Queens, New York.
An abandoned industrial park.
The originally silent night was torn apart by a sudden, thunderous roar.
A massive impact left a crater tens of meters in diameter in the ground.
The surrounding derelict factory buildings were instantly overturned by a high-temperature shockwave.
Shards of glass melted into liquid before they even hit the ground in the scorching heat.
A raging fire centered on the crater, spreading frantically in every direction.
“Cough…
Dammit, what the hell is this thing?” On a ridge a few hundred meters from the impact site, several black SHIELD SUVs screeched to an emergency halt.
A heavily armed Rapid Response Special Forces team leaped from the vehicles.
Leading them was the captain of SHIELD’s elite strike team, Brock Rumlow.
Wearing a gas mask, he looked at the sea of fire before him, his brow furrowed tightly.
Although they frequently handled all sorts of supernatural events, a fire of this scale was usually a job for the FDNY.
“Command Center, this is Rumlow.
The target has fallen.
A massive fire has broken out at the scene.
No physical entity of the target has been found yet.” Rumlow pressed his earpiece as he reported, “Requesting fire support.
We need a containment perimeter.” “This is Command Center.
The fire department is on the way, but satellite scans show life sign readings at the center of the heat source.
Rumlow, be careful—that thing might still be alive.” Phil Coulson’s voice came through the earpiece.
“Alive?” Rumlow glanced at the core area, where temperatures were high enough to melt steel, and scoffed.
“At this temperature, even an Iron Man would be reduced to a puddle.” However, before his words could finish, a strange mutation occurred.
ROAR—!!!
A roar that sounded neither human nor animal, but like the howling of a wildfire, erupted from the center of the inferno.
Immediately following, the flames that had been spreading haphazardly seemed to receive some kind of summons.
Bizarrely, they began to flow back toward the center of the crater.
Within the distorted heat waves, a burning humanoid silhouette slowly stood up.
It was approximately two meters tall.
It had no skin or flesh; its body was composed entirely of pulsing, flickering flames.
Its eyes were two piercing spots of white light, radiating an endless hunger for fuel.
The Burning Man had awakened.
“Fuel…
I need…
more…” It emitted a dry, raspy whisper.
With every step it took, the concrete beneath its feet cracked and charred under the intense heat.
“Hell!
Target confirmed!
It’s a person…
or some kind of fire elemental monster!” Rumlow’s expression changed.
He immediately raised his assault rifle.
“All units, attention!
Fire at will!
Don’t let it get near the fuel tank farm!” Although most of the equipment in this abandoned industrial park had been moved out, several massive oil storage tanks remained, likely containing residual industrial waste oil.
If that monster was allowed to detonate them, half of Queens would suffer the consequences.
Rat-tat-tat-tat!!
Dense gunfire erupted instantly.
The SHIELD agents were well-trained, and bullets poured onto the Burning Man like rain.
But it was meaningless.
The moment the bullets touched the high-temperature force field surrounding the Burning Man’s body, they instantly turned red-hot and softened, melting into droplets of copper that fell to the ground without ever touching its physical form.
“Physical attacks are ineffective!
This thing is immune to bullets!” an agent shouted in terror.
“Use liquid nitrogen grenades!
Cryo-rounds!” Rumlow roared.
Several agents immediately hurled specialized tactical grenades.
Bang!
Bang!
The grenades detonated beside it.
A blast of white, ultra-cold mist erupted instantly, attempting to suppress that terrifying high temperature.
Its movements stalled for a moment.
The flames on its body seemed to dim slightly.
“It’s working!
Keep it up!” Rumlow felt a surge of joy.
But in the next second, the entity seemed provoked by the cold.
“Cold…
Burn!
I want to burn!” It suddenly threw its arms wide.
Its two-meter-tall frame abruptly ballooned.
The fires in the surrounding buildings that had yet to be extinguished rushed into its body as if possessed.
Boom!
A more violent heatwave exploded outward from it, instantly scattering the liquid nitrogen mist.
Not only that, it reached out and grabbed a burning steel beam from a nearby structure, hurling it like a javelin toward the SHIELD position.
“Scatter!” Rumlow reacted with extreme speed, dodging the attack with a roll.
But one of the SUVs behind him wasn’t so lucky.
The glowing red steel beam pierced through the vehicle’s body, detonating the gas tank.
Boom!
A massive explosion rang out.
Two agents who couldn’t dodge in time were tossed by the shockwave, slamming heavily into the ground, their status unknown.
The flames generated by the explosion did not dissipate.
Instead, as if they had a life of their own, they drifted toward the Burning Man, becoming its nourishment.
At this point, the Burning Man stood nearly three meters tall.
The color of the flames on its body had shifted from orange-red to a more dangerous golden yellow.
It turned its head, looking toward the massive fuel tanks nearby, a greedy light shining in its eyes.
“Not good…
it’s getting stronger!
It’s eating the fire!” A hint of panic finally crept into Rumlow’s voice.
This was simply not a monster that conventional forces like theirs could handle!
…
SHIELD Headquarters, Command Center.
Nick Fury stared at the real-time footage on the big screen, his face as dark as the bottom of a pot.
“Sir, Rumlow’s squad has suffered heavy casualties.
Conventional weapons cannot contain the target,” Agent Hill reported.
“The fire department’s high-pressure hoses were tried, but the water evaporated into steam before it even touched the target, which only obscured our vision.” “This thing is a mobile nuclear reactor,” Fury said, gritting his teeth.
“The Avengers Initiative hasn’t launched yet.
We have too few cards to play.” “Have the Quinjets load vacuum fire-extinguishing bombs.
Prepare for an airstrike.” “But Sir, that’s an abandoned industrial zone.
Even if it’s uninhabited, if the explosion reaches the underground gas lines…” “We don’t have a choice!
If that thing detonates the oil tanks, the consequences will be even worse!” Fury slammed his fist on the table.
“Execute the order!” “Yes, sir!” …
Site Base.
“Tsk tsk.
Vacuum fire-extinguishing bombs?
Fury’s move is pretty ruthless.” Levi looked at SHIELD’s movements on the screen and shook his head.
“Unfortunately, while a vacuum environment is indeed effective against 457, that’s only if you can maintain it.” “That kind of instantaneous vacuum bomb will only cause a brief extinction followed by an even more violent deflagration as oxygen rushes back in.” “It’s called…
the backdraft effect.” Levi stood up and straightened his black trench coat.
“Alright, SHIELD’s showtime is over.
It’s our turn to take the stage.” “Ada, are the Class C personnel ready?” “Standing by, Sir.” “Excellent.” Levi put on his sunglasses, hiding the sharp glint in his eyes.
“This time, we’re going to show SHIELD what professional containment looks like.” “Move out!
Target: Queens!”