The basement of an abandoned building in Queens.
Mister Fantastic, Reed Richards, was trying to free his limbs from the magical chains binding him. He stretched and thinned his left arm, trying to slip his hand through the gaps in the chains. But the next second, the chains flashed green runes and contracted along with his transformation, making his wrist bones creak.
Doom stood before him, a cold smile playing on his lips.
"It's no use, Reed. Save your energy. I've studied your abilities. Elasticity is essentially a rearrangement of molecular structure. Do you think I would go unprepared?"
Reed winced in pain, but still said, "How will you know if you don't try? Don't underestimate me, Doom. Even if you catch me, I won't give in."
He tried to make his right foot thinner and thinner, hoping to free his ankle from the chains. But the chains tightened again by half an inch, leaving a purplish-red mark on his ankle.
Doom watched as Reed continued his futile struggle, his eyes flashing, and he extended his left hand.
The hand pressed against Reed's forehead, green runes flashing. Reed shuddered, his pupils dilated, his lips parted, and a pained cry, inhuman and agonizing, escaped his throat. His body convulsed uncontrollably, his arms and legs struggling desperately within the chains, before he fell still. His head lolled to one side, his chin resting on his chest, a trickle of blood-tinged saliva escaping his lips.
Doom withdrew his hand and rubbed it slowly on his Cloak. He closed his eyes.
Reed's memories unfolded in his mind like a scroll forcibly torn open.
The drawer was neatly stacked with a dozen or so Superman comic books, all covered with book covers. There were two Batman figurines, one standing and one sitting. Underneath was a neatly folded pair of red underwear with an "S" logo printed on it.
Doom stared at the underwear for two seconds, then his lips twitched.
He continued flipping through the pages. Cosmic Rays. Reed's memories of Cosmic Rays were fragmented: instrument readings, spectral analysis of the radiation bands, and calculations of the spacecraft's hull thickness. The real core formulas were locked away, hidden deep within a pile of irrelevant data, as if someone had deliberately buried them there. Doom searched every corner but couldn't find that crucial line.
"Can't find it? How could it not be found?"
Doom muttered to himself, opening his eyes and looking down at the unconscious Reed on the ground. He remained silent for a moment.
Something was churning beneath the Cloak, the air began to distort, and soon a plume of green smoke rose, slowly engulfing the two figures...
The Director's office on the top floor of the S.H.I.E.L.D.. Triskelion.
Lin Xiao leaned back in the chair opposite Fury, his feet propped up on the edge of the desk.
The two had been staring at each other for an hour when Fury finally couldn't help but speak up. He gave a brief overview of the space carrier program and then began to talk about Reed's disappearance.
After he finished speaking, Lin Xiao held up one finger. "This shows you don't trust me because you didn't tell me beforehand. You know Reed's disappearance is a superpower event, which is very dangerous for superpowered people. Even if I were your subordinate, I wouldn't go and die just because of your order. Here's the deal: consider it bad luck. Ten million to find Reed. I guarantee I'll bring him back safely."
Fury slammed his hand on the table. The thud was much louder than usual, and the mug lid bounced up and then fell back down. "Impossible."
Nine million.
You're dreaming.
Eight million.
" Lin Xiao." Fury's voice lowered by half an octave, the light in his single eye darkening. "You're taking advantage of my misfortune."
"Chief, you can't say that." Lin Xiao pulled his feet off the table, leaned forward, and placed his hands on his knees. "Who took Reed away? You don't know, you only know he disappeared in an instant. I risked my life to save him. Would you have done the same?"
Fury stared at him for three seconds, then slowly leaned back in his chair, his lips twitching very subtly.
Six million.
"Make a deal."
Lin Xiao stood up and extended his hand to Fury. Fury also stood up, and just as their hands clasped, the office door was pushed open from the outside.
A young agent stood at the door, looking excited.
"Chief, Reed has been found. He came back on his own; he's already downstairs, with the Thing Human Torch and the Thing."
Lin Xiao held Fury's hand tightly, but the pressure changed. He glanced at the agent, then slowly turned back to look at Fury. Fury's hand stiffened in his palm for a moment.
"He came back on his own." Fury slowly withdrew his hand, sat back in his chair, and leaned back. His one eye gleamed menacingly. "Then there's no need to trouble Agent Lin Xiao."
"Director, you're kicking me while I'm down! You promised me!"
Fury shrugged, a slight smile playing on his lips. "We didn't sign a contract. You know S.H.I.E.L.D.. needs a written contract for every operation. This time it was just a verbal agreement; the guy came back on his own. The search for Reed is void. Agent Lin Xiao, you have your own work to do."
Lin Xiao opened his mouth, then suddenly thought of something, and the corners of his mouth slowly curved up. He took half a step forward and placed both hands on Fury's desk.
"You said it yourself."
Fury raised his one eye.
"If you come to me again because of Reed," Lin Xiao held up two fingers, "The price will double."
Fury stared at him for two seconds and then smiled—a smile that was as eerie as could be.
"Don't worry, they won't look for you again. They came back on their own."
Lin Xiao smiled too. He turned and walked towards the door, but stopped halfway, turned back and pointed at Fury: "Chief, I've got your words in mind."
Natasha leaned against the window, Hill leaned against the door. They looked at each other. Natasha mouthed "It's over," but Hill didn't reply and looked out the window.
S.H.I.E.L.D.., lobby.
When Reed appeared at the front door, Jonathan was the first to rush over. He grabbed Reed's arm, looked him up and down, and rattled off a rapid-fire question, " Reed! Are you alright? Where did you go? Who took you away? Doom? Was it really Doom?"
Reed was shaken slightly by him. He looked up at the Human Torch, a faint smile playing on his lips.
"I'm fine." His voice was unusually hoarse. " Doom asked me a few questions. When he couldn't get anything out of me, he let me go. How's Susan? Is she alright?"
Human Torch opened his mouth and hurriedly said, " Susan is still in the hospital, but she's fine. She's already awake; she just bumped into something, and the doctor said she can be discharged in a couple of days."
Ben walked up from behind. The orange stone figure, over two meters tall, stood in front of Reed and looked down at him for several seconds. He stretched out his huge stone hand and patted Reed on the shoulder.
"It's good to see you back. You have no idea how worried we were."
Reed nodded, lowered his eyes, and for a fleeting moment, a green light flashed in them before disappearing.