42 You are Doomed

Robert Reynolds was happier than ever. His mental health was improving day by day and his life with his wife could not be any happier. Mornings had started to feel refreshing again and work was fulfilling. But today, his idyllic life was suddenly disrupted when a golden portal opened up in his yard and heroes he had only seen on TV and newspaper started walking out of it.

Thor, the god of thunder looked around at the house and only spared a single glance at Robert, who was cleaning his car, before ignoring him completely. "Where is that Sentry you talked about? I want to spar with this Midgard warrior."

Dr. Strange who was questioned by Thor just smiled and pointed at Robert who was still frozen in place with the shock of seeing a group of superheroes in front of him.

Bruce Banner turned to look at Robert along with the others and asked, "He is the Sentry? He seems ordinary though."

Thor nodded, "Indeed, he is no different from any mortal from Midgard. He can't be that warrior. He might not even withstand a flick of my finger with that body."

"Maybe he is like the Hulk? He can only show his power after the transformation or something." Bruce Banner gave his opinion.

Dr. Strange nodded, "Yes, he is somewhat like that." He then turned to Robert and greeted, "Hello Robert, it has been a long time. Or should I call you Sentry now?"

Robert finally reacted at this moment. He remembered what Savant had asked of him a while ago. If anyone came to him asking about Sentry, Robert only had to say that he didn't know what they were talking about and that he had been losing time in odd intervals.

"I think you have mistaken me for someone else? Why are you heroes at my place?" Robert asked nervously.

Reed who had been silently observing murmured, "Is he really the same guy?"

"You don't remember? You turned back into Sentry and came to help us in the fight with Thanos two days ago. You tricked Thanos and Mephisto to save the Earth." Dr. Strange tried to ask again.

"Sorry, I don't know what you are talking about. Two days ago, I passed out and lost time again. My psychologist says that it is a mental disorder. So I don't think I am the person you are looking for." Robert explained as he had been advised by Savant.

After a few more questions and answers, the group of heroes left Robert and went back through the portal into the Avenger's compound.

"He seems to be having similar problems to mine. We should probably have someone monitor him in case he loses control or his Sentry personality comes out and takes over." Bruce Banner sympathized with Sentry because of their similar situations.

"I have placed some spells on him. But I agree that someone should be assigned to monitor Robert for the time being. He might be slowly getting his memories back. We will know more when he gets better." Dr. Strange agreed as well. He was more worried that Sentry's return would be followed by the return of Void.

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It was a castle, a relic of medieval times. It had the charm of an ancient building with its grand architecture, detailed carvings, and finely chosen stones that made up the walls. But, it didn't look old in any way, the upkeep of the place was meticulous. The ancient walls had been taken care of well, they had the marks of decoration from the olden times as well as a hint of modernity that comes with change.

In the grand dining hall of the castle, a long table was laid out with delicacies of all kinds, and servants were moving swiftly but quietly and with grace among the guests. The place was almost too quiet with the number of people present in the room and the table itself. But, there was only one voice speaking.

"You can't get through to people with mere words, what speaks to humans are emotions. Use anger to confuse them, use envy to incite them, and use greed to control them. Emotions are how you really communicate with people, words are mere conduits." Doom spoke in his deep, magnetic voice.

"And what is it that you want to communicate with us, Your Majesty? Which one of our emotions are you appealing to?" A tall and thin man spoke with a heavy Dutch accent.

"Greed of course. No power moves a businessman or a politician's heart more than greed for power and money. I am here to offer you both of those things. Before the aliens attacked, humans only wondered about what was out there, we peeked at the secrets from behind the curtains but never went out by ourselves.

Now that the aliens came knocking, humanity is afraid. Humanity wants strength to protect itself. This world government I proposed will become that strength. And you will have more power in your hands."

"But we already have the power over our nations…" *Crunch*

The sound of the glass shattering in Doom's hand stopped the voice of the questioning old woman. All the guests held their breaths and the servants froze in place. If one looked closely, they would notice that the servants were not frozen in place due to fear but their eyes were ones of those who were waiting. One wave of the hand from Doom and the servants were prepared to clean up all the guests.

"As I was saying, it is time that we went out of the door and into the vast space. There are inexhaustible resources and places to expand out there. Maybe one day, your nation will have a planet of your own, maybe even a star system. Humanity will conquer the stars and the Earth Federation will rule galaxies.

Now I know, some of you here are skeptics. You think it is a dream too far off in the future. But with Earth's current resources, becoming an interstellar civilization would not take more than two decades. In two decades, we could be a multi-star system civilization. The choice is yours, do you want to be a part of the history or will you be left behind?"

Ad Doom's words came to an end, multiple gulps of greed could be heard in the room. They were the representatives of their respective countries and they understood the value of what Doom was offering.

As for whether Doom was lying? Nobody considered that possibility. Victor von Doom was recognized worldwide as a rival of Reed Richards himself. If Doom says it's possible, politicians and businessmen like them had no right or reason to deny it.

The highest leadership of all the nations were scrambling around, trying to secure alliances, seeking benefits, and looking for a future for their nation in the changing chessboard of world politics. The board had been reshuffled and now everyone either wanted to jump out and become a player or place themselves as key pieces in a capable player's hands.

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In a dark room only lit by candles, Doom was sitting by the window admiring the lights in the houses of the Latverian capital. He was holding a green-blue pendant and gently stroking it with his thumbs at random intervals.

"You seem to be doing quite well for yourself Doctor Doom." Savant suddenly appeared with a flash and spoke to Doom.

Doctor Doom didn't even flinch, nor did he turn back. "I'm just paying back your favor. But I'm quite enjoying the role of a shepherd as you called it. It might not be a waste to see your dream through and find out the limits of humanity. Just remember that I don't work for you."

Savant shook his head and chuckled, "I know my limits. Trying to control you is not something I am capable of. That is why I exchange favors. Even those that you don't really need. On that note, have you decided on how you want your mother's body to be rebuilt?"

"You said you can create a body exactly as I specify as long as I have the right data?" Doom asked, finally turning to look at Savant.

"Yes, think of me as a human 3D printer but on an atomic scale. Molecular manipulation is a very handy power. Too bad I can't actually create souls though."

Doom looked at Savant for a while before tapping in the air to project multiple holographic screens with many different data.

"This is the data I have compiled based on her DNA. These are the tweaks I made and improvements are on this screen. I tried cloning and gene editing but the bodies grown in the lab aren't stable just yet. I can complete it with some time but I don't wish to wait."

Savant nodded and started absorbing and processing all the data Doom provided. "Don't worry. I have a few PhDs of my own so I might be of help." He then started to simulate each possible future based on the data and with each failure, he would create a new experimental body in his simulation. In just a few tens of seconds, Savant had perfected the experiment for Doom.

"Okay, step back. This is the first time I'm doing something like this so I need to concentrate." Savant then walked up to the bed in the room and waved his hand. Gusts of wind started to move over the bed as Savant assembled and disassembled the elements present in the air.

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I'm running out of stones and my road of ascension isn't even half built. Send more stones friends.

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