Chapter Three

Alma Mater

Reed Richards entered the kitchen to find Johnny Storm seated at the table, frying eggs in a skillet he held in the palm of his hand. "Show-off."

"Saves time." Storm replied with a grin, scraping the eggs from the skillet onto his plate with a spatula. But then he looked about; there was no place on the cloth covered table for the hot metal.

"How much?" Reed asked with a barely restrained grin.

"Not a lot." Johnny admitted, getting up and putting the skillet on the stove. He made it back to his chair an instant before his sister arrived, tightening the belt of her white robe. She sat down in her seat between Reed and Johnny, her brother on her left. "How you doin', sis?"

"Good, and you?"

"Fine. You know, sis, I've been thinking."

"Oh, oh. Now I know we're in trouble." She quipped. Reed tried his best to keep a straight face, and actually managed it for a moment.

"No, I mean it. I was thinking about that 'Playboy' spread. Is there any way you can wear your uniform and selectively -." She pointed a finger at his head, and by the striations of air between them Reed could see the patterns of 'invisible' force line from her fingertip to encircle and encapsulate Johnny's head from hair, down each side and under his chin to clamp his mouth in place. "This isn't funny." He protested, only able to move his lips before clenched teeth.

"Really? I'm having a ball. I wish I could have done this ten years ago." He tried to pull away, but she held him firmly locked in place.

"All right. No more 'Playboy'!" He capitulated. She lowered her hand, letting him go. He opened his mouth a few times, testing his jaw. "There's always…"

She raised her finger to him again. "Don't even think about it."

Her tone was deadly, and he knew he risked crossing a very dangerous line and it was time to back off. Besides, his favorite target chose this moment to lumber into the room, wearing an 'ultra-large' black robe and sat down in his chair to Johnny's left. Johnny prepared a particularly devastating barb, and the look on Ben Grimm's face made him bury it unhurled. "Ben?"

Reed and Susan looked at their unresponsive friend, whose expression was more haunted than any of them had ever seen, either before or since the cosmic accident.

"Ben?" Reed asked. "You okay? You don't look like you've slept all night."

"Haven't." Grimm answered distantly, but then when he focused; it was on Susan across from him. "Been reading."

"All night?" It had been over four hours since she'd given him -.

"I went and got the others you opened." He answered her unasked question. His eyes were alert, but as haunted as his expression. "Those kids…" He looked at Susan, knowing she would understand. "Those kids…"

"Yes, Ben." She answered softly, confirming what he'd already known, that she had read more than 'a few'.

"Would someone tell us what's going on?" Johnny asked, growing concerned. Susan shook her head. If there was an explanation to give, Ben would have to be the one to give it.

Ben Grimm, known to the world as the 'Thing', looked at his three friends in turn, and his eyes never lost their haunted expression. "Those letters weren't from rocket scientists, or glamour magazines, or groping groupies… they were from kids. All over the city, all over the state, all over… They're from lonely kids; lost ones; 'ugly' ones tormented by school bullies; kids who don't fit in; kids who are failing in school; kids who are doing too well and are alienated from others by it; kids who no one will play with because they're fat, or silly looking, or don't look right, or whose skin is black or yellow or…"

His eyes regained their focus, and he could see his friends again. "They all … they see themselves … in an orange rock that people respect. They think … if the 'Thing' can be one of the 'Fantastic Four', maybe there's hope for them. They think, if I can … then they …" Ben looked imploringly at his best friend. "What can I say to these people? What … answer can I give?"

"The truth." Reed said softly.

"What truth? What can I say? I can't write to them, I'm no writer!"

"Why would you need to be? Just say your words in your own way."

"You know, if this keeps up, we're going to have to hire a full time Secretary." Susan pointed out.

"Ooh, can I do the interviews?" Johnny asked enthusiastically, knowing there was no way the others would agree.

Ben reached into the pocket of his robe and handed a letter to Reed. This one was typed, with printed return address and clearly one not written by a child. Reed took it, removed it from its envelope, and opened it. "Mister Benjamin Grimm, Class of 1972…" He read the rest in silence, a silence that filled the room. It was not a long letter, but when Reed met his friend's eyes, there was a wealth of understanding between them.

"Come on, Reed. Don't keep us in the dark." Johnny protested.

"It's from Ben's old Elementary School, inviting him to address the school at an Assembly, date and time to be arranged. Apparently, the Thing is such an 'inspiration' to the students that …"

"… that they want to hear how I do it; how a 'rock' man can gain the respect of the city when a lot of these kids can't even get the respect of their playmates or families. Reed, what could I possibly say to them?"

"Like we said earlier; the truth." Johnny said, surprisingly more serious than any remembered ever hearing him.

"What truth? I can't go out there and tell them everything's okay, because it's not; and they'll see through me in an instant. They know everything's not okay, and nothing that I can say can change that. But what can I do? I can't accept this invitation!"

Susan picked up the paper and stood up, stepping over to the wall mounted telephone. She dialed the number printed on the letterhead while the three men sat staring at her, stunned. "Hello, Dr. Jackson's office? Yes, this is Susan Storm of the Fantastic Four, replying to his letter of the fifteenth. Yes, I'll hold."

"Suzie, what the hell are you doing?" She held up her hand to hush Ben.

"Yes, Doctor. This is Susan Storm… I prefer Invisible Woman, thank you... No problem. I just wanted to let you know that Mr. Grimm would love to speak to your students… I'm sure we can work out a time... Today's Assembly? Two thirty?" She looked at Ben, whose expression had gone from horrified to frantic as he waved her to silence, desperately urging her to Shut Up! "Yes, Doctor. He'll be there... Thank you, Doctor." She hung up the phone.

"Suzie…" Ben said when he recovered his voice. "I can't believe you did that."

"I can." Johnny said. "She calls me impulsive, but when you come right down to it she's the Queen of Impulse."

"Suzie, I just told you I'm not a public speaker. How could you?"

"Ben, they don't want a Public Speaker. If they did, they'd invite the President and he'd have his staff write something meaningful and inspiring for him to say, based on demographics and opinion charts. They want you."

"But I'm not 'meaningful' or 'inspiring'. I'd settle for not insipid. And for this afternoon? How could you do that to me?"

Susan Storm came back to the table and did something she never thought she'd ever do for anyone. She went down on one knee before her friend. "Ben, they want you to talk to them, from the heart. If you want, I'll write something for you, but believe me, you'll get through this. Just be yourself, and remember all those letters."

Looking into her eyes, he knew this was not 'impulse' nor caprice. She knew what he needed even better than he did. But how could he possibly…

"I don't know, Suzie." She took his massive hands between hers, her own seeming so very tiny in comparison.

"Ben, trust me. Just think of the kids."

xxx

There had to be five or six hundred children packed in the auditorium in the basement. Ben Grimm knew every inch of this building; remarkably it had not changed appreciatively in over 32 years. But the auditorium, seen from the wings of the 'stage', seemed both smaller and bigger than he'd remembered it.

The faces, in three decades, were all different, but he could blink his eyes and see the men and women who'd walked these halls and tried to guide him, for better or worse, from age five to thirteen. Now he was back, standing in the wings with his three friends, looking at a man who stood where Dr. Simon Gelsen would have so long ago. Now a new Principal, Hugo Jackson, addressed a new 'class' of young people.

"Our guest this afternoon comes to us at your request." He told them, leading into his introduction. "Over forty years ago, in 1964, he came to us as a student here. Since then, he spent many years in the Air Force and as an Astronaut with NASA. He has been on the news recently in his new role as a member of the superhero team known as the 'Fantastic Four'. Known as the 'Thing', he is Major Benjamin Grimm, United States Air Force; Class of 1972."

Principal Jackson extended his hand, and Ben was unable to take a step. That is, until Reed Richards, standing behind him, gave him a hard push. So massive was he, however, that the force moved him only a quarter inch, but got him to walk out. As he came into view a series of polite applause started, but this faded quickly as the assembled students got a truly good look at him. Ben paused in the silence, looking out at the sea of astonished faces, the entire student body held motionless before him, staring.

Ben looked back at Susan, the hurt in his eyes deeper than she had ever seen in her life, and her own heart fell in sympathy for her friend.

Then, as it became clear that this was, indeed, really the Thing, and not an actor in a mock up suit, the explosive applause and cheers nearly knocked him back, a force in itself. They were on their feet, cheering and screaming with an enthusiasm no adult could duplicate. This time he could not move from the spot he stood riveted upon, but it was not from fear. It was a deep astonishment, awe at the wild, undiminishing response of these hundreds of children going mildly berserk that held him.

Gradually he became aware of Dr. Jackson at his side, and as the man escorted him to the lectern in the middle of the stage, the cheers and applause eventually died down – over several more minutes.

He held the papers Susan had given him, and now carefully spread them on the lighted lectern. They were written in large lettering, hardly more than thirty words to each page, so he could refer to them without looking like he was reading.

"Good afternoon." He said, his amplified voice booming through the room. He lowered his voice a bit, trying to get the feel of the speaker, the lectern, the stage… "I'm Ben Grimm, and I'd like to thank you for inviting me to speak to you today." He went on to the next page as applause and cheers thundered through the room.

"Ever since my friends and I went through a radioactive cloud in space, we have been changed, as you know. One of us can stretch his body beyond anything we've imagined, another can manipulate fire, another can disappear, and I, as you see, have gained enormous strength, but each of us paid a price for our powers. With me, the price is obvious."

Next page. "But I am not here to talk to you about prices, or strength, invisibility, fire, or anything else like that. I'm here to talk to you about pride in yourself, in tapping what's inside you. When I changed outside, I realized there were some things I have inside." Next page. "And what is inside me is not unique – it's what is inside you. It's your strength. Your courage. Your honor. Your belief in the worth of yourself that you want to tap."

Next page. "I -." He paused.

It said 'Tell them from your heart. You can do it. I love you. Susan.'. There was a heart and a pair of lips drawn on the paper as well. He turned to her in disbelief, lost, but she urged him silently, coaxing him. He turned back to the hundreds of waiting children.

"The world…" He improvised, praying for inspiration. "The world may see a monster when they look at my body, but you don't. You didn't when I came out. You've asked how I can fit in when you can't, but there is nothing different between us. I got thrown a screwball, and look like a rock, but I'm the same as you." He looked out at them, and suddenly he did not see a crowd of children. He saw one child seated next to another, and then another, all different, all unique; and all watching and listening intently to him.

"I come from here. I lived on Yancy Street, a quick three block run from here, and believe me I ran it from the bullies a lot of times. I was taught in each of these rooms. I got my knuckles cracked when I was bad. I got detention when the knuckle-cracking didn't work. I got a paddling when I got home, on a butt I wish had been hard as a rock then, but it wasn't…"

In the laughter that followed, Reed Richards, Susan and Johnny Storm watched their friend. He had them, not by being a 'superhero', not by being a 'freak', but by being Ben Grimm.

And by having them know that he was just like them; so they could be just like him.