#439
Origin of a Species: Part Four
NOVEMBER YEAR 2

By Tim Hartin

PREVIOUSLY:
The Fantastic Four are trapped on a living ship, a Bokshii Ray, as they hunt for the missing Alicia Masters and her baby. Unfortunately, Mr. Fantastic and the Thing were both captured by the mysterious Veda Ree. The Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and Saranja, the Last Skrull Eternal, continue to dodge alien attacks as they attempt a rescue...

Cross the multidimensional barrier to the ocean world of Ta'thata, where a coral pyramid lies on the bottom of its deepest ocean. The pyramid stands as a monument to the achievements of the race that grew it -- to the Veda Ree. It is just one of many scattered on other ocean worlds throughout the vast interdimensional multiverse.

The coral pyramid radiates with a soft glow, lighting the pitch darkness of the ocean bottom, revealing the many strange aquatic flora and fauna of this world. Pods of neon red whales swim through the tall strands of albino kelp that crowd the ocean floor. Schools of silver, aquamarine, and purple fish dart playfully through the ebb and flow of the ocean currents. All of these sea creatures give the imposing Veda Ree Pyramid a wide berth.

Deep within the heart of the gigantic pyramid, a gathering of Veda Ree discuss their current situation. The scarlet coral walls are sleek and decorated with many black nautilus shells. The slight ocean current echoes through the shells creating a strange hum throughout the room. An unusually tall Veda Ree, just under six feet, floats in front of a minature representation of the pyramid. His belly flashes in a prismatic display with each word. "Have the intruders been neutralized?"

Another Veda Ree bows his head and answers. "Two terrestrials were captured while the Bokshii Ray transport docked. They are being prepared for extensive study. The remaining intruders still elude capture."*

[* This is a biased retelling of FF #436 - FF #439, from a Veda Ree P.O.V.]

The commander waves his webbed hand over the minature pyramid. A holographic image flickers in the waters above it. It reveals a tall green skinned amazon fighting next to the intruders. "These terrestrials have released one of our Avatamska Drive components*. It must be recaptured and reconditioned before it is too late. We will need all of the components for the reclamation of the MotherOcean."

[* This would be the FF's new ally, Saranja, the Last Skrull Eternal]

"The Proto-Saurids have proved to be ineffective against these humanoids. They are rather resourceful, for terrestrials." chirps a small Veda Ree. The stares from the rest of the council quickly silences him.

"Then release the Shakti. Their poisonous barbs shall render the intruders inert for recollection." recommends another piscine Veda Ree.

"So it shall be. These intruders must not escape. We are too close to liberating the MotherOcean from these animals. We must not fail now."

The belly of a giant Bokshii Ray.

Ripples cascade through the water as Susan Richards inspects the current condition of the Fantasticar. Sue, Johnny, and the Skrull Eternal, Saranja, float in the gentle current of their living ship's belly/docking area. The Fantasticar's sleek curves and shiny exterior are now hidden under a layer of slime. The organic holding restraints keep the vehicle secure, as they secrete a dilatory ooze that slowly eats away at the craft.

"Oh great, now what do we do?" asks Johnny. His voice vibrates slightly from his vocal unit of his Atmo-web suit. He floats in place as he watches his sister and Saranja inspect their craft. Johnny hopes that they can at least salvage a scanner so they can locate Reed. They'll need Reed's intelligence to deal with these aliens... and then there is Ben. He hopes Ben is all right. The world wouldn't be the same if he didn't have Ben to bug now and then. Ben used to get so riled at me... thinks Johnny. He stops himself from thinking of Ben as if he would never return.

Sue Richards concentrates and the strange alien mucous peels back revealing the battered Fantasticar. "I'm going in. The two of you watch my back. I don't want to be trapped in there if we have another run in with those reptilian brutes." Sue forms a protective force shield around herself and enters the Fantasticar's remains.

Saranja watches Sue disappear. "[I have seen this before. The Bokshii Ray breaks down alien components for its nutrition. Your craft will provide a succulent feast for it.]"*

[* Translated from ancient Skrull.]

I hope the Fantasticar gives it heartburn thinks Johnny as he watches the bubbling ooze fester on the Fantasticar. "Come on Sue. Hurry up. We don't have all day." He adjusts his control dial on the metal collar of his Atmo-web suit. Johnny inhales deeply as he feels the oxygen flow around him. He is like a burning star surrounded by a greenish-blue night. The light from his flame is reflected and refracted in the water and produces a shimmering halo around him.

Saranja points to a distant circular valve that is opening. "[Hurry my friend. Combat shall be ensued.]" She readies a trident that she stoled from a Proto-Saurian that she had slained previously. "[I am Saranja, daughter of Molorkus the Maker! I welcome glorious combat!]"

Johnny doesn't understand her exact words but when he sees the opening valve, he understands her meaning. Wave after wave of shark-like creatures swim out towards them. "Come on, sis. These things look hungry." mumbles the Torch as he prepares for combat.

On cue, the bubbling mound of the Fantasticar erupts as Sue stands in the centre surrounded by her protective force field. "You can stop screaming in my head now, Saranja*. I got a scanner plus a few other usefull gadgets of Reed's." Sue looks at the approaching sharks. She would call them sharks, but their heads are surrounded by a mass of barbed tentacles. "Whatever they are, they look dangerous!"

[* When Sue discovered Saranja in a stasis pod, they formed a mental link. One of many things that happened last issue.]

"[They're Shakti! Beware their barbs!]" shouts Saranja as she swims towards them. She is quickly engulfed by them as they swarm around her. The water is a chaotic turmoil as her trident is seen occassionally admist the smooth, sleek hides of the shark-like creatures.

The Human Torch flies upwards, against the current, as he sets his control dial on full. "Okay, the kid gloves are off!" His gauntlets flare as a concentrated beam of plasma sears towards the frenzied beasts. For every one he burns, another swims in its place.

"I'm tired of playing this cat and mouse game by someone else's rules." insists the Invisible Woman. "It's time we took charge of the situation." Sue studies the small hand held scanner and looks for any signs of Reed's or Ben's specific uniform bio-signatures. She picks up a signal some distance south-west from their current location. Sue knows what she has to do, but she doesn't like it -- after all, it isn't like a building they are trampling through, but a living organism. She pushes her hand forward and suddenly an invisible spear rips into the side of the Bokshii Ray. She alters the spear into a tunnel, providing a direct route away from the battle. "Okay everyone, follow me!"

The Thing shakes his head as he looks up. He is in an arena of some type which seems vaguely familiar to him. Men in blue and brown suits shout ecstatically as they sip their drinks and smoke their cigars. Before the Thing can ask what is going on, his opponent hits him with a haymaker that sends him flying. Ben hasn't felt a blow like that in a long time. The black robotic combatant leaps onto the prostrate Thing. His yellow eyes blazing as they study him. "Forgive me, Earthling! I harbor you no malice-- but I do what I was born to do!" "Look, rivet-head-- apologizin' fer bein' a killer don't make it any better, see?" shouts the Thing as he struggles against Torgo's powerful grip. He knows he must fight or the Skrulls will obliterate the Earth. The Thing does what he does best -- he fights.* [* As detailed in the now classic Fantastic Four (1st Series) #90 - 94. The dialogue is from Page 6, Panels 1 - 2, FF #93. The good old days when Marvel numbered their pages.]

While the Thing fights a mental battle plucked from his memory, he floats within a cocoon. It is cylindrical in shape with many protubrances along the sides. It is a dark purple colour with veins of red and blue. Ben's powerful arms twitch with each imaginary blow. He inhales deeply from the strange green pulsating respirator that is affixed over his mouth and nose. Ben drifts in his alien isolation chamber.

A Veda Ree, with a greenish-black hue, adjusts a few more dials as he studies his captive. He notes that the terrestrial has succumbed to the pshychotropic miasma of the respirator. He studies the creature's various chemical levels as the imaginary battle ensues. "Most interesting. This creature is very durable - both physically and mentally. Such a strong force of will. He would make an excellent slave, if his willpower could be brokened." The Veda Ree increases the Thing's dosage and changes the focus of the dream battle...

Suddenly the Thing finds himself flying through the air towards a giant whale-like creature that stands on two muscular hind legs as it tears up a part of New York City -- once more GIGANTO walks New York's streets. He swings a punch at the monster. "It's clobberin' time!" With a loud 'wump', the Thing is thrown onto the back of the whale monstrosity. "Unf! The blamed punch rebounded -- an' I forgot ta fasten my seatbelt!" The Monster thrashes about in its rage as Ben continues to assault it with a mighty barage of blows. The Thing's ferocity causes the monster to act with the same intensity -- causing even more damage. "Look out below, Susie -- we're bringin' down the roof!"* [* As detailed in Fantastic Four (1st Series) #219. The dialogue is from Page 15 (Panels 5 - 6) & Page 16 (Panel 2).] As the Thing holds onto his bucking bronko of a ride, he can't help but shake the feeling of deja vu. He knows that he has done this before, but he can't remember when. Ben knows that his punches aren't doing anything to the creature. Besides there are many more sea creatures to fight. He knows he has to keep them from spilling into the heart of the city while Susie captures Namor's Horn from Barracuda. Wait a damn minute, thinks the Thing to himself. Just how do I know that Susie is goin' to get that blasted horn of Namor's? He looks around at his surroundings as if for the first time. The city buildings are drab -- almost like they are smeared ink. Everything seems to be shadows of themselves. Something doesn't look quite right to the Thing.

The Veda Ree plays with a series of dials and levers as the organic cocoon pulsates with life. The Thing continues to wrestle with imaginary demons as his captor studies his mental and physical limitations. He quickly tries to compensate for the Thing's growing awareness of the dream state. "Most incredible. Even one of his minimal level of intellect is becoming aware of his true situation. These terrestrials are truly amazing. We must unlock their secrets if they are to be of any use to use."

Mr. Fantastic floats silently in a long elongated tube in the centre of an oval chamber. He can't see much further than the immediate surroundings of his confines. His breathing unit still seprates the oxygen from the alien sea water thus allowing him to breathe. He runs his hands along the smooth transparent surface of his prison walls. Under his feet are a series of red shells that glow softly. Small bubbles gently float upwards around Reed.

Reed stretches his hand flat in an attempt to try to slide it under his cell. He snaps it back as he brushes against one of the glowing shells. "Hmmm... some sort of thermal producing organism." Reed correctly surmisses that these shells aren't empty, but are living creatures serving as a substitute for technology. "Fascinating. The previous craft and this location all appear to be crafted -- or should I say grown."

The darken chamber slowly becomes brighter as Reed sees many humanoid figures floating around his cell. They all have large dark oval eyes, and smooth greenish-black skin. A few of the aliens have organic symbiotes attached to their bodies in various locations. They speak in a language that is exotic and complex. Reed notes the corresponding colour changes on their bellies with specific vocal sounds. He knows that given time, he could translate their language just by the visual representation alone. But he doesn't have the luxury to do it. He knows he is on borrowed time.

One of the figures floats closer to the transparent tube. It raises its right arm. On the end is a translucent white tubular creature with many small tentacles. They flail about in a circular pattern as the alien speaks. Its voice echoes from its fish-like mouth, but Reed hears the translation originating from the alien hydra symbiote located on the speaker's arm. "You are a most curious specimen. Your intellect is alien to our way of life but we recognize your genius. Once we have mastered your genetic blueprint, you will serve us well."

"I mean you no harm. You have no reason to fear me. I am a man of science -- I suspect much like you are. Your accomplishments are truly amazing. Can't we discuss this like rational beings?" Reed studies the aliens for their reactions. There is a few seconds delay as his speech is translated.

"We are the Veda Ree. We have nothing to learn from a primitive species like yours. You are a mere terrestrial who has risen above his station in life. Aquatic life evolved first and it shall be aquatic life that shall have dominion over all other life. It is decreed in our scared litany -- The Holy MotherOcean gave us life and she promised us the waters and all that rest in and on it, as ours to command and master." The Veda Ree all stand proud as they speak the sacred litany in unison.

Again the translater continues to talk. "We became explorers and expanded our great civilization into the multiverse. Then the MotherOcean punished us for our wickedness. We had lost the way of her teachings and she sent a great plague that decimated our race. We must now use inferior races to further our explorations."

"And that is how you ended up on Earth?" asks Reed who is fascinated by the whole speech. His mind is already extrapolating the potential facts from the mythological elements of the litany. "While on earth, you abducted and manipulated humans -- like Alicia -- for your own purposes."

"Very good, terrestrial." The translator is slightly impressed by Reed's assessment. "Our dimensional Polyp crafts require telepaths for navigation, and only telepaths may harness the enigma force that powers the Avatamska Drive. We lost our own telepaths and we were forced to create more."

"If you have the capability to engineer telepaths, then why do it to others and not to yourselves?"

The Veda Ree listen to the translation of Reed's question and their piscine faces suddenly drop in shock. Their bellies all radiate with a cold ice blue. The translator verbalizes the Veda Ree's dismay at the question. "We are the Veda Ree! A change in our physiology would be a crime against the MotherOcean. As she decreed, we manipulate lower organisms -- like this translator -- and use them. Veda Ree life is sacrosanct."

"But what if the lower organisms don't want to be modified? Did you ask Alica Masters for her permission before you abducted her?"

The Veda Ree translator moves closer to Reed's transparent tube. Reed can see that it is wearing a fine mesh vest of aquamarine. The translator organism breathes as it continues to perform its function. "Lower organisms do not feel pain like we do. To ask their permission would be irrational and unreasonable." The translator becomes silent as a trio of Veda Ree swim from the shadows. He bows his head as they approach. He obiedently listens to their untranslated speech.

"[This conversation has gone on for too long. This specimen is of a higher intellect than most lower organisms but it does not change his nature. Prepare him for vivisection. We shall learn more from him under the microscan than by interogating him.]"

The Veda Ree bow their heads and obey the commands of their council. They file out of the room leaving Reed facing his final interogator. Reed doesn't understand his accusations, but he knows his intent isn't friendly. The commanding Veda Ree raises his right hand. "[Your species have violated our most holy MotherOcean with their crimes. This shall not go unpunished. Your vivsection shall unlock your physiological secrets and we will use them against the rest of your race!]" The Veda Ree departs leaving Reed alone in his cell.

"About time they left. Obviously the organic nature of their technology has left them blind to the capabilties of mechanical technology. Otherwise they wouldn't have left me with my wrist computer." Reed types a few commands into his computer. It flares back to life. His thoughts first go out to his wife and then the rest of the Fantastic Four. He scans for the uniform bio-signatures of the rest of the FF -- Sue and Johnny are several levels above him while Ben's signature is above him and to the south. "There, I've established their whereabouts. Now to deal with the problem of tracing Alicia... But first I have to get out of here."

Reed pauses as he inspects his cell. His fingers run the length of the walls as he tries to find his way out of his current situation. "Hmmmm... I wonder if there is any significance to the fact that the room is dark while there is only minimal lighting in my confines? Perhaps this barrier is phototonus in nature? If I can create the proper light conditions, then the cell should allow me to escape. But at what frequency? Hmmm... if I apply the Born approximation to the equation..." Reeds voice drifts off as his mind begins to work on the problem at hand.

He begins to tap a series of computations into his wrist computer. After approximatley three hundred computations and a few seconds or so, he thinks he may have discovered the right frequency. Now he needs an appropriate emitter to test his theory. Reed detaches his belt buckle and pops it open. He begins to make a few adjustments to the door activation components. "Hmmmm... this better work. It'll burn out the circuits after the first shot."

Mr. Fantastic holds the buckle towards the cell wall. He taps the command sequence into his computer and the buckle flares to life as it shoots a concentrated orange beam at the cell wall. The light passes though the transparent cell towards the far wall. The cell's surface begins to crack as a small hole forms at the light's focus. Suddenly the buckle explodes in a cloud of black smoke that slowly drifts away in the water current. Reed stretches his way through the small narrow hole to his freedom. "Now to rendezvous with the rest of the FF so we can rescue Alicia from this place and return home."

The Thing finds himself in Sector 17 of the Negative Zone. He is with Susie, Johnny, and the mighty Thor. They have just arrived in the Negative Zone to rescure Reed from the combined clutches of Annihilus, Blastaar, and Terrax. He finds himself dropped into the middle of the action. As he joins the battle he seems already aware of the final outcome. He wonders for a moment but finds that he is inexorably drawn down the same path he somehow remembers. He has lept onto Blastaar, while pummeling his hairy face. "I'll just remember that when ya start beggin' me for mercy, ya Planet of the Apes reject!"* [* As detailed in Jeff Melton's GRU Award winning limited series, Fantastic Adventures #1 - 3. The dialogue is from FA #2 (Paragraph 21). If you haven't read it do yourself a favour and do so.] The Thing fights the good fight. Ben knows Reed's life depends on him and he won't let his best friend down. He raises his large orange fist for another punch but pauses for a minute. Someone does need him, but it isn't Reed. Someone close to him -- someone very special to him. The Thing whispers one word, "Alicia." Suddenly his memory opens like a flood gate and he remembers the Skrull arena, then the second Giganto invasion of New York, and his time in Sector 17 of the Negative Zone, but more importantly he remembers Alicia! He is searching for his missing Alicia! "No! Yer fishbrain mind tricks aren't goin' ta work on me!" Benjamin J. Grimm screams for action as he awakes from his stupor.

The Thing opens his eyes and looks around. He can see the long pulsating respirator that runs from his face to the red glossy cocoon wall. He takes a deep breath and slowly reaches out with his large orange hand. His arm is sluggish, but it does what it is told to do. He squeezes the repirator and pulls it away. He is free from the mind altering effects of the respirator, but now he is surrounded by water without any means of breathing. Ben hopes that his lungs will hold out while he searches for some air.

The Vedar Ree can't believe his sensors! That orange brute has shaken the effects of the memory inducer. Never has a being accomplished such a feat. While he marvels about this incredible achievement, he is oblivious to the fact that an angry Thing is reaching for the cocoon's wall.

The Thing rips open the wall and floats out towards the small Veda Ree. Its stomach flashes in a rapid succession of colours as the alien panics. It holds up its webbed hands to shield itself from the approaching Thing. With a smooth motion, Ben picks up the aquatic alien and shakes him around a bit. The Veda Ree faints from the excitement.

"Who would have figured that these aliens were so fragile?" asks a familiar voice. The voice was distorted by its speaker system, but Ben could recognize its youthful sarcasm anywhere. He tries to respond to Johnny but he can't without losing his dwindling supply of air. The Thing lets Johnny have his laugh -- for now.

Sue passes him a spare respirator and encases the both of them within a force bubble as he straps it on. "Thanks Susie. This'll make it easier fer me ta tear this place down while looking for Alicia. Any luck on finding Stretcho?"

"I liked it better when we didn't have to listen to you, Ben. Anyways, can I persuade you to go back to holding your breath?" jokes Johnny.

"Ha ha -- very funny light bulb. At least I don't look like I just stepped off a flamin' Christmas tree." Ben jokes about Johnny's Atmo-web suit with its conical glass helmet that shines like the aforementioned Christmas light. Ben looks past Johnny's glowing persona, and spots the seven foot tall green amazon behind him. "Who's the dame?"

"That's Saranja. She was a captive of these fish-like aliens. We rescued her from some sort of bodysnatcher's pod and she has been a great help since." Sue shakes her head. "We've even seen children held captive in these pods, Ben. What are these aliens doing with all of these people?"

"The Veda Ree use other species as organic components for their technology." adds Mr. Fantastic as he slithers into the room. His long flexible body swims back and forth much like an eel would. "I've already had a long talk with them. A very intelligent species -- even if they don't accept the notion that any other race may equal theirs on the evolutionary scale."

"Reed!" exclaims Sue with much delight as she grabs her husband and holds him tight.

"Now the reunion is over, how 'bout we go and find Alicia? Isn't that why we came here in tha first place?" insists the Thing.

"Ben is right." states Reed. "We need to find Alicia before the Veda Ree perform some sort of irreversible procedure on her. The more time we waste the greater the risk she -- and her child -- are in."

"I have a scanner that I salvaged from the Fantasticar. Maybe we could trace her with that?" adds Sue as she produces the scanner in question.

"I'm afraid that won't work. The scanner is tuned to the specific bio-signatures of our uniforms." adds Reed. His mind is trying to figure out a way around that particular problem. "I could reconfigure the scanners..."

"[Perhaps I could be of some help.]" adds Saranja as she listens to the FF. She comprehends only a little of the actual conversation, but she understands the rest from the mental rapport she shares with Susan Richards. "[If I could get a mental fix on your fellow clan member, then I could trace her for you.]"

"What did she say?" asks the Thing.

"Fascinating." adds Reed. "Her dialect sounds like an ancient version of the Skrull language. How many worlds and time periods have the Veda Ree visited?"

Reed's last question is left unanswered as Johnny tries to answers Ben's first question. "She and Sis seem to understand each other. Even if the rest of us can't grasp a word she says."

"Figures, must be woman's intuition." adds the Thing. "Can she help or not?"

Saranja explains her plan to Sue who in turn explains it to the rest of the Fantastic Four. The Thing isn't very happy about the idea. "I already had one alien poking around in my head today. I don't need another one."

"This would be the most efficient way of tracing Alicia, Ben. Time is of the essence." Reed turns towards his old friend. He rests his arm on his massive shoulder. "Do it for Alicia's sake, Ben."

"Okay, okay. I'm doin' it. I just don't have to like it." Ben watches the elegant emerald Saranja as she looks him in the eyes. He can hear her voice calling to him in his head. It is a light voice that flutters about like a cloud of butterflies. He can feel her long slinder fingers caressing his rocky hide.

Saranja speaks to Benjamin Grimm and he actually understands her. "Do not fear, great warrior. Just think of your beloved and I shall do the rest." She concentrates as Ben thinks of Alicia. He ignores the pain of her not being with him or his fears for her safety... he thinks of Alicia and of the love he feels for her. The fact that Alicia is pregnant now seems pale considering the fact that he isn't sure if they will ever find her again.

Saranja watches Ben's memories as she forms a pyschic imprint of Alicia Masters. Then suddenly a little girl of about five years old materializes in the image. She is crying and asking for help. She explains her name is Marcia and she wants the strange fish men to stop hurting her mommy. "Will the Fantastic Four help?" she asks. "Franklin said they would."

Saranja opens her eyes and points down the hall. After melding with the Thing, she now understands the human mind a bit better, allowing her to expand her mind into all of the remaining Fantastic Four -- enabling them to understand her and vice versa. "Alicia's child is in this direction. Alicia is several levels down from there."

"Alicia's child!?" exclaims Johnny. "But she was only a few months pregnant..."

"The Veda Ree must have accelerated her pregnancy to fit their time table." explains Reed.

"Either way, a young girl waits for us. She said her name is Marcia."

"Marcia! That's Alicia's mother's name!" snaps the Thing. "Then it's settled. We rescue Alicia and Marcia, and then we go home." The Thing slams a large fist into the palm of his other hand. "I hope I get to clobber something soon."

The room seems to have a central spine along the top, with walls of pinkish flesh. Row upon row of transparent globes hang from the ridged ceiling. They are connected to the ceiling by a series of thick stalks. Many smaller tubes run the length of the spine from the globes to various organic cylinders that pump the supply of viscous liquids back to them.

In each sphere floats a little child. The children seem oblivious to the outside world -- which maybe for the best. The surrounding organic horrors, or the piscine nature of the attending Veda Ree, is probably something no child should witness. The children are from a wide selection of various alien species... some are Skrull, some are Shi'ar, while the rest are a smattering of Arcturan, Centaurian, and Rajak children. There is only one human, the child of Alicia Masters, little Marcia Masters!

Marcia is scared. She can occassionally hear others, but she can't see anyone. She is surrounded by darkness as she drifts in a void. She doesn't understand how she got there or even why she is there. She wants to be with her mother but the alien fish-men won't let her. She wants to go home -- whereever home is. She isn't sure. All she can do is hope that her friend, Franklin, is right and his family will rescue her and her mommy.

The attending Veda Ree scan their bio-sensors. The incubation chambers are performing at optimum effenciency. Soon these specimens will be ready for the grafting phase. Then a booster symbiote will be supplemented to their budding telepathic minds. Then they will be ready to act as a component for the Veda Ree hyper-dimensional engines. They need a constant supply of these comnponents since the travel through dimensions tends to burn them out. This is a problem to the Veda Ree but not on the ethical level -- it is simply a drain of a valuable resource to them.

A Veda Ree goes to activate a control pad, but is interrupted when the huge, orange bulky shape of the Thing charges awkwardly into the room. He still isn't comfortable with the buoyancy of his aquatic environment. This doesn't stop his rage. The Thing grabs a section of the wall and tears it free. A light green liquid begins to seep from the wound in the wall as a piercing shrill echoes throughout the area.

"My god, Reed! Look!" shouts Susan Richards as she points at the chambers overhead. "They're all full of children!" Sue sweeps her hand to the side and her invisible force field pushes the Veda Ree away from their controls. "We have to save all of them, Reed! We have to!"

Saranja flies towards the globes that contain only Skrull children, and begins to tear them open. "Marja!" she screams the name of her missing daughter as she searches for her. But to Saranja's horror, none of these children are hers. She leaves them coughing and choking in the water. Saranja is looking for her missing daughter and won't stop until she finds her!

"Saranja!' screams Sue. She forms a force field around the young Skrull children, rescuing them from their watery environment. "You can't just let this children die because they aren't your daughter. Have some humanity!"

"I am a Skrull Eternal while they are merely Deviants. There is no mistaking their stench. I care not for their kind." Saranja's words are as harsh as her eyes. She has seen too many Deviants slaughter her friends and family to have any sympathy. It is a hatred she hasn't forgotten nor does she wish to. It has become such apart of her that she doesn't know what else to do with it.

'I don't care about your personal grudges!" shouts Sue. "We are here to rescue all of the children. I do mean all. If you want us to help you, then I suggest you help. We don't have time to act out your racial hatreds." Sue's voice softens. "We both know... the pain of losing a child. Do you want more people to share the same fate? Do you want other mothers feeling the same loss?"

Saranja doesn't answer. She just looks away. She forms a plan in her mind as Sue's words echo in her head.

Johnny and Reed glide into the room. Johnny spots little Marcia first. "There she is! She's a spitting image of her mom!" He flies to get closer to her globe when suddenly a mass of tentacles cascade down from the ceiling at him. They quickly entangle him. Similar tentacles try to ensnare Reed and the rest of the FF. The Thing and Saranja easily tear their way out as Sue protects herself with a force field. Johnny just burns his way free.

"It must be some sort of automatic defense system! The organic components are using their natural defenses to protect themselves from the damge." Reed snakes through the tentacles as he stretches his way to the command console. He studies the controls as he tries to decipher their operations. "I think this is the right sequence." mutters Reed as he taps the conmmands into the organic pad.

The tentacles stop and retract as there is a loud rush of air in the surrounding water. Air bubbles disperse along the ceiling as the various globes release their captives. Sue quickly encases the drifting children within a force field. She picks up Marcia. "Shhhh... everything is going to be okay. We're going to get you and your mom away from here. We'll be home soon. I promise." Sue turns to the rest of the Fantastic Four. "What about the rest of these children? We can't just leave them here."

"Leave them to me. You are right, Susan Richards. I had hoped that my own daughter would be here but she isn't. I won't stop my search until I find her. I will liberate one of the Veda Ree's dimensional Polyps and use it to take you home and then return all of these children to their own worlds. It is the least that I can do." Saranja gathers the various children together. She extends her own limited telepathy to locate the appropriate Polyp. "I have found our mode of transport. I will go and liberate it."

"You can't do it alone." adds Sue. She smiles at her friend. "I will go with you. I'll protect the children while you beat everyone else into paste."

Saranja clasps Sue's hand and shakes it vigourly. "Thank you, Susan. With you next to me the battle will indeed be glorious."

"She sounds like you, Ben." jokes Johnny.

"Enough gabbin'! When do we get ta go after Alicia?" mumbles Ben.

"I will telepthically implant her location in your minds." Saranja does as she promised. "May the Goddess of Battle and the God of Wisdom bless your venture. I wish you success."

"About time! Lets get goin'! It's clobberin' time!" The Thing, joined by Johnny and Reed, head in the direction of Alicia, while Saranja and Sue escort the lost children to their means of escape.

Alicia Masters is cold and naked. She is cuddled up into a ball as she drifts in some sort of liquid. She doesn't know how she can breathe but she does. She doesn't know where where she is. Alicia doesn't know if she can remain brave anymore. She wants to start crying but she holds it back. She knows that her Ben will come to rescue her. To think otherwise would be to admit defeat and she is stronger than that.

It isn't the first time she has been abducted by aliens. First time it was by the Skrulls, and now these fish-men. Alicia hopes that the whole ordeal will be over soon. Her mind drifts from her own situation and she wonders what has happened to her baby. She was pregnant but now she could tell that she isn't anymore. The aliens did something to her.

Alicia can only hope that her Marcia is alright. She doesn't know why her daughter is called Marcia. She just knows. It is as if her daughter told her that was her name. Alicia dispels this notion quickly. Then it starts like a whisper... and it gets louder until she can hear a young girl's voice in her head. It is telling her that everything will be okay and that help is on its way. Alicia questions the authenticity of the voice, but she soon recognizes it. It whispers to her. "Shhhh, mommy. Uncle Ben will be there soon, trust me."

Suddenly three of the Fantastic Four burst onto the scene. The Thing is a raging beast of fury as he fights his way through Proto-Saurid and Veda Ree alike. Mr. Fantastic stretches his way through the current to wrap himself around Alicia's pod. Johnny flies into battle with searing plasma firing from his gauntlets. The aliens don't stand a chance -- they just don't know it yet.

"Johnny! I need a heat blast to weaken this pod." shouts Reed. He reaches for a spare respirator that, Sue handed to him before they went on their separate missions.

"Roger that, Reed." echoes Johnny's vocal unit as he flies though the dimishing ranks of the opposition. He flies by Mr. Fantastic and starts to cook the pod with a concentrated blast of heat. "Careful Reed, I don't want to hurt Alicia... or you."

"Don't worry, Johnny. Keep it up until I tell you otherwise." Reed ignores the increasingly uncomfortable heat as he winds himself along the base of the pod. "That's it! Stop!" Reed snakes his way up from the bottom and begins to squeeze with his pliant body. It literally causes the weaken pod to split open at the top.

"Need a hand, Stretcho?" asks the Thing as he throws the last reptilian savage over his shoulder. The Thing reaches gently into the pod and lifts Alicia out. Alicia starts to cough as she inhales a deep breath of water. "She's choking, big brain!"

Reed reacts instantly as he attaches the breathing respirator. "It's okay Ben. She'll be find. Now we just have to get out of here." Reed stops as he hears the telepathic voice of Saranja in his head. He turns to the outer wall and points. "Johnny, burn your way out there!"

"What good will that do?" asks Johnny. "besides... I'm a little busy." Johnny continues to blast his own reptillian barbarian opposition. They try to get close to the Human Torch, but his heat level keeps them at bay.

"Just do it!" shouts Reed. "It's our only way out." Reed stretches towards the open chamber valve. He can see a school of sinister shark-like creatures quickly heading their way. "This way is blocked and beyond that wall are Sue and Saranja! Hurry up, we'll have even more dangerous company soon! I'll handle these Proto-Saurids!"

Johnny continues to burn the wall with his flame. He can feel himself starting to get tired. It is a great effort to produce a flame hot enough that the surrounding water doesn't put it out. He is thankful for Reed's Atmo-web design. Without it he would have been useless during this whole mission. Johnny would give anything to be in the arms of A'Kimba once more. He wonders what she is doing and if she is thinking of him.

"Quit yer day dreamin', kid! Out of the way! Let me show you how a pro does it!" The Thing shoves Johnny to the side and proceeds to pound the wall. Blow after blow the wall quickly begins to bruise and dent. Then it begins to crack. The Thing doesn't let up on his assault.

Johnny has moved to the valve as he keeps the approaching Shakti back with his flame and heat. "Hurry up, Ben! I can't hold these sharks off for long!"

Reed has wrapped an arm around Alicia and he holds her close. "Don't worry Alicia. Ben will get us out of here." As on cue, Ben smashes his last punch which ruptures the wall and suddenly the water begins to flow out of the chamber into the waterless space beyond.

"Let's get out of here!" shouts Ben. He waves Reed and Alicia out first, then Johnny. As Ben jumps into the hole, he can feel what seems like a thousand small shocks piercing his rough orange rocky hide along his back. Ben ignores the slight pain and follows the rest of the Fantastic Four. After all, what is a little pain, he has his Alicia back.

The hole closes behind then as they find themselves in a dry environment on the Veda Ree dimensional Polyp. "You can take off those annoying respirators now." comments Sue as she helps Reed to his feet. "Saranja was kind enough to provide us with a breathable atmosphere."

Reed looks up to see the elegant form of Saranja sitting in the centre of a series of tentacles and strange pulsating columns. She has seated herself in the controls of the Polyp. She has become one with the craft, as her body accepts the alien implants. The Veda Ree have manipulated her physical structure to be more pliant with their organic technology. She is now a part of the Polyp. She closes her eyes and lets her mind to drift outwards -- towards the infinite horizon of interdimensional travel.

The Fantastic Four can feel her mind touch theirs, but it is Sue who feels it the most. Both she and Saranja know what it is like to loose a child... it is a bond that brings both of these mothers very close. Reed would later hypothesize that it was this bond that made communication possible between the two of them. Sue thinks of Franklin and of home.

Saranja takes Sue's image of home and extropolates it into the organic computer system of the Polyp. With the imagination of a living mind, Saranja is able to tap into a greater force -- the enigma force. She peels back the barriers separating the multitude of realities and they head for Earth.

Reed holds his wife close to him. "Next stop, home." He smiles as he watches Ben fuss over Alicia and the small female child she holds in her arms. Alicia is safe, and now they have a new member of the family, Marcia Masters -- Alicia's young daughter. Reed's moment of happiness is fleeting as he knows that the Veda Ree are still out there. They could conceivably follow them back to Earth and threaten all that live there.

"Do not worry yourself, Reed Richards." Saranja's voice floats above them and beyond them all the same time. "Forgive me for reading your thoughts but I can't help it as long as I am one with the Polyp. I felt I should notify you that when I merged with this creature, I made sure that any records of your home were erased. That should slow down the Veda Ree."

"Then that's it." adds Johnny as he removes the conical helmet of his Atmo-web suit. "We left those fishy losers in our dust then. Score another for the FANTASTIC FOUR!"

"It isn't over, Johnny. The Veda Ree are a very intelligent species. This just slowed them down a bit. But when they return, we'll be ready for them." Reed watches the various alien children as they play with each other. "The question we should be asking ourselves is what can we do with these children?"

Saranja answers Reed. "You need not worry about them. I will first take you home and then I will do the same with the children. My senses now incorporate the whole of this impressive ship. There are many more like these children that should be returned home." She turns to Sue. "I owe it to them."

"And what about you, Saranja?" asks Sue. "What about your own daughter, Marja?"

Saranja is quiet. Her voice is heavy and solemn. "Marja isn't one of the children present here. I will continue my quest and I will find her. I will not let the Veda Ree use her as if she were a piece of machinery. I will not stop until my last breath."

Reed stands next to the various organic controls that surround Saranja. "I'm afraid that could be sooner than you think. One of the reasons the Veda Ree were harvesting so many children is that they burn out fast when used with their craft." Reed pauses as he investigates the various power fluxiations of the controls around Saranja. "I can't promise anything, but it is possible that an adult telepath may prove to be more resistant to the deteriorating effects of the symbiosis. But I wouldn't recommend the path you are about to take."

"Would you recommend that I give up on my search on my only child?" asks Saranja.

Reed is quiet. He thinks of Franklin and of the joy that he brings to their family. "Of course not. I wish you the best of luck, Saranja, in your journey. Remember this -- you can always count on the Fantastic Four as friends. We owe you a lot this day."

Benjamin J. Grimm picks up Alicia and holds her tight, but he is always aware of how delicate she truly is. "When I thought I lost ya, Alicia, I thought I lost everythin'. I promise you that nothin' will ever hurt you again!" Ben feels someone tug at his trunks. He looks down and sees a cute little five year old girl with big blue eyes staring back up at him. He picks her up with the other arm and holds both of them close (as he can). "I thought I lost everythin' but instead I gained everythin'."

Reed stretches his arm around Sue. The Fantastic Four all celebrate the fact that they are going home!

A hearty thanks goes to Lonni Holland for her thankless job of editing the previous version. ;-) Thanks Lonni!