Kapitel 28: Chapter 28: Interlude
Since the other side didn't go all out, it wouldn't hurt to show some restraint. Noah climbed up from the corner, glancing at Thor, who was spinning his hammer but hadn't thrown it.
Clearly, Thor had the same idea. He stood firmly in place—whether Susan's telekinetic force didn't affect him or she hadn't acted against him at all was anyone's guess.
"Listen to me, Susan. I understand the pain in your heart, but the truth is, Reed has betrayed us. Please, give me a chance to explain."
Fury holstered his pistol and extended a hand, attempting to calm the agitated Invisible Woman.
With Fury's movement, the holographic projection in the conference room shifted rapidly, displaying the scene of a laboratory. In the image, Reed sat at a lab bench, his expression focused and grave.
Susan's gaze was locked onto Reed, her anger gradually subsiding and transforming into profound sorrow. She stared silently at the hologram, tears shimmering in her eyes.
Reed, oblivious to the outside world, was engrossed in his work, operating the instruments with intense concentration as if conducting vital research.
"This footage is from three hours ago. Let's fast-forward a bit."
The image blurred briefly before transitioning to a scene of Reed struggling in an inferno. Susan's pupils contracted sharply as Reed's twisted, contorted figure reflected in her tear-filled eyes.
Her body trembled slightly. Just as Noah thought another telekinetic storm might break out in the room, Reed's anguished screams brought the Invisible Woman to a stunned halt.
"Fury! You blind fool! I know what you fear! You're afraid of the future!"
"You idiot! Can't your one eye see clearly? Our resistance is utterly futile! Why not join the evolved beings? Don't you understand the beauty of immortality?"
"Just a few more minutes. In just a few more minutes, I could have evolved Susan and the others into new humans! We would—"
Reed's desperate wails echoed through the conference room until his charred remains were all that was left on the screen.
"See?" Fury glanced at Susan with a trace of sympathy in his voice. "I'm sorry, Susan, but Reed is no longer the man you once knew."
Tears streamed down Susan's sorrowful face. Her golden hair swayed lightly, catching the light and creating a soft, ethereal glow. Her blue uniform starkly contrasted with her tears, reminiscent of foam atop crashing waves.
"Why… couldn't you grant him a painless death?"
At that moment, her heart was torn apart, consumed by a whirlwind of emotions. She was both furious at Reed's betrayal and devastated by the pain of losing him.
Fury lowered his gaze. It was true; the fault partly lay with him. The more humane methods of ending Reed's life, such as bullets or poison, were too unreliable. Setting him ablaze, while cruel, was the most foolproof method.
In such circumstances, Fury couldn't afford to take risks. Reed had to be utterly eliminated for him to feel at ease.
Before Fury could respond, Susan let out a bitter laugh and shook her head. "I'm such a fool. Truly."
"I always knew Reed had low emotional intelligence, that he couldn't handle setbacks and was prone to getting stuck in dead ends. But I never thought he would—"
Her voice broke into sobs, unable to complete the sentence. She turned and ran out of the room.
Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, quickly extinguished his flames and chased after her, fearing his sister might do something drastic. The Thing, however, moved at a more leisurely pace. Before leaving, he cast Noah an apologetic smile.
Noah sighed, set a chair upright, and sat down again. The conference room was now a total mess, with nothing intact.
"Now then, where were we?"
"You were saying there's another portal in Latveria," Thor prompted, pulling a chair over to sit in front of Noah.
"Actually, it's a dimensional gateway. But close enough. S.H.I.E.L.D.'s construction will take a while, but I'd wager the one in Latveria is almost complete," Noah explained.
This theory was supported by the original timeline: S.H.I.E.L.D.'s portal on the helicarrier wasn't operational until the last moment, whereas Doom's was ready far earlier.
"I doubt Doctor Doom would be inclined to share that gateway with us," Fury remarked skeptically, shaking his head.
As a notorious supervillain and master schemer, Doom wasn't someone to be trifled with. Approaching him for help would likely result in outright rejection—or worse. Doom cared little for anything beyond Latveria and its people.
"Ruthless, intelligent, and arrogant—that's how I'd describe him," Fury concluded.
"But I believe we have something—or someone—Doom wants," Noah countered with a faint smile.
"Oh? Care to elaborate?"
"Victor von Doom once earned a scholarship to Empire State University with top marks. It was there he met both his lifelong rival and his one true love," Noah began, his voice tinged with intrigue.
"His lifelong rival was Reed Richards. And his true love? She just ran out of this room crying."
"We've killed his rival and saved his love. That's a favor of monumental proportions!"
In truth, Doom's hatred for Reed wasn't solely due to romantic jealousy. It was Reed's perpetual edge in intelligence that truly irked him.
Now, with Reed dead—at the hands of someone intellectually inferior—Doctor Doom would see it as undeniable proof of his superiority. Bringing him such news, along with Susan, would be a double victory.
After hearing Noah's explanation, Fury's eyes lit up. This plan just might work. Instead of pinning all their hopes on S.H.I.E.L.D.'s unfinished portal, diversifying their options seemed prudent.
"Brilliant, Mr. Noah! I don't know what we'd do without you. Please, set off immediately. This matter cannot be delayed," Fury exclaimed, shaking Noah's hand vigorously.
Still baffled by Fury's sudden enthusiasm, Noah found himself being dragged out of the room.
As they stepped into the corridor, a shrill alarm pierced the air, reverberating through the ship. The red emergency lights flashed ominously, heightening the tension.
Agent Hill's urgent voice crackled through the ship's intercom: "Director, we've detected an unidentified signal and high-energy readings on the deck!"
Fury's expression darkened as the gravity of the situation sank in. Meanwhile, Noah's thoughts raced.
This wasn't part of the original storyline. Could the butterfly effect he caused have accelerated the zombie heroes' assault?
Wöchentlicher Energiestatus
-- Power-
Rangliste 
-- Power-
Stein