"I am no lunatic, Steve Rogers. Please, allow me to explain our current situation." Doom stood in the doorway, refusing entrance to Captain America. "You're holding the Avengers hostage, and you stole some weird magic necklace. That's all I really need to know." The fist of the Captain struck Doom across his armored face, sending him to the floor. "Stand down, soldier!" Tony Stark approached the two, fully armored. "We have bigger problems right now." "Coulson told me this was the guy. What am I missing, Tony?" "The Devil is on the loose. He gave us all nightmares. Doom saved us. We need to trust him for now." Cap looked back at Victor, who was recomposing himself. "The Devil? You mean the big, red, evil guy?" "Stark is correct," agreed Von Doom, once again standing. "Mephisto is ruthless and vindictive. But most of all, he is now free from Hades." "What did you do, Doom?" Rogers lifted his shield. "I spent years formulating my revenge, only for the Avengers to come along and leave my plan in ruins." "What did we do to you?" inquired the Black Widow. "I'm pretty sure I'm the one that just spent an hour in my worst nightmare." "My plan was simple and effective. Unseal the gateway, make a deal with Mephisto, and everything would be fixed. My mother would be free to live again." "I'm sorry, what about your mother?" asked a de-Hulked Bruce Banner from across the room. "She made a deal with Mephisto when I was a child. He gave the Latverian people a glorious homeland, but in return she was sentenced to eternity in his realm. I vowed to avenge her by offering Mephisto my own soul. However, he captured you while the gateway was open. In order to save you, I have greatly angered him." "So what are you going to do?" asked Hawkeye. "Punch the Devil in the face?" Doom looked around the scorched parlor. "I have the soul of my mother captured within the Chain of Souls. Mephisto will be here soon. I must attempt to bargain with him, once again. If that does not work, you must bide time while I seal the gateway." Cap sighed. "Do we have any say in this?" Doom hid a smirk under his mask. "Absolutely not."
The faces of the Avengers were bathed in red light as a swirling vortex opened in the center of the parlor. Out stepped Mephisto, followed by an army of his demons. "Did you think you could escape me, Von Doom?" "I would not be so foolish, Mephisto." Victor outstretched his hands as he stepped toward the Lord of Hades. "You are now standing upon my sovereign land. The Avengers are under my protection, but I seek to forge another deal with you." "Under your protection?" scoffed Mephisto. "I could raze your petty kingdom with a snap of my fingers. However, I shall entertain your notion of a deal." "Thank you, my lord. As you know, I have the soul of my mother hanging from my neck. I will take her place among the ranks of Hades, if you gift her an immortal body." "Immortal?" Mephisto heartily laughed. "That was not part of the original deal, Von Doom. But I shall accept your offer, if you grant me another soul in addition to your own." "Another soul? You know I cannot do that, Mephisto." "I'll do it." Captain America stepped forward. "Bring his mom back to life, and I'll go with him." "Rogers, no!" Victor spun around to face the Captain. "Do not sacrifice yourself for me." "I don't know my place in this world. If I can do some good, I'll do it." "Do it elsewhere, Rogers. Mephisto will take me, and me alone, or the deal is off." Mephisto smiled. "Then the deal is off, Von Doom. Now, I believe you have something that belongs to me. Onwards, my army." The demons charged toward the Avengers. The mighty heroes responded in equal fashion. The Hulk stomped on the winged creatures while Thor crushed them with his hammer. Gunshots rang out from the pistol of Black Widow, and Hawkeye released flaming arrows into the enemy force. The repulsor blasts of Iron Man wiped out rows of demons as Captain America engaged in hand-to-hand combat. And, at the center, stood the two greatest enemies of all: the Prince of Latveria and the Lord of Hades. They rushed toward each other.
Mephisto, at least five feet taller than Doom, kicked the Latverian overlord across the room. "You have made a mistake, Von Doom!" Doom conjured a ball of flame and pushed it toward the Lord of Hades. "You should turn back now, Mephisto! You cannot win!" Mephisto laughed. "I have already won." The Devil snapped his fingers, causing a ring of fire to appear around Doom. "There is no escape from my army." "We'll see about that." Doom jumped out of the circle and utilized his full weight to crash into Mephisto. The Lord of Hades knocked him back with a blazing fireball. "You fascinate me, Von Doom. You truly think you stand a chance." "As always, your pride will be your downfall. You refuse to believe you could lose, so you fight on the level of a human. But you will soon learn that I am no ordinary human; I am Victor Von Doom, Prince of Latveria, son of Cynthia Von Doom!" Doom unleashed a succession of spells at Mephisto, knocking him down. "Please tell me you have a plan," yelled Iron Man from within the crowd of demons. Doom hesitated for a moment, unsure of himself. "I have a plan, Stark, but I must sacrifice myself for it to work." "What?" Victor Von Doom began to murmur an ancient incantation, stepping toward the downed Mephisto. The room was bathed in red light, and the Avengers heard a tortured scream. The demons turned around, rushing toward the source of the light. The spot where Doom once stood was concealed in flames, and Mephisto was gone.
Captain America punched the last demon, sending it across the destroyed parlor. He looked back at the spot where Doom and Mephisto had fought; the flames were dying down. "I guess he did it." "Don't feel bad," said Tony Stark, approaching the Captain. "Everything that happened today was his fault." The other Avengers joined them in observing the flame. "I have no idea what just happened," stated Hawkeye, "but I hated every minute of it."
The six Avengers sat around a table, speaking to Agent Coulson. "So," asked the leader of the project, "you failed the mission?" "Yes," replied a disappointed Tony Stark. "We lost the necklace. Doom is dead." "You know, the Director told me this was a terrible idea." "You should have listened," stated Natasha. "You don't know what we saw in there." "Then tell me, Agent Romanoff. What did you see?" Everyone stayed silent. "I don't think we're ready to remember it all," explained Dr. Banner. "I was convinced it was Surtur, determined to end our quest!" said Thor. "I'm sure you all think this is the end of the Avengers," interrupted Coulson. "But, simply put, you are the only heroes we have, and the world is becoming more dangerous. In 1966, a guy dressed as a bat could have saved us all. It's not 1966, and there are people with unexplained powers doing the wrong things. Yesterday, the Helicarrier got attacked by a group of these people. I'm assigning Rogers, Romanoff, and Barton to the mission. As for the rest of you.... Just do some good, guys. I need to go tell the Director what happened." He stood up and walked out, leaving the Avengers to themselves.
* * *
"I've failed you, mother. After everything that's happened, I've only delivered your soul from one prison to another. From the realm of Mephisto, to the Chain you once wore around your own neck. I swear, I shall not rest until you have been freed from this stone and given a true avatar." Victor Von Doom kneeled at the top of a snow-covered mountain, the light of the sun shining upon the Chain of Souls which rested in his hands. "The Chain is not safe with me. Many beings in this universe would wish to wield it in unison with the other five Stones. I must leave it in a hidden place, with someone more powerful than myself. The Aged Genghis resides within this mountain range. You will be safe with him." A single tear formed in Victor's eye. "Please forgive me."
"My lord, we have news from the agent on Terra." An alien figure rushed into the throne room of the Mad Titan, Thanos. "Oh?" The warlord seemed unenthused. "Two Infinity Stones have been detected. As you know, it is entirely unprecedented for multiple Infinity Stones to be on a singular planet, and...." Thanos stood. He hulked over the messenger, and a wicked smile stretched across his face. "That makes three, correct?" "Yes, my lord. Together with the artifact on Kosomani, that means most of the Stones are accounted for." "I want half of my agents searching for the final two Stones. I want the other half to figure out what's so special about Terra." "I will tell them, my lord." The messenger scurried away, and the Mad Titan sat down with a smug visage.
* * *
Reed Richards stood, admiring his creation. His spaceship could go beyond the boundaries previously set by other astrologists, past the observable universe. If he brought it to the government, it would take years to get approved, but he had done all of the calculations himself. "Tomorrow," he said to himself. Tomorrow, of course, would be the day his crew took off. His wife, Susan; her brother, Johnny; and Reed's best friend, Ben Grimm. They would operate the ship for the next year, studying everything they saw along the way. This, thought Reed, will be truly fantastic.
Victor Von Doom paced around his chambers, surrounded by the evidence of his astounding genius. He possessed machines beyond the comprehension of a normal human, but he didn't care about any of them on this cursed day - the day his mother had died, many years ago. The evil dictator of Latveria violently brought his metal-armored hand down onto his table. He didn't want to think about her now. After all these years, he had finally created a plan. A plan to carry out his revenge, on everyone that had wronged him. He looked down at the sheet of paper spread out on his desk. Planning could never prepare him for the task at hand, of course - but it never hurt to do so anyway. His plot would involve using not just his endless supply of brilliant gadgets, but the powers he had learned long ago. While he was far less powerful than his mother when it came to the magic arts, he was still one of the greatest in this realm. It was time to begin.
Selina Kyle stood on a rooftop near the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany. It would be a hard job, but she was confident in her ability to do it. She jumped to the top of the great museum and proceeded to climb down. She knocked out two guards before they could pull their guns, and walked inside. She had waited until the museum was closed, and this decision made everything much easier. She made her way through the many exhibits until she reached the back. There, she found what she was looking for: a necklace that had been rumored to have unlimited power. At the end of the chain was an orange stone. Behind her, she heard a door slam. "I see you've made my job easier!" called out a thickly accented voice. Catwoman turned on her heel, prepared to knock out the intruder, but was instead punched across the room. "I'll be taking that off of your hands, Miss Kyle." Doctor Doom grabbed the necklace and carefully placed it around his own neck. Without a word, he walked back out the door and into the cold night. The first step of his plan was done, and the rest would come soon enough.
Cat-woman is so under-powered.
I have begun, Ultra! It'll probably take me a bit to get it all read.
Victor Von Doom paced around his chambers, surrounded by the evidence of his astounding genius. He possessed machines beyond the comprehension of a normal human, but he didn't care about any of them on this cursed day - the day his mother had died, many years ago. The evil dictator of Latveria violently brought his metal-armored hand down onto his table. He didn't want to think about her now. After all these years, he had finally created a plan. A plan to carry out his revenge, on everyone that had wronged him. He looked down at the sheet of paper spread out on his desk. Planning could never prepare him for the task at hand, of course - but it never hurt to do so anyway. His plot would involve using not just his endless supply of brilliant gadgets, but the powers he had learned long ago. While he was far less powerful than his mother when it came to the magic arts, he was still one of the greatest in this realm. It was time to begin.
Selina Kyle stood on a rooftop near the Deutsches Museum in Munich, Germany. It would be a hard job, but she was confident in her ability to do it. She jumped to the top of the great museum and proceeded to climb down. She knocked out two guards before they could pull their guns, and walked inside. She had waited until the museum was closed, and this decision made everything much easier. She made her way through the many exhibits until she reached the back. There, she found what she was looking for: a necklace that had been rumored to have unlimited power. At the end of the chain was an orange stone. Behind her, she heard a door slam. "I see you've made my job easier!" called out a thickly accented voice. Catwoman turned on her heel, prepared to knock out the intruder, but was instead punched across the room. "I'll be taking that off of your hands, Miss Kyle." Doctor Doom grabbed the necklace and carefully placed it around his own neck. Without a word, he walked back out the door and into the cold night. The first step of his plan was done, and the rest would come soon enough.
Cat-woman is so under-powered.
I have begun, Ultra! It'll probably take me a bit to get it all read.
catwoman doesn't have powers anyway
if you want to see more of her, then i'm just about to start a new story with her in it
