by Alex Irvine
“This is my fault,” Hulk said.
You’re damn right it is, Steve Rogers thought. But there was no point in saying it. And Steve knew that if he were in charge, the buck stopped with him. As much as he could blame Hulk for falling asleep on sentry duty, he also had to blame himself.
Doom had pulled off a surprise raid to spring his prisoners. The X-Men were gone, or at least hadn’t done anything to help. He didn’t know where several of his team members were. They’d lost all their prisoners. They had to form up, fast. Take a head count, assess the damage.
Ben Grimm ran into the room. “Johnny’s hurt pretty bad,” he said. “Reed was out for a minute, but he’s coming around. How’d they get the drop on us like that?”
“Doesn’t matter, Ben,” Steve said. “Where’s She-Hulk and Spectrum? And where are the X-Men?”
“And Thor,” Hulk said. “Does it seem a little funny to you that he and the Enchantress are both gone?”
It does, Steve thought. A hell of a lot had happened while they were sleeping, and none of it good.
And now he had a feeling the situation was about to get even worse. Doom’s ship was taking a long, slow turn at the head of the valley, like it might just be coming back for another visit.
“We need to move,” Steve said. “Fast.”
TWENTY
IT WAS easy. It was always easy. For Owen Reece, tearing apart a planet would be like tearing the end off the wrapper of a candy bar. Well, maybe not quite that easy, but he could do it. He was certain he could. And if he could do that, it would be incredibly simple to do something else much smaller.
Say, completely destroy an enemy base after it had been attacked and all prisoners recovered.
Except they hadn’t found Amora. And Thor hadn’t been there, either, Owen just realized.
No Asgardians. No X-Men. People were leaving the Avengers’ side in droves.
And now I get to really show my stuff, he thought. “Doom?”
“You may proceed,” Doom said. They had exited the ship and stood on a ridge looking across the broad valley toward the Avengers’ base built into the foothills of the facing mountains. Owen could have done what he was planning from inside the ship, but he wanted everyone out here watching, where they could give his powers their full attention.
Most important, he wanted Volcana’s full attention. She stood next to him, the statuesque lines of her body blooming with flame that flickered and blazed in the black of her hair. She was divine, and she watched him with an expression he was certain was love. Imagine! A woman like that!
He destroyed the Avengers’ base with a heart full of love. It was simple. He sought out certain molecules and moved them away from others at great speed. When this happened, their energies generated heat. Multiply that by many millions, and you got a series of titanic explosions, with entire towers tumbling end over end and disintegrating in the air. The base’s walls blew outward with a shock wave that could be seen on the valley floor, rolling away and uprooting trees as it went. Clouds above blew away from the same shock wave, driven way up into the sky in a matter of seconds. Pieces of the base the size of Doom’s ship fell miles away, setting off their own secondary explosions on impact. In less than a minute, the valley became a flaming wasteland.
“That was really unbelievable, Molecule Man,” Volcana said afterward, as they flew over the wreckage and found only devastation. “Just a wave of your hand, and the whole thing collapsed. Amazing.”
They landed on a ridge overlooking the destroyed base, just to take a closer look at their handiwork—well, Owen thought, my handiwork. Smoke from the fires blew down the valley. The remnants of the HQ itself lay collapsed at the base of the hills. So many molecules, Owen thought. All mine to command.
“It’s easy if you know how,” Owen said. “And please, call me Owen.”
“Owen,” she said. “What a darling name.”
That was when Octavius saw the heroes and gave Owen a chance to top himself. They were running hard over the broken ground. “They’re out of range of our weapons,” Octavius said. Titania heaved a fallen boulder after them, and it crashed into the earth just behind the heroes. What an amazing woman, Owen thought. She was incredibly strong. Maybe even as strong as the Hulk. But throwing giant pieces of rubble miles into the desert was not a high-efficiency mode of attack. “Let’s go after ’em,” Absorbing Man said.
“That won’t be necessary,” Owen said. “See those mountains in the distance?”
Everyone saw the mountains.
“Watch,” Owen said.
He tore the mountains out of Battleworld and held them in the sky. He moved them, slowly, over the fleeing heroes. And when he was certain they were under the center of the mountain range, he dropped it.
“See?” Owen said. “Simple.”
TWENTY-ONE
DOOM relished his victory. His enemies were buried under a mountain, their base destroyed. More important, he had succeeded— with some unexpected help from the lovestruck Volcana—in removing Molecule Man’s inhibitions. The only issue was that the Enchantress had not been found in the rubble. According to the Wrecker, she had not been held with the rest of the prisoners. Doom considered this a gain rather than a loss. Amora was quite powerful, it was true—but she was an inveterate plotter and schemer, loyal only to her own enigmatic agenda. The team would quite possibly be stronger for her absence, since she would not be using her charms to turn them against one another.
All in all, it had been quite a remarkable morning. But there was one thing yet to do. Doom raised his arm to call for the group’s attention. The staging was perfect: All of them were still gathered in the ruins of the heroes’ base. It would be a fitting backdrop for his next action.
But as the group turned to him, he sensed a magical disturbance in the immediate vicinity, a tugging at the part of his mind he had trained to harness the powers of the arcane. The feeling was akin to what were vulgarly called goose bumps, except in one’s mind rather than on one’s skin. A split second after he noted the sensation, Thor and the Enchantress appeared in the midst of a wash of arcane energy.
Absorbing Man chuckled. “Thor and the Enchantress together, huh? Looks like they’ve been partying while we were hard at work.”
“What—our fortress laid waste?” Thor surveyed their surroundings and quickly focused on Doom. Leveling Mjolnir in Doom’s direction, he said, “My comrades. Where are they? What have you done with them? Answer!”
“Why, they are dead,” Doom said. “We have slain them all. Molecule Man dropped a mountain on them. Simple and effective, no? And you are soon to join them. You may fight if you wish, but you are outnumbered…thirteen to one? Submit and your last moments will be mercifully quick.”
“What odds would prevent Thor from striving to his last breath?” Thor scoffed. He looked to Amora, who took a half-step back as she glanced from Ultron to Molecule Man to Thor. “And perhaps…”
Her eyes flickered as she seemed to run through the cold calculations of the situation. No doubt, she was considering a noble demonstration of loyalty to her fellow Asgardian versus the value of her own life. A moment later, she turned away from the god of thunder, and he looked briefly stricken before his eyes narrowed and his jaw hardened. “So be it,” Thor said.
“Enough talk!” Absorbing Man shouted. “Get him!”
Only the Enchantress held back.
The villains converged on Thor, who stood his ground as only the Odinson could. Holding Mjolnir aloft with one hand, Thor deflected a blast from Kang’s neutrino pistol. With his other hand, Thor punched a great boulder into gravel when Doctor Octopus used a snake-like tentacle to fling it at him. Ultron charged, and Thor flung Mjolnir to smash the powerful robot to the ground. Doom watched, reluctantly awed by Thor’s indomitable will and unbelievable strength.
Titania rushed in to grapple with Thor before Mjolnir returned to his grasp. “The woman who killed Thor,” she said. “That’s what they’ll call me!”<
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Thor easily brushed aside Titania with a backhand, flinging her far away. “Mayhap, woman,” he countered. “When icicles ornament Surtur’s fiery realm!” Snatching Mjolnir back, he pivoted to strike at the Wrecker, Piledriver, and Thunderball as Absorbing Man wound up for what he thought—judging by his wild-eyed expression— would be a killing blow. One of Octavius’ tentacles wrapped around Thor’s throat, but still he fought on. He spun to block Absorbing Man’s wrecking ball, and with both hands raised Mjolnir high over his head.
“Away, minions of Doom!” Thor bellowed as he smashed Mjolnir to the ground. “Thy touch offends me!”
Shockwaves from the impact blew away everyone around him. They crashed into the surrounding wreckage, crumpled and broken by Thor’s massive blow. He raised Mjolnir again, and the sky crackled with lightning. “Let the fury of the skies smite mine enemies!”
With a series of crackles and thunderous booms, lightning struck down all who would assault Thor. But Doom and Ultron stood unaffected. The electrical discharge from Mjolnir arced and spat between them, yet neither was harmed. “It is time for a demonstration,” Doom said. “When I rebuilt Ultron, I added a new weapon to his arsenal. It breaks the bonds holding together subatomic particles. Ultron?”
Without a word, the robot raised one hand. A pink beam flashed soundlessly out. When it touched Thor, he vanished in a burst of light, his helmet clattering to the stones where he had stood.
Silence fell in the ruins as Doom’s subordinates staggered to their feet. “Only under combat conditions can one truly evaluate the effectiveness of a newly designed weapon,” Doom commented.
This one had passed its first test.
He looked to Amora, who had not taken part in the fight. She stood away from the group, tears rolling down her face. With a glance, Doom let her know that he had observed her inaction. There would be consequences, but he would allow her the opportunity to grovel before he decided what they were.
Molecule Man and Volcana also had held themselves back from the fight, doubtless to gaze longingly into each other’s eyes. Doom found this irritating, but he would let it pass. Owen Reece was a valuable asset, and the fight had been his to win whether Reece was involved or not. When one played chess, one did not deploy one’s queen in haste. There would come a time when he would command Reece—and Volcana—to act. For now it was not necessary.
Doom returned his attention to Thor’s remains—which were few. Octavius held scraps of Thor’s cape in one of his tentacles. “Gone,” he said. “He was the last of them. That means we’ve won!”
“The X-Men are not yet accounted for, Octavius. Nor is Magneto. And there remains the…challenge…of Galactus,” Doom said. He had given much thought to that problem and believed he might be nearing a solution. “We will return to Doombase and plan our next strike. But first, there is one more matter yet to attend to.”
They looked to him; in that brief moment, Doom knew his command was unchallenged. They trusted him now—but he needed them to fear him as well. This was the time to take care of the matter he had been contemplating when Thor and Amora interrupted.
“One of you tried to kill me,” he said slowly. “Indeed, he almost succeeded.”
The group had clustered together, but now Doom watched with cruel delight as they shuffled away from Kang, leaving him alone to face Doom—and Ultron.
“Doom. Wait. The circumstances…” Kang said. “You would have done the same.”
“Ultron?” Doom said flatly, without turning to look at the robot. Ultron raised an arm.
“Doom, you fool, you’ll need me later! Don’t you—!”
Kang never got to finish. Doom nodded slightly, and Ultron disintegrated Kang instantly.
Turning to the group, Doom said, “I trust the lesson is not lost on the rest of you.” He let his gaze linger on Amora for a moment, then walked away toward their ship.
Yes, he thought. Now the morning is a nearly perfect success.
TWENTY-TWO
THE X-MEN were silent for most of the trip to Magneto’s fortress. The storm had cleared soon after they left the base now occupied only by the Avengers, three of the Fantastic Four, and Spider-Man. They all finally had a moment to consider the situation. Wolverine was jumpy and irritable. He shot his claws in and out until finally Nightcrawler said, “Why all the popping of claws, Logan? We are all ready for a fight, but you look ready to kill.”
“Kurt, I go through life holding back,” Logan said. “I’m only able to keep the animal in check because I work at it every single second. But this is war.” SNIKT! “Maybe the last war, for all the marbles.” SNIKT! “This time, there’s no taking prisoners. Doesn’t matter what Chuck thinks.”
Up in the cockpit, Storm pointed ahead. “There,” she said to Cyclops, who sat beside her at the navigation controls. He twisted the throttle and nudged the controller sideways, edging the ship closer to the structure she had pointed out.
“If Magneto’s not in the mood for an alliance,” he said, “we could be in for the fight of our lives.”
You’ve got it wrong, Slim, Logan thought. The fight of our lives is already happening. It started when we first got here, and there’s no way out of it now.
SNIKT! He retracted his claws as Scott looped their ship in for a landing.
The X-Men disembarked and walked right in through the unlocked, unguarded front entrance of the fortress, following the sound of Magneto’s voice. Logan heard a woman talking to Magneto. Well, now, Logan thought. Who could that be?
They entered a large, glass-bound room and discovered their answer. The Wasp was sitting across from Magneto; they were having a friendly chat, like they might have had in a penthouse overlooking Central Park. “Hey, Mags,” Wolverine said. “Any beer around?”
Startled, Magneto stared as Wasp jumped to her feet. “Logan, please,” Xavier said.
Sorry, Chuck, Logan thought. I know you had a big speech planned, but I don’t think you really understand what you got us into. We turned our backs on the Avengers, fine. You want to kiss and make up with Magneto, fine. But we need to come on strong, or he’s going to find a way to put us all in the ground.
He felt Xavier’s disapproval, but he didn’t care.
“Good morning, Erik,” Xavier said. “Janet, I am glad to see you are well.”
Neither Magneto nor Wasp replied. Wasp looked so uncomfortable that Logan almost laughed out loud.
“I have come to discuss joining forces with you, Erik,” Xavier went on. “I believe it may be mutually advantageous to forget our differences and work together.”
Wrong again, Logan thought. The best way for us to work together is to remember our differences. That way it won’t be a surprise when ol’ Magneto turns on us. Again.
“As a force independent of Captain America and Reed Richards, there is much we might accomplish together,” Xavier finished.
“Interesting,” Magneto said. “Janet and I have been discussing precisely that. ‘Slay your enemies and all you desire shall be yours.’ That is what the Beyonder promised—and having seen his powers, I think we can all believe in his ability to follow through on that. Therefore, we must take the fight to Doom and his lackeys. If Doom wins, the Beyonder will grant his sociopathic desires—but we have the power to bring about a new Golden Age, here and throughout the universe. Humans and mutants at peace, Charles. That is what you want, is it not? The cost is not so much when one considers the benefits to be reaped.”
He turned to Wasp. “A fight to the death, my dear. As we agreed, correct?”
“You know what’s correct, Mags?” she shot back. “You’re a pompous, self-righteous maniac. But you’re cute.”
Now Logan did laugh. He could see what was coming a moment before Magneto did. That was the thing about trying to run the world. You were always vulnerable to people nodding and smiling, then sticking a knife in your back.
Wasp shrank to her miniature, winged form and said, “Did you seriously think I was agree
ing with you?” She shook her head sadly. “Are you that desperate? I was playing along to find out what you were up to, Magneto. And now that I know, the Avengers will stop you. We have to.”
Taking advantage of the moment of surprise, Wasp stung Magneto with a bioelectric shock that dropped him to his knees. Whoa, Logan thought. She’s getting a little carried away.
“Settle down, there,” Wolverine said, gently swiping at Wasp. “We’re gonna need Magneto. You want to humble him a little, that’s fine by me, but you’re not running back to your clubhouse without talking to us first.”
The other X-Men tried to catch her, but she nimbly zipped around them. She slipped right through their hands, and her sting hit like a truck. She even slowed down Logan enough to get a head start for the exit.
Magneto, his pride stung at least as much as his face where she’d zapped him, turned to the window in a cold fury. “Little fool,” he said. “She won’t get far.”
Logan could see Wasp zigzagging up into the sky in a ship she’d boosted from the hangar. Magneto raised a hand to take her down.
“I cannot allow you to do this, Erik!” Xavier said, catching Magneto’s arm. The gathered magnetic force Magneto had been about to unleash hummed in Logan’s ears.
“Allow me? You presume much, Charles!”
“Listen to me!” Xavier said. And whether Magneto saw reason or Xavier gave him a little telepathic push—as he’d done with Spider-Man—Logan would never know, but Magneto held back for the moment. “I could have stopped Wasp from leaving with a thought,” Xavier said. “But I did not. Last night, I succumbed to the prime danger of the Beyonder’s promise—the belief that if I were victorious, I and I alone would know best what wish to demand. In that moment of weakness, I was no better than Doom—or anyone else who compromises principle for results. You must not fall victim to that same error, Erik. I will not permit it.”