AN: So, anyone excited for new Steven Universe this April along with all the Marvel movies releasing this year? I certainly am! Welcome one and all to Part 2 of Steven Universe Secret Wars. Lives will be put at risk, friendships tested, and despised enemies become unlikely allies! It's going to be so much fun! But I'm getting bit too excited here, let's get on with the show!

Steven Universe: Secret Wars

Part 2: Battleworld

Chapter 1: Disassembled

"If I could begin to be, half of what you think of me, I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love." Loki Laufeyson, the God of Lies and half-brother of Thor Odinson, half-heartedly harmonized in his prison cell on the mothership of Thanos the Mad Titan.

It had only been a while since he failed to retrieve the Mind Stone from a little Midgardian town known as Beach City thanks to the efforts of his enemies the Avengers and their new comrades the Crystal Gems. Instead of executing him, Thanos had him locked away on his ship until further notice and now he was just biding his time. "When I see the way you act, wondering when I'm coming back, I could do about anything, I could even learn how to love like you. Love like you."

"Cease your music Frost Giant." a deep voice snarled as its owner stood before his cell. This was none other than Thanos, who had only recently finally obtained the six infamous Infinity Stones and tested it out on the Gem Homeworld and their monarchs. "Besides, you have a new cellmate."

He tossed his adopted daughter Nebula into the same cell as him and shut the door before walking away. "Wait Thanos, didn't you say you would give me a second chance?!" Loki cried clinging onto the bars. "I said no such thing Loki. But perhaps there is a chance for you to redeem yourself." Thanos stated before turning around and showing him a hodgepodge of many Gem shards merged together into one contained within an energy orb. "Are these..." the Frost Giant wondered before his master cut him off. "Yes indeed Loki, collected them from the Gem Homeworld itself. And I have an idea on how you can use them."

Meanwhile back on Earth, the alliance between the Crystal Gems, the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy continued to mourn the near-death of Steve Rogers, aka Captain America. Young Steven Universe was weeping in the arms of Tony Stark aka the invincible Iron Man. The Incredible Hulk had regressed back into his human form of Bruce Banner to comfort his teammate Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow. Hawkeye simply gave Pearl a sorrowful pat on the back. Garnet tried to keep her usual composure before breaking down and the rest just hanged their heads in shame.

"We could've stopped this. One of us could've stopped him and destroy the Gauntlet." Tony muttered letting go of the boy to look over his friend. "I know, but this is something Steve would've done. He could've sacrificed himself for the good of everyone in the universe." Pearl stated wiping her tears away. Just then, the people of Beach City began driving into town again as a large helicarrier hovered over them. A small Quinjet flew out of the aircraft and landed before the heroes. Out of the jet came two people, Nick Fury the director of S.H.I.E.L.D and his trusted confidant Maria Hill. "Garnet, Amethyst, Pearl."

"Old man Fury, is that you?" Amethyst gasped at the sight of him. "I cannot believe you're still alive either. Last I heard from you, I thought Homeworld finally caught up but look where we are." Fury stated. "I've been keeping an eye on you since the Chitauri invaded this town, right Quill?" he said gesturing toward Star-Lord. "Uh, yeah! He totally had eyes on you since then!" the space cowboy nervously chuckled. "Okay to be honest, I had no idea what was going on with him."

"Okay, what's the damage here?" Maria wondered moving toward Rogers' comatose body. "We believe Miss Hill that our friend has had a near-death experience in the hands of Thanos." Doctor Strange replied. "Believe?! We all saw it before our eyes you caped clod!" Peridot shouted catching the S.H.I.E.L.D agent's attention. "So you must be the Gem that interrupted those broadcast signals a while back." Maria said kneeling down to Peridot's height. "Kind of expected you to be taller."

"That was the old me, this is the all-new all-different Peridot!" the little green Gem snickered pridefully as a group of paramedics wheeled the out-cold captain onto the jet. "Okay everyone, time to go!" Nick called for the Avengers to get on board. "Actually, could we make a quick stop in Wakanda first? My people need me." Black Panther suggested. "Very well then. The rest of you, get on!"

One by one, Earth's mightiest heroes began to say their farewells and condolences to the Crystal Gems as they boarded the aircraft before suddenly, Amethyst started following them. "Wait, where are you going Amethyst?!" Steven cried after her. "Oh yeah, about that." the Kindergarten quartz nervously said. "After what happened with Thanos, I just feel like maybe he was right. We pretty much failed our mission so now it's time for me to find a new one."

"Amethyst, you're being irrational here! Thanos may have broken us all emotionally but that's no reason to leave Beach City!" Pearl firmly chided her shorter comrade. "I know but after what Thanos did to us, I'm pretty sure we failed in what Rose wanted us to do: protect Earth!" Amethyst shouted looking like she's about to cry. "Guys please, no need to fight." Garnet said trying to stop their argument. "Okay, you're right Amethyst. We did fail in defending the world." Pearl finally accepted. "Which is why I'm leaving too, with Doctor Strange."

"Oh, can I come with you too Amethyst?! I always wanted to see how Earth superheroes fight!" Mantis exclaimed. "Okay man, you can come." the purple Gem said. "Oh come on Mantis, you're leaving us too?!" Star-Lord complained. "We're just breaking the fellowship here, aren't we?!"

All the heroes began arguing amongst themselves except for Steven who just looked on in worry, Thor looking off into the horizon and Peridot who walked over to Lapis with a concerned look on her face. "Well at least we're still together right Lapis?" she asked her roommate, who simply didn't reply before staring at Thor. "I fear I will have to leave Midgard for a while, to search the other Eight Realms for a way to stop Thanos." the god of thunder mused to himself. His thinking suddenly caught Lapis's attention and she stepped forward next to him. "Can I come too?"

"WHAT?!" The arguing halted immediately when they heard Lapis ask Thor to accompany him. "Why did I have to open my big mouth?! Peridot screamed marching up to her. "Listen P, when I came back to Earth I was told I can be free from Homeworld if I fight them. But Thanos is on a whole other level!" Lapis explained her decision. "He could be out there somewhere wreaking havoc across the cosmos and pretty soon, Earth will be next!"

"I understand you want be as far away from Thanos as possible Lazuli, but look around." Thor stated. "Your comrades are here to support you, and always have been." Lapis smiled sadly but she had already made her decision. Walking over to Steven and Peridot, she gave them a bittersweet hug that seemed to last for quite a while. "I'm sorry you two, I promise I'll be back when this all blows over." Letting them go, she moved to Odinson's side and shook her head in confirmation. "Verily then." Thor said before raising Mjolnir skyward. "HEIMDALL, OPEN THE BIFROST!"

With that, a bright ray of rainbow light crashed down on the duo and when it disappeared, only an Asgardian symbol was left ingrained in the sand. After more silence, Peridot tip-toed towards it before dropping to her knees in tears. "I just got you back Lapis! Why do you have to leave me again so soon!" Steven moved to his green friend's side and gave her a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Oh dang, sorry about Lapis Dot." Rocket apologized putting his paw on the other shoulder. "But hey, least it can't get any worse!"

"Well, guess it's decided then." Tony finally stated. "Avengers, disassemble." It was finally settled, this ultimate alliance between the Crystal Gems, the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy was no more.

He, Banner, Romanoff, Barton, Mantis, Peter, Danvers, T'Challa, Hank & Janet began boarding the Quinjet away from Beach City back to New York while Pearl & Amethyst hugged their young teammate farewell. "No matter how far away we all are Steven, we'll always love you." the former servant said before she left with Strange through a portal while Amethyst became the last to board the jet and it took off, leaving Steven, Garnet, Peridot and the Guardians sans Mantis behind in front of the temple. Then Steven turned to Garnet. "You're not going to leave here too, right?"

"Of course I won't Steven, you know I would never abandon Beach City." the fusion confirmed kissing him on the forehead. "I'm gonna go back to the barn to check up on Pumpkin. I'll see you later." Peridot said her own goodbyes walking into the beach house and disappearing on the warp pad. "And we're gonna follow her just to be safe." Star-Lord added boarding the Milano. "Farewell young Steven, until our paths cross once more." Drax said while the rest followed suit.

"He was right, it did get worse!" Peridot sobbed looking upon what was once their barnhouse home, now in complete shambles. "Why is it that bad things mostly happen to me?!" Just then, she heard an excited yip that could only belong to Pumpkin. "Pumpkin, oh thank the stars you're still alive!" she cried as the orange canine rushed into her arms before an Outrider popped out of nowhere and swiped at the two, only to be immediately killed by Yondu's arrow. "Damned Outriders, this must be their handiwork."

"I am terribly sorry about what happened to the barn Peridot, we promise we can fix it." Gamora said kneeling down to the renegade technician's height. "Looks like we're gonna need tons of duct tape for this." Rocket commented trying to fit two pieces of wood together. "I am Groot." Groot said. "Of course they can fit together you ninny, I just need duct tape!"

"Hey Connie, really sorry about what happened. I just didn't want Thanos to kill you like he did to all those innocent people in the past." Steven spoke as he texted Connie on his phone. "I don't mind if you get mad at me again, I'm pretty mad at myself either. Please text back soon." Putting down his device, he let out a deep sigh and lied down on his bed to contemplate what has happened over the past few days.

On one hand, he was ecstatic to meet and fight with some of his favorite heroes, go into space again, meet the Guardians of the Galaxy again and go on a universe-spanning treasure hunt. But on the other, his home planet was once again put at stake and while they did manage to convince Thanos to leave it alone for now, it came at a great cost. Captain America was nearly rendered dead by the Mad Titan and the Crystal Gems were split apart after what he had told them. Amethyst became an Avenger, Pearl left with Doctor Strange and Lapis had once again abandoned Earth to travel with Thor.

Now he, Garnet, Peridot and Connie were the only members to remain in Beach City after the battle, but from what he heard the barn was destroyed by the Outriders and the Guardians elected to stay on Earth to help fix it.

He thought for a few more minutes before finally closing his eyes to take a nap. When he opened them, he found himself in a black void with he himself as its only inhabitant. Or so he thought.

"Salutations little Universe." the all-too familiar voice of Thanos greeted him. Recoiling in fear, Steven summoned his shield ready for another fight before the titan halted him. "I am not here for a rematch child. Rather, I am becoming intrigued by your abilities, specifically on how you can enter my dreams."

"Wait, what?" the half-Gem boy stuttered lowering his defenses. "Why do you say that? Do you want me to join you?!" he wondered. "No Steven. I simply want to talk. I have been thinking lately and it seems the Amethyst was right about us, we're two sides of the same coin."

With a wave of his hand, the tyrant created astral projections of both the boy's loved ones and those who feared Thanos. "You claim to be a kind-hearted loving mortal adored by your peers but I am an all-powerful war-mongerer bent on balancing the universe that is both feared and despised by all." Snapping his fingers, Thanos caused the projections to disappear. "We both have powers that are considered amazing by the human eye, but you use yours to treat others with kindness but mine are used to destroy." To demonstrate, Thanos created an entire planet out of nothing only to obliterate it. "Okay you're right about those, but you're just so...mean!" Steven rebuked. "You hurt my friends, you hurt all these people across the cosmos, and you even hurt your own people as well."

"So you think I'm "mean" child?" the dark lord wondered bending down to meet Steven's gaze. "You may think that all you want, but it seems you aren't any different." He produced more images, that being of three Gems whom Steven wanted to help but they refused. "The mighty Jasper who's mind was corrupted by vengeance." He gestured to the image of Jasper's corruption at the Beta Kindergarten, specifically her last words revealing her former allegiance to the late Pink Diamond. "My Diamond! Your Diamond! PINK DIAMOND!"

"The fanatical rebel who simply wanted to free her people." Thanos made the image of Jasper disappear and pointed to Steven accidentally poofing Bismuth with her weapon the Breaking Point. "Then you really are better than her." the blacksmith chuckled before her physical form finally vanished leaving only her gemstone. "And the soldier hungry for honor." Finally, there was the projection of the Eyeball Ruby being tossed out of Steven's bubble and into the black void of space. "They simply wanted to see their dreams come into fruition only for you to get in their way."

"But why are you like this? Why do you only want to destroy?" the son of Rose asked. "I'm glad you asked young one. Allow me to regale you my origin story." Thanos then conjured up another image, this one of himself when he was young and then an entire city surrounding them. This city looked rather similar to the city on Titan, only it was more glimmering and pristine. "I was born the son of the Titans A'Lars and Sui-San along with my brother Eros."

As he spoke, he produced a few more images, this time of three humanoid beings similar to him. One had long white hair with green robes, the second was a woman with black hair and finally a young man with red hair clad in a red-and-white bodysuit with a leather jacket. "I was ostracized for a certain genetic deformity that made me resemble my race's sworn enemies, my father was barely around and my mother tried to slaughter me when I was born. My life was like Hell whilst my brother was adored by all."

"So you just wanted a friend? Maybe I can help you find one." Steven said. "I know quite a few people who would really enjoy your company." He was suddenly interrupted by the Titan with a roar. "No, I didn't want a friend! Let me finish." He continued on with his backstory. "When Titan was faced with a catastrophe that could destroy the planet, I proposed on an idea that could save us all. But they rejected it because it would be far too drastic. Once again dismissed, I eventually learned that the only way to save Titan was to destroy it. And that's when I met her."

The scenery then changed to an altar in a desolate realm where a woman dressed in black robes stood, her back facing an approaching Thanos. "I know the name of every soul that ever lived, died and ever will. Yet I do not know yours mortal. Explain."

"Greetings Mistress Death, I am Thanos of the planet Titan and I seek your assistance." Thanos greeted with a cordial bow. "My people are being faced with a world-ending crisis and my idea on how to survive it has been rejected so I seek advice. Please, I beg of you." he stated. "That reminds me of a problem of my own I've been facing." Lady Death declared. "I fear that this universe is growing far too much and that half of it needs to go. Would you be willing to help me carry this out?"

"And so, I made a deal with Death that in exchange for me wiping out half of the universe, she would become my bride. And wipe out I did." Thanos declared erasing the images. "I had slaughtered and enslaved billions all for her love, but as time moved on she refused to pay attention to me. That was when I decided to search for the legendary Infinity Stones and here we are now."

"So it's all because you love someone that just doesn't care?" the boy wondered. "Indeed so Steven, but I will succeed one day. When I'm done, half of the universe will still exist." the dark lord declared. "The only difference is that remaining half will be under my control and you all will be powerless to stop me. Make of that what you will and we shall meet again someday."

Steven finally woke up from his dream to find Garnet shaking him awake. "Steven, are you all right?!" the fusion cried before noticing that the boy finally opened his eyes. "Oh thank goodness you're awake. What happened?"

"I had a nightmare. Thanos was in it." Steven explained. "He told me about how he wanted to impress this Death person by killing half of all life in the universe." This statement alone was enough to send shivers down Garnet's spine as she began quaking in her boots. "Thanos! What does he want with Steven?!" she muttered to herself, no doubt it was a representation of Ruby and Sapphire panicking. "He obviously wants to control him! Why did the others have to leave when he could attack at any moment! Please calm down Ruby! How can I calm down when-"

Suddenly, Garnet finally defused into the smaller Gems, with Ruby nervously pacing around and Sapphire sitting quietly contemplating the situation. "Ruby, Sapphire, what's wrong guys?!" the boy cried trying to console his two guardians. "It's nothing Steven, just stress. It's actually been happening a lot lately." Sapphire stated as her hands fidgeted.

"Thanos could still be out there, he might actually go back on his promise and attack Earth!" Ruby fretted before the two put a stop to her. "Things would be so much better with the others around." the red Gem finally sighed before embracing the two. "I wonder how they're doing."

New York City. The Big Apple, the City That Never Sleeps, the home of Earth's Mightiest Heroes.

The glimmering beacon of dreams rests on the coast of New York and within it, Manhattan. This part of the state is home to some of the world's most famous superheroes such as the Defenders, the Fantastic Four, the X-Men and especially the Avengers.

Within their mansion headquarters that formerly belonged to Howard Stark, their newest member Amethyst let loose in the training room, taking out holograms of villains such as Whiplash, Attuma, Ulysses Klaw, Taskmaster, Baron Zemo and Graviton. "ZOO-WEE-MAMA, WHAT HAVE I BEEN MISSING?!" she screamed knocking down the hologram of Whiplash before tying down Taskmaster. Just then, an entire army of training robots resembling the villain Ultron came into view chanting "Ultron intelligence online." This alone got the small Gem even more excited. "Your mom is online ya trash cans!"

Amethyst curled up into a ball and speeded right into the Ultron dummies, knocking them all down like bowling pins. "Training simulation complete. Well done Amethyst." a female mechanical voice congratulated her as she walked out of the training room. "Hey thanks Jocasta, that was just amazing!"

Ever since the original Avengers disassembled, a new team led by Captain Marvel had been formed consisting of Amethyst, Mantis, Black Widow, She-Hulk, Vision, Falcon and War Machine. Clint had returned home to his family, Bruce was assigned to try & help Steve and Tony was desperately searching for a way to stop Thanos. Now it was just them protecting the city from evil. Many of the reserve Avengers had already received word of the battle from Spidey, Hank & Janet and were equally heartbroken.

"Very good there Amethyst, you have quite the fighting spirit." Vision congratulated her. "Kind of reminds me of Pietro. Makes me wonder how he and Wanda are doing back in Sokovia."

Just then, mechanical doors opened and Captain Marvel walked out from behind them. "TEN-HUT!" she shouted like a military commander forcing everyone in the room to line up beside her. "Good show today everyone, but let's not forget why we're all here today." Carol explained. "There have been rumors that HYDRA is planning another attack. We don't know their precise target but rest assured we have to be on patrol at all times until they make an appearance. Okay Avengers, move out!"

The other members followed her commands and prepared for an eventual fight with Hydra while Amethyst was left by herself. Then Falcon walked up from behind her. "Hey Amy, what's up?" he asked. "It's nothing Sam, just that I'm happy being an Avenger and New York is awesome, but I really miss Beach City, Steven and the other Gems."

"Hey, I know where you're coming from. We're all still grievin' what happened to Steve so much that aside from the original six, everyone else like Pete, Hank & Janet and Kamala went solo, the Maximoffs went back to Sokovia and I don't know what Wolverine is up to!" Sam said. "Probably off brooding in some other part of the world."

And brooding in another part of the world Wolverine was. After word got out of Captain America's fate, the reserve Avengers also separated, with the mutant returning to traveling the world. A particularly famous destination of his was Asia, but this time he was traversing through a forest in Korea. "That DeMayo owes me big time." he snarled pushing more greenery out of the way until he heard a rather low, somber voice. "You would not believe what has happened Pink." the voice said. "Thanos has finally defeated us. Our home was lost, every last Gem except for me, Yellow and our Pearls shattered. I don't even know what to do anymore."

"Oh damn, who's this big lady?" Logan wondered trying to get a better view of the owner of the voice. Upon further inspection, he discovered a large figure dressed in a dark blue cloak along with a much smaller female that bared a striking resemblance to Pearl in front of some pink object. "I truly do miss you Pink, I just wish things hadn't turned out so terribly."

"My Diamond, I think I can see something." her Pearl stated looking around before spotting Wolverine trying to hide from them. "What is it Pearl?" the giant wondered. "Okay, you got me bub." Logan said finally revealing himself to the two. "It's another human my Diamond, though it looks rather peculiar." the Pearl explained. "Okay listen here Alice, I ain't just a human. I'm a mutant." the savage Canadian declared popping out his claws for them to see. "A mutant?! I haven't seen one of those in centuries!"

"So I guess you have heard of us." James stated retracting his Adamantium claws before staring at the pink object before them. "So what the hell is this ol' thing?" he asked pounding on it. "Please be careful there mutant!" the giant woman cautioned him. "This is the palanquin of a very good friend of mine, but she unfortunately was killed so many centuries back." she said remorsefully. "Hey, I know how ya feel babe." Wolverine sympathized with her. "I've been alive since the nineteenth century and I've lost so many people throughout my life. My dad, my boyhood friend and God knows how much more."

Suddenly, a portal appeared before the trio and out of it came Thanos, turning his head to examine Korea's environment before glaring at Blue Diamond. Behind him was one of his loyal minions Corvus Glaive who immediately stabbed Wolverine in the torso with his namesake weapon before tossing him away. "Blue Diamond, why are you here when you can be bowing before me?" the Titan asked. "For the last time Thanos, I will never obey you!" the Diamond shouted glaring daggers at him. "You may have destroyed my planet, shattered most of my kind and enslaved me & my sister, but I refuse to listen to your demands!"

"Do you know just who I am?" Thanos boomed as Wolverine tried to get up from being attack by Glaive. "I am Thanos the Mad Titan, destroyer of worlds, conquerer of all, servant to Death itself and I command your respect or face oblivion." He then turned to the fallen palanquin. "And what could this be?" Thanos asked staring at it." That is Pink Diamond's palanquin, one of the remains of her legacy." Blue Diamond answered in a fretful tone. "Whatever you do, please don't touch it!"

Thanos simply rolled his eyes and with a snap of his fingers, destroyed the palanquin in a fiery explosion much to the Homeworld monarch's terror. "You said I shouldn't touch it." he reiterated with a wry smirk. "Now come, we have much to do." Blue then remorsefully followed him back into the portal with her Pearl following behind and it suddenly vanished.

Logan finally arose from his fall to see just what had happened. The palanquin that giant blue lady treasured so much was now a smoldering wreck thanks to Thanos. Now it was up to him to find Steven and warn him of what's to come as he raced away.

"Hey Steven, I got your texts. I'm not mad at you like what happened last time, I'm just super worried." Connie spoke typing a reply message to Steven on her phone. "Worried that this Thanos might come back. The Avengers & Guardians spoke about how powerful he can be. Hope we can talk again someday."

Putting her phone down, Connie sighed to think about what had happened over the past few days. From what she had heard earlier, Thanos could have the power to wipe out everything with a literal snap of his fingers and has been seeking the Infinity Stones for centuries. She knew Steven did the right thing by leaving her out of it because Thanos would be sadistic enough to kill her to provoke him, but she still wanted to protect the universe she lived in alongside him.

Just then her mother came in. "Is everything all right Connie?" she asked. "I'm fine Mom, I've just been thinking lately." Connie answered. "Steven wanted me to stay behind while he helped out the Avengers and now look what happened! The Crystal Gems have now separated because they lost their friend and think they failed to protect Earth! It's things like these that make me scared to lose him because well, he's my best friend."

"I know you're nervous Connie, but you know they'll find a way eventually." Connie's mother assured her. "Priyanka, can you come down for a bit?!" her husband called her from downstairs. "I'll be with you in a bit Doug!" She hugged her daughter and walked downstairs. "That guy is still out there. Wonder what he's up to?" Doug asked peering out the window to spy on a man dressed in a black hoodie just standing outside their house. "I think it's best we pay no mind to him. That way he can leave us be."

The man turned away from the Maheswarans' residence to talk to himself. "That Connie might be of use to us." the man said stroking his chin before walking away.

"Cherry man." Tony Stark mumbled sadly as he tried to work on a way to defeat Thanos. Out of all the Avengers, Steve's fate hit him the hardest. Although they butted heads a lot, they were still close friends and an unstoppable team. But now with the team disassembled, he had now secluded himself to his lab building armors and drinking. "Wonder how the others are doing?"

"Mr. Stark, Ms. Potts found Amethyst looting through your belongings." J.A.R.V.I.S said to him before a disgruntled Pepper walked in dragging a drunken Amethyst along. "Can you explain what she was doing in your bar?" she said tossing the wasted Gem to his side. "Whoa, talk about a demon in a bottle here!" Amethyst slurred cradling a wine bottle before collapsing flat on her face. "Oh good grief Amethyst," Tony groaned smacking his face. "if you want to puke don't lose it all over me, or Pepper, or my stuff. Y'know what, don't barf all over anything."

Amethyst then immediately retched into a nearby trashbin before her vomit was gathered up in a plastic trash bag by a mechanical arm and tossed into an incinerator. "Thanks Dum-E." Tony thanked the arm before returning to his work. "So what brings you here?" he asked the former Crystal Gem. "I just wanted to check up on you while me and the other new Avengers are out searching for HYDRA." she replied trying her best to smile at him. "We're buddies right?"

"Okay, kinda. We barely had some time to chat while we were searching for those stones. Now can you hand me a wrench?" The Quartz complied picking up the tool and tossing it to the inventor. "Listen Tony, I know you're super depressed over what happened to Steve, but Amethyst is as saddened about it as you." Pepper tried to convince him to talk with Amethyst about their loss before they were disturbed by Amethyst's Avengers ID beeping. "Hang on guys, gotta take this! Go Jenny!"

"Amethyst, we found HYDRA! We're at Times Square, get there post-haste!" She-Hulk cried before the transmission ended. "Hate to come and run so soon guys, but duty calls!" the purple Gem exclaimed before spindashing out of Stark's lab and into the city streets. "Sometimes I wonder just what is up with her." Tony said.

"Search this entire location men, I've been hearing of Gem activity around here!" the Red Skull commanded to his militia while they had the famous Times Square occupied. Along with him were some of HYDRA's other leaders, Baron von Strucker, Arnim Zola, Baron Zemo and Madame Hydra.

Meanwhile, the new Avengers charged into battle. Captain Marvel and Vision flew in first before being joined by Falcon & War Machine, followed by Black Widow on a motorbike, She-Hulk, Mantis and finally Amethyst. "Alright team, you know what to do!" Carol commanded activating her Binary powers making her hair stand up and a mask form around her head. "Mighty Avengers, assemble!"

"Hey guys, need a little help?" Spider-Man offered swinging into battle. "More than ever Pete!" Amethyst responded smashing into a HYDRA soldier before finally stopping in place. "Hey Tomatohead, over here!" she called insulting the Red Skull. "YOU!" the terrorist screamed turning to point at Amethyst. "You're the same purple midget that humiliated me seventy-one years ago! Men, destroy that foolish fraulein!"

The HYDRA soldiers began firing at Amethyst but luckily for her, she dodged them all and tied most of them down with her whips. "Get 'em gang!" she called to the other heroes and they charged into battle. Spidey kept the citizens safe by forming large web barriers that the terrorists' ammo bounced off of. Mantis put another platoon to sleep with her psychic abilities leaving them distracted long enough for She-Hulk to beat them up. "This one I like for her style!" the jolly jade giantess complimented the alien woman. "Thank you my friend."

"Airships at 11 gang!" Rhodey called firing at HYDRA jets with the machine gun on his armor. "Already on it bud!" Danvers responded charging at the Terror-Carrier deploying them. Screaming as loud as she can, she pierced straight through the aircraft in a single strike causing it to crash into the Hudson River.

"What are you idiots doing?! Get up and keep fighting!" Schmidt commanded getting more furious before he noticed Zemo and Ophelia preparing to leave by helicopter. "Where are you two going?" he shouted to the two. "Helmut and I have decided to take our leave Johann. We think it's best to leave you with your obsession with minerals." Sarkissian stated. "And we're leaving behind Zola and Strucker to take the fall for us." Zemo added before they were suddenly cornered by Vision who knocked them out with a blast from his solar gem.

"I can't believe it, being made a fool out of again!" Skull complained to his two remaining partners. "Viper might be right Skull, you are taking your obsession with these Gems a bit too far." Arnim commented before his screen was suddenly broken by Natasha. "They are right, we should leave immediately!" Strucker exclaimed trying to escape before he was tackled by Amethyst's Purple Puma form. "You fools may have decimated my army and my dignity, but you'll never take yours truly!" Red Skull shouted. "Prepare for judgement!"

Suddenly, he made a large suit of armor rise up from behind him and hopped inside of it, preparing to finish this once and for all. "Must be his new project, a battle armor based off of Tony Stark's designs made to combat rather large threats." Vision exposited. "Large threats, eh?" Carol cracked her knuckles. "Let's see if he can handle this!"

The captain grabbed a webline from Peter and spun him around like an Olympic hammer. Parker then grabbed Amethyst by her whip and their combined strength was enough to graze the Skull's battle armor. "Woo, that was nuts!" Amethyst cried. "This had gone on long enough fools, I've had enough!" the HYDRA leader screamed preparing to stomp on the Gem and shatter her before an electric shock was spread around the suit's systems, blowing it up and knocking him down for good. "Okay, which one of you was that?" Peter asked. "I'm guessing it was you Vis."

"I do not think it was any of us Peter. By the way, thank you for your assistance." the android thanked the webslinger before he swung off, leaving the Mighty Avengers alone. "Well whoever it was, we should give them our thanks too." Carol stated flying off. "Avengers, let's head back to base."

The crew followed their flying leader while someone in the distance spied on them. The man wore a black outfit with a matching vest, had long brown hair and a mask on but his most unusual feature was a metallic left arm with a red star on it. The man pulled out of his vest pocket and in it was a picture of Bucky Barnes and Captain America. "That one was for you old friend." he muttered sticking the photo back in his vest. "I'll be with you til the end of the line."

On Bleecker Street in Greenwich Village rested a three-story Victorian-style townhouse with a rather distinctive window on its roof. This was the Sanctum Sanctorum, home and headquarters of Doctor Stephen Strange, the Sorcerer Supreme. This house was filled with various mystical whosits and whatsits galore from throughout the ages and many a hero have visited here to seek guidance for magical problems.

Sitting down in the living room, the doctor and his new guest Pearl were discussing Sherlock Holmes over some tea while examining the damage caused by Thanos. "You know, I've actually met Sir Arthur Conan Doyle myself and I still can't figure out just how he made Holmes so intelligent." Pearl commented. "Indeed, Sherlock is quite the brainy character." Strange responded. "But we're getting ahead of ourselves, let's see how much havoc Thanos has wreaked across the cosmos."

Using his magic powers, Strange created an image of various planets that were left in ruins by the Mad Titan. "Let's see what we have here." he said. "Klyntar, home of the Symbiotes. Our empowered community has actually had a run-in with these creatures, mostly Spider-Man." Stephen explained. "Sakaar, ruled by the Red King. Mr. Banner actually found himself there once and when he came back to Earth, he wasn't happy."

"But what about this one?" Pearl wondered pointing to one particular planet. "I think this might be of interest to you my friend." Strange stated zooming in on it to reveal various structures that were all too familiar to the white Gem.

"The Gem Homeworld, ruled by the Great Diamond Authority! Did Thanos destroy this too?!" she exclaimed beginning to cry. "I'm afraid so Pearl. I suppose you must be familiar with them?" Strange wondered. "Yes, I once served under one of the Diamonds for thousands of years until I met Rose Quartz, who taught me how to be my own Gem. They may have been evil, but they certainly didn't deserve this!"

"We understand where you're coming from Pearl." Strange's servant and teacher Wong stated sympathizing with the Gem as he refilled their tea. "We lost someone close to us as well, haven't we Stephen?" he said. "Indeed, the Ancient One was a noble woman even if she dabbled in the dark arts a bit."

"Thank you for your kindness you two." Pearl graciously thanked them. "But who knows just what Thanos could be up to now?"

In a distant corner of the universe, far off from any civilization rested a planet made up of remains from other planets decorated with tributes to Lady Death. This was Battleworld, the new kingdom of Thanos inhabited by himself, his beloved and his minions. Stepping out of a portal, Thanos, Blue Diamond and her Pearl stood before a large white palace on the planet's moon bearing sculptures of Lady Death herself. "Come my minions." the dark lord commanded the two Gems walking up the steps to enter.

Finally inside, Thanos moved toward a throne before him with Lady Death standing next to one side and the demon Mephisto next to the other. Chained to it were Nebula and Yellow Diamond's Pearl with Yellow Diamond herself towering over the throne. "Do you like what you see my beloved?" Thanos asked Death. "Are you pleased by how much I have destroyed, how many innocent souls I have wiped out all for you?"

The personification of death gave no answer as she turned her gaze away from him. Thanos immediately began looking furious as the two former Homeworld matriarchs became petrified thinking he might destroy something in a blind fury. He raised his Gauntlet-clad fist skyward only to calmly lower it, consoling himself. "I suppose she might not be interested in you my lord." Yellow suggested. "You claim that wiping out half the universe would make you her equal when in actuality, you might've become superior to her."

"You might be right Yellow Diamond," Thanos said before reclining his head on his fist to think. "but what can I do to truly win her over?" he pondered. "Here's an idea master, why don't you gather Earth's champions to fight your minions?" Yellow Pearl proposed. "Surely the bloodshed might be entertaining to her?"

After moments of contemplation, Thanos grew a wicked smile on his purple face and decided what he should do.

In Beach City, Wolverine raced through the streets of the beachside town in a desperate search for Steven, hoping to warn him of Thanos. He charged right past most of its townfolk before finally reaching the beach house and pounding on the door. "Open up kid, this is an emergency!" the mutant screamed before it finally opened. When Logan expected Steven to answer it, instead he got a short blue-skinned woman facing him. "Hello there." she politely greeted him despite the sweat staining her face. "What...the hell...are you?"

"Oh, we are terribly sorry!" another woman around the same height, this one being red, nervously apologized. "I'm Ruby, this is Sapphire and we make Garnet!" Ruby hastily grabbed Sapphire's hand and they refused back into Garnet. "Is something the matter?" the fusion asked. "I came here for the kid! He has to hear this!"

"Steven, someone's here for you!" Garnet called for Steven. "Coming Garnet!" the boy shouted racing downstairs from his bedroom to face the mutant. "Hi there Wolvy, what's up?" he asked James. "I've come from across the world to find you. Where are the others?"

"Amethyst and Pearl both left for New York, and we're the only ones left." Garnet explained sitting him down on the couch before they heard a sudden meow. Looking down, the three saw a small Calico kitten with a single blue eye looking up at them. "Oh hey Cat Steven, didn't see you there!" Steven said sitting the feline on the table before motioning Wolverine to sit down. "Didn't know you were a cat person." he commented staring at the cat. "This is my pet cat Cat Steven." Garnet said presenting her pet to him. "Oh I get it, like Cat Stevens."

"So what did you want to tell us about?" Steven asked. "It's about Thanos. He ain't done with us yet." the mutant revealed to the two Gems' horror. "I saw him in Korea chattin' it up with this big blue lady & her little friend and then he blew up this pink thing the blue lady was getting' all sad over." he explained. "Are you saying he met Blue Diamond?!" Steven cried before they felt a slight rumbling.

STEVEN UNIVERSE AND GARNET, YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!

The two Crystal Gems began disappearing into light trying to escape, but to no avail. "What's happening to us Garnet?!" Steven cried. "I don't know Steven, but whatever's happening won't be pretty!" the fusion exclaimed before reaching out to Wolverine. "Listen Logan, I want you to get help! Find Con-" Before she could finish, they completely vanished leaving only Wolverine and Cat Steven alone in the house. "Now who could she be talking about?" the mutant mused scratching his head with one of his claws before he came to a conclusion. "That's it, Connie!"

He raced outside, bursting through the door to hunt down the swordsgirl and help them save the universe.

The snowy realm of Nidavellir was one of many realms that had allied with the Allfather Odin and was home to the Dwarves, a race of master blacksmiths and their enemies the Rock Trolls. The two currently traversing the land were Odin's child Thor and his new companion Lapis Lazuli, who was getting cold from the intense chill of this realm. "Is there any way for us to get warm around here, I'm freezing!" she shivered clutching her arms. "Allow me my cerulean comrade." Thor said grabbing his own cape and tearing it off, wrapping it around Lapis like a shawl. "Thanks Thor, but what about you?"

"Oh stuff and nonsense Lapis! I know someone who can make me a new one." the prince of thunder chuckled heartily before they continued on their path. "Eitri, Eitri! It is I, Thor and I seek your assistance!" he called. "So who's this Eitri guy you're calling for?" the ocean Gem wondered following behind. "Eitri is the king of the Dwarves and one of my closest allies. He originally forged my trusted Mjolnir using a dying star, which happened to be the same object that destroyed your realm's dinosaurs."

"Wow, your stories are actually really cool!" Lapis said in awe of the Asgardian's tale. "Thank you my aquatic friend, now we proceed!" Thor shouted pointing onward before a loud rumbling sounded. "So we meet again Thor!" a voice called and its owner stomped into view. It was a large orange-skinned hairy monster clad in green armor with a mouth full of fangs. "Ulik, can't you see we are busy here?!"

"We've heard rumors you've got a Gem on your hands, and lookie what ya have here!" Ulik exclaimed leering menacingly at Lapis. "Whaddya say we do with her boss?" one of the Rock Trolls asked his leader. "I say we take her back to base and see what makes her tick!" another shouted before he was suddenly cut off by Lapis splashing him into the snow, freezing him. "I've been everyone's prisoner for far too long, and I won't let you be my new captors!"

"Very well then fools. You have made a grave mistake Odinson." Ulik declared preparing his fellow Rock Trolls for battle. "Oh please, grave mistakes are what builds character." the Asgardian champion responded spinning his hammer while Lapis raised an aquatic column with a wave of her hand. "Now bring it."

With a roar, Ulik and his army charged at the two. Although they had brute strength and cunning, the teamwork between Asgard's finest warrior and the terraformer proved to be an even match. Lapis put even more of the enemy on ice while Thor smacked another in the jaw with a mighty swing of Mjolnir. "This Lapis is even tougher than I thought!" one of them cried before he was swallowed by a water barrier she formed around Thor, leading the god to make lightning literally strike twice, adding electricity to the barrier and electrocuting all the Rock Trolls.

"ENOUGH!" another more elderly voice boomed causing Ulik and the remaining trolls to flee. Looking up, Thor and Lapis discovered a short humanoid male with graying hair and a suit of armor wielding an appropriately sized sword standing before them. "Eitri, it is a pleasure to see you once more!" Thor warmly greeted him. "Oh hello Thor, how have things been?" the Dwarf king casually said. "Wonderful old friend. I'd like you to meet my new comrade Lapis Lazuli!"

"A Gem! I haven't seen one since I joined Odin and his crew in the Rebellion thousands of years ago!" Eitri gaped in awe at Lapis examining her form. "And it's a Lapis Lazuli too, quite a powerful Gem! Tis a shame they're mostly used for digging out Kindergartens."

The Dwarf suddenly interrupted himself when he noticed the makeshift shawl wrapped around her shoulders. "Is this Thor's cape? Oh my, this must be fixed post-haste! Come with me!" He led the two out of the forest clearing towards his forge.

Stepping into a nearby cave, Lapis's jaw dropped at the sight of the forge, seeing numerous dwarves work tirelessly building weapons using the lava beneath the surface. "Welcome to the mines of Nidavellir miss! We dwarves worked in here for as long as we could remember and definitely show no signs of stopping!" Eitri made a grand gesture introducing the Gem to their way of life before taking the duo to his personal forge. "So what brings you two to Nidavellir?"

Thor took off his chestplate and began explaining their situation as the dwarf began making a new cape. "The reason why we have come here is because Thanos has come once more. He now has all the Infinity Stones once more and exterminated half of all life in the universe, which is why we seek your guidance."

"As much as I would be happy to assist you son of Odin, I'm afraid I must decline." Etri said sadly. "Our kind may have extraordinary capabilities and even mightier weapons, I fear we might not be enough against Thanos." He finally finished the cape and handed the chestplate back to Thor. "Thank you Eitri, and I'm sorry you had to decline but it is for the best." the god thanked him taking Lapis back outside and raising his hammer. "HEIMDALL, OPEN THE BIFROST!" Within seconds, the two found themselves flying out of Nidavellir and landing in a golden palace solely inhabited by a muscular dark-skinned man holding a sword. "Welcome home Thor."

"Heimdall, it is good to see you once more!" Thor boomed. "Lapis, meet another one of my comrades. This is Heimdall, guardian of the Bifrost Bridge, gifted with the ability to see pretty much anything in the Nine Realms." Heimdall stepped forth and gracefully shook Lapis's hand. "Welcome fair maiden, never expected we'd get a Gem visitor after our encounter with the rebels all those thousands of years ago."

"Wait, you actually met them?" Lapis wondered. "I would elaborate further on how a pilgrimage to Midgard would lead to us siding with the Crystal Gems, but it seems Thor that there are a few warriors expecting your return." Suddenly, Thor was swarmed with four other Asgardians excited to see him. The first was a black-haired woman in a red tunic with silver armor over it. The second was a large rotund man with a bushy red beard. The third was more slender, wore green and bore blonde facial hair. Finally, the last one had a blue scarf and a dark-colored mustache.

"It's been so long old friend, how has avenging been?!" the large warrior excitedly asked. "And who is this fair maiden you have brought with you?" the green-clad man added gracefully kissing the Gem's hand. "My name is Lapis Lazuli. And I assume you must be some of Thor's friends?" Lapis inquired.

"Indeed Lady Lazuli, I am Sif and these are my comrades the Warriors Three." the female warrior introduced herself and her companions. "Call me Volstagg the Voluminous! You can guess why I'm called that." the fat champion said. "You may refer to me as Fandral the Dashing." the swashbuckler struck a pose and shot a loving gaze at Lapis. "And I am Hogun the Grim." the horned warrior concluded the introductions.

"Say, you ever wanted to tour Asgard?" Thor asked taking the Gem's hand. "No, but that does sound pretty fun." Lapis said before she was suddenly dragged away from Heimdall's observatory across the Rainbow Bridge all the way to Asgard's capital city.

Thor and his friends showed Lapis all of Asgard's famous landmarks like the Hall of Asgard, Odin's Vault, the training grounds of the Einherjar and the grand dining hall. "And this is you might find Volstagg sometimes." Fandral quipped spreading his arms wide. "Plus we hold a feast following the Day of the Great Hunt here every year! Speaking of which..." The Warriors Three left Thor, Sif and Lapis at the hall pumping their fists in the air while chanting "Boar! Boar! Boar! Boar!"

"I think I shall return to guard post. See you two at the feast." Sif said her farewells before walking away. "There's two more people I know on Asgard that I should really introduce you to." Thor stated leading his blue friend away from the dining hall. "And they are my parents and king & queen of Asgard as well."

"And you're the prince, right?" Lapis asked following her thunderous companion behind. "Exactly!" The two of them strolled into the royal palace until they were met with the iron gaze of the Allfather himself, Odin with his wife Frigga alongside him. "Welcome home my child." Frigga welcomed her son back with a hug. "It's a pleasure to see you once again mother."

"And we see you have brought a guest, a Gem no less." Odin added looking at Lapis. "Hello there your majesty, my name's Lapis." Lapis greeted him with a curtsy. "Greetings Lapis, I am Odin, ruler of Asgard and defender of the Nine Realms." the Allfather boomed, his tone stern yet fatherly at the same time. "And this is my wife Frigga."

"Tell us, how do you like Asgard?" Frigga asked. "I actually like it here! All of Thor's friends are really nice, it's super pretty and I feel so protected because you're all so strong!" Lapis exclaimed discussing all she adored about the kingdom. "I would really like to stay here, but that would mean leaving all my friends on Earth behind, especially Peridot." Her voice suddenly became somber as she knelt down on the floor before the royal family. "I can only assume this Peridot you speak of must be a dear friend of yours." Frigga guessed. "Yeah."

"Come now Lapis, I felt the same way when I first traveled to Midgard." Thor sympathized with her. "Before becoming one of their mightiest heroes, I was a stubborn & arrogant prince who was banished for starting a war with the Frost Giants and stripped of my powers. Eventually I made friends and learned a bit of humility and I willingly decided to stay and protect Earth."

Suddenly, the doors flung open and in charged Sif, looking heavily damaged as if she came back from a nasty battle. "Your majesty, I have terrible news!" she cried clearly out of breath. "Loki has returned, and he has an entire army of crystalline beasts with him!"

"Wait, who's Loki?!" Lapis wondered getting up from the floor and staring at her now livid friend. "My brother. He has menaced me and my comrades for as long as I can remember!" the prince shouted readying Mjolnir. "Though I wonder where could he have gotten those creatures." he added before Odin rose from his throne grabbing onto his spear. "Assemble our forces son, these geode monsters could be unlike anything we've seen before."

Thor obliged, rushing to Sif's side and allowing her to fetch the Warriors Three. "Wait, we're actually going to fight this guy?! But I remember what happened last time we were side-by-side!" Lapis panicked trying to fly away before Thor caught up to her. "Do not worry, Loki may be manipulative and especially deceitful, he is nothing like Thanos." he assured her. "Besides, I'm sure your aquatic arsenal would be of great use to us!"

"Okay then, I'll come with you." the terraformer finally gave in putting on a confident smirk. "Very well then, let us make haste! For Asgard!" Odin declared marching out of the throne room before he and his son were stopped by Frigga. "Before you leave, I have but one request." she stated. "Do go easy on Loki. He may be a villain, but he's still family."

"We'll try my dear." Odin said giving her a kiss before the three of them set off. To Lapis, this was simply another fight but to the Asgardians, it was family vs family, father vs son.

Brother vs brother.

"Thank you for taking me to this place. What do they call it again?" Pearl asked a blonde woman dressed in a black domino mask and a white bodysuit with blue highlights & billowing sleeves as she dropped the Gem off an airborne bike in front of a large building off the coast of Manhatten. "This is the S.H.I.E.L.D headquarters, the Triskelion." the woman explained. "Oh well, thank you Bobbi." Pearl entered the building which was packed with various men and woman dressed in suits, presumably to do their espionage duties.

"Now where did Bruce say his room was?" she muttered gazing at a piece of paper with the numbers 1, 9, 6 and two on it. She was so immersed in the paper that she almost bumped into a brown-haired man wearing a navy suit speaking into an earpiece. "Oh I am terribly sorry sir! Please I didn't mean to, I was searching for Dr. Robert Bruce Banner." the former Crystal Gem hurriedly apologized before the man stopped her. "It's okay miss. You said you were searching for Banner?" the man asked. "Why yes. I'm Pearl, a friend of his. And you are?"

"Phil Coulson, agent of S.H.I.E.L.D. Pleased to meet you." Phil said. "I've already heard of you from Fury." he stated. "Oh, so where is Nicholas now?" Pearl asked. "Off on some secret mission." Coulson replied before beginning to walk away. "So as I was saying, you were searching for Bruce?"

"Yes, do you know where Room 1962 is?" Pearl asked beginning to follow him. "That's on the fifth floor. Want me to come with you?" the agent offered. "Alright then." The two of them took the elevator all the way up to the fifth floor and when it stopped & they disembarked, Pearl began scouring the hallway for Room 1962. "Let's see, 1941, 1963, 1965, 1964, ah here we are, 1962!"

Entering the room, Pearl laid her eyes upon her old comrade still comatose in a hospital bed with various medical equipment surrounding him. Off to the side was Bruce working on a computer unaware he received a visitor. "I'll leave you two alone for a bit, have some business of my own to attend to." Coulson stated walking away. "Hello there doctor, it's me Pearl." she announced finally catching his attention. "Oh Pearl, what brings you here?" Bruce asked turning to her. "I came her from Strange's place to see how Steve was doing. Oh, Steven was just so heartbroken to see his idol end up like this."

"I know Pearl. We removed the halves of his shield so he'll be back soon enough, but I fear he won't recuperate on time." Banner solemnly confirmed before they heard footsteps enter the room. "Where is he?" a man asked. This man in particular had long brown hair and a robot arm in place of his left arm. Pearl retaliated by immediately summoning her spear ready to defend her friends. "Stay back Banner, he might be dangerous!"

She took a mighty jab at the intruder but he fought back grabbing the spear and tossing Pearl in a cupboard full of medicine. The Gem let out a war cry and clashed her weapon with the man's mechanical arm before she looked into her eyes and recognized just who this stranger was. "No, it can't be!" she gasped. "James?!"

"Pearl?" the man gasped removing his mask, revealing that he is none other than James Buchanan Barnes, her old friend from World War II. "I can't believe it, you're alive?!" the Gem exclaimed in sheer astonishment. "You gave up your life to save Steve, we were all told you died!" Pearl began panting in sheer befuddlement, panicking at the thought that Bucky was alive. "Can someone get me a chair, I think I'm going to faint!"

"It's all right Pearl, I'm fine." Bucky tried to steady her. "And in case you're wondering, I was taken an experimented on by Arnim Zola which is where I got this arm." he explained bringing attention to his metallic limb. "I suppose you must be here for Captain Rogers as well?" Bruce asked getting between the two. "Yes. After catching word of what happened, I turned to vigilantism because fighting evil is what he would've wanted." Bucky said. "I know you're doing what your friend thinks is best, but I don't really think vigilantism is the best course." Pearl responded before they heard a sudden pinging noise coming from Banner's desk. "My Avengers ID?!"

Picking it up, Bruce tapped on the A on the card to receive a hologram of Mantis. "Hello, is Pearl with you?!" she exclaimed. She seemed very frightened which meant something was horribly wrong. "Pearl? Oh yeah, she's right over here." the gamma radiation expert answered handing the card to the Gem. "What's the matter Mantis?"

"Some of my teammates are gone! Amethyst, Widow and the captain vanished without a trace!" the alien frantically said. "And I've heard news that the magician is gone as well!" Then there was a faint rumbling before a voice loudly spoke.

PEARL, CAPTAIN AMERICA AND THE INCREDIBLE HULK, YOU HAVE BEEN CHOSEN!

Then the three of them began fading into light. "Do you think this is what happened to them?!" Pearl exclaimed dropping the ID card in fear. "I'm pretty sure but I'm also not sure just where they've gone!" Banner answered before they, along with the still knocked out Steve vanished from the room, leaving only Bucky gaping in awe. "I have to tell someone!" he exclaimed racing out of Room 1962, fearing about what could happen to them.

Meanwhile on Asgard, a great battle was about to take place.

On one side was the Allfather Odin along with his son Thor, his companions Lady Sif & the Warriors Three and their new friend Lapis Lazuli along with platoons of Einherjar & Valkyrior. And on the other was his adopted son Loki with an army of hideous creatures with multi-colored bodies, multiple limbs and gemstones adorning their bodies.

"By Odin's beard, what even are these abominations?!" Volstagg exclaimed readying his mighty sword. "They could be Gems, but they're nothing like the ones we've seen during the Rebellion!" Sif added. "Could they be casualties of war?"

"I think they're Cluster Gems, shattered remains of former Crystal Gems used by Homeworld to create prototypes of a superweapon!" Lapis explained standing beside Thor. "Those Diamond dogs! They were so desperate to wipe out Earth they even resorted to turning their own kind into weapons!" Odin snarled glaring at one of the Clusters before his son stepped forth and pointed his hammer at Loki. "Brother, why have you come here with these mineral monstrosities?!" he exclaimed. "Why it's simple brother," the Frost Giant replied. "I've come for revenge."

"You heard him men! Attack!" Fandral cried leading the soldiers into battle against the Cluster Gems. The Einherjar broke a few of them to pieces while the Valkyrior, led by Bruunhilda, soared high above them on horseback dashing down with their swords. "So did you say these things are made up of parts of Gems?" Hogun asked Lapis. "Yes, but where did that guy get these? Also, I don't really see the family resemblance."

"So you say little Lapis?" Loki commented snidely suddenly teleporting from behind her. "Well how about I show you?" He then magically turned his skin blue and incredibly cold to the touch with red eyes to boot. "In truth, I am actually a Frost Giant adopted by Odin after my birth parent left me to perish in Jotunheim." the trickster explained grasping her chin. "And I see you seem lost. Do you think siding with such a boorish fool like Thor is better than allying with someone who has enough minions to protect you?"

"NO!" Lapis screamed slapping Loki's hand off her face and splashing him away. "What was that for?! I was just trying to propose an alliance!" he exclaimed reverting to his more human-like self. "You'll only just treat me like a slave or some kind of tool! And I refuse to ever be used again!" She let out a mighty yell launching an entire tsunami on him, nearly drowning him before Thor stopped her. "Lapis, wait! Frigga told us to go easy on him!"

"I know, but he's just so smug it keeps reminding me of someone I knew in the past." Lapis weeped ceasing the tsunami while Loki ran for the hills. "She was a brute, forcing me to fuse with her and we fought each other for months." She quietly sobbed into Odinson's chest before Sif noticed Loki fleeing through a portal. "Hey look, he's getting away!" she cried pointing straight at him. Lapis ceased her crying and replaced her misery with rage as she flew after him. "Get back here you!"

"Lapis, wait!" Thor exclaimed chasing her and his brother through the portal before it suddenly vanished. "Thor!" Sif and the Warriors Three cried. "Where do you suppose he went?" Fandral asked. "I do not know, but I fear wherever they are, they're in for the fight of their lives." Odin answered.

This first chapter was quite a doozy! So many new characters making cameos, new plotlines to be resolved in future chapters, I pretty sure this might be longer than the final chapter of Clod on the Run! Well no time to waste now, join us next time for the next chapter of Part 2, Welcome to Battleworld!