(AN: Here is a bonus chapter to make up for the one I missed before going on vacation!)
---Victor POV, Ten Minutes Later---
Our brawl eventually led us into the palace's wine cellar. Determined to bring the structure down on him, I pile-drove Maestro into the concrete floor. Instead of a violent collapse, the floor shattered, dropping both of us into vast darkness below. The moment Maestro's hulking mass hit the unseen floor, overhead lights flickered on, revealing his hidden laboratory.
'Ah, I was wondering where his laboratory was.', I thought, using my knees to drive the full force of my momentum into his abdomen.
Knocking the air out of his lungs, I jumped back and proceeded to use the unibeam point-blank. Unable to avoid it, Maestro was sent screaming through the far wall, disappearing from sight. As I went to chase after him, someone called out from behind me.
"Doctor Doom, is that you!?", a man cried out. "I never thought I'd say this, but boy am I glad to see you. Quickly, break us out of here before Maestro gets back up!"
"Insolent cur! Who is this insignificant speck that dares utter Doom's name with such pedestrian familiarity?", I responded, glancing over my shoulder.
Behind me, I found several magically sealed cells containing several familiar faces. I knew his neighbors well, but I didn't recognize the man who was talking to me. Hooked up to countless reinforced wires, the prisoners were in incredibly rough shape.
"Doom, we have never been on favorable terms, but I beg you, please help us. We are hooked to a machine that is steadily draining us of our powers. Several of our comrades have already perished, and we are not far behind them.", Jean stated, her eyes devoid of life.
'Reddwyn… Isn't that Marvel's knockoff variant of John Constantine?', I thought, recalling the name. 'Either way, judging by her expression, Scott is likely among the deceased.'
Agamotto and I immediately began analyzing the magical bindings for a weakness. We realized very quickly that Reddwyn's power was fueling the enchantments, making our job exponentially harder. As the Avatar of Magic, his strength eclipsed the combined might of the Vishanti and myself. While we were intensely focused on finding an exploitable flaw in the spells, a bank of machines suddenly powered on.
"Crap, it's too late!", Reddwyn groaned as all of them fell to their knees. "Take our other captive comrades and get out of here. He has too much power at his fingertips for you to overcome."
The captives cried out in torment, their bodies slowly wasting away. I quickly turned my attention back to the massive hole Maestro had created, just as he was climbing through it. He now wore a suit of heavy armor, chillingly similar to the Asgardian Destroyer, from which raw, intense energy visibly radiated.
"I, DOOM, do not cower, nor shall I deign to flee before the imbecile Maestro. Know this, he is not the sole possessor of strategic advantage!", I retorted, driving the mystical blade into the ground before Redwynn's cell. "Concentrate your meager skills on unraveling those pathetic enchantments and releasing them. The hour has arrived for Doom to unleash the dormant power Isha and Lileath have deigned to cultivate within me."
Honing my focus to a razor's edge, I began to draw in vast amounts of raw Warp energy. As the chaotic energy coalesced in the lab, both machines and organic materials began to falter.
"What in the hell?! This is impossible!", Maestro wheezed, his vision darkening. "Only the humans who call this galaxy home should wield this power… How… How are you- "
"Thou art a simpleton, and beneath Doom!", I retorted gathering the power at my fingertips. "Spirits of Vengeance, heed my call and lend me your aid! This man before me has brought death and ruin to countless innocent lives. From beyond the grave, his victims cry out for vengeance. Through me, grant them peace so that they may rejoin the reincarnation cycle once again."
As the words finished leaving my mouth, a fiery portal violently came into existence at the center of the room. Within seconds, the room was filled with the howling screams of wrathful souls. Fixing their intense gazes upon Maestro, his arrogant expression hardened as he tried to slam the fissure closed.
"Begone, foul spirits! You have no place here among the living.", Maestro roared, using Reddwyn's power to the fullest.
"I call upon you, as one of humanity's stalwart defenders, to lend me your strength.", I cried out, reaching my hand out. "If humanity is to survive the horrors that are to come, we need the Ghost Riders now more than ever. Please help me build a brighter future for everyone!"
Focusing their collective gazes on me, I felt them scrutinizing my soul. After a moment of consideration, they began reciprocating the gesture. As newfound power rushed into me, someone else began to stir within my soul.
"Seriously, now you decide to wake up. Haha!", I laughed, telepathically. "Isha and Lileath were worried the All-Black sword had grievously injured you. Why haven't you spoken to me before now?"
(Starweaver)
Immediately apologizing for my inaction, Starweaver assured me it was not my fault. Aside from his brothers, father, and the Emperor of Mankind, no one else alive would have known. Grateful for his understanding, I told him we could talk more later. Agreeing with me, I felt Starweaver's power flowing through me.
As my flesh gave way to unquenchable hellfire, the unfathomable power I now wielded was pointed toward Maestro. Immediately unleashing a devastating flurry of attacks, he threw everything he had at me without a second thought. Engulfing it all in hellfire, I calmly strode forward with my helmet retracted.
"Cease your futile resistance and accept your punishment. There is no escape from our judgement, Maestro!", I said, in a cold, distorted voice.
"Like hell I will. I have worked too hard to give up now!", Maestro howled, pushing his machines to the limit.
Acknowledging his warning, I moved swiftly to end their suffering. With the immense power at my command, I replicated Darkseid's Omega Effect and unleashed it on Maestro. The energy instantly vaporized his armor, and the destruction quickly spread, silencing his various machines and erasing Reddwyn's enchantments.
"What… How… THAT IS IMPOSSIBLE!!", Maestro shrieked, backing away from me in fear.
I snapped my fingers, and in that instant, the extensive damage Maestro's machines had inflicted upon the hostages was undone. A wave of relief surged through their bodies, and they immediately slumped to the floor, sighing in blissful exhaustion.
"No more games, Maestro. Your demise is at hand!", I remarked, retrieving a Soul Gem from my inventory. "HIM ZII LOS DII, FUL UTH DOOM!"
(AN: Your Soul Is Mine, So Commands Doom. Unfortunately, there is no word for "says" in the dragon tongue.)
Maestro struggled violently against my magic as his soul began to leave his body, successfully wrenching it back. To punish his defiance, I deployed a swarm of ravenous locusts. He paid them no mind at first, certain he was immune to such minor pests. But when the swarm began painfully tearing strips of flesh from him, the reality hit, and he began to frenziedly swat at the consuming insects.
"Let's try this again.", I remarked, creating a hellfire chain. "GET OVER HERE!!"
With a quick flick of the wrist, the chain pierced through his chest, wrapping tightly around his soul. Pulling the chain taut, I proceeded to rip it out of him and placed it into the Soul Gem. Rapidly losing his strength, he collapsed to the floor and reverted to his human form.
"You win… Please end it already…", Maestro begged, lifting his head to glare at me.
"Forget it, Banner. You will never experience the blissful release of death.", I remarked, my eyes glowing red once again. "Endless agony and suffering await you from here on out!"
I unleashed an intense burst of energy, sealing my defeated enemy within the Omega Sanction. My job was done, and I fully expected the Spirits of Vengeance to instantly retreat to their dimension. When the transformation stubbornly failed to cease, I immediately turned to them for an explanation.
In a flash, the Spirits of Vengeance coalesced and latched itself onto my soul before either Starweaver or I could intervene. With the matter decided by the Spirit, I begrudgingly allowed it to remain, provided it stayed out of the way of my mission. Retrieving my blade, Agamotto immediately scolded me for my reckless behavior.
"Respectfully, kiss my ass. Unless I have no other option, I will NEVER abandon those in my care.", I remarked, refusing to apologize for my actions. "If this is unacceptable, take the title of Sorcerer Supreme from me and begone. I will never change who I am to pacify you."
Before Agamotto could respond, Oshtur interjected herself in our conversation.
"I understand; I promise to use it only as a last resort.", I compromised, focusing my attention on Jean and the others. "Ready to head out?"
With a nod of their heads, I teleported us out of the laboratory and back to the safe zone.