"Iron Man!"
The crowd gathered outside erupted in gasps...
The man who had shed his mortal identity as Victor Von Doom naturally recognized the playboy who frequently graced newspaper headlines.
In his previous life as Victor, Stark had been an untouchable titan... a billionaire industrialist commanding a hundred-billion-dollar empire, favored by the Department of Defense, New York's golden child.
'Things are different now,' he thought coldly.
A sneer curled beneath his metal mask as a bolt of lightning crackled from his fingertips, striking the hovering Iron Man armor with a deafening crackle.
The impact sent Tony Stark hurtling backward like a cannonball, crashing through the concrete wall of a nearby building as if it were tissue paper. Dust and debris billowed from the gaping hole.
~Sir, severe electrical damage detected. Armor integrity at 80%...~
JARVIS warned.
Inside the suit, red alerts flashed across the interface as the arc reactor flickered unsteadily. Coughing, Tony felt a flare of irritation. He hadn't expected Iron Man's official debut to go so poorly.
"Wow, and this guy is supposed to protect New York?" Johnny Storm scoffed, hurling a fireball at the metallic figure.
The flames licked at Doom's green cloak, leaving scorch marks, but the villain barely flinched. Such paltry attacks were meaningless to him.
With a flick of his wrist, Doom sent tendrils of electricity snaking through nearby vehicles, triggering a chain of explosions that rocked the block.
Powerless to stop the destruction, the police arriving on the scene could only focus on evacuating civilians.
"Stop this, Victor!"
Ben Grimm hefted a wrecked car overhead, his muscles straining as he hurled it with all his might. The massive projectile whistled through the air like a meteor...
*Booom!*
...Only to be intercepted by a searing lightning bolt. The resulting explosion lit up the night sky, shockwaves rippling outward as flaming debris rained down.
Doom raised his arms, summoning more electricity from the surrounding grid.
Bolts lashed out like whips, striking the Thing with enough force to send him skidding across asphalt. Reed attempted to intervene, but a high-voltage surge sent his elastic body spasming, nearly melting under the heat.
"Who dares stand against the great Doctor Doom?" His arrogance swelled... Nothing in this world could stop him now.
His triumph was short-lived.
A swarm of micro-missiles streaked through the air like glowing fish, their tail flames tracing intricate patterns before detonating in a deafening crescendo. The blast hurled Doom into the pavement, his cloak incinerated, his metal form scorched.
"I can maintain world peace all by myself," Tony's smug voice announced as his battered armor emerged from the building...
His weapons were now depleted from the barrage.
"Arrogant Stark!" Doom roared, rising from the flames.
A spear of lightning lanced upward, striking Iron Man midair. Multiple bolts followed in rapid succession, sending the armored hero crashing to the ground in a shower of sparks.
Powered by the entire block's electricity and enhanced by dual cosmic storms, Doom's might was overwhelming.
Tony staggered to his feet, his helmet display flashing warnings...
~Energy reserves at 30%...~
JARVIS reported.
"Note to self: upgrades needed," Tony muttered, thoroughly unimpressed with his debut performance.
The battle raged on...
Seizing the distraction, Reed stretched his body into a massive rubber sheet in an attempt to smother Doom's crackling form.
Gathering his strength, Johnny became a whirling inferno... a fiery tornado that trapped the villain in a blistering furnace.
Susan reinforced the prison with invisible force fields, containing Doom's retaliatory lightning strikes despite the blood trickling from her nose.
The siblings pushed themselves to the brink...
...Until Johnny collapsed in exhaustion...
The flames died, revealing a circle of molten pavement. At its center stood Doom, his metal body glowing red-hot, dripping molten slag. Yet even the Human Torch's full power hadn't been enough.
"Any last tricks?" Doom rasped, taking a labored step forward.
"Time for your chemistry lesson, Vic! Ever seen what happens when you quench white-hot metal?" With a mighty kick, Ben ruptured a fire hydrant.
A geyser of water slammed into Doom's superheated form. Steam exploded outward in a hissing cloud, obscuring everything.
When the mist cleared a minute later, the indomitable Doctor Doom stood frozen...
He was now a grotesque metal statue. Had he been in an artistic pose, he might have rivaled Rodin's "The Thinker" in a museum...
As the crowd erupted in cheers, police and civilians surged forward.
Sulking over his botched debut, Tony ignited his thrusters and vanished into the night...
A black sedan parked beyond the barricades. Agent Coulson stepped out, bypassing police lines to approach the Fantastic Four.
"Mr. Richards," he said, flashing a badge, "Phil Coulson, Strategic Homeland Intervention, Enforcement and Logistics Division. We need to debrief you on tonight's incident."
His calm demeanor eased Reed's nerves, though Johnny, basking in attention, was already posing for cameras, "Obviously, we kicked the bad guy's ass and saved New York!"
Coulson ignored him, focusing on Reed instead, "Standard procedure. And we'll be taking that." He gestured to the statue.
Reed nodded as SHIELD agents efficiently loaded the frozen Doom into a containment unit. Their practiced movements suggested this wasn't their first superhuman cleanup.
At the periphery, a black car door slammed...
General Thaddeus Ross strode forward, his scowl cutting through the crowd as he zeroed in on Coulson...