"What happened?" The subordinate who had crashed into the invisible wall was utterly bewildered. He instinctively reached out to touch the space in front of him. When he felt an invisible barrier, his face changed, and he jumped back a few steps in horror, shouting, "It's a ghost wall! We're trapped by a ghost!"
In the USA, there are many horror films, and being trapped in a room with no way out is a common scenario in such movies. So when Kilian's men realized they were stuck and couldn't leave, they immediately thought of a "ghost wall," as seen in horror films.
After all, Kilian's men hadn't encountered much supernatural power. Even after injecting the Extremis Virus, they had never come across other extraordinary beings. When they used their abilities, it was either for testing or facing threats from firearms. As for telekinesis, they had never even heard of it.
As the first subordinate panicked, the others followed suit. Fear of the unknown is the most terrifying, and fear is contagious. In this enclosed space, the growing fear among them fed on itself. A few of the men even started glowing red—not because they were resisting, but because their power began to spiral out of control due to their fear.
"I didn't expect this to happen," Robert murmured, surprised at the effectiveness of his telekinetic barrier. He had only intended to trap Kilian and his men, but this unexpected psychological effect had never occurred before when using his power.
"They're not particularly weak," Robert noted, "but they're clearly inexperienced. If they'd been through more fights, they would've been exposed long ago. After all, their abilities cause too much commotion to be hidden from Jarvis." Robert quickly realized why Kilian's men were so vulnerable and shook his head in mild sympathy.
Under Robert's watchful gaze, it wasn't just Kilian's men who were struggling—Kilian himself was also slow to react. He hadn't yet figured out what was happening either.
Kilian's understanding of the extraordinary world was mostly centered around Tony Stark. Even Stark's armor was something Kilian didn't fully comprehend, let alone the abilities of other Avengers or superhumans.
While his subordinates trembled in fear, Kilian was only slightly more composed. He hadn't figured out what was happening but knew they couldn't just sit and wait for death. He decided to push his men to act, reasoning it was better to fight back than do nothing.
"Useless fools!" Kilian yelled, though his own heart was still uneasy. He forced himself to stay composed and barked at his men, "You all have extraordinary powers now! Ghosts can't possibly be a match for you!"
"Use your powers! Even if there are ghosts, can't you just burn them to ashes? Do you think a ghost can swallow fire?"
"Right! Why are we afraid? We have the Extremis Virus!" Hearing Kilian's words, his men began to calm down. As they ignited the flames within them, they started to muster the courage to explore the situation ahead.
"You, check if that barrier can be burned. If not, blast it with fire from a distance! I refuse to believe some invisible force can stop us!" Kilian ordered, gaining confidence as his men began to use their abilities.
The chosen subordinate hesitated, fear flickering in his eyes, but the fact that no ghosts had appeared yet gave him some courage. He approached the barrier with a hand engulfed in flame, trying to probe the invisible wall.
"Sss!" A faint sound echoed as his fiery hand encountered something, causing a distortion in the flames. But no matter how much he tried, both the fire and his hand were stopped by the invisible barrier. Though the fire didn't go out, it was indeed blocked.
"Boss, it can't be burned!" the subordinate exclaimed in fear, retreating quickly and not daring to stay near the barrier.
"Don't panic!" Kilian, though also afraid, quickly regained his composure and barked, "Everyone attack! Blast that area! Check if it's the same around the whole place! If the door doesn't work, find a window! If the windows don't work, knock down the walls!"
"Yes, boss!" The men responded. Some began inspecting the windows and walls, while the remaining fire-users gathered their flames and launched them at the invisible barrier.
"Boom!" The terrifying sound of explosions echoed through the abandoned factory. Without the telekinetic barrier, the blasts would have leveled the entire place. But with Robert's barrier in place, the explosions, no matter how powerful, only occurred inside the factory, failing to breach the shield. The fire-users themselves were left looking rather disheveled from the aftermath of their own attacks.
"Damn it! We can't get out? Is this really a ghost wall or something else?" Kilian's eyes flickered with fear and frustration as his men failed to make any progress. He couldn't find a solution.
Seeing this, the courage that had briefly flared up in his men quickly faded again. Their flames began to die down, and they huddled together, fear once again flashing in their eyes as they looked to Kilian for guidance.
But how could Kilian provide direction when he was just as confused as they were? He was equally terrified, unsure why they had suddenly been targeted by some unknown force.
"You didn't finish them off already, did you?" Just as Kilian was drowning in fear, a voice broke the tension. It startled Kilian and his men, for it sounded nothing like a ghost's voice.
"Not quite," came a response from outside the factory. "But if you don't show up soon, they'll probably die from fright before I even lift a finger..." Robert's amused voice carried over.
"However, now that you're here, they might not be as scared. Just don't mess up, or you might have to ask for my help," Robert added with a chuckle.
"Impossible! No way! Even if there are more of them, they can't beat me! I'm the strongest flame-user—well, except for you. You don't really count as a flame-user anymore," Johnny Storm shot back, clearly a bit self-conscious about Robert's teasing, especially since Robert had once been his mentor in mastering his fire abilities.
"Damn it! Who are you people? You're playing tricks on us?!" Kilian and his men overheard the conversation between Robert and Johnny, which immediately dispelled their fear of ghosts and replaced it with rage. Kilian shouted angrily toward the outside of the factory.
Even though they still couldn't leave, knowing they were up against people rather than ghosts helped them regain some confidence. As long as it was humans they were fighting, they felt they stood a chance. After all, dealing with flesh and blood seemed far easier than handling an invisible barrier.
"Looks like it's my turn to step in!" Johnny Storm grinned as he heard the commotion inside. He flashed Robert a cocky smile and strolled into the factory, confident that he was in for a big victory today.
But just as Johnny walked in, ready to make a grand entrance, he smacked right into the invisible wall.
The impact wiped the smug look off his face and killed the momentum he'd been building up. Kilian and his men, equally stunned, watched in confusion.
"Wait, what? That invisible wall wasn't his doing? He can't get through either? So we're stuck here, and he's stuck outside?" Kilian muttered in disbelief.
Meanwhile, Johnny turned his head toward Robert with an aggrieved look, his frustration almost palpable.
"Oops, my bad. Forgot to take it down. Go ahead, or better yet, let's both head inside. Don't want your fight to destroy all the equipment," Robert said with a sheepish cough, walking into the factory himself. This immediately drew Kilian's attention.
"They're inside!" Kilian's eyes widened as he saw Robert and Johnny step through the barrier. Without hesitation, he shouted, "Attack! Kill them all!"
"Boom!" Following Kilian's order, the fire-users launched a barrage of flames at Robert and Johnny.
Facing the incoming inferno, Robert had no intention of blocking or taking the hit. His figure flickered and disappeared, leaving Johnny to handle the explosion on his own.
"Hmm, good thing it wasn't destroyed in that explosion. Otherwise, Tony and the others would have to start all over again," Robert muttered as he reappeared next to the equipment in the corner. With a thought, he lifted the machinery with telekinesis and moved it safely to the side.
"Huh?!" Kilian, the only one not actively fighting, noticed something strange. When he looked over, he realized his precious equipment had mysteriously floated to the corner. And there, sitting calmly, was Robert, smiling at him. The sight made Kilian jump in fear.
"Who... Who are you?" Kilian demanded, his voice trembling as he glared at Robert, trying to mask his fear.
"Shh! Don't shout. Just watch the show. Let's see if your men can handle Johnny. You didn't actually think that explosion could kill him, did you?" Robert responded with a relaxed smile.
"Johnny?! You're with the Avengers?! Tony Stark sent you?! You're stealing my equipment to research the Extremis Virus? Didn't he think the Extremis Virus was beneath him?!" Kilian's voice grew louder as he spoke, his deep-rooted hatred for Stark overpowering his current fear.
"Impressive flames. Just like Tony said, their temperature is high. But it's not enough to kill me," Johnny commented coolly as he emerged from the aftermath of the explosion, completely unscathed, and addressed the group of fire-users.
Although both Johnny and Kilian's men wielded fire, Johnny's fire was clearly different. While the Extremis Virus
users had a molten lava-like appearance, Johnny's form was pure flame.
Moreover, Johnny's fire resistance was much higher than theirs. The earlier explosion had forced Kilian's men to retreat, but Johnny hadn't been hurt at all. It truly seemed like Johnny was having a shining moment in this battle.
"He can use fire too, but his flames are nowhere near as solid as ours! Get in close, and we'll take him down in close combat!" one of Kilian's fire-users shouted, charging at Johnny.
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