Victor shook his head, and the world came back into focus. At the same time, Sue shone with bright, warm light. He got the vague impression of a solid wall of darkness shaped like a human sitting across the table. If nothing else, Victor was curious to hear about what memories that device gave the irritating man.Īs they approached, Victor focused on Stark, trying to look at him the way he looked at Sue earlier when she went invisible. "I'll behave," He muttered and escorted his girlfriend to meet with Stark. Sue squeezed Victor's arm above the bandages, and he could swear he could feel a wave of reassurance wash over him. He had a steaming cup of coffee on an otherwise empty table. Not that would be a bad thing…Ī guard let them to the nearby mess hall, where Stark sat at a table in the corner, fiddling with a phone. There were moments Victor wasn't sure what he might do if she wasn't here to help keep him grounded. "At least we'll get out of here and be away from Reed for a bit." Sue patted his shoulder in encouragement. She was perhaps the only person in the room who could ignore Richards' antics as if they didn't matter. "Hey, what about us?" Reed had to open his stupid mouth. He rolled his eyes but opened his mouth, took in the damned pills, and then washed them with the offered water. The nurse cleared her throat and shoved the cup with drugs in front of his face. Now, Stark again held Victor's fate in his hands and… In some ways, that was worse to his pride than if Stark tried and even perhaps succeeded in ruining von Doom industries, forcing Victor to start from square one. It was like neither Victor nor his company mattered at all. Instead, the sheer indifference Stark's inaction implied that hurt. That should have been a moment to bring relief to Victor. It was petty, it was stupid, and it might have meant the ruin of his company if Stark didn't just get drunk and then slept with his latest conquest. Victor knew he was a prideful man, and on that day, he couldn't help himself. Then Stark opened his mouth, and it was as if he was doing his best to rile him up. Any talk between them, any negotiation, wouldn't have been one among peers. The bastard acted as a typical rich playboy with no care about anything in the world, yet controlled arguably the most powerful corporation Earth has ever seen. That was one of the things that irked him the first time he met Stark in person. If Victor had his way, he would always negotiate from a position of strength. "That's how negotiations start," Sue pointed out. "I'll listen to what Stark has to say." He bit off. Sue's hand gripping his shoulder in reassurance helped him restore his composure. Victor closed his eyes, took a series of deep breaths, and then slowly exhaled. The thought of going to Stark groveling and asking for training burned and infuriated him. With therapy and a potential visit to the best doctors money could buy, he should recover the full motion of his fingers. He was lucky-just first and second-degree burns. The sheer shock of what happened ensured he had no control over the lighting, and it arced between his hands just as he felt something within him drain. The next thing Victor knew, lighting cracked over his fingers and exploded in an arc that crackled over a nearby beframe, lighting the covers and mattress on fire. It was frustration and anger at Richard's blithe comments that made him furious in a way he had seldom experienced. He clenched his fingers in irritation at the reminder and fought to keep a wince of pain off his face. "Victor, do you want to risk losing your hands?" Sue huffed in frustration. She just raised an eyebrow and stared back. Or until I see how he wastes his potential in the news." He grumbled and kept glaring at the cups. "That lasts for as long as he opens his mouth in my presence. "Wasn't he one of the few people you actually respect?" Sue shot at him. "This is Stark's fault, isn't it?" Viktor grumbled. von Doom, if you want to negotiate an arrangement about your situation today, you will drink the relaxants and wait forty minutes for them to kick in." The nurse patiently explained. Victor looked suspiciously at the nurse, who held a cup with pills and one with water in front of him.
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