Stark Lab:
The Next Day, Morning:
I stood silently with my arms crossed, leaning against the doorframe that led into Tony's office/ lab.
The man in question was hunched over in front of a laptop screen, one of twenty that were all running programs while several holographic processes were currently being run by F.R.I.D.A.Y. herself.
"F.R.I.D.A.Y, try to see if we can break through the electromagnetic border barriers around Latveria using a multi-spectrum tachyon pulse."
"Attempting the pulse now, boss," My eyes flicked to the vibrant blue holographic model of Latveria, watching as a beam of artificial tachyon signatures flew towards the digital wall.
Yet, the moment it came within an inch of it, the green barrier flared as it absorbed the energy and sent it out as a ripple of geometric wave.
"Pulse failed, sir," the A.I. reported and I heard Tony curse. "It appears as though his barriers were made to keep all foreign entities out. More specific, those that aren't registered to the obscure waves we detected during our initial search."
"What does that mean?" Strange asked from where he stood beside me and Tony let out a heavy sigh as he leaned back into his chair.
"To put it simpler, Latveria is a high secured database and the barrier is a 2048-bit firewall. The only thing it lets through are those that are connected to the aforementioned waves while rejecting everything else."
"So, unless we figure out how to connect to those waves, we're essentially locked out?" Steven asked, drawing a thumbs-up from Tony as I frowned.
"Well, I expected this to be a lot harder than our fight against Thanos, but even so, I didn't think it would be this hard."
"It's not. I just need to get one of the devices that the waves allow to pass through and then study it. Hey, Flash, you don't think that you could maybe..."
"Go and steal one?" I asked with a knowing look, shaking my head with a sigh as Tony smiled hopefully. "I'll see what I can do."
"Don't try to be an over-achiever. If you can only take one, take it and if not, you run away," Nat spoke with a frown and I smiled, kissing her softly before pulling back with a nod.
"Of course. Be back in a sec," Super Mode sparked forth as I turned and dashed, having memorized where Latveria was located.
Racing out of New York and across the North Atlantic, I ran across Hungary and towards its southern borders.
The moment I passed Kecskemét, I stopped in my tracks, a frown on my face as I looked forward.
Time was still frozen for all as I walked closer with my Super Form, but my eyes were locked on the barrier that started on the other side of the open field of dry plants.
It stretched for miles in every direction continuing on both to the east and the west as far as my eyes could see. Even the top of it was well far past the clouds, making me wonder just how I missed it while I was travelling through space.
However, what I was most stunned by were the cars and people that continued walking and driving inside of the barrier, none of them seemingly affected by my speed.
'...Yeah, no. I'm not risking,' I thought as I turned only to find myself standing just a few feet away from a figure clad in grey armour. A green fur-collared cloak was thrown over their shoulders and underneath it, I saw how the green hood they were was welded into the armour.
"It appears that this world's Pietro Maximoff is much more capable than I expected."
"How are you keeping up with me?"
"You believe that you are the only one that can accelerate your flow of time with the help of the Quantum waves hidden to the eyes of most?" Dr. Doom asked in turn and I frowned, walking to the side as his eyes followed me.
"Not going to stop me?" I asked as I walked around and past him, frowning as all he did was let out a soft scoff of amusement.
"Doom does not fear the futile movements of a lesser mind," the king of Latveria replied, posture perfectly still with his hands rested behind his back. "You are much faster than most, I will admit that, but speed is not an absolute variable when it comes to those that has been in the Quantum Realm."
"Oh, really? And what if I told you that this is but a mere fraction of what I can do?"
"If that is the case, then Doom would be pleased to see what would happen should you go all-out," he replied, my eyes drifting to his hand as I took note of the faint, pulsating emerald runic circle materialising beneath the metal soles of his boots.
"You want to test it now?" I asked, hands already raised in a stance as Doom tilted his head at me.
"Not in the slighest. Doom merely wishes to inform you that I have left the door wide open. If you and that detested Stark wish to come and speak to me, then by all means. Come."
"Just like that."
"Just like that. After all, you and Doom have a shared past," I frowned as Doom didn't elaborate and stepped through the border, continuing to keep watch until he vanished from my sight.
With post-haste, Europe was left in my dust as I spun around and took off, easily crossing the distance back to New York and sliding to a stop outside of Tony's office.
"We got a problem," I spoke as I entered, drawing everyone's attention while noting Strange's absence. "Doom already knows we want to enter and, to quote him, 'The door is wide open. Doom invites you to come speak with me'."
"See, this is why I hate genius super-villains," Nat muttered, my eyes drifting to Tony as he slouched and sighed.
"Well, I'm gonna go take a nap and when I wake up, we're going."
"Will do," I nodded, watching as the genius stood up and sluggardly made his way back to his room.
"I'll go and call Thor. Perhaps the help of an Asgardian may be what we need to survive," Steve muttered as he patted my shoulder while walking past, leaving me to turn to Nat as she stood with a frown and her arms crossed.
"You look mad."
"Not at you."
"Oh, thank god," I whispered, chuckling at her smirk as she rolled her eyes. "You mad at our latest enemy then?"
"No, I'm mad that we don't have a moment to enjoy ourselves."
"Well, what if this is the last one?"
"There's never going to be a last one, Pietro."
"No, what if this is our last one?" I repeated myself with more emphasis on certain words, making her blink as she looked at me.
"You...you want to quit?"
"Why not? I've already know a few ways for me to make money and even if it's just a small one, us two combined have enough money to continue living a simple life in some remote village."
"I don't think I'm made for the simple life," she replied softly, making me sigh as I stepped forward and wrapped my arms around her shoulders while she hugged my chest.
"And why not?"
"I've spent my entire life running from handlers, fighting wars in the dark and hiding behind aliases. Even with being an Avenger, that was still most of what I did, but with some free time. I don't know how to just...stop."
"Well, you wouldn't be stopping alone," I replied, smiling as she looked up slightly at me. "I'm not talking about just hiding in a bunker or living off fake credit cards. Just a guy, a girl and an uncharted island hidden from the world."
She let out a soft laugh, leaning into my hands as I cupped her face. "Just you and me?"
"Like I said, I don't mind your family wanting to live with us. We just need to get Yelena a boyfriend, find out if Melina makes soup that won't try to mind-control us and a few palm trees that Alexei can arm wrestle."
"That's going to turn into every tree."
"True," I nodded, enjoying her giggles as I smiled. "Seriously, though. You've had a life of nothing but struggle and I've fought too many people's wars for too long. I think we've more than earned the right to step off the battlefield."
She was silent as she looked up at me, letting out a deep exhale as she rested her forehead against my chest.
"Let's settle this thing first. Then, we pack it up and we leave for good."
"Deal," I spoke with a smile, kissing her softly.
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The Next Day:
Latveria:
"Do I have to wear this?" I grumbled to myself, glancing up as the Quinjet landed next to me before looking back at my attire.
It was very similar in design to the suit that I can vaguely remember from the comics, having a raised high collar with a thick, white lightning bolt crossing down from my left shoulder.
Said lightning bolt also separated the light blue on the right side of my body suit and the darker blue on my left, but I had to admit that the white gloves and boots with the lightning-style cut on the borders was a good touch.
It was also made from a kevlar-steel alloy Tony had created for his suits that can stop up to a .50 caliber piercing round while also staying light and flexible.
'It does ride up in the crotch a bit,' I grimaced as I had to adjust again, looking over at where the doors to the Quinjet opened.
"You could have just ran us over," Nat said as she was the first to exit and I shrugged.
"You guys were the one who said you wanted me to scope it out ahead of time," I replied, watching as Steve and Strange exited it behind her.
Moments later, Tony, Thor and Hulk came crashing down with thunderous booms, the latter two grinning widely as Tony walked over with heavy thuds.
"And yet you didn't report anything back," Tony replied, to which I shrugged.
"There was nothing to report," I replied, hearing his sigh before turning to Steve as he stepped up to stand in front.
His eyes were locked on the barrier before he turned to me and spoke, "We can just go in?"
"Only because Doom approves your entry," I was not the only one to spin around as I heard Doom's voice, but my eyes narrowed as I stared at the army of Doom bots hovering in the air around him.
"Oh, god, it's another Ultron," I heard Tony mutter before he turned to me. "You didn't tell us that he had an army of robots, Flash."
"Oh, sorry. I was too focused on the magic he was using that looked like it could kill me," I replied with a snort, my eyes flicking between the Doom bots.
"Now, what feeble warnings would you like to issue Doom?" the man asked, looking directly past all of us at Tony as the genius turned to Cap.
"Captain, you're the more charismatic one here between us."
"We wish to know what your intentions are now that you've returned and taken over Latveria," Steve didn't waste any time and I watched Thor hold out Stormbreaker to make Hulk pause as Doom nodded.
"As expected. However, know that my reasons are not nefarious. I merely wish to gather my forces in preparation for a battle."
"And with whom is this 'battle'?"
"With a foe none of you have fought nor will you be able to," Doom replied before his head turned to me. "Well, except for Pietro, of course. You fought a variant of him, after all."
"Kang," I muttered with a groan, drawing everyone's attention as Doom nodded. "You're going to fight a variant of Kang?"
"Not a variant. The prime variant. The very first Kang that walks the Sacred Timeline. The Kang that becomes He-Who-Remains."
"Lovely."
"So, how difficult is that compared to the one you fought?" Nat asked with a whisper and I grimaced.
"The one I fought was faster than I am even at this moment, but even I don't know how he scales compared to the original Kang. Although, given that He-Who-Remains is the only survivor of the Multiversal War, I'd say even he fell to the prime Kang."
"That is merely because your Speedster Kang fell to Immortus and Scarlet Centurion during the war, not He-Who-Remains," Doom interjected as I raised an eyebrow.
"And how do you know this?"
"Because Kang told me this."
"How would he know this if he is still the Conqueror? Wouldn't he have to become Kang that Remains in order to tell you who won? But if he already won, then how is he still Kang the Conqueror? Unless your Kang travelled across space and time to the future battlefield and back? No, but then he would be considered a participant of the war and thus, a variant? I'm so confused."
"You're confused? All of us lost track the moment you two started talking about a Multiversal War," Nat spoke, Hulk looking as though he was going to start smashing Doom bots if we continued talking.
"You are confused because you try to view the tapestry of the infinity that is the Space-Time Continuum through the narrow eyes of your human perception," Doom retorted, touching down on the ground.
"The tin-man speaks the truth," Thor nodded as I turned my eyes to him. "The Kang you speak of is merely a paradoz wrapped in an absolute. He knows how this Multiversal War ends because he has already lived it yet, he returns to the beginning to ensure the calculus remains absolute and on its path."
"...Anyone expect Thor of all people to explain it?" Tony asked, all of us shaking our legs as Thor frowned.
"You all forget that I am over 1500 years old. What is complicated to you is merely something I've experienced from a sorcerer or a magical beast centuries ago. That or I heard of such things through my stories."
"Nevertheless, this does not explain why you need to gather power for this battle. Could you not simply just ignore him?" Strange asked and Doom scoffed as he held his hands behind his back.
"And cower away like a buffoon? Doom does not cower nor do I run. I prepare, I calculate and Doom goes to war knowing that he will be the victor."
"If you and Kang fight, it's going to be a battle that may destroy the universe."
"And yet, it is a necessary sacrifice to ensure that all remember one thing."
"What is that?" I asked, frowning as the man's arms grew alight with several emerald-green runic circles.
"That existence will only thrive under the ruling of Doom."
"Oh, so classical supervillain stuff? 'If I can't have the world, then I'll destroy it'," I muttered, preparing myself as Steve stepped forward with a frown.
"If that is your goal, then as one of the many guardians of this universe, I cannot in good faith allow you to continue."
"Pietro Maximoff, do you remember when Doom told you that we share a past?"
"I do, but I thought that was just you trying to get into my head," I replied and I was surprised as Doom chuckled and lifted a hand. He gripped the edges of his mask while flipping back his hood, my eyes widening as he pulled off his mask and smirked.
Tony's helmet popped open as he stared forward, his expression twisted into horror at the sight of Doom's face.
"I told you, Pietro Maximoff. Doom and you share a past," the horrible burned visage of an aged Tony Stark spoke with a scoff.
"H-How? Are you just another variant?"
"To be more specific, I am the Tony Stark that, just like Pietro, survived the implosion of our world."
"...Impossible. Everything...everything died," I whispered, but even I was a bit unsure as Doom smirked.
"Everything did. The only reason I survived was because my armour managed to keep me alive just long enough to be pulled into the Quantum Realm with you," he replied before his face twisted into a sneer. "Unlike you, though, Doom was not given the luxury of spending time there for just a few hours.
I spent millennia in the Time Loops there before I figured out how to break free and afterwards, it took me another decade to finally find the one that would help me escape."
"Which would explain how you most likely found the Kang that was banished there."
"Exactly," Doom nodded, clipping his mask back on before shaking his head with a chuckle. "When Doom first saw, I expected to be angered by your appearance. Yet, I found out that centuries of being in a Time Loop merely helped me come to terms with my emotions."
"Well, is there any chance you and I can just talk this out?"
"Doom does not mind talking, but he will not abandon his plans."
"Well, I tried," I muttered, glancing at Strange as he stepped forward and created two Tao Mandalas with a frown.
"We have asked you twice to cease your villainous actions. I shall ask you one final time. Do you stand down?"
"Pietro Maximoff, you once rescued New York from destruction by vaporizing the bomb with vibrations, yes?" I felt my heart drop as Doom raised his hand, clicking the device it held to show off a recording of Wakanda with several house-sized bombs slowly falling.
"Let us see you choose. Your friends...or Wakanda?"
A/N: And we end it here!! Nothing else to say here except it's a bit of a short one. Also, how do you guys like me tying in the MCU's Doom with this story's Doom.
Next chapter: DOOM III
As always, read, enjoy, review and until the next one...
Ba-Bye~!!