Before the eyes of Mr. Fantastic and The Thing, Invisible Woman fell lifelessly in Marcus's grasp — slain in an instant by his Bloodflame strike. Reed Richards barely had time to process the shock of losing his wife when Marcus lunged forward again, his burning claws aimed straight for him.
"Reed!" Ben Grimm roared, surging forward. He grabbed Reed and yanked him aside just as Marcus's flaming fist came crashing down. The blow landed squarely on Ben instead.
Blood-red flames licked across the surface of his orange, rocklike body, leaving his hardened skin charred and blackened. But even as the air sizzled, The Thing held his ground. With a thunderous growl, he planted his feet and countered, swinging his massive arm like a battering ram. The impact sent Marcus flying backward through the air.
Marcus twisted mid-flight, landing lightly on a nearby rooftop. The moment his feet touched the ground, he noticed something glinting nearby — his Adamantium katana, knocked loose during the earlier clash. With a burst of speed, he snatched it up again just as The Thing charged through the wreckage below, unstoppable as ever.
Ben's strength was terrifying, but his speed was his weakness. Marcus darted between rooftops, leaping from building to building, keeping his distance. Every time The Thing slammed into a wall, the ground quaked — but Marcus was already gone, a blur of crimson flame.
On land, The Thing was nearly unbeatable. In the air, however, his immense weight became a curse. There were only so many structures that could bear his mass, and none allowed him to pursue Marcus effectively.
"Reed!" Ben shouted, panting in frustration. "You gonna stand there mournin', or are you gonna help me out here?!"
But when he turned around—Reed Richards was gone.
Marcus felt it too—a faint disturbance, an instinctive surge of danger prickling down his spine. He spun around—just in time to see a fireball erupt behind him.
It struck his back and exploded, hurling him from one rooftop to another in a blast of heat and smoke.
"...That flame…" Marcus's eyes narrowed. "Impossible… that's—The Human Torch's ability?"
As the smoke cleared, he saw something that defied all logic.
Suspended between skyscrapers, Reed Richards hovered midair, his entire body wreathed in brilliant scarlet flame. His feet stood on nothing—yet it was as though he balanced atop an invisible platform.
Invisible Woman's force fields.
"Reed?!" The Thing stared, his jaw slack. "What the hell—how're you usin' Sue's powers?! And Johnny's flame—what did you do!?"
Reed descended slowly, the crimson fire around him rippling like solar flares. His expression was grim, his voice heavy with sorrow. "I'm sorry, Ben… I absorbed their abilities. It wasn't supposed to be like this—but we're out of time. We had no other choice."
"Absorbed?" Ben's eyes widened in disbelief. "You mean that crazy experiment you told me about? The one you said was too dangerous to ever finish?"
Reed's face darkened. "I told you I abandoned it," he said softly. "But I lied. I've been refining it for years. Our powers all came from the same cosmic radiation—the same energy source. In theory, they could be fused. I just didn't know what would happen if I tried…"
He extended his hand toward Ben. "But now, we can't afford hesitation. Help me end this."
For a long moment, The Thing stared at him, torn between fear and loyalty. Then, with a weary sigh, he clasped Reed's outstretched hand. "Just promise me one thing, Reed. Don't let this kill you too."
Reed's eyes hardened. "I'll survive. I have to."
The transformation began immediately.
The stony texture of Ben Grimm's body began to fade, the orange hue receding like a tide. His massive frame shrank as the rock peeled away, revealing ordinary human skin beneath. His scarred, jagged face softened—until at last, he was just Ben Grimm again, kneeling weakly before his friend.
All of The Thing's strength—all of his power—had been transferred.
When Marcus finally recovered from the searing blast and rose to his feet, he looked down from the rooftop—and what he saw made his eyes narrow.
Below him stood Ben Grimm, no longer a hulking monster of stone, but a man—frail, exhausted, powerless. He knelt before Mr. Fantastic, who now burned like a living sun.
Reed's body blazed with crimson fire. His arms swelled, wrapped in stone-like armor; his fists had become massive, rock-plated weapons. His entire form shimmered beneath a translucent blue aura—the familiar glow of Invisible Woman's force fields. His elongated limbs flexed like coiled steel cables, pulsing with immense energy.
This was no longer Reed Richards.
This was the fusion of all four—the complete unity of the Fantastic Four.
The power of The Human Torch's flame, Invisible Woman's shields, The Thing's strength, and Mr. Fantastic's elasticity—all contained within one body.
Marcus had seen this before—in another world. In the movie's final battle, the Fantastic Four had once combined their powers to defeat Doctor Doom. Back then, it was the reckless Johnny Storm who had taken on the fused form.
But this time, it wasn't the impulsive Johnny.
It was Reed Richards—the most intelligent man alive, now wielding the combined might of his entire team. Cold, calculating, and utterly relentless.
He hovered into the air, his body wrapped in flame and lightning, his expression carved in stone. His voice was calm, but his eyes burned with barely contained fury.
"You killed Johnny," he said, his tone low and measured. "Didn't you?"
Marcus tilted his head, smirking. "So you noticed." He lifted the crackling Adamantium katana, its blade flickering with red lightning. "Yes. This is the weapon that pierced his heart. And soon, it'll be the same for you."
The air ignited.
"Then this ends—now."
Reed's fist transformed into a colossal, rocky hammer wreathed in flame and force-field energy.
With a roar, he brought it down—
—and the entire building beneath Marcus exploded into dust.
_____
T/N:
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