Turnabout Crossover

"So you could just imagine my surprise when I saw Maya riding in a car being driven by a fourteen-year old mechanic who went to speeds even NASCAR racers were afraid of," he continued, and she giggled at the exaggerated motions he went through as he told his story.

The night was getting deeper, but there was no stopping them. The story had to be told.

"Seriously, Maya can't be left five minutes on her own without everyone worrying about her."

She looked into his eyes as he spoke, and he stopped. He looked at hers and found them to be the most innocent blue eyes he has ever seen. And unknown to him, they were much like his. Unspoiled, pure and perfect.

"What's she like?" she suddenly asked him.

"Maya? She's…" he mumbled, seemingly having no idea what to say. "She's a handful, honestly. She never acts her age, and she always gets stuck in these situations that I need to bail her out of. I always have to look out for her because you can never know what sort of trouble she'll get herself into. I don't… I don't even know why I bother with—"

"But you like her, right?"

"What?"

"You like her, right? Because… because if you didn't like her, then there wouldn't be a reason to put up with her, right?"

He looked at her and saw that she was eagerly waiting for a response, a reply, anything. She wanted to know what he had to say.

What did she want to hear? The truth? It wasn't like the truth was something he was desperate to hide.

"No, no, you misunderstand," he told her. "You see, it's not that I like… I mean, if it wasn't for Mia… Mia was the only reason I even bothered—"

He looked into her eyes. He saw his reflection, and it was then that he knew that she wanted the truth. What he wanted to say wasn't the truth, it was nowhere near it. And in her eyes he saw that she knew as well.

"—the truth is," he continued, this time a little more composed, "I do like Maya. I can even say that I love her. She's… like family to me. There are times when I think that if it wasn't for Mia, I would never bother myself with her, but the truth is…"

"Maya is… Maya?"

"Yeah, something like that," he told her, and she smiled. "Maya is as Maya does. She's fun to have around, and she's like that bubbling pot of joy that brings light into my dull and boring life, and every morning would never be worth waking up for if she wasn't there by my side brightening it up.

"I guess what I want to say is that yes, I do like her, because I would never have put up with her so long if I didn't."

"But is she worth it?"

"What? What is it with that question?"

"I mean, you say she's a handful, but she's the reason you wake up in the morning. So is she worth it?"

He smiled. "For a little girl, you ask a lot of good questions."

She smiled right back at him. "Is she, then?"

"Is she worth it?" he pondered. "Is having my carefree and fun-loving assistant around with me every second of my life worth all the pain and suffering she inflicts on me day by day just by having her around?"

"If you put it like that—"

"She is. Of course she is. I know she is," he reassured her, and she smiled. "Maya is worth all of that and more. I swear to God, she is. Hell, my life wouldn't be half as interesting as it is now if she was never with me at every point of my life. She was the spark that started everything. To be honest… to put it simply: Maya is worth going through hell."

"What happened next?" she asked eagerly.

"Oh, right," he exclaimed, and he cleared his throat. "Maya being there wasn't actually the worst part. The worst part was that the woman named Morrigan Aensland was there. She was one of the more powerful ones, and the mere fact that she was on whatever mission they were on meant that it was something big. Of course, we later found out that she was sent there for very different reasons but the timing couldn't have been more perfect."

"Why is that?"

"Because when Chun-Li and I finally trailed them to where they were headed: to a complex full of empty warehouses, a bad feeling started to crawl in my gut. And I can tell you, my gut is never wrong. In my time there, I was always told by everyone that there were no accidents. That the universe plans everything in advance, and I'm not sure if having headed into trouble on my first day counted as reality trying to screw me over, but if it was, it seemed the universe had really freaky plans for me.

"Somehow, we found ourselves plunging headfirst into a fight that we never hoped to win, and before we knew it, we were surrounded."

Chapter 4: Servbot Takeout

Worst idea ever, thought Maya, as several dozen A.I.M. agents stared them down like a pack of ravening wolves.

"Ah, you are here, just as planned," said the man wearing sunglasses, who had slicked-back blonde hair and was fully clad in black leather. He waved his arms around as if to punctuate every word he spoke, and he paced the floor as if to make his presence felt more.

He stopped and stared at the ground for a moment, before raising his head and turned to them again, saying, "Let's see: the succubus, the policewoman, the child thief and... what do we have here? A pair of civilians?" He eyed Phoenix and Maya with a bored, disinterested look of contempt, with eyes that instilled a nagging fear in Phoenix's mind that he couldn't comprehend.

Phoenix swore he could see the man's eyes glow red through his sunglasses.

"Have you become so desperate as to include mere civilians into your ranks? Most pathetic, whelps. The least you could have done was to bring that infuriating annoyance Spider-Man along with you, so I, Albert Wesker, would have the chance to finally crush him once and for all."

He paced the floor again as he spoke, and his very presence made cold sweat run down Phoenix's forehead. Maya stood behind the lawyer, visibly afraid, her hands shaking as she held on tightly to the back of his coat.

This is bad, he thought, this is very bad.

Chun-Li stood beside him, calm and collected as she assumed a fighting stance, while on the other side Tron shifted it into high gear, putting Gustaff on manual Battle Mode. Above them Morrigan floated silently in a sitting position, with her legs crossed and her hands firmly planted on her knees. She still kept on smiling, leaving Phoenix to wonder if she wasn't in the slightest bit appalled at how things turned out. And why she was only clad in a bathrobe.

"Inferior beings such as yourselves are no match for the onslaught that is Doom," spoke another man beside the leather-clad one. This man was fully covered from head to toe in a metal suit of armor, and wore a green cape and hood. His arms were crossed over his chest, and his cold stare made Phoenix even more nervous than he already was. "You should consider yourselves fortunate that I, the great Victor Von Doom, have honored you with my presence, despite you're unworthiness to bask in the glory that is Doom. I suggest you surrender now, lest you incur my wrath further. And fair warning, the wrath of the one, true supreme ruler of Latveria is the lastthing you would want to befall you, infidels."

Phoenix and his companions simply stood there, completely frozen in place, on that dirt road as the villains ranted on. A compound of warehouses, all seemingly abandoned and desolate, with boarded-up windows and hole-ridden walls, populated the area as far as he could see. He tried to hatch out a plan on his own, something to save Maya from the inevitable. The only thing on his mind was to save Maya. But no thought occurred to him, his mind was as blank as a clean slate and his body was all stressed-out and frigid.

It's them, he thought, it's actually them. Doom... and Wesker... man, what the heck are we going to do now?

"And it is most unfortunate for you five that it was quite generous of M.O.D.O.K. to lend a handful of his scientists from A.I.M. to assist in this operation," commented the leather-clad man.

Behind the two villains stood several dozen men in breather masks wearing yellow uniforms, each holding an individual weapon, aligned in militaristic rows. They looked more like soldiers than scientists, and beneath their masks Phoenix could imagine them as scowling and menacing figures who were just itching to pull the triggers of their guns or smash skulls with their over-sized batons and hammers. They marched forward as their superiors conversed, confident in their ability to subdue this small team of heroes.

"Meaning Doom does not have to soil his hands in dealing with these interlopers," added the man clad in armor. "Listen closely, feeble-minded whelps, for Doom will not repeat himself: surrender peacefully, or we shall be forced to use any means necessary to take you down."

"Still, it's quite peculiar," said the leather-clad man, smiling, as he cupped his chin in thought, "for Stark to send the succubus. Meaning he might have suspected that we're running a bigger operation here. I must applaud him for that."

"And I must applaud you for noticing that I am a threat," said Morrigan, and as she clapped her hands mockingly, rubbing the wry smile off of Wesker's face. "Ooh... You're angry... I love that in a man. I can sense your anger, your frustration, your indifference, all buried deep within your system. It feels so good... such a pure, demented emotion from a purely demented man." She caressed her face, an image of wild ecstasy, and she slid her hands down her body, before letting them rest on her knees. "Oh, the ways I could manipulate that malevolence, if only you would let it out."

Phoenix felt himself sweating harder as his face grew hotter. Morrigan was beautiful, he could see that, but her voice and the way her arms moved around the curvature of her body, it could make a man melt. And as far as he could tell, she was only wearing a clean, white bathrobe and black boots.

What the hell was that just now?

Wesker smirked. "Unfortunately for you, as the man who will become a god, I'm not easily tempted by mortal desires or swayed by a near-immortal's deceits. If only you were as wise as you are enchanting, succubus, you might have had a chance. A brain to go with all that beauty is what you lack."

Rather than become enraged at the comment as Phoenix expected her to be, Morrigan simply let out a small laugh. "Haha-ha. You know me not, mortal, yet you are quick to judge. If it's all the same to you, whether you are the man who will become a god, or a man who can only hope of becoming a god, you are still nothing more to me than dust beneath my fingertips, Albert Wesker. You are the least of my concerns." Then she smiled again, with a grin that simply evoked contempt. "No, you are not even worthy of my concern."

Scary, thought Phoenix, as he swallowed the saliva that was building up in his mouth. I wouldn't want to meet her in a dark alley. Actually, I would... I mean, no! That's not what I meant! I was... I was just... wait, why am I explaining myself to myself?

Wesker's smile disappeared completely.

"To be a mortal such as yourself who is determined to deny his mortality," continued Morrigan. "It is the most depressing of all human flaws. Though you lack my concern, you gain in abundance my sympathies, Albert Wesker. I pity you."

Before he could say another word, Doom stepped forward and stopped Wesker as he opened his mouth. "Silence, Wesker, you have spoken enough nonsense. Only Doom is fit to be the god of this world, and as my lackey, you should have full knowledge of that."

"Hmph," sneered Wesker as he pushed his sunglasses up the bridge of his nose. "We'll see, Doom. We'll see."

What is it with these guys? thought Phoenix, at what he perceived as the inane surrealism of the world that he has fallen in. But this is bad, really, really bad. Dammit, why is it that every time I turn my head, I find myself teetering on the very edge of life and death?

"Mr. Wright," whispered Chun-Li to the spiky-haired lawyer, without averting her gaze from the adversaries in front of them, "take Maya, then run and hide. Contact Mr. Stark, I've put his number on your phone when we brought you to the Tower. Tell him about our situation and request for back-up. Please hurry."

She then looked as if she was contemplating saying something else.

"And by the way," she added, "I haven't seen a phone like yours since the late 90s. We have got to buy you a new one later."

"But... but, what about you guys?" asked Phoenix, anxiously. He didn't like how this was going. "And is it alright to be making light of the situation like this?"

"No worries, Mr. Wright," reassured Tron. "We can handle ourselves for the time being."

She could feel her hands shaking as she held onto Gustaff's levers, but she managed to hide her nervousness from being noticed by Phoenix. It's better not to let the new guy know you're scared as well. Gustaff raised both arms into a fighting stance, as Tron spoke.

"And besides, she added, "witty banter and cracking jokes are part of the job."

"As long as you do not focus more on your banter than on your fight," added Morrigan.

"We'll create a distraction," whispered Chun-Li, "while you and Maya find a good hiding place. When you're sure you're in a safe place, call Mr. Stark right away."

Phoenix nodded halfheartedly. He was scared, more than he ever was in his entire life. But they need me, he thought. Be strong, Wright, for their sake.

"Doom sincerely hopes that you're whispering about your surrender to him," said the armored man, "for no amount of planning can save you now."

As the leather-clad man and the armored man proceeded to move closer to them, Chun-Li prompted the start of their defense, shouting, "Morrigan! Now!"

The princess of Makai flew up higher into the air and spread her wings. "Dodge this," she said calmly in a seductive tone, as the two villains watched her. Several hundred missiles appeared spontaneously from her wings, and headed straight towards the two villains and their army.

Without even breaking a sweat, Doom raised one hand towards the sky and generated a large force field, completely shielding his forces as missiles exploded left and right, leveling down several warehouses as if they were a stack of cards. Phoenix and Maya fell back as the shock of the destruction shook the ground they were standing on and threw them off-balance.

Chun-Li, herself keeping her equilibrium perfectly, turned to them both, shouting, "Mr. Wright, Maya, get out of here!"

Phoenix and Maya took to their heels and raced down the dirt path that they came from as the missiles continued to fall. The resulting explosions behind them shook the ground violently, distorting their balance even more than before. The duo soldiered on, knowing fully well the consequences of failing their given task.

As soon as the two were out of sight, Morrigan closed her wings and stopped her assault. She flew back down between Chun-Li and Tron, with her arms crossed over her chest, intently waiting for the enemy to make the first move. As soon as the smoke started to disperse, the savagery of the onslaught was as clear as daylight: the entire path in front of them was leveled by about three feet. Debris and rubble from the collapsing, concrete walls of the old warehouses filled the numerous craters made by the explosions, while shards of broken glass and burnt steel and wood are what remained of their windows and gates.

"Oh my," remarked Morrigan as she scanned the area, "I think I should have held back."

"Did we get them?" asked Tron as she tried to look through the thick cloud of smoke and dust.

Chun-Li squinted her eyes to keep out the clouds of dust that got too close to her face, but found them opening wide in surprise at the sight that unfolded in the distance.

"Don't get your hopes up..." she whispered.

Doom and Wesker stood with their arms folded as the smoke cleared; their men stood behind them unscathed and angry.

Undaunted, the monarch of Latveria turned towards his men and spoke, "You may think of Doom as no more than a tyrant, but it is there that you are wrong. For Doom, like all men, is capable of showing compassion towards those who need it, be it friend or foe. But Doom's compassion, as is the quality of all human emotions, is limited. Do not waste the empathy that Doom has shown you today, for if you fail to defeat and capture these heroes, you will bear witness to the polar opposite of my sympathy... and it is not something you can even imagine to live through."

And the agents of A.I.M., whether through this show of empathy by being saved by their benefactor, or through fear of disappointing him all the same, charged towards the three heroes in a mad dash, screaming their war cries as they did. They were more akin to brutes than scientists, but perhaps that was their selling point, and with that they were content to themselves. After all, nothing like an afternoon of bashing skulls could possibly ever compare with the long, overworked hours spent in the lab.

Even psycho nerds needed exercise.

"Rousing speech," commented Wesker, with his hands behind his back as he watched the heroes fight off their men.

"He who will be god should be able to do as much as that," said Doom in return. "I am a king in my country of Latveria. A benevolent ruler to my people. A rightful god to this world. The ability to command legions is a feat found in all potential rulers, but none could hope to dream of having the prowess to overcome mine."

"Yes, well," said Wesker, "perhaps we could discuss this some other time."

He turned towards the men and observed as they fought off the three heroes, doing their best to overwhelm them.

"As usual, the policewoman's battle prowess is commendable," commented Wesker, as Chun-Li fends off her attackers before they even get the chance to touch her, effortlessly trouncing them as they foolishly approach.

"Doom is reminded of your assistant," said Doom. "Perhaps she could learn much from studying the enemy's techniques."

"Pfft. Please, I trained Jill myself. Her skills are more than an overwhelming match for the policewoman."

"And what of the succubus?" questioned Doom, as he watched her swiftly dodge the gunfire of the A.I.M. agents. Morrigan then transformed her right wing into a flurry of spear-headed tentacles, and unleashed them upon the agents, slicing their guns. She then swatted them like flies and sent them flying just inches in front of Wesker and Doom. As Doom stared at the unconscious man at his feet, he wondered out loud, "Morrigan Aensland's strength and speed is unmatched, don't you think so?"

"Hardly," said Wesker, as he kicked the agent lying in front of him, for his fingers were touching Wesker's loafers. They were designer labeled. "Though Aensland's supernatural powers are beyond my research, her strength, speed and extra appendages can be easily emulated through bio-engineering."

Wesker then turned his eyes towards the young girl piloting a mecha as she fought off several agents using a variety of weapons, including a flamethrower that seemed to come out of nowhere to fend off attackers. "On another note, the work of the Tron Bonne could once again be a potential asset, if I can find a way to fuse robotic attachments to my B.O.W.s effectively. Like adamantium attachments to the Nemesis, for example. She should have stayed longer with us." Then, noticing the Servbot that found its way onto Tron's shoulder, he added, "Although I find no possible use for the small machines she keeps with her."

"She is a child," remarked Doom, as he pointed out the fact. "There is hardly anything to question about a child having a toy within her possession."

Behind them, several more A.I.M. agents continued to pour in to replace the fallen ones. There seemed to be no end to their numbers.

As Wesker observed his adversaries in battle, he noticed something off about them. "Doom," he spoke, "weren't there more of them earlier?"

"So it seems," said Doom, noticing the same fact for himself. "The spiky-haired man in the suit, and the young woman."

Wesker approached two of their henchmen who were rallying the others and called them. "You two," he ordered, "come here."

The two henchmen approached him and saluted in unison, whilst saying "Yes, sir!" One of them sounded vaguely female, and her physique was much smaller than that of her companion. In fact, there were a number of similar-looking members of the horde that were attacking the trio of heroes fending them off. At least it was safe to safe to say that A.I.M. hires operatives regardless of gender. That was a positive attribute, and possibly the only one it had.

Wesker seemed surprise, and inspected the two of them further. The look on his eyes seemed to suggest that he was familiar with the two, a feat considering he was a man who cared for no one but himself. Not even his allies, or as he liked to call them, his "assets."

"Ah, Alice Dryden and Robert Hamilton, Agent Valentine's personal assistants," he said. He eyed both masked people closely. "How come you're here on the battlefield?"

"The mistress whisked us away to join the ranks," spoke the male henchman, obviously Robert. "The Nemesis was left assisting her on the analysis, and we were given direct orders to return here when the announcement that intruders have come was issued."

"Is that so?" asked Wesker. "Well then, I have a new task for you. Two of the intruders have escaped into parts unknown, but they couldn't have gone far. I want you to search a five block radius starting from this position and weed them out. Kill them on sight if they pose a threat. But if you can, try and keep them alive. It would be good to have a couple of fresh lab rats to test on."

"Yes, sir!" the two saluted in unison, before storming off into another path that avoided the fighting.

"Aren't those minions of yours quite done with that portal, already?" asked Doom in an irritated fashion.

"Interdimensional gateway."

"Damn you and your insistence on using that term. Doom does not care for such specifics. What you should drill into that brilliant mind of yours is the answer to Doom's question!"

"Be patient, Doom," Wesker responded. "By my calculations, they should be halfway through with analyzing the gateway. All we have to do now is stall these heroes long enough to finish the analysis. After all, you're not the only one who's impatiently waiting to find out who's causing these unnatural phenomena."

"Hmph. Who or what," sneered Doom. "And I thought your plan was to lure them here and capture one of them for interrogation? Most disappointing, Wesker."

"That would just be a bonus now," admitted Wesker. "I didn't account for Stark to have caught wind of our plans and send the succubus here. My plan only anticipated a small investigative party of the non-superpowered kind. Although this would have been an excellent opportunity to remind our inside man of what's at stake."

"How can you be so sure that Stark has caught wind of it?" asked Doom. "He is not one to think things over. And perhaps you should have drilled it further in your mole's mind what they are putting at stake in trying to stall our plans."

"Perhaps, perhaps not," said Wesker. "What is important now is that they are reminded of the deal and that it is better for them not to delay their part of the plan further if they know what's good for them."

As the two villains discussed all the probable outcomes and possible permutations of their plot, Chun-Li took on the last of the A.I.M. agents that attacked them. As the agent moved forward, lunging at her with a knife, she swiftly dodged to the left while pulling on the agent's arm. She then flicked his wrist, forcing him to let go of the knife, and in one fluid go, she kneed him in stomach, then delivered a roundhouse kick to his chest, sending him flying several feet back. Panting hard and sweating profusely, Chun-Li fell to the ground and leaned backwards on her elbows.

"You alright, Chun?" asked Tron as Gustaff walked towards her. Her face was covered in dirt and sweat, and her clothes were ruffled and creased, having several small tears on the sleeves of her jacket. "You look like a wreck."

Chun-Li gave her a thumbs up. "I'm alright," she said, "it's... ha... ha... it's just that... I haven't had this much... action in a while."

Morrigan hovered down to ground level, with her arms across her chest, and a look on her unscathed face that seemed almost aroused. "The fleeting feeling of battle," she said, as she looked around her. About eight dozen or so unconscious agents piled up around the three of them. "Oh, how I long for this thrill. This feeling is what I live for."

"Don't get used to it," reprimanded Chun-Li, as she struggled to stand up.

She was a mess. She had small cut on her left cheek and a gash on her right forehead that bled crimson. Her clothes were shredded from the number of knives and blades that sliced through them, while one of her bracelets was missing. She must have accidentally stabbed it onto someone during the struggle. As she stood up, her legs started to shake violently, as impossible that may have sounded, and she felt her arms go numb. She has actually reached her limit.

"Party's over," she spoke, turning towards her companions. "It's time you tell me why you were sent here and what—oh no."

Her eyes widened.

"You were saying, policewoman?" asked Morrigan, as several dozen more agents barreled towards them unrelentingly. Like a herd of wildebeest, the massive army numbered towards the hundreds, all charging towards them like moths to a flame.

"We don't have... time for this," said Chun-Li breathing heavily. As the roars of the agents drowned out the sound of her voice, it failed to overwhelm Chun-Li's thinking. Out of the blue, she turned to Tron and smiled, saying, "Speaking of the time, Tron, do you know what time it is?"

"Uh, Adventure Time?"

"Uh, no," replied Chun-Li, looking somewhat confused at the answer.

"Wait, I know this one," said Tron, and she tapped one manicured finger repeatedly on Gustaff's control panel. "...Lunch time?"

"It's lunch time. And do you know what that means?"

And like a lightbulb, Tron's face grew brighter and her expression sparked up. "Time to take the Servbots to lunch?"

"And make their orders super-sized, if you will," added Chun-Li with a huge grin on her face.

Morrigan listened to the two's conversation and wondered out loud, "I'm not sure I'm following this."

Both girls turned to the succubus and said "Trust us!" in unison.

From under her chair, Tron Bonne took out a giant megaphone and headphones that looked like they shouldn't have been able to fit in there. She put the headphones on, and screaming into the megaphone, she shouted, "Servbots! Execute Tactical Offensive codenamed TO-X17 and get in line!"

A small compartment opened behind Gustaff and from it forty small robots, with large black eyes, yellow heads, light blue bodies and pincers for hands, climbed out and formed four rows of ten in front of their mother. The A.I.M. agents stopped in their tracks at this unexpected move and proceeded to walk forward cautiously, while Doom and Wesker ceased their conversation and trained their eyes on this curious endeavor.

"What are they trying to pull?" asked Wesker out loud.

Tron continued to to shout her orders into her megaphone as a giant satellite disk ejected out of Gustaff's back. "Okay, Servbots! Time for lunch!" And with a gleeful cry she concluded with, "Initiate counterattack! Servbot Takeout: King Servbot Edition!" in a high-pitched scream.

Without warning, the Servbots grew to giant-size, about ten-feet in height, and suddenly sported humongous toy hammers that made the steel mallets held by the A.I.M. agents look like toothpicks in comparison. All forty King Servbots then barreled down on the A.I.M. agents, like steamrollers, smashing their hammers into the ground, utterly obliterating the army in seconds in the most comical manner imaginable.

Wesker's anger was unspeakable. Seeing grown men and women utterly stomped on by what he perceived as children's playthings fueled his rage, and in his anger he snatched the sunglasses from his eyes and crushed them in one hand.

"Useless! All of you!" he shouted at the top of his voice. He himself rushed into the battlefield.

The remaining A.I.M. agents fled like scurrying ants in their desperate attempt to escape from the Servbot onslaught. Chun-Li and Tron could hardly contain their excitement after a successful counterattack. Above them, Morrigan's eyes could not believe the insanity of what she had just witnessed.

"Well," spoke Morrigan, trying to make sense of the situation. "That was certainly... unorthodox."

"You're damn right it was!" cried Chun-Li triumphantly while pumping her fist in the air. "They'll be thinking twice before they try to mess with us again."

"We better search the area for Mr. Wright and Maya now," suggested Tron. But deep inside, all she could think about was how proud she was of her Servbots.

Among other even more important decisions to be made.

"Yeah," agreed Chun-Li. "Let's."

"Perhaps you're forgetting something."

In the blink of an eye, Wesker suddenly appeared between Chun-Li and Tron Bonne, blindsiding them both and backhanding Chun-Li, sending her flying towards the concrete wall of one of the abandoned warehouses. She hit the wall hard and flat on her back. Her body pivoted violently as Wesker appeared in front of her and grabbed her by the collar of her qipao, pinning her to the wall, before anyone else could even react.

"I'm still here," said Wesker, as Chun-Li struggled to grab hold of his arms. His eyes were blood red. "So don't get all comfortable just yet. I'm just getting started."

"Chun-Li!" cried Tron as she rushed forward towards her friend. Just then, a magical blast of electricity hit her straight on, sending her and Gustaff flying off. Both pilot and mecha violently landed face down on the dirt path from which they came from earlier.

"Tron!" shouted Morrigan, as she attempted to fly off after Tron. Before she could even manage, another electric strike blasted her from the sky, and sent her careening down to the ground in smoke, crushing the concrete underneath due to the impact of her fall. As she stood up in the crevice she made in the ground, she saw the armor-clad Doom approach her. Purple energy emanated from his hand as he walked towards her. His stare felt as cold as steel.

"Face me, succubus," said Doom.

"You dare challenge a princess of Makai, mortal?" cried Morrigan in anger. Green energy glowed from her clenched fists.

"A princess, you say? Pathetic. I am the one, true king of Latveria. You are nothing to me," replied Doom. His voice was stern, menacing and unfathomably angry. "Bear this in mind, succubus: the hour of Doom is at hand. And you are its first witness."

Meanwhile, somewhere, from an unseen vantage point, a white-haired man in a blue coat watched the events unfold silently.

End of Chapter 4