In the sleek glass building rising above Madison Square Garden, Reed Richards was alone in his laboratory, clouded with thoughts. It was late at night in New York, and most of the employees had already gone home, but not Reed. He stood in front of a wall, but it was covered from top to bottom with equations he had written. Some of which were even crossed out, and re-written. There were even some sticky notes with equations written all over them on top of the ones crossed out, and re-written. The lab was a total mess.

The scientist himself was also a complete mess. He was extremely tired, with him sometimes not getting sleep at all.

He worked day in and day out. He got up early in the morning, and worked to the dead of night, and sometimes, he worked so much, when he felt he was done, the sun was already rising and peaking out of the vast array of skyscrapers all across Manhattan.

Reed however glanced over the equation, with his mind deep in thoughts. He didn't know what he was missing at all, and why his project to the dimension he had once discovered didn't work. He was one of the foremost brilliant men today, rivaling such geniuses as Stephen Hawking, Albert Einstein, and even Abraham Erskein. He had even went to the finest schools around the world, and it led him to get a job at The Baxter Building.

He had become what he had once set out to be, but something wasn't right. Something felt wrong in his years of research as a scientist. He discovered another dimension when he was what, in highschool?

Reed had spent all of his life trying to find a key to travel to another dimension safely.

He was now in his mid 30s, and his hair had began to become gray at his temples, and a shadow had begun to appear on his face. He may be an experienced scientist and one of the most brilliant minds today, but Reed, like many others had spent most of their lives devoted to their dreams.

For Reed, it was like solving a puzzle that to some seemed impossible.

Whatever was out there, to Reed, it was his purpose to discover. He felt that would be his way to truly benefit the world.

But, it seemed to his mother, Evelyn, Ben, his girlfriend, Susan Storm, and her brother Johnny that he was just chasing the impossible. He sometimes thought that perhaps they were right, and he was just wasting his own life on a theory that got him nowhere. Perhaps that his theory was wrong and lead to some of his friends and family to exit Reed's life forever. Reed however didn't want to remember some of the friends he had lost along the way of pursuing to create the bridge to another plane of existence.

Reed sat alone in a small black chair in the lab, and leaned on a large holographic table, with his mind still drenched in his thoughts.

The computer was projecting a large holographic construct simulating Reed's equation on molecular travel so a person could travel safely to the dimension. Data was flowing all in front of the scientist, with hundreds of equations being calculated in only seconds. The hologram however glowed red everytime each equation would be entered into a power source. Every single equation Reed had thought of since he was 17 years old had been typed into the computer, and every second, one equation, and all led to the same answer.

It wouldn't work.

Reed clenches his fist in anger thinking he could have failed what he had spent so long to do. He looks down, glancing to the table thinking deeply.

He thought back to the science fair he and Ben had demonstrated when he was 17 years old. He could remember that day vividly. Every sight, and every conversation, he remembered clearly, like it only happened yesterday in his life.

It was a bright, and sunny afternoon in the city. The bright vibrant sunlight shinned through the window of the building. The sun creaked through the window, along with buildings in the distance.

The gymnasium was full of people, who most of them scanned around each and every corner. Some were merely wandering and gazed to the many projects students presented in awe. Others who didn't care about the science fair at all, but were still forced to go simply sat in the bleachers on the other side of the room, or just wandered around, glancing to the many inventions.

Some of the projects were only just volcanoes made from clay and baking soda, but others were different. One student presented a model of the solar system with the earth and the other planets rotating around the sun, with the star being powered from a battery. Another student presented a makeshift helmet that could project images in front of the user's face. It was like Virtual Reality, but all of those weren't as groundbreaking as what Reed had to show. Reed felt like he was a god among mortal men that day.

The judges were simply the teachers, but they glanced to the large pod like machine puzzled.

One of them began to speak.

"Mr. Richards, what do you have to show to us?" She asked in a polite tone.

"Teleportation," Reed responded. "The ability to move something or someone through space, by the disembodiment of the object in one location and its reconstruction in another. Well, at least in theory that's how it's supposed to work."

The students that all heard Reed's project felt a shiver down their spines. Their eyes went wide. They didn't know what Reed had meant, but now they perceived only one thing in the end for them.

Reed would win.

A few of the students looked to their projects, and began to think theirs wasn't good enough anymore.

They all knew Reed was easily the smartest student in the school, but hearing what he had just explained to the judges made them even more worried. Most of the students were amazed by magnets, or simply brought home science sets from electronic stores. Despite most of the students' fears, a few tuned out Reed's voice, as they didn't want to be distracted by what he was about to present.

The students could feel Reed winning once again. It to them was simply inevitable at this point, as it always was.

Some of the students gather around Reed, and the judges to see what Reed's project was about.

It was the same device he had shown Ben only a few weeks prior, and was sitting next to the table. Reed picked up a small apple he had gotten from the store earlier in the day, and walked forward to the pod.

He began to speak once more.

"Teleportation is possible. At least for sub-atomic particles," He said. "Using a celebrated and paradoxical feature of quantum mechanics known as the 'Einstein-Podolsky-Effect'."

Reed was quite confident in his invention, like all the other ones he had built. He could tell just by the fear in their eyes alone, and could hear some murmuring behind him from a few students that he was going to win. This time, it just felt easy for Reed.

No other project, and no other force of nature or technology could possibly rival what he had just built.

"My hypothesis today is that instead of disembodiment however, is shifting objects through a parallel dimension," He continued. Reed's eyes were glued to his notes, as he recited each word he had written down on the thin sheets of paper. He was never much of a public speaker, and without his notes, he would simply stutter, and forget what he was describing to his piers.

He carefully set the note cards down, and put the small red apple in the center of the machine. It was time.

"You, uh… you people might want to step back," He warned, glancing over to his audience.

Ben was watching closely, and Reed glanced over to him. Ben gave him a smile, and a thumbs up.

Reed smiled, and gave his best friend a thumbs up in return.

He looked back to the machine, and reached for the switch to turn it on. The crowd's hearts were pounding in their chests. Their eyes widened, as they simply watched in awe as Reed turned the device on.

Energy tingled across Reed's fingertip, as he flipped the switch. The machine took a few seconds to turn on, but a blast of pure energy struck the apple, lighting up the fruit. Electricity surged through it, and revealed the inside of it. The machine began to glow bright red. The apple began to peel away layers of skin down to the seeds.

The machine flared a bright red light against the sun, and was gone in a flash.

Reed's smile grew wider, as the minutes had past, and witnessed the apple vanish into thin air.

The crowd stood in complete awe, as to what they had just witnessed. Reed Richards had just made teleportation possible.

The crowd within two minutes erupted in applause as to what they had witnessed.

Reed stood completely universe could have shifted, the swirls and bands of existence vibrated. He simply watched as the machine, still flared. A moment ago, it had just shifted an apple into another plane of existence.

Some of the crowd's mouths gaped open in silent gasps.

Ben applauded his best friend and gave him a nice pat on the back in celebration of his achievement.

"Thanks, Ben," Reed said with a bright smile.

"Hey now. Don't thank me. You earned it," He responded.

Reed however hated that day deerely. Why would he, though? He had proven the impossible was in fact possible.

But…

The Machine however began to spark.

Within another moment, a blast of pure force struck the machine, causing it to explode. The force of the blast struck the room hard, and sent them back a few feet. Fire burned through the machine, and seared many student's flesh.

Reed and Ben felt the force of the explosion searing away their flesh the most. They were only suffering through third degree burns, but Reed's mouth gaped open in a scream.

He looked down to see his best friend unconscious from the blast, and glanced over to see his invention on fire. Smoke was emitting from the top, but he could see something inside the pod. Smoke may have covered what it looked like, but Reed's went wide.

It was the apple, but now, it was simply ash.

Reed pounded the table hard remembering that. He hated seeing the invention he had spent the most time into failing. It may have been the first time, but he was still rewarded for his failures. To the judges, and everyone that watched, he still accomplished what he had set out to do, but Reed knew the truth.

Dammit…

Reed sighed, and glanced over to see the city. The sun was beginning to rise above the East River, and Brooklyn. Reed once again spent another night alone without any sleep.

He didn't know what to do anymore. He was still passionate about his research in teleportation, but that could only get him so far.

"Pending… Pending… Fail."

Reed overheard the system trying to run through another equation, but once again, it was another failure.

He however expected another fail this time. As much as he had hoped it would work, he felt it wouldn't work ever. All his attempts were complete failures, but he didn't want to prove his bullies back in high school correct. He could always talk to Ben about things, or Johnny, but he didn't think Ben would understand and Johnny wouldn't care. But, he had also thought about calling Susan, and taking her out to brunch to talk about his work with her.

Reed smiled however remembering the day he had met Susan.

It was the first day of his College career. It was a bright morning with no clouds in sight, but it was also a new beginning for him.

He had gotten a scholarship at Empire State University thanks to his science teachers at his various schools recommending them to him. Reed walked through each corridor of the building, and he immediately knew it was perfect. The classes were massive, with each auditorium being big enough to hold at least 70 plus people, and he wasn't sure how many it could hold at most.

However, that day changed his life forever.

He had shaken hands with another new student there, who he shared a dorm with. He was an exchange student from Latveria, named Victor Von Doom.

He seemed like a nice person to Reed when they first met. He had short brown hair, and brown eyes, like him. He didn't wear anything flashy, and simply wore a black jacket, gray shirt, jeans and black Nikes.

"Being as we're both theoretical science majors, I figure it could be fun-"

"I've not come for fun…" Victor responded. "And I've no need for another in my personal space."

"Sure. I understand," Reed said with a smile. "Nice to meet you by the way, Victor."

Victor glanced back to him, but didn't respond.

Him and Victor were some of the smartest people on campus grounds. Their intelligence dwarfed over the others. They were both simply geniuses.

"Alright, Richards. I supposed you should get to your seat instead of just standing around," The professor told him bluntly. His voice was tinged in annoyance at Reed just standing in front of the class confused, like he didn't know what to do.

Reed nodded.

"Sorry, professor…"

"Elder," He responded. "Harvey Elder."

Reed nodded.

"Right. Sorry, professor," Reed said.

"It's alright," He responded nicely. Elder quickly glanced over to see what free seats were available in the class.

He then pointed to Reed a seat next to who would eventually become the love of his life.

She was a beautiful blond hair woman with dazzling blue eyes, and wore a nice turtle neck shirt, chakie pants, and black boots. She was Susan Storm, who like Reed and Victor was attending the college for a theoretical science major.

However, Reed predicted that she didn't cause a massive fire like he had done in highschool during a science fair.

"You may take your seat next to her," Professor Elder said.

Reed nodded nicely, and quickly stepped away from the professor. It only took him two minutes to walk up a few steps, and he took his seat next to her. The classroom was much bigger than Reed had thought it was when he walked inside.

Reed loved every second of meeting Susan, and would eventually meet her younger brother, Johnny. They felt like an extended family to him, along with Ben.

He and Susan however didn't have time to talk to each other in class, but he did hope he could talk to her after.

Professor Elder glanced to everyone in the room.

He was one of the university's top professors, but he was mostly passionate about something else. Something the university and the world have warned him not to chase.

He began to speak.

"Welcome," He said, with a smile. "My name is Harvey Elder. I'll be your instructor for this class."

People like Victor and Reed listened to every word that came out from Elder's mouth, as he explained what the class was going to be about. The class was a standard college level science class, with projects and all. He cupped his hands together, as he still spoke. Minutes pass, and he ends his introduction.

"Your genius can change the course of our society," He said.

He glanced back to the board to begin the class.

Victor watching however could hear the chatter all around him. He didn't speak to the rest of the class, but he knew one thing.

Elder was right.

Reed loved that day dearly. He was surrounded by so many other bright minded people for once. He, like Victor thought Elder was a genius, but was shocked when he heard that he had gotten fired.

Reed gazed out the window of the Baxter Building, and looked out to see the sun beaming behind the skyline of Manhattan. He always looked out that window in his lab. It simply helped clear his mind, and it always helped. He had told Susan about his work still achieving no progress so far, but she still supported him.

Reed, as he looked through the window began to remember when he had first truly met her.

He was in his dorm room alone. Victor had left to work on a project he was working on himself, alone, and needed some space. His fingers danced across the keyboard, trying to adjust the voltage. It had been a few weeks into his college career, and so far, he's been having no luck on his project.

"Anything?"

Reed turned, startled. Susan simply stood in front of him, with a puzzled face.

"Are you going to do that, every time?" She asked.

"It looks like I will," Reed responded with a slight chuckle in his voice.

"How's it going?"

"Uh…" Reed wasn't sure how to respond. He didn't want to make it sound like he was making no progress at all, like normal, but didn't want to tell her that. "It's going how it's always going for me."

"You'll crack it."

"I'm not even-"

"Trust me. You'll crack whatever it is you're doing."

"I think professor Elder is disappointed in me," Reed sighed.

"Seriously?"

Reed looked back to the machine.

"I should've gotten this by now. My calculations-"

"Professor Elder loves you, Reed."

Reed didn't believe that at all. He had barely talked to the man today, and he could tell from his voice, he sounded bitter talking to him.

"He's disappointed," Reed spoke after a minute.

"No, you're disappointed that he loves you, like all the other professors."

"Look, Susan, is it? I'm not trying to pull my own weight or anything. I'm just simply not being what this school expects."

Reed looked down. He clenched his fists disappointed in himself.

"Look, you are good enough. You discovered another dimension when you were in high school, and built a teleporter yourself," She said.

Susan put her hand on Reed's shoulder gently. She had heard about Reed's inventions thanks to one of the professors. He had gotten in the school with sheer praise once he was told that Reed created teleportation by himself.

"I know, but I've tried literally everything to help work on the transporter calculation problems."

"Are you kidding? You revolutionized data transfer," She said.

"That was a side project.

"Well, only you could do that as a side project."

Reed looked back to the machine, and sighed. Susan however looked to Reed, and smiled.

"You'll get it."

Reed glanced back to her, and smiled. Susan looked away, but she glanced back at him again, with a smile.

"What?" Reed asked.

"Nothing," Susan responded.

You'll get it.

Those words were glued into Reed's mind. Those were the words that he needed, and the ones that pushed him to continue with his research.

Susan was right about Reed. He revolutionized data transfer when he was still in high school, and it was thanks to him that companies like Apple, Oscorp, and even Stark Enterprises could build as many core processors as they do.

It was that reason that Reed had fallen in love with Susan. She felt like the heart and voice of reason for him, and for Ben and Johnny too.

Reed walked back to the holographic projection of the machine. Susan's words were ringing in his ears, as he thought.

However, the thought of him revolutionizing data transfer stuck in his mind.

Like a lightbulb, he had an idea.

Reed's fingers danced across the keyboard, as he typed down another code of data to the hologram.

You'll get it.

He kept thinking that, as he entered the code. He pressed enter on the keyboard, and looked up to see the stream of data, and the hologram.

"System processing… pending… pending…"

Reed had his fingers crossed, and closed his eyes in hopes it would work.

"Algorithm accepted. System complete."

Reed's mouth gaped open in a small gasp. He covered his mouth with his hand amazed.

He did it.

He couldn't believe what he had just done. The machine was ready for testing.

Reed quickly dialed Susan's number into his phone to give her the news. What better person to tell first of a revolutionary breakthrough than your girlfriend?

"Susan?" Reed spoke.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Susan. It's me, and… I have some news," He began.

Reed had stayed silent for a few seconds, but Susan raised an eyebrow.

"What is it?" She asked on the other end.

"I...I've done it."