The Exiles are in Latveria, the eastern euopean dwarf nation ruled by Dr. Doom. However it is a Latveria that has been invaded by Atlantis, and is Prince Namor’s first step to world domination. With Doom’s army encased in a force field it’s up to the Exiles to aid Dr. Doom in reclaiming his kingdom, or else Namor will successfully continue to conquer the planet. However there is another danger, within Doom’s castle Atlanteans have seized some of the monarch’s technology and designed a machine that will alter the air, making it possible for them to breathe while the all surface dweller will asphyxiate. The team ahs split up, with most of them fighting the army, and Mimic being responsible for destroying the machine.
Deep within the castle, Mimic has run into a large battalion of Doombots, that have been reprogrammed to heed the Atlanteans’ orders. Calvin has to make use of his many mimicked abilities and he fights the robots with Colossus’ strength, Wolverine’s claws, Cyclops’ optic beams and Northstar’s speed. While doing so, Mimic thinks that among superheroes there are certain topics they can only discuss with themselves. Their lives are about conflicts, about outwitting or overpowering a foe, in fact they are soldiers, and although most of them would never admit it, the absolute truth for each and everyone of them is they really get off on a good fight. Especially a fight with robot, where they don’t have to hold back and worry about hurting somebody. Actually as of lately, Mimic has become more and more frustrated with the fractured existence the Exiles are forced to live, and he welcomes the opportunity to really cut loose on someone, or something. So, for a few moments he feels better, and in next to no time, Mimic has made a total mess of the entire battalion and exhausted he stands in front of the destroyed robots.
Mimic takes a few moments to catch his breath and to calm down from his own share of Wolverine’s berzerker mode. He knows he still has to find and disable the machine that will change the air, although is not very happy that the Latverian population will get saved only to be ruled by Dr. Doom again. Suddenly he hears a voice behind him – it’s Namor : “I have no idea who or what you are – but, surface-dweller, you will perish at my hands ...”
Outside, a few miles away at the battlefield, Morph has been hit by some sort of disruptor and he has problems staying solid. Mariko tends to him and yells that Doom lied to them. The monarch’s statement : “I gave you as much information as I deemed necessary.”, makes Blink very angry. The Atlanteans outnumber them hundred to one, that’s a whole lot more than the small regiment he was talking about. Blink demands an explanation, but Doom says he doesn’t have to explain himself to the likes of them. Blink gets even more pissed and understands that he still doesn’t get it. On the whole planet, the Exiles are the only ones willing to help him, and keeping viable information from them might get them killed. She makes it pretty clear that she is in charge of the mission and not he, but Doom comments that she will not dare to lay hands on him. Sasquatch comes over and threatens to rip Doom’s arms off if he continues to threaten her, and Blink goes to check on Morph. He says he will be fine in a minute, though they sure could have used the Mimic in this battle. Blink agrees, she wouldn’t have sent him to the castle if she had known these odds. She is sure that Calvin is having a much easier time than them.
As if to prove her wrong, the Mimic gets punched through the castle wall and crashes down over a mile away. As he gets up, he thinks about Namor’s strength level – he is in the same class as the Hulk and Thor. Mimic has only little below half of that power. Calvin also remembers the Namor of his own reality, who is long at peace with the surface world and actually a friend. Right then Namor arrives at the crashsite, eager to continue their struggle, though Calvin asks him to stop. He explains that killing a million Latverians won’t help the cause of Atlantis, it will only bring more war. Namor agrees – it will bring on greater and greater wars, wars where Atlantis will be victorious. The Latverians are only the first of may more surface dwellers that are about to die. Mimic is visibly shocked by this harsh statement, but still tries to reason : “Death only brings more death, Nam—“.
He can not even finish his sentence as another of Namor’s punches sends him flying again. Even with Northstar’s speed, Calvin barely saw the punch coming, and he crashes into a forest. Namor again comes after him, but Calvin disappears. Having learned the hard way that diplomacy won’t work, Mimic decided to focus on the mission instead. Making use of his speed, he flies back to castle and searches it until he finds the room with the machine inside. He rips open the chamber’s doors, and before the Atlantean scientists can react to him, he fires a well-aimed optic blast at the device.
That is when Namor again catches up with him. Boiling mad that the unknown opponent has thwarted his plans, he angrily smashes Mimic into the ground, sending him crashing through several floors into the castle’s basement. He goes after him, eager to kill the hated surface dweller, but Mimic recognizes some large petrol tanks nearby and fires at them with Cyclops’ optic blast. The fuel ignites and the entire basement explodes in a huge ball of fire. While Namor cries out in pain because of the heat, Calvin says :”Funny. I don’t feel a thing” and continues to beat him up. Mimic again lets loose, and states that he is fed up. All of them make him sick. Whichever world they go to they find some friends, family, heroes all somehow perverted and twisted, all gone bad. Their hearts full of rage, greed and murder. Mimic cries out that they can keep their miserable planets, they can kill their children and destroy their worlds, he no longer cares. Namor no longer is putting up any resistance and his flesh starts burning, but Mimic continues to punch him.
(43 minutes later)
The rest of the Exiles have defeated the Atlantean army and freed the Latverian troops. They are watching as some of the Latverian soldiers lead the Atlantean captives away. Nocturne tells Blink that this was a pretty hard fight, she actually thought they wouldn’t make it. Blink agrees, if not for Sunfire they wouldn’t. Suddenly Nocturne sees Mimic approaching, she wonders why he isn’t flying and why his skin is all red. Blink worries if he is okay and Mimic explains that he was in a fire, though doesn’t feel it through his steel skin. Yet he is still too hot and if he’d turn back to flesh now he would burn. However in steel form he is too heavy to fly, that’s why he took so long to get back. It will be an hour until he has cooled down.
Blink asks if the air molecule machine is out of commission and he confirms, she then asks if there was any major trouble and he denies. Worried by his short answers, she again asks if everything is alright, and Mimic says “Sure. Why would anything be wrong ?” as he walks away from her. However she is not convinced and gives him a suspicious look.
