Arc Twelve. Chapter Three-Hundred Thirty-Eight. Russian Roulette

Doom sat in his throne room, eyeing his newest guests. He had little patience for the posturing of lesser beings but this time, he made room in his busy schedule to at least entertain the idea, even if it was only to gather intelligence.

"Once more, Why should Doom allow these invaders into his homeland. Latveria is ruled by Doom and no other, and so it shall always be."

Omega Red shifted slightly, he had been contacted by the Asgardians, all of the major countries of the world had been, and had at first rejected working alongside them. Until they offered him not just the technology to fix the Red Room formula, but the technology to fix his own powers as well. Unlike the peace-loving Americans, the Asgardians wanted to supply Russia with technology to bring them up to the same superpowered standard as the rest of the world, and he had heard from his operatives in China and the rest of the eastern nations, that their offers were similar.

Thor stepped forwards, "and so it shall. The Asgardian empire does not seek to impose our will on individual countries, only to unite the planet under a single banner, one of mutual cooperation and exchange."

"Doom hears your flowery words, Thor of Asgard, but Doom is well aware that gifts such as yours come with a price. Once the Earth is considered Asgardian, what assurances do we have you will not simply subjugate the population, and take our riches for yourself?"

Omega looked over at the frowning Thor, "We are not here to rule, simple-" but Doom held up his hand

"You have said that, but so far, all I see is another who would usurp Dooms control. None may rule Latveria but Doom, and all you are is a petty invader, holding gifts in one hand and a blade in the other."

Thor crossed his arms, "Asgard is protecting the Earth. There are enemies you are unaware of, enemies who would not be as kind."

Doom laughed, the metallic voice echoing through the throne room,

"And they would face an army mightier than any on Earth. Doom does not play games Thor of Asgard. Doom does as Doom pleases, and Doom protects his subjects. From any invader."

Doom pressed a button on the arm of his throne, and the curtains of Doom's banner split, revealing a large screen.

"Marvel at Dooms might, and know your petty offers of aid mean nothing to Doom."

On the screen, thousands of Doom Bots stood in rows, with thousands more hanging from the ceiling of the storage warehouse. Two kinds, one similar to a sentinel, humanoid but sleek in black armour with green pauldrons and another, more square in shape and bright green. Large armoured tentacles hung under its square body, and two large repulsor engines were fitted to each side. A ground, and an ariel unit.

"Know that Doom can, and will defend his sovereign rights. Laterveria, and the adamantium you pretend not to covet, are Dooms."

Thor shook his head, "Disappointing," and turned and strode from the throne room, leaving Omega Red standing facing Doom,

"You make a mistake Comrade Doom. The Asgardians are not going to take no for an answer."

Doom snorted, "Once upon a time I respected the Red Room for its resilience and its highly trained assassins. But, seeing what it has fallen to, Doom pities you." Doom pressed a button on his control panel and the view changed to one in space. They could see the lights of Avalon going out as the people left, all with the single Asgardian cruiser hanging overhead ominously. "You know that your kind will not stand for the destruction of their home, and you should personally know that Parker and his allies will not stand by and watch as Asgard attacks Wakanda."

He flicked another button and the screen split into smaller video feeds. Of protests in New York and other cities around the world, of Wakanda as a shimmering shield sparking into life and a large column of tribes headed into a protective dome. "You have chosen poorly mutant, and now, your new master waits for his boots to be cleaned. Save your tongue for that, and not assaulting Doom's ears."

Omega Red clenched his fist, "and you Doom, should know better than to be a lapdog for America. This will not end peacefully, and you cannot stand against the combined forces of the Asgardians and the Xandarians. I think that armour must have suffocated your brain."

Doom snorted, "That is now how armour works you cretin. Save your pathetic insults for those idiots you call lackeys. Now, leave us. Doom no longer wishes to see your offensive presence." with a wave of his hand dismissed Omega Red.

As Omega Red was led from the throne room, Doom accessed the security feeds and watched the pair leave. He had additional security at each section of his castle, and snooping devices placed all over.

"He does not like you Prince Thor," Omega Red said as they walked,

"And I do not care. Only compliance. Nobody has to like me, nobody even has to care if I am on Earth or not. Only that Asgard now rules the planet, and that the Xandarians are our allies in preventing harm from coming to the peoples of Earth."

Omega Red snorted. "They do not see it that way. They see you as invaders, taking their freedoms. Soviet Russia was the same until we liberated ourselves. Now, we enjoy the same freedoms are the west, without the same childish bureaucracy."

"And I have little care for how your world is run either. Only that all listen." Thor replied, "but hush now. The walls here are not as innocent as they appear." and Thor pointedly looked directly at the security camera Doom was observing. "Know this though. All will comply, or even tiny machines won't be enough to stop Asgard."

Doom huffed as he cut off the feed, knowing he would gain no further information. He cared little they had discovered his hidden security camera, he only cared that he had gotten the information he had wanted during their meeting.

Doom tapped a finger over the control panel on his armrest. As a screen slid up he watched the video playback of the pair. Switching between different sensors,

He remembered a different reality where the giant grey-skinned Loki had attacked Earth and several where Thor had arrived to host a ridiculous party, but in them, no Doom had ever managed to gather enough intelligence to compare them to these scans.

The Augment Omega Red gave off the same energy that all Augments did. Doom knew the gene responsible for their powers was embedded in every cell, even their blood and gave off a unique energy signature, all similar to the one stone he had grasped and then lost.

It was the scans of Thor that confused him the most though. He knew Asgardians were not even remotely human, regardless of their appearance but Thor seemed to be no stronger than a normal man. There was no energy, no indication of stronger muscles, heavier bones or even magic energies coming from Thor.

If someone told Doom that Thor was anything more than a man in a costume he would have made sure they were shown the inside of Doom's dungeon for their insolence.

Which made Doom even more suspicious. Any invading force would use disinformation to spread their propaganda, but appearing weak in front of a superior force was either a mistake or stupid. If the Asgardians looked down on Doom, it was a mistake they would soon regret.

Doom pushed several buttons and compressing the file, sent it to one of his allies.

Doom sat on his throne, closing his eyes and searching his perfect memory for what outcomes may come to fruition.

Doom had seen the futures that awaited if the Earth was not ready. As the original Reality Stone bled energy wildly out of conscious control it showed him what the Earth could be, and what future disasters could be unleashed. It was only when he gained control of the energy, killing some scientist and taking her machine to harness the stone properly that Doom began to understand.

The Earth was doomed without him. In all possibilities, the Earth only prospered when Doom ruled supreme. Only Doom could save the Earth, and woe betides any insects that stood in his way. Gods or not.

He was brought from his musings as his ally contacted him. He knew the Mandarin could not be trusted, and for now, it was an alliance of convenience.

"Your opinion, Sorcerer," he asked, as Mandarin Wong appeared on the screen.

"Our spies in Kamar Taj have indicated the Sorcerer Supreme is waiting. He wishes to see what the rest of Earth is doing before he makes his move."

Doom shook his head, "A prudent but foolish mistake. If Strange has the three stones, then the Asgardians will lay his sanctum to waste and take them. He is blinded by Doom's attempts to unite the Eath, would one of your agents be more successful in approaching him?"

"Yes." Wong knew about the dimensional alteration and Dooms part in it. He had already discovered and taken the original Wong's family and life. That was the past though, and he knew that even if the situation was explained that by using the forbidden ring he would be executed, or worse, exiled to one of the dark dimensions. "I may be able to persuade Strange to use one or more stones in the defence of Earth."

Doom nodded, "good. Then we have an accord."

"I will send word to your enclave when I have completed my mission," and with that Wong cut the feed.

Wong sat back on his throne, and after taking a breath opened a sling ring portal to New York.

Stephen was sat at a table outside a coffee shop, one of the chain franchises that sold reasonably priced but acceptable coffee. He watched as Wong approached and sat down.

"I will not get used to this Mr Strange." and Stephen shrugged,

"You can call me Stephen you know. I don't mind." he said as he sipped his latte, "So, news?"

Wong sighed, "There is no returning for me Stephen, I have my own path now, and while mistakes have been made, I cannot deviate from it." Wong said sadly.

He had reached out and was adamant to see what changed the Americans had made, only to discover they had not changed the world, they had changed it back.

Wong was once a proud servant of the New York Sanctum, a direct pupil of the last Sorcerer Supreme who had lived for centuries. He was an upstanding, and loyal man, with great power, and if Stephen had not arrived, been the next American Sorcerer Supreme in his place.

But none of that mattered now. Without using the Infinity Stone there was no changing what was done.

"You can. You only need to allow Kamar Taj too," but Wong raised a hand and slid down his sleeve.

There was a tattoo, in thick black ink.

Stephen looked shocked at it, "You broke the Tenth Ring?" and sadly Wong nodded. "Then there is nothing either of us can do. The last Sorcerer Supreme tapped into its power, and we are still cleaning up that mess."

As well as Doom, Stephen had been chasing Baron Mordo across America as he murdered his way through anyone that had received teaching from the last Sorcerer Supreme, claiming that there were too many dark sorcerers. Stephen himself had already been targetted, but without Wong, was now relying on Wanda, and hopefully Gwen as well to take up some of the slack.

"I will stay in Asia. The Ten Rings have operatives in many countries but in respect to our past, and the mistakes that both of us must now bear, I will not threaten your work in America." He looked at his paper coffee cup, filled with dark bitter coffee. "Unless you come after me."

"I will send out an announcement, but if I find any of your people in Kamar Taj, or in any of my sanctums I will deal with them." Wong nodded. "I wish it could be different," he added.

"Reality is not the plaything of us mortals. And now we suffer under the thumb of fate. If you still have the Reality Stone, lock it away, erase all who know of it, and never allow such tragedies to happen again." Wong said as he drained his cup, "I do not like this. A great many changes were made to reality, but terrible coffee must be a multiversal constant."