Chapter 116: Ryan's Mental Manipulation and Wanda's Physical Destruction
Scarlet Witch dismissed these minor threats with a disdainful snort and began scanning the area for the source of the death energy she'd sensed earlier.
She didn't find it, but she did spot Ryan and his companions.
Just as she was about to acknowledge them, several figures suddenly descended from the sky.
Seeing that the lead Captain Marvel was the Monica Rambeau variant, Ryan felt a twinge of disappointment—he'd hoped to see Carol Danvers.
"Wanda, release those sorcerers and come with us," Monica commanded.
Wanda tilted her head mockingly. "And who exactly do you think you are?"
Monica's expression hardened, her eyes glowing with power. "Are you really going to make me take you by force?"
"Crack!"
Wanda's open hands suddenly clenched into fists, and the four mind-controlled Master sorcerers collapsed simultaneously, necks snapping with sickening precision.
"Wanda!" Monica roared, unleashing a beam of photon energy directly at the Scarlet Witch.
Wanda casually raised one hand, effortlessly deflecting Monica's blast.
Monica might lack Carol's experience, but she was still a formidable fighter. Her body erupted with golden energy as she charged at the hovering Scarlet Witch.
The clash between two powerhouses of this magnitude was devastating. Even the shockwaves from their initial exchange tore craters across the plaza in front of the hotel.
Civilians who'd been foolishly watching the spectacle finally fled in terror, realizing they could be killed by collateral damage.
Cassie, pushing Ryan's wheelchair, also retreated to a safer distance.
"BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!"
Scarlet Witch and Captain Marvel traded blows, their concentrated energies creating shockwaves that would pulverize any ordinary human caught in the blast radius.
When their powers reached critical mass, a massive energy explosion erupted from the center of their clash, sending both combatants flying backward.
THUD!
Wanda crashed to the ground but didn't immediately rise. Instead, she thrust her hands toward the hotel building behind Monica and unleashed a massive wave of chaos magic.
The structure, already destabilized by their battle, groaned and collapsed directly onto Captain Marvel.
Monica sensed the danger and tried to phase into her energy form to escape, but she was a fraction of a second too late.
"CRASH!"
The entire hotel building came down on top of her, sending debris flying in all directions as thick clouds of dust billowed outward.
A gentle breeze gradually cleared the smoke. Wanda's eyes narrowed as she saw Monica completely unharmed beneath the rubble.
She could just barely make out a transparent force field surrounding the other woman—dust particles settling on its surface made it visible to the naked eye.
Before Wanda could process this development, a streak of fire suddenly curved through the sky toward her.
A figure emerged from the flames, hurling a massive fireball at the Scarlet Witch.
"Pathetic."
It was ordinary fire—nothing special. Wanda raised her hand and released a pulse of chaos magic that vaporized the fireball instantly.
Just as she prepared to counterattack, a car suddenly flew sideways through the air, slamming into her mid-cast and sending her tumbling.
Fortunately, Wanda's reflexes were fast enough to block most of the impact with a hastily conjured shield. She stood up dusty but uninjured, her eyes immediately locking onto three new arrivals who'd joined Monica.
Two wore matching blue jumpsuits with the distinctive "4" logo—the same emblem Reed Richards had worn. The third was a massive humanoid figure covered in orange rock-like plating.
"The Fantastic Four," Ryan murmured from his position in the distance.
Cassie leaned closer to Ryan's wheelchair and whispered, "Do you know them?"
"Yes. They all have powers. The woman can turn invisible and generate force fields. The man can transform into living flame—he can fly and project fire."
Cassie stared at the Human Torch for a moment. "Wait... why does he look exactly like Captain America?"
"Heh. The multiverse works in mysterious ways," Ryan replied with a slight smile. Then, more seriously: "Anthony, go help Wanda."
The Illuminati had originally been a secret organization with only a handful of members. They usually operated as independent heroes and only convened during world-threatening events.
Perhaps Thanos's invasion had exposed the Illuminati to the public, because they clearly weren't bothering with secrecy anymore.
Anthony nodded but didn't immediately rush to Wanda's aid. Instead, he circled around to the opposite side, searching for the optimal moment to strike.
Meanwhile, Wanda showed no concern about facing Monica Rambeau and the Fantastic Four simultaneously.
Her hands blazed with chaos magic as she took the offensive, stepping forward aggressively. With a casual flick of her right hand, a crimson energy beam sent the Thing flying through the air like a ragdoll.
"Human Torch, now!" Johnny Storm shouted, his entire body instantly erupting into dancing flames.
He shot into the sky, continuously bombarding Wanda with streams of fire, while Monica flew to flank her from the opposite angle, firing photon blasts.
Wanda raised both hands, one toward each attacker, simultaneously blocking their combined assault.
Seeing Wanda momentarily restrained, the Thing immediately charged forward, intending to overwhelm her with brute strength in close combat.
BOOM!
Halfway through his charge, he was suddenly tripped and sent sprawling by Anthony's unexpected intervention.
The Thing was incredibly durable, but even his rock-like hide couldn't compare to the hardness of Adamantium bone claws.
"Ben!" Susan Storm shouted, starting to move toward him.
The Thing pushed himself up. "I've got this! Go help the others!"
Seeing Ben was still in the fight, Susan turned back to assist Monica and Johnny.
She vanished from sight, activating her invisibility as she moved to close the distance and use her force fields to restrain Wanda.
In the distance, Ryan suddenly opened his eyes wide and unleashed an illusion, enveloping the invisible Susan Storm in a wave of psychic energy.
Mid-stride, Susan's vision suddenly went dark. Her surroundings warped violently, and in the next instant, she found herself surrounded by shrieking demons attacking from every direction.
Panicking, Susan immediately projected force fields in all directions to ward off the spectral threats.
"WHAM! WHAM!"
Susan threw up shields to her left, then her right, spinning wildly as she fought off imaginary attackers, her movements resembling some bizarre, frantic dance.
With both the Invisible Woman and the Thing occupied, Wanda faced the remaining opponents with overwhelming superiority. Johnny, locked in what had become a two-on-one battle against Wanda, noticed Susan's erratic behavior and immediately abandoned his attack to fly toward her.
As he approached, one of Susan's force fields suddenly slammed into him, sending him tumbling backward.
"Susan! What's wrong with you?! Can you hear me?!"
Of course Susan couldn't hear him. Ryan had completely blocked all her external senses. All she could perceive was an endless horde of demonic entities and their bone-chilling screams.
Johnny could see the terror on Susan's face, but he was powerless to help her.
With the Human Torch distracted, Monica found herself alone against Wanda. Unable to match the Scarlet Witch's power, she was blasted backward, then subjected to a relentless barrage of chaos magic.
Wanda's hands glowed with crimson energy as she slowly approached Monica, finally lifting her into the air with telekinesis.
"You should give those powers back to Carol Danvers. She was a thousand times more worthy than you."
Monica, trapped in Wanda's magical grip, gritted her teeth. "The Illuminati will never stop hunting you."
"You won't live to see that day."
Wanda intensified her magical output, and Monica's body began to contort as chaos magic ravaged her on a molecular level.
Monica screamed in agony, her form flickering between solid and energy states uncontrollably.
Meanwhile, Johnny was still desperately trying to break through to Susan when he heard Monica's screams. He turned to help her—
In the distance, Ryan smiled faintly from his wheelchair. He released Susan from the illusion and simultaneously unleashed his death energy, manifesting ghostly blue flames that streaked toward the Human Torch.
Normal fire collided with the blue flames. Johnny's orange flames burned at around 2,000°F—but the blue flames of death energy burned at nearly 5,000°F. They were in completely different leagues.
Johnny Storm screamed in agony as the blue flames consumed his own fire. His powers extinguished completely, and he plummeted from the sky.
"AAHHH! GET IT OFF!"
The blue flames clung to Johnny like living things. No matter how frantically he beat at them, no matter how desperately he rolled across the ground, he couldn't extinguish them.
"Johnny!" Susan, having suddenly regained her senses, immediately projected a force field around her brother, trying to smother the flames.
She succeeded in blocking them—but the flames, as if possessing intelligence, suddenly redirected toward Susan herself.
Simultaneously, Ryan cast an illusion over Johnny.
Johnny's blue suit was tattered and scorched. When he climbed to his feet and looked around, he froze in horror. Standing not far away was a towering monster made entirely of blue flame, baring fangs of pure fire at him.
"Get away from my sister!"
Johnny hurled a fireball at what he perceived as a monster—but the fireball flew directly toward Susan.
Susan was struck by two sources of flame simultaneously: Ryan's death energy fire and Johnny's own attack. All she could do was expand her force field as wide as possible to protect herself.
Finally understanding what was happening, Susan shouted desperately, "Johnny, it's all an illusion! You have to wake up!"
But to Johnny, Susan's screams sounded like the roar of the blue flame monster, and he intensified his assault.
Fireball after fireball slammed into Susan's protective force field, each impact sending ripples across its surface. The shield trembled, looking ready to shatter at any moment.
Ryan single-handedly manipulated both Susan and Johnny, and neither realized they were being controlled by an outside force. They remained locked in combat against each other.
Meanwhile, Monica Rambeau, thoroughly defeated by the Scarlet Witch, was barely conscious. She could only glare at Wanda with defiant, furious eyes.
Wanda sneered. "I don't like that look in your eyes. Turn away."
CRACK!
Monica's neck twisted 180 degrees with a sickening snap, and she died instantly.
After dispatching Captain Marvel, Wanda turned her attention to Susan and Johnny, who were still battling each other in confusion.
Just as she prepared to eliminate them both, Ryan spoke up: "Wanda, I need those two alive."
Wanda's eyes flickered with crimson light as she looked at Ryan. Chaos magic danced around her fingertips. After a long moment, she slowly withdrew her power and asked, "How did you find me?"
Ryan didn't answer her question. Instead, he said calmly, "We need to find somewhere to discuss our next move. As I've said before—traveling the multiverse isn't difficult. The hard part is surviving in someone else's world."
Wanda studied Ryan carefully, then suddenly raised both hands.
Susan and Johnny, who'd been locked in combat, were instantly immobilized by crimson energy.
Ryan called out: "Anthony, we're leaving."
Anthony, who'd been toying with the Thing, retracted his Adamantium claws and kicked Ben Grimm away one final time.
Seeing his teammates Susan and Johnny captured, the Thing roared and charged forward to save them.
He'd barely taken two steps when Scarlet Witch used her magic to lift everyone into the air.
The Thing could only watch helplessly as the group rose higher and higher, finally disappearing into the distance.
"Damn it! Come back here!"
Ben Grimm's roar echoed across the devastated plaza, but it was futile.
He turned slowly, surveying the destruction around him.
The hotel was obliterated. Multiple Master sorcerers lay dead. Monica Rambeau's body was twisted and broken. Susan Storm and Johnny Storm had been captured. Only the Thing remained.
The truth was, the Thing hadn't been captured purely because Ryan had no interest in him whatsoever.
The one who'd been dismissed was actually the fortunate one—though whether Ben Grimm would feel relieved or insulted upon learning this truth remained to be seen.
End of Chapter 116
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