Disclaimer: Some of the major plot elements of this episode are based on issues 22-31 of Fantastic Four Vol. 3 by the awe inspiring creative team of Chris Claremont and Salvador Larrocca, creators of the magnificent Marvel Girl.
JUSTICE LEAGUE
Homecoming
Scene: The Eastern European Nation of Latveria. It’s monarch Victor Von Doom, AKA Dr. Doom is addressing his people in a massive elaborate courtyard just outside of his castle walls. Everyone is cheering and chanting their emperor’s name. Doom motions for them to quiet down and they immediately do. Everyone is intently listening to Doom’s every word.
Dr. Doom: My beloved people of Latveria. We are well underway into a new age. A golden age of science and discovery. As your lord and master I vow to lead you into glory. Your faith in Doom brings joy to my heart and fire to my unwavering determination in my goals. The coming years will mark the beginning of a new era of Latverian prosperity. The name of Doom is feared throughout this world and beyond. But this task will not be easy. We have our share of worthy adversaries, and just as valiantly as you hold together the fabric of the Latverian countryside, your job as always is to curse the names of those who would stand in the way of our progress. As always you have my undying dedication and my unfaltering protection. For your faith you will be rewarded with the same peace and comfort that has forever been my gift to you. From this day forth the rest of the world shall either accept Doom or be crushed beneath his heel. Go forth and spread my will!
Crowd: Long live Doom!!!
They continue to cheer and chant his name. Doom silently and majestically bids them farewell and turns. He enters the castle gates and proceeds to his home leaving the cheering crowds behind him. He is followed by an entourage consisting of Lancer, several personal secretaries, and a small army of Doom-Bots. He enters the castle and proceeds to the throne room. The throne room is extremely large and extravagant with a dining table stretched out across the right side of the room. The entire hall is lined with extravagant flags and crests bearing Doom’s symbol, Medieval armor and weaponry of all kinds, and long curtains that reflect Doom’s colors as well as a deep royal purple.
Secretary 1: You were truly magnificent, master.
Secretary 2: Absolutely gripping, my lord!
Doom does not turn to acknowledge them. He proceeds to his throne and sits several levels above the others in a very superior fashion.
Dr. Doom: I have neither the patience, nor the stomach for your mindless groveling. Bring me a glass of my finest Chardonnay and be gone.
The entourage quietly files out, Lancer last in line.
Lancer. You may remain.
Lancer turns and approaches the throne as the others leave.
Lancer: Yes my lord.
Dr. Doom: As my most loyal of subjects, you have earned the greatest of commodities: my trust. I have granted you the liberty of sharing in my joy… and also my grievances… Not a day goes by that I’m not reminded, Lancer.
Lancer: Of what?
Dr. Doom: My greatest failure.
Lancer: Ah, yes. I’m sorry.
Dr. Doom: You know it was one year ago today that she came back home. I need to speak with her.
Lancer: That can be arranged.
Doom shoots Lancer an angry glance.
Dr. Doom: Don’t patronize me, woman! Of course it can be arranged! But is that what the child would want …what would she say. What would she think?
Lancer doesn’t dare to speak. Doom ponders for a few moments.
Perhaps now is the right time. With the twenty first century dawning on my empire, surely none would question my searching out a new heir.
A Doom-Bot enters and gives doom his glass of wine during the following.
Lancer: There is nothing you could do that they would question.
Dr. Doom: Indeed. Then it is decided. You will bring Valeria Richards to me, and annihilate any who stand in your way.
Opening Theme.
Scene: The watchtower. Marvel Girl is giving Superman a tour of her lab.
Superman: I’m sorry I haven’t been able to tour the lab sooner. Things have been kind of hectic.
Marvel Girl: So what else is new? I decided to move my equipment out of Four Freedom’s Plaza to get away from home every now and then. It’s a lot quieter up in space for one thing.
Superman: Well everything you’ve shown me so far is extremely impressive. Truly you live up to your father’s name.
Marvel girl sighs and rolls her eyes.
What?
Marvel Girl: Reason #2 I’m setting up shop in the Watchtower: Escape the shadow of the great Reed Richards.
Superman: Sorry. It must be tough having to live up to his standards.
Marvel Girl: Not really, it’s just kind of a pain to be constantly compared to him… I know he’s a genius but…
Superman: Well nobody’s selling you short on this team, Valeria. Your technical skills have been invaluable so far. You’re truly beyond your years.
Marvel Girl smiles and blushes.
I’m sure your father couldn’t build trans-spacial reactor cores from scratch when he was fifteen.
Marvel Girl: If they had had the technology at the time I’m sure he could’ve.
An alarm sounds.
Superman: Looks like we’ll have to finish the tour later.
They jump down a level to the main computer. It’s broadcasting an emergency report from New York City.
Trish Tilby: <This is Trish Tilby reporting from Manhattan Island where a full scale assault has just been launched on Four Freedoms Plaza, the headquarters of the famous team of superheroes, the Fantastic Four. Details are sketchy at this point but so far the building has sustained little to no damage.>
Superman: Good lord.
Marvel Girl: The whole building is reinforced with every conceivable defense mechanism.
Superman: Where’s your family?
Marvel Girl: Still “vacationing” in the negative zone I assume.
Superman gives her a strange look.
Superman: Uh…huh…
Marvel Girl: But there are tenants on the lower levels. We have to get down there now.
Scene: Outside Four Freedoms Plaza. A massive Battle tank has torn up the streets and is attacking the base of the building, and many flying machines are attacking from above. Lancer is in the cockpit of the battle tank.
Lancer: Something tells me they’re not home.
Doom is talking to her via video link.
Dr. Doom: <Surely they would have responded to an attack like this by now. Richards can be a fool but he wouldn’t leave his home unguarded, even with it’s state of the art defense mechanisms. If the child is not inside then she will be arriving shortly.>
Spider-Man swings down and snags a flying attacker with a web-line. The attacker pulls him along.
Spider-Man: Woah! This thing’s strong. Whoever is trying to attack the FF means business.
Spidey anchors the other end of the web-line to a building then swings away. The flying machine is snagged by the web and yanked to the side. It hits Four Freedom Plaza’s defense shield and explodes.
Lancer begins to fire at him from the battle tank. Spidey barely manages to dodge her blasts.
Lancer: It’s the web slinger. How long now before every other super-powered vigilante in this city comes crawling out of the wood work?!
Dr. Doom: <Patience, Lancer. Spider-Man’s presence is hopefully a forewarning of the arrival of his teammates in the Justice League.>
Lancer: Since when is Spider-Man on the--
The cockpit of the Battle tank is shaken up greatly. Outside Superman has picked it up over his head. He lifts it up a couple of stories then drops it on it’s top. The tank is not very badly damaged other than being upside down.
Spider-Man: Glad you could make it, Supes!
Inside the cockpit Lancer is inputting various commands while hanging upside-down.
Lancer: Conversion Epsilon.
The battle tank transforms its top into its bottom and vice versa then fires a powerful blast at Superman who is knocked way up into the sky. Marvel Girl jumps down in front of the tank.
Marvel Girl: Big mistake, whoever you are!
The cannon aims at Marvel girl, but she charges up a cosmic blast and unleashes it directly down to the tank’s core. Inside Lancer is battered and shocked severely.
Spidey swings down to Valeria’s side.
Spider-Man: Nice shot, Marvel Girl. But it’s not over yet.
Points up to the remainder of the flying attackers which are diving down at them. Superman comes charging down from the sky.
Superman: Yes it is.
He smashes through the flying machines damaging them severely. They come crashing to the ground and Marvel Girl protects her and Spidey from the falling debris with an invisible force field. Superman lands next to the two of them.
Spider-Man: Any idea who sent these things or why?
Marvel Girl: Well a lot of bad guys really hate my folks guts. But, we’ll find out together I guess.
Superman: Oh?
Marvel Girl: I’m picking up psychic vibrations from the tank. It wasn’t operated by remote like the other machines.
Superman tears off the top of the tank and pulls Lancer out of the rubble.
Superman: Look familiar to you?
Marvel girl stares at Lancer inquisitively.
Marvel Girl: I’ve totally seen her somewhere before…
Lancer seems very disoriented.
I’d like a closer look.
Valeria gets closer to Lancer. Superman lets go of her as Valeria attempts to probe her mind. Suddenly Lancer becomes alert and pulls out a small device that glows very strangely.
Marvel Girl: What?!
Lancer: Gotchya!
A bright blue flash is emitted from the device and both Marvel Girl and Lancer are gone.
Superman: Valeria! No!
Spider-Man and Superman are shocked and dumbfounded.
Spider-Man: What happened?!
Superman: Whoever attacked the Fantastic Four’s headquarters was looking for something specific… and I think they just got it.
Scene: A luxurious bed chamber in Doom’s Castle in Latveria. Marvel Girl wakes up on an extravagant bed. She gets up and examines her surroundings. She is surrounded by expensive furnishing and a tray of food has been set up at the foot of the bed. There is a door across the room, but no windows. Marvel Girl crosses the room and tries the door. It’s locked. She tries to kick it down, but it wont budge.
Marvel Girl: Alright, door, you asked for it!
She charges up a cosmic blast and unleashes it on the door. The door absorbs her cosmic energy and fires it back at her. She puts up a force field to protect her from the backlash.
…This sucks… maybe more passive and less aggressive…
She opens up a compartment on her gauntlet and pulls out several high tech tools. She unscrews the knob and removes the gold panel revealing a very advanced circuit board. She tinkers with it for a few moments and the door unlocks. She cautiously opens the door to reveal a long dark torch lit hallway.
Marvel Girl: Oh no… I’m home.
There is a flash of bright blue and suddenly we’re taken into Valeria’s memory: Valeria now much younger (around 7 or 8) is running through the same hallway from her brother Franklin (who is about 14 here.)
Young Valeria: Try and catch me, Sparky!
Franklin: Get back here you little runt! Mom and Doom don’t want you down this way.
He catches up to her and grabs her then gives her a piggy back ride back in the opposite direction.
Young Valeria: Why can’t I ever go into daddy’s lab?
Franklin: Cuz you’d probably break something.
Young Valeria: Would not! You can go there! He’s my daddy, not yours!
Franklin pulls her off of his shoulder and looks her in the eyes
Franklin: That’s enough, Val!
Valeria looks shocked. Franklin calms down and starts to tickle her. Valeria laughs
Young Valeria: Stop! Stop!!! Mom!!!
Franklin puts her back on his shoulders
Franklin: C’mon. Let’s go outside.
The memory ends with another blue flash. Marvel girls looks down the hallway in the direction that the lab was in the flashback and then turns away and closes her eyes.
Marvel Girl: It’s just a castle, Val… it’s not even the same one…
She looks back again.
But, it’s close enough… I want to go home.
She starts to run in the opposite direction of where she was looking.
Scene: The Watchtower. Spider-man and Superman are at the computer.
Superman: Whoever took Marvel Girl must have had some kind of history with her family.
Spider-Man: Well her face didn’t ring a bell to me.
Superman: Not a problem, a few weeks back Valeria and Batman merged the databases of the X-Men and Fantastic Four with the Watchtower’s central files. We can run a profile search based on our accounts of that woman’s face.
He inputs several commands and the computer starts to file through the faces of various women who resemble Lancer.
Spider-Man: Yeesh, get the consent of the Avengers and we’ll have a crime-fighting monopoly.
Superman smiles.
Superman: We’re working on it.
The computer finally lands on Lancer’s picture and stops.
There.
Spider-Man: Who is she?
Superman: Dunbar, Samantha. AKA “Lancer.” She’s some kind of mutant with enhanced fighting ability and energy claws composed of raw nuclear plasma… oh no…
Spider-Man: What?
Superman points to a section of Lancer’s bio.
High general of Latveria?! Looks like we’ve got our work cut out for us.
Scene: Back at Doom’s castle. Marvel Girl is hiding behind a tower observing the motions of the Doom-Bot guards outside.
Marvel Girl: Great. There isn’t any way out of this place without a scuffle…
She thinks about what she just said and then a grin comes to her face.
Well if they’re gunna make me fight, I might as well not disappoint.
She dives down into the midst of the Doom-Bots.
Afternoon, boys!
Doom-Bot 1: Subject: Marvel Girl, has been located. Command: Subdue and capture.
The other Doom-Bots begin to fire stun beams at her. Marvel Girl flips back numerous times dodging every blast.
Marvel Girl: You’ll have to do much better than that, Bucket-Heads!
Several Flying Doom-Bot guards come down from above firing multiple blasts at her. She deflects the blasts with a force field into a group of other Doom-Bots on the ground.
Ouch! That’s gotta hurt!
She continues to dodge and deflect every single stun beam and emits several well placed cosmic blasts that annihilate most of the Doom-Bots. She flips nimbly amongst the crowds causing them to attack each other, smashing their heads together, etc. She’s enjoying the battle very much. Eventually most of them are incapacitated and the remainder of the guards retreat.
Ha! Is that all you got bolts for brains! Score one for the magnificent Marvel Girl!
Someone claps (more like metallic clanks) behind her. She turns to see Doom applauding her.
Dr. Doom: Truly impressive child. You are a sight to behold.
Coldly:
Marvel Girl: You were just watching me?
Dr. Doom: Surely you could never have escaped captivity unless I desired it. You have passed your test of skill with flying colors, my dear.
Marvel Girl: What do you want, Doom?
Dr. Doom: I wish to speak with you, Valeria. I invite you to return to your quarters and join me for diner in one hour.
Another blue flash starts the beginning of a second flashback. Young Valeria is playing outside with Franklin. The invisible woman dressed in Doom’s colors with the Fantastic Four logo still on her chest emerges from the entranceway.
Invisible Woman: Franklin, Valeria, don’t go far! Diner’s in one hour.
Young Valeria: Will Daddy be there?
The Invisible Woman looks nervous.
Invisible Woman: He’s busy in the lab sweetie… we’ll see.
Franklin: C’mon Val, let’s go find Uncle Ben.
Another blue flash and the memory fades.
Dr. Doom: Please, return to your quarters. Should you need anything my servants will fetch it for you.
Marvel Girl: Don’t try to pretend I’m anything but your prisoner, Doom.
Doom walks over to her and touches her face.
Dr. Doom: You have a spirit like your mother’s… truly you are correct.
He snaps a bracelet on her arm that deactivates her powers.
You are my prisoner, and for that I am sorry. Were there any other way to get you to stay…
Marvel Girl: Get this thing off of me!!! Who do you think you are anyway?!
Dr. Doom: I am Doom, you of all people should know.
Marvel Girl: …you’re not my father…
Dr. Doom: I have nothing--
Quickly cuts to a flashback where Doom (wearing the 4 symbol on his chest) is tucking young Valeria into bed at night continuing the line:
Flashback Doom: --but the best of intentions--
Cuts back to the present as Doom continues the line.
Dr. Doom: --for you my child. And I have much to discuss with you.
He summons two large Doom-Bots which grab her by the arms.
Bring her back to her room, and allow no harm to come to her.
They take her away.
Scene: The Javelin 7, Superman and Spidey are inside.
Spider-Man: I still say you should just go on ahead, Superman. You could get to Doom’s castle a lot faster than the Javelin-7.
Superman: But then what? There’s a lot I don’t know about Victor Von Doom, in fact everything I do know about him pretty much comes from the media.
Spider-Man: And we all know how down to Earth reporters can be.
A slightly annoyed look crosses Superman’s face.
So if it’s a history lesson you’re looking for, gather around and I shall tell you a tale.
Flashback with Spider-man voiceover:
Victor Von Doom was an orphan. I’m not an expert on his early life… but from what I hear it wasn’t a whole lot of fun…
Shot of Young Victor being grabbed by his adopted Gypsy father, the camera pans away and we see their silhouettes as Victor is beaten severely.
But the kid was a prodigy… he eventually made it to one of the finest American Universities money could buy… and met Reed Richards, pre-super stretching.
Shots of Victor in his college years meeting Reed.
The two of them were bitter rivals from the start. They were constantly vying for the top, until Dooms lab accident.
Shows Doom in the Lab and the explosion, then him in the hospital with his face bandaged up.
Then the guy pretty much dropped out of society for like 10 years or something… most people say he studied black magic, built the armor, and single handedly took over his homeland… but there’s a lot that nobody really knows about him.
Flashback ends.
Personally I’m surprised you’ve never run into him before. I mean for God’s sake you’re Superman.
Superman: Have you ever been to Apokolips?
Spider-Man: Touché.
The Javalin-7 lands in the Latverian countryside. Spider-Man and Superman emerge.
Spider-Man: Welcome to Doom-Country.
Superman: This place is so secluded… It’s like another world.
Spider-Man: Looks likes a Utopia, feels like hell… trust me.
They turn on the Javalin-7’s cloaking device, and jump/fly to the top of a hill where they can see the village and Castle Doom.
Superman: What would Doom want with Valeria anyway?
Spider-Man: Valeria was the Richard’s second child… and she was still-born.
Superman: But how…?
Spider-Man: I’m not completely sure… but I know it had something to do with her brother, Franklin.
Superman: Franklin Richards has the same cosmic abilities as Valeria, correct?
Spider-Man: If not more. They don’t like to talk about it much, and she mentions it even less… but she was raised somewhere else. Some kind of alternate reality…
Superman: Where does Doom come in?
Spider-Man: Well when she first came back to this world about a year ago… she was calling herself “Valeria Von Doom.”
Superman: Dr. Doom raised her?
Spider-Man: …I’m not sure… that kid’s shrouded in mystery.
Superman: We’ll get to the bottom of this, and get her back.
Spider-Man: We’d better, cuz I’ll tell you one thing. I’m not going to be the one who tells the Invisible woman we lost her kid.
Scene: Marvel Girl’s room. She is sitting on her bed in a trance. Various memory flashes come up showing her back in the dimension where she was raised. She comes out of her psychic trance.
Marvel Girl: This place is gunna tear my mind in half… I have to get help…
She goes back into another trance and her astral form leaves her body. She walks through the door in her astral form and starts to head towards the exit, but stops and is drawn back towards the lab.
I shouldn’t be doing this… old wounds and all that…
Blue memory flash: Franklin and young Valeria are outside still.
Young Valeria: Let’s play hide-and-seek, Sparky!
Blue flash back to the present.
Marvel Girl: I have to do this.
She proceeds to the lab.
Blue flash, flashback: Franklin is looking for young Valeria. She has snuck off back to the castle and is going towards the lab. She approaches the door. A scream is heard from inside.
Blue flash, back to the present. Marvel girl is at the door she walks through it.
Blue flash to the past. Young Valeria has entered the lab and is hiding behind a cabinet. Flashback Doom is standing in the line of a bolt of energy screaming in agony. The Invisible Woman is standing next to him operating the machine. Valeria looks terrified.
Flashback Doom: Shut it off!
Invisible Woman: Are you ok, darling?
Doom looks very disoriented.
Flashback Doom: I…I’ll be fine…
He collapses in her arms.
Invisible Woman: Reed!
Young Valeria’s eyes grow extremely wide.
Flashback Doom: This armor has poisoned my whole life, Sue…
Invisible Woman: No, darling, we’ll get past it.
Flashback Doom: I’m trapped. Even when I do find a way to get it off, I can never be Reed Richards again… never Mr. Fantastic…
Invisible Woman: …someone will have to keep Doom’s generals in check…
Flashback Doom: And Valeria… she’ll never know who her father is…
Young Valeria starts to cry and shake her head “no.”
Invisible Woman: Now you’re just being dramatic… we can tell her… she’s just too young to be able to keep up the ruse yet.
Flashback Doom: Franklin still hasn’t forgiven me… what makes you think she will???
Reed gets choked up here and begins to cry in the Invisible Woman’s arms.
Very bright blue flash and Valeria comes out of her trance in her room with a single tear going down her face.
Marvel Girl: …I forgive you, Daddy… I forgive you.
Scene: Outside Castle Doom. Superman and Spidey land at the gates.
Spider-Man: You sure about this?
Superman: I did a sweep of the entire perimeter. Any way we try to get in Doom could have a hundred guards on us in an instant. His security is state of the art… Just like Four Freedoms. We might as well at least try to do this passively.
Spider-Man: Nothing quite like ringing the bell of a Supervillain.
He presses the com link.
Intercom: State your name and business.
Spider-Man: Ahem, yes, hello. We’re selling Spider-Scout cookies. They’re absolutely delicious and they only cost one Marvel Girl per box.
Superman rolls his eyes. The gate opens.
Superman: This doesn’t look good.
Spider-Man: Don’t be such a pessimist, Supes. Maybe Doom just really likes cookies.
They walk in and find themselves surrounded by Doom-Bots an either side.
…then again.
Head Doom-Bot: Subjects, Superman and Spider-Man. Authorization of lethal force.
The Doom-Bots begin to fire multiple energy blasts at Superman and Spidey. The two of them split up. Superman begins to plow through one side of Doom-Bots smashing them into scrap metal, Spidey takes the other side. Ensnaring many in massive web-nets and jumping from one to the next crushing their heads beneath his feet.
Dr. Doom: Enough!
Dr. Doom has emerged from the main entrance with Lancer at his side.
Spider-Man: You know, Doom, a simple “No Solicitors” sign is more traditional.
Dr. Doom: I yearn to silence that insolent tongue of yours, Spider-Man.
Spider-Man: I’ve heard that before. Like this one time when Scorpion decided to--
Superman cuts him off:
Superman: Where’s Marvel Girl?!
Dr. Doom: No harm will come to her, and this does not concern the Justice League.
Superman: When you kidnap our teammates, it concerns us.
Dr. Doom: I assure you, she is in the best of care. Leave now. That is your final warning.
Superman: Don’t make us fight you.
Dr. Doom: I have no such intentions.
He blasts Superman with a beam of red light from his gauntlet. Superman groans in pain and falls to his knees.
Superman: What… red… UV rays…
Dr. Doom: Correct, Superman, only accompanied with a standard blast from my gauntlet so they not only reduce you to your natural Kryptonian state, but also incapacitate you as a human being.
Spider-Man: Alright, Doom, you asked for it--
He fires a web-line that stops in midair, turns back around, and splats on his face.
--Hey!
Spiderman is levitated off the ground. Lancer is aiming a device at him.
Dr. Doom: Your powers have ever been the prisoner of the laws of gravity, Wall-Crawler. I’ve foreseen the intervention of both the accursed Fantastic Four as well as Valeria’s teammates on the Justice League, and have prepared accordingly. A public execution for your crimes against Latveria seems suitable. But I shall deal with you later. I must dine with my guest.
He pulls a small device off of the tip of his gauntlet that continues to fire the red sun beam and hands it to Lancer who keeps it steady on Superman.
Take them to the dungeon. And be sure they are extremely uncomfortable.
Doom turns and reenters the castle.
Scene: The Dungeon. Lancer has Spider-Man and Superman chained up against the wall with a Red Lamp over Superman.
Lancer: You’re lucky Doom has allowed you the right to live through the night. Have fun down here.
She leaves.
Superman: How strong are the bonds?
Spider-Man is trying to pull on the chains.
Spider-Man: Strong enough to hold me, that’s for sure… maybe some kind of adumantium alloy.
Superman: She didn’t take your web shooters.
Spider-Man: Yeah but that’s not going to help us get free…
Superman: Not directly. But the Red Sun projector…
Spider-Man: Well whatdaya know.
He strains to get his wrist in line with the sun lamp and fires several web-balls at it. Eventually one hits dead on and destroys the projector. Superman tries to break the chains, but fails.
Superman: Nothing… you said Doom was a sorcerer, right? I think there may be something magical about these chains.
Spider-Man: Are they heat resistant?
Superman: Hold on… it’s taking me a while to regain my strength in the dark like this…
Superman’s heat vision begins to fire up slowly at first. He fires it on Spidey’s bonds. After a bit the heat begins to melt the metal. Spidey breaks off one chain and Superman starts to work on the next one.
Spider-Man: Alright! Looks like we didn’t get the Human Torch’s cell.
Superman: Don’t start celebrating just yet. We’ve still got to find Valeria and get out of here.
Scene: The Main Hall. Doom is seated at the end of a long table lined with fine food. A place had been prepared for Valeria at the opposite side. Two Doom-Bots escort Valeria in and seat her. Doom dismisses them.
Dr. Doom: Welcome, my child. You’ll find the food here to be the finest in the world.
Marvel Girl: I’ve had it before.
Dr. Doom: …of course. How foolish of me. By the way, I sensed you lurking about the castle in your astral form. How did you bypass the bracelet’s Psionic nullifiers?
Marvel Girl: Wouldn’t you like to know?
Dr. Doom: I make it my business to know things. Much like you. We both possess the same keen awareness and passionate craving for knowledge.
Marvel Girl: Somehow I don’t think you brought me here to talk about science.
Dr. Doom: You wish to get right down to business? I can respect that. Valeria, I desire to formally grant you my inheritance.
Marvel girl spits out her food out of shock and wipes her mouth.
Marvel Girl: What?!
Dr. Doom: Of all the people on this planet you alone are worthy of inheriting the mantle of Doom.
Marvel Girl: This is crazy! You only want to turn me away from my family and friends. That’s all you’ve ever wanted! To hurt them! Wouldn’t this be the perfect revenge?!
Dr. Doom: You misunderstand, my child--
Marvel Girl: I’m not your child! My father was Reed Richards, in blood and by name! He may have been wearing that armor and been living in this castle but he wasn‘t you. Reed Richards raised me, took me in when I came back home, and was there the day I was born!
Dr. Doom: No… he was not.
Marvel Girl: What?!
Dr. Doom: Your father did not deliver you.
Marvel Girl: I’m tired of your lies!
She stands up and smashes her chair over the table breaking dishes and sending food everywhere. Doom rises and shoots a terrifyingly menacing glance.
Dr. Doom: SILENCE!!!
Marvel Girl: You heartless cruel hideous no good--
In a flash Doom has traversed the entire table grabbed Valeria by the throat and lifted her high above the ground. He is staring her in the eyes with an extremely evil and menacing glare.
Dr. Doom: I am offering you power beyond your wildest dreams. Under my guidance you could become the most powerful being in the universe! Do you have any idea of the potential you hold?!
Marvel girl chokes out the following:
Marvel Girl: So that’s… what this is… about… another ruthless psychopath after… the power of the Richards’ kids.
Dr. Doom: How dare you accuse me of such a thing!!!
Doom throws her across the room into his throne during the above line, and she is knocked half unconscious.
Superman charges in and slams Doom against a wall.
Superman: Leave her alone!
He grabs him by the gauntlets and smashes them.
And don’t even think about trying any of your tricks.
Dr. Doom: You miserable insect!!!
Doom electrifies the outside of his armor and shocks Superman severely. Superman falls to the ground.
You have crossed me one time too many, Superman.
Doom charges up a blast but is interrupted as Spider-Man swing-kicks into him sending him flying across the room.
Spider-Man: I simply love what you’ve done with the place, Doomster! The medieval battle armaments say “I’m bad news,” but the purple drapes say “I’m a monarch with style!”
Lancer comes from the side and nearly tackles Spider-Man but his spider-sense gives him fair warning and he jumps over her.
Spider-Man: Oh no you don’t.
Lancer immediately turns back around and leaps at him again. As she does so she grows all ten of her fingers into claws of nuclear plasma. Spider-Man tries to web her but she slashes the web to bits and slashes her way through the ground as he just barely dodges her attack.
Lancer: No one lays their hands on Doom before suffering my wrath.
Spidey and Lancer being to fight. Neither of them is able to land an attack on the other.
Superman gets up and zips over to Doom. He picks him up by the collar and stares him in the eyes.
Superman: We’re leaving, and she’s coming with us!
Doom laughs.
Dr. Doom: Are you indeed?
Doom’s eyes begin to glow an bright, intense, electric blue and Superman drops him grabs his head and screams in agony.
Dr. Doom: My power goes beyond this armor, Kryptonian. Beyond the reaches of your pitiful comprehension.
Superman is still groaning and straining under the psychic attack, but he works up some strength and uppercuts Doom clean through the ceiling anyway.
Superman: I’m not the only one who can underestimate.
A symbol begins to form on the ground beneath Superman. He looks down and sees it form but for some reason cannot move his legs. The symbol forms and is revealed to be a pentagram that glows an intense fiery orange. The pentagram explodes in a column of flame and shoots Superman up through the ceiling too. He ends up several stories above Castle Doom. He looks down to see that there is no hole in the ceiling.
Dr. Doom: If you wish to challenge me in combat, have the decency to not do it in my home.
Superman: You want to talk about decency, Doom?! How about the fact that you attacked her home and abducted her against her will?!
He charges Doom and punches him several times. Doom is staggered but eventually grabs Superman by the wrist and twists his arm. Superman screams in pain.
Smugly:
Dr. Doom: You claim to be a man of steel, Superman? Then how did I manage to do that?
Superman: …that was… impossible…
Dr. Doom: Nothing is impossible to me.
Superman: Maybe because you sold your soul to the devil.
Dr. Doom: More likely the devil would sell his to me!
Doom charges up a blast of energy, but Superman grabs him by the arms, crushing parts of the armor and blasts Doom’s mask with heat vision. Doom’s mask is partially melted and the lenses of the eyes are damaged so that his human eyes show through. Doom gets extremely angry. He blasts Superman with an intensely powerful beam of black-magical energy and sends him flying into the ground below. Superman makes a big crater where he landed in Doom’s courtyard. He crawls out of it, his costume torn in several places, but Doom is there to punch him back down.
Dr. Doom: You would DARE to see the face of Doom!
He continues to blast Superman with black magic.
Cuts back to the throne room: Lancer and Spider-Man are still fighting, Marvel girl gets back up off of the throne and tries very hard to remove the power-inhibiting bracelet.
Spider-Man: Marvel Girl, a little help?
Marvel Girl: I’m working on it. The bracelet that Doom put on me dampens my powers…
To herself:
…well not all of them.
She goes into a psychic trance.
Lancer is charging at Spider-man, when suddenly she hit’s a wall and falls back. The real Spider-Man webs her up from behind.
Spider-Man: I thought that thing inhibited your powers?
Marvel Girl: It’s supposed to… but this place is teeming with memories for me… it was like my telepathy had to override Doom’s device in order to show me things… I’ve been having flashes… to my home.
Spiderman lifts up the webbed up Lancer who is mumbling underneath her web cocoon. Her claws are still sticking through where her hands are.
Spider-Man: Careful now.
Valeria puts the bracelet up to one of Lancer’s claws and slices it off. A charge of cosmic energy pulsates across her body.
Marvel Girl: I want some answers.
Superman and Doom come crashing through the wall viciously fist fighting and blasting each other with heat vision/magic. Doom’s armor is crushed and melted in several places, his cape, hood, and clothes are torn up and singed all over revealing the metal underneath. Superman’s costume is also severely torn up and a trail of blood is coming out of his mouth.
Marvel Girl creates a pulse wave of cosmic energy that shakes the entire castle and immediately gets the attention of both Superman and Doom.
Marvel Girl: Stop it! Stop fighting!
Everyone is silent.
Superman, Spidey… thanks for coming. I appreciate the big brother act… But I need to talk to Doom… alone. I’ll be along soon.
Superman limps over to her holding his side and whispers to her:
Superman: We won’t be far.
They leave the throne room Spidey helping Superman along.
Doom is just as weary as Superman. After Superman leaves Doom falls onto his knees and holds his side as well. Valeria walks over to him.
Marvel Girl: I have to know Doom… I have to know what you really want with me.
Dr. Doom: My shame is my own, child.
Marvel Girl: Not anymore.
She places her hands over his brain and begins to probe his mind.
Bright Blue flash to Doom’s past: Dr. Doom voiceover. Doom is being confronted by the Human Torch.
Dr. Doom: Your uncle came to me that day. Begging for Doom’s help.
Doom arrives at Four Freedoms plaza.
I admit, at first I thought of it only as a chance to outshine your father. To do what he was unable to.
The Invisible Woman is in labor and in excruciating pain. She is surrounded by a shell of cosmic energy that appears to be killing her.
But the scene moved me beyond my rivalry. Your mother was dying. We were losing you…
Shows the shadows of the Invisible Woman giving birth and Doom trying to deliver the baby.
I did everything I could… but in the end…
Invisible Woman gives a blood-curdling scream as Doom hands her the dead baby. Franklin Richards watches and the camera zooms into his right eye where a sharp twinkle shines and the flashback ends.
Marvel girl steps back from Doom her jaw wide open.
Marvel Girl: You were serious…
Dr. Doom: Of course I was… I have never gotten over my failure to you Valeria… never gotten over the guilt that had your father been there, he might have found another way…
Marvel Girl: You… I can’t believe I’m saying this, but… you did everything you could… to save me?
Dr. Doom: Yes. And now I wish nothing more than to make up for my mistake. To protect you and to endow you with great power.
Marvel Girl: I don’t want the kind of life you’re trying to give me, Doom.
Dr. Doom: Surely you cannot blame me for trying to do something… to make up for my sins…
Marvel Girl: …I guess not.
She starts to leave.
Dr. Doom: I beg you, child, to not make yourself my enemy.
Valeria turns around.
Marvel Girl: You know what? You and my dad have a lot more in common than either of you would ever be willing to admit.
Doom is silent and Valeria leaves.
Scene: Four Freedoms Plaza, later that night. Valeria is waiting in Mr. Fantastic’s Lab. The Fantastic Four and Franklin (In our time stream is his about 7 years old) come through the portal to the Negative Zone.
Human Torch: Whooo Hoo! It’s good to be home!
Thing: I swear if I ever see that mook, Blastaar, again I’ll clobber ‘im good!
Mr. Fantastic: Valeria, sweetheart?! I thought you’d be in your lab on the Justice League’s Watchtower.
During his sentence Valeria runs up and hugs him. Mr. Fantastic is surprised and hugs her back while stretching the ends of his arms to shut down the Negative Zone portal.
Marvel Girl: Hi, Daddy!
Mr. Fantastic smiles and ruffles her hair a little as he brings his elastic arms back to their normal size.
Mr. Fantastic: What’s this all about?
Marvel Girl: Just glad we’re all home that’s all.
Franklin: Hey, Valeria, wanna go play?
Valeria lifts him up and puts him on her shoulders.
Marvel Girl: Just you try and stop me, Sparky!
As they walk away, the Invisible Woman comes and puts her arm around Mr. Fantastic who does the same for her. They watch their children walk away.
Invisible Woman: She’s a good kid, Reed.
Mr. Fantastic: Good? She’s the best.
END