[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/ZfvPPwT.png[/img][/center][b]Castle Doom, Latveria[/b]

[color=#ffffff]Reed Richards and Victor von Doom stood in congress on the roof of Castle Doom. In the distance Mount Sorcista loomed over the Latverian plains. Legend had it that the mountain was home to a demon sorceress that had once ruled Latveria with an iron fist. Though the city below them still bore the signs of conflict there was no denying that it was an architectural marvel.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Sue’s doubts had begun to bleed into Reed. He had thought with the help of Doom he might be able to repair their craft within the week. He was wrong. Yesterday the four of them had taken the decision to leave Latveria to seek help elsewhere.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Where else but New York?[/color]

[color=#ffffff]First Reed had been forced to make a call that he suspected he might come to regret. In his world they had worked closely with SHIELD once. Indeed, the organisation had sponsored the ill-fated journey through space that had gifted them their powers. That relationship had soured not long after Fury had been ousted from his position.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Doom had assured him that Nick Fury was director of SHIELD in this world, too, which had been of great relief to Reed. Even across dimensions there were some constants. Nick Fury directing SHIELD seemed to be one of them.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Victor had put the call in to Fury himself – much to Reed’s surprise. It seemed that there was more to Doom’s “revolution” than he had let on. The thought of Victor Von Doom working with SHIELD rather than against them tickled the super scientist.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Fury and Doom’s prior relationship worked in their favour on this occasion. Had anyone else called the Director of SHIELD to inform them that dimension-hopping metahumans had crash-landed in the capital city of a hostile nation it might have been met with a pinch of salt.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Not from Doom.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Ben had carried the battered timecraft to the roof to expedite their extraction. He and Johnny were looking forward to returning to New York – even if it wasn’t their New York. Sue seemed more concerned for her brother’s well being than anything else. Not that Reed blamed her for that. Johnny seemed in slightly better spirits than he had been but he suspected that a return to New York would do him good.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Only Doom harboured reservations. It was clear that he trusted Fury, but he seemed worried by what would come of the Four should his world’s Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben return. It was a legitimate worry – one that Richards himself had not quite taken the time to consider.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The freshly-clean shaven Doom looked to Reed for one final affirmation. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“You’re sure about this?”[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“I don’t see that we have much choice. You’ve been more accommodating than we could have ever imagined, Victor, but I think Karadick will murder us if we don’t let you get on with your day job.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]A wry grin crossed Doom’s face. Karadick was a wartime general if ever there was one. Now that von Bardas’ forces had been defeated, he was ever looking for another conflict to wage. For the time being he would have to satisfy himself with skirmishes with Wyncham’s forces.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“One does not acquire a nickname like the ‘Green Bear’ without reason.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]From behind the men Sue, Johnny and Ben appeared. Sue approached them more easily, while Johnny and Ben kept their distance.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Storm threaded one of her arms around Reed’s back and rested her hand on his hip. She looked at Doom for a few moments, unsure what it was that had changed about him, before she noticed the mess of facial hair that had greeted them before had been removed.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]“You shaved.”[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“Kristoff’s doing,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Doom said as he ran a hand over his newly smooth face. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“He was of the opinion that a beard was [i]unbecoming[/i] of a head of state. I was convinced that there was some merit to his argument – after a great deal of debate.”[/color]

[color=#9fc5e8]“Shame,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Sue said mischievously.[/color][color=#9fc5e8] “It suited you.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]They stood in silence for a few moments and it dawned on Reed and Sue that they had never once needed to engage in small-talk with Victor von Doom.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Thankfully Doom had questions of his own. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“You’ll seek out Lex Luthor once you return to America, I presume?”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Reed pinched the bridge of his nose as he ran through the list of super scientists that could help them. As much as he hated to admit it, Luthor was probably their best bet. He wasn’t sure whether this universe had a Tony Stark or an Amadeus Cho but he made a mental note to himself to check once they had left Latveria.[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“The thought may have crossed my mind,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Richards conceded.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“Be careful, Reed. There are [i]rumours[/i] about some of Luthor’s associations.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Ben Grimm cupped his hands together and called out to them. [/color][color=#f6b26b]“Heh, I don’t know if you’re in any position to cast aspersions on anyone else’s character, Doom.”[/color]

[color=#ea9999]“I’m with ugly on this one,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Johnny nodded.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]It seemed the pair had been listening in despite their attempts to separate themselves from all things Doom-related. The prospect of niggling Doom proved too seductive for Johnny Storm. He marched over ready to deliver a barb he had clearly rehearsed in his head long before.[/color]

[color=#ea9999]“You so much as dream about going all Doombot on these poor people and the next time you see me I’ll make barbecue out of you and that scar-faced general of yours.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Doom seemed to take the threat completely in his stride. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“I don’t doubt you for a moment, Jonathan.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The docility of Doom’s response seemed to take Johnny off-guard. He stood flabbergasted until his sister came to his rescue.[/color]

[color=#9fc5e8]“What about you? What will you do now that your revolution is over, Doom?”[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“Well, I thought I might start small,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Victor said with a smile. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“Universal healthcare, perhaps.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]To hear Doom say it you would think achieving such a thing could be done overnight. It would take him a week at the very most. Then there would the von Bardas’ trial to oversee. If Karadick failed to bring Wyncham to heel before then he suspected the trial might prove to be more eventful than first anticipated. But Doom would cross that bridge when he came to it.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The thick white clouds above Castle Doom began to part and a Pegasus-type SHIELD helicarrier appeared above them.[/color]

[color=#ea9999]“Looks like our ride’s here,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Johnny said with a gesture up towards the Pegasus.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]It had entered into Latverian airspace twelve minutes ago. Its cloaking technology was not advanced enough to fool even the most rudimentary of Doom’s scanners. As it lowered gently towards the roof of the castle, Reed looked towards Doom and smiled earnestly at him.[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“Thank you for your help, Victor,” [/color][color=#ffffff]he said as he extended his hand towards the Latverian.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“You don’t need to thank me,”[/color][color=#ffffff] Doom said as he shook Richards’ hand. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“In this world, you and I were like best friends. I gather our relationship is somewhat different in yours, but spare this encounter some thought when you return home. Perhaps [i]your[/i] Doom might yet surprise you.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]They bid Doom farewell, each with vary degrees of sincerity, and approached the Pegasus as it set itself down. Its ramp lowered and a dozen SHIELD operatives poured out onto the roof to ensure it was secure. Once they were satisfied, twice as many SHIELD scientists came jogging out to observe the wreckage of Reed’s timecraft.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The man running the show was last out.[/color]

[color=#b6d7a8]“The name’s Guy Gardner,”[/color][color=#ffffff] the ginger-haired SHIELD agent said with a grin. [/color][color=#b6d7a8]“I’m guessing you’re the sorry sons of bitches I’m here to collect.”[/color]