Chapter 13: This Man

Avarice, envy, pride,
Three fatal sparks, have set the hearts of all
On Fire.

-Dante Alighieri, The Divine Comedy

September 16th, 2012, S.T.A.R Research Lab, Somewhere in the Nevada Desert,

Within the dusty deserts of the American Southwest stood a large complex. Surrounded by barbed wire fences and armed guards, the complex cast an intimidating sight. Within the facility, the halls were a blinding, clean white color, illuminated by fluorescent lights. Multiple steel doors lead off of the hallway, leading into different laboratories.

Suddenly, one of the doors opened with a whooshing sound and a young man stormed out, an angry look on his face. He was roughly 16 years old, with short spiky blond hair and blue eyes. He wore a blue t-shirt and jeans other his athletic frame.

"Johnny, come back!" a voice cried as a young woman ran after him. She appeared to be in her early twenties, with long, blonde hair and bright blue eyes. She wore a lab coat over a pair of grey pants and a white blouse, doing little to hide her beautiful figure.

"No way, Sue! I'm done with him." The boy said as he stormed down the hall. Sue caught up to him and gripped his shoulder and turned him around to face her.

"Johnny, I know you're upset," Sue began, calmly.

"Upset?" he asked, incredulously, "Upset!?! I'm furious! Have you been listening to anything I've said!?! Gar's parents are dead! Vic's in a coma on life support! Half my friends have been turned into mutants and are probably being targeted by a bunch of radical, racist psychopaths as we speak! And he…" a look of anguish crossed Johnny's face, "He doesn't seem to care."

Johnny seemed to sag as he leaned against the nearby wall before lowering himself to the ground. "He hasn't seemed to care about anything since Mom died."

"That's not true Johnny," Sue said as she sat down next to him, "He cares about us both as much as he ever has. You saw the news reports, Metropolis is in shambles right now. He doesn't want to send you back because he's scared of what might happen if he did. He's just worried about is all. It's my fault you're here anyway; I'm the one who wanted you to come."

"Aw…don't say that Sue." Johnny replied.

"It's true, and don't say I don't care about your friends because I do. I'm just about as heartbroken as you are. They're great guys. Especially Peter."

"Eck…you're just saying that because you got a thing for brainy guys." Johnny said while making a face.

"Hey," she chuckled, elbowing him, "I like what I like, okay?"

As she said that, a man walked up to them, his shadow casting over them.

"Is everything all right, Dr. Richards?" the man asked. Sue looked up, slightly confused, still not used to her new last name. She rubbed the wedding ring on her finger unconsciously.

The man standing before them was in his mid-twenties, with crew cut, blonde hair and blue eyes. He was dressed in an Air Force officer's uniform and stood rigidly before them.

"No, everything's fine, Captain Adams," she said as she stood up, her brother following suit, "I was just talking to my brother, is all."

"Of course, ma'am" he said, apologetically, "I believe they're waiting for you in the laboratory."

"All right, thank you Captain," Sue said as she headed towards the lab, her brother and the captain following.

Walking through the door they had exited from a few minutes before, they found themselves in a large laboratory. Numerous, large computers dotted the room, each displaying numerous equations and simulations. As they entered, Sue heard shouting, causing her to sigh.

"Sounds like they're at it again," she commented as she watched two men arguing a few feet away.

One man was tall and lanky, appearing to be in his mid twenties. He had short, strait, brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a lab coat over a white button up shirt and brown pants, covering his lanky frame. He was arguing heatedly with tall, strongly built man apparently in his late twenties. He appeared to be of European descent with jet black hair and dark brown eyes, framed by an aristocratically handsome face. He wore an expensive looking, dark green turtle neck, and black pants.

"If you would just listen to me, Victor," the lanky man began with a mix between a plea and a shout.

"Do NOT presume you can talk to me like that, Richards!" Victor bellowed, sticking a finger in Richards' face, "I am royalty, and I expect to be treated as such, whether I am within my country's boarders or not. I have earned that right."

"By offing your dad and invading all the surrounding countries," Johnny said under his breath.

"Shush!" Sue said as she elbowed him, causing him to wince in pain.

"All I'm saying Vi-Your Majesty, is that if you reworked some equations and shifted the subspace locator a bit you could raise the device's power by-" Richards tried to explain but he was cut off when Victor went on another tirade.

"You dare to instruct me on how my device works!?!" he snapped, "I designed it Richards! I know exactly how it does and doesn't work. If not for me and Latvaria, you wouldn't even have the portal machine!"

"Th-That's not what he's saying," said another voice. A young man, roughly the same age as Richards, walked up. He had dark brown hair and brown eyes, over which he wore a pair of glasses. He walked with a stooped posture, and appeared rather pale and sickly. He wore a green shirt and grey pants under his lab coat, which covered his thin frame.

"R-Reed's just trying to say that, he can make it run better," he said with a rather feeble voice.

"Who is to say that my machine can run better?" Victor demanded, marching up to the man, who paled slightly, "You, Banner? You miserable cretin."

"Hey! Leave him alone!" a feminine voice shouted. Running up to Banner's side was a young woman, roughly the same age as Sue, with shoulder length blonde hair done up in a bun and blue eyes. She wore a black blouse and a dark grey skirt under a lab coat, covering her small yet attractive frame. She grabbed Bruce's arm and positioned him behind her as she stared daggers at Victor.

"Bruce and Reed are just trying to help, Victor. They're not trying to show you up or anything. You don't have to be such a jerk about it!"

Victor leaned down until he was at eye level with the smaller woman, "I would be careful what I said in my presence if I were you, woman," he said threateningly.

"Is there are problem here?" a gruff voice asked. Turning, Victor found himself face to face, with a middle aged man in an Air Force officer's uniform. He appeared to be middle aged man with grey hair and mustache, and dark brown eyes. He stood straight and rigid before Victor, his arms clasped behind his back, showing his athletic frame. The insignia on his uniform announced his rank as General.

Flanking him were two other soldiers. On his left was Captain Adams. On his right was another man in a uniform identical to Adams'. He was tall and powerfully built, with light brown hair and blue eyes. Both soldiers stood slightly behind the general, arms clasped behind their backs.

"I would suggest you tell your daughter to mind her manners, unless you want an incident on your hands, General Ross." Victor spat, getting right in Ross' face.

"I'll keep that in mind," he said, calmly. Victor gave a curt nod in response before turning and marching to another side of the lab. After he left, Ross grabbed the young woman's arm and dragged her to the side.

"What do you think your doing, Betty?" he whispered harshly.

"I was trying to put that creep in his place," she whispered back.

"That 'creep' happens to be the inventor of the device that you've been working on and a foreign dignitary!"

"That doesn't give him the right to bully Bruce like that!"

"Bruce-why do you stick up for that spineless worm anyway?"

"That 'spineless worm' happens to be one of the most brilliant men on the planet and my boyfriend, Dad"

"I know." Ross replied coldly.

At the same time, the larger soldier had walked over to Bruce's side.

"That guys a piece o' work, ain't he, Mop-Top?" he said with a gruff work rubbing Bruce's hair affectionately.

"Y-yeah, I guess he is, Ben," Bruce replied with a slight smile.

"The man is infuriating!" Reed steamed as he joined them, "How could a man so brilliant be so stubborn?"

"That's easy, Stretch," Ben said putting his hand on Reed's shoulder, "The guy's been spoiled his whole life. Gotten everything he wants when he wants. He ain't used to people disagreein' wit him."

"Don't worry, sweetie," Sue said as she walked up and wrapped her arm around Reed's, "I'm sure you can convince him to see it your way. Nobody can be that stubborn."

"You'd be surprised, Suzy," Ben grunted as Johnny joined them, "How's it goin', Hothead?" he asked with a joking tone.

"I'm good, Ben," Johnny said with a smirk.

"Glad you decided to rejoin us, son" a stern voice said. Turning, Johnny sighed as a middle-aged man with light brown hair and brown eyes, walked up to him. He wore a white button up shirt and brown pants under his lab coat. Bruce made a small, awkward, coughing noise before excusing himself and walking over to work station nearby, Ben following suit.

"Hey Dad. I'm good, thanks for asking," Johnny said stiffly.

"Don't you give me any lip young man!" Johnny's father said, agitatedly.

"There's no need to shout, Dr. Storm," Reed said, coming to Johnny's aid.

"No Reed, he needs to hear this. He's a young man now and it's about time he learned some responsibility. This is important work were doing here, Reed, and he has to learn that we can't just abandon it to go gallivanting across the country on a whim!"

"Dad, please. He's just worried about his friends, is all!" Sue said, trying to calm her father down.

"That's not what I'm getting at, Susan. What he needs is to get a good head on his shoulders, like your husband. I mean-"

"All right, Franklin, that's enough," a kind sounding voice said as an elderly man walked up to Franklin Storm and put his hands on his shoulders. The man had short, white hair and blue eyes, framed by a kind looking, wrinkled face. He wore a gray sweater and blue jeans under his lab coat, covering his frail frame.

"Don't you need to go check the readings for the energy output?" the man offered, helpfully.

"Yes," Franklin said with a shake of his head, "I should do that." With that, Franklin turned and walked to another part of the lab, but not before giving his son a sideways glance as he passed.

"Thank you, Dr. Stien," Sue thanked the old man.

"Think nothing of it, Susan," Dr. Stien said with a kindly smile, before turning to look at Johnny as he continued speaking, "I know how your father can get. And please, call me Martin,"

"Of course," Sue said with a small smile.

"Now if you'll excuse me," Martin excused himself as he walked over to where Bruce was standing.

Johnny was currently staring at the ground, a dejected look upon his face. Noticing this, Reed smiled sympathetically and placed his hand on Johnny's shoulder.

"Cheer up, Johnny," Reed offered, "Parents can be rough. I know exactly how you feel." Reed was about to continue when Johnny's head snapped up and gave Reed such a hateful look that made Reed lose the will to speak.

"You 'know how I feel?'" Johnny asked, incredulously as he jerked away from Reeds touch, "You don't know a goddamn thing about how I feel! How about you do me a favor, Reed and go play with your chemistry set and leave me the hell alone," With that Johnny turned and marched back out of the lab again, anger covering his face.

"Johnny, wait!" Sue shouted fruitlessly as her brother left. Watching him go, she crossed her arms over her chest and sighed heavily.

"I don't understand, Sue," Reed said, looking at the door Johnny had gone through with a look of confusion on his face "Sometimes I think your brother resents me."

"Well Reed, that's because….he does," Sue said softly, not looking at him.

"What!?!" Reed cried in surprise, whipping his head around to look at Sue, "Why?"

"Because Reed, you're smart, calm, collected, always eager to learn and Johnny's…well not. You're the son my father always wanted, and Johnny knows it." Sue sighed again, "He had the same problem when my father met his friend, Peter, though it wasn't nearly as bad."

"I-I never meant-" Reed scrambled for an explanation but was stopped by Sue, who laid a hand on his shoulder.

"I know Reed. This is in no way, your fault. If it's anyone's fault it's my father's."

"I have to make it up to him somehow Sue," Reed sighed, almost not hearing Sue, "I can't let him think I tried to steal his own father from him."

"You'll think of something, sweetie," Sue said as she kissed him on the cheek, "That's why I married you. Not because of this," she pointed to his head, "but because of this," she pointed to his heart. Reed could only smile warmly in response.

Martin walked over to where Bruce was standing, placing a hand on his shoulder when he got close enough.

"Family squabbles not your thing, Bruce?" Martin said with a hint of irony.

"Well you know me, Martin," Bruce said with a forced smile.

"I've worked with you long enough, haven't I?" Martin's face took on a serious expression, "I know you…and I knew your father." Bruce stiffened visibly, staring at the screen ahead of him with wide eyes.

"He can't hurt you anymore, Bruce" he whispered, "not unless you let his memory to continue to haunt you,"

"I know," Bruce said quickly, "I-I know,"

"Know what?" Betty said, cheerfully as she walked up and wrapped her arms around his shoulders.

"Nothing, my dear," Martin said, quickly, "I was just telling Bruce here about my time at Harvard."

"Oh, one of those 'glory day' stories, huh?" she said, teasingly.

"Yeah," Martin said slowly, "Something like that. Now Bruce, didn't we need to check out the cooling system on the device?"

"Y-Yeah, you're right, let's go do that," Bruce agreed.

"I'll join you two as well," Betty said, "I…need to get away from my dad for awhile,"

"No problem, my dear," Martin agreed, leading them too the door, "just follow us,"

As they approached the door, Reed step up to them and placed his hand on Bruce's shoulder.

"Hey Bruce," he said, friendly, "I just wanted to say thanks for helping me out back there with Victor,"

"Hey, no problem, Reed" Bruce replied with a smile, "That's what friends are for, isn't it?"

"Yeah, I guess so," Reed said while smiling in return.

"Come along, people we have-oops!" Martin walked backwards out of the door and accidentally bumped into another person walking through the hall. The person fell on their behind with a startled cry.

"HEY! Watch where you're going, man!" the person said. It was a man in his mid-twenties with curly brown hair and brown eyes. He wore a grey jumpsuit and brown boots over his skinny frame. A yellow, pushable, bucket and a mop sat near by.

"Oh I apologize" Martin paused to look at the man's name tag, "Mr. Sterns. I didn't see you there. Here let me help you up," He reached down to help Sterns up, but the janitor pushed his hand away.

"Hands off! I can get up myself," he said as he pushed himself to his feet, before grabbing his mop and bucket and walking quickly away.

"Wow Martin, what you do?" a new voice said from the other side of the hall. Turning around, he saw a man in his mid-twenties, with spiky blonde hair and blue eyes with a bemused look on his face. He wore a yellow shirt and black pants under his lab coat covering his skinny frame. Beside him was a pretty woman about the same age. She had short brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a white blouse and a brown skirt under her lab coat, showing her petite frame.

"Hello, Hank. I guess I should watch where I'm walking," Martin sighed as he put his hands on his hips.

"Still, Martin," the woman said, "that janitor seemed pretty peeved at you for just walking into him like that,"

Martin just shrugged in response, "I guess he must be having a bad day or something, Janet."

"Maybe, so where are you all off too?" Hank asked.

"We were just about to go check the cooling systems for the portal device," Betty explained.

"Oh, well, you guys have fun with that. Me and Janet here are going to go to the other side of the compound and do non-portal related things." Hank replied with a slightly nervous look in his eye.

"You never did like the idea of portals and teleportation, did you Hank?" Bruce asked jovially.

"If I know my husband, he's never liked the idea of having his molecules destabilized or ripping holes in reality. I think he watches too much television." Janet said with a smile.

"I do not," Hank said hurtfully.

"What's on tonight honey?" Janet asked, nonchalantly.

"Well at 8 there's CSI, then at 9 there's this show on the Sci-Fi…" Hank trailed off before looking at his wife with an annoyed expression.

"You're a tricky one, aren't you?"

"Yes I am dear, now come along we have work to do," she said as she began to drag him down a corridor, "See you all later and good luck with your test this afternoon!"

"Thanks, Janet!" Betty said in reply, waving to them as they left. Turning, she began to drag Bruce down the hall while Martin followed. "Now come on you two, we have a portal machine to prepare!"

Meanwhile, in a small town near the base

Outside a small 7-11, a young boy around sixteen sat on the hood of a red jeep. He a light brown hair, brown eyes and an athletic physique. He wore a red and black striped shirt and blue jeans along with red sneakers. He sat playing a harmonica, the music leaving him oblivious to the rest of the world.

As he played, there was a small ding as the doors to the convenience store opened and another young man exited. He had short, blond hair and blue eyes along with a skinny physique. He wore a yellow t-shirt over which he wore a red button down shirt with the front open and the sleeves rolled up. He wore a pair of cargo pants along with white sneakers. He carried a slushie in one hand and a hotdog in the other.

"Jeez Rick," the blonde said as he took a bite of his hotdog, "You keep practicing and you might finally learn how to play that damn thing."

Rick gave him an annoyed glare as he stopped playing. "Shut up, Ronnie," he said dryly.

"Hey, I'm just telling it like it is, man," he said with a smile as he sat down on the hood. After a few minutes he had finished his hot dog and was drinking the last of his slushie, looking up at the desert sky.

"…Man, I'm bored," he said with a tired sigh.

"Well what do you want to do?" Rick asked.

"I don't know man, there's not much to do around this crappy little town," Ronnie replied with a heavy sigh. "I mean the only thing that's interesting around here is that research base they go out in the desert." He paused for a moment as Rick began playing his harmonica again.

"THAT'S IT!" he shouted, sitting up quickly and startling Rick, causing him to hit a sour note and almost drop his harmonica

"What's it?" Rick asked quickly, surprise written on his face.

"We go check out the base! They're supposed to be doing this really big and flashy experiment today," Ronnie hopped of the jeep and began to wave his arms around excitedly.

"You sure?" Rick sent Ronnie a questioning glance.

"Yeah, I heard some of the science geeks at school talk about it yesterday."

"What is it?"

"I…forget" Ronnie replied, scratching the back of his head in embarrassment.

"Of course you did," Rick replied with a sigh, "How do you even know that we'll be able to see it? They've got a huge fence running around the whole complex, you know."

"Yeah I know, but I've been down their plenty of times, and there's plenty to be seen without trespassing," seeing Rick's skeptical look, Ronnie pressed on, "Come on Rick, it's not like we have anything better to do today."

Rick let out a sigh of defeat before smiling at Ronnie and climbing off the jeep's hood, "All right, I guess we could go check it out,"

Ronnie pumped his fist in triumph, before rushing to the jeep and hopping into the passenger's seat.

"I knew you'd see it my way, buddy!" he said with a wide grin.

"Yeah, yeah," Rick said as he climbed in the driver's side and started the jeep, "all I'm saying is that something better blow up to make this all worthwhile."

"Trust me Rick, this is going to be great," Ronnie replied as they pulled out of the parking lot and headed down the street, "I mean, what's the worst that could happen?"

Meanwhile, at the base,

Sitting in the middle of a flat, dusty stretch of land sat a large mechanical monstrosity. It sat on a wide, circular platform, roughly fifty feet in diameter. Upon it, in a resting position, sat four metal ring, which when activated, would rise up and form a gyroscope-like design. Multiple panels displaying different bits of information and large wires feeding the machine with power sat around the circular base.

A lone figure; that of Victor von Doom, ruler of Latveria, stood looking at the machine, his machine. When he found the plans among the belongings of his grandfather, he felt a strange calling to them, as if destiny itself was beckoning to him. Sometimes he wondered why his grandfather had designed a portal machine. Latveria had been a member of the Axis powers during the time of the Second World War, it was perfectly plausible that his grandfather, a scientific genius like himself, had designed the portal for them. But what possible reason could the Axis have wanted it built? From what he understood it was only used once, activated for only a few seconds before it was destroyed, though the facts about the event were closely guarded and even he was lucky to learn that much. In the end it didn't matter what his grandfather had wanted to do with it. He took the plans and using modern science, updated it to the glorious work of machinery before him. The machine was fully and truly his…despite the fact that some interlopers, like that fool, Richards, tried to make their own "improvements" to it.

They were lucky he was even here. If Latveria had possessed the special materials needed to power the device, he wouldn't have needed to work with these imbeciles. But seeing as the United States had what he needed and getting it by his more…secretive means would have raised too many questions when he finally activated, here he was.

It was all worth it though. Here before him stood the culmination of his and his grandfather's genius. A machine capable of ripping the vary fabric of space apart. Walking around the device, he admired its sleek beauty. Though the U.S. excuses for scientists were poor, its craftsmen deserved all the praise in the world. The seamless connection of the panels and the sleek curves of the rings were a marvel to behold. Indeed, the U.S. kept its reputation as a working man's country. He would have to look into finding the metal workers who constructed the device after all was said and done. He would enjoy having men like these construct future projects for him. After all, the men who built the device were much like him, masters of their craft. Men who knew their destinies and ran towards it with open arms, finding greatness.

Sighing as he stopped to examine the display panels on the machine, he paused to look at the readouts. Blinking in confusion, he looked closer. He could have sworn the numbers on the panel had been correct a moment ago. They almost seemed to waver before his eyes, changing into a different set of numbers. Confused, Victor rubbed his eyes and looked again, but they remained as he they were.

He wrote it off as some sort of trick of the light. It made little matter. What did matter was that they were wrong now. Snorting in annoyance, he activated the panel and proceeded to enter the correct number sequence. No doubt the fool Richards had tried to make his "improvements" on the machine. Luckily, he was here to correct them. Nodding in satisfaction, Victor turned away from the consol and began making his way back to the facility. As he walked he didn't notice the world shift around him, almost as if his vision was coming back into focus. Nor did he notice a group of figures watching from a hill a long way off.

"Is it done, Grigori?" asked the cold voice of Blackheart. He was dressed in a black trench coat with a black shirt, black boots and black pants underneath. He paced restlessly as the others watched.

"Patience, Blackheart" came Brother Blood's rasping voice. He was completely covered by a blood red cloak wrapped around his frame, with a large hood pulled up to cover his head, while black gloves protected his hands from the burning sun. He sat crouched at the edge of the hill, watching Doom with his enhanced sight.

"Funny, Blood I would think you of all people would want to get out of the desert sun more than me," Blackheart snickered.

"That is where patience comes in," Blood shot back.

"It is done," said Grigori Rasputin in his calm, collected voice. He was dressed in a brown jacket, a black button up shirt and black pants, with dark sunglasses shading his eyes. For the past few minutes, he had been deep in concentration, generating an illusion capable of tricking even the great Victor von Doom. Besides him, dressed in his blue and gray bodysuit and his gas mask, stood Rasputin's constant companion and protector, Kroenen.

"And he is none the wiser?" Mordo asked from his seat on a large rock. He was dressed in a green, sleeveless shirt bearing his seal on the chest and black pants along with brown shoes.

"His pride will take care of that," Rasputin replied nonchalantly.

"What exactly did you do, anyway?" asked Blackheart.

"A subtle illusion to trick him into fixing something that did not require fixing,"

"So what did he do?"

"Changed the coordinates,"

"The coordinates?"

"Yes, they were originally set for the Dark Realm, which is mostly empty and, as far as he knows, harmless."

"So where did he change them too?" Blackheart asked with a raised eyebrow. Rasputin merely smiled in response. Blackheart's eyes widened in understanding.

"No," he said in an unbelieving tone, "The Source Cage? How is that even possible?"

"It hardly is. This nothing more than a test, to see if the device can indeed pierce into the Source Cage, though at best it will only be for a moment. But that will be all that is necessary for our master's plans to work. The device enabled us to reach into Limbo to snatch the master's son and bring him to this world. Now if it can pierce into the Source Cage, it will be all for his daughter to fulfill her destiny."

"And what happens if it does work? What will happen when the portal opens and the Chaos rushes out?" Blood asked.

"Well Brother Blood, a little Chaos never hurt anyone. Not us at least," he explained with a sinister smile, earning a chuckle from Blood.

"Speaking of chaos," Rasputin continued, as he turned and gestured towards the fence surrounding the facility, "It seems chance has decided to add a few more factors to the equation."

Blood looked where Rasputin gestured and saw two figures crawling through a hole in the fence and beginning to approach the device.

"Should we stop them?" Blood asked, standing up.

"No," Rasputin said with a shake of his head, "They are no threat to our plans. With the Chaos that is about to be released, this could prove useful to us in the future. We will have to wait and see, I suppose."

Turning again, he looked again to the main part of the facility and smiled again.

"Eyes front, gentlemen," he said as he stood up straighter, "The show is about to begin."

Meanwhile,

"Do you really think we should be doing this, Ronnie?" Rick asked hesitantly as they crawled through the small hole they had discovered in the fence surrounding the property.

"Relax, Rick" Ronnie replied reassuringly as he brushed the dirt off of his pant legs, "This will just give us a better view of whatever these eggheads are up to. It's not like they're setting a bomb off or anything."

Walking a few yards, they came to a steep incline that rose up a few feet. Climbing it quickly, they found a strange, large machine sitting a few yards away.

"Whoa," Ronnie said as he ran up to get a closer look.

"Ronnie, what are you doing, man?" Rick asked, a frightened tone in his voice as he edged back towards the incline.

"Dude, check this thing out," Ronnie said, ignoring the question, "What do you think it does?"

As if to answer the question, the machine suddenly sprung to life. A loud whirring sound could be heard as the metal rings floated upwards. Locking their axis into place, the rings began to spin in multiple directions, creating a ball of whirling metal. As it continued to spin, bolts of energy shot of in different directions while a large amount of energy gathered near the center, the air whipping around violently near the machine, kicking up dirt and debris. Suddenly, warning lights began to flash on the machine and a loud alarm could be heard.

"Whoa, what's happening!?!" Ronnie shouted over the noise.

"Who cares!?!" Rick shouted back as he ran up and grabbed his friend before proceeding to drag him away from the machine, "Let's get ou-"

Rick was cut off, however, when a large shockwave exploded from the machine, knocking both boy to the ground and causing them to black out.

In the lab, a few minutes earlier

General Ross stood in front of the gathered group of scientists, Captain Adams and Grimm flanking him. He was currently in a large metal room, computer panels ringing the room. The area he stood on was raised above the rest by a few feet, a small staircase to the side and railings ringing its edges. Two steel doors, one to the front of the room and one to the back, were the only exits. The room had no windows though small TVs sat in the upper corners of the room, displaying the device from varying angles. Johnny stood to the side, leaning against the railing as he watched, his father standing nearby.

"All right folks," Ross began, his voice stern and controlled, "We're about to begin the experiment, so I want all of you at your best. We pull this off and we'll have something truly revolutionary on our hands here. So do your best and let's get this thing started. Go to work."

With that, the scientist sprung into action as Ross turned to leave and watch from his private viewing area, leaving the captain's in his stead. Franklin Storm turned to follow him.

"You coming, son? We'll be able to see the experiment from the viewing room" he asked, turning back to look at Johnny, who hadn't moved.

"No thanks, I'd rather watch the eggheads do their thing from here," Johnny replied nonchalantly.

"Fine, just don't touch anything," Franklin replied curtly before turning and following Ross out the door.

Reed and Victor stood side by side at the main control panel.

"Beginning powering sequence," Victor stated as he punched the computer keys at blinding speed.

"Power conduits starting up," Sue replied, looking at her own panel.

"Cooling systems running efficiently," Betty added from her panel.

"Power conduits running at 50%" Sue spoke up again.

"System diagnostics green," Bruce said.

"Power conduits at full power," Sue stated again.

"Beginning generation sequence," Victor said as he imputed more codes.

"Disengaging security locks," Reed said.

"Security locks disengaged," Martin reported.

"Activating generator rings," Victor stated.

"Rings activated and axis locked," Reed reported.

"Beginning portal generation," Victor said.

"Process begun, rings in motion," Martin replied.

"Searching for dimensional rift," Reed said.

There was a few stressful moments when as all the scientists held their breath. This was the make or break point. A dimensional rift had to appear in the next few moments or all that they had worked for would be for nothing. Suddenly, there was a light beep as new information appeared on Reed's control panel.

"Dimensional rift created!" Reed said, ecstatically.

"Amplifying!" Victor replied, inputting another series of codes.

"Estimated portal creation in three…two…one!" Reed counted down. Right as he finished, the room shook slightly as the shockwave of the portal opening passed over them. The scientists immediately broke out into cheers at the success of the device. Sue and Betty hugged each other and screamed happily. Bruce began hopping up and down, shouting "It works!" repeatedly as Martin laughed. Johnny clapped his hands and let out a woop at the excitement, while a beaming Ben slapped Adams on his shoulder, earning a small smile from the soldier. Victor looked in wonderment at the display before him, his mind reeling with ecstatic thoughts.

"Victor," Reed said, snapping the monarch out of his thoughts. Turning to Reed, he found him offering him a handshake.

"Well done," Reed congratulated him.

"You did your part well, Richards," he said as he took Reed's hand and shook it, "just don't let it go to your head," Reed had the dignity to chuckle at the comment.

"Hey guys!" Johnny's voice called out, having moved to the corner of the room and looking at one of the TV sets, "I think there're people out there!"

"What, that's impossible," Martin said as he walked up besides the boy and looked at the TV. As he looked though, he noticed two prone bodies near the machine, lying flat of their stomachs as debris was kicked up from the machine and the portal.

"Oh my Lord!" he shouted, turning back to the others, "There are people out their, two of them!"

A collective gasp ran through the crowd. "We have to do something!" Betty exclaimed.

"I'm shutting down the portal," Reed said as he began typing commands into the console in front of him.

"What?" Victor said, whirling around, "No you're not!"

"Victor there are people out there!" Reed exclaimed.

"You think I care!?! This is the single most important event in human history! I'm not shutting it down just because two imbeciles wandered onto the testing field."

"Victor do you realize what you're saying? The discharge from the portal alone could kill them if it struck them, to say nothing about whatever energy might be coming out of the portal itself. We have to shut it down!" Martin exclaimed.

"Sacrifices have to be made for the good of science. You all know this!"

"What you're talking about is murder Victor," Reed said, his eyes narrowing.

"I told you, Richards, do not address me so familiarly. I said we're not shutting it down, so we are not shutting it down!" Victor roared as he shoved Reed, causing the scientist to stumble backwards.

"Hey!" the gruff voice of Ben Grimm said as he came up behind Victor and grabbed him in a full nelson, "That's quite enough a that, your majesty,"

"Unhand me, you idiotic brute!" Victor shouted as he struggled against the soldier's grip.

"We don't have time for this! I'm going to help those people so will someone please shut the damn thing down!" Martin yelled as he rushed towards the front door and, inputting a code into the panel next to it, opened it, which revealed the rocky desert of the testing area. Steadying himself against the gusting winds, he ran through the doorway outside.

"Martin, wait!" Bruce said as he ran out the door after the older scientist.

"Nate!" Ben shouted as he struggled with Victor, "Go with them!"

"Right," Captain Adams nodded as he rushed out the door, following the two scientists.

"Reed. Can you shut it down?" Ben asked as he pinned Victor.

"Yes, I'll get right on that," Reed responded as he ran up to the consol and began typing in commands.

"NO!!" shouted as he shoved a surprised Ben off with a mighty heave and rushed at Reed, "Don't touch it! I won't let you take it away from me!"

With a shout, he punched Reed on the side of his face, causing him to stumble and fall to the ground.

"Reed!" Sue shouted as she rushed to his side, helping the dazed scientist sit up, "Are you crazy, Victor!?!" she shouted at the other man.

Victor ignored her as he studied the screen in front of him. Red warning lights flashed all around the screen as numbers reeled past on it.

"What!?!" Victor said incredulously, shaking his head as if he was snapping himself awake, "This isn't right! These are the coordinates I set! THIS ISN'T RIGHT!!"

Meanwhile

Martin made his way across the testing area, his arms held in front of his face to protect his eyes from the debris kicked up by the open portal. Bruce and Nathan trailed a little behind him, mimicking his action.

As he drew closer, he could make out two figures lying prone near the machine, slowly stirring as they tried to get to their feet. His eyes were drawn to the swirling ball of energy that was the portal, currently projecting a harsh red light onto the area. The spectacle brought a single thought to his head.

"Why haven't they shut the damned thing off yet!?!" he shouted to no one in particular.

"Maybe they're having trouble?" Bruce suggested.

"Well, whatever the reason, we need to get the thing shut down soon, or who knows what could happen. It's already been on longer than we were planning anyway," Turning, he looked back at his two compatriots.

"You!" he said, pointing at Nate, "You no how to shut the thing down manually right?"

"I was trained to, sir," the soldier responded.

"Good, you shut the damn thing down, and Bruce and I will get those folks out of here. Alright?"

"Alright, sir," Nate agreed, before rushing towards the machine, while the two scientists headed towards the people. As they approached, the two people managed to get to their feet, revealing that they were two teenaged boys.

"What are you kids doing out here!?!" Martin shouted as he helped one, a blond, to his feet.

"We…wanted to watch….the experiment," the boy said, groggily.

"Well we appreciate the interest, but this is no place for you boys to be," turning he looked as Bruce helped the other boy to his feet, "Bruce, lets get them over to that ridge there. He can take cover while that soldier shuts down the machine."

At that time, Captain Adams had made his way to the machine and was quickly typing in the shutdown commands. As he was about to finish, a loud screeching noise cut through the air, a noise that shocked the captain as it was a sound that had never touched his ears before and when it did, it shook him to the core. Looking up at the portal, he found himself caught in the gaze of a gigantic yellow eye, which took up the entirety of the portal. As he made eye contact with it, his mind suddenly became assaulted with a chaotic assortment of images and sounds. The effect was blinding and extremely painful. Captain Adams collapsed to his knees as he let out a loud cry while gripping his head, which felt like it was splitting open. Another unearthly screech ripped through the air as a flash of light came from the portal. Along with the flash came a torrent of sickly yellow energy. It poured over Nathanial Adams like a tidal wave, giving him enough time to stretch his arms upwards towards the sky before he disappeared, his entire body seemingly disintegrated by the force of the blast.

The two scientists looked up at the alien screech just in time to see the blast of energy pour out of the portal and head right towards them.

"MOVE!!" Bruce shouted, as he shoved the young brunette boy in front of him, causing him to fall over the side of the ridge, to shelter. At the same time, Martin was unable to reach the ridge and instead threw the other boy to the ground and collapsed on him, covering the boy's body with his body.

After coming to a stop at the bottom of the ridge, Rick Jones managed to look up at the top of the ridge, where he saw the scientist who had saved him throw his arms up into the air, his mouth opened wide in a pain riddled scream that was drowned out by the sound of the blast hitting him, the light from the powerful energy lighting up the scene for Rick to see before he collapsed again into unconsciousness.

"THIS ISN'T RIGHT!" Victor screamed again as he pounded on the terminal. Just then, a loud, unearthly, screeching noise pierced the air as the lights and instruments flickered in the room.

"What was that!?!" Betty cried.

Ben rushed to the door to see for himself, only to noticeably stiffen as he gazed outside, a paralyzing sense of fear enveloping him.

"Oh my God," he whispered to himself, "Close the door. CLOSE THE DOOR!!!" he shouted hysterically as he began to try to pull the heavy metal door close. Reed jumped forward and quickly began entering the code into the door panel, but found to his horror that it appeared to have been shorted out by whatever had messed with the equipment moments before.

"GET DOWN!!!" Ben yelled as he tried to cover the rest of the opening with his body. The others did as he asked, before a bright light flashed through the room and they knew no more.

Sanctum Sanatorium,

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!" Stephen Strange cried as he collapsed into a heap, sweat running down his face and his breathing harsh. Throwing the door to his meditation chamber open, Wong ran quickly into the room.

"MASTER!" he cried rushing to Stephen's side, helping him regain his composure, "Master, what is wrong!?!"

"It-it can't be…it's impossible….no one could have-!" Stephen mumbled incoherently.

"Stephen!" Dr. Fate shouted as he ran into the room, "Stephen what-!" Fate stopped short, his breath hitching in his throat. On the ground around Stephen was burned the image of a large eye, with Stephen sitting directly in the middle of its iris.

"Shuma-Gorath," Stephen mumbled before he collapsed again, Fate to shocked to do anything but watch.

A/N: Hi True Believers! Left on a bit of a cliff hanger there didn't I? Don't worry, more action and heroics in the near future, just wanted to get all the boring, introduction stuff out of the way first. Hope you enjoy the (relatively short) chapter and bonus points to those who can name all the new introductions made in this chapter. Please review! Until next time, Later True Believers!