A/N: Yay, another story for the Fantastic 4 OC series. This one depicts right after the first film, only this time it's in a third-person perspective. This was one of my old stories I wrote before I stumbled upon this site, which was three years ago. Due to some of its dullness, please don't expect anything less from me.
Alright, let's get this started.
Chapter 1
It was a brisk, clear night when the cruise ship sailed on the Hudson River. It was a huge honor of the heroic actions done by the Fantastic Four. The members included Reed, Sue, Johnny, Ben, and his girlfriend Alicia. Their new addition, Terri, has performed two songs; one for the team, and the other for Reed and Sue s engagement. Johnny was very impressed of her vocals, and she only said that it was a small gift she has.
The team settled down for their celebration dinner, and a man with a bald head and a toothy grin served the entrees, including a drink of what looked like berry wine. Terri made a toast to them using fancy glasses of wine.
"I would like to make a toast, to those who defeated Victor, and made New York a better place."
"I would also like to make a toast, so there will be no more fighting or injustice." Ben added.
"I would, too, like to make a toast to stick together through thick and thin. And be as one." Sue said.
"I'd make a toast to have some fun while we do all this superhero stuff, instead of being so serious all the time." Everyone looked at Johnny sternle, and he immediately recovered. "Otherwise we'd never get anything done."
"Let's make a toast to everyone who made this team possible." Reed spoke.
They all raised their glasses and drank after Reed declared. "To the Four!"
A few minutes later, Terri became nauseous and wondered if she was either seasick, or it was because of the wine. Then her skin turned pale and clammy, and she felt dizzy. She excused everyone as she went to the restroom, which was at a far back corner from the serving tables. After a brief hurl along with some deep breaths, the queasiness started to pass and she realized that it was the wine since she was never sick on a cruise.
The next day Terri felt like a million bucks as she headed off to work. Her apartment was a few blocks away from the office she recently applied in. Ever since the Fantastic Four came around, it became very busy making signs, mags, banners, even news ads for them. She loved her job but she was also annoyed since she wasn t in any of the franchise.
A few nights ago, she lead the crowds to safety while the team took down Victor as he was gathering electricity. He became superheated then frozen and hasn t become a threat. Everyone cheered for them, then Terri had a flashback from the time they made their astounding stunts at the Brooklyn Bridge. Since then she was filled with both envy and gratitude.
On her way to work, she saw a trail of blood leading to a manhole in an abandoned alley, but it was actually the berry wine she had last night and a flock of pigeons started to drink it. Relieved, she arrived at the office.
Back at the Baxter Building, a few blocks down, the team also became affected by the wine but in a different way. Reed saw the others fight each other, then he tried to break them up. When he did, they paused and then a strong force pushed him to a huge wall unit. He fell to the floor and he was trapped from the rubble. No one was there to help him, instead they just left when the smoke cleared. When he came to, he noticed that the wreckage was crushing his legs. He pulled himself free and rushed everywhere to find his friends, despite the pain. Next he looked out the window; suddenly he was alone.
Several hours have passed and there was no sign of the team returning.
Terri had just finished her shift and was on her way to the Baxter Building when she felt a strong pulse and then a cold sweat. She had those symptoms before, and she realized that something awful must have happened there. Ever since she went into space with the group and was hit by an unknown form of solar radiation, she possessed the ability to move objects with her mind, telekinesis, and a sixth sense, telepathy. Unfortunately, she dodn t remember the incident, nor her capabilities.
Suddenly she heard some high-pitched screeching coming from the same alley she found the wine trail. A bunch of pigeons were attacking each other, and she tried to break them off by swinging her coat. They did and a few raging pigeons started pecking and scratching her while she kept swinging. They flew away and she came to the conclusion that the wine must have affected the team the same way, and because she was sick she hasn t changed at all. Scared of going back to the Baxter Building, she decided to go inside the manhole.
She climbed down a rusted ladder and found an underground lab filled with containers, syringes, and big pots of blood and wine. Everywhere she looked there were walls stained with blood and lab equipment. Her hairs on her neck stood up, she turned around, and saw a sinister, vile man emerging from the darkness. He almost looked like a zombie and very familiar. He had a bald head, grinded yellow teeth, a piercing stare, and dark clothes covered with blood.
He stated to Terri that he was one of the servers on the cruise ship after he completed his creation. The wine was actually a blood drink from murdered victims in which, if anyone consumes it, can turn people erratic and violent and could sometimes kill themselves or others around them. And depending on their mind set, the signs can stick to them in a matter of weeks. Ever since he knew about the Fantastic Four and Terri for so long, he wanted to wreak havoc over the city and spread the epidemic.
He put a stronghold on her and forced her to drink the blood. She fought him with all of her strength and he finally went down. She headed to the ladder and called for help, but the hole closed and she was trapped. Then she was stabbed in the back and a huge gush of blood oozed out. She started to panic and kept saying to herself that she can t die like this, the same way that her mother did.
Meanwhile at topside Reed, in his uniform, searched for Sue, Johnny, and Ben. He was on his way to find Terri when he heard a piercing scream coming from an alley nearby. He went to it and found a closed manhole. He opened the lid, stretched down, and heard the scream again. He recognized the voice, it was Terri and someone was stabbing her in the backroom of the lab.
As soon as the assassin made the final blow, Reed snuck behind him and pulled him by the legs and wrapped them with his extended arms. He tightened his grip and threw him into a big steel pot covered in boiling blood. He found Terri laying up against the wall and tried to wake her up.
After a few attempts calling her name, her eyes fluttered, and then she was in his arms. He felt blood coming from her back and then he carried her up and out of the manhole. Just as he was stretching up, the killer went after them.
When they reached the top, Terri felt his presence and used her telekinesis to remove the ladder. They both went down in a heap, and she could smell gas and fire from the lab. Reed and Terri took cover underneath a car before the manhole blew up. People screamed while everything shook and debris started to fall all over the place. When the sound quieted, everyone came out of their havens.
Three police cars and am ambulance came to the scene and Reed asked the personnel to take Terri to a hospital close by to heal her wounds. At times her breathing became short and she slipped in and out of consciousness until the bleeding stopped. Moments later, the wound started to heal but she could feel excruciating pain. The doctors said that she was lucky to still be alive or not paralyzed. When she rested her back, Reed told her about the team s separation then she stated to him the cause and the effects of what the conflict would entail.
Later night started to fall all over the city and Reed and Terri were back at the Baxter Building; they ve decided to resume the search after dark.
A/N: So, what do you think? Like I saud, this was one of my old, OLD fics I wrote. I apologize since it doesn'y have as much elaboration. So, the Fantastic 4 have been seperated, leaving Terri and Reed to fend for themselves, and we found out about the culprit; who happens to look pretty similar to Motorom from Temple of Doom. Heh, he must've had a brother and never told us!
The next chapter will be coming.
