Victor was extremely confident, but he had no real idea what his so-called ally actually was.
From his perspective, he had only established contact through the surfboard. The presence on the other end did not show hostility, so he naturally assumed that cooperation might be possible.
That was the origin of the word "ally."
As for what that ally might truly intend, Victor Von Doom did not care very much.
Judging from the Silver Surfer's actions, it was obvious that this visitor from beyond the stars did not have friendly intentions toward Earth.
Victor dismissed that concern with contempt.
If this "ally" wanted to invade Earth, then he would simply take advantage of it. He could use the situation to eliminate the people who irritated him.
As for what came afterward, Victor had absolute confidence in himself.
With him around, did those aliens really think they could succeed?
The idea sounded outrageous.
But to Victor Von Doom, it was perfectly logical.
In fact, if Tony Stark were standing in Victor's position, he might very well think the same way.
There was a reason that groups like the Illuminati existed in certain universes. When someone's intelligence reached a certain level, confidence like this came naturally.
Unfortunately, excessive confidence often brought trouble.
So while Nolan was slightly surprised by Victor's actions, he quickly understood the reasoning behind them.
After guessing Victor's thoughts, Nolan let out a quiet scoff.
Idiot.
Just like Tony Stark in some situations.
Nolan glanced at Tony beside him and silently mocked him in his mind.
Of course, when it came to pushing arrogance to the absolute extreme, Reed Richards still held the crown.
If it were not for Reed Richards, many of the disasters in this world would never have happened in the first place.
Thinking about it that way, eliminating Reed Richards had actually done the world a favor.
While Nolan's mind wandered through these thoughts, Victor Von Doom had already made his move.
He was confident, but he was not foolish. There was no way he would wait for every nearby superhero to arrive.
Nolan Locke alone was already troublesome enough. If this dragged on, unpredictable complications could appear.
Victor did not want to be stuck fighting the two of them when his "ally" arrived.
That situation could create far too many problems.
A surge of electricity erupted from his body.
The current twisted together and formed a crackling whip of lightning that lashed toward Tony Stark.
The attack was incredibly fast.
More importantly, the Victor of the past would never have been capable of shaping pure energy like this.
Forming lightning into a whip was proof that his power had increased dramatically.
Nolan raised an eyebrow.
That's a lot stronger than before.
No one understood Victor's previous power level better than Nolan.
Such a sudden increase made one thing obvious.
The surfboard was an incredible tool. No wonder Victor had dared to show up here.
Still, Nolan's lips curved slightly.
Did this guy really think that kind of improvement was enough to deal with the Evangelion Unit-01?
Surely Victor had not forgotten how Nolan had once charged through a storm of artillery fire to knock the Silver Surfer off the board.
The lightning whip snapped toward Tony.
Tony reacted instantly, trying to evade.
Unfortunately, the attack was too sudden.
Before he could dodge, the whip struck him squarely and sent him flying across the room.
Electric currents crawled wildly across his armor, sparks flashing along its surface.
The residual charge was still coursing through the suit.
"Damn it!" Tony shouted.
How the hell had this guy become so strong?
But there was nothing he could do.
For the moment, he could not even move. Not until the electrical surge dissipated.
"Come on, come on…" Tony muttered anxiously.
Victor Von Doom would not wait patiently.
But Nolan had not been idle either.
After knocking Tony away, Victor did not press the attack. Instead, he turned his gaze toward Nolan.
Nolan looked at Tony struggling helplessly and sighed.
He can't even stand up?
In the main universe, the lightning summoned by Thor would only charge Tony's armor. Yet here he was, immobilized by a little electricity.
With another sigh, Nolan stepped forward.
Tony was clearly out of the fight for the moment.
Which meant Nolan had to handle this personally.
"Hand over the surfboard," Nolan said calmly. "I'll make sure you get to prison safely."
Victor burst out laughing.
"Nolan Locke…"
"Are you serious?"
Before the last word even faded, Victor struck again.
Another lightning whip lashed out.
Nolan watched the crackling arc approaching. At the last instant, he leapt aside, narrowly avoiding the attack.
Using the momentum, he twisted his body and landed on the ceiling.
Boom.
His legs kicked off the surface.
His body shot forward like a cannonball straight toward Victor.
Victor's pupils shrank.
He barely managed to dodge in time.
The next second, Nolan slammed into the spot where Victor had been standing.
The impact exploded across the floor.
Victor stared in shock.
"So fast!"
He had studied recordings of Nolan Locke's battles. He had even seen them with his own eyes.
But witnessing it firsthand was completely different.
Only now did he understand how terrifying Nolan truly was.
A faint smile appeared on Nolan's face.
"That surfboard seems pretty useful."
Victor's expression darkened. He glanced toward the sky.
For the first time, he felt a flicker of regret.
Maybe coming after Tony Stark had not been the best idea.
Running into Nolan Locke here was a serious problem.
Meanwhile, Tony finally regained enough control to stand.
He walked over to Nolan, his expression grim beneath the helmet.
At the same time, more than a dozen Iron Man armors flew out of the building and surrounded Victor.
"You bastard," Tony growled. "Now it's my turn."
The next moment, Tony charged forward with his Iron Legion.
Nolan shrugged and followed.
If Tony were fighting alone, Nolan genuinely worried the man might get himself killed.
Why rush headfirst into an opponent you clearly could not beat?
While Nolan silently mocked him, Tony was speaking to JARVIS inside his helmet.
"JARVIS, is the Anti-Energy Armor ready?"
The Anti-Energy Armor was something Tony had been working on day and night.
It was built on the framework of the Hulkbuster modules but enhanced with powerful energy resistance systems.
Originally, he designed it specifically to deal with the Silver Surfer.
The Surfer was incredibly fast, and the Hulkbuster's bulky design would normally make it an easy target.
But this armor included a containment system.
If the Surfer could be trapped inside a confined space, his speed would no longer matter.
The idea had been sound.
Unfortunately, the upgrades had not been completed in time for the Surfer's capture.
But now…
"Sir," JARVIS reported calmly, "the Anti-Energy Armor will arrive on the battlefield in ten seconds. Seven… six… five…"
When the countdown ended, a thunderous crash echoed across the area.
A massive pillar slammed into the ground.
Then several more followed, dropping around Victor in a circle.
They did not strike him directly, but they sealed off his movement.
Tony turned to Nolan with a grin.
"Now it's showtime."
Another heavy object crashed down.
Its outer casing split apart, revealing the enormous Anti-Energy Armor inside.
Nolan raised an eyebrow.
Tony walked toward it, and his current suit merged seamlessly into the massive frame.
The armor's eyes ignited with light.
The giant machine came to life.
"Victor," Tony said coldly, "I told you you'd regret this."
Victor stood within the containment field without much concern.
The cage relied on energy systems, which meant it did not restrict him much.
In fact, the arrival of the giant armor had conveniently separated Nolan from the fight.
That worked perfectly for him.
Victor smiled faintly.
After all, his goal right now was simply to buy time.
He tilted his head back slightly, an eerie grin hidden beneath his mask.
"Hey, Iron Man."
"Do you want a one-on-one fight?"
Inside the towering armor, Tony felt a surge of confidence.
He clenched his fists together, the massive metal gauntlets colliding with a thunderous clang.
The sheer size of the armor created overwhelming pressure.
Tony had no interest in talking.
This was combat.
Boom.
The ground beneath his feet exploded.
The powerful thrust launched the giant armor forward like a missile.
Over the years, Tony had fought Bruce Banner more than once.
And then there was Nolan Locke, who was practically a monster himself.
Those experiences had driven Tony to push armor research further than ever.
If raw strength was not enough, then he would amplify his attacks through energy output.
The concept had already existed in the Hulkbuster system, but the technology had not been refined enough to integrate smoothly with his movements.
Nolan's Mjolnir Armor, however, used a similar system that had been perfected.
Nearly every heavy strike was supported by energy thrusters that increased the force dramatically.
Tony had spent countless hours developing his own recoil and thrust system.
Now it was time to test it.
The Anti-Energy Armor shot forward like a high-speed artillery shell.
Victor did not hesitate.
He charged forward as well.
Neither of them intended to retreat.
The result was inevitable.
A direct collision.
Boom.
One figure was thrown backward.
Victor Von Doom.
Despite the immense strength of his metallic body and the enhancement provided by the surfboard, the difference in size was undeniable.
The Anti-Energy Armor had been designed to suppress the Hulk.
With a deafening crash, Victor slammed into the ground.
Fortunately for him, the surfboard reacted instantly.
Before Tony could follow up, it had already rushed to Victor's side.
Victor stood again, his expression dark.
"Seems I underestimated you."
Without another word, electricity surged across his body once more as he rushed back into battle.
Even if he was only stalling for time, he had no intention of letting Tony beat him down.
Meanwhile, far out in space, a vast shadow moved toward Earth.
To the naked eye, it looked like nothing more than a magnificent cosmic nebula.
But NASA's satellites saw the truth.
The looming shadow swallowed entire regions of space.
Inside the control room, the atmosphere turned grim.
"What the hell is that thing?"
"It's larger than Earth… how are we supposed to deal with this?"
"Activate the Earth Defense Ring. Prepare all weapons."
"Yes. We need to strike back."
The planetary defense system immediately powered up its entire arsenal.
Yet even before the battle began, everyone already knew how this confrontation might end.
Suddenly, one technician gasped.
"Something is flying toward the shadow!"
They could not identify it precisely.
But the flight path clearly was not that of a natural meteor.
In space, Carol Danvers stared ahead with a grave expression.
After receiving Fury's message, she had immediately set course for Earth.
She expected trouble.
But not this.
What she saw before her was unmistakable.
Could that really be Galactus?
In the vastness of space, she had heard the legends about this being long ago.
"Damn it," Carol muttered.
This opponent would not be easy.
She flew forward and raised her voice.
"Stranger from beyond the stars, stop where you are. The world ahead is not your meal."
As she spoke, the energy of the Space Stone flared within her, carrying her voice deep into the cosmic cloud.
At that moment, the nebula rippled.
The swirling stars twisted together.
Slowly, a massive face formed before her.
It was unimaginably large.
And completely emotionless.
To Galactus, food had no right to speak.
The only reason he had formed a face at all was because the lifeform before him was… unusual food.
Then the cosmic abyss opened.
A colossal mouth lunged toward Carol.
Anger flashed across her face.
Galactus or not, she would not back down.
Her hair lifted as energy erupted from her body.
Her power blazed like a miniature sun.
"This is your final warning," she declared. "Stop and leave this place."
In that moment, Carol Danvers looked like a god of light.
Galactus answered in the only way he knew.
The abyss surged forward to swallow the sun.
Boom.
Darkness and blazing light collided.
The once-beautiful nebula turned into a raging storm.
Carol unleashed her full power, tearing through the cosmic cloud with pure force.
This was her strength.
Back on Earth, the Silver Surfer sat quietly in the facility.
Suddenly, a tremor ran through his heart.
Even though he had been separated from the board for days, his connection to Galactus had not fully faded.
His master was coming.
He looked around at the world he had come to know.
In these past days, he had felt emotions he had not experienced for ages.
And he wanted to protect this place.
The Silver Surfer stood up.
"I need my board."