Chương 15: Disruption

Reed's hands were rock-steady despite their elasticity as he carefully calibrated the quantum computer controlling his particle accelerator. It had been an instability born from this very computer that had first sent him and his team to the Negative Zone, and it was the key to getting back there. The mysterious dimension held little appeal for humanity at large, and Reed would rather have left it alone, but he had to get back there.

Since it was the dimension that had given them their powers, it might also hold the solution to controlling these powers, and more importantly, reverse Ben's transformation. Ben's rocky form had been the source of several conflicts already, and how could it not be? Reed could only imagine how being stuck as a giant breathing rock must feel.

Of course, there was also another reason for this interest in the Negative Zone, an innate curiosity in Reed, but Ben's condition was a much better excuse, both for others and himself. But as he was putting in the finishing touches, the building was suddenly shaken by a great explosion. By now, Reed's elastic properties had become second nature to him, and so he instantly expanded, covering the exposed parts of his quantum computer.

It was just in time as the window shattered, with glass shards exploding in his direction. The glass shards harmlessly bounced against his elastic body, unable to pierce through his plastic skin. As the shockwave passed, Reed immediately stretched to the open window. The high altitude made him unable to hear anything with the strong wind, but even from high up, he easily spotted the cause of the explosion just now. A green giant. No. The Jade Giant. Reed remembered him.

Ever since he had gotten his powers, Reed had kept a close eye on the various meta-humans on Earth, and the Jade Giant, also known as the Hulk, had been a memorable case for his monstrous strength. But more importantly, the true identity of the Hulk was someone he knew from college: Bruce Banner. Reed would not go so far as to say they had been friends, but they had certainly been acquaintances.

He did not know the details of how Bruce had turned into the Hulk, but he knew that he was a being of anger once transformed, one seemingly incapable of logic, so this attack did not make any sense. Baxter Building was in Manhattan, surrounded by hundreds of other sizable buildings. If this had truly been the work of a mindless beast, half of New York would have been razed before their building was affected. This meant this was a targeted attack.

Since Bruce Banner had no apparent reason to attack them, it had to be someone else. Someone controlling the Hulk in one way or another. Reed doubted their goal was sheer destruction, or the perpetrator would likely have appeared already. A distraction then? This made Reed somewhat unwilling to leave behind his floor, but Johnny was not in the building, Sue was not suited for stopping something like the Hulk, and Ben would need time to get out of the building.

Spurned by these thoughts, Reed no longer hesitated as he stretched down the side of Baxter Building, his hands reaching the ground floor in but a couple of seconds as he pulled himself down. But as he moved down, he looked into the building, searching for any possible intruder, as well as Ben. The Baxter Building's exterior was mostly glass, meaning he could see most of the building, and although he did not find either Ben or the intruder, he did see something of interest.

The building had been damaged from the explosion, and while most floors were fine, the 14th had taken a hit as the ceiling had collapsed. With how fast he was descending, Reed would normally have missed it, but the scene on the 14th floor made it impossible to miss. That was because a large part of the ceiling was being held by a single person, protecting someone in a coat. An employee, he realized.

This feat was clearly beyond anything a human should be capable of doing, but Reed did not get to see who it was as he reached the ground the next moment. He was unfortunately going too fast to properly look at either of their faces. It was somewhat unnerving to think they had a meta-human in the building and had been unaware of it, but at least they did not appear to be hostile. He would have to trust his judgement, as he could not afford to be distracted while facing the Hulk.

Speaking of the Jade Giant, as Reed reached the ground floor, he immediately had to stretch again to cushion a thrown car. His torso expanded and stretched back to stop the momentum of the car, not only stopping it from colliding with the building, but also saving the family stuck inside. Setting them down as gently as he could, Reed set his gaze onto the Hulk, whom he found much more intimidating up close. It was one thing to see him in recordings, and another to stand before him.

The green giant was over two meters tall, and must have weighed over half a ton. His body was ripe with oversized muscles, thick veins pulsing under his skin as he roared at Reed in sheer rage. His very roar formed a shockwave, forcing Reed a step back as he analyzed the best way forward. It was obvious already that Reed would not be able to stop him on his own, so he needed to earn time for Ben and Johnny, their two main heavy hitters, to arrive.

Reed was about to move when he felt a hand gently brush his back, and Sue whispered to him reassuringly, "I'm here." It was only two simple words, yet they somehow filled him with warmth, as well as a certain strength. He could not afford to fail. Raising both hands, he extended them until his fingers transformed into a giant net as he replied in a low voice, "He is being controlled; find him!"

With her invisibility, Sue, or the Invisible Girl, was often left at a loss whenever they faced physically impressive opponents, causing her to sometimes feel inadequate and not worthy of the team. Reed had explained to her many times that she was of paramount importance to the team, as she was the best suited for any kind of reconnaissance job, and she was also the glue that bound the team together. Unfortunately, that feeling of inadequacy never fully disappeared. You might be reading a stolen copy.

Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. Still, that did not alter his feelings for her in any way, or his trust. That was why the moment he gave the instruction, Reed already considered the task done, for that was the trust he placed in her. As his elongated fingers closed in on the Hulk, about to imprison him, the monsters simply grabbed them with both hands and pulled.

Reed felt a pressure unlike anything he had ever faced as he was suddenly pulled forward, his control over his gift fading for a moment as he arrived in front of the Hulk, and noticed it was grinning. Its right hand dropped his fingers, though the left clenched tighter, and the Hulk punched. Reed tried to move back, but the fist was faster. It generated so much power that the air was blown back, robbing Reed of his breath, his control over his body once more faltering.

But as the fist was about to collide with him, a rocky fist suddenly met the green one. The Thing had arrived. Reed felt the shockwave pass through him as the rocky arm was blown back. Gritting his teeth, Reed stretched his fingers even further, escaping the Hulk's iron-tight grasp as he was blown back by the shockwave. Reed himself was fine, his special constitution making him nearly impossible to harm. However, he was still flung backwards, and he was not the only one, as Ben was in the same situation.

This did not leave him any time to dwell on the shock; it was to discover the Hulk could so easily overpower Ben as Reed once more stretched outward, forming a protective bulwark around their fleeing employees. At the same time, Ben smashed into the side of the Baxter Building, the reinforced glass walls offering no resistance as the building itself rumbled, and there was another explosion inside the building.

Coincidentally, as flames started rising in the Baxter Building, a streak of fire flew in from the sky, and the Hulk, who had been about to pounce at them, was suddenly showered in flames. At last, they were all here. The flames did not appear to hurt the Hulk, but there still appeared to be some deeply buried instinct to protect himself from the flames, shielding his face from them as best as possible. Johnny used the opportunity to fly by Reed, yelling, "What the hell is this guy! And where are the others?"

Reed did not need to answer the question as a moment later, Ben leapt out of the building, braving the flames with no difficulty either as he tackled the Hulk, spearing him into the ground. Johnny and Reed shared a look, spotting the opportunity as the Human Torch flew high up into the sky, while Reed quickly stretched into a thin but durable rope, tying Ben and the Hulk together. The Hulk roared in rage, but even as it tried to struggle, it was being firmly pinned down.

It might be stronger than Ben, but The Thing was no weakling either, and happened to be perfectly capable of thinking. As for Reed, he not only tied the two together, but he also tied the Hulk's joints, stopping him from using his full power. But as the seconds passed, Reed felt the Hulk's resistance increase. He was growing stronger.

"NOVA!" Thankfully, they were done with their own preparations. Reed instantly retreated, although he kept his body elongated as he formed a sort of dome around the Thing and the Hulk, with only an opening at the top. Johnny, whose form had turned so bright he was hard to look at directly, flew in faster than Reed could follow, and smashed into Ben and the Hulk. The impact resulted in a powerful explosion, the flames expanding madly.

Because Reed had formed an airtight barrier with his body, the air was trapped, the small opening at the top not enough to deal with the flames. All the air surrounding the Hulk, Ben, and Johnny was burned into an instant, taking most of the flames with it, although a piece of plasma remained stuck to Hulk and Ben. While Ben's rocky skin sizzled slightly, he was mostly fine. The Hulk, on the other hand, roared with both pain and anger, his green skin darkening.

Reed himself felt the burn of the flames, but to a certain point, he was even more durable than Ben. As effective as the attack had been, however, Johnny looked exhausted, his flames mere flickers now, and the lack of air was affecting him the most. Since the explosion had already been contained, Reed returned to his normal form, grabbing Johnny and dragging him back as he looked at the Baxter Building. Their base had been damaged by the battle, and a fire was quickly spreading on the first few floors.

However, the evacuation appeared to be going smoothly. Too smoothly. Someone had to be helping. It could not be Sue, as she should be looking for whoever had been manipulating Hulk, and their co-workers were far too organized for it to be spontaneous, so someone was helping. Reed guessed it was the figure he had spotted on the 14th floor. Although curious, now was not the time to ask questions, and he would gladly take the help.

The air having filled back in around the Hulk, he released yet another air-shaking roar, and amazingly, started lifting Ben off of him. Reed stared at the green beast for a moment, taking in the impossibility of what he was seeing. The Hulk should be spent by now, not getting stronger. Reed hurriedly slid back in, entangling the Hulk's limbs, and Ben started blasting his fists into the Hulk's face. But then, Reed spotted something in the sky.

A figure flying out of the top floors of Baxter Building, a hand outstretched. A figure he recognized easily. The ominous figure of Doom. A moment later, Reed realized Doom's hand was not simply outstretched, but grasping something. Something that turned out to be Sue's throat as her invisibility was turned off, and she appeared to be flailing helplessly. Doom ignored her struggles, looking down at them as he waved his other hand. A beam of mystical energy was fired, slamming into the three of them.

But while Reed expected untold concussive force, he instead found himself weakened by it. He also noticed that the Hulk's struggles became weaker, but so did Ben's punches. Unfortunately for them, while their strength did get reduced, their durability did not. And, somehow, the Hulk kept getting stronger, his body growing slightly larger. Despite his best efforts, Reed found his body being forcibly stretched as the Hulk stopped Ben's punches and slowly lifted him.

Then, with a mighty roar, the Hulk lifted Ben and Reed both from the ground, and slammed them back into it. Reduced strength or not, a huge crater was formed in the road's asphalt as the few people left around stumbled to the ground, the impact akin to a small localized earthquake. Doom's proud chuckle echoed from above as he descended slowly, tossing Sue disdainfully as he levitated to the Hulk's level, both hands in his back while he taunted, "I expected more from you and your pitiful family, Richards."

Reed looked around, searching for a solution, but their situation indeed was dire. Johnny's flames had been smothered by sheer exhaustion, and it would take a while to regenerate. Ben was trying to get back to his feet, but that last impact might have concussed him. Sue was not much better either, her body glowing a faint green hue. Even as she went invisible, the hue remained.

As for Reed himself, he was left somewhat dizzy by the Hulk's slam, but even if he were in his best condition, facing both the Hulk and Doom together… The Hulk appeared to be completely ignoring Doom as his gaze settled on the four of them, and more particularly on Ben as he spoke his first words since they met. Although roared might have been a better term." HULK IS STRONGEST! HULK IS MIGHTIEST!"

The Jade Giant's muscles rippled as he raised his fists, his form seemingly taller than before, but as he was about to slam his fists down, they suddenly heard a deep, raucous laughter, accompanied by words dripping with pride no lesser than Doom's.

"Strongest? Boy, I am the mightiest!" Everyone turned towards the Baxter Building, where the voice had come from. The fire had spread over the ground floor, although the sprinkler system was keeping it under control. Only now, though, did Reed notice that no one appeared to be evacuating anymore. Had they all left already? A figure appeared amidst the flames. Despite the fire licking at his figure, only his clothes appeared to be affected as he walked through them, a metal pipe in hand.

Walking out of the building, his features were no longer obscured by the smoke and the fire. He had shaggy brown hair, angular, heroic features, grey eyes, and sported a cheerful grin. There was a beat of silence before Hulk roared, " HULK SMASH!" Then, he leapt at the man, fast enough that Reed struggled to follow, and his giant fist cruised for the man's head. Yet, despite moving at what appeared to be a normal, human speed, the man spun around the punch, narrowly dodging it as he laughed.