"Back off, bug!" Sandman roared, swinging a massive arm of swirling grit.
But the "bug" wasn't Peter Parker this time.
He'd been monitoring the city-wide disturbance from Oscrop Tower when he picked up seismic spikes and elevated thermal signatures near a construction site, his construction site.
He hadn't planned to get involved until he realized the fight had spilled over onto OsCorp property.
That changed everything.
Especially in a country where "private property" was practically scripture.
Across the site, Human Torch flared midair. "Hey! Watch it—he's gonna—"
Sandman's colossal arm swung straight at Nolan.
But Nolan didn't dodge.
One exhaled, except it wasn't air.
It was a bone-chilling torrent of cryogenic wind, colder than anything natural, an arctic blast engineered from within.
The sand-arm froze solid on contact, flash-frozen into an icy chunk that shattered on impact with the pavement.
The froststorm didn't stop.
It surged forward, enveloping Sandman's legs in instant permafrost. The crystallization spread rapidly upward.
Marko's eyes widened in horror. "No—no, no, no!"
He tried to flee, but the frost caught him mid-transformation. Within seconds, a towering sculpture of solid ice stood where the raging Sandman had been.
Perfect. Immaculate. Frozen.
Peter, Johnny, Sue, Ben, and Reed, who had just located the construction site's water valve, froze in place, stunned.
"...Did he just... breathe on him?" Johnny whispered.
Wanda landed softly next to Nolan, having thrown on an outfit after seeing him blast out of the tower mid-meditation.
She looked at the towering ice sculpture, stunned. "That's..."
"Handled," Nolan said flatly.
He glanced at the statue.
"You can hear me, Marko?"
"...Yes! Yes!" Sandman's internal voice echoed, frantic. "I surrender! Just get me outta this! My core's freezing, I can't move!"
"Good. Shift into human form the second you're out, or I'll put you back in the freezer permanently."
Nolan looked up at Johnny. "Torch—melt him down, low and slow. He's agreed to play nice."
Johnny blinked. "Wait—you talked to him?"
But he obeyed, circling the ice statue with precise rings of fire. The outer layers began to melt and drip away.
Watching this unfold, Nolan noted the Fantastic Four with interest, particularly Johnny and Sue. Siblings with complementary powers were often exceptional.
Wanda and Pietro. Cyclops and Havok. Even Scott Lang and Cassie.
Johnny Storm, the Human Torch,, could fly at hypersonic speeds, generate plasma-level heat, and, under extreme conditions, even detonate like a miniature sun.
Susan Storm, his sister, was even more dangerous. Her control over light refraction, invisibility, force fields, and energy constructs made her one of the most versatile supers in existence, provided she unlocked her full range.
She hadn't yet. But the potential was staggering.
Ben Grimm, the Thing, is reliable but limited.
Reed Richards, meanwhile...
Nolan narrowed his eyes slightly.
Reed's power wasn't elasticity. Not really.
His mind was his true ability. In every universe Nolan had studied, Reed was one of the few mortals capable of standing before gods and demanding conversation.
In one timeline, Reed built a machine to confront The One Above All.
He was, arguably, smarter than Stark, though far less emotional.
Which made him dangerous.
Peter approached awkwardly, silently praying Nolan wouldn't bring up the fact that they worked for the same company. Again.
Reed, meanwhile, stepped forward eagerly. "Mr. Nolan. Or is it... Superman now?"
Nolan gave a rare smile. "Just Nolan is fine."
"I've followed your work," Reed said. "Your regeneration serum. Your adaptive mutation theories. Your 'Nocturne Protocol' paper on meta-hybrid viability. It's... groundbreaking."
"You're too kind," Nolan replied. "Though your work in quantum mechanics made my eyes bleed in a good way."
The two shook hands, scientists recognizing scientists.
From the edge of the group, Sue Storm narrowed her eyes.
Reed hadn't looked that excited to see her since well, ever.
"Jerk," she muttered under her breath.
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