A few hours before Shadow's distress signal
"Okay...this is starting to get on my nerves." Tony Stark muttered as he rubbed his eyes with his left hand.
It had only been an hour or so since Captain America and his team departed for the X-Mansion to deal with the Sentinels. During that time Tony had already begun a conference call with the leader of the Fantastic 4.
Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic.
For the past hour, Tony, Reed, and Tails were brainstorming ways of neutralizing the Stones for good. Unfortunately, their efforts have been for naught thus far. They each contributed in offering ideas and scientific evidence to support their claims, but each time they came close to a solution they hit a roadblock.
"I concur, but we cannot be deterred. If we do not find a way to neutralize the Infinity Stones, then all will be lost." Reed reminded his peers of the severity of the matter at hand.
Tails exhaled heavily as he placed his hands on his hips, "There must be a connection somewhere. We just have to put the pieces together." Tails massaged his forehead before turning to leave the room, "I need a break. I can't think straight."
As Tails left the room, Reed looked upon the retreating Fox with a hint of pride on his features.
"That boy is a young prodigy. It's amazing how high is intellect is...and at such a young age as well."
Tony felt a smile tugging on his lips as he gazed at the doorway leading out of the lab, "Yeah, he is."
Reed's face then became serious once more as he regained focus on the matter at hand, "But we must remain focused, Tony. How's the retrieval of the Infinite Six progressing?"
Tony turned around to face Reed...or rather his hologram, "So far, not good. Thanos will be knocking on our front doorstep in two days and we only have two Stones. Not only that, but there's been a breakout at The Raft and an attack on the X-Mansion, so there's that."
Reed shook his head, "These are distractions we certainly do not need." Reed then placed his hands on his hips as he continued, "What about the rest of your team? Where are they now?"
A sudden tremor shook the tower answered Reed's question.
Tony exhaled as he tugged on his tie slightly, "Training."
"ROOOOOOOAAAAAAAARRRRR!!!!!"
Hulk charged forward towards Thor with an intent to break him in two. Thor on the other hand gave out a hearty laugh.
"COME ON THEN, BANNER! LET US FINALLY DECIDE WHO IS THE STRONGEST AVENGER!"
While those two charged at one another Rainbow Dash was zooming around the training room, avoiding the various laser blasts being blasted at her.
"Come on! Is that the best you got?!" RD exclaimed in an excited manner.
It wasn't until a very large hammer struck her in the face that she finally slowed down. She shook her head and saw that it was Amy who interrupted her.
The pink Hedgehog gave the rainbow maned Mare a sly smirk as she leaned on the handle of her Piko Piko Hammer, "Well if it's a challenge you want."
Rainbow grinned as she readied herself, "Oh ho ho! It. Is. On."
"Alright, let's hurry up and get back to work." Tony said to Richards, wanting to get back on topic.
Reed nodded, "Yes, let's."
30 minutes later
"Okay, this is getting us nowhere." Tails said with a heavy sigh.
"Hate to admit Reed, but the kid's right." Tony agreed with his Fox companion, "How about we take a break and try and gather some more data before we chat again?" Stark suggested to the leader of the Fantastic 4.
Reed sighed, but nodded in agreement, "Very well. I shall see what I can gather here at the Baxter Building. We'll reconvene in 2 hours to present our findings."
Tails smiled at the genius, "Sounds good! Good luck, mister Richards."
Reed gave the young boy a smile of his own, "Same to you. And please, call me Reed."
Reed's hologram then flickered away, ending the call.
Tony then exhaled once more, relieved that he can finally take a break, "Thank God, I need a drink."
Tails gave Tony a mischievous look as they both turned to leave the room, "J.A.R.V.I.S says you need to lay off the drinking."
Tony quirked an eyebrow at the young Fox, "I'm sorry, but who's the boss here?"
"J.A.R.V.I.S."
"Alright, smart-ass."
The two scientific geniuses walked out of the lab and made their way to the main lounge of the tower. As they discussed possible ways to neutralize the Infinity Stones, they both stopped in the middle of the hallway where they ran into Spike and Fluttershy.
Tails gave his two friends a small wave before greeting them both, "Hey you guys. What have you two been up to?"
As always, Fluttershy hid her face behind her mane and replied softly, "Oh...um, well....Spike and I have just been talking over tea. It's far too dangerous and scary for the two of us to be out there."
Spike huffed as he crossed his arms, "Even though I could totally help." The small dragon muttered under his breath.
Fluttershy didn't hear that, so she continued, "Usually I'd have tea with Discord, but...well..."
"Speaking of which, where is Discord?" Tails asked.
Tony stroked his beard in thought, "Didn't you say he was like a God or something? He could really come in handy."
Fluttershy's face turned from one of shyness to one of sadness, "I don't know. I haven't heard from him and I'm starting to get worried."
"Yeah, you would think that three worlds merging together would attract the attention of a Lord of Chaos." Tails wondered aloud, also wondering where the Draconequus could be.
Tony placed his hands in his pockets and gave Fluttershy a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, Flutters, I'm sure he's fine. Once we find the Stones, we'll start looking for him."
That seemed to calm Fluttershy's nerves as she smiled back at Tony, "Thank you, Tony."
"Don't mention it. Now come on, I need Scotch and I need it now."
The group then all continued making their way towards the main lounge to relax and take a break. But as they were passing the training room, the door slid open as Rainbow Dash and the others walked out. But before Tony could get a look inside, the door slid shut.
The billionaire turned to the Pegasus, "You better not have completely trashed it."
Rainbow averted her gaze to the left as she laughed nervously.
Tony sighed as he pinched the bridge of his nose, "Great." Tony muttered sarcastically before exhaling, "Let's just get to the lounge."
The door to the main lounge slid open as Thor and Tony led the group of heroes inside.
"Stark! Prepare your finest beverages. We all need it after our training session!" Thor declared loudly.
Tony gave the Thunder God a quizzical look before replying, "What am I running a hotel? You have your own drinks, Point Break. Don't go ransacking my--"
Tony's words got lost as he turned away from Thor and looked inside the main lounge. His and all the other members of The Avengers' eyes widened at what they saw inside the main lounge. Specifically WHO was inside the main lounge at the bar pouring himself a drink in his chalice.
Dr. Doom turned his head towards the doorway, meeting the gaze of the shocked Avengers.
"Greetings, Avengers." Doom greeted his enemies as he finished pouring his drink.
"DOOM!!!" Thor bellowed as his grip on Mjolnir tightened.
Tony quickly shot his arm outwards as the gauntlet of his suit flew out of a secret hatch behind the bar. Doom tilted his head slightly to the left to avoid the gauntlet, completely unfazed. The gauntlet flew onto Tony's hand before he opened up his hand, the palm of his hand glowing with power.
"Y'know, I don't know what's worse," Tony started, not taking his aim off Doom as he spoke, "The fact that you somehow got through my tower's defenses or that you thought that you could help yourself to my Scotch."
Doom swirled his drink in his hand as he slowly moved away from the bar, "Your defenses were a joke. A toddler could've broken through your mediocre security." Doom mocked the billionaire as he stepped away from the bar.
Hulk snarled as he took a step forward, but Thor placed his arm in front of the green behemoth to halt his movements.
Rainbow, who was beyond confused, turned her head towards Tony, "Tony, who is this guy?"
Not taking his sights off Doom, Tony replied, "Victor Von Doom. Merciless dictator of Latveria, evil genius, and super bad guy number 1. This guy is at the very top of S.H.I.E.L.D's Most Wanted list, and for good reason. Not only has Doom tried to conquer Earth multiple times, but he has made it his very mission to ruin Reed Richards' life. Right now, you are staring at the single most dangerous man on the planet."
This actually caused the Equestrians and the Mobians to worry. If The Avengers were nervous around this guy, then he must mean bad news.
"But that does not explain why he is here." Thor growled as his eyes crackled with lightning.
"Yeah, I don't exactly remember sending you an invitation into my home." Tony quipped in a serious tone.
"Doom goes wherever Doom pleases. He does not need your permission. Especially the permission of a being that is BENEATH him." Doom sneered in reply.
Spike leaned in towards Fluttershy's ear and whispered, "Great, this guy talks like Trixie."
Suddenly Spike couldn't breathe.
It felt as if something was crushing his windpipe.
Everyone turned their attention to Spike as he choked and hacked. He fell to his knees as tears streamed down his face.
"SPIKE!!!" Fluttershy screamed in alarm as she rushed to his side.
Tony turned his sights back to Doom and saw his right hand glowing green. He also saw Doom beginning to close his hand, causing Spike to choke even more.
"You shall speak when spoken to, Reptile!"
Thor and Amy readied their hammers while Hulk growled angrily.
"Let him go!" Amy demanded.
Doom's gaze was cold and calculating, "You dare make demands of Doom?"
Hulk slammed his fists together, "Unless you want the smashing of a lifetime, you'd better let him go!"
Doom was unfazed by his threat. This was made evident as Doom rolled his eyes, not showing signs of releasing the young Dragon.
But to everyone's surprise, Doom let him go.
Spike inhaled deeply as he rubbed his through with his hand, Fluttershy rubbing his back with a hoof in an effort to comfort him.
Everyone gave Doom looks that could kill, but the tyrant didn't seem fazed in the slightest as he walked up towards The Avengers.
"Are we done with these pointless threats, or do you all wish to continue acting like fools?"
Tony's expression was as cold as ever, "What do you want, Doom?"
Then Doom uttered the words that nobody was expecting.
"Your assistance."
The room fell into a deadly silence, no one was expecting that.
Tony's expression faltered a little bit as he asked for clarification, "You need OUR help?"
Doom nodded as he turned around and placed his chalice down at the bar. He then turned around and took out a silver disc from his pocket. He then threw it to the floor and pressed a button on his gauntlet, displaying a hologram from the disc.
"As of exactly 12 hours ago, Latveria was attacked and seized from my rule." Doom started as the disc displayed a holographic image of Latveria, "Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but my forces were attacked on more than one front. This was a strategic attack on my country. My home."
"Who attacked you?" Fluttershy asked silently.
Doom pressed the button on his gauntlet again, changing the image to one The Avengers were all too familiar with.
"Hydra?" Tony wondered aloud.
Doom nodded before continuing, "But these Nazi vermin were not alone. A few weeks prior to this attack Doom was made an offer. An offer to join a Cabal to see to it that The Avengers were no more. I refused. I told them that Doom had no interest in their petty squabbles."
"Who made you the offer?" Tony asked.
"Someone who you are familiar with, Stark." Doom changed the image once more.
Tony's eyes widened in shock as he finally lowered his arm, "Gene Khan?!"
Doom nodded, "The Mandarin. He took my refusal as an act of war and marched an attack on my country. Normally this wouldn't be a problem, but certain circumstances weighed the odds into Khan's favor."
Thor raised an eyebrow, "And what circumstances would that be?"
"Khan is in possession of the 10 Makluan Rings."
Tony shook his head, "That's not possible. The Rings are locked away in S.H.I.E.L.D's Vault."
Doom shook his head in annoyance, "Doom truly overestimated S.H.I.E.L.D. The Rings inside that Vault are fake. Decoys to throw them off of Khan's scent. His Cabal struck at my kingdom with such precision that only Khan could have orchestrated it."
The image changed once again, showing the members of Mandarin's Cabal.
The Red Skull.
The Abomination.
Taskmaster.
As the heroes continued observing, Doom continued to speak, "Doom has done the calculations, but he has always come to the same conclusion. Doom cannot do this without your aid."
As the hologram shut off, the heroes glared at Doom.
"And why should we help you?" Rainbow asked in an angry tone.
Doom smiled underneath his mask, "Because, Doom has the answers you seek."
Tony looked back to his allies before turning to Doom, "And what would that be?"
"I know how to neutralize the Infinity Stones."