"Hostility neutralized. Irrational behavior detected. Primary objective: cooling ego."
Ben Grimm watched, a grudging admiration mixing with his usual exasperation, as the colossal fire elemental construct, "REMORSE," effortlessly pinned Johnny to the scorched earth of Central Park.
"Flame on!" Johnny shrieked, his body erupting in a desperate inferno. But the fire, instead of lashing out, seemed to bend and flow, drawn towards the titan as if by an invisible current. The construct absorbed the plasma, its own internal red glow intensifying slightly, even as it maintained its unyielding pressure, ensuring Johnny remained grounded, his struggles futile. The absorbed plasma seemed to coalesce around the titan, its surface shimmering with a captured red inferno that momentarily masked its own deeper blue luminescence. Every time Johnny tried to reignite his full power, REMORSE would simply drink the flames, a parent patiently taking away a dangerous toy.
"Heh. I gotta say, Suzie, I am really startin' to like this 'REMORSE' fella." Ben rumbled, a wide, rocky grin spreading across his face. "It's got everything ya need to keep our little Matchstick here from burnin' down the whole damn city. When that Ranger kid fully heals up, I'm gonna ask him, real polite-like, if he can build me one of these. For… uh… home security."
"Ben, don't you even think about it!" Susan sighed, though a small, reluctant smile played on her lips. The sheer efficiency of the construct was undeniably impressive. "Though." she admitted, her voice a conspiratorial whisper, "I do like the idea of a Johnny-specific containment unit. Permanently."
"Yeah." Ben chuckled. "At least the collateral damage would've been a helluva lot less if we'd had somethin' like this every time flame-brain got his ego bruised and decided to throw a tantrum." He looked back towards the ravaged Baxter Building, a frown creasing his rocky brow. "Oi, HERBIE! You still kickin' in there? What's the damage report? Any civilian casualties from Johnny's little fireworks display?"
"Casualty assessment: Zero civilian fatalities or injuries directly attributable to the 'Human Torch's' uncontrolled energy release or subsequent containment." HERBIE's familiar, slightly tinny voice replied through their comms. "Primary structural damage is localized to the Baxter Building and its immediate frontage on 42nd Street and Madison Avenue. No significant injuries have been detected within the general populace beyond minor stress-related complaints. Evacuation and perimeter control were… remarkably efficient— no thanks to the incinerated one"
"How in the blue blazes is that even possible?" Ben asked again, genuinely shocked. "Just that pea-brain's initial Supernova should've caused some kinda injuries, if not outright fatalities, for blocks around."
"It's because." Susan explained, her voice a mixture of awe and continued frustration with her brother, "while you were… engaging Johnny, Ranger, or rather his AI was already deploying its other constructs. They established a multi-layered kinetic and thermal perimeter around the entire engagement zone, simultaneously evacuating all civilians within a five-block radius. They made absolutely certain." she pointed towards the distant, almost invisible shimmer of an energy barrier several blocks away, where smaller Ultralinks were still calmly directing confused onlookers, "that no innocent bystanders would die because of my brother's monumental ego." She shook her head. "Why is a disembodied artificial intelligence demonstrably more sensible and considerate than my own flesh-and-blood brother?"
"Because, Suzie, at least that AI seems capable of learnin' from its mistakes, or its host's mistakes." Ben shrugged, his gaze returning to the distant, still-pinned form of Johnny. "Can't say the same for our little Torch over there. Even now, I can practically feel the indignant rage boilin' off him. Still tryin' to fight back against that REMORSE titan. He never learns, does he?"
"I agree," Susan said, a weary resignation in her voice. "Now I just hope he learns something from this, even if it's just a sliver of caution, and doesn't immediately try to go after Ranger the moment he's conscious. Ranger took down Johnny with just one specialized construct, Ben, without even needing to utilize that Infinity Stone Reed was babbling about." She massaged her temples, a headache clearly forming. "Brother, I truly hope you learn your lesson this time. Because if you don't, don't come crying to me when I can't, or won't, clean up your mess."
"Suzie, stop frettin' over Johnny for a minute." Ben said, patting her gently on the back with a hand the size of a small boulder. "If he learns, he learns. If he don't, well, then maybe you should have a serious chat with Reed about cookin' up some kinda power-dampening collar with your parental controls coded in. Otherwise, who the hell knows what kinda chaos he'll unleash in this comin' world war." He looked around. "Speakin' of our resident absent-minded professor, where in the blazes is Stretcho, anyway? Last I saw, he was about to try and dissect Ranger for spare parts."
"Replying to your query, Benjamin Grimm." a sleek, silver Ultralink drone, no larger than a dinner plate, zipped silently in front of them. Its multifaceted surface shimmered, then projected a remarkably clear, live holographic feed. The image showed Reed Richards in what was left of his primary lab, completely oblivious to the earlier battle. He was surrounded by floating holographic equations, scribbling furiously on a translucent whiteboard with one elongated hand, while another, equally stretched, manipulated a complex molecular model.
He was muttering to himself, a stream of excited, almost fanatical scientific jargon: "...the potential for stable quark-gluon plasma containment using a focused Turbo Energy matrix… if the resonant frequency can be harmonized with the Reality Stone's ambient chroniton field, we could theoretically bypass the Bekenstein bound for information density… a localized singularity, a pocket dimension with user-defined physical laws… imagine, the computational power!" He was entirely lost in his own world, a portrait of the fanatic scientist at the peak of his obsession.
"To prevent Subject Reed Richards from potentially interfering with the host's critical recovery or the necessary containment of hostile 'Johnny Storm'." the Ultralink explained, its synthesized voice calm and analytical, "N'Baro Aksteel X377 provided him with a curated selection of advanced theoretical research papers concerning hyper-dimensional physics and exotic energy applications, sourced from the host's private data archives. These documents were presented as partial compensation and as a means to ensure his… cognitive resources were otherwise occupied. The research materials appear to have successfully engaged his full intellectual capacity, and he has remained thus occupied for the duration of the recent conflict."
Ben and Susan stared at the image of Reed, then at each other, a mixture of exasperation and grudging understanding on their faces. "Sounds about right for Reed." Ben grumbled. "Honestly, Suzie, you really do have a godawful taste in fellas. The man could care less if the whole damn city was burnin' down around us, as long as he's got a new science puzzle to play with."
Susan tried to form a retort, a defense of Reed, but the words caught in her throat. Her eyes flickered from the image of her brother, pinned and fuming under a colossal elemental guardian, to the screen showing Reed, utterly lost in a world of equations, completely oblivious to the life-and-death struggles that had just occurred mere floors below him. A profound weariness settled over her.
"Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman, and Benjamin Jacob Grimm, the Thing." the smaller Ultralink's metallic voice intoned, "would you be so kind as to follow this unit back to the primary medical bay within the Baxter Building?" It then turned and glided smoothly towards the ravaged skyscraper. Ben and Susan exchanged another look, then, without a word, began to follow.
They entered what was left of the ground floor lobby. The devastation was immense, yet amidst the twisted metal and shattered concrete, dozens of Ultralink constructs, ranging from small, spider-like repair drones to larger, multi-limbed fabricators, were already at work. Beams of blue Turbo energy lanced out, not destructively, but with focused precision, cutting away damaged sections, while other constructs brought in new materials, seemingly conjured from the very air or repurposed from the debris itself. Walls reshaped, steel reflowed, glass reformed — the building didn't just repair. It healed. It was as if the building itself was a living organism, directed by the Ultralinks, its wounds knitting closed, its structure reasserting its original design with an almost eerie, silent efficiency.
"They work… incredibly fast." Susan breathed, watching a gaping hole in a load-bearing wall seal itself seamlessly. "And so… efficiently. It's like the building is healing itself."
"It is a matter of procedural formality, Susan Storm." the guiding Ultralink replied, its voice echoing slightly in the cavernous, rebuilding space. "As N'Baro Aksteel X377 has temporarily designated your domicile as a primary treatment facility for its host, it is incumbent upon our operational parameters that we do not exhibit discourteous behavior by leaving the premises in a state of disrepair. Therefore, all damage, even that caused by entities affiliated with your organization, will be remediated to the fullest extent of our current capabilities. This will not adversely impact your previously negotiated compensation."
Ben chuckled, a deep, rumbling sound. "Well, I'll be. I haven't even properly met this Ranger fella, and I think I already like him. Even his goddamn AI butler has better manners than half the politicians in DC. A pity if Johnny had even a damn sliver of its common sense. None of us would have to worry about him turnin' the city into a barbecue pit every other Tuesday."
The Ultralink led them to a newly formed, perfectly circular metal disc embedded in the floor. "Please stand upon this transport platform." it instructed. Ben and Susan, though confused, complied. The moment they were centered, the Ultralink seemed to merge partially with the disc, its blue energy infusing the platform. With a soft hum, the disc lifted from the floor, smoothly ascending through the gaping holes Johnny and Ben had created in their earlier plunge. Ben clicked his tongue, genuinely fascinated by the seamless integration of the Ultralink and the impromptu transport. "Now that's slick. Even Reed hasn't cooked up personal elevators that fast and on-the-fly yet."
The ascent was slow, deliberate, prioritizing safety and stability over speed. As each floor glided past, they witnessed the ongoing, almost organic, process of repair – walls reforming, conduits re-routing, systems coming back online, all orchestrated by the silent, tireless Ultralinks.
When they reached the top floor, the med-bay level, the disc settled smoothly. "Please proceed through the indicated doorway." the platform's integrated voice spoke, before the Ultralink detached and the disc silently retracted back down the shaft.
Ben shrugged and walked towards the reinforced door. It slid open silently before he could touch it. He and Susan stepped inside.
Ranger's body lay on the central med-bay slab. The blue glow beneath his skin had subsided considerably, and only a few of the smaller med-bay Ultralinks were still attending to him, their delicate manipulators making minute adjustments, suggesting the most critical healing was complete.
"Susan Storm and Benjamin Grimm." Steel's familiar, cold voice emanated from Ranger's form, though his eyes remained closed. "My host, Ranger, shall regain consciousness shortly. Approximate timeframe: 73.2 standard galactic seconds subsequent to the conclusion of this current dialogue. This should provide you both with sufficient opportunity to discuss and finalize your desired parameters for compensation. Subject Reed Richards, also known as 'Mister Fantastic,' has already received his allocated share of compensatory data. Now, only your requisitions remain. Please be advised, however, that the total compensation value has been significantly decreased due to your prior request to downgrade the 'Human Torch's' threat neutralization from 'elimination' to 'detainment and incapacitation.' You may attempt to bargain for revised terms when the host regains consciousness — though I suspect his generosity may vary, depending on his mood."
As Steel finished speaking, the last vestiges of the incandescent blue light within Ranger's eyes flickered, grew dim, and then vanished entirely.