FANTASTIC FOUR # 434

by Mark Bousquet

BABY STEPS

PROLOGUE - 202 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

Captain America fights alongside the Valkyries during an assault on Titan 3. Isaac, the planet's super-computer - long since merged by Thanos with the Supreme Intelligence - has been a target of the Captain America/Galactus partnership for years. While Thanos hasn't used it much in the last twenty Titan-years, Steve Rogers has long since thought it to be the place where Thanos keeps his prisoners of war.

Today, he and the Valkyries plan on claiming it in battle.

"The fight goes well, Captain!" Moonstar the Valkyrie shouts as her winged horse comes to a rest near Captain America.

"We still haven't found any of the hypothesized prisoners, Moonstar," Steve answers back, his mind scouring the landscape for any sign of hostile troops.

"No, we haven't. But any strike against Thanos is good in it's own right," she answers quietly, knowing full well that isn't what's on his mind.

"Damnit, Moonstar!" he snaps. "Then that means the POWs are still out there somewhere."

"I know, I know," she sighs, not able to look Captain America in the eye. "I know even now what the name Avengers means to you." She pauses, trying to decide whether or not to continue. She decides to go ahead, even though she knows it's a mistake. "But these aren't your Avengers. They're just some dumb kids inspired by the legends of your past."

"Then that makes them my responsibility," Captain America flatly states.

"Yes, I suppose you think it does," she says softly, taking a step closer to him. "But you can't save everyone."

Captain America says nothing as he glances down at the Nega Bands on his wrists. "That's exactly what I'm trying to do, Dani," he says quietly.

"I know, Steve," she replies as the two lovers come together in an embrace. As they break the kiss, their first in two years, Captain America is already looking towards an outbreak of fighting between Thanos' troops and a pair of Valkyries.

"Even if we win this war against the Mad Titan, we'll still never just settle down quietly, will we?" Dani asks.

Without a word, Captain America jumps forward to aid in the battle. A sigh escapes her lips as Dani jumps after him. "Not that I'd want to settle down, mind you," she breathes under her breath.

PIER 4

There have been plenty of large moments in the lives of the Fantastic Four during the past few days.* But on this Saturday morning, there is a sense of calm that permeates the group, a sense that things will be different in the upcoming months, but that they will still be okay.

* ( See The Latverian Connection and it's prologue, FF 429 - 433 )

Of course, it could just be the fact that the extended family is sitting down for a morning breakfast for the first time together in many weeks. The Fantastic Four: Reed, Sue, Johnny and Ben, share their table with reserve member the She-Hulk, Reed and Sue's son Franklin and Ben's on-again girlfriend Alicia Masters.

"Ben, these eggs are delicious," Jen Walters, the She-Hulk compliments, a smile upon her green face.

"Thank you, Shulkie," Ben replies, smiling. "They're a specialty of my Aunt Petunia's."

"Good thing you know her, Ben," Johnny smirks, "otherwise we might never have scrambled eggs!"

The assembled group all smile or laugh, enjoying the company of each other. Reed Richards sits at the head of the table and can't help but feel that a giant weight has been taken off of their collective shoulders. He sees the happiness around him and knows that he and Sue are doing the right thing by leaving. Yes, it will be tough, especially on himself, but he would spend every last penny he had to see Sue as happy as she is this morning. Plus, by leaving, they lower the chance that Nathaniel will interfere with them in any way. Even the problem of Sharon took care of itself when she decided to stay with the Eternals.*

* ( See last issue - Ike Harris )

Reed pushes the thought aside and looks again around the table. There isn't a face in the room that doesn't have a smile.

But Reed Richards did not become one of the world's most preeminent scientists by not noticing the little things and he sees a small crack in the happiness around him.

Alicia isn't eating her food. She pushes it around her plate to give the appearance of eating, but a full fork hasn't gone to her mouth since Ben delivered her plate right to her. She smiles, but it is the smile of a person trying very hard to look like they're having a good time.

He decides not to push the matter - or even bring it up - because he has an ominous feeling that it might be something that would see Ben get hurt yet again. And while Benjamin Grimm is Reed's valued teammate within the Fantastic Four, he is also, and more importantly, his best friend.

Ben's been through a lot with Alicia over the years, Reed thinks to himself as he greedily attacks a slice of rye toast, he'd like nothing more than to see them finally be able to come together and just be happy.

Reed notices Alicia wince and grab her stomach, so maybe, he thinks, it's just a stomach flu.

Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, trades barbs with Ben and tries his best to not get depressed. With Reed and Sue leaving, that's going to leave him and Ben in charge of the group, so he won't have as much time to sit around and feel sorry about himself. It's time to grow up.

'Ugh,' he thinks, 'it's one thing to act more mature, but if I start spouting clichés I'm going to have a mid-life crisis before I hit thirty.'

INTERLUDE - WAKANDA

Maximus the Mad, brother to Black Bolt, King of the Inhumans stands under the intense African sun and hates life even more than he did when he was rotting in a cell in New Attilan. It's one thing to be stuck in a damp, dreary room, but to be out under the hot sun, doing physical labor ... definitely not Maximus' preferred style.

He can't take the risk of finding what he seeks only to have it taken away before he can use it, however, and as such has decided he must undertake this mission alone.

But picking through all this rubble is not any fun.

He searches through the destroyed remnants of a city out of the past, but Maximus is not one for extended physical labor and quickly moves to find whatever shade he can. Better to let the Alpha Primitives he brought along do all the work. They do the work slowly but steadily and while Maximus could complain that they move too slow, at least they pose no chance at being troublesome.

'The simple creatures do what they're told and nothing more,' Maximus thinks gleefully. 'If only my brother and his ilk were controlled this way.'

Then everything changes as an Alpha Primate sees a glint of sunlight and a shiny yellow object gleaming under the hot African sky.

END INTERLUDE

Alicia Masters does not feel well. At all. For what seems like the hundredth time this morning, she feels a lurching in her stomach that forces her to move towards the bathroom.

"You don't look to good, Alicia."

"Trust me, She-Hulk, I feel worse than I look," Alicia says without turning around.

"What's the matter? Stomach flu? Ben's cooking?" Jen asks.

"No, not that," Alicia says, a smile forced upon her lips. "Ben's cooking is usually wonderful."

"Usually meaning that today you didn't eat anything," Jen says.

"You noticed, huh?"

"C'mon, Alicia. You were sitting in a room full of people that had just been betrayed by two people they trusted.* We're all a little on edge," Jen says, her voice dropping. "And we probably will be for some time to come."

* ( See Latverian Connection storyline )

"Speak for yerself, greenie," the boisterous voice of Ben Grimm booms. "Now why don't you take a hike so me and Alicia can be alone."

"Ben!" Alicia snaps. "Jen doesn't have to leave."

"That's okay, Alicia," Jen smiles at Ben. "I've got some things to do anyways."

Jen leaves the room and Ben is immediately at Alicia's side, his concern blatantly apparent. "What's wrong, honey?" Ben asks as he wraps a large arm around the blind sculptress' slim figure. "Can't be my cooking, you didn't eat any of it."

"I'm fine, Ben," Alicia lies, then thinks better of it. "I-I don't know what's wrong ... I just feel awful ... I ..."

"Hush, Alicia," Ben picks the love of his life up in his arms. "We'll go see Stretch. He'll know what to do."

As Alicia feels Ben gently carry her down the hall, she can't help but wonder what's going to get in between her and Ben's happiness now.

INTERLUDE # 2 - CASTLE DOOM

Kristoff Vernard walks out of Castle Doom and into the city's streets. The Fantastic Four and Eternals had volunteered to help him clean up this mess, but he declined. This is something Latveria needs to do for itself, so that it may use it as a symbol that a new age is dawning.

One where Kristoff Vernard will help Latveria by being it's guiding hand.

END INTERLUDE # 2

PIER 4

Reed, Sue and Franklin share the same room inside the FF's headquarters.

"Your father hasn't attacked us, yet," Sue states.

Reed doesn't get angry. He knew this was coming - it was a planned move to try and be a springboard for Franklin to talk about Nathaniel. "No, darling, he hasn't. But he's a time traveler, so we must assume he's already figured it out. Afterall, as long as he does so by the time he dies, he can come back to any moment."

"Than why hasn't he?" Sue asks.

"Two educated guesses, Sue. One, he knows that we know he can do it, so he figures to make us wait."

"And two?"

Reed shrugs. "Two is that he has deemed us "worthy" and is going to leave us alone."

"Can he follow us to Titan, mommy?" Franklin asks.

"Anything is possible, Franklin, but that should make it much more difficult," Sue answers, running her hand atop the boy's head, wondering what's going on inside his mind.

It is not a sight Sue would want to see.

Franklin is a very troubled young man. All the talk his grandfather gave about him being the sole hope of the future is a little daunting and Franklin finds himself again almost wishing he was just a normal little boy with no powers.

He feels isolated again, not having many real friends outside the FF.

He sighs looking out the window. 'Maybe Titan will be better,' he thinks. 'Maybe I'll have some friends there my own age.'

WESTCHESTER COUNTY

Scott Summers, the mutant known as Cyclops, rushes through the hallways of Xavier's Mansion, more than a little bit upset. For once, though, he's not upset because some hate group has been spouting off about the evils of mutants, or because a Sentinel has ripped through the Mansion, or because Sinister has kidnapped yet another teammate to perform some ridiculous experiment on.

He's not even upset about listening to Rogue whine.

No, he's upset because he's out of shampoo.

Sometimes, it's the little things that can be the most aggravating.

Worse, his shower was interrupted by a telepathic call from his wife, Jean Grey. There's a call for him in the monitor room. A call from his father.

'Easy, honey,' Jean speaks in his kind, via the shared telepathic bond between them. 'It's nothing too important.'

'With Corsair, it's always something important,' Scott answers back.

'Maybe he wants to tell you about another brother you have or something,' Jean thinks into his mind, a hint of mischief in her voice.

Scott can't help but smile. 'Anything but that,' he replies.

In another few steps, he's in the monitor room and views Corsair's picture up on the video screen. "Hello, son," Corsair greets, forcing a smile.

"Hello, Corsair," Cyclops answers. "What can we do for you?"

"You can get a message to the Fantastic Four for me, if you would," Corsair answers, his voice grave.

"What is it?" Cyclops asks, all business.

"It's about Dr. Doom."

Dr. Doom sits on a throne countless light years from Earth and countless light years from the Starjammer, and has fought neither the Starjammers or the X-Men all that often, but at the mere mention of his name a chill falls over the hearts of all who hear it spoken.

PIER 4

Almost immediately, Reed Richards knows something is wrong. Very, very wrong. Alicia's internal organs are giving him readings they shouldn't. He looks to his friend, Ben Grimm, who's eyes dart constantly back and forth from the screaming Alicia to the concerned Reed.

Ben doesn't know what scene scares him more. "What's the prognosis, Stretch?" Ben asks, trying to stay jovial. "My cooking that bad?"

"Aaaaaaaaargh!" Alicia screams as Sue, Johnny and Jen enter the room. "God, Reed, it feels like something is ... tearing me apart from the inside!"

Reed says nothing, but continues to take readings of Alicia's body. Strapped into a special medical examination device that Reed designed a few years previous, and has continuously updated since, Alicia can't ever remember feeling this much physical pain. "It hurts so much, Ben," she manages to gasp out.

"It'll be okay, beautiful," Ben tries to console her, but the words fall empty for even himself. Nothing can happen to Alicia. Not know. Not when they've decided to give it another shot between them.

Unseen behind everyone, Franklin enters the room, his face curious as to what could be causing Alicia all this pain.

Reed rechecks the results again. They come back the same, so he rechecks them again. And again. And again. This can not be right. There isn't a person in the room who doesn't see the concern and confusion on Reed's face and doesn't feel very worried. Sue moves over to him to provide whatever support she can.

"What is it, Reed?" she asks.

"I-It can't be right," Reed mumbles under his breath. "This can't be."

"But it is, isn't it?" Sue asks her husband in a whisper. "Whatever it is, it's true. You're not wrong and that bother you. Why, Reed? What is it?"

Reed answers to the entire room, "I think everyone should leave me alone with Alicia. We need to talk, doctor to patient."

"I ain't going anywhere, Reed," Ben asserts.

"But Ben-"

"He can .. stay, Reed," Alicia fights out the words through her pain, which she notices, has begun to subside just a bit. "You can all stay. We're a fam ... ily, afterall."

Reed sighs as he unstraps Alicia from the machine. "I really think everyone should leave, but if you want them to stay, well, that's your call, Alicia and I'll respect it."

"Enough!" Ben snaps. "What's wrong with her? And in English, no big words!"

Reed looks at the anguish on Ben's face and the tired face of the love of his best friend's life. He sighs and subconsciously stretches an arm around Sue, five feet away from him. Not able to stall any longer, Reed gives them his diagnosis.

"Alicia, I don't know how else to put this ... you're pregnant."

EPILOGUE - 202 YEARS INTO THE FUTURE

Captain America soars through Milky Way, powered along by his Nega Bands. It's time for another meeting with Galactus. He is uneasy about the alliance, but Galactus is much more in tune with the Multiverse than he is, and has offered much information that has been useful.

He zips by Mars and is instantly aware that something is very, very wrong. As he nears the spot where Galactus normally resides, Steve Rogers sees something he shouldn't. He sees the planet Earth spinning on it's axis, but he sees no sign of Galactus.

"Galactus!" he calls and the giant planet destroyer fades back into existence.

"Hello, Captain," the giant weakly states as Steve rushes over to him. "I had my cloaking device up ... to stave off ... those who would seek to take advantage of my body in this state."

"Who did this to you, Galactus?" Captain America asks, grave concern in his voice.

"The person we've been waiting for, Captain," Galactus states, irony dripping in his voice. "Franklin Richards is alive and a bigger threat than Thanos ever was. He did this to me ... for what I did to the ... Human Torch ... all those years ago."

 END FF 434

 FANTASTIC FORUM

Any comments? Send them to Fantastic Forum at mariner2@tiac.net.

 And away we go ...

 FF 431 & 432

Mark, I just read the two latest issues of Fantastic Four. Excellent as

usual. I'm really fascinated with where this series is headed - the next

issue promises to be a barn-burner. The mystery villain finally revealed?

I can't wait. A member of the FF dies? Time to play the guessing game.

I'm going to rule out the substitute members who haven't been showing up

recently (Tigra, Cage, and Crystal) since bringing one of them in to kill

them off has little to no dramatic impact. That leaves us with:

Sharon Ventura: she's most likely. The way the story's developed, her

death could really give meaning to her character - it'd certainly have a

tragic impact, given recent events. I would miss her least, so I hope it's

her.

She-Hulk: she's too cool. No way she's dying.

I hope you don't have the guts to kill one of the 'real' members, but I

wouldn't put anything past you, so:

Human Torch: he seems to have health problems, but I think taking him to

Olympia just to kill him off seems to quick. It seems like if he's going

to die, it should be more lingering- next issue's too fast.

Mr. Fantastic: I can't think of any reason why not, except that it's been

done before.

Thing: this would have dramatic impact, especially with Alicia the way

things have been going. I really hope you marry the two of them. Also,

killing the Thing now would destroy a subplot I think you're building:

Franklin's attempt to find a way Ben and Alicia can have kids.

Invisible Woman: I hope it's not her, but I think this would have the

biggest impact of the four. Johnny would be devastated, of course, but the

story potential of Reed and Franklin coping with that kind of grief seems

really rich.

So, I'm guessing Sharon with Sue being runner-up. Can't wait to see if you

prove me wrong.

 Cheers,

 Matt

Interesting letter, Matt. The prophesized death of one of the members of the Fantastic Four will be someone in the group at the time. So unless you see Tigra or Cage or Crystal showing up - and you won't - they won't be the one to fall. Of course, I'd consider the original four to always be in the group, whether they were active or not.

And as we've seen, Sharon isn't in the group anymore, so unless she returns, she's not the one either. But there is a new member joining ... and wouldn't it be interesting to watch the FF deal with the death of someone they had only recently brought into their ranks. That might make Reed and Sue rethink their decision, eh?

One group of people it won't be, however, is any members of the Legion of Substitute 4.

I mean, who could kill Frog Man?

NEXT ISSUE - FANTASTIC FOUR # 435 - The fallout from Alicia's pregnancy! Will it force her and Ben apart? And why does Ben think the Silver Surfer has something to answer for? Cyclops and Jean Grey visit Pier 4 as the FF and X-Men trade shocking announcements! The Legion of Substitute 4 go on their first mission! Kinda. The membership shake-up from Reed and Sue's impending departure begins! But it couldn't have anything to do with Scott and Jean visiting, could it?

 MBQ ... 4.27.98