Arc Nine. Chapter Two-Hundred Fifty-Eight. Four Plus One

Peter stared up at the machine. In the centre was President Doom, suspended between four others. One was stretching as if he was rubber. The second, a blonde woman, faded in and out of existence. The third, a blond man, burned but as the flames rolled over his he never flinched, and the last, a large muscular man shifted and became different rocks, black obsidian, rolling into an orange sandstone, changing through every type of rock Peter could imagine.

He shrugged as he looked over at Stephen.

"He made a machine to stabilize reality, and we need to shut it down," Stephen shouted,

"How? Can't we just use the Stone?" Peter asked, but Stephen shook his head.

"Sorry but we can't, we need three people and we only have two," Stephen said sadly,

"But we have three," but Wanda stood, and turned to him,

"You need to be outside the wards when we change things back, or you will stay this Peter, and I can't, I won't. He is too important, not just to me." and she shook her head, "I'm sorry, I want him back."

"Hey, it's fine, but then what?" and Wanda laughed,

"You underestimate my power," and the Mind Stone made its way onto her, "Hexen you will need to remain here, or you will disappear as well."

We will miss this Peter, and we are sorry, you are not a ghost, and I love you just as much as I love him.

As she flowed back to Wanda, the red energy of her powers held the stone above one hand while she sent out another to grab the red stone as it spun in the machine.

Waving her hands a hole ripped itself in the side of the bunker, "Go Peter. You cannot be here when we change it back," and he found himself being gently lifted by red energy and deposited outside.

Stephen crossed his arms and made several gestures and Peter saw the glimmer of blue as the bunker's magical defences were powered up.

It was sad, he knew in moments he wouldn't remember any of this, but the past few days, no matter how scared he was, Hexen was a constant source of comfort, and he felt the new him would miss out.

Love you Hex, he whispered to himself, and the world flashed red and became something else.

In the chamber, Wanda had the mind stone floating above one hand and the reality stone floating above the other as Stephen opened the Eye of Agamotto.

Wanda screamed and began to flicker as the power coursed through her, even Hexen writhed on her, morphing into a red leotard, before becoming a thick suit of body armour, red dress, a thick biker jacket and a myriad of other costumes, all flowing into each other,

"We cannot contain it,'' Hexen screamed and the symbiote flew and attached itself to the blonde woman.

"No! IT'S TOO MUCH!" Wanda yelled, unable to content as the red energy of the Reality Stone crackled and coursed along one arm and the yellow energy of the Mind Stone cracked and flowed along the other.

Directing the energy of the Time Stone, Stephen looped her, keeping the energy stable as he brought her back in time a second at a time,

"Use it!" He shouted at Wanda, her eyes fluttering and rolled back into her head. She brought both hands together and connected to Hexen, herself, Stephen and the memories of the world contained within the Mind Stone, and then let the power of the Reality Stone flow through her as well.

Screaming, she aged, became younger, she became a man, a woman, both, every conceivable version of Wanda, through each possibility, screamed as the power within the two stones threatened to pull the woman apart, only the Time Stone, reversing the damage and keeping her alive.

As the red energy flowed throughout the chamber, the machine holding each person began to creak and slowly stop, letting them slide free from their harnesses.

"What..what the hell?" Reed said, as his arm stretched over and took a slipping Sue into his grasp,

"Hey, nice reach, stretch," Johnny said as he ignited and stumbled backwards, flailing his arms trying to extinguish the burning material, "AHH! Uh, ahh?" he slowly waved his arm and pressed it with his hand, "hey this doesn't hurt?"

"Speak for yourself." said a hulking orange stone-faced man, "I'm a frickin' rock monster." Ben rumbled and the chamber echoed as he stood and lay heavy feet on the steel platform,

"Viktor?" Reed asked as the metallic armoured form of Viktor descended from the centre of the machine.

"You fools," Doom yelled, "One more reality and Doom would have been perfect."

"Reality? You planned this?" and Doom snorted,

"Doom plans for all eventualities." and as he strode forwards to grab the red gem from Wanda, Stephen tutted,

"Not this one," and as he closed the eye, he waved his hands and a massive black figure swung into the chamber and drop kicked Doom across the chamber.

"Anyone want to explain the magical bunker in Grand Central, or do we just blame aliens again?" Venom asked, but seeing the screaming Wanda he sent out a web line and grabbed the Mind Stone, taking it back into his chest.

"It's okay, I got you" and pulled her into his embrace, "I got you" she slumped and sagged. As she fell unconscious, he lifted her into a princess carry and moved her away from the group, feeling his anger rise as he scanned the memories of those around him.

"Uh Doc, she isn't doing too well." Venom said, "where's Hexen?" and as Sue laughed the red and grey symbiote flowed from her and back onto Wanda,

Good to be home, she said, but Wanda is not good, the stone has changed her, made her more.

"Uh doc, got another of those mystical boxes lying around?" Venom asked, but Stephen shook his head,

"Until we can-" but he was blasted from his feet as Doom lifted himself back up.

"All are insects before Doom, and the Reality Stone belongs to me." As he stretched out a hand the stone began to slowly float towards him, Wanda's eyes snapped open,

"Usurper. Breaker of truths. You took my life, my family, my loves, and left us empty," as the red energy from the stone flowed back towards her and a crown of coalesced red energy formed on her head, two scarlet red points, and the gem floated and attached itself between them, "We are the Scarlet Witch, and reality is mine to control." Pushing out a hand, Doom went flying once more, thudding against the wall and the steel frame of the chamber seemed to melt slightly and suck him in. Wanda waved her hand once more, and the machine that was still slowly spinning in the centre of the room crushed itself and floated up before twisting and disintegrating. "We will see you suffer for this."

Venom steeped in front of her "no, not like this. Fix things first, then we deal with Doom," and while anger flared in her eyes she nodded and the room began to return to its original form, a luggage storage area.

Stephen shook his head, "But why is he still here when the real Doom should be outside?"

Doom laughed, "We shall share our beautiful plan with you lesser creatures. This is the real Doom, and always shall be. We took from each reality a new power, a new gift until we were perfect. Only then could Doom rule the world."

"Uh Doc, care to translate that from crazy?" Johnny asked and Stephen slumped on the floor, holding his head in his hands.

"The Reality Stone. Doom used it to change the world but we thought it was only once, but it wasn't. How many times?" but Doom just laughed. "How Many!" Stephen yelled, and as the steel began to suck him further into the wall, Doom tutted,

"Six hundred and sixty-five. One more and Doom would have been perfect, as would have been the world."

Stephen looked at him in horror, "Peter, who won world war two?"

"Uh, The Allies,"

"Captain America?"

Peter shrugged, "Alive, still an Avenger."

Stephen thought of anything else that might have changed, "Sokovia, what of Sokovia?"

Peter looked over at Wanda and the others "You mean Latveria right? Sokovia was dissolved when the Allies took back Novi Grad from Red Skull."

Doom just laughed, "Restoring our kingdom was our first act. And now you must release me, as sovereign ruler of Latveria I have diplomatic immunity on US soil."

Stephen ran a hand down his face, "So Peter, it's your call. I mean, right now, we could try again, but every undoing every change risks undoing reality itself." but Peter shook his head,

"I won't risk Wanda." and she smiled at him, "What of my father, and Pietro?" and he shrugged,

"Still a dick, and still on Genosha, last I heard." At hearing that Wanda sighed and put a hand on his shoulder,

"Hey, what about us?" Ben grumbled, "You ain't gonna fix us?" and Wanda stood straight and waved a red-coated hand over towards Ben and the others.

As the energy seeped into them Ben, Reed, Johnny and Sue all rose off the ground and the energy of the Reality Stone flowed into them, they convulsed and twisted and the quartet returned to their original forms.

Ben smiled and laughed as he looked at his hands, back to normal but still stuck in the walls, Doom began to laugh,

Ben winced, and a look of surprise and pain shot across his face, grabbing his stomach he fell to one knee and wheezed and his muscles all tightened and contracted. He leant back and screamed as his flesh erupted back into a cracked orange stone, and as he thudded back into the ground the others followed, Reed stretching, Sue vanishing, and Johnny erupting into flames.

"You ain't fixed us?" but Wanda shook her head,

"I can't, whatever Doom did, the stone won't reverse it."

Still stuck in the wall, Doom laughed, "Using four lesser mortals to ascend myself to godhood was necessary. The changes are irreversible, even with the stone's power," and bracing himself the steel around his armour glowed and Doom dropped down from the melted wall, "Reality was Dooms to control, and, if you give me back the stone, mine to fix." but Wanda shook her head and as she stood Peter moved next to her, ready to fight if Doom made another move

Doom tutted, "Then Doom shall depart, this place stinks of failure, and we wish to see our empire in all its glory."

As Ben stood "oh no you ain't" he thudded over to Doom and grabbed him by the shoulders, "you fix this," he yelled, "fix me!" but Doom pushed his hands away,

"We will fix nothing, you simple-minded insect. Doom does what Doom pleases." and Ben looked at his hands, turning them over and staring at his rocky knuckles,

"Oh yeah," he said, balling his hands, "then I guess." and winding back an arm "IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"

As the punch connected Doom crumpled, even his armoured faceplate dented and he sailed out through the hole Venom had entered from, with a satisfying thud he landed, rolled and lay in a heap in the street outside the dimensional bunker he created in the alternate reality,

"Well, I feel a lot better. You guys good?" Ben asked, and the other three nodded,

"Holy shit," Johnny yelled excitedly, "that was a punch, and nice catchphrase. Hey, uh, Flame On!" and Johnny erupted into a bring orange, "hey, hey, hey," he laughed excitedly, "now we match, well, I'm hot and you got big stones. Reed, you still stretchy and uh sis?"

Sue was sat on the floor, shaking her head, "no, this isn't," and she vanished from sight,

"Holy crap, you're invisible," Johnny said and as he moved to wave an arm where she was sitting he stumbled and rather than falling from the edge of the platform he floated upside down. He whooped as he didn't fall instead he was hovering, "I can FLY!" and he began to float around the chamber before regaining control.

"Yeah, uh, that's nice, but how about we get out of the massive chamber of evil and make sure that the world is fine first, okay, matchstick man."

"Matchstick?" and a small fireball flew towards Venom who batted it away. "Human Torch,"

Peter snorted, "yeah, blow torch more like, cause your powers blow."

Stephen sighed, "can we please just, go home for now, and save the childish insults until after we make sure the world isn't in danger."