CHAPTER 137 - THINGS TO DO

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How did things flip this fast for how many days we were gone? If someone is to ever ask me this question, the only answer I can give is 'Marvel'.

Blitzing Selene had been the right choice but now the problem is what am I going to do with Doom? 

Honestly, I don't have anything against the dude. Rather than killing him, I'd rather have him as an ally or a passive-neutral party in all things concerning the Avengers. 

That and the political shitstorm for killing the monarch of a nation. Stupid reason, yes, but doing otherwise will be stepping over a few lines that even the everyday people will find it hard to look over. 

"I'm really not in the mood for this." Though I say that, I already have a line of action planned out. 

"You say that as if anyone is in the mood for a villain attack. Ugh, my head hurts." Banner said while holding a bag of ice to his head. "I hate magic."

"Sorry, big guy." Stark patted him on his back before choosing to address the main matter at hand. "You all know we can't take drastic actions against Doom, right?"

Some groaned, some looked almost pissed off, while others just took it as it is.

"Why? Can't we just throw him in the Raft or something?" Some, like Scott, were vocal with their thoughts. 

"The Raft is kind of like the government's strongest containment unit, reserved for the most dangerously powered individuals to ever walk the planet, so it's up to them who they want to throw into it." Stark's reply elicited some more groans of annoyance. 

Scott is rather ignorant of most of the government's inner workings which made him more confused as he saw nobody really being vocal for sticking it to Doom. 

"The guy attacked the Avengers home base with a witch, and thrashed the home team might I had. How does that not make him Raft-approved in every way?"

"Yeah, no one wants you to point out the obvious, thank you." Sam said, his irritation displayed on his face for all to see. 

"Well, I'd rather keep it brief with him." I said. 

Stark looked at me as if saying 'really?'. 

"Really? I don't think he's open to talks at this point, and why should we? He attacked us." 

To that I can only shrug. "Then we can only turn him to the authorities or hold him there. Indefinitely. We are not exactly a judiciary system in case any of you haven't realized." Maybe I should divert more time in building that special prison – it's a good idea, but not really important at this point unless we plan to hold them forever or try to rehabilitate them. 

Scott looked at me in disbelief. "Say something like us letting him go and I swear I'll punch you in the face, man, robot, whatever."

"Unless you want us to hold him here for however long we want, give him to the government - who will no doubt let him go, or kill him ourselves, yeah. At the end of it all, we'll let him go whether we want to or not." I simply said. 

They never really made it clear, but this hero thing is a whole lot more complicated than it looks on panels and screens. It also puts in a lot of perspective why the Justice League never kills their criminals. 

I kill, yes. But I don't make it a point to end the life of every criminal I come across. 

Kill too much and you're a tyrant regardless of how noble or right your reason might be. Kill in broad daylight in public view, occasionally at that, and you're a vigilante no matter what. 

At the end of the day, heroes don't kill, fullstop. No more context needed. 

But the funny thing is how no one talks about the casualties some heroes commit when fighting. 

"Honestly, I'm up for whatever you all decide to do with Doom. While I prefer his brilliant mind aiding us, his obsession with the Mind Stone nullifies all that." I said. 

If the attack had happened in a civilian space, the restraint on our actions towards him would have been a lot different. 

"Well, even if we can't just go around killing everyone that attacks us, we can't just let them go this easy after all." Natasha said, speaking up for the first time. 

"Well, the government can hold him for a few months, maybe even a year or two-" Banner started but I interjected him. 

"If he didn't have magic." The groans that came after I spoke were louder than before. 

"Ugh, so what do we do to him? We've never really dealt with magic before you know." Stark murmured. 

Simple. "Have Cap decide." I said. The most efficient decision in my opinion. 

°°°°°°°

It's a pretty surprising thing that I have space ships that are more than capable enough in conquering planets, multiple, at once. Thanos really was a threat. 

I think the only reason Carol Danvers didn't go after him is because, well nobody knows how to get to him. Hidden spatial coordinates and pocket spaces are the best way to hide in any universe and even someone like Captain Marvel needs to know where her enemy is to fight them. 

The hidden pocket space he resided in was the only reason he didn't meet his end when he first started his genocide campaign. 

"Got any plans for all this?" Banner and Stark who were with me were having a field time going through some of the blueprints I acquired. 

"Obviously. With the amount of information I currently have, earth's technology will advance by at least fifty years in the next five years on all fronts. From something as small as a mobile phone to important things like medical equipment and vehicles – they are all bound to change."

"I guess I'll be telling Pepper to draft a bonus increase for the engineers for the next few months." Stark said and we laughed. 

"We could call in some people in this, Tony. I mean, it's technological advancement in very aspect. We could get Cho, Frost, even Hank on this." Banner said, looking more excited at this than he's ever been with the Hulk. I guess scientists being crazy in the head have some truth to it. 

"What will you be focusing on then, Vision?" The excited doctor asked me. 

"Me? Deep space travel mostly, among other things." I said and the room fell to pin-drop silence. "Multitasking for the win, I guess."

Unfortunately for them, they can't think of everything at once, no matter how brilliant they both are. They'll probably join in at some point but not anytime soon given the numerous technical projects flying around the room. 

°°°°°°°

In an empty alleyway, a portal opened up with sparks flying around while a person shot out of it and crashed against the nearby wall. 

The portal disappeared in a flash of light immediately after ejecting the person it just threw out, returning the alleyway to its natural silence. 

"Arghh, that hurts." The person, a man, pushed himself off the ground and looked around where he was. Tapping on a band around his wrist, he said. "Access today's public papers. I need to know where, or when, I am. Highlight any notable news while at it."

The device chimed and after a few seconds, it projected a few images to the man who quickly read through it with a slight frown on his face. 

"The Avengers? That can't be anything good. Based on the date alone, I can already tell this isn't the past, not mine at least." The man muttered. 

He walked into the city, easily blending into it with a changed outfit, as he looked up a few things on his phone. 

"I have a few names but who knows if they are any good here. A wild goose chase at best and drawing attention at worst." He put his hands into his pockets and pulled out a cigarette pack and lit one up, only to throw it away after taking a few puffs from it. 

°°°°°°°

After he was left with the ultimate task of deciding what to do with their new prisoner, Steve said nothing and just made his way to where Doom was kept after having been healed up by Wanda. 

"The headache will probably stay for a few days, but other than that you're fine." Wanda said after seeing him massaging his head a few times. 

He nodded, cursing magic with a few censored words in his mind. "Should I be asking what this is?"

When they got to Doom's temporary residence, Steve found the whole place glowing with magic circles along with a few talismans slapped on the doors. 

Wanda chuckled awkwardly. "It's the most I could do to prevent him from opening a portal or teleporting away. It'll also alert me in the event that he does manage to open a portal."

"Fair enough." Steve could only say. He would never understand why people ever called his shield cheating when things like magic existed. 

Wanda made a simple spell and the wall of the room Doom was in became transparent. 

"Victor von Doom. I'm Steve Rogers and I want to talk to you."