The Thing grunted as he lifted a barbell weighing several tons, completely ignoring what Johnny Storm had said.
At that moment, Mr. Fantastic walked out of the laboratory. Hearing the laughter, he asked curiously,
"Johnny, what did you see that's got you laughing like that?"
The Human Torch raised his eyebrows, held up his phone, and chuckled,
"S.H.I.E.L.D.'s black director just issued a warning. He says a terrifying being named Mephisto is spying on Earth and will send messengers to bring disaster."
Hearing this, Mr. Fantastic frowned, his expression turning thoughtful.
"Although I don't interact much with S.H.I.E.L.D., Nick Fury isn't one of those politicians who deceives civilians.
If he's saying this, he must have uncovered something."
The more he thought about it, the more serious his expression became. He spoke aloud to seemingly no one:
"023, has S.H.I.E.L.D. sent a request for assistance?"
023 was an AI system that had undergone 23 iterations.
A mechanical female voice echoed through the hall:
"I'm sorry, sir. We have not received any requests for assistance from S.H.I.E.L.D.
Would you like me to send an inquiry email to them?"
Johnny shrugged and cut in:
"No need... Reed, looks like S.H.I.E.L.D. has already figured out a plan. You're going to find it a bit funny."
"023, project the data."
A blue holographic light immediately appeared, and after a few seconds of scanning it, Mr. Fantastic's eyes widened in surprise.
"'God'...? Are they talking about the Asgardians again?"
"Why did they revert to calling them gods?"
Johnny shrugged again, speaking nonchalantly:
"Who knows, maybe he suddenly became a believer in those alien deities.
If you ask me, there might be a crisis, but he's definitely exaggerating.
He'll probably get slammed at the World Security Council meeting next week."
Mr. Fantastic shook his head:
"Not necessarily. 023, show me all recent abnormal global events and calculate the deviation rate if possible."
"The higher the deviation, the more abnormal the event. Under normal conditions, the likelihood of such deviations is extremely low."
"Understood, sir."
A few seconds later, the AI's voice came again:
"Within the past 30 days, there has been an event with a deviation of 89%.
This afternoon, a parade took place on Manhattan Street. Originally intended as a peaceful rally, it escalated into a violent protest.
[Former Captain America, Steve Rogers, was injured while attempting to maintain order.]"
Johnny rolled his eyes and said,
"Reed, is your system glitching? How is that abnormal?"
023 responded on its own:
"The participants in the parade displayed heightened aggression, deviating from typical behavioral patterns.
Nearby civilians showed unusual fear responses. The emotional threshold was anomalous."
The Human Torch was about to argue back when the voice of the Invisible Woman came through the shared channel:
"Reed, I'm on Fifth Avenue. A hammer just fell from the sky—nobody can lift it. There's already a crowd gathering."
Fifth Avenue was close to the Baxter Building.
Hearing this, Johnny's interest was immediately piqued.
"Aha! Could it be like Thor's hammer? The one that gives you power if you can lift it?"
"I'm going over there first!"
With that, he leapt out of the building, igniting in flames as he laughed and flew away.
The Thing silently put on his coat, his rocky head hidden under a hood. He left without a word.
Reed shook his head and sighed slightly. There was nothing he could do.
Among the Fantastic Four, Ben—the one fully transformed into a rocky being—had never been fully accepted by the public. Over time, that kind of rejection must have taken a psychological toll.
Soon, the two arrived at the scene.
The police had already set up a cordon to keep the crowd at bay. Johnny was still trying to lift the hammer, struggling with all his might.
But the ground beneath his feet had begun to melt, and still, the hammer didn't budge an inch.
Susan looked at Reed and said:
"It's not Thor's hammer. I've compared it."
"But this property—being unable to lift it—still seems to be related to Asgard."
Reed glanced around at the crowd and took out a tablet.
"For safety reasons, maybe we should teleport it back to the lab first."
In truth, he wanted to study the Asgardian runes, and this was a rare opportunity.
At that moment, a police officer stepped forward and stopped him.
"I'm sorry, Mr. Richards," the officer said.
"I know you're a good person, but this is now government property. You don't have the authority to take it."
Hearing this, Johnny Storm—aka the Human Torch—immediately let go of the hammer and stormed over angrily.
"Hey, idiot!"
"Can't you see how dangerous this thing is? If it explodes, can you take responsibility?"
The officer looked embarrassed, then suddenly froze and pointed behind them.
"Uh... is Mr. Ben Grimm okay?"
Johnny's temper flared, thinking the cop was making fun of Ben's rocky appearance.
But Reed turned around—and was stunned.
The hammer that no one could lift… was now being lifted by Ben Grimm!
His yellowish-brown rocky body had turned pitch black, the cracks between his plates glowing with magma-like energy. Gray metallic armor had formed around his limbs!
And even more terrifying—two tentacled, octopus-like creatures had materialized on his shoulders, their eyeless heads twisting and writhing!
They looked grotesque and demonic.
Then a roar echoed through the air!
Ben raised the hammer high with both hands and shouted, voice thunderous:
"I am the Father of Gods—Vanguard Skyhammer Venerable! Angel of Death! Soul Eater!"
"Humans! Fear me!"
Mr. Fantastic immediately understood what was happening. His face turned pale as he shouted:
"No! Ben, stop!"
But it was too late.
Ben smashed the hammer to the ground without hesitation!
BOOM!
The earth cracked instantly!
A massive shockwave exploded outward, lifting the road and hurling debris in every direction.
Spectators and police screamed as they were thrown back. Car and shop windows shattered into powder on impact!
After more than ten seconds, the dust and smoke settled.
The street looked like it had been hit by a cruise missile. A massive crater had formed around where Ben stood. Dozens of mangled bodies were strewn across the ground, and the surrounding buildings were reduced to rubble.
The Invisible Woman dropped her energy shield and looked around in horror.
The scene was devastating.
In addition to the dead, a large number of civilians lay groaning outside the blast radius. Blood covered their faces, and their eyes were filled with sheer terror.
Johnny Storm, engulfed in flames, roared furiously:
"What the hell are you doing, Ben?!"
He knew then—Ben was no longer himself.
Humanity had already feared them. But now, this madness would drive them into total hatred and panic.
Reed suddenly realized something and shouted:
"It's Mephisto!"
"Whoever lifts the hammer becomes his pawn! S.H.I.E.L.D. wasn't lying!"
"He's coming!"
Those still conscious immediately remembered S.H.I.E.L.D.'s warning.
Some reached for their phones in a panic, trying to recall and shout the name from the alert.
But Johnny shouted over them:
"Don't say it! I'll handle this! Leave it to me!"
At that moment, only one thought filled his mind:
As a member of the Fantastic Four—if he could defeat the possessed Ben, maybe he could still save him.
Because if a true Asgardian god descended now...
Everything might be over.
Before anyone could react, Johnny's flames exploded even brighter. He streaked forward in a blazing trail, crashing straight toward the possessed Ben Grimm!
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