章 73: The End
Compared to Earth's impending existential crisis, Johnny Storm was more immediately anxious about the threat to his allowance. Given his recent screw-ups, he had no doubt that Susan and Reed would agree with Miss Stark's suggestion and cut him off financially, ending his carefree life.
People like him, superhumans, had little chance of blending back into society; even finding regular work was nearly impossible. Under Reed's guidance, the Fantastic Four had chosen to publicly reveal their identities, deliberately distancing themselves from the general population. The team's funding came primarily from the Baxter Building's rental income, as well as from research patent royalties for inventions by Reed and Susan. Unlike Stark Industries, which had commercialized disaster relief, the Fantastic Four offered their assistance on a volunteer basis, receiving no compensation.
Even Ben Grimm, the Thing, would occasionally work construction jobs, using his immense strength in place of a crane to help offset the team's expenses. Johnny, however, still hadn't found a way to pull his own weight, relying solely on the perks provided by his sister and her fiancé.
So when Miss Stark threatened to cut off his allowance, Johnny felt truly unsettled. He didn't want to lose the luxuries he took for granted, so he hauled himself up from the concrete where he'd landed, shook his head to clear it, then reignited and flew back across the Thames toward the London Eye.
A bit dazed from his earlier collision with the steel cable, Johnny's flight was shaky, wobbling as if he might fall into the water at any moment. The Thames, however, had already been frozen solid by an unknown force, emitting a cool chill even in the summer heat.
Reaching the support beams of the London Eye, Johnny carefully examined the connection points between the wheel and the support structure. Raising his hands, he sent forth twin orange flames, which gradually shifted from red to a soft yellow and then finally to a glowing white as the temperature intensified, reaching the extreme heat of industrial steel furnaces.
With a level of ease unattainable by millennia of human technological development, Johnny, empowered by his unique abilities, achieved the level of heat required for industrial steel smelting. Under his flames, the metal at the wheel's axle began to melt, transforming into molten iron. As the blue flames cooled upon contact with the structure, the liquid iron hardened, acting as an adhesive that reattached the wheel to the support beams.
The London Eye's greatest crisis since its construction had passed; the only problem now was that it could no longer rotate.
Though the situation had calmed somewhat, the Silver Surfer had long since vanished, leaving only a gaping hole in the Thames. At least the London Eye had been saved, sparing London from more casualties—although, come doomsday, everyone would be doomed together.
The British government had already been briefed by the U.S. on the impending apocalypse. Whatever they thought of the message, it didn't concern this group of American "failures." The Fantastic Four had proven their worth, even if the mission had ended in a temporary setback. There was no need for despair…yet.
In the heart of London, at the U.S. Embassy on Grosvenor Square, the team was ushered inside by embassy vehicles. Now, they sat together in the spacious meeting room on the embassy's top floor. Miss Stark was present as well, though her metal case was nowhere to be seen.
All her micro-thrusters were single-use devices, each equipped with self-destruct modules to prevent unwanted study by prying eyes. After issuing the command, the thrusters had dissolved into molten metal, incinerating all internal components.
On the drive to the embassy, Miss Stark had noticed that General Hager appeared to be suppressing his anger. He likely hadn't expected such an outcome, and would have to answer for it, both to his superiors and to his own pride.
"Everyone rest up here. I'll be heading to the Defense Department for my report."
Leaving those words behind, General Hager, face darkened, exited the embassy's top-floor conference room. The twenty-four members of the special ops team sat obediently in their seats, while Reed and Susan scolded Johnny for his recklessness. Meanwhile, Miss Stark, with little else to do, browsed through the news on her phone and quickly found something interesting.
The events on the Thames had gone public and couldn't be kept secret. The river's freezing, along with the massive sinkhole, had made covering up the battle impossible.
Despite attempts by both the U.K. and U.S. governments to downplay the alien incursion, the facts had leaked, leaving officials scrambling to reframe the incident as a heroic rescue by the Fantastic Four. Media outlets, strictly instructed to follow this narrative, reported accordingly, even as numerous tourists who had witnessed the event in person began posting videos and claims online.
While many believed they had seen aliens in combat with superheroes, others remained skeptical, dismissing the sightings as exaggerated tales. With the two governments' public relations teams working together, the official story portrayed the Fantastic Four bravely saving the London Eye from an unidentified villain, and the team soon found themselves the subject of widespread praise.
Although this cross-national task force had received praise from both nations, those involved knew full well the weight pressing down on them. In light of the impending alien threat, everything else seemed trivial. They had failed to stop the herald of the Star Swarm, and so it seemed Earth's destruction was now inevitable.
The online forums buzzed with rumors and debates, and Miss Stark, for her own amusement, had Jarvis leak a few insider tidbits to fan the flames. With SHIELD controlling information behind the scenes, her little bit of disruption didn't count as much—just a way to pass the time.
Half an hour slipped by quickly. When General Hager reentered the top-floor conference room of the embassy, his dark face had grown noticeably darker. It was clear he'd received a dressing-down from his superiors, leaving him seething and looking for a target to vent on.
Noticing this, Miss Stark casually set her phone down on the conference table, crossing her arms with a slight smile. It was clear she was curious to see who might end up as the general's outlet. Hager was furious, and given that Earth now faced an existential threat, he saw the team's rescue efforts as a reckless distraction from the mission. Saving civilians had garnered international praise, but at what cost? They'd failed to prevent a planetary danger—the Star Swarm's path to Earth's core now lay open.
Susan, noticing Hager's increasingly hostile expression, reached over and pinched Reed's waist, shoving him forward as if urging him to face the music. Standing before Hager, Reed's discomfort was apparent as he awkwardly scratched his cheek. Just moments before, he and Susan had scolded Johnny for his poor judgment; now, it was their own actions under scrutiny. Was saving lives worth risking the planet?
"We… we'll catch it next time, General. I guarantee it."
But Hager's response was ice-cold. "There won't be a next time. You've failed to show your value. The Defense Department has selected a new collaborator. Bring him in."
In disbelief, the Fantastic Four turned to the entrance. As soon as they laid eyes on the figure who strode in, their expressions shifted from shock to anger, and finally to intense caution.
"Why the haunted looks? Aren't we all friends, Reed… Susan?"
Standing in the doorway was a man clad in a black jacket, slicked-back hair, and a mocking smirk. It was none other than Victor Von Doom, the former CEO of Doom Technologies—the very man the Fantastic Four had once entombed in iron: Doctor Doom himself.
As the Fantastic Four warily eyed their revived nemesis, Miss Stark, too, studied Victor from the other side of the room. She could sense his ruthless and brutal nature; he exuded an aura of bloodlust despite likely never having taken a life himself. Miss Stark's instincts screamed danger—she knew this man was volatile. Should she try to recruit him, or might it be wiser to eliminate him now, before he grew any more powerful?
To the Fantastic Four, Victor's reappearance stirred a mixture of emotions. Doom's private space station had set the fateful events in motion that transformed them all. After the station's catastrophic failure, Doom Technologies went bankrupt, his life's work crumbling. But Victor had channeled his ruin into a vendetta against society.
In his initial quest to reverse their transformations, Reed had created a machine capable of replicating cosmic radiation. Victor, exploiting Ben Grimm's longing for a normal body, tricked him into using the machine and absorbed Ben's powers for himself. With his enhanced strength, Victor's body had morphed into a metallic form, granting him the ability to unleash violent electrical charges.
Seeking even greater power, Victor attempted to absorb the radiation of the others, only to be defeated by the combined might of Reed and his team. They'd transformed Johnny's extreme heat and Susan's energy field into a sort of super-powered steel forge, heating Victor's metallic body until he was red-hot and then rapidly cooling him, trapping him in his iron form.
Lacking the technology to destroy him outright, Reed fashioned an iron coffin, sealing Victor within and praying he'd never escape. They'd hidden the coffin in Latveria, Doom's Balkan homeland, where it would hopefully never be found. The act of burying Victor had even kept them from aiding Miss Stark during her operation in New York to eliminate the inner demons.
Now, the four heroes could only react with wariness as Victor stood before them once again. Ben Grimm, the Thing, already known for his hot temper, couldn't restrain himself. Without hesitation, he stormed forward, grabbing Victor and pinning him against the wall, his massive hand closing around Doom's throat. Ben alone could actually pose a threat to Victor's steel body.
"You claim to be a ghost? Then you won't mind if I snap your neck and send you straight back to hell, Victor."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
40 Advanced Chapters Available on Patreon:
Patreon.com/DaoOfHeaven
週次パワーステータス
-- 推薦
ランキング 
-- 推薦
チケット