26 [ Iris ] Democracy in action

  So points for Junior, Victor Von Doom had been selected by Doom and approved of by the Latvian government as his successor and was almost crowned before his nature as a clone was revealed. His plans once again in tatters Big Daddy reverted to his default state and tried to defeat the Fantastic Four by ordering Victor the Second to kill them.

  Instead, my oldest brother had denounced Doom as a villain and turned on him, an act for which Von Doom senior had to all evidence killed him.

  But years later Doom had also declared that whichever of his children got to Latvian first had the most claim to the title of Baron and rulership of the country, for as long as they could hold it.

  Standing just inside the entrance of Castle Doomstadt as he waited for me to check on my appearance one last time in a large mirror hanging in front of some of the castle’s hidden defenses, Junior pointed out that “I was in fact, here first. Asleep, perhaps even comatose, but still here before your arrival my dear sweet sister.”

  I smiled to myself as I gave my green fishnet veil one last tug. It just didn’t seem to sit right, but it wasn’t like I was used to wearing stuff like that. “I’m not going to argue with you on that Vic...tor.” I had agreed to call him by his real name, aside from when I actually wanted to annoy him. “But, Poppop’s terms were that you only got to be Baron if you claimed it, and then hung on to it. I called dibs first, and unless you’re ready to challenge me for it, for real, twice in one day we agreed to let the government decide.”

  He made a ‘Harumph’ sound. “A Doom should not be denied by lesser men.”

  As I turned to make my way down to the front gates, I gave him an eye roll he stood across the hall from me, his arms crossed and a sullen look on his face.

  Victor had tried on the deep green suit which had been made for his awakening, but the green made his peach colored skin look… odd. Plus the suit was straining to fit on him. It seemed that absorbing even a faction of the Thing’s power had added to his size and after adjusting to being out of his tube in which he had apparently sagged a bit over his years of sleep, he had ended up being tall enough that I barely stood higher than his shoulders.

  A fact that he only seemed to notice with a pleased smile earlier on when I had stood next to him as he looked at himself in the full sized mirror in the dressing room to examine his dark grey suit, black shirt, and doom green tie with the baronial crest stitched into it in a matching color.

  The darker colored suit, and being out of the tube for an hour or so, had made his skin look more of a light terra cotta color than peach. An improvement he had thanks me for.

  I had told him “You can trust me on these things Victor, after all, the last thing I want is for you to embarrass me in public. Us colored people have to stick together.”

  I had seen his eyes narrow a bit in confusion. I had forgotten that he was a local boy, not an American.

  United, we stepped outside the castle and made our way across the bridge over the Doommoat to the waiting crowd of abruptly gathered dignitaries, sulking SHEILD agents, and the crowd of concerned townspeople.

  All of them were awaiting us in silence with looks of confusion at the sight of the man walking along beside me before a few of the older people slowly began to realize who he was.

  Someone in the back spoke loudly enough to be heard across the silence. “The clone, he lives…”

  Reaching the end of the bridge, I lifted my hand to get everyone’s attention and then lifted my veil up to show that I was holding nothing back, the only reason I had put on the goofy looking thing. “Listen up, me and my sibling were made in a machine from Doom’s flesh and blood.” Well, by his semen actually. I jerked my thumb over my shoulder. “The same as Victor was, only without mixing anything of Doom’s with that of a mother.”

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  Turning halfway around, I reached back to Victor and then frowned at him as I wiggled my hand in a little circle, beckoning him to take it. Hissing under my breath, I told him to “Go with it.”

  Reluctantly he took my hand and I tugged him forward to stand beside me before turning to the crowd with a broad smile. “I claim him as my brother and firstborn of my generation.” Victor’s hand almost seemed to begin to pull away from mine before I clamped down on it, but then he tightened his grip on mine.

  I held up my other hand, with my index finger raised. “But he is not the rightful heir just for being firstborn or at least the firstborn male.”

  My eldest brother glared.

  “Victor Von Doom, senior, made his wishes to us clear. Whoever could claim the title of Baron, and hold it against all others was heir to the title, the throne, and rulership of Latvia…”

  I pulled my hand free from Victor's and crossed my arms. “But Doom is gone. Dead or missing… Don’t know, don’t care. The title is mine and will always be mine, it might get passed back and forth every now and then, but ultimately it will always return to me until I decide I’m done with it. And we, the Dooms, will also hang onto the Castle unless someone wants to fight us for it?”

  Glancing around as I ground my fist into my palm, I kind of hoped someone would give it a try. But even the SHEILD guys just looked away and Victor snorted beside before whispering “My patience runs thin, Iris. Get on with it.”

  I rolled my eyes. Men. Always in a hurry to finish. “But as far as rulership of Latvia goes, the people of Latvia should have their say.”

  Then I turned to Victor and waved him forward with both hands, a nod, and a smile.

  Stepping forward, he lowered his head as he tapped his fist against his lips for a moment before lifting his head to look around the crowd.

  “Once, the people of Latvia tested my character, my intelligence, and my education… and found me worthy to be your monarch. I am asking you to do so again. My father…” He grimaced. “For all his flaws and tyranny ruled this country well. Making it stronger, more prosperous… and independent of ‘foreign’ powers.” He tilted his head ever so slightly in my direction.

  You know, in the direction of the girl who spoke with an American accent.

  Oh, you little shit…

  Raising his hands held closely together in front of him, he looked directly into the heart of the crowd, and the array of cell phones held up broadcasting him live all over the internet.

  “I swear to you I will do the same. Without any of my father’s distractions with petty rivalries, or attempts at vainglorious world conquest.” He swept his hands outwards. “Latvia and its people will be my only concerns, and I will give everything I have as a ruler to protect and guide it into a brighter future.”

  Finally, he set one arm behind him, and one in front as he bowed ever so slightly. A Doom, humbling himself before the masses. “Choose me once again as your monarch, as your King, and I will not fail you.”

  Raising his head, he turned to me, nodded, and swept his hands forward to beckon me to make my own speech.

  Dam. Big Bro is good. But then he had a lot more time out of his birth vat than I did. I leaned forward to whisper to him. “King huh? I guess that means you’ve given up on claiming the title of Baron from me.

  He got a sour look on his face.

  Victor has forgotten something, or never really understood it. I really don’t care about Latvia. Ruling it, looking out for it, or anything else of the sort.

  I’m mean, sure, I don’t want to screw them over. But honestly, Victor might be a better choice in running a country. For one, he does care.

  He chose to turn on our father rather than serve him in Big Papa’s insanity over beating the Four. He had faced his test and paid the price.

  But no one values anything that comes too easily. If he wants the throne, I will make him earn it.

  “Hi. I’m Baron Iris Von Doom and if you want me to rule over you as Baron. I’ll do it. If you want me to have some sort of executive power in a multibranched form of government, I’ll do that too. A simple figurehead monarch? I’m up for it. I’ll even give Victor hear a job since he cares about you as much as I do, maybe as my secretary or something?”

  I gave him a wink as his face twisted up in his efforts to keep from verbally tearing a new one. A lot of the older people in the crowd looked the same, but some of the younger ones, especially the girls, looked amused.

  Holding my hands out towards the crowd, I smiled. “The important thing is… I need you to choose. All of you. Not just the people who had held on to power for all these years. Not their families, or the other people with all the wealth. Everyone not only will their say, but I demand they make a choice.”

  I held my hand up my fist with the other on my hip. “Your future, right this moment, is in your hands. Make a choice and live with it. So says Doom!”

  Hopefully, I will get enough support to keep Victor from getting too smug about winning, and I will not surrender the title of Baron to him, or give up the master suite. My god the bathroom Vic Senior had set up for himself, alabaster and gold everywhere. But this wasn't a Star Wars prequel, there was no way they were going to put a fifteen year old girl in charge of their country.

  Right?