One Earth: The Marvel/DC RPG

[Byrd Man]

"Heard stories about you, Batman", Taskmaster spoke as the Batman, who re-entered the apartment during the scuffle with the Panther, slowly and cautiously advanced.

Taskmaster squared up to the Bat, taking his stance and motioning with his hand for Batman to 'bring it on.'
"Let's see if you're as good as they say."

I squeezed my right palm, shooting a compressed dart from my knuckle aimed at the assassin. The dart zipped through the air fast, but he was faster. Reaching up, the hitman snatched the dart from the air before it hit him.

Using the distraction, I charged forward, swinging up with my cape to provide further distraction as I struck. My right fist drove into his collarbone, my left elbow into his neck. I applied pressure with my elbow, and threw him off balance and against a wall. Using the assassin's momentum, I twisted his arm behind his back and shoved him hard against the wall.

"How am I doing so far?"

 

[Johnny Blaze]

"What in the world...," Reed trailed off.

"What just happened to us?" Ben wheezed, picking himself up off the ground.

"I don't know," Sue said, eying the many banners of Doom. "But whatever just happened, I can almost be certain who was behind it..."

Suddenly a platoon of soldiers armed with advanced weaponry rushed into the room, surrounding the Fantastic Four.

"Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnathan Storm, and Benjamin Grimm! You are deemed enemies of the state by the Emperor! Surrender immediately for processing or be destroyed!"

 

[Johnny Blaze]

I squeezed my right palm, shooting a compressed dart from my knuckle aimed at the assassin. The dart zipped through the air fast, but he was faster. Reaching up, the hitman snatched the dart from the air before it hit him.

Using the distraction, I charged forward, swinging up with my cape to provide further distraction as I struck. My right fist drove into his collarbone, my left elbow into his neck. I applied pressure with my elbow, and threw him off balance and against a wall. Using the assassin's momentum, I twisted his arm behind his back and shoved him hard against the wall.

"How am I doing so far?"

"Ungh", Masters winced under the pressure, but a smirk crept to his face.
"So far...I've got no...complaints."

Taskmaster responds with a sharp elbow to the ribs of the Bat. The move distracts Batman more than anything, just enough for Taskmaster to hop up and plant his feet against the wall, pushing backwards hard and sending himself and the Batman backwards.

Batman releases his grip to stop his fall and and Taskmaster rolls aside as he lands, coming back onto to his feet and facing the Bat, who is kicking up.
With hands of lightning, Master reaches at his hip and pulls out a billy club, launching it at Batman.
The club smacks Batman across his head, sending the Dark Knight stumbling as Taskmaster attacked.

 

[Byrd Man]

Suddenly a platoon of soldiers armed with advanced weaponry rushed into the room, surrounding the Fantastic Four.

"Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Johnathan Storm, and Benjamin Grimm! You are deemed enemies of the state by the Emperor! Surrender immediately for processing or be destroyed!"

"Pardon us," Sue said to the men. She flicked her wrist and turned around as the men soldier's opened fire. Their lasers bounced off her invisible barrier and ricocheted in the room around us.

"I can't keep this up for long," she said, wincing in pain as the soldiers let loose with another volley. "We need to decide on a gameplan."

"How can we decide on any kinda plan when we don't know where the hell we are..."

"Duh, we're obviously in an alternate timeline where Victor Von Fugly is the undisputed overlord of the world."

Sue and Ben stared at Johnny, both of them scowling. Johnny shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"It's called a comic book. How about you read one sometime?"

"Reed?" Sue asked. Reed was looking down at his feet, muttering softly to himself. "Earth to world's smartest man, any thoughts or ideas?"

"Yes," he said, looking up at them. "Drop the shield. We're surrendering."

"What?!"

"Yancy Street's favorite son doesn't give up."

"Susan, Ben. If you trust me, you'll follow my lead."

Narrowing her eyes, Sue dropped the shield. The Four turned to the soldiers, their arms up.

"This may sound cliche, " Reed said, looking from his friends and family to the soldiers. "But take me to your leader."

 

[Byrd Man]

Batman releases his grip to stop his fall and and Taskmaster rolls aside as he lands, coming back onto to his feet and facing the Bat, who is kicking up.
With hands of lightning, Master reaches at his hip and pulls out a billy club, launching it at Batman.
The club smacks Batman across his head, sending the Dark Knight stumbling as Taskmaster attacked.

I struck out blindly, trying to fend off the assassin's attacks as I fell backwards. Blows fell on me from all around. I heard my shoulder pop at the same time one of my ribs shifted. I fell backwards, falling onto my back just as a black shadow flew overhead.

His claws out and slashing, T'Challa cut through the attacker's billy club, slicing it in two. Charging forward, he knocked the hitman off his feet and pinned him to the ground.

"Now," the Black Panther said. "I was attempting to engage in polite conversation before you rudely interrupted me." Growling, he drove a knee into the assassin's stomach. "Now, you will tell me who hired you to take my life."

 

[Carnage27]

"So we're going to find him, right?" Alan looks at me.

"Of course we're going to go find him," I respond, getting my side arm from under my bed and putting it on my belt. My uniform is already on, and I sling my shield onto my back. "I guess we start at his house right?"

"Seems the most appropriate course of action," he nods. "He never left Keystone after the war. Settled down with a nice girl named Joan. Been together for a while now. I forget how many years..."

"Yea, well, you're getting old. That's understandable," I laugh at him as we leave the room.

"Yea well at least I know how to use a computer."

"I'm workin' on it. I even Googled for the first time the other day."

"Now that just sounds all kinds of wrong," a voice says from behind me. We turn to find Agent 13 leaning against the wall, a smile on her face. "Where are the grumpy old men headed?"

"Out to see a friend," I respond, not wanting to lead the agent on.

"Jay Garrick?" she asks, stopping us in our tracks.

"You know?"

"I got a call about it, yea," she nods. "I want to help."

"Why so you can check up on me for Fury?" I ask her. She's not one of us. She's an agent. One of the government side. And right now, I don't know how much I trust the government side.

"No, so I can help one of my idols," she says, getting in my face. "You may think I'm some stooge, but I'm my own person, Cap. I don't fall lock step in with Fury. Do you want my help or not?"

"Fine. Let's go."
​

 

[Carnage27]

Blurs. That's all I can see.

And my ears burn and ring like my head's been next to a powerful speaker for weeks on end.

I try to move my arms...my legs...anything. But it's like I've been submerged in Jello. Nothing works like it should.

A voice...distant like under water, says something that I can't make out. I try to respond to it, but I'm not exactly sure if it's my voice that responds or a simple gurgle.

"So you're finally awake," the voice finally breaks through. The blur over my eyes begins to clear like the fog as the sun cuts through it, and I see a doctor hovering over me. "We were beginning to wonder if you would."

"How-" I begin to say, my tongue thick in my mouth from underuse. "How long was I out?"

"Three weeks," he responds. "Now...I need to warn you. You do look a bit different."

That doesn't surprise me. I was in a gigantic fire. I probably look like a melting snowman. One of those people you see on the news for their "bravery". But really, it's just a modern day freak show. Great, as if I already didn't have enough trouble getting a date.

He holds up a mirror, and what greets me is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen.

I'm green. Green as the plants I've loved for so long. My striking red hair stands out like blood on a leaf. My eyes shimmer like flowers in the morning dew.

I've never been more beautiful.

"But how?" I ask, amazed.

"We're not exactly sure," the doctor stands and rubs the back of his neck. "We think whatever you drowned in changed you. Saved you."

"And my work?" I ask, still mesmerized by the mirror.

"Gone...all of it."

And then I hear a whisper from my side, and I look down, finding a small fern sitting on the table. "What's that?"

"Oh, someone from your lab brought it over. Said you'd like it."

The whisper continues, and I shake my head, "No, I mean that noise."

"What noise?"

And then I realize the plant is following my eyes as they move left to right. I focus on the fern, and it begins dancing to my command. I lift my hand, and it grows, reaching up and touching me, speaking to me in ways I've never understood before.

Here I am. A green woman who can control plants. My life destroyed by the scum of this city.

The plant wraps around my arm, growing as it does, covering me like clothes. I can hear the doctor panicking behind me, but I ignore him. All that matters now is this. Are the plants. They're the only thing that has never left or ruined me. They are mine. And I am theirs.

A vine comes off my finger, sprouting off and grabbing the neck of the doctor, beginning to choke him.

I turn, fire in my eyes, "Who did this?"

"I*cough*don't know. There's a*cough*investigation. But I don't know," he responds, clawing at the vine.

"Don't hurt my baby," I snarl. But as he continues to do it, the vine tightens, killing the doctor.

The vine comes back to me, and I pet it slightly, "There there. Come on. Let's go find the mean men who did this to me."

​

 

[Andy C.]

Afternoon television is usually nothing worth noting. Bad reality TV, reruns of hit shows that have been in syndication for years, awful History Channel series about half-baked theories on 'ancient aliens.' Mindless entertainment for the bored stay-at-home masses while the students and breadwinners of the family are away at school or at work.

There is one show, however, that is almost always worth watching:

The Scene.

A staple of afternoon talk-show entertainment, the Scene's panel of journalists, entertainers, and other on-air personalities never fail to light up the screen as they discuss everything from important social issues to fashion and pop-culture trends.

Like every day, at 3 o'clock PM on the dot, the cameras went live in the GBS studio, the production crew rolling the opening montage and theme song familiar to millions all across the country, particularly in Gotham City.

As the opening theme ended and the cameras cut to the live footage inside the studio, people all over America saw the familiar face of Summer Gleeson, the ever-smiling hostess of the Scene.

Miss Gleeson smiled at the camera, like always, but it was not the warm and pleasant smile that everyone knew. It was forced, her eyes wide, dark lines of mascara running down her face as tears rolled down her cheeks. Anyone who saw her could see within seconds that she was absolutely terrified.

"Good....g-good afternoon, everyone," she said, her voice cracking as if she was going to begin sobbing at any moment. "A-and welcome to the S-s-Scene. I'm.....I'm Summer Gleeson, and.......and b-boy, what a sh-show we've got in store for you today!"

Summer glanced nervously to one side, purposefully widening her smile as if to show she was complying with someone's orders.

"My.....my guest today has made.....made headlines all over the city," she said, her breath growing shorter and more frantic, as it was all she could do not to scream for help. "You all know him from......from the murder of over twenty Gotham City Police Officers....including Commissioner G-Gillian Loeb......p-please.....please welcome........the Joker!"

The camera cut to the guest's couch, where a deathly pale man in a filthy purple suit lounged in the seat, his arms spread across the back of the couch. He raised one hand and waved at the camera, smiling like a favorite guest star.

"Hey there, everyone! Glad to be here!" he said, smiling from ear to ear. "And Summer, it's always a pleasure to see you! Have you lost some weight recently? Because if you don't mind my saying so, you look fabulous!"

Summer giggled nervously, avoiding making eye-contact with the leering gaze of the clown.

"I, um.......I understand that you recently.....escaped from Arkham Asylum," she said, clearly reading her prompts from a cue card. "Tell us what that was like."

"Oh, it was one of the best experiences of my life!" the Joker said, in a fond tone like an actor talking about his latest movie. "Doctor Arkham--that's Jeremiah Arkham, of course, not the original--hired guards that beat me and tortured me every time I got under his skin too much, which was pretty much all the time. Then he handed me over to Dr. Crane, who pumped me full of psychotropic hallucinogens to see if he could scare me brain-dead. And it didn't work on me, but boy, did it work on everyone else, Ha-Ha!"

"Yes, we, um, we all saw that," said Gleeson. "Dozens of people died, and over a hundred were hospitalized, and everyone involved is still undergoing therapy."

"Well, not everyone," said Joker with a shrug. "I'm rehabilitating in my own special way. And, of course, Batman was there, too, but he's not seeing any shrinks at the moment. Which, honestly, is pretty funny when you think about it."

"So you think that Batman is as disturbed as the people the Scarecrow attacked?" Gleeson asked, before glancing nervously back at the cue cards. "You.....you think he's as.....as crazy as....you?"

The Joker gave her a skeptical look.

"A man breaks into an insane asylum, dressed like a flying rat, trying to beat an island full of rabid lunatics in a fist-fight, and says 'you people are crazy!'" he says, chuckling. "Hell, that joke writes itself!"

The Joker laughed, loudly and obnoxiously, and Gleeson laughed fearfully along with him.

"So.....Joker...." she said, reading the last cue card. "Now that you're......you're on the loose again......what have you been up to? And what are you going to do now?"

"Well, I've been pretty busy," the Joker answered, "Lots of small personal projects-- buying weapons off the black market, hiring goons, putting together explosives, that sorta thing. But the big thing I'm really excited about? I've been working on a thank-you gift to Batman."

"A....a thank-you gift?"

"For letting me escape," the clown explained. "Batman had a choice the night of the Arkham riot: stop the Scarecrow, or stop me. He went with stopping the Scarecrow, which means he chose to save a bunch of criminally insane monsters rather than protect good people like you from yours truly. So what I'm going to do next, well......it's just my way of showing my appreciation."

Gleeson shied away from the clown, but the over-sized pistol in his right hand kept her from running away.

"Batman, if you're watching," the Joker said into the camera, "I just want to let you know that, hey, this is your doing. You could have stopped me on the island, but you chose not to. So I want you to remember that, in sixty minutes......I'm going to blow up City Hall."

Summer looked at the killer in abject horror, but the Joker paid her no attention.

"I'm going to blow up City Hall, killing the Mayor and everyone else in it.......and it's all your fault," he said, with a big warm friendly smile on his ghastly face. "Oh, and in case anyone gets any bright ideas about evacuating, I hired some guys. Guys who are crack shots with a rifle, and who are currently surrounding Gotham City Hall covering all the major exits. And if Jim Gordon and his boys try anything, then I'll just trigger the explosion early. So........yeah."

The Joker leaned back into the couch, letting the announcement sink in to everyone in the studio, and everyone watching live. The silence in the studio was almost deafening, before the Joker spoke again.

"So Summer, how's the family? I hear your boy just started playing soccer, right? I'll bet that's fun."

 

[Johnny Blaze]

I struck out blindly, trying to fend off the assassin's attacks as I fell backwards. Blows fell on me from all around. I heard my shoulder pop at the same time one of my ribs shifted. I fell backwards, falling onto my back just as a black shadow flew overhead.

His claws out and slashing, T'Challa cut through the attacker's billy club, slicing it in two. Charging forward, he knocked the hitman off his feet and pinned him to the ground.

"Now," the Black Panther said. "I was attempting to engage in polite conversation before you rudely interrupted me." Growling, he drove a knee into the assassin's stomach. "Now, you will tell me who hired you to take my life."

"Sorry, chief...doesn't work like that. There's an...etiquette...we follow. Never reveal...your employer."

Taskmaster pulled a small metal dart with his fingers from his wrist, deftly twisting it in his hand and flicking it with force and amazing accuracy into Black Panther's eye.
The dart doesn't penetrate T'Challa's armor, but provides the distraction Masters needs to knock the Panther off of him and get back to his feet.

"Little trick I learned from a competitor."

Taskmaster took the scene in. He liked his chances against both men, one on one. But both of them together against him, in this tight space, wasn't a winning recipe.
It was time to finish this.

"Well, 'gents...it's been real..."

Masters pulled a small sphere from his belt and pressed a button on it. A red dot appeared on the sphere and began to flash, gaining speed with each flicker of light.

Masters tossed the grenade in between himself and the heroes and took off running back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Masters, in full stride, dove out of the bedroom window as the device exploded, landing onto the street below with a roll and disappearing into the Gotham night.

 

[MST3K 4ever]

"ENOUGH!"

Before he can retaliate, I take a look at the skies above. And do the very last thing I expected to do in this entire encounter. I fly back up, high enough so that he can't reach me, but low enough for him to still be able to hear the sound of my voice.

"You honestly think I wouldn't have recognized a man behind that tone? Something's obviously changed, Hulk. You're not acting the way you were before. Which means that there has to be some part of you that can be reasoned with, and if that's the case..."

I rise even higher, looking down on him as he seems to look up in confusion.

"I refuse to fight you any longer. We're going to sort this out the way people would, not like monsters."

The Hulk looks at Superman as though he were studying a strange life-form.

The Hulk says, "What is there to say? A red & blue blur stole Betty from me, When we escaped a mountiain station I saw you standing there but you didn't finish us off...could you actually be..."

Just then another voice wells up from within The Hulk one of rage and anger.

Superman confuse us. Smash! Find Betty!

The Hulk shakes his head and says, "Quiet I need to think!"

HULK SMASH SUPERMAN!

The Hulk begins to lunge upward when suddenly a voice yells, "HULK STOP! STOP IT NOW!"

The Hulk stumbles after his aborted leap and turns to see Betty Ross standing there.

She says, "Please stop. I'm all-right now Hulk. There has been enough violence and destruction today. Innocent people have lost their lives, their homes and jobs. All because one man has played you off of each other and I think you know who it is."

The Hulk says almost in a whisper as he slowly understands, "Lex"

Betty nods approaching slowly and says, "Superman is not your enemy Hulk. I heard a another voice within you Hulk it was yours and Bruce's a melding of two minds. Follow it. It is your true voice. It is showing who you can truly be."

The Hulk nods and slowly smiles and says, "I'll try. For you Betty. I will."


In the distance Luthor is watching the events unfold and is becoming angry.

NO! I had this going perfectly! Superman and The Hulk beating one another to pulps! NO! Oh no Dr. Ross you will not take away my moment of victory.

Lex says, "Targeting system. Molecular destablizer beam online."

The suit replies, "Acknowledged."

A heads up display appears and Lex locks in Betty.

The Hulk sees a red dot appear on Betty and he is puzzled for a moment and then realizes in great horror what that dot is as a bright flash appears which causes several cars to explode.

When the flash subsides Betty is gone. All that is there is a hole in a the ground and several cars on fire.

The Hulk cries out, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!" as he begins looking around for Betty.

 

[Byrd Man]

"Well, 'gents...it's been real..."

Masters pulled a small sphere from his belt and pressed a button on it. A red dot appeared on the sphere and began to flash, gaining speed with each flicker of light.

Masters tossed the grenade in between himself and the heroes and took off running back into the bedroom, slamming the door behind him. Masters, in full stride, dove out of the bedroom window as the device exploded, landing onto the street below with a roll and disappearing into the Gotham night.

T'Challa and I leaped out the windows, flames licking at our boot heels as we fell. I shot a grapnel line into the air, swinging away to safety while he managed to stop his descent by digging his claws into the side of the building.

Five minutes later I swung back to a building while Black Panther watched me land. Behind us, the Gotham Fire Department was busy putting out the blaze on the apartment's top floor. The residents of the apartment were below, watching as the firemen worked.

"Nothing on my end," I said as I perched on the rooftop's edge. "No sign of him at all."

"Same here," he said with a sigh. "I could not pick up his scent. No tracks. No traces at all."

"What's your next move?" I asked, watching T'Challa's masked face for any hints on his state of mind.

"My next move is that I go to New York and continue my American goodwill tour."

"But the assassin won't stop his pursuit."

"Yes. And I will not stop my mission here in America. Where I goes, he goes. Eventually, I will catch him."

"Or he'll kill you."

"After tonight? After watching how he works, seeing him up close. I think the next time we meet, I will have the advantage."

"I wish I could help as you go to New York, but I'm needed here."

"I understand. I believe my bodyguard, David, and I will be more than enough for this hired killer."

I nodded and pulled my grapnel from its belt holster.

"If you happen to live and are back in town and need help, look me up."

"Shouldn't be hard to contact you. All one needs to do is hire a hitman to attempt to kill a royal figure. That seems to attract your attention."

"Indeed," I said with a slight smirk.I shot the grapnel line into the air and swung away, leaving T'Challa behind to watch as I disappeared into the night.

 

[Johnny Blaze]

"Pardon us," Sue said to the men. She flicked her wrist and turned around as the men soldier's opened fire. Their lasers bounced off her invisible barrier and ricocheted in the room around us.

"I can't keep this up for long," she said, wincing in pain as the soldiers let loose with another volley. "We need to decide on a gameplan."

"How can we decide on any kinda plan when we don't know where the hell we are..."

"Duh, we're obviously in an alternate timeline where Victor Von Fugly is the undisputed overlord of the world."

Sue and Ben stared at Johnny, both of them scowling. Johnny shook his head and rolled his eyes.

"It's called a comic book. How about you read one sometime?"

"Reed?" Sue asked. Reed was looking down at his feet, muttering softly to himself. "Earth to world's smartest man, any thoughts or ideas?"

"Yes," he said, looking up at them. "Drop the shield. We're surrendering."

"What?!"

"Yancy Street's favorite son doesn't give up."

"Susan, Ben. If you trust me, you'll follow my lead."

Narrowing her eyes, Sue dropped the shield. The Four turned to the soldiers, their arms up.

"This may sound cliche, " Reed said, looking from his friends and family to the soldiers. "But take me to your leader."

The Fantastic Four's journey to Doomstadt has been a strange one. Traveling from Geneva, Reed and the others have seen a Europe unlike they remember. Soldiers bearing the crest of Doom were everywhere, watching everything. And the people seemed to go about their daily routines as though this was a common thing.
It was like the continent had become a police state akin to Latveria, and the implications of what he saw, and the scenarios they induced in his mind, troubled Reed.

But Reed and his family remained silent for the majority of the trip, as even Johnny was at a loss for words. Eventually they were led to a great palace, even larger and grander than the one they were familiar with in the world they knew.

The soldiers led the Four into a large room where a familiar face sat on a throne, watching them as they were brought before him.

With a look, Doom dismissed the guards, leaving himself alone with Reed and his allies.

"Reed Richards", Doom greeted his hated rival, a touch of smugness in his voice.
"It has been too long, my old 'friend'. I trust your travel here was a pleasant one?"

 

[Byrd Man]

The soldiers led the Four into a large room where a familiar face sat on a throne, watching them as they were brought before him.

With a look, Doom dismissed the guards, leaving himself alone with Reed and his allies.

"Reed Richards", Doom greeted his hated rival, a touch of smugness in his voice.
"It has been too long, my old 'friend'. I trust your travel here was a pleasant one?"

"Your airline's inflight meals suck, dude."

"Seriously. Would it kill ya to serve some steak, Metalmouth?"

"What did you do?!" Sue barked out. "Tell me right now, Doom. I'm not in the mood to play games. I'm more in the mood to commit regicide..."

"Honey," Reed had his hand up and was shaking his head. "I'm sure we can be more civil than that. Tell me, Victor, how long have you had a time machine?"

 

[Johnny Blaze]

"Your airline's inflight meals suck, dude."

"Seriously. Would it kill ya to serve some steak, Metalmouth?"

"What did you do?!" Sue barked out. "Tell me right now, Doom. I'm not in the mood to play games. I'm more in the mood to commit regicide..."

"Honey," Reed had his hand up and was shaking his head. "I'm sure we can be more civil than that. Tell me, Victor, how long have you had a time machine?"

Victor smiled deviously beneath his metal mask.

"Very good, Richards. Though, I must say I am not surprised."

Doom stood up from the throne and walked down the dais to stand a few feet before his foes. Doom stood standing tall, triumphant before them, his piercing gaze falling on each member of the Fantastic Four before coming to a halt on Reed.

"Walk with me, Richards."

Doom began to walk towards a corridor located on the side wall, and stopped, turning around and glaring at the rest of the Four, who were following along behind Mr. Fantastic.

"Only Reed is invited on this tour...the rest of you must remain here", Doom stated, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

 

[Byrd Man]

"Walk with me, Richards."

Doom began to walk towards a corridor located on the side wall, and stopped, turning around and glaring at the rest of the Four, who were following along behind Mr. Fantastic.

"Only Reed is invited on this tour...the rest of you must remain here", Doom stated, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"It's fine," Reed said with a nod.

"If he tries to pull anything, just call. We'll be there."

"Don't worry. I don't think it'll come to that just yet."

Together, the two men walked through the halls of the castle. Doom lead Reed upwards towards a wall overlooking the European countryside.

"We saw the banners coming in," said Reed, breaking the silence. "Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary... is that just the tip of the iceberg?"

 

[Johnny Blaze]

"It's fine," Reed said with a nod.

"If he tries to pull anything, just call. We'll be there."

"Don't worry. I don't think it'll come to that just yet."

Together, the two men walked through the halls of the castle. Doom lead Reed upwards towards a wall overlooking the European countryside.

"We saw the banners coming in," said Reed, breaking the silence. "Switzerland, Germany, the Czech Republic, Hungary... is that just the tip of the iceberg?"

Doom took in the view of the beautiful countryside of his capital, Doomstadt. Once the capital of the great nation of Latveria, but now...so much more.

"As you have surmised, Reed, the attack on the Hadron Collider was just a ruse. As you are well aware, the corrupt powers of this planet watched Latveria like a hungry vulture, so I required a diversion threatening enough to capture the planet's attention."

"The real prize lied in the ancient outskirts of Egypt...Giza to be precise", Doom stated as he gestured below them.

"Scans I took of the Sphinx indicated that it was much more than some carved hunk of rock. But what it was remained unknown to me. The equation was incomplete", Doom turned to face Reed, clasping his metal hands behind his back.

"And when the Higg's Boson was discovered I had the missing key to my formula and deduced the Sphinx's true nature...a time machine."

"How and when it came from remains unknown to me", Doom said with a hint of frustration in his voice.

"But someone brought it back to Egypt in ancient times, and on the Giza Plateau it sat for thousands of years, just waiting to be truly discovered."

"I had all the relative time in the world to study it", Doom went on, "and chose to return to the post-World War Two era, the beginnings of the Cold War."

"With my advanced technology and genius I took control of the Soviet Union and used the Red Army's might to conquer the globe."

"Now the USSR is gone along with it's communistic drivel, replaced by Doom's world order", Victor spoke with pride and power, saying the words with conviction.

"I know what you're thinking, Richards...that I am some mad despot, yes? Before you judge me, you should know that there are no more starving masses...no more living destitute and homeless in the streets...no more people dying over needless conflicts and genocides...the Earth is prosperous. It's people, my people, want for nothing."

"I have saved it from itself, just as I said I would", Victor crosses his arms across his chest and stands tall, his pride majestically showing.

 

[Byrd Man]

"I know what you're thinking, Richards...that I am some mad despot, yes? Before you judge me, you should know that there are no more starving masses...no more living destitute and homeless in the streets...no more people dying over needless conflicts and genocides...the Earth is prosperous. It's people, my people, want for nothing."

"I have saved it from itself, just as I said I would", Victor crosses his arms across his chest and stands tall, his pride majestically showing.

"The people are safe, yes," Reed ventured, staring out at the countryside. "But at what cost? How many millions more had to die so you could play savior? How many suffered, and continue to suffer because they don't fit into your plan? You've corrupted it all, Victor. Messed with the order of things. Humanity should have all of this, yes, but we should earn it. It's not your place to decide that."

Turning from the view, Reed stared up at his former friend.

"For once, put your ego aside. Give this mad dream up and put things back right."

 

[Johnny Blaze]

"The people are safe, yes," Reed ventured, staring out at the countryside. "But at what cost? How many millions more had to die so you could play savior? How many suffered, and continue to suffer because they don't fit into your plan? You've corrupted it all, Victor. Messed with the order of things. Humanity should have all of this, yes, but we should earn it. It's not your place to decide that."

Turning from the view, Reed stared up at his former friend.

"For once, put your ego aside. Give this mad dream up and put things back right."

Doom glared at Reed, "I had assumed you would make such foolish demands, Richards. I have no intentions of surrendering to you or allowing you to meddle in my affairs."

 

[Byrd Man]

Doom glared at Reed, "I had assumed you would make such foolish demands, Richards. I have no intentions of surrendering to you or allowing you to meddle in my affairs."

"Then why bring us here?" Reed asked with an arched eyebrow. "You know that I wouldn't accept what you've done, so why am I here? Did you bring us here to gloat? To rub my nose in the fact that you've seemingly done what I couldn't? If you want to brag, then go ahead and kill me now. Between you and I, I'd much prefer a bullet to the head than to hear you prattle on."

 

[Johnny Blaze]

"Then why bring us here?" Reed asked with an arched eyebrow. "You know that I wouldn't accept what you've done, so why am I here? Did you bring us here to gloat? To rub my nose in the fact that you've seemingly done what I couldn't? If you want to brag, then go ahead and kill me now. Between you and I, I'd much prefer a bullet to the head than to hear you prattle on."

Doom sighed, "So be it."

With a gesture soldiers rushed out to surround Reed.

"Take him to the dungeon with the rest of his troupe", Doom commanded as he strode up to Reed, looking him in the eyes.
"He and his family are to be executed at dawn."

With a final glare, burning with contempt, Doom stormed off, as Reed was bound and collared with a device designed to suppress super powers, and led away by the armed escort heading to the dungeons of Castle Doom.

 

[Batman]

For a moment, that tension was still there. To be honest, I hadn't been sure that it would even work. The Hulk was still acting like a volitale creature, even with some newfound focus and intelligence backing his every action, so to try and reason with it - with him - was always going to be a longshot. Yet as I remained here, floating above him in the skies, I saw his insurmountable anger become immediately tame at the sight of a woman. It wasn't hard to put two and two together as she fearlessly approached him, trying to convince him to stop, that she was his muse. She was the "Betty" that he had kept going on about between the violence and the death and the rage that had fueled our battle. Something that, admittedly, even I got swept up in whenever I couldn't see straight.

But with her arrival, everything seemed to be taking a turn for the best. I could hear the accelleration of adrenelaline inside The Hulk's massive heart begin to lose it's steam. His blood wasn't fueling with a foreign energy anymore. Infact, upon closer inspection, I was amazed to discover that Hulk's height was actually beginning to shrink by just a few inches. It seemed like he might be reverting to some humanistic physique, and I was caught off guard by the phenomena.

Then an ominous sound cut through the silence. My ears had caught a slight buzzing from the far distance, and my eyes followed it's direction. A faraway bright red beam, unseen to the human eye, shot into view and entered the area beneath me. I followed it in the precise instant that it appeared, carefully selecting a target. My eyes only widening as it rested firmly on the woman's forehead, intentionally guided to miss hitting The Hulk. That was enough to tell me that this wasn't the work police or special forces.

I guess that's what I have to thank for pushing me into action in time. Because by the first few explosions in the distance, I was already at breakneck speeds, dropping to the ground hard enough to cause it to crack and spiderweb beneath me. Everything slowed to a crawl around me. The woman herself still focused on The Hulk, his eyes still focused on her. Completely oblivious to what was coming.

"Hhhhhhh..."

Miliseconds pass. I grab her by the hand, spin her around, lift her from beneath the legs, and kick the heels of my boots off of the street. Second explosion hits, triggering a third. Third's coming right towards us in a chaotic mess of fire and smoke. I clench her body to my frame and shield her from any possible residual force. A useless gesture, however, because we're already twelve feet in the air by the time the flames hit Hulk, whose incredible resistance to damage likely shields him.

"...old on!"

Time comes sprinting back to normal. Her expression frozen from the same tender expression she was giving The Hulk. She blinks once, not having realized what happened, just as the fire beneath us passes by. Then she looks at me, eyes widened.

"Oh..."

Her shock at that is nothing in comparison to when she realizes how high up in the air we are.

"OH!"

My eyes are focused entirely on the direction of the attack, but right now, I can't see anything. The beam is gone, the heat of it leaving only a scattered trace in the air. Nothing to follow. Though considering how poorly my abilities have been acting lately, I suppose it's lucky that I even managed to save her from it at all.

"Oh god! What's happened?!"

I turn back to her, beginning to gently lower us back down.

"You're safe now, but someone just tried to kill you. There was a beam that came from afar, and it wasn't aimed at the creature."

Her eyes glancing down with realization, she says something that even I don't expect.

"Luthor..."

I stop in mid-flight, the name hanging above me like a dark cloud.

She didn't just say what I think she said. Did she?

"I'm sorry, but did you just say..."

I look back at her with evident surprise. "Luthor? As in Lex Luthor?"

She looks back at me, beginning to answer, but stops whenever she hears the loud bellowing of the Hulk below. He's just discovered that she isn't there, and I can only imagine how it looks. She points down to him, fractically tugging at my cape to hold on.

"No, not now! You need to put me down! Hurry, before he starts to think I'm gone! We can't risk what would happen next!"

Realizing that she's right, and that such an anger would only trigger another episode that could risk a hundred others, I try and hurriedly increase the rate of my descent. We pass through the clouds just as Hulk begins to growl, his logical side being overcome with the beast once again. In a bid to get his attention, I whistle at him from above, making it clear that the woman is with me and that she's been unharmed.

"Hulk, stop! You need to calm yourself down! She's alright!"

I look at her, noticing a nametag that confirms my earlier suspicion. Her name is Betty. Specifically, Betty Ross. As we come closer to the ground and finally touchdown in the middle of the rubble, I quickly allow her to stand back on the ground so that he can see her fully.

"...Betty's okay."

Hopefully that should do the trick. But I've got a potentially much bigger problem to focus on now.

What does Lex Luthor have to do with this?

 

[MST3K 4ever]

For a moment, that tension was still there. To be honest, I hadn't been sure that it would even work. The Hulk was still acting like a volitale creature, even with some newfound focus and intelligence backing his every action, so to try and reason with it - with him - was always going to be a longshot. Yet as I remained here, floating above him in the skies, I saw his insurmountable anger become immediately tame at the sight of a woman. It wasn't hard to put two and two together as she fearlessly approached him, trying to convince him to stop, that she was his muse. She was the "Betty" that he had kept going on about between the violence and the death and the rage that had fueled our battle. Something that, admittedly, even I got swept up in whenever I couldn't see straight.

But with her arrival, everything seemed to be taking a turn for the best. I could hear the accelleration of adrenelaline inside The Hulk's massive heart begin to lose it's steam. His blood wasn't fueling with a foreign energy anymore. Infact, upon closer inspection, I was amazed to discover that Hulk's height was actually beginning to shrink by just a few inches. It seemed like he might be reverting to some humanistic physique, and I was caught off guard by the phenomena.

Then an ominous sound cut through the silence. My ears had caught a slight buzzing from the far distance, and my eyes followed it's direction. A faraway bright red beam, unseen to the human eye, shot into view and entered the area beneath me. I followed it in the precise instant that it appeared, carefully selecting a target. My eyes only widening as it rested firmly on the woman's forehead, intentionally guided to miss hitting The Hulk. That was enough to tell me that this wasn't the work police or special forces.

I guess that's what I have to thank for pushing me into action in time. Because by the first few explosions in the distance, I was already at breakneck speeds, dropping to the ground hard enough to cause it to crack and spiderweb beneath me. Everything slowed to a crawl around me. The woman herself still focused on The Hulk, his eyes still focused on her. Completely oblivious to what was coming.

"Hhhhhhh..."

Miliseconds pass. I grab her by the hand, spin her around, lift her from beneath the legs, and kick the heels of my boots off of the street. Second explosion hits, triggering a third. Third's coming right towards us in a chaotic mess of fire and smoke. I clench her body to my frame and shield her from any possible residual force. A useless gesture, however, because we're already twelve feet in the air by the time the flames hit Hulk, whose incredible resistance to damage likely shields him.

"...old on!"

Time comes sprinting back to normal. Her expression frozen from the same tender expression she was giving The Hulk. She blinks once, not having realized what happened, just as the fire beneath us passes by. Then she looks at me, eyes widened.

"Oh..."

Her shock at that is nothing in comparison to when she realizes how high up in the air we are.

"OH!"

My eyes are focused entirely on the direction of the attack, but right now, I can't see anything. The beam is gone, the heat of it leaving only a scattered trace in the air. Nothing to follow. Though considering how poorly my abilities have been acting lately, I suppose it's lucky that I even managed to save her from it at all.

"Oh god! What's happened?!"

I turn back to her, beginning to gently lower us back down.

"You're safe now, but someone just tried to kill you. There was a beam that came from afar, and it wasn't aimed at the creature."

Her eyes glancing down with realization, she says something that even I don't expect.

"Luthor..."

I stop in mid-flight, the name hanging above me like a dark cloud.

She didn't just say what I think she said. Did she?

"I'm sorry, but did you just say..."

I look back at her with evident surprise. "Luthor? As in Lex Luthor?"

She looks back at me, beginning to answer, but stops whenever she hears the loud bellowing of the Hulk below. He's just discovered that she isn't there, and I can only imagine how it looks. She points down to him, fractically tugging at my cape to hold on.

"No, not now! You need to put me down! Hurry, before he starts to think I'm gone! We can't risk what would happen next!"

Realizing that she's right, and that such an anger would only trigger another episode that could risk a hundred others, I try and hurriedly increase the rate of my descent. We pass through the clouds just as Hulk begins to growl, his logical side being overcome with the beast once again. In a bid to get his attention, I whistle at him from above, making it clear that the woman is with me and that she's been unharmed.

"Hulk, stop! You need to calm yourself down! She's alright!"

I look at her, noticing a nametag that confirms my earlier suspicion. Her name is Betty. Specifically, Betty Ross. As we come closer to the ground and finally touchdown in the middle of the rubble, I quickly allow her to stand back on the ground so that he can see her fully.

"...Betty's okay."

Hopefully that should do the trick. But I've got a potentially much bigger problem to focus on now.

What does Lex Luthor have to do with this?

The Hulk sees Betty standing next to Superman and she approaches him.

The Hulk carries Betty in one of his arms. He then looks to Superman and asks, "You saved Betty?"

Superman nods and Betty replies, "Yes Hulk Superman saved me."

He looks at Betty and she says, "Please take me away from here. Let's go see my father he might be able to help us."

The Hulk looks back to Superman and places his sizable hand on his shoulder and says, "Thank you." He then gives a slight squeeze and says with a crooked smile, "friend."

He lets out a loud laugh which sounds more like a roar and slams his hand on Superman's shoulder and says, "FRIEND!"

Before they leave Betty says to Superman, "Thank you. If you want to know more about Lex get in touch with me or my father."

Betty leans into The Hulk closing her eyes and says, "Let's get out of here."

The Hulk takes his leave off the battle scared city as the National Guard finally arrives.

Watching from the distance Lex is seething.

That red & blue clod has ruined my plans! Not only is The Hulk fleeing the city once again, Betty Ross is alive, but Superman now has an ally in that green skinned neanderthal. I can see that Superman is going to be an issue that will not go away quietly. Oh Superman you have no idea what kind of enemy you have made this day.

Lex rockets back to LexCorp and enters a secret passageway. As he walks through the suit is removed by robotic server arms.

He says, "Alexis"

She replies, "Yes Mr. Luthor."

Lex says, "Inform Miss Graves to bring the limo around front. We are heading to Fort Jackson to reclaim what is mine!"

 

[Carnage27]

​

2 Months Later

The space station we've come to is packed with refugees. Thanos and Annihilus have continued their path of destruction, taking what planets they want as bases or to be stripped for resources. And they've been brutal to those that have stayed. The rest from this sector have come here to seek refuge and try to find a new home in the stars.

What was once a high tech gambling and relaxation resort is now a teeming, stinking ship full of shanty towns and crime. But we're not here to help them. Not now. Any other day the Green Lanterns would be devoted to helping these poor souls.

But now our numbers have been almost completely depleted, and we have a war to stop. Unfortunately the greater problem takes precedent over the smaller problems at a time like this.

"Man, and I thought New York in the summer smelled bad," a sarcastic voice says from behind me. I turn and stare daggers into Guy Gardner, the newest, and only new Green Lantern since the slaughter. The man is incorrigible. Rude, pigheaded, and selfish, I have no idea how the ring chose him. Not to mention it's worse that he's a human.

"Why don't you rub it in a little more that these people have nothing?" I ask the man.

"And why don't we both go looking for the creep that did this to them and give him a piece of our minds?" he asks, getting in my face. "Scared to mix it up a little bit?"

I snarl at him, "You know we can't go against them guns blazing."

"Right, which is why Pinky sent us here," he responds, despondent. He's wanted to fight since he got here. I've trained him as much as I've made time to, and he's progressing. But his bloodlust is a bit troubling.

And Sinestro sent us here, on a tip that there was someone who knew something of the attack on Oa here.

Sinestro. He's become distant and forlorn since Rann. He stays in isolation aside from times when he has orders. None of us really know what he's doing alone, and I'd be lying if I said I wasn't a bit worried.

"Exactly. So let's go find this source."

We wade through the sea of humanity, reaching the bar which the mark is said to reside. On our way in, Gardner bumps into a big alien. It turns around, revealing itself to be one of Kilowag's race.

The alien grunts in Guy's face, and my counterpart just smiles, "Yea? What're you gonna do about it, ugly?"

The alien doesn't respond. Instead, he smacks Guy across the room, and the bar erupts into a melee. This place was a powder keg waiting to explode and my partner's given it a reason to. Fists, chairs, and drinks start flying in every direction as I wade through the mass of beings to get to Guy's side.

"Smooth move!" I yell over the din.

"He had it coming."

"I'm pretty sure you're the one that got the hell knocked out of him."

"Insignificant detail."

Above us, a shot rings out. I look up to find the person we've been looking for. He yells and the now quiet mob, "Enough! Back to your drinks in a quiet manner!"

He then looks down at the two of us on the ground, "You two. Come with me."

​

 

[MST3K 4ever]

The Hulk and Betty land about 2 miles away from the base. He prepares to leap again and Betty says, "Hold it for a moment."

The Hulk says, "What's wrong?"

Betty says, "No offense and I'm not sure how to put this delicately, but inspite of your intellect showing signs of maturing my guess is that if you show up like this...inspite of my dad's help they're..."

The Hulk nods and says, "Yeah I got ya."

He sets Betty down and takes a deep breath and sits on his knees and takes a couple more deep breaths.

Bruce Banner now reappears and asks, "Is this okay?"

Betty smiles and nods. Bruce stands up and says, "As my mature intellect as you call it asserts itself I can remember a little more of the time as The Hulk."

Betty replies, "Yeah I figured that might happen. We just need to see if we can get a handle on things."

They approach the main gate and see General Ross and Nick Fury standing there.

Ross says, "We saw the battle in Metropolis and when you left we figured you might show up here."

The gate opens and then as they enter the base a guard says, "Sir Limo approaching."

They turn and Ross says, "Anyone we might know?"

Fury replies, "A certain bald billionaire who is going to be complaining about a certain guest here."


The Limo stops and Mercy exits the driver's side and opens the door for Lex . They step forward to the gate and Lex says, "All-right Banner let's go."

Betty replies, "He's not going anywhere with you."

Lex says, "Oh I beg to differ Dr. Ross." Lex pulls out the letter from the Government saying LexCorp is in charge of The Hulk.

He shows it to them and lets them have it.

Betty asks, "Can he do this?"

Fury replies, "He can and he did. This letter is legitimate"

He looks to Banner and says, "I'm sorry you have to go with them. They've got jurisdiction over you."

Fury gives Lex the letter back and Betty starts to protest. General Ross restrains her while he glares at Lex.

Bruce says, "Don't worry I'll be back in about an hour."

Lex replies, "Oh I doubt that you'll ever see them again Dr. Banner. You and your alter-ego have an appointment with several tests."

Bruce says, "Lex there is one thing I can always count on you for and that's your arrogance to blind you to what is so obvious. General can you alert the media about what is happening and who has me."

Ross says, "Probably but why? I don't see how that helps you."

Banner replies, "Oh you see sir I figure the media will raise a lot of questions and draw lots of attention to Lex and since The Hulk, or I am actually you know this is gonna get confusing, is a LexCorp entity that means all the damages tonight caused by The Hulk are on his bald head. The Hulk belongs to LexCorp so he's looking at a lot of legal issues to say the least. "

Lex is stunned and Bruce continues, "That's right Lex you are liable for several millions in property damage, and who knows what else will be found out when the legal system gets done with you."

Fury says, "Actually I would say it's more like billions when you add in the settlements for the loss of life."

Banner bows his head slightly when he hears than and Fury says, "Don't worry about that Bruce Lex can deal with that."

Lex is about to have stroke. If looks could kill Banner, The Rosses, and Fury would all be dead.

Lex pulls out a Cuban cigar and lights it. Once he takes two drags he puts the cigar on the letter which he drops on the ground.

As they watch the letter burn Lex says, "He's your problem now and I was never here."

He motions to Mercy to open his door.

Ross says, "Littering on this base is a punishable offense."

Lex without looking back replies, "Call my lawyers!"

He gets in his limo and it speeds away.

Bruce says, "I guess that is the last we'll see of him for a while."

Fury says, "Don't count on it, but for now he's gonna be hurtin' from this one. Let's get you all inside and taken care of."

Betty says, "Yeah I got some tests I need to run so we can try to figure things out."

In the limo

Lex is stinging from his defeat and Lex doesn't take defeat well at all.

He calls Talbot and explains the situation.

Lex says, "Get me in touch with your friends who got me the letter...I have one more trump card I wish to play."

 

[Andy C.]

"Okay, so this 'hot date' of yours," says Harry as he starts poring through my closet. "She have a name?"

"Mary Jane Watson," I say, sitting at my computer desk.

"Whoah whoah whoah," says Gwen into her webcam, talking to me over Skype from her house. "You've got a date tonight?! I thought we were gonna watch Time Bandits together...."

"Oh, jeez, you're right," I say, slapping my forehead. "I forgot, Gwen, I'm sorry. Look, I'll make it up to you, okay?"

She gives me a hurt look, then closes out her chat window.

"Ouch," says Harry, throwing shirts onto my bed. "You're in the doghouse now, Parker. Ditching poor Miss Stacy for another girl."

"Well, hey, we do Movie Night every Friday night--we can watch Time Bandits next week," I say, defensively. "It's not the first time one of us has had to bail. I don't see why she'd be mad at me for doing this whole blind-date thing."

Harry looks at me with a raised eyebrow.

"You really don't know, do you?"

"Know what?"

"Nothing," he says with a shrug. "Anyway, we've gotta get you looking presentable for the mysterious Mary Jane. Is she hot?"

I shrug.

"Aunt May says she has a wonderful personality."

Harry visibly winces.

"That's never a good opener," he says. "Still, it couldn't hurt to at least find something remotely resembling fashionable clothes, if only so you can practice not looking like a giant geek--and I'm saying that as a friend, mind you."

"Err, thanks," I say, irritated. "Anyway, I'm not trying to sweep her off her feet or anything. I'm just doing this because it'd be nice for Aunt May."

"Hmmm," he says as he looks at an old button-down shirt. "This might work, if you go for the hipster-ish 'vintage' look. What kind of product do you put in your hair?"

"Ummmm......a comb and some water?"

"Oy vey," Harry says. "We've got a lot of work to do, Parker."

As he tries to Frankenstein together a 'look' for me, I get a text message from a number I don't recognize.

-Hi, is this Peter?

I stare at it for a second, puzzled, then respond.

-Yes it is. Who's this?

Harry emerges from my closet again, looking in disbelief.

"Do you seriously only have one pair of shoes?"

Before I answer, I get an another text.

-This is Mary Jane. I got my mom to get your aunt your number--hope you don't mind. I was just seeing if you're still on for tonight.

-Yeah, totally. It should be a lot of fun!

Harry finally manages to find a pair of pants that looks good with the shirt he picked out.

"Sucks about the shoes, but we'll make do with what you've got," he says, resigned. "Who are you texting?"

"Apparently Mary Jane," I say.

"She's texting you right before you meet on a blind date?" he asks incredulously. "Weird."

I get another text.

-Cool. I've actually been looking forward to meeting you. My mom and your aunt keep trying to tell me about you, but I won't let them.

-Why is that?, I text back.

-It ruins the surprise, she responds. It's kinda fun to let it be a gamble; you never know if it's going to be amazing or a total dud.

I raise an eyebrow.

-I guess so. I've never really been a big gambler myself, but I guess it could be fun to think of it like that.

-Well, I hope you're ready to take a gamble tonight, she texts, Because I'm outside your front door right now.

"Holy crap," I say, bolting out of my computer chair. "She's already here!"

"What?!" Harry says with a start. "Well, dude, at least put this shirt on! You can't meet a blind date in a Transformers T-shirt!"

Not listening to him, I hurry down the stairs. Opening the front door, I'm absolutely stunned by not one, but two separate realizations.

The first is when I realize it's the same red-headed girl that I saved as Spider-Man from Giganta a few days ago.

"Now aren't you glad you took a gamble tonight?"

The second is when I realize that she's the single most beautiful girl I've ever met.

"Because face it, Tiger," she says with a grin as I stare dumbfounded, "you just hit the jackpot."