Chapter Text
"You all deserve to know more about the wider cosmos, the threats facing it, as well as the struggles yourselves and your fellow heroes have gone through." The Watcher stated. "For that reason, I've prepared more for you all to view." Uatu's voice faded again as he shut up.
"So, what is this going to show us?" Nick Fury asked the room in large.
"I've no idea." Steve shrugged.
"Something important, no doubt." Matt noted.
"I need to know what these threats are and how to stop them." Carol stated.
"Time. Space. Reality. It's more than a linear path. It's a prism of endless possibility. Where a single choice can branch out into infinite realities. Creating alternate worlds from the ones you know. I am the Watcher. I am your guide to these vast new realities. Follow me, and ponder the question...What If?"
"So, this is about the Watcher?" Ned asked.
"I am merely a guide." Uatu's voice stated. "These are about the heroes of Earth and beyond."
"Earth. June, 1943. The Nazi army marches across Europe, leaving death and destruction. The Allied armies band together to create a new kind of solider. A super solider. At humanity's darkest hour, a skinny kid from Brooklyn became Captain America. After turning the tide of World War II, he made the ultimate sacrifice, restoring peace and saving this universe. But in another universe, a single choice created a whole new hero."
"Who are these Nazi people?" Mantis asked, feeling the negative emotions around her at their mention and seeing the angry looks on the faces of Steve and Bucky especially.
"Imagine Ego but human versions." Quill told her, as she gasped. Someone else who wanted to wipe out everyone else except themselves? How could anyone actually want to do that?
"It's talking about you, isn't it?" Ikaris asked, eyeing Steve up.
"It appears to be, but if a different choice made a whole new hero, then I must not feature too much in this, if at all." Steve agreed.
The scene showed the presentation where they prepared to make Steve Rogers into the first super soldier, with Peggy Carter and Steve Rogers talking about it. Peggy was asked if she would want to wait in the booth, looking at Steve, she declined, choosing to stay in the main operating room. The Watcher explained that this was the moment that created a new universe, where Peggy Carter chose to remain in the room.
“Peggy is going to be the hero of this new world?!” Steve asked, stunned.
“It appears so.” Strange said.
“Good for her. She deserved more credit than she got in our universe.” Steve simply replied.
“I’m sure you tell her that all the time in your life together.” Tony teased him.
“I'm sure I do.” Steve grinned back.
Peggy noticed the Hydra agent about to explode the room with his bomb, too late to save Erskine or Colonel Philips, who died in the blast. Colonel Flynn ordered Steve into the machine, after he was shot trying to stop the agent, Peggy stated he was too injured, as Flynn and Howard Stark argued about continuing the project, Peggy told Steve to wait, stripping off her jacket and ordering Howard to give her the serum instead of Steve.
“I’m sorry, Steve.” Bruce said, seeing the crestfallen expression on Steve’s face.
“I didn’t get on with Colonel Phillips all that much, but he helped to found SHIELD, and Doctor Erskine was a great man, he inspired me to do more than I ever thought I could. I owe everything to him.” Steve explained.
“I tried for years to replicate his formula, ended up being The Hulk.” Bruce said. “As smart as I am, I’ll be the first to admit, he may be smarter than even I am.”
“Steve!” Sam yelled, seeing the Hydra agent shoot the Steve on the screen.
“I guess that’s why I don’t become Captain America in that universe.” Steve tried said, horrified at what he was seeing on the screen.
“Always the hero, even when a punk.” Bucky shook his head ruefully.
“He cant seriously expect you to be able to complete the operation, can he?” Hope asked, stunned.
“I guess he seems to think a gunshot is nothing.” Steve laughed.
“He wants my dad to become Captain America?” Tony snorted. “That’d go over well, he’d still refuse to take orders.”
“She is a remarkable woman.” Loki noted, seeing the bravery that Peggy was showing, willing to risk it all to make sure the mission succeeded.
"She really was." Sharon breathed.
“That’s Peggy.” Steve beamed.
“Does he want a super soldier or not? Telling Stark Senior not to do it now?” Phastos asked. He was conflicted seeing Howard Stark on a screen, on one hand, he respected intelligence and ingenuity, and Howard had both. On the other, Howard had a large hand in the Manhattan Project and Phastos was still angry that humans had created such a thing to wipe one another out. Part of him still believed they weren’t worth saving.
“He’s sexist.” Natasha spat. “Sadly, still a widely accepted thing today.”
“Humans still base things around gender? Primitive.” Nebula scoffed.
Leaving the machine with Howard's help, Steve and Howard congratulated Peggy on her success, before General Flynn berated her, calling it a failure and saying they had wasted alot of time and money for no super soldier. Peggy told him that he had a super soldier in her, he said they didn't, and if they were lucky, one day her bloods would tell them how to replicate Erskine's formula so they could make an actual super soldier.
“She looks amazing!” Betty said, eyes shining at the sight.
“Yeah she does.” Steve breathed, eyes wide himself, missing Natasha’s uneasy frown.
“How is it a failure to have a super soldier?” Thor asked.
“Women weren’t allowed to be soldiers then, it’s still mostly frowned upon now.” Matt explained to him.
“That is stupid!” Thor roared.
“Yeah it is, big guy.” Tony agreed.
“I’m glad that there isn’t someone trying to steal my blood.” Peter-3 shuddered.
“I wouldn’t be too surprised to learn vampires or something existed.” Peter-2 laughed.
At a retreat, Peggy worked out and complained of the unfairness of it all, showing her strength as she threw weights into the walls as Steve, going through rehabilitation next to her, told her it could be worse, she could be on a USO tour, wearing a crazy costume and being told to smile ten times a day. The two of them watched troops marching past as Steve told Peggy about Bucky, being deployed with the 107th, and the Army refusing to tell him where Bucky was being sent.
"This woman is a warrior, they should let her fight!" Drax called out.
"I am Groot." Groot agreed.
"I'm glad you survived, Mr Rogers." Abe said.
"It's not me, but thanks kid." Steve smiled at the young soldier.
"A USO uniform? Like you had?" Bucky grinned.
"Just don't." Steve groaned.
"Being told to smile? Is this usual on Terra?" Nebula asked. She may have spent a few years helping out, but she didn't know every Terran custom.
"Only if you're a woman." Kate snarled.
"It's very sexist and something you shouldn't do." Ned supplied.
"Ah, I guess Hydra got me in that world too?" Bucky sighed. He really hoped they didn't have to see him become the Winter Soldier again, but he feared he wouldn't get what he wanted.
Peggy told Steve she was sorry as he was meant to end the war, he said now she'd be the one to do it, and said he wasn't much of a dancer anyway, as Peggy said that maybe he just hadn't found the right partner to dance with.
"Captain America is just a title. The person behind it is far more important, and if anyone could have done a better job of it than me, it was Peggy." Steve admitted.
"Haven't found the right partner, have you?" Clint ribbed his old friend.
"I don't know." Steve said, glancing over at Natasha briefly. "Maybe I haven't."
In Tonsberg, the Nazis marched through the streets as the Red Skull exited his car, Stark, Flynn and Carter discussed the Hydra attack on Tonsberg and how they had taken something powerful from there, as it cut back to Schmidt, discussing the Tesseract, finding the real one and having the town destroyed, alongside shooting the keeper of the Infinity Stone.
"Who is the guy threatening the old man?" Quill asked.
"Red Skull. The guy from Vormir." Bucky supplied.
"At least he looks vaguely human here." Quill said, feeling sick at the memory of the guy's face.
"It's a mask." Steve told him simply.
"Why would he kill that man? What did the man do wrong to him?" Cindy asked.
"Monsters don't need an excuse to reveal their true natures, my child." Loki told her.
Peggy and Howard argued they needed to do a raid to stop the Tesseract reaching Hydra HQ, as Flynn dismissed them, refusing to risk lives over a battery, and saying that maybe the war would be over before Hydra could use it, if the smartest people on the planet had no idea the extent of its power.
"Why is Flynn not willing to even entertain the idea? I get he's lost men, but he can surely see the risks are far outweighed by the benefits, right?" Yelena asked.
"He's scared and angry at what he saw as a failure on everyone's part, I reckon." Matt said. "He won't sanction it, they'll have to do something to force his hand."
"Does he really think Schmidt won't make it work? From what I've seen, it seems he's at least intelligent." Eddie asked.
"Oh, he was more than smart enough to make it work." Steve grimaced. "He's got intelligent helpers as well."
Peggy sat drinking in a bar as Howard surprised her, showing her a uniform, saying it was her USO uniform, but he made some upgrades as Flynn is a moron. As she told him that his covert skills needed work, he said the next part would be awkward, slamming a Vibranium shield down on the bar for her, with the Union Flag in the centre.
"I AGREE, THIS FLYNN IS A MORON, WE SHOULD EAT HIM TO HELP THE GENE POOL!" Venom helpfully supplied.
"Your shield looks even better somehow." Sharon teased Steve, who grimaced.
"It does not! The Stars and Stripes make it!" Ned interjected.
In Berlin, a Hydra escort took the Tesseract and Armin Zola through the streets, before being ambushed by Captain Carter, throwing her shield at them and smashing through their cars with her own body.
"Wow, she may be even stronger and more daring than you, Captain." Thor mused, stunned.
"Well she was physically stronger than me even before the serum, with it, I wouldn't be surprised if she was stronger than I am." Steve nodded.
"Who is the guy holding the Tesseract?" Nebula asked.
"Armin Zola. A brilliant scientist and the one who resurrected Hydra in our universe after Steve took them down in the war." Natasha stated. "He's a genius and could definitely work the Tesseract for Schmidt."
"That was brilliant!" She remarked on the first one, sending troops flying with her shield, punching and kicking them, dodging bullets as their cars exploded around them. Troops poured out of the vans, as she took them down one by one, until a larger soldier stepped out, laughing at her appearance. She then took him out with a few well placed hits, rendering him unconscious. She then turned to Zola, who swore as she took him prisoner.
"She appears to be having alot of fun with this." Druig noted.
"I imagine this is how Ikaris feels." Makkari told him as Druig laughed.
"I can see you, you know." Ikaris said lowly to them.
"I know." Makkari signed, smirking.
"It seems Schmidt may be stopped already." Tony blinked, surprised.
"It can't have been that easy to take Zola and the Cube, could it have been?" Steve asked, stunned.
"Wait, I'm not experimented on by Zola in that universe? I don't fall off the train capturing him and I don't become the Winter Soldier?" Bucky asked, tears flowing as he thought of the ramifications of that, and he could feel his heart thundering as he felt rage growing in him at the thought of another Bucky being able to avoid that pain, being able to avoid inflicting that misery on the world at large.
"Are you ok, Buck?" Sam asked, putting a steady hand on his shoulder.
Bucky took a moment, taking a few deep breaths, before turning to Sam.
"Yeah, I'm fine Sam, thanks. I was just lost in what ifs, I guess."
"Nothing to be ashamed of there, Bucky, we all wonder if things could have gone differently, what would happen. Just got to not blame yourself if your life doesn't seem as good as theirs." Sam told him gently. "It's not your fault what happened, none of it, you hear me?"
"I do." Bucky gave him a small smile. "Sam, thank you."
Carter then dropped the Tesseract on Colonel Flynn's desk, telling him that the war was outside, and if they were going to win, he needed to deploy her on missions as a soldier. She then told him that the rank of Captain had a nice ring to it as she told Howard she trusted he knew what to do with the Tesseract, he agreed he did as he bent down to look at it properly.
Howard was then seen welding a giant machine under a cover, before asking Steve if he was ready to join the war effort, Steve smirking as he leant on his walking stick.
"Damn, does Flynn look scared by what she's managed to do in a single night." MJ grinned.
"If anyone other than Zola could do something with the Tesseract, it'd be the old man." Tony grudgingly agreed.
"What's he making under there and how is it going to help Steve with the war effort?" Clint asked.
"I have an idea what it might be." Rhodey smiled.
Peggy explained to Steve how Bucky, if he was alive, had been captured by Hydra, Steve said he couldn't ask Peggy to go help him, as he was 50km behind enemy lines, but Peggy explained Bucky was Steve's friend, and she could do with all the friends they can get to take down Hydra.
"So I still got captured in this timeline? Without Zola there to experiment on me, I don't become the Winter Soldier, no super soldier serum, do I?" Bucky asked, hoping the Watcher would answer for him.
"Buck." Steve said, drawing his old friends attention. "Don't try haunt yourself with that question."
"I owe you one." Steve told her, taking her hand.
"You owe me more than that." Peggy reminded him. "You owe me a dance." She smiled at him.
"You owe her a dance, do you, Rogers?" Natasha asked, raising an eyebrow, a teasing tone to her voice, trying to hide her discomfort at the scene.
"Well she was going to teach me how to dance." Steve shot back at her, also feeling odd seeing another version of himself flirting with this other Peggy, wrestling with his own feelings, not only from what he had seen of him and Peggy reuniting, but his own feelings for others in the room.
Peggy was then shown taking out the guards at the Hydra facility, before breaking into the holding cells, and freeing the Howling Commandos, as Bucky asked who she was meant to be. They escaped, all firing, before stopping when they saw how outmatched they were, German panzer tanks firing shells at them as they tried to flee.
"I'm in it!" Bucky smiled. "I can definitely get why we'd all be confused about a super soldier, especially a female one."
"That's alot of firepower, and not even you're missile proof, how are you all meant to get out of that?" Sam frowned.
Peggy and the Commandos dived behind a trench as she called in air support, hearing Rogers was inbound, Bucky and Peggy marvelled as Steve landed in a suit reminiscent of the Iron Monger, destroying German panzers and shrugging off a missile direct hit with ease. As she raced towards him, Dugan asked if she was friends with this new Hydra stomper, as Bucky stated he believed he was also friends with him.
"I bet that's one hell of a surprise to see Steve flying in like that!" Bruce called out.
"Is that a prototype Iron Monger suit?" Tony asked.
"I guess he had some plans like your own, but with the Tesseract, he could do it earlier, without the Arc Reactor." Happy suggested.
"Yeah, I guess you are friends with him, Buck." Steve laughed at the stunned expressions, both on the screen and in the room, from Bucky.
"Stark made me some new dancing shoes, what do you think?" Steve called out.
"Not too bad as dancing shoes go." Peter-3 joked.
"I think we better start dancing!" Peggy replied to him.
"Will be very interesting to see for sure." Eddie noted.
Peggy and Steve then began attacking more tanks, blowing them up, before the rest of the 107th joined the fight, when it was done, Steve, removing the head of the Hydra stomper to speak, told everyone to cheer for Captain Carter, as they did .
"Let's cheer for Captain Carter!" Cindy called out as the more immature members of the room began cheering, the others rolling their eyes.
A montage then showed Peggy and Steve cutting through waves of Nazi troops as Colonel Flynn took credit on the phone to the President for both, saying they're all impressed with Peggy and he hard ordered Stark to build the Hydra Stomper himself.
"Is he seriously taking the credit for this after slamming them all along?" Flash asked, stunned.
"Kinda reminds me of you claiming to be Peter's best friend." Ned joked as Flash scowled.
"Don't remind me of that." Flash groaned.
At Hydra HQ, a Nazi official demanded Schmidt go to Berlin at once on the orders of Hitler, Schmidt scoffed at that and stated how a god didn't answer to a man, the official laughed at him and said he would arrest Schmidt, Schmidt then shot him as his troops surrounded those who had accompanied the official, Schmidt watched the man die as he removed his face, revealing his dark red skull as he told the man that Hydra would rise from the ashes of the Third Reich, the troops all cheering "Hail Hydra!"
"Schmidt is completely insane, isn't he?" MJ whispered, eyes widened as she saw how maniacal he was acting now.
"I doubt he was ever sane at all." Steve snarled at the screen.
"He's a delusional fool who only seeks power." Thor grumbled. "He is unfit to wield any Infinity Stone, in any way!"
"He got what he deserved, trapped to be a custodian of another Stone for all time, unable to take it or leave." Scott growled.
At a bar, Steve asked Peggy about what it was like to receive the serum, as she discussed how she was viewed was now different, she had respect, finally, as Steve concurred that she was always a fighter and the outside now matched the inside. She told Steve he was always a hero too, her hero, and more than the suit, as he stated how he was still a skinny kid from Brooklyn, now in a metal suit. He told her she was his hero, as they held one another's hands. Leaning in for a kiss, they were distracted by Bucky and Howard in a jeep, with both of the m looking awkward as Howard told them to pretend he wasn't there, staring at them.
"Is that what it was like for you?" Tony asked Steve quietly.
"It felt different, I said I felt taller at the time, at the time though, that was all I could really think of about it." Steve admitted. "But it does suit Peggy. She deserved alot more respect than she ever got, and it seems taking the serum at least allowed her to have it in one universe. Though what she said, about being more than just the suit, that's how I feel about you, Tony."
"Me?" Tony asked, confused.
"I said you weren't a hero when we first met on the Helicarrier, I think I've been proven thoroughly wrong by now." Steve stated. "The suits allow you to go toe to toe physically with all of these threats, but you're far more than the suits, you're a hero, and I meant it when I said Earth had lost her best defender."
"Well, I'm honoured, Rogers." Tony smirked. "I'm holding that over you forever now, you do you know that?"
Steve just sighed in response.
"Is this what they call a cock-block?" Sprite asked Sersi who snorted. Steve, overhearing it, started to choke.
The scene cut to the Commandos and Peggy overlooking a snowy ridge, a long Hydra train winding its way through the mountains towards them.
Bucky and Steve tensed at the scene, something that wasn't missed by the rest of the room.
"What is it?" Wanda asked, worried.
"This is the train. It's where I fell off, where Steve thought I'd died, where Bucky Barnes did die, and the Winter Soldier was born." Bucky muttered, his voice carrying in the silent room.
"It's alright, Buck. We're all here." Steve reassured him. "Look away if you want too."
"No, I can handle it." Bucky insisted, shaking his head. He wouldn't let anyone think he was weak, he would deal with it. (Bucky definitely needs therapy, even after FATWS)
Peggy stated how they had intel Red Skull was on the train, as Steve flew in and hit the front of the train, holding it to slow it down, Peggy and the Commandos ziplined in, Bucky slipping on the train roof and falling, before Peggy grabbed his arm and pulled him back onto the train, Bucky thanked her as he complained she almost removed his arm.
"So Schmidt is on the train this time and not Zola? I guess they could end the fight here and now." Steve said impressed.
"This reeks of a set up, doesn't it?" Sam asked.
"Sadly, yeah." Bucky agreed, trying to repress the thoughts he was having.
"I guess I get to play the bait to slow it down." Steve smiled.
"I'm sure you can handle a little train like that, Rogers." Natasha teased him.
"Oh my God, how lucky is my alter self?!" Bucky asked, seeing Peggy catch him. "Almost ripped his arm off? Is that meant to be a bad joke about what happened to me, losing my arm in that fall?!" Bucky demanded to know.
"I don't know Buck." Steve said sadly. "Any word on that, Uatu?"
The Watcher simply ignored the question.
Steve broke into the train before noticing it had been rigged full of explosives, yelling for Peggy to get out of there before the front of the train exploded, destroying the tracks and causing an avalanche to take out the rest of the train, Peggy had to be pulled away by Bucky, yelling for Steve the entire time, who vanished with the train.
"Oh God." Steve simply said, watching as his other self noticed the explosives.
"You can fly, you'll get out of there!" Hope insisted.
"MR AMERICA!" Scott called out as the train exploded and Steve vanished in the rubble and the avalanche.
"I'm right here Scott." Steve joked. "If my alter did go out like that, I know he would have died happily, knowing he was helping his country and trying to get the others to get to safety. I'd do it in a heartbeat for any of you myself."
"Poor Peggy." Betty sniffled, seeing how crushed Carter looked on the screen.
Howard and Flynn discussed the loss of the Hydra Stomper as Peggy snapped his name was Steve, marching off as Flynn said they never should have used her in the field. She went to the captured Zola, who told her he would say nothing, the scene then cut to her briefing Flynn, Howard and the Commandos, saying Zola had told her everything about the main Hydra HQ, where they would be based and where they'd find Red Skull.
"Why are they trying to act like Steve wasn't a real person?" Mantis asked, confused and disgusted.
"Because to them, the weapon was far more valuable." Tony spat, thinking back to one of his first rendezvous' with Natasha. "Recruitment assessment for Avengers Initiative: Iron Man, Yes.-"
"Tony Stark, not recommended." Natasha finished with a haunted whisper. "You know I didn't mean it anything like that, Tony. I thought we had dealt with all of this, years ago."
"I thought I had too, but seeing all of that, how they're treating him, I guess I still have some unresolved issues of my own." Tony admitted. "I know you don't think like that anymore Natasha."
"Iron Man's useful in a fight, sure, but I'd rather have Tony Stark in my corner." She beamed back at him.
"I like how Zola caved instantly and gave up his boss." Scott grinned at the sight of Zola cowering before Peggy.
"Remind me never to get on the wrong side of a Carter." Sam joked.
"Good call, Captain." Sharon smirked at him.
"Finally going to take Schmidt down are they? Good." Bucky spat.
Peggy laid out where Red Skull was and what his plan was, stating how they had a chance to take them down, as Flynn said you needed Rogers to get close, she told Flynn he was lucky to be in the room with them. She said how they may all die and it wouldn't end the war most likely, but if they succeeded, they'd stop Hydra. The Commandos and Howard then all agreed they were in, for Steve, as Peggy told Howard they may need someone to press a button.
"You tell him Aunt Peggy!" Sharon cheered.
"Do you think she'd be proud of you now, Power Broker?" A voice rang in her head, looking around, she recognised it as Uatu. Oh no, he wouldn't tell the Avengers what she was doing, would he? They definitely had the power to shut down her operation if she wasn't careful, Sam and Bucky alone had gotten dangerously close to it all.
"She definitely gives great motivational speeches." Steve remarked.
"Is it a trait for anyone who takes the role of Captain America or something akin?" Bucky asked with a wink at Sam, who blushed.
Peggy then led the assault on Hydra's HQ, breaching the defences before opening the gates to allow the rest of the strike team in, smashing through the defenders, they found two gates, one leading upstairs, one leading down, Bucky took the Commandos down the stairs whilst Peggy and Howard headed further up into the castle.
"Does this seem almost too easy, especially if this is their HQ?" Nebula asked. This definitely seemed too easy.
"I get the feeling most of them will be busy with whatever plans they've got going on." Strange said.
"It usually seems to be we turn up whenever the bad guy is doing something." Peter-3 noted.
In a control room, Schmidt watched as Hydra used the Tesseract to begin opening a portal to another dimension, smiling as the portal opened, with the Commandos, they busted through a door to find the Hydra Stomper suit suspended in the air.
"What is he doing with the Tesseract?" Loki asked, worried about what this Midgardian would try to do.
"I guess the old man was right, the suit is indestructible." Tony remarked.
Peggy and Howard debated which direction to go when they heard noise and noticed lights up some stairs, heading up it, they came across the portal, a mass of tentacles coming through it, as Schmidt declared "The Champion of Hydra has risen!", noticing Peggy, he taunted her that she was too late, before the tentacles attacked, sending him and some of his men flying from their viewing platform, the tentacles grabbing Schmidt and crushing him under them, killing the Red Skull. Peggy stated they needed a plan.
"I'd say the way with the lights and noise is where the horror is happening, so it's where they'd find Schmidt." Bucky deadpanned.
"Is that a tentacle monster?" Ned asked, stunned.
"Oh god, Hentai is happening, isn't it?" Abe squeaked, horrified at the idea.
"I hope not." Wong said.
"I'm not sure whether I'm glad the thing instantly killed Schmidt or scared as it's a massive threat." Clint stated.
"Definitely more scared of the alien monster." May spoke up.
Bucky remarked how the Hydra Stomper was indestructible, before spotting Steve, chained in the corner, Bucky raced over and tried to free him, Steve telling him that they needed to put him back in the Stomper. Steve got the Commandos to help him power up the Stomper again before finding out Peggy had gone upstairs, bursting through the ceiling to go help her and Howard, leaving Bucky and the others to chase after them.
"Steve's alive?!" Tony asked, shocked.
"Even skinny you won't roll over and die, will he?" Sam laughed.
"I can do this all day." Steve quipped with a small smirk.
"Damn, that thing has got some serious power, even running just on electricity now, rather than the Tesseract." Bruce marvelled.
"I'll admit, it's better than my Mark I." Tony shrugged.
Peggy fought the tentacle monster as Howard worked on the controls, eventually figuring out how to reverse the polarity, with Peggy caught in the tentacles, even with her sword stuck in the ground to try tether her, before anything else could happen, Steve burst through the floor and sliced through the tentacle holding Peggy. Howard ranted about how the Stomper was indestructible as Peggy and Steve reunited, with her telling him she had missed him every day.
"This thing's really strong, I'm glad we don't have to fight anything like that." Wanda shivered.
"I can bet Howard's happy to see you're back." Rhodey told Steve.
"I think he's just happy his invention is working so well." Steve remarked.
"No, he definitely cared for you." Tony informed him. "I bet in this universe he mourned you too."
"Like Peggy did, I see." Cindy teased at the sight of Peggy being stunned with Steve's return. Steve flushed himself.
The suit power began to drain as the Commandos arrived and attacked, as the leviathan held the doorway open, screeching and debilitating everyone bar Peggy and Steve, Steve rushed the Commandos to safety as Howard noted the machine wouldn't suck it back in any longer, Peggy charged forward, stating she would drive the beast back to hell herself.
"What is that thing?!" Wong asked.
"Some eldritch horror. It needs to be banished back to where it came from." Strange insisted.
"A true horror, something not even I'm sure about." Loki remarked.
"What does she mean, drive it back herself? She can't be serious, can she? Let Stark work on it!" Fury insisted.
Steve arrived back and attacked it again, before completely collapsing as the suit totally gave way and he collapsed to the floor. Steve scrambled from the suit and begged Peggy not too as she said she could end it.
"Is this what it felt like for Peggy and the Commandos when I crashed the Valkyrie?" Steve asked himself.
"You owe me a dance lesson!" Steve told her.
"I owed her a dance, I'd say we're even." Steve said, looking at his other self.
"Yes. Saturday night." Peggy assured him as she pushed further, Steve and Howard watching on in horror and awe as Peggy and the beast vanished, the Tesseract closing the portal behind them. Steve got to the Tesseract first and just collapsed to his knees, taking in the ruined castle and the lack of Peggy Carter.
"Where did she go? How is she going to get back?!" Betty asked.
"I think she won't be back, not for a long time." Thor said sadly.
The Tesseract was shown powering up as Peggy jumped from the portal, tentacles flying everywhere with her, as the portal closed again, she turned around to see two men stood there, one asking her to put the sword down.
"That's me and Fury!" Clint spoke up.
"I guess she isn't in Kansas anymore." Matt stated.
"Sir, That's Captain Carter!" Hawkeye told Nick Fury, stunned.
"You sound like such a fanboy." Kate teased her mentor.
"I'm their Coulson, aren't I?" Clint put his head in his hands in horror.
"Where's Steve Rogers?" Peggy asked.
"You're the first person she asked for? Aww!" Cindy cooed as Steve turned even more red.
"She was one of the first people I asked about here." Steve told them.
"The war ended almost seventy years ago." Nick told her gently, as Peggy looked stunned. "Are you going to be okay?"
"I bet it's going to be weird for her." Ned said.
"Isn't that the place I came through, before New York?" Loki asked, recognising the set up and the room.
"I think it is, real power." Fury grinned at him, baring his teeth as Loki gulped.
"Of course. We won the war." Peggy said, eyes filled with tears and voice breaking.
"At what cost?" Peter-1 whispered, thinking back to his own troubles and fights.
"Her one choice gave birth to a whole new history, and gave the multiverse a new hero. As for me, these are my stories. I observe all that transpire here, but I do not, cannot and will not interfere. For I am...The Watcher." The Watcher finished as the screen then faded to black.
"We got any more of these?" Steve asked.
"Yes, next we will see the life of Prince T'Challa of Wakanda, and what if his own life had been different. Guardians, you especially will enjoy this one." Uatu sounded mischievous as he spoke from the ceiling.