It was only a short time after reporting to Nick fury that a S.H.I.E.L.D. helicarrier and soldier ensemble had touched down in San Diego. Nick Fury and Maria Hill secretly consulted with the Young Avengers as how to proceed with the investigation from that point. Iron Lad was the one to initially propose that the Time Machine be used to travel to its return point and capture the stolen future technology to protect history.
"There's no need to go back. It's 2019 now and we all know the Germans lost the war, so obviously someone stopped them from using their stolen weaponry." Stature proposed.
"Yes, but can we run the risk that this someone was not yourself time traveling from the future?" Vision postulated in response.
The shape and composition of time was then discussed. Iron Lad revealed that the multiversal theory had already been proven within the other Young Avengers lifetime, and much scientific study had proven that the mere act of traveling through time created another entirely separate Universe that would be traveled into. The moment the Young Avengers traveled, they would be leaving their own Universe and timeline and entering into a branch universe created by their own decision to time travel. They would be protecting the future of an alternate universe. This was the only way that they could even exist at an earlier point within the timeline, because existing in the past changes the future, and the future is an infinite amount of possibilities. They would be abandoning their current and original universe for another, and if they traveled to the future from the altered past it would simply be another universe created by their choice to temporally travel and the past they affected. Returning to their original Universe would require multiversal and interdimensional travel.
The ramifications of such an action surmounted. If any of the Young Avengers were to carry with them pathogens unnatural to the point in time they arrive in, that could create a biological disaster. If Wiccan were to accidentally leave his recently acquired book in the past, and one side of the war were to be armed with the information within that book either side could drastically change the outcome of the war and irreparably damage the time stream forever.
However, despite the reticence of Stature, Hawkeye, and Hulkling, it was decided that the Young Avengers would travel backwards with the time machine like a raft in the river of time. Nick Fury would not be accompanying the Young Avengers, nor would he send any accompanying S.H.I.E.L.D. agents or official ranking personnel for security reasons. After making the decision to time travel, the first thing the Young Avengers had to do was learn to operate the time machine. Examining the machines controls led Iron Lad to discover that the central control panel was installed a "Recall Switch" which instantly returned the capsule to the point in space and time it occupied prior to its last "jump". "In this case, its reasonable to expect the recall switch to return the capsule to September 18th, 1943." Iron Lad explained.
Of course, the capsule could be piloted without the use of the recall switch, allowing its operator to lock in the destination of their discretion; but the controls were so advanced and complex that puzzling out their operation could take weeks or even months of research and experimentation to discern. Even for the genius Intellect and advanced computational abilities of Iron Lad and The Vision.
While climbing aboard the time vessel, Wiccan delved into Crane's history of the war to determine whether anything significant had happened on the date September 18th, 1943. He learned that the Allied Powers had invaded Italy just a few months earlier, and were embroiled in major conflicts with the German defenders all throughout the Fall. Though the book did not mention any pertinent events of interest, it did however mention that the Germans staged an unexpected and massive counter-offensive which began on September 22nd.
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Then the Young Avengers were finally ready to leave. Crossing their fingers and holding their breath, Iron Lad activated the recall switch and sent the time machine roaring to life. A loud wheezing filled the air, and the timeship began to violently jolt and shake. After a few seconds all of their visions became filled with colorful spots and their head began pounding and throbbing with their pulses. The groaning and the shaking of the timeship intensified, something must've been wrong! All of the passengers in the vessel experienced mild shock as they traveled through time.
When the capsule finally came to a stop, the chronometer read: "September 21st, 1943".
"Some kind of damage from whatever happened must have thrown off the internal guidance systems, we're 3 days late!" Iron Lad exclaimed.
It was impossible to see outside the capsule without opening its door, but loud explosions could be heard just outside once the vessel had come to a halt. The time capsule had come to rest in a thick clump of vegetation at the bottom of a steep gully. It was broad daylight, and overhead could be heard the whine of exploding artillery shells. Just over the lil of the gully the Young Avengers could see an overturned Jeep and a small group of 3 American soldiers pinned by gunfire and fighting for their lives. The Americans were completely encircled by German forces. In fact, the same force of German soldiers were then encircling the Young Avengers as well. The Avengers had found themselves in the middle of a battle for central Italy.
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The 3 pinned soldiers were a man in his late-fifties, a little overweight but rough-looking, an officer in his early forties, with gray streaks that ran through his blond hair, and their non-commissioned driver, tall, lanky and jittery. The oldest man, General Thomas Dozier, and company were out surveying the troops when the American line was temporarily overrun, stranding them behind enemy lines. Encircling the American soldiers were 12 Nazi soldiers and a PzKw IV (Panzer) Tank. The Panzer was armed with a 75mm main gun and a basic 5.56mm machine gun.
"We've gotta help em!" The Patriot exclaimed as he reached for his triangular Adamantium shield, an almost perfect replica of the original shield Captain America and the Original Patriot had used during their early careers. However, His was colored with the glorious stars and stripes, unlike the originals that had gone unpainted.
When The Patriot and Hawkeye first leapt into battle, they obtained a slight edge due to the fact that the Nazis were unaware of their presence. Hawkeye fired arrows at the German soldiers that were preparing to cross the Gully to attack the American soldiers, while Patriot threw small star-shaped shuriken at the nearest soldiers.
Once the battle was in full swing, Dozier, Holland, and the driver joined in on the side of The Young Avengers. Their Thompson submachine guns rattled off bursts of lead to keep back their enemies, while Iron Lad fired armor-piercing missiles at the Panzer tank. The Nazis proved little difficulty for the Young Avengers and their newfound allies. Once the battle was over, General Dozier introduced himself. "General Thomas Dozier of the United States Army, I sure am glad you guys showed up."
"Glad to be of service, Sir!" The Patriot said as he straightened his spine and issued a formal salute.
"I see you've got the stars and stripes, kid," Dozier observed, pointing at Patriot's costume that bore all the colors of the United States. "You one of us? Somebody must've sent you out after us, eh?:
"W-well, actually--" The Patriot stuttered, as he recalled that this was not their time and whatever his answer to the general's question was could have profound consequences.
"We are an Independent group, aiding the allied forces against the axis enemies of our own volition, and carry no allegiance or affiliation. We are merely conservors of human life." The Vision interrupted.
After introducing his Colleagues, General Dozier then invited the Young Avengers to his nearby command post.