MARVEL 2000 PRESENTS...

"Genesis" Pt. I
'Destruction of Pittsburgh'
by Jason C. Bruss

#48
Vol. 1

PREVIOUSLY IN FANTASTIC FOUR:
After defeating the Puppet Master and saving Alicia and Alison, Johnny and Benjamin learned that arch-nemesis Queen Invisible is back with a new identity. With the Shadow Queen, the Fantastic Four's troubles are just beginning. Shadow Queen and her trusted assistant Ari have created a clone of Reed Richards, so that he may rule the Shadow Empire at her side.

Shadow Empire Underground H.Q.
Pittsburgh, PA

"My Queen?"

Ari enters the throne room to his beloved Shadow Queen, whom was sleeping peacefully. Ari's skin was dark and his eyes were a soft gray. He slowly moved into the room and placed a hand on his Queen's arm.

Shadow Queen abruptly sat up. She swung her arm out towards Ari; a telekinetic blast slams into the door behind him.

"My Queen, I apologize… but there's something you must know!"

Shadow Queen yawns as she boringly awaits Ari to explain.

"The Fantastic Four have stumbled upon the main tunnel into our headquarters! They will be here sooner than we think!"

Forcefully standing up, Shadow Queen's eyes target Ari.

"Release the Shadow Warriors," she yells.

Ari nods and quickly exits the throne room and heads for his libratory. As he goes to a control panel, he pushes a few buttons entering a precise code. The floor open and a large casket-like container raises from the floor. As the lid opens, Ari looks at a duplicated clone of Reed Richards.

"My greatest achievement… the Fantastic Four can not be allowed to take it away. The years I've spent coming up with just the right chemicals, the right genetic code."

Ari's alarm system goes off and he quickly turns to look at his orbital monitor. His eyes become large in shock as he looks at the monitor. The monitor shows the Earth and Earth's moon and a large mass moving in.

"Oh no… the family is coming."

Ari looks shocked.

Fours Tower
Pittsburgh, PA

"Alicia, where is Johnny and the others? We have to get going."

Pacing the floor, Alison Cory is wearing a short black mini-skirt dress with a diamond necklace. Alicia, wearing a similar dress but in maroon, sits on the chair.

"Don't they realize that they have to be at the send off for the Richards' Orbital Space Station?"

Alicia snickers at Alison's impatient behavior.

"What could be taking them?"

Just Outside of the Shadow Empire Underground H.Q.
Pittsburgh, PA

As a light flickers in the cold dark area, Johnny Storm's right hand generates a flame to light the dark room. Johnny nods to Reed, Ben, and his sister Susan. The four move forward down the dark tunnel. Staying close together to prevent any chance of separation, the murky water splashes against their ankles.

"I don't like this one bit." Sue states.

Reed nods as his right arm extends a ways forward down the tunnel with a device in hand. Ben brings up the rear as Johnny lights up the way.

"I'm with Suzie. It feels like a trap."

"You don't say, Ben?" Johnny replies sarcastically.

Reed's arm returns into 'normal' position as he looks over the results.

"What'd you come up with, Reed?" Sue asks.

"I'm picking up a similar bio-rhythm to ourselves."

"That's impossible, isn't it Stretch?"

Johnny quickly turns to Ben and gives him an evil eye.

"What'd I say?"

"Ben, seriously... You don't say things like that." Johnny declares.

"How come?"

The sound of thunder rumbles throughout the tunnel. The Four are quick to turn to look and see that the tunnel is collapsing behind them.

"Reed! The Tunnel's collapsing..." Sue panics.

The Four quickly begin to run through the murky water as the tunnel behind them collapses. The rumbling fades and the tunnel settles. Reed turns and looks behind them as the dust sets.

"We should be careful. The tunnels appear to be stable but as we just experienced 'looks are deceiving'."

"Right Reed,"

Johnny begins to walk forward and falls through the floor.

"JOHNNY!" Sue yells.

Shadow Empire Underground H.Q.
Pittsburgh, PA

"Where are they, Ari?"

Shadow Queen rushes into Ari's lab. She is nervous about the Fantastic Four being so close to her headquarters.

"I don't think the Fantastic Four is something you should fret about at the moment, My Queen."

"Why is that?" she asks.

"Because there's a bigger threat to your survival, my dear."

Shadow Queen and Ari turn to the unfamiliar voice. A blue energy form of a male steps out of a dark corner. He stands firmly before Shadow Queen and Ari.

"Who are you! How did you get in here?" Shadow Queen questions.

Ari looks down in shame, having been the one to allow Prometheus to enter.

"Ari, Shadow Queen. He is the one that left me into your sanctuary."

"What? Why? Who are you?"

'WARNING! WARNING! INTRUDER ALERT', the computer blares.

"I am Prometheus and I have a mutual dislike for the Fantastic Four also."

Tossing a fireball into the lab, Ari, Shadow Queen, and Prometheus are startled by the Fantastic Four's very own Human Torch.

"Looks like there's a party and I wasn't even invited." Johnny smirks.

"Ari! Alert the Shadow Warriors!" Shadow Queen orders.

Prometheus fires an energy blast at Johnny, just barely missing.

"You missed blue boy." Johnny says burning just above them.

Prometheus smirks and fires another hitting Johnny. Johnny falls to the floor and de-flames.

"It's a shame that it didn't happen again." Prometheus says standing over Johnny Storm.

Prometheus leans down and picks Johnny up as Shadow Queen quickly runs for the door as the Shadow Warriors pile into the lab. Ari quickly lowers the clone of Reed Richards into the floor.

"Where do you think you are going?" Sue says entering with Ben and Reed.

"Susan Storm…" Shadow Queens says in shock.

"That's Susan Richards to you!" Sue says punching Shadow Queen with an invisible fist.

Shadow Queen's body slams into a control panel and she quickly turns to Sue.

"Fool. You can't hurt me anymore than I can hurt you."

Shadow Queen releases a large invisible telekinetic wall into Sue, Ben, and Reed. Reed quickly escapes the blast by stretching to Ari's location. The invisible wall forces Sue and Ben into crashing into the wall behind them.

"Welcome Mr. Fantastic. Prometheus is the name, Eliminating you is my game." Prometheus says releasing an energy blast into Reed's chest causing Reed to not be able to stretch.

"Sue… Johnny… come in from an angle!" Reed orders.

Sue strikes Prometheus from the right with a invisible blast as Johnny comes in from the left with a fiery blast. Ben comes up the middle with a sucker punch.

"Now that's what I call teamwork!" Ben says as Prometheus slams into Shadow Queen.

"My Queen, Prometheus! They have arrived!" Ari yells looking at a monitor.

"Who has arrived?" Sue questions looking around.

Everything begins to shatter and shake. The headquarters begins to come apart. Shadow Queen looks to Ari in confusion, but Prometheus is apparent to know what Ari is speaking about.

"I apologize Fantastic Four that I couldn't have the pleasure of seeing you be destroyed in front of me, but Ari and I have a special appointment to keep."

Prometheus points his right arm to Ari causing him to disappear then he looks to the Shadow Queen.

"I think I'll keep you with me, dear." Prometheus says disappearing with Shadow Queen.

Prometheus laughs as Shadow Queen and himself disappear in a blinding flash, leaving the Fantastic Four in the shaking and rattling Headquarters of the Shadow Empire.

"Reed, what's going on?" Ben questions.

"I don't know, let's get back to Fours Tower. This entire place is coming apart."

As they begin to exit, the ceiling begins to crumble. A piece of the ceiling crashes onto the one control panel and the container with the Reed Richards clone rises from the floor.

"Reed!" Sue says in shock.

"A clone of myself? How unique."

Johnny grabs Reed and Sue's arms, pushing them through the corridor door.

"We don't have time… the whole place is coming apart!"

Johnny flames up and fries the clone. The clone melts right before them as the ceiling collapses in.

Fours Tower
Pittsburgh, PA

"Aunt Alicia! What's going on?" Franklin says entering the room with baby Victoria and babysitter Yoshi.

The entire building continues to shake violently.

"I don't know, Franklin… stay close." Alicia says holding Franklin.

Alison and Yoshi exchange looks as the building continues to shake. In a bright flash of energy, Franklin, Victoria, Yoshi, Alicia, and Alison are gone from sight.

Pittsburgh, PA

Above the city of Pittsburgh, a city sized vessel hovers in the sky casting darkness around the entire city. A bright wall of grayish energy surrounds Pittsburgh's border cutting the city off from the rest of the world. Anyone on the outside is cut off, Once you escape the city… there's no return. It's a one way ticket out with no way back.

The city of Pittsburgh shakes violently. Unstable buildings crumble. Electricity is cut off. The entire city begins to shatter.

"This is a city wide alert!" Mayor Murray's voice is played on the loudspeakers through-out the city. "Evacuate the city!"

NEXT ISSUE: Shadow Queen returns to her roots to save former husband Victor Von Doom from the clutches of a mad man. Prometheus and the Vioxx begin to excavate Pittsburgh for Iron Ore. The Fantastic Four are the remaining citizens of the fallen city except for the dead, will they walk right into Prometheus' trap? Will Mr. Fantastic and Dr. Doom team up to save a race from total extinction... even when that race has killed hundreds and destroyed the city of Pittsburgh?

BIBLIOGRAPHY

-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.

-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.

Reed Richards

Susan

Richards

Johnny Storm

Benjamin

Grimm

Franklin Richards

Victoria Richards

Alicia Masters Grimm

Alison Cory