The moment Nathan returned to his safe house, he headed straight into the basement—a place filled with technology, blueprints, and humming machines. It was more than a hideout. It was his war room.
He powered up his systems. One by one, the screens lining the wall lit up, displaying camera feeds, real-time data streams, and satellite scans.
Most important of all—live surveillance from the military base.
Nathan's eyes locked onto the footage. What he saw made his brow furrow.
The entire base was crawling with activity. Armed patrols doubled. Drones circled overhead. Personnel moved with tension etched across their faces.
"Something's changed," Nathan muttered. "The defenses have been ramped up—drastically."
Then it clicked.
"They've got Luke Cage... and they're prepping to experiment on him."
Nathan's face darkened. The military hadn't just caught Cage by coincidence. It was possible that his previous data searches had tipped them off.
He leaned forward, scanning frame by frame, feed by feed.
Suddenly—he paused.
A vehicle had entered the base. A slim figure stepped out, walking toward a mountain tunnel. He moved with purpose, glancing around with a steeled gaze.
Nathan zoomed in.
The image sharpened—
"Abomination."
But it wasn't the grotesque, mutated creature everyone remembered. This Abomination was human again. Clean-cut. Controlled.
Nathan narrowed his eyes. "I didn't expect this version of him to regain his human form so early. Something's changed in the timeline…"
He knew from future intel that Emil Blonsky, aka Abomination, had developed the ability to switch forms.
"But this early?" Nathan muttered. "His transformation was always more stable than Hulk's. Harder to undo. Who helped him? Who modified his cells?"
The implications were clear. Another major player had entered the game.
Which meant: Nathan needed to find and capture Electro as soon as possible.
"If I can harness his electricity... I may be able to slow Abomination down. Not kill him, but maybe contain him."
Nathan's fingers flew across the keyboard.
He tapped into New York's public surveillance grid, hijacking camera feeds, rerouting city-wide alerts.
From now on, only Electro-related activities would trigger alarms in his system.
He even cross-referenced the employment records Electro left behind at Osborn and found his old apartment.
With a few more keystrokes, Nathan brought up surveillance feeds of the apartment complex.
Everything was in place.
Now it was time for the trap.
---
Nathan opened his design program.
He began modeling a new invention.
"Not a full-scale satellite prison like Iron Man's Veronica. Too costly, too slow to deploy."
He gestured, flipping through reference files of Tony's Hulkbuster modular satellite system.
"What I need is a localized, high-altitude deployable unit—not in orbit, just above the city. Always ready."
He sketched the blueprint.
A modular mechanical cube, capable of floating at high altitudes, armed with thirteen reinforced steel plates. When deployed, they would form a sealed prison around a target, enclosing them in a diamond-like cage.
Unlike Tony's version, Nathan's would include a reinforced bottom plate, eliminating the flaw that once allowed Hulk to break through.
More than that, the interior would be made of insulation material, capable of containing electrical energy.
"And for Electro," Nathan said, "I'll add a water-spray layer to induce a circuit short. Just like Spider-Man did in the original timeline."
"If I combine Electro's abilities with my bioelectric core, I should lose that water vulnerability. But until I capture him—I won't know."
Satisfied, Nathan launched the automated construction sequence.
Inside his fabrication lab, robotic arms began welding and cutting, forging the alloy plates.
Meanwhile, Little Spider-Man sat atop the workbench, a small tablet in front of him, diligently watching online middle school lessons. His little claws tapped the screen now and then as he learned math formulas.
---
Across the city, inside a beat-up car, the Electric Man sat in the back seat, surrounded by junk food, soda, and bundles of stolen cash.
His eyes welled with joy.
"I finally have money," he whispered. "I can finally give Mom a real home."
For years, he'd lived in a rundown apartment with his mother, relying on her modest income and generosity. He had no future, no job, no friends, no hope.
But now...
"Mom will finally sleep on a soft bed. She won't have to clean other people's floors anymore."
The Electric Man turned toward the passenger seat, where stacks of bills rested.
"She'll finally have what she deserves."
He drove back to the old apartment and gently woke his mother.
She blinked in confusion. "Why are we leaving? We don't have money for rent anywhere else."
He smiled and lied, "I got a promotion. My boss is moving us to a better place."
She beamed. "Finally. Someone sees your worth."
He swallowed his guilt and nodded.
---
Back at the safe house, Nathan's device was complete.
A large metal cube, suspended by anti-gravity tech, floated in the upper atmosphere above New York. It was fitted with stealth coating, invisible to radar, and even had visual stealth shielding, adapted from discarded HYDRA tech.
Nathan looked up through the retractable ceiling of his lab.
The cube—codenamed "Air Arsenal"—disappeared into the clouds.
With it in place, all he needed was the signal to deploy.
And the signal came quickly.
A new alert triggered.
A small grocery store had been robbed. Witnesses reported the use of electricity to disable cameras and staff. Surveillance footage confirmed it: Electro had struck again.
Nathan watched the feed. "You're staying active. Good."
"You won't be satisfied with petty theft for long."
He predicted that Electro would soon try a larger score.
And Nathan would be ready.
---
Morning arrived. The storm had passed. The city awoke under clear skies.
At the center of town, a jewelry store exploded in chaos.
Electro stood in front, bag slung over his shoulder, face covered in lightning.
Inside, shelves were wrecked. Gems and gold scattered.
But he wasn't alone.
Four figures stood in opposition—each with distinct powers.
A man ablaze in fire. A woman conjuring invisible shields. A rubbery man stretching across walls. A rock-skinned brute charging forward.
The Fantastic Four had arrived.
Still young, still new—they had not yet become the legends they were destined to be.
Electro laughed.
"More playmates!"
He raised his hands.
CRACKLE!
Electricity surged. The Invisible Woman's shield shattered, sending her flying into a parked car.
The Thing tried to charge—but was blasted through a van.
Mr. Fantastic was burned and thrown back.
Even the Human Torch couldn't hold his flame against the overwhelming voltage.
One by one—they fell.
Electro grinned. "You can't stop me. I'm in my prime!"
He turned to leave, sack of gold in hand.
And then—
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A strange sound filled the air—like swords slicing through wind.
Everyone looked up.
A figure descended from the sky, cloaked in black. Behind him—thirteen metallic plates spun like deadly orbiting blades.
The sound wasn't from him. It was from them.
The plates slammed into the ground with deafening force.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
They encircled Electro in seconds, forming an angular, metal cage.
The Air Arsenal had deployed.
---
To be continued…
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