Latvia, royal palace.

Victor von Doom opened his eyes under the mask, and his armor's eyes shone with a sharp icy blue glow.

"Who?" He asked coldly, looking at the empty hall.

A moment later, a translucent phantom actually appeared out of thin air. It was a woman dressed in black, wearing a red cloak, black hair, and dark pupils, but her whole body was full of an aura that was as inviolable as a queen.

Doom subconsciously stood up, and for a moment there was surprise in his eyes. Even for the rest of his life, he will not be able to forget this face, the most important woman in his life, Cynthia von Doom, his mother, the same person he tried to save from hell with all his might.

And now, she stood here, her expression indifferent, as if it was normal for her to appear here in Mephisto's cage.

But Doom quickly came back to his senses, his eyes gloomy as if he was about to kill: "Who are you?" ”

It couldn't have been his mother, he knew. His mother is still in hell, immortalized and imprisoned by Mephisto until one day Doom can free her soul. And one thing that is very obvious is that he has not succeeded so far, which means that the one who appears in front of him can only be an impostor.

Impersonating Doom's mother is probably the worst decision anyone has ever made in their life.

"I want to see your face, Victor." Cynthia whispered, "It's been too long, too long. ”

Her tone was so natural, and even her voice sounded exactly like the Cynthia Doom remembered, and this near-perfect imitation only made Doom even angrier. His dark green cloak was windless, and a pale purple magic circle appeared in the palms of his hands under the cloak, and the powerful magic power swirled around like a swift air current.

"I don't know who you are," Doom said in a deep voice, "but how dare you!?" ”

He let out a low roar, his palms raised, and the surging magic energy gathered in all directions as if he had been summoned, concentrating on Doom's palms and shooting out with the dance of his arms. The purple currents of air whipped Cynthia's long hair and cloak, and the majestic magic was enough to make anyone fearful, but that obviously didn't include Cynthia. She still stood in place with a nonchalant expression, and with a flick of her arm, the dark red magic power released from her hand, creating a brilliant spell barrier. Doom's magic slammed into the barrier, scattering like a stream of water, and vanishing without a trace.

A moment of surprise flashed in Doom's eyes, but it was only for a moment. Without saying a word, he began to seal for more powerful spells. The magic power transformed into a purple-black magic circle condensed in his hand, and the majestic magic vortex quickly converged, condensing into a deep and unfathomable purple-black ball of light in his palm.

The magic burst out, and the purple-black sphere drew a trajectory like a crack, radiating an electric energy, and blasted towards Cynthia with unparalleled momentum. The witch's black hair danced wildly, but her face was still indifferent. Doom didn't even see her seal or pronounce the spell. She only raised her right hand slightly, and waved her arm lightly, as if it were a simple command from the orchestra conductor. A dark red arc was left in the air, and the moment Doom's spell hit the arc, it collapsed. The purple-black sphere split into five and was scattered and shot in different directions, blasting the entire palace with a bang.

Cynthia lowered her arm slightly.

"Alright, Victor." She said calmly, "Enough trouble. ”

Doom gritted his teeth: "You, who the hell, are?" ”

"You can scan me with your armor, your X-rays or whatever, whatever you want. Or verify it with a recognition spell. Test my heartbeat, my voice, to see if I'm lying. ”

Doom frowned.

Needless to say, he'd already done it all. A whole set of scans, not a single one, but all signs point to the same result - the person in front of him is Cynthia von Dum, his mother, as if it were fake.

But that can't be. The Lords of Hell are no charity tycoons, and there's no reason for him to let go of his imprisoned souls—especially witches like Cynthia.

"I know it's a little hard to digest for a while, Victor." "And there's a lot more to explain, but everything else can be talked about later." The important thing is that the person you are dealing with is indeed me, your mother. ”

"My, Mother, is gone!"

Doom began to get angry. His whole body floated, and his cloak flew. The magic swept into his palms like a tidal current, and the cyclone visible to the naked eye seemed to empty the air around him.

The whole palace crumbled, as if trembling at the blow that had to be met.

***

Outside the palace in Latvia.

Mars no-cliced a portal through the air, and Michael and Doctor Strange walked out side by side.

"Powerful fluctuations in magical energy." Michael scanned the palace in front of him with his armor, "And the value fluctuates very much, it should be someone fighting." ”

"Who? Doctor Doom? ”

Michael didn't answer, but looked at the readings on the monitor and frowned slightly.

"Let's go."

The moment they took their first step towards the palace, the attack struck. The attack was silent, as if it were coming from the Void. It wasn't until the scorching wind swept in front of him the sound of metal grinding that the suit's built-in computer gave a warning.

Without much room for him to react, Michael had to act reflexively. With a long left arm, he jerked Doctor Strange behind him. Then he lifted his right hand and used his forearm to hold the sweeping chain. The chain was clinging to the raging hellfire, the chain clinging to his armoured armor like a burning snake, and the terrifying heat even faintly penetrated the outer shell.

The other end of the chain, without any accident, was pinched in the hands of the Ghost Rider.

Michael lifted his arm and dragged the Ghost Rider down the chain and flew towards him. He lifted his right foot and swept head-on. Ghost Rider blocked with his palm, and at the same time stopped the momentum with the help of the brakes, and slashed down with a hand knife. With a tug of his right arm, Michael pulled the chain wrapped around his armplate straight, blocked the Ghost Rider's hand knife horizontally above, and even took advantage of the momentum, and in turn tied the Ghost Rider's severed palm with the burning chain. Following his right palm, he took advantage of the moment when the evil spirit rider was entangled with the chain, and a pulse cannon blasted out. Pulses of energy slammed into his abdomen, sending the knight back to the top and somersaulting, and the chain came out of his hand.

"What a 'grand welcome,' Mephisto." Michael untied the chain wrapped around his arm, tossed it aside, and said, "What do you want this time?" ”