Hellfire

Without wasting another second, Alex wrapped everyone up and vanished from the camp. When they reappeared, they were already in Berlin, inside a tall tower. The streets below were packed with frenzied crowds waving their arms, their excited cries audible even from afar.

"Is this Berlin?" Quicksilver poked his head out and looked at Alex, his face full of astonishment and confusion. Weren’t they supposed to rescue people? Why had they come straight to the enemy’s **stronghold?

Alex had no time to explain to Quicksilver. He cautiously looked outside and saw ranks of ** soldiers slowly marching down the street. Hitler, with his trademark little mustache, stood in an armored vehicle, smiling and waving to the crowds on either side.

"We hit the jackpot today. Little Mustache came out for a parade." Alex chuckled and turned to Human Torch beside him. "Human Torch, go give them a scare."

Worried that Human Torch might misunderstand, Alex emphasized, "Just scare them. Don’t actually kill Little Mustache." ** weren’t Japan, and Little Mustache wasn’t the Japanese emperor. Whether they killed or threatened him, it would have little effect on the ** or Little Mustache. Only by defeating the ** at their roots could they truly be eliminated.

Human Torch nodded. His shoulders trembled slightly, and flames suddenly burst across his body. Then he flew out of the tower like a rocket, shooting rapidly toward Little Mustache’s armored vehicle.

Little Mustache’s guards were no ordinary people. They spotted Human Torch charging at them immediately. While signaling for Little Mustache to quickly duck into the armored vehicle, they launched a fierce counterattack.

Remembering Alex’s instructions, Human Torch circled through the air a few times. After killing several ** soldiers, he turned and returned to the tower, once again taking on the appearance of a cold, middle-aged man.

Alex excitedly patted Human Torch on the shoulder and praised him. "Human Torch, well done!"

Human Torch showed no reaction and remained expressionless. Namor, however, was displeased. Sounding rather jealous, he said, "I could do something that simple too!"

Unfortunately, no one paid him any attention.

"What do we do next? Fight our way out?" Quicksilver bounced excitedly on his feet, seemingly eager to rush out and start fighting at once.

Alex looked at the chaotic crowd outside, smiled faintly, and said slowly, "Nothing. We wait."

"Wait?" Namor jumped in again, trying to make his presence known. He glared at Alex with displeasure. "You’re wasting time. You’ll get them all killed!"

Natasha folded her arms over her chest, shot Namor a sidelong glance, and snorted. "If you’re stupid, don’t show it off. People will laugh at you."

"What did you say?" Namor reacted as if someone had stepped on his tail, pointing at Natasha as he roared angrily.

Steve sighed, raised his shield between them, then turned to Namor and asked, "Do you know where they were taken?"

Namor froze for a moment, then stubbornly argued, "No, but we can go look for them. That’s still better than waiting here!"

"Do you know why Alex had Human Torch go scare Little Mustache?" Nick lifted the heavy machine gun in his hands and said disdainfully, "If you don’t understand, don’t talk nonsense. Just stay put."

Namor was unconvinced and pointed at Nick, about to speak again, but Steve spoke first. "Once Little Mustache is frightened, he’ll definitely summon Shaw and the others back. That way, we won’t have to search everywhere for them."

This time, Namor fell completely silent. Blushing, he walked off to one side, looking thoroughly embarrassed.

Alex had not said a word from beginning to end. He wanted to temper Namor, to wear down the arrogance in him completely. Only then could he become a trustworthy teammate.

After a short while, Natasha, who had been secretly observing the outside, suddenly spoke. "They’ve appeared. Shaw and Red Devil. I don’t see Riptide."

Only then did Alex remember a crucial question he had forgotten to ask. "Right, who is around Shaw now? What are their abilities?"

Natasha turned to Alex, pondered for a moment, then gave a rough answer. "There are seven more than before. They’re all around level two or three, and their abilities are varied. You’ll see when the time comes."

Alex gave a bitter smile and nodded helplessly. "All right, then. Let’s go meet them!"

"So it really is you, Alex!" Seeing Alex walk out of the tower, Sebastian Shaw could not help but reveal a strange smile, his eyes carrying a faint hint of smugness.

Alex looked past Shaw, his gaze settling on Red Devil behind him. "You were the one who saved him last time? But this time, you won’t be so lucky."

Red Devil looked at Alex expressionlessly and said in a deep voice, "You can try."

Seeing Alex ignore him, Shaw laughed instead of getting angry. "You’re here to rescue those little ones, aren’t you? Come on, we’re waiting for you!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Red Devil placed a hand on Shaw’s shoulder. A faint red mist drifted past, and the two disappeared.

"What do we do now?" Quicksilver looked at Alex with concern. Shaw had obviously set a trap.

"They’ve invited us in person. How could we refuse?" Alex was not afraid in the slightest. He wrapped everyone up and followed Red Devil, who had deliberately left behind a trail of movement.

As they pursued him, Alex looked at Natasha and asked, "Natasha, while we have time, briefly tell me about those mutants—the people in the Hellfire Club."

"There’s no need to talk much about Shaw and Red Devil. Let’s start with Riptide, the one who can create tornadoes. In an earlier battle, he wiped out an Allied naval fleet in one stroke." Natasha thought for a moment, then added, "Recently, we discovered that he can also create a calcifying substance and launch it along with his whirlwinds. Its power is comparable to missiles."

"Earthquake Woman is a strange-looking woman who can trigger earthquakes and generate extremely destructive shockwaves. Quite a few Allied soldiers have died at her hands."

"Firefist can produce extremely high-temperature flames from both hands. He’s a capable fighter and a formidable opponent."

"Tin Man has skin as hard as iron, along with immense strength and superhuman endurance. He’s extremely troublesome."

After introducing six people in succession, Natasha paused before continuing. "The last one is a child. Don’t underestimate him just because he’s a child, or you’ll suffer for it."

Alex was taken aback and asked curiously, "There’s even a child?"

"This child can control metal—any metal, from Steve’s shield to the gun in Nick’s hands." Natasha looked at Alex gravely and said solemnly, "We suffered quite a bit at his hands before. You need to be careful too!"

"A child who can control metal? Could he be Marx?" Listening to Natasha, Alex could not help but picture the young Magneto, Marx, in his mind.

P.S.: After reading the comments, Scorpion was a little angry. Some people started attacking the book without even reading it carefully. Scorpion was truly speechless.

Regarding one particular comment, Scorpion would like to clarify something: this really is Marvel. Marvel began with World War II, so writing about World War II is perfectly normal, and writing about the War of Resistance is not wrong either. As for the character Zhang Tong, that name was not chosen casually. As for that reader’s fantasy, Scorpion could only laugh.

Scorpion would also like to solemnly clarify that, aside from the protagonist, every character appearing in this book has appeared in Marvel, with the exception of Hollywood figures.

Who is Zhang Tong? Everyone can take a guess. (It’s actually quite easy to guess…)