Delegation of Doom

The Latverian Embassy…

Casually taking her time to look over the pictures on the wall, the art, and the busts of Victor all around the main gala of the embassy, Susan Von Doom smiled to herself. Every painting showed the man in triumph over enemies… Both real and imaginary. An artistic rendition of Victor triumphant over the bodies of the Avengers, another of his basking in glory in his defeat of SHIELD, a portrait of himself with Susan in repose by his throne and Reed’s broken form at his feet. The entire building might as well have been a shrine to this version of her former husband’s ego. The mechanical guards who stood at every entrance and exit to the gala stared at the green cloaked woman with keen interest as she laughed.

“How unsightly, like an insure child purchasing trophies for himself…”

Hearing the creak of the heavy double doors above the flight of stairs nearby, Susan turned to the new arrival and raised her chin with a smug grin. There, making each step methodically and purposefully came the iron clad Victor Von Doom. Even though she could not see the man’s face behind the mask, she knew straight away by his mannerisms and gait that he was the spitting image of her former husband. By the time he made it to the gala floor, he approached with his hands folded behind his back.

“Well, well, you did not leave me waiting for very long did you. I remember times when you would leave delegates and visitors waiting for hours just to show how little you considered them important enough to garner your attention.” Susan mused, tilting her head as she approached the man to see him face to face, only to stop when he raised his gauntlet to halt her then and there.

“I know who you are… Who you REALLY are.” Spoke the man in a firm tone of voice, glaring back at the woman from behind his mask.

Smiling broadly, Susan crossed her arms behind her and gave the man a coy look. “Good, then you know WHY I am here.”

“You seek to bring me into your little game of… Politics amongst the other versions of yourself, aid you in your schemes, yes?” Doom spoke, his voice gravel and hoarse behind the metal mask. “Do not mistake me for Reed Richards, I am no fool.”

“Would never dream of calling you one…” Spoke Susan, slowly spinning on her heal to move towards a bust of the man to admire its craftsmanship. “It’s why I married you in MY universe after all.”

“And subsequently performed regicide to obtain the throne yourself.”

Susan’s smile dropped, her eyes glaring back at the man like daggers now that the ruse was up.

“Oh yes, I’m fully aware of just WHO you are and WHERE you are from, you will find I am not your former husband.” Stepping forward and standing at the heart of the gala, Von Doom turned and faced the metal clad woman. “I have been spying on the Richards family for quite some time now and know all of your secrets.”

With a warm smile, Susan Von Doom turned to face the man and curtseyed a bow before him. Keeping her head low as she continued to speak.

“Curt, direct and shrewd as ever, I remember those qualities well in my late husband, but you also share a trait in him that was his downfall.”

“Oh?”

Clenching her fist, the mechanical guards and weapon turrets that stood at either side of every entrance in the building were crushed like tin cans by an unseen ****. Some even exploding when their munitions ignited from the act. Standing back up to her full height, Susan Von Doom’s helmet wrapped around her head and clasped over her face, giving her the same visage as the man glaring back at her.

“He underestimated the lethality of his pet project, his prize, his consort, you claim you aren’t him, and yet you make the same damn mistakes.”

With a wave of her hand, a wake of bent light blew out from her like an explosion, smashing the bust of Doom into shattered stone and the walls to blow out in every direction, sending Victor across the halls of his embassy and roll onto his hands and knees.

“You tell me not to confuse you for my former husband? I demand you do not confuse me for that strumpet back in the tower with her elastic husband. I have killed entire villages for even slighting my name in vain.”

Doom raised his gauntlet to fire a blast of intensely focussed plasma, the beam of intense light and heat was blocked by a wall of invisible light, followed by the woman snapping her fingers and causing the pillars of the building’s foundation to snap in half. Burying the man in rubble and furniture as the second floor collapsed on Doom from above save for a bubble of solid light protecting the woman like an invisible umbrella.

“You rule with an iron fist, I rule with an iron boot. I crush all those who hinder my path to greatness. I had hoped to persuade you to offer me resources to deal with our jailor and the others, to finally rid myself of my obstacles and gain a NEW realm to conquer and rule, YOU would have had an equal to sit side by side within this new empire, but it would seem my proposal would not have been as honey sweet as I would have thought.”

Seeing a steel-clad hand reach out from the rubble, Susan Von Doom smiled and raised her hand to clear the debris and pull the man up by his arms, splaying him out like a doll in mid air.

“Such a grand pity that Latveria will lose another king, only to be graciously saved by its new queen, once again. One as graceful and beautiful as a songbird…”

“And greedier and more spiteful than the foulest wyrms that lair in its mountains… I thank you then, Queen Susan Von Doom…” Spoke the Latverian lord, his voice slightly distorted by static as his head lifted to glare at her, the faceplate falling off to reveal the interior of a robotic duplicate within. “I had for so long lusted over the prospect of turning Susan Storm to be my bride, now I see the folly of robbing you of your better traits.”

Sneering and curling her lip in disgust, Susan felt she should have known he would not be in the city personally. Leaving a life-model decoy to be here in his stead.

“You will not leave this embassy with my resources, nor will you ever go to MY Latveria to rule MY people. I leave you only with these two warnings; to never underestimate Reed anymore you would me, for he has thwarted my plans too many times to be ignored.”

Leaning her head to the side with a grin, Susan Von Doom waved her hand in a gesture that tore the robot’s arms and legs clean off, bringing the torso closer to see it nearly eye to eye. “And the other warning?” Now that she was closer, she noticed a light beeping noise emanating from the ruined machine.

An explosion erupted in the Latvarian embassy, blowing out windows and sending the large building to collapse like a house of cards as it was consumed in flames and smoke. As the embassy burned and smoldered, a sphere of bent light moved through the flames where the woman stepped out, unphased and unharmed. Looking back at the burning debris and wreckage, her helmet unfolded behind her head and allowed her long blonde hair to flow down her shoulders again. A frown on her lips before exiting the front gate by crumpling it with her powers, then turning invisible when the authorities arrived to douse the fire.

“Insufferable… Even in this dimension, I wonder how my other compatriots are fairing on their own tasks.”