“When is he gonna be done?” asked Rocket. “Indeed,” said Emma. “Tony Stark only takes a few seconds to put his armor on, you know.” “Brilliance cannot be rushed,” said Doom, emerging from his bedroom in his backup suit of armor. “I believe you’ve used that line yourself, Ms. Frost.” Emma grumbled under her breath. “What’s the plan?” asked Longshot. “We should really call the Avengers,” said Jen. “That would be unwise,” said Doom. “Introducing the Avengers would escalate the conflict, increasing the risk of collateral damage. If they choose to introduce themselves, that is beyond our control, but we … Continue reading FANTASTIC FORCE #10

Sue’s cell phone rang. It was an unknown number. “Hello?” she said. “Hi. Sue?” said the breathless voice on the other end. “It’s Longshot.” “How did you get my number?” said Sue. “Lucky guess,” said Longshot. “I think the others are in trouble.” “The others?” said Sue. “Doom, Rocket, Jen, Jim, and Emma,” said Longshot. “I saw through Doom’s eyes again and they were all chained up, including Doom.” “Why did you call me?” said Sue. “Aren’t you pals with the X-Men?” “They… kinda stopped returning my calls,” said Longshot. “Asked them to help me get cats out of trees … Continue reading Fantastic Force #9

Castle Doom “So,” said Doom to the four superheroes facing him, “you journeyed to Latvia to tell me that someone impersonating me appeared, seemingly from nowhere, and took over the minds of an entire base of SHIELD agents?” “You sayin’ you don’t believe us?!” said Rocket. “Because I was there, and—“ “Calm yourself, Rocket,” said Doom. “I merely meant to express incredulity that you thought I was unaware of the situation. Such an event would never go beneath my notice.” “Do you have a plan to deal with this person?” said Jim. “I am formulating one,” said Doom. “I know … Continue reading Fantastic Force #8

Latveria, circa 2099 “Something is terribly wrong,” said Victor Von Doom to his minion Wire. “The timeline is disintegrating.” “What the hell does that mean?” said Wire. “It means, fool,” said Doom, “that the past has altered, and the present in which we live may not come to pass unless the past is corrected.” “Well…” said Wire, “…is that really so bad? 2099 is kinda rotten.” “And it could become worse if this flaw in the time stream is not corrected,” said Doom. “There are obstacles in this present, but the changing timestream is entirely unpredictable. There could be no … Continue reading FANTASTIC FORCE #7

Doom and Emma crept up Mount Wundagore. “Why do you carry that spear?” asked Doom. “It’s from a guard in Limbo, so presumably it’s good at hurting demons,” said Emma. “Which serves us both as an aid in getting up to the peak, and as a backup plan in case Chthon does rear his ugly head today.” “That circumstance will not arise,” said Doom, as Emma turned away some Darkholder guards with telepathy. “We have time enough to prevent that from occurring.” “Where’s Rocket, anyhow?” said Emma. Suddenly, a massive thud shook the mountain. Doom and Emma turned their heads … Continue reading FANTASTIC FORCE #6

FANTASTIC FORCE #5 Castle Doom, banquet hall “We’re not going to let you kill Longshot,” said Sue to Doom. “He’s an innocent, and there are other ways to prevent the sacrifice.” “You purport to stand in my way?” said Doom. “You have no replacement plan, and you lack the resources to prevent me from going through with mine. Forgive me if I fail to be intimidated.” “We’ll find a way,” said Jen. “We always do.” “Hear, hear,” said Jim. “Let’s get out of here, everyone,” said Sue, looking at Rocket and Emma. “It’s nice that you care about Blondie,” said … Continue reading Fantastic Force #5