Who: Dr. Doom, with heavy mentions of Iron Man, Mr. Fantastic, Kristoff and Sue. When: October 27, 2012 Where: Doomstadt, Latveria What: Doom reflects on recent events. Rating: PG.
Narrative.
The metal fingertips flowed easily over the piano keys, the flawless notes of Beethoven's Sonata 14 and its subtle inflections resonating from the stone walls. This wing of the old castle was lavishly decorated, unlike much of the rest with its spare, powerful spaciousness. Candles liberally dripped long tears of wax onto their trays, rich tapestries decorated the walls, and soft carpets hugged to the floor. The furniture was antique, beautifully polished dark woods reminiscent of medieval and renaissance ages long past. The castle's master ignored the music sheet before him, the song memorized and the gauntlets moving with precise ease.
Such was his habit when he needed to clarify his thinking.... No, not thinking. His emotions. Which were much harder to fathom and less easy to untangle than many of the physics, chemistry, and equations that he studied daily.
Callous was a word people oft used to describe Victor von Doom. But never passionless. Often his hot temper and stubborn pride and obsessive compulsive nature were exactly what drove him to villainy. That and his understanding of necessity that went for direct solutions that people often wouldn't dare to consider.
And because he hated Reed Richards. That hatred had never quite died. Still, he had managed to stay mostly civil when he had come face to face with the stretchy scientist and his quippy friend Mr. Stark.
Mostly. Still, Reed Richards had taken it almost in stride when Victor told him where to land, and made sure he did as directed by sending up a hail of missiles. To Mr. Fantastic's credit, he managed to hold a conversation, if a bit distracted, even while flying the narrow pathway through the streaming projectiles. After a brief assurance that Doom did not intend to widow Sue while she was expecting, they had resumed speaking as to why Reed Richards was seeking him for a visit.
The proposal intrigued him, he had to admit, though the thought of working with Richards did not appeal to him. He made that point rather clear. Reed seemed to very much expect it. After a brief complaint concerning leaving his car to the small drones that were busily looking it over, he had explained it wasn't about past relationships, but the future of the world. Doom had listened with unusual courtesy.
When the two approached one of the doors that featured a holographic puzzle of lights, Victor had asked a few questions. It was an undeniable fact--Reed Richards was a genius, as was Tony Stark. They filled Doom in on who else was a prospect even while figuring out the planar puzzle on the door. It opened in a few minutes, whereas most individuals would have needed a reliable computer and something to write on, as well as more time. After that, Doom had pointedly disabled the rest of the castle's defenses, letting the two walk without harassment to the main dining area via a doombot's escort.
The two were not hungry, having apparently feasted on greasy hamburgers, but Tony had not turned down the fine wine. Then it came down to asking what Victor thought.
Thoughts... the dictator didn't voice them then. Instead he had left his half-eaten dinner and walked them into a lab, past the two gargoyles that turned their heads and glared at the two visitors. He started up the holographic program, the one with new information from Providence, and let them see the world's human population collapse with slow, painful detail.
Then asked why they were only just now trying to think of solutions for the problems their globe faced in the near future.
In the end, insults and snaps aside, he had agreed to their proposal, and now he awaited word for when they might confer over the data each could gather. It did not please him, to wait on others, nor whom he was waiting upon. But he had his reasons...
... He had to give Kristoff the best chance possible, and the forming Illuminati might be key to those plans.
His son had again been proving his worth, helping him dissect the data he had gathered from Providence's libraries, discerning possibilities, what had potential to change, what was changed likely just from Cable's presence. Kristoff often thought of things that even Victor missed at times, so his unique insights had been imperative.
...Victor had not told him yet.
The fingers changed pace, leaving the Sonata to play the more vigorous, tinkling cascade of Carnival of Animal's Aquarium. He'd not been in a restive state since Sue had contacted him with that foul bit of news. As much as he was loathe to, he had explored into the possibility concerning Kristoff's parentage, and realized that without the DNA test Sue wanted conducted, there was no means of disproving it. Sleep had not come easily, and it seemed always on the edges of his mind.
The possibility that Kristoff belong to the Reeds vexed him. He also was not sure if he knew what he would do if he found out the truth of it. Rage? Care less? He wasn't certain.
Learning that Sue was expecting had caused a cacophony of dangerous emotions as well. Reed wanted him to play nice, Kristoff might be part of their family, and Sue was pregnant.
The notes from the piano faded, his gauntlets no longer pressing hard enough to hold the notes. The hands stilled entirely. A drop of wax fell from a white candle with a soft pat. For a small span of time, a hollowness seemed to fill him. Then his finger gave the slightest twitch, and he felt his brows start to pinch in the tense scowl that often found his face beneath the grimacing mask.
Victor von Doom had strange wiring. He didn't become sad. He became angry.
The servant that later came into the room was aghast at the destruction. The only large piece of furniture intact still was the piano, sitting with its keys still exposed. The master of the castle had left it alone without a scratch.
((Past recap made with permission from Mel and Al. Thanks guys!))