AN: YAY! 200 chapters. The next volume will be the final volume of this story. And I'll take the week off to stockup. See you all on Sunday.
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[Horizon Island]
With Doom and Apocalypse erased from existence, Tony went straight to the main base.
He activated the highest level of security and surveillance around the island and then went straight to his workshop. The Infinity Gems were sealed in isolated spatial pockets, each one wrapped in redundancies, counter-redundancies, and paranoia layered like armor. But he needed something to harness the power of the Gems and plans to counter the power of the Gems, should they fall into the wrong hands.
While Stark built safeguards for the universe, someone had to clean up the mess Doom left behind.
That job fell to the Ultimates.
Doom's death had consequences. His technomagic web unraveled the moment his heart stopped beating and the hidden things became visible again. His Superior Avengers were no longer invisible.
Natasha found their location with ease. So, she sent the team to capture them or kill them if necessary. And she stayed behind due to her pregnancy.
[The Caribbean Island]
The island looked like paradise from orbit. White sand, clear water, palm trees swaying lazily in the breeze...
...Oh, and it was also armed to the teeth.
Doom's surviving enforcers had dug in fast after his death. Without his technomagic shielding them, they had turned the island into a fortress. Vibranium barriers jutted from the sand. Cloaked turrets tracked the sky. Energy mines pulsed beneath shallow water.
Thanks to the stealth mode, they didn't detect the jet above them.
"Ha! Advance technology. Lets blow them up," Yelena said in excitement.
T'Challa stood at the front of the jet, arms folded, eyes focused. "They are cornered," he said. "That makes them dangerous."
Johnny cracked his knuckles, fire already flickering under his skin. "Good. I was hoping for a workout."
Ben grunted. He was in his rock form. "Just point me at the biggest thing."
Janet checked the scanner. "Getting lots of activities on the ground. They even have robots."
Sue activated her nanite suit. "Alright. Suit up." She looked at Wanda. "Can you kindly zap these machines down there? Oh, and try to keep your strength in check unless necessary. The team needs to let out some steam."
Wanda simply cracked her knuckles and closed her eyes, focusing on the island below. Then a pulse of crimson magic emerged from her and swept over the island.
Reality flinched.
Across the island, Doom's last toys simply stopped existing. Turrets flickered and vanished, Vibranium barricades unraveled into harmless grains of sand, mines dissolved mid-pulse, their energy bleeding away into nothing. Cloaking fields collapsed with soft sighs instead of explosions. Even the hidden drones buried beneath the treeline blinked out, leaving only empty craters where advanced machinery had once been.
Palm trees swayed. Waves rolled in.
Paradise again.
Wanda opened her eyes and brushed imaginary dust from her fingers. "All done. I'll keep a lookout from here. You all have fun."
Johnny activated the teleporter.
Blue-white light wrapped around the Ultimates.
They appeared on the beach in a tight formation, boots sinking slightly into warm sand. The silence lasted exactly two seconds.
Then Abomination roared.
He burst from the treeline like a living battering ram, sand and foliage exploding outward as his massive feet slammed into the beach. His eyes locked onto Ben Grimm with immediate, animal recognition.
"Rock man," Abomination snarled. "You're mine."
Ben rolled his shoulders, stone plates grinding together. "Yeah. Figured you'd say that."
They charged.
The impact sounded like a building collapsing. Sand erupted in a shockwave as the two titans collided. Ben dug his heels in and drove a punch into Abomination's ribs. The counterpunch caught Ben across the jaw and sent him skidding backward through the sand, carving a trench before he stopped.
Johnny ignited with a whoosh of flame and shot skyward. Heat rippled off him as he arced over the battlefield. Below, Sue raised her hands and an invisible force snapped into place around the team.
Quicksilver blurred into motion.
He appeared behind Janet first, hand snapping out. She vanished instantly, shrinking to the size of a pinhead as his strike sliced through empty air. She reappeared on his shoulder a heartbeat later and delivered a focused bio-electric sting straight into his neck.
Quicksilver stumbled, fast but not immune.
"How the hell did that bug...!" he hissed, shaking it off as Janet zipped away again.
'Hahaha! Moron,' Janet buzzed around. 'The new upgrades can now counter speedsters. I'm gonna zap the shit out of you.'
Ghost phased up through the space and suddenly appeared near Sue, her form flickering. She reached for Sue's throat, fingers passing halfway through before Sue reacted. A sudden invisible wall slammed into Ghost's chest and sent her flying backward into a palm tree hard enough to snap it.
Sue didn't look rattled. She stepped forward. "We also have a Ghost of our own and if you are in a similar situation as he was in before, then you are dying. Your body is breaking down, and if you don't do anything soon... You'll die."
Ghost stood up, still flickering.
"There is no cure," She said, her voice was like static.
"Maybe not in your reality, but we have a cure. Doom must have promised you a cure for helping him, right?" Sue stopped before her as she lowered her shield.
"Even his magic didn't work. He told me that only the Infinity Gems can save me. But you are telling me to believe that you have a cure...? You can save me from this pain?" Ghost asked as she took off her mask and looked into Sue's eyes.
Sue nodded. "Yes. I can save you. I know it's hard to believe. I've heard from our Ghost that every flicker causes intense pain... and... and I can't imagine the pain you are going through." She extended her hand toward her. "Come with me."
Ghost looked up at the sky. She noticed the black jet.
"Nothing is free, no matter the world. What do you want for the cure?" She asked.
"Depends on what you want to do after getting cured. You want to live peacefully? I'll help you get a stable job and a house. You want to use your power for something good? Become a hero. But that's a long shot. So, go up there," Sue said, pointing at the jet, "and wait for us."
"You are a weird one," Ghost said before she phased through the space and went straight inside the jet. She simply sat down and sighed.
Down on the island...
Killmonger came at Yelena from the side, vibranium suit flowing over his body as kinetic energy built with every step. Yelena intercepted him mid-charge, nanites racing over her limbs as twin plasma blades snapped into existence.
Their clash was fast and brutal.
Killmonger fought like a soldier who expected to die but planned to take someone with him. Yelena fought like someone who had trained her entire life to survive monsters exactly like him. Plasma met vibranium. Sparks screamed into the air. Killmonger redirected her momentum and slammed her into the sand, but Yelena rolled, sprang up, and drove an armored knee into his chest.
Elsa Bloodstone fired from the treeline.
Explosive rounds tore through the air toward Johnny. He twisted mid-flight, flames flaring brighter as the bullets detonated behind him in harmless bursts. He angled downward and unleashed a focused fire stream that turned the sand around Elsa into molten glass.
She dove clear, came up firing again, and shouted, "Still standing, flame boy."
Johnny grinned, heat intensifying. "I like a woman with confidence."
Ben and Abomination were still at it.
Abomination grabbed Ben by the arm and tried to lift him. Ben planted his feet and headbutted him square in the face. The sound echoed across the island. Abomination reeled, snarling, then wrapped both arms around Ben and tried to crush him.
Ben growled through clenched teeth. "Buddy. That won't work."
He broke the hold and slammed Abomination into the ground hard enough to crack bedrock beneath the sand.
Quicksilver recovered and made a beeline for Sue, moving faster now, angrier. Sue anticipated him with ease since she already trained enough with Pietro. She shaped the air itself, creating a tight, invisible corridor. Quicksilver hit it at full speed and bounced, tumbling end over end until Janet appeared above him at full size and dropped straight onto his chest.
The impact knocked the wind out of him.
Yelena beat the shit out of Killmonger and then fired an energy blast point-blank, sending him flying across the beach, suit absorbing the worst of it, but not all. He groaned and recovered quickly, only to notice T'Challa.
"T'Challa... Hahahaha!" Killmonger laughed.
He charged T'Challa like a missile, laughter spilling from his throat as kinetic energy rolled across his vibranium suit in visible ripples. Sand kicked up behind him with every step. He threw a straight punch aimed straight at the heart.
T'Challa did not retreat.
He stepped forward instead.
The moment Killmonger entered striking range, T'Challa shifted his stance and caught the blow on his forearm. Vibranium met vibranium with a deep, resonant boom that echoed across the beach. The shockwave flattened sand in a wide circle and rattled palm trees down to their roots.
Killmonger snarled. "I've killed the Black Panther of my world. Now, I get to kill another version of you. I'm gonna enjoy ripping you apart."
T'Challa twisted, redirecting the stored kinetic energy downward. The sand beneath Killmonger's feet exploded upward, robbing him of balance. T'Challa followed with a precise strike to the chest, claws flaring briefly as he discharged the excess force.
Killmonger flew backward, skidding across the beach before flipping to his feet in one smooth motion.
"You talk too much," T'Challa said.
Killmonger lunged again, faster this time, suit glowing brighter as it absorbed every vibration, every impact from the battlefield itself. T'Challa met him head-on. Their blows became a blur of motion and sound, claws flashing, fists colliding, each impact sharp enough to crack the air.
Neither yielded ground.
Nearby, the fight continued to unravel.
Ben lifted Abomination by the shoulders and drove him headfirst into the sand. Abomination roared and responded by hammering both fists into Ben's torso, cracking stone plates and forcing Ben back a step. Ben wiped grit from his mouth and grinned.
"Still standing," he said. "You?"
Abomination answered with another charge. Ben met him halfway. This time, Ben wrapped his arms around Abomination's waist, heaved, and slammed him down with everything he had. The impact sent a tremor through the island. Abomination tried to rise, and Ben planted a massive foot on his chest.
"Stay down. I don't want to kill you."
Abomination spat blood and laughed. "You think this ends me?"
Ben tightened the pressure. "I think it ends the fight."
On the opposite side of the beach, Johnny Storm streaked low over the sand, flames roaring as he banked hard to avoid another explosive round from Elsa Bloodstone. The shot detonated behind him, spraying molten sand into the air.
Johnny twisted mid-flight and dropped sharply, landing in a crouch not far from Elsa. Heat radiated off him in shimmering waves.
"You really do not quit," Johnny said.
Elsa smirked, reloading without breaking eye contact. "Occupational hazard."
Johnny raised a hand. Fire gathered, denser and brighter than before. "Last chance."
Elsa fired.
Johnny released his blast.
The explosion of heat swallowed the treeline in a controlled inferno. Elsa dove behind cover, but the flames chased her, forcing her out into the open. Sue reacted instantly. An invisible wall snapped into place, cutting off Elsa's escape route.
Elsa skidded to a halt, rifle lowering as she realized she was boxed in.
"Well," she muttered, "that's inconvenient."
Sue stepped closer. "Don't even think about using that weird power. It's over."
Elsa hesitated, then let the rifle fall into the sand. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Seems like it."
Quicksilver tried to move again.
He did not get far.
Janet expanded directly in front of him, timing it perfectly. He slammed into her full-size form like hitting a brick wall at high speed. The impact knocked him flat on his back. Before he could recover, Sue dropped a containment field over him.
Quicksilver thrashed, furious. "You think cages work on me?"
Janet leaned over him, hands on her hips. "Ohh... Look at you, puny prick."
Back near the shoreline, Yelena stood aside, watching as T'Challa and Killmonger circled each other.
Killmonger's breathing was heavy now. His suit glowed unevenly, struggling to regulate the kinetic energy he had stored. T'Challa's posture remained steady.
"I'll kill you, then I'll kill this world's version of me. After that, I'll rule over Wakanda as its new King," Killmonger boasted arrogantly. "After that... The world will be mine to rule. Anyone who stands in my way will die!"
T'Challa shook his head once. "Wakanda does not need rulers who burn the world to feel powerful."
Killmonger snarled and rushed him again, pouring everything into one final strike. T'Challa waited until the last possible moment. He absorbed the blow fully, suit humming as it took in the energy.
Then he released it.
The discharge hit Killmonger like a collapsing star. The vibranium suit screamed under the overload. Killmonger was hurled backward, crashing into a rocky outcrop at the edge of the beach. Stone shattered. He slid down, armor flickering, body finally still.
T'Challa approached slowly and knelt beside him. Killmonger was conscious but spent, eyes unfocused.
"It did not have to end this way," T'Challa said.
Killmonger gave a weak laugh. "It always does."
He lost consciousness.
The beach fell quiet.
Smoke drifted lazily upward. Waves rolled in as if nothing extraordinary had happened.
Sue lowered her shields. Johnny extinguished his flames and stretched. Janet shrank back down, brushing sand off her suit. Yelena removed her mask and looked around.
T'Challa stood at the center of it all, surveying the defeated remnants of Doom's legacy.
"It is over," he said.
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[1] Ch: 201 [A new era has begun...] [Exploding date with Yelena and new harem is on the way...] Ch: 203 [Terraforming Mars] Ch: 204 [The White Queen’s Mercy] Ch: 205 [Moments and Consequences] Ch: 206 [A Weapon Given a Family] Ch: 207 [Tony: 0X Upgrade] Ch: 208 [Namor: Survival Over Pride] Ch: 209 [Primordial Waters] Ch: 210 [All-Black Chooses] Ch: 211 [Thor vs Gorr: Judgment of the Necrosword]