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Chapter Text

Steve came back home, bags of food in the back of his truck shaking in the wind. He grabbed all of them, not worrying about the rippability of the bags. He dumped them at his feet, however, when he had to open the vault door before him. He punched in the lock code and hefted the large dial open, throwing the bags onto the stairs and closing the door behind him. Again, he grabbed the bags, walking down the stairs, and opening yet another door at the bottom.

Upon opening the door, Steve was greeted by the view of Venom -- Peter, he doesn’t want to be called Venom, remember that, Steve -- and Hulk being fed by Tony, the bloody remains of whatever people they found. Maximoff and Storm were trying to gain some sort of reaction from Thor, who was just standing guard of Loki, who had taken to sitting in front of Stephen, having the human braid his hair, since he forgot to bring his servants with him. Erik had positioned himself on the refrigerator, like the cat he derived his powers from, eating an orange-cream popsicle all the while.

Steve cleared his throat loudly at the room, all eyes turning to him simultaneously. “Guys, help me put the groceries away. And we need to clean this place, there are blood stains from five weeks worth of Hulk chow, nevermind the people needed to feed a growing child!” Peter looked sheepish, and perhaps ashamed, while Hulk tried to stifle a burp. “And there are claw marks and scorch marks everywhere. And yes, some of the scorching is yours, Maximoff.” The three perpetrators had the decency to look at their feet, though Erik continued to lick at his treat. “And Loki, do you really have to throw your books and robes around, I mean, you could at least command Thor to pick it up.” Alas, the kitchen and livingroom of the vault was covered in Loki’s belongings, some of which not even Asgardian in nature. Peter, being the only one that still liked being around normal people -- the “future subjects” Loki insisted on calling them -- had bought them all books and Loki’s Harry Potter books were left open and half-read everywhere.

“This glorified basement isn’t worth the effort of a king or even a mindless slave. Or the Hulk. And let’s face it, those blood stains are never getting out of the carpet.” Loki barely looked up, even as Stephen had stopped braiding.

“So we shouldn’t give an effort?” Steve said, a scowl cursing his face.

“I’m saying, we need to get better shelter. One that fits us all, while also putting this plan of yours into motion. We’ve all been waiting, storing our power, training with the infinity stones that we have, and now I do believe that we are getting a bit more than antsy. We want out.”

Steve considered this, a grin breaking out on his face, erasing the scowl that was previously there. “Let’s steal England.”

There was a beat of silence before Tony broke it. “What?”

“England’s got a couple of castles. They’ve got enough room for us to stretch our legs. Or weapons. Or symbiote. Point is, getting the UK will do what Loki described perfectly.” Peter raised his hand, Steve remembering it was a habit the younger still had from being in school. “Yes, Peter?”

“Well, uh, Spain’s the ninth richest monarchy in Europe, and has the continent’s largest palace. Maybe we should steal Spain instead?” Peter gave his input, volume lowering as he noticed everyone staring at him.

“I’m with that.” Erik said, hoping off the appliance. “Kid’s pretty smart.” Peter glowed at the statement.

“Hulk want biggest room there is!” Hulk shook the table he sat at with just his voice.

Tony decided to provide his input. “I could have a bigger lab, too. And that could certainly help in the long run, y’know?”

Steve nodded along with this, everything sounding good to him, knowing it could all help in his plan. “Alright.” he said, his grin seemingly firmly in place. “We’re going to steal Spain.”

Chapter Text

The man was excited, though jumping in his shoes would likely get him fired. After years of working, the man -- more like boy -- was finally a guard of the land, and more specifically, the castle. The man grew up looking at the castle, seeing it glimmer and shine in the night sky, its roof seemingly endless.

The man took position where his Commander told him and kept his eyes peeled, noticing as he looked around, that he could see his childhood house from where he was standing. Suddenly, he heard a noise from above him. Had someone opened a window?

The man looked up to see Spider-Man. But it couldn’t be Spider-Man, he was much bigger than the videos from Germany, and his costume was black, Spider-Man’s costume is a bright red and blue. But this being, Spider-like being, was sticking to the wall of the castle and looking at him shouldn’t be here.

“¿Por qué estás aquí? ¡Sal del castillo antes de que dispare!” The man demanded before drawing his gun, hands shaking. So much for the Commander giving him a ‘slow first day’.

“Non sono molto bravo in spagnolo, signore. Riesci a capire l'italiano?” The being responded, voice young and pubescent and obviously normally-English-speaking.

“English, boy?” the man asked, gun still pointing at the figure.

“Yes, sir.” the being -- the child -- responded.

“Why here? You live in America, yes?”

“Not anymore.” Spider-Man responded, a happy tilt to his voice. “I’m moving!”

The man was suspicious, and his hands were shaking as he held the gun to the younger’s face. “You’re moving to España? And you are being a tourist, yes? Tourists are not allowed on the castle!” How was he going to explain the weird Spider-Man to the Commander?

He didn’t get the chance to think on the subject any longer before the being jumped down from the wall and crouched down, a childlike laughter ripping into the man’s ears from the being’s throat. “I’m moving into the castle, of course!”

The man stilled his shaking hands, gun positioned to aim right at the being’s head. “Not the truth. You are under arrest!”

Suddenly, the bodies of two guards fell from their position on the roof. The man shielded himself from them, arms going to cover his face, gun taken away from the being. The man could feel the gun being webbed out of his hands, and as he recognized the bodies of his Commander and the guard he had lunch with earlier today, he knew he wouldn’t had stood a chance even if he kept the weapon.

The man looked up from where this coworkers -- friends -- fell, and saw two figures, both tall and with a muscle-mass larger that the man had seen at boot camp. He looked back at the being, which grew, larger than the two other men on the roof, teeth sprouting from a seeming inky-blackness.

The man was allowed only one word before the being charged towards him, feet first. “Mierda.”

After the symbiote licked the last of the man’s blood of the sidewalk, he looked back up at the men and crawled to their level. Maximoff and Steve were up there, both of them looking different than normal. Coming into the country, they -- as well as Peter and Thor -- had dyed their hair. Pietro’s was brown and Steve’s was black. After the symbiote revealed Peter’s face, the others could see that Peter was now blonde.

“Do you like Spanish food, Venom?” The Captain asked, ignoring Pietro’s groan at the ill-timed joke.

“I just checked in with Loki and Erik.” Pietro said, cutting off any chance the human or symbiote had of replying to the joke. “Erik’s disabled the cameras and wifi, and Loki has Thor annihilating everyone. They’ve already killed the King and Queen and captured the two princesses. What are their names, Peter, do you know their names?”

“Leonor and Sofía. Did they…?” Peter began to ask, seemingly unable to think of the words.

“Kill the parents in front of the children? No. I don’t think the girls even know that their parents are even dead.”

“That also makes Leonor the Queen now, you realize?” Peter realized suddenly. “What are we going to do with her?” Peter and Pietro both looked towards Steve.

Instead, he avoided the subject. “With everything happening, the military will have been mobilized by now. Pietro, when you see them, say, three kilometers out, I want you to release Hulk.” With that, Pietro ran out to see if there were vehicles within his given radius. “Peter, go have fun inside.” Peter did as he was told, entering through a large and now broken window, releasing the scent of blood from inside the castle.

Chapter Text

Erik had walked the halls of the palace, watching as people removed the blood-stained rug, wearily eyeing him like the predatory animal he is. Or maybe they were eyeing him because he was pulling one of their princesses along with him, and Loki was next to him, complaining about the smell, the girl’s whining, or whatever he could find to complain about, which was less than normal, but still too much.

“Fucker, we have an army, a country, and a huge-ass castle -- all before this universe’s Avengers even get word we’re here. How in the shit are you complaining?” Erik interrupted, leaving Loki speechless for just a moment before the god answered.

“I’m the ruler of all Asgard. Any and all parts of Midgard are incomparable.”

“Then stop comparing them, dumbass.”

“I am the god of intelligence, you uncultured --”

“You will both feel the steel of a bullet between your eyes!” Leonor yelled from in between them.

“I can pull my atoms back together.” Loki deadpanned, barely sparring the girl a glance.

“My suit is basically gun-proof.” Erik copied Loki’s actions for just a second before stopping before the grand doors they were heading towards. “Look, kid, this is nothing against you and your family specifically. You just so happened to be in a castle we needed. It could’ve happened to any royal asshole." Leonor stopped yelling, but instead opted to growl at Erik, who tried to give her a less-harsh look.

Loki scoffed at the display. “If you are finished trying to comfort the prisoner, we do have a meeting to attend to. Though if it may make you less combative with me, I could always put her under the power of the Tesseract. That should make her a bit less rude, threatening the rightful victors of her land.”

“Man, would you shut up?” Erik looked at Loki with disgust. “We don’t need to be controlling a little fucking girl, you dick. Just -- c’mon.” Erik got up and started dragging Leonor again. “We have that meeting, right?”

They continued on, walking into the grand doors that they had been expected in. In the room were Tony and Steve, and a painting of Leonor’s grandparents taken off the wall, revealing a large and airtight safe, a biometric scan on the door.
Steve turned towards the entering group, a smile gracing his pale face, ringed in black hair that was no longer slicked back, but was hanging down, giving the Captain’s face a heart-shaped look. Tony also looked towards the group, but quickly turned back towards the safe, scowling at it as if it were Ultron himself.

“Alright, we’ve brought the girl. Why did you need her and why did you need us?” Loki practically prancing towards the bed.
Leonor looked around the room, concern lacing her eyes. “This is my parents’ room. Where are they? Where are you keeping them? And do you really need a god to look after my sister, isn’t that a bit of overkill?”

Steve continued to smile, though his gaze grew darker than it had just had been. “Well, your parents are dead. We’re in your parents’ room because if I’m right, they had something other than the future queen and the castle I want.” He didn’t react to Leonor’s heartbroken expression at the news of her parents’ death. “And we don’t actually need you, Your Highness, we need your fingers.”

Leonor looked between Steve and the biometric scan, lip quivering. “Why in the hell would I help you after you’ve killed my parents?”

Steve got up and approached her, hand still being held by Erik, who was being more and more concerned by each heartbeat.

“Because, Queen, it’s like you said: a god to watch your sister is overkill.” Steve’s eyes glinted.

Erik’s jaw dropped. “That’s messed up.” Leonor seemed to agree, if her darkening eyes were anything to go by. She stepped towards the safe, seemingly dragging Erik behind her now.

“You bastards.” She stuck her finger onto the print, waiting for the door to the safe to open. “I don’t even know what is in here, so how would you know?”

Steve pushed her out of the way of the safe, reaching his hand into the back, gripping the contents with glee. “Because Spain -- sorry, España -- is just another country in just another universe where I showed up. After I became, well, me, everyone tried to make a new me. That includes your country and family.” Steve brought his arm out of the safe, holding onto vials of blue liquid. “The super-soldier serum. Or, at least, a derivative of it. Tell me, Your Highness, has your athleticism and multilingualism been enhanced by the serum? Were your parents enhanced? Their parents?”

Leonor shook her head, the information dumped on her shocking her, a crisis in her brain. “I -- no, I’ve never seen those…”
Steve’s smile grew wider, in a way Erik recognized from the first time Steve and him killed a family -- not the whole family, just the parents and the adult siblings -- in order to feed Venom and Hulk.

“You can’t seriously be thinking about doing this, Steve.” Tony’s eyebrows scrunched, disbelief covering his entire body.
“We need to see if it works. This is a product of España, so shouldn’t the Queen of España have a role in this? I don’t want to test it on my team. C’mon, we’re a family. I won’t hurt my family. But I can hurt her. We can just replace her with her sister.” Steve tried walking towards the girl, but stopped when he saw Erik standing in between them.

“This is messed up.” He repeated. “Goddamnit, man, she’s just a little kid. Can’t we just get one of the guards or janitors or some shit? And do you really want a souped-up kid whose parents you killed around? Think about it --” Erik was cut off by a numb feeling, legs no longer able to keep him up. Steve’s eyes glowed blue, the space stone on his necklace glowing.
“Sorry, Erik, but you know me. Once I get an idea, I just -- I have to see it through.”

The last thing Erik saw before he passed out was Steve approaching the Queen with one of the needles filled with serum.

Chapter Text

Johnny, Peter, Pietro, and Erik all sat in the castle's laughable medical center, it being the smallest room there. They had all been injected with the serum after Leonor, and none of them had seen the girl, Erik's concern growing almost as fast as his body had.

A glance at Peter told him how it affected someone who was younger. Peter had grown to match Pietro's previous height, and the serum mixed with his spider DNA, letting him produce his own webs.

Much like Peter, everyone's previous powers seemed to be enhanced. Pietro was recorded to be much faster than previously. Johnny burned hotter and brighter. And Erik himself had heightened senses, all of which Peter identified as the body's increased ability to process sensory input, or some sciency shit like that.

“Why didn't Steve do it to himself?” Peter broke the silence, voice a bit deeper than normal. When the others looked to him, he grew quiet, but continued. “He’s had the serum once. What would happen if he had another dose? Did he take another by himself or is he avoiding it? And if he is, why?”

The room seemed to consider the questions asked of them, but were unable to give an answer.

The door to their room opened, revealing Thor. “Your voice projects more now that it is lower, young Parker. Steve has taken another dose, and has requested all of your presences in the grand throne room.” The god turned around, heading back towards Loki.

The others obediently followed, curious to see what had happened to Steve. They walked silently and with a new vigor, trying out the movement of their new bodies. They entered the room, ceiling glistening in its gold crests. They immediately saw Loki and Tony, even Hulk, looking in awe at something in the Royal Palace of Madrid’s throne room. They looked towards where they were looking and saw why there was such awe. Steve had taken one of the two thrones that was there, and had gotten rid of it. He alone sat on the remaining throne, legs crossed and arms on the rests and hair pulled back into a very short ponytail, a comfortable air about him. His appearance hadn’t seemed to change, but every line of his body held an air of power, though that could have been the glowing space stone on his necklace.

He acknowledged those who entered, an entirely too-pleased look upon his face. “Well, it’s good to see you. Unfortunately, I called you down here with some bad news.” He stopped, his smile fading just a bit.

“What is it?” Pietro asked, not at all as intimidated by the newer Captain as everyone else.

Steve stood up from the throne, the others parting unconsciously to give him room as he walked down towards them. “It seems like one of the guards we killed was a former SHIELD agent. He was loyal to the United Nations during the Hydra take-over, at least this universe’s version of it. Once he died, SHIELD was notified. Which mean these Avengers have been notified, because there wouldn’t be a universe where Tony doesn’t try to get on Fury’s nerves and hack SHIELD.”

The room was quiet at the information, not knowing how Steve would react to the information. Until Erik spoke up. “Then we gotta prepare, right? I mean, like, they have more people enhanced people, but we have an army, right? And we have the stones. Which ones do we have?”

Loki answered for the Captain. “Tony and I have a power stone each. Stephen has the time stone. Peter has the soul stone and Steve, of course, has the space stone. We don’t have the mind stone or the reality stone from any dimension. This dimension still has all of their stones, of which are likely in the possession of this dull universe’s team of lunatic ledger-children.”
Again, the room grew quiet, everyone avoiding the others’ glances. Even Hulk.

“We could always strike first.” Stephen spoke up. “Listen, I’ve been doing research on this universe, and it seems Loki is a member of their Avengers now. So let’s compare: their Loki was beaten by these Avengers, but ours beat the Avengers of his universe, which would mean that our Loki is stronger than theirs’.” Stephen stroked his beard all the while. “Then there is Spider-Man and Venom. The symbiote enhances our Peter’s strength, which is also combined with the power of the soul stone. Again, ours is stronger. But then there is Thor. Ours still has Mjolnir, whereas theirs has learned how to use lightning without the hammer and has made his own battleax. And Hulk.” At the sound of his name, Hulk seemed to growl, but Stephen continued. “Their Bruce Banner can no longer turn into the Hulk, and now uses the Hulkbuster armor. Needless to say, there no longer being a Hulk here, ours is determinedly stronger. Then there is the other me -- he trained with the Ancient One, but his hands were never healed and he hadn’t completed his training with her. He currently is trying to teach himself what she couldn’t teach him. I’m obviously stronger. I’m not exactly sure about the others, information on them are a little more limited.”

By the end of Stephen’s analysis, the others had grown more confident, plans whirling in their heads. But it was Steve himself who spoke up. “A strike won’t be necessary.”

“What?” Loki exclaimed in disbelief. “We know we can win if we go after one of their stones! What do you mean --”

Steve interrupted Loki, raising his voice is suddenly. “I have a plan! Everything I do is part of a plan!” The rest were silent. “Don’t -- don’t question me, damn it! I have a plan, but I need you to listen and trust me!”

The others again were silent, tension stopping them from speaking. “Ok, Steve.” Peter spoke up again. “What’s your plan, sir?” Peter sat at Steve’s feet, looking up with a high-calibre imitation of trust and curiosity.

Steve calmed considerably, sighing out relief. “I’m so glad you asked, Peter. I knew I was right in gathering you. Everyone else, sit down. You’re in for a bit of a speech.”

Chapter Text

Earth-MCU-6074

Tony paced, waiting for his project to load. It had been three and a half months since Peter had been controlled by Venom, been manipulated by that off-Captain. Been turned into a killer.

Tony had recognized the space stone, had known that Peter took the soul stone. He knew that’s what the other Steve was actually after, not his kid, never his kid. Finally, he heard the device charge, waiting to be used. Hawkeye, who watched as Tony paced, perked up, sitting up from the chair he was slouching in.

“So, how exactly is that thing supposed to work?” Clint asked cautiously, taking note of Tony’s weeks, months, of working on the machine.

Tony still eyed it conveniently. “It duplicated the energy and radiation from the space stone, takes us to where it took Peter. Now get the others, we’re going after them.”

Hawkeye startled, concerned. “Wait, wait -- radiation? Are you sure this is safe?”

Tony’s face darkened, but he didn’t look away from the device and began attaching it to his suit. “The only person’s safety I’m worried about is Peter’s. Now go get them.”

Bruce again hesitated, but went this time, rushing to gather the others before Tony did something drastic. Again. There was no telling with Tony in this state. Let it not be said that Bruce didn’t care about Peter -- he does, he really does. He was one of the first people after the radiation and the Hulk who wanted to converse with Bruce as a scientist instead of a hero or the person Hulk just so happens to cohabitate a body with. But that is always the stance he views events as: a scientist. He saw how the symbiote changed Peter, good Peter, warm Peter. Venom, if Bruce remembers what Peter called himself correctly, was cold and likely the person who ate May. If Peter had any control, he wouldn’t have done that. If there was the smallest chance of Peter taking back control and fighting off the symbiote, it would have been then. But it didn’t happen.

Which, of course, lead to one conclusion: there is no more Peter Parker. The symbiote is in complete control, the boy just along for the ride. There is, however, the question of why the symbiote would want to go with that odd Captain. Surely, it would have the best chance of survival with the Avengers, where it could see that it had the means and resources to keep both the host body and the symbiote healthy? What had the Captain offered it? Did it care about Peter’s well-being, or did it hope to get a stronger body? Did it want a stronger body? What exactly were it goals with Peter?

As Bruce pondered this, he noticed that he had already reached the door to the Avengers common room. He took a deep breath and entered.

Chapter Text

Earth - MCU - Prime

Venom knew exactly what he was doing with this young body. No matter how many times the boy screamed out for him to stop, to turn himself in to the Avengers of the dimension, to fight against the Steve who killed his Eddie, Venom never listened. Because he had a plan.

Of course he wouldn’t actually support the Eddie-killer, he never would. But the killer has the means to destroy Venom, to destroy this carefully-laid revenge plan. Eddie always was better at making plans than Venom, but the symbiote had to at least treasure all that Eddie had taught him. So only kill when needed, take care of the host, and have fun ripping the soon-to-be dead Captain a new one.

At present, Peter was was best option. Cunning, smart, strong, quick, and with the potential to be amazing, Peter was in the good graces of the Captain while also being totally and unequivocally against the man. If the Captain suspected any foul play from his little group of conquerors, the last person he would suspect would be Peter. Or at least the puppet that looks like Peter, who he thinks is Peter.

Unless he already did.

Venom doubted that, but it was always in the back of his mind. He would never say “their” mind. He would only say “their” or “we” when referring to his Eddie. He never should’ve let Eddie go, never should’ve believed that the Captain would keep his promise.

So as he prepared to infiltrate the Avengers compound, he observed as much as he could. He was going in with Johnny, whose desires have not been found by the symbiote. The boy burns, but constantly drowns in alcohol. He doesn’t seem to talk much, keeping away from most people, but when he goes out at night and comes back in the morning, he smells of the sex of other people.

This Storm boy could also have the means to kill Venom, and he doesn’t know where that one stands. As the Torch distracts the Avengers and as Venom crawls through their vents, as the symbiote grabs and contains the power reality stone, he wonders how the variable of Johnny Storm with fit into or out of his plan.

Chapter Text

Earth-MCU-Prime

To say the Avengers were shocked would be an understatement. They knew there were other versions of them running around somewhere causing trouble, but seeing a massive version of Peter with a living suit stealing the reality stone over their surveillance video was not what anyone was expecting to see.

Peter sat unmoving at the footage, Tony seeing that he was processing the information that had just been showed to him and the group.

Fury was obviously trying to ignore the despair on Peter’s face as he tried to explain what was happening in the video. “So as you all know, several people came in from what looked like a portal, much like the ones used by Thanos to travel around. They have since been identified as different versions of Peter, Tony, Hulk, Thor, Loki, T’Challa’s cousin Erik, and,” Fury briefly flashed his gaze over towards Wanda, “Pietro Maximoff.”

Wanda’s face was a conglomerate of emotions, betrayal and heartbreak most prominent in her eyes as they sat in the conference room of the new helicarrier. “What?” She asked of Fury.

“Remember, these are not the people you all know. They are all from different universes with different experiences with different people. They may not even know any of you.” Nick tried to be formal, but could feel the string of emotions in the air. “It also appears that they have someone -- someone many of you met just last night -- who has pyrokinesis. We aren’t sure who he is and it is very possible that there is no version of him in our dimension.”

When Wanda stayed quiet, Clint spoke up. “Of course we know that, but I worry about the psychological impact of, you know, trying to fight these guys. Besides, do we even know what they want?”

“We’ve got a bit of a clue, given that they have taken over Spain. And stole the Spanish Super Soldier Serum.”

Tony startled at this. “They took over Spain?”

“Killed the King and Queen, no word on the princesses yet. The Spanish military was sent to take care of it, but they were decimated by the Hulk. This version of our jolly green giant seems to be a bit more feral than ours.”

“How so?” Steve asked, blonde hair recently been trimmed.

Nick took a deep breath, carefully avoiding Banner’s gaze. “Theirs -- he -- that Hulk eats people.” The room around him grew silent, the disgust on the Avenger’s faces clear as day. “So you get why I brought you here, even though I am already well aware of the fact that you may not want to fight these guys. But we need you to fight them.”

“We get that.” Tony said, losing his careless air. “But the problem is, did anyone else see that zombie-Peter had another infinity stone on him? In the video, he grabbed the reality one and put it in a container. That container already had an orange glow, which would mean that the soul stone is in there. Which also means that, since we all know where our soul stone is, that they must have brought some of their stones here. We don’t know from how many universes they are from, and we have no idea how many stones they have, and we can only be sure of two. To summarize, we don’t know how overpowered we are, their Hulk eats people, and they’ve probably used the serum on themselves.”

The nervous energy in the air couldn’t be escaped. Peter seemed to be lost in his own head, Bruce couldn’t seem to find a face to focus on as he looked between all of those who were around him. Steve and Tony seemed to be trying to analyze the information they were given, but were at a crossroads. Natasha herself, though usually stoic, seemed worried, if not about these new enemies, then about Peter.

Suddenly, Coulson entered the room, poorly-hidden worry on his face. “Strange arrived, but he’s hurt.” It needed no more explanation before Peter and Tony rushed passed Phil and into the hallway, looking for the doctor.

They found him trying to enter the new helicarrier from the top, though there were several medics and personnel trying to get him in a gurney. Peter shoved his way passed the people and went right to Stephen, even as the sorcerer leaned heavily on the boy. “Doc! What happened?”

Stephen took a breath out of his mouth, his nose bleeding too rapidly to breath properly. “Flaming man. Silver armor. Took -- took the stone. Hands. My hands.”

Tony and Peter looked back at each other, though the younger turned back when he felt the injured man beside him completely collapsed in his arms, losing consciousness. By now, the rest of the Avengers were grouped behind the three, coming to the same conclusion Peter and Tony had.

The other team had taken the time stone.

Chapter Text

Storm regretted only one thing since going with Steve, and one thing only. That other version of Stephen, the one they stole the second mind stone from -- when they fought, those already-injured hands got burnt. Very burnt. And what’s a sorcerer -- a doctor -- without his hands?

Storm could’ve thought about the number of people those hands saved, the number of lives they touched, the number of times they held someone else’s hands, any number of things. But he didn’t. Instead, he flew over some of his land, dropping down over a vineyard. Entering the house of the man who made the wine. Stealing the alcohol from the man who begged him to not burn him, to stay away from his daughter (which he ignored), to not burn his land. Why was he flying with a woman? Why was the hand he was holding her with not on fire?

As he landed, he didn’t really care, remembering that he tanked another bottle of whiskey before getting the wine and the winer’s daughter. Why did he nab her again? He can’t remember.

“Please, no!” She begged, trying to pull her arm out of his grip. “Please, no, no, no! Let me go and I won’t say anything, I’ll go home and not say anything, please!”

He landed in the courtyard of the palace, still not really knowing what to say to the young woman. And why did it look like she was glowing blue?

“Ah, Johnny! Thank you for coming so quickly!” Loki was already there, apparently, a wide smile glowing on his face. “I realize you’ve gotten into my potions, and, well, you’re probably very confused. You see, Storm, those potions you confused for some of your Midgardian alcohol was actually something I’ve been working on. It’s supposed to replicate the effects of my infinity stone on Thor. You haven’t been in control of your own wishes since you drank it. You’ve been responding to my commands.” The god grabbed the girl and stood her up, her struggling replaced with shaking in place. “But don’t worry, the potion isn’t perfected, and should run out of steam within a few hours. However, for now, I believe it would be best if you sleep.”

Johnny still didn’t know what was going on, but he was suddenly very tired. So tired, in fact, that he decided to fall there, napping on the ground of the courtyard.

Loki turned again towards the girl, who was shaking in her sandals. “Oh, dear, don’t be scared.” He grabbed her shoulders, leading her inside. “I have plans for you, and I promise you, it will be so much fun.”

--

By noon of the next day, the girl was a sobbing mess in Peter’s room. The boy had tried calming her, telling her that Steve was going to bring her to this world’s SHIELD, that they would help her, and she and her father would be placed in America, giving them the same amount of land that they had here in Spain, but that would not calm her. He didn’t blame her, not with what Loki did to her.

Speaking of, Loki was sitting at the other side of the room, Thor next to him and Erik and Steve between him and his victim. “I don’t understand the big deal with what I did.”

Steve lowered a glare at the god. “We aren’t going to save the multiverse by making more victims.”

Loki huffed. “I don’t know why you care --”

“You used that girl like a lad rat, Loki!” Steve roared, the girl now loudly sobbing behind him. “You tried to test some bullshit magic on her, manipulated Johnny, and you betrayed what I’ve been trying to do here!” When Loki had no response, Steve turned towards Peter, a grimace on his face. “Peter, take her and contact SHIELD, get a date we can give her to them.”
Peter obediently did as he was told, bringing the girl along with him. As soon as the door closed behind him, Erik strode towards Loki and punched him across the face, even as he knew that the god wouldn’t even flinch, nevermind feel pain. “You shit.”

“Erik, I don’t appreciate you trying to make me angry.” Loki tried to talk the new super soldier down.

Erik just punched him again in response, even as Steve tried to pull him back and Thor began to turn towards him. “I don’t give a fuck!”

Steve finally pulled him back, only to glow with the power of his space stone and punch Loki himself. Thor at this point had grabbed Erik’s throat, lifting him up and choking him. “Thor, let go of him.”

“You know he isn’t going to listen to you, he’s under my --” Loki cut himself off when Thor obeyed Steve, surprise written clearly on his face. “How did you get him do that?”

Thor began to turn towards his brother, though quite slowly, as if he were debating his own movements. Steve responded, his glow turning from the familiar blue to a combination of blue and green, revealing the time stone he had stolen. “I’m pretty sure power is nothing compared to time and space. At least, that’s my opinion.”

Loki smirked, impressed. “Of course. I actually didn’t see that coming. Very well done, but we are done with this foolery, we have a plan to get back to.”

Instead, Steve pushed Loki out of the window to the deserted street below. “Not after what you’ve done.”

Loki sat up ferociously from where he landed, a snarl on his lips. “You need me!”

“I can go to almost any other universe and replace you. You are expendable. Hell, Strange could replace you pretty easily. And his power is still growing!” By this time, Steve and Thor had joined Loki on the ground, Erik opting to stay inside to gather some sort of defense.

“You -- do you believe you can control the power of Thor?” As if in response to his name, Thor suddenly rushed towards Loki and grabbed him by the throat, much like what he did to Erik. Loki seemed to not be surprised, but spite was clear on his face. “You will learn how large of a mistake you’ve all just made.”

With that the god teleported away, leaving Thor’s grasp empty. Steve growled on turned towards Thor. “Find him. Find him now!” Steve watched as Thor flew away, searching for his brother with murder in his heart.

Steve was startled by the feeling of Erik’s hand on his shoulder. “Tell him to come back!”

“But we need to find Loki!” Steve ground out.

“This universe’s people will find him. And if they don’t, we can find him later. But SHIELD knows we’re here, remember? We need Thor is they decide to strike or some shit. Please, you gotta tell that asshole to come back.” Erik tried to reason, looking between Steve’s face and the ever-shrinking dot in the sky.

Steve just glowered again, his glow finally dying down. “I’ll tell him to come back only if we need him or if he gets Loki. And not before.”

Chapter Text

From Stephen’s view from the helicarrier, the clouds seemed like nothing but the wisps of a tiny and insignificant world. He supposed that was true now, the notion that the world is insignificant and cold.

Just one of a million. Like how he was just one of a million of Stephen Strange, one of a million Sorcerer Supremes, one of a million doctors who have wasted their life away being an impersonal dick. But he figures he had it coming. Getting half beaten to death by himself, he means.

Well, Steve was there too. Another Steve, a lunatic one of a million Steve. A Steve that had a space stone and had stolen his time stone, because of course he did. This Steve was huge. He was ruthless and deadly and goal-oriented and wrong. There was no other way to put it, just wrong. Out of the millions of Steves there must be, that Steve has to be the only one like him.
People had been in and out of his hospital room except for one person. Peter had been at his side since he was allowed in, and was currently sleeping in a chair next to his bed. This boy, this amazing and wonderful boy, was one-in-a-million. He was special. Tony had made a good choice in finding him.

Speaking of, Tony hadn’t seen him since he and Peter saw him collapse on the flight deck. Stephen didn’t take it personally, Tony always curled in on himself when he didn’t know what to do. And if Stephen still had the infinity stone, he would know what to do, but at the moment, well, there was no way for him to find out. So maybe he did take it personally. At least part of it. A large part of it, but not Tony’s part in it.

Those who have been in his room, other than Peter, were medical personnel and interrogators, people who all wanted something from him. At this point, Stephen was numb to all of the questions and changing of bandages and just everything that was happening.

He doesn’t actually know how long he’s been here, but he supposes it’s been a while, if Peter’s growling stomach is anything to go by. Then there was the fact that Peter’s hair has grown a bit oily and more than a little disheveled. He was in a room without a window, so he couldn’t exactly see the rising and setting of the sun. And Peter didn’t seem to have his phone with him, so he couldn’t look for that.

But Stephen did have a way to keep in contact with time, while also keeping an eye on those other Avengers. Every time he slept, he sent his spirit out to Spain, and last night, he saw something that he wish he could get to Tony. Loki is out, Thor is after him, and the false Avengers are under-prepared, and damn it all Tony, just get there so Stephen can tell you as much.
Instead, right as he thought as much, Wanda walked in, a gentle smile on her face. “Hello, Stephen. Tony sent me to check up on you. How are you feeling?”

“I have some information for Tony, I was able to get some information during my meditation.” Stephen got right to the point. He felt a bit bad about it when Wanda’s face fell, but this was important. “Wanda, listen you’ve got to tell Tony that their Loki is on the run. Their Thor is trying to find him, and they’re undermanned. We need to strike now.”

Stephen was surprised when Wanda smiled again. Then he noticed that she had a backpack with her, several fake identification cards and passports sticking out of her jacket pocket. “Right, I’ll go tell him right away. Though I also wanted to ask where your cloak is?”

“Wanda, why would Tony send you to check on me with an Egyptian passport?” Stephen asked, clearly suspicious of what was going on. Suddenly, before Stephen could react, red tendrils of Wanda’s power surrounded Stephen’s mind, cutting of his consciousness from the world. By this time Peter had woken up and lunged for Wanda, who did the same thing to him. Stephen and Peter were now in a coma.

Wanda ran out of the room and towards the top deck, even as she heard alarms coming from the medical wing. She got there and saw that it was completely empty. Her hands began to shake, he was supposed to be here, damn it. The door behind her opened for a squad of soldiers and Steve, who looked positively betrayed.

Suddenly, there was crashing in front of her and there stood Hulk, the other Hulk, with a black-haired and taller Steve on his shoulder. Wanda raced towards them, even as the soldiers tried and failed to hit her with their bullets. She launched herself into Hulk’s grip as the Steves both locked their gazes at each other. The other one, the one with Hulk, grinned madly and saluted mockingly, laughing as the Hulk jumped of with himself and Wanda in his arms.

Chapter Text

Tony had carefully avoided Stephen when he thought Wanda could check up on him, when he thought Peter would text him every so often about what Stephen did or how Stephen is doing. Now the both of them were in a coma and Wanda was off playing traitor with the other Avengers. He supposes he should’ve seen it coming. Pushing people away never working in the past and didn’t work now.

So he sat in the chair in between Stephen and Peter, surveillance video of the Spanish Royal Palace projecting above his lap. It was still, as there hadn’t been any movement since Wanda, Hulk, and Steve landed.

He supposes he should’ve seen this coming too. Her brother was dead and it was Tony’s fault, just like her parents’ death was Tony’s fault, like how her being imprisoned on the RAFT was his fault, like how everything was his fault, he shouldn’t have done so many things, he shouldn’t have brought Peter into this , and it’s his fault Peter’s in a coma, it’s fault Stephen’s right there with his, he should have done so many things and shouldn’t have done some man things that he did do, it’s all his fault --

His panicked thoughts were cut off when Natasha and Steve entered the room, silently taking seats at the other end of the room. They looked like they had something to say, but didn’t want to interrupt whatever Tony was doing.
Tony stopped projecting the feed and had to stop himself from slamming his hands onto his thighs. “I’m guessing you guys have some news?”

Natasha spoke up, Steve too preoccupied by observing Peter’s face. “Another portal opened up, the people from this one are in an interrogation room. There’s another you in room five.” Tony’s brows shot up to his hairline, and he was out of the medical room and was practically sprinting towards the denoted room.

He opened the room, and there in the seat was another him, a silver suit and blue tie on and some sort of device on his arm that reminded Tony of Shuri’s panther’s claws. The other Tony seemed startled by the sudden entrance.

This world’s Tony glared before sitting across from his more-composed mirror. “Who are you and what do you want?”

The other one briefly smiled before matching the glare sent his way. “I’m another version of you, and I want my kid back.” At Tony’s confusion, the other one continued. “Look, so we can avoid confusion, let’s just call me Anthony, and keep calling you Tony. I know you already know about that asshole Steve, but that huge-ass Spider-Venom? That is the Peter from my dimension. I just want to cure him of that weird, fucked-up, mind-control symbiote thing. I brought my Avengers and a few people from other dimensions to help take down those other guys.”

Tony was again confused, though decided it was the perfect opportunity to see exactly who Anthony is. “And how do you know your Peter can be cured?”

“The primary difference between my universe and your’s, is that my Peter is my son.” Tony startled at this information. “I know my son can be cured.”

“So just because you raised him, you forget that the symbiote is mind-controlling him?” Tony felt like a dick for asking, but maybe this other version of him deserved to feel like a dick for letting his son get taken.

Anthony sighed, letting his eyes slip closed as he pinched the bridge of his nose.. “I didn’t raise him. I didn’t even know he existed until his mother had told me she put him up for adoption. I just so happened to discover he’s my son after a fight with the Vulture and FRIDAY analyzed his blood. He doesn’t know and my Avengers don’t know.”

Tony still glared, but it lost its heat. “So how did you get here?”

“Well, I just used this little trinket here and it replicated the radiation from the Space Stone, and came here.” Anthony answered.

Tony took this information in, resting his head on his hands. “Then let’s see what we can do.”

Chapter Text

One of the assholes in that palace was going to die. Steve, the real Steve, this universe’s Steve, was fairly sure that would be the outcome. Then again, the other Steve was a lot more unpredictable than he is. Had two stones and that doesn’t include the stones his group had. His Venom had a soul stone and his Stephen had a time stone. The group had two time stones. Their Tony had a power stone, and the Loki that was now on the run had another power stone.

Then there was the hostages. The new Queen of Spain and her younger sister. Are they even still alive? And if they are, how are they doing?

And Stephen and Peter. That was an entirely messed up situation by itself. Wanda could’ve left without stopping by their room, could’ve left them alone. But she didn’t. Why? Had the other Steve coordinated that? Fucking why? The only thing he could really think of when he saw Wanda’s name on these useless reports that didn’t actually help was betrayal. There were very few times he actually hated his enemies. They were abused children and broken men, almost all of them. But Wanda had chosen to spread her pain right from the get-go. She joined Hydra with her brother to try to get back at Stark. She joined the Avengers to get back at Ultron’s threatening her country. He honestly should have seen it coming.

“Stop that.” Natasha broke the silence of their reading, not having to spare Steve a second glance. “You know she didn’t do it out of spite.”

Steve’s glaring at the report hardened. “Do you know that?”

“Yes.” Natasha finally looked at him with an odd sense of sympathy and ire. “She just wants her brother. They have a version of him who is alive and well. We can’t replace her brother like they can and have.”

Steve sighed. “It’s not just her, though. That other me, the other Bruce, the other Tony. Tonies! There are three in this universe now!” Steve frustratedly ran a hand through his hair, trying to make sense of everything. “How did everything go so wrong in so many different universes that caused this?”

“A lot of things went wrong in our universe, too, Steve.” Natasha tried to comfort, not really aware of how to do so. “It’s just a change in variables, I think. Slight changes that created a sort of a butterfly effect that couldn’t be changed. How they reacted to these variables is on them.”

Steve rubbed his forehead a bit, stress lines forming along his features. “There’s no way it’s acceptable for any version of me to be like that.”

“It’s not. But it makes sense. At least, to me.” Natasha cleared. “My question is what you’re going to do about it.”

Steve looked her dead it the eye before any response he could’ve given was interrupted by the opening of the door to their conference, both Tony and Anthony entering, a grin gracing both of their faces.

“So guess who has a plan.” Anthony said, his orange and blue suit making it easy to distinguish him from the other.

“Answer: we do.” Tony gestured between himself and the other version of himself. They both dropped themselves down in chair, even as Anthony’s Bruce entered behind him tiredly, several notebooks in his arms.

“What they mean is that we brainstormed and found a couple of emergency exits and entrances at the Palace, which can be used by us to enter the grounds and try to push the other-dimension Avengers from their strong-hold.”

Both Tony and Anthony groaned, Tony saying, “You take the pizzazz out of everything, Bruce number 2.”

“I prefer ‘smarter-Bruce’. I have one more degree than this Universe’s Bruce.”

Tony pouted, goatee seeming to twitch with his aggravation. “I’ve heard you sing and I still don’t know how you got a B.A. in Opera singing when my Bruce didn’t. I honestly don’t. What we can call you is 'sassy-Bruce'.”

“Anyway.” Steve interrupted, standing up and grabbing his shield. “We’ll ask Fury to take the helicarrier over Madrid and at 2 AM local time, we’ll go in one of these entrances.” Steve left, leaving a melancholy air behind him.

The Tonies, Bruce, and Natasha silently looked between themselves before leaving the room behind him, making sure to keep pace. Anthony leaned over to Tony as they walked, whispering. “So what’s the plan to get my Peter back?”

Tony frowned again, his eyebrows twitching. “I don’t know. What’s the symbiote’s weakness?”

“Sound-waves and fucking fire.” Anthony whispered, not noticing that Natasha was paying attention to what they were saying. “It can be burned off, but I’d rather not burn the skin off my son, so I’m hoping that we have a sonic disruptor on your armor.”

Natasha leaned closer to the two, face unchanging. “I have some.”

Both the Starks jumped, not having noticed her leaning closer. Anthony was the first to regain his composure. “Well. Thank you for that.”

Natasha nodded in response before heading to her room. She had a file to update.

Chapter Text

Wanda never really thought she would get the chance to see her brother again. And she still hasn’t seen him, in all honesty. Just in passing.

Steve and Hulk, the other versions, had brought her back to the palace, and she and Pietro had hugged. They had cried and hugged and now it was like he was avoiding her. He found different things to do that was away from the room they had given her. Had helped Peter train, had dropped some woman off at a SHIELD post, had run across the entire country of Spain to spread the word of their new rule and whatever the hell else Steve wanted him to say, and even helped Stephen do whatever magic bullshit Stephen does. Point is, he wasn’t with Wanda.

It had been some point at night when Wanda turned a corner and almost bumped into someone who was holding a dish. She looked up from the ground that she was glaring at to see exactly who was on her thoughts. Her brother looked startled, maybe confused as to what to do. Then he stuck the dish at towards her and avoided her gaze.

“I didn’t see you in the kitchen earlier.” Pietro said, almost mumbling. “I thought you might want some food then. And I was hoping we could talk?”

Wanda was a bit startled at Pietro’s shyness, but at least he was talking to her now. “Thank you. Would you like to eat with me outside?” She waited for him to nod before leading him out to the central courtyard. The bowl in her hands was warm, obviously freshly made, and smelled like the only thing Pietro knew how to make: stew. A hearty beefy stew that their mother had taught them how to make before a Stark bomb killed her. And their father. And their innocence. It was a nice dish to have.

They had quickly made it to the courtyard and sat on one of the benches, Wanda trying to be as natural as possible. She took a spoonful of the stew and blew on it, letting silence fill the air between them.

“I’m sorry.” Pietro said quickly, not letting Wanda have time to process what he’d said. “It’s just really odd and uncomfortable seeing someone you saw die just walking around like it hadn’t happened. But you don’t deserve me avoiding you because I know you saw me die in your universe and all. And, yeah, that’s -- that’s what I wanted to say. If you’re angry with me, I understand. I’m just -- I’m sorry.”

Wanda swallowed the stew in her mouth, eyes wide at Pietro’s speech. Her own Pietro probably wouldn’t have done that, the whole apologizing thing. This Pietro had matured, and she was so proud of him. “I’m not mad, and you don’t have to apologize.” It was Pietro’s turn to looked surprised. “I understand that we, even though we’re twin, have different ways of dealing in this situation. I did things I regret and I know you did things you regret, but we’re together now. We can try to get back to some sort of normalcy after all this is over, and do whatever we want because we’ve got each other again.”

Pietro turned to her, moved the stew out her her lap and hugged her. The air around them was warm. The air between them was warm and the stubble on Wanda’s cheek was rough. God, she had missed this. “Спасибо тебе, Ванда.” Wanda hugged back and closed her eyes, breathing in the scent that had been out of her life for a couple of years.

She opened her eyes and panic filled her. The helicarrier was in sight, full speed in their direction. “Pietro, we need to get inside.”

Pietro released her, keeping his hands on her arms, and looked back at her in concern. “Ванда?” She pointed to the helicarrier, Pietro spotting the SHIELD mobile headquarters and his shock making him stand up. He quickly turned and ran Wanda inside, the bowl of stew spilling over the ground.

Chapter Text

If there was one thing the Superior Iron Man didn’t appreciate, it was being attacked. If there was a second thing he didn’t appreciate, it was being copied. And right now, he was being attacked by two copies. Great.

Well, they didn’t see him yet, but they were hurrying along the hallway, looking for Peter. His Peter. Well, ok, maybe not his Peter, the boy having come from one of the copies’ universe, but goddamnit, the teen was his now. And he wasn’t going to give him back anytime soon.

Just as he was about to reveal himself and round the corner, his Peter left his room and ran up to the copy from his universe. He wouldn’t be able to take the both of them on at once!

Except he wasn’t taking them on, he was hugging them. The copies seemed surprised, but hugged him back. So the superior Stark watched. “Listen, we don’t have a lot of time.” Peter began, breaking free of the hug. “You’re listening to both Peter and Venom, before anything. I leaked the security codes and camera feeds to Widow, so you can keep updated on where everyone is. I saw the Witch and Quicksilver in the courtyard and the Captain is guarded by the Hulk. I’m not sure where anyone else is right now, but the cameras should solve --” Peter desperately and quickly said, but was interrupted by his own scream, Tony having shot him in the shoulder. The copies caught him, and looked shocked towards Tony.

“You traitor.” Tony was quiet. Then screamed. “You traitor! I can’t believe we trusted you!” Tony launched himself at the three, his silver suit glowing red instead of its usual blue, the power stone active. “You were my son!”

“He’s not yours!” One of the copies -- they one from where they got Peter from -- yelled back at him. “He’s my son, has been my son, and will always be my son!”

Tony just growled at him as he hit him away from Peter. “I wasn’t talking to you! Peter, I swear to God, this had better not be what it looked like.”

Peter stubbornly got up and glared at Tony, their brown eyes meeting. “It’s exactly what it looks like. And I’m not your son.” Venom covered the boy, who rushed in to meet Tony’s attack. The copies tried to attack him again, but were knocked through the wall with the power stone and his arc reactor. By then, Venom had hit him and sent him flying through the first floor, Tony recognizing the might of the soul stone behind the fist. He blasted back down to the first floor when he lost sight of Venom. He wasn’t behind him, not in front of him, not out of the hole that the copies were thrown out of.

A mass dropped onto him, forcing him through to the basement. Venom was fucking above him. If ever there was a time Tony was stupid, it was then. Venom was unleashing everything he had on Tony’s back, not letting up for a second. Tony could hear the copies flying back in and decided enough was enough. He positioned his hand and fired on Venom’s face, forcing the creature back and off of him. He got up and threw Venom towards the hole in the wall in the first floor, getting tackled by both of the copies as soon as he released Peter. But there was something off about Peter’s Tony.

He threw them off before pinning the aforementioned Tony to the ground. “How the hell are you copying the space stone’s power? And don’t you fucking lie to me.” Instead of answering, the copy pulled his mask off and spat on Tony’s own mask before putting his back on. Tony sat in shock for just a moment, which was just enough of a moment to allow the other copy to slam into him with a force close to the Hulkbuster armor.

Tony ripped at the armor of the copy’s back, bringing them both down well out of the palace, into the streets of the capitol where Tony could see smoke rising within the walls of the palace -- but not from where they had been fighting. There were other fights going on at the same time. Was their plan to keep the fights separate?

The copy tried to slam into him again, but was hit away again. Venom tried to launch himself from above, but was shot away by a red beam. The second copy, from this universe, shot at him, and launched him further into the street when Tony saw his opportunity. Venom was still getting out of his pile of rubble when Tony just released everything his arc reactor again.

He didn’t know how long he had been roasting Venom before the copies launched into him. Peter’s Tony seemed angry, angry enough to tell Tony that he had hit Peter long enough for it to at least look bad. Tony tried to get out, but the copy wouldn’t let, wouldn’t stop. The mask was beginning to cave in, Tony’s nose touching the metal. Then being broken by the metal.

“Stop!” The Tony of this universe screamed as he tried to pull Peter’s Tony back. “He’s down, stop!”

When the other Tony did stop, the helmet was caved in. There was no way a brain could still be in one piece in there, clearly indicating that the Superior Iron Man was dead.

Instead of stopping, Peter’s Tony flew over to where Venom fell, revealing the boy within. The symbiote itself was on its last legs, bubbling and gurgling as if trying to breathe. Peter was in no better shape, bleeding from the chest and coughing up blood. His Tony carefully held him and resting the boy on his lap, stroking the boy’s hair. “Hey there, kiddo. Just breathe until we can get a medic, ok?”

“Dad.” Peter said, barely able to get the word out. “Dad --” He coughed again, more blood falling from his mouth.

Peter’s father panicked, wiping the red liquid away. “No, hey, don’t do that. Just stay awake and breathe for me. It’s going to be ok, son.” Instead of following Tony’s instructions, Peter still coughed, air not reaching his lungs. He didn’t seem to mind, though, his eyes fixed onto Tony’s face. His coughing died out, as did his breathing.

Right in Tony’s lap, Peter died.

The two Tonies sat in silence until Anthony let out a sob, a vengeful anger painting his face. He stood up slowly and began walking towards the palace. “Anthony?” Tony asked.

“We’re finding the evil Steve. And I’m going to rip him apart.” Anthony replied without slowing his march to the other battles. Tony just stood up and followed him, leaving the bodies of the alternate Avengers.

Chapter Text

Bucky wouldn’t let Steve out of his sight.

He could see, as anyone could, that his Steve -- still blonde, unlike the other Steve -- was tense, was angry, wasn’t being logical. He was on the hunt for the alternate version of him and he wasn’t going to stop until he found him. It was when Steve picked up one of the guns of the controlled guards that Bucky decided enough was enough.

He pulled the younger super soldier behind a wall and proceeded to knock out -- knock out, not kill -- the infinity-stone-controlled Spaniards. By the time Steve had come back, gun still in hand, the hall was clear of possible enemies.
Steve scowled. “What was that, Buck?”

Bucky shrugged, putting his stun clubs away. “I figured you would want to save your energy to fight the other version to you.” Steve just raised his eyebrows at him and walked passed the unconscious bodies. Bucky followed him, careful to survey any entry points in front of the other.

Suddenly, there was a noise, a crash, rang in the air. Steve and Bucky bunched closer to each other, carefully making their way towards the sound. Another crash burst out, but this time it was in front of them, Hawkeye flying into some of the royal furniture with something in his arms. As Clint got up, and the soldiers could see that the something in his arms was a young girl -- the princess of Spain -- as they moved to cover the two. As they rounded the corner, they could see the alternate Stephen making to grab Widow, who held the young queen in her arms. Steve threw his shield in between Stephen’s hand and Widow’s shoulder, making the sorcerer reel his hand back. Running towards the dark-haired man, Steve caught his shield and went to strike Strange. The doctor himself threw a large green bolt of magic, forcing the Captain back and onto the floor.

Stephen glowered at him as his time stone healed all of his own scrapes. “I’ll tell you once, and only once: go home.”

Steve growled in response, eyes glowing in hatred, a hatred even Bucky himself hadn’t seen. “I should be telling that to you.”

With that Steve charged again, this time launching his shield before him. Stephen was able to block the shield, but not the incoming man behind it. Bucky was right behind him, making sure both Steve and the child behind them were safe, which was made difficult with Stephen’s magical tendrils everywhere. He was grateful when he saw that Natasha had started opening fire on the wizard after handing the little girl to Clint who now had both living royals, taking the heat away from him and Steve.
Even as there were now three people fighting Stephen, one of the magic tendrils went out and grabbed Clint and the two girls, dragging them back towards the fight. Bucky tried to get them free, trusting Natasha to keep Steve safe.

Suddenly, a familiar but simultaneously different claw pierced through the tendril, causing it to release the three ensnared by it. The owner of the claw rushed passed Steve and Natasha, and even all of the tendrils that were shielding Stephen, swiped the time stone from him, and kicked the man in the chest. Quickly seeing the tides turning against him, Stephen escaping into the Mirror Dimension.

N’Jadaka turned to face the Avengers, offering the time stone to them. “Venom leaked the map of this place to you. He’s dead.” His expression was serious, though Bucky could tell he was trying to keep in together. “Now I crave a boon.”

Chapter Text

Steven could see his forces crumbling. Unlike what he thought would happen. He couldn’t believe he didn’t listen to Loki. Or Tony. Then there was Peter. He’s the one who convinced Steve to stay with his plan, and now the boy was dead. And apparently there was a mole in the palace the entire time. Steve berated himself for not seeing that coming.

Now he was down Iron Man and Venom, Dr. Strange was on the run after losing the Queen and Princess, Thor was out chasing Loki, and he couldn’t get into contact with Killmonger. At the very least, he knew where Hulk and Quicksilver were and that they were executing their part of the plan flawlessly. That wasn’t as big a comfort as it sounded. Especially when there was no way he could get any sort of back-up.

Unless -- yes, that could work. Steven smiled as he raised his fist, infinity stones giving off their tell-tale glow. Thor would arrive any minute now, and in the meantime, Steve could have the stone-controlled Spanish army delay everyone while he waited for Erik to arrive and back him up.

He knew the other version of him was, most definitely, coming after him. The other Steve, the one still going by Captain America and whatever the hell he considered heroics. The other him seemed blissfully unaware of how unbalanced everything was. He didn’t have the view of the Universe he should have.

Then again, he still had Bucky.

Bucky was the one thing. Steven wished he could bring his Universe’s Bucky. God, did he love that man. But when he tried to explain it, Bucky didn’t understand. So he had to leave his Bucky behind. But this other version of him still had his Bucky. How lucky. God, if only Bucky saw what he saw, the vision of a better future.

Suddenly, just who he was thinking of entered his courtyard, along with the other version of him. He didn’t look very different from his universe’s Bucky, but all the concern was leveled towards the other Steve. It was then that the Captain realized what was written all over this Universe’s Steve’s face: unadulterated anger. Oh, this was going to be entertaining. So entertaining, in fact, that he was unable to hide his wide smile.

“Is this funny to you?” This Universe’s Steve scowled deeper, Bucky going closer to back him up.

The Captain smiled. “A bit. Do you know how I was able to get all these former Avengers and soldiers on my side? Why they’re doing what I’m telling them to?” Steve’s scowl lessened and a curious light entered his eyes, but he wasn’t at all ready to lower his defenses. “I told them that they were going to help save the multiverse. Can you believe that? No...no, there is no need to save the multiverse. Even if a single universe in the big picture were eliminated, another thousand would replace it. But none of them knew that. Well, except for Johnny, but he’s a bit more selfish than the others. He just wants his problems to go away. He stopped caring about anything else.” At Steve and Bucky’s faces dawned with realization, the Captain laughed and continued. “ You see, Johnny was a hero in his universe, but his family was killed on a humanitarian effort against a Doctor Doom. My Spiderman doesn’t know that I unleashed Venom in his apartment, which made him kill and eat his aunt. In Erik’s universe, I’m the one who convinced Shuri that she could take back the castle, which lead to the Wakandan Massacre in his universe. All I had to do to get my Tony to join me was show him Peter, who he had seen die. Loki controlled Thor, so I didn’t have to do much lying. Promises of grandeur were always on the table. That guy will always go for a false throne. Hulk just wanted to eat people -- ”

“That’s enough.” Steve interrupted whatever else the Captain wanted to say, frustration and anger growing. Even Bucky, who had been attempting to stay calm while Steve was getting upset looked absolutely disgusted.

“You’re not Steve.” Bucky said with finality. The Captain and Steve both looked at the man in confusion. “I refuse to believe that any version of Steve could be this cruel. Not my Steve.”

The Captain finally burst into laughter at this. “Bingo! I can’t believe you’re the first one to get it.” The Captain took a breath and smiled devilishly at Steve’s confused expression. “When I stole this stone from Thanos, he infused me with some of some of his own psychology. Who you’re talking to right now is a combination of Steve’s righteousness and memories, and Thanos’ ideals, morals, thoughts even. Congratulations.”

There was a beat of silence before Steve growled and leveled a glare at the Captain. “Doesn’t matter who’s in your head: I’m going to kill you for what you’ve done not only to this Universe, but to every Universe unfortunate to have you set foot in them.”