[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/wJtcA1x.png?1[/img][/center]
[b][color=#ffffff]Castle Doom, Latveria[/color][/b]

[color=#ffffff]The inaugural class of the Future Foundation stood in the throne room of Castle Doom with mouths agape. A mere six months ago the spacious hall had once been Lucia von Bardas’ inner sanctum but now served as a makeshift office for Latveria’s newly-elected president. Though Reed’s life had changed a great deal since the breakout at The Raft, life in Latveria had been relatively stable. Victor von Doom had seen to that. After two decades of suffering, the last thing the Latverian people needed was more of it. Once the nation’s former dictator had stood trial later that month, the process of healing could begin – though Doom had done anything [i]but [/i]rest on his laurels in the interim. It was why Reed had chosen Latveria for the Foundation’s first field trip.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Richards stood with his arms gently crossed across his chest whilst Doom made his way up towards the large desk in the centre of the doom. The eyes of Reed’s students followed his every move. He had to admit that there even in this world there was a magnetic quality to the man. His well-tailored suit hung off his limbs freely and the deep green waistcoat complimented it perfectly. Once he’d climbed the steps to his desk, he lent against it in a carefree manner that was almost unbecoming of a head of state.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“Good afternoon to you all. My name is Victor von Doom. I am the president of the Democratic Republic of Latveria and I [i]also [/i]happen to be a close personal friend of Professor Richards. When he informed me that he was starting the Future Foundation, I was ecstatic. There are [i]few [/i]people on Earth that possess the kind of vision that Professor Richards has – and I knew that no one was better equipped to help craft the minds of the next generation.”[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“Well, no one [i]except[/i] President Doom but as the five of you may have noticed, he’s a little busy running an entire country at the moment.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Victor shot Reed a grateful smile for the compliment.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“Latveria is currently undergoing one of the most rapid development programs in the history of our planet. Having liberated my country from oppression, retaken its wealth from foreign corporations, and finally put the natural resources of our bountiful countryside to use to ensure that [i]all [/i]Latverians get a fair chance, my country stands transformed – and we have only just begun.”[/color]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/HgFKJBf.png[/img][/center]
With an easy click of his fingers, holographic images that illustrated Latveria’s progress under Doom appeared around the throne room. Reed’s students let out an impressed gasp at the fluidity of the holograms – and the achievements that they documented. The Thinker’s white eyes rested on a hologram of a young woman with a cleft lip. She had piercing green eyes and black hair that ran the length of her back. He reached out to touch it but hesitated at the last moment as the image was transformed. Her cleft lip was gone. In its place was a perfect smile.

[color=#6aa84f]“For this weekend, all of Latveria is open to you,"[/color] Doom said with a welcoming smile. [color=#6aa84f]"You are free to go wherever you choose. The mountains, the hills, the rivers, they are yours to explore. I want my nation to become a global hub for cutting-edge science – and only by inviting talent like yours to experience Latveria, to see its transformation in person, can we ensure that the rest of the world isn’t left behind.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]There was a smattering of applause from the teenagers, led enthusiastically by Kamala Khan and very slowly joined by the others upon Reed’s insistence. Victor shot them a disarming smile and waved off the applause after a few seconds. He ceded the floor to Reed who looked as if he may have already been regretting accepting Victor’s invitation to bring the Future Foundation to Latveria so early into its lifetime.[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“Of course, by “free to go wherever you choose”, President Doom means [i]provided[/i] that the five of you stick together and don’t cause any major international incidents that result in the Future Foundation being closed down in disgrace.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Victor nodded as a comradely show of support for Reed’s concerns. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“Of course.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]The statement was met with muted silence from his five students. He’d become accustomed to that over the past week. Though he was only in his late twenties, the second Reed had self-identified as their “teacher” he had become an authority figure – and, perhaps outside of Kamala Khan, his students treated him as such. He was no longer “Reed” but “Professor Richards” and with that came a necessary distance. It also meant that Reed could no longer fool himself into thinking that he was young anymore.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Despite being close in age, there was something about Victor that was still boyish. He could tell from his student’s eyes that they didn’t consider Doom in the same way that they did Reed. Perhaps it was because his armed struggled in Latveria had been splashed across every newspaper in America for the past two years. Perhaps, though Reed hated to admit it, it was because he was simply [i]cooler [/i]than he was.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]As Doom approached his students, Reed directed him towards the Future Foundation’s first recruit.[/color][color=#3d85c6] “Victor, this is Michael Holt.”[/color]

Doom extended his hand towards Holt. [color=#6aa84f]“Ah, yes. I understand that you’re a dab hand at making weapons, Mr Holt. In fact, I’ve been lead to believe that half of all the stick-up artists in America have you to thank for their equipment. That’s [i]certainly[/i] some[i] [/i]claim to fame.”[/color]

[color=#999999]“Yeah, well, people change,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Holt said as he shook it reluctantly. [/color][color=#999999]“Once upon a time, you were just some nerd with a silver-spoon in your mouth that spent all his time sat in the Baxter Building reading books. Now you’re president. Who knows? Maybe I’ll be president one day.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Holt had lost none of the spikiness to his voice – nor the chip that he seemed to carry on his shoulder everywhere that he went. In different company, that spikiness might had caused some discomfort. Victor von Doom seemed unperturbed by it. He shook the boy’s hand and inspected the athletic young man closely with his dark brown eyes. A wry smile appeared on his face after a moment or two as if he had found some quality in Holt that confirmed that he was a kindred spirit.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“Maybe you will,”[/color] [color=#ffffff]Doom shrugged. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“Though, I am compelled to correct you on one point, Mr Holt. I may [i]well[/i] have been a nerd and I certainly attended the Baxter Building with Professor Richards, but silver spooned? I was an orphan. And I can assure you, to be an orphan in Latveria is several measures harder than in America. So perhaps next time you should avoid making judgements without having all of the evidence available to you. It would hold any [i]political [/i]ambitions you might have in future in good stead.”[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“I couldn’t agree more,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Reed murmured as he lead Victor away towards Amadeus Cho but found Jean Loring planted firmly between them.[/color]

[color=#ff00ff]“Jean Loring,” [/color][color=#ffffff]the teenager said as she thrust her hand out towards Doom expectedly.[/color][color=#ff00ff] “It’s a pleasure to meet you. President Doom. I can’t say that I [i]agree [/i]with your politics, but my father always taught me that there are two kinds of people in this world: men of action and me-”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]It was the first time in Loring’s life that someone had looked through her. Her Ivy Town upbringing had not prepared her for the embarrassment she would feel at being all but ignored by the president. Doom passed her by and instead approached the dark-skinned fifteen-year-old that had clapping raucously after he’d finished speaking. With every step towards he took, the girl seemed to shrink with nervousness.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“And who might you be?”[/color]

[color=#a64d79]“Me?” [/color][color=#ffffff]Kamala asked as she looked around the throne room with shock. [/color][color=#a64d79]“My name is K-... my name is Kamala Khan.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Victor placed a supportive hand on the girl’s shoulder to help calm her nerves. [/color][color=#6aa84f]“It’s wonderful to meet you. Professor Richards has told me so much about you. I understand your powers work similarly to his. You’ll make a formidable superhero one day if you take his tutelage to heart.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]Despite all of Doom’s encouragement, Kamala seemed to shrink even more into herself with every second. Reed took a step towards them, hoping to help her find her voice, but an assured glance from Victor kept him planted to the spot. He placed his other hand on Kamala’s shoulder and lent towards her with a paternal smile.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“Is something wrong, Ms Khan?”[/color]

[color=#a64d79]“Wrong? What? No, no, there’s nothing wrong,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Kamala babbled incoherently. [/color][color=#a64d79]“Absolutely[i] [/i]nothing wrong at all, gorgeous, woke European president with [i]rippling[/i] muscles. Why would anything be wrong? Oh god, did I say that out loud? [i]Please[/i] tell me I didn't say that out loud.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]An oversized hand came stretching across the room and ushered Victor away from Kamala before the president could respond. The proud smile on his face was matched only by the horror that Kamala sought to mask beneath her thick black locks. Loring had almost instantly set about tearing into Khan for interrupting her conversation with Doom once he’d moved on but the younger girl seemed too busy wishing she was dead to humour it. Finally, Reed brought Victor to a stop before the Thinker and Amadeus Cho.[/color]

[color=#6aa84f]“And you must be the Thinker,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Victor murmured as he inspected the hologram.[/color][color=#6aa84f] “Which would make [i]you [/i]his trusty sidekick, Amadeus Cho.”[/color]

[center][color=#00ff00]>>>#STATEMENT: THAT IS CORRECT#<<<[/color][/center]
[color=#ffffff]The fourteen-year-old was so distracted playing with the coyote pup between his hands that both Doom and the Thinker’s statements had been lost on him. It was only several seconds afterwards that Cho heard the words ‘trusty sidekick’ playing back in his head. It was clear from his face that he strongly disapproved of the suggestion – and any deference to Doom came a distant second to his consternation.[/color]

[color=#f1c232]“Wait, what? No, I’m not Think’s sidekick,” [/color][color=#ffffff]Cho protested as he used the puppy in his hands to gesture towards the hologram. [/color][color=#f1c232] “If [i]anything[/i], Think is my sidekick. And anyway, what would that make Kirby? Because if I’m a sidekick, there's no way I'd have a sidekick of my o-”[/color]

[center]>>>#STATEMENT: VICTOR VON DOOM IS MAKING AN ATTEMPT AT HUMOUR#<<<[/center]
[color=#ffffff]Cho’s annoyance at the Thinker cutting across him seemed to melt away upon realising that the hologram was right. The playful smile on Doom’s face confirmed it. More than anything, it appeared that Cho was disappointed in himself for letting the joke pass over his head at great speed. It wasn’t a sensation that the boy genius was used to.[/color]

Amadeus made no effort to disguise his disappointment. [color=#f1c232]“I can’t believe that you were doing a thing and the disembodied AI that can’t speak without saying ‘STATEMENT’ or ‘QUERY’ before it opens its mouth got it before I did. Wow, I’m [i]really [/i]good at this first impressions thing.”[/color]

[center][img]https://i.imgur.com/7e4yfri.png[/img][/center]
[color=#6aa84f]“You are an impressive young man, Mr Cho,"[/color] Doom demurred. [color=#6aa84f]"I wouldn’t concern yourself with first impressions. They’re rarely as important as people make out. What matters is grit – [i]tenacity [/i]– and I understand that you have both qualities in abundance. Especially for a sidekick.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]For the first time since arriving at the Franklin Storm Institute, Reed saw a sincere smile flash across Amadeus Cho’s face. The boy offered no quip in return, but instead seemed to accept Victor’s compliment in earnest. With the gruelling set of introductions done, Reed was about to suggest that he and Victor retire to their conference as planned, but the sound of an alarm from the phone in Doom’s inside pocket seemed to achieve that for him.[/color]

[color=#3d85c6]“President Doom and I need to get going. We’ll be gone for around eight hours. It bears repeating that I do [i]not [/i]want to exit the conference to “BREAKING NEWS” from this little outing of ours, so try to behave yourselves. Not many outsiders, let alone [i]teenagers[/i] get given the opportunity to explore Latveria with the expressed blessing of its president. I’m choosing to trust you. Please don’t make me regret it.”[/color]

[color=#ffffff]One again, Reed failed to receive the reassurance that he’d hoped from his students. They stared at him, varying degrees of unimpressed by his constant reminders to behave themselves. Could they blame him? Holt had gone out of his way to insult Doom, Kamala had very nearly expressed her dying love for him, and the Cho-Thinker double act had made a pretty caustic assessment of Victor’s sense of humour – all this in less than five minutes. What would they get up to with an entire day to themselves in Latveria? It almost didn’t bear thinking about.[/color]

[color=#ffffff]As they made their way towards the exit, Doom felt the need to end on a more positive note.[/color][color=#6aa84f] “What I think Reed is [i]trying[/i] to say is: have fun.”[/color]