The streets of Tech Sector-7 were in a state of primal terror. The Sabretooth Tiger, a creature of prehistoric nightmares resurrected by the dark sciences of Iqtadar, prowled through the neon-lit canyons. It was a mass of tawny muscle and six-inch fangs, its eyes glowing with a chemically induced rage.
As the heroes arrived, the air temperature dropped instantly. Robert stepped forward, his new evolution pulsing through his veins like liquid nitrogen. He didn't wait for a plan or a command from Donald. He simply raised his hand.
"Freeze," Robert whispered.
A wave of jagged ice erupted from the pavement, lances of frost pinning the beast's massive paws to the ground. The Sabretooth roared, but the ice crawled up its fur, sapping its heat and strength. Robert moved with a cold, terrifying grace, his power playing the major role in the beast's defeat before Erif or Donald could even strike.
"Two evolutions in one day," Donald muttered, watching the frozen monster with a mixture of awe and resentment. "The power... it's different."
But the celebration was cut short. A high-priority alert bypassed their standard comms, flashing onto the massive screens in their base. It was a direct feed from the SSRC (Space Sky Research Centre).
"What is that?" Tom asked, his face pale as the monitor showed a swirling, dark vortex forming directly above his life's work.
"A huge thunder fall," Erif read aloud, his voice grim. "The news says a localized atmospheric collapse is about to hit the SSRC. The voltage readings are off the charts."
"What?" Tom shouted. "I want to go there! My research... the staff... it'll be vaporized!"
"Don't go," Robert warned, his voice devoid of emotion. "You may get hurt by a fall of that magnitude. It's not a normal storm, Tom. It's a concentrated strike."
"I should hurry up!" Tom didn't listen. He ignited his thrusters, a trail of blue sparks following him as he tore through the sky toward the research center.
As he neared the SSRC, the world turned white. A pillar of lightning, wider than a skyscraper, descended from the heavens. It wasn't a single bolt; it was a continuous waterfall of pure, raw electricity. Tom, driven by a desperate need to save his company, flew directly into the heart of the storm.
The impact was catastrophic. The thunder hitted him with the force of a million volts. Tom's body was instantly paralyzed, his flight systems fried. He began to fall from 33,000 feet, a lifeless stone of metal and flesh plummeting toward the earth.
Inside the base, Tom's AI, Ollie, sent a frantic, high-pitched message: "Warning! Tom Tonitrus is in terminal velocity. Survival probability: 0.02%. Location transmitted. He is going to die."
"Go!" Erif screamed.
The four remaining heroes pushed their engines to the limit. They reached the crash site just in time, combining their elemental forces to create a cushioned field of wind, fire-pressure, and water-tension to catch Tom's falling body. They rushed him back to the medical center, but as they laid him on the table, the base's systems began to fail.
The voltage in the room surged. Miniature circuit breakers exploded in showers of sparks; fuses melted like wax. The heroes shielded their eyes as a blinding aura of blue light enveloped Tom's body.
When the light faded, Tom was no longer lying down. He was standing in the center of the room, his feet hovering an inch off the floor. His eyes were no longer human—they were swirling pits of white lightning. Electric arcs danced across his suit, and he stood with more stability and presence than ever before.
Robert was the first to speak. "I think... you have been evolved."
"Yes," Tom said, his voice vibrating with the low hum of a power station. "I feel more powerful than I ever imagined."
"Wow," Micheal breathed. "You actually defended a huge thunder fall and absorbed it."
"Congratulations, Tom," Erif said, reaching out to pat his friend's shoulder, only to be met by a harmless but sharp static shock. "You truly are the God of Lightning now."
"Thank you all," Tom said, though his gaze lingered toward the window, looking out toward the palace of the Evil Supreme God.
The next morning, the hologram in Robert's lab flickered to life again. The address was the same. The mission, however, was about to change everything.