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#6
JUL 10 |
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“Doom's Intrigue”
Doctor Doom walked down the hall with the full Press Gang and his own enforcers at his back. Standing next to him was Shola, who was admittedly scared shitless. This was Doctor Doom he was walking next to…the guy could walk into Hell and make the Devil give up his chair. To say he was impressed would be an understatement; he couldn’t even manage to get out a word.
“Doom only enjoys silence in the comfort of his library. Tell me young man, why did Maximoff feel the need to send you? The soldiers of Latveria are more than enough to protect me from nuisances.”
Shola didn’t look at Doom when he responded. “The President just wants to make sure his guests are well taken care of. He wasn’t expecting your visit so the proper security protocols weren’t able to be put into place.”
Doom smiled. He knew that Maximoff just wanted to make sure that he didn’t get out of line. It was such a stupid notion…there were so many other ways he could wreak havoc across this island if he so desired. A direct assault by his hand was the least of them, but he couldn’t fault the mutants for being paranoid. They had seen many threats in their brief existence and had faced down many who sought to annihilate them. It was a discrimination that Doom could sympathize with to a degree. His mother had been a Gypsy and they had suffered discrimination throughout all their history.
The walk down the X-Corporation building hall led them directly to the Presidential Office. Shola swung open the large beige doors and saw Pietro sitting at his desk with Amelia and Polaris behind him. “Mr. President, I have Lord Doom here to see you.”
Putting on a fake smile, Pietro sped from his desk to right in front of Doom. He took the man’s hand and shook it strongly. “An unexpected visit to be sure, but for a good reason I hope.”
Doom nodded. “I shall leave that for you to determine, Maximoff. Come let us sit as leaders do and discuss the world around us.”
Thunderbird stood outside of the X-Corporation building next to Songbird. He blocked the sun out with his hand, looked upward, and asked, “Have you ever actually seen him?”
“One or twice. I always had to change my underwear afterwards,” Songbird said. Her voice never wavered to indicate that maybe there was a hint of a joke. “Dr. Doom is one of the most lethal men on the planet and I won’t feel comfortable until he’s all the way back in Europe.”
Washout didn’t get the big deal and he really didn’t get why the team had been assembled for the guy. “If this gringo is so damn bad then why aren’t we up there kicking his ass?”
Songbird looked at him like he had suggested drinking a bottle of battery acid. “You don’t typically start fights with Dr. Doom. You just try to survive them.”
Washout rolled his eyes. “C’mon man, this guy can’t be that serious. Let me get a few rounds in the ring with him and—”
“You’ll be dead,” Songbird said shaking her head at Washout’s ignorance.
John was starting to doubt why he had agreed to join up with this outfit in the first place. He had two ornery ass women for his leader and deputy. When that time of the month rolled around, he might as well find a nice rock to bury himself under. He was all for equality, but a man really should have been deputy to bounce off the womanly anger.
“You know they would hang you old-fashioned if they found out you said that.”
Washout looked behind him at a smirking Omega. “Hey! Stay out my head!”
Quire shrugged his shoulders. “Can’t help it; your surface thoughts are screaming loud as hell!”
Guido walked past Quire and patted him on the shoulder. “I’ve heard better telepaths make better excuses, Q, so stay out the man’s head.”
Omega wanted to knock Strong Guy flat on his back and he could do it too with his telepathy. “Do I tell you not to absorb kinetic energy? Do I tell Thunderbird to keep his plasma to himself? Why is it that telepaths always have to show this incredible amount of restraint? We are as entitled to our abilities as the next mutant.”
“Then I’ll remind Washout to flood your bedroom.”
Strong Guy admittedly had no love lost for Quire; he was too full of himself and way too liberal with the use of his powers…to the point that it made Guido see some dark potential lurking in him. Potential that one day might find them on the opposite side of the fence. Lorna told him he was being overdramatic, but Guido’s gut said otherwise. It may not be today, but Quire was going to turn foul on them.
Doom sat across from Pietro, Amelia and Lorna with his legs folded in a gentlemanly manner. His hands were folded across his top leg and he kept eye contact with the three of them. He knew they were waiting for him to make some sort of devious action and that he was going to have to work very hard to disarm them. It wasn’t a task that Doom wasn’t up to. He had walked the fires of Hell…calming down three people wasn’t going to be much.
“You should know that Doom has a healthy respect for the things that you are trying to do here, Maximoff. It takes great courage to try and build a broken nation into a prosperous one.”
Pietro nodded. Despite himself, he appreciated the comment. Doom, for all his faults, was a man of stature and power. Not only that, but he didn’t hand out compliments lightly. “Thank you. Well, Lord Doom, what brings you to Genosha?”
“As I said, Doom has a healthy respect for Genosha and I think it is time that certain nations begin to come together for their own common good. I believe my country and yours can be the start of such a movement.”
Though Pietro didn’t want to show, Doom was telling him exactly what he wanted to hear. He had been working on the Genosha Compact plans for months and Victor’s name had popped up as a potential candidate. The President wasn’t quite prepared to show that deck of cards though so he was going to play it cool. “I must say that I like the gist of where you are going. So what would this potential cooperation between our two countries entail?”
“I am well aware of Genosha’s education gap situation. It is very much akin to the one facing the slaves of America after there war. But unlike the supposed land of freedom, you are actually trying to educate your populace. Latveria happens to be home to some of the world’s finest schools. I can spare a few of my teachers to open up schools here that would bring a higher level of learning to your country and make your people on par with the rest of the Western world.”
Pietro found the offer extremely tempting, but of course he knew there was to be a price. He could feel the eyes of Lorna and Amelia burning into him. It confounded him why the woman felt the need to treat him like he was a stupid child. He knew good and well to only trust the honey offered by Doom so far, and it was him leading Genosha and not the two of them. “Your idea is a sound one, Lord Doom, but I am going to have to think it over.”
Doom waved his hand and everyone in the room jumped. He laughed the reaction off with the regality of a lion and said, “Of course, Maximoff; I wouldn’t expect you to make a decision so soon. Doom is not pushy when it comes to such matters, but I would like to extend an invitation to you. There shall be a gathering of diplomats for a social function at my castle. It would be good publicity for your country to be represented at such an event.”
Pietro smiled despite still feeling the burning stare of his two Cabinet members. “I accept the invitation graciously. Provide me with the details and I shall make my presence known.”
Standing up from his seat, Pietro extended a hand out to Doom and they both shook on it. Doom nodded his head ever so slightly to the two women. “One of my men shall be in touch. Doom looks forward to seeing you again Magnus. May Genosha prosper.”
Ethiopia
Dire Dawa
Ethiopia was one of the planet’s oldest countries. In technical terms, it was around a century old, but the people traced its history back long before Biblical times. Moses Magnum felt some sort of kinship being here. He had not come of his own will, but he was glad that he had. It was thought by some scientists that man had first walked from Ethiopia and Moses felt some of that spirit here. It was in the air.
He and Medea had been here for two days searching for the next Heir. She knew his name, both the name he had and the name he was to take. He still didn’t trust the woman as far as he could throw her, but he would follow her on this quest, if only to see what he could profit from it and to drive the voice of Apocalypse away from his head.
There was still much that he didn’t know about the woman. She was attractive to say the least and that was enough of a distraction. Standing at six feet and having a slight build, the woman could have easily been a runway mode. She had the walk of one as she moved through the open markets of Dire Dawa in search of her next Heir, as she put it. Moses didn’t buy the concept. Why would Apocalypse choose him to carry on his legacy? The last he remembered the monster hated him so why the change of heart? Moses felt there was more to what he was being told, but for now he was going to play along.
“Keep up, Moses dear, can’t be losing you,” Medea said as they walked through the mass of people who had congregated into the open market early in the morning. Her voice sounded like a flirty girlfriend dragging her boyfriend through the mall in search of a cute purse. Not like she was looking for a living weapon of mass destruction.
“Don’t rush me,” Moses said as he pushed past an elderly couple and got to Medea’s side. “I’m not some puppy you can just order around.”
Medea rolled her eyes though Moses could only see one of them do it; the other was covered by a bang. “Don’t be such a pissy pants, Moses. We’re here doing the work of a great man.”
Moses laughed heartily to the point of catching the attention of some of the shoppers. Ethiopia, despite its rich history, could be a tense place. Bringing too much attention to yourself could sometimes be a bad thing. “Great man? Surely you’re not talking about Apocalypse. He was a maniac.”
“No more than what people have labeled you.”
“My work is my own, I make no qualms about it. Apocalypse actually expected people to buy into his garbage.”
Medea turned around sharply and pointed her diamond cane in Moses’ face. “No one worked harder to create a better world than Apocalypse!”
“Seems I have struck a nerve,” Moses said. He was satisfied with this because he now knew how to unnerve the woman. And if he could unnerve her then he could get what he wanted from her.
“Are you out of your mind?” Lorna asked when she was sure Doom was out of the X-Corporation building. She had remained silent till that point and she had been near the point of bursting at Pietro’s massive stupidity. “Doom is one of the most dangerous men on Earth and you want to go have dinner with him?!?”
“Regardless of his deeds, Doom’s reputation is a powerful one and he has many connections. Besides that if he’s on the level he’s going to help us address a major problem in Genosha.”
Amelia wasn’t sure. The offer sounded good… “But we have no idea what the price will be for us receiving his aid? We’re a nation of mutants. I’m sure he probably falls in line with other leaders who see us as a nation of weapons.”
Pietro didn’t feel like explaining himself to the two women, but he needed them and if he rubbed them the wrong way he had no illusions that they wouldn’t walk out the door. “Perhaps it is time we stop running away from that notion and use it to our advantage. If Doom wants something from us then first let me see what it is before outright rejecting him.”
Lorna wasn’t buying it. “And what if this is all a trap to get you out of Genosha and to where he can brainwash you into his little yes man?”
“You should send me,” Amelia reasoned. “That way Genosha would still have a presence and you would be safe.”
Quicksilver laughed at that idea. “Not only would Doom be massively insulted, but I would be going back on my word. No, I’ll go and Lorna I doubt he would try anything you’re suggesting. Genosha is home to some of the world’s most powerful telepaths and we have Xavier on speed dial.”
“And you know he’s going to flip out when he finds out about this,” Lorna said.
“We are not bound to Xavier!” Pietro said. “This is Genosha and we will govern ourselves. We are not an extension of the Xavier Institute.”
“Xavier is our best ally at the moment and you’re trying to piss him off!”
He was quickly feeling the urge to run right out of the office and take a one-way trip to Latveria. “I am not trying to upset Xavier, but we have to lead ourselves. Xavier is on a different path than we are. We don’t have the same options that he has.”
“Then take a different path, but why does it have to involve Doom of all damn people! The guy has tried to kill and murder a hundred times over.”
Amelia saw the tension but knew she was going to have to take a side. “I don’t think that Doom has the best interests of Genosha at heart. We are looking a self-obsessed man here.”
Pietro saw their points, but the glimmer of the Genosha Compact shone in his mind. “We all have our nations at heart. Doom is no different. There is a chance to work with him and maybe improve our country. I’m not going to pass up the opportunity to improve this nation because of the morality of the leaders we have to deal with. Did you think Bush batted an eye working with Saudi Arabia?”
Lorna saw there was no point in continuing this. “Go then, Pietro, but we need to establish tight security for you and the Constitution needs to be finalized.”
Pietro nodded. “Agreed. We need a line of succession in case Doom isn’t on the level.”
“And if he isn’t I’ll send X-Factor right on his head.”
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To Be Continued...
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