Location: Lower Manhattan - Near Battery Park
Reed Richards had been having a perfectly pleasant morning reviewing quantum field calculations when the ground beneath the Baxter Building started to shake.
"Mole Man," he'd said with a sigh, already stretching toward his uniform.
Now, fifteen minutes later, the Fantastic Four were in the middle of Battery Park watching Moloids pour out of a massive sinkhole while their master stood atop a drilling machine that looked like it had been cobbled together from subway parts and fever dreams.
"Seriously?" Johnny Storm hovered in the air, flames dancing along his body. "It's Tuesday morning! Doesn't this guy have a calendar?"
"Surface dwellers!" Mole Man's voice boomed through a crackling speaker system. "You have built your towers of glass and steel upon my domain! Today, I reclaim what is rightfully—"
"Yeah, yeah, Subterranea, surface world, blah blah," Johnny interrupted, launching a fireball at the drilling machine. It splashed harmlessly against some kind of heat-resistant plating. "Can we skip to the part where we kick your butt?"
"Johnny, focus!" Sue Storm—the Invisible Woman—had erected a force field around a group of fleeing tourists. "Reed, we need a plan. There are too many Moloids and civilians in the area."
"Working on it," Reed replied, his body stretched impossibly thin as he deflected debris from falling on a hot dog cart. "Ben, can you—"
"Already on it!" The Thing crashed through a wave of Moloids like a bowling ball through pins. "These guys need to learn that ya don't mess with New York before people have had their coffee!"
The battle raged across the park. Sue was doing triple duty—protecting civilians, creating force field barriers, and trying to contain the sinkhole's expansion. Reed was everywhere at once, his elastic body a blur of motion. Ben was holding the line against the Moloids, and Johnny was trying to disable the drilling machine from above.
Then the ground erupted.
Not with more Moloids—with something else entirely.
A creature burst from the earth like a torpedo, spraying dirt and concrete in all directions. It was roughly three feet tall, covered in dark blue and red armor plating, with massive steel claws that glinted in the morning sun. Its body was compact, powerful, built like a living excavator.
"What the hell is that?!" Ben shouted.
The creature—Excadrill—didn't answer. It simply assessed the battlefield with quick, intelligent eyes, then launched itself at the drilling machine.
"Wait, is it—is it helping?" Reed's voice rose in scientific fascination even as he dodged a thrown rock.
"Excadrill!" the creature cried, and its claws began to spin like industrial drill bits. It tore into the Mole Man's machine with terrifying efficiency, shredding through the heat-resistant plating that had deflected Johnny's flames like it was tissue paper.
"Hey!" Mole Man shrieked. "Stop that! That took me six months to build!"
Excadrill didn't stop. If anything, it worked faster, methodically dismantling the machine's support struts while simultaneously using its body to shield fleeing civilians from falling debris.
"Okay," Sue said slowly, her force fields still active but her attention divided between the battle and the impossible creature. "Is anyone else seeing this? Please tell me someone else is seeing this."
"I'm seein' it," Ben grunted, punching a Moloid. "Don't mean I understand it."
Johnny, hovering above the chaos, was too busy laughing at the Mole Man's outrage to notice the sky darkening above him.
Two shapes descended from the clouds—sleek, aerodynamic, moving with impossible grace. One was predominantly red with white accents, the other blue with white accents. They looked like jets, like living aircraft, but as they got closer, their true forms became apparent: dragon-like creatures with intelligent eyes and streamlined bodies built for speed.
Latias and Latios had arrived.
And they saw fire in the sky.
Without warning, without sound, the red one—Latias—struck Johnny with a tackle that generated a sonic boom. The impact sent the Human Torch spinning end over end through the air, his flames sputtering in surprise.
"Johnny!" Sue screamed.
Before he could recover, the blue one—Latios—hit him from the opposite direction with equal force. Johnny was caught between them like a pinball, each impact driving him lower, his flames flickering as he struggled to maintain consciousness.
"They think he's a threat!" Reed shouted, already stretching toward his nephew. "Sue, I need—"
But Latias and Latios were too fast. They struck in perfect synchronization, and Johnny plummeted from the sky, crashing into the grass with enough force to leave a crater.
"JOHNNY!" Sue abandoned her position, force fields springing up around her fallen brother.
The two dragon-like creatures circled overhead, preparing for another strike. Their eyes glowed with energy—not malicious, but defensive. Protective. They perceived fire as danger, and they were eliminating it.
Then something red and gold streaked across the sky.
"JARVIS, I need targeting solutions on those two airborne hostiles—wait, hostiles? Are those dragons?" Tony Stark's voice boomed through external speakers as the Iron Man armor banked hard, repulsors charging.
"Sir, I'm detecting highly unusual energy signatures. They appear to be organic, not mechanical, but their speed and maneuverability exceed any known aircraft."
"Great. More impossible things before lunch. Reed!" Tony's armor landed between the Fantastic Four and the circling creatures. "Care to explain why there are living fighter jets attacking your hothead?"
"Stark?" Reed's attention snapped to the armored figure. "What are you doing here?"
"Saving your bacon, apparently. JARVIS picked up seismic activity and—"
A jet of water erupted from behind Tony with the force of a fire hydrant.
No. Not a fire hydrant. Stronger. More focused. The blast caught both Latias and Latios by complete surprise, sending them tumbling through the air, their graceful flight disrupted.
"Wartortle!"
The cry came from a creature riding on Tony's shoulder-about three feet tall, more muscular than when Reed had seen footage of Stark's "turtle," with prominent ears and a distinctive tail with twin streams of water vapor trailing from it. This was no longer the small Squirtle that had appeared in the news feeds. This was Wartortle, evolved and battle-ready.
"Did that turtle just...?" Ben's jaw dropped. "Did Stark bring a turtle to a Mole Man fight?"
"That's not just a turtle," Reed breathed, his scientist's mind already cataloging details. "Tony, what is that creature? Where did it come from? The energy readings are unlike anything I've—"
"Long story, Reed. Cliff notes version: a month ago, Squirtle hatched from a rock in my garden. Two weeks ago, he evolved into Wartortle. Now he's my partner." Tony's repulsors charged. "And right now, we've got bigger problems."
Latias and Latios had recovered, and they were not happy about being sucker-punched by what they clearly saw as a much weaker opponent. They split up, circling from opposite directions, their bodies beginning to glow with psychic energy.
"Wartortle!" The water-type Pokemon called to Tony, gesturing with one clawed hand: I've got this.
"You sure? Because those things look—"
Wartortle dove into the battle before Tony could finish.
What followed was aerial combat that defied physics and common sense. Wartortle used jets of water from its tail to propel itself through the air, spinning and weaving between the legendary Pokemon's strikes. When Latias came in with a Psychic attack, Wartortle countered with a spinning shell that deflected the energy. When Latios tried to ram it with Dragon Breath, Wartortle twisted mid-air and hit back with Water Pulse.
But it wasn't enough. The Eon Pokemon were too fast, too experienced. For every hit Wartortle landed, it took three in return. A Psychic blast sent it spiraling. A Dragon Breath attack singed its shell. A double-team Aerial Ace left visible cracks in its armor-like hide.
"Tony, call it back!" Sue shouted. "It's going to get killed!"
"Come on, buddy," Tony muttered, his sensors tracking the fight, calculating trajectories. "I believe in you. Show me what you've got."
Wartortle crashed into the ground near the sinkhole, breathing hard. Its shell was cracked. Its tail drooped. Blue energy flickered around its body—damage from psychic attacks mixing with physical trauma.
Latias and Latios descended, preparing for a finishing strike.
Then something changed.
Wartortle's eyes sharpened. Its breathing steadied. And the water vapor around its body began to intensify, growing from wisps to a visible aura. The air itself seemed to respond to its will, moisture condensing from nowhere, gathering around the wounded Pokemon like a cloak of liquid power.
"JARVIS, are you seeing this?" Tony's voice was hushed with awe.
"Sir, the creature's water-based abilities are increasing exponentially. Hypothesis: a defensive mechanism activated by critical injury."
"Wartortle," the Pokemon whispered, and the word carried the weight of determination.
Latias struck first, diving with claws extended.
Wartortle met it with Aqua Tail—its tail glowing with condensed water that hit with the force of a tsunami. The legendary Pokemon was sent spinning away, shocked by the sudden reversal.
Latios came in from behind, trying to catch Wartortle off-guard.
Water Pulse—but not the weak version from before. This one exploded outward in concentric rings of compressed water, each one hitting with pile-driver force. Latios barely managed to dodge, its sleek body twisting in ways that should have been impossible.
The battle became a blur. Wartortle, operating on instinct and desperation, fought both legendary Pokemon at once. Every dodge was precise. Every counter-attack was devastating. The torrent of water surrounding it grew stronger with each exchange, until the Pokemon seemed to be standing at the eye of a localized hurricane.
On the ground, the Fantastic Four and Iron Man could only watch in stunned silence.
"Reed," Sue whispered. "What are they?"
"I don't know," Reed admitted, and those might have been the three hardest words he'd ever spoken. "But I intend to find out."
The final exchange came when both Latias and Latios attacked simultaneously, their psychic powers combining into a massive sphere of energy. It was enough power to level a building, focused entirely on one small turtle.
Wartortle planted its feet, drew in every ounce of moisture from the surrounding air, and unleashed Hydro Pump.
The water beam met the psychic sphere head-on. For a moment, the two forces were equal, straining against each other in mid-air. Then Wartortle's attack intensified, driven by whatever emergency power still coursed through its body, and the water blast tore through the psychic energy like it wasn't there.
Both legendary Pokemon were caught in the deluge. The force of it sent them tumbling backward, thoroughly soaked and thoroughly beaten. They hit the ground hard, groaning in what sounded like surprise and grudging respect.
Wartortle swayed on its feet, the water aura fading as quickly as it had appeared. It took one step toward Tony, managed a tired "Wartor..." and collapsed.
Tony caught it before it hit the ground, his armor's servos straining slightly under the Pokemon's dense weight. "JARVIS, medical scan."
"Extensive damage but no life-threatening injuries. The creature requires immediate rest and hydration."
"You hear that, buddy?" Tony's voice was soft. "You won. You took down two... whatever those things are. You won."
Wartortle managed a weak smile before passing out completely.
In the chaos of the legendary battle, Excadrill had finished demolishing the Mole Man's machine. The villain himself was currently being sat on by the Thing, sputtering protests about surface-dweller tyranny.
Excadrill chittered something that might have been satisfaction, then noticed Latias and Latios groaning on the ground. The drill Pokemon's expression shifted to concern—these were powerful beings, yes, but they'd only been defending what they thought was right.
It chittered softly, almost apologetically, and began using its claws to gently dig a shallow depression in the soft earth near the trees—a comfortable resting spot, out of the sun.
Reed Richards watched all of this, his brilliant mind racing through possibilities, and came to a single, unavoidable conclusion: "The world just changed. Again."
"Yeah," Tony said, still holding the unconscious Wartortle. "And I think it's going to keep changing. We need to talk, Reed. All of us." He glanced toward the two dragon-like creatures, who were beginning to stir. "And maybe we need to figure out what exactly is happening before more of these things show up."
Sue knelt beside Johnny, who was groaning back to consciousness. "I am so confused right now."
"Join the club," Ben rumbled. "Join the very, very confused club."
Above them, the morning sun continued to shine on New York City, oblivious to the fact that its reality had just expanded to include creatures that shouldn't exist, fighting battles that defied explanation.
The dimensional barriers were breaking down faster now.
And somewhere, in places yet to be revealed, more eggs were beginning to crack.