An emergency meeting was being held at The Pentagon.
The conference room was thick with smoke, and generals were gathered.
The Minister of Defense at the head of the table looked livid.
He was clutching a top-secret report that had just arrived from New York.
Printed on the cover of the report was a photograph—a man whose entire body was burning with Fire, standing in the center of a crater, smiling at the camera.
"Guardian Angel? Meteor descent?"
The Minister of Defense slammed the report onto the table with a dull thud.
"Can someone tell me what the hell this thing is!"
"Where did it come from? Is it friend or foe? What does it want?"
The barrage of questions caused all the generals present to lower their heads.
An officer in charge of intelligence analysis bit the bullet and spoke up.
"Mr. Minister, according to the preliminary report from the New York station, this... Human Torch is currently behaving very mildly and shows no aggression. He knows nothing about human society."
Another Air Force general sneered.
"A guy who can create a twenty-meter-diameter crater has no aggression? Thank God he landed in the suburbs; if he had landed in Manhattan, we would be discussing the reconstruction of New York right now!"
"More importantly, we cannot control him! Are our weapons effective against him? We don't even know what he eats or drinks! What does he rely on to maintain his form!"
The unknown is what is most terrifying.
Although Soldier Boy is powerful, he is at least still a human.
He has emotions and desires, and he has weaknesses.
But this sudden Human Torch is completely beyond their scope of understanding.
"Lynn Morris."
The Minister of Defense squeezed this name through his teeth.
"First Soldier Boy, then Captain America, and now a Human Torch has popped up! What exactly does he want to do? Does he want to tear off the roof of The Pentagon and take my seat himself?"
The angry roar echoed in the conference room.
But after the roar came a deeper sense of helplessness.
They could not bypass Lynn.
Because whether it was Soldier Boy or the Human Torch, all public opinion trends and all "official explanations" were firmly in the hands of that young man.
They couldn't even take any coercive measures against the Human Torch.
Because in the eyes of the public, that is a Guardian Angel sent by God.
Whoever dares to touch him is an enemy of the people of the nation.
"Contact him."
The Minister of Defense rubbed his temples wearily.
"I want to find out what exactly he is up to."
Lynn picked up the phone.
He listened to the polite yet probing rhetoric from The Pentagon liaison on the other end of the line.
"I fully understand your concerns."
Lynn's voice was sincere.
"In fact, I am also troubled by this matter."
He had long prepared a perfect speech.
A "research report" on the Human Torch, dozens of pages long, was lying quietly on his desk.
"According to the analysis of my office and several religious and occult experts I hired, we have reached a preliminary conclusion."
Lynn flipped through the report, his voice sounding rigorous and professional.
"The Human Torch is not a creature in the traditional sense; he is a... conceptual entity."
"A conceptual entity?"
"Yes. He is an existence born in response to the collective will of our nation. The public's worship of Soldier Boy and their hatred for the Red Skull—this intense emotional energy gave birth to this incarnation of light and heat on some unknown level."
"His mission is to purify the evil represented by the Red Skull."
Lynn didn't believe a single word of this pseudo-religious theory himself.
But it was mysterious enough, and sufficiently impossible to falsify.
And it was enough to give those generals at The Pentagon, who only believed in data and shells, a headache.
"So... you mean he just popped up on his own?"
"You could understand it that way."
"He is a blank slate and possesses the instinct to purify evil, but he does not know what is good or what is love. He needs to learn and be guided."
There was silence on the other end of the line.
Lynn threw out his "solution."
"I suggest letting him join an environment of love and justice, and let him personally experience the values we protect."
"We need a perfect mentor, a moral role model, to teach him how to use his power correctly."
"You mean..."
"Captain America, Steve Rogers."
Lynn gave the final answer.
"What better way to show the World our goodwill and tolerance than by having him join Captain America's patriotic tour?"
"Let the messenger of God fight alongside our hero and learn the noblest qualities of humanity. This in itself is a perfect piece of political propaganda."
On the other end of the line, there was silence.
Lynn could even imagine the other party swiftly weighing the pros and cons.
This plan was exactly what the Military wanted.
Placing the Human Torch under the dual supervision of the public and the Military, and binding him together with the "red-blooded" Captain America.
No matter how you look at it, it's a brilliant move.
They both appeased the public and placed a shackle called "indoctrination" on this unstable "god."
"Mr. Morris..."
The other party's voice sounded, filled with admiration.
"Your wisdom is as astonishing as ever; the committee agrees in principle with your plan."
"It is my honor to share the country's burdens."
Lynn hung up the phone with a smile on his face.
Steve Rogers?
A perfect moral benchmark.
A perfect... babysitter.
Letting a hero overflowing with a sense of justice teach an artificial human who only follows his own orders what "justice" is.
This show couldn't be any more exciting.
Steve, my good Captain, I hope that when you find out the truth later, you can still maintain your innocence.
A few days later, backstage at Captain America's patriotic tour.
Steve Rogers was doing warm-up exercises backstage.
Just then, the backstage door was pushed open.
Lynn walked in.
Behind him followed a young man wearing a special fireproof combat suit, his eyes full of curiosity.
It was none other than the "Human Torch," Jim Hammond.
"Lynn?"
Steve stopped his movements, somewhat surprised.
"Steve, let me introduce you to a new partner."
Lynn patted Jim on the shoulder.
"This is Jim Hammond, and he will join your future tours as a special guest."
Steve's gaze fell on Jim.
He had seen the "Guardian Angel descent" event that had shocked the nation a few days ago.
Was the young man in front of him the god who had walked out of the meteor?
He looked... too harmless.
There was not a trace of impurity in those orange-red pupils.
"Hello, CaptainRogers."
Jim extended his hand and flashed a friendly smile.
"Mr. Lynn says you are the noblest person in this World, and he asked me to learn from you what love and justice are."
His voice carried a sincerity of someone naive to the ways of the World.
Steve was stunned.
He looked into Jim's pure eyes and reached out to shake his hand.
That hand was warm and strong.
An inexplicable sense of closeness welled up.
Steve saw his own former shadow in this young man named Jim.
That version of himself from Brooklyn—weak, confused, but full of justice.
"Welcome, Jim."
A sincere smile appeared on Steve's face.
"I will teach you everything."
He had no idea that he was making an older brother-like promise to an artificial weapon that only followed Lynn's orders.
That night's performance was an unprecedented success.
When the Human Torch transformed into the pattern of the Stars and Stripes with brilliant flames on stage, the entire audience went crazy.
He stood side by side with Captain America.
One representing the pinnacle of the human spirit, the other representing God's favor upon the United States.
This combination was a match made in heaven!
Sales of war bonds broke historical records.
Backstage, Steve excitedly patted Jim on the shoulder.
"You did great, Jim! You were born for the stage!"
Jim just smiled, his gaze looking toward the man on the phone in the distant Shadow.
Lynn.
His god.
The only meaning of his existence.
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