Prologue:
If you ever asked Meghan Ross about her childhood, she would ignore you.
At nine her mother left her and her father, disappearing altogether. Six months later her father became an abusive drunk.
Meghan wasn't like the children with evil stepmothers who got saved by a prince, or like Annie who got adopted by a billionaire. No Meghan was one on the unlucky ones, to a point.
She became tough and a compulsive liar as she became used to taking her father's beating and lying to people who would try to help her.
The only time she ever felt safe was at her Uncle Ben's in New York. But he was about five states away, he never saw her as much as he would have liked, and it became easy for her to lie over the phone.
By fifteen, she was hacking computers, and helping her neighborhood garage with the juiced up race cars.
She start hotwiring and stealing to get buy at her old friend Vinnie's garage, and the money was good for her and she started saving to get away. Until one of Vinnie's ex-girlfriends ratted them to the cops.
They were all arrested, but Vinnie and the boys had insisted on her innocence.
Mainly because Vinnie had become protective of her and the others were terrified of him.
That night however, was the changing point in her life. Her father had picked her up from the police station pissed off and drunk.
When they got home he started beating her as soon as they entered the house. She often wondered why she never fought back, and continues to wonder to this day.
"You're a worthless bitch! No one is ever going to want you! Your mother didn't want you! I didn't want you! You're going to screw up and die unwanted!"
He punched her in the head after that, and any memory from the rest of her night was lost to darkness. What was sad was that he had said things like that so many times that deep down she believed it and no one not even Ben or Vinnie could change her mind otherwise.
She barely remembers the beating or him stabbing her, only waking up to find her dear Uncle Ben in the hospital.
Apparently a young officer had overheard her father in the waiting room at the station and had sent a car over to check on things just in case.
"Thank God he did." Ben had whispered to her. "Any longer and you would have died."
After that night Meghan was sent to live with her Uncle Ben. She had many therapy sessions, and found peace in photography.
Reed Richards a student at MIT and Ben's best friend had her help with his projects by taking pictures and programming.
Around the same time she met an enigma named Johnny Storm, who was Reed's girlfriend, Sue's, brother. He found her interesting and wouldn't let any other boys come near her, insisting he become her only friend.
Yet at the same time he traveled from girl to girl and often left Meghan in the dust. Which she thinks is the reason Ben was extra hard on him in the air force.
Today Meghan was 26 and living in one of Reed's rooms. Though she wanted to get out on her own Reed would often wake her up in the middle of the night to help document findings and research, and since her Uncle lived with his fiancé she was the only one who could make sure Reed he at least got some sleep and ate.
When Sue and Reed had broken up, she and Ben were left to pick up the pieces, and Meghan became Reed's new roommate and assistant.
Still Meghan felt to be in the way, and had no control over her life.
She still believed her father's words and so far she believed he was being proved right.
All this, however would soon Change.