MARVEL 2000 PRESENTS...

"Shadows Emerge" Pt. I
'Shadow of a Puppet'
by Jason C. Bruss

#46
Vol. 1

Fantasticar
Above Montana, U.S.

"It's been quite the comfortable ride, dear..." Susan Storm-Richards informs her husband as she sits comfortably back in a leather revolving chair looking down towards the great mountains of the state of Montana.

"Yes, I'm quite pleased with the outcome of this new version of the Fantasticar. The X-MEN have the Blackbird, The Avengers have the Quinjet, and we have the Fantasticar." Reed remarks.

As the Fantasticar jets through the skies over Montana, a dark cloud is not far off in the horizon. Sue holds her daughter tightly, making faces and being playful. Sue's acts bring laughter, giggles, and smiles from the littlest of the Richards' Clan.

"Dad, look at that cloud!" Franklin shouts with excitement bouncing out of his seat.

"Franklin, sit down please." Yoshi, the young Asian babysitter for the Fantastic Four says from her seat.

"But look at it, Yoshi! Look at it!" Franklin replies excitedly.

Reed pilots the Fantasticar towards the cloud and looks back to his excited young son. The excitement from his son reminds him of his own excitement for such an event when he was younger. Events like this were indeed 'fantastic'.

"We'll be entering that cloud shortly, Franklin." Reed informs his son.

Sue and Yoshi exchange smiles, confident that the storm cloud will prove nothing less than a few bumps with Reed piloting the Fantasticar.

Fours Tower
Pittsburgh, PA

"Johnny 'MATCHSTICK' Storm! You left your G.D. porn in the DVD Player!"

Benjamin Grimm. The Fantastic Four's one and only Thing. He was the first to find out about Johnny Storm's bi-curious lifestyle, but he's definitely seen more than he's wanted now.

"Oh please, It's not like you've never seen something like that before..." Johnny replied walking into living room quarters of Fours Tower.

"I'm goin' to clobber ya if I see something like it again!" Ben threatens tossing a pillow at the blonde haired Johnny.

Ben grabs the photo album from Johnny's arms. And before Johnny can get it back, Ben opens it up and begins flipping through the pages.

"Lyja and Crystal? Are you having a trip down memory lane of the ex-wives club?" Ben jokes.

Johnny flips off his sandals and flops down next to Ben on the couch.

"No, I was just doing some thinking lately."

Ben continues flipping through the photo album. He comes across several pictures of the Fantastic Four, even a baby Franklin.

"You know, Matchstick, despite your ability to be a human torch... at least your not a flamer." Ben jokes handing the photo album back and getting up from the couch.

"Hey!" Johnny yells tossing a pillow at Grimm.

"Well, it's the truth." Ben says leaving the room.

1st National Bank of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

"I appreciate you coming with me today, Alicia. I had the most fun shopping with you." Alison Cory informs Alicia Masters-Grimm.

Alicia smiles as they wait in line at the bank.

"If this teller doesn't hurry up, We are never going to be able to hit up some of the outlets." Alison remarks.

Men enter the bank from the back with loaded weapons.

"EVERYONE ON THE GROUND!" the ringleader yells, carelessly swinging a gun around.

As Alicia and Alison drop to the ground, Alicia pulls out a small '4' alert communicator. She taps it.

"NOBODY MOVES, NOBODY GETS HURT!" another man yells.

Fantasticar
Seattle, Washington

"Well, that was an uneventful flight." Reed says as the Fantasticar's hover engines begin to tone down.

"Personally, with our lifestyles, I'm thankful for an uneventful flight." Sue says as she places Victoria in a stroller.

"Oh Sue, where's your sense of adventure?" Reed jokes.

Yoshi follows behind Franklin.

"Can we get to the boat already? I want to see the ocean!" Franklin says with excitement.

"Soon, Franklin. It doesn't take off for another hour." Yoshi replies.

Reed kisses Sue and then smiles to Yoshi's response to Franklin. Franklin Richards' desire for adventure and excitement for learning reminded him so much of himself. Reed grabs his cane from inside the Fantasticar and looks to his beautiful blonde wife.

"Shall we embark on our journey?" Reed asks.

"Indeed. Lead the way." Sue replies sarcastically.

Reed pulls out a small remote and with the tap of a button, the Fantasticar locks up like fort Knox and cloaks.

"We are off."

"...off to see the Wizard, the wonderful Wizard of Oz!" Franklin sings as he skips ahead.

"I don't know Sue, maybe our son is spending too much time with your brother."

A laugh and smile burst from Sue as they all walk towards the dock.

1st National Bank of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

"Until the city meets our demands, We are going to kill one person per hour. Starting with you..." the man says grabbing Alicia and pulling her close.

"No!" Alison Cory yells grabbing Alicia and pulling her from the clutches of the armed gunman.

"Stupid Bitch!" the man says slapping Alison across the face with enough force to knock her to the floor. He holds Alicia again.

"You don't watch your mouth, I'll put a bullet in your friend's head here just to teach you a lesson."

Alison sits against the wall holding her face. Not sure what her next move should be...

Outside - 1st National Bank of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

"--a hold of the Swat Team. Hurry, Officer!" the Police Sgt. orders.

"What's going on, Officer?" Johnny Storm asks.

"The Fantastic Two?" the Police Sgt. questions only seeing the Torch and the Thing.

"Well, yeah, Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman are on assignment. What's going on, Navy?"

The Police Sgt.'s eyes perk at Ben referring to him as 'navy', but quickly gets back to the real problem.

"Armed Gunmen have taken hostages inside. We're not sure how many hostages there are. How did you know about the situation?" the Sgt. questions.

Ben's rocky exterior appears to stretch as he takes a deep breath awaiting Johnny's answer.

"We believe friends of ours might be in there. We got an emergency transmission from the Thing's wife. The location of her alert communication led us here. With the current situation, It's a pretty sure bet she's inside." Johnny states.

1st National Bank of Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh, PA

The armed men stand idly by as a short man in a dark cloak walks into the main corridor of the bank. He looks around and sees the hostage as they have picked.

"Excellent Choice, Boys." the man says quietly, "The Queen shall be pleased."

Alison and Alicia exchange glances at hearing the reference to "The Queen".

"Sir, What is our next directive?" an armed man asks.

Before the short cloaked man can answered, a female figure walks in. She also wears that of a cloak, but it's white with golden lining. The short man looks to her immediately and does not waste time answering the question.

"Shadow Queen, welcome." the short man states.

"Save it, Puppet Master. Alicia Masters-Grimm. The Fantastic Four's ally. Oh, what a wondrous prize this is also. Alison Cory. The reporter whose entire career has become shadowing the Fantastic Four."

Alicia quietly questions, "Step-Father?"

"Yes, My dear. It is I, the Puppet Master."

"Enough, We have little time to waste. The Thing and The Torch are both outside along with the meaningless Police Force of the City. You know your assignment, Puppet Master. Do not fail me." Shadow Queen says before fading in a blinding flash of golden light.

"And now... the real fun begins." Puppet Master chuckles.

NEXT ISSUE: The mysterious Shadow Queen has emerged, with the Puppet Master at her side. And now that he's alive, what exactly does the Puppet Master have to do with the Shadow Queen? Can the Torch and the Thing save Alicia and Alison before it's too late?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

-Yoshi was introduced as Franklin and Victoria's new babysitter in Fantastic Four #45.

-Reed Richards' has been recovering from a stroke for a few months after the battle with Doom. He has mostly recovered other than a lack of strength in his 'left' leg.

-Alison Cory was a reporter for the New York Times and witnessed the story of a lifetime when Victor Von Doom had taken the Mayor of New York City hostage and the Fantastic Four came to the rescue but at the cost of Reed's stroke. She threw away the story and assisted the Fantastic Four to taking Mr. Fantastic to the Avengers Mansion.

-The 4 are all joint owners of Club 4 in downtown Pittsburgh, Reed and Sue being the major share holders. The 4 (along with Franklin and Victoria Richards, Yoshi and Alicia Masters-Grimm) reside in Fours Tower, a newly built 21st Century tower in downtown Pittsburgh.

-The Puppet Master (along with most of the Fantastic Four Rogue Gallery) was believed to be killed by Dr. Doom during the explosion of the Titan Tower. See Fantastic Four #42

-Crystal Maximoff (The Inhuman) was the first person Johnny revealed his bi-curious tendencies too.

Reed Richards

Susan

Richards

Johnny Storm

Benjamin

Grimm

Franklin Richards

Victoria Richards

Alicia Masters Grimm

Alison Cory

Puppet Master

Shadow Queen