Human Torch #7
The Locust Project
The Human Torch is awoken from a nightmare where he is being beaten by a powerful foe by his assistant Jian Freeta. She informs him that they've arrived at their destination. Johnny flips off the autopilot of his flying car and eventually sees through the storm to where they have arrived in an old village in the Balkans. Landing their car on the street on a deserted street. Johnny suggests they get out of the rain and they duck into a local inn. Johnny is in for a surprise when he jokingly announces themselves as burglars and an elderly man bursts in the room firing a rifle. Johnny quickly flames on and melts the buckshot from the weapons. Jian tells the man -- named Hugo -- to stand down and Johnny is shocked to realize that she knows the man who almost shot them. Hugo turns out to be the one who contacted him and he and Jian go back to when she was a relief worker active in the area. After exchanging pleasantries, Jian gets down to business telling Hugo that they have come to investigate the Locust Project, a program to solve world hunger that Fantastic Four Inc. was funding until it mysteriously went quiet. Hugo suspects dark dealings involved as they have been working up in the castle until they suddenly disappeared. Johnny finds this hard to believe, but Hugo recounts how the area was previously under the tyranny of communists, gangsters, and war, things that taught Hugo that it is actually quite easy for people in the region to suddenly disappear. Hugo laughs about how no matter what happened nobody has succeeded in making him disappear. However, Hugo warns that there is something living up in that castle, but it's nothing like them. Although Johnny jokes about it being haunted, both he and Jian decide to go and check it out.
Despite Hugo's warnings, Johnny and Jian go to the castle right away to find a trace of the scientists who worked there. When Jian wonders if its dangerous to go up at night, Johnny tells her that it can't possibly be haunted as he knows heroes who would have shut down such a place long ago. The two begin looking around the castle for signs of life unaware that they are being stalked by a massive being in a suit of armor. Jian catches a brief glimpse of it but is distracted by Johnny calling her out to check out something. Johnny has found a locked door and is using his flame powers to melt through it. On the other side of the door, they find a laboratory that was abandoned in a hurry. Looking among the discarded papers they find one word "Ambrosia". When Johnny hears voices he tells Jian to stay back while he checks it out. When he rounds the corner he sees a massive spider and tries to incinerate it with his flame. When Jian checks on him all trace of the spider is gone making Johnny wonder if he's seeing things. When they see a strange light at the end of the tunnel Johnny decides to follow after it. He chases it around a corner to a dead end. Johnny is suddenly attacked by the being in the suit of armor and the massive spider. Although he tries to fight back he is quickly knocked out. Hearing the battle, Jian goes looking for him but finds no trace of the Human Torch anywhere.
Recurring Characters
Human Torch, Jian Feeta
Continuity Notes
Hugo mentions the reign of communism, lawlessness, and wars in his region. He is likely referring to living under the communist rule of Yugoslavia until the country collapsed in 1991 which led to the various Yugoslav Wars which carried on for a decade thereafter. Although these references are vague these events, particularly that they happened relatively recently, should be considered topical references per the Sliding Timescale.
