Pyro narrowed his eyes. Sabretooth wasn't weak—his healing ability, strength, and fighting skills were formidable. Yet, he had been taken down instantly, and this Spider-Man didn't even have a specific counter to his powers. Something was different about this one.
The Human Torch stood in stunned silence. He thought his new friend could win, but not this easily! Russell's speed, strength, and skill had completely overwhelmed Sabretooth. And his casual taunt, "Who's next?" That was so cool. Why couldn't I be the one saying that? Torch thought, storing the line for future use.
Then he took a step back as he saw the others—Pyro, Toad, Death, Callisto, and Hedgehog—begin to advance. These villains weren't stupid; they weren't about to go down one by one.
Pyro attacked first, raising his hand as the ignition device on his wrist created a small flame that rapidly expanded. In moments, a massive column of fire erupted, engulfing Russell. The air around them rippled with heat.
The Human Torch swallowed hard. Not because of the heat—he was used to that—but he hadn't expected Russell, who'd been so cool a moment ago, to be incinerated just like that. Guess Spider-Man is out of his element here, he thought. Time to run…
Just then, a lazy voice emerged from within the flames. "Can it go any higher? I can still take it."
The fire's 900-degree heat was nothing to Russell, who could withstand temperatures up to 2,600 degrees. Torch, who had been ready to bolt, stopped in his tracks. "Dude, you're awesome! I knew you'd pull through! Now go get those jerks!"
Yeah, you were about to run a second ago, Toad thought, sneering. But even he was taken aback that the flames hadn't fazed Spider-Man.
Meanwhile, Pyro's expression darkened. His intended prey was talking like he was relaxing in a hot spring, complaining about the water temperature! Infuriating.
"You want to die?" Pyro snarled, raising both hands to intensify the fire. Flames twisted into a fiery tornado, the heat growing as he tried to compress the blaze into a high-pressure inferno. But the color barely shifted.
"Heh, low-level mutant," sneered Human Torch. "Nice idea, but that's not gonna cut it."
Mocked by the Human Torch, Pyro's face twisted in fury. The flame's heat had increased, but not enough to make a real difference.
"Hedgehog!" he shouted. Hedgehog immediately sprang into action, curling up and launching a spray of dense, barbed spikes toward the flames.
Before the spikes could penetrate, a shadow leapt out of the fire.
"I've been waiting for you," Russell smirked.
Toad, ready to pounce, launched his tongue, wrapping it around Russell's body. Meanwhile, Callisto disappeared, using her enhanced speed to close the distance in a fraction of a second, her dagger poised to strike. But before she could attack, a blood-curdling scream erupted as Toad's tongue hissed and sizzled, burning from the heat. Russell had intentionally let himself get tangled just to set a trap.
Callisto didn't care. Her teammate's pain was irrelevant. But as she struck, her dagger found only air—she'd missed, and the momentum threw her off balance. A mocking voice sounded beside her ear.
"You're easy to predict."
Before she could react, Russell's hand snapped to her neck, breaking it instantly. She crumpled to the ground without a sound.
The Human Torch's eyes went wide. He'd seen the whole thing. So that's why Pyro's flames had no effect on him—he could generate heat much higher himself. And Russell had anticipated every move, dodging Callisto's lethal strike and dispatching her without a second thought. He had taken down yet another one with ease.
But the fight wasn't over. The next moment, Hedgehog charged in, undeterred.
The Human Torch tensed. If this guy's rushing in after seeing all that, he must be something serious, he thought, inching backward. Maybe I should back off...
Before he could retreat further, there was a loud bang. Russell kicked Hedgehog with such force that he flew over ten meters, spinning in the air and vomiting blood before crashing to the ground, dead on impact.
Torch straightened up, embarrassed. I can't believe I was actually scared of this fool. Hopefully, Russell hadn't noticed.
Russell turned to him with a raised brow. "Why'd you step back? Was the ground too hot?"
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Added 'All the Powers Russell has Till Ch 45' Auxiliary chapter do check it out.