31 [ Iris ] Mater, Maid

  The crowd had gone a little silent as Agent Bennet, the highest ranking SHIELD agent that was still up and about stepped forward into the open area the crowd had left between us and them.

  Bennet gave me a slight nod in return as I raised my eyebrows at him. “Miss Von Doom, The Fantastic Ford are twenty minutes out… She-Hulk is with them.”

  Ah.

  To his credit, Victor looked concerned for me for a moment before cutting loose with a smug grin. “I can deal with them if you need a few moments alone with her?” He knew the optics that it would give his bid for power if he confronted the Four all by himself, without it breaking into a fight

  But… I love She-Hulk!

  And she’s my Mom in this universe! Okay, okay, not from birth or course, but by blood by way of some of the same that had come from her. But in the Marvel Universe that’s not even all that outrageous of an origin story for someone to have a full grown daughter that suddenly shows up.

  If anything I’m less worried about her accepting me as a family as possibly being too accepting. I mean, I am biologically still a teenager. Fifteen in fact, even in Latveria I’m still not legally an adult.

  What if she claims custody? As far as I know, Doom didn’t set anything up for that. I guess he considered a “Worthy Heir” as someone who could deal with that on their own.

  I gave Junior a nod. “Thanks Bro, although I will want to introduce her to you later. But for now…” I turned to Bennet. “There is a memorial garden for Doom’s mother in the courtyard, please have Miss Walters meet me there.”

  Giving the crowd a wave, I turned to head back into the castle. It was only as I walked across the drawbridge that I realized that I didn’t have anyone to walk ‘Mom’ to the garden. Not without effectively giving the SHIELD guys permission to walk in here again.

  Not happening. I proclaimed no entry for them, which meant I had to lurk around like a sulky teen just inside the front entrance until she showed up.

  I could see the crowd parting as the Fantastic Four walked up to meet with Victor, with the three men on their team all looking a little rough around the edges for some reason.

  SHIELD must have had them park somewhere else since the crowd wasn’t going anywhere and there wasn’t anywhere for the Fantastic Car to park in front of Castle Doomstandt. While I was far enough away I couldn’t hear what they were saying, I could have read their lips even from here. Another gift from Big Daddy.

  But I didn’t, I was watching her.

  I could see that Grimm was on guard, and the Torch seemed to be keeping close to his sister who was greeting Victor warmly as he shook hands with Richards, but I was mainly looking at Jennifer Walters, the She-Hulk.

  Who was looking around her, with a nervous look that was quickly turning into an angry one as she turned to begin berating Bennet even as the man was approaching her to pass on my invitation.

  This was looking bad, Victor was out there, confronting our nation’s oldest foes, while I was hiding.

  Stepping out of the entrance to the castle, and putting myself into plain sight, it only took her a moment to spot me, and then she froze in place.

  Our eyes were locked on each other until she gave a start as Sue Richard said something to her and pushed on her friend’s elbow.

  She-Hulk headed towards me, first slowly, then at a fast walk, only to slow again as she got closer and I held my hand palm out toward her as if bidding her to stop.

  With my eyes fixated on the back of my hand, I looked at her, then back at my hand before swinging it off to one side.

  “You’re taller than me, but I’m still growing. I just didn’t expect my skin to be lighter than yours. Maybe it’s because I’m a generation removed from your exposure to Gamma?”

  She narrowed her eyes and opened her mouth a little, as if to chew me out, then snapped it shut again as she rubbed at her forehead. Dropping her hand, she gave me a slight, well practiced, professional smile. “I’ve gotten darker over the years as I got more exposed to Gamma, and just how old are you that you’re still growing?”

  I shrugged and decided to be honest because I wasn't sure how any sort of relationship I could have with this woman would work otherwise.

  “Fifteen biologically. Five by the calendar.” At least I think that it worked, my memory seemed to have been fluctuating over how long I had been in the tank. “But there's more going on here than what Doom planned with me. Things that you deserve to know, but I don’t want to talk about it out here. Can we go inside?”

  Her grin had vanished when I mentioned Pop Pop’s name, and she had begun to look concerned, and thoughtful when I talked about my age, but she nodded at my request.

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  With her walking beside me, I nervously filled the silence by talking about some of the artwork and historical items we passed as we walked along the halls until we reached one of Doom labs. Once behind its heavy reinforced closed door I began collecting various parts from around the room and began to assemble them on a table in front of me.

  “Did they fill you in on Victor Junior?”

  She checked to make sure a nearby work station would hold in place before leaning back on it with her arms crossed. “A clone who rebelled against his creator. Maybe Doom should have read his Frankenstein?”

  I grinned, “He had a copy of it around here somewhere. A first print naturally. But of course, Victor Von Doom would never even consider that he might make the same mistakes as some fictional mad scientist. Not three times in a row.”

  The first two being the androids he had imprinted a copy of his mind on, and neither of them had worked out for him.

  I should track them down at some point. Even if they don't want anything to do with the rest of us, I should at least meet them.

  Connecting a power source, I activated the device which distorted the air in a bubble around the two of us and would do the same to any sound coming in or going out. “Alright, now we can talk.”

  She stood up straight, brushing her hands down the front of her legs as if she were smoothing out a formal skirt like she was getting ready to speak in a courtroom.

  With a final nod toward me, she began her questioning.

  “You said you had more to tell me.”

  I took in a deep breath, crossed my arms, then uncrossed them. “I remember another life before this one, in another universe, a similar Earth, but without Superheroes, aliens, Atlantians, nothing like that, nothing ‘Fantastic’ but otherwise pretty much the same.”

  She looked more confused than disbelieving but gestured for me to continue. “Go on.”

  I began to pace inside the privacy bubble. “I haven’t even told Junior out there this part, I think Doom somehow went to my world from this one, and doing so caused an explosion that had killed me. Which somehow sent my consciousness, my soul maybe, here. Back where he came from.”

  Turning back toward her, I gestured back towards the front of the castle. “It’s not the same for the younger Victor, but one of my brothers, Horus, he’s the same as me. I even know him back on our world, our Earth.”

  She tilted her head at me as she mulled that over before she finally asked. “Do you want to go back?”

  Do I? ...I laughed. “You know, I’ve never even thought about it, but if anyone could do it, I could.” I can do anything except turn Ben Grimm human again and keep him that way.

  Maybe because he himself feels like he should be stuck as a monster after he sabotaged Big Daddy's dorm room experiment which had left his face scarred and turned him into a villain?

  Anyways, “And if I couldn’t, Richards could.”

  Could either of us do so while letting me keep this body… No of course not. Not in a narrative universe, somehow I would have to give up any superpowers I had in order to return to my world.

  I might be able to stay in my new, younger, and healthier body though since my original body was probably dead. And returning to normal Earth in a different, powerless body with no documents would pay the price for getting to be young again.

  Or by ending up stuck in whatever was left of my original body after it got blown up.

  But other than the small chance of my old body still being alive, did I really have anything to go back to?

  My family would miss me, but I only saw them once or twice a year anymore, and friends tended to come and go from life anyways. And as for my job, it was just that, a job, a paycheck, not a career.

  I slowly, then more energetic began shaking my head, “Ah, no. Hell no. I’m younger and prettier now than I ever was in that last life, and I got superpowers in this one.” I flexed to show off my biceps with both arms. “And I’m the heir to a super wealthy ruler of a small eastern European nation. I not only want to stay here, I will fight anyone, to the death, to not go back.”

  Crossing my arms as I stood in front of a woman who in some ways was my mother, I gave her a nod. “Besides, it’s not just the old me in here. Iris Von Doom is her own person. An amalgamation of two people, as well as being a unique individual all to herself. I will not betray who I am now for who I used to be.”

  Jennifer Walter gave me a slow smile and a nod. “Okay then Kiddo, then this universe is stuck with you, and you’re stuck with me…”

  “Welcome to the family, and pack your bags. You’re coming home with me.”