* Dan = Daniel Grimm Jr., or Ben's older brother, who led the Yancy Street Gang. Ben idolized him, but he was killed in a gang fight in the past.


"I'm sorry, 'Licia. It's Dan; he's buggin' me again today."

"We can visit him on the way home. How about that?"

"Nah. I'll try tackle this sob story & be your Valentine. Besides, I've been plannin' this day for about a month."

They took their seats on the comfy bench right by the nicely prepared teak table, & had a mixture of steak & other scrumptious foods in their dinner. They chatted about things small & big, things long & short. Other couples were hanging about Central Park too, & while they walked past that table, Ben & Alicia were the objects of attention to scores of them. Except they weren't just going to invade their privacy – let alone the Thing's privacy.

Alicia wanted to tear her boyfriend away from the bitter thought. Yet it was in her nature that whatever he wished to say, she'd listen with an anxious attention, being quick to listen & slow to speak. The bottom line: this day's chief goal wasn't clamorous happiness; it was love & only love.

So badly did she want to tell him how she had the fresh source of strength & reassurance in him.

"Ben, I've saved it for today to tell you how much you mean to me," she lay a hand on his own, "In the form of a gift." She was about to reveal to him her latest sculpture, one she'd spent countless weeks refining. It felt like an epitome of the heartfelt statements art was supposed to express; his rough fingertips could even sense it, in some indescribable, beautiful way.

"'Licia, I can't tell you what I'm feeling," he chortled. Unlike before, his tone sounded so velvet & the total opposite of rough or brash. It was his turn, "Lemme show ya what I made for ya."

Alicia could hear the thudding sound of a relatively large box on the tabletop. "Open yer mouth," he cheerfully told her, & she obeyed. A spoon went through her lips slowly & she tasted delectable cake. The smell of cocoa wafted about the air at the same time.

"Sorry it ain't really somethin' that can last," he added.

"Thank you!" she exclaimed sweetly. "Today's quickly becoming one of the best days in my life."

He heavily sighed, "Correction…not one of the best. Not for me."

"That isn't true in my case," she ended the conversation. The following moment her head was placed against his great chest. She shut both eyes, drifting away temporarily in her thoughts. Their dialogue had carried on with much intermission, but importantly had a sweet ending to it. She was tucked under his chin as his arm came around to rest on her back. "You're way too tall," she laughed. The two of them together formed a very pleasing picture in the park's delightful grounds.

It turned out that along the journey back to Alicia's place, Ben changed his mind regarding his visit to Dan. "Hey, bro," he had uttered, bowing his head at the sight of the lonely gravestone when they got there. They spent about ten quiet minutes before heading home.


The insectoid creature emerged from the growing portal, with a mind that would not acquiesce.

So the Negative Zone churns out mean bugs, whispered Ozai in his head. Helmet on safely, he toggled to Quad Mode & let out a mean growl. Annihilus's screech filled the whole lab, again, doing something injurious to the peace & quiet of before.

"No humans should dare trespass into Annihilus's kingdom!" he sneered. Ozai took notice of the upturned gauntlet a tad too late when he spun round. "Oh…," he mumbled. Reed's favourite topics in their discussions were certainly those related to the Negative Zone. Reed would drag that subject for ages on end but that didn't mean Ozai absorbed it all at once!

He had in mind the actions of a lasso; ideas were connecting in one part of his cognitive faculties & some branching out in another. Just then, he struck to surprise the creature in a rodeo sort of style. Annihilus was fast approaching in rapid flight, & Leopard X swung his tail tight around the monstrosity's body. When he'd made several loops around the crazed insectoid, he tugged the base of his tail using both paws. The segments (in other words, pieces of metal) that made up the tail were highly magnetic in themselves; that was why the structure refused to break into fragments under almost any condition.

Then he asked, "Why are you here & what do you want? & keep it simple!"

Annihilus mouthed out nothing but unintelligible screeches in a hoarse voice, & wriggled violently.

"Never mind. L.Y., listen! I'm going to pull & rope this creature in, & I need you to decrease our pericycle power input to 15%. Concentrate all power in the armour's front side - it will be less destructive but more focused!"

"Yes, sir," replied L.Y.

Ozai tugged another time, making it sudden, & fired the weapon whilst L.Y. made the tail unwrap back into position. A bolt of light exploded forth from the suit's chest area into his querulous opponent. This caused Annihilus to scream yet again in a piercing volume.

Upon performing a graceful back flip ten feet in the air, Ozai twisted his body at an angle to unleash one more tail attack properly. With that clean move, Leopard X practically swept the monster aside – away from Reed's gadgets he might damage. But the insectoid regained focus a short while after.

"You'll do much less harm downstairs, Annihilus!" said Ozai, standing on the floor elevator for a reason, "Take me down, H.E.R.B.I.E.!" At considerable velocity the platform descended with Annihilus rushing mad after him.

I have to find the best bug spray there is here…Reed, you'd better be back soon, he muttered inside.