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[Frog] Chapter 142: The Awakening of the Fantastic Four!
🕑 Added 2024-11-04 06:54:37 +0000 UTCAt NASA’s space center, the old doctor sat in front of the massive screen, looking utterly defeated, his eyes dull and lifeless. He understood all too well the consequences and losses that would follow the spaceship’s crash.
Someone would have to take the blame, especially bearing the wrath of the public. And that person would undoubtedly be him.
“I just hope as few people die as possible,” he muttered, clinging to a small hope. Even though it wouldn’t lessen his guilt, it was all he could do to soothe his conscience a bit.
A male researcher hurried up behind him. “All of New York’s emergency services have been deployed,” he reported. “They’re doing everything they can to evacuate the citizens. S.H.I.E.L.D. and the military also confirmed—they’ll be shooting down the ship.”
The old doctor’s expression changed. “And Reed and the others...”
He didn’t finish his sentence, knowing full well that the priority right now wasn’t Reed and his team, but the civilians fleeing for their lives.
“Let’s go along with their plan,” he said, clenching his fists under his sleeves as he gazed at the spaceship on the screen, silently praying, “Tony, you have to have a way. You’re Howard’s son, after all.”
“What’s happening outside now?” he asked, turning to the man behind him.
“Everyone’s out helping with the evacuation, but… right now…”
The researcher trailed off, eyes frozen in shock, fixed on the screen behind the doctor.
“What’s going on? Spit it out!” the doctor demanded, exasperated.
“Doctor, look... there!”
Following the researcher’s gaze, the old doctor turned to the massive screen—and he froze as well.
“Tony… Tony, he… he did it!”
Tears of relief filled the doctor’s eyes, streaming down his face as he mumbled, “I knew it… I knew Tony would pull it off…”
In the Forest.
Gwen’s wrists shot out webs rapidly, connecting every sturdy point she could find among the trees. A giant web quickly formed between them. She was weaving so fast that her web cartridges were depleted in no time.
Standing on a branch, Gwen felt the slight heat from her web shooters. It was the first time she’d ever drained the web fluid completely—usually, she’d refill it before it ran out.
“Good thing I brought spares with the suit,” she said, flicking her wrist to eject two empty cartridges, and then taking out two fresh ones from her belt to reload.
“Tony, how’s it going on your end?” she called toward the spaceship, still swinging through the forest.
“All good!” Tony shouted back. “Estimated crash in three minutes at your location! It’s all on you from here!”
Though Tony’s voice sounded relaxed, he was gripping the spaceship’s control levers with every ounce of strength, fighting to keep the ship on course. If he let up for even a second, the strong inertia could pull the ship back in its original direction.
Inside the Mark 6 suit, Tony maintained the same rigid position.
“Jarvis, remind me to add a new feature to future suits,” he muttered.
“Of course, sir. And what would that be?”
“One that lets you control everything for me.”
Only Tony Stark would be able to joke under such pressure.
Under the watchful eyes of New York’s various agencies, the spaceship—once on a collision course with the central bridge—was now slowly but surely veering off. Though gradual, it was a hopeful sight.
With every passing moment, the spaceship’s trajectory moved farther away from New York’s central bridge.
On the ground, George received a call. “Got it. Understood!” Hanging up, he lifted his loudspeaker and announced to everyone, “We’re safe now! Everyone can go home!”
Cheers erupted at the bridge, a wave of relief sweeping over the crowd.
George, however, wore a tense smile. The ship’s change in course had coincided almost exactly with Spider-Woman’s departure. Although the central bridge was no longer in danger, he couldn’t shake the worry gnawing at him—Spider-Woman…
George clenched the megaphone in his hand, silently praying, “Spider-Woman, please stay safe too.”
Overhead, Alan listened to the cheers below, his gaze fixed in Gwen’s direction.
“Red Queen, can Gwen safely bring down the spaceship?” he asked.
The Red Queen analyzed, “Yes. Tony’s arc reactor has already slowed the ship down and corrected its course. And the web Miss Gwen set up is sufficient to cushion the impact of the crash.”
Alan nodded, then stepped off, gliding towards Gwen.
In the forest, Gwen released the last of her webbing and leaned tiredly against a tree, admiring her handiwork. “Red Queen, analyze the stress distribution.”
As the data came up on screen, Gwen breathed a sigh of relief and looked toward the incoming spaceship. “Tony, everything’s ready on my end. It’s all up to you now!”
“No problem!” Tony replied. “Jarvis, prepare for landing!”
“Understood, sir.”
At Tony’s command, Jarvis shut down all propulsion energy. Without the thrust, the ship wobbled in the air for a moment, then plummeted in the calculated direction, crashing right into Gwen’s massive web. The impact resembled a large bird diving straight into a spider’s web, but the web held firm, cushioning the force with its elasticity.
Several trees on the edge of the web were uprooted, and as the spaceship collided with the web, dust billowed everywhere. The ship’s powerful inertia sent everything inside sprawling.
Tony hovered momentarily, relieved he hadn’t tumbled around like a loose object—until a stray chair flew across the cabin, striking him squarely. Off balance, Tony rolled helplessly around the interior.
“Reed, who told you to leave things loose in the cabin?” he grumbled as he was tossed around.
Inside the ship, the clanging continued. Outside, a small blob of black, gelatinous substance was flung from the ship due to the inertia, landing on a nearby tree trunk.
Strangely, it began to wriggle down the tree, moving swiftly until it reached the ground. A tendril-like extension emerged from the black blob, swaying as if searching for something. Then, it twitched and started moving in a particular direction—the direction of Gwen, who was perched on a tree!
Thanks to the web’s successful interception, the spaceship gradually slowed down and finally came to a halt. Although the exterior was battered, the crash landing had been safe.
Seeing the spaceship stop, Gwen jumped down from her perch. Without webbing left, she now had to run towards the spaceship.
As she sprinted past, she unwittingly ran right by the little black blob. The blob seemed to sense her presence, extending a long, thin tendril in her direction.
Above, Alan watched Gwen running toward the spaceship. After a moment’s thought, he said, “Red Queen, start researching a new web shooter. I want a model that can generate web fluid by absorbing moisture from the air.”
“Understood!”
He had made this request because, as he recalled, a version of Spider-Man in an alternate universe had a suit designed by Wasp. Her web shooters could replenish web fluid using moisture in the air.
“Looks like there’s nothing more to worry about here.”
Watching the dust settle below, Alan transformed into a streak of light and headed back—he had other matters to attend to.
Clang!
A hatch door flew open, and Tony, dizzy and disoriented, slowly hovered out of the ship. He shook his head vigorously to clear it, then spotted Gwen on the ground.
Tony landed his suit in front of Gwen. “Thanks, Spider-Woman.”
Gwen waved it off. “Don’t mention it. But aren’t there still people in the cabin? Shouldn’t you get them out?”
Tony’s irritation spiked as he thought about how he’d worked tirelessly to keep the spaceship from crashing while the crew inside slept soundly, oblivious. Rescue them? That’s what the rescue team was for!
“Uh… no need to worry about them. They’re from NASA. We’ll leave them for NASA to deal with.” He looked up at the sky, then added, “It’s late. We should head back.”
Hearing Tony mention the time, Gwen realized she’d been so focused on the rescue that she lost track of it. And now, even worse, she was completely out of web fluid!
“Right, you’re absolutely correct!” she replied. “It’s late; I’d better head back.”
Without further ado, Gwen took off in the direction of home, running since she had no web left to swing with.
Watching her run off, Tony didn’t know what else to say, so he simply called after her as her figure faded into the dust. “See you next time, Spider-Woman.”
With that, he took off into the sky as well, speaking to Jarvis. “Jarvis, let NASA know Reed and the others are in the spaceship. They can go retrieve them.”
“Understood, sir,” Jarvis replied, leaving Reed and the other three stranded in the cabin.
Meanwhile, Gwen navigated through the forest, swiftly using tree branches to reach the main road. Once she got there, she faced a dilemma—she wouldn’t make it back on time by running.
Just as she was stuck, a familiar honking caught her attention from not far away. Gwen turned and, to her delight, spotted Alan’s car!
“Alan!” she called, running toward him. Alan opened the door and stepped out with a smile. “Looks like our Spider-Woman ran into a bit of trouble.”
“How did you know?” she asked, surprised.
“Red Queen told me. She said you were out of web fluid, so I came to bring you some.” Alan tossed her a small box. Inside were ten cartridges of web fluid. Gwen took out two and loaded them into her web shooters.
“Thanks, Alan!” Overjoyed, she hugged him, planting a kiss on his cheek through her mask.
In that moment, Alan resolved to start researching a liquid vibranium suit!
“Alright, that’s your reward,” Gwen said cheerfully. “I’ve got to head back—it’s already late. See you tomorrow!”
She shot out a web and swung away into the distance. As she disappeared, Alan got back into his car, revving the engine and filling the road with its powerful hum. The area gradually returned to silence, though the drifting dust and the marks left by the spaceship still hinted at the chaos that had just unfolded.
Inside the spaceship.
The crash had left the cabin in complete disarray. Thanks to their seatbelts, Reed and the others were only slightly tilted but still seated. Suddenly, the previously stable lights in the cabin began to flicker.
As the lights flickered, Reed’s dangling arm started to elongate, stretching down to the floor.
Susan’s body grew translucent, almost ghostly.
Ben shuddered, his entire form swelling to twice its size, ripping through the seatbelt.
And Johnny’s transformation was the most dramatic—he burst into flames, the extreme heat melting his seatbelt instantly.
In the next moment, the lights flickered again, and they returned to their normal appearances. Only Ben and Johnny fell to the floor due to their broken seatbelts.
“Are they in here?” a rescuer shouted as he climbed up to the hatch and saw Reed and the others in the cabin.
Outside the spaceship.
The area was surrounded by personnel from various departments, all coordinating the rescue efforts...
...
