Masters of Doom Episode 1: The Plan

AND THERE CAME A DAY, A DAY UNLIKE ANY OTHER. A DAY WHEN FOUR VILLAINS CAME TOGETHER TO DESTROY E.G.G ONCE AND FOR ALL. ON THAT DAY, THE MASTERS OF DOOM WERE BORN.

-The Plan-

Scramble and Gravity Master slid around a corner and rushed into an alley. They both took cover behind a dumpster. Scramble peeked out.

“Is he still following us?” Gravity Master asked.

“I don’t know.” Scramble answered. “Man, he’s faster than I thought.”

“Yeah, and I’ve seen him in action before!” Gravity Master replied. “Did you see what he did to Gyro Man? I don’t think we’re going to make it out of this…”

“Just be cool dude…” Scramble said. “We’re gettin’ outta this…” Suddenly the Black Widow stumbled into the alley and fell into the trash cans. Gravity Master rushed over and helped her up.

“What happened?” He asked.

“He didn’t believe I was her…” She said, shape shifting back into Ailemara in her natural green Skrull form. “Not for one second…”

“You get Gyro Man?” Scramble asked.

“No, his stupid ball got stuck under the highway.”

“Alright, we gotta come back for him then, right now we need to get outta here…”

“You aren’t going anywhere.” The three of them turned to see Captain America standing at the entrance of the alley, shield in hand, the sun reflecting off of it in just the right manner. “Surrender now, or this will get a lot worse.”

“We ain’t goin’ nowhere!” Scramble shouted, blasting a sound wave at him. Captain America put up his shield and blocked the sonic blast. Gravity Master lifted some garbage cans as Ailemara turned and began to run. Cap then shoved back, bouncing the sound wave back to Scramble.

“Ah!” Scramble shouted as he fell. Cap then threw his shield at lightning speed. It soared down the alley and hit Aliemara in the back.

“Gah!” She shouted falling to the ground as the shield bounced off of her then ricocheted off of the wall.

“What?” Gravity Master barely stated when the shield slammed into his face and soared back onto Captain America’s arm. Scramble sat up, angered.

“I ain’t gonna loose to you! AAAHHHH!!!!!” She fired a large sonic wave. Captain America flipped into the air, over the blast, and dove towards Scramble with his shield. Just as he was about to hit, Norman Osborn paused the video. He turned to the Masters of Doom, who were sitting around the room in their abandoned Oscorp factory, out of costume, badly bruised and beaten.

“Well then.” Norman said. “In the interest of learning from your mistakes, I’m going to let you tell me what went wrong.”

“Um, Captain America showed up.” Gyro Man replied. “I think that pretty much sums it up.”

“This was simple operation.” Norman continued. “An armored car robbery, in and out in 4.35 minutes maximum. Yet you somehow managed to screw it up.”

“Yeah, let me say that again.” Gyro Man said. “Freaking Captain America showed up!”

“Weather it were Captain America or Ant-Man, the fact of the matter was that you were ill prepared to handle the situation.”

“By all means Norman.” Julian said. “Please tell us what we could have done differently.”

“Gladly.” Norman replied. He pointed to Gravity Master. “Cylus, you’re too overconfident. Because you once led the Syndicate you feel you can take any threat that comes your way without the help of your team, but the simple fact is that you can’t!”

“I could have beaten Captain America if I were alone!” Gravity Master, or Cylus Raise replied. “My so called ‘team’ got in the way! Unlike Syndicate soldiers, they’re untrained, unskilled, and unprofessional.”

“Who are you calling unskilled?!” Gyro Man shouted angrily.

“You more than anyone Wally!” Norman shouted. “I’ve mentioned multiple times that your gyro ball is too big and inefficient in a real fight. The fact that you got stuck in the middle of the battle with no means to free yourself should embarrass you to no end.”

“My ball is fine…” Gyro Man, or Wally Jones mumbled.

“It’s okay baby.” Ailemara replied, wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing his cheek. “You’ll get it next time.”

“I haven’t even begun with you Ailemara.” Norman hissed. “When the operation went south you were the sole thing that could have kept us above water. But your failure to adequately portray the Black Widow not only made you useless, it cost us the mission as well!”

“Okay, sorry, geez.” She replied.

“It’s okay Mara.” Wally whispered to her. “Norman’s just being stingy.”

“And lastly you.” Norman growled, pointing to Julian. “You call yourself a leader? I saw no such form of leadership out there!”

“No you wait a minute…” Julian objected.

“Be silent!” Norman shouted. Julian stopped, then sat back down, inhaling deeply. “Your team was everywhere, you gave no clear orders, you cannot control your Scramble technology, and you clearly have no training in any form of self-defense.”

“Listen, this fight don’t even matter!” Julian shouted. “I formed this group to take down E.G.G, not take orders from you!”

“If you can’t steal a few thousand dollars from an armored car, then your second encounter with Westbrook will only end up like your first. And if I weren’t here, who would run this sad mess you call a team? You? Don’t make me laugh. Masters of Doom? The only thing your four blundering fools have mastered is failure! Come to me when you’re ready to be serious.” Norman stormed out of the room. Julian slammed the table in anger and left.

“Burrrrrrrn.” Wally said. Ailemara nudged him.

“Stop it Wally!” She said.

“Just sayin’.”

“Ugh, the sad thing is Osborn’s right.” Cylus said, getting up as Wally and Ailemara followed him. “Last week it was Hawkeye, and the week before that it actually was Ant-Man!”

“Hey, we agreed to stick with Invisible Woman for that one!” Wally said.

“I’m sure he’s zoomed in on the video by now.” Cylus replied. “You know how thorough he is.” They walked into the kitchen, where Julian was sitting at the table with his head buried in his hands.

“He is pretty thorough…” Wally agreed. “Should we be creeped out that he records all of our fights?”

“The review sessions help I think.” Ailemara said. Wally sat at the table as Cylus opened the refrigerator.

“Yo, Cylus! Toss me a beer!” Wally called, as Cylus tossed one over. Wally popped the cap and looked at Ailemara. “Hmm…”

“What is it sweetie?” She asked.

“I think I’m in a Brittney mood today…” Wally replied.

“Oh, okay.” Ailemara said, shape shifting into Brittney Spears. “Is this good?”

“Mmmm, nah, I think I’ll go J-Lo.”

“… Weird, but it’s what you want…” She said, shape sifting into Jay Leno.

“What? No! J-Lo! Jennifer Lopez!”

“Oh, um, I don’t know who that is.”

“Ugh, okay, how about Shakira?”

“Nope, don’t know her either.”

“Mara! Didn’t I tell you to Google hot celebrity girls?”

“I did that, but I kept getting images of naked Earth women. It was… unpleasant.”

“Okay, fine, I’ll settle for Mrs. Clause today.”

“Okay!” Mara shape shifted into a blonde woman in a Santa outfit. “Good?”

“Great.” Wally replied, kissing her.

“Where’s all the dang jelly?” Cylus called, still digging through the refrigerator.

“Oh, it’s in the pantry.” Wally replied.

“Who the #%$@ keeps jelly in the pantry!” He replied, opening it and pulling the jelly out. “Now it’s all warm. Great.”

“Well don’t look at me!” Wally defended. Julian slammed the table, causing everyone to jump.

“Ya’ll ain’t the least bit concerned that we get our butts chewed off by Osborn every week!” He shouted.

“It really only seems to bother you.” Cylus said, spreading jelly on a slice of bread.

“Because I made this team!” Julian shouted. “And before I busted Osborn out, I made it perfectly clear I wanted to maintain control!”

“Well, sorry, ship sailed dude.” Wally replied. “You had your chance and you kind of blew it.” Julian glared at him. “What! It’s true!”

“Plus, Osborn pays for our tech, hides us from S.H.I.E.L.D, and lets us use his resources.” Cylus added.

“I think the difference in leadership styles is good for us.” Ailemara chimed in. “We should accept Norman’s opinions, embrace change.”

“I’m sick and tired of gettin’ my butt kicked by every superhero in New York!” Julian replied. “I wanted to take down E.G.G! Westbrook and his friends! Norman has us running around doing stupid stuff that’s gettin’ us no closer to…”

“Shush, shhh!” Cylus quickly said. “Here comes the snitch.” Just then Harry walked into the room.

“Hey guys!” He exclaimed. Everyone grumbled under their breath. “Gee, you guys aren’t very cheery. Dad giving you a hard time again?”

“Sure, you could say that.” Wally replied.

“Well, if you guys didn’t suck, he wouldn’t have to yell at you.”

“I don’t see you suitin’ up Osborn!” Julian shouted.

“That’s because I don’t need to. Dad says he’ll let me know when he has a mission for me. Until then…” Harry popped a Coke. “I’m in complete chill mode!” He was about to close the refrigerator when he stopped. “Okay guys, the jelly goes in the pantry.” He said, taking it out.

“It was you!” Cylus shouted, standing up. Ailemara grabbed his arm and shook her head no.

“Well, I’m heading back up to the man cave.” Harry said. He gave Ailemara a once over. “Diggin’ the Santa look Mara.” He said.

“Thank you Harry.” She replied as Wally growled under his breath. Harry left the room, and as soon as he was out of sight, Ailemara let Cylus go. “Are you crazy!” She shouted.

“Please, I wasn’t gonna do anything.” Cylus said, biting his sandwich.

“I don’t believe that!” Ailemara replied. “You know if any of us lay one finger on Harry’s head, we’re dead!”

“I ain’t scared of Osborn.” Julian mumbled.

“I’ve seen firsthand what he can do, in Acacia’s memories.” Ailemara said. “You should be very afraid. All of you.”

“Oh, I’m plenty afraid.” Wally said. “It’s just that the ego train never leaves the station without these two on it!”

“Say that again to my face Wally!” Cylus shouted, standing up.

“I would, but I don’t like looking at your face for extended periods of time.” Wally replied. “Those scars kinda creep me out.” Cylus’s eye twitched.

“You son of a…” He leapt over the table and tackled Wally.

“AH! Uncle! Uncle!” Wally screamed as Cylus beat him.

“Get off him!” Ailemara shouted, pulling at his arm.

“Tch, his own fault.” Julian said, grabbing Wally’s beer and drinking it.

“Enough!” They all turned to see Norman standing in the doorway. “You fools can’t even stop fighting among yourselves. Pathetic. Lab, now.” He turned and walked off. Julian growled and left. Cylus punched Wally one more time, then followed Julian.

“Are you okay hon?” Ailemara asked, helping Wally up.

“I’m fine Mara.” He replied. “He just bruised my pride… and my rib cage…”

“Poor thing.” She said, pulling his arm around her neck and helping him out of the room. They all entered the lab where Norman was waiting for them.

“Alright, you shouldn’t be losing with the new upgrades I provided to your tech.” He tossed Julian his vest with the gloves attached. “Vibranium can deflect your sonic blasts, as we saw earlier today. I added a sensor that detects Vibranium and stops emitting any frequency so that your own weapon is not turned on you.”

“Whatever.” Julian said, grabbing it under his arm.

“Cylus,” Norman continued. “I’ve added in a more powerful source of energy, allowing you to shift gravitational fields at a larger range.”

“Thanks.” Cylus said, grabbing his gauntlet.

“Ailemara, I’ve perfected the phasing aspects of your Super Skrull power set.” He said, injecting her with a needle. “You shouldn’t be getting stuck in anymore walls.”

“Thank you.” She replied. “That was very uncomfortable.” Norman looked at her.

“Get out of that ridiculous form.” He growled.

“Yes sir, sorry.” She apologized, transforming back into a Skrull.

“What about me?” Wally asked, rubbing his hands together. “What’d you do to my ball this time?”

“I had it melted down for scrap.” Norman replied. Wally began to laugh, but Norman stared at him. His jaw dropped.

“Are your serious!” He shouted. “Dude, that was my ball!”

“Not anymore.” Norman said, handing him a handful of mini gyro balls.

“What am I supposed to do with these?” He asked.

“Certain ones explode, some freeze their target, others can create a powerful tornado. Experiment, find out what they can do.”

“But…”

“And since you have a childish attachment to that stupid ball of yours I’ve made it so that one of them can expand large enough to fit your body inside.” Wally sighed with relief.

“Cute Osborn.” Julian said. “But now what?”

“Now?” Norman smiled. “I took to heart what you said Mr. Woodfin, and I believe you’re right. Now, we destroy E.G.G.”

The four super villains walked into Grand Central Station, hiding under hooded trench coats. A security guard approached them.

“Excuse me, can I help you?” He asked.

“No.” Scramble replied.

“Well, you can’t have those hoods on in here.”

“Says who.” Said Gyro Man, stepping up to him. The guard cleared his throat, then stood his ground.

“Says me.” He boldly replied.

“Ooh, this one’s gutsy.” Gyro Man said.

“Is that so?” Gravity Master asked, approaching. “Well, how would like to see those guts of yours all over the wall?” His glove began to vibrate. The security guard gulped.

“I’m sorry for the inconvenience.” He said, walking off.

“Let’s roll.” Scramble said. They approached the employees only closet. Gyro Man planted a mini gyro on the door and blew the lock. They opened the closet only to be piled under mops, brooms, and various other cleaning supplies.

“What is this!?” Scramble shouted.

“Maybe it’s wrong closet?” Ailemara suggested.

“No, this is definitely it…” Gravity Master said. His glove vibrated and slammed it into the floor. “Hm, I guess…” Suddenly it began to crack.

“Aw craaaaaaaaaaaa…” Gyro Man screamed as the floor crumbled and they all fell. They fell, and fell, until they finally hit the bottom. Scramble sat up to see an abandoned subway station.

“Impossible…” He said. “It’s like they were never here!”

“That’s S.H.I.E.L.D for you.” Gravity Master said, wiping some paint off of the wall to reveal a partial E.G.G logo. “Out of sight, out of mind.”

“Well this was a fantastic waste of time.” Ailemara sighed, plopping down on the floor.

“Yeah… I want a refund for these trench coats.” Gyro Man said.

“It was your stupid idea in the first place!” Gravity Master accused.

“Okay, let’s see how long we would have lasted walking the streets in our costumes!”

“We need a plane.” Ailemara said. “E.G.G has a plane…” She looked down the hall. “What’s that blue light…”

“Will ya’ll shut up a minute and let me think!” Scramble yelled.

“What’s to think about Julian! They’re gone!” Ailemara shouted. Scramble stood up and charged his gloves.

“This close Mara! Keep pushin’ me!” He yelled. Gyro Man pushed him.

“Hey, back off!” He shouted.

“Oh, you want some too!” Scramble yelled back.

“Enough!” Gravity Master called, shifting the gravity and lifting everyone into the air. “Now, can we refocus please?” He dropped them all to the ground. “If they’re not here, where are they?”

“Maybe we could hack S.H.I.E.L.D?” Gyro Man suggested.

“Yeah, good luck with that.” Gravity Master replied.

“Look, we just gotta draw ‘em out.” Scramble said.

“How?” Ailemara asked. “You know, without attracting the police. Or the Avengers. Or the Hulk.”

“We work as a team.” Scramble replied.

Josh kicked open the doors to a local bank. He activated his right glove and sent out a sonic wave, bringing everybody to their knees with an earsplitting sound.

“Hands on your head!” He shouted. “Nobody move! I shelling mean it! Not one person!” He hopped over the counter and using his left glove, shifted the gravity of the vault door, ripping it off of its hinges. He took out a mini gyro and tossed it inside. The ball floated up and sucked all of the money inside of it like a black hole, then fell back into Josh’s hand. He exited the vault and was met with multiple police officers.

“Freeze!” They all shouted. Josh smiled.

“Sorry officers, but I prefer to phase.” Josh fell back and phased through the wall.

“What the…” an officer said. “Alright, circle the building, find him! And call for backup! Now!” Josh rushed into a back alley where Gravity Master, Scramble, each missing one glove, and Gyro Man were waiting.

“That went well.” Gravity Master commented, as ‘Josh’ shape shifted back into Ailemara.

“I’ll say.” She agreed.

“What is this, the fifth bank?” Gyro Man asked.

“Yeah.” Scramble confirmed. “And this time it worked.” He pointed to the sky, where the Egg Jet was coming in for a landing. “Because here they come now.”

To Be Continued next week in E.G.G Episode 62!