Inside Victor's industrial complex, a damaged spacecraft rested on an empty lot. The vessel carried the group back from space, while Victor, Ben, and the others had already been rushed to the base's medical center by emergency teams. Doctors worked urgently to stabilize them.
Meanwhile, Kurogai was seated quietly in a recovery room, watching over Susan Storm. She lay unconscious on the bed, her face pale from the ordeal. Kurogai remained still, waiting patiently for her to awaken.
Suddenly—
"Help!!"
Susan bolted upright, gasping for breath, her eyes wide in panic. She glanced around, disoriented, until her gaze landed on Kurogai.
"Kurogai! Are you alright? What about the cosmic storm?" she asked in a rush, clutching his arm tightly. Her mind was still reeling from the terrifying experience in space.
"This is Earth. We made it back," Kurogai reassured her.
Susan's expression shifted, a flood of questions rising all at once. "Then… what happened after? What about Johnny? Is he okay?"
"Don't worry," Kurogai said with a faint smile. "Everything is heading in the right direction. As for Johnny, he's probably discovering something new about himself right now."
Susan blinked in confusion. "What do you mean, discovering something?"
She thought back to Kurogai's insistence on venturing into space. Slowly, the realization struck her. "Wait… did you know this storm could change us? That it would give us powers? If that's true, then… do I have powers too?"
Her wide eyes searched his face, caught between disbelief and wonder.
"You could put it that way," Kurogai replied calmly, his lips curving slightly.
Susan sat back, stunned. "Then… what are mine? What can I do?"
"No rush," he answered, "you'll find out soon enough."
Before Susan could press further, the door burst open. Johnny Storm stumbled in, wearing nothing but a hospital blanket draped awkwardly around him. His face was lit with barely contained excitement.
"You guys won't believe this!" he exclaimed breathlessly. "I—I caught on fire! My whole body was in flames! Not like Kurogai's blue fire, but this blazing orange-red. It was insane! I mean, I wasn't as huge as his flame form, but still—this is awesome!"
His words tumbled over each other, his excitement making it hard for him to speak coherently.
Kurogai raised an eyebrow, unimpressed. He picked up a folded hospital gown and tossed it at Johnny's face. "Put some clothes on before you burn your dignity."
"Right, right! Sorry!" Johnny retreated, fumbling to dress himself. Moments later, he returned properly clothed, though his grin hadn't faded a bit. The thrill of his new power left him nearly bouncing with energy.
Susan folded her arms and regarded him seriously. "Johnny, what exactly happened?"
"Well," he began, still animated, "I was lying in the other ward when the nurse came in. Suddenly my temperature just kept rising and rising, and then—boom—my body ignited in flames!"
Susan's eyes widened. She wanted to be happy for him, but fear crept in. "Doesn't that hurt? Johnny, your body shouldn't be able to handle that heat!"
"Relax," Kurogai interjected smoothly. "These changes are stable. The storm rewrote your bodies at a fundamental level. Unless you deliberately harm yourselves, you'll be fine."
Susan breathed out a sigh of relief, tension easing from her shoulders.
Johnny, still buzzing with excitement, turned back to his sister. "So what about you, Sue? If I got powers, then you must have them too!"
Susan hesitated, biting her lip. "I don't know… I haven't felt anything yet. Maybe I didn't change the way you did."
Kurogai's eyes narrowed slightly, a knowing look in them. "There's a way to test that."
His irises glimmered faintly with energy as he locked eyes with her. For a brief moment, the world around Susan blurred. She felt herself dragged into an illusion, her emotions surging uncontrollably. Her heart pounded, fear and anger intertwining.
"No!"
The shout tore from her lips as her body flickered—and in the next instant, she vanished from sight. The bed trembled violently as invisible waves of force toppled medical equipment across the room.
Susan's powers had awakened.
She stared at her trembling hands, now translucent, her voice shaking. "I—I disappeared…"
Johnny's jaw dropped in awe. "That's amazing, Sue! You're invisible!"
Kurogai watched quietly, his expression calm but inwardly satisfied. One by one, their abilities were beginning to surface. First Johnny with fire, now Susan with invisibility.
And so, in that single night, the Human Torch and the Invisible Woman were born.
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