Sharper Lee- Thanks for the feedback! But with the FF, "Corny" is part of the job description I'm afraid!

Penny3- Thanks for the feedback, don't think the Moloids will be appearing much again though.

Lorendiac- Wow! HUGE props for all that constructive criticism. It seems I'm not as tight with my grammar and punctuation as I believed! Many of those were, as you suspected, things I knew but did not enforce as much as I should have.

David Golightly- Here you are as requested, second chapter. Thanks for the praise!

Definitely a shorter and less eventful chapter this time but it's important build-up so without further ado….

CHAPTER 2: TRAGEDY

"…Gone?" Johnny echoed sceptically. Nick Fury looked back, dead serious. He gave a single tight nod.

"Gone," he confirmed. "We received a distress call over the Baxter Building's private frequency. No visual, no audio- just a transmitted message telling us to come now and bring the big guns." Sue staggered backwards a few paces, balancing herself against the wall.

"And… and the children…" she began, putting a hand to her head. "They were just… fine?" Fury shrugged, looking aside across the laboratory.

"Found Franklin in his room and Val in the nursery, same as always. Didn't even know anything had happened. We have agents taking care of them now but…"

"Signs of a struggle?" asked Sue, her eyes boring holes in Nick, her jaw tightening. "Was there a fight here, Nick or did we…" He raised both hands defensively.

"We don't know anything more than what I just told you. We got here, and the lab was empty, Reed was gone. And I have no more idea about that than you do. Sue…" His voice did not become any less gruff, any more gentle, but his expression did soften slightly.

"I need to know…" he pressed. "Was there anything Reed was working on, anything which…" She threw a glance back at him, running a hand through her hair.

"I don't know… Reed doesn't tell us everything. He was supposed to be working on a device to help elemental problems in some regions but… God, Fury…there were thousands of inventions in here."

"Including…." Fury asked cautiously, not meeting Sue's eyes. "…An interdimensional teleporter, by any chance?" Sue blinked, and turned to look at Ben, who shrugged.

"…Most likely, yes…" she said slowly. "Nick… why? Who would…"

And then her eyes widened simultaneously with Ben's and Johnny's, and the latter took a step forwards, comprehension dawning.

"Nick, would one of these teleporters be able to teleport the user to…?"

"We're not sure." Nick replied grimly. "This is all speculation, but with your history… Susan, there's a strong chance it could indeed teleport the user right to… to Hell."

The three exchanged dark glances and then spoke as one in a single terrible voice.

"Doom."

"No," replied the floating figure silkily, his lip curled back in disdain. "Absolutely not." Before him, the man in shadow raised both arms exasperatedly.

"You're really content with the Fantastic Four foiling you every time you try another of your schemes?" The floating figure spat once on the ground, head twisted away.

"Clearly not…" he hissed through clenched teeth. "But the idea of sharing a part in a scheme with you is… odious, to be frank. What have YOU that you could possibly bring to the table?"

The man in shadow just smiled.

"Me? I'm just… an old man, trying to do what he can. Trying to organize this, so that the Fantastic Four can finally get what they deserve."

"Your motive I can understand, at least…" the floating figure conceded reluctantly. "And some of the benefits for me are evident… but what guarantee can you make that this will not simply prove another double-cross? What can you do to prove your sincere intentions?" His eyes narrowed into slits.

The man in shadow smiled again.

"How does a self-generating energy core which could power New York City for twenty years without recharging, straight from the lab of Reed Richards sound?"

And then the floating figure advanced into a pool of light, his expression now a greedy smile as he surveyed the man in shadow.

"Very well," said the hovering Wizard. "We have a deal."

"Thor!" Johnny declared, waving one hand in the air. "That magic hammer of his could teleport us right to Hell, right?" He lay back further on the couch in the Baxter Building's sitting room, sipping from a can as he did so. Nick Fury stood to one side, arms folded before him, along with Dum Dum Dugan. Sue was pacing in front of the window while Ben sat in his specially reinforced chair.

"We don't want to go to Hell," Fury responded. "If this was someone trying to spring Doom, then he's already out of there." Ben frowned, and then spoke up slowly.

"See, what I don't get is this…" he rumbled. "There ain't a lotta guys with the nerve- 'r the ability… ta breach Stretcho's security, then get alla his stuff outta here. Th' only guy I can see doin' it is Vic. But if Vic's in Hell…."

"…Then he has no reason to want to teleport there," finished Sue.

"…Maybe we're on the wrong track?" offered Johnny, looking from face to face. "There are TONS of devices in that lab, they could have been after any one of them. We can't just jump to Doom if someone is attacking us just because nine times out of ten it's him!"

A heavy silence fell.

"What about A.I.M. or Hydra?" asked Sue. "Could this just be some folks out for the latest tech?" Dum Dum stepped forwards and uncrossed his arms, shaking his head.

"MODOK is in France right now, and AIM devices always use enormous quantities of power. We'd have picked him up."

"And there's no way H.Y.D.R.A. pull something like this," added Fury grimly. "It's not their style. If it was them, we would have found no building left."

"Well look…" Sue began….

Then there was an explosion of blinding light and Reed Richards materialised in the centre of the room.

"REED!" shouted Sue, eyes wide. The others had all sprang up, in fighting positions.

"Oh My God… what happened to you?" she gaped, speeding to the centre of the room.
Reed looked, quite literally, like Hell. His limbs were drooping and flopping everywhere and he looked half dead, twitching and contorting his body unnaturally until it barely resembled a human form, elongated shape thrashing.

"Sue…." he gasped, turning to try and face her. "Sue… Franklin and Val… are they…"

"They're fine, Reed…" she whispered, holding him. "Oh my God… what happened?"

"It… it…" He gulped in more air, his body slowly starting to return to normally. He suddenly tried to sit bolt upright, almost inadvertently, then collapsed again, elasticised body convulsing wildly across the floor.

"Is he alright?" asked Nick guardedly, shooting a glance at Dum Dum.

"Looks like his breathin's getting' regular again…" the Thing commented.

"I… just shock, it's…." Reed closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again. "It.. .was…he had weapons, I don't- he knew you were gone, knew you wouldn't be here…" his convulsion was definitely slowing now, and his body was starting to resemble a humanoid shape once more as he calmed down.

"I couldn't stop him…" he breathed. "I had already temp-sealed Franklin and Val's rooms in a safe alternate dimension. He was pounding on me, barely had time to call SHIELD…" he gave a hacking cough, speaking more regularly now. "I knew they wouldn't get here in time, so I did what I could… I sent myself one hour into the future so that SHIELD support would have arrived… I didn't think there was anything else I could do…"

"Who was it?" asked Fury harshly. He knelt down beside Reed. "Richards, you have to tell us. Who was it?"

Reed closed his eyes for another second, and then opened them again. "It… was…Kl'rt… the Super-Skrull…"

Before any of them could speak, the door flew open. Fury whirled, his face turning purple.

"I GAVE STRICT ORDERS THAT WE WERE NOT TO BE DISTURBED!" he bellowed. The terrified S.H.I.E.L.D. agent in the doorway stammered slightly but did not retreat, standing slightly more firmly in the doorway.

"Yes, sir… but… you should see this…" Behind Fury, Sue stood, her jaw set.

"What is it?" she asked swiftly. The agent glanced nervously over at her.

"It's… a man we just found in the foyer, ma'am."

"I thought we locked off the foyer?" asked Dum Dum. The agent nodded.

"We did sir, but this man appeared, he's- I think a …a…postman?"

"Willie Lumpkin?" Sue asked. "He's an old friend of the family, yes. What about him?"

"That's just it, ma'am." The agent said. He gulped once, picking at his collar.

"…He's dead."

TO BE CONTINUED….

Again, any feedback- negative, positive, constructive criticism, ALWAYS welcome.

Next chapter- who killed Willie Lumpkin, and why? Is it connected to the attack by the Super Skrull… and why would the Super Skrull ever do this? Is Doom connected after all? Is the old man who recruited the Wizard related to the other individual who drafted in the Mole Man? Are ALL these things part of the same plot, and do the participants even know it? The mystery deepens next chapter… plus an enraged Reed Richards leads the team on a mission of vengeance!

In old comic style, See ya in a week or so True Believers, but please remember to give reviews!