The Rhino Man's eyes bulged in disbelief.
"How… how is this possible?!"
He stared at Nathan as if looking at a ghost.
"That punch of mine… even though I held back to avoid killing you, it should've at least knocked you across the park!"
He had fought Nathan before. Back then, he thought Nathan was barely more than a weaker version of Captain America—fast, agile, but fragile.
But now?
Nathan hadn't even flinched.
"I don't believe it!" Rhino Man roared. "You little bean sprout—how strong could you possibly be?!"
He never finished the sentence.
Bang!
Nathan's leg whipped through the air with ferocious velocity, striking the Rhino Man square in the ribs.
It was like being hit by a train.
The sheer force folded Rhino Man like paper.
He flew backwards, crashing into the ground with a deep, violent thud, digging a trench into the lawn.
The Rhino Man lay in the crater, coughing and groaning, his armor dented, his bones screaming in agony.
"One kick… just one kick…" he gasped.
"Is that the same guy who used to just dodge everything?"
He tried to sit up, but Nathan was already airborne, soaring like a missile toward him.
Rhino Man's instincts screamed in panic.
"Wait! I surrender—"
Too late.
BANG!
Another flying kick landed.
The impact crater tripled in size.
The Rhino Man spasmed violently, his limbs twitching in disjointed agony.
All around, dust and debris scattered. The grass around him was flat, burned, and displaced.
The Rhino Man looked up at Nathan with fear in his eyes.
"You win! I give up! Why… why are you still attacking?!"
Nathan landed next to him calmly, like a judge passing sentence.
"You were too slow in saying it," he replied flatly.
But in truth, Nathan was testing something.
'The Rhino Man's thick hide and dense bone structure make him the perfect test dummy,' Nathan thought.
A few feet away, Invisible Woman stared in shock.
She had seen Nathan before—he'd once used a strange metal sphere to defeat Electro, but she never imagined he had this level of physical power.
He wasn't just strong. He was overwhelming.
The sheer dominance he showed against Rhino Man was terrifying.
Her injuries pulsed with pain. She coughed, clutching her ribs, barely staying conscious.
"Who is this guy…?" she whispered before her eyes rolled back and she collapsed.
Nathan was at her side in an instant.
He gently scooped her up into his arms.
"Time to replicate your abilities," he muttered.
With a burst of speed, he vanished into the air, racing toward his hidden lab.
---
Back in the ruined park, Rhino Man groaned, dragging himself out of the crater.
"Every bone in my body… feels shattered…"
He looked around.
Nathan was gone. The Invisible Woman was gone.
He staggered, then bolted in retreat.
"I've had enough!" he growled. "That freak's not human!"
"Last time, he electrocuted me and sent me to prison. Now, he beat me half to death!"
"I'm staying away from him for life!"
He cursed under his breath.
"It's all that Hate Merchant's fault! He said nobody would help the Invisible Woman! That liar!"
Unbeknownst to him, a tiny figure in the nearby bushes watched the entire battle—Ant-Man, riding on an ant.
His jaw dropped.
"Who… who the hell was that?"
His earpiece crackled. "Why did you stop?" Wasp's voice rang in his ear. "Focus! Work with the ants!"
Ant-Man replied, "You won't believe what I just saw…"
"Rhino Man—he defeated Invisible Woman."
Wasp panicked. "Stay away from him! That guy is dangerous!"
Ant-Man added quickly, "Wait, wait—then a man showed up. Some guy in black. He beat Rhino Man easily. Like, stomped him into the ground."
"Who is this guy?"
---
Meanwhile…
Mr. Fantastic was pacing, his mind racing.
Something was wrong.
Very wrong.
"I've never been this irritable before," he muttered. "None of us have. That fight we had... it wasn't normal."
"We're being manipulated."
He clenched his fists. "I must regain control."
"Reed… breathe… calm down."
Moments later, he returned to the lab.
And found the Hate Merchant still unconscious on the floor.
Mr. Fantastic rushed over and slapped him awake. "Who are you?!"
The man stammered, "I-I'm just a thief! I broke in! Please—don't hit me!"
Mr. Fantastic's eyebrow twitched. "Liar."
He slapped him again.
The Hate Merchant recoiled. "A superhero shouldn't hit innocent people!"
"I only tried to steal something—"
SMACK!
"You call yourself innocent?!" Mr. Fantastic yelled. "Scum like you never change!"
He slapped him again—twice.
"Now talk!"
Broken and weeping, the Hate Merchant confessed everything.
As he did, Mr. Fantastic's rage reignited.
"I knew it! Something was influencing us!"
He called Thunderbolt and the Thing immediately. They rushed back, equally concerned.
Together, they ran diagnostics and found residual energy from the Hate Ray still clinging to their minds.
Mr. Fantastic worked fast, assembling a reflector ray to neutralize the effect.
Soon, a beam passed over the three heroes.
Their emotions stabilized. The fog lifted.
"Finally…" Mr. Fantastic sighed.
But Thunderbolt wasn't done.
When he saw the Hate Merchant still breathing, he charged.
POW!
Another fist to the jaw.
The Hate Merchant wailed. "Your hate ray is GONE!"
THUMP. "That one was just me."
They returned to the computers.
Mr. Fantastic quickly accessed public security cameras and tracked Susan's last location.
He saw it.
Rhino Man assaulting her.
And then…
Nathan arriving.
Everyone leaned forward.
They watched him dismantle Rhino Man like a tank crushing an egg.
Thunderbolt gasped. "That's him… the guy who defeated Electro!"
"He took Susan away," said the Thing. "You think… he's helping her?"
Mr. Fantastic nodded slowly. "I believe so. Let's track him."
But when he searched further, Nathan had disappeared from all public surveillance.
---
Meanwhile…
Nathan arrived back in Hell's Kitchen, carrying the unconscious Invisible Woman.
He dropped from a rooftop, landing softly in an alley behind his lab entrance.
Just as he turned toward the secret door…
A group of armed thugs rounded the corner.
They spotted him—and her.
Their eyes gleamed.
"Yo, tough guy. Drop the woman. Leave your cash. Walk away."
They flashed blades, crowbars… even a pistol.
Nathan glanced at them.
"You don't want to do this," he said simply.
They laughed.
They stopped laughing shortly after.
---
Minutes later, inside Nathan's lab…
A pile of unconscious thugs was stacked neatly by the wall.
The Beast watched with delight from within its containment.
"You really are efficient, Nathan. I like that. Ruthless. Precise. We're a good match."
Nathan ignored it. "They asked for it."
He turned toward the sealed chamber where Invisible Woman now lay on an examination table.
He murmured, "With her powers replicated, I'll go after the symbiotes next."
"Then Venom himself."
"Invisible Field. Symbiote Strength. Superpower Emperor. I'm almost there."
With Mr. Fantastic's previously stolen lab data, Nathan began his work.
He connected scanners and biometric trackers to Invisible Woman.
"Her field bends light perfectly… no distortion. A self-contained optical manipulation."
His fingers danced across the control panel, algorithms flying.
"Her power… it's not just invisibility. It's wavelength dominance. She can form force fields, fly, and manipulate space."
He studied her DNA strands—already mapped from Mr. Fantastic's files.
Everything was accelerating.
"Her ability is based on a unique bio-psychic frequency. Most people would be torn apart trying to replicate it," he muttered.
"But with these calculations, I can rebuild it… refine it…"
The lab was silent, save for the rhythmic beeping of machinery and the soft breathing of the unconscious superheroine.
Step by step, Nathan was recreating the power of invisibility.
And soon, it would be his.
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