Dark Phoenix Rising

Back in the Uzbek desert, not much has changed. Not much ever does.

This includes the archway...the one that has claimed the life of Speed Demon, among many others that've come before him...and been rejected before him. Within the arch, a cloud of orange smoke still billows...and never leaves the confines of the arch. Every now and then, it makes a loud bird noise. Some softer bird noises can be heard, from behind the veil...

Across the desert, high in the sky, a Uyghur rug flies. It's mounted.

It's an android. He's clad in a dark green robe. It's Victor von Doom. It seems that fortune, that he's encountered since leaving Latveria, has led him to a flying carpet. Too bad it won't lead him to a jinni, or a gorgeous Arabian princess...(or, was it a Chinese princess?)...as it once did with Aladdin.

The rug is sunset-patterned...as are many rugs in this part of the world. Aside from sunsets, though, this rug is also phoenix-patterned... Is this an omen?

As Von Doom approaches, a new shape takes shape within the archway. It's brighter than the rest of the cloud. It resembles a phoenix...

Near the arch, the carpet lands. Von Doom stands. He's brought a body bag with him.

With a snap of his android fingers, other androids attend to him. Together, they help him haul the body bag towards the arch.

From within the arch, a yellow-glowing eye opens. It surveys Von Doom, and his sentries...

The androids drop the body bag, and vanish. Von Doom remains, and with his metallic robotic hands, he peels away the body bag, revealing the corpse inside.

It's his own. He's salvaged it from the New York morgues. He still doesn't look a day over a Latverian tsar...

Before his old body, Von Doom kneels...towards the archway. He clasps his metal hands together, and bows his hooded head.

Behind him, his robe streams in the archway's wind, like a dark green flag. The robe generates its own shadow...keeping Von Doom's android backside under guise.

From the archway, orange-glowing energy flows. It enters both Von Doom's corpse, and his robotic body.

Behind them, Von Doom's other sentries teleport into view. The orange energy drains into them, too.

The Phoenix Force has chosen its new host. Soon, Von Doom will be the most powerful being in the world...

On the stone floor, the eyes of Von Doom's corpse remain ever-closed. Slowly, the white paleness of his body is re-colored. His youth returns. He's more gorgeous than he was before...

Halfway through the process, his eyes open. It seems the young Dr. Doom has found new strength...as the new master of the omnipotent Phoenix Force...