fiction | Part of the journey is the end

9. What if... The Watcher broke his oath?

Steve and Bucky rolled their eyes.

"Based on the stories Jarvis used to tell me, he and Peggy went a little crazy on their adventures," said Tony.

Peggy landed on the ship and took down the pirates with her shield.

Steve didn't think he'd ever get tired of seeing Captain Carter taking down people like they weighed nothing.

"I thought you were more than just a shield," said Batroc.

"Where'd Captain Carter's sword go? That was pretty cool," Scott said, awed.

Peggy put the shield on her back. "I'm a pretty good dancer, too."

Steve smiled sadly.

The two started to fight. "Whoa! Are you seeing that?" Peggy asked, pointing at the Watcher in the sky. "Captain Carter, the soldier lost in time, you have been chosen," he said.

Everyone burst into a wide grin at seeing the Watcher.

"The Watcher's building a team," said Bruce.

"Captain Carter's a good pick," Steve said proudly.

"I hope this works out," said Peter.

"It has to," T'Challa said firmly.

The Ravagers' ships attacked the Dairy Queen where Quill worked and where the Expansion was taking place in Missouri, 2008.

"Are the Ravagers coming to help my variant? I thought he was a goner," Quill said.

"I'm fine as long as we don't see Good Thanos again," Rocket said.

"None of us want to see Good Thanos again," Thor replied.

"What the hell is that?" Rhodey said, pointing at the Expansion.

"The Expansion," Gamora answered. "Ego wanted to conquer and assimilate the universe into new extensions of his consciousness. He wasn't powerful enough to do it alone, which is why he searched for one of his many offspring to see if they made had the Celestial gene. Peter did."

T'Challa raised a brow. "Is that why you thought we might be brothers?" he asked Quill, who turned a funny shade of pink.

"Yeah."

Quill was screaming in pain as Ego took his Celestial powers inside the Dairy Queen. "Oh, come on. Relax, son. It'll all be over in a thousand years or so," Ego said.

All of them winced. "That looks extremely painful," T'Challa said, concerned.

Quill ran a hand down his face. "Worse father ever."

A couple of them thought their own fathers could give Ego a run for his money, but at least their fathers hadn't given their mothers brain cancer.

Star-Lord T'Challa burst in, grabbed Quill, and blew up Ego.

Quill felt a twinge of jealousy at seeing Star-Lord T'Challa save the day. The Guardians were glad Other Quill was okay, even though he was slightly useless.

"At least he's alright," said Gamora.

T'Challa put Quill on the ground and told him to leave the fight to them.

"Man, Other Me is so useless. He can't even shoot a blaster properly," Quill complained.

"Other you may not know how to, but you do. And you've saved the galaxy multiple times," T'Challa said. "You may have taken a different route than my variant, but it's not any less heroic."