Author's Note: And here… we… go! Season 2 starts now folks! Enjoy!
Marvel's first family comes home! Enjoying a lull in criminal activity, the Avengers host a get-together with the Fantastic Four, only to have their plans ruined when Janet Van Dyne and Susan Storm are stolen away by an old foe! Who is it? What dastardly plans does he have in store for these heroines? Keep reading, true believers, and bear witness as the mighty Avengers find themselves a part of-
Chapter 25: The Private War of Doctor Doom
The sub-level laboratories in Avengers Mansion seemed empty now, without Hank's presence. As it stood, there were only a few active individuals who made use of it on a regular basis, Connor Peterson first among them. As day turned to night, he tinkered with some new gadgetry he'd been building since returning from Asgard. Suffice to say, his time wearing the dwarven-made 'armor of the realms' had given him a few ideas.
Combining the manipulative abilities of his magnets with his technopathy, he put the finishing touches on a high-tech belt buckle, screwing a metal cover-plate into place over multiple microcircuits and power conduits. A single white light in the middle started glowing as Connor stood and stepped it into place around his existing Cybernaut costume. "Connor?" A familiar feminine voice called out, bringing a smile to his face.
"In here, Jan!" He called back, grabbing a pair of heavily-mechanized gauntlets that he then strapped around his hands and forearms. Janet arrived, in her Wasp costume, and raised a brow as she checked out his new addition.
"Hey, those are new! Did you build them?" She wondered, striding closer.
"Sure did, and this too." Connor replied, tapping on his belt buckle. Janet bent over to examine it.
"Nifty." She remarked. "What do they all do?"
"Well, I had a bit of a brainwave while I was recuperating." Connor began. "The dwarves used runic magic to power the gauntelts of the armor I wore, which amplified the power of my punches so I could match guys like Loki and Thor. So I figured I could replicate that ability with pneumatics and pistons and maybe the odd energy cell." Then he held up his arms, revealing his new pneumatic gauntlets. "Low and behold, I think I've made something passable."
"Trying to hit them before they hit you, huh?" Janet mused with a half smile. But it was forced and from her voice alone, Connor could tell something was off.
"What is it?" He queried.
"Uh… n-nothing!" Janet quickly stammered in reply, shooting him a broad grin in response. Connor raised a brow.
"Jan, we've been partners long enough for me to know when something's bugging you." He told her. Knowing she'd been found out, Janet loosed a sigh.
"I'm just… worried, I guess." She confessed.
"About what?"
"You." She answered, surprising him. "After Ultron and then Loki, I'm just… worried about you going back into the field." She explained. "I couldn't bear to see one of my friends get so badly beat up again." Her comments warmed him and Connor, yet again, desperately wished he could do something about his feelings for her. So touched by her concern, he fought back the urge to reach out and hug her.
"Aw, Jan… Thank you. Really, thank you. Nice to know someone cares about me." He softly replied. "If it'll help assuage your worries, I built this to help protect myself." Connor then added, tapping his belt buckle. "It's a force field projector, inspired by the one projected by Tony's armor. Should give me a defensive edge."
"Are you sure it will work?" Janet inquired, cocking her head.
"It should. I'll test it when I get a chance." Connor said, slipping his mask on. "Now, is Tony ready to leave?"
"Yeah, he was just suiting up." Janet affirmed with a nod. "You sure wanna come? If you wanna take it easy, I'm sure you can stay here."
"It's just us hanging out at the Baxter Building. I don't really see that as 'getting back in the field'. I'll be fine." Connor promised. "Besides, I have you to look out for me." He added with a lighthearted grin that Janet returned.
Elsewhere…
"Anthony Stark AKA Iron Man. Team leader. Electromechanical armor incorporates ARC reactor and repulsor technology. Threat level: high.
"Steven Rogers AKA Captain America. Enhanced strength and speed, armed with a shield comprised of unknown material. Threat level: medium.
"Janet Van Dyne AKA The Wasp. Superhuman abilities include size alteration, flight, and bio-stings. Threat level: low.
"King T'Challa AKA The Black Panther. Heightened senses, speed, and strength. Access to Vibranium weapons. Threat level: medium.
"Connor Peterson AKA Cybernaut. Electromagnet implants allow for control and manipulation of metals within magnetic fields. Threat level: medium.
"Clint Barton AKA Hawkeye. Human. Subject carries a bow with access to a variety of weaponized arrows. Threat level: low.
"Bruce Banner AKA The Hulk. Strength enhanced by gamma radiation. Upper limits: unknown. Threat level: extreme.
As Lucia Von Bardas listed off each Avenger, a holographic display revealed their portrait and basic stats, all compiled together in a complete compendium for her master's use. "Two remaining Avengers are unaccounted for, the Asgardian called Thor, and Doctor Henry Pym AKA Ant-Man AKA Giant Man." She stated. "I recommend delaying the attack, as the threat-"
"No." A voice from the shadows interrupted. "There will be no delay. Proceed as planned."
"Yes, Lord Doom." Lucia obediently replied. "But… if the Avengers stand in the way…?" She questioned, wondering what to do.
"Destroy them." Victor Von Doom said simply.
Later…
A pair of shadowy figures approached Avengers Mansion, bypassing the front gate and striding right up to the front door. Within, an oblivious Hawkeye failed to notice their approach, nose-deep in a book as he strolled through the empty entrance hall. The doorbell rang once and he didn't bother, too absorbed in his quiet reading time. Then someone knocked and by now Clint was annoyed. "Is someone gone get that?!" He shouted out to the empty mansion. Another knock and no one answered him. Closing his book with a sigh, he made for the front door. "Come on! What am I? The butler around here?" He complained, pulling open the door only to be met with some very stern-faced individuals.
"Time to settle this once and for all…" A blonde-haired man in sunglasses vowed, his tone hard and serious. In the face of such adversity, there was only one thing Hawkeye could say…
"Is it seven o'clock already?"
"I brought the chips!" Ben Grimm stated, holding up several bags. "Let's play some cards, Avengers!"
"I think they meant Poker chips." His partner, Johnny Storm, mused with a nudge. At that moment, Hulk was striding through the hall only to stop when he spied his long-time rival for strength, The Thing.
"Grimm…" he growled, lunging ahead and tackling the stony giant as they slammed into the Mansion's front lawn.
"Yes! This is way better than cards!" Johnny whooped, ditching his coat and sunglasses to reveal his Fantastic Four uniform. "Flame on!" He called out, transforming into the Human Torch as he took off to join the brawl making a mess of the front yard. Hawkeye deadpanned.
"I should've gone with Iron Man." He sighed.
Across town, Iron Man, Cybernaut and Wasp had flown to the Baxter Building; headquarters of the Fantastic Four and gateway to Prison 42. The trio alighted on the rooftop, beneath the gleaming beacon of the Fantastic Four emblem. Tony was wearing his old Mark 3 armor, the only surviving mainline suit available after Ultron and the nine realms incident, a bit of a downgrade considering Connor's upgraded appearance and Janet's unchanged appearance. Just as said woman grew to full size, another woman, an invisible one, appeared before them, taking the form of Susan Storm. "Sue!" Janet happily exclaimed, rushing over to embrace the Invisible Woman.
"Hey, Jan!" Susan greeted, returning the hug. "Sorry we keep missing each other, we got stuck in Subterranea for a bit." She apologized. Janet made a face.
"That's… underground, right? Ew…" She cringed. Sue rolled her eyes and moved on to the men.
"Hi, Tony. Hey, Connor. Reed's in his lab, he's expecting you two." She greeted.
"What? Mister Fantastic is in his lab, ignoring you?" Tony gasped sarcastically as he lifted his golden faceplate. "Shocker. Why are you still hanging around with that guy, when you could be with me?" He wondered. Janet promptly elbowed him, whimpering in regret as her joint connected with solid alloy plating.
"A spoken-for woman? Really, Stark?" Connor questioned, crossing his arms.
"Uh, you know, as the Invisible Woman, joining the Avengers." Tony quickly excused, earning eyerolls from his teammates. Sue shook her head in mock amusement.
"Tell Reed that Jan and I are having some girl time." She replied. "Assuming he notices you're there." She added, taking Janet's hand and guiding her into the Baxter Building on their own little tour. Tony watched them go, his expression contorted into one of chagrin.
"Ever the charmer, eh Tony?" Conor remarked.
The two men found their way down into Mister Fantastic's lab, which took up an entire floor of the Baxter Building. In a lab coat and goggles, Reed made use of his body's incredible flexibility to never leave his chair, stretching his torso around the lab in order to examine his latest subject of study. In this particular case, that would be the time-locked Princess Ravonna. Connor studied her for a moment as Tony tried to chat up Reed, although it seemed Reed wasn't really fulfilling his end of the conversation in which he was supposed to listen.
"…And so I'm explaining to Thor that Asgard is an other-dimensional realm and not a magical fantasyland, when we detect a spike in some sort of unknown energy."
"Adjusting chronal variable to negative five-point-seven…" Reed murmured, shifting the controls on a device that scanned Ravonna. His torso pulled back into place on his desk chair, Reed continuing to type as Tony closed in feeling ignored.
"Uh, so it turns out that Asgard is accessible by manipulating transdimensional wormholes. Everything about Thor and Asgard is explainable by science, which I've been telling everyone." He continued, hoping he'd grab Reed's attention, even though the doctor stretched out his arms across the lab to collect pieces of equipment without even looking.
"Because Asgard exists in a plane of existence, which means it has to, least to some degree, follow the basic rules of physics." Connor chimed in.
"Uh huh…" Reed murmured.
Elsewhere, Janet was regaling Sue with her own take on the Avengers recent run in Asgard. "It's true! Thor lives in a magic kingdom with a rainbow bridge, and I flew on a horse with wings!" She exclaimed, swiping her Avengers ID card to open the doors to 42. "There were elves and giants and a big magic tree…"
"Wow. That must've been something." Sue mused. "Did you know that Reed once theorized Thor was a mutant who had crafted a public-accepting persona around the power of electrokinesis?" Janet snorted a laugh.
"Preeeeetty sure Hank came up with something similar once." She remarked. "Anyway, we're still tracking down the Masters of Evil, but otherwise, we pretty much saved the universe." Janet said proudly as the interior of 42 was revealed to them. Sue was in awe of the hundreds of cells, each every one in two containing a villain caught by the Avengers.
"I'm impressed! The Fantastic Four have put a few bad guys away in here, but we're mostly just out exploring whatever new thing Reed's found. You Avengers, though? You've been busy." She mused with a smile, Janet proudly beaming at the comment.
"…so I had to forge a new suit of armor with a metal that doesn't exist in this dimension, that you've never even seen before." Tony regaled.
"Same. Kinda. I build an armored outfit that made me look like an ancient Viking, but more… fantastical." Connor echoed.
"Uh huh. And where is that armor now?" Reed wondered, his voice emotionless and sounding less-than-interested.
"It, uh… the Dwarf King kept it." Tony answered sheepishly. "It was part of the deal I made with him for helping me."
"Same. I tried begging and pleading but he wouldn't take." Connor added.
"Uh huh." Reed said again, turning around and stretching past both of them as his body encircled Ravonna's stasis chamber, a datapad in hand as he studied new variables. Tony sighed.
"I should've stayed at the mansion." Connor threw him a look.
"What, and leave me here all by myself?" He retorted. "Misery loves company. Don't forget that."
Meanwhile, back at Avenger's Mansion…
The Poker game was several hands deep, Johnny, Ben, Hulk, Steve, Clint and T'Challa all exchanging chips and hands in a close, calculating game as Hawkeye regaled them with their recent experience in the nine realms. "So, Thor stayed in Asgard. No one's seen Pym in a few weeks. But, yeah, we pretty much saved the world." He remarked as everyone raised their bet. "You're welcome." He added smugly. Johnny scoffed.
"Whatever. The Fantastic Four saved the world this morning… before breakfast." He retorted as T'Challa snagged a handful of potato chips. Cap's vision narrowed, sizing up Ben Grimm.
"The rocky fellow, he's the Thing… which one are you again, son?" He queried of Johnny. The young man balked.
"Whoa, are-… Are you serious? How could you not know this?!" He exclaimed in offended disbelief. "I'm Johnny! Johnny Storm, the Human Torch?"
"Ah, give him a break, Torch. He's like a hundred years old." Clint snickered. He then shot a disapproving look at his hand, 4 of hearts, 3 of diamonds, 2 of clubs, 2 of diamonds… a Pair, maybe a Straight, but not good enough. "I call." He relented, dropping his hand on the table. "Ben?" Thing promptly laid out a 2 of hearts, 2 of clubs, 4 of diamonds, 4 of hearts and a 4 of spades.
"Boo-yah! Full House!" He proclaimed, quite happy with a very high hand.
Hulk was not.
Dropping his hand with an angry growl, he launched himself over the table and tackled the surprised Grimm, everything shuddering and lurching as while the table eventually settled back into place, just in time for T'Challa to lay down his hand.
"Four aces."
Back at the Baxter Building…
Mister Fantastic continued his work as Connor arched an eyebrow. "Is he even paying attention?" He whispered to Tony. After a moment of thought, Tony had a cunning plan.
"Let's find out…" He replied, moments before Hank returned to his chair.
"Hank, I've been able to keep Princess Ravonna stabilized, but I…" Reed suddenly paused, realizing Hank was not with Tony. "Wait-… Where is Hank?" He wondered, finally looking to Tony and even removing his goggles.
"Leave of absence." The billionaire said simply. "Are you really this oblivious, or are you just the dumbest man on the planet?" He wondered, crossing his arms. At that, Reed stretched out his neck until he was face to face with Tony.
"Excuse me?" Unhindered, Tony continued.
"Sue Storm is way out of your league, and you're messing it up by ignoring her all the time." "But, on second thought, if things aren't working out between the two of you, maybe…"
"I can think of fourteen different ways to seal you in that armor forever." Reed suddenly threatened, and he sounded like he meant it. A wide-eyed Connor glanced back and forth between the two. Evidently, unlike Hank, Reed knew when to drop science and come to blows, even if it was a friend!
But then, Tony simply laughed and it wasn't long until Reed followed suit, the rest of his body stretching over to meet his elongated head and reforming into a normal man's physique. Connor breathed a sigh of relief, chuckling a little for himself. "Honestly, Tony, I think Susan's actually been ignoring me the last few weeks." Reed said. "She's been very distracted lately."
"Huh. Normally she's the resident Baxter busybody, when you're not fussing over things." Tony remarked.
As they conversed, Janet and Sue left 42 behind. "So, how goes things between you and Hank? Last I heard you two had moved into Avengers Mansion together, like Hank literally moved his lab there too." Sue inquired.
"Good." Janet replied on reflex. Then she thought otherwise, recalling the half-dozen unanswered voicemails she'd left him over the past few weeks. "Er, well, okay I guess." She corrected. Then her feelings got the better of her. "I mean… ugh!" She groaned.
"That was quite the downward spiral." Sue commented. "I'm guessing there's trouble in paradise?" Janet sighed and nodded, not saying a word. "Science getting in the way?"
"What else?" An exasperated Janet complained. "I swear, if science were a woman, he'd ditch me for her in a heartbeat! Probably already has…" she grumbled.
"I know how you feel, Jan. If Reed spent half the time on me that he spends in his lab, well, we'd probably be married by now." Sue sympathized.
"Men are dumb. Don't even get me started about Hank." Janet huffed in annoyance. "He keeps trying to quit the team, even though the two of us becoming Avengers has been the best thing that's happened in our relationship. Now he's gone back to Greyburn, packed up everything and left the Mansion completely… me included." Folding her hands behind her head, she exhaled slowly. "Somedays, I… I-I…" Sue patted her shoulder.
"You don't have to say a word. Believe me, I get it." She whispered in reassurance. "But… if you and Hank aren't panning out so well, maybe it's time to think about somebody else?" Sue suggested. "What about Connor? He seems nice, kinda cute too." At the mention of Connor, Janet's eyes widened a little.
"Oh! Uh, heh, well, I, um…" She stammered, rubbing the back of her head. A light blush crept over her cheeks at Sue's notion.
In fact, she was so flustered by the prospect, she failed to notice the mechanical photoreceptor spying on them from the shadows…
Hawkeye did not want to get caught in the middle between Hulk and Thing, but someone had to intervene before the two made the front hall look like a bomb had gone off. "Woah now! You guys are gonna be cool, right?" He stated firmly, hands on chests holding the two apart. "Everyone just be cool!"
"He started it." Thing grumbled.
"What is it with you two, anyway?" Clint demanded.
"Grimm's just sore because he's never beat me in a fight." Hulk remarked.
"In your dreams, jade jaws! I've gone toe to toe with stuff that'd make you wet your purple pants!" Thing shot back, the two threatening to come to blows again. The others in the room watched, mildly amused, while failing to notice the photoreceptor hiding just outside the window, concealed in the bushes…
Lucia Von Bardas had a complete lock on both the Baxter Building and Avengers Mansion. With their forces in place, she waited with patient obedience for the confirmation order she required. "Now." Doctor Doom ordered.
Two explosions rocked both buildings back to back, a fiery plume of dark, ashen smoke billowing from both Avengers Mansion and the Baxter Building. Reed's lab was promptly turned into a colossal mess of smoke and and debris, the room reduced to a total mess that Connor and Tony had to crawl out of. "Reed!" Tony coughed, fishing his helmet out of the mess and slapping it on, powering up his HUD to perform a search scan. "Reed!" He shouted, having trouble discerning the rubble from the body of Mister Fantastic. Connor was already on top of things.
"Tony! Over here!" He cried, using his magnets to move debris off of Reed's form, his body loose and elongated after the blast. His armor enhancing his strength, Tony helped move the rest of the debris and then pulled Reed to his feet, his body reforming as he gained consciousness.
"Agh… R-Ravonna…!" He groaned, rubbing his head. Tony's scanners quickly checked on the chronal-locked princess.
"She's okay, stasis tube is intact." He reported, seeing no visible damage and detecting no irregularities.
"What was that? Something wrong with the building?" Connor wondered, waving away a dust cloud. He had his answer when a second explosion rocked the room, the trio forced to steady themselves as a hole was blown open in the wall. From the smoke, a small platoon of mechanoids emerged, picking up speed as they charged the three heroes. "Oh goodie, robots. My specialty!" Connor remarked, happy to be dealing with foes within his prowess. Snapping out his arms, he used his magnets and pulled the closest one into a bearhug, his fingers touching the cold metal chassis and immediately allowing his mutant powers to intertwine with the robot's programming. He started to learn, to adapt, his technopathic abilities allowing him to learn the language of the robot in order to control its functions. "Tony! Buy me some time!" He quickly called out, Iron Man responding in turn with twin blasts from his repulsors.
One robot charged him, swinging wildly with its fists, Tony twisting around a catching it in a headlock. Planting his palm against its helm, he triggered a repulsor blast that caused its optics and vocoder to flare with blue energy, the head emptied of components as the body crumpled to the floor a smoking wreck. A second attempted to pounce on him from behind, only for Iron Man to catch its arm and throw it to the ground, stomping on its head and triggering his jetboots to vaporize its internal components, leaving it a smoking ruin like its duplicate.
Elsewhere in the building, Janet was up against similar threats, shrinking down and using her bio-stings to blast a trio of robot barreling down the hall towards her. They proved fast and agile, not to mention tough, their chassis absorbed each of her stings as they crossed the distance and caught up with her. Janet took to the air, dodging and weaving around their swiping servos before flying high and getting out of their range.
One of them chose now to access one of their many abilties and launched a rocket-propelled hand towards the surprised Wasp. Bracing for impact, Janet was promptly smacked out of the air, her body tumbling to across the floor and growing to normal size as she lost focus. The robots advanced on her, the closest one pouncing with fists raised high… but was stopped a mere few feet from a wide-eyed Jan by an invisible force field. The other robots closed in, their fists driving into the invisible wall with little success. Janet turned to find Sue projecting her powers, her focus and concentration steady.
"Are you okay?" The blonde asked.
"Yeah, I think," Jan replied, rubbing her head, "what are these things?"
"Doombots. Doctor Doom's minions." Susan quickly answered, having encountered the familiar form dozens of times in the past.
"Oh, that tin-plated dictator guy. Great." Janet grumbled, shrinking down and flying again. "If he's here, I'm gonna kick his metal behind for ruining girls night!" She promised, both fists glowing with bio-electricity.
Iron Man drove a Doombot into the wall as Mister Fantastic entangled one with his body, the genius scientist popping open a panel on the back of its head and disabling the Doombot with a few deft presses and flicks. He reformed as it slumped over, "Victor must've found a way around the building defences!" He exclaimed.
"No kidding!" Tony echoed, using his repulsors to hastily erect a forcefield as other Doombots opened fire with arm-mounted gatling cannons. "This old armor can't take much more of this… Connor! How much longer?" Iron Man asked. The technopath grappled with the struggling Doombot.
"Almost… got it…" He replied, grunting in exertion.
"What is it with you and Doctor Doom, anyway?" Iron Man inquired of Reed.
"He blames me for the accident that scarred his face, among other things. He's always been trying to get the better of me, to prove his intellect is better and greater than mine." Mister Fantastic answered.
"Petty, but I've heard similar before." Tony mused, reflecting on Obadiah Stane.
"Okay got it!" Cybernaut cried, loosing his Doombot and reaching out with his senses to control the others. They immediately turned on each other, gatling rounds destroying one another within seconds. Tony dropped his shields as Connor ordered the lone Doombot to fall to its knees as Mister Fantastic stretched over to pry open its cranial components.
"Excellent work, Cybernaut. Not even a scratch." He complimented. "I must say, your mutation seems to be extremely helpful."
"I'm just glad these robots aren't as smart as Ultron." Cybernaut stated in reply.
Meanwhile, at Avengers Mansion…
Doombots came pouring in through the hole in the wall, lasers blasting away as the started heroes immediately sprang into action. The Avengers threw up their hoods and collected their gear, Hawkeye loosing a trio of explosive arrows that took down three Doombots in quick succession. One managed to grab Thing and pound him into the floor as Hulk grappled with another that pounced on his face, crawling in and around the enraged giant before pulling his legs out from under him and dropping him on his back.
Human Torch promptly blasted two with his thermal beams, only for one to catch his feet and throw him into a wall, his metal hands proving both heat and flame resistant… not too mention extremely agile, as Black Panther soon learned upon engaging the mechanoid. "The new uniform is nice, but I'm thinking you probably need a new shield." Hawkeye remarked to Captain America. Since their return from the Asgard, Steve had modernized his outfit some, opting for a bulkier utility belt and a wingless hood, along with new grey patches under his arms made of frictionless material to ease his movements when in full costume.
"Agreed!" He concurred, deftly leaping over a dual set of beams that cut cleaning through an overturned table. They both quickly bailed out of the way as Thing crashed into the wall behind them, nearly flattening both Avengers in the process. "So who is this Doctor Doom?" Cap asked over his shoulder as Thing rolled over with a grumble.
"Eh, your standard arch-enemy. Victor Von Doom has been obsessed with Reed for years, always trying to prove he's smarter, or trying to take over the world… you know, the usual." Ben replied, dusting himself off. "Except Doom's got his own country and an army of robots to back up his threats." He added, just as a Doombot threw Hulk at their feet.
"Don't care. Time to smash." The jade giant rumbled, picking himself up and charging back into the fight with Thing right behind him. Cap would've followed had he not been stopped by Black Panther.
"This is wrong. Doctor Doom has nothing to gain by attacking us here." He urged. "This reeks of desperation… something he is not known for." Cap's eyes narrowed.
"Then we need to figure out his endgame. And I bet those Doombots might have something we can use." He replied.
More Doombots were storming the lab and Connor's powers weren't quite enough to contain them all. As such, Iron Man entered the fray, unleashing his shoulder-mounted missile launchers to barrage the incoming Doombots with a swarm of metal-rending explosives. "Why now? Why is Victor attacking now? Especially with three Avengers here." Reed wondered aloud, grabbing various parts from across the lab to slowly build an offensive weapon for himself. For Tony, it was fairly open and shut.
"Because he hates you, a lot. Didn't he shoot the Baxter Building into space once?"
"Yes, he did. But he had a reason, just like he has a reason for doing this." Reed replied, unleashing the power of his quickly-constructed energy cannon to down three Doombots in quick succession. "We just need to find out what it is."
"Maybe it's because the Fantastic Four are divided. If he can't beat you all at the same time, maybe he's hoping to take advantage of this." Cybernaut suggested, his irons flying through a Doombot's head at the speed of a railgun round. His mental powers quickly stopped three attempting to attack him from behind, their green photoreceptors glowing white before they fell to the floor offline.
"And yet we're in the company of other heroes. If anything, we're stronger right now because we're with friends." Reed countered, just before Iron Man was plowed through the wall by an incoming Doombot. Reed stretched after him, Iron Man crushing the Doombot's head between his hands before struggling to activate his thrusters. Mister Fantastic lept down after him, his body stretching out flat and forming a human parachute as his arms and legs wrapped around Tony's shoulders. "You may need a diagnostic scan on that-"
"I've got it, thanks." Tony curtly retorted. Above them, Cybernaut took flight and followed them to the ground, only for four more Doombots to show up and encircle them.
"Reinforcements may be prudent." Mister Fantastic determined. Iron Man reached for his comms.
"Avengers, assemble!" He called out, only to be met by raw static. "They're jamming my communications!" He exclaimed. "Cybernaut-"
"Working on it." Connor responded, quickly unleashing his mutation upon the already-learned programming of the Doombots. But not long after his powers connected with the Doombot's systems, he paused. "Wait a minute…"
"What? What is it?" Mister Fantastic queried.
"These four… they're not made for combat. Their programming, th-the subroutines, they're engineered for something else." He quickly explained. Tony didn't like that possibility.
"Shields!" Snapping up his arms, he used his repulsors to project a forcefield around the three of them. But it wasn't long after he did that the Doombots promptly froze in place, only to backtrack away from the trio. "Uh, nevermind shields." Tony relented, dropping his arms as the others looked on in befuddlement.
Another massive explosion sent Hulk and Thing flying through the air, the two crashing into the front yard of the Mansion as the Doombots kept coming. "Stupid robots." Hulk grumbled. The other Avengers quickly followed the battle, Captain America and Hawkeye tag-teaming one Doombot, the supersoldier using his superior agility to throw the Doombot off course just in time for the archer's electric arrow to shock it into submission, as Human Torch led the rest on a wild chase.
"I thought you were supposed to get stronger the madder you got! Well, get mad, you dumb monster!" Thing snapped, throwing out a punch that Hulk swiftly caught. Dragging him close, Hulk gave Thing a good close look at his snarling green features.
"I'm already mad!" He growled, turning with a roar and using Thing like a club to smash the other Doombots into submission as Black Panther pounced on others and used his daggers to great effect beheading them. But more and more made their presence known, closing in on the heroes and surrounding them… only to suddenly stop and remain stationary just like their fellows had for Iron Man, Mister Fantastic and Cybernaut.
The heroes looked on in confusion, thoroughly bewildered by the sudden halt. Quenching his flames, Johnny walked over to one of the immobile mechanoids and tapped on its chassis. "Hey, no one's home." He said aloud, the other heroes crowding around. Hulk stomped over, dragging Thing behind him.
"Are you gonna let me go now, ya big-" He started to complain, only for Hulk to lift him up and slam him into Doombot, shattering it into billions of pieces…
Reed studied the seemingly-offline Doombots, his body stretching around them as he attempted to sate his unlimited curiosity. "Hmm… intriguing. They were shut down remotely… but why?" He concluded, his body reverting back to normal. "What's Victor playing at…?" Tony didn't have an answer, neither did Connor.
"It's the weirdest thing, they got us out of the building and then just stopped." The technopath mused, glancing up at their exit hole in the Baxter Building. Then, Reed's eyes suddenly widened, recalling that he and these men were not the only ones inside.
"Susan! Susan, come in!" He exclaimed, tapping the 4 emblem on his chest. Tony quickly clued in.
"She was with Wasp. JARVIS, connect me through Wasp's Avengers ID card." He ordered. A brief few seconds passed as Connor rushed to their side, his eyes equally wide. "No response." Tony grumbled and Connor started fidgeting. "Give me map and coordinates on Jan's location." Tony watched as a map sprouted on his HUD, Connor shifting back and forth on the balls of his feet as he waited anxiously. "She's on the move… at about 800 miles an hour." Tony revealed.
"That's too fast, way beyond her top speed." Connor realized instantly. "She must be on a transport. Which way is she heading?"
"Eastbound." Answered Tony.
"Across the Atlantic-" Connor surmised, only to be abruptly stopped as the Doombots suddenly began to move. But not in a bipedal manner as if to attack, instead it was more of a transformation…
The humanoid mechanoids turned themselves into energy pylons, sprouting focal antennas that linked up to created a cube of reflected energy, beams of green connecting each pylon to the other as the three men were trapped in a sinister square. "Connor?" Tony queried as the technopath reached out with his senses.
"They've all activated an internal countdown sequence. They're rigged to explode." He grimly reported.
"This might be a problem…" Tony trailed off, striding over to one. "Man, Doom really hates you." He remarked to Reed. But Mister Fantastic's mind was elsewhere.
"Look at the energy configuration. They've formed a daisy chain to amplify the explosion." He noted. "If my calculations are correct, the blast radius will encompass the Baxter Building-"
"We need to evacuate everyone." Tony hurriedly determined.
"-along with half the city." Reed finished, giving the two Avengers pause.
"No choice but to shut it down." Connor concluded.
"Maybe not." Tony began to theorize. "If I fly the robots high enough so that-"
"No. This is a distraction." Reed cut in, stretching around the two to reach one of the Doombots. "Doom has Susan and the Wasp. We'll deal with the Doombots, you go after them Tony." He ordered. Iron Man balked at the notion of leaving them behind with a city-destroying bomb.
"Reed, I'm not gonna leave-"
"Tony, he's right." Connor interrupted. "You can reach supersonic speeds within eight seconds, you stand the best chance of catching up with that transport. You have to go." He urged. Tony didn't like it, but clearly there was no arguing. He took flight with a whoosh from his jet boosters, Connor darting over to the nearest Doombot.
"I'm curious to see how quickly your mutation can interrupt the programming sequence." Reed casually remarked as he pried open a panel.
"Are you seriously turning a bomb-disposal into a race?" Connor retorted incredulously. Reed offered him a shrug.
"Just satisfying a hypothesis." He responded.
Meanwhile, over the Atlantic Ocean…
Janet came to with a groan, waking up on an unpleasantly hard metal floor that carried the consistent thrum of a vibrating engine. "Ugh, what…?" She groaned, struggling to wrap her mind around what exactly had transpired. The last thing she could remember, foggily that is, was their attempted counterattack against the Doombots failing, their robotic capabilities overwhelming her and- "Sue!" She gasped, spying the Invisible Woman's comatose form beside her. A simple nudge wouldn't work, Janet picking herself up to try and shake Susan awake.
That's when a shadow loomed over her and Janet had barely a second to realize who it was before a stunt blast knocked her out again. Lucia Von Bardas shouldered her weapon just as the ship's terminal blared an alarm, "Warning: incoming signal detected."
Outside the ship, Iron Man made quick work of the flanking Doombots using his repulsors to melt a hole in the side of the hull and enter, using his variobeam to shine some light on the dark room within. He moved carefully and cautiously, seeing no Doombots to threaten him as he moved on the bound and unconscious pair of Wasp and Invisible Woman. But the moment his back was turned, a door slid open and Lucia stepped out, Tony whirling on her with repulsors ready. "You!" He exclaimed in recognition. "I warned your boss not to mess with me, lady. And now-" His sentence was rudely interrupted as Lucia morphed both of her arms into electron-phase emitters that blasted Iron Man out of the ship as his suit sizzled with electrical overload.
Splashing into the icy water, Iron Man surfaced moments later, treading water. "JARVIS, begin system reboot and connect me with Mister Fantastic. I need an update on-" He abruptly stopped when he spied a massive glow coming from the city… and he feared the worst.
"Point-four-two seconds faster than me. Impressive. Of course, my intellect provided a substantial boost, suggesting you could solve the problem nearly fifteen minutes faster than the average being." Mister Fantastic noted.
"Uh… thanks?" Cybernaut slowly responded, rubbing the back of his head in confusion. Together, they had successfully dismantled the Doombots and halted the detonation sequence, just in time for Iron Man to touch down.
"Huh. I was expecting a little more… mess." He remarked.
"We've successfully dismantled the Doombots. There's no risk of detonation anymore." Reed explained.
"Where's Janet? A-And Susan for that matter?" Cybernaut hurriedly inquired.
"They got away… but I've got satellites tracking them." Tony replied, popping open his faceplate. "So, if you two disarmed the Doombots, then what was the big lightshow?" He queried. At that exact moment, the Quinjet arrived on the scene, followed closely by Human Torch.
"Reed! Ben and I just saved the city from exploding Doombots!" Johnny enthusiastically declared. "All by ourselves! No matter what the Avengers say. Isn't that right, Ben?" He wondered of his rocky companion, who dropped down from the Quinjet at the same time as Hulk.
"Yeah… more or less." He replied, sounding less certain. "The Avengers helped. A little." A snort from Hulk seemed to suggest otherwise. "Well… a lot."
"If by a 'lot you' mean we did everything." Hawkeye remarked as he descended the boarding ramp with Panther and Cap in tow. "Panther slowed down the chain reaction, then Hulk smashed them all together and threw them up over the city." He explained.
"Forgot to throw you with them." Hulk rumbled with a snarky grin to Thing.
"Wait, Avengers Mansion was attacked, too?" Tony cut in.
"Oh that can't be a coincidence." Connor mused. "Doom attacked both teams in both places, either he wanted our attention or wanted us out of the way."
"He knew Johnny and Ben were there." Reed reasoned. "He wanted them out of the way. All to get Susan… but why Wasp?"
"Whoa, whoa, slow down! What do you mean, 'all to get to Susan'?" Johnny interjected.
"Doom has your sister and Wasp." Tony simply stated.
"What?!" Johnny cried, eyes wide. "Then what are you standing around for?!" He shouted, bursting into flames.
"If Doom's got Suzy, we go get her back!" Thing stated firmly. "And we clobber Doom while we're at it, once and for all!"
"It's not that simple." Tony cut in.
"Why not?" Thing demanded.
"For starters, we Avengers don't know a thing about Doom. Sure, you guys do, but we don't. We'd be flying blind." Cybernaut told him.
"Both Iron Man and Cybernaut are correct." T'Challa concurred. "This is a trap. This is what Doctor Doom wants; for the Fantastic Four to come to him, on his terms." He explained. "If you charge in, you will be destroyed."
"Plus, he's the dictator of a sovereign nation, we go in and we're the invaders. I can't see SHIELD or the United States being very happy about that." Tony added.
"So that's your big Avengers plan? Let Doom win?" Torch wondered crossly. Despite the facts, Connor couldn't help but feel like, right here and now, that rules were made to be broken.
"I'm with Thing and Torch, Tony. Doom's a bully, a tinpot fascist who needs to be taken down a few pegs. And since he's got Wasp, I'd say Latveria moved on American soil first." He said aloud. Deep down, he was determined to bring Janet back in one piece, and if that involved putting a few dents in Doom's suit of armor… well, the more the better. "I'll go alone if I have to."
"You're not going alone, Connor." Tony stated. "Also, I didn't say we'd let him win…"
Half a world away, in Latveria…
Castle Doom was archaic, seemingly ripped right from the days of King Arthur… on the outside that is. Inside, technology lined every room from wall to wall, some of it one of a kind with no equal to be found in the entire world. This was the sight Janet awoke to as she finally came around. "Okay… nobody shoot me… again." She groaned. When no one did, she picked herself up and discovered she had been placed within a large glass orb, hooked up to some kind of a machine… she could've sworn she'd seen one in Hank's lab before.
Feeling out the curved surface, she charged a bio-sting and struck it hard. "Agh!" She screamed in pain as the bolt was refracted and its energy charged right back into her own body, knocking her over. The pain was temporary, but enough to determine she probably shouldn't do that again. She stood slowly, wincing as she shrugged off the effects of her sting, deciding she couldn't fight and only look around. That's when she found Susan trapped in another orb, attached to the same machine. "Sue?" She called out, pounding on the glass and trying to get her attention. "Sue! You need to wake up now! Susan!" Susan came to with a start.
"Ngh… what?" She groaned, forcing herself to her feet as she discovered her containment. Susan reached out with her hands, ready to flex her powers.
"No! Don't!" Jan quickly cried out in warning, stopping her in her tracks. "It, uh, shocks you when you use your powers. It hurts." She explained, causing Susan to relent. "And I'm thinking that's the guy we need to thank for it." Janet added, shooting a glare across the room to where Victor Von Doom was working. "Hey. Hey! Doctor Doom, right?" She called out to the green-cloaked dictator. "You wanna apologize to us before you get beaten up or after?"
"Jan…" Sue said warily, knowing Victor was not to be taken lightly. But Janet ignored her and carried on.
"And don't think I've forgotten about you, robot girl! Just wait until the Avengers get here, we have a guy who trashes robots before breakfast… with his mind!" She snapped to a nearby Lucia. "I mean, seriously! Do you really think you're going to walk away from this?" She wondered, Doom continuing to ignore her as he prepped various pieces of machinery. "You think you're the only wannabe world-ruler we've taken down? Here's a tip: putting on a skirt over your second-rate Iron Man armor? Not helping." Doom remained silent. "What, you're too good to talk to me? I zapped bad guys that-"
"Miss Van Dyne," Doom growled, finally turning to face her, "I am not some common criminal that can be distracted by your prattling." He stated firmly, looming menacingly before her confinement. "You are nothing to Doom. And your pathetic attempts to play mind games with me amount to exactly less than nothing. So, please, stop embarrassing yourself." Taken aback by his cold demeanor, Janet felt rather tongue-tied by the time Doom finished.
"Uh… okay…" she squeaked, clearing her throat to try and regain her composure. "S-So what do you want?"
"I have exactly what I want." Doom stated in reply, toggling a switch that caused several mechanical frames to sprout around the orbs encasing the two heroines. Janet pounded on the glass, desperate to escape.
"Warning. There is an approaching aircraft. An Avengers Quinjet." Lucia suddenly reported, eyes glowing violet as her cybernetic implants connected with the castle's base sensor systems. Doom looked to her.
"Eliminate them." He ordered simply.
Streaking across the mountainous countryside, a single Quinjet flanked by Human Torch bore down on Castle Doom… where some very modern heatseeking missile launchers sprouted from the outer parapets, loosing a trio of explosive ordinance towards them. "Here it comes!" Hawkeye warned, the sensors at his station blaring. Cap quickly jumped on comms.
"Torch! You're up!" He called out, banking the Quinjet around hard as the three projectiles followed. Human Torch quickly struck them in their blind spot, a burst of nova-hot flame incinerating one. Hawkeye deployed his gunnery position and promptly destroyed a second with the Quinjet's rooftop turret. Waiting for the third to draw just close enough, Cap applied the air brakes and slowed the jet down mere moments before the missile detonated. "Okay, that's it. We're aborting the mission." Cap announced.
"I hate this plan." Hawkeye muttered as the Quinjet banked around and made to retreat, Human Torch close behind.
"The Quinjet survived the initial assault, but is now retreating out of Latverian airspace." Lucia reported, monitoring the air battle from within. Doom's gaze narrowed, something was amiss and he knew it. The Avengers would not simply retreat, especially with the other members of the Fantastic Four with them. They were up to something…
Turning around, a single bolt of electrical energy from his fingertip struck the cloaked Iron Man in the room with them, revealing the red and gold armor as it collapsed under duress from an electrical overload. Lucia sprang from her chair in an instant, her arms converting into their weapon configuration as she advanced on the downed Iron Man.
Before she could attack, Black Panther and Cybernaut dropped down from above, the Wakandan drilling Lucia with several harsh and fast blows before a burst of magnetic energy sent her sprawling. As they attacked, Mister Fantastic stretched down to the machine holding the heroines captive and proceed to hack his way into the device.
Tony picked himself up, Doctor Doom tapping a panel on his gauntlet to deploy a trio of massive, supersized Doombots, each one colossal by comparison to his previous models. Iron Man quickly projected a forcefield to protect himself and Cybernaut as all three opened fire on them. "Okay, so much for avoiding an international incident." He complained. "Connor?"
"I need two… maybe five minutes." The technopath answered. Tony decided that was five minutes too long.
"Avengers, assemble!" He called out.
Outside the castle, Cap's Quinjet returned and hovered alongside the cloaked second ship. Human Torch dove down, eager to join the fray, as the boarding ramp opened to reveal Hulk and Thing ready to drop. "You ready to do this, Jolly Green?" He wondered with a grin. Hulk's response was a heavy pat on the back, more like a swat, that knocked Thing out and sent him falling towards the castle. With a roar, Hulk jumped after him.
Black Panther backflipped away from Lucia as her laser repeaters pumped violet rounds into the floor in pursuit of him. He was then beset by one of the colossi Doombots, the massive mechanoid aiming its weapon arm threateningly. But before either could move, Thing came crashing through the roof, his weight and impenetrable skin crushing the Doombot under his heels. "It's clobberin' time!" He bellowed on arrival, his rocky body shielding Panther from a further assaults by Lucia. She was promptly interrupted by Human Torch, hurling fireballs that forced her to turn and shield herself. At that moment, Cybernaut struck from behind, using his magnets to hold her stock still no matter how much she struggled.
"Nice to know you're mostly robot. Now I can perform my favourite Fatality." He growled, reaching out with his magnets and ripping Lucia's spinal support brace with a shower of sparks. "Sub-Zero wins." He remarked with a mirthless grin as her remains crumpled to the floor. Thing broke off and charged after another Doombot as Cybernaut turned and used his magnets to force another Doombot's cannon arm away from him and T'Challa. Hulk then crashed into the scene, immediately advancing on Doctor Doom. But the Latverian monarch proved ready fro him, his armor tanking Hulk's heavy blows as only a right cross to the head managed to connect, knocking Doom's hood loose to reveal his metal-encrusted head.
Charging his power gauntlets, a single two-handed strike sent Hulk crashing through the wall band plummeting to the ground below.
Cybernaut pounced on the Doombot attacking Susan and Reed, Mister Fantastic morphing his body into all manner of shapes and lengths to avoid getting shot. His connection complete, Cybernaut took full control of the Doombot and turned it on its fellow, its laser cannon barraging the other Doombot and distracting it long enough for Hawkeye to land four explosive arrows right in the cranium, blowing it to pieces.
Mister Fantastic promptly wrapped his body around the legs, tying up the Doombot as Thing grabbed its cannon arm and tore it free, Human Torch blasting the Doombot in the back and driving it to the ground. All four sprang free as Iron Man unleashed his unibeam, punching a hole clean through the mechanoid and destroying it instantly.
The heroes closed ranks, Hawkeye loosing an electric arrow that shorted out Doom's console as the Latverian calmly stepped aside to avoid it. "Doom! You can't win this!" Iron Man declared. "I'm gonna give you one chance here. Surrender." Beneath his mask, Victor frowned.
"Doom does not surrender." He growled in retort.
"Take him!" Tony shouted, unleashing a repulsor blast as Hawkeye fired off another arrow, Human Torch spewed out a fireball, Black Panther hurled a pair of Vibranium daggers, and Cybernaut sent his irons flying.
Every single projectile ricocheted off an energy field, Doom standing unharmed as he unleashed an ultrasonic blast from his palm that knocked Iron Man flat on his back. Raising his opposite hand, Doom created a secondary forcefield that redirected a pair of incoming fireballs, using both projectiles to drop Captain America and Hawkeye. Mister Fantastic wrapped his malleable body tightly around Doctor Doom, only to suffer the agonizing sting of an electric field that dropped him in a heap around the Latverian's feet.
Black Panther charged in next, grappling with Doctor Doom and proving an equal match in terms of combat prowess. "Cybernaut! Retrieve Invisible Woman and Wasp!" He quickly called out, moments before Doctor Doom laid him low with a headbutt and then threw him aside. Connor scrambled to obey as another ultrasonic blast knocked Thing off his feet, driving him into the floor as Doom casually walked towards Cybernaut. His shield repulsed Johnny's fireballs before he reached out with a single finger and trapped the Human Torch within an anti-gravity field. Turning around, he whipped Johnny around like a cracking whip, using his body to knock a rising Thing down again, successfully dispatching the heroes.
All, that is, except one.
Cybernaut turned just as Doom approached him, the Latervian's demeanor calm yet cold and sinister. Forced to abandon his attempts to interface with the tech involved, he brandished his irons and formed a pair of batons. "Alright, tinhead, let's do this." He growled, rushing forward and lashing out with several coordinated strikes that Doom casually warded off with his gauntlets. Spinning around, the technopath sent his irons streaking forward like a hail of bullets, each one deflected by Doom's personal forcefield. Narrowing his eyes in understanding, Connor reached out with his magnets, only to discover Doctor Doom had demagnetized his armor as well.
Taking advantage of his failing efforts, Doom struck Cybernaut with an electron burst before his hand thrust out and ensnared his neck, allowing him to lift the mutant off his feet before chokeslamming him into the ground. Connor gasped for air, struggling under an iron grip he very much underestimated.
"Fool. Did you think mere sticks would be a match against me? Did you not see how easily I laid your more superior colleagues low?" Doom hissed.
"Actually… I… did..." Cybernaut gasped.
"Then you are even more foolish than I took you for. Your attempt to waylay me was pathetic at best and desperate at worst, for Doom is superior to all." Victor growled.
"You know what? I'll… give you that." Connor wheezed. "Your armor… is good, your weapons… aren't bad, even your tech… is… pretty decent." He confessed between measured breaths, his bare fingers managing to grasp Doom's gauntlet, feigning an effort to pull his hand off his throat.
And at long last, he had the final piece necessary to control Doom's technology.
"But your programming… is laughable!" Doom suddenly realized his suit's weapon systems were shutting down, about the same time Connor snapped out a hand and used a magnetic field to send Doom plowing into a nearby wall. "I've been busy watching, learning, studying. You've got a lot of bluster, Doom, but not nearly enough gusto to back it up." Cybernaut rasped as he picked himself up. Doom promptly landed on his feet, his gaze darting up in an angry glare.
"You dare to discredit me in my own domain?" He threatened.
"Not the first time I've done it to a dictator." Cybernaut retorted, flicking just one of his irons into the air and sending it on a slow path towards Doom. Victor's eyes narrowed, watching the piece of metal approach him at a ridiculously slow speed. His shields would protect him, it would not even draw close to him…
But instead, it came right up to his face and then struck him in the eye with a blitz of sudden speed.
With a roar of pain, Doom covered his wounded eye as Cybernaut reached out to all the technology in the room. All at once, every computer, monitor, terminal and interface turned white as he unleashed his technopathy like never before. On top of that, Cybernaut reached out with his magnets, ensuring the metal surfaces as he tore them all asunder with a cry, blood dripping from his nose as glass and metal shards rained down from the ensuring explosion of magnetic forces.
The throne room was an absolute mess by the time Victor recovered, every piece of his technology shattered beyond use thanks to Cybernaut. The Avenger stood, wearied by victorious, and used one final mental command to spring Sue and Janet free from their confinement.
"Connor!" Janet cried, darting over to him.
"Janet…!" A releived Connor whispered in delight moments before she threw her arms around him and hugged him. Slightly taken aback, Connor returned the hug and breathed a simple sight of relief as the heroes crowded around. Reed recovered Sue, the Fantastic Four reunited as were the Avengers.
Doctor Doom, however, was not yet down for the count.
"You are trespassing on Latverian soil." He intoned, taking a seat upon his throne. "Leave. Now." He ordered.
"Now there's the pot calling the kettle black. You trespassed on American soil and promptly abducted two American citizens." Cybernaut retorted, assembling a staff out of his irons. "You started this, Doom. We're ending it."
"Yeah! Time to kick your shiny metal butt!" Wasp echoed, shrinking down and flying straight towards him… only to be suddenly stopped by Black Panther.
"No." He said simply.
"Are you kidding me?!" She screeched, desperate to pay Doom back for kidnapping her.
"We have what we came for, yes?" He asked and the team nodded.
"Why, Victor? What did you even want?" Reed demanded.
"You do not even see what is happening here." Victor cryptically responded. Tony scoffed.
"Enough. We're moving out people." He stated, the heroes ready to do so. "But this isn't over." Iron Man added, shooting one last glare in Victor's direction.
"I agree." Thinking little of Doctor Doom's almost-cryptic retort, Iron Man obliterated his containment machine with a dual repulsor blast for good measure.
"We'll build a cell for you, Doom. Count on it." He promised, taking flight as he pursued the retreating heroes. Doom sat still and quiet, absolute silence filling his throne room as he waited. Slowly but surely, the mechanized body of Lucia Von Bardas pieced herself together, Doom's own unique reconfiguration and reconstruction tech aiding in her immediate return. Soon she was standing again, flexing her limbs as consciousness and functionality were restored.
"Update threat analysis file." Doom ordered.
"Yes, Lord Doom." She obediently replied, pulling up the same holographic files as before. Only this time, she went straight to one particular Avenger. "Connor Peterson AKA Cybernaut. Electromagnet implants allow for control and manipulation of metals within magnetic fields. Technopathic mental abilities allow for complete control of any technology within reach. Threat level: extreme."
Later, at Avengers Mansion…
"He chickened out! Doom knew he was beat!" Johnny declared, feet up on the meeting room table as both hero teams debriefed everything that had gone down that evening. "That's what I think." Tony wasn't convinced.
"What do you think, Reed? You know Doom best, what could he have wanted?"
"I don't know. But I can't help but believe that whatever Doom was after… he got it." Reed answered, concern filling every inch of his voice.
Neither the Avengers nor the Fantastic Four had any idea how right he was.
For as Doom finished his biometric scans of Janet Van Dyne and Susan Storm, the truth was made plain to him. The Wasp was in the clear, but the Invisible Woman was not who she seemed at all… as a render of her face turned alien green with long pointed ears and a striated chin…