Meanwhile, in America, as General Icar completely lost his connection to Gotham, he finally couldn't hold back his resistance any longer! Against Batman, who held a higher level of authority, General Icar had no way to rebel. He couldn't even use any of his powers in front of Batman.
But with Johnny Storm, it was different. Although General Icar could sense that Johnny was powerful, as death approached, he still wanted to struggle. After all, few beings can remain passive when they sense death drawing near.
In theory, without a host, General Icar, in his mask form, was unable to act, let alone use the Shadow Legion's power. The mask essentially functioned as a sealed state.
However, during the recent descent of darkness, General Icar had secretly gathered a significant amount of power within his mask, granting him the ability to break free from the mask and manifest a physical form.
With a loud "buzz," before Johnny Storm even realized what was happening, General Icar had regained his freedom. A surge of dark energy sent Johnny flying.
"Wow! So you can move on your own, huh?" Johnny was a bit surprised at Icar's newfound freedom, but not too much. After all, Robert had already mentioned in his intel on the Shadow Legion that both Tala and General Manny had acquired physical bodies, though their faces still retained the eerie appearance of their masks.
"Avenger, I have no intention of being your enemy. I wasn't involved in the recent descent of darkness, nor do I have any desire to cause chaos on Earth. Batman can vouch for me—I've been very obedient during this time..." After regaining his freedom, General Icar didn't immediately attack Johnny Storm but instead tried to negotiate.
"I just told Batman nothing would go wrong, and now you've broken free. What does that do for my credibility?" Johnny Storm smirked as he replied.
"Besides, if you were truly harmless and obedient, why would Batman hand you over to me without any hesitation, without even trying to vouch for you?" Johnny continued, his tone mocking.
"Batman has issues! I didn't understand him before, and now I understand him even less!" General Icar quickly responded, clearly anxious.
"Issues? What kind of issues? Are you trying to drag him down with you just because you never figured him out?" Johnny scoffed, unconvinced. "But don't worry, even if Batman does have issues, the Avengers will deal with him. As for you, it's better to just surrender!"
"No! I don't want to die!" Panic-stricken, General Icar unleashed his power, summoning a shadow warrior's katana and slashing at Johnny Storm.
With a swift "whoosh," the attack missed Johnny, the shadow warrior's blade cutting through the air, leaving a dark streak hanging in mid-air.
Suddenly, a massive explosion erupted from General Icar, sending his body floating into the air like a feather caught in the wind.
Boom!
The explosion was just the beginning. As General Icar's body was blasted upwards, more explosions erupted from his form, continuously sending him flying, in what almost resembled one of Robert's signature air combos.
"Honestly, I had just wanted to prepare a backup plan, but I didn't expect it to work so well. You had no reason to resist—now you're suffering for nothing!" Johnny said with a feigned sigh as he admired the explosions blossoming like fireworks in the sky.
It turned out that when Johnny had first taken custody of General Icar, he had set up a series of explosive fire traps on him. These were akin to timed mines, triggered by Johnny's control over fire.
Icar had been so focused on breaking free from the mask that he hadn't noticed the traps set on his body. Now, the surprise attacks had caught him off guard.
Had General Icar retained more of the dark power he absorbed during the descent, he might have stood a chance of fighting Johnny head-on. Even if he couldn't win, he could have at least tried to escape into the darkness. But now, after being repeatedly blasted, he had no strength left to resist.
To make matters worse, Johnny Storm had plenty of experience dealing with the Shadow Legion. He knew that if Icar was pushed to the brink of death, the Dark Dimension might intervene to revive him.
Since Johnny didn't have a sealing technique like Robert's Magic Seal and wasn't strong enough to resist the Dark Dimension, he decided to avoid killing General Icar altogether. The last thing he wanted was for the Dark Dimension to intervene and undo all his hard work.
"I'd better contact Robert before General Icar's injuries get too severe..." Johnny thought as he watched the continuous explosions, quickly reaching out to Robert.
Communicating was simple enough—Kamar-Taj still had signals, and Robert hadn't deactivated his communication device, knowing Johnny would be contacting him about General Icar.
With a "buzz," after Johnny sent his coordinates through J.A.R.V.I.S. and reached Robert, a fiery portal opened nearby, transporting both Johnny and General Icar to Kamar-Taj.
Once they arrived, Johnny immediately stopped the explosions from continuing, giving General Icar a brief moment of respite.
"I can't just sit here and die! I have to escape!" General Icar thought to himself, regaining consciousness. He immediately tried to flee.
But before he could act, his body was suddenly caught and spun around uncontrollably. To his horror, he found himself being sucked into a small bottle, carried by a swirl of green energy.
And with a final "boom," General Icar's story came to an end, sealed within the bottle, along with any power from the Dark Dimension. He never even got the chance to call on the dark forces for help.
Despite being one of the earliest introduced characters, General Icar's death came far too late—by now, Robert had perfected his technique for quickly dealing with the Shadow Legion masks.
Had any other mask generals remained, they wouldn't have even had the chance to reveal their abilities before Robert swiftly neutralized them.
After all, following the recent descent of darkness, Robert was determined to ensure Earth wouldn't experience another such event. A second one could truly set human civilization back by millennia!
"Alright, the Shadow Legion business should be settled. You guys take care of the aftermath from the dark event. If any issues arise, have J.A.R.V.I.S. notify me. For now, I'm going to study this Reality Stone..." Robert said after dealing with General Icar, turning to Johnny.
"Got it," Johnny nodded. He had seen the Reality Stone in Robert's hand but had no interest in it.
Knowing the stone's capabilities, Johnny felt it was far too dangerous. He figured it was better to keep his distance from such a dangerous object.
Though Johnny hadn't found any way to further enhance his powers, he had no intention of messing with the Reality Stone. After all, what good would power be if he didn't live long enough to use it?
Meanwhile, back at the Avengers' base, Peggy Carter, who had been unconscious since gaining her abilities, finally woke up, much to Steve Rogers' relief.
Even though Robert had reassured Steve that Peggy was fine and just needed time to adjust to her new powers, Steve couldn't relax until he saw her wake up.
"Steve! What happened? Where am I?" Peggy asked groggily, her mind still a bit foggy after being unconscious for so long. The last thing she remembered was protecting Brian, so she looked around in confusion.
"You're at the Avengers' base," Steve gently explained. "You passed out, and you've been unconscious for quite some time, so I brought you here to recover. A lot has happened while you were asleep..."
"Wait! What about the boy? Brian! Is he okay?" Peggy's memory flashed back to the moment she shielded Brian on the mysterious planet. She anxiously looked at Steve for answers.
"Don't worry, he's fine. He's in the same condition as you were, just not awake yet," Steve reassured her, pointing to a nearby bed where Brian, now looking much older, lay unconscious.
"What? Who's that? Is he part of the Avengers? I don't recall you mentioning him before..." Peggy asked, bewildered, seeing a young man who appeared to be around 17 or 18 lying there.
"That's Brian. Like I said, a lot has happened since you were knocked out," Steve laughed as he embraced Peggy. "Brian grew up in an instant, and you've become younger. Haven't you felt the power coursing through your body?"
"I've become younger?" Peggy was stunned, not paying much attention to the mention of power. Although she had felt remarkably light upon waking up, with no weakness from her long coma, her immediate focus was on Steve's revelation that she had grown younger.
"Is this real?!" Peggy exclaimed in delight as she gazed into a mirror, seeing a version of herself that looked like she was in her 30s or 40s. She couldn't contain her excitement.
Though she hadn't returned to her peak youthful appearance, Peggy was thrilled with her current state. Not only had she regained her youth, but this also meant she could put retirement behind her and fight alongside Steve once again.
"We can talk about you getting younger later. First, let's test your powers! Can you feel the energy flowing through you?" Steve smiled warmly at Peggy but reminded her of her new abilities.
"Energy flowing through me? You mean this warmth?" Peggy focused and managed to summon a red stream of energy in her hand, waving it toward Steve as she asked.
With a soft "whoosh," the energy in her hand flew out, enveloping Steve and lifting him into the air.
"Oh my
god! What did I do?!" Peggy panicked, realizing that her power was making Steve float and that he appeared to be in discomfort. She grew flustered, unsure how to control or retract her abilities, especially since she had just awakened them.
Thankfully, J.A.R.V.I.S. quickly alerted Lorna, whose telekinetic abilities intervened, dissipating the red energy surrounding Steve.
"Steve! Are you okay?" Peggy rushed over to Steve, cradling him with concern and guilt.
"I'm fine. Looks like your powers are similar to telekinesis, but they seem more tangible than mine," Steve reassured her with a smile, analyzing her abilities.
In reality, Peggy's powers were more akin to a simplified version of Chaos Magic. In a parallel universe, Peggy Carter had once been sliced in half by Wanda Maximoff. Now, receiving powers similar to Wanda's felt like some form of cosmic compensation.
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