kang looked past Thor and Cap in horr as his chair submitted to the combined will of Cybernaut and Iron Man. "No!" He cried in dismay.
"A very smart man once said 'those who ignore the past are doomed to repeat it'." Tony remarked. "Your tech is incredibly advanced, Kang, but some of its physical systems are based on very old technology."
"And old is our speciality, seeing as its our present." Connor added with a grin.
"Especially when it's old Stark Industries technology." Tony continued. "Activate time circuits, now!" The chair obeyed, teleporting Kang and the other Avengers back to the mansion…
Back in the present…
Warping back into the training room, it was as if the Avengers had never left, all of them breathing a sigh of relief to be back safe and relatively unharmed.
Kang, however, was not.
"You will pay for this!" He threatened, sprinting ahead and using a stasis blast to propel Thor and Captain America away from him. Iron Man and Cybernaut were all that remained and he lunged forward-
Only to come to a stop in midair.
Kang struggled, gritting his teeth as he attempted to move only to fail. "What… is the meaning… of this?!" He demanded. Cybernaut presented himself, arm outstretched and gauntlet thrumming with power.
"It suddenly occurred to me, Kang, that armor you wear… it's very much made of metal." He stated. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled Kang across the room, the time traveller tumbling to a halt. It wasn't long before he was back on his feet and seething mad.
"If you think that alone can stop me, you are very mistaken!" He promised, turning his hands out and preparing to unleash a powerful blast from his gauntlets…
But nothing came.
Connor cocked his head. "Expericing some technical issues? Maybe you wanna call I.T.?" He wondered with a positively grating grin. Kang tried to order more of his weapons into action, his portals, his fields, his spheres, but nothing worked.
"What is this?!" He demanded. "What have you done to me?!"
"Arthur Clarke once said that 'any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic'." Connor mused. "Guess I just earned the right to be called a magician!" At his remark, one of Kang's gloves suddenly combusted, the explosion throwing him to the ground as smoke and sparks engulfed his left hand. "Riddle me this, Kang: if you're from the future, how many times have I humiliated you with your own technology?" Cybernaut wondered, his irons forming a staff. He started walking towards him, Kang vainly trying to get some of his gear to work only to find his equipment refused to cooperate. "You see, I'm a technopath, and technology is very different from my perspective. You may see it as tools and gadgets you can control, but I see it as a language that can be spoken." Cybernaut explained.
"And once I learn to speak that language, I can speak it very very fluently."
At once, Kang's own tech turned against him, short circuiting and turning all manner of combat protocols back on himself as the Conqueror suffered and assault from his own weaponry. "The moment I helped Iron Man access your chair, I also managed to access the same language your technology speaks. So not only can I control your chair… but I can also control you." He stated. Kang backed away fearfully, his clothes torn and smoking.
"Impossible!" He gasped.
"The very thing I do on a regular basis." Cybernaut retorted, gripping his staff with both hands. "Now, open wide!" Swinging hard, his staff smashed into the side of Kang's head, and without a forcefield to protect him, the crunch of metal and tissue bending underneath the heavy hit was a very satisfying sound.
Pitched into a wall, Kang slumped to the floor as Connor pulled him back over by his metal boots. "No, no!" The conqueror cried as Connor lifted his stabbed and smashed it into Kang's belt, shattering the forcefield components he had already put on pause.
"Hey Thor, can you work with a lightning rod?" He wondered, stepping back as his magnets held the staff upright, buried in Kang's electronics. The thunder god grinned.
"Verily." He answered.
Taking flight, he conjured a lightning storm that charged Mjolnir, Kang watching fearfully as the Asgardian powered up. "This day you yield, Kang!" Thor declared, unleashing a bolt of lightning that struck the end of Connor's staff and carried down into Kang's body. An immense feedback loop flushed every aspect of his ornate and complex armor, microcircuitry that one protected him now turning on Kang as they became the conduits for a massive dose of electrocution.
Left twitching and steaming, Kang seemed far less a threat than before, powerless and handily crushed under the boot of the Avengers. Cybernaut recalled his staff as Thor landed, Iron Man and Captain America surrounding the downed time traveller.
"Cap and I don't agree on a lot," Tony began, "but on this, we can." Raising his left arm, his gauntlet opened up to form a stun cannon, fixing it on the cracked glass of Kang's helmet. "It's over, Kang. You're gonna be spending a very long time here in the twenty-first century." He promised. Despite the imminent setback, Kang still had one last trick to perform, something he'd hardwired with physical components into his suit.
"This… is not over," he vowed, toggling a surviving button on his belt, "Damocles, recall now." He ordered, promptly disappearing with a flash of light. His chair did likewise, vanishing from sight and leaving the Avengers puzzled.
"I thought you disabled him, Connor." Tony questioned.
"I did… what he just activated was more like a beacon, nothing special at all." The technopath answered.
"Meaning he has help." Cap determined. Despite the grim note, he paused and patted Tony on the shoulder. "Good work soldier. But you know he'll be back, right?"
"That's the problem with the future, it's always there waiting for you." Tony replied. "But I can't take all the credit, Connor here helped bring Kang's tech to heel. Without him, I'm sure he'd be far more menacing."
"Took me long enough." Connor muttered, rubbing the back of his head. "Good thing you got me close enough to get a read, Tony. Now I don't know about the rest of you, but I could use a drink. Future Earth's ash is still thick on my tongue."
"Aye, the son of Peter speaks truly!" Thor agreed. "A toast to our grand victory here!" He suggested boisterously. The other Avengers concurred, Tony hoping he'd stocked up the bar…
Elsewhere, high in Earth's orbit…
Teleporting back onto the bridge of his interstellar cruiser, the Damocles, Kang looked far worse for wear when he arrived in front of his bridge crew. "Did the natives surrender?" An officer inquired.
"They did not." Kang growled, standing up as his armor and robes repaired themselves, returning his image to one of spotless perfection. He paused to dwell on his most recent failure, considering the tenacity and unsurpassed cleverness of the Avengers. He would not underestimate them again, especially Cybernaut. The hero had been but a blip in the timestream, but his strength and power had been something Kang had severely underestimated.
He would not do so again.
"Time to show the twenty-first century how I earned the title of 'conqueror'." He determined.
Outside of his ship, against the inky canvas of deep space, a flotilla of invasion ships began to move on the pale blue dot before them. The conquest of Earth was about to commence…