Chapter 23 – What if?

(Location: ?)

The darkness surrounding Kal was suddenly replaced by strange scenery, it was not anything he was familiar with, it appeared to be Midgardian in design, there was an assortment of wooden chairs and tables dotted about and one whole side of the room was taken up by an area containing various liquors. A drinking hall of some sort, Kal guessed, but whilst he could see it, all of his other scenes were telling him that there was something off, he could feel a strange static in the area it feels like magic.

"AHHHH!" The scream immediately grabbed Kal's attention causing him to step into a fighting stance and face the source, it was high pitched and sounded like a woman in danger.

It was at this moment that he suddenly became aware that there were five other people in the room, which alarmed him as he was almost certain that they weren't there a second ago. It was a very strangely and oddly dressed group of people, one was even dressed like a large black cat, the only thing they had in common was the confused looks on their faces and that they were all wearing some sort of armour.

However, the person Kal's sole focus was on was the person screaming, someone he knew and despite the feminine nature of the scream was not actually a woman. It was Thor, standing only a few feet away from him, hammer in one hand, and a strange metallic head in the other, he was screaming at the top of his lungs. Kal quickly looked around and seeing no danger decided that he needed to calm Thor down, something he never actually thought he would need to do.

"THOR!" Kal said forcefully, causing Thor to stop and grabbing everyone else's attention in the room. With Thor's screaming now stopped and the eldest Son of Odin opened his eyes, looking around at his new surroundings.

"Oh, we're in a pub!" Thor announced happily not even bothering to turn around to look at Kal who had shouted his name.

Which caused Kal to look at his brother with confusion, their very last meeting had been in the middle of a crisis which had followed the Bifrost collapsing and stranding Kal on earth with no knowledge about what had happened. He moved forward pushing past a rather tall woman holding a shield wearing blue, he was about to reach out to his brother, when he suddenly noticed, that Thor had a tattoo on his arm that said SCIENCE underneath a strange device, and Thor was also cleanshaven.

Kal retracted his hand immediately staring at his brother or not his brother as it turned out, Kal scanned the person in front of him, the result was odd, to say the least, the person in front of him was Thor but also wasn't. All of this Thor's vitals were off, and he was also missing a few things his brother had. Namely, the small scar on Thor's chest from that time Loki had stabbed him when they were children during the snake incident, or the repaired fracture to Thor's skull that time Kal himself had accidentally knocked Thor out during their first year joining the Wild Hunt with Father.

However, before he was able to say anything the tall woman he had moved past spoke, her voice a little hesitant but oddly hopeful as well, as she looked at a picture on the Wall. "I know this place."

"The pub façade was my idea, I read about it in your biography, I hope you like it. In truth it was either this or an Asgardian drinking hall, for those two but seeing as there were more humans in the group I think I made the right call." The speaker was a very pale man wearing dark blue robes and a cape standing behind the pub's bar.

Looking at him Kal could see that despite his mortal appearance the man behind the bar, had left much of his humanity behind long ago, whatever this man had once been lost in the swirling mass of dark magic and entities that crawled beneath his skin. Kal immediately stepped into another fighting stance raising his hand up ready to fight the twisted abomination that had lured them there.

Said twisted abomination also known as Doctor Strange, saw Kal's stance and couldn't blame the warrior prince of an alternative Asgard, if what The Watcher had said about Kal was even half true then the Kryptonian raised Asgardian would easily be able to see his 'condition' for lack of better word. Strange had enough dark magic and demonic entities pumping through him to make most hell dimensions look like a weekend in Hawaii by comparison, so he couldn't fault the man for his wariness.

"Over here. Me, me. Can I get a beer?" The alternative Thor suddenly caught Stranger's attention waving an Ultron Sentry's head at him.

Strange smiled slightly he had missed other people greatly and summoned a beer that he gave to Thor, placing it on the bar before him. Causing Thor to immediately begin smiling his prior panic forgotten, as he slammed down the Ultron Sentry's head down onto the bar and grabbed the beer greedily.

"YES" Thor cried happily lifting the beer to his mouth only to be prevented by Kal who without anyone seeing him move was suddenly next to Thor grasping his arm.

"DON'T DRINK THE BEER" Kal's voice was loud and booming looking at Thor with a very serious expression that always worked on his own brother.

However, this Thor just smirked at Kal and tried to shove him off but found to his great surprise that the man in the suit didn't move, in fact, Thor wasn't even to break the man's grip, as Kal slowly took the beer from his hand and placed it back on the bar. He then pushed Thor back slightly and turned his attention back to Strange his eyes hard as he stared at the former mortal rippling with dark energies.

"HEY! I was going to drink that." Thor protested but Kal ignored him, keeping his focus on the very dangerous man in front of him.

"Whatever your game is release us now, or I promise you, you will regret it." Kal's stare was hard causing the air in the room to turn to ice as everyone felt the tension rise.

"Now lads I am not sure what is going on but I think we should stay calm." Captain Carter interceded moving forward placing herself next to Kal placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Where am I?" Gamora called out from behind them getting tired of not knowing what was going on, just as confused as everyone else.

"I am with the green one, what is happening here, why did you bring us?" Star-Lord T'Challa asked his own voice adding to Gamora's annoyance.

As if in answer to the growing tension and questions being asked the lights suddenly began flickering just as they had done on the plane Kal had just been on. This time however they only flicked twice and when they returned back to normal the Strange large-headed bald individual from before was standing in front of them all.

"It's you again!" Captain Carter responded to the Watcher's sudden appearance.

Whilst Star-Lord T'Challa merely quipped. "Come on. Get a new trick, man." Clearly not impressed by the Watcher's ability to appear at will.

Kal however took a step back not out of fear but mainly to be able to see both Strange and the Watcher at the same time, not trusting either one until he knew what exactly was going on. He was also surprised however at seeing the man dressed as a cat had somehow managed to move closer to the bar without altering Kal to his presence, the man was standing directly next to the Ultron Sentry head.

"You have been chosen, for a mission that is both highly dangerous and absolutely necessary for the continuation of life as you know it." The Watcher's deep voice was grave and solemn and every fibre of Kal's being told him the entity before him was both entirely honest and also terrified as well, something that alarmed Kal. "At first, I scoured eternity for one true hero. Then I saw the bigger picture. This mission requires a team. The perfect combination of skills and experience that alone will triumph"

"Let me get this straight. You kidnapped us from across the galaxy, so we could, what?" Captain Carter asked clearly sceptical of the entity before her or at least its purpose for bringing them here.

"Save the universe?" The alternative version of Gomorra asked sarcastically, clearly more sceptical than Carter was.

"Universes" Kal's voice caused everyone to turn to face him a grave look on his face as he spoke. "The entity before us is Uatu, also called The Watcher, a being according to legend as old as reality itself."

"Is that supposed to mean something pal?" Killmonger spoke up from near to Kal a dismissive view on his face.

"The Watcher is a Cosmic being, avowed chronicler and observer of the multiverse, who according to legend has sworn an oath never to interfere, never to interact, despite witnessing horrors and tragedies, beyond imagining across the full scope of space and time." Kal's voice was gravely serious, causing everyone to give him his undivided attention. "For us to be here, means that he has broken his oath, and that can only mean one thing."

"Which is?" Captain Carter asked, a sense of imminent foreboding in the air.

"That you are my last hope to save not one universe, but all of them ….. You are the Guardians of the Multiverse." The Watcher replied, causing everyone's attention to refocus on him.

A silence fell over the room as everyone processed, what had just been said, well almost everyone Thor however merely let out a loud laugh and clapped his hands together causing everyone to look at him.

"I know what this is. Loki put you up to this Joke. Listen, I do not have time for his pranks today." Thor declared swiftly turned making for the exit, believing all this to be an elaborate deception.

"Ah, no I wouldn't do that," Strange called out from behind the bar as Thor gripped the front door's handle.

"Thor I would listen to him," Kal called out, his sense telling him exactly what lay beyond the door and it wasn't anything Thor was prepared to deal with.

"My lady Jane needs me. So I'll be going." Thor dismissed them with a wave of his hand his voice supremely confident. "Now, enjoy yourselv-"

Thor was cut off as by opening the door he was suddenly flung out into the maelstrom which was the magically created dimension they were in, that to hide from whatever The Watcher was scared off was placed just above the event horizon of a swirling vortex of destruction. Thor's girlish screams returned once more as he clung onto the handle for dear life as his body swayed about like a rag doll, he suddenly felt himself being pulled back into the pub, landing on his back as the door slammed shut above his head.

Looking up he could see his saviour was the strangely dressed man in a suit that had prevented him from drinking his beer earlier, who looking down at Thor released a deep sigh and shook his head before striding back over to the bar.

"So you're saying all of reality is threatened and we are the last best hope for all of creation?" Kal asked The Watcher as he returned to the bar facing Strange.

"Yep, pretty much." The Watcher responded honestly, giving a shrug of his shoulders.

Kal took the beer that he had prevented Thor from drinking when he believed the dark demonic filled Strange to be an enemy, and emptied the contents in a single swig, before turning back round to face his would-be teammates. Kal took one look at everyone present and when meeting with Captain Carter's eyes they shared a moment of complete understanding and gave her a subtle nod.

"We're in. Mind telling us what we are up against?" Carter responded for the group as a whole.

Kal's vision, however, flicked back to the alternative version of his brother who when Gomorra offered him a helping hand up took it and then gave her a knowing smile and wink. Without even needing to ask Kal set the empty glass next to him and Strange refilled it immediately, allowing Kal to drain it again.

'This is going to give me a headache by the end I just know it or else get me killed.' Kal thought to himself as the group moved to listen to The Watcher explain their mission.

Kal was standing in a circle with the others listening to the dark version of Dr Strange and the Watcher explain the threat that they were all experiencing. Dr Strange conjured up images of vast armies of Ultron Drones descending upon alternate universes that were all helpless to stop the slaughter that was being unleashed.

"You universes are either under attack or soon will be by Ultron," The Watcher announced an image appearing before them of a large red-skinned being wearing armour that Kal had never seen before, with 6 distinct and recognisable Stones lodged within it. "An Artificial Intelligence elevated to a cosmic being thanks to an enhanced synthetic body and the power of the Infinity Stones."

"For those of you who are not aware, those are six stones of nearly unfathomable power. Each controlling an essential aspect of our existence and Ultron holds all of them." Strange announced displaying the six stones floating above them for the group to observe.

"I might be able to help with that. I've stolen more from worse." Star-Lord T'Challa announced hands on his hips a confident look upon his face.

"Seriously? You really are from another planet," Killmonger said shaking his head as he looked at the alternative version of his cousin.

However, T'Challa's statement seemingly caused Kal to chuckle slightly causing T'Challa to look at him with a raised eyebrow. "What's so funny?"

"Well, one you haven't stolen from worse this is as worse as its gets," Kal stated, gesturing to the image of the infinity powered Ultron whilst turning his head to face the thief. "And two, apart from perhaps the Soul Stone you even touch one of the others and you'll explode."

The room fell silent at Kal's explanation of his chuckle, with Strange coughing slightly to break the tension, then decided to back Kal up in his statement about sudden death if they touched the wrong Stone. "Well, he isn't wrong there, so?"

"Only touch the Soul Stone, got it," Captain responded eyes wide as she looked at the images of the stones, they seemed harmless enough, but Peggy knew looks could be deceiving, so if the magic Wizard and the space prince said don't touch the glowing rocks she wasn't going to touch the glowing rocks.

"Wait why are we listening to the guy dressed like an account, no offence buddy you may be jacked, but you look like you should be doing taxes not fighting inter-dimensional super villains." Killmonger stepped forward sizing up Kal who was still dressed in the three-piece suit he had disguised himself in, not looking anything remotely like the other heroes in the room.

Kal didn't even flinch or move a muscle, instead just using the very limited magic he knew, he caused his clothing to change once more back into his usual glorious golden, blue and red armour, which looked more impressive than usual as the lights of the pubs struck it in such a way that is caused it to shine like the sun.

"This account can move faster than you can see, fly at speeds you can't conceive off and I can throw a punch so hard that I could knock a small celestial body out of its orbit," Kal stated with confidence before looking at the man dressed like a cat up and down. "What can you do again?"

Killmonger moved forward only for Captain Carter to step in between them and keep Killmonger from doing something stupid. "Easy lads save it for the enemy."

"So what is the plan?" Gamora interceded trying to force the group back on track, not interested in the boys playing who was tougher.

"Ah yes, the plan," Dr Strange announce gesturing for the seats to get everyone seated, one for comfort and the other to keep them apart, to prevent further incidents. Once everyone was seated, he continued. "Well, we believe the only way to stop Ultron is to separate his body from the Stones."

"How do plan to do that?" Kal asked from his standing position next to Captain Carter, looking sceptically at the doctor.

"Well?" Strange responded starching the back of his head slightly, a look of unease suddenly on his face.

"Ah, you haven't come up with one yet." Kal guessed correctly, which just caused him to sigh heavily and add. "Great."

"So, this Ultron could be hiding anywhere in the multiverse?" Captain Carter stepped in wanting more information now it was clear they had to come up with a plan.

"Yes." The Watcher's said giving a small nod of his head.

"Behind an army of killer robots?" Star-Lord T'Challa asked his fingers interlaced as he sat back in his armchair.

"Afraid so." The Watcher lifted his arms slightly as if to give an apologetic shrug.

"And Armed with a full set of Stones?" Gamora piled on to the avalanche of questions that were making their mission look more suicidal by the minute.

"She has a point." Strange agreed, gesturing to the Watcher with a small smirk on his face.

"Look, I never said this was going to be easy." The Watcher defended himself.

"This is a suicide mission." Killmonger sat forward in his chair his barrow furrowed at the near-impossible nature of their task.

"No," Kal's word caused everyone to look at him. "Suicide missions have a higher chance to succeed than this." Everyone feel silent and Captain Carter just raised her eyebrows at him, "What? It's true and usually when I do stuff like this my brother Loki is here to make a joke, I thought the moment needed it, seeing as we are all about to die."

"Um, yeah, excuse me, yeah." Thor interrupted clearly not having paid much attention at all, which was clear from the body language he was giving off. "Is there a universe of Chinses Food that has alternate dimension delivery? Tummy's getting rumbly."

"You picked them" Strange whispered to The Watcher.

(One interdimensional food run later)

The team, such as it was, were conversing about the best way to deal with Ultron as well as eating the strange food that had been brought back from one of the alternative earths. Kal however was stood slightly back from the group, the black Kryptonian pendant that he usually kept around his neck was in his hand and he was toying with it, whilst his mind was else were.

"So Strange tells me you're a god." Captain Carter approached one of her alien teammates and by the tallest member of her new team as well.

Her presence broke Kal out of his musing, causing him to close his hand around the pendant he had been playing with. "Oh, not in the sense that I am a cosmic being like the Watcher or this Ultron no, I am just a rather powerful individual that less developed species once worshipped."

"I'm Captain Carter, by the way, but seeing as we're teammates now you can call me Peggy." She offered with a smile.

She briefly turned her head as Thor unleashed a bolt of lighting at the ceiling behind her, apparently as confirmation that he had the ability to attract unwanted attention and thus lure Ultron to them when the time was right.

"Kal," His response caught her off guard as she was momentarily distracted, as she turned back, he clarified. "My name is Kal Odinson, Prince of Asgard, well it's actually Kal-El and I'm from a planet called Krypton, apologies it's complicated you can just call me Kal."

"No need sounds like you have an interesting story there Kal," Peggy responded it was clear that whatever Kal's story was it was complicated, and Peggy, unfortunately, understood complicated all too well.

"Indeed I do, before the Watcher brought me here for this, it was a story that was getting a lot more complicated," Kal released a sigh but strengthen himself afterwards. "But no matter. We should focus on the task at hand, or else my story and everyone else will not matter will they?"

"I guess not. SO, what do you reckon our chances are?" Peggy asked, Kal was curious to her he seemed to be like a lot of men she had met in her strange life, all power and force. Yet he also had an air of intelligence about him too and she was curious about what he thought their chances were.

Kal took a deep breath as he thought about their situation. "Not ideal, not great either but the task is not impossible, what concern is…."

"Is?" Peggy pressed as Kal trailed off not fishing his sentence.

"The Watcher," Kal nodded towards the being in the corner of the room who was just observing them. "I feel there is more to this team than he is saying, it is clear each of us was chosen for a specific reason, but I cannot see the game that is being played."

Peggy turned her head to look at the Watcher who she was sure was aware he was being watched whilst he pretended to just be focused on discussing with Strange which world the team should go to first.

"You think he is playing us?" Peggy asked in a half-whisper.

"No, not exactly, this threat is indeed real and he needs us to stop Ultron but each of us is here to play a part in the story that I know he has written out." Kal's voice also went quiet as he looked at the Watcher.

"Care to fill me in?" Peggy turned back to Kal curious to hear what his thoughts were on the team and the roles he believed they were there to play.

"Like I said I don't know the game or the narrative, but I have met two peo-, well I have met two variants of our teammates to know the roles they will play," Kal spoke softly his gaze moving from the Watcher and Strange to their fellow Guardians of the Multiverse.

"Thor is the muscle and stubbornness that the team will need, although the Thor I know can be selfish, idiotic and immature at times, I know no finer warrior alive, he has a battle focus, determination, and iron will that is unmatched by any I have ever met." Kal gestured to Thor which caused Peggy to see the seemingly young man in a new light.

Thor was the one team member she wasn't exactly sure why he was there, but looking at him now although he did come across as reckless and immature, she could see what Kal meant. He had a sharpness to his eyes, that told her he missed nothing about his surroundings, his stance although relaxed was always ready to leap into action, and he had more than a few scars on his body that showed, although he liked to party, he had known the rage of battle.

"You said two? Who's the other one you have met, Strange?" Peggy guessed, as she had seen Kal was weary of the Doctor when they first met, maybe his version of Strange was an enemy?

"No, the other one I have encountered is the Lady Gamora, I met her counterpart in my universe during my search for answers years ago. She was an interesting woman from a difficult family however, the encounter showed me despite who she may serve that she was an honourable woman." Kal looked at the armoured version of Gamora that was sitting on the nearby sofa. "My guess she is here because of her knowledge of the Stones, and the fact that she more than anyone knows the danger of them."

"So, what about the others?" Peggy asked.

"Strange is here because of his magical abilities we need him in order to survive more than a few seconds. This Star-Lord is clearly a Ravager and a thief, but also seems to be an honourable man and a warrior." Kal nodded to each of the men in turn, before his eyes settled on Erik Stevens, "Whilst this Killmonger, is here for technical abilities and skill as a warrior. I would however keep my eye on him, I have met men like him before, great to have at your side in battle but I would not trust a word he says."

Peggy looked at the young African American man that Kal was gazing at, she was always willing to give everyone the benefit of the doubt however she couldn't help but feel that Kal was right on the mark. There was just something about this Killmonger that didn't sit right with her, he smiled too easily and the look in his eye when he studied the Ultron Sentry drone's head made her uneasy.

"After we recover the stones we destroy" Gamora's voice brought Kal's and Peggy's attention back to the group, as Gamora stepped forward to the centre of the room.

"Um not to be that guy. BUT how would even go about destroying an infini-" Thor began but was cut off by Gamora who lifted up a strange device that she had brought with her. "OH, you're answering my question. Sorry. Thank you."

"The Infinity Crushed, designed to disintegrate each stone into nothing," Gamora stated proudly, as everyone gathered around, her voice supremely confident.

"Yep, I picked them." The Watcher's voice proudly pitched in next to Strange, his voice showing that his choice of heroes had been vindicated.

Kal's eyes scanned over the device that Gamora was placing on the table before them it was a strange device made of black and gold gears and was one the of most intricately designed pieces of technology he had ever seen. Its inner mechanisms were a blend of some of the most advanced technology he had ever seen and it almost possessed a clockwork-like beauty that he couldn't help but admire.

However, apart from the very basics of the device's function and the understanding of some of the science behind the device, Kal was completely lost in how the device fully worked or how it achieved its goal of destroying an infinity stone.

"Got a question here, big blue?" Gamora asked Kal whose face was now clearly assessing the device before him with a critical eye.

At her question, he raised his head to look at her although he was eying her creation critically there was no malice in his eyes. "None at the moment, but if we survive this and are able to, I would be curious to learn more about this device and how exactly it functions."

Gamora gave a small nod of her head to indicate that she would be happy to and with that lifted the Infinity Crusher back off the table and by twisting its handles caused it to collapse back down to a carriable size. With that, the group made the last pieces of their plan before Captain Carter decided to call the group to attention, addressing them whilst they don their helmets, prepared their outfits or else readied their weapons.

"All right everyone, you all know what to do. You know the plan. Get the soul stone and get it to Gamora. We'll hold the line. And then she'll unleash the Crusher. With some luck, we'll be home for dinner." Peggy addressed the group standing at the front of the pub by the doors, confidence and pride in her voice.

"Okay, wait. Slow down a bit. There are a few people in the room that don't understand. I mean not for me, I get it. But for them maybe repeat it." Thor spoke giving a confident smirk that didn't reach his eyes.

Thor's statement caused more than a few eye rolls and sighs including one from Peggy. However, it was Kal that addressed the alternative version of his brother, leaning forward slightly to glance past T'Challa who he was standing next to, to be able to see Thor.

"In your universe I take it I don't exist right, correct? Kal asked, his eyebrows raised in curiosity.

"Uh no," Thor answered, chuckling slightly finding the question absurd, due to the fact he had no idea what was going on.

"So I guess that you tend to rush into things without a plan and they by sheer luck happen to work out?" Kal asked his second question his voice was neutral, but his tone was heavily implying something.

"I would call it to skill rather than luck. Why do you ask?" Thor was getting a little defensive and looking at the man who earlier had cost him a beer.

Kal just cleared his throat with a cough and just shrugged his shoulders. "Oh, no reason just curious was all."

T'Challa next to Thor gave the Prince a quick look, up and down, assessing the airhead prince then turned to Kal raising an eyebrow that seemed to convey the simple question. 'Do you think he is going to survive this?' Kal responded by just giving a grimace and just shook his head, indicating his thoughts on the matter clearly.

T'Challa just turned back to face Peggy with a smile whilst also subtly but noticeable to all but Thor, silently scooted a few steps to his left to be away from Thor. Causing Peggy to sigh slightly at the team she was going into battle with.

However, The Watcher interceded before anyone else could raise a point, declaring "You're ready. It's showtime, my friends. Good luck."

With that, he waved his hands engulfing the team in a dazzling light that sent them back into the multiverse.

(Uninhabited Universe.)

Kal was stood on watch peering out across a nameless world in a nameless universe, that according to Strange was completely bereft of intelligent life or most life for that matter, except for the odd plant. It was perfect for their needs, as it allowed them to dictate when Ultron would come to them and where they would face him, instead of trying to face him with his army on his own terms.

The planet was oddly calming for Kal, his great sense for the first time ever had nothing to irate them in the slightest, whilst he had mastered them long ago, even on Asgard it was sometimes a constant fight to drown out the noise that threatened to overwhelm them sometimes. Yet, here bar his fellow guardians there was nothing but rock and wind for his sense to pick up on.

However, as he was relaxing he felt a surge of dark energy from behind him, twisting around he saw the dark version of Dr Stranger's arm morph into its natural state, a vile mass of tentacles from a monster Kal would not send even his worst enemy too. He moved forward to intercede but Strange gripped his arm and muttering spells managed to contain the danger.

"Keep it under control, Doctor," Kal stated perhaps a bit more forcefully than was needed, but received a nod from Strange nonetheless.

As Kal moved to return to his watch Peggy moved towards Strange, a slight reprimanding look on her as she passed Kal, whispering. "Was that really necessary?"

Kal did not respond, just keeping his expression neutral as he returned to his watch however, part of his senses now acutely fixed on the Doctor in case he needed to act. Peggy however approached Strange with a concerned look on her face as she observed that the Doctor's very nature appeared to cause him pain.

"Can I ask, what happened?" Peggy couldn't help but wonder how a man as seemingly intelligent and skilled as the one in front of her ended up in the state he was in.

Strange released a heavy sigh, closing his eyes briefly as images of Christine, flashed in his mind before he answered. "Same thing that happened to you," Strange then nodded to the back of Kal as well "And him. Love"

Peggy turned slightly to look at Kal, who was standing rigged like a statue his head only moving slightly as he scanned the area in front of them for threats. She turned back to Strange and gave him a brief understanding smile before moving to stand next to Kal, wanting to talk to the man before they went into battle together.

"You don't like Strange, do you?" Peggy asked her eyes fixed on the horizon that Kal was staring at intensely.

"I have nothing against the man, but what he is now, is just as dangerous if not more so than this Ultron we face," Kal answered truthfully, his head turning slightly so that he could look down at the woman next to him.

"Because of what is inside of him?" Peggy inquired.

"Yes, but also because he is a man clearly with nothing left to lose, which can make some more dangerous than ever." Kal's head now turned fully so that he could cast his gaze on Strange as he performed the last of his protection spells.

Peggy was quiet for a few minutes as she absorb what Kal was saying, prompting him to turn back towards the horizon and keep his sense fixed on potential threats. She finally decided to ask another question that had been lingering in her mind and that she needed to know the answer to so that she could understand who she was going to fight next to.

"So, you told me what you think everyone else's role is here, but what is yours?" Peggy asked looking directly at the half turned and ever stoic face of Kal.

Kal took his time answering, not because he was uncertain about how to respond because he wanted to choose the right words for his answer. "I'm here for the reason I always am."

"And that is?" Peggy pressed wanting a clear answer.

Kal sighed slightly as he turned to fully face the female super-soldier, a seriousness entering his voice that Peggy had not yet experienced. "Because I always get the job done, I am either here to protect you all so the mission can succeed and if that is the case, I will lay my life down for anyone one of you."

"Or?" Peggy asked.

"Or" Kal responded casting his gaze slightly over his shoulder to where Killmonger sat with the Ultron Sentry drone in his hand. "OR I am here to keep everyone in line so that the mission can succeed, in which case …." Kal trailed off not wanting to sound too harsh in front of his new ally.

"In which case, you'll make sure the mission succeeds." Peggy finished earning a nod from Kal, as he felt the two now understood their respective roles better. She was quiet for a few more moments before she suddenly asked another question. "Who was she?"

Kal's face fell slightly at her question, making her regret asking the question but she was curious about what had made Kal this way. He opened his mouth to respond but never got the chance as Thor suddenly moved forward from his post addressing the group.

"Hasten friends! TONIGHT, we feast. For tomorrow we FIGHT." Thor announced the usual Asgardian custom before battle, raising Mjolnir in the air causing lightning to course throughout his body.

Kal smiled and chuckled at Thor's declaration slightly happy that his brother, as well as certain customs, seemed to exist across the multiverse.

"In that spirit, I propose a toast." Strange declared waving his hands across each other to summon a tray of drinks, for everyone.

Kal stepped forward and took a glass, which was next to Thor's mead, that was filled with a strange bluish green liquid that appeared to be slightly on fire. Peggy who was across from Kal just looked at the drink with a bit of worry, Kal just gave her a polite smile and lifted his glass up to her giving her a small toast to her health. However, before he could consume his drink, Strange having conjured the beverages decided to lead the group in a toast, clearing his throat as he got everyone's attention and began.

"A wise sorcerer once told me to face death is part of the plan. To face death is to conqueror one's greatest fear the unknown, of nothingless space, of the end of all ends." Strange's voice was slightly detached as he gave the very macabre toast, causing everyone around him to stare wide-eyed as he just continued.

Kal for his part tried clearing his throat to get the good doctor to stop but Strange simply carried on with his toast that seemingly declared that they were all about to die and that life seemed to be meaningless. Peggy caught his eye and all Kal could do was shrug, proving a look that simply stated, 'I have no idea where this came from.'

"The senseless nothing and the vast opening of infinity to your…" Strange continued on his manner clearing showing that he had either always been terrible at toasts or else had not been around people in a long time.

T'Challa finally interceded simply pushing himself next to Strange and placing an arm around the man's shoulder. "Let me. You've done enough, Doctor. To the Guardians of -"

"The Multiverse!" Everyone finished T'Challa's toast raising the glass together in the air.

After toasting everyone brought their glasses to their mouths to take a quick sip, however, Kal, Thor and T'Challa all drained their respective glasses, each one having been raised in a culture of hard-drinking. Kal was the first to finish, releasing a contented sigh at finishing the highly intoxicating drink which for many species would have been pure poison but for him, it gave him a nice buzz. However, Kal had a nagging feeling that he was forgetting something that always happened when he was drinking in battles that he couldn't quite put his finger on.

Just as that thought entered his head, Thor was the second to drain his beverage of Asgardian Mead, quickly smashing his glass on the floor with great pride before, he suddenly raised Mjolnir into the air, lightening already crackling across his body.

"THE MULTIVERSE!" Thor's voice boomed across the empty planet as he unleashed a torrent of lightning that illuminated the night sky.

'Ah yes, that! That is always what happens when I drink with Thor before a battle' Kal sighed as the thought passed through his mind. 'Which means that in Three, Two, One…'

As if summoned by Kal's thoughts as much as by Thor's lightening the Sky above them suddenly became filled with the image of Ultron, his glowing red eyes peering down at them.

"So, there is life in this universe, after all." Ultron's synthetic voice rang out across the planet, as he seemingly leaned forward to cast his gaze down on the Guardians of the Multiverse.

"Every time, every time, this always happens when we drink before a battle," Kal muttered under his breath as he cast a glance at the alternative version of his brother, who Kal at that moment really wished was more different than his brother.

"There goes waiting till we're ready." Strange also joined in with a disappointing remark at Thor's expense.

"In my defence, I did warn you. I excel at attracting unwanted attention." Thor defended himself, his voice a little guarded at being attacked.

"Well doesn't matter now," Kal declared pointing to the sky that was fracturing open like a cracked mirror as a dark swirling vortex appeared, the figure of Ultron double-ended spear in hand began to descend from the vortex. "It's begun."

"All right, here comes a non-compliant spell." Strange declared, his hands moving like Thor's lightning as he began weaving a powerful protective spell over the group, Kal winced slightly as Strange threw Kal's towards him, like all powerful spells it stung a little when cast. "Yeah, sorry you'll feel it a little."

Kal twisted his arms as he watched an assortment of runes and symbols appear over his body, the number of overlapping spells and the sheer amount of focus that must have been required to cast them greatly impressed Kal. He watched as an astral form of his armour glowed briefly over him, the astral version of the symbol on his chest glowing brightly, as he suddenly felt not only powerful but the best form of his life.

"Wow! This is fantastic." Peggy declared at Strange's protective spell, feeling the same way as Kal. However, after her brief amazement, her focus returned, and she addressed the group. "Well, it's showtime, ladies put on her dancing shows. Watcher!"

At her words, a portal appeared behind them and giving a brief statement of their support Killmonger and Gomora departed to the safety of another universe so that they could get ready for the second stage of their plan. Kal's focus however was just on Ultron, and what he saw he did not like, Ultron made no move to stop them as he clearly perceived them as no threat, and Kal could see why, because by most standards they simply weren't.

Kal had met beings from across his own cosmos, some had been worshipped as gods by weaker species, some declared themselves as gods without deserving the title and few even Kal would refer to as approaching a level of divinity as he understood it. However, the being hovering above them was beyond a level of power Kal could barely understand and for the first time in his life, he suddenly understood how most species of the universe viewed him and his family.

However, before the remaining guards could enact their plan, Thor stepped forward confidently, declaring. "I know how to deal with this party pooper!"

Peggy moved to stop him however Kal just lifted his hand and prevented allowing Thor to proceed, just to Peggy's confusion.

"VIVA LAS VEGAS!" Thor's battle cry echoed out as he unleashed the greatest lightning blast that Kal had ever seen, the air itself burning slightly as the lightning arced forward, and hurtled towards Ultron.

The blast struck Ultron directly however it appeared to do nothing as the Synthetic Cosmic being along with nearly everyone else present just looked confused as Thor continued shouting his unique battle cry. However, whilst Ultron was distracted Kal had turned and subtly nodded to T'Challa who understanding Kal's meaning quietly slipped off to get into position.

Ultron however eventually grew tired of indulging Thor's antics and simply raised his hand absorbing the vast amount of electrical energy easily, promptly closing his fist causing the assault to end. Causing Thor to look bewildered that his attack had not worked, and Ultron to simply look down in curiosity at Thor and the others.

"Can't say I've heard that battle cry before," Ultron remarked dryly slightly bemused by these creatures' attempts to fight him.

Ultron was about to raise his hand to use the power of the stones to simply annihilate this creature when a second energy attack hit him. However, this time instead of electrical it was thermal as twin beams of red energy coursed from Kal's eyes, striking Ultron's head and catching the android off guard, forcing him back slightly in the air.

"Thor hammer now!" Kal ordered, prompting Thor to smile and obey throwing Mjolnir with all his strength at Ultron.

As the hammer of the gods flew Strange was quick to augment the attack for greater effect casting a spell that when it struck Mjolnir caused the hammer to be duplicated nearly a hundred times. These duplicates were not as strong as the original but they provided a great distraction as they circled around Ultron like a swarm of insects biting at him whenever they could.

Kal moved next to Peggy for the next part of their attack keeping Ultron focused on them to allow T'Challa a chance to steal a stone. He positioned himself right next to her unceremoniously pulled her into a tight embrace, the act would have looked intimate had it not been for its erupt nature and the battle focus on both their faces

"Captain, remember to hold your breath or your lungs with collapse," Kal warned as he prepared to lunch himself into the air.

Peggy's response was to take a deep breath and give a curt nod to Kal, who seeing that she was ready launched into the air. Peggy's world suddenly became a blur as they ascended into the sky at speeds even her Steve had never reached in the Hydra Stomper, she unexpectedly felt weightless as Kal halted his ascent causing her to hover in the air amount before they were moving again.

Kal's having raised upwards suddenly arced downwards directly at Ultron, gravity and his own power adding speed to his descent as he aimed for his target Ultron's head. As he heard the loud crack that signalled his passing of the sound battier, he acted launching Peggy from his side like a missile towards their enemy.

She gracefully moved her arms in front of her head bringing her shield forward to impact Ultron, Strange moved quickly his arm waving as a spell that caused her shield to glow with power. The sound of Kal and her passing the sound barrier was nothing compared to the impact of her Shield on Ultron, the strike was so hard that even Ultron's infinity stone created armoured helmet cracked at the blow. She then promptly grabbed hold of one of the passing duplicates of Mjolnir whose path allowed her to return to the ground quickly.

Then with the timing only a Prince of Wakanda and a Ravager could have, T'Challa appeared leaping onto Ultron's back. "Gotcha!" He declared as he placed one of his Quad Blasters to the androids head, whilst his other hand slipped to the Androids chest.

"GET OFF!" Ultron declared in frustration, throwing T'Challa from his back and was about to blast the insolent human when suddenly a fist connected with his chest sending him flying back.

Kal had arced in the air after throwing Peggy at Ultron and had waited until T'Challa had made his move before he committed to an attack. His fist struck Ultron's chest hard, however, as he had feared the android's body had been enhanced by the Stones and instead of collapsing from his blow it only sent the machine backwards in the air.

However, Kal wasted no time and arcing in the air again, this time heading directly towards the falling T'Challa. He caught the falling prince and stabilised their descent landing on the ground with a slight skid. "Did you get it?" Kal asked.

"As Yondu says 'Never doubt sticky fingers'" T'Challa grinned showing the Soul Stone resting in the palm of his hand.

"Good," Kal smiled at his teammate before turning to face the Sky as he did when talking to Heimdall. "Watcher portal!"

A swirling blue vortex opened up and T'Challa smiling leapt into it taking the Soul Stone to phase 2 of their plan. With the Stone secure Kal turned back towards Ultron who was suddenly encased by the duplicate Mjolnir's by Strange and struck by another lightning blast summoned by Thor, in order to cover T'Challa's disappearance.

Kal swiftly returned to Strange's and the others' side, flying low in the air to avoid detection and just as he arrived by Strange's side, Ultron broke free of his temporary imprisonment. Using the Power Stone to obliterate the duplicate Mjolnirs, with a burst of cosmic power.

"T'Challa's away and I think it's time we leave this party." Kal declared as he saw Ultron's face twist with rage as he quickly noticed the missing Stone on his chest.

"Quite agree, Watcher portal now!" Strange declared, prompting another vortex to open behind them. "GO! GO!" Strange ushered the others to leave as he waved his hand unleashing three dragons that had been trapped within his twisted form, that unleashed sickly hellish fire on Ultron.

Ultron however, seemed unaffected by the flames just as he had down by Thor's lightning and Kal's heat vision, only moving back slightly in the air before he raised his double-ended spear and unleashed the power of the stones to Annihilate the dragons attacking him. Their destruction caused Strange to wince slightly and stumble back, as a part of his being had just been ripped from him. However, his attack had allowed the others bar Kal to slip through the Watchers Portal without incident.

Kal caught the Doctor as he stumbled backwards preventing Strange from collapsing at the blow. "I've got you," Kal said as he returned the Doctor to his feet. "Any other tricks to slow this monster down?"

Strange just chuckled and with a circular waving of his hand opened a portal above Ultron that caused a cascade of Zombies to pour forth and engulf the android.

"Okay, that will do, time to go Doctor." Kal declared as the two departed leaving Ultron to deal with the Zombified inhabitants of another universe.

(Desolated Earth and Universe)

Kal was the last to arrive in the next universe and was greeted by a very strange and unwelcomed sight. It appeared as though whilst Kal and the others had been distracting Ultron, T'Challa, Gomora, and Killmonger had failed to undertake phase 2 destroying the soul stone.

The cause of this scene was one woman.

Natasha Romanoff was currently holding T'Challa in a vicelike grip around his neck, a gun pointed at his head, forcing Killmonger and Gomora to stay back unless they wanted to get him killed, to make matters worse she also firmly held the Soul Stone in her hand. Kal was quick to move his eyes glowing red as he readied a precise burst of his heat vision to incinerate the woman's head in one move.

Natasha, however, caught his eye and just pressed the barrel of her gun further into T'Challa's temple. "Just try it, buddy."

However, before Kal could respond Captain Carter moved forward, putting herself between Kal and Natasha. "WAIT! Stand down, she's Natasha Romanoff." She turned to Kal and seeing his eyes still glowing, she whispered, "Kal trust me."

Kal's eyes slowly returned to normal indicating he was willing to do this Peggy's way but his body language signalled that he was still ready to end this quickly if needed.

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

"We're from another universe. Universes. We're here to Stop Ultron." Peggy spoke with her hands raised.

Natasha's response was to cock her gun and squeeze the handle of her weapon indicating that she didn't believe Peggy. Her actions also caused Kal's eyes to begin glowing again, getting tired of the waste of time.

"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 an intense moment of silence as the two women looked at each other Peggy showing complete trust whilst Natasha just stared at her hard. Kal was about to intercede tried of indulging this complete waste of time and was about to act when suddenly Natasha released T'Challa and lowered her gun.

"Well, we must be close." Natasha finally spoke a small smile gracing her face.

"I believe the term is BFF" Peggy joked back a friendly smile fixed on her face but it was interrupted by a sound like that of shattering glass.

Kal was the first to spot it, turning his head he moved to place himself between the opening vortex and the rest of his team. As the vortex opened up it revealed Ultron, who began to descend towards the group, his glowing red eyes staring down at the group from behind his helmet.

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

Natasha who was gripping the Stone tightly suddenly flew into the air propelled forward by the Stone that was in her hand. However, she never reached Ultron as Kal and Thor moved at the same moment, Thor throwing Mjolnir destroying Ultron's hand whilst Kal went into the air and caught Natasha who in turn caught the stone that had slipped from her grasp.

As Natasha was being carried bridal style by Kal, she suddenly felt a warm almost painful sensation come over her as Strange cast another powerful protective spell over her. However, both her bewilderment over the spell and their reprieve from Ultron was short-lived, as Ultron suddenly regrew his arm and began his assault.

"HOLD ON!" Kal shouted through gritted teeth as he suddenly started veering through the air in both graceful arcs and jagged haphazard turns avoiding Ultron's Power Stone infused blasts.

Kal's original plan had simply been to catch Natasha, deposit her next to Gamora let them destroy the stone whilst he and others distracted Ultron. That however was proving impossible as the area exploded into chaos. On one side were Kal's teammates who were doing everything they could to distract Ultron. On the other however was Ultron who with the focus only a machine could master, kept hammering away trying to hit Kal, whilst Kal was able to dodge him that was only because his fellow teammates were keeping Ultron slightly occupied. However, the Synthetic being was still able to prevent Kal from landing or even getting close to the ground.

"ENOUGH! I can destroy galaxies with a thought! Why won't you DIE?!" Ultron's voice suddenly rang out, as Kal arced back towards his teammates.

The entire area suddenly exploded into a bright light hotter than a Hundred thousand, thousand suns as Ultron unleashed the combined powers of his remaining stones. Kal twisted his body doing his best to shelter Natasha from the ensuing firestorm that washed over him, there was a moment that Kal felt nothing no pain, no anger, just bliss full peace as he realised that this was the end, the explosion unleashed by Ultron was simply too much.

However, as quickly as that feeling had taken hold of him it dissipated as the light suddenly retreated pulled back completely as time itself seemed to rewind around them, causing as much confusion to Ultron as it did to Kal. The source of their salvation was Dr Strange with a confident grin on his face literally consuming the explosion that was about to tear Kal and his teammates apart, having reduced it to a blinding ball of light in his hand via his magical prowess and his own infinity stone.

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

Only to be then suddenly swarmed by Thor and T'Challa who taking the opening given to them slammed into the Android sending him hurtling into the ground, finally allowing Kal the chance to land. Kal swung close to the ground and released Natasha who broke her fall with a graceful roll as she ended up next to Gamora, quickly offering her the Soul Stone. As she did Kal, and the others engaged Ultron in a series of coordinated strikes, with each one moving like a well-oiled machine to keep the android distracted.

Ultron had risen from the crater that Thor and T'Challa had hurled him into, and was currently trying to crush Thor with flying debris that the Party Prince of Asgard was doing his best to either avoid or more often destroy with his hammer. Whilst T'Challa did his best ducking and weaving around Ultron and shooting the mechanised monster whenever he could.

"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 for Kal to rise up and with a grace twirl in the air caught the shield and immediately sent it back towards his foe at increased speeds, with it striking and then ricocheting off Ultron's chest back to Peggy. Killmonger followed that up with a series of strikes from his claws and a backflip out of the way, to make way for a thunder strike from Thor that flattened Ultron. Who upon rising was met by Kal's fists, a blur of motion as Kal struck each blow harder than the last, going from the Androids head to the body in a series of rapid punches were so powerful Kal's knuckles were dripping blood by the time he moved out of the way for Strange.

Slightly dazed from the series of attacks he had just endured Ultron was not prepared for Strange who unleashed his truly demonic side as he exploded into a hideous mass of tentacles and claws that rapped around Ultron flinging him into the air and then careening back into the ground. 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 which was aided by the fact that the Guardians of the Multiverse quickly took up the end of the chains and began pulling them in order to keep Ultron restrained.

Kal descended from the heavens and slammed into the area next to Ultron's right arm quickly moving to take up the chain with Thor opposite him on the left and the two Princes of Asgard pulled so hard that if Ultron had not been enhanced by the Stones he bore, he would have been wrought asunder. As they held him in place Gamora's infinity Crusher powered by the Soul Stone suddenly scuttled forth and placed itself on Ultron's chest gears winding as it moved to destroy the Stones.

As the crusher made contact with the embedded stones, the area exploded into a light so bright that even Kal could not see through it.

Then as quickly as the explosion of light came it went leaving the air hot as if it had been scorched and the area was deafly quiet as with the light now gone it showed only the Guardians and Natasha left standing.

"Is that it?" Thor's voice rang out as he blinked rapidly trying to dispel the spots he was seeing. "Huh, that would be harder."

"It doesn't feel over." T'Challa's practical sounding voice responded to Thor's statement, his years as a thief giving him a sixth sense when something was wrong.

"It's not," Kal answered both of them, quickly turning to face Ultron who was hovering unharmed above them.

"I'm honestly surprised didn't the Watcher warn you. Every universe is different, each one a fraction unique. Thus the infinity stones are unique" Ultron's voice had an almost mocking tone to it, which was hard to achieve

"Of course," Gamora whispered. "I made the Crusher destroy the stones in my universe, not his" Gamora explained.

"All right, anyone got a new plan?" Peggy asked, hoping someone had something.

"Yes, I stay, you all go." Kal declared, standing forward from the group, fixing Ultron squarely in his sights, flexing his aching muscles as he readied to continue the fight. "I can buy you time, regroup with the Watcher, fix the crusher and try again. Live to fight another day"

"Kal my spell won't last much longer even less if you go toe to toe with him, alone" Strange explained looking at the Prince, with hesitation before adding in a solemn voice. "You'll die."

Kal was silent for a moment before a look of conviction came across his face and entered his voice as he declared. "So be it."

He pushed off the ground so hard that the force of his departure caused his teammates to be knocked back and sound waves to radiate from him. He moved forward and struck Ultron who having seen Kal come simply raised his hand and blasted Kal, however much to his surprise Kal kept coming and before he could change tactic was blown back by a strike to his jaw.

Beneath them, the rest of the Guardians looked up to see an almost entrancing display of power as the sky above them became a wash of colours, purple, green and red clashed, as Kal did battle with Ultron above.

"We need to move." Peggy declared getting back to her feet, watching Kal and Ultron hammer away at each other.

"You want to leave?!" Thor asked incredulous, as Peggy seeming was willing to let Kal stay and be killed.

"Of course not, we need to help. Gamora, could you fix the Crusher to work on Ultron's stones?" Peggy asked the green-skinned woman.

"With like a month, of course, but -" Gamora was cut off as Kal was slammed into a nearby building causing it to collapse.

"We don't have the time, well … bullocks" Peggy swore as she looked up, Kal's fists slamming into Ultron's chest with savage blows as the two fought above.

"I might have a way." Natasha stepped forward lifting an arrow with a USB like head.

"An arrow?" T'Challa asked with a doubtful tone in his voice.

"An arrow with the mother of all Viruses" Natasha grinned. "However, one small problem I a need to close and have a clean shot."

"Will get you it," Peggy declared "Thor get up there and tell Kal to bring Ultron down to ground level and to get his helmet off." Thor nodded and took to the skies, "The rest of you get ready in case this doesn't work."

Kal heard it crack it as Ultron's Power Stone infused fist slammed into his face for the hundredth time, the second to last of Strange's protection spell, it shattered like a mirror sending small glowing runes peeling off Kal like jewellery taken by a thief. Kal responded with his own blow to Ultron, having abandoned his grace arcs through the air and his artful dodges for a slugging match, not because they had not been working, but rather he had nearly no energy left in his body. His knuckles were bloody, his eyes felt like hot balls of wax, his bones ached, and his heart was about to explode, yet still, Kal powered on. Every second, every blow he struck was another world that had a moment of peace, another family that survived to live another day.

Kal saw the fist coming from a mile away and knew that when it struck that would be it, Kal Son of Odin, Prince of Asgard, the Last Kryptonian would die. However, Ultron was suddenly no longer in front of him, instead, it was Thor with Mjolnir, who had caught the android unaware with a perfect uphanded strike.

"AH-HA!" Thor cried, exactly like his own brother did.

"Thor! What are you doing?! You have to go!" Kal yelled at the reckless princes who like the others should have left already.

"Worry not my friend for we have a plan, to defeat this Party Pooper" Thor smirked, nodding to the ground where the other guardians were clearly waiting. "If I can strike this friend to the ground, can you remove his helmet?"

Kal glanced to the ground and whilst he really wanted to simply tell Thor to leave again, he felt that would be useless, for good or ill, he guessed that the other Guardians of the Multiverse were just as stubborn as he was and would not abandon the fight. Sighing Kal just nodded, "You need to hit him as hard as you possibly can."

Thor just smirked and gave Kal a wink as he began spinning Mjolnir as Ultron started hurtling back towards them. Kal moved in front of Thor positioning his body as if to take on Ultron as the Android came in he unleashed a beam of energy that Kal blocked with a crossguard of his arms, wincing slightly as he melt the armour on his forearms began to melt. However, as Ultron came in close and was about to make physical contact Kal suddenly dropped out of the sky, hurtling towards the ground as a cannonball dropped from a tower.

The result was that Ultron flew straight into Thor's waiting overhead swing which was perfectly timed it was like the two had rehearsed the move a thousand times. "VIVA LAS VEGAS!" Thor's battle cry sounded out as he struck Ultron into the ground, with a blow so mighty that Thor's arm fractured, and Mjolnir cracked slightly.

"AHH!" Ultron cried as he slammed into the ground, which was made worse when he suddenly felt a pair of hands digging into the side of his helmet trying to tear his head apart. Ultron raised his hand and unleashed a powerful wave of energy that threw everyone back in the area, pinning several of the guardians to walls at the force of the attack. The only two left standing near Ultron was Strange and Kal, the former of which could do nothing but protect himself with a shield spell, whilst Kal took the full brunt of the attack straight into his face.

Kal stayed where he was, only turning his head to the side slightly as he felt his flesh start to sear, and he needed one good eye to see what he was doing. The effort however required every last inch of his strength, focus and will, all of was going into tearing the helmet from his foe's head, even as he started to feel Strange's spell begin to break, and his skin started to cook. "AHHH!" Kal's roar broke out as he felt the helmet snap apart in his hand, and with that Kal fell backwards, pain reeling across half his face as the adrenaline wore off.

"Fool, all that power and you waste on removing my helmet." Ultron declared as he rose from the ground hovering over Kal's prone form, hand raised to destroy his irksome adversary.

An inaudible series of sounds escaped Kal's lips as groaned with pain and spat blood from his mouth as he tried to say something.

"What?" Ultron asked, wanting to know what his adversary was trying to say, hubris getting the better of him.

"He said, goodbye" Natasha responded causing Ultron to look up and see the USB arrow suddenly embed itself in his right eye.

Ultron hissed in pain before pulling the arrow out and then suddenly he froze becoming completely immobilised in the air as his face froze. "Who's there? Who said that?" Ultron's voice escaped from his still unmoving head, talking to some unseen foe that Kal could not see from his position below the android.

Suddenly Ultron's remaining red eye suddenly flashed green, then red, then green again as some sort of battle occurred inside the android's head, Ultron then began to violently twitch and jerk as his body began sparking green electricity. The synthetic being's head then violently snapped backwards and with that, Ultron fell unceremoniously to the ground with a thud, falling into an undignified heap as the colour and light left his body.

Kal rose slowly standing over the defeated Ultron whose lifeless body he kicked slightly forcing it from a crumpled heap to being sprawled out onto its back. Kal winced slightly as he felt cold air touch the left side of his face which was almost gone, he could only see half the world at the moment his left eye was forced shut due to the damage he had received, luckily he no longer felt pain just a numbness, but he could feel blood tricklingly onto the remains of the armour he wore.

A brief flicker of light caught his eye it came from Ultron it was not red but green, the same as whatever had caused Ultron to fall, without hesitation, Kal raised his foot and slammed it hard down onto the android's head. Without an activated consciousness to keep the Stones activate the body was no longer enhanced by the Stones and so crumpled like paper under Kal's foot. Raising his foot once again, Kal slammed it down again even harder for good measure just to make sure that nothing of the android's mind remained.

"Everyone okay?" Peggy's voice called through the air, causing Kal to turn and take a few steps away from the body.

Several voices responded chief amongst them was Thor "I'm okay, yeah uh," Thor grunted as he landed cradling his arm a little. "Okay, that was, uh…. Can someone explain please?"

"I gave him a virus. A nasty one." Natasha explained as she slid down a toppled over wall bow still in hand.

Kal was about to call out to them when he felt a cold rush of energy behind him, he turned just in time to see Killmonger standing over Ultron a hand raised holding the Ultron Sentry drone head that Thor had brought. Ultron's armour had already left the android's body along with the Infinity stones and was bonding itself to Killmonger's body, his arm outstretched as he felt the rush of power come over him.

Kal was not the only one to notice Killmonger's actions as no sooner had the last stone fixed itself to his chest than he suddenly found himself faced by his teammates who had formed a loose semi-circle around him.

"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 homes?"

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. "Kal, you said you always get the job done well with these stones you could make sure you do every time."

Kal just narrowed his remaining working eye at Killmonger, a tight grimace appearing on his showing what he thought about the offer.

"Strange, you more than anyone knows this is it. This is our only chance" Killmonger pressed at the last person he had a chance at winning over, as casting one glance at Gamora told you her thoughts on using the stones for anything.

The area fell silent as the group looked at Killmonger, and he back at them. Kal turned his head slightly to look at Peggy, he could see the doubt in her eyes for a moment, but it was quickly gone replaced by resolve as she slipped into a fighting stance like everyone else, giving Killmonger his answer.

"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 burst of red light that engulfed his head.

The red energy beam was brief and when it ended Killmonger's now headless form swayed for a moment before it collapsed backwards landing with a thud. Everyone turned to look at the source of the red beam, which was his glowing right eye of Kal, they all had a slight look of surprise on their faces, Kal simply turned fully to look at them.

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

(Sometime Later. Strange's Illusionary Pub)

Kal was standing still as The Watcher waved his hand over Kal's wound restoring his body to the exact state it had been before he had been summoned by the Watcher. He felt his body's strength returning and his vision become whole again as the scars and burns disappeared fully from the right side of his face. Kal then stepped back giving the Watcher a thankful nod before he returned to stand with the rest of the Guardians, minus Strange who had already departed with the Stones, to place them somewhere no one would ever use them. Whilst Kal would like to have more say in the matter something told him that wherever Strange ended up putting the stones they would never trouble him again.

"The Entire Multiverse owes you a debt of gratitude, but your worlds will never 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 Kal lingered, for a few moments observing both Peggy, and Natasha staying 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."

"Haven't I heard my happy ending?" Peggy asked slightly forlornly, 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, whilst Kal's own mind was thinking about a woman whose own image was still sharp in his mind just as Steve's was in Peggy. However, he was also thinking about home as well, the Bifrost of his universe was gone and he had no idea what was happening on Asgard or even if Asgard was still there.

"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 giving Kal a look.

"It was an honour Kal," Peggy said giving him a small nod before turning to leave, with one last look behind her she spoke to Kal one last time "See you around." And with that, Captain Carter, the Solider out of Time departed.

With Peggy gone Kal cast his gaze first to Natasha then to the Watcher, "I'm guessing I am too unable to return to a different place than from whence I came."

The Watcher's face this time however did not look regretful merely a little hesitant as if he wanted to tell Kal something, but he couldn't. "I'm afraid not Kal-El, but know that your home is fine, and that you will see it again." The Watcher then paused and gave a little smile before adding. "And look to the North Star and ice for answers"

Kal merely sighed deeply and shook his head at the Watcher's cryptic words. "You know I really, REALLY hate riddles," Kal said with a slight chuckle.

"I know." The Watcher replied with his own small chuckle.

Kal turned to leave but his eyes lingered on Natasha, her world was gone her whole reality in fact, and from what little Kal knew of the Watcher even if he was able, he would not be able to bring back her home. Kal was about to offer to take her with him, he did not know if she existed on his version of Midgard, but at least she would have one ally in him there to help her. However, as moved to offer he caught the Watchers eye who gave a small shake of his head and knowing look with his eyes, and in that moment as the two looked at each other Kal knew she would be fine.

Kal turned back towards the door and walked into the bright light feeling it wash over him.

(Kal's home reality - Somewhere over the Mid-West – Shield Transport Aircraft)

Kal was suddenly jostled as he felt the aircraft move beneath him as it started to descend, he was standing up from his seat and looked down to see his Midgardian clothes had returned, and that he was right back where he had been.

"Um, you alright buddy?" The archer Clint Barton spoke from a few seats down looking up to Kal who was standing up in the middle of the plane.

Kal turned to face him he sighed slightly in relief as the archer's presence and statement confirmed for Kal that he was indeed back. "I am ….. fine, just a lot has happened is all," Kal replied thinking it best not to seem crazy in front of people he didn't know by claiming to have just been whisked away by a cosmic to fight an insane android to save the multiverse.

"Yeah, I get that," Barton offered, he too was feeling exhausted, the past few days had opened him up to some crazy stuff, like the alien god he was currently transporting to speak to Fury. "You might want to sit down, Coulson just signalled me, we will be landing in a few minutes, Fury is meeting us at a black site airfield to talk."

Kal nodded and slowly returned to his seat, his mind once more returning to the issues of his home universe mainly that the Bifrost was gone and that for the time being Kal needed to request asylum on this world whilst he figured out what to do. However, the Watcher's last words to him were also playing in his mind.

"- look to the North Star and Ice for answers."