The 'What If?' Marvel RPG - Season thread

[Noon]

As Gambit turned to talk to Magneto, the Phoenix let her consciousness stretch out to examine her surroundings.

With a cold expression she felt at the life forces of those around her, glowing, weak in comparison to her own. To her their auras were shimmering clouds of colour, twisting and changing like the Aurora Borealis, while hers was like a fiery explosions of reds and oranges, enveloping her and a huge radius around her.

As she inspected those close, she also reached out further, moving miles in her mind. Her thoughts were interrupted as she sensed another massive life force erupt close by, something mystically enforced, like her. It was not as powerful, but it was more a match for her than any of these lower life forms.

She floated off the ground, flames flickering back into life around her. Turning in the air she hovered gracefully and silently in the direction of this great force.

Stopping above a small mound of grass, she sensed it was directly below her.

Her eyes glowed with energy and the flames gathered higher. With a huge burst of fiery energy the ground beneath her burst open, filling the air with a huge cloud of dirt and plants raining around her.

Slowly it cleared, the fiery goddess still hovering in the same position, unfazed and untouched by earth. Another gaping wound in the earth lay below her, and another being looked up at her.

"Warrior of Cytorrak! I call thee to battle!"

 

[Cyrusbales]

As Gambit turned to talk to Magneto, the Phoenix let her consciousness stretch out to examine her surroundings.

With a cold expression she felt at the life forces of those around her, glowing, weak in comparison to her own. To her their auras were shimmering clouds of colour, twisting and changing like the Aurora Borealis, while hers was like a fiery explosions of reds and oranges, enveloping her and a huge radius around her.

As she inspected those close, she also reached out further, moving miles in her mind. Her thoughts were interrupted as she sensed another massive life force erupt close by, something mystically enforced, like her. It was not as powerful, but it was more a match for her than any of these lower life forms.

She floated off the ground, flames flickering back into life around her. Turning in the air she hovered gracefully and silently in the direction of this great force.

Stopping above a small mound of grass, she sensed it was directly below her.

Her eyes glowed with energy and the flames gathered higher. With a huge burst of fiery energy the ground beneath her burst open, filling the air with a huge cloud of dirt and plants raining around her.

Slowly it cleared, the fiery goddess still hovering in the same position, unfazed and untouched by earth. Another gaping wound in the earth lay below her, and another being looked up at her.

"Warrior of Cytorrak! I call thee to battle!"

MASTERMIND

Currently, the monster that is the Juggernaught is just venting some of his anger, and preparing for retribution and vengeance, luckily, that coincides with my plan, all he needs is a slight pushing in the right direction from me.

Now something had come into my way, into the Juggernaught's way. This was certainly a mistake. I could see and feel her powers, expansive and deadly, but even she had underestimated this force.

For the power of Cytorrak was a constantly building one, his incarceration had weakened him greatly, but his power was already back to building again.

"The Juggernaught accepts your offer."

Leaping into the air, one of his large hands clasped itself around it's burning foe, bringing her down to earth, and directly in the path of this unstoppable machine.

This could work in my favour, the strength of this foe could help his power build quicker, and ultimately bring the next phase of my plan closer.

 

[Noon]

MASTERMIND

Currently, the monster that is the Juggernaught is just venting some of his anger, and preparing for retribution and vengeance, luckily, that coincides with my plan, all he needs is a slight pushing in the right direction from me.

Now something had come into my way, into the Juggernaught's way. This was certainly a mistake. I could see and feel her powers, expansive and deadly, but even she had underestimated this force.

For the power of Cytorrak was a constantly building one, his incarceration had weakened him greatly, but his power was already back to building again.

"The Juggernaught accepts your offer."

Leaping into the air, one of his large hands clasped itself around it's burning foe, bringing her down to earth, and directly in the path of this unstoppable machine.

This could work in my favour, the strength of this foe could help his power build quicker, and ultimately bring the next phase of my plan closer.

Her eyes glowed with elation as her hulking opponent fought her.

Fire roared around her hands and incinerated the gloves that covered her deadly skin. Her hands clamped down onto the exposed flesh of his arms.

"Ahahahahaa!" She cackled manically as she began to absorb the intense power of Cyttorak. If she managed to take it all she would truly be a god, unstoppable in ever way.

The influx of incredible power was almost orgasmic to her in its intensity, flooding into her mind, ages of memory almost as old as herself flooding her mind.

 

[Cyrusbales]

Her eyes glowed with elation as her hulking opponent fought her.

Fire roared around her hands and incinerated the gloves that covered her deadly skin. Her hands clamped down onto the exposed flesh of his arms.

"Ahahahahaa!" She cackled manically as she began to absorb the intense power of Cyttorak. If she managed to take it all she would truly be a god, unstoppable in ever way.

The influx of incredible power was almost orgasmic to her in its intensity, flooding into her mind, ages of memory almost as old as herself flooding her mind.

MASTERMIND

Anyone could see the power in this battle, but I could fully sense it, the raw energies at work. Most distubring was the energy that Cyttorak could provide, each piece of power that was drained was replaced by double it's amount. It was clear why he was known as the "Unstoppable Juggernaught."

Pink coloumns of energy spiked from the gargantuan being, enough eventually, to repel this assailant briefly.

His entire body glowing with furious power that could only grow. Her body writhing in flames of her own mystic energy, this was certainly a fight that my plan could do without.

As she twisted and turned in the air, an almighty blow managed to land itself upon her form, shocked by the amount of power delivered by it, she hovered above, puzzled at this mere mortal's power.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

"Mags, we gotta go after her."

Gambit desperately looked around the grounds. He sees a Honda CBR 900 leaned up against the wall. Gambit leaped onto the seat and hotwired the engine.

"Gambit more of a chopper man himself, but ah guess ah take what ah can get."

Gambit cranked the accelerator wide open. Finding Rogue was not hard to do. He only needed to follow the path of destruction. He could hear the battle up ahead just over a hill. Gambit took it full speed and the motorcycle flew through the air. Mid leap, Gambit placed his hand onto the gas tank and charged it to its capacity. He then flipped off the bike and landed crouched on his feet. The bike hit the strange man with the dome helmet dead in the chest.

"Dere's more where 'dat come from."

As the smoke cleared, Gambit realized the man still stood, not a scratch to be found.

"You'd figure 'dat ah'd learn ta shut ma mouth."

 

[Noon]

"Mags, we gotta go after her."

Gambit desperately looked around the grounds. He sees a Honda CBR 900 leaned up against the wall. Gambit leaped onto the seat and hotwired the engine.

"Gambit more of a chopper man himself, but ah guess ah take what ah can get."

Gambit cranked the accelerator wide open. Finding Rogue was not hard to do. He only needed to follow the path of destruction. He could hear the battle up ahead just over a hill. Gambit took it full speed and the motorcycle flew through the air. Mid leap, Gambit placed his hand onto the gas tank and charged it to its capacity. He then flipped off the bike and landed crouched on his feet. The bike hit the strange man with the dome helmet dead in the chest.

"Dere's more where 'dat come from."

As the smoke cleared, Gambit realized the man still stood, not a scratch to be found.

"You'd figure 'dat ah'd learn ta shut ma mouth."

Inside the Phoenix a great rage grew. How dare this mortal strike her.

The handsome one makes a feeble attempt to protect her, or to protect Rogue, who he for some reason believes still exists. His attack, while chivalrous, is ineffective.

As her anger grew, so did the fire. It stretched out from her, a bubbling mass of energy, toward the armoured man. She lifted him off the ground, bringing him through the air towards her on a sea of flames. With no purchase on anything solid, he was helpless.

Flames writhed around him as she held him in front of her. Her black eyes looked into his blue ones. The mystic energy of Cytorak tried to block her, but on the astral scale, she was by far the superior. She growled in annoyance as she reached the clouded mind of the Juggernaut.

“You are but a mindless drone, not even in control of your own actions.”

She considered him coldly for a moment.

“Pathetic weak willed creature though you are, physically you are strong. You shall make a good soldier. From now on you belong to the Phoenix.”

The flames evaporated and the Juggernaut plummeted to the ground, as he crashed into the earth he made a small crater.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

Inside the Phoenix a great rage grew. How dare this mortal strike her.

The handsome one makes a feeble attempt to protect her, or to protect Rogue, who he for some reason believes still exists. His attack, while chivalrous, is ineffective.

As her anger grew, so did the fire. It stretched out from her, a bubbling mass of energy, toward the armoured man. She lifted him off the ground, bringing him through the air towards her on a sea of flames. With no purchase on anything solid, he was helpless.

Flames writhed around him as she held him in front of her. Her black eyes looked into his blue ones. The mystic energy of Cytorak tried to block her, but on the astral scale, she was by far the superior. She growled in annoyance as she reached the clouded mind of the Juggernaut.

“You are but a mindless drone, not even in control of your own actions.”

She considered him coldly for a moment.

“Pathetic weak willed creature though you are, physically you are strong. You shall make a good soldier. From now on you belong to the Phoenix.”

The flames evaporated and the Juggernaut plummeted to the ground, as he crashed into the earth he made a small crater.

In a frantic rush to keep the Phoenix from causing any more damage, Gambit tries distract the deity.

"Rogue, Phoenix, what ever da' hell ya' name is, ah believe we had a date."

Mags, ah sure hope ya get ya ass here soon 'fore 'ol Gambit become dust."

 

[Eddie Brock]

Prologue - Part 1

Who am I?

Do you really want to know?

The story of my life is not for the faint of heart.

The name is Brock. Edward Brock. But please, call me Eddie.

I suppose I should start at the beginning. Once upon a time, Joseph Brock and Katherine McFarlane fell in love. Against my grandparents' wishes, the young couple got married. I was born only 7 months later.

My father had, what you could call, a drinking problem. Don't get me wrong, he would never lay a hand on myself or my mother. It's just that all the alcohol put him in a perpetual bad mood. My mother hated it, but she was too timid to ever say anything. In fact, my mother rarely ever said anything up to the day she left. This was when I was 11 years old.

I was raised Catholic. I went to church every Sunday until my mother left. My father didn't really care about church, so every now and then, I would sneak out on Sunday morning just to go there. Come to think of it, my father never really supported me in anything. When I told him that I wanted to be a writer, he proceeded to tell my that writing is a 'womanly' profession. My father urged me to work out and play sports. I gotta hand it to him though, I still stay in shape to this day. I guess old habits do die hard.

Anyway, let's skip ahead a couple decades. I moved out as soon as I turned 18, and I've been working full-time ever since. I work as a columist for the Daily Globe - the 2nd most circulated newspaper in New York, 2nd only to the Daily Bugle. Mostly I wrote bit-pieces, you know, human interest stories, page 10 sort of stuff. But nevertheless, I am grateful for every oppurtunity that I was given. I worked my way up the ladder, and I made plenty of sacrifices to get where I am.

One day, fate came knocking at my cubicle. A man named Emil Gregg was looking for a reporter. He wished to confess to being the Sin-Eater, and he wanted a reporter to tell his story. Lucky me, I was the first one he came across. We were almost done the interview when he threw a kick into my plan. He did not wish to be named in the article. This took some of the joy out of me, but I was still determined to get this scoop. So, I protected his rights and printed the story anyway. The success was unmeasurable. I became extremely popular at work, my bosses talked about moving me up. It was great. Then, the police came. They urged me to divulge the identity. They told me that I was their only hope of stopping the crime spree. While I didn't want the wild ride to end, I also knew that I held the power to stop him.

I typed a follow-up article. It dramatically revealed Emil Gregg as the Sin-Eater. However, I couldn't bring myself to publish it. It seemed too anticlimatic. So I destroyed the article. It was just in time, too. Several days later, Spider-Man revealed that Stan Carter was the true Sin-Eater. I felt ashamed and embarrassed at my apparent failure until I realized one thing: No one knew that I had interviewed the wrong guy. So I played along, pretending that I knew it was Stan all along. I managed to skate by with my journalist integrity intact.

Lucky me.

 

[Kaboom]

In the midst of confusion, I found myself on Xavier's lawn with Sunspot following in tow.

"It looks like its hit the fan, amigo," he said as we stumbled upon a woman laying on the ground before us unconcious. "Que es eso?"

So much was going on and for whatever reason, Sunspot had began looking to me for answers. Still my only cocnern was Sue. Yet deep inside me was the need to make sure no harm would come to this woman, or the man who helped me escape...sacrificing his self in the process.

I bend down and scooped the girl up.

"Can you fly," I ask.

"Si...yes."

Follow me.

Soon, we were airborne, and we we're on our way back to see John Storm.

 

[Eddie Brock]

Prologue - Part 2

Weeks after the dust had settled on the Sin-Eater incident, I was still racked with guilt over it. I was willing to hide a known serial killer's identity just so I could write a story about it. Granted, Mr. Gregg turned out to be a fraud. Nevertheless, I didn't know that at the time and I still went ahead with the article! I could have went straight to the police, but I didn't. It went against everything my religion told me was right.

I went to Our Lady of Saints Church and confessed my sins. It's funny how much better one feels after confessing. Something about having that weight off your shoulders...it's uplifting. I was able to walk home with a rejuvenated hop in my step.

My journalist senses tingled as I walked past a crime scene. There didn't appear to be any media personnel covering the scene. I could get the exclusive! I got close enough that I could overhear the police talking. They said something about "Spider-Carnage." I recognized the name, but I didn't know from where. Finally, when they looked away, I slipped under the crime scene tape and let myself into the building. There was debris everywhere on the floor. I began to examine it. That's when it happened.

A shadow moved me. Caressed me. I was joined.

I honestly don't remember much after that. I guess I walked home since I woke up the next day, in my bed, with a killer headache. Something felt different, it felt...better. I couldn't put my finger on it, I just felt like a new man. That's when the next freaky thing happened.

A red, slimy liquid ran up my arm. Part of me was more scared than I had ever been, and part of me accepted it and was even - dare I say it? - excited. A similar liquid began to run up my other arm. Somehow, through all this, I felt at peace. I outstretched my arms and allowed the liquids to take over. The liquids met up at my neck and began to flow in opposite directions. Part of it started to flow over my face, while the other part slimed down my torso. What really caught me off guard was how warm it felt. There was something....cozy to the experience.

Once the transformation was done, I looked in the mirror.

"You," I said calmly. Suddenly, I remembered what had happened the day before. "So you're behind all of this."

"I see you aren't fighting it," a chilling voice hissed. Somehow it felt like the voice was inside me....like it was in my head.

"I don't want to fight it. You're a part of me now," I responded.

"This can become a beautiful alliance, if you allow it," the voice told me.

I felt like I was destined to do this. "Together, we can achieve great things. We can bring justice, protect the innocent!"

The voice laughed. "There is nothing more precious than innocence."

 

[guitarsingerguy]

"I haven't been able to taste anything for three days. Nothing but gin at the very least. My name is Eugene Thompson, but my friends call me "Flash". Who am I kidding? I don't have any friends. It wasn't always this way. I had a good life. My parents warned me not to go into the Army. "The Army changes people" they would say. They had no idea. Once Spider-Man became a menace, the military instituted Project 2099. I was the guinea pig. They made me just like him in almost every way. Then they sent me to...neutralize the problem."

Ben Eurich looked across the table at the man. Flash was a shadow of his former self.

"Why should I believe you Mr. Thompson?"

"Why? Because in a few days they're going to find one of two bodies. They'll either find mine, or they'll find Peter Parker's. My folks need to know that I was trying to do the right thing. I want them to know that I didn't die a drunk. If they find my body, print the story. Oh, and could you give something to my parents?"

Flash slides something across the table. It's a photograph of Flash wearing his Venom uniform surrounded by his military superiors. Ben Eurich can't believe his eyes.

"This is great and all...but how am I supposed to know that this isn't an elaborate Photoshop piece?"

Flash walks over to the nearest window and opens it. He turns to Ben Eurich and rips open his shirt to reveal the same costume in the photograph. Flash slips his mask over his head.

"Just tell my parents they were right."

Flash makes a backwards swan dive out of the window. In mid air he slips the remainder of his clothes off to reveal his entire uniform.

I'm coming Pete, and I'm bringing hell with me.

 

[Byrd Man]

IC: The RIder

Mississippi

My bike comes to a stop at the four-way crossroad. My next soul to convert is in Florida, guy named Kletus Kassidy, that's when I hear the voice.

[BLACKOUT]"Johnny Blaze."[/BLACKOUT]

He's in his human form, but a rat is a rat not matter how they look.

"Mephisto. What are you doing here? Come to see if I would switch sides?"

[BLACKOUT]"Johnny, Johnny, Johnny. Don't flatter yourself. Now that you've gone topside, you're no good to me. Sorta like tainted meat. No, today I'm here to watch a training exercise."[/BLACKOUT]

I look up the crossroads and see a fireball streaking towards Mephisto and I.

[BLACKOUT]"See, Johnny. When you switched sides, I had to find a new rider and Ifound another fool who needed to save a loved one."[/BLACKOUT]

The fireball hits a bump on the road and launches into the air.

[BLACKOUT]"Meet Danny Ketch, the new Ghost Rider."[/BLACKOUT]

 

[Matt Murdock]

edit

 

[Matt Murdock]

The Scarlet Spider Chapter 19

The huge dude with hammer stares down at me. I have the sudden urge to reach up and rip his face off. I mean, sure there'd be blood, but he's just been such a pain in my...

"Time for us to skedaddle." I say quickly.

Us? Huh. Weird.

I whirl around on my back and kick his legs out from under him. His hammer crashes next to me and causes the marble tile to form a wave, like a stone tsunami.

"If the power of Odin means anything in this realm, webbed one, you shall go nowhere!"

I look up and my spider-sense flares as a bolt of lightning crashes down right next to my head.

"Damn! You've gotta call Sigfried and Roy with that pyrotechnics display!" I say, rolling backwards. I fire two weblines at the still-flowing bolt's origin point and they evaporate.

"Huh. Well you've sure got us stumped."

Us... again.

He raises his hammer high above his head as the lightning dissipates.

"Stand down, slinger of webs, or I shall descend upon thee with all of the wrath of the Asgardian Gods!"

I crouch below his hammer, feet away from him. I fire two weblines right into his face and he recoils with surprise.

"Take a chill pill, lightning rod, we're here for the gun-slinging, grenade lobbing lunatic over in the corner there." I point at the Punisher.

I backflip, flinging the weblines to the ceiling. Hammerman is clawing at his face.

I land next to the Punisher and sling him over my shoulder. I sprint with him over rubble and see that doorway is blocked by rubble. The only way out is a hole in the ceiling. I come to a stop atop a massive pile of ceiling rubble. The support beams are lying on either side of the pile, like goalposts.

I whirl around and see Hammerman.

"Enough of this futility!" He screams, rearing his head back. A lightning bolt crashes into his face. He turns his steaming face in my direction, and from the look of things he isn't too pleased.

"Ok, captain of the insane train, time for us to go." I say to the unconscious Punisher. I fire a webline at each support beam and pull back on the weblines until they're tight. I throw my feet behind me and the Punisher and I fly towards the gap in the wall.

"You will not escape so easily!" cries Hammerdude, taking aim at Punisher and me. My spider-sense warns me of his incoming lightning bolt and I dodge it. The bolt, however, slices through one of my webs and the Punisher and I fly through the hole in the wall uncontrollably. We plow across the street and create a crater in the wall of the building across the street.

I stand up slowly and ease the Punisher into a corner. I cover his torso with webbing and make sure he is stuck to the wall. I web his guns to the wall, above his reach and pat him on the head.

"No more big boy toys for you." I say.

I leap off the building and head for the Empire State Building, Tony has a chopper waiting for me there.

I land on the ground in front of the Empire State Building and duck into an alley way. I withdraw my nano-tech and alien costume from my face and have it display a normal outfit. I approach the door and see men from the armed forces standing before it.

"What's the problem guys?" I ask.

They inform me that Tony Stark has been taken into custody as a prisoner of S.H.I.E.L.D. I tell the men his alias, they allow me to go to the heli-pad, and get into the chopper.

"Take me to the Arizona complex." I tell the man in the pilot seat.

After some initial bumpiness, the long flight goes fine, and our landing causes some dust to swirl.

"Wait here." I tell him.

I head into the base. It's deserted. I pick up a piece of armor in my hand. The alien absorbs it and turns gold. I take pieces of old iron man armor prototypes from the ankles, wrists, and shoulders. I place them in a cardboard box.

I walk to a table and find an apparatus with three metal prongs attached to it. Each prong is a foot in length and has a joint at 8 inches. I run my hand along the side of the thing and find a neural link cable. I attach it to my nano-suit at the back of my neck.

I stare at it and the prongs slowly being to spin in a circle. I think harder and the prongs bend at the 8 inch joint. I pull the neural link out and put the 'arms' into the box. I grab cybernetic appendages that Tony had been working on, hoping to integrate them into the larger apparatus.

I walk back to the chopper, the pilot of which is leaning against the hood. I open the cargo hold and put the box in. As I'm closing the door, my spider-sense tingles slightly.

I move some of the junk in the back of the chopper around and hand slides out. I pull the hand out more and an entire body falls out, in pilot gear.

"What the..." I mutter. I lean around to see the front of the plane and hear the clicking of the barrel of a gun. I stop dead in my tracks.

"You vill not move." A familiar voice says. "Turn avound slowly." I do and I'm surprised by what I see.

"Aren't you supposed to be dead?" I say woefully.

 

[guitarsingerguy]

"I never did like this reconnaissance ****."

Flash pulls the pair of binoculars down from his face. He sits perched on the wall of a skyscraper. He pulls his mask off of his face. It's covered in sweat. His hand begins shaking violently, and Flash can feel what's coming. He rockets towards the roof and drops to his knees. He vomits for what feels like an eternity. He can't help but laugh.

"I could really use a drink."

His mouth begins to water at the thought.

"This is gonna be harder then I thought."

 

[Eddie Brock]

Season I - Part 1

I honestly can't tell you how much time passed since I was united with my other. It might've been days, it might've been weeks....hell, it might have even been a month or two. Time was no longer relevant.

We were perched atop a roof, listening to the sounds of the night. Finally, we heard the one noise that made our hearts jump for joy: cries for help. We fired a webline - which resembled a steel chain - onto the nearest skyscraper. Gracefully, we glided through the air towards the innocent.

When we arrived, there was a man bleeding on the pavement. He had been shot. Several people were gathered around him. Their body language suggested that they knew him. That's when we saw him: the shooter. He was running in the opposite direction. The people gathered around the man were crying for help.

We landed in the alley next to them. They all took a collective step backwards - a reaction that we were used to. "Please, don't be afraid," I hissed, "We're here to help. Do any of you have a cell phone?" They are still frozen with fear. "Who has a cell phone!?" we shout as we grow more impatient. One woman pulls out a cell phone. "Good, call the police and, more importantly, call an ambulance for this man. Tell the police that they can collect the body of the shooter at the corner of 8th and Oak Avenues."

Once the woman began to dial, we left in pursuit of the shooter. He hadn't gotten far, and we gained on him quickly. Once we were close enough, we reached out and grasped his neck vigorously. We swung him around and slammed him into the brick wall. My other began to grow more menacingly. A large mouth with jagged teeth formed on our face. Tendrils began to sprout randomly from our body.

"Did you think that you could harm the innocent and not deal with us?"

Again, we were met with silence. We tightened our grip on his neck as we added, "Do you have any idea what you're doing?!"

He attempted to shake his head when we tossed him aside. "Save it! We're not in the mood to hear you beg for your life. Now, I'm keeping you alive for one reason: you need to spread the dirt on me. So listen closely. When the police arrest you, you will tell them that Toxin did this to you. Then, you will proceed to tell them that we intend to protect the innocence of this great city. Do we make ourselves clear?"

He nodded and we slapped him across the face. "That was a rhetorical question!" Then, we hit him in the solar plexus so that he would be knocked out. We placed the body on the corner of 8th and Oak, just like we promised. We held him down with layers of webbing.

I know you're probably thinking, Toxin? Well, if you must know, I call myself that now because the power of my other is so intoxicating...as soon as we became one, I knew that I was meant to use my other's abilities to make this world a better place.

There is no Eddie Brock anymore! There is only TOXIN!

 

[Eddie Brock]

Season I - Part 1

Washed up. That's what the world thought of me now. Hell, I even thought of me as 'washed up' now. First the damn space expedition goes wrong...then I lose Sue. There's no other way to describe it: I'm washed up.

So now, here I am, the world-famous Reed Richards, living alone in the middle of the desert. Forced to wallow in my failure. Every now and then, I would begin to work on an experiment. But halfway through, I would always become disgusted with myself and give up. After that, I would normally drink heavily until I pass out. That's what had become of my life.

Not anymore.

Recently, I grew tired of feeling sorry for myself. How dare the world count me out? I was Reed Richards, the amazing scientist! Who does Namor think he is?! The more I thought, the angrier I became. The angrier I became, the more I wanted revenge.

I worked relentlessly on multiple projects, all designed to enact my revenge. The world may be laughing at Reed Richards, but they will fear DOCTOR DOOM!

 

[Matt Murdock]

Peter Parker wasn't himself. He never had been, really. In school, he was the nerd that nobody liked. Then, after that experiment, he was Spider-Man. A superhero, trying to do the right thing, that, surprise surprise, nobody liked. Then, he encountered that black goo. The goo had covered his own suit, giving him a new symbol and a refined control over his powers. He knew something was wrong with it. He tried to drive it away, but he didn't have the stomach to do it completely. The power the suit gave him... he couldn't deny that he enjoyed it. An overwhelming sense of freedom had driven him to put his Spider-Man costume on in those first weeks he had the new suit.

Then things got crazy. First, he thought that his attitude had changed with the suit. In time, though he started to think differently. He'd done things he had never thought of doing before. Hurting people, murdering them, even. The first was the Vulture. His life had gone so easily. A quick kill.

The evil inside Peter, the constant and raging urge for revenge had been heightened by the black costume. For a while, Peter was in control, fighting the anger, pain, and temptation that came with such power. But eventually, he gave in.

Don't be mistaken, the Black Suit was a hero, or at least trying to be. That part of Peter had rubbed off on it. That, however, was the only part.

Parker had even managed to escape the symbiote's cold, unforgiving grasp for a few bittersweet moments. But, in the end, he was again captured by it.

The moment that Peter Parker was truly lost, however, was when the Suit killed Madame Web, the one chance Peter had at saving himself.

He had blown up at Aunt May, he had let Mary Jane kill her own father, but he had never truly hurt anyone he had cared about before. Not until then, at least.

Peter Parker is sleeping right now. Well, that's not saying much, he's never really there. It's just the suit. But the suit, too is sleeping. Dreaming of what could be.

<There is no 'we', no 'us' -- I am in control and I love it. Spider-Man is no more! Instead, meet..."

"Venom!"
My eyes snap open after seeing that horrible image. I, Peter Parker, really hope that was a sick dream. I look around and see that I've fallen asleep on a gargoyle on the Empire State building... again.

"Good Morning, New York! Are you ready for another Spider-riffic day?!" I say sarcastically.

I lunge off of the building and shoot a webline out and catch onto the underside of a news chopper. Heh. News.... what've they ever done for me? They make me out to be a ruthless, killing, evil freak. Alright, so nowadays those things are quite true. But, before, before I had taken control of my own life, I was a good man. An honest man.

I hear a cry come from an alleyway. Several sirens sound. The cops'll get there soon.

They can have the left overs.

I land on the fire escape of the building that is on the side of the alleyway. Typically, I'd hate making a massive noise when arriving on a crime scene, but I don't sweat the small stuff anymore.

I slide down a webline from the bottom of the high fire escape and see a man holding a knife to a woman's throat as he starts undressing her.

I slide down so that I'm right behind him.

"Ahem." I say. He whirls around and drops the knife. "Shouldn't you buy this kind woman a drink first? Call me old-fashioned, but that's what I'd do."

He grabs her around the throat and heaves her in front of him. I hesitate... something I haven't done in a while.

Why do I even bother hesitating? This guy is chump change.

"Oh, please, puddin'. I could use your face as a squeegee for my windshield if I wanted to." I grin under my mask.

"Say, that's not a bad idea!" I shoot a webline out and catch him around the face. I heave him into the air along with me and hurl him out of the alleyway.

He lands hard on the top of a cab, sending the advertisement on top flying.

I swing casually off of the webline and spin around a nearby traffic light, letting go so that I land right next to the cab.

I grab the man by his hair and haul him down onto the hood, with his face facing the driver's seat. "Still with me, big guy?"

He grumbles.

"Good." I web his hands behind his back, pull his head back, and smash his face through the windshield.

"We go left and right to get the best clean! Up and down will just leave streaks."

I run his face through the windshield, from left to right, ensuring that every possible shard is lodged in his disgusting face.

I whistle a merry tune as he cries for mercy.

Once the windshield is completely knocked out, I pull the panting criminal out and put him on his knees on the ground next to the cab.

"I sure hope you don't have brain trauma. Y'know... we oughta check!" I ram his head into the side of the cab. He cries and bleeds more, but I didn't hear a crack.

I hit his head with the cab again.

And again.

I go a few more, devastating times until I hear a loud crack.

"Bingo." I say, punching him hard in the forehead. His remaining skin is indented, flat, and lifeless upon his forehead and his eyes slowly roll into the back of his head. Blood starts to seep from most every hole on his head and I drop his lifeless corpse to the ground.

"Y'know... in the medical profession I think this is when a patient 'dies on the table'." I say, chuckling.

I hear the screeching of tires and glance over my shoulder. A few police cruisers have arrived. The officers have their doors open and are aiming at me with their firearms.

One fires a bullet at me and it hits me in the shoulder.

The bullet falls to the ground, leaving me unscathed.

"Man. This is the thanks I get for doin' my civic duty?"

 

[Noon]

In a frantic rush to keep the Phoenix from causing any more damage, Gambit tries distract the deity.

"Rogue, Phoenix, what ever da' hell ya' name is, ah believe we had a date."

Mags, ah sure hope ya get ya ass here soon 'fore 'ol Gambit become dust."

Phoenix

She lowers herself to the ground gracefully, rivulets of flame around her. Her black eyes look across his face.

She approaches him and holds his jaw in one hand, keeping his face steady to hers. Her fingers singed his skin, his veins protuding with the pull of her touch.

In an almost seductive whisper she speaks in his ear.

"I can give you power, greater than you have known. You are my first General, and when this world is reborn from ash, you would do well to be at my side."

 

[guitarsingerguy]

Phoenix

She lowers herself to the ground gracefully, rivulets of flame around her. Her black eyes look across his face.

She approaches him and holds his jaw in one hand, keeping his face steady to hers. Her fingers singed his skin, his veins protuding with the pull of her touch.

In an almost seductive whisper she speaks in his ear.

"I can give you power, greater than you have known. You are my first General, and when this world is reborn from ash, you would do well to be at my side."

Gambit grits his teeth and the pain from Phoenix's burning hands. He looks and her and smiles in pleasure.

"Temptin' offer chere, but what make you t'ink power what Gambit after?"

 

[Noon]

Gambit grits his teeth and the pain from Phoenix's burning hands. He looks and her and smiles in pleasure.

"Temptin' offer chere, but what make you t'ink power what Gambit after?"

"Would you rather burn out with the rest of this world? Poor, blind mortals, stumbling through life like insects, assured of their own importance and so unaware. A great re-making is coming, that is why I am here, surely this you must know."

She releases his face, leaving scorch marks where her fingers were.

 

[Matt Murdock]

I leap out of the way of the cops' gunfire and land on a wall facing them.

"Wow! Are the policey weasies angry that I did their jobs?" I angrily.

One cop aims his gun right at me.

"I wouldn't..." I mutter to him.

He fires three shots at me, all of which I dodge.

I click my lips under my mask. "Not your smartest move, bucko." I say, firing a webline around his torso. I heave him up to me, sticking on the wall. I wrap my hand around his collar.

"Y'know Daredevil?"

He nods.

"Well, I'm like him... but I'm a helluvalot cruler."

His eyes open wide and I wrap a webbing noose around his throat.

"Say 'hi' to the old Vulture for me."

I let go of his collar and he drops several feet, writhing in his web cocoon, trying to get his hands free.

Slowly, he starts writhing less and less until he eventually stops moving, save a few twitches. I drop him and he falls onto a hood of a cruiser. His partners sprint over to him, seeing if he's alright.

"He'll be fine." I call down to them.

They turn back to me and start shooting. After a series of intricate acrobatic twists, jumps, and web-swings, I'm several blocks away from the scene of my 'crime'.

I land on the corner of a low building.

"Y'know, Petey," I say to myself, "you've had a terrible life. Nothin' normal about it. First you're bullied by Flash Jerkson, then you get these awesome spider-powers. Finally, you catch a break, right? Wrong. These powers get your uncle killed. Then, you flip out at your aunt, MJ kills her dad, yada yada yada."

I let myself fall off of the building and land on a flagpole. I slowly slide down from the flagpole upside down on a webline.

"But, you know what they say, don'tcha? Don't get mad..." I let go of the webline and land on top of a telephone booth. I smash the glass wall and tear the phonebook out.

"Get even."

I slide a finger down the page and find the name I'm looking for.

"Eugene Thompson." I casually say, chuckling. "Whatsay I take a stroll down memory lane?"

 

[guitarsingerguy]

"Would you rather burn out with the rest of this world? Poor, blind mortals, stumbling through life like insects, assured of their own importance and so unaware. A great re-making is coming, that is why I am here, surely this you must know."

She releases his face, leaving scorch marks where her fingers were.

"Ya see chere. Only problem wit' dat' scenario is dat' it ain't nothin' we ain't heard before. Hell, from da' Bible to da' bum on da' street the idea done been spoon fed ta us our whole lives. What make dis' change you speak of any different?"

 

[Noon]

"Ya see chere. Only problem wit' dat' scenario is dat' it ain't nothin' we ain't heard before. Hell, from da' Bible to da' bum on da' street the idea done been spoon fed ta us our whole lives. What make dis' change you speak of any different?"

"Your words are so inadequate to describe this."

She held up her hand, two fingers outstretched to his forehead. A tiny flame wavering at her fingertips. It floated forward, resting between his eyes, then disappearing under his skin.

In his mind, a story unfolded.

The disembodied voice of the Phoenix echoed through an astral landscape, a Polaroid view of the physical world he had previously stood in.

Over many life spans it has been prophesied to you. A great re-making. All things are born from death, and all death is born from life. In this way, the universe has existed for longer than you can comprehend.

The world Gambit saw in his mind shifted, changing into a view of some alien galaxy. He saw wonders no other living thing had seen. He looked on as it was engulfed in flame, and he watched it reform into something eerily familiar, our solar system. New stars coming into life, rocks colliding and forming planets, the process sped up by millions of years.

The Phoenix has always been, I am the herald of the re-making, I am here to shape what will come. The destruction is not important, all things die out, but it must be re-born.

For many cycles I have remade it as it was foretold, over and over, in the design of the creators. But this time it will be different, since being in this human form, I have experienced things as never before. This time I shall cease to be the servant, this time I shall remake this universe as my own, starting with this planet.

Gambit saw in his mind's eye the earth burning away, something forming where it once was, but before he could see what, he was brought abruptly back into the real world.

"You see, I am not the destroyer. It is always those who exist that destroy themselves. This is how it has always been."

 

[guitarsingerguy]

"Your words are so inadequate to describe this."

She held up her hand, two fingers outstretched to his forehead. A tiny flame wavering at her fingertips. It floated forward, resting between his eyes, then disappearing under his skin.

In his mind, a story unfolded.

The disembodied voice of the Phoenix echoed through an astral landscape, a Polaroid view of the physical world he had previously stood in.

Over many life spans it has been prophesied to you. A great re-making. All things are born from death, and all death is born from life. In this way, the universe has existed for longer than you can comprehend.

The world Gambit saw in his mind shifted, changing into a view of some alien galaxy. He saw wonders no other living thing had seen. He looked on as it was engulfed in flame, and he watched it reform into something eerily familiar, our solar system. New stars coming into life, rocks colliding and forming planets, the process sped up by millions of years.

The Phoenix has always been, I am the herald of the re-making, I am here to shape what will come. The destruction is not important, all things die out, but it must be re-born.

For many cycles I have remade it as it was foretold, over and over, in the design of the creators. But this time it will be different, since being in this human form, I have experienced things as never before. This time I shall cease to be the servant, this time I shall remake this universe as my own, starting with this planet.

Gambit saw in his mind's eye the earth burning away, something forming where it once was, but before he could see what, he was brought abruptly back into the real world.

"You see, I am not the destroyer. It is always those who exist that destroy themselves. This is how it has always been."

"Chere, you done been feelin' da' same t'ing fa so long dat' ya don't even know it anymore. Had you asked me if I'd stand by you a month ago, Gambit would be helpin' throw da' going 'way party, but somet'in happen along da' way. Ah met da' woman whos body you inhabit now. Ah ain't been da' same since. Can't you feel nothing towards me chere? Ah know ya do cause you wouldn't be asking me ta' be ya' General otherwise. Don' you maybe wanna see what dat's all 'bout 'fore ya demolish da' entire race?"