In front of the Baxter Building, the scene is even more chaotic as the battle against the Moloids rages on.
The Fantastic Four are in the thick of the fight, battling the endless horde. Ben Grimm, the Thing, is clobbering the creatures left and right, his rocky fists smashing through their ranks with ease.
BAM! CRASH!
"Come on, ya little creeps! Is that all ya got?" Ben roars, sending a dozen Moloids flying with a single punch. He then smashes one of the Moloids into the road, creating another crater.
Nearby, Reed Richards, Mr. Fantastic, is stretching his body in impossible ways, wrapping around groups of Moloids to immobilise and decommission them by suffocation.
"Ben, stop making more holes!" Reed shouts, extending his arm to grab a Moloid trying to reach civilians fleeing the chaos.
Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, flies overhead, raining down fireballs on the Moloids. His flames burn the street and the holes from which they keep emerging.
WHOOSH! FWOOSH!
"Flame on!" Johnny yells, unleashing a torrent of fire that incinerates a cluster of Moloids. "This is getting ridiculous; there is no end to these guys!"
On the ground, Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman, uses her forcefields to protect the police and civilians. She also launches offensive attacks, creating invisible battering rams to knock back the Moloids.
THUD! BAM!
"Stay behind the barriers!" she instructs the police. "We need to hold this position!"
BOOM! BOOM!
"Did you guys forget to send me an invite?" Toni Stark's voice resonates in the street as a bunch of small missiles blast and thin out the Moloid crowds.
"Toni, good timing!" Susan yells as she balls up a bunch of them and throws them toward Ben, who keeps on clobbering.
"Did you all not hear her? this party is invite-only!" Toni zooms back into the Moloid crowd, her repulsors blazing as she blasts through the Moloid ranks.
"Hello, Dr. Reed Richards!" All attention shifts to a new batch of Moloids emerging from the ground, wearing backpacks from which an old, haughty male voice emanates.
Reed himself focuses his attention. "Who are you?" he asks while fighting the creatures.
"I was called Harvey Elder, remember me? I am back from the dead!" the voice blasts from the speakers.
Reed's eyebrow creases as he tries to remember who that is but can't recall such a name. "I don't remember you," Reed says frankly.
"Hahaha, I knew the arrogant Reed would not remember me, but you will remember me from now on! These are all the subjects of my kingdom, and I am the Mole Man!" he announces haughtily.
"Why are you doing all of this?" Reed asks seriously.
"Why? WHY?? You thought you could ignore me, Reed Richards! The world shunned me for my appearance and height, but you, you were the worst of them all! You disregarded my theory of the hollow earth, called it ridiculous! You disgraced me in front of all!! Now, you will pay for your arrogance!" the voice sounds more angry and mad.
Reed frowns. "This still won't make your theory of hollow earth true!"
Mole Man's voice crackles with anger. "Yes it will! And now I will show the world my terror, by shrouding New York City in darkness! It will be the first of many major cities! Soon, Subterranea will rise, and I will be King of the World!"
"Not on our watch, you won't," Johnny retorts, throwing a fireball at those Moloids, frying the machines.
WHOOSH! BOOM!
The Mole Man suddenly curses through the speakers mounted on more Moloids who are climbing up. "Aghh! Another pest is interfering with my plans at the power plants. Looks like I will have to proceed with Plan B."
---
A woman with a scarred face, ragged clothes, and an eyepatch looks out at the chaotic situation from an alley, her one eye scanning the scene with an amused smile.
People are clamouring and running away, stuck in the streets crowded with vehicles. Despite the police's best efforts, the situation is worsening.
Her gaze is drawn to the so-called 'Heroes' fighting the grotesque monsters, and she feels a pang of sympathy for the helpless creatures, whose fates are either to be controlled or killed.
Suddenly, she sees a hole open in front of a mother and child. From that hole emerges another green monster.
The woman involuntarily takes a step forward toward them but stops as the Invisible Woman blasts the monster away. She sighs, her smile turning bitter as she looks down at her ragged, dirty clothes.
Her enhanced senses flare up as the ground starts shaking. She hurriedly grabs the side of the building, but even it has started to shake.
"Feel the power of the Earth!" she hears the madman's cry from the speakers as the shaking intensifies.
Crack! Boom!
The building starts to crack, and suddenly a big chunk of it falls into the alley where the woman is standing. It is too late for her to move as the large piece of concrete plummets towards her. But miraculously, the stone stops just before her face, sparing her life.
"Are you all right?" a charismatic voice calls from above. The large piece of concrete is then hurled toward the green-skinned monsters, revealing a man standing in the sky in his full glory.
"So big!" she murmurs in amazement, her eyes drawn not to the man's face but something huge she can make out through his skin tight pants.
---
"Please stay away from the buildings until this earthquake stops," I say to the not-so-ordinary woman and fly toward the Baxter Building, the epicenter of the quake.
"Thank you, I owe you one," the woman yells as I fly away.
I glance back, recognizing her as Callisto, but right now, I have more urgent matters to attend to.
The streets are in chaos, with buildings cracking around them as Susan and Reed strive to rescue people from falling debris.
RUMBLE! SHAKE!
I ignore everything else and reach the Baxter Building, which looks like it is on the verge of collapse. Using my Chi Manipulation, I regain my lost stamina because of all the prior fights and thrust my hand inside the concrete pillar with full force.
BAM
My hand reaches the internal reinforced steel beams. I close my eyes and concentrate, activating my Metal Constructs power.
Starting from this beam, I transform them into a web-like structure, distributing the weight evenly across multiple points, providing the necessary support while maintaining the building's integrity.
CLANG! CREAK!
I connect the lattice to the outer walls and foundation, ensuring maximum stability. My power travels from one beam to the next as the metal morphs and reconfigures into a new support structure.
I wasn't able to change the whole building's layout, but I look up and see that what I have done is enough for now. The building has stopped shaking even with the earthquake going on.
"Haaa…" I feel dead tired, but the NZT and the screams from behind keeps me from taking a break as I use my forcefields to save more people.
After another minute, the earthquake stops. Though the situation looks chaotic, all the buildings are still standing.
I hear the Mole Man's annoyed voice, "Enough of this struggle! Especially you, Richards. You will know how foolish it is to defy me as you succumb to the endless army of Moloids!"
"Fucking Mole Man," I mutter, recalling from my meta knowledge how he was once just a normal old man named Harvey Elder, who stumbled upon the underground subterranean kingdom with some high-tech devices.
He is like an uncool, old, and obese Gru, with uncute, stupid, and ugly Minions.
"D.A.I.S.Y., can you track his signal?" I ask. "He must be somewhere underground, but we need to find his location to catch him."
"It will take some time; his tech is more advanced than expected," D.A.I.S.Y. replies, which I had anticipated considering he is using alien tech.
I fly over to where the massive horde of Moloids is. Meanwhile D.A.I.S.Y. connects me to Susan, Toni, and the rest of the Fantastic Four so we can communicate easily.
"You guys get behind me. I don't want any friendly fire," I say, activating my Power: Storm's Embrace.
My body crackles with energy as the clear sky starts to darken with storm clouds.
RUMBLE
Thunder rumbles in the storm cloud. "Time to show what real power looks like," I say, bringing my glowing hands down.
BOOM! KRAKOW!
Lightning strikes down on the ground in front of me, obliterating swathes of Moloids. I didn't use this in the nuclear power plant to avoid unwanted harm to the reactor, but here, bigger moves are doable.
"That's incredible!" Susan exclaims aloud as Toni whistles mid-air.
"Nice entrance, Aeon!" Johnny calls out, blasting more Moloids with fiery bursts.
I continue raining Thunderbolts as the Fantastic Four and Iron Woman join me in thinning out hundreds of these Moloids.
Even the firefighters and National Guard have arrived atlast to rescue and join the battle.
As the situation stabilizes and no more Moloids emerge, I seal the multiple holes with sheets of metal using my Metal Constructs power.
"YAAYY!! AEON!"
"Fantastic Four!!"
"Iron Woman!!"
I hear the crowd celebrate, chanting our names. Mostly, it is the girls and women cheering for me. I notice that News, Military, and Police helicopters are surrounding the airspace.
As only a handful of Moloids remain, I use my Power: Temporal Looping to trap them in a short 10-second loop and ask Reed to try and goad the Mole Man out.
"Mole Man! Weren't you going to correct me of my mistake? Come here above ground and face me yourself!" Reed yells aloud.
"Kchhh… This is not the end… I will be back!!" Mole Man's low voice crackles from one of the Moloids' backpacks as the machine explodes along with the Moloids.
"Well, that went wonderfully," Johnny says, looking at Reed.
"Ughh, let's go underground and clobber him!" Ben exclaims in frustration.
"I don't know about you guys, but I am not chasing after some Mole guy underground. Besides, my ammo is depleted, and my energy levels are dangerously low," Toni says, landing beside me.
"Right now, we need to help the people. There are many who need our immediate assistance," Susan takes charge. "You are staying this time, right? 'Aeon'?" she asks, looking at my golden mask.
Everyone around looks exhausted but determined to help. I, too, am drenched in sweat inside the helmet and am on the verge of collapse, having never used my powers so extensively before.
Before I can answer, D.A.I.S.Y. reports, "I have found Marie's location."
I sigh, "No, I have more urgent business to take care of. See you all soon!" I say, turning Invisible and flying off.
"Did we get cleaning duty again?" Johnny murmurs incredulously.
"Come on, we should hurry. Toni, could you talk to the National Guard?" Susan asks as they traverse the chaotic, ruined road that now resembles a battlefield.
I fly over to Ghostwing, which is hovering invisibly nearby. Earlier, I had asked Bobbi to join us in case backup was necessary.
I stumble my way back into the jet, collapsing on the floor in exhaustion.
"Haaa... Haaa...Haaaa…" I take deep breaths as I use Metal Constructs power with difficulty, transforming the suit back into my mobile phone.
"Here, drink this," Bobbi arrives and kneels beside me, concern evident in her eyes as she hands me an orange bottle.
She steadies my head as I drink the electrolyte juice specially prepared by Jemma, designed to replenish lost energy quickly. I gulp down the entire bottle, feeling my strength returning to me.
"You really pushed yourself this time," she says, wiping sweat from my forehead.
"I didn't think there would be so many of them," I reply with a wry smile, feeling a bit better.
She guides me to the cockpit and hands me a device. "Here are the batteries you asked for."
"Thanks, this is exactly what I needed!" I say with a wide smile, placing my palms on one end of the battery.
Cackle!
Blue lightning crackles as it is released from the battery and absorbed into my body. I am utilising my Lightning Absorption power to regenerate my lost energy. And this is the Tesseract Battery, which I have converted into an electric battery, it is still a prototype but it is incredibly effective for me in this moment.
"Peggy wanted to come with me too, after seeing this incident on the news," Bobbi says, watching my hand in wonder.
"She can rest a bit more; there are still people here who can 'save' the world," I sigh wearily. "I will have a talk with her", I say knowing her stubbornness.
"So, where to? Back to Watson Tower?" Bobbi asks curiously, her hands on the controls.
"No, there is a Rogue I have to catch," I say with a smirk.