Chapter 17: The Present vs The Future
"Good morning, handsome~"
Naruto chuckled as he moved his hand to caress his wife's head while she pressed against it. "Morning, goddess~" He greeted happily as his eyes opened to find Rhea standing there while he sat up. "What time is it?"
"Noon."
"…Oh well, I'll take today off." Naruto remarked casually as he got up from bed and walked downstairs with his wife to the dining room. "Where are the others and kids?"
"They're out playing in the cove."
Naruto stopped and stared at her all flabbergasted. "Without me?!"
"Which is why I'm here to wake you up and take you to have fun with us."
Naruto hugged his immortal wife. "You're so good to me, Rhea!"
"You're such a child." Rhea giggled at her husband before she snapped her fingers as her clothes was replaced with a two-piece bikini while Naruto's was replaced with swimming shorts. "Come on, dear, they are waiting for us."
"Yosh!" After opening the door, Naruto carried Rhea in his arms like a bride before he ran to the edge of the cliff and jumped off in a free-fall to the water where their family played around with each other.
Christmas and New Years had passed by with no problems for the Uzumaki Clan and the Bostonians as crime was at an all-time low, a record that would most likely be near unbreakable due to the Ghost of Boston's reputation. On Christmas day, Naruto told his wives about his meeting Santa, saving the holiday from a renegade elf and even receiving a kiss from Black Cat, which he had to calm Kuroka five times that night after the wives. They were surprised of course but their surprise had furthered when the gifts were from Santa himself and that made them even more excited to open them.
But the most excited ones were the twins as they opened the gifts. Speaking of gifts, Naruto told his wives about the Battle of Anghiari painting and how it came to be in his possession. His actual possession as in he now owns the painting. When Saeko asked him, Naruto responded that the founder of the painting, the original owner, actually wanted to give the painting to the ninja as a Christmas gift after saving the anonymous person.
"Dada! Dada!" A wet Naruto floated in place as he waited for his children swim to him with Saeko's help.
"Life is good."
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(One Week Later)
Avengers Mansion, Manhattan
New York City, New York, United States of America
In the center of Midtown Manhattan was the former base of the famous Avengers. The founding members were the Invincible Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, Wasp, Ant Man, and Thor. The team was later joined by the World War II superhero Captain America who was equal to Stark in authority and leadership. Their ranks grew but an unfortunate event caused by one of their vast members left the team in shambles and the Avengers disbanded.
Now the base was becoming lively with the occupants currently inside.
"What is a futurist?" Steve asked Tony.
"What do you mean?" Stark asked as he grabbed a square of tofu with his chopsticks while his Avengers ID card activated a newspaper hologram.
"Well, the newspaper had always called you a futurist and I've always wondered what a futurist is." Steve asked while doing one handed push-ups. "And unless you're interested in Italian art, I'm still not entirely sure what that is."
Tony stopped as he pondered the words. "How to explain…a futurist is someone who tries to predict the future or in my case, try to create it. I'm inventing technology for the next century, make the world a better place." He answered while moving a graphical chart in the hologram. "For instance, having news and information to reveal in wireless signals as opposed in a newspaper."
Steve had ceased his exercise to talk to his…teammate while drinking a cup of raw eggs. It had been a month since he moved back in the base and the reason was that Stark wanted to patch things up and possibly reassemble the Avengers although one of them would probably not come back since he has a team of his own.
"I like newspapers." Steve countered with said object in his hand. "For instance, this one has a picture of you fighting HYDRA." He placed the paper with the mentioned picture of Iron Man fighting a HYDRA machine. "And even from a picture, anyone can see that you don't know how to fight."
Tony was offended by his words. "What? There are about twenty supervillains out there that would disagree with you." Steve put his hand on the inventor's shoulder.
"Meet me in the training room in five minutes. We got work to do." Steve said somewhat seriously as he left the kitchen while a smirking Tony read the actual newspaper instead of the hologram.
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(Five Minutes Later)
The training room was dark with a long light focused on the boxing ring where Captain America and Iron Man stood with boxing equipment rather than their costumes. The two heroes were not alone as they had an audience in the stands, which were the main powerhouse and the archer of the team.
Hulk smirked at the future whooping of one of his former teammates as he was soon accompanied by Hawkeye. The two had their beef in the form of a rivalry bordering on sibling-type, but this was one event that they could not pass up. "This is going to be good." Hawkeye said as his hands rubbed in anticipation.
"Yep," The green behemoth simply agreed. "It's been a while, Hawkeye."
"Two years."
"…So, what've you doing?"
"Mercenary stuff for S.H.I.E.L.D." Hawkeye glanced at the former powerhouse of the team. "I heard you formed your own team not too long ago. The Agents of S.M.A.S.H. if I recall correctly."
"Yep."
Steve looked at Tony. "From what I've seen, your fighting style is to tackle people and blast them. If I had to guess, I'd say you've never been in an actual fight in your life." He stated rather coldly.
"W-well I-"
"Punch me." Steve ordered the shorter man.
"What?" Tony asked surprisingly and was about to refuse when Steve ordered him again. He looked to the side and threw a decent right hook… only to end up on the floor instead.
"Ha!" Hawkeye elbowed Hulk gently while the latter chuckled in agreement.
Tony groaned as he rolled on his back and looked at the super soldier. "Did that just happen again?"
"Come on, let's try it again." Steve helped Tony up to his feet and gestured to bring it on, which the latter did, only to be sent flying against the ropes then the mat again.
Hulk and Hawkeye could not contain it anymore as they laughed at the display of whooping while Tony shakily helped himself up against the ropes. Tony charged once more and threw a couple punches that Steve easily dodged before he grabbed one hand and countered with his own jab. The laughter-fest above grew louder from the attempt, much to Tony's displeasure.
"My armor protects me, you know." Tony defended as he refused Steve's hand. "It would've taken you down before you even touch me." He stood up and walked to the corner where he began to take off the equipment. "And if the suit I was wearing couldn't handle you, I got four more that could."
"Tony, you can't always count on your armor." Steve advised since this was one of the reasons of the tension between them. "You have to be ready for anything."
Tony countered, "That's the whole point. I'm working to know exactly what's coming. I'll know exactly what to be ready for."
"Like me?"
"Yes." Tony answered the unfamiliar voice before he turned around and saw a hooded figure who flicked his forehead enough to make him stumble on his butt.
Patronus hummed as he shook his head. "For someone who's a futurist, you didn't see that coming at all."
"Patronus!" Naruto looked to the side as Hulk had jumped to his location and offered his giant hand for a shake. "It's been a while. How are things in Boston?"
Patronus nodded contentedly. "Good. Vista Verde?"
"Same. You should come by to visit again although your first time shouldn't count." Hulk trailed off while Patronus growled lowly.
Tony raised a curious brow. "You two know each other?" They nodded. "How?"
"Not telling you." The two height-contrasting heroes answered with a high five to each other. "Did you see the event?"
Patronus stifled a laugh before he answered, "How could I not?!" He soon laughed with Hulk, much to Tony's chagrin.
"So, this is the Ghost of Boston, huh?" Hawkeye made himself present for the rookie hero to see him. "You don't look much to fit that title."
Naruto inspected the man's costume which looked rather silly compared to his costume. Hawkeye wears a V-shaped purple mask that completed the scaled armor-like purple vest with a purple band around his sleeveless right bicep, purple fingerless gloves, and matching pants and boots. On his back was a purple quiver filled with arrows and his collapsible bow.
"What's with the purple? Accessorize much?" Patronus joked monotone, which Hulk chuckled while Hawkeye was about to reach for his bow.
Luckily, Captain America stepped and ended any conflict before any started for their sake. "Now, now, let's all calm down." He looked at the Bostonian hero. "I can't tell you how pleased I am that you're here."
"It's kind of hard to ignore your message when my inbox was filled with your requests and all." Patronus drawled lowly.
Tony looked at the super soldier. "Requests?"
"To join the team of course."
Patronus interjected. "Which I had refused time and again at Yamatai then home. But I at least agreed to look around the base to see if it might worth it."
"Speaking of the base, how did you get in here?" Tony asked the ninja who stayed silent. "I will find out."
"And you will fail." Patronus countered casually. "Now on with the tour?"
Steve chuckled as he walked ahead of them. "Follow me."
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Baxter Building, Midtown Manhattan
New York City, New York, United States of America
"These Fantastic Four as you call them, they are mortal heroes as well?" An extremely muscular man asked one of his teammates. It was Thor, son of Odin and prince of Asgard. He was tall and often compared to the height of his rival/teammate, the Hulk, with blond hair and blue eyes. A silver helmet protected his head while a red cape was attached to his black armor that had silver circles, red wristbands, and a large golden belt, and tall golden shoes. In his right hand was the legendary Mjolnir, a powerful hammer that aided him for centuries.
Besides the Thunder God was his friend and fellow teammate, Wasp, the opinionated member of the Avengers. It was she who came up with the team's name. Wasp had blue eyes, short auburn hair and a shapely figure as she wore a black and yellow dress that showed most of her back over black leggings, yellow gloves and boots. Yellow headphones were worn over her ears to give the appearance of a real wasp along with a choker around her neck.
Leading the arresting group was Ant Man in his red bodysuit with blue and lines through the uniform. Black and blue gloves reached his forearms with a red mask covering his face san mouth and antennas in the forehead area. He wore a silver belt that glowed somewhat and contained the reason for his powers.
Ant Man hummed before answering, "They're more like explorers. I think Reed said something like they were heading out to the Earth's core today."
And their arrestee was the cryogenic supervillain Blizzard. His attire was an Eskimo-style blue and white parka over his cryogenic suit with a metal ice pack on his back with two wire-like pipes connected to his blue gloves with white fingertips along with a facemask that slightly distorted his voice.
"This isn't fair." Blizzard complained behind the leading Ant-Man. "None of you could have taken me alone!"
An annoyed Wasp shoved Blizzard, making him stumble in his stride. "Man, you're a whiner! You've been complaining ever since we caught you, Blizzard, which was really easy by the way." She jabbed verbally with a smirk.
"Where are you taking me?" Blizzard asked before he and his escorts arrived in a room. "What is this place?" In the middle of the new room was a steel door with very large '42' emboldened on the doors as it was guarded by two Iron Man-like robots albeit dark blue color.
Wasp looked around and answered the villain. "Well, honestly I'm not sure. I haven't seen it yet."
"Well, Iron Man, Reed Richards and I had a meeting after the Breakout." Ant Man answered while swiping the card and opening the doors. "We brainstormed ideas to make the world a better place. This was #42."
Thor did not seem to agree with him. "Truthfully, friend Ant, I do not think this will hold anybody." He was surprised when a blanket of oozy-like wall of light shined upon them. Ant Man entered the portal, followed by Wasp and Thor who gently pushed a reluctant Blizzard to the other side.
As they reached the other side, the heroes and arrestee were greeted by a silver metal robot with a unique face design. "Greetings, Dr. Pym."
"Morning Ultron-5, we have a new guest for you." Ant-Man greeted before introducing the guest. "This is Blizzard. He's awaiting trial."
"Greetings, Mr. Gill AKA Blizzard." Ultron-5 offered his robotic hand. "May I call you Donald?"
A stunned Blizzard shook his head. "No." He freaked out a little when Ultron created a sphere of energy around him, causing the villain to float within it. The three Avengers followed the robot and villain to the center of the prison where there were hundreds of cells guarded by numerous Ultron-like robots. The masterpiece of the facility that did not go unnoticed by Wasp and Thor was the huge cylindrical tube held vertically and contained green liquid with black spots within. "Did I mention that I was really, really sorry?"
"Nope and it wouldn't help your case either way." Wasp then noticed some villains who had bruises on their faces. "Whoa, what's their story?" She asked Ant-Man who looked at the same villains.
"Ah, they are from Boston."
"Boston?" Thor repeated. "If memory serves me correctly, there is another mortal hero operating in the city."
Wasp nodded with her Norse god teammate. "You're right, Thor. I don't remember his name but his reputation scares the criminal underworld in that city. I think he even has a nickname now. What was it again?" She pondered greatly until realization hit her. "Ah, the Ghost of Boston, that's the name."
The scared Bostonian criminals cringed at the mention of the hero's nickname. One of them freaked out and began to hit the walls as if he was trying to escape. "Is he here?! Don't let him in here! Don't let him get us!"
"Intense…" Wasp gulped since criminals do not lose when confronted by a hero except by famous ones like those in the Avengers. If this Ghost of Boston can inspire fear, then he might not be a bad addition to the team. "I wonder if he's a team player."
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Avengers Mansion, Manhattan
The tour was short but exciting for the disguised ninja. The mansion was filled with exciting technology, which he had no idea of how or what they work, that could potentially aid humanity such as alternative energy and curing diseases. There were originally five of them but Hulk and Hawkeye had to depart due to the former chasing the latter's sarcastic joke against the green behemoth.
That left the two Avengers and Assassin as they reached the armory and the two men adorned their hero persona. Captain America put on his attached mask while Iron Man had the finishing touches done in his signature red-gold armor. As for Patronus, he was looking around with his hands around his back until his ears picked up on the Avengers' conversation.
Tony groaned as the pain from the early training session came back. "Well, I appreciate the lessons and bruises but the world has changed, Cap. Lot goes faster now than ever and it's only gonna get faster still. I'm wired to a worldwide network of computers and satellites." Iron Man stated as his HUD scanned Captain America's form and gave him facts and possible weaknesses. "The goal is to see danger before it gets here. I'm getting ready for the future and working to get humanity there in one piece. You're used to the old ways of doing things."
"They say those who forget history are doomed to repeat it." Captain approached Iron Man with crossed arms. "If the old ways include training and preparation, then perhaps you need to slow down a bit."
"Slow…down?" Iron Man repeated the words as if they were new to him while his mask lifted upwards to reveal his face. "I hear you talking but the words don't make sense."
Patronus cut in the conversation from this point. "What the Cap is saying that basics are especially important regardless of the years and such."
"Thank you, Patronus." Captain said. "How you-"
"My answer is still no." Patronus answered. "Although the both of you have valid points, you still lack something that the other needs."
Iron Man raised a curious brow at his words. "Such as?"
"Well, Iron Man, what you said about seeing the danger ahead of you is great and all, but what happens if you overlook the danger that is right at your door or feet at matter?" Patronus asked quizzically while his hand knocked on the armor.
Just then, a bright light burst from behind them, prompting the trio to be on guard as a figure appeared before them. It was a man with dark purple skin in a red-black uniform as he sat on a hover chair while approaching them. "Greetings Avengers." The man spoke as he sat up while the light ceased. "I am Kang." He reached for something in the air, and much to the trio's surprise, a portal opened and the intruder pulled out a rifle of sorts. "I have come from your future to deliver a message to Captain America."
"…You didn't see this coming, huh, Mr. Futurist." Patronus joked sarcastically.
Kang fired a wave of energy circles that pushed Captain America away despite blocking while Iron Man raised his arm and summoned a sphere of arc energy to defend them. Iron Man groaned in pain as he struggled to keep the barrier active against the stronger weapon. "Jarvis, activate mansion defenses!"
Missiles sockets emerged from the steel ground behind the heroes and fired upon the intruder with a direct hit. The shield was down but it proved to be a mistake as the armored man was protected within a green shield of his own. More of the mansion's defense system fired upon the smirking intruder before he pressed a button on his chair as the shield spread out and knocked out the defense system. The conqueror finished it off with a blast from his rifle before he stepped off his chair in front of Iron Man.
"I don't care who you are, this ends now!" Iron Man declared before firing his repulsors at his enemy who disappeared to dodge. The invader reappeared next to him and lifted the armored Avenger up with one hand. "Okay, now I care who you are."
He glanced over Iron Man's armor. "Your armor is…amusing. Primitive but amusing." Captain America took advantage of the intruder's lowered guard and threw his shield at him, only for Kang to stop the projectile in mid-air. "Now…where were we?" He looked at Captain with a smug smirk. His finger twirled and the Vibranium shield spun the opposite way before it flew back to Captain, smashing him against the wall as the intruder threw Iron Man against a different wall and fell to the ground.
"Jarvis, give me a full analysis of Kang's armor and weapons!" Tony ordered as the HUD scanned Kang's armor. Imagine his surprise Jarvis could not scan either of Kang's armor or hover chair. "Who is this guy?"
Captain stealthily ran behind the smirking armored enemy as he turned around with his hand on his belt. The Avenger threw punches and kicks that hit small portals around Kang's body. "Who are you?! Why are you attacking the Avengers?!"
"Oh, not the Avengers, Captain, you." Kang answered. "Your questions: I am Kang the Conqueror. I have come from the 41st century, traveling to this backwater time period for one simple reason: to eliminate you from the timeline." He pointed at Captain who stepped back a bit before Kang pressed a button on his chest plate, unleashing a series of energy waves that sent a screaming Captain America away.
"Jarvis, full power to Uni-Beam!" Iron Man declared before he straightened his back and fired a light bluish energy beam from his chest. Kang simply stood there and let his shield to protect him from the blast, much to Stark's surprise. "That's…not possible."
Captain walked towards Kang with Iron Man. "Stay focused!"
"Kang, you say you're from the future. Why would you want to take out Captain America?" Iron Man asked, demanding to know his reason.
Kang answered with resolute. "To save the world." The two Avengers stopped and looked at each other as they registered the answer while Kang noticed something amiss. "Wasn't there three of you?" He felt something tap his shoulder and instinct drove him to turn around as a fist hit him squarely in the face.
Captain and Iron Man stared blankly at the large hole Kang made after being punched by Patronus. "Man, that guy was annoying. Let's go!" Patronus ordered as he ran into the large room where Kang unceremoniously crashed. He saw Hawkeye and a man in a full-bodied black suit and mask reminiscent of a panther surrounded the intruder.
"Now, this is just some friendly advice: I'd stay down if I were you." Hawkeye informed Kang with a readied arrow.
Kang glared before firing energy waves from his helmet and sending both Avengers to the ground as Hulk charged at him. The green behemoth shoulder-tackled the shield twice, breaking it on the second try before he grabbed Kang and lifted him in the air as he was about to deliver a world of hurt on him.
"Hulk, wait!" Iron Man told the powerhouse. "We need answers. What do you mean by saving the world, Kang?"
Kang answered, "In my time, I ruled all. But a disruption in the space-time continuum destroyed my reality, everything from existence. I traced the cause of the disruption to an anomaly in the time stream…something that should not have existed in the 21st century: Captain America." He then picked up chatter from his ship. "Damocles, what is it?"
"What the heck is a Damocles?" Patronus asked while Kang was shocked to hear the new information from his servants and glared at him as well. "Hey, what's with the look, purple breath? You want to start round two?"
Kang snarled at the hooded ninja. "It appears that I have been wrong about the anomaly." He opened his fists and released bubbles of electricity that hit everyone except Patronus who jumped out of the way and landed outside the zone. "While Captain America's actions are abysmal, it appears that you…" He pointed at Patronus. "Are the main point of my reality collapse."
"Me?" Patronus pointed at himself and looked both sides. "Are you sure about that? I mean I didn't do anything to upset your timeline. I'm a nobody outside of Boston and that's what I prefer."
Kang pointed his rifle at him. "Killing you will be the first step to restoring my empire."
"You have about three seconds to get that gun out of my face." Naruto warned as he was annoyed by the weapon's barrel.
"Or what?" Kang responded before he was hit by a hammer and smashed against a wall.
"That happens." Patronus watched the hammer return to its owner and saw the three Avengers that he recognized from the team roster during the tour. "The cavalry's here."
Thor grabbed his hammer when it returned to him. "You wish to end a life, villain? Then try ours!" He declared while Wasp shrunk and Ant-Man grew in sizes.
"Yeah! Wait, what?" Wasp said after registering the Norse god's words.
Kang's eyes glowed and his arm moved a bit as blasters fired from behind Thor, forcing the Avengers and Patronus to dodge the attacks until the chair returned to its owner whom took a seat. Wasp fired yellow energy bolts from her hands at Kang, but the shield rendered them ineffective.
Iron Man landed before his ensemble. "Give it up, Kang."
"Kang doesn't give up, primitive." The conqueror decreed, glaring at the ensemble before them. "If you insist on fighting for the…Hooded One's life, then I shall show you fools exactly what you are fighting for."
The entire room was basked in the same bright light that Kang arrived earlier, causing Naruto to sense that the worse has yet to come.
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Earth
Year 2015
When he opened his eyes, Naruto was taken aghast by what he was seeing and he was not alone. The Avengers looked upon the destruction of civilization around them with the sun in the sky giving off a different color and flames around the city. "W-what happened here?" The ninja whispered to himself.
That was when Kang made himself appear with his back facing them. "This is what the Hooded One's-"
"Patronus, just so you know." The ninja retorted before being slapped in the back of the head by the tiny Wasp.
"—Patronus's presence in your time has caused." Kang turned around and glared at the disguised ninja. "This is all his fault!" He sneered harshly while Naruto narrowed his eyes.
Thor picked up a little doll and looked at it solemnly while Iron Man stepped forward. "Where have you taken us, Kang?"
"Not where, Avenger, when." Kang corrected. "You stand in your New York City just ten years from your present day."
An upset Hawkeye readied an arrow at the conqueror. "You did this."
"You're wrong, archer. I didn't do anything." Kang reiterated. "I'm not responsible for destroying your world; Patronus is."
Iron Man raised his left arm to stop Hawkeye from firing. "Everyone just wait! Jarvis, connect to the Stark Industries network." When Jarvis informed that the network did not exist, Tony grew impatient. "Try S.H.I.E.L.D! Try everything!" He was stunned after Jarvis told him that nothing existed anymore. "T-There's nothing out there. There's no one left."
"Of course not." Kang responded as if it was the easiest thing present. "You see, very soon in your timeline, Earth will be consumed in a war." He looked up at the dying sun. "Earth's sun will be a casualty of that war along with all life on the planet."
Wasp asked the obvious question. "What kind of war could do that?"
"A war between two alien empires: the Kree and the Skrulls." Kang answered as Iron Man and Ant Man shared a look, which did not go unnoticed by Naruto. "By the end, it was Patronus that was truly responsible."
Thor stepped in this time. "Nay! You lie, conqueror. No one man could be responsible for such destruction least of Patronus here." During the time in Prison 42, he learned all he could about the Bostonian hero's deeds and knew that he was a good person at heart.
"Not knowingly, but this Patronus should not exist in your time. He should not live at all and I am here to correct that." Kang decreed resolutely.
Patronus pretended to be mock hurt. "Oh, your words hurt me so deep." Kang glared at him deeply. "Seriously, what could I have done to cause all this? I stick to the shadows. I don't boast my deeds and I'm not part of a team like the Avengers."
"And that is the greatest threat to all realities!" Kang pointed at the ninja. "You are an unknown and that is most dangerous to my empire."
Patronus hummed before asking, "Hypothetically, if I surrendered to you and accept my death, you're going to leave Earth alone?"
"Not hypothetically since I will crush you! But just to be sure, I'm going to advance the planet's technology in your time. I will ready your military and prepare them for the coming war." Kang said with a clenched fist. "Earth will be able to repulse the alien forces."
Ant Man felt uneasy after his words. "And how do you plan to accomplish all of this?"
"By conquering your world." Kang answered. "I tell you this as a courtesy: this is going to happen."
"And there we go." All eyes moved on Patronus who was stretching his legs and arms. "I was going to kiss his ass regardless, but that whole 'conquering thing' just doesn't sit right with me plus he has a punchable face." Cue sweat-drops from the Avengers sans the Hulk who looked ready to help him. "Now without further ado…" Patronus paused before he Shunshined in front of a surprised Kang and punched him squarely in the face. "Let the butt-whooping begin!"
Hulk chuckled as he rushed after them. "Now we're talking!" Patronus smirked and grabbed Kang, spinning him around before releasing the conqueror at the green behemoth who clotheslined him to the ground. "Avengers, attack!" Hulk ordered as his former teammates rallied.
"Primitive fools." Kang muttered before summoning an energy net that blocked all of their attacks including Thor's lightning strikes, Wasp's energy bolts, Iron Man's repulsors, and Cap's shield. He returned fire to the senders and held out his arm to telekinetically stop huge boulder and threw it back at another that was thrown by Hulk. "You really hope to defeat me by throwing rocks at me, you mindless monster?!"
Hulk smiled smugly. "It's called a distraction, smart guy."
Kang glanced over his shoulder and saw Black Panther swung his arms, inflicting damage on his armor before he was shot by an energy bolt. Hulk leaped at him with his arms raised for his signature 'smash' technique but he was repulsed by the shield. Kang looked around for the one responsible for his empire's destruction but he could not find him. "Where are you, Patronus?!"
His answer arrived when the ground below him broke open and revealed Patronus as he delivered a knee strike against Kang's chin. "Here's a little special move I have for you!" He channeled chakra into his palm until it formed into the familiar shape. "Rasengan!" Kang screamed in pain before the sphere pushed him away from the ninja and burst as the invader crashed against the broken monument.
As for the Avengers, they stood there in places as their eyes stared at the hooded hero, especially Iron Man. This was the first piece of evidence that Patronus possesses powers and therefore an advanced human or even a mutant.
"ARGH!" Kang burst out of the rubble he was under and glared at Patronus. "I will destroy you, Patronus!" The same bright light that brought them to the current time shined as all eyes looked over at the chair with Iron Man sitting on it, controlling the technology. "No!"
"A very smart man told me once, 'those who forget the past are doomed to repeat it'." Iron Man quoted, referring to his earlier conversation with Captain America. "Your technology is incredibly advanced, Kang, but some of its systems are based on very, very old technology—Stark Industries technology. Activate time circuits!"
Everyone present in Iron Man's declaration glowed before they all disappeared to their present time.
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Avengers Mansion, Manhattan
Year 2005
The Avengers, Patronus and Kang returned to the large training room, much to the latter's rage. "You will pay for this!" He charged at the armored Avenger while throwing aside Captain and Thor as he leaped, only to be shocked by his own hover-chair's defensive shield and flung back to the ground.
"Thor!" Patronus called, getting the god's attention. "Let's hit him with the storm!"
Thor nodded with a smile and swung his hammer above his head as he summoned lighting while Naruto channeled chakra around his fist and wind began to swirl around him. "Take this!" Thor declared as he aimed the lightning at Kang.
"Eaken!" Patronus threw his fist out and fired a powerful stream of wind at the invader.
Both elements combined mid-air and struck Kang as he cried out in pain by the attacks until they ceased and fell to his knees. Electricity shorted out through his armor as Kang panted heavily from the attack. "This…is not over." Kang stood up defiantly as Patronus, Captain and Iron Man was in front of him.
"Cap and I don't agree a lot, but on this, we do." Iron Man activated a small rocket launcher on his left arm. "It's over."
Kang smirked as he pressed a button on his belt. "Damocles, recall now!" Both the conqueror and his hover-chair disappeared from their sights, retreating to his safe haven.
"Good work, soldier." Captain America said to Iron Man.
"Thanks."
"You know he'll be back, right?" Captain looked at Patronus who struck a conversation with Hulk, Thor and Wasp. "He'll be back for him."
Iron Man nodded in agreement. "That's the problem with the future: it's always there waiting for you."
Looking up at the ceiling as he could barely sense Kang's ki above the Earth's atmosphere, Naruto felt the unease feeling in his stomach grow by the moment. "Things are not going to be easy from here."
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Vacuum of Space
Near Earth, Sol System
Amidst the vast star-littered space was Kang's time-traveling ship, the Damocles, as it floated safely from the planet that is Earth. In the bridge of the ship was the crew of the ship in uniforms as they waited for the news from their emperor. The same bright light appeared in the bridge, revealing Kang as his armor was still short-circuiting from the combined attack of Patronus and Thor.
"Did the natives surrender?" One of the bridge members asked.
"They did not." Kang answered disappointedly as he stood up from his chair after the short-circuiting ceased. "Time to show the 21st century how I earned the title of 'Conqueror'." He raised his arms as his eyes glowed greenish-white, summoning his powerful might.
The might being in the form of countless green saucer-like ships appearing around the Damocles as they all began their trek towards the inhabitable Earth. "Kang sir, the conquest of the 21st century has begun." One of the men announced after kneeling behind, much to Kang's approval.
"None can oppose me, not even the Avengers." Kang connected to the command system. "Commence attack!"
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Manhattan
New York City, New York, United States of America
It was utter chaos for the citizens of the Big Apple as numerous of Kang's forces spouted out countless huge robots that wrecked the city. The National Guard had arrived moments earlier as soon as the attack commenced, but found themselves unable to destroy or even dent the robots as they easily destroyed the tanks and scared off members.
However, they were not alone as the S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and its fighter pilots had arrived and counterattacked the ships with their energy weapons but quickly found themselves on the brink of collapse. "Report!" The commanding officer demanded amidst the battle.
"Sir, the helicarrier's taking heavy fire from multiple unknown contacts." A S.H.I.E.L.D. agent reported from his computer. "Shield is ineffective."
"Keep the bird in the air. I'm not about to let her go down again and S.H.I.E.L.D. is not going down without a fight." The commanding officer declared.
"Director Fury…" Fury looked at one of his men. "This isn't just an attack on S.H.I.E.L.D. The United Nations are under attack! We're getting distress calls from all over! Sir, what are your orders?"
Fury grimaced before saying, "Someone get me the Avengers!"
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In another part of Manhattan, two teenaged boys were running from the burning buildings and chaos for shelter. One explosion was too close as the one with glasses was flung off the ground and landed hard. He groaned in pain and his eyes squinted as his glasses were knocked off. His friend helped him up to his feet as one of Kang's robots towered over them after he found his glasses.
Blasts came from the machine but they were blocked by the timely arrival of Captain America who threw his shield at the robot, destroying it but more arrived to take its place. "Avengers assemble!" Captain America cried out after catching his shield.
The first to heed his call was Hulk who had leaped from somewhere far and landed hard on one of the arriving Kang robots. The second was Ant-Man as he summoned flying red ants to infiltrate one of the machines and ordered them to eat the circuits and exploded from within. "So much destruction! Why would someone do this?" asked the miniature Ant-Man as he flew on his ant mount.
"Why? I'm going with 'what'?" Hawkeye countered as he fired an arrow. "What are these things? Aliens?"
An invading robot was sliced apart from within as Black Panther emerged and gave his input before jumping off the destroyed the robot. "Unlikely. More likely, this is Kang."
Kang's ships spouted a second wave of scarab-like objects but some of them were destroyed by Thor's lightning. "Truly this is a battle the likes of Midgard had ever seen. Aid me, Wasp." The thunder god said as Wasp in her miniature form blasted at the incoming scarabs but they proved to be ineffective.
"Ugh! I need bigger stingers." Wasp complained before flying around and blasting at the incoming scarabs. "This is crazy! Do we have a plan?" She flinched when Thor destroyed a scarab near her with his hammer. "Where is Iron Man?"
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Hudson River, New York City
"Return fire!" Fury ordered.
"Sir, all weapons system is off-line." One of his men countered. "We can't-Sir, incoming!" He pointed at the incoming scarab which was promptly destroyed by Iron Man's uni-beam.
Fury said, "What took you so long?"
"Traffic's heavier than usual." Iron Man joked as he fired his repulsors at the scarabs. "The helicarrier's a sitting duck out here, Fury. You need to get to the city safe. The Avengers can handle it."
"Oh yeah, you want to tell me how you intend to do that." Fury somewhat said instead of asking.
Iron Man responded, "Sure after I figure it out myself." He stopped firing after Thor's hammer destroyed the rest of them in the area and returned to the Norse god's hand.
"The Hulk boasted that he would smash more machines than I." Thor smugly smiled at the challenge. "He's sorely mistaken."
"You could at least act a little more worried about this, Thor." Iron Man chastised.
That seem to bring Thor of his ego a bit as he assumed a solemn expression. "Sadly, I have faced such odds before in the defense of Asgard."
"Jarvis, isolate one of these things and analyze it." Iron Man ordered as his HUD scanned one of the scarabs. However, the one he chose was destroyed by a blur. "What the hell?"
"And another one here!"
"That is…"
"Yes, it is Patronus! My other challenger!" Thor exclaimed as Patronus hopped from each scarab in the sky, destroying them with either his Kogitsune or Rasengan.
Patronus had sliced through one of the last scarabs before he floated next to Iron Man and Thor. "That puts my total around 50, Thor. What's yours?"
"60, Patronus." Thor countered with pride in his voice, much to Patronus's displeasure.
"I'm going to see how many Hulk crushed." Patronus Shunshined away from their location.
Iron Man sighed before he managed to scan one of the scarabs. "Oh, you have got to be kidding me!"
"I kid thee not." Thor answered softly, assuming that his friend disapproved of the challenge.
"No, these robots, the ships, I know this tech." Iron Man pointed out. "This is all—"
"Did you really think that you had defeated me?" A hologram of Kang's head appeared before the airborne Avengers.
"Kang!" Thor said displeased.
"I warned you Avengers that I would save this world. Under my rule, Earth would be strong. It would survive oncoming onslaught." Kang answered with pride. "I've been learning the strengths and weakness of your Earth's defenses. And now the true conquest begins." The smirking Kang disappeared from Iron Man and Thor who were filled with dread.
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Manhattan, New York City
"Raserengan!" Patronus slammed dual Rasengan into the robot through the back and out of the chest area. He walked away from the fell robot and met up with Black Panther and Hawkeye with Hulk, Captain America and Ant Man nearby. "You guys good?"
"We are well. Thank you for your concern regardless the circumstances." Black Panther responded all noble.
The banter between them ceased when the robots' eyes glowed light blue. "Uh oh."
"I think you're right about that, Hawkeye." Naruto agreed with the archer as the robots began to fix themselves.
Hulk growled in irritation while Ant Man was astounded by the action. "They're regenerating…they're self-repairing. This was all an act! We didn't even make a dent." Ant Man grew to his giant size and battle the repaired robots but he was quickly overwhelmed by the sheer numbers.
"Hawkeye, Panther, Patronus, fire at will!" Captain looked at Hulk. "Hulk, help Giant Man!"
Hulk stood there until Patronus shouted, "Do it Hulk and I'll treat you and S.M.A.S.H. to pizza on me!"
"I like that!" Hulk raised a thumbs-up before he leaped to help Giant Man, only to be hit a scarab into a building. "Sometimes I hate this job!"
The Avengers and Naruto battled the endless hordes of robots that kept repairing themselves by the passing minute. Black Panther ran on fours across a building's side thanks to his Vibranium suit and claws until he nose-dived towards a robot and sliced through it with his finger claws.
"Oh, come on!" Hawkeye complained as more robots landed near their location and he rolled out of the way while Giant Man struggled to escape the robots on him. The archer fired his arrow before reaching for another in his quiver, only to grab nothing. "Crap, I'm out!" He readied his bow as a melee weapon. Captain America blocked an energy blast with his shield but was pushed back by the force as he stood back to back with Hawkeye. "We got a big problem out here, old man. Look around us!"
"I know." Captain affirmed. "We need to set up a rally point to regroup. How many explosive arrows do you have left?"
"None."
"Will a kunai help?" The two Avengers looked up and saw Patronus in the air as he spun around like a twister and threw hundreds of kunai laced a flaming piece paper. "I'd cover my ears if I were you two." Naruto warned as he put out his arms. "Futon: Kazeheki!"
The entire street where most of the Avengers were battling in exploded moments after Naruto explosive kunai made contact, shattering glass and robots alike. Captain America and Hawkeye were safe in Naruto's wind shield while the others were on the rooftops. The remaining robots marched towards them as Naruto channeled chakra around his fist.
"Eaken!" Naruto thrust his fist at the robots, unleashing the regular and original form of his technique as the powerful wind tore apart the robots with its cutting nature until there was nothing left.
Thor, Iron Man and Wasp saw the destruction from the elemental attack, causing the latter to whistle in praise. "That's something all right!" Thor summoned lightning and channeled to the scarabs in the area along with Iron Man's missiles before all ran and fly to the rally point suggested by Captain America.
"Is everyone okay?" Iron Man asked with obvious concern.
"We don't have time not to be." Captain America answered before he threw his shield at another robot and jumped over debris. "These things are running through the city block by block. We need to divert them."
"It's Kang: ships, robots, everything."
Patronus grunted in anger. "This guy…I shouldn't have gone easy on him." He mumbled under breath before speaking aloud. "What's the plan here?"
"Stop his invasion of the city." Iron Man answered before Fury's voice spoke in the comms signal.
-"Not exactly. Tactical targets are being hit all over the Eastern Seaboard."-
This confused Ant Man atop his red ant mount. "Why New York then? There's no tactical target guarding the city."
"The Avengers are the tactical targets." Captain responded after slicing through a robot with his shield.
Patronus made his input. "But I have a feeling there's more to this than just the country."
-"You're right, Patronus. Although our earlier discussion will have to be postpone after this, the invasion is not happening just in New York, but all over the world. He's taking over the entire Earth."-
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Uzumaki Manor, Homestead Grounds
Forested Massachusetts, United States of America
The ladies of the Uzumaki Clan watched in horror at the hologram produced by the crystal skull. Hundreds of robots were destroying buildings around the globe. The wives could feel only worry and dread but also hope that their husband will return to them safely in their arms.
"Dada?" Ashla muttered as he sensed something was wrong.
Masaki was next to utter, "Dada?" Her eyes began to tear up along with her brother until they were wrong by their moms.
"It's okay, Ashla and Masaki." Saeko whispered coolly. "Dada will be back, okay? He will be back."
Kuroka, Rhea, and Medusa wanted to help Naruto but he called them earlier to stay at the Homestead since the land is protected by magic. As for Boston, it was protected by an invisible barrier that was produced by numerous seals placed in strategic locations around the city in case of situations like this.
"Please come back to us, Naruto. Please…" Rhea, Medusa, Kuroka and Saeko prayed together in their minds.
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(Hours Later)
Naruto dodged a blast before destroying a robot with Kogitsune. Long ago after they rallied at Avengers Mansion for a quick reprieve, Iron Man stayed behind to look for Kang's whereabouts while Black Panther returned to his kingdom of Wakanda. The ninja stood atop the Empire State Building for the second time since his search for Black Cat and Spider-Man, watching the endless numbers of Kang's machines and scarabs.
The Avengers started off decent but began to be gradually overwhelmed to the point that even Hulk and Thor struggled to beat them. He overheard Captain about needing an army to even the odds for them and that left Naruto one choice. Patronus closed his eyes and began channeling chakra around his entire body as he Shunshined to the Hudson River. "Let's get to work! Taiju Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!"
A massive smoke cloud drew the attention from allies and enemies as the scarabs and crab-like robots converged on the site until Patronus burst out with a Rasengan and destroyed a robot before he was blasted by three machines. Then hell came for Kang's forces as countless clones of the hooded hero Patronus leaped from the cloud and began to mow down any scarabs and crab robots in their way. And the best of all, the clones were in Sage Mode to double their efforts.
-"Patronus, how did you-"-
"You wanted an army, Captain; you got one." Patronus privately thanked his master's training since it increased his already massive reserves of chakra. "Although they won't last long, so let's make them count!" He lied since his clones had grown strong enough to withstand a hit. Now the clones can last a Hulk-related attack or something similar to that.
Thor and Hulk landed near the original Naruto as they had destroyed a couple of machines. While the machines were beginning to be overwhelmed by Naruto's clones throughout New York City, Wasp and Ant-Man flew their Quinjet towards one of Kang's armada ships. "You seem too excited about this." Ant Man told Wasp as she steered the aircraft out of the energy bolts fired at them.
However, the Quinjet was hit in the bow of the hull and quickly exploded, but Wasp carried her equally-sized teammate to the ship with a smile on her face. "See? Everything according to plan." She said confidently.
"You do know those Quinjets costs Tony $20 million apiece, right?" Ant-Man asked rhetorically.
"Well, it wasn't my plan." Wasp defended as she flew inside the slot and entered the ship. After they navigated through a vent all the way to the bridge, Wasp put Ant-Man down and flew to Kang's officer's face, much to his surprise. "Hi." She greeted before blasting the alien with her stingers.
Ant-Man returned to his original size and looked at the equipment. "This is a similar design to Kang's time chair. Iron Man and I theorized that Kang's equipment has some kind of temporal stasis."
-"A what?"- Patronus asked over the comms.
"Something that allows it to remain in this era—like an anchor."
-"I don't understand half of that, but can you destroy it already?!"-
Wasp nodded in agreement. "My pleasure." She zapped the control console and the ship flickered out of existence until it disappeared. Unfortunately, Ant-Man lost his footing and fell to the ground until he quickly shrunk himself before Wasp rescued him from the free-fall. "Sorry about that."
Ant-Man sighed before he informed the Avengers and Patronus to destroy the armada ships in any way they can, which prompted the ninja's clones to attack the ships to outdo Hulk and Thor. The two powerhouses chuckled and leaped at the armada ships as well until all of them were gone.
"Whew, that was close." Patronus said before he groaned loudly after all of his clones dispersed at the same time. "Damn it, clones! I'm still not used to that." He felt a hand on his shoulder and looked to find Captain there. "Captain America…"
"Great work, soldier." The First Avenger praised the ninja. "You really saved us there."
"Yeah, but this isn't over yet." Patronus looked at the sky. "This was just one battle and there are more ships, robots around the world."
Captain nodded. "This war won't stop until Kang is found." The comms link buzzed with Stark's voice.
-"Then you are in luck."-
"You found him?"
-"I found him."-
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Aerial Space
Manhattan, New York City, New York
After Iron Man relayed the message of Kang's location, all Avengers and Patronus returned to the base for equipment suitable for the next part of the mission. They were all wearing space armor constructed by Iron Man that had their motifs but the only ones who did not have a suit was Hulk and Patronus, as for the latter hopes the Nemean Lion pelt plus Inari's robes can protect him from the vacuum of space. Instead they have oxygen masks to supply them during the mission.
They were all currently on the spaceship and flew towards the atmosphere with the intention of defeating Kang and ending his conquest. The airborne craft was accompanied by five of Ant-Man's Ultron guards from Prison 42, much to his displeasure but it was better of five rather than all of them.
"You know, I'll never get used to this." Patronus mentioned.
Wasp asked, "Fighting together with the most awesome team in the globe?"
"No, going to our deathbeds in the vacuum of space." Patronus countered since fighting in space did not sit right with the ninja at all. In fact, he wanted to stay on Earth and help the other cities in the United States or other countries but he knew that the Avengers needed all the help they could get. Plus, he really wants to kick Kang back into whatever century he came from.
Captain noted the fear in the ninja's voice but chose to address it later. "How much time do we have?" His answer arrived in the form of three bright lasers that came from space, blinding him and his teammates temporarily.
"Not enough." Iron Man emphasized while covering his eyes with his arm.
Wasp asked the obvious question. "What is it?" Hawkeye opened a shield that allowed him to see through a window and saw the lasers aiming at something.
"It's a targeting beam of laser sight." Hawkeye answered. "A really big one. Can you tell where it's aimed, Stark?"
"Uh, yeah. Us." Iron Man reluctantly responded.
A stunned Ant Man countered, "But we're right over the city. A blast that size will destroy everything."
"I think we can all agree Kang will stop at nothing to achieve his conquest." Patronus said as matter of fact. "Can't this thing go any faster? You know what, let me out. I'm going to stop the laser."
However, one of the Avengers beat him to it as he opened the hangar door. "Nay, I shall go!" A determined Thor flew out of the spacecraft and quickly outmaneuvered the vehicle ahead of them.
"Whoa, I've never seen Thor fly so fast." Iron Man said with awe in his voice. "What's he doing?"
"Saving us all." Captain America answered.
Thor continued to fly higher before he began to spin his hammer at nigh unstoppable speeds and channeled lighting around the weapon, summoning a shield of sorts. "FOR MIDGARD!" He flew forward with Mjolnir at the front in top speed as Kang's laser burst from the sky towards him. A bright show of blue and green light showered the atmosphere while the laser was deflected by the ship and damaged some of its systems.
As for Thor, he fell back to Earth at terminal velocity with no sign of waking up. The Avengers and Patronus watched the smoke trailing Norse god free-fall, hoping that he would wake up soon. "He's still falling! We have to go back." Wasp insisted out of concern.
"We can't. Thor bought us a chance." Iron Man pointed out. "We have to keep going before Kang fires his weapon again."
Ant Man placed his hand on his helmet. "Ant-Man to Ultrons 1 and 4, break off and catch Thor." He ordered his creations as the specific models heeded his command.
"Thor…" Wasp whispered out of concern.
"Goldilocks is tough. He'll pull through." Hulk reassured his tiny former teammate.
Patronus chuckled. "Yeah because without him, who are you going to challenge in smashing things?"
"You."
"Uh… no." Patronus then looked at Ant-Man. "Any news about Thor? Is he okay?"
"The Ultrons have him. He's comatose but alive."
With that in their minds, the team continued to make their way to Kang's warship where they quickly found trouble in the form of similar sized space-crafts. "Hang on!" Iron Man told his passengers.
The Avengers space-craft twirled, barrel-rolled and dived out of the lasers' trajectory before it fired back thanks to a gleeful Hawkeye and Patronus who manned the guns onboard. The Ultrons defended the Avengers but they too were being destroyed until two managed to survive.
Although Iron Man saw that they need more help and decided to do something rather drastic. "Captain, you take the controls." He said as the First Avenger grabbed hold of the yoke. "Come on, you're with me."
"Uh, don't you mean Hulk?" Wasp asked meekly. She reluctantly flew outside to space with Iron Man where Earth in its whole was there in front of her. "Wow, I can't believe I'm in space."
"Jan, Jan, focus. We need to clear a path for the others." And they did just that as the Avengers space-craft managed to get close to one of the closed airlocks. Luckily for them, Hulk 'opened' it with his fist and allowed all of them including Wasp and Iron Man inside before a force field closed the breach.
"That was fun." Hulk said simply after taking off his oxygen mask as did Patronus.
The strike team was not allowed a brief reprieve as Hawkeye, Wasp and Captain America were tackled off the ground by several unknown forces. Patronus looked around until his eyes spotted three figures in different uniforms and weapons atop their space-craft. "We have company."
"Our lord Kang had been expecting you infidels. Now die!"
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Bridge of Damocles
Kang watched the destruction of his empire over and over again as it fueled his hatred of the hero Patronus whose actions led to its demise. There was little truth to what he told the Avengers in their first skirmish. His empire was in fact stable and thriving but there was a republic that held equal power and technology. The republic and his empire were allies in a war thus they lived in peace with each other. Kang did not want that at all.
He wanted the whole of Earth as his own empire. He did not want to share it with anyone else! So, he will fix the problem and bring back his entire empire as the sole ruler.
"Kill them all. I want them dead." Kang ordered his elite guard over the comms. "I will not be beaten by a bunch of Neanderthals! Hold the line."
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Breached Airlock, Damocles
Naruto assumed the Furinji Style stance as the elite guard prepared to take them all out. His eyes widened in surprise as the guards blurred and knocked around the Avengers. Wasp fired her stingers at one of them, but she was swatted away by a back-hand while one of the Ultrons was sliced from behind by the scimitar wielding guard. The Ultron attempted to protect his creator, but it was swatted away from the ace of the mace-wielding enemy whom Ant-Man shrunk in size to get away as Hulk leaped at the axe-wielder.
Unfortunately for the green behemoth, his target disappeared and re-emerged behind him before hitting Hulk away with his mace. "Hulk!" Captain cried out before using his shield to block energy waves from the third guard.
Iron Man fired his Uni-Beam at the sword-wielder while Wasp fired her stingers simultaneously at their mutual target as Hawkeye joined the attack as well. Unbeknownst to the Avengers, their enemies were moving around casually while their speed—to them—was too much for them. The slim swordsman dubbed Samurai by Naruto simply redirected their projectiles away from him to the different Avengers.
The end results were Iron Man being blasted by Hawkeye's arrow; the archer zapped by Wasp's stingers; and the yellow Avenger repulsed by Iron Man.
Naruto winced at the display including Hulk and Captain America slammed together by the fast mace-wielding guard dubbed Gladiator. "These guys are too fast for them." The ninja observed as he realized that he was not alone anymore.
"Lord Kang wants your body, so I-" The one dubbed Gunslinger stopped when Patronus had grabbed his throat and lifted him up in the air.
"I heard this story before, you know." Patronus looked at the alien invader. "Now let me show you what I do to those who monologue." He choke-slammed Gunslinger to the floor, causing it to cave underneath his strength. "Not talking now, are you?" He taunted before standing and seeing that he caught both Gladiator and Samurai's attentions. "Are you just going to stand there or do you want me to come to you?"
The Gladiator and Samurai looked at each other before they disappeared from sight with their speed. Unbeknownst to them and the Avengers, Naruto could see them as plain as day while they ran around him in a pincer attack. They reappeared on both his flanks and swung their melee weapons, which Naruto blocked them with the Adamantine metal plates on his Hidden Blade bracers. Patronus squatted slightly before he pushed them back and kicked the Gladiator away, then crossed blades with the Samurai via his Pivot Blade.
Gladiator growled before he charged at Patronus as the latter sensed him coming and twisted his body out of the way. Naruto quickly countered with a swift uppercut to the stomach before he blocked Samurai's strike with the Pivot Blade once more. The ninja then back-flipped out of the pincer attack before he ran at them with both Hidden Blades out this time.
"Is he going to kill them?" Ant-Man asked in concern after seeing the hero's fighting style.
The Avengers watched the fight continue before they noticed that Patronus flickered out of existence just in front of the remaining elite guard…then there were two—six Patronus in the airlock. "He made clones again but they look different than before." Wasp pointed out as the clones looked transparent from their point of view.
"Coward! You choose to hide behind tricks rather than-" Gladiator felt pain from the back of the neck before he fell on the ground as did his companion Samurai.
Patronus's Bunshin disappeared after he stopped moving as he looked at Hulk. "Big Greenie, do your specialty." He gestured him as Hulk complied and bent the mace around the elite guard to keep them restrained. "All right, what's Plan B?" He noticed the looks from the Avengers except Captain and Hulk. "What?"
"How were you able to see them?" Ant-Man asked before he shook his head to focus the task at hand. "Never mind that. Now if we find the station's time drive, we can end all of this right now."
Patronus raised a hand like a student in school. "Is this the same thing you talked about the ships above New York?"
"Yes. We destroy the drive and this whole base, Kang included, will disappear. The war is over."
Captain America nodded in agreement. "Okay, but how do we find it?"
Ant Man turned around and spoke to his creation. "Ultron 5, scan for tachyon particles. The other armada ships were giving them off big time." He informed as Ultron 5 scanned the area with a red light from side to side until it found what they were looking for.
"Tachyon force detected." Ultron 5 informed as he led the way for the Avengers while Hulk, Patronus and Hawkeye stayed behind a little.
Hulk was the first of the trio to speak about the robot. "Useful toy."
"Creepy-looking though." Hawkeye inputted as Patronus nodded.
"That's what I thought too." Naruto said after they stared at the robot.
Apparently, their conversation was not far away from them enough. "It is not a toy and it's not creepy-looking. It's designed to look like an ant's head." Ant-Man defended.
"Wrong choice." Patronus pointed as Hawkeye and Hulk chuckled at the casual jab at the scientist before they followed the team as well.
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After clearing more guards and finally reaching the location of the tachyon force, the Avengers plus Patronus stared at the contraption in front of them. It was a massive tube that seemed endless from both sides and probably took up half, if not the entire ship, as it was filled with the yellow energy known as tachyon particles.
"*Whistles* That's…" Patronus started to speak.
Hawkeye finished the hooded ninja's sentence. "Big."
"I don't care how big it is; it's getting smashed." Hulk declared before he ran towards the tube and threw a straight left punch. Except it did not break under his incredible strength and instead repelled Hulk away while tripping the alarm system. "Oops."
Electricity streaked across and all over the room from the ceiling as Captain America blocked it with his shield while Patronus protected Hulk and Hawkeye with his wind shield until the latter fired one of his arrows at the system. Then came the reinforcements in the form of the crab-like robots they faced on Earth.
"We need a plan here guys!" Patronus shouted as he tore apart several robots with his Rasengan and Kogistune.
Captain America looked down and found an unconscious Ant-Man on the ground after he was hit by the electricity. "Ant-Man, we need you! Get up!"
"He's out!" Hawkeye said after seeing no reaction from the pacifist. "Cap, come on! We need to shut down the computer system before it's too late." He dodged a blast as a miniature Wasp flew past him and fired her stingers at the increasing numbers of crabs while Iron Man used his Uni-Beam to take out a huge portion of them on the opposite flank. "Maybe we can reprogram the thing!"
"That's it!" Iron Man shouted in realization as he looked at Ultron 5. "Ultron, you-"
"THAT'S ENOUGH!" An unfortunate familiar voice boomed as the machines parted from each other and formed two rows while their master levitated towards the intruders. "You came to fight me, Avengers? Here I am!" declared the short-circuiting conqueror.
Hawkeye aimed another explosive arrow at the floating Kang. "Hey, you know what? I'm glad Patronus's gonna wipe out your timeline." Both Patronus and Captain America looked at the archer. "Because any future ruled by you has to stink." He fired, only for Kang to stop it in mid-air, turned it around and 'returned' it as Hawkeye jumped out of the way.
Hulk took his turn and leaped at Kang who used his energy shield to push him back into the horde of crab machines. As for Ultron 5, it fired a red beam at Kang, only for the latter to block and dispense the energy as flames onto the Avengers and Patronus while Captain threw his shield at the conqueror. Kang saw this coming and simply deflected the projectile with a backhand before he fired energy beams out of his hands at Wasp and Iron Man after they combined their attacks together.
The stinger/Uni-Beam combo was defeated in the clash as the owners were sent flying from the impact. Hulk had just finished off the machines and used one as a weapon to hit Kang but the latter used his shield to break through before he flew and upper-cut punched the green behemoth to the ceiling.
Patronus, Captain and Ultron watched the 'Strongest There Is' as he fell to the ground and not get up. "Oh…That's not- What the hell?" Naruto shouted in surprise as he and his only conscious companions were encased in dull yellow energy spheres. "This again? Oh, you again?" He whispered in annoyance after seeing a smug Kang.
"Patronus…Latin word for protector. It seems like fate that we meet." He turned the sphere so Patronus can see you him fully. "I am a conqueror but you stand in my way by protecting those weaker than me…than us."
Naruto snorted sarcastically. "I doubt we're the same and you bet your ass I'd fight you any day and time."
"Amusing from a Neanderthal, but you and your teammates have fought well but this outcome was inevitable…never in question." Kang spoke, "I will do whatever it takes to ensure the survival of my timeline. The survival of Humanity."
Patronus sighed at this. "While I may disagree about my actions being responsible for your empire's collapse, I too want Humanity to live in peace and prosperity. This may seem like a long shot even now, but do you surrender?"
"No."
"Good."
To Kang's shock, the bubble cracked before it burst open after Patronus was engulfed in yellow flames within. He looked at the hooded ninja except there was no sign of flames at all. "An illusion?"
"Less talking, more fighting." Patronus taunted Kang by gesturing his fingers towards himself. "That's if you can lay a hand on me."
Kang snarled at the challenge and pulled out two bladed weapons from the portal he created before charging at Naruto. The two combatants entered a clash of weapons as Kang swung with utmost precision while Patronus blocked each strike with his forearms that was protected by his Hidden Blade bracers. After Kang attempted to throw him off balance with a sweep kick, Patronus countered with a two-fisted attack to the stomach and face.
"Yamazuki!"
Kang slammed against the wall and ignored the pain as he charged at Patronus once more before firing energy blasts from his weapons. Naruto deflected the blasts with swift strikes of Kogitsune and assumed the primary stance of the sword style he learned from his master as his enemy pounced on him once more. Kang's attacks pressed on but they never penetrated Patronu's intricate defensive parries, much to his anger.
"I learned countless martial art styles, both unarmed and armed, but I can't hit you! Why?!" Kang demanded to know.
Patronus smiled as he parried and cut Kang's arms multiple times during each exchange. He also noticed that Kang was beginning to tire out, which was good for him as the sword style was definitely worth learning. When he learned the art, Naruto had asked his master about the name which was two. The first name was confusing and odd but the alternative was easier to remember. It was called Soresu.
"Die here!" Kang fired dual beams at his hated enemy.
Naruto waited for the perfect moment and seized it as he deflected the beams right back at Kang's chest. The conqueror grunted in pain as his suit began to short-circuit again before he looked up and saw an awaken Iron Man commanding Ultron 5 to do something to the time drive. "What are you doing?"
"Your tech is advanced, Kang, but I'm a quick study." Iron Man answered. "Ultron 5, now!"
It was not long when Kang received reports about his armada ships disappearing from the globe and timeline via comms. He then fired a beam that was similar to Iron Man's Uni-beam from his chest at Ultron 5 before it was blocked by Patronu's Kazeheki. Iron Man soon commanded Ultron 5 to cease the countdown for the Damocles' departure after an unknown voice spoke in the room.
"That is enough." All beings looked and saw a woman with black hair enter the room. She wore a silver armor with long sleeves over a purple bordering black dress that had a transparent veil over her shoulders as a tri-pointed crown was worn over her head. "Kang."
"R-Ravonna, my love. What are you doing?" A stunned Kang asked, much to the conscious heroes' surprise.
"I should ask you the same question."
Patronus shuddered visibly. "Really now? This has got to be a joke in the 41st century." Ravonna looked at him and her eyes widened in surprise.
"It is an honor to meet you, Patronus." She greeted, much to her lover's anger.
"Do not honor him, Ravonna! He is the cause for the disruption of our timeline!" Kang countered before he was upper-cut punched by Patronus and fell on his back.
The ninja shrugged his shoulders in a 'what can you do' gesture. "So…uh…I take it you didn't know about his conquest." Ravonna shook her head. "Want to talk?" He asked after sheathing Kogitsune.
"Yes."
And just like that, the war was over between the 21st and 41st centuries.
TTIIPMxTTIIPMxTTIIPM
(Few Days Later)
Avengers Mansion, Manhattan
New York City, New York, United States of America
S.H.I.E.L.D. was extremely busy the past days as they salvaged Kang's technology from the destroyed machines courtesy of the Avengers and Patronus. Speaking of the hooded hero, there was images of his clones throughout the world's news network, much to his chagrin but there was nothing he could do about it now. As for the invaders, Ravonna made a global apology to the citizens of the 21st century before she left for her own timeline.
During the discussion between S.H.I.E.L.D., the Avengers, and Patronus, Ravonna explained to them that their timeline was stabilized after the hooded hero's appearance in the timeline: their empire exist in peace with the republic whose fundamental government and creators were inspired by Patronus's actions during his heroic deeds including team-ups with the Avengers and other heroes. They were not surprised that Kang did not approve of this and wanted everything back to his rule only, but Ravonna heeded him not to do so. Kang did not listen to her and left to change the timeline for his own sake.
Speaking of Kang, he was transported to the 41st century in a time cell for his actions against the empire and republic while Ravonna will be the ruler in his stead.
The Avengers, S.H.I.E.L.D. and Patronus watched the ships depart to their timeline except the Damocles which Ravonna gifted to them in reparations. The ship was to be the new base for S.W.O.R.D. led by Carol Danvers of the Air Force branch. As for Patronus, he got a bit of surprise from Ravonna when she revealed to him that he was her great ancestor during this timeline and a member of the Brotherhood. Although she did not develop any abilities due to her greatly diluted lineage, Ravonna quietly told him that she was proud to be his descendant and vowed to honor him and his ways.
"Patronus…" Said hero turned around to see the First Avenger. "I thought you left by now."
Patronus shrugged his shoulders. "Not yet. Just enjoying the sights." He pointed at the sunset over the horizon. "Beautiful."
"You did good, soldier." Captain praised the ninja. "About the team…"
"Cap." Patronus paused as he sighed. "I appreciate the offer and all, but my answer is still no."
"I know."
"Good." Patronus walked to the edge. "But I don't mind being called in for back-up in case you guys are in too deep."
Captain America chuckled at his words. "I appreciate that, Patronus. Thank you for everything." He offered a hand which Patronus shook before the ninja left in a yellow flash to Boston.
"Still couldn't get him to join, huh?" Iron Man asked knowingly as his co-leader nodded. "Same thing with Hulk. I gotta say that I'm proud about the big guy finding his own team."
"Me too." Both Avengers went inside the mansion. "So, we have Wasp, Thor, Panther, Ant-Man and Hawkeye back. That's more than I thought would return." Iron Man nodded as well. "Well, you up for another training session?"
"After the time with Kang we just had… my pleasure.
zumaki Manor, Homestead Grounds
Forested Massachusetts, United States of America
After Hirashining back, Naruto sprinted inside his house where he found his family and hugged them all as much as he could with limited space in his arms. His wives kissed him all over his face while the twins grabbed onto his uniform as if they were afraid to let go of him and he would disappear from them.
"It's okay. It's okay. I'm home now." Naruto reassured his family as he looked out the window when the sun had disappeared and night came. "I love you guys."
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone