'I don't like this…' Ashburn's gaze darkened, scanning the dozens upon dozens of Doombots filling the sky like an endless swarm.
Doom was arrogant, sure, But he wasn't reckless. He didn't just charge into battle without a plan. So where was he?
"My lord…" Reed spoke, his voice tense. "They seem to be made of Vibranium." Ashburn's eyes widened. Vibranium? That didn't make sense. How the hell had Doom gotten his hands on so much Vibranium?
"Charles? Can you locate him?" Ashburn turned to Xavier, while Susan raised a barrier, shielding them from the approaching Doombots. Charles closed his eyes, his mind-expanding outward, sweeping across every mind on Earth, searching for the real Doom. But even for him, Finding Doom was easier said than done.
Doom, on his own, wasn't that powerful. Without stolen power or time to prepare, the old Fantastic Four could still defeat him.
But if you gave him time, If you let him absorb something? Doom became a multiversal-level threat. So the real question was, What was he after?
Did he already absorb something? Was he stalling? Was this just a distraction? These thoughts left Ashburn uneasy.
'Reed.' Ashburn's voice cut through the tension, sharp and direct.
'You know Doom better than I do. So use that brain of yours—the one that's now 100 times better than before—and figure out what's about to happen.'
Reed's eyes narrowed, his mind processing at inhuman speeds as he analyzed the Doombots, searching for patterns, weaknesses… and Clues.
"Destroy them all." Ashburn's command echoed, and in an instant, the shadows surged forward, colliding with the Doombots in a chaotic storm of darkness and steel.
As expected, the Doombots weren't overwhelmingly powerful, the Iron Man armors could hold their ground, buying enough time for shadows to step in and finish the job.
Across the battlefield, blurred streaks of motion zipped back and forth, Quick Thing cutting through thousands of Doombots in the time it took for Ashburn to blink. Explosions erupted, metal ripped apart, and the sky was filled with the sound of war.
But then, Something happened. Ashburn's eyes narrowed as he caught movement from the fallen Doombots. The ones that had been destroyed, were standing back up. Not replaced. Not rebuilt. They were healing.
Every gouge in their armor, Every severed limb, Every shattered core, Restored.
'Lord, something is wrong.' Reed's voice was urgent, cutting through the noise of battle. 'Vibranium isn't this easy to destroy. Also… all of the kinetic energy they're absorbing? It's going somewhere else.'
Ashburn's eyes widened. 'Where?'
Reed's next words sent a chill down his spine. 'The more we destroy them… the more energy we're feeding Doom for his plans.'
Ashburn didn't hesitate. "Fall back!" he barked, his voice sharp. The shadows instantly retreated, vanishing back into his own.
'Quick Thing!' Ashburn called out. 'Scour the entire planet—find Doom.'
It took mere seconds. And then, 'My lord… I've found him. And it's bad.' Ashburn teleported instantly to Quick Thing's location.
And what he saw, Stole his breath. Doom sat calmly, lounging in an ornate chair, his body glowing with raw energy. Streams of kinetic force, stolen from every impact, every attack against the Doombots, flowed into him, like an unstoppable tide.
"I was hoping for a bit more energy," Doom mused, his head resting against his fist, his expression calm—too calm. Ashburn didn't move, eyes narrowing.
"I'm confused," he admitted. "If you needed me to attack your bots… couldn't you have just had them attack each other? Hell, having Strange, the X-Men, and the others do it would've been far more efficient. So, why me?"
Doom's gaze lifted, something calculating behind his eyes.
"Across all of reality," he said slowly, his voice carrying an undeniable weight, "Across the infinite dimensions and universes…"
He leaned forward slightly. "There is only one you."
"A singularity," Doom continued. "More rare than the Phoenix Force… More unique than Galactus."
As he spoke, the wires connecting him to the energy source detached, falling to the ground with a sharp clang. And then… Slowly, Doom's shadow came to life.
"From the moment Doom saw you, I knew your power was anything but normal," Doom declared, his voice resonating with an unnatural weight. "The ability to bring any foe you kill back to life, stronger than before? Such a power is wasted in your hands."
He rose from his throne, the very shadows around him twisting and writhing like living entities responding to his will. A dark aura pulsed from his form, radiating with overwhelming authority. "I am no longer merely Doom," he continued, his voice echoing through the void. "I am Doom, God of Darkness and Shadows!"
With those words, the world was consumed.
Light did not fade—it ceased to exist. Every trace of illumination was swallowed in an instant, leaving behind an abyss where no sun, no fire, no spark remained. It was a suffocating, all-encompassing darkness, one that should have rendered all things blind and lost.
Yet Ashburn could still see.
Of course, he could. He would be a pathetic Monarch if mere darkness could hinder his vision. His eyes, cut through the void effortlessly. And in that blackened world, his gaze remained locked onto Doom, watching as his foe stood shrouded in power that should not be his.
Somehow, Doom had taken his abilities. But how? How had Doom stolen his power from such a brief conflict with his shadow army? And worse, how had he mastered it so easily?
Well, this was Doom. A man who had come into contact with so much power throughout his lifetime that gaining and mastering Ashburn's abilities was almost inevitable. Even with just a fraction of what he had taken, combined with his own already overwhelming strength, Doom had become even more dangerous than before.
Ashburn narrowed his eyes, mind racing for a plan. Fighting Doom head-on right now wasn't an option—he needed time to analyze what had happened and how to counter it. But first… He smirked.
"Always stealing other people's power," Ashburn called out. "That's why your mom is in hell!"
A deep silence followed… Then Doom twitched.
Before the rage could fully explode, Ashburn was already gone, perched on Quick Thing's shoulders as they bolted away at impossible speeds.
Of course, Doom was not happy about someone talking about his mama.
Without a word, Doom exploded forward, his entire form surging toward Ashburn with nothing but pure killing intent.
But no matter how fast he was, Quick Thing was faster. The fused shadow sped across the landscape at impossible speeds, leaving Doom unable to close the gap.
Frustrated, Doom whipped around, shifting his attention toward Strange's remains, intending to raise him as a shadow soldier.
Ashburn, still riding Quick Thing's back, smirked as he called out over the rushing wind.
"You're not the smartest." Doom froze mid-step. "You're not as good as Strange. Your own people hate you. And worst of all? You're a hater for no reason."
Doom's fists clenched, his entire body radiating suppressed fury. "All that pride and arrogance—but what do you actually have to be proud of?"
Ashburn let the words hang for a moment before delivering the final blow. "Your mama is gone!"
Doom's eyes burned red, his entire form trembling as his fury hit its breaking point.
"So stupid you disfigured yourself and had the nerve to blame it on the one person who tried to stop you." Ashburn's voice was dripping with mockery, his laughter echoing through the darkness as Quick Thing continued carrying him away at impossible speeds.
"And then, " Ashburn continued, "then, you didn't even know that touching hot metal would burn you. So what did you do? You went and slapped a burning-hot mask on your own damn face!"
Doom's rage intensified, his energy fluctuating violently around him.
"You're so dumb," Ashburn pressed on, grinning. "No wonder your mama's dead."
Doom snapped.
"DIE!"
His roar shook the planet, his voice booming across the Dark World, reverberating through the very fabric of reality.
The shadows, his shadows, came to life. Weapons forged from pure darkness erupted from the void, their edges gleaming with malevolent energy, and with a single thought from Doom, they all rushed toward Ashburn at once.
At the same time, Ashburn's eyes flickered, catching something far more dangerous. Quick Thing was melting. Not from heat—from the darkness itself. Every step it took, every moment spent inside Doom's domain, was fueling Doom's power.
Quick Thing vanished in an instant, pushing its speed to the absolute limit and escaping the range of Doom's darkness before it could be completely consumed.
Within seconds, it reached Strange's body, and Ashburn wasted no time. With a swift motion, he threw Strange's corpse into his shadow, ensuring that Doom wouldn't have a chance to claim it.
As the darkness loomed closer, creeping across the landscape like an unstoppable tide, Ashburn's mind raced.
'Enraging him only boosted his mastery over my powers…' he thought, frustration creeping in.
He had provoked Doom, trying to throw him off balance, but all it had done was accelerate his control over Umbrakinesis. Now, Doom wasn't just dangerous—he was a better version of Ashburn himself.
'How do I fight a stronger version of me?' Suddenly, a system notification appeared.
[Host, Doom has only accessed a fragment of your potential power under (Umbrakinesis).]
[He does not possess (Shadow Monarch). There can only be one Monarch.]
[However, as observed, he can devour shadows to increase his strength…]
[Meanwhile, you can raise shadows to increase yours.]
'Are you telling me to devour shadows?' Ashburn thought, his eyes flicking over the system screen. 'I'm not that desperate for power just yet.'
His gaze shifted back toward the approaching darkness, Doom's presence looming over the battlefield.
'He might have grown stronger… but he didn't get the [Shadow Monarch's] power. What Doom is showing is a fragment of my potential. '
Then again… Ashburn glanced at the dozens of thousands of cannon fodder shadows at his command. 'I have plenty of expendable shadows… I'll think about it later down the road.'