Chapter 8 – What If? (Part 2)

Rewrite of my DxD fic, Forgotten Son of Destruction. Show some love.

Disclaimer: I do not have any rights of ownership for the characters used except the OC's. All the credit goes to the author of the Light Novel.

Chapter 8 – What If? (Part 2)

Silence reigned over the desolate planet as the only people there witnessed what could only be described as something straight out of a comic. Yes, all of them were powerful and had supernatural ability. But a 17-year-old kid just took the force from a being that had the powers of all the infinity stones and did not even move an inch? Yeah, that was fucking crazy.

Strange and Thor were simply stunned, along with Captain Carter, who would have been paste if not for the man in front of her. She could feel the power radiating from the android, his fist inches away from her face. She had no idea how the hell this ki- man, was not even breaking a sweat holding him back without even an ounce of effort.

Ultron was no different. Throughout his entire conquest of the multiverse, not once had this happened to him.

Nicholas saw the way Ultron was looking at him and could practically hear his thoughts. Smirking, he said, "Well there is a first time for everything." And with that statement, the teenager cocked his fist back, a ball of black and gold energy surrounding it, and then let her go.

BOOOOOOOM!!!

That was the only sound that would be heard all over the planet, as the android went sailing back into the air, clearly disoriented from the sheer force behind that punch.

Nicholas knelt forward in front of the Captain and picked her up, as he saw she was still a little out of it due to the intense encounter she had just experienced.

"We are all set there. Leave with Thor and help Gamora and T'Challa with the crusher. Strange and I will be there soon," he said as he let his wings out, revealing them to someone other than his family for the first time.

"Beautiful," was the word that left Peggy's mouth, before she could realize it. And no one could fault her honestly. The wings of the Devil were an absolute personification of the word 'beautiful'. When she heard the chuckling of the person the wings were attached too, she blushed a little before turning back and gesturing Thor to follow her into the portal, a command which he gladly followed. But not before looking at the wonder kid and giving him an appreciating smile.

Taking flight, the devil came to stand beside Strange as the two faced forward, Ultron hovering in the distance, finally back to his senses and they could feel his disdain for them. He would not be playing games now.

His face twisted with rage as he felt the empty spot on his armor, the spot where the soul stone previously sat.

"We just need to stall him for a while before we leave this party," Nicholas declared as he stared at the android. Strange simply nodded and agreed with what he said as they two waited for the android to make the first move. And he did not disappoint.

As the Space Stone glowed an icy blue, dozens of portals manifested all around the duo, launching asteroids towards them. If it was simply a few asteroids, it would not be a problem, but the android was also using the Reality Stone to constantly change the size of the rocks, while the Time Stone accelerated the speed at which they were being bombarded.

Being able to use all the stones in perfect sync, without any demerits. It would make sense why no Universe stood a chance against the killer robot.

But the two beings opposing the Cosmic entity weren't weaklings either. Without even saying a word to each other, the moved into action to counter Ultron. As the field of asteroids hindered them, Nicholas knelt on the ground on one knee, as Strange escaped to the mirror dimension momentarily.

And a wise decision that was.

Because the moment the doctor left, Nicholas' entire body blasted out a massive mushroom cloud of Anti-Magic energy, destroying the field of extraterrestrial rocks. It would have been a cool moment had Ultron been staying idle. But the android was not going to underestimate them anymore and had already launched himself towards the devil.

However, before he could even come close to the place where the silver-haired being stood, he found himself being attacked by three massive dragons that were annoying him to a great degree. The dragons were attached to the left arm of Strange, signifying the fact that they were one of the few beings that he had absorbed inside of him. The dragons opened their scaly, gaping maws and unleashed a burning torrent of flames straight at the robot.

Ultron however remained unaffected by the sickly flames trying to scorch him as he remained majorly unaffected by the attack, only moving slightly back just as he had by Thor's attack. A second later, he raised his double-edged spear and launched the combined power of the Stones, disintegrated all the dragons down to their last atoms.

The annihilation of the dragons caused Strange to groan in pain as a part of his being was ripped out of him, making him stumble back but the former human was held up by the young devil beside him.

"I've got you," Nicholas said as he helped Strange find his footing again. "I believe we should leave now. Got something left in your bag of tricks?"

In reply, Strange simply smiled before raising his arms and opening a portal directly above Ultron. A portal that literally rained death on him as zombies from another universe flooded out of there.

"You sure that'll hold?" Nicholas asked as he saw Ultron destroy hundreds of them with a blast.

Before he got his reply though, out of the army of zombies, floated out a woman he was familiar with, glowing a menacing shade of red. The Zombie variant of Scarlet Witch, Wanda Maximoff.

"Yup, I'm sure," the doctor replied as the two made a quick getaway to join the others, beginning the next phase of the plan.

~ Different Universe, Earth 23223 ~

As the two arrived in the other universe to finally take Ultron down for good, they were greeted to a strange sight that would undoubtedly delay their plans for the killer robot. However, no one could deny that it was slightly comical.

The cause of this was T'Challa, and a random red-haired woman that had spawned out of nowhere. A woman that two of the three Guardians recognized. Natasha Romanoff had somehow joined their battle.

T'Challa was being held in a chokehold around his neck by the gorgeous Russian Spy, a gun pointed at his head, forcing Killmonger and Gamora to remain back unless they wanted to have him killed; to make matters worse, she also had the Soul Stone firmly in her palm. A stone that had taken them quite a lot of efforts to take.

Before Thor or Doctor Strange incinerated the woman to save their comrade, Nicholas stepped in front of all of them and loudly yelled, "STOP!" causing all of them to still in place and turn towards him.

Looking at Peggy, he could see the recognition in her eyes and gestured towards the battered redhead, "You want to take this one?"

Nodding her head with gratitude Peggy moved and spoke in a firm voice, filled with warm, "Stand down, she's Natasha Romanoff."

"I am, yeah. I'm also supposed to be the last person on this planet," Natasha said, her gun still pressed against T'Challa's head.

"We come from another universe. Universes. We're here to put an end to Ultron." Peggy spoke while raising her hands.

Natasha's reaction was to cock her gun and squeeze the weapon, showing that she did not believe Peggy. Apart from Nicholas, her actions caused the rest of their comrades to stiffen up and ready to act at a moment's notice.

"Wait, I can prove it. Your father is Ivan. Your Da's Alexei. And you're the one woman I trust to have my six, including now." Peggy spoke slowly and with each word took a cautious step forward towards Natasha. "And there are three people you trust in the universe, and I count myself lucky enough to be one of them."

There was a long silence as the two women looked at each other, Peggy displaying complete trust and Natasha just staring at her. Killmonger was about to use this moment to stop this nonsense and attack the spy, when Natasha suddenly released T'Challa and dropped her rifle.

"Well, we must be getting close." Natasha finally spoke up, a little smile on her lips.

"I believe the term is BFF," Peggy joked back, a warm smile on her face broken by the sound of shattered glass.

Nicholas and Strange were the first ones to move, an understanding passing between the two as they moved into position, hoping that it all goes according to plan.

"I believe you have something that belongs to me," Ultron's voice was harsh, he then raised a hand, and with a mental command, re-summoned the Soul Stone to him using the power of his infinity stones.

Natasha, who was clutching the Stone tightly, launched into the air, carried forward by the Stone in her grasp. She never reached Ultron, however, since Nicholas and Thor both moved at the same time, with Thor tossing Mjolnir and smashing Ultron's hand apart, and Nicholas flying into the air and catching Natasha, who in turn retrieved the stone that had dropped from her grasp.

As the devil held Natasha bridal style, she felt a warm, almost painful sensation wash over her as Strange threw another powerful protective spell around her. However, both her confusion regarding the spell and their relief from Ultron was fleeting, as Ultron abruptly regrew his arm using the Reality Stone and resumed his assault.

The cosmic android began bombarding the two with energy blasts using the Power Stone, forcing Nicholas to fly around and try and dodge the blasts with utmost agility. If he did not have Natasha in his arms then things would be much easier, but he had to protect her from the robot since she was the one with Stone in her hand.

His teammates were doing everything they can to stop the android's assault, but it seems like Ultron had finally stopped playing around.

"ENOUGH! I can destroy galaxies with a thought! Why won't you DIE?!" Ultron's voice suddenly rang out, giving Nicholas an opportunity to land down and keep Natasha beside Gamora.

The explosion that the cosmic being brought forth was equivalent to the energy released when a universe would form. The explosion was so powerful, that the guardians did not even feel any pain from it. This was the end. No one could hope to match the power of a blast of such catastrophic nature.

All except one.

Within moments, the entire explosion was reduced to a size of small ball, as the others felt time itself being turned back. The ball containing the explosion, hovering in the palm of the strongest sorcerer alive. Strange smirked at Ultron before swallowing the explosion that would have torn them apart, using his magical prowess as well as the Time Stone. His eyes glowing a menacing shade of vermillion, signifying the amount of energy he had absorbed.

"Wait What?" Ultron's confused voice rang out, as he tried to figure out what had just happened.

Only to be then suddenly ambushed by Thor and T'Challa who took the opening given to them slammed into the Android sending him hurtling into the ground. This gave Natasha the opening to pass the stone to Gamora who quickly placed it in the infinity crusher. The first phase of their plan now complete.

The stone began glowing a sickly orange, before releasing a beam of light that illuminated the six spots of the crusher, each for one of the infinity stones, before it stopped glowing and simply floated in one of gaps.

"One down, six to go," Gamora said, causing Natasha to look at her with confusion.

Gamora looked at their new comrade and began explaining, "I designed this machine to destroy the infinity stones. But it only works for the ones in my universe. However, Nicholas modified this to hold the Infinity Stones and sever their connection completely from Ultron. So now, unless he wants to risk destroying the Soul Stone, he can't even touch it due to the crusher now being a protective barrier that prevents the Soul Stone from being stolen. Only Nicholas' magic, which is unique only to him, can be used as a key to open that barrier and take the stone."

She then looked at Natasha, who stared with a nonchalant look and continued, "But we need to get the rest of the stones before we take care of Ultron for good."

Natasha thought for a moment before smirking and looked straight at her bike, "I might have something that might help."

While the two of them were having this discussion, the rest of the team was busy fighting the enraged android. Thor and Nicholas were engaging the android in close combat, arcs of electricity and anti-magic blasting around as the duo tried their level best to keep the android on his toes and prevent him from using the stones to his advantage.

T'Challa was shooting at the android from a distance as he jumped around and through portals that Strange kept on opening around the android, making it difficult for the robot to predict where the Star Lord might come from next.

"Don't let up, give him no time to react!" Peggy's voice rang out as she threw her shield into the side of Ultron's head.

The shield arced high into the sky, allowing Killmonger to jump up and catch it with the grace of a panther in the air, quickly sending it back towards his opponent at greater speeds, striking and then ricocheting off Ultron's chest back to Peggy. Killmonger did not let up and continued with a series of claw strikes and a backflip to clear the way for Thor's thunder strike, which flattened Ultron. But not before the android launched a blast straight at the Asgardian god, launching him back towards Gamora and Natasha.

Thor landed on the ground, chest heaving as he tried to catch his breath, Natasha shouted at him, "Can you get me an opening through his armor?"

Thor, still winded due to the harsh landing, only coughed and nodded before flying back into the fold as he saw Strange and Ultron fight using the respective Time Stones they had. He propelled forward and came to stand beside Nicholas, his mind forming a plan on how to execute what he had been told.

"AH-HA!" Thor cried, startling the young devil, who too was reaching exhaustion now.

The god turned towards Nicholas before speaking excitedly, "My friend we have a new addition to our plan to defeat this Party Pooper. If I can strike this one to the ground, can you remove his helmet?"

Nicholas simply stared at him for a while before sighing, and nodding at the smiling Asgardian. "Hit him as hard as you possibly can."

Thor just smirked and began spinning Mjolnir, building up the strength for his strongest act in the history of his adventures. Nicholas himself began powering up his energy, augmenting his entire body so he could destroy the Vibranium helmet of the android.

While this was going on, the others hadn't let Ultron breathe for even a second. Strange unleashed his truly demonic side, his face contorting into a monstrous one as he exploded into a mass of tentacles, hooves and claws that coiled around Ultron, flinging him into the air and then plummeting back into the ground, leaving Ultron slightly disoriented from the series of attacks he had just went through. As Ultron slammed into the ground, a glowing series of runes appeared around him and bound him to the floor, mystical chains binding him to the floor that were assisted by the rest of the Guardians of the Multiverse as they each grabbed onto one of the chains, restraining Ultron momentarily.

Nicholas could see that while Strange and Killmonger would be able to keep the android down for some time, the same could not be said for Peggy and T'Challa who were already pushing beyond their limits.

Seeing the opening, Nicholas alerted Thor and screamed, "Now, Thor!"

The blonde god launched himself forward, right above the bound robot and swung his hammer with an unprecedented force as he shouted the name of his signature move, "VIVA LAS VEGAS!"

Thor let out a battle roar as he slammed Ultron into the ground with a hit so powerful that the bones in Thor's arm shattered and Mjolnir cracked slightly.

"AHH!" Ultron screamed as he collided with the ground, which was further aggravated by the sensation of hands burrowing into the side of his helmet, attempting to rip his skull apart. Ultron raised his palm and launched a strong surge of energy that knocked everyone back, pinning several of the guardians to walls in the process. Strange, Nicholas, and Thor were the only three people left standing beside Ultron.

Strange and Thor were holding onto the chains binding Ultron. Strange's magic working overtime to shield himself and Thor from the blast of the android. Nicholas on the other hand was being protected by the Anti-Magic surrounding him, but even he could feel the heat of the attack. If this went for a few more moments, the three of them would start taking massive damage.

So, with renewed vigour, he pushed the android's helmet apart, grunting in pain as well. "AHHH!" Nicholas' cry broke out as he felt the helmet snap apart in his hand, and with that the young devil fell backwards, pain reeling across his body as the adrenaline wore off.

"All that power and you waste on removing my helmet," Ultron declared as he rose from the ground hovering over Nicholas' prone form, hand raised to destroy the man that had caused him so much trouble.

However, before he could fire a blast off and incinerate him, the sound of a motorcycle caught his attention just in time for him to look up and see a red-haired woman come straight at him on a motorcycle. He was just about to fire of a blast at her but his hand was pulled down by the exhausted devil, giving Natasha just the opening to fire the arrow right into the android's eye.

Ultron snarled in anguish as he drew the arrow, then stopped, becoming entirely immobile in the air as his face froze. "Is anyone there? Who said that?" Ultron's voice spilled from his still-moving head, speaking to an unseen force that Nicholas couldn't see from his position beneath the robot.

Ultron's remaining red eye flickered green, then red, then green again as some sort of fight occurred inside the android's mind. Ultron suddenly began to twitch and tremble violently, his body glowing with green lightning. Ultron's head jerked backwards, and he thudded to the ground, slumping into an undignified heap as the colour and light left his body.

Nicholas slowly climbed to his feet, standing over the vanquished Ultron, whose lifeless body he kicked slightly, forcing it from a crumpled heap to spread out onto its back. Nicholas winced slightly as cold air touched the left side of his face. Taking the brunt of the explosive power of Ultron's blast had scorched his face to a degree. He would heal it later though.

A tiny flash of light drew his attention; it came from Ultron and was green, the same colour as whatever had caused Ultron to collapse. Without hesitation, Nicholas raised his foot and smashed the android's head to pieces.

Without an awakened consciousness to keep the Stones active, the body was no longer augmented by the Stones and crumpled under his foot like paper. Nicholas then blasted the remaining pieces apart with an energy blast, preventing any chances of the android's mind surviving.

"Everyone okay?" Nicholas turned and took a few steps away from the body as Peggy's voice shouted through the air.

Thor's voice was among those who responded, "I'm okay, yeah uh," Thor grumbled as he landed, somewhat holding his arm. "OK, that was, uh... Could you please explain?"

"I infected him with a virus. A nasty one," Natasha explained as she slipped down a collapsed wall, bow in hand.

Nicholas was about to move towards them when he felt a cold rush of energy behind him. He turned just in time to see Killmonger towering over Ultron, his hand lifted, clutching the Ultron Sentry drone head that he was fiddling around with, even at the bar. Ultron's armour had already exited the android's body, along with the Infinity stones, and was connecting to Killmonger's body, his arm outstretched as he felt a surge of strength wash over him.

Nicholas was not the only one who had noticed Killmonger's activities, as he was confronted by his colleagues who had formed a loose semi-circle around him as soon as the last stone had cemented itself to his chest.

"Cousin what are you doing?" T'Challa's voice broke out from the group, his breathing heavily as he winced with pain.

"The Watcher owes us this. With these Stones, we could fix our worlds, our lives," Killmonger looked over the group looking for support. "T'Challa, Thor, are you really gonna turn down the one thing guaranteed to save your worlds?"

Thor's response was an uncharacteristic grimace, as he gripped the cracked Mjolnir tightly in his hand, whilst T'Challa just shook his head sadly at the alternative version of his cousin.

Seeing no support there he turned to face Captain Carter, hoping emotion would win him an ally. "Peggy, you can be with your fella again." His words hit a mark, as a moment of doubt flashed over her eyes. But no force in the world could force the Captain to turn on their comrades, whether it be America or Carter.

"Strange, you know it better than anyone else. This is our only chance," Killmonger pressed the last person he had a chance to win over, since Gamora's and Nicholas' ideas on using the stones for anything were clear.

"Hand over the Stones, cousin," T'Challa finally said moving forward, hoping to end this peacefully.

"I'm not your cousin" Killmonger stated with a smug grin. "I'm sorry it has to end this wa-". Killmonger was cut off by a spear of black energy embedding itself in Killmonger's head.

Everyone turned to look at the source of the weapon that had ended the life of their fallen ex-comrade/new villain, which was the outstretched hand of the young devil. They all had a slight look of surprise on their faces, while Nicholas simply turned fully to look at them.

"What? He was going to try and kill us," Nicholas declared feeling justified in his actions adding a shrug of his shoulders.

~ Strange Supreme's Bar ~

The Guardians all stood before The Watcher, healed and devoid of all injuries courtesy of the godly being. Thor had already partied along with T'Challa the moment both of them had their injuries healed, roping everyone else into a small impromptu party session as well.

"The Entire Multiverse owes you a debt of gratitude, but your worlds will never know this victory," The Watcher thanked them with a grateful voice, then gestured to the pub's door. "Once you walk through that door, you'll return to the moment you left."

Most of the others departed quickly wanting to return home and deal with the situations they had been facing while Nicholas waited for a few moments observing both Peggy and Strange, as Natasha stayed behind as well. Peggy's eyes lingered on a photo of a rather small man, with a weak frame but hopeful eyes. He was not the only one to notice her hesitation as the Watcher spoke.

"It's time to go Captain," The Watcher's voice was soft and comforting as he saw the pain in her eyes as she turned to face him, he sighed slightly knowing what she wanted. "You'd rather return to a different time."

"Can't I have my happy ending?" Peggy asked slightly dejected, as she looked up at the Watcher.

Her question caused a painful look on the Watcher's face as he knew he had to deny her, but it was for the best. After all, he wasn't the one who wrote their stories.

"Trust me, that world, that time, needs Captain Carter," The Watcher replied softly to Peggy's question offering a regretful smile at his inability to help.

Peggy didn't respond to him merely looked at Natasha who was leaning against the bar as she had nowhere to go. She met Peggy's eyes and gave a small encouraging smile and nod, showing she was okay with her leaving, which Peggy showed a grateful smile for, then she turned towards Nicholas and gave him a look.

"Well, he is bound by oaths to not disclose your story, but I have no such restrictions. Trust me when I say, you will have a happy ending in the time you are about to return to. An ending deserving of a hero such as yourself," Nicholas said before offering her his hand. "It was an honour working with you, Captain."

Peggy smiled at the young man and shook his hand firmly as well. Even if his words turned out to be untrue, she was happy that he gave her a brief spark of hope. As well as the fact she was able to hear the story of Captain America.

With Captain Carter gone, only Strange and Natasha remained with him. But before the two could say anything Nicholas spoke up.

"I know the two of you don't have the right to return to a world and time of your choosing. Which is why I would like to offer you both a chance to return with me to my world. As part of my peerage," Nicholas said, sparking interest in their eyes as he explained how his world worked.

"Actually, I have a new assignment for Doctor Strange if he doesn't mind accepting. But Miss Romanoff is free to join you," The Watcher interrupted, a small smile on his face as he registered the surprise on all their faces.

"But you sa-" Natasha spoke up, pointing out how he did not let Peggy choose her fate.

"I know Miss Romanoff. But why would I prevent you from joining him when he is the beginning of the next chapter of your story?" The Watcher spoke, making Natasha nod in understanding, still surprised at the turn of events.

Nicholas then looked at Strange and the small, sad smile on his face spoke volumes regarding his decision. Nicholas simply gave him a smile of understanding back, extending his hand out to the doctor who reciprocated his gesture.

"Maybe some other time. I wish you the best of luck for your future. Goodbye Doctor," Nicholas said, before he nodded at the Watcher and then along with Natasha, returned to his world.

"So, what assignment do I need to complete now?" Strange asked, turning towards The Watcher.

"Well, I am sure you will like this one a lot more than the one you just completed," The Watcher said, taking a seat in front of the bar while Strange stood behind the counter.

"I need you to retrieve a person and bring them here. Sadly, they have been abandoned in a universe that is much like the one you have left behind. You could possibly be getting a new teammate. Well, now it would be a duo," The Watcher said as Strange made a drink appear in front of him.

Sighing, Stephen moved in front of the counter and said, "Well, lets get this over with."

The Watcher opened a portal in front of the wizard and watched him disappear into it, all the while smiling like a senile old man.

"I get why old people meddle in the lives of the young now. Its fun," The Watcher said, as he could now finally relax after the end of Ultron.

~ With Strange ~

Stephen Strange now understood why The Watcher wanted him on this mission. The buildings were fading away. The weather cold and unpredictable. No signs of life anywhere.

Yup, seemed awful lot like what happened in his world.

Crossing his arms in front of him, Strange used a detection spell, trying to locate the person The Watcher so eagerly wanted him to save. His magic did not disappoint him as a reading popped up, allowing him to quickly portal towards his destination, and hopefully complete the mission and return back soon.

His conscious wouldn't last long here before being drowned in sorrow.

But it seemed like fate was landing one blow after another on him as the portal that brought him to his destination made him stand face-to-face against a building that haunted him but also was a source of great memories for him.

'177 Bleecker Street.'

The sign boldly displayed in front of him as his eyes flashed with abrupt rush of memories.

Sighing, he shook his head and gently walked into the building, looking for the person whom he was he was supposed to save. Maybe a final disciple that was lucky enough to survive while this world was doomed to its fate. God, he hoped it wasn't because of him again.

As he reached the main hall, his footsteps and he surveyed his surroundings.

"Hello?" he called out, hoping that whoever was trapped here, would respond to him. And he wasn't left disappointed. The sound of someone's footsteps running was soon audible to him, and he could feel them getting closer by the minute.

But nothing could have prepared him for what he saw at the top of the stairwell. A face that he couldn't forget no matter how hard he tried. A teary-eyed smile that made his heart skip a beat. And mane of red hair that reminded him of fire. The woman for whom he doomed his entire universe.

"Stephen…" her voice whispered, carrying relief and happiness he never hoped he would experience again. Her gorgeous form rushing down the stairs, clad in a bluish-grey costume that he couldn't recognise.

"Christine…"

Author's Notes

And that's a wrap on the brief saga that involved Marvel's What If? Honestly, I would have added Strange to the MC's peerage as well, but the poll results said otherwise. So, I just gave him an end where he has a happy ending, despite the fuckery he has caused.

Next chapter will see the MC make waves in the DxD world. I have left a lot of unanswered questions there but don't worry they aren't plot holes, but I'll reveal them later.

If you guys see any errors, or points that you feel are plot holes then let me know.

Comment and review please, it works as great motivation.

Check out my 'PT' for more stuff by yours truly. The link is in the bio. I have a few one shots there as well.

See you guys soon hopefully.