FANTASTIC FOUR

444 - October, Y3 - MV1

The Fantastic Four created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

ANNIVERSARY DAY

written by Mark Bousquet

A man lives inside a suit of grey armor, a cup of fine wine sitting untouched inside a golden chalice. He sits in the darkness alone, memories his only company.

"I wonder, my oldest foe, if you realize what today is?" he speaks aloud to those memories, his low booming voice echoing inside this metal room. "I wager you do not. I can see you now, risking your life for something beneath you. Using your intellect for the pursuit of others, wasting it on some mere trinket when you could change the world. Pathetic."

He sighs loudly. "No. I do not wish to blaspheme you on such a day as this. How the world has changed since then? Since that day you ascended to the heavens in your spacecraft and fell to Earth blessed with powers, gifts from the cosmic radiation in which you bathed? But you and I have not changed much, have we? We are two poles on which the world’s axis can spin. Saussure writes that we understand what something is by what it is not; no more fitting evidence for the linguist’s claims can be given than you and I.

"Long have I planned for this day. Long have I waited for this anniversary to come so that I may revel in triumph over you.

"But no. It is not to be. Fate has kept me from our world for too long now, but it shall not always keep me such.

"So have your anniversary in peace. Have today for yourself, but live it with the knowledge that soon Doom will return. And when he does …"

He sees no need to finish his sentence.

His drink will remain untouched in his cup.

Tomorrow, a planet shall fall and he will be one step closer to returning to Earth. What can Reed Richards do to compare to that?

"Everybody stop!"

The Fantastic Four were in turmoil. Franklin and Marcia were missing. Sue had just returned from being attacked by two children who claimed Prince Namor to be behind the kidnappings. Ben’s mind was on Alicia, knowing that he was supposed to be watching Marcia when she disappeared. If he’d only have stayed with her. Johnny said little, his thoughts on A’kimba, the woman he loved and the disclosure that she was arranged to be married to a Wakandan named Greykan.*

Shouts ran over shouts.

"Sue, are you sure-?"

"-- happened to your face, Matchstick?"

"Can’t believe you—"

"-- you mean they’ve disappeared?"

"Why would he—"

"He wouldn’t. But who-"

The voice that silenced them was the quietest voice in the room. Alicia Masters. Long time friend to the team, long time holder of Ben Grimm’s heart. She sat up in her bed in one of Pier 4’s MedLabs, her health returning to her. The Veda Ree had used her as a breeding unit, taking from her a daughter named Marcia with strong telepathic abilities that they used to fuel their ships. A by-product of this forced breeding and mutation was that Marcia had been artificially aged five years.*

The Veda Ree had placed two amoebas inside Alicia and her daughter. One was always active, the other passive. When Alicia and Marcia were in close contact with each other, Marcia’s amoebae became hyperactive, fueling her telepathy and accelerating her body’s aging. When they were apart, Alicia became ill.*

But now, Marcia was gone, Franklin along with her and while the FF were happy to see Alicia’s health returning, their primary concern was getting the two children back.

"Please, everyone," Alicia said weakly, "I don’t mean to be rude, but-"

"No apologies necessary," Reed soothed. He looked at his three oldest friends, people who he’d placed his life in their hands countless times. "Let’s concentrate. Marcia and Franklin are missing. There’s nothing on our surveillance that shows what happened. The tape shows Ben leaving the room and then the screens go blank. When they come back on in 33.6 seconds, everyone is missing. Who kidnapped our children?"

"According to my two attackers," Sue put forth, "it was Namor."

"I don’t buy it," Ben added. "Guy’s a jerk, but he’s not that big of a jerk."

"Agreed," Reed answered. "And given the ease with which our defenses were circumnavigated, there’s really only two options."

"Dr. Doom," Sue replied, hesitating before she continued, "and Nathaniel."

"Yes," Reed frowned, "my father."

"Bucket Face hasn’t been around since we’ve returned," Ben added, the joke coming out of his mouth with no humor.

"And Scott and Jean* recently relayed to us that he’s been spotted out in space, in Shi’ar territory," Sue reminded them.

All but Johnny, who’s eyes had once again found the floor, looked to Reed. It was his place to talk, his decision to make. Nathaniel had long been an ally to the FF, but they did not meet on good terms the last time, as Reed’s father engineered what he called a "test" to see if they were capable of protecting Franklin from the dark days that lay ahead.*

They all remember, too, what Reed said to Nathaniel that day. The words came back to them as they waited for Reed to talk.

"It appears he’s found a way around the device I created to keep him away," Reed frowned. He’d meant to work some more on that, but things happened. Things came up that kept him from-

"Was there any doubt that I would find a way to do so?"

The Fantastic Four and Alicia turned suddenly to the doorway where they saw Nathaniel Richards standing, alone. He looked old, they thought. Tired. Worn down. It didn’t stop them all from wanting to lay into him with every ounce of power they could muster.

"Where are they?" Ben asked, taking a giant step forward.

"They are safe," Nathaniel answered with a wave of his hand. "No thanks to you."

"No thanks to us?" Ben bellowed. "What’s that supposed to mean?"

"Just what it sounds like," Nathaniel sighed. "Please, Ben, spare the histrionics."

"I’ll spare your head from leaving your shou—oof!" Ben was knocked backward by a wave from Nathaniel’s hand. The rest of the FF snapped to attention instantly, taking a collective step towards Reed’s father.

"Father!" Reed shouted.

"Will you attack me, son?" Nathaniel asked, his tired eyes seeming to age in front of them. "Is that what you want?"

"I want my son," Reed answered, his voice cold.

Nathaniel offered a sympathetic smile, "I’m sure you do, son, but I’m afraid he can not stay here any longer. Especially not with the Masters girl here."

"Marcia …" Alicia’s voice rasped from behind them.

"They are both with me," Nathaniel answered Alicia directly. "Safe. Safe from the dangers inherent here. Safe to develop their abilities to their full potential. Once Marcia exits this timestream, her aging slows, not back to normal, but not as rapidly as the Veda Ree would have liked to see, either."

"Nathaniel," Sue spoke, her voice shaking with anger, "I want my son back. Now. I want Alicia’s daughter back. Now."

"’Alicia’s daughter’," Nathaniel sighed, "how truly little you know."

"I’m tired of games," Sue levelled.

The elder Richards looked at Sue approvingly, "If only the rest shared your passionate heart for Franklin’s safety, Susan, none of this would be necessary. No, I shall not bring them to you, but I shall bring you to them. Come with me to my home, Fantastic Four. Come with me to FANTASTOPOLIS!"

The auditorium roared with anticipation, more bodies than seats. The aisles were jammed with students who took up every available space. Chancellor Etten stood upon the stage, nervously checking his watch.

Two students sat right in the middle of the madness, almost having to shout to talk to one another.

"Can’t believe the turnout," Blue Wilson said to the student next to him.

"You’re thick, Blue, thick," Xeban answered. "All that Massachusetts salt water, rotting your brain."

"C’mon, Xeb," Blue responded. "Look around you. There aren’t this many people in the entire science department."

"True, true," the Hong Kong student answered. "Looks like all the faculty is here, too. Heard some of them aren’t too keen on the world famous Reed Richards coming here to teach part-time."

"Jealous, I bet," Blue replied, looking around. "Oh, hell, look who decided to show up."

"Who?"

"Over there," Blue pointed. "By the stage, off to the right."

"Yeah, I told you Chang was going to be here," Xeban replied, turning his head away to scout for a certain someone he hoped would be here. "Damn, where’s Amanda?"

"You didn’t tell me Chang was coming."

"Yeah, I did."

"When?"

"At lunch, man, lunch. Now where’s Amanda? She promised she was coming," Xeban said, annoyed.

"I didn’t have lunch with you today."

"Yeah, Blue, you did. You have lunch with me everyday. You, me and the bacteria in the food."

"Xeb," Blue sighed.

"What?" Xeban replied, still looking around.

"Xeb."

"What, man, what?" he asked, perturbed, turning to look at his friend.

"What time is it?"

"What?"

"What time is it, man? Tick-tock, the time?"

Xeban looked at his watch. "Ten-thirty."

"AM or PM?"

"What?"

"AM or PM, man? And stop saying ‘What?’."

"AM, of course," Xeb answered, then got Blue’s point. "Oh. Oh. Couldn’t have had lunch with you, yet, could I?"

"No."

"I was going to tell you at lunch."

"Sure."

"No, really," Xeban nodded his head. "Chang’s old man found out about this - two-to-one says Etten called him personally - and reamed Chang out. Told him to stop playing Mr. Brilliant Scientist Anti-Socialite. Said if he didn’t apply for this, and get accepted, he was being taken out of his will. And you know what Chang’s old man is worth."

"Not really, no," Blue answered honestly.

"Me neither," Xeb replied, turning his head back away from Blue to look for Amanda. "But it’s a lot."

Blue watched his friend look around the auditorium for a few moments, shaking his head. There was no winning with Xeban sometimes. "Xeb."

"What, man, what? I’m looking for-"

"Amanda, right?"

"Of course, man. Who else do I break my neck looking for? Jumping Jiminy, man, there’s a lot of people in here."

"Look at me, Xeb."

"No man, you’re not my type."

"C’mon, look at me. It’ll be funny. Promise."

"What?" Xeb turned on him, not wanting to play this game.

"What’s your biggest problem? I’ll tell you," Blue added quickly, not wanting Xeban to go off on another tangent. "You miss the details. Who’s sitting next to me?"

"I am."

"Other side," Blue rolled his eyes, tilting his head back.

Xeban turned to look beside Blue and felt blood rush to his face. "Oh. Oh. Hey, uh, Amanda."

"Hi, Xeban," the biology undergrad smiled. "Crowded, isn’t it?"

Before Xeban could answer, Chancellor Etten was rapping on the microphone up on the stage. Mollified, Xeb turned away from the most beautiful girl in his world.

"Welcome, everyone," Etten announced. "Welcome. This is the meeting for discussion about the special class that will be taught this semester by Dr. Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four. Dr. Richards is one of the most-"

"Save it for the parents!" one of the students shouted from the back, causing laughter to roll through the auditorium.

"Hurm, right," Etten replied, smiling along with the crowd. "Guess I don’t need to sell it to you folks, do I?" Etten let the laughter peter out before continuing. "Brass tacks. Here’s the deal. Six of you will be admitted into Dr. Richards’ class. The six can come from any science department, there are no favorites and no departmental quotas. Any interested will apply and Dr. Richards will pick the six to enroll. The application process is simple. We don’t care about your GPA, we don’t care about your resume, we don’t care how many letters of recommendation you can hand in. There’s three parts. One, submit a project proposal. It can be anything your imagination can think up. Set the parameters and discuss what you hope to accomplish and why you want to do that specific project. Two, submit a portfolio of your work to date. Third, fill out a small questionnaire that you can pick up on the way out. That’s it. Put your hands down. If you can’t handle what I just told you, you can’t be in the class," Etten joked. "Turn your packets in one week from today at my office. That’s all. Get out of here," Etten waved his hands, smiling. "But for God’s sake, don’t trample each other on the way out!"

In Limbo, no one can see you scream.

The words ran through Johnny Storm’s mind as he walked through the fog shrouded plane called Limbo, the jokes coming easy to him even when he didn’t feel like laughing. A’kimba. That’s where his mind was. On the woman he loved and couldn’t marry.

Marriage.

Spider-Man.

Peter.

He’d managed to shake off the doldrums just long enough to have a chat with Spider-Man. But instead of trading barbs and insults, Spider-Man wanted to be serious. He revealed to Johnny his secret identity: Peter Parker, photographer for the Daily Bugle, and the identity of his wife and child.*

‘God,’ Johnny thought, ‘even a joker like Spidey can get married. To a model who wants to be a psychologist, no less. Be an adult. What am I? Where’s my life?’

Limbo made it worse. The whole place was a big, giant fog cloud. Directions were useless. You could wander through Limbo for eternity and never come across anything. This was where Nathaniel, apparently, had chosen to live. ‘Course, he can find his way around somehow,’ Johnny thought. ‘But he won’t just take us there."

"Hey, Nathaniel," Johnny snapped, "you about done jerking us around? Let’s get there already."

The other three members of the Fantastic Four looked to Johnny with various looks of disgust. "Just shut up," Ben’s look appeared to say, so Johnny fell silent.

Nathaniel walked ahead of them, clearly stating his position of being in control, Sue thought. Reed’s eyes bore into his father’s back, but his thoughts were his own. ‘He hasn’t even looked at me since we entered Limbo,’ Sue noted. Behind them, Ben walked protectively next to Alicia. Neither spoke. Taking up the rear was Johnny, still lost in his own thoughts. Sue wanted to go to her younger brother and talk to him, but now was not the time.

The fog ahead of them began to clear at the same time it clouded over. Such was the effect of Limbo on the body and the mind. Every opening was closed a hundred-fold. Every impassable cloud let in light.

And then, without notice, they were there.

"Fantastopolis," Nathaniel announced as if he were reading off an item on a grocery list. No proclamation. No sense of pride. Nothing. Just the fact.

The Fantastic Four looked at the structure in front of them, hard-pressed not to stare in awe. Fantastopolis towered above them, it’s architecture futuristic and timeless at the same time. The buildings were giant, reaching towards a sky that wasn’t there. It had the appearance of Latveria, Reed thought, a Latveria created 1000 years in the future. A great castle dominated the center and around its large base were smaller abodes, metallic shacks that upon closer inspection were large computer banks. The technology was everywhere.

"It’s central computer was taken from an abandoned Chronopolis," Nathaniel mentioned casually, referring to the central city of Kang the Conqueror as if it was a small store in a strip mall. "But there’s a multitude of systems running through it’s mainframe. Fantastopolis is the size of Manhattan, if you were wondering, and it’s mobile. I can take it anywhere I want to in the multiverse, though I have grown rather fond of Limbo, I must admit ..."

"Where’s Franklin and Marcia?" Reed asked, his voice on edge.

Nathaniel turned with a look of pity upon his aged face, "If that is all you wish-"

"It is," Reed answered flatly.

"Very well," Nathaniel announced, "though I had hopes you would want to look at the technology that exists here. You could learn-"

"Spare me."

Nathaniel eyed Reed carefully. There was an anger, a somber seriousness, in his voice that none present had heard before. "Very well, son," Nathaniel shrugged. "Follow me."

They entered Fantastopolis. The streets were wide and empty, made of black metal. They were surrounded by computers the size of houses and the city had an empty feel to it; there were no sounds save for the slight humming of the main computers. An electrified ghost town, Ben thought.

As they walked, his eyes were on Alicia. What surrounded them meant nothing. Nothing at all. They could be in the middle of the Negative Zone or stranded on a desert island for all he cared. His only concern was Alicia and getting her daughter back to her. But Nathaniel’s comment stuck in the back of his mind, ‘Alicia’s daughter? How little you know.’ What did that mean? Was Marcia not her daughter? Did he mean that she was not fit to raise her because she couldn’t hone Marcia’s abilities?

"Careful, Alicia," his said gently, "looks like we’re coming up on the castle."

"Describe it to me, Ben," she said softly, reaching her hand out to place it on his rocky shoulder.

"Let’s see," Ben answered. "Not very good at this. You’re the artist. It’s big." He scolded himself, ‘Good one, Ben.’ "It’s all silver, shining silver. Looks like someone took a gothic cathedral, made it fifty times bigger and coated it with a silver exterior. Looks like the kind of place Silv-"

The name caught in his throat. Silver Surfer. His opposite. Where Ben was large, rocky and plundering, the Silver Surfer was sleek, shining and graceful. When it came right down to it, how could he ever compete with the Silver Surfer for Alicia’s heart?

"What were you saying, Ben?" Alicia asked.

"It’s the kind of place the Silver Surfer would live," Ben grumbled. "If he lived in a castle."

"You call this place Castle Limbo?" Johnny asked, knowing he was trying to make himself feel better by denigrating Nathaniel.

"No," the elder Richards replied, not bothering to turn around, "it is called Castle Richards. And it is the future home of the Fantastic Four."

"I don’t think so, pal," Johnny shot back, his flames coming on around him. He knew this show of power was stupid, that whatever crazy scheme Nathaniel was hatching Franklin’s safety was all but guaranteed but still, he was looking for a fight and if it had to be Nathaniel, well, he admitted, it had to be Nathaniel. "We’re not moving anywhere, old man! We’re here long enough to get the kids and take off!" He let his flames envelop and pour out of him as he took to the air, circling around to hover in front of Nathaniel. Flames extended out of him, making a wall of fire that forced Nathaniel to stop his steady march. "Don’t think for one second you can jerk the Fantastic Four around! The Fantastic Four’s not living here. Not a chance."

"Johnny," Nathaniel spoke looking up at him, his voice rising for the first time, "the Fantastic Four will reside here. They are, in fact, already here."

"Yeah, we’re all around you."

"No, Johnny. You are the past. You are inconsequential. The Fantastic Four history will remember is sitting together at the top of Castle Richards. And neither you or Ben or Sue or Reed is a part of it. The time of the original Fantastic Four is over."

"You wish!" Johnny snapped.

"Actually, Unca Johnny, he’s right."

A chill ran through their souls at the sound of the young voice they knew and yet couldn’t know. Johnny turned behind him, his flame blocking everyone’s view. "I don’t believe it …"

"Believe it, Mr. Storm," another young voice offered. "The future is now."

"And you are most definitely the past."

Johnny turned back to look at his family, his face aghast. Without a word, he willed his wall of flame up into the air as he floated down to stand beside Ben, revealing to the Fantastic Four, Alicia and Nathaniel three young figures.

One was male, age six wearing a reverse of the FF’s classic blue and white costume: solid white with blue boots and a blue ‘4’ logo upon his chest. On his right stood a young girl, age five, wearing the same costume. On his left, an older child, in his early teens, stood calmly, wearing a suit of dark grey armor with a blue and white clock around his shoulders, falling regally onto his back. There was no mask upon his young face, but none needed it to know that it was a modified version of Dr. Doom’s armor.

"Who is it, Ben?" Alicia asked, her voice choking. "Is it …?"

"Yeah," Ben’s voice came out a whisper. "Franklin, Marcia and Kristoff."

"Who we are isn’t important, Unca Ben," Franklin answered, his voice eerily calm. "It’s what we are that counts. And we are … THE NEW FANTASTIC FOUR!"

END FF 444

FANTASTIC FORUM

comments to biscuit022@go.com

-- Mark Bousquet …

NORTHERN BEAR PRODUCTIONS

Sept. 22, 2000