Tests of Mettle (Mags)

Participants: Doctor Doom & Magneto
Open/Closed: Closed
Location(s): Be they general or specific
Time of Day: Night
Weather: Cool
Summary: Doom sneaks into Magneto's private villa for a chat

Doctor Doom was a man of greatness. Power and stature belonged to him like no other, he commanded and demanded both on a scale that other beings merely dreamed of. Victor did not believe there was a single endeavor that he was incapable of; he was a beloved ruler and a top tier sorcerer, he had even achieved godhood in his lifetime. What was Doctor Victor von Doom if not formidable. These were the thoughts that fueled a man currently at the precipice of desperation as he invaded the sentient island Krakoa. The Island that Walks Like a Man was a mutant sanctuary, and as the name implied it was also alive, and not too welcoming to those who did not possess a mutagenic X-gene. However, a living island's bigotry was no match for Doom's striking  brilliance. 

With the entire world calling for Doom's head for him to pay for an atrocity he did not commit (there were plenty that he did commit, but those were not what he was being hunted for now) he had to do things a bit differently than he normally would. Everything was subterfuge and hiding and stealth now since he had returned from the land of the dead. There was a bounty on his head, dead or alive, nations all over the world wanted Doom to pay - but they would have to wait much longer if they wished to see Doom either jailed or worse. He wore a green hoodie that swallowed up his form, the hood hanging far over his face to conceal his wrapped scarred visage. Powerful sorcery made Victor unnoticeable to the shambling island that many mutants called home. It was not a spell he used often, Doom was never one to shy away from the spotlight - even if relying on Doombots to complete his dirty work.

Doom moved under both cover of night and magic. He pushed forcefully through a bundle of trees, making quick and long-paced strides toward the dwelling that harbored the Master of Magnetism. The Mutant Supremacist was Doom's first target and for a moment it dawned on him how fortunate it was that he was not currently able to possess his trusted armor, for if he had then surely he would have been much more at Magneto's mercy - though Doom still had a swell of faith in himself that even incased in metal he would not fall to the ferrokinetic.

Though he was facing more troubling times than usual and faced with the perplexing mystery of who would (and could) set him up in such a way as destroying a space station, Doom was much more concerned with his own agenda at the moment - he would clear his name afterward. There was a future that Doom saw and he saw it as vividly as he saw his own reflection when he looked in the mirror. The world would be made better, and it would achieve such status by the hand of Doctor Doom, not through enslavement or crushing totalitarianism, but by heroism. It was a future that dared to elude Doom were he to continue his path of trying to dominate the world instead of freeing it. And so Victor hatched a scheme, one that would see him make his first purely positive impact on this suffering world. But first he needed another name of power, brilliance, and stature. He needed a mutant, one with unchallenged experience.

Doom ducked through a courtyard and finessed his way to the interior of the abode. His presence may not have been discerned on the grounds but he was sure that Max Eisenhardt would not let anyone enter into his home undetected. Still, Doom continued his sneak in the darkness of night and headed for a place he knew he was sure to find Magneto. How was he so sure? Because it was exactly where Doom would have been as well. 

He entered the estate's Study.

 

Peace and quiet. The island moved at a very slow pace, it was impossible to tell the difference. A mystical mass of land with its own mind. It’s reason for existence was under constant research and there were very few answers. The island’s course is a matter of further discussion, and research. Erik was for the most part aware of almost everything on the island. All it would take is precise focus on any shifts in the fields. His attention was however on something a little less problematic, and more educationally entertaining. Any threats against the moving mass of living land would be dealt with.

Erik Lehnsherr sat comfortably in his chair near the center of the room. A furnished based of operations to accommodate the mutant residents, decorated in fashion inspired by the island and its fruitful sources. The island’s presence decorated everything, it was after all a mutual agreement. It contains everything necessary to live and exercise both mentally and physically. He had and would continue to learn from his dear friend Xavier and the X-Men. Luxury was part of the new lease on life, it’s life’s way of making it up to the mutants, at least. Some people thought so. Not every soul on the face of the Earth agreed with the terms of the island and its inhabitants. Politics were a different matter for a different occasion, there was something else that required his attention.

As the lights dimmed around him, the master of magnetism didn’t need to use more than a thought to control his surroundings. He focused his gaze on the holographic imagery, figures appeared before him in various stages of evolution. Graphs displaying the data gathered by hard work and research. Erik was quite familiar with the display, and motioned a hand to press play on the displays to his left. One image took center, focusing attention on the lowest order of humanoid. The Homo Habilis, a primitive ape like humanoid covered in thick hair. Erik shot a brief glance at the island’s hologram to his right.

”I suppose you have a real good reason for trespassing?,” Erik’s voice cut through the silence across the study room. The holograms continued to play, showing the evolution of man alongside strands of DNA. The mutated threads took center, becoming but a blur in Erik’s field of vision. Magneto shifted, his eyes now focused on Victor. ”It better be worth risking your life over it.” He said with a few breaths, upon noticing Doom’s figure, and the lack of iron.

Victor von Doom