A Moment To Reflect...
“Time to bring down the curtain on this degenerative disgrace of a world order! Doom has spoken!” As these words left the masked lips of Doom Incarnate, the eyes of the world were soon on Paris. The heroes had lost. The Miraculouses were reduced to mere jewellery. Their Kwamis being forced to power the armour that gave Doctor Doom such a terrible power boost. Now Doctor Doom had become a god, and a terrifying one at that. With the absolute power of all of the Kwamis, the world was his oyster. And he would crave away the wreckage of the old world order, to replace it with a New Latveria that would last forever. Even now, it seemed unclear how the remaining hero for miles, Spider Man, would stop Doom Incarnate from destroying the world and building a New Latveria from its ashes. Even now he was backing away, in pure unconcealable terror, alongside the shivering wreck of a girl who’d once been the superhero Ladybug. Lacking a web fluid refill, and seriously doubting if his webs would hold mustard against such a force, Spidey didn’t have a lot of options. Pretty much everything he could do, Doom could probably counter tenfold. As he did just then, uttering the magic words for Cataclysm and Clout, generating a massive spiralling ball of pure destructive energy between his hands. That being one of several things Spidey didn’t need his spider sense to warn him about – that was quite obviously bad news any way you look at it. He grabbed Marinette from behind and backflipped out of the way as Doom released the powerful blast, reducing the world wonder that was the Jardins du Trocadéro to a charred crater almost penetrating the Mole Man’s secret planet wide network of underground tunnels. Which in of itself is extremely deep… The unarmoured SHIELD agents surrounding Doom Incarnate didn’t stand a chance, all were killed pretty much instantly. But this meant that the crater that was once the Jardins du Trocadéro was soon littered with bodies, some dead, others the unconscious bodies of the victims of the Sinister Six Doom had manipulated into helping him acquire the Kwamis. Satisfied with his work, Doom began levitating towards the skies… “As much as I’d love to watch your demise in person, I have a planet to conquer. Goodbye Spider Man. And to your little friends down there. I don’t expect to see you again.”
(scene break)
“…urgh… ow… that hurt… my head… urgh… how long was I out for, Director Fury?”
“Same as me and Marinette. About an hour. But we’ve got some safety now anyway. Doom’s already left. Where he’s planning on going, who knows? This one’s way too big for just us. I’ll have to signal for a rescue when I get my radio working again. And hope the Tri-Carrier’s artillery is going to be enough to stop him…”
“Honestly Nick, I think this one’s going to be too much for Earth’s scrawniest heroes. Well, not necessarily scrawny per say, but… oh you know what I mean!” Fury gave the nod.
“I do. If Doctor Doom harnessing the power of all-powerful fairies and becoming a monster capable of remaking the world in his image doesn’t justify calling out the greatest superhero team on the planet, I’d love to know what does. Still, even then, and I hate to have to admit this… it might not be enough. That attack’s killed a dozen of my best agents and destroyed much of a beautiful wonder of the world. Could Captain America’s shield even withstand that kind of power, that’s the question. I honestly don’t know how this one’s going to turn out, Peter. The fate of the world is in our hands. And this time, I don’t know if we can handle it this time…”
“Huh, looks like you’re not the only one…” Fury turned to where Spidey was looking, specifically at the sight of poor Marinette stuffing herself into the foetal position, crying her eyes out. Completely understandable, given what she’s just been through. Spidey tore his mask off and wandered over to her.
“Hey Peter…”
“Hey Marinette. So… that was a trouncing, huh?”
“You know, sometimes I don’t know if you’re an eternal optimist or need to have your head examined. It’s over, Pete! Doctor Doom has the Miraculouses, he’s got MY Miraculous! Nothing we can do will work against him! Oh, Peter… it’s going to be the end of the world and it’s all our fault!”
“That’s… fair. We could’ve done better to protect the Miraculouses. We could’ve done better to recognise Vulture’s trap before Kim volunteered his group to investigate. We could have stopped all this before… but we didn’t. And now we’re at ground zero of judgement day. There might not be anyone else coming. We have to stop Doom now.”
“But look at us now, Peter! We’ve got no tech, no Miraculouses, no teammates thanks to Alix and her petrifying gaze…!” At which point, the former skater girl in question drudged over to express her dissatisfaction about being reminded about her new powers…
“Oh don’t bring me into this or I’ll do the same to you!”
“It’s true that things aren’t looking so good for us right now. But there is a silver lining. Doom expected us all to die in that blast. As long as he thinks we’re dead, he won’t be looking for us. And also, Doom did handily show us exactly where we have to hit him. We don’t know what it’ll take to destroy his Kwami-Cager, but without it, Doom’s considerably easier to handle. The world is waiting for a hero in its darkest hour. It needs us.”
“I-I-I don’t know about this, Peter… without my Miraculous… without Tiki… I’m just…”
“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, one of the kindest and brightest people I know! You have the creative skills to design anything and you have the organisational skills to drum up a plan to get things done! Sure, you’ve made mistakes, like that business with Rogercop, but you’re only human. Like all of us. Well, maybe not so much all of us… least of all me right now… But I know people. And I know one other thing. Master Fu. Out of all the kind, noble people in Paris, he picked you. He didn’t give the Ladybug Miraculous to me, or Ivan, or Luka, or even Rose, arguably the kindest person I know. He gave it to Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Because Marinette Dupain-Cheng has what it takes to be Ladybug, to be a superhero. Because Marinette Dupain-Cheng is the REAL DEAL.”
“Alix, you… y-y-you really think so…?”
“I know so, now it’s time to man up and show Doom that if he messes with one superhero…!” Marinette cut her off by standing up suddenly.
“…he messes with all of us! Thanks Alix. I needed that.” And then came the remaining akumatised villains who’d been forcibly recruited into Doom’s army. While most didn’t speak, and at least one couldn’t, their expressions said it all. Alix is right. Marinette was chosen for a reason. And now the world needs her more than ever. And then came the bitter clapping of two mechanical arms. Peter put his mask back on.
“Octavius.” Fury began bitterly. “I hope you’re proud of what you’ve done, turning children into monsters to fight for the most dangerous man in the world.”
“Does this face look content, Fury? I am practically SEETHING right now! He used me! HE USED ME!!! And you all know how much I hate being anyone’s pawn! It was bad enough with Osborn, but now…!” Otto took a deep breath, working hard to control his emotions. “But… this is getting us nowhere. In hindsight, I should’ve never agreed to this partnership with Doom. I knew he was going to betray me ages ago. He’s got quite the reputation for that. If it wasn’t for the decision to oversee your defeat in person, I would’ve finalised everything I needed to beat Doom to the punch! To betray him and take the power for myself! And… my new friend, Gabriel over here.”
“This was not how I’d envisioned things. I only wanted to get my wife back… and through my actions, I’ve killed the only one I’ve ever loved… besides her…”
“Yeah… it sucks losing someone close to you, doesn’t it? I don’t condone what you’ve done, Gabriel, but I understand what it means to lose someone close. I understand better than you realise. Because someone important was taken from me, too. I lost someone special to me for no reason at all. And unlike you, I had an opportunity for revenge. I had the guy who did it cornered, helpless. I could have finished him right there. But I realized, it wouldn't have changed what happened. Worse, I would have become as bad as the creep who took him from me. He always said I could choose what kind of man I wanted to be. I chose to walk away, to be better. To be Spider-Man.” Gabriel began to perk up slightly. “We can’t always avoid tragedies. But we can learn from them. Without your help, Cat Noir… Adrien… could’ve died for nothing. If you want to help us stop Doom, we’d welcome all the help we can get.”
“Exactly what I was going to propose, Spider. I trust my friends don’t appreciate being tricked any more than I do. We want revenge. I can promise you our aid in the coming battle… if you promise me we will be compensated with at least a decade deducted from our sentences.” Fury stepped forwards, nodding slightly.
“If you seven help us bring down Doom and clear up this mess you got us into, I’ll do you one better. Not only will I see about having a few decades knocked off your prison sentences, I will personally see to it that Captain America himself personally testifies on your behalf at your parole hearings.” The Sinister Six looked at each other, as if contemplating Fury’s offer. All eyes turned back to Ock. Clearly he has the deciding vote.
“It might well be the best chance we have for revenge on Doom. Very well. We will help you.”
(scene break)
It wasn’t too much later that the Tri-Carrier arrived, and there this last stand could be anticipated and planned as best as possible. With Doom as powerful as he was then, there was only so much that could be done to stop him. It was particularly obvious that any chance of success relied heavily on careful planning and strategizing. So while Director Fury was preoccupied with that, there was the small matter of replenishing the number of teammates who’d made the mistake of looking Carrion in the eye. That which Spidey and Marinette would personally oversee in mere moments. Just then, their Quinjet came into land. The runway was clear. The remaining SHIELD forces were armed. The stage was set.
Upon entering the main control room, Marinette was overcome with awe at the rows of technicians, all working hard to ensure the Tri-Carrier wouldn’t suffer the same fate as the original Helicarrier did at the hands of the Goblin way back when. The screens were all around and all encompassing. None of her class, not even Max/Gamer, had seen this many computer screens in one place. Director Fury pushed forwards and assumed his position in the central workstation.
“Alright, we’ve got a global crisis in the works, so I’m only going to say this once. Doctor Doom has almost won. Through careful manipulation, he lured us all into his trap and stole the Miraculouses that give our young friends here their powers. With that power, he could conquer the world. Like it or not, SHIELD is the last line of defence against an unstoppable tyrant taking over everywhere we love. That should be enough incentive for most of you to maximise efficiency. And furthermore, there is an elephant in the room which I have to address. Yes, you are seeing, as well as Spider Man’s team, the seven criminals Doom used to make his plans reality, alongside the innocent teenagers they turned into monsters for that end. They have agreed to help us stop Doom, and frankly, right now we need every solider we can get. I’m not expecting every one of you to survive these next few hours, but if you do go down in the line of duty, I salute you. Twice. The greater good requires sacrifice, and we could be all that’s left besides the big guns. But I’d rather wait to deploy them. You know what to do. Get to work, and show Doctor Doom that SHIELD will not take his endgame lying down!” After finishing his speech, Fury turned back to Spidey and the ensemble behind him. He gave the order to report to the medical bay. Presumably to see if they can undo what Carrion did to White Tiger, Iron Fist and Nova. Like Fury said, they need all the help they can get right now.
(scene break)
“Would you ever have imagined it, Spider Man? My allies being forced to work with you for the good of mankind?” Spidey shook his head at Ock’s questions.
“If it was up to me, this never would’ve happened. Obviously I don’t condone what you did to all these people, Doc, but I’m not going to refuse to work with you right now.”
“I’m glad to hear that, Spider.” Kraven butted in. “Being forced into an alliance with those I had deemed my prey, to escape a predator far more vicious and terrible than I… I would never have dreamed that it could occur. But now it has, and helping you, Spider Man, is my only chance of survival. If you do not attack me, Spider, I will show you the same courtesy.” Spidey nodded. Through the remainder of the journey to the medical bay, the remaining four members of the Sinister Six did not give their input to the whole affair. It was however obvious that none of them were practically thrilled about the idea of having to team up with Spider Man and his friends to save the world from a danger that they themselves had created, though none were willing to voice their opinions out loud. Indeed, the only other villain to say anything during this time was Shadow Moth himself, and only when prompted by Ladybug…
“Mr Agreste… before we go into this, I just have to know… why did you do all this? Why did you agree to work with Doom for this mission?”
“In all honesty, little Ladybug, I would not have dreamt of it beforehand. When I first began down this path about a year ago, I never imagined I’d still be fighting this battle after this long. I’d hoped you and…”, his voice began to break as he spoke this next part, “Cat Noir… would’ve gone down easily enough. And I would never have envisioned I would be working with Doctor Doom of all people to acquire the Miraculouses… Honestly… he terrifies me… I wasn’t after money or power or anything that would have led to this… all I wanted was Emilie back. I was even intending to use the wish to undo everything I’ve had to do to get here… but now I realise that was impossible. My obsession might’ve doomed the world… and it destroyed Adrien. My last and greatest gift from Emilie…” Marinette paused for a moment to take Gabriel’s hand.
“What you did was wrong. But there’s still a chance for you. We couldn’t have done anything to save Adrien, but there are countless others we can save from Doom. And there might even be a chance to save Emilie without the Miraculouses. Help us stop Doom, and I will personally see to it that your efforts are rewarded.” A moment of kindness and understanding, despite his evil actions. That is not something Gabriel has felt in a long time… maybe there is still hope for him yet…
(scene break)
Ivan and Mylene were with Power Man in the medical bay at this moment, alongside the two Couffaine siblings who’d encountered the Sinister Six earlier that day. It was indeed a chilling time for them, watching the doctors do their checks to determine if the damage dealt will heal or not. Perhaps therefore it was a welcome distraction from the worrying about Juleka in particular, that Marinette led the way into the medical bay at that moment, straight into a tight hug from both of them.
“Marinette! Oh thank goodness you’re safe, we were so worried!”
“I appreciate it, Mylene, I really do. I’m just glad you’re alright, and not creeping me out as Horrificator right now…” Spidey gave a scoff at that naming choice, causing Gabriel to facepalm.
“Sounds a spooky one! Glad I didn’t have to face her! Ha ha! Ha ha ha… actually this probably isn’t the time for jokes…”
“I’d say it ain’t. It’s been horrible, waiting around, keeping an eye on Juleka and Luka… I’ve never been fond of hospitals anyway… and this is just…” Ivan trailed off, seemingly unable to put his feelings into words. He might have been glad therefore for his attention to turn to the notion of the entrance of most of his classmates, all of whom hadn’t been so lucky to escape the grim fate he’d almost been subjected to. He cleared his throat as he sat down on one of the lower stairs. “I take it Shadow Moth won the battle, huh? I can tell. Judging by the looks of most of you, I can’t really see a fairytale ending for this one…”
“We’re just in a bad place right now, Ivan. We can still win this!”
“Good luck with that. I caught a glimpse of that… that thing… please tell me that was just a sentimonster!” Gabriel pushed his way forwards, a solemn expression on his face. Mylene’s expression didn’t change. She was still as frightened as ever.
“That was no sentimonster. Doctor Doom has won. He tricked me into building an army to get the Miraculouses… and take over the world. I should never have agreed to help him. And now I have to live with the consequences.“
“But there’s still a chance we can turn this around. But we need everyone we can get. Hence why I remind everyone that there’s still the matter of my friends to fix!”
“Hmm… good call, Spidey. So she got Sam and Danny too, huh? Hmm… probably going to need an examination before we start smashing them open. I’ll go get Dr Connors.” As Luke began to leave, the rest of the akumatised class entered the room fully, allowing Ivan and Mylene to get a full view of the extent of the induction programme. Needless to say, some of them drew more of a response than others…
“I knew they’d got most of you… I wasn’t expecting this many… Ok… couple of them I can just about make out… mostly from memory, to be honest.” Ivan began pointing to various villains, attempting to identify them. Nearly all of the ones who’d been returned to their original akumatised forms he got first time. It was the ones with new forms, besides Shell Shock who he correctly guessed was Nino, that gave him some trouble… “…insect girl… err… ok, you’ve got me…”
“Zoe Lee, Chloe’s half-sister. I think they called her Hornex now.”
“Never heard of her. Oh wait a minute… yeah, that’s the… oh yeah, I remember now. The actress, right? Huh, you’ve got a raw deal, Zoe. I pity you.”
“She can control insects now. Which could well be a fate worse than death given how she used to be terrified of cockroaches…”
“Ha ha ha(!) She wouldn’t even know what it’s like to be in constant pain if Chloe made them share the same bed! You want real pain, look no further!” Ivan looked at Mylene, confused. This one he didn’t recognise at all. Though Mylene did give the look that indicates she recognises her voice…
“O…k… what’s your name then?”
“Carrion. Or at least, that’s what they called me.” Clearly the annoyance of Ivan being unable to recognise her voice was starting to eat away at her like her palms would eat away at anything she touches. She thrust one hand on her hip and facepalmed with the other. “Come on, Ivan, do you seriously not recognize me?! It’s me, Alix!” Ivan’s eyes went wide with realisation at that comment.
“Alix…? Ah man… you… whoa… is that an upgrade from last time or what…” Ivan muttered as he looked up at Alix. He couldn’t remember a single time he’s had to look up at Alix, she used to be joint shortest in the whole class alongside Mylene while Ivan’s the tallest.
“You have a pretty weird definition of upgrade, Ivan. I mean, just look at me. At least as Timebreaker I at least looked human! Now… urgh! Oh, that’s… urgh…! Sorry, downside of this new form, very uncomfortable all of the time, in fact it literally hurts for me to be like this!”
“And what about your eye, it looks pretty badly concealed…?”
“That, Mylene, is where the first dose hit me. I got an extra dose, don’t want to talk about it. And that’s why I’ve got to keep the other one closed. Among my new powers is gorgon vision – you know ancient Greek history, right?” Both Ivan and Mylene nodded, from her bed across the room, Juleka shook her head. “…ok, so for those that don’t, a gorgon is a mythical creature whose gaze turns you to stone. That’s what I do now, my gaze petrifies people! And it’s clearly a reflex or something like that, I can hardly control it!” She was on the verge of breaking down in tears again when Mari gave her a comforting hand to the shoulder.
“Your speech earlier, Alix… you gave me confidence that you don’t have anymore…? Is that it?”
“I was only trying to help you out of your funk. I wasn’t giving you my confidence or anything.” She gave a deep sad sigh. “Not got a lot to be confident about right now, Nette. I’m in such pain I can barely concentrate on talking, I petrify anyone I look at, physical contact burns those around me… oh yeah, and there’s the fact that I’m stuck like this forever! There’s no cure for this condition, I’m… I’m…” Her own sobs of pain cut her off. Ivan simply stared at her, in silent sympathy. There’s no obvious silver lining to this one, as far as he could see. One of his best friends, now doomed to spend the rest of her life as a terrifying monster. Truly pitiful.
“…honestly… I just don’t know what to say, Alix. I… I…”
“It’s all my fault, Alix. I shouldn’t have sent you to infiltrate Doom’s compound. I shouldn’t have even returned to being Ladybug after the Stoneheart incident. Yes, I admit it, I’m Ladybug! Or at least I was. Not anymore, thanks to Doom… Just look where my escapades have got us! Nearly everyone here has become a monster and the few that haven’t…” Her eyes turned back to Juleka. She’d almost forgotten in all the excitement. How are the Couffaines holding up after their encounter with Kraven and Scorpion, both of whom were with the other Sinister Sixers waiting outside? Marinette decided to find out.
“So Ladybug, huh?”
“Hope you’re not disappointed, Luka…”
“Meh, how could I be? I’ve known for ages. Ever since that Wishmaker incident… huh, weird day… my dad becomes a crocodile, Juleka… well, let’s not tattle on her, I’m sure she’ll talk in her own time…” Marinette looked down at her ex-boyfriends’ stumps, where his hands had been hours beforehand.
“Luka… your hands…”
“Oh yeah, I’ve been trying to forget. The pain is still present. But I’m trying to be strong. But I don’t think I’m going to be much help in future, Marinette. The bracelet won’t work with me now. And without my music… well, I can’t play guitar anymore, can I? Not until I get prosthetics or something…”
“Just don’t go asking Dr Connors for any miracle cures, ok? One Lizard running amok is more than enough…” Not quite understanding Spidey’s joke, Luka turned around to look at his sister, still with her pale eyes, sitting quietly on her bed, listening to the sounds of her classmates explaining their new powers to Ivan and Mylene. The results had come through earlier. Marinette wouldn’t know. He directed her over to Juleka for the news…
“Hey Juleka.”
“Hey.” Ivan walked over swiftly, it seemed he wanted to hear what had happened as well.
“Hey. Yeah, I didn’t ask earlier because I thought she needed to rest more and I didn’t want to poke and prod. What happened to you, Jules? You look terrible.”
“Urgh… honestly Ivan, I feel even worse. Kraven, Scorpion and Alya came to the Liberty. They took Rose… from what I’ve heard, I assume they’ve changed her… and they hurt Luka… Kraven fought me… he sank the boat… he nearly drowned me… and right now I wish he had. Look Ivan. My eyes… I’m blind!” Ivan’s expression sank even more. “And… there’s… something else…” Her words interrupted by her own sniffles, clearly it’s a heavy topic to discuss.
“You might as well spit it out, Juleka, I think I know where this is going, it seems nothing today is good news to hear…”
“…you’re right Mari… it isn’t good news… I-I-I won’t walk again…” Both her onlookers’ eyes went wide for a moment and then sorrowful.
“Oh… that bad, huh?”
“The doctors said that blast from Kraven… it completely destroyed my lower nervous system… no way to fix it…” She fell back into a sobbing fit as Marinette and Ivan came to comfort her. Even from where he was standing at this moment, watching and listening through the doorway, even Kraven shed a tear for the gothic girl who he’d paralysed in his quest for glory, as he quietly muttered to himself…
“Ah, the pain of what I have done to her… If only I could take back what I have done… if only I could tell her I am sorry… but my comrades are present. If I appear weak, I will be subject to mockery. My pride demands I never accept that. And yet… the knowledge that I have ruined her life… all for the trophies of the Cat and Tiger Miraculouses… it wasn’t worth what I did to her… Ah, but it’s too late for regrets, Sergi… what’s done is done… and the guilt may well be unbearable…” A sudden tentacle to the back of the head cut him off.
“You did what you had to, Kraven. What happened to her was tragic, I cannot deny that. But I don’t want your guilt to repress your inner strength when we face Doom. Only at full strength do we stand any chance of victory.”
“You are unfortunately correct, doctor. To be honest, I think the next time you assemble the Six for the demise of Spider Man, I think I shall take a break from membership. I need some time to come to terms with what I’ve done…” Ock gave an understanding look.
“Take all the time you need, Kraven. I’ll have your seat ready for you when you get back. As for the here and now… there are five more volunteers to inject, and I’ve got enough serum for six people. If this works, we’ll have an advantage.” And so Otto decided to enter the medical bay himself. “If I may interrupt…” Everyone turned to look at him. “…while I don’t undervalue the tragic revelations you have just born witness to, I do have something to say. There could be one more possibility for stopping Doom, the immediate threat.” Spidey turned around to face him.
“Does it involve injecting any of this lot again? Because if that’s the case, I vote a resounding NO.”
“Only five need to be injected, Spider. We need every available unit we can get for this to work, right? And I count at least six people who’ve not had a dose yet. There’s enough left for six of you. With your permission, I’ll give you all a dosage, in the faint hope that the powers you will yield be give us the necessary edge to defeat Doom Incarnate.” The class went into discussion. It’s a plausible idea, that much is certain. But Ock made it clear that the effects would be irreversible. Would they be willing enough to sacrifice their very humanity to save the world… Rather sheepishly, Doc Ock then added, “In case any of you have reservations about being transformed and unable to be cured… I do have to admit, there is one antidote… We CAN change you back…”
“…but?”
“Thank you, Spider Man(!) …BUT, I wasn’t able to make enough of it before we lost the Moth Miraculous. We need akuma for this to work.”
“How much do you have?”
“Honestly, Ladybug… there could be enough to cure half your numbers completely… or it could be spread out to revert everyone… but it wouldn’t be completely. They’d still retain some traits of their present forms. Although I should point out that they would become MORE human at least, as least enough to pass as human without too many dirty looks. But still, this is a pointless waste of time spent talking if they aren’t willing to do so. So again I ask: would you be willing to undergo the transformation for the sake of humankind?”
(scene break)
Even now, the city was in chaos as Doom Incarnate slithered his way onto the Eiffel Tower, which in this form was barely big enough to support him. He gave a sinister laugh as he rose his hands to the skies, generating a massive spiralling vortex of destruction. Massive bolts of destructive interdimensional energy began to rain down upon the City of Love, carving out caverns from the sidewalks that would rival the Grand Canyon, from which deadly jets of lava erupted, rapidly flooding the city in burning magma.
“From the ashes of the old world, a New Latveria will rise! With the power coursing through me, the planet will be mine! And there will be nobody in the universe with even a marginal chance to stop me!” His evil laughter rang out across the burning city, until a sudden bolt of energy struck him in the face, the shock of which made him fall off the Tower and crash flat on his face. He immediately leapt back upwards to glare angrily at the sight of the insignificant creature who dared challenge him on his day of victory!
“You didn’t really think we’d take this one lying down, did ya?”
“Spider Man?! Even now, you risk my wrath? Argh! You must have a death wish to challenge me when I am at my most powerful!”
“Perhaps before, but let me just make one thing clear, Doom: if you’re going to betray your teammates, at least make sure you actually kill them before leaving to destroy the planet!” As if to prove his point, a ball of energy exploded into a cloud of smoke in front of the giant monstrous Doom Incarnate. When it cleared, he understood exactly what Spider Man had meant. For Spidey had also undergone an interesting transformation. His colour scheme was now more so inspired by the outfit Miles Morales wore as the Ultimate Spider Man, or Kid Arachnid or Spin, depending on which version you prefer. Oh, and there were the extra arms as well. And a faint purple glow across his veins. It was very obvious to Doom what had happened. Doctor Octopus actually allowed Spider Man to take that serum too? Infuriating! Even more so when the sight of more energy balls landed behind him. There they all became clear to see: the Sinister Six that he had betrayed, their ally who had once been Shadow Moth, the remains of Spidey’s classic team, and behind them, the army of teenagers who’d been mutated into the superpowered soldiers of his akumatised army. Oh perfect(!)
Even more so when Doom noticed the five standing directly behind Spidey. Like Spidey, they must have been transformed recently, as the purple glow was still illuminating their veins. From left to right, the soldiers were clear: a large golem creature made entirely of grey stone, a purple salamander-like creature with three eyes and long tendrils on her head, then the two most human-looking of the five: one whose only major design change seemed to be a costume change to the one Ghost-Spider usually sports, and another obviously much more snakelike while still humanoid, clearly inspired by the Miraculous he once sported.
“Meet Stoneheart, Horrificator, Ghost-Spider, Cobra and… hey where’s the other one, I thought Mari was…” The Spider Man was cut off by a sudden explosion right beside him. When the dust settled, there she was, the warrior who led them all into superheroics and would help Spidey lead them to victory. Her armour now resembling the type that an actual knight would’ve worn years ago, except specifically designed for her alone, coloured red with black spots that had glints that seemed to be moving about, almost as if they were eyes of some sort. Her new mask released only her hair in a long twin ponytail, and she now wielded a sword identical to the one that her various villainous counterparts wielded.
“I’m right here, Spider! Just takes a bit of getting used to my new powerset…”
“Hey, you were the first to volunteer for this, Ladybug!”
“Enough with the Ladybug nonsense, Spidey! Ladybug only lured her closest allies into defeat and despair, and cost two innocents their very lives – whereas I shall lead the charge into the valley of death, for the grand reclamation of our liberty! Ladybug started all this terror – now Princess Justice will finish it!”
“A brave but futile gesture, my lady,” Doom began, drawing an obvious wince and shudder from Princess Justice, “for any power that Otto gave you, I can dwarf in seconds! I am going to destroy you all, for real this time! And then the rest of this pitiful planet shall burn so, like the legendary phoenix, a New Latveria can rise from its ashes!”
“Gloat all you like, Doom, this isn’t over just yet! Everyone get ready! It’s time for the final showdown for the fate of the planet! Judgement Day has arrived!”