A Long Night For The Weary

[Jacket]

"I know there are many drivers out there tonight that been having a stressful day dealing with traffic and work but right now I'm about to bring you an enjoyable classic track that was made by Cutting Crew from 1986. Here comes I Just Died in Your Arms for all the emotional eighties lovers out there tonight," The radio host spoke through the speakers of the car while Jacket and Koal speed down a highway somewhere in Tier Five.



The music played loud through the speakers while Koal wasn't familiar with Jacket's style of music he's used to listening to. As the emotional lyrics were sung by Cutting Crew, Jacket sped up and slowed down at times. He even sometimes moved over into another lane to pass the slow-moving hover cars. Koal sat back quiet while Jacket smoked with his window down to let out the tobacco smoke. The demon wasn't sure what to say next due to Jacket's rollercoaster emotions right now while the corpse of Luci rides with them. Suddenly, Koal had a question in mind to ask Jacket.

"Where are we going?" Koal questioned not familiar about this part of the town.

Jacket puffs smoke out his nostrils following with a long sigh.

"I have no fuckin clue," Jacket replied while he kept his eyes on the road.

"That's an answer I don't put a lot of whole of trust in," Koal stated resting his head on the back seat.

There was an awkward silence between them while the noise of the hover car's motor hummed to keep the mood not too silent. Koal looked outside of the window of the car seeing random pedestrians walking on the sidewalk. The pedestrians were mixed with the crowd from humans to aliens and other species that are present to the Omniverse. Koal quite understood what Jacket was going through and he went through that pain of brokenness too.

Speaking about each other feelings, the demon-hybrid hasn't really done it much before. Murder usually helped his mood to calm down a bit but right now wasn't really the time and place for it. Koal didn't really want a long car ride around Coruscant and realized his stomach began to growl for food. He shifted his legs in the backseat feeling unformattable and tried to get comfortable from this long car ride. After riding for a couple more minutes longer, Koal couldn't really take it anymore. He was hungry, and Jacket's attitude was starting to bug him now.

"Listen, I know how you feel right now and I've lost so much in my previous life. As of right now, I'm starting to get pretty hungry from how long this night has been to us," Koal spoke to persuade Jacket to do something.

Jacket inhaled the tobacco substance from the cigarette and exhaled from his nose again after Koal spoke.

"Fine, I guess we'll go somewhere," Jacket said with no enthusiasm and still bothered about his girlfriend's death.

"Do you have something in mind?" Jacket questioned, flicking his finished cigarette out the window then rolling it up.

"I haven't really eaten in Coruscant before so no…" Koal stated while looking out his window.

"You wanna get Pizza?" Jacket said while making a right turn at a red light.

"What's pizza?" Koal said curiously which surprised Jacket a bit.

"You've never eaten pizza before?" Jacket questioned while focusing on the road.

"Nope," Koal answered looking at the front of the hover car.

"Well, that's what we're going to have for tonight then," Jacket replied while keeping an eye out for a local pizzeria.

Their ride wasn't too silent as Jacket kept playing some of his 80s music. After ten more minutes driving around the block, they found a little Pizzeria here in Tier Five. Jacket pulled the hovercar near the curb and parallel parked between two hover cars. He puts the vehicle in park and took the keys out of the ignition.

"Well let's go have some pizza then," Jacket said before getting out of the car along with Koal.

The Pizzeria had a flashing red neon sign outside to attract customers with letters spelling Sal's Pizzeria. This part of town wasn't too busy with traffic which made things easier for Koal and Jacket. One of them opened the door and headed inside to be met with a cheesy Brooklyn style pizza smell. Jacket definitely knew this was the kind of Pizzeria that was best for Koal to try out.

[Koal]

“...and then after the guy walks away, Doom just leans over to me and says ‘What was his problem?’. Oh my god it was priceless!”

“He didn’t! He can’t possibly be that stuck up!?”

It had been a long time since Koal had had this much fun, but with friends like this, how could he not. Turns out that if you nudged him enough, Jacket was a pretty down to earth guy. Maybe a bit loud, but maybe that was just the alcohol. Yeah. Probably the alcohol.

Koal was currently doubled over the small, disgusting round table they were seated at, tears of mirth streaming down his face. It had been ages since he had laughed like this.

“Oh, you have no idea how much of a megalomaniac that guy is. But he’s decent. Or he was...” The Demon sobered up for a moment, his eyes losing their mirth and gardening as he remembered his and Dooms heated argument. They had slipped by the imperial forces, quite literally they had transformed into a techno colored streak for but a moment, and then Luci had lost consciousness, and then soon after died. For the brief period he had seen, she was a woman who deserved a modicum of respect. And he could see the grief behind the facade of happiness that Jacket was showing now. Doom had wanted to ditch, saying that she knew the stakes, and that Doom had payed her and owed her nothing. Just the thought of such a craven deed made Koal so angry that e could just-

“Holy shit dude! Your hand!”

Koals red eyes snapped down to his hand, which was holding shards of broken glass, crimson blood pouring out of the cuts and puncture wounds. He just stared and clenched the hand, gritting his teeth as any signs of humor disappeared and were replaced with a cold fury. He looked up into the slightly startled and confused eyes of his companion and he had to work his jaw around a few times before he could force the words out.

“That coward left us here, left a comrade to die. He left us to die. And didn’t even look back as he walked away.” His words were quiet, but Jacket found that he heard them just as if the dark-haired man had been shouting. Scarlet eyes smoldered as he pounded back the remaining liquor in his glass, and then stood up shakily.

“I’m gonna go outside and get some air. Yell if something happens.”

[Jacket]

Jacket could tell now wasn't the time to talk about Doom anymore about what just happened tonight. It made Jacket also frustrated about Doom's attitude on everything. He was just another selfish prime that's just seeking for power to uphold and claim his spot in the omniverse. Just sitting on his scum-made pedestal, Dr. Doom would look down upon primes just like Jacket and Luci then toss them aside as pawns. Jacket couldn't think any more of Doom since it just drove him nuts again thinking about Luci dying right in front of him. Her death haunted him with memories back in the apartment with the rat masked killer shooting leaving them to die.

He saw Koal stormed off outside and left Jacket sitting alone at the table. Tonight, in the restaurant there weren't many people here besides them and a couple. Jacket took another bite of the Brooklyn style pepperoni pizza and a sip of his beer. The droplets of blood stained the table where Koal was sitting at a minute ago. He wasn't too sure if he should leave Koal be or maybe just call it a night and head back to his place. Probably Koal needed a place to stay but his apartment wasn't really fit for two people to live in. At least, Jacket did find another relatable prime like him but at least he was different compared to Dr. Doom.

Next time if Jacket met with Dr. Doom again, he isn't too sure if he should just bust a cap in his leg or just punch him so goddamn hard into his metallic face that it would leave an imprint. Jacket didn't really have the idea to kill him but just make him learn a lesson from a guy who protected his girl at all cost and hoped to never lose her again. Koal was outside for a couple minutes and Jacket realized it was almost closing time for the pizzeria. He figured Koal might not come back inside again to finish the meal. A half-eaten pizza just sat on the table along with half-drunk beverages.

Jacket gave a tip to their waiter and paid the meal which wasn't too expensive but a reasonable cost. He walked out of the restaurant, putting his wallet in his back pocket. Koal leaned his back against a light post that illuminated the street. Hardly any pedestrians were out at this time of the night and some cars passed by. The demon's eyes concentrated on the wound he accidentally made with blood streaking down his hand as he clasped it tightly. Jacket got a pack of cigarettes out of his letterman's pocket and flicked one out of the pack. The cigarette was placed between his index and middle finger moved the tobacco product toward his lips. His mouth held the cigarette than Jacket stood near Koal and offer him one.

"You smoke?" Jacket offered to Koal with the pack raised to him.

"I'm not feeling it for the moment," Koal responded uttering his words quietly under his breath.

The blonde hair prime put the pack of cigarettes back into his pocket and got his lighter out. He flicked it several times to get a perfect small fiery flame going. When he accomplished one, he brought it up to the cigarette in his mouth and lit the wrapped tobacco.  A little trail of smoke raised into the air and he began inhaling the smoke then exhaling it through his nose.

They stayed quiet for minutes until something came across Jacket's mind.

"Did you like being brought here in the Omniverse?" Jacket questioned taking the cigarette out of his mouth but still held it between his index and middle finger.

Koal turned his attention to Jacket when he spoke those words but followed with silence.

"Because I sure as hell remember that somehow my life was turning out to be terrible where I came from, but I wasn't mad at Omni bringing me here since that gave me a reset button." Jacket said in a calm voice while looking at the cars that passed by on the street.

"What the hell, my mind still plays tricks on me and that hasn't changed one bit." Jacket continued while not changing his stance and the tone of his voice.

[Koal]

Koal let out a bitter chuckle at the unknowingly loaded question that left Jackets mouth, the humor seemingly not there, instead replaced with a sense of dread. Letting the chuckle die and setting his face back into its brooding default, Koal then held out his hand, palm open and facing upward, as if expecting something. He locked eyes when Jacket gave him a questioning glance, dark eyes flitting down to his hand then back up into the swirling red vortexes that looked far too aged to be attached to a man in his early twenties. 

"I changed my mind. I'll take you up on that smoke, if the offer still stands." It was an open ended question, and yet Jacket felt a undertone there, one that left absolutely no room for argument. Fishing around in his pockets again, he flicked a cigarette out of the case in a slightly impressive display of dexterity, catching it and offering it to the raven-haired figure. Looking down, Koal plucked the carcinogen out of the offering hand with long, slender fingers, before channeling his power into his hands. An arc of crimson energy came to life in the space between the Demon's thumb and forefinger, and was used to light the cigarette before it faded back into nonexistence. Taking a long drag, he huffed out the smoke in a taut sigh before he opened his mouth to speak, before closing it again. 

"My world... Imagine the worst thing you've experienced, and then imagine that was just the beginning. That's what my life amounted to. I lived under the whip of the Nazi Regime, and they tortured me, broke me.

"They broke me so completely that when I died, I was reborn as this." Koal gestured to his body. It looked fairly normal, and yet now that he was looking for abnormalities... 

Koal was a lot more muscular, and in a different way than other people. It looked as if his very body structure was different, built for battle and destruction. His canines were long and sharp, and he recalled the claws that he used in the battles beforehand.

"I sold my soul for the chance to have my vengeance. 'Nothing less than who you are', he said. Give me your soul, and I will make you a force that sows fear and pain into his enemies.'" Koal looked down at himself, his eyes half-lidded and his lip curled in disgust.

"I just want you to know... It wasn't worth it." Those were the last words Koal said before he flicked the butt of his cigarette, and stalked back inside.

[Ash]

The faint sound of laughter could be heard, a gang of people walking around and having a good time, unknown to them were the sorrows of the two primes they were headed to. Since they were still very near the fast food joint it could only be assumed that's where this group was headed.

However, what stood out was after the laughter died down again there was a beat. It's rhythm steady and practiced, its volume growing not only because the distance shortened, but also to amplify its power. It was simple, of course, but it sounded strangely human.

It must have been because of the air that escaped with each push through his lips, or the fact that his voice could be heard in the beat, but this was of course not just a stereo on someone's shoulder. While the beatboxer was probably talented enough to make multiple sounds of his own, a second voice appeared, higher in pitch, making alien sounds that one imagined only a switchboard could produce after a million other things were done to it.

"Ayy." A female's voice cried out with glee, approving of the mix. "Uhn... Uhn.." She clearly was getting into the beat.

Around the corner several people in various layers of clothing walked, seven in total. The trailing three were apparently the one's they had heard, the marching four looking back with grins and nodding to the beat. Apparently they were expecting a good show, at least most of them. Koal could sense pride in the group, a gathering of everyone's feelings for the girl, lust mixing among the emotions but mostly all were there for a good time. It was like the warmth of a familiar hand, for what it was worth.

“On a shootin' star, with light so bright,
Though wish you may, for great might,
You just ain't evah gonna win this fight,”

The rapper was a petite little thing with a big personality and bigger dreams. Her long brown hair was in a single ponytail threaded through the back of her cap, a black baseball hat with gold cogs printed randomly in the fabric. Her eyes were covered by thick shades that reflected the city back at itself with hints of purples and teals in the black mirrors. On her cheek a heart with a cog in the middle, a temporary tattoo perhaps? In her ears were large gold hoops which bounced with every flick of her head. A tin black choker clung to her neck.

“They like to call me 'hunny-bunny',
They think they bein' real, real funny,
But they just jealous, 'cos of all my money,”

She waved her hands about, dotting her I’s and crossing her T’s with the imaginary pen in her hand that wrote her lyrics in her mind. She caught sight of the two under the lamplight and pointed them out as she continued with her rhyme.

She approached, boldly. Her outfit consisted of a tank top that was far too tight and probably too small, but was covered roughly by a zip-up hoodie that was much too big and was worn off her shoulders. She was a small girl of possibly older than 18. Her pants were skin tight, but dark in color and thick enough to tuck into the black and bronze converse shoes she wore. It all was all black and bronze and gold.

The two primes seemed utterly unphased by her approach, while her friends were mixed between fear and humor at how bold this young girl was. The beatboxer was even silenced. But she was not.

“Yeah. Just look at 'em smirk,
When they see me, doin' my work,
But all the bitches, they love this quirk.”

She finalized, looking as cheeky as ever, closer to Koal than Jacket, if only because she had approached them on his opposite side. She left it off with a cocky grin, waiting for them to say something.

[Jacket]

Koal looked back at the girl with an unamused expression from the lyrics she rapped to him. Jacket, on the other hand, didn't react to the girl's rap in an angry manner or an applauding manner. He just stared back at her while inhaling the last tobacco of his cigarette then puffed a smoke cloud that started to drift toward her. The smoke didn't take too long to die down and be less suffocating when it reached to her. She could smell that old tobacco that came from Jacket's cigarette while he flicked the finished butt onto the sidewalk. The rapper still waited for any words to come out of their rather it be criticism or not.

"Nice rhymes…" Jacket said softly while still leaning on the lamp post and having his eyes locked with her eyes.

On the other hand, Koal didn't say a word and began walking away from the group just to calm down and be alone for a couple of minutes.

The young group was proud of themselves pulling off a sweet beatboxing mix and fist bumped each other also high-fiving their rapper. Some realized Koal walked past them to go to a quieter place.

"Thanks, bro who's looking for a hoe," she rapped again in her ghetto accent to Jacket with a confident smirk on her face.

"Don't mind Koal, he just needs some space to regain his calmness," Jacket notified them about his companion's attitude.

"What's his problem?" the girl said looking back at Koal with her concerning eyes.

"We're just having a bad day, that's about it," Jacket said with his arms crossed while still focusing on the group.

"Ooooh, I see. So, what's the matter then?" the girl said curiously while walking up to Jacket but her friends just stood back and sort of chat amongst themselves.

"I don't want to talk about it, ok?" Jacket replied in an agitated manner which made the ghetto girl threw her hands up in a "ease off" way.

"Alright geez, bro" the girl reacted but didn't turn away from his change of emotions.

"And I thought Coruscant folks didn't give a shit about anyone down here," Jacket commented on the girl's openly mind about him and Koal.

"Well, I don't like being an asshole all the time as you think everyone is down here. I just want to change and make everyone feel better about my talent. Ok hear me out, I want to become a big rap star one day in this city, but I got a long way to go where I come from." The girl explained about herself to Jacket which he didn't mind hearing what she had to say.

"Oh yeah, let me guess. You come from poverty?" Jacket questioned looking back at with the light of the street lamp shining down on them.

"No, bro. I mean sort of since I lived in the slums with the rest of my friends here but the only way to stay alive on these streets is to stick together," the girl said waving her hand back and forth between themselves.

"I been used to working alone for a long time now," Jacket mentioned to the ghetto girl while they still stood there.

"Shiiiiit man, no wonder why you act like this. You had a family before, right?" the girl questioned about Jacket's past.

"Family…" Jacket uttered with his eyes focusing on the street in front of him.

Soon after, his mind ran across memories of his past life before everything that happened when he moved to Miami.

***********************************************************************************************************************************

Flashback
July 4th, 1985
Somewhere in Hawaii

Jacket gasped for air as he opened his eyes with a constant ringing noise in his ears as one of his squad mates was crouched over him to check if he was still alive and wounded. He couldn't understand what the bearded operative wearing glasses was saying to him. His other squad mates were further in front of them laying down suppressive fire while they stay in cover behind the trees of the jungle. Jacket could tell that he was laying on top of tropical plants and they were at a sort of safe distance away from the battle that was happening. Finally, his hearing got back to normal and he could hear what his teammate was yelling at him.

"Are you hurt? Can you move?" the bearded operative yelled repeatedly to Jacket, and he responded by letting him know he was fine.

"Ok good, It's not over yet! We still need to get out of this mess! I can't believe you survived that grenade explosion in one piece! Alright, it's time to get back into action!" the bearded operative yelled over the gunfire then ran away quickly with his M16A2 rifle raised and began shooting where the Russians were at. Jacket grabbed his rifle next to him and followed the bearded operator. They grab cover behind a boulder which was a few feet away from their other squad members. The jungle around them was flat ground but was dense with the plants and trees surrounding them. They and the enemy exchanged fire constantly with each other. No one couldn't advance just because how dangerous it was trying to get closer to the Russians.

Explosions still went off in front of them from grenades being thrown at them. One of the grenades land close to the boulder and exploded but dirt rained upon them. Jacket and his bearded friend remained unhurt from the explosion in front of them. They fired back at the enemy with Jacket's friend firing from the side of the boulder and Jacket propped his gun on top of the rock to help him aim. Both couldn't see if they hit something but immediately went back into cover after they stopped firing since the enemy continued to spray back at them.

"This is going to take all damn day long! Can't you bastards just die already!" Barnes yelled back at the enemy, but they couldn't hear from the constant gunfire.

Barnes got out from cover and try to see if he could kill one of the Russians after shooting his fully automatic rifle for a second but had to get back to cover so he wouldn't get his head blown off.

"Guys! Ceasefire for a minute!" the bearded soldier commanded his team and they follow the command.

"We need to get the jump on them! It's the only way we got fellas! Just stay low and follow me!" the bearded soldier continued and explained his plans while the Russians kept giving them no mercy.
The bearded operative got out from behind the boulder and dolphin dived to the jungle floor, evading the bullets. The dense tropical plants that grew above the ground gave a good hiding place for his movement. Jacket and the others followed as well with them army crawling through the jungle. The Russians kept shooting at the side the Americans were coming from, but they didn't try to shoot at the ground where the special forces squad were at. Closer and closer they got to the enemy as they are unaware. The bearded operative halted his team and signaled them to get into their own positions. They followed the orders and got ready for their positions. All of them awaited their next orders from their squad leader. The bearded soldier grabbed a smoke grenade from his combat vest and squeezed the grenade in his right hand tightly. His left hand pulled the pin then threw the smoke grenade in front of them to surprise the enemy. A big smoke cloud was released from the grenade and distorted the Russians.

They all get up from the jungle floor and began shooting up the entire squad of Russians. One by one they fall to the ground with bullets piercing their bodies and blood spewing from their wounds. After a minute of killing them, they succeeded to progress.

"How you like that fucking commies! Welcome to the United States of America bitches!" Barnes screamed while still shooting at an already dead corpse for fun.

"Good call you made there." Daniels complimented standing next to the bearded operative with his gun lowered.

"Thanks, I owe you guys too." the bearded operator said to Daniels in a positivity in his voice.

Jacket looked around the area to see how many Russians they killed. It was about six of them and there was only four of themselves. They were trained to do these kinds of procedures on the battlefield to any enemy that outnumbered them. The sounds of War echoed into the distance as the rest of the convoy that was left still fought against the enemy.

"C'mon team, we still got our jobs to do." The bearded operative told his squad and all them agreed it was time to move on.

Jacket appreciated his team and the ones that looked out for each other. Sure, they sometimes won't get along but when it comes down to deadly situations. Family comes to instinct on and another.

***********************************************************************************************************************************

"Um, bro? Hellooo? Are you high right now?" the rapper girl said to Jacket waving her hand in front of him to get his attention.

Jacket was staring off into space and ignored what the girl was talking about. Soon, he snapped back to reality and realized he spaced out.

"Huh? What?" Jacket questioned as if he didn't know what just happened.

He looked back at the girl who had a strange expression on her face.

"You ok?" she said concerned about how he was.

"Y-yeah." Jacket responded quickly and tried to pretend nothing happened.

[Koal]

Fools, the lot of them. Nothing but a pack of gods-damned fools. A pack of mindless individulas who cared about nothing beyond the day to day meanial task of staying alive. No matter if it brought with them pain and ruin. No matter if it brought with them death and suffering. No matter if by their own inaction, they were the ones who perpetrated this, this mockery of a life. Scrounging for food, and finding solace at the bottom of a bottle or in a cloud of hazy smoke. Disgusting. 
Pushing his way through the crowd, Koal entered the pizza joint once again, feeling a wave of smells, sounds, and emotions hit him like a tidal wave on the beach. He could feel their fears, their hopes, their very sin... Like a void, his essence wrapped around their, and drained it of the malevolence in their hearts. He fed on their ignorance, their hatred, their pain, their suffering. All of it, and more. Thus is how a demon survives.

'Doesn't mean I have to be happy with it.'

Koal heard the whisper in the back of his mind, and almost curled his lip at the weakness in that statement. He regretted opening up to Jacket. It made him feel weak and helpless. Even then, he could feel a sort of bind forming between them. Despite the facade of brovado he wore, Koa could see the pain. He missed his beloved. In that pain, the Demon found a kindred spirit. He could see the fury in Jackets eyes. The way he tensed whenever she crossed his mind, or the way he used the violence as a way of atoning for his inability to protect her. 

"Its a damn waste of time. She will come back, in time. This cyclical hell will release no one from its clutches." He muttered stepping over the threshold, into the diner. He weaved through myriad of patrons, some human and many not. Aliens...beasts...robots...did that blob just eat that girl? No, just a trick of the light. He saw a couple cutely feeding each other pizza. In the corner, where the light barely shone, he saw two shadowy figures conversing, dressed in immaculate black suits, with a dark brown leather briefcase sat next to the man on the far side. An illegal business deal, no doubt. And Koal didn't recognize him from any of the gangs that Doom had told him about. A non-westsider. Shaking his head, he continued his way to the booth that he and Jacket were at earlier, only to find a young woman and a man seated there. The woman didn't seem to be much, with caramel colored hair held back by a unique hairband to reveal high cheekbones and chocolate-colored eyes. The man had silver hair, a myriad of scars on his olive skin and...Horns? Looking back at the girl, he saw her hairband was actually a set of black horns curling slightly around her temples. Interesting.

"Excuse me, sir? You've been staring at me for a minute now? Is there something I can help you with?" Her bright voice fit her stature and appearance, and the words sent a jolt of shock down his spine.

"Oh! Apologies miss. I didn't mean to offend. Ill just be on me way..." Koal turned to leave and rejoin Jacket, but as he turned, he felt something lock onto his forearm in a vice-grip.

"You. You're like us." The man's voice was deep and timbre, sending vibrations through Koals chest when he spoke. They held a raw power to them, and Koal felt all but compelled to listen. As his arm was released, Koal cautiously turned back around, rubbing his chaffed arm with the other.

"You say were alike... How?"

"You have a void in you, boy. One that hungers and cannot be sated. We have commonalities in our blood, child. The blood of demons."

"Sorry about him! He's always so serious and cryptic. Bleh! My name is Sarah, but everyone round' these parts calls me Cheshire!" She smiled wide, and Koal realized why she had been dubbed with that moniker. Her teeth were pearly white, and sharp. Sharper than his own, if he had to venture a guess. He shuddered internally and pondered what she was, and he turned to the man, gesturing to him.

"And you are...?"

"You may call me Tobias."

"Pleasure to meet you Sarah, Tobias. My name is Koal." He bowed his head slightly, making Tobias huff in something akin to appreciation.

"You see, Cheshire, this one has known me for all of two minutes and still affords me respect. You could learn from him."

"Nope!"

"Grrrr..."

"Ah don't mind him, he's a big softie. Here, you can sit next to me. Promise I dont bite..." Koal sat down next to her, and stiffened as she leaned on his arm, her body practically molding to the side of his body as she whispered in his ear.

"...Much."

Looking over at her with the driest expression he could muster, He looked at her mischevious eyes and smiling expression before he let a smirk crack across his lips.

"Kinky."

He heard a noise of disgust from across the table which was quickly drowned out by Sarah's laughter.

"Ah, I like you! This is gonna be fun!"

"It think you may be right, Sarah. Just maybe."

[Beta Ray Bill]

Racing almost silently through the gleaming city tops of Coruscant, the Latverian transport Doom had only seconds ago conjured had successfully made its escape from the clutches of the Empire. It was official, the Imperials were watching his every move. They knew exactly what he was doing, but there was one thing that didn't add up. Why would Hydra be allied or even exist in the premise of such a large militant force? It wasn't possible- unless-  those Imperial forces were some storm faction. 

Doom's metal hands folded together as he thought deeply to himself. Meeting Koal once more should be top priority, especially now that Hydra made themselves present. Perhaps it is now the time for more alliances to be formed. Though, Doom knew one thing for sure Hydra being in the Omniverse meant a liability of war. 

Shifting in his ships control seat Dr. Doom brought his right gauntlet and flipped a series of switches setting a course for Koal's energy signatures. Above Victor, a monitoring screen came alive jumping to the image of what looked like a debating show. 

Three people sat on sofas across from each other. The one in the middle a hardy looking fellow with no hair smiling as the other two, male and female, argued over their topic.

The man to the right shot out his right index finger. A sneer grew on his face. 

"Alright, you can say the Avengers a force of good until the cows come home, but it doesn’t change the fact that they are masked vigilantes and our government does not condone them. It's illegal! Best of all it's preposterous! And to even think the fact of letting some man or women in a cape decide what's good or bad is purely fascist. What we need are real Imperial cops with real badges and training!" The man shouted standing up from his seat.

Doctor Doom's eyes behind his metal mask narrowed toward the view screen. 

"Then clearly you're blind! They have done nothing but good to this Omniverse. The Avengers is only here to help the people and they aren't tied up in the political affairs of the many factions that dot the verses. And the last time I checked the Empire was having trouble trying to get that prison riot under control."

"What you're saying is treason!" 

"No! Is it wrong for us to want the betterment of all? The Avengers-"

The view screen cracked with electricity and smoke steamed from the blast hole Doctor Doom created. Lowering his clenched fist he brought both his hands back together. Continuing to plot together piece by piece a plan. A new one at that, one that was carefully outputted. One with utmost caution for now the Earth's Mightiest Heroes are once again the enemy. 

"The Avengers here in the Omniverse? Bah. It seems where ever I end up, so-called heroes are there to tamper with things they don't even understand. Well then, if the Earth's Mightiest Heroes are here they will soon know that their impending doom is only inevitable. For now and then ever onward will no one be able to stop DOCTOR DOOM." 

-

"Haha! You've had quite an adventure  Koal. You know I like a man who enjoys a bit sport." 

"Charmed." 

"Why don't you two get a room?" Tobias said, turning away from Koal and his partner. 

"So what exactly are you two doing here knee deep in the Empire?"  Koal said taking a swig of whiskey from his shot glass.

Sarah ignoring the answer shifted her head as if something caught her eye.  

"Sarah?"

"Hm, I'm sorry, don't look now but it looks like tall, brooding, and scary sitting at that table behind us is gawking,"  Sarah said turning her attention back to Koal giving him a smile. 

"What?" 

Turning around Koal narrowed his violet eyes at the large figure sitting in the corner of the pizza shop. The man was large sporting a black suit and fedora but his face, it was clouded by the corner's shadows. The man was doing a great job at hiding it. 

"Hey, honey if you're looking for something why don't you just ask?" 

"Of course my dear, it is only that I inquiry if that is the way you converse to all those of a higher stature? As if we are simply plebeians in the same way? It does not matter, I merely wish to confabulate with Mr. Lynch."

Turning to Tobias a confused look grew on Sarah's face.

"What did he just say?" 

Koal stepped off of his bar stool making his way to the strange man before taking a chair in front of him. 

"Doom is that you?" 

The figure tilted his head forward revealing a steel mask. 

"In the flesh." 

Koal's face grew to a sneer. 

"You son of a bitch! You have a lot of nerve showing your face." Flashing his fangs he put both hands on the table. "You left Luci as she died, you left us! give me one reason-" 

"Doom- I had a deal with Luci. In a simple parlay, we both agreed to gain something in that... Heist. She would give me the means to power my army, my Doombots and I was to give access to a group of them." 

Koal cocked his right eyebrow. 

"So went to fulfill your end in a bargain?"

"Of course I did. Doom is not some common criminal I always honor my end." Doom said letting out a low sigh. "Koal I'm not here to argue over the many things I do. My old friend  and son, I was never given the chance to have I've come with a favor to ask." 

“A favor. Oh, yeah. You get to leave and fabricate some story about fulfilling a deal, but how the hell do you expect me to trust you, Doom?!

Doom's narrowed before letting his head down. 

"If you insist." He said lifting his head back up and taking a moment to collect his thoughts. 

"In my world, I am considered to many evil by my actions. There are men and women my world, as how laughable as it is, who are what some would call superheroes. There are many in my world and they as so many people don't understand my actions. The many that were always there to... save the world from me. The two I'll indulge you in are the Fantastic Four and the Avengers. The Fantastic Four were my most hated of enemies, especially that accursed Richards. You will not have to worry about them for I suspect that they are not in the Omniverse, but the Avengers, however, they are here in this very Omniverse and I need you Koal to spy on them." 

“What? You want me to spy? For what?”

"Because they can not stop my plans. Koal they do not understand my actions. My actions are justified, for I have seen many realities and only but one does not lead to destruction. That world is the world where I rule. Do you understand my friend?" 

“I... will help you. This time. You’ve got my support, but you’ll have to earn my trust back. Now, where do I need to go?”

"To tier one they are currently in a fight and, Koal one more thing." Doom reached into his overcoat taking out a thumb drive and tossing to Koal. Catching it in his right hand Koal studied it. 

"What is it?" 

"Simply a flash drive. Consider it a gift. You'll find the files inside it to be to your liking, I call it operation Demon's Pride."

[Jacket]

Minutes later, the young group of ghetto style secondaries decided to take their business somewhere else. The rapper girl wanted Jacket to come but he refused the offer since it was getting late for him and he wanted some goddamn sleep from this dreadful night. Jacket went back to the restaurant but realized Koal was nowhere to be seen. He looked all over the place for him before he decided to head out. His friend was nowhere to be seen which Jacket shrugged off and wondered if he left on his own without telling him. The letterman wearing prime decided to walk back outside to the hovercar. He opened the driver's side door and got into the vehicle. Jacket started up the car and shifted the gear shift into drive than drove off without Koal.

He drove down the lonely street very late at night with barely any cars driving or pedestrians on the sidewalk. The radio was still tuned to his favorite channel and his feelings about Luci's death wasn't completely shaken off yet. He hoped to Omni that the powerful being would bring her back into the Omniverse and not get bored of her. Where Jacket was heading, it was a secluded area to get rid of the car. This vehicle was evidence of the crime they caused, and he wanted to cover up his trace, so he wouldn't be wanted by the powerful Empire. It only took about twenty minutes to get across of the Tier to his destination. The place he arrived at was an abandoned three-story office building with an empty parking deck.

Jacket drove the car passed the empty toll booth that had the boom barrier set down to block off access. The prime didn't care about it and ran the bar over, causing it to break off. He drove up to the second floor of the parking deck than parked the car in the middle of the place. Jacket got out of the hovercar and pulled out his Omnilium from his pocket. His eyes darted back and forth even with his head turning quickly to make sure no one was watching him. The rainbow orb began to glow brighter from Jacket's thoughts on what he wanted to summon. Sparkles and glimmering sprites gather close to the ground in front of him from the omnilium and took the form of a red Jerrycan filled with gasoline. He picked up the Jerrycan and shook it to feel the flammable fuel slosh inside the can.

His attention focused back on the elegant hovercar he was about to destroy. The troublemaker prime walked up to the driver's side of the car. With the nozzle protruding from the can, Jacket moved the gas can with both of his arms and hands over his head. Gasoline began pouring onto the car, making splattering noises of liquid impacting the solid surface of the vehicle. It took about two laps around the car to make sure it was doused with gas. Jacket sat the half-emptied Jerrycan next to the hovercar than used his omnilium to summon a box of matches. The same summoning process happened again except this time taking place onto his palm. A box of matches laid in his hand and he grabbed one out of the box.

Jacket lit the match from the box's surface and watched the tiny flame flickered. His attention was back onto the car in front of him. From a quick flick, Jacket launched the lit match to the car's general direction. He made a mad dash to get away from the radius of what was about to be an explosion. The vehicle engulfed in a giant fiery scene. A combustion reaction happened to the car, causing it to make a loud boom to be heard. Parts of the vehicle flew off from the explosive car and scattered everywhere. Jacket hurried with his omnilium to summon his DeLorean which soon took existence in front of him. He swung the driver's gull wing door open in a hurried manner than shut the door behind him. The 80s sports car started up and drove away at a quick speed with Jacket drifting from the entrance of the parking deck than disappearing into the night.

***

Jacket opened the door to his apartment and took a deep sigh that he was finally home. He turned on the lights to his living space and headed straight to the bathroom to take a shower. Bath time only lasted about almost thirteen minutes due to Jacket trying to get a hold of his sorrowful emotions. After finishing his shower, the water was turned off and he dried himself off while standing in the cubicle. He wrapped the white towel around his waist to cover up his lower half past his waist down. Jacket turned to the sink and his medicine cabinet that had a mirror. The surface of the mirror was fogged up from the hot water he had turned on to bath himself with earlier. He wiped the mirror off to see his reflection but after wiping it down, there was a haunting image that reflected someone else. A hallucination of his old girlfriend that Luci took form when she was alive stared back at him with tears streaming down her face.

"You failed to save me from death again. What kind of a hero are you? Why can't you just die like you should've long ago!" his broken girlfriend shouted out that last sentence to Jacket in a desperate manner which made the prime had shivers down his spine.

"Babe, I-" Jacket uttered but was immediately cut off by the hallucination.

"Just shut up goddammit! Your nothing but a lunatic killing selfish boyfriend! You worried about your own life and trying to survive the night. I hope you die from your heartless actions," the reflection of his dead girlfriend said to him with a disgusted attitude.

Jacket's right hand curled up into a fist with it gripping from frustration and anger building up. Suddenly, he couldn't hold his emotions anymore.

"IT WAS DOOM'S FUCKING FAULT!!!!!!!!" Jacket screamed in anger with an outburst and punched the mirror so hard, it cracked all over.

Multiple of his reflections stared back at him due to the cracks that were made. Tears start forming from his eyes and began to roll down his cheeks with him chocking up with sadness and fury. Shortly after, he recollected his thoughts and finally got into bed while he wore just boxers. Sleep fell upon him with no more thinking about this night.