Chapter 61 - A Clash in the Skies

Xu Mo soared through the sky, his presence defying the very elements. The clouds above grew darker, seemingly pressing down on the scene below. In the distance, a blazing streak of flame shot across the horizon, the fiery figure unmistakably Johnny Storm of the Fantastic Four.

"Flame?" Xu Mo mused, raising an eyebrow. The arrival of Johnny Storm confirmed what Xu Mo suspected: the Fantastic Four had arrived. Given their previous track record, this was expected.

"Hey, you can fly too? How interesting," Johnny called out with a mix of arrogance and triumph. Having recently acquired his powers, Johnny was eager to make a dramatic entrance. He had already envisioned the headlines: "Johnny the Flame Saves Manhattan!" He relished the thought of global acclaim.

Xu Mo, unfazed by Johnny's bravado, replied calmly, "Be careful with your boasts; they only reveal your weakness."

Johnny, feeling slighted, retorted, "Damn it, I'll burn you to ashes!" His frustration was palpable. Overprotected by his sister Susan, Johnny had rarely faced ridicule, especially not so soon after gaining his powers.

With a dramatic flourish, Johnny unleashed a pillar of intense flames. The heat was so extreme it turned the clouds a fiery red, creating the appearance of a sea of fire in the sky. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents below were stunned, witnessing a display of power that far exceeded anything they had seen before. The scene was a stark contrast to the usual technological threats they dealt with.

Daredevil and the others, overwhelmed by the sheer scale of the destruction, used the chaos as an opportunity to escape. They understood that staying any longer could mean being caught in the crossfire.

"See that? If you're too late to surrender, know that Firebolt is the strongest," Johnny boasted as he drew closer, basking in his own triumph.

The temperature soared as Johnny approached, the air itself distorting from the intense heat. The clouds burned through, leaving a gaping hole. Johnny's flames created a spectacle of destruction that was breathtakingly fierce.

"Hey, is it dead?" Johnny called out, his voice tinged with a reckless eagerness. He was so caught up in his own power that he failed to consider the consequences of his actions.

Suddenly, a hand emerged from the inferno, grabbing Johnny with lightning speed. The intense heat barely affected Xu Mo, whose LV4 toughness provided near-complete immunity to such temperatures. His calm demeanor remained unshaken as he firmly grasped Johnny's neck.

Xu Mo, unperturbed by the flames, used his strength to hurl Johnny downward. The resulting shockwave from the throw created a powerful air blast that extinguished the raging fire. Johnny was propelled away, his fiery form flickering as he plummeted towards the ground.

"Quickly, move out!" Natasha shouted as she saw the flaming meteor descend toward their position. The potential for disaster was immense, with Johnny's fall threatening to cause further destruction.

"Burn faster! Burn faster!" Johnny panicked, realizing that if he couldn't regain control of his flight, he would crash to the ground in a perilous state. His earlier confidence faltered as the reality of his situation set in.

Despite his attempts to reignite his flames and regain altitude, Johnny's descent was unstoppable. He crashed into the ruins with the force of a meteor, sending shockwaves through the debris. The surrounding ruins ignited, and Johnny lay in a crater, flames sputtering from his mouth as he struggled to recover.

The situation escalated further as several high-explosive projectiles were launched from above. The S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, still in the vicinity, were horrified as they detected the impending danger.

"Sir, the high-explosive reaction is imminent!" an agent shouted, eyes wide with fear.

A blue energy shield appeared around Johnny's head, attempting to protect him from the incoming onslaught. But the explosion was inevitable. The projectile struck the barrier, and a massive fireball erupted, engulfing the entire area in a blinding white light.

The explosion obliterated the ruins, turning them into a sea of flames and debris. Black smoke billowed into the sky, and the shockwave scattered dust and rubble across the landscape. The lifeboat, which had been positioned to rescue those trapped below, was buffeted by the explosion's force.

Hawkeye, desperately trying to get the team to safety, shouted, "Stay alert!"

The ground shook with the intensity of the blast, and the noise was deafening. Xu Mo, observing from above, adjusted his glasses and surveyed the devastation. The once-pristine landscape was now a crater filled with smoke and wreckage.

"Remarkably tenacious," Xu Mo remarked with a hint of admiration. He considered the full potential of the white wave ball, capable of leveling entire cities even at a fraction of its power. The Fantastic Four had managed to contain it, but barely.

As the smoke began to clear, Xu Mo saw Johnny, encased in a protective rubber barrier. Susan Storm, exhausted and with a trace of blood at her mouth, checked on her teammate. "Ben, how are you holding up?"

Ben Grimm, his rocky exterior scorched and blackened, coughed and replied, "I'm okay. Just hurt."

Reed Richards and Susan Storm rushed to Johnny's side. The flame-wielding hero, barely conscious, was filled with regret. "It's all my fault. I thought I was invincible."

Reed checked Johnny's condition and sighed in relief. "He's unconscious, but he'll be alright."

Above, a fleet of fighter jets appeared, their engines roaring as they approached. The Aerospace Carrier's command staff watched the unfolding scene through their high-definition screens, their expressions tense.

Xu Mo, stepping through the dark clouds, looked down with a cold, calculating gaze. His glasses reflected the scene below as he spoke with a voice that echoed with authority.

"From the beginning, there was no one in the sky—no superpowers, mutants, or even gods. This era of fleeting dominance is drawing to a close."

He concluded with a decisive tone, "Next, I will stand at the top."