Synopsis
The boy who will be Kang fled here from the 30th Century for help from the Avengers to prevent his fate. He found the team Disassembled but also found the Vision's operating system and a file listing potential young replacements. Morphing his Kang armour into an Iron Man look he took the ID Iron Lad and recruited 3 of them as Asgardian (Billy Kaplan), Hulkling (Teddy Altman) and Patriot (Eli Bradley), forming a team the press dubbed the Young Avengers. They have since been joined by Cassie Lang, daughter of the deceased latest Ant-Man, and Kate Bishop, who helped them during a hostage situation in #1. But Captain America, Iron Man and Jessica Jones tried to shut them down. However adult Kang turned up to claim his precursor, and the timeline changed to a ruined Manhattan (and Jessica 'lost' her pregnancy). Kang claimed the timeline would correct itself if IL came with him. IL refused and Kang took over his (Kang) armour and used it to blast all the others.
Kang now says that everyone will be OK if IL comes with him, and the young hero agrees even though it means he'll forget all about his friends. Kang opens a time portal. But then Cassie, who shrank possibly microscopically to avoid the blast, expands to human size and pushes Kang into the portal. Her momentum almost carries her through as well but Iron Lad pulls her back and the portal closes. They cling to each other and Cassie kisses him (through his maybe-flexible mask). She apologises, but then kisses him again 'for luck'.
They wake up the other Young Avengers, including Kate who 'borrowed' Hawkeye's bow and arrows, Mockingbird's battle staves and Swordsman's sword. IL explains that Kang will keep coming back. Eli asks if they should wake the Avengers but Cassie reminds them they were going to force their friend to go with the villain. Iron Lad says he's going anyway in order to put everything back the way it should be. Teddy worries that means they won't have become Young Avengers. Billy worries more specifically that they won't know each other (he and Teddy have become close). And Cassie definitely doesn't want him to go.
IL says there's nowhere they can hide because Kang can track his armour, so Kate suggest he take it off. Patriot agrees with her, and then tries to retract it because of the hostility between the pair since she saved his life in the hostage affair (#1) and dented his pride. Iron Lad removes his armour and they plan to go to the Upper West Side home of Billy's family.
But then Kang does return and threatens the still-unconscious Cap, IM and Jess. The others tell IL to run to Billy's house while they keep the villain busy. Patriot suggests Teddy uses his shapeshifting and Billy tries his spell-casting. That last bit's news to Kate, and Asgardian says he's not very good at it. They attack (double-page spread). Kang shoots at them. Eli pushes Kate out of the way of a blast. He says that evens the score over when she saved *him* - but it's more like banter this time. As the other 3 fight Kang, Eli suggests activating the Vision software to use Iron Lad's 30th Century armour against Kang, but Kate reminds him that Kang can control that armour, so he drops it. But we see it's 'uni-beam' chest circle start to glow.
Patriot next says he (with his replica triangular Captain America shield) and Cassie will distract the foe while Asgardian works up a spell. Teddy talks Billy through how they practised making his magic work. Asgardian chooses a desired result, in this case disabling Kang's forcefield. Then he chants it as a repeated mantra "I want to disable Kang's forcefield" while imagining it happening. Kate asks if they learned this from a Wiccan manual, Teddy says no, a self-help book. Billy launches himself towards Kang while chanting ... and it works with a large explosion.
But Kang is still shooting at them, and the villain's 'trans-temporal' armour enables him access weapons from all over time. So Kate fires a couple of arrows which hit the armour, knackering its tech. She says she learned archery at a music summer camp where she played cello, and offers to teach Eli if he wants. Patriot goes to take Kang down, assuming him now powerless. But he's still strong, and the armour's still armour. Kate rushes to his aid with her sword drawn but he defeats her too and threatens her with her own sword, demanding again that Iron Lad be given to him ...
... and then the boy in question shows up and surrenders. Kang says they'll need the Iron Lad armour to get home. IL agrees to get it if Kang lets Kate go. He kneels to check she's OK and whispers "I'm not exactly Iron Lad". Then Teddy Altman shapeshifts from Iron Lad to Hulkling and gives Kang a right hook. Giant-size Cassie grabs at the foe but he cuts her palm with the sword. He uses it to bat away Patriot's throwing stars and slash Hulkling's thigh. Asgardian tries chanting "I want to stop Kang", but before he can have any effect the villain is blasted from behind by the Iron Lad armour operated by the Vision software.
Kang turns to face him and sees that 'Vision' has morphed the armour to look like the synthezoid complete with solar jewel on his forehead. Vizh demonstrates that he has his powers too:- He reduces his density to float in the air, goes intangible to avoid Kang's sword, fires another eye-blast and goes heavier to smash the sword out the villain's hand. He then grabs Kang by the throat and tells him to go back to the 30th Century. Kang responds by pinching Vision's neck, activating a switch that turns Vision off and restores function to his own armour (advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic).
Kang once again menaces the teens and asks where Iron Lad is. But now Captain America (with a different costume in the altered timeline) has recovered and charges to the attack while Iron Man sees to Jessica Jones (not pregnant in this reality and in her old Jewel costume). But Kang magics up a weapon to put them down again. (And next issue will say that he's killed them.)
But then the real Iron Lad returns, still sans armour, and stabs his future self through the back with the sword.