New York City.
It was a peaceful day in the city — well, as peaceful as a Tuesday ever got. The streets of Downtown buzzed with the usual chorus of honking horns and chatter. Cars flashed through lanes, taxis cut corners, and street vendors barked about pretzels and hot dogs.
Everything felt alive.
Then… the sky cracked.
RRRRKKKKKHHHHH—
A rift began to tear through the heavens like someone peeling back the blue of reality. The clouds warped and spiraled in unnatural motions, as if they too were being sucked toward something unseen.
Then—
WUBBBUM!
A gigantic ball of swirling energy hovered in the air like an angry sun wrapped in a shroud of black mist.
It was blue and crackling with violent lightning.
People on the ground stopped.
Some pointed. Some fumbled for their phones.
Most just stared.
Then—ZRRRRT! ZRRRRT!
ZRRRRRAAAKOOOOOM!
Bolts of searing lightning shot down like divine judgment.
One tore through a skyscraper's glass like paper.
Another slammed the road open, flinging sedans into the air like broken action figures.
Then—KRA-KRAAA-KAAAK!
The Manhattan Bridge trembled.
And then… started to fall apart.
"AHHHHHHHHHHH!"
Cars skidded, screamed metal against concrete.
A yellow cab tumbled sideways and slammed fatally into the railing.
"I DON'T WANNA DIE!"
A guy shouted from inside his minivan as he clutched the wheel like a lifeline.
"NOT AGAIN! THIS HAPPENS EVERY TUESDAY!"
Another screamed, his head out the sunroof.
"It's gotta be those blue-wearing delinquents! I'm moving to Ohio!"
"Why do we even live in cities with superheroes?! They're obviously not the safest!"
Chaos. Honking. Screams. Rioting.
Drivers hit the gas like maniacs trying to escape the tipping end of the bridge.
One woman climbed out her sunroof and leapt onto the hood of a moving car.
A guy used another vehicle as a trampoline.
It was survival of the quickest.
･･･
Observation Deck, Baxter Building.
In the shiny observation unit of the Baxter Building…
Mr. Fantastic stood quietly, tablet in hand as he observed two figures sparring down in the Training Room.
From behind, Invisible Woman threw her head to the side with an audible hmph.
Mr. Fantastic sighed. Again. He could solve the Riemann Hypothesis with his eyes closed. He could bend time-space with some duct tape and chewing gum. But Sue?
"She's the one formula I just can't solve…"
He muttered under his breath.
Down in the Training Room, the sparring was less than… graceful.
"FLAME ON!"
Human Torch shouted as his body ignited in a burst of golden fire and he shot toward his target like a bullet.
That opponent? Spiderman.
Who, naturally, wasn't paying attention.
He stood with his mask half-off, holding a sandwich bigger than his head.
"Mmm~ this tastes so good…"
Human Torch was nearly on him when Spiderman blinked.
"Oh—uh—wait, what?"
He leapt like a startled cat, sandwich still in hand, and stuck himself to the glass ceiling with a thwip!
He chewed once, twice. Swallowed.
"If you're gonna be that sloppy with your attacks…"
He took a second to munch down on his sandwich.
"You might as well just email it to me."
Johnny's eye twitched.
"OH YEAH?!"
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
He launched again like a fiery missile.
But the only thing he hit was the glass ceiling.
WHUMP!
Then, he collapsed onto the reinforced floor with a wet, heavy thud—like a limp pancake. His super suit was warm and crispy, and steam curled up from it as it cooled.
"BAHAHAHAHA!!"
Spiderman dropped to the ground and rolled like a kid who'd heard the best joke in the world.
"You got rage baited so badly!"
Up in the observation unit, Ben Grimm—the Thing—folded his rocky arms and rumbled—
"HAHA, NICE ONE. Well, at least ya ain't got many brain cells to lose, Hothead."
Still face-down, Human Torch raised one middle finger without lifting his head.
"Bite me…"
Still ignoring all of it, Mr. Fantastic muttered while tapping on his tablet—
"If I just adjust the molecular density of the transparent polymer with added vibranium traces, I could—wait… that'll tank the budget again…"
Invisible Woman didn't even look at him.
"Tch. Planning, huh. Something you've just been amazing at lately."
"Sue—please…" he started.
Invisible Woman turned away. "Don't. Just… don't."
"I want to talk about—"
WAAAAAAAN!
The building's alarm wailed as red lights stuttered to life.
The whole room flashed emergency red.
Spiderman blinked. "Bit early for Christmas, huh?"
Ben grunted.
"That's the real alarm."
He waved a hand and pulled up a holographic screen. It showed live footage of Downtown: the energy ball, the collapsing bridge, the people screaming for their lives.
Spiderman slapped his mask fully on.
"Fantastic Four, ASSEMBLE!"
Climbing to his feet, Human Torch shook his head.
"Dude. That's Avengers."
"I know."
Spidey replied.
"But like—we need something cool too. Like…'roll out!' or 'it's hero time!' or… 'Spidey and his Fantastic Friends to the rescue!' good one, huh?"
The Thing grumbled.
"You keep talkin' like that and I will throw you."
"My bad, strangely angry Ben."
･･･
Moments Later—
The team soared over the city in the Fantasti-Car as they sliced through the sky like a blade. Spiderman clung to the underside like a spider-shaped ornament.
Down below, a worried mother clutched her toddler as she pointed up.
"Look, sweetie! It's the Fantastic Four! And Spidey's with them too!"
The child's eyes lit up. "Hi, Spidey!"
Spiderman waved upside down as he shouted in a playfully squeaky voice—
"HIIIIIIIIII!"
Then—
POP!
The energy ball in the sky expanded with a deep, vibrating boom that shook the very clouds.
"Richards…"
The Thing said as his rocky eyes narrowed.
"What are we lookin' at?"
Mr. Fantastic squinted as he scanned the spatial distortion with his device.
"Hrmm, how interesting. Judging from the electrical axis, temporal dilation lines, and the fact reality looks like it's being stirred by a spoon… cross-dimensional anomaly."
Spiderman tilted his head.
"That's… not my usual neighborhood problem."
Human Torch scoffed. "Cross-dimensional, my ass."
He hit a button in his cockpit.
The protective glass hissed open.
"Johnny, don't!" Invisible Woman snapped.
"Relax, sis. Just make sure the cameras are rolling when I save the day!"
He dove.
FLAME ON!
A golden meteor ignited and rocketed straight at the energy ball.
But—
KRRAAAKKKOOOM!
A streak of blue lightning slammed him midair, knocking him spinning. He gritted his teeth, shook it off, and shot back—this time with a blazing fist drawn back for a punch.
That's when he emerged.
A figure drifted down from the energy ball like a god.
Clad in a sleek grey bodysuit lined with glowing blue circuit patterns.
A black mask covered the lower half of his face.
Eyes electric. Hair dark as night.
Nightwatch.
Johnny fired a massive beam of flame.
Nightwatch spun midair and flung five sharp, silver throwing blades shaped like jagged 'N's.
Johnny raised a shield of flames.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOOOOM!
They exploded in midair like fireworks.
The shockwave sent Johnny spiraling down like a comet.
CRASH!
He landed straight in a fountain. Steam hissed.
"Ugh… today is not my day…"
He groaned as water sprayed from his mouth like the fountain had gained a new feature.
Nightwatch landed. One knee, one fist.
Spiderman, standing atop the Fantasti-Car, stared down.
"Okay… who invited Moon Knight's electric cousin?"
Invisible Woman narrowed her eyes. "Reed?"
Mr. Fantastic watched Nightwatch carefully.
"This might be more than just a cross-dimensional breach."
The Thing cracked his knuckles.
"Good. Been meanin' to punch someone new."
Spiderman cracked his neck and crouched low.
"Time to meet the neighbor."
During all this, Nightwatch just stood there in confusion as he scratched the back of his neck.
"For a second there I thought that was Dragonman…"
He smiled under his mask.
"What do you think, chat?"
And the livestream went insane.
[Viewers: 456,348]
[That was so fuckin' awesome!]
└ [Duh, this is Nightwatch we're talking about. 🤷♂️]
└ [Chill with the glaze, bro. 💀]
└ [No amount of glaze is enough for my glorious king. 😤]
[I swear more than half the Nightwatch fan base is in love with him it's insane 😭]
└ [Yeah, no Diddy tho]
[Can we talk about the fire guy? Wasn't Nightwatch chasing down Marmot Man a few seconds ago?]
└ ["Chase down" and "Marmot Man" in the same sentence is as impossible as his jeans button after Thanksgiving. Don't ever praise him like that again. 😐]
└ [Ong, Marmot Man the type of guy to pay for two seats on the plane and custom-made seatbelt extenders.]
Nightwatch glanced at the flood of chat messages popping up in the corner of his high-tech contact lens display. He shook his head, unimpressed by the nonsense piling up.
[Ding! The host is now within range of the superheroine "Invisible Woman"]
[Would you like to initiate contact?]
Nightwatch lifted a brow.
"Huh…?"