FANTASTIC FOUR

446 - January, Y4 - MV1

The Fantastic Four created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby

CLASS DAY

written by Mark Bousquet

What You Need to Know … Franklin, Marcia and Kristoff Vernard have decided to live with Nathaniel Richards in his created city, Fantastopolis, and study to become the future Fantastic Four, for which Nathaniel says they are fated to be members of. Marcia has been revealed to not be Alicia’s birth daughter; the Veda Ree and the "real" Marcia, an astral spirit desperate to return to the living world, used Alicia as a host to give her a body. Johnny has stormed off, his anger and depression so high at A’kimba’s revealed arranged marriage to the Grey Lion, that he has lost himself inside Limbo.

It has been one week since she said good-bye to her son.

Susan Richards stands in Franklin’s room inside Pier 4 and let the memories and tears flow through her. She wouldn’t cry like this in front of anyone but Reed, but, standing alone, she finds she is powerless to stop the flow of tears. It has been like this all week.

In her weaker moments she’s found herself wishing for Diablo or the Lava Men to pop up and attack, just so she could get her mind off of the fact that Franklin has gone away to live with Nathaniel Richards, Reed’s father.

In her hand, a small grey device is held. It is a transport unit that will take her instantly into Castle Richards in the city of Fantastopolis. All three - the device, the castle and the city - are creations of Nathaniel and she has been convinced, for the time being, that he can be trusted with Franklin’s welfare.

But if she ever, ever, pressed this button and wasn’t instantly taken to where Franklin was (and she’d already tested the device seven times in seven days) … there wouldn’t be a place in the Multiverse that Nathaniel could hide.

Reed Richards coughed.

"Amanda Alltran."

"Here."

"Patria Juarez."

"Here"

"Cade Rowton."

Silence.

"Cade Rowton." Reed looked around to see his students shrugging at him.

"Never even heard of him," one of the guys he hadn’t called answered for him.

"Blue Wilson."

"Here."

"Xeban … Xeban … there’s no last name given," Reed frowned.

"That’s because I don’t need one," the student who spoke answered, smiling. More narcissistic than egotistic, Reed thought.

"Gotcha," Reed nodded. "Chang Xu."

"I am here," the final student answered.

"Has anyone heard of Cade Rowton?" Reed asked when a face appeared in the door. "Cade?"

"Ah … that would be me," the student answered, entering the room cautiously. He rubbed his shaved head, and spoke with a deep English accent, "I thought it might be a joke, me bein’ here an’ all."

"Professor," Xeban spoke up, "I thought Chancellor Etten said there wasn’t going to be a quota system, but c’mon. Two Asians, a Mexican, an American, a babe Aussie," his eyes danced to Amanda, "and a black Englishman? We look like the poster child for ESU’s new recruitment campaign."

Reed looked around the room at the six students, gauging their reactions. The classroom inside the science building was not up to Reed’s standards, not even close. He had to check himself constantly, both in what he wanted to do and in what this laboratory could do. It would be easy to send over to Pier 4 for equipment, but not every scientist had his resources and it wouldn’t be fair to the students, he thought, to get them used to working with the deep funds he was used to and then turn them loose into the real world where they’d be expected to perform with a budget.

"That’s a good point," Cade agreed, coming to sit down at a table with Chang and Patria. He stood six feet in height and wore a thick dark-blue turtleneck sweater, a pair of jeans and black boots. "We all know, no disrespect Dr. Richards, that Etten’s going to use this class to increase the school endowment fund, and won’t the cover of the prospective student portfolio look nice with you surrounding by all of these different cultured faces … looks a bit odd, t’me. Hate to think we’re being used, eh?"

Reed smiled, "Any of you want to volunteer to step out of the class?" He waited in silence, "I didn’t think so. I can assure you that all of the proposals that I looked at - and I did so without looking at any names or majors or GPAs, nothing but the proposals itself - yours were unquestionably showing the most promise. As the world becomes more and more globalized and open, we can all expect to come into contact with scientists from all different kinds of backgrounds."

"But I’m not even a scientist!" Cade blurted out, causing the others to look at him suddenly differently. "I’m a double major, history and lit, neither of which has anything to do with science. I sent the prop in as a lark, right, not because I thought I’d be here."

"Dr. Richards," Patria said quickly, pushing her thin glasses further back onto her small nose, "I must protest his place here. There are plenty of worthy science students that would-"

"No student isn’t here because Cade is, Patria," Reed quickly responded. "As I thought about the parameters for the class and how big I wanted it to be, given my haphazard and unpredictable schedule, five students was what I wanted. I decided to extend it to six to include Cade, after reading his proposal."

Reed reached down and picked up a portfolio from the desk. "And I quote, ‘Science is good for one thing, destruction. There are good reasons for destruction, such as the termination of disease or illness, but more than not, science is good only for the destruction of this planet.’ I’m going to skip ahead now," Reed tried not to smile as the five science students looked at Cade with varying looks of bemusement and rising tempers. "Here we go, and this is the section that got you into my class, Mr. Rowton, ‘The main problem with the sciences is that the average person can not understand what these mad men do behind their closed doors and sealed off laboratories. With the increase in reliance on technology as the world becomes more and more integrated to machines, the people with power - those who understand the machines - becomes a smaller and smaller unit. When we reach the day that all the power is held by those paying for the machines and those making the machines, George Orwell will stand up in his grave and shout, "I told you so, ya bloody bastards!"’"

Reed laughed, "Well said, Cade, well said!"

"It was funny when I wrote it," Cade shrugged, ignoring the stares from his classmates.

"This guy’s a riot!" Xeban shouted out, but the remaining students didn’t look so sure.

On an empty city street, in a city where everything was made of metal and wire, Franklin Richards, Marcia and Kristoff Vernard stood alongside of Nathaniel Richards.

"Today we begin our lessons," he announced sternly. "I trust you’ve all had time to acquaint yourself with Castle Richards?"

They nodded. Franklin and Marcia wore mirroring costumes of white, with blue highlights that included a blue ‘4’ upon the chest. Kristoff wore a suit of modified Doom armor with a royal blue cloak around his shoulders and a white ‘4’ in the center of the back. He wore no face mask, though there was one for him to wear.

"Good," Nathaniel nodded, not allowing himself a smile though he felt happier today than he had in years. This is what he wanted, a chance to properly teach and train Franklin. Having Marcia and Kristoff around worked, but they were not necessary to his plans with Franklin. Still, he had to admit, they might be needed more than he had thought. "There are many places we could start," he began, "but I thought it best to start simple. For this exercise, you are not allowed to use your powers. That will come only after private training lessons, scheduled for later this week. Kristoff, you may set your armor to its lowest settings, so that you may walk, but not have access to its weaponry. Understood?"

The three students nodded, eager to begin.

"Somewhere in the city of Fantastopolis, but not inside Castle Richards, rests a small puppy. It is the only living creature inside Fantastopolis that is not one of us, so you needn’t worry about what kind of dog it is. If you find it, you can keep it. If you do not find it within 24 hours, the dog will be set loose out into Limbo."

"You’d send a puppy out in the cold all alone?" Franklin asked, dumbfounded that anyone could be so cruel. The three students looked out to the boundaries of the city where the fog of Limbo swirled, they thought, a little more menacingly than it had earlier.

"I will," Nathaniel nodded, "if you don’t find him. But by sending him to Limbo, where time does not exist, at least gives the dog a chance to happen upon a friendly face. But then, it could come across a group of Dire Wraiths and be killed."

"No offense, Nathaniel, sir," Marcia added, "but that’s kinda mean, don’tcha think?"

Nathaniel nodded eagerly, "Indeed, it is, but you must learn that it is not a game we’re playing at here. At some point in your future you will be placed in a situation where someone is trying to kill you." He paused, letting them think on that. "If there are no questions, you may begin."

"What should we do?" Marcia asked Franklin immediately. Nathaniel watched with decided interest - what he hoped to gain from this was to see how the three children would function together. The fact that Marcia one, asked a question and two, asked Franklin instead of the older Kristoff was very important.

The elder man watched Kristoff, who said nothing. He didn’t seem bothered at all by Marcia asking Franklin, instead he looked on the scene with a bemused smile upon his young - but compared to the other two, old - face.

"We should split up," Franklin said. "But we don’t really know Fant’opolis all that well. Let’s walk around together for awhile and then, if we haven’t found the dog, we can split up later. What do you think, Kristoff?"

"I think we should split up now," he answered honestly, but, Nathaniel noted, not in a manner of questioning Franklin’s authority.

"Okay," Franklin nodded. "We’ll go this way and you can go that way. Sound good?"

Kristoff nodded, but didn’t move as Franklin and Marcia walked away.

"You’re not moving," Nathaniel noted.

"No, I’m not," Kristoff replied.

"May I ask why?" Nathaniel’s grandfather prodded.

"I’m not in much of a hurry," Kristoff said honestly.

"Don’t like dogs?"

"I’ve nothing against dogs," he answered, "but I already know just how to find him."

"Do lead on," Nathaniel offered, stepping aside to show that he’d follow.

"Right this way," Kristoff said confidently and left a smiling Nathaniel standing there.

"Cade is very astute, in a sense," Reed nodded to the young man as he moved to stand back behind his desk. "As the world becomes more technologically advanced, a higher power falls to science. The danger inherent in such a move, however, is that the more advanced the technology gets, the more removed it becomes from society."

"Is that why you’ve rarely sold any of your inventions to the public?" Blue Wilson asked.

"That’s one of the reasons, Blue," Reed nodded. "My uniform," Reed grabbed at the FF uniform he wore underneath a laboratory coat, "is made of unstable molecules. It’s why when I do this," he extended his arm flat and wide out over their heads, "the uniform moves with it."

"People would eat that up!" Xeban exclaimed.

"They probably would," Reed admitted, "and in a practical sense, a uniform like this has many applications for the everyday world. What kinds of applications can you think of?"

"Militaries would want it," Cade answered, his voice clearly asserting that he was not a fan of the idea.

"Yes, they would," Reed replied, "but I just want to talk about the ‘normal’ world. Let’s leave discussions concerning the military or superhuman practices for another time."

"It would be a great victory for lower income people," Patria said sharply, "if they could get a pair of clothing made from unstable molecules. A hand-me-down jacket wouldn’t look so worn down by the time it had been worn by its third owner."

"That’s true," Reed nodded. "Clothing created of unstable molecules could revolutionize lower income clothing."

"And money typically spent on clothing could then be spent on other areas, such as food, housing, heat," Patria continued, warming to the idea, but remaining skeptic.

"All true," Reed answered. "So why do you think I haven’t make this available to be mass-produced when it can do so much good."

"Because you’re not a businessman?" Amanda Alltran offered, her Australian accent causing Xeban’s ears to dance. "Taking time to do that would take time away from, er, being a superhero?"

"Plus," Xeban jumped right in, "you’d open yourself up to hostilities if you just farmed it out on a contract basis. Maybe Designer X doesn’t want to make clothes for the poor, but wants high-fashion items made out of it, so your attempt to put clothing into the hands of the poor ends up creating another level for them to be constantly be reminded they’ll never reach."

"I suppose," Reed answered thoughtfully, "but there’s a much more practical reason. Anyone?"

"Oh," Patria blurted out, "you’re probably worried that it’ll fall into criminal hands or something."

"That’s part of it," Reed replied, cautious of Patria’s hostility, "but it’s even more basic than that. Always," he spoke to the class as a whole, "always look to the simplest solution first. What is the most basic reason you can think of?"

Chang, who up to this point had been so silent and still that Reed wondered just how much he wanted to be here, spoke in a precise, ego-driven manner, "Because of the expense to create such clothing."

"Very good," Reed smiled, hoping to draw Chang out. "We, as scientists, must always take this into account. When creating something for the world’s benefit, we have to answer the very simple question, Who is going to benefit the most by this creation?" Reed looked at his watch, "We’re almost out of time. For next time, I have an assignment that I’d like you to complete." He reached his arm back to his briefcase and handed out an envelope to everyone. "Inside you will find a project that we will attempt to put together. Each of you has a segment of the assignment designed specifically for you. You are not to consult with each other at all about your work, not even in the most general of terms."

"What are we going to build?" Blue asked, running his hand through his short, dirty-blonde hair.

Reed looked at them seriously, "I’m not going to tell you, and I am serious in my wish that you do not share your assignment - or speculation thereof - with anyone. Any questions?" No one answered. "Very well, then. I shall see you next time."

"I’m curious, Kristoff," Nathaniel asked as he followed the young man inside Castle Richards, "why you’re coming here when I specifically told you the young puppy was not here."

"Please, Nathaniel," Kristoff answered haughtily, "there is no need to treat me as you treat the children."

‘Treat the children?’ Nathaniel thought. ‘Very interesting.’

"Finding the dog will be simple enough with the Castle’s computers. Since we are the only living beings inside Fantastopolis - unless," he turned to look at the old man, "you were lying to us - then all we need to do is have the computers execute a search for life forms inside the city. Simple."

"I am impressed," Nathaniel answered honestly. "Though I wonder why you didn’t share this information with Franklin and Marcia."

Kristoff shrugged, "Because, unlike them, I rather dislike the innocuous Harry Potter books. If they want to believe this is all some large game … they will learn otherwise soon enough, I’m sure."

Nathaniel slowed his step even more and smiled broadly to himself. It was good to see one member of the Future Four already fulfilling their role. Kristoff punched the keyboard and waited. Nathaniel watched with a straight face as Kristoff’s face grew darker, more serious. "What’s the matter?" Nathaniel asked.

"I can’t find any reading on a life-form other than the four of us," Kristoff frowned. "But the data has been-"

"That’s because their isn’t a puppy," Nathaniel said quickly, sharply, trying to draw out emotion from the young Vernard.

"What?" Kristoff asked angrily. "What kind of stupid game is this? You said-"

"You think this a test of team-work, Kristoff? It isn’t. It’s a test to see if Franklin, not finding a puppy, will simply create one as the time allotted comes to a close. The question isn’t where is the puppy in Fantastopolis," Nathaniel confided, "but where is the puppy in Franklin’s imagination?"

Johnny Storm walked into the Storm Museum with his head down and his hands tucked inside his pocket. The place gave him the chills. It was built during the time the world thought the heroes dead, having sacrificed themselves to Onslaught.

He’d made a point to stay away from this place, though he and Spider-Man did battle the Elementals inside the Museum not too long ago.* Of course, that was before Spider-Man revealed himself as Peter Parker, photographer for the Daily Bugle and wife of ex-supermodel Mary Jane Watson.** Still, he preferred to not go anywhere near the place, though the large Cosmic Tower that shot up into the New York City skyline was hard to miss when he was flying overhead.

But here he was, on a mission of extreme importance. He walked past Earth’s Mightiest Hallway, telling himself, again, that it didn’t bother him that all the other original FF members besides him had been offered Avengers membership at one time or another, down the Corridor of Golden Age Memories, through the Radiation Rotunda and instead of walking across the Rainbow Bridge, he turned left into a wide corridor that housed a part of the current display exhibit, Teen Heroes, and, at the end, walked into an open area called the Mount Olympus Pavilion. This area had a high ceiling that extended three floors up, but Johnny wasn’t interested in anything but the large section that dominated one end of the Mount Olympus Pavilion, the Phineas T. Horton Library.

Johnny entered, ignoring the whispering from some middle-aged housewives about their loveless marriages, and walked up to the front counter.

"May I help you?" the librarian at the high counter asked, looking down at him. Johnny, showing how deeply involved he was in his train of thought, failed to notice how attractive the young woman was and would later swear that this was the first time since puberty this had happened to him.

"Yeah," Johnny answered, his mind full of thoughts of A’kimba and Greykan, "you can help me. I’m looking for all the information you’ve got on Wakandan tribal customs. Specifically marriages."

Ben and Alicia stood inside Central Park, tears in both of their eyes. They’d been walking for hours, thinking, talking, enjoying each other’s company and trying to piece together everything that had happened to them.

"You know you can stay at Pier 4 with us," Ben placed a hand on her shoulder. "No one would mind and your apartment is all busted up from the Veda Ree."

"I know," Alicia said softly, "but I don’t want that. Not now. Not when I’ve so much to figure out about Marcia and … and …"

"Shh," Ben said softly, ignoring the passing stares from any who passed by them, "I understand." He paused, swallowing hard, not believing he was going to say what he was going to say. Deep in his coat pocket, the diamond engagement ring he had bought seemed to burn with its own energy.

"You want to say something," Alicia looked at him with her blind eyes, reading him with no thought. "What is it?"

Ben placed his hand in the pocket, wrapping his fingers around the box that contained the ring, "Alicia, I … god, this is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to say … I … I … I think we should spend some time apart."

There. He’d said it. His stomach knotted and tightened and he could see a look pass across Alicia’s face but he couldn’t tell what it meant.

"It’s just … with you in the state you’re in and … and, well, you were saying earlier how you and Marcia wanted to go away and spend some time alone and that got me to thinking that maybe, just maybe, you still need that time alone." He couldn’t even look at her; his eyes were stuck on the grass beneath his feet.

Alicia didn’t quite know what to say. She was shocked, completely shocked. Hadn’t she heard whispers and fragments of other conversations that Ben was going to ask her to marry him? Isn’t that what she wanted? "Ben, I … I love you, Ben. You know that. Deep down I don’t know if I’ll ever love anyone like I love you, but … but you’re right." She didn’t even know if she meant this. Was Ben right? "We do need some time apart. I was …" She leaned in suddenly and hugged Ben tight. "There’s too much going on for both of us right now. I want to lean on you, Ben, lean on you and let you take care of everything because I know you can, but … but I need to be me, too. Somehow, amidst all the Veda Ree and Marcia I feel like I’ve lost a part of myself. Like I’m swimming in waters I don’t know and … oh, Ben!"

"Shh," Ben whispered and held on to Alicia as tight as he dared, not knowing when he’d get a chance to do so again.

End FF 446

FANTASTIC FORUM

comments c/o biscuit022@go.com

-- Mark Bousquet …

NORTHERN BEAR PRODUCTIONS

6 November 2000