Part III: Tadarida
Reed awakened to the darkness of the laboratory. The only light shining in the room was the table lamp next to his computer. Drool plagued the side of his mouth and the imprint of his keyboard was quickly starting to fade from his face. How long had he been asleep and why didn't anyone bother to wake him? His half-opened eyes glanced at the computer screen. Current position: Unknown (out of range?). The message exactly the same as the last few months! Glancing at his arm he read the hands on his watch: 1:00AM. "Oh, Jeez," The scientist yawned.
Outside rain poured down hard on the foggy glass window above, when had it stared raining? Rubbing his eyes, Reed shakily climbed out of his office chair and stumbled out of the lab, tripping over his own feet. His lab coat sheltered him from most of the cold air that circulated through the living room as he made his way down the hall to his bedroom. Some sleep would do him some good. Reed stopped mid-way into the hall at the sound of sniffing, his ears raised in alarm at such a sound. Either they bought a dog or Wolverine dropped by. Both was highly unlikely, but Reed left nothing to chance. "Reed?" He whispered into the darkness.
Rustling was his response, it wasn't long until he heard the sound of footfalls heading in his direction. In the bleak night light Reed spotted the faint shade of orange spiky hair that reached his chest. "What are you doing up?" Reed asked the young man. The boy shrugged his shoulders, Reed laughed tiredly in response. "This would so much easier if you had vocal chords," Reed II's hands scratched his itching scalp in frustration. Reed had a point. There was no way he was going to be able to communicate with these stranger if he was not able to speak in their impoverished language. Reed II wore a scowl on his face he folded his arms across his chest as he pondered on solving this problem. "Look, you get some sleep. I'll see you in the morning," Reed grumbled walking away.
A soundless exclamation came from Reed II's throat, he immediately cursed himself and went after the taller man. When he caught up to him, the young man grabbed Reed's gloved hand causing Richards to turn abruptly in surprise. He fought to keep his arm yanking out of the young man's grasp. "Reed, don't do that," Reed whispered harshly, clearly startled. Reed II knew he had no means of expressing to the man what he had in mind. He knew if tried to do so in the dark he would only add onto the tension he felt from Reed. Raising his index finger he pressed it against Reed's forehead, what came next was a surge of invisible energy rushing through Reed II's finger into the scientist.
Reed felt his mind was somehow expanding, he saw the thoughts the young man was projecting to him, things he didn't remember happening after being taking to the Negative Zone. Reed was brought to his knees as if his legs had turned to led. Reed II removed his finger from the older man's forehead; Trepidation reflected through his eyes, had he killed him? Reed's heart thumped loudly in his ears, his vision blurred to the point where he could see nothing beyond his own darkness. His breath was sharp and short. His stomach twisted in knots, his hands clutched the side of his head; The mixed signals in the form of images and jumbled thoughts overwhelmed the scientist, he felt the ground cave in beneath him. Reed's eyes to roll in the back of his head. The next thing Reed II heard was a loud thump on the floor.
"You are not allowed to touch that," Came a voice. Reed and Ben turned their attention away from the nameless machine, to outside of the garage. A young blonde haired girl stood several feet away from them, twirling her pink jump rope effortlessly with one hand. Reed pulled his workshop goggles away from his eyes, resting them upon his head. Ben stared at the small girl in question, slightly intrigued by the sibling dispute about to take place. "Your going to get in trouble," Enid teased.
"Enid, I thought we had a deal?" The tweenage Reed Richards said indignantly. Enid shrugged her shoulders innocently, her curled ended hair falling off her shoulders. "What deal?" Enid asked. "A 'no tell' deal'," Reed answered. He was not going to get in trouble because she didn't feel like keeping her end of the bargain. "Only if you take me with you," Enid replied coolly.
"Enid!" Reed cried in frustration.
"Only if you promise to take me," Enid insisted. "I'm not going anywhere today," Reed snorted, thinking he got the drop on his sister. "I know. When you do," Enid repeated. Reed shook his head in objection.
"No," He said. Enid glared her hardest her annoying brother.
"Then I'm telling," She snapped.
Reed immediately frowned at his sister. "You. Suck," Reed growled. Enid shrugged her shoulders, still glaring at her 'slightly' taller brother.
"Don't swear! Now promise you are going to take me or I'm telling that you swore and that you're using Daddy's things," She sneered. it was no skin off her back if he got in trouble. More TV time for her if anything, she just had share it with Libby now and that was no competition. Reed looked to his friend Ben for moral support, the larger boy just shrugged his shoulders. Scratching the back of his head with hand, Reed let out a defeated sigh.
"Okay! God!" Reed yelled storming away from his sister, his face red with embarrassment. Enid jumped for joy, almost tripping on her jump rope.
"Yay!" She cried in genuine happiness. Reed resumed his conversation with Ben on his nameless machine. Enid jump-roped away from the garage dreaming of space-ships, aliens from another planet, and if Barbie dolls were a crowd favorite there.
Reed awoke with a start, his blue eyes wandered around the room as his body recognized he was lying on his bed, his arm propped under his head. The sun danced through the balcony window curtains, rubbing the sleep from his eyes Reed proceeded to climb out of the bed when something tugged at his right arm.
"Your awake," Reed turned in response to the small excited voice behind him, Sue Storm stared happily at him, this time without her glasses to magnify her large blue eyes. She climbed onto the bed next to him, Reed allowed himself a hug from the woman, tempted to fall asleep right on her. "What happened?" He asked groggily. Sue shook her head uncertain herself, she explained that she found him on the floor unconscious with Reed II standing next to him, terrified.
"I didn't bother to ask him what happened, I just got you into the bed. I figured you fell asleep on your feet, but my gut leads me to think otherwise," Sue said. Maybe. Reed nodded his head understandingly, he had no recollection of what happened to him after Reed II came after him as he stepped into the hall, maybe he did fall asleep on his feet. Anything was possible nowadays.
It was best for Reed to keep an open mind on these kinds of things. "I don't think you'll get much out of Reed now either. If he feels like it he'll come to us," Reed yawned. "I slept well by the way." Sue smiled in response. "Do you plan on locking yourself in the lab again?" The invisible woman asked coyly. Reed shook his head quickly. "I think I need some air, clear my head for a while before going back into that confounded lab again," The man replied.
Sue nodded slowly running her fingers through his hair, she felt him stiffen against her but paid it no mind. Resting her chin on his shoulder Sue glanced up at the pondering man contemplating her next question. "I don't mean to sound brash or anything, Reed, but when can we. . . . you know," Sue's fingers intertwined with his. Reed lowered his head realizing that her hand was on his exposed left hand, panic shivered through his mind; What as he going to do if Sue decided to pay attention to the cracks in his skin?
"Start dating again?" Reed finished. Sue nodded her head quickly, noticing the distress in his voice, maybe asking him that wasn't the wisest idea. "I, um, I guess when I figure this problem out. If ever," Reed answered. Sue rubbed his shoulders reassuringly. "Don't worry, you'll figure it out," She said. Reed allowed himself to grin at her comment, he had forgotten about her unwavering belief in his ability to figure things out. Sliding out her embrace Reed stretched his limbs forward, his hands pressed themselves against the wall. The scientist let out a satisfied sigh.
His arms returned to their normal state, his uniform snaked back down his arms. Sue laughed at his antics climbing off the bed herself. "I'll be in the bathroom. I stink," Reed made a face after smelling his underarms. Sue sauntered up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck. "I dunno, I think you smell very . . . manly," She joked. He rolled his eyes ducking out of her arms, he jogged out of his bedroom into the bathroom. Once finished inside the bathroom, Reed quick to dress himself and head into the living room. Ben was the first to greet him.
"Hey Reed, heard you passed out on the floor," He chuckled in amusement. "Something like that," Reed answered back with a grin. Ben shook his head lifting the news paper to his face. Reed glanced at the front of the newspaper. His eyes caught sight of the headline: "Bizarre Storm Clouds Plague Atmosphere: Has O-Zone finally given up?" His eyes blinked wearily at the headline. Bizarre storm clouds? A faint memory rang in his head, a mixture of red-orange and flashing lights invaded his vision. He shook his head as a dizzy spell fell over him.
Are you all right? Reed turned to meet the worried gaze of Reed II. A spike of pain jolted through his head causing him to tip forward. Your probably not used to that. The pressure in the scientist's head rose like the sign of a headache, his hand instinctively touched the side of his head. I apologize for last night, had I known the connection process would cause such reaction, I would not have attempted to do it. The voice said.
The color in Reed's face drained immensely as he fought to keep his balance. "R-Reed?" He groaned rubbing his head. Ben raised his head in question when he noticed Reed was swaying on his feet, Ben went to his friend's aid. Instead of speaking again the boy nodded his head vigorously, a apologetic smile appeared on his lips. Should I- Reed raised his head, Reed II's mouth formed a straight line indicating he fell silent. "Thank you," He sighed tipping sideways. "Whoa, there egghead, don't go passing out again," Ben threw his friend's arm over his shoulder.
Reed nodded appreciatively to Ben while casting a regarding glance at Reed II. Johnny stepped out of the kitchen followed by Sue, in his mouth resided a large piece of bread clamped between his teeth. ". . . All I'm saying' is Sue, that its none of your business who I'm seeing," Johnny quipped swallowing his food. "What makes you think I care? I just want to know this girl's name," Sue responded hotly.
"I'll spell it out for you Sue: N-o-n-e o-f y-o-u-r b-u-s-i-n-e-s-s," The fiery words hovered in front of her face, Sue formed a shield over the words; they vanished instantly. Johnny grinned and made his way towards his other two comrades, Reed looked to the man with a humored smile. "Hey, Mr. Fantastic's awake!" Johnny cheered jubilantly. "Nice to see you too, Johnny. Did you leave anything to eat?" Reed yawned. Johnny made a short nod. "Yeah, I left a waffle for you," Johnny said, never noticing the death rays Sue was sending in his direction.
Reed's stomach made a loud growl as if it were disapproving with Johnny had said to its owner. All eyes averted to the dizzy scientist. Reed II's eyebrows raised in alarm having never heard that noise before in his time on Earth. He required the simple, but abundant source of light as food. Reed laughed nervously. "I must've gone without food yesterday," He said, hoping no one would chastise him for it.
"No wonder you passed out," Ben chuckled. Johnny wore a careless expression on his face when he clamped his hand down on Reed's left shoulder. "Well it's a good thing I left you something to eat," Johnny said with a sigh. The scientist grunted in surprise sending a short lived glare in the Johnny's direction. His stomach growled again. "Anyway, I'm outta here sticks-in-the-mud," Johnny announced. The Human Torch waltzed over to the young man standing across from the others.
"I've got dibs on the Dali Lama here. We seriously need a new name for him. Reed just sucks," Johnny wacked the young man on his back. Reed II's brow furrowed. What's a Dali Lama? He asked. Reed heard the boy's voice echoing in his head, his brow creased from the pressure he felt in his head. "Don't do that," Reed groaned extending his arm so his hand could touch his forehead. "Do what, Reed?" Susan asked. Reed was quick to realize that none of the others were able to hear this child's voice. "Reed said something to me in my head," He said.
Sue, Ben, and Johnny looked at their comrade like he had grown two heads. "Get out. He did?" The Human Torch said, impressed. Ben removed his friend's arm from around his bulky shoulder. "Did you hit your head, Reed?" Ben scanned the man's head for bumps with his hand. Reed slapped Ben's hand away in irritation, a scowl was now clearly on his face. "No! I just know that I heard him in my head, just now!" Reed snapped. Sue brushed her blonde hair out of her eyes, she pressed her hand on his forehead.
"He doesn't seem to have a fever," She said. "I don't have a fever, Sue. I'm telling you he spoke to me in my head. Did you?" Reed said, his voice cracking from desperation. Reed II nodded his vigorously to the scientist. Johnny cocked his head to the side. "Weirder shit has happened to us. I say Reed is telling the truth. Its not like he lies about weird stuff," Johnny opted. "Its not in his nature." Reed and Sue rolled their eyes in unison at Johnny's comment. "Reed is capable anything, Johnny. Even lying. He just doesn't do it in the straight forward sense," Sue corrected. Reed glanced in the other direction, stuffing his hands into his pockets. He stepped past Ben and Sue into the kitchen, he certainly wasn't expecting them to react to his latest finding like they did.
Reed picked the waffle up off the saucer and chewed large chunks off it until there was nothing left but the crumbs on his gloved hands. Wiping his hands, he began to proceed out the kitchen just as the alarm in his lab caught his attention. The Storm siblings looked on in confusion, Ben and Reed knew exactly what the alarm meant. The two rushed off toward the lab. Sue, Johnny, and Reed II followed after the two men.
Reed jumped into his chair causing it to slide across the room to the computer. With a press of a button the computer screen came to life and showcased information Reed hadn't exactly been searching for. Been came up to his friend's side, his rocky brow creased. "What is it egghead?" He grumbled. Reed didn't right away, his eyes scanned the computer screen intently. "NASA just picked up on something; A storm cloud anomaly forming right above New York," Reed mused. Ben's eyes darted from the computer screen to his friend a couple times in concern. "You know what it is right, egghead?" He said.
Reed looked to Ben, a less than convincing expression replaced the usual confidence Reed carried about himself. "In theory," Reed replied. Ben groaned. They were all doomed if the greatest mind the world was stumped. Dimensional rift between the worlds I believe is what it is, Reed II's voice echoed in Reed's head causing a second bout of dizziness to wash over him. His brown eyes shifted the young man standing in front of Sue and Johnny. Give me a little warning next time, Reed, Mr. Fantastic uttered mentally to the boy. You think this has something to do the I.D.M.?
Reed II nodded his head. Do you remember anything before coming here? Again an affirmative nod, then a shake of the head from the teenager. Reed's eyebrows knitted together in slight annoyance. I couldn't tell you anything because I had no means to communicate with you until now. I'm sorry. I, however, do not know if your machine is causing this disturbance directly.
Reed II had a sort of ashamed look on his face. Reed automatically gave a wave of his hand before being distracted by another alarm, the computer screen turned itself off again. Exhaling in frustration the scientist gave the mouth a simple click and the screen reappeared this time with information for the I.D.M.; Reed's heart skipped a beat.
Label: I.D.M. (Interplanetary Dimension Machine)
ID: #144055910
Current Position: Unknown (Stratosphere?)
Status: On
Energy Level: Low
Condition: Severe Damage sustained
In my world, the laws state that no one is allowed to breech the walls that keep the worlds of the other universes apart from each other, in spite of their speculative awareness of their existence. In the eventuality the walls are breached the dimensions will attempt to repair itself; However, it anything is taken from its natural environment (say, me; a simple creature of a dimension made of dead star matter. A fading light come together after a planet's death to create a storage for the knowledge that will soon be forgotten. I have no actual body. I simply borrowed this form with the use of your DNA) the dimensional walls are unable to repair themselves until that object is returned to its rightful place. I left my world to return you to your rightful place, but I am unable to return as of now.
Should someone actually travel through a dimensional rift when it is open, they are severely effected by the Negative Zone (a sort of gateway entrance to other worlds). Given your altered state you came out of the ordeal partly unscathed. However, you are suffering from a affect caused by your trip through the Negative Zone into my dimension. In other words, you are slowly fading out existence because my dimension was not made to support life such as yours. Your dying much in a way a planet outside my solar system would. Fading out of existence, momentary spasms of pain caused by dying molecules. I'm sure your aware of this?
Reed Richards shrugged slightly. He wouldn't call it aware, but he had a feeling. The boy continued; The storm cloud your NASA detected is another sign the breached dimensional wall has been severely damaged. It will naturally take time to build the strength it needs to unleash the Negative Zone's defense system. If the tear is not repaired and I am not returned to my world, your city will be destroyed. And perhaps things worse than the Negative zone itself will become fully aware of your world if they haven't already. You must act quickly if you are to stop this. Return me to my rightful world and the breech will repair itself.
Reed exhaled and rubbed his eyes, his head throbbed dully as a result of the time Reed II had been in his head speaking to him.
"Reed, you all right?" Johnny asked slapping him on the back. "You like totally blanked out on us. What's going on?" Shaking his head for a moment to clear the dizziness from his head, Reed stood up from his chair slowly. "I think my passing through the space-time continuum, or Negative Zone, might have caused a few problems," Reed said, breaking the silence. Sue's blue eyes widened.
"What do you mean 'caused a few problems'?" When the scientist didn't answer, his teammates grew even more worried.
"Reed?" Reed turned to Ben in response. "Reed tells me that the storm that NASA found is a sign that there's a breech in the dimensional wall that keeps the number of worlds from, I guess being full aware of the other, a sort of safe guard I guess. When I turned the I.D.M. on, something happened. I guess I actually succeeded in opening a path to another dimension, but not in the way I wanted to.
"Reed says that when I traveled to his world I was effected by the Negative Zone - a gateway to other worlds - and things only got worse when I entered his world," Reed allowed himself a breather. Sue, Johnny, and Ben stared at their leader in question, what did he mean? "Effected how?" Sue asked, her eyebrows narrowed. Reed felt his throat tighten at the look Susan was giving him, Johnny just looked confused but equally concerned nonetheless. "Reed?" This time it was Ben. He came up beside his friend. Reed saw no way out of this bind he gotten himself into, he had to show them.
Bringing his left hand from his side, Reed proceeded to pull his glove off his hand. The others watched with anxiety building inside them. Reed's fingers seemed to breathe in the fresh air surrounding them, finally able to breathe past the thick black glove. Johnny stepped from behind Reed II and grabbed Reed's hand gingerly. He felt the palm of his hand along with everything else, but he couldn't see it! Reed's hand was completely invisible. "Whoa, Reed, your like invisib-" That was all that Johnny was able to get out of his mouth before Sue pushed him aside.
Suspecting more, Sue pushed his sleeve up his arm and lifted the elastic fabric of his uniform. Sue bit her lip in way to force back the anger and tears that threatened to overwhelm her good sense. She glanced up at Reed whose expression placid. "Why didn't you tell us?" She asked standing straight again. Thunder rolled in the distance as if it were answering Sue's question, Reed shook his head in honest uncertainty. "I didn't think I think anything of it at first, but then it got worse -." Reed was stopped in mid-sentence by the sound of Johnny's voice. "Sue, Ben, Reed, c'mere, you gotta see this!"
The trio -followed by Reed II- exited the lab and raced into living room. Johnny who stood in front of the television with the remote in his hand. When had he left the lab without their notice? "What is it, Johnny?" Reed asked breathlessly. Johnny took a moment to stare at his leader's left arm, it was still missing from sight. Deciding against commenting on the invisible arm, Johnny turned the volume up.
"If you are just tuning in, we urge you to stay inside if you can. If you must go outside then stay out for as short a time as possible; The weather station as posted a severe thunderstorm warning; Several of our people covering the storm were struck down suddenly and have been confirmed to be dead as a result of a freak burst of electricity from the storm cloud over New York.. Again," Johnny switched the television off with a long whistle.
"Makes for good television if wasn't real," He uttered. Sue slapped her brother upside the head with a scowl; He had a tendency to make jokes at the wrong time. "Well, how are we gonna stop this thing?" Ben asked, uncertainty clear in his voice. "I'm working on it," Reed grumbled stepping away from the others.
He stormed past Reed II heading for his bedroom. Upon entering he walked around his bed and grabbed the wireless phone from off his pillow. Reed exhaled heavily as he dialed his sister's number. He listened the Nokia phone ring. Libby and the folks were still in California, however, there was no way to tell if Enid had left New York yet. His foot tapped rapidly on the floor as the cell phone continued to ring, his brown eyes glanced worriedly out the open balcony window at the gray world outside. A click on the line caused Reed to grasp his wireless phone tighter, he recognized the muffled sounds of the outside world from within a car.
A sigh followed next before the recipient finally spoke. "Hello, Enid Richards speaking," Reed choked up at the sound of his sister's voice; This was no time for second thoughts, Reed sighed inwardly. "Enid, it's Reed," He started. There was a disgusted scoff on the other line, Reed fought the urge to scowl at his phone. "Give me one good reason I shouldn't hang up on you. Aside from this particularly bad weather," Enid said cooly. "Enid, I haven't got time to bicker with you. Where are you?" He asked pacing the room. "I'm heading into Manhattan as we speak. They canceled my flight because of the weather or didn't you notice it was raining outside?" Enid retorted. Reed glanced outside to the balcony.
There wasn't a drop of rain in his area whatsoever. Raising the phone back to his ear he said, "Well, its not raining here. Look, I want you to come here," Enid chuckled on the other line as if she were truly amused by his concern. "Come where? The Baxter Building? No, I'm not stepping foot into that place! I'm not even supposed to be speak-," Reed's teeth gritted as he found himself losing his temper.
"Enid, will you stop being so damn pigheaded and listen to me! Something is happening, something bad. I cannot be worrying about your safety and do something about this problem too!" Reed's face was red with anger from his sister's blatant disregard for her well-being. His arm jerked away from him, another spasm of pain ran up his arm. His eyes glanced downward at his left arm, the arm was flickering like a discharging light. Reed swallowed back a moan of pain rising in his throat. "... Yell at me! You're not my father. I can take care of myself, don't worry about me," Enid's voice slowly registered in his ears. Feeling dizzy, Reed fell back on his bed, the world was spinning above him. "Enid, please. Will you just come to the Baxter Building?" He moaned punching his left arm. "I'm still your brother, I'm still the same ol' Reed Richards. Just physically different. Why can't you see that?"
Enid took her time answering her brother, Reed on the side of his mouth as another spasm of pain shot up his fading left arm. "I know mom and dad raised us better than that, but this is just the way I feel about mutants. I can't say I love you and hate mutants. It's just not practical," End said finally, her voice slightly affliction. Reed shook his head in confusion. "Why can't you?" He asked. Enid sighed in frustration.
"I've talked to you for too long. I've gotta go," Enid turned her cell phone off and proceeded down the road. Reed lay there in his bed staring at the ceiling, a blank expression on his face. Running his hand through his hair, the man sat upright and stared into space unaware of Sue's approaching presence. She stopped before his bed, her eyes blazing with anger. He did not bother to acknowledge Susan until she spoke. "Why didn't you tell me about your arm?" Sue snapped.
Reed exhaled rubbing his forehead in exasperation. "I panicked I guess. I was afraid you'd react the way you are now. I thought it was a hallucination from being fried," Reed ranted. "There were a billion things going through my head, none of them were focused on the dangers of my condition." Sue moved swiftly and was on the bed beside Reed in an instant, she cupped his face in her hands. "It should've Reed," Sue said, her voice carrying the anger. Reed shook his head in uncertainty. He hadn't been thinking with a straight head for the past four months, not since his fight with Enid anyway.
His brow creased at the volume of the thunder in the clouds. When it returned a second time lightening struck the balcony. Reed and Sue lept from the mattress when lightening stuck close to the bed. Instinctively Reed's arms were around Sue who was currently shielding them from the erratic bursts of electricity that attacked them. Outside the lightening raged on, the thunder growing in volume, screaming from outside could faintly be heard. Reed felt his ears ringing as if he were inside a dome, his left arm throbbed with pain as the lightening dissipated. "What is that?" Sue mumbled.
Reed squinted through the illumination of the lightening as it dissipated; In the middle of the balcony resided a crouched figure, obviously male judging by the mass of the body. The couple shared a glance for a brief second before realizing that Sue's shield was no longer around them. Sue let out an alarmed gasp. Reed stared cautiously at the figure crouching across from them, his hand pressed against the ground, his muscles showed through his black body suit. As he rose to the ground the outline of his body became rigidly familiar right down to the way he stood.
Sue's mouth fell open sightly in disbelief, Reed felt as though his legs were going to give out on him. The man's eyes opened revealing two deep brown eyes. On his chest resided the number four crest. His hand raised quicker than the two could regain their composure. They were hit by a force stronger than Sue's offensive shield. Sue was thrown out of the room, Reed collided with the wall. The man grinned satisfied, he stepped further into the room. Reed pulled himself away from the wall ignoring the crackling electricity flowing through his invisible arm. Grunting Reed attempted to move away from the assailant, the man barely watched for a moment then attacked.
His hand was against Reed's throat in an instant. Reed choked as he tired to pry the man's fingers from around his neck. His lungs begged for air and the harder he struggled the tighter his grasp became. Reed felt dizzy and lightheaded, his fingers weren't even prying the assailant's hand from his throat any longer. Through blurred vision he saw the man smile wickedly at his turmoil, Reed could feel his eyes rolling to the back of his head. The man's smile kept getting wider. "Reed!" A gust of hot wind and orange light brought him out of near-unconsciousness, Reed slumped to the floor coughing. The attacker leapt backward over the bed barely scratched by the fire that assaulted his body. Sue promptly dragged her ex-boyfriend out of the room, her eyes barely watching Johnny taunt the attacker. Ben stood out in the hall with Reed II in the crook of his arm.
"Kid alerted us and we came running," Ben grumbled, with apology in his voice. Sue nodded weakly looking over the angry bruise forming on Reed's throat. Johnny took his eyes away from the man standing across the bedroom to glance at his sister. "Sue, if he's here, what the hell is he doing over there," He said in more of a statement than question. "I don't know, Johnny," Sue said, panic stricken. Reed was drawn further out of his semi-unconscious state. He opened his eyes quickly and sat up in spite of his dizziness, he fell back a bit before Sue caught him in her arms. "Don't try to move-," She was cut off by an loud cry from her brother.
Sue jumped from Reed's side just in time to see her brother thrown over the balcony by Negative-Reed. Without a second thought Sue sent forth one of her offensive shields, the man raised his hand and the shield dissipated before it could reach him. He glanced back at her with a look of pure indifference before his hand shout out in front of him. The air before him rippled and Sue was sent flying out of the room the physic force, her back hit the wall hard.
"Suzie!" Large black blotches invaded Sue's vision as she tired to pull herself up off from the ground. Her body wasn't responding to her correctly rendered helpless by the blow it had taken. "Ben, get Reed and Sue out of here," Reed climbed to his feet ignoring the raw pain in his throat, he swayed slightly on his feet swallowing down a wave of nausea.
"No can do Reed, you take care 'em. I'll handle doppelganger in there," Ben set the Reed II down onto floor. He pushed past his friend proceeding into the fray. Reed barely kept his eyes on the two wrestling bodies in his bedroom, trashing his belongings. He grabbed Sue up from the floor. The woman did not retaliate against his helpful hand though she was caught slightly off guard by his unseen limb grasping her left arm, the boy lead the two of them down the hall into the living room. Reed's ears rang painfully with each blow Ben's enormous body made to whatever part of the bedroom that was being destroyed. There were going to be remolding bills the size of Rhode Island when all this was through.
Where are we going? The boy's non-voice sent a child down Reed's spine. Again, give me a little warning next time. Were going outside, if we stay in here, there are plenty people that are going to get hurt. Reed replied glaring. The boy nodded his head in half-apology. The tiro continued out of the living room into the long narrow hall. Sue was quickly regaining her senses through the fog of her headache and pain, she looked to Reed who seemed to focus on nothing but getting out of the Baxter Building. Reed II lead the way down the hall, thankful he had memorized the way out of the large building.
They opted to take the stairs instead of the elevator. The trip was a rough one for the couple, Reed II levitated himself down the stairs with little strain on himself. "Where's Johnny, where's Ben?" Sue murmured shaking her hair out of her face.
"Ben's a bit preoccupied, I haven't the foggiest idea where your brother has gone," He replied, his voice raspy. Sue feared the worse for her brother the closer they got to the bottom floor. Reed II lead them out of the stairway, Sue squinted at the harsh bright lights of the lobby floor. The employee at the door was nowhere to be found to Reed's delight. His throat was not up to explaining the situation the overly-friendly man.
The tiro exited through the doors in haste. Reed's gaze cast upward at the black sky. It illuminated briefly with lightening, Reed steadily noticed an even darker spot in the clouds forming of a large black hole. Sue glanced around their environment, there was not a trace of a person anywhere. "Where is everyone?" Sue whispered. She looked to Reed who promptly shook his head, uneasiness was quick to swell in his mind as his brown eyes ventured across the area. "They might've heeded the newscasters's warnings, or got caught in the ripple effect from the storm funnel up there," Reed rambled.
Sue gave him a regarded look, what was he talking about? "Ripple effect?" She repeated. Reed nodded his head as they proceeded across the empty street, their footsteps barely echoed in the storm induced night. Reed II followed quickly behind the two adults, he was unable to shake the bad feeling rising within in his spark.
"Yeah, um, when negative electrical charge is set off by the tear in the Dimension, a funnel is created, a sort of bridge between worlds. And when the funnel travels downward it sorta disperses a ripple effect that destroys or transports anything organic given how close you are to it," Reed said slowly. He was huffing by the time they got across the street. Sue eased her arm from around his shoulder and gently forced him to the ground to allow himself a breather.
Sue stood by his side with her hand on his shoulder, while her eyes continued to wander the dark and gray world around them. She's very tentative towards you. Never does she behave in such a manner toward her brother or Ben. Why is that? Reed II's voice caused another spell of dizziness in Reed's head. The older man looked toward the orange-haired boy with a puzzled gleam in his weary brown eyes. Aren't there women in your dimension He asked. Reed shook his head firmly. Like myself, my people have no gender. The means of reproduction of is useless to us. Dying planet matter travels to our dimension, thus creating a new life form without the trouble of intercourse. She's tentative towards you because of your gender?
Reed II said. Reed shook his head quickly growing red in the face. No, no! We used to be involved with each other in collage; We dated for a while and broke up because Sue was ready to move forward and I simple wasn't ready to take that next step. She's told me on several occasions that she still loves me. I guess she's got a little more patience this time 'round. Reed sighed holding his head in his hands. Forgive me, I've asked too many questions. The boy said quickly. Reed told the boy it was nothing but an side affect from being choked. Reed II nodded his head and ventured down the sidewalk in caution. "Where could Johnny have gone off to?" She mumbled. Reed glanced at his friend noting the concern in her voice, he feared that Johnny was caught in the funnel's ripple effect. Swallowing he grasped Sue's hand. "Sue, give me a hand will you?" He said barely above a whisper.
Sue grasped his right arm, she could see the angry bruise around the scientists neck beginning to dissipate. Reed stood with ease, he sent an thankful nod in her direction.
"C'mon, we'll go look for him," He whispered walking past her. Sue followed after the leader down the dark path of the sidewalk, she watched his slightly sagging shoulders, her mind wandering to her brother. The silence between them was interrupted by the sound of shattering glass, the duo looked upward in time to see Ben's body plummeting quickly to the ground. A thunderous boom followed his crash to the ground, the concrete beneath him cracking.
Reed's mouth dropped open at the sight of his friend's rocky body, smoke rising from Ben's body. "Ben!" He shouted rushing forward, his pain forgotten. "Reed, stop!" Sue cried out after the man.
Reed crouched down beside his unconscious friend, his hand reached to touch Ben. His arm went rigid, another spasm of pain and electricity ran up his arm paralyzing him. Reed cried out clutching his arm. Negative-Reed landed behind scientist. Reed turned his head in response, gritting his teeth against a howl of pain rising in his throat. Negative-Reed looked more or less exactly like the Reed crouched on the ground.
The only way Sue could tell them apart was the black uniform Negative-Reed wore, the more defined white hair on the side mixed into brunette, and a much more worn and angry expression. His eyes were heavily underlined by dark circles. Sue looked between the two in shock. Ben had not moved since Reed had reached him, Johnny was missing and Negative-Reed was sure to kill her Reed if she didn't do something quick.
Negative-Reed looked about him landing on the ground, he seemed genuinely amazed by the world around him. "And here I thought I had gotten rid all my other selves and their teams," Negative-Reed sent a glance in Sue's direction. The woman shuddered when his tongue slid across his mouth. "I suppose I can be wrong. This one time," The man raised his hand, Reed watched his doppelganger's hand form itself into a spear like instrument. Reed felt his heart stop in his chest as the doppelganger brought his sharpened arm on him, his arm shot from behind him wrapping itself around Negative-Reed's waist.
The man grunted as he was taken high into the air by his double, did he honestly think he couldn't reach him from above? Negative-Reed's arm shot out aimed straight for Reed, Sue raised a shield around her two friends. Reed flinched when the point collided with the invisible shield, his heart pumped wildly in his chest. Sue put a shield around herself when she saw the man glance in her direction, beads sweat were already forming on her forehead. Negative-Reed let out a cry of surprise when he felt himself jerked violently to the left, with all the strength in his elongated arm Reed sent his alternate self higher into the air. Negative-Reed soared high above the city buildings, the hot air flowing around him, he stared down the world below with a sardonic grin.
Reed's hand retracted to its normal form, he groaned, the pain in his arm was steadily subsiding. "Oh, what hit me?" Ben's voice's wanted to make Reed hit his friend himself, the blood rushing from his head was deafening. "Ben, are you all right?" Reed asked. Ben groaned some more as he was helped off the ground by his flexible friend. Ben rolled his eyes, he was the exact opposite of all right. "I feel like I got hit by a Mack truck. Is that all right?" Ben snapped rubbing his chest. "I suppose not," Reed answered dumbly. Ben forced himself not to roll his eyes for a second time, he hadn't expected Reed to answer him.
Mr. Fantastic's eyes stared upward; The dark clouds seemed to be pushing themselves downward toward them. Something wasn't right with any of this, where was Reed II and Johnny? Reed took a look behind him, Sue was missing as well. "Ben, we have to get moving before. . . .," Reed trailed off when he felt the weight under his finger vanish. His head snapped around, Ben was no longer in his grip or anywhere within his area. Okay, something was is right. Reed felt the harsh wind push against his body, the hairs on his neck stood upright.
There was no point standing in once place waiting for whatever snatched Ben, Sue, and Reed II. Pulling the collar his dress shirt closer to him, Reed jogged down the sidewalk whenever he paused in his walking. He had walked down the sidewalk until he was right under the forming funnel. Reed felt a small spike of pain run up his arm; Closing his eyes for a minute he heard a voice cry out to him. "Reed!" He turned to look behind him, his breath was caught in his throat when he spotted Johnny flying overhead of a running woman. "Enid . . .," He whispered.
Johnny lowered himself to the ground in front of Reed, his flame vanished in an instant. To say the least the younger was not happy. "Johnny, where did you go?" Reed blurted. "Dude I dunno, I was falling out of the window. I fly up to the balcony and wham! Nobody's even in the Baxter Building! Next thing I know I'm standing outside and she's running toward me. . . . its very confusing," Johnny replied. Reed's brow creased in concern.
"Where's Sue, Ben and the kid?" Johnny said quietly. Enid slowly came up beside Johnny hesitant to even stand beside him, Reed's brow creased in confusion. "I don't know. One minute there next to me, the next their not. I think the dimensional tear has something to do this. Its distorting time placement or something," Reed answered. Enid shot a weary glance at her brother, her hands stuffed in her undone trench coat, Reed ignored her and kept his attention focused on Johnny. "Have you seen your double?" Johnny said, his eyebrow raising.
Reed couldn't help but smile. "Last I checked he was up there," He answered. Johnny scratched his head in response. "Hurry up , don't fall behind,"Reed gestured for the two youngest to follow him, Johnny sighed half in dismay and half-surprise. He gave Enid a sort of a charming grin. So this was Enid, Reed's baby sister.
"C'mon, uh, Enid. Don't fall behind. You might disappear," Johnny joked. Enid went rigid at the thought of vanishing like her rental car had when she stepped out. She rushed over to Johnny's side and clutched his arm to ensure that she wouldn't vanish without his knowing. She watched Reed stride across the sidewalk, on alert, his shoulders slouched. They traveled as far as the east end street, a raised hand from Reed stopped them from proceeding. Enid clutched Johnny's arm harder, Johnny sent the woman another charming smile; If he had known Reed's sister was so blonde and cute to boot, he would've been a lot nicer on his birthday all those years ago.
"What is it?" Enid spoke finally. Reed turned his head to the side, his eyebrows knitted together, worry lines more visible in his face. Pushing aside his personal feelings aside, Reed answered, "I heard something," Reed replied. Thunder rumbled above them, lightening illuminated the black clouds for a brief second. Reed could clearly see the funnel was making its way down right over top them. "I saw that when I fell out the window," Johnny said suddenly.
Reed's eyebrows raised in alarm his head whipped in the direction of his comrade. "You did? What does it do?" This could properly prove his theory and the vanishing act Sue and Ben pulled. Johnny shook his head in uncertainty, he wasn't sure how describe what little he saw when the funnel spectacle materialize in the middle of the street. "I'm not sure exactly, while I was falling I could see it, you know? A lot people were screaming, then one second they weren't, you know, like someone put 'em on pause or something," Johnny rambled on quickly.
"I saw a lot of light and then nothing. Just silence." Pause. "Are you getting all this? Because I'm not sure if-." Reed raised his hand promptly silencing the young man. He stared up, the clouds were getting thicker and closer to the cluster of buildings surrounding them. "If you what you say is true Johnny, I suggest we get out of here," Reed said. "Oh, right," Johnny muttered, bolting into action. Reed followed after him before skidding a halt, Enid wasn't following them. Without uttering a world Reed grabbed the girl by the wrist and bolted down the sidewalk after Johnny. Enid's stomach twisted in knots as she fought the urge to pull her hand from her brother's elastic grasp. Her short heels made running difficult for her, her foot would occasionally bend to the side.
Out of the black clouds above them sprouted a specter of light the side of the very buildings of NYC, larger than the streets itself; It came down in a spiral motion. The massive force crashed to the ground, Enid felt her blonde hair suddenly surge upward, the ribbon in her hair tugged violently out its pony tail. Reed felt his arm being yanked upon, his snapped in the direction of his sister who's feet are barely touching the ground now, his eyes wandered to the large and expanding funnel behind them.
Enid was terrified to say the least, her feet weren't on the ground, her fingers were easily sleeping from her brother's hand. Reed felt her hand slipping from his grasp, he had little time to call out to Johnny who was steadily leaving his line of sight. Swallowing his panic Reed extended his arm towards a shuddering street light, his hand grasped the metal cylinder tightly. He was surprised to find his left arm still stretched, even now in its unstable state. Enid's fingers were barely hanging onto his own now, Enid's other hand grasped at his dress shirt desperately. His shoes slid across the ground, he grunted in alarm as he tried to pull himself and his sister towards the street light.
Enid gasped when her brother's arm wrapped around her waist and pulled her close to his body without much struggle. Enid wrapped her arms around his neck in fear, his discernment forgotten. Johnny was now gone from sight, there were no other places aside from the next street light ahead of them and that didn't look ready to come out of the ground. Enid's hitched breath tickled the side of his Reed's neck, briefly distracting him from their predicament. He glanced down at his sister who's gaze currently was on his chest.
Swallowing the nervous feeling fluttering inside him Reed removed his hand from his sister's waist, and extended forward. His hand latched onto the side of the building, Enid's grasp tightened on him when she felt his body surge forward. Reed grunted in exhaustion when his shoulder bumped against the wall his hand clutched to, his heart rate slowed at the sensation of the strong pull of the funnel dying out. Enid's grip, however, was no lighter when a horrible screech, louder than anything Reed had heard before, echoed out from behind them. There was a slight pull on his body, Reed felt dizzy with confusion. What was going on? Reed, you've returned! The familiar voice of Reed II caught the older man's attention. His brown eyes focused on the lanky figure standing some distance away from Ben and his other self, who were locked in combat.
Reed watched slightly as N-Reed round housed his friend, sending the larger man stumbling backward. When did I leave? Where'd you go? Reed retorted, his head throbbing. We did not go anywhere. After you helped Benjamin off the ground, you vanished as if- Enid's ear piercing scream blocked the boy's voice out of Reed's head causing him to glance in the direction his sister was screaming at. Reed felt his legs weaken at the sight of a monstrous creature -taller than most of the buildings surrounding them- made its way down from the sky. The lower body was modeled much like a human, strongly defined muscles in is arms and abdomen that was attached to serpents tail. Claws sharper than steel shot from its three fingers, deadly scales sticking out all over its back. A head shaped like a monitor lizard, green eyes that gleamed through the darkness. A majority of its fangs rested outside its mouth covered in sticky white foam.
It was an fierce looking creature. It landed like a body belly-flopping into the water, the street cracked underneath its excessive weight. The Behemoth; The N-Zone's first defense. Reed II's voice echoed again in Reed's mind. Enid screamed in pure horror when the creature turned its head in their general direction, it bellowed as if in response. Reed tried to keep her still, her arms removed themselves from his neck and she pounded furiously at her brother's chest until he could actually feel it. There was no point in trying to tell her to calm down, Reed released her and the girl dashed down the sidewalk screaming her head off. Reed go after her! The scientist yelled in the boy's mind. Reed II nodded his head and chased after the woman.
Negative-Reed shifted his head in response, his pale brown eyes watching Enid running for dear life. Ben smashed the double into ground with all his strength, his body was aching. Actually hurting from the relentless beating he got from Negative-Reed! "Ben, where's Sue!" Reed's voice caused The Thing to glance upward his tired friend. His non existent ears perked up at sound of fire burning overhead. Johnny sent a barrage of fire balls in the monster's direction when it tired to advance on the unsuspecting Ben.
"Where's my sister, Ben!" The young man shouted lowering himself close to the ground. The monster swatted Johnny out of the air, the Human Torch crashed through a office building window with a cry of pain. Johnny tumbled in a circular motion through the empty office until he was stopped by a wall. Johnny felt his head spinning like he had been thrown from a merry-go-round. His body refused to move, his eyes widened, the monster's snout smashed through the structure of the building barreling its way toward him. I'm done for! Torch though frantically, his breath caught in his throat.
Johnny let out a fear-stricken cry of pain as the creature's jaws closed in around him. His eyes squeezed shut tears running freely down his face. A minute past, Johnny became aware of grunting other than his own. Opening his eyes he let out a gasp of surprise; the monster's mouth was open above him, its spit drooling down the side of an invisible barrier. "Sue?" Johnny shouted, overjoyed.
Sue materialized beside her brother, her hands outstretched. When had she gotten here? Johnny thought in astonishment. The monster glared at her through its narrowed green eyes. "Get up Johnny, I can't hold him forever," She grunted. Johnny nodded slowly, his legs ached in protest when rose slowly to his feet, he swayed a little to the right as he made his way past his sister. The green-eyed monster hissed at the blonde before him; He knew she didn't have the strength to hold his jaw in such a position. Moving as fast as she could, Sue followed behind her brother sweat pouring down her forehead.
The two reached the edge of the hole in the building, Johnny looked around for a safe place to land, he grunted in surprise when his sister jumped on his back. "Sue are you crazy?" He yelled. Sue placed a shield over herself in the shape of her body, she swallowed roughly when she felt her shield around the monster's snout failing. "Just hurry up and get us out of here!" Sue snapped, letting out a sigh. Johnny jumped from the building in a nose dive crying, "FLAME ON!" Sue gasped at the sudden combustion that swallowed her brother whole, she focused all her energies on keeping her shield up around her.
Johnny flew at top speed as the creature came after them, throwing all its body weight forward for momentum. Its jaw snapped at their heals for but a moment before being forcefully closed. Sue looked behind her and discovered Reed had wrapped himself around the jaws of the monster, her heart skipped a beat when the beast attempted to scratch him off his face. A gasp from Johnny caused Sue to turn her attention to world ahead of her, she too let out a involuntary gasp of surprise.
"What the hell?" Johnny uttered as he brought himself to a halt. Sue wrapped her legs around Johnny's waist and kept her arms firmly around his neck. How on God's green earth had they ended up in the middle of the ocean? "We're in serious trouble," Johnny muttered. More than serious, little brother, Sue thought, her brow creasing with distress.
(TBC)
Authors note: The majority of things mentioned in this chapter about the N-Zone are purely made up by moi, the writer.