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The world shifted around him, fading in and out. A voice sounded in his ears, then another. They seemed to be competing with each other for his attention, but he couldn't understand either one. Richard Rider tried to open his eyes, but everything blurred together into an amorphous blob.

“ It will be the end of everything,” said a deep authoritative voice. “The Nova Force will be needed. The Nova Corps need to be reformed. The threat that is coming....it will take everything to stop it.”

“ I am surprised at your attitude , Von Doom ” came an older voice that Rider immediately recognized. It was the voice of the Xandarian Worldmind. “ My records indicate such a warning is out of character for you. Put bluntly, I do not trust you....and with good reason. Your altercations with the Fantastic Four and primarily your incidents with the Beyonder and Silver Surfer are well known to me .”

“ Be that as it may,” said Dr. Victor Von Doom, “I have no use for a universe that is laid waste. When I learned of the state of the Nova Corps and that you were now associated with the Avengers, I knew approaching you directly would be useless. The Avengers are not as open to my presence as this situation requires.”

“ This threat you mention,” said the Worldmind, “Is based on conjecture. It is known to me that you possess time travel technology, but what further proof do you have that a cosmic threat is readying to unfold?”

“ Proof?” said Doom, “Very well. I have--”

Doom was grabbed and tossed upwards into the Louisiana sky by a very angry Sentry. Nova's vision cleared enough to see the Sentry standing over him. He was glowing with an inner light.

“ Bob?” asked Nova, “You okay?”

The Sentry looked down at Nova. His eyes were entirely red, glowing with an inner fire.

“ No.”

The Sentry streaked away after Doom, the air cracking in his wake as he broke the sound barrier.

 

The Initiative Presents

#8

“ DOOMSAYER – CONCLUSION”

BY Mike Hintze

 

Iron Man opened his eyes into total darkness. His armor systems were entirely offline. He couldn't move his limbs, which was alarming as his Extremis-enhanced neurophysiology was directly interfaced with his armor, essentially making his own mind the armor's operating system.

“ I apologize for the rude method of transport,” said a deep voice, “But it was necessary to save your lives.”

“ Who is that?” asked Iron Man. The last thing he remembered was being onboard the Avengers Quinjet with the rest of the team. They had been responding to an intergalactic distress call that Nova recognized....but the call was coming from on Earth, Louisiana to be precise. Sentry had moved on ahead to reconoitter, but before the Avengers had arrived, something had taken both Bob and the Quinjet out. Everything flashed....then Iron Man was where he was now...wherever here was.

“ A friend,” said the deep voice. “Please be patient...I will have you sand your friends back momentarily.”

The blackness shifted, becoming swirls of light. An instant later, Iron Man dropped like a stone onto grassy earth. Beside him, equally confused, were Ms. Marvel, White Tiger, Starfox, Captain Marvel and Prowler.

Everyone was naked.

“ What...the hell...is going on?!” demanded Ms. Marvel, her bare assets exposed to her male teammates. She sat up and did her best to cover herself.

“ I guess that explains why my armor was offline,” said Tony Stark.

“I usually don't mind a little nudity,” said Starfox, “But generally under more pleasurable circumstances.”

“ Man, my new suit! I never even got to try it out yet,” said Hobie Brown, aka Prowler.

“ We're not far from the crash site,” said Kasper Cole, aka White Tiger. “I can smell the smoke from the Quinjet...about a mile north of us.”

“ Is no one going to ask how the hell we got here....and why we're naked?” asked Ms. Marvel.

“ That,” came a familiar deep voice, “Is my fault.” Everyone turned to see a black man with tribal markings on his face, wearing a vest made of small bones. “I am Jericho Drumm....but you may know me as Brother Voodoo.” He motioned beside him to a pile of clothes, armor and weapons. “Sorry about the clothes....I don't try dimensional shunts everyday.”

“ No apologies necessary,” said Tony as he concentrated on his armor. It came back online and flew around his body, reassembling. Seconds later, Iron Man was back online. “Now to see what the hell Victor Von Doom is doing in Louisiana.”

His mind was in turmoil. His body pained him. Whatever Von Doom had done to him had accomplished the nearly impossible: he had been hurt to the very core of his being.

His mind raced. His thoughts were jumbled. He was operating on instinct now, reacting to the attack by Doom. Had he used magic? The energy had felt...different....felt strange somehow. The Sentry had felt and experienced magic before, but this felt even stranger than that past experience. Whatever it had been, it had hurt more than anything he had ever felt before.

He sped through the atmosphere to the edge of space. He quickly saw his quarry, regaining his bearings. Doom's armor was as advanced as Iron Man's, maybe even more so. The Sentry knew Doom was dangerous and after the pain the Sentry had gone through, he intended to take the dictator out as surely as he knew how.

He approached Doom and reached out, intending to destroy the armor and perhaps the man within. Doom waved his hands similarly to the last time the Sentry had approached the Latverian monarch. Energies seemed to come from elsewhere and surround Doom before he directed them at the Sentry.

Even prepared as he was for the onslaught, the Sentry howled in pain. He felt every cell of his body explode as their inner energies threatened to tear his body apart. Then....they did.

The Sentry's body burst apart into streams of energy that dissipated into the ether.

“ Utter fool,” said Doom. “Let's see how long it takes you to reincorporate this time.”

“ What the hell was Doom talking about?” asked Nova.

“ He was warning of an impending threat to the universe ,” said the Xandarian Worldmind. “ He claims to have come across it in his travels through the timestream. I had asked him for evidence of his claim, but he was interrupted by the Sentry .”

“ I'd have a hard time believing Doom no matter what proof he had,” said Nova. “The man can't be trusted.”

“I would agree ,” said the Worldmind, “E xcept that my monitoring of his vital signs did not betray any duplicity. Truth or no, Von Doom believes what he says to be accurate .”

“ I don't know,” said Nova, “He's right up there with Annihilus as far as trustworthy.”

“ Where are they?” asked Iron Man as he, Brother Voodoo and the other Avengers arrived.

“ Bob is taking the whup-ass to Doom in the atmosphere,” said Nova.

“ Doom took down Bob?” asked White Tiger incredulously. “I didn't think that was possible.”

“ That man continues to surprise,” said Iron Man.

“ Which? Bob or Doom?” asked Ms. Marvel.

“ Both,” said Iron Man.

Nova sped through the sky hoping to intercept the Sentry and Doom before it was too late for either of them. The news of what exactly had erupted in the sky above was not heartening.

“ It appears ,” said the Worldmind, “ That an exotic energy has dealt with the Sentry .”

“ What kind of energy?” asked Iron Man through his communication link. He, Starfox and Captain Marvel flanked Nova as they sped upwards.

“ Worldmind, analysis,” said Nova.

“ I have detected traces of photonic, eldritch....and chronal energies ,” said the Worldmind. “ It appears the Sentry was struck with all three at once.”

“ It would take more than that to put Bob down,” said Nova. “The man's indestructible.”

“ Apparently not,” said Iron Man. “Stay alert....there's Doom.”

Approaching the two airborne heroes was the armored figure of Victor Von Doom. He was heading towards them at breakneck speed as he re-entered the atmosphere.

“ Pull up, Nova,” said Captain Marvel. “Don't attack....not yet.”

“ Why? He just killed Bob for all we know.”

“ I don't think he did....at least, not yet,” said Iron Man. “I have a hunch. Go with it.” Iron Man motioned to Nova to stop.

“ Fine,” said Nova, “But I have a gravimetric pulse ready just in case.”

“ Good man,” said Starfox.

Doom approached the four men and slowed his descent as he came close. “Be warned,” said Doom, “I will not hesitate in doing to you what I have done to your musclebound comrade.”

“ Leave it to you to warn of a threat and make yourself out to be even more of one in the end,” said Iron Man. “You didn't kill the Sentry, did you?”

“ He will be back,” said Doom. “When, I cannot say.”

“ Nova says you have a warning for us,” said Iron Man. “I am inclined not to trust you in the least....but I'll give you a chance.”

“ How gracious of you, Director of SHIELD,” said Doom mockingly. “Doom does not require your leave to do anything.”

“ You told the Worldmind that something was going to happen,” said Nova. “You never got to finish what you were saying.” A hologram emitted from Nova's helmet in front of the trio.

“ Why approach the Worldmind?” asked Iron Man. “Why not the Avengers? Even the Fantastic Four?”

“ I chose the Worldmind because it will survive the coming holocaust,” said Doom. “Approaching you all directly...please. You wouldn't have hesitated in combating me. And Richards? Even more doubtful.”

“ What the hell is this threat?” asked Nova. “You keep speaking in that damn riddle speak....spit it out!”

Doom glared at Nova. “Very well,” he said. “I was recently in the future and saw a threat that you and yours are responsible for.” He pointed at Iron Man.

“ Me?” replied Iron Man.

“ You and--” Doom never finished his sentence as the Sentry rammed into the Latverian monarch. The shockwave sent Nova and Iron Man reeling.

“ No!” yelled Iron Man over the Avengers comm-link. “Bob! Stop!”

The Sentry heard nothing. He felt nothing except more pain than he had felt at the previous attack. Rage consumed him. His eyes were black as night. He pounded upon Doom, never relenting, pulverizing the man. They plummeted to the ground, Doom being beaten more severely than nhe had ever felt before. Were it not for his armor, he would have been dead instantly. As it was, he might still die from the Sentry's onslaught.

Ms. Marvel and the Avengers, standing by Brother Voodoo, watched as the fiery comet that wasa Doom and the Sentry came down, down, down....They resembled a massive fireball more than two humanoid beings.

“ Everyone, take cover!” yelled White Tiger. Everyone dove for cover. Brother Voodoo waved his hands and a shimmering energy bubble surrounded the group.

“ Praise the Loas,” he muttered as the Sentry/Doom fireball impacted on the ground.

Boom.

Bob? Bob, can you hear me?

Who is that? Lindy? Is that you?

No, Bob...it's not Lindy. I'm someone that you thought was gone forever....and now, it's time to rest. Your time is done now, Bob. You've gone through too much....you need to rest.

Are....are you the Void?

No, I'm not the Void....something more, really....I am here to take all your woes away. I'm here to help.

I'm...I'm scared....Doom hurt me....hurt me really badly.

Doom scattered your being throughout different periods of time....but you prevailed. You came back. Nothing can kill you, Bob. Nothing can kill us.

You'll....take the pain away?

Oh, yes, Bob...I'll take all the pain away. Just relax and let me do all the driving.

O – Okay.

Excellent.

“Is he dead?”

Iron Man looked up at Ms. Marvel. “I don't think so....but he's as close as I've ever seen anyone.”

Dr. Doom lay battered and beaten at the bottom of an immense crater created by the impact of his and the Sentry's impact. Iron Man scanned Doom for lifesigns. They were there, but barely.

“ Bob is coming to,” said White Tiger. He, Prowler and Brother Voodoo were attending the prone form of the Sentry. He looked as if he was sleeping soundly, but his eyes were beginning to flutter open.

“ I've called in a SHIELD med-evac unit,” said Iron Man. “They should be here within minutes.”

“I can stablize his lifesigns,” said Starfox as he created an energy cocoon around Doom. “It should hold until the paramedics get here.”

“ He really pulled a number on Doom,” said Nova.

“ Can the Worldmind scan Doom for brain activity?” asked Iron Man.

“ He has,” said Nova. “There is some...but not much. He's in a coma. Severe brain swelling.”

“ Damn it,” said Iron Man. “I almost hoped this wasn't the real thing....that this was a robot.”

“ He lives?” asked the Sentry, who had finally awoken. He stood and walked over to the fallen Dr. Doom.

“ Bob,” said Captain Marvel, “What the hell is wrong with you? You nearly killed him.”

“ Yes,” said Sentry as he looked Iron Man in the eyes. “Yes, I did.”

White Tiger looked over at Brother Voodoo. “So how the hell did you happen on this, anyway? Not that I'm complaining, mind you.”

“ I sensed immense arcane energies emanating from this locale, all the way from New Orleans ,” said Voodoo. “I suspected Dr. Strange was involved, the scale of the arcane forces were of such size. When I arrived, I saw Doom take down the Sentry. I cannot be sure, but I sensed that Doom sent the Sentry through time itself.”

“ Whatever he did,” said Prowler, “Sure pissed Bob off.”

Ms. Marvel walked up to the men. “Brother Voodoo,” said Carol Danvers, “Our clothing notwithstanding, one area we're lacking in is magic. You really came through for us.”

“ It was my pleasure,” said Brother Voodoo, “Your clothing notwithstanding.” He smiled.

“ Jericho ,” said Iron Man. The SHIELD medical unit was just arriving and tending to Doom. “We should talk.”

“ About?” asked Brother Voodoo.

“ Your future,” said Iron Man, “And what it will take to get you to sign on with the Avengers.”

Avengers Tower, New York

He stood across the street from the current headquarters of the Earth's Mightiest Heroes, his walking stick clasped in his hand. He had travelled a long way to get here, farther than anyone would ever know.

He felt apprehensive about seeing them again. It had been so long....yet his own feelings couldn't enter into it. He had to see them, tell them and convince them that they were needed.

If he failed, the universe would pay the price.

Next Issue: The beginning of a crossover with Secret Avengers! 'THE RETURN – PART 1 OF 6!'

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