Johnny could tell that War Machine was upset without even seeing his face.
"I've been trying to get in touch with you guys. A hi-tech group of robbers broke into Stark Enterprises. Tony's been working on a new form of power. He's developed a new synthetic metal alloy that is a sort of superconductor. It takes electric energy and magnifies it tenfold. The only problem with this is that it can concentrate the power of a laser too, and the laser becomes incredibly strong, stronger than you can imagine. Tony estimates that it could reduce a city to dust, and the surrounding areas for ten miles would be leveled as well."
"Whoa whoa, okay, so what does this have to do with me?" asked Johnny, not trying to sound too impatient. He was always willing to help, but he had too much on his mind to concentrate right now.
"They were probably the same guys that stole the EMP emitter from PolarTech! Come on Torch, think about it! This could spell out some serious trouble!"
"Oh man," Johnny thought to himself, "He's right, if someone uses these things together, it could really do some damage. After the EMP emitter cripples the world's power supply, we'd have no way of stopping any attacks. Looks like Ben and me are going to be working overtime. But Ben is probably better off without me; I'd probably only end up hurting innocent people or something...."
"Hello!" shouted War Machine, "Snap out of it Torch, we gotta get back to your place and talk to Reed! Let's go already!" War Machine leaped into the air and fired the rockets on his boots.
Johnny looked sadly at the ground feeling a sense of hopelessness and despair. He couldn't control anything around him. He couldn't even control himself. He would just be in the way again, and someone would probably get hurt. War Machine dropped down beside him with a THUD!
"Look Torch, I don't know what your problem is, but get it in gear! I know about the situation with the robber. Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes, and we all do things we regret. It's just a part of life. The thing about it is that you are given the chance to correct that mistake. You are a hero, you've saved tons of lives, and you will be able to redeem yourself. The time will come. Don't worry. Now let's get going!" War Machine again jumped straight up and fired his rockets, this time waiting for Torch to follow. Johnny looked up and grudgingly followed.
*******************
The hulking figure strained to roll over in his bed. He stared at the video monitors against the wall and let out a long wheeze. The figure shuttered as he sputtered and coughed; he now needed effort to do a simple thing like taking in a breath. He had been struggling for life for the last year, and in recent weeks his condition had steadily deteriorated. In the farthest monitor a tiny figure clad in white walked over to a table and picked up the phone. Immediately the phone on the bedside table rang out, almost obtrusively. The sickly man reached one metal arm over slowly and answered the phone.
"Wha-- What is-- is it--," the man struggled to say the three words without coughing again.
"Dr. Doom, we have the EMP emitter lined up with the orbiting satellite and we are ready to fire. Your airship with the laser is already a few miles off the eastern seaboard. We await your command to commence with the project."
"Good," he managed to spit the word out, but not without unleashing a string of seemingly unending coughs. Doom reached over and turned the valve on the oxygen tank, holding the mask up to his face. Watching the mask fog and defog, Doom thought about the way his career as a supervillian was ending. The Fantastic Four had defeated him continuously, and the string of losses was starting to take its toll. Their last battle had destroyed most of his assets, along with his castle. Doom had personally fought that big orange rock beast, Thing, and nearly ended up dead. He wished he had died there, at least with some honor, because the massive chest injuries he received have reduced him to this pathetic invalid. This time though, as he passed on, he was going to give the world one last goodbye and take the whole despicable planet with him. With his last traces of strength, Doom reached back over to the phone and lifted it to his ear.
"Kill the--- kill all of them..." Doom dropped the receiver and all the air rushed out of his body. His chest sank, and this time was not followed by the usual, laborious rise. The legend was over.
On all the video monitors the little figures began to move frantically and then stand still. In the middle screen a bright wavy beam shot upward toward the sky.
***Still to come is the conclusion to this story! Doom is dead, but the world is not safe. What can Ben and Johnny do about all this? Will Johnny stop moping long enough to help out, or will it be left up to Thing and War Machine? What's with Torch's strange power? Oh man I'm over-stimulated... alright well I'm working on the end right now. It'll be up in a few days!!!
"I've been trying to get in touch with you guys. A hi-tech group of robbers broke into Stark Enterprises. Tony's been working on a new form of power. He's developed a new synthetic metal alloy that is a sort of superconductor. It takes electric energy and magnifies it tenfold. The only problem with this is that it can concentrate the power of a laser too, and the laser becomes incredibly strong, stronger than you can imagine. Tony estimates that it could reduce a city to dust, and the surrounding areas for ten miles would be leveled as well."
"Whoa whoa, okay, so what does this have to do with me?" asked Johnny, not trying to sound too impatient. He was always willing to help, but he had too much on his mind to concentrate right now.
"They were probably the same guys that stole the EMP emitter from PolarTech! Come on Torch, think about it! This could spell out some serious trouble!"
"Oh man," Johnny thought to himself, "He's right, if someone uses these things together, it could really do some damage. After the EMP emitter cripples the world's power supply, we'd have no way of stopping any attacks. Looks like Ben and me are going to be working overtime. But Ben is probably better off without me; I'd probably only end up hurting innocent people or something...."
"Hello!" shouted War Machine, "Snap out of it Torch, we gotta get back to your place and talk to Reed! Let's go already!" War Machine leaped into the air and fired the rockets on his boots.
Johnny looked sadly at the ground feeling a sense of hopelessness and despair. He couldn't control anything around him. He couldn't even control himself. He would just be in the way again, and someone would probably get hurt. War Machine dropped down beside him with a THUD!
"Look Torch, I don't know what your problem is, but get it in gear! I know about the situation with the robber. Don't worry about it. We all make mistakes, and we all do things we regret. It's just a part of life. The thing about it is that you are given the chance to correct that mistake. You are a hero, you've saved tons of lives, and you will be able to redeem yourself. The time will come. Don't worry. Now let's get going!" War Machine again jumped straight up and fired his rockets, this time waiting for Torch to follow. Johnny looked up and grudgingly followed.
*******************
The hulking figure strained to roll over in his bed. He stared at the video monitors against the wall and let out a long wheeze. The figure shuttered as he sputtered and coughed; he now needed effort to do a simple thing like taking in a breath. He had been struggling for life for the last year, and in recent weeks his condition had steadily deteriorated. In the farthest monitor a tiny figure clad in white walked over to a table and picked up the phone. Immediately the phone on the bedside table rang out, almost obtrusively. The sickly man reached one metal arm over slowly and answered the phone.
"Wha-- What is-- is it--," the man struggled to say the three words without coughing again.
"Dr. Doom, we have the EMP emitter lined up with the orbiting satellite and we are ready to fire. Your airship with the laser is already a few miles off the eastern seaboard. We await your command to commence with the project."
"Good," he managed to spit the word out, but not without unleashing a string of seemingly unending coughs. Doom reached over and turned the valve on the oxygen tank, holding the mask up to his face. Watching the mask fog and defog, Doom thought about the way his career as a supervillian was ending. The Fantastic Four had defeated him continuously, and the string of losses was starting to take its toll. Their last battle had destroyed most of his assets, along with his castle. Doom had personally fought that big orange rock beast, Thing, and nearly ended up dead. He wished he had died there, at least with some honor, because the massive chest injuries he received have reduced him to this pathetic invalid. This time though, as he passed on, he was going to give the world one last goodbye and take the whole despicable planet with him. With his last traces of strength, Doom reached back over to the phone and lifted it to his ear.
"Kill the--- kill all of them..." Doom dropped the receiver and all the air rushed out of his body. His chest sank, and this time was not followed by the usual, laborious rise. The legend was over.
On all the video monitors the little figures began to move frantically and then stand still. In the middle screen a bright wavy beam shot upward toward the sky.
***Still to come is the conclusion to this story! Doom is dead, but the world is not safe. What can Ben and Johnny do about all this? Will Johnny stop moping long enough to help out, or will it be left up to Thing and War Machine? What's with Torch's strange power? Oh man I'm over-stimulated... alright well I'm working on the end right now. It'll be up in a few days!!!