Susan stopped her impulsive younger brother—this was not the time to start trouble. "Mr. Garus, perhaps we can discuss this…"
"Wait a moment." Garus noticed a group from H.A.M.M.E.R. approaching, including Tony, Dr. Reed Richards, Norman Osborn, and an unfamiliar man.
"Garus, it's been a while! Where have you been lately?" Tony greeted him with a wide grin, pulling him into a friendly hug.
At that moment, two H.A.M.M.E.R. agents stepped forward, following their director's orders, reaching for the Silver Surfer's board.
"Ugh!" The agents suddenly clutched their throats in agony as they were lifted off the ground, shrouded in a dark aura.
"Mr. Garus, release them!" Director Osborn couldn't stand by as his men suffocated. He pulled out a pumpkin bomb and hurled it at Garus.
The airborne explosive was effortlessly swatted aside by Garus, detonating a few meters away, instantly reducing a cluster of large trees to dust.
An attack deserved a response. A shard of ice materialized in Garus's hand, streaking toward Osborn.
Boom!
A bolt of electricity intercepted the ice shard mid-air, vaporizing it into steam. Garus turned to see a cloaked man standing beside Osborn, his hand still crackling with residual energy.
"Who is he?" The mysterious figure exuded an aura of the underworld. Garus racked his brain but couldn't recall anyone in the Marvel universe tied to Hell—at least, no one other than Mephisto, whose avatar had recently been obliterated.
"I am Victor von Doom, ruler of Latveria." Victor stepped forward, standing before Garus.
He had only recently returned from Hell, and traces of its energy still clung to him.
Doctor Doom? Garus had once considered seeking him out to help construct his Sky Fortress.
"That Silver Surfer's board is our spoils of war." Victor had his own reasons for working with H.A.M.M.E.R.—the power contained within that artifact intrigued him. His mother's soul still languished in Hell, waiting for him to free her.
He had, however, heard the legends surrounding the young man before him. While he had boasted in front of Osborn, he wasn't so arrogant as to underestimate Garus. The battles this man had fought were known across the world.
"Call to it—do you think it will answer?" Garus's tone dripped with mockery, even if Doom didn't fully understand his meaning.
Just as another battle was about to break out, Dr. Reed Richards quickly intervened. Though he harbored personal grievances against Victor, now was not the time.
"Garus, this alien has appeared on many planets before," Reed explained. "And every single one has been reduced to a dead world—"
Before he could finish, Garus pointed at the Silver Surfer. "No problem. He's yours."
The Silver Surfer drifted toward Reed, his energy drained without his board, leaving him visibly weak.
To Garus, Norrin Radd was of no use. More importantly, Galactus was tracking the board, not the man himself. The cosmic entity's arrival was inevitable.
"I'm willing to hand him over," Garus continued, gripping the silver board. A vast energy surged into his body, but it clashed with his inherent death magic, making it unusable. "But this thing? I still have a use for it."
The board, though incompatible with his abilities, was continuously broadcasting some sort of signal into the cosmos—Galactus was coming.
Crackle! Lightning surged in Doom's hands. He had no intention of letting such a powerful artifact slip through his grasp. The Silver Surfer himself was worthless without it.
As the board's energy clouded Garus's mind, Doom struck, his lightning enveloping Garus's body in a furious storm.
"Is this supposed to be a massage?" Garus sneered. Before Doom could respond, he retaliated—dark death energy lashed out, constricting around Doom like spectral chains.
"Ugh!" Doom's armor creaked under the pressure. His enchanted, tech-infused battle suit bore intricate arcane patterns, which flared with white light. A pulse of magic erupted outward, dispelling the death magic and everything else in its vicinity.
"Garus, I know you've bested Mephisto twice before. But I have seen his true form—you have no idea how powerful he really is. And I escaped from him with ease." Doom adjusted his gauntlet, and from the distance, a swarm of robotic drones descended, surrounding everyone present.
As Latveria's dictator, he had vast resources at his disposal—an army of war machines was but a fraction of his power.
Garus remained unfazed. He drove Frostmourne into the ground, and the earth beneath them trembled. From the soil, monstrous spiders emerged, their massive fangs dripping venom. They unleashed webbing, ensnaring the airborne drones and dragging them down.
Crunch! Crunch! The cavernous monstrosities tore through steel, though many of them were incinerated by counterattacks.
"Victor!" Susan's voice rang out. "Enough!"
In an instant, the battlefield descended into chaos as monstrous creatures and war machines clashed. Even H.A.M.M.E.R. agents suffered collateral damage.
"Since it's Susan's request, I'll oblige." Doom ordered his robotic army to retreat. Prolonging the fight would only lead to needless losses. Besides, Susan had once been his lover—though she had left him, he would still grant her this favor.
Watching the exchange, Reed couldn't shake an uncomfortable feeling—jealousy crept into his mind. Perhaps he had been too focused on work. He needed to keep an eye on things.
Seeing Doom step down, Garus grabbed the silver board. "Anyone else have an objection? No? Then I'm leaving."
With no further challenges, Garus summoned a massive frost wyrm and soared into the sky.
"Garus, wait!" Tony activated his suit, blasting off in pursuit. The board intrigued him too.
Osborn, meanwhile, scowled at the outcome. He despised this turn of events, but there was nothing he could do—Garus was not only powerful himself but had formidable allies as well.
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