The tip of the beast's claw was inches from Ben, before it was hit by a blast of cyan. It came to a halt. Johnny, Ben & Sue turned to see Reed descending the stairs at the Baxter Building's entrance; he was brandishing a weapon. "There. That stasis field should hold it off for a little while. I knew this would come in handy," he said. Curious passers-by began to snap photos of the frozen monster. Ben muttered, "How come we always get the giant monsters" "I could talk to Doom. Maybe he could send us a giant robot," replied Reed. The two loved spicing up conversations like this. "Sure, that would be a nice change..," Ben added. Just then, a huge truck with the logo 'LY' and white car parked nearby beside the pavement. Out stepped a man clad in a beige but formal-looking jacket from the car; he removed his sunglasses, approaching Reed. "Dr. Richards slash Mr. Fantastic! I've been waiting for this," he said politely while extending a cordial hand. Reed smiled before returning the handshake, "Ozai, you're here!" Ozai towered a little above him in height but boasted a most pleasant smile. Reed added, "Unfortunately we're kind of in the middle of a mission here." "So sorry, then. I'll make this quick," answered Ozai.
The other three FF members stood by, wondering whether to look out for reporter's questions or introduce themselves to the new Baxter Building tenants. They then saw a girl opening the door of the same white car & getting out. She walked calmly toward where Ozai & Reed were standing. "My daughter, Azula," said Ozai. Azula had golden brown eyes like her father. "Pleased to meet you," said Reed whilst he shook her hand. "I promise we'll all be formally introduced later. You're equipment can be put in the basement lab and your units are on the 20th floor right beside our landlady, Courtney's unit." Ozai concluded, "Thank you, and good luck." Johnny walked a little closer to Ben & Sue; his eyes shifted to Azula for a split second. Turns out she too eyed him, but they both looked away from each other in a flash. Not wanting to keep Reed occupied, Ozai got back to overseeing the moving of his lab equipment. Another truck with more components was to come later to keep himself & his daughter relatively busy.
"Let me guess. The hole. The creature tunneled up from somewhere, & that's where we're going," said Sue to Reed. Reed nodded excitedly before exclaiming,"See? You're excited about it too!" Before the team was a giant hole that led into the damp underground. Venturing down the tunnel, Johnny lit up his fist to lead them all. "But I've got my plasma flashlight," Reed half-complained. Johnny teased him in response, saying "Phone call for Mr. N-erd!!!" Shortly after that, the tunnel opened up into a large cavern. Blue gemstones sparkled around them. "This is incredible. These boulders are pure diamond!" said Reed, being his usual scientist self. Behind him, a warning tore from Sue's lips, "Look out!" Strange grey forms seemed to rain from the cavern ceiling. Johnny flamed on to fend them off but the creatures were smart enough to turn on nearby hoses which sprayed freezing liquid to stun him. He could do no more than shiver on the stony cavern floor. Reed was abruptly trapped by more of those creatures as they hardened themselves to encase his body. Ben stepped into a big puddle of sludge, not deliberately, but unable to get out. One of the grey monsters pounced onto Sue & spewed a gas causing her to pass out.
***
They awoke to a familiar sound - none worse than that of the long-winded schemes of an ugly supervillain. His name was Mole Man, & those creatures were called 'moleoids' & did his bidding. Mole Man had apparently been part of the outside world but now loathed it with his being's every fibre. It turns out he lured the enormous monster (the one now standing frozen in front of the Baxter Building) out of the cavern in order to manipulate its soon-to-be-born hatchlings. He was thinking long-term to build his very own monster army - all to make the above "Surface World" pay for shunning him. Of course, the FF found his plot somewhat cliché.
When Mole Man left, Sue turned invisible & was the only one who successfully slipped out of the moleoids' grips. "Well aren't you three the sorriest excuses for superheroes..," she told the others. They were laughable indeed. Reed instructed her to lure the monster they now called 'Giganto' back to the cave. However, he was still puzzled by how the seemingly harmless Mole Man could control Giganto. At that moment, Johnny whined, "I..am..freezing..here..& I'm starving…I wonder how big an omelette you can make with one of those eggs…" He gazed at Giganto's greenish eggs nested together at the edge of the cave. His teammates thought he was crazy. Sue played the big sister & said to Johnny, "Johnny Storm, what a thing to say!" The reply came, "What? Looks like the Mole Man already tried it. See?" Brilliant, for once. This was one of the few times Johnny made sense. Sue must've had a light bulb switched on in her mind. "A missing egg!" she gasped. Reed confidently said, "Of course! Mole Man said he lured Giganto out; he must've used an egg. & if the creature attacked the Baxter Building.." "He must've hidden the egg there," Sue said to finish his sentence.
Sue didn't want to waste a minute. She took off on a force field platform, flying all the way to the Baxter Building. True enough, in the garage she found Giganto's missing egg. It hatched right there & then, though, so she went invisible to avoid becoming its mommy (or snack!). Deafening roars reverberated outside as Giganto freed herself from her thin, brittle 'cage'. The monster could actually find her way to the Baxter Building garage entrance, probably relying on a very accurate mother's instinct. The hatchling in the garage followed the sound of Giganto's roars & ran past Sue to the car park exit. "Awww…," said Sue while she ran after it, still invisible. "Okay! At least they've been introduced. Now I just have to get them back down in Subterranea before they destroy New York. Or..crush me."
***
Back in the Baxter Building lobby, Ozai's equipment was carried component by component & transported to the basement lab. Azula had nothing to do now; she quickly grew bored, watching a LY workman lift a canister with his huge biceps. Ozai was too busy handling things upstairs in the lab & had told her she could walk about downstairs. She put on her jacket's hood & thought about how long her stay here in New York would be. At least she could meet often with the world's greatest superhero team. The city wasn't unknown terrain to her as she'd last been here when she was seven. Now she was pretty free to work & travel with Ozai. Not many knew he was quite the artist and martial arts expert though - the FF would be surprised. The incredible varsity of Ozai's talents & inquisitiveness was what she wanted as well. She had told her father she's give it a go selling off some pieces of art while she was helping him here. Her kung fu skills were pretty neat, too. Kung fu was a great past time aside from painting (& cooking), she thought. She could make use of cooking skills, but she wondered how, where & when the kung fu would come in if she wasn't just practising by herself.
A roaring sound bored through the bubble containing her thoughts. Rather taken aback, she slinked outside & paced toward the sound, till she turned a street corner. If New York had monsters on a usual basis, it'd be fun. Azula had a big little secret: she could wield bright blue flames at will. The secret was little because only Ozai & she knew about it, & obviously big because it posed dangers if she went overboard. With monsters roaming New York to threaten humanity, she could actually make use of this ability - maybe even to help the FF. She silenced this ambitious thought with another thought, Don't daydream too far. She wasn't here to show-off or be a freak; her prayers so far seemed to be answered with suggestions that she help serve in smaller, less superhuman ways. As she turned the corner, people were fleeing from a large hunk of a creature poking its snout into the Baxter Building's garage entrance. Azula froze before hiding behind the building's corner to silently watch Giganto.
Back inside the garage, Sue got access to Johnny's newest car - a sweet, sleek orange vehicle with a lot of 'vroom'. She revved it up, snatched the monster hatchling & prepared to rapidly drive out of the garage & later down the tunnel leading to Subterranea. Giganto would begin a wild goose chase after her, but she didn't care. Something unexpected happened. Giganto was now falling back clumsily, as if something hit her eye. Sue's assumption was quite right - Azula, standing outside, had fired a ball of azure-coloured flame smack right in the middle of the giant beast's face. "Right where I want you," she said triumphantly. Sue now had time to speed out of the garage onto the open road. As she did, she didn't see Azula hopping onto Giganto's back to follow her down to the cavern. Nor did Giganto realize someone was hitching a ride on her back…It was about to get interesting..
Mole Man became impatient & critical, ordering his 'bird-brained' moleoids to hunt Sue down. Reed, Ben & Johnny could finally free themselves & began clobbering the moleoids. Simultaneously, Giganto's other eggs were hatching. Mole Man grew increasingly confident that each hatchling would imprint on him & thus obey his every order. The supervillain was almost hysterical. The FF were losing time but had no choice other than rely on Sue now.
In good timing, Johnny's car sped into the cavern with angry Giganto trailing behind. Johnny winced when he spotted his car, now wrecked badly. "My car! My beautiful car!" he squealed. Azula attempted to get off Giganto's back on her own, but the monster suddenly jerked hard, making her fall to the ground. She landed well to prevent any injury with some somersaulting. However, she had gotten the attention of some moleoids nearby. They surrounded her immediately, trapping her tightly despite her efforts by struggling hard & igniting her fists to try fight them.
Sue carried the little hatchling & returned it to Giganto. Her job was pretty much done. Mole Man ranted on, "Know these sentiments, fools! You're too late. It is me that they see! Gaze upon your new leader and obey!" he told the new hatchlings in front of him. Sharp-minded, Sue rendered him invisible while Giganto greeted her new offspring with a nuzzle. When Sue made Mole Man visible again, Giganto took after him in a rage. He cried out, "Moleoids, wipe the Fantastic Fools out!" His minions obeyed. Each of them piled on top of the other, & in moments a massive wave of them rushed toward the FF to come crashing down on them. Just as the FF readied themselves for the oncoming blow, an inferno of blue appeared to spread through the moleoid wave. The moleoids were quenched by the heat, tumbling down clumsily before they could attack the team. "Okay, this time round, that wasn't me," admitted Johnny.
That's when they saw her. Smoke was rising from her clenched fists; she was almost out of breath. "Incredible! Did you just burn down those moleoids with those vivid blue flames?" asked Reed. Azula had taken a chance to bring out the 'big little secret'. Was it right to spill the beans? Her conscience was clouded now as she'd never felt this good using her powers. "It was nothing," she said with a one-sided smile. She anticipated the surprised looks written on each of the Four's faces. "& wait, aren't you Azula, Ozai's daughter?" Reed questioned. She snapped back to her senses. Yup, dad would have my hide, she thought. She told them she had to dash back to the lab, only to be stopped by Sue who said, "Wait! You did us a big favour just now. We can return the deed by telling your dad that..the monster kidnapped you." Her face looked a little cheeky. Phew, thought Azula. Ben warmly introduced her officially to the team. Johnny then narrowed his eyes petulantly. "Hey! I was gonna burn 'em first. We need a rematch," he said. Azula quickly replied, "Then bring it on." They're eyes met for the second time the same day. This will be fun, said she in her thoughts. Ben shushed them up before the argument could be called 'heated'.
The Mole Man was helpless by now, thinking up plans that would be of no use. The FF rounded him up as Reed reminded the team how their superhero license may be revoked if villains are eaten or totally annihilated in some way. Giganto was apparently getting irritated with several unwanted visitors standing in her cave. She smashed the ceiling, sending multiple boulders hurtling down to block off herself & her hatchlings from the rest.
Azula personally felt she'd accomplished something. She'd be shielded from a father's lecture thanks to making some nice new friends, but whether revealing her hidden powers to superheroes was the right thing or a mistake, she'd leave it to her prayers that night to get some gradual answers. Waiting was hard for most to do & would often be a void overfilled with worry. Yet the suspense was especially exciting if it didn't kill you. She didn't bother for now; for she was thinking how on earth any worries can add a moment to life. Nope, they can't. Ever, she thought to herself. Thankfully she was now someone the world's greatest heroes got to know that day.