Disclaimer- Fantastic Four and most of the characters are not mine, etc, etc. Though, some are mine. But I do not get any money for this, or anything else containing these characters. Okay? Good.
WS- Well, I got a good idea when I went and saw the movie a couple weeks ago. This is a bit of a crossover, you might say…. Oh well. But, some of the characters are mine, such as Kayen. Well, I hope you like it. Please R&R! I won't write more until I get a review!
Chapter One: New Allies New Enemy New Search
Suzie Storm sat in her bedroom, gazing out the window to a beautiful horizon. All of the colors at once had always amazed her. How did nature do it? She didn't want to miss any of it, so she didn't turn around when the door opened behind her. All of a sudden, she felt an air of tension around her, and looked back quickly. Her eyes widened, and a hand gripped her shoulder, not very gently.
She struggled against the grip, to no avail. Someone else snuck behind her and put something over her mouth, so she couldn't call for any help from the rest of the Fantastic Four. The two men dragged her to her feet, and brought her out the door quickly, stealthily, and carefully. Suzie thought of using a force field to knock the men back, but she felt a tinge of pain in her left shoulder, and fell to the ground. She couldn't move.
It was a needle she had felt. One of the men had given her an injection. She hoped that it wasn't lethal. But, of course, she had never heard of an injection that just paralyzed you and then killed you, but you never knew…
"Suzie? Where are you? Tell me you aren't mad about yesterday!" Johnny Storm was walking through the halls of their headquarters. Suzie hadn't been seen by any of the Fantastic Four since the day before. They had gone and defeated some villain who called himself "Valla." Then, Suzie had gone into her room. That morning, she hadn't come out, and she wasn't in her room the next morning.
Of course, she might just be clearing her head…. I did kinda make her mad by showing off my powers to those cute girls… Johnny thought. He had done it, and she had simply raised an eyebrow at him. But, he knew that she hated it when he used his powers to get fame, as if he already didn't have enough.
Ben Grimm appeared around the corner. "I can't find her, Johnny. Reed can't, either. He's searching the city, and he just contacted me with his new-fangled com-links. He hasn't found a trace of her." He sounded truly puzzled. Join the club, Johnny thought.
"Same here. I wonder what happened to her…. Did Valla get his hands on her yesterday? He seemed to have a way with women. Maybe she's upset?" For once, Johnny was thinking logically.
"Possibly. But, you'd have to ask Reed about that. He's the one who went with her when we 'split up.'"
"Okay, Ben." He sighed. "Where could she have gone?" He peeked into her room one last time, and walked down the hallway with The Thing. They both had their special suits on, with the new com-links stuck on the 4 which would stay on the shoulder of the suit.
"I have no idea," he answered. Johnny wrinkled his brow, and then realized that he had said it aloud. "But," Ben added, "we can always go help Reed."
"True, very true. Let's go!" He exited the door and said the words "Flame on!" His body was immediately engulfed in flames, and he took off towards the sky.
"Show-off…" Ben muttered. Johnny was definitely not the most modest person in the world. He was probably the exact opposite—the least modest in the whole world. He shook his head and went back inside. He'd never be any help to them. He'd stay and man the headquarters, in case Suzie came back. If one of the members got into trouble, then he would be there after they contacted him via com-link.
Reed Richards, or Mr. Fantastic, as some called him, walked through the city, looking for some sign of his fiancé. He hadn't found anything, but he'd earned a few stares from anyone he passed by. Finally, he took to going across rooftops, stretching his legs the right length to get across any gaps in between them. Besides, he had a better view from up there.
Still, a few people looked up when a long, spindly-shaped shadow passed from overhead. They would look up, and some clapped. Reed had to admit, it made him chuckle.
He couldn't get over how quickly he was getting used to his powers. But, since he could stretch just like rubber, he would freeze or melt just like rubber, too. That was bad.
He'd been looking all over the city for over an hour. Where could Suzie have gone? If something had happened to her….
There was a sound from below him, and he looked down. He gasped, his eyes wide. What was going on? There were a few men, with ski masks on, and knives. Some had hand guns. There was a girl backed into a corner. But what caught his eyes was her costume. She was wearing a black and purple form-fitting suit, a mask over her eyes. There were holes in it so that she could see, though. Her hair was pure black, and didn't even shimmer in the sunlight. But, something else that caught his eye was her ears. They were on the top of her skull, and looked like a large cat's. They had black fur, and he saw that her eyes her yellow, with slit-like pupils like a cat's.
The men closing in on her looked up as Reed's shadow passed overhead. The girl didn't look up, but lunged at one of the men, knocking him out with a quick punch. The other men attacked her, surprised, and she stunned another with a spin-kick.
Two down, three to go, he saw. He stretched his hand swept two of the away, while she was battling the last. She ducked, dodging a blow, jumped over a low kick from her opponent, and did a side kick, knocking him to the ground. Before he could get up, she punched him, and he closed his eyes, unconscious.
Finally, she looked up at Reed, and he watched as her eyes seemed to return to a normal blue, with normal pupils. "Thanks," she said her voice smooth.
"You're welcome. And you are?" he asked. She certainly seemed like another mutant. Had something happened to her, too?
"Dark Panther. You're Reed Richards, or Mr. Fantastic, am I correct?" she replied. Her real name was Kayen. Her skin was dark brown, and she was African. Therefore, an African name.
"Yes, I am," he replied. "I didn't know that the Fantastic Four wasn't the only group of… the gifted." He hesitated, trying to find a word other than "mutant".
"Not even close. I've lost count of how many there are. We usually keep to ourselves. But that's about to change."
Johnny kept sweeping his head from side to side while he flew over the city. A few people cheered, and he grinned. To the girls, he waved. Typical Johnny Storm.
There was no sign of Suzie, but he soon caught sight of Reed. He was with another girl in an alley. Johnny raised an eyebrow at the girl's costume, and smiled wryly. She was just the kind of girl he liked. But, he then saw the bodies of stunned and unconscious men with ski masks.
The girl was holding a bunch of knives and a couple of guns that she had seemingly taken from the men, and handed Reed the guns. She slipped all of the knives into a pocket attached to her belt. It was black, matching her costume.
He landed, and let his flames die down. He did drop-whistle, and walked over to the girl.
Reed rolled his eyes. From just the little he had seen of Dark Panther, he doubted that she would stand for Johnny doing to her what he did to most beautiful people of the opposite gender.
Johnny smiled at the girl, and winked. "So, you new in town?" He put one arm out, against the wall, and leaned on that. He was trying to flirt.
Kayen's eyes narrowed, and she turned back to Reed. "As I was saying, we are coming out of hiding. You four have proven that not all of us will be shunned after we gain the trust of the people. And, there are many, many new threats. Scientific breakthroughs are happening all of the time, and usually by men who will use them to gain power. Or, to gain powers. Many, many of them."
Johnny frowned slightly, but let it pass. He made up his mind that she was just playing hard to get. No girl could resist the Human Torch. He finally looked her over and realized that she must have powers, too, or be going to a costume party. He doubted the latter. Another person with powers? Cool. He listened to what she was saying, and raised his eyebrows. "What did I miss here?" he asked.
Reed replied. "A fight. Then, she told me that we're not the only ones with powers. There are a lot, and there are a lot of bad guys with powers, too," he answered simply.
Johnny whistled again. Bad guys other than Doom, Valla, and the others that the Fantastic Four had gone against?
Kayen raised an eyebrow, but ignored Johnny. "I was sent with a few more people to find you. We have found out something that might be useful to your search here."
"How did you know we were searching?" Reed asked. He was still suspicious. She might not be all that she seemed.
"Because we all knew that you would search when one of your people went missing. We knew that the Invisible Woman went missing because of our sources. We might know where she is," Kayen answered.
Johnny blinked. "Where is she? Where's Suzie?" he asked. He wanted his sister back.
"She's been kidnapped. A villain who calls himself Shade has taken her, I believe. Or, he most likely got someone else to do it for him. He's dangerous, and we need to get her back if we want her to live."
"Not good…" Reed said. "But, there's something nagging my mind—what others came? Where are they?"
"We all split up to look for you." She paused, and pointed. "There is Gambit. He is one of the people who came with me."
Johnny and Reed turned to the end of the alley. A man in a trench coat was walking towards them. His hair was red, and looked like it hadn't been brushed that day. He had something around his head that wrapped around his neck and the sides of his head, but exposed his hair and face. His eyes were blue, and he had gloves without fingers on them. The shirt underneath his coat was deep green.
"Cha-ri, where have you been?" His voice was thickly accented. He looked at the two standing there, and added, "I suppose you found them?"
"Yes, Gambit. I have located the Human Torch and Mr. Fantastic. Contact the others." Kayen replied.
"Will do." He pulled something out of his trench coat. It had an X on it. He flicked a button, and spoke into it. "This is Gambit, calling everyone on this mission. The Fantastic Four have been located by Dark Panther. We're in an alley on 45th Street. Come on."
There was a series of replies, and then he flicked his com-link off.
"Just how many people were with you?" Reed asked.
"Let's see… Rogue, Storm, Jubilee, Cyclops, and Hawkgirl," Gambit replied.
"That's quite a few people to bring just to find us," Jhonny said. "If I'd have seen Dark Panther over here quicker, I'd have come to you instead of making you look for me." He winked again at Dark Panther, who death-glared him. He cringed when she did, and got the message—but he had no intention of heeding the warning.
Gambit chuckled, and Reed raised an eyebrow at Jhonny. "Okay. Human Torch, a little word of warning: be careful. Dark Panther is shameless over there. You could get hurt."
Reed chuckled this time. "Reminds me of someone…"
Jhonny glared at Reed. "Don't worry, buddy. I'll be fine. I have a way with gals." He smiled wryly, and leaned on the wall.
Because the last remark wasn't aimed at her, Kayen ignored it. But, Gambit wasn't exaggerating. She wouldn't hesitate to put a real bad hurt on him if necessary. She looked up, and saw Rogue. "Down here!" she called.
Rogue looked down at them, and landed next to Gambit. She had long sleeves and gloves, and a form-fitting green and yellow costume. Her hair was long and curly, brown with white along the edges of her face. Her eyes were sharp green, and her skin was light-colored. Her boots reached her knees, though they were already covered by pants. She didn't show any skin except for her neck and face.
"Welcome back. You didn't respond on the com-link," Gambit told her.
She had a heavy western accent. "Yeah, sugar? I was concentrating. You know me." She shook her head. "So ya'll found them, I suppose." She was scanning Jhonny and Reed.
Kayen turned to the two members of the Fantastic Four once again. "Where can we all talk in private once the others have come?" she asked Reed, carefully avoiding Jhonny's mischievous gaze.
"We can go to the tower, our headquarters. Is that another of your people?" Reed replied, gesturing to someone else above them. It was another girl. She had orange hair, and green eyes. Her mask looked like a hawk's head, and she had grey wings from her shoulder-blades that were as long as she was tall. She was wearing a strapless yellow shirt, and black belt with a round, silver buckle, and dark green pants. Her boots were red, and there was a small mace attached to her belt. She came down for a landing.
Her wings folded when she hit the ground, and scanned the two just everyone else had done. She held her mace in one hand, thumping it in her hand, in case trouble came. She was definitely not someone you would want to run into in a fight.
"These are two of them?" she asked, her question directed to Rogue.
"As far as I've been told. We're still waiting for Cyclops, Storm, and Jubilee to come back," Rogue answered.
"Okay, okay," Jhonny said, "can you quit talking like we're not here already? Dark Panther said you have info about Suzie. Where is she?" For once, he wasn't interested in the girls' forms.
Hawkgirl shot him a glance, and nodded. "We don't know exactly where. But I'm sure Dark Panther told you who probably has her."
"I have," Dark Panther assured her. "I've also told them that there are more people like us. And I told them that we're coming out of hiding."
"Good. They should know that." Someone said from the street. "Can I barge into the conversation?" he asked. His hair was red, like the others'. He had a blue and yellow costume that showed off his muscles. There was a yellow rope-like material stretched over his chest to form an X. He had a yellow visor over his eyes, and they had a red strips across it. You couldn't see his eyes through it.
"Of course, Cyclops. Come on out of the street where you're earning a few stares," Jubilee said. She wasn't nearly as conspicuous as he was. Jhonny and Reed hadn't even noticed her at first. She had a yellow trench coat, and was wearing jean shorts and a pink shirt. She had short black hair, and yellow gloves. Her skin was light, and she wore pink sunglasses that sat on her head, unused. Unlike the others, though, she looked to only about 15 years old.
They both stepped into the alley with the others. "Where's Storm?" Jubilee asked.
"She's not here yet—"
"I'm here. Patience is a virtue." She landed. Her hair was white, curly, and long. She didn't have pupils, making her seem mysterious. Her skin was a light brown, and she had a white costume, with a cape. On both of her shoulders was a round, black and red symbol that had an X on it.
"We're all here, then?" Cyclops asked.
"We're all here," Dark Panther confirmed. "Now, these two said that we all could talk in their headquarters." She turned to the two. "You still stand by that?"
"Of course. Let's go." Reed was too surprised to say anything else. There quite a few more people with powers… but Dark Panther had said that there were a lot… he shook his head, clearing her jumbled thoughts.
"Good." Hawkgirl lifted off the ground again. "We should get cover. We all earned a few stares from residents here. I'm sure they know they have more people with powers now that they've seen a few of us flying. We need to go before we cause a panic."
"True," Cyclops agreed. "Lead the way," he said to Reed and Jhonny.
"Okay, so you're telling me that we're not the only ones with mutant powers?" Ben asked Reed.
"Yes, that's what we're telling you," Jhonny said. He smiled slightly and said, "And some of them are H-O-T."
Ben rolled his eyes and looked back at Reed. "And they have info about Suzie?"
"We do," Black Panther cut in. "And we can help get her back, also, if you will accept our help. We could be very useful since we know more about the one holding her than you all do."
Gambit, who was chuckling at Jhonny's remark, quickly straightened himself out. "Yeah. Your choice whether we stay and help or leave."
"I say we let them help out. I don't see why we wouldn't. If they wanted us dead then I'll bet they already would've made their move," Reed mused. "And we might have some allies for the future after this."
"Oh, alright. If you say so, Professor," Ben replied. He turned to Jhonny. "And don't you scare them off!" he warned.
Jhonny put on an innocent face. "Aw, come on. Little old me? Never. Let's just get this over with."
Jubilee grinned. She had a sense of humor, unlike most of the women there. Of course, Rogue smiled slightly. Other than them, Gambit was the only one who would laugh at something like that.
After Ben had been briefed on what had happened, the group went to the main part of that floor. It was a large room with scientific equipment everywhere, save for in the middle of the room. There were large windows that took up most of the walls, making it easy to see most of the city from that one point in the middle.
"We need to go as soon as possible if we want the Invisible Woman to be unhurt when we get to her," Kayen stated.
"Yes, we do. Shade is a murderer, thief, and has no conscience as it seems. She might already be dead, but if she's as resourceful as we hear, she probably isn't. Besides, Shade wouldn't go to the trouble of kidnapping her and then kill her so quickly. But she might already be hurt. That, we can't be sure of," Hawkgirl added.
"So, we need to go quickly, I'm guessing," Jhonny answered.
Storm gave him a glance. "Yes."
"Then let's go, already," Ben said, and waited for Reed to reply.
"Let's go," Reed said without hesitation.
"We'll show you the way. We're going to be meeting with more people like us there. It will take a few minutes to get there, but not much longer if we use either their ship, or mine," Hawkgirl said.
Minutes later, they were standing in next to two large airships, complete with hyperspace, cloaking devices, shields, weapons, and many other things.
They were nearly on their way.
WS- How is it? R&R!
