Doom was delerious. Magneto had rescued him and had safely returned him to Genosha... at the cost of his offensive in California. Later on after catching his bearings, Doom was informed that the attack on the west coast had failed and that SHIELD had sanctioned his base and forces in Portland.
Still, Europe was still very much under his control. The Thing, Iron Man, and Dr. Strange (an unexpected dividend) along with the help of a massive SHIELD army, had mounted a successful front against Doom's forces in France. Considering the size of the army, designed by Tony Stark himself, it would not be long before they began advancing through Europe, reclaiming all the land and resources Doom had conquered.
Sitting in his quarters in Magneto's stronghold, Doom contemplated his situation and his next move. He could not win this fight through strength of arms: the SHIELD/Stark initiative outnumbered his almost 2 to 1, and although his droids may be slightly superior... he would not be able to mass produce enough units in time to compensate for the sheer numbers of Nick Fury's coalition.
But he still had the wild card, his ace in the hole: he still had the world hostage. The virus, which he had codenamed "Doomsday"... was still very much in play and Doom needed to think about how he could use it to his utmost advantage... and what could possibly thwart his plans...
Doom reclined in his chair and took a moment to reminisce upon the events that had occured so far... from confronting Doctor Octopus in New York to battling the Human Torch above Central Park, from hiring Deadpool as his field general, to battling The Thing, Photon, Johnny Storm and Thor in Syria. From stumbling upon the emerald of Asgard and blackmailing Thor to kill the Fantastic Four, to again duking it out with Thing and Iron Man in Latveria... only to wisked away by Thor and been beaten almost to the death. Now Doom had been saved by none other than Magneto... and his forces were being pushed back by Ben Grimm, Tony Stark, and Stephen Strange...
...Strange.... Doom's brow furrowed. "That.... could be a problem..." Strange was THE authority on the mystical arts. There was an outside possibility he might be able to locate his virus containers using a spell...
no, Doom could not have that. He had to fight fire with fire. Although nowhere near Strange's level of mastery of magic, Doom was an accomplished sorcerer. Conjuring up all his skill in the black arts, Doom cast a dark cloud over the whereabouts of his virus spores. Anyone using magic to discover them would be met by this blockade. It wouldnt stop Strange permanently, Doom knew that, but it would buy him some time.
And time was all he needed.
With renewed vigor, Doom went to meet Magneto. They had things to discuss....
Flame on!
