MARVEL WAR
PART THREE: "Checkmate"
By Craig M. and Luis C.
Castle Doom's Dungeons.
In the lower section of Doctor Doom's castle were the dungeons, in which all the captured heroes were held. They are detained behind what appears to be clear plastic doors in which they are grouped in handfuls. As the cells faced each other, when the heroes finally awoke in their new home, they wondered what was going on.
"Oh damn. What the hell happened? I feel like a train rammed into me," Iceman from the X-Men said as he rubbed the back of his head. The other X-Men were scattered throughout other cells.
"Just like the rest of us, frosty," someone said from another cell.
"Who said that?! The name's Iceman!"
"Hey! Hey! Guys, do I look like one of those crazy people who try to climb buildings?" Spider-Man asked, being himself as usual while he stuck to the cell's clear door.
No one answered as hard loud footsteps echoed through the room coming from the directions of the stairs. Whoever it was, he or she was taking sweet time coming down. Finally, after a few seconds, a figure began to appear. It was someone who was wearing armor and wearing a green cape. As the person finally came into view, it was crystal clear as to who their capturer was. It was none other then-
"Victor!" said Reed Richards, leader of world famous Fantastic Four.
"No… Doctor Doom to you, Richards. I assume everyone here has accustomed to their new home?" he asked mocking them. "And do not try to escape. It is impossible. These cells are specially designed to hold each and every one of you without fail. Dormammu himself has made sure that not even Stephen Strange can escape from these physical constraints."
"The hell are ya up ta now, metal head? Ya can't actually think yer gonna get away wit' whatevers goin' through yer head!" yelled out Thing.
Doctor Doom ignored the talk coming from Thing and walked over to Reed Richards, his arch-nemesis ever since they met at college all those years ago. Knowing Reed couldn't do anything to him, he stood in front of the cell that Reed was in and folded his hands behind his back.
"Do you know why you're insolent friend is wrong, Richards? Do you know why Doom will win?" he asked rhetorically. "The reason why that monstrosity is incorrect is because Doom does not think he will win. Doom already knows he has won!"
"You're wrong," Reed said, staring into the cold, heartless face of Doom.
Doctor Doom quickly snapped back, "No, Doom is never wrong! For over a year now I have elaborated the ultimate scheme to not only get rid of you pests, but of every hero. I have gathered with all the villains, a feat that seems impossible even to now, and created the plan, the end all be all for all of you. For the last year now, we have let you feel safe. Lead everyone to believe we had truly disappeared off the face of this planet. Surprise is all we needed to win. That is all we needed to execute your demise. So you see Richards… neither you nor anyone here can win. Not this time! Doom is never wrong."
Reed and everyone else watched as Doctor Doom laughed as he walked back upstairs. Unfortunately to them, Doom was right. There was no way for anyone to escape, no matter what they tried.
The villains had won.
*
Dining Room.
All the villains who had helped Doctor Doom with his malicious plan gathered together in a feast made for kings. Among in attendance were Electro, Kraven, Dr. Octopus, the Green Goblin, Mysterio, Magneto, Quicksilver, the Scarlet Witch, Blob, Mastermind, Juggernaut, and Toad one side. On the other were the Super Skrull with other Skrulls, Namor, Mole Man, Sandman, the Vulture, Baron Zemo, the Red Skull, Kang, Absorbing Man, the Leader, Mandarin, Baron Mordru, Abomination, and many others, including Kingpin and Loki.
They were all dining and continued to do so as Doctor Doom walked in.
"Doom bids you all greetings," he said as he took his seat at the head of the table.
"Bah! It is about time you show up, Doom. We all want to have a word or two with you," Kraven said taking a huge bite out of the turkey leg he was eating.
"Well, Doom is here now. Say what you want to Doom, but beware your life is at stake."
Kraven stood up, dropping the leg on the plate and slammed his hands on the table and told Doctor Doom, "We want 'em. Now."
Everyone else nodded or uttered their agreements.
"We want the heroes who have messed with us time and time again. We want to tear them apart!"
"Rip their limbs into pieces!"
"Take out their beating hearts!"
"Crush their faces into the ground and finish them once for all!"
Doctor Doom waited a few seconds before he responded, letting everyone calm down from the high testosterone levels they were at. "Be that as it may, I cannot allow anyone of you to do what you please."
"What?! I demand to know why!" Magneto screamed as bits and pieces of food flew out his mouth. He launched out of his seat and pointed at Doom. "You are a metal man, but you are still only human. You have no right to lead this army, Doom. I will take your position by force."
He attempted to manipulate the metal of Doom's armour, but nothing happened. Doom simply raised his hand. It begun to glow, and then spark. Doom whispered something, and a bolt of lighting shot out and struck Magneto's chest, knocking him against a stone wall. He slid to the floor, gasping.
"My armour is resistant to your powers, mutant. It's a shame. You would have served me in the new world well." Doom fired another blast, killing Magneto instantly.
"Father!" Quicksilver, Magneto's son, screamed, as he charged towards Doom.
"Stupid boy." Doom grunted, as his body erupted into electricity, electrocuting everything in a close proximity to him. A bolt of lightning hit Quicksilver into the back, causing him to trip over and fly into a wall.
Doom turned to the Scarlet Witch. "Do not try anything, girl. My magic is far superior to yours. I could turn your spine into jelly with the snap of my fingers." She backed away instantly.
"You have seen my power and what I can do. Doom has already planned something that will end their insignificant excuses for lives. Something that will permanently put them out of our plans."
"And what is that?" Electro wondered.
"Oh, you will see. Doom will not disappoint you…"
And as everyone went back to talking to each other how they would kill the heroes, and with Doom preoccupied looking into the shadows of the corners, smiling, no one noticed that Mysterio had left the room and snuck into the dungeon.
*
The Dungeons.
Spider-Man noticed Mysterio enter the damp cellar and laughed. "Come to feed the fishies, have you?" He pointed at Mysterio's goldfish bowl-like helmet.
"Shut up." A gruff voice which was not Mysterio's emitted from under the helmet. He fiddled with the clips on his costume, and then pulled the massive helmet off. Everyone was speechless, except for Spider-Man.
"But… you're dead."
Nick Fury smiled. "Not yet."
*
The Helicarrier.
Fury turned towards Carter and smiled. "A captain always goes down with his ship."
He tapped the Helicarrier radio softly, making sure Carter and Dugan were watching him carefully. He then placed on finger in front of his lips. They then knew they had to remain radio silent.
Fury leapt out of his chair, and pressed a button on his wrist. Part of the wall opened up, and a car appeared. All three jumped in, Fury started the ignition, and a couple of seconds later they had driven through a window and had begun to fall.
"Hold on!" Fury shouted, as the Helicarrier exploded. Dugan and Carter braced themselves, as the explosion shook the falling car. Fury gripped the wheel tightly, maneuvering flaming wreckage. He then pressed a button, causing the wheels to transform into rockets. The car burst off and disappeared into the night sky.
*
The Sewers.
Fury had explained to the others how he had survived the attack, and had released the heroes from their cells. They had found a secret passage and were now heading along a sewer line.
"I knew Doom had hacked the Helicarrier, so he could probably hear everything. I had to make him think I was dead or otherwise we lose the element of surprise." Fury chewed on a cigar, as he led the way.
"And why are you impersonating one of the lamest supervillains ever?" Spider-Man asked.
"Because he's lame."
"That will do it."
Captain America and Mr. Fantastic approached the front of the group and turned to Fury. "So what happens next? We're too badly hurt to be able to take them on just yet." Richards asked.
"Don't worry, I have a plan."
The group reached the end of the sewers, and Captain America kicked open a gate. They climbed through, and finally reached daylight.
"Fury, it seems I underestimated you."
Fury swore and turned around. Doom and his group of villains stood outside of the Castle, in front of the group of heroes.
"And now that you've escaped my castle, where do you hope to go? You're stuck in the middle of Latveria, beaten badly and surrounded by people who would like nothing more than to see you all dead. I doubt even Mjolnir or the magic of the Sorcerer Supreme can teleport all of you away from here now." Doom mocked. He was going to win.
"We're not cowards. We won't run. We'll fight. And we'll make our last stand right here, right now." Captain America took the initiative.
"You cannot win."
"We'll see about that." Fury pressed a button on his wrist, and a loud boom was heard. A SHIELD Helicarrier appeared in the sky. Hundreds of SHIELD agents descended from the Helicarrier, including heroes such as Black Panther, Ka-Zar and Captain Marvel. Black Bolt led the Inhumans through the sky, while the Hulk leaped towards the castle.
Doom was amused. "I see the cavalry have arrived. Fine. Bring it on."
"CHARGE!" Fury shouted, as the heroes and villains ran at each other. An epic battle emerged between good and evil, as Doombots appeared out of the castle to fight SHIELD agents, and hero encountered villain.
The X-Men fought the Brotherhood, who were now leaderless, quickly fell. Not even the Scarlet Witch's probability altering powers and Mastermind's illusions were enough to trick the X-Men this time.
The Fantastic Four fought off Namor and the Mole Man's monsters. Super Skrull and the Skrulls attempted to intervene, but were stopped by the Kree warrior, Captain Marvel.
Spider-Man, who was outnumbered and surrounded by Green Goblin and the Sinister Six – who, minus Mysterio, were now 5 – bravely fired off wise crack after wise crack.
"Parker!" The Green Goblin shrieked, and Peter realised it was all over. They knew his identity. He wasn't safe anymore. Mary Jane and Aunt May were in danger. Everyone he knew was now a target.
"You bastard!" Spider-Man screamed, as he launched onto the Goblin.
"Get off me!" Green Goblin shouted, as he ripped frantically at the person on top of him. Spider-Man pounded on the Goblin's head, eventually causing the two to fall off the glider. Spider-Man heard the Goblin's back break, but was tackled by Kraven the hunter.
"What? You think we wouldn't take a peak under the mask?" Kraven stabbed at Spider-Man, who's Spider-Sense allowed him to dodge just in time. The Sinister Five closed in on him, but the Black Panther tackled Kraven and the two tumbled out of view.
Daredevil, who was nearby, managed to use the Kingpin's weight against him, forcing him to crash into the Vulture. Iceman, who couldn't let Spider-Man have all the fun, engaged Sandman. Electro was taken out by a rogue lightning bolt conjured up by Thor.
Only Spider-Man and Doctor Octopus remained.
"Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain, and the itsy bitsy spider, crawled up the spout again." Spider-Man approached Doctor Octopus, finishing the song for him.
"Hey, Otto," Spider-Man said. "Learn some new nursery rhymes." With a single punch, Spider-Man knocked Doctor Octopus unconscious.
Meanwhile, Captain America beat the Red Skull to a pulp. Thor knocked Absorbing Man out and threw his hammer at Loki, who cowardly disappeared. Hulk pounded on Abomination's face until it was uglier than before. The battle slowly waged on and the villains' numbers begun to dwindle.
Only Doom remained.
The various heroes surrounded Doom, who raised his arms. "Alright, alright, I surrender." Spikes shot out of his arms, hitting Beast and Angel in the chest. They fell, while the remaining X-Men tended to their comrades, the Human Torch lit up.
Doom opened his mouth and spat a mysterious black goo at the Human Torch, who was immediately covered in it.
The Invisible Woman tended to her brother, while The Thing, enraged, charged at Doom. Doom raised a palm and caught the Thing's fist. He then grabbed the rocky arm and ripped it out of its socket. The Thing collapsed, moaning.
"Shut up, Grimm," Doom threw the arm at a SHIELD helicopter flying overhead. It hit the blades, causing the machine to explode.
"Carter!" Fury shouted, and raised a handgun he had obtained. He fired upon Doom's metal body as he approached, but caused no harm. Doom snapped the gun out of Fury's hands, and broke his wrist. He then kicked his kneecap in, forcing him to kneel.
"Bow before the king." Doom pushed Fury aside and then addressed the surprised heroes. "You can see I won't go down without a fight. Come at me, but I can tell you now: I will take as many of you down with me as I can."
None of the heroes moved. Doom turned to Richards.
"Richards, you know me well enough to know that I never have a Plan B. I have never needed one. I always expect my Plan A's to suffice. However, this time I will admit I was wrong. But this time, I was prepared. You see, this time, I actually have a Plan B."
Reed's mind immediately begun calculating what his enemy's second plan could be.
"Ladies and gentlemen," Doom announced, pointing at the sky. "I give you Plan B."
The heroes all looked up, wondering what was happening. The sky darkened, and a silver, humanoid object shot through the black clouds. They knew who it was.
"No…" Reed was horrified. He turned to Doom. "You wouldn't…"
The Silver Surfer blasted through the sky, leaving a path for something to follow.
Galactus was coming.
*
To Be Continued
