April 2029
Isolation.
From the rest of the world.
No alien microbes. Reed's decontamination procedures were off the charts, so both his crew and the ship, and the world itself, were safe from any biohazards. The forms of matter and energy they were blasted with were not dangerous or radioactive, and the energy did not affect anyone, no secondary exposure.
Until they could figure out what to do with their powers, they'd be stuck in the Baxter Building. But what was there to do if you were stuck in a building with four floors plus an observatory at the top?
"Morning… ughh.." Sue groaned, getting up, finding herself face to face with the RX-78 model her boyfriend had in their room. She looked to her left, Reed next to her, having already woken up.
"Morning, Sue," he greeted, stretching his arms out, which extended, almost hitting the ceiling before retracting it.
Getting off the bed and out of the room, they saw Johnny, his hair disheveled and messy, who yawned and stretched his arms out, and Ben, who just groggily walked past them, as they made their way into the living room.
"Uhhh, that was a good night's sleep," said Johnny, before his sister lightly elbowed him, gesturing him at Ben with her eyes, who had a large frown on his face. Reed passed the orange rock creature, who glared at him sharply. Reed glanced at him, feeling guilt over what happened.
"Ben, I-" Reed attempted to put his hand on Ben's shoulder when the gesture was swiftly rejected.
"Forget it," he sighed, maintaining distance from the genius. Sue made her way to the kitchen, ready to prepare breakfast. She looked at whatever ingredients were available, noting a large packet of rice, garlic, and longganisa (that;s like a Spanish sausage).
"Another package from Moy," she rolled her eyes, pouring uncooked rice grains into a cup, and readying the rice cooker that Moy had gifted her boyfriend, as Reed and Johnny approached her.
"We're willing to help," her brother stated.
"No thanks, I can do it myself," she said. "Until we get a grip on our powers, I think only I should cook." Reed nodded in agreement. The two made their way out of the kitchen as Sue continued to prepare breakfast. Within thirty minutes, she was done, setting up the dining table, placing down a plate of omelette, a bowl of garlic rice, a plate of longganisa, bacon, and pancakes, as well as two mugs of coffee, one of which had planets on it.
"Alright, let's eat," said Johnny, who quickly grabbed a piece of longganisa. Ben reached out for the pancakes, and Sue handed it to him. Reed stretched his arm out for the garlic rice, the bowl almost slipping as his arms were like water. He then reached out for the longganisa and omelette, after which they started eating.
For a while, they were silent, thinking about the events of yesterday, which still shook them to the core, and what to do next.
Well for Reed, being the hypermind he was, his mind buzzing with billions of thoughts, figuring out what exactly their powers were and how they worked was the top priority. Then he'd process the findings of the mission into a series of papers, after which he'd reveal their discoveries to the world.
As for Sue, it was making sure that everyone was okay, including herself. These new powers were something, so she strived to be a fixed point for everyone.
Johnny, well, he was still in disbelief over his new powers. He was like the Human Torch of old! He couldn't wait to stretch his legs, fly, shoot flames, and become even cooler than he was!
As for Ben, nothing but anger and resentment. He was a hunk, an all American hunk, and suddenly he gets turned into this rock monster?! His best friend should have listened to him, look what's happened now.
They continued to eat in silence, when Johnny tried to say something.
"So, uh…."
"Yeah…" he put his index finger up, then it went down.
"What do you guys wanna talk about?"
"Just me, then. Oh, well. Well, I-" he wasn't gonna talk to Ben, he was definitely still bitter about yesterday. Sue wasn't in the mood either, and Reed was just staring at his food, chewing.
"Reed, what are you thinking of?" No response, he was lost in his thoughts at the moment.
"Reed?" Johnny asked. Sue cleared her throat.
Reed responded, "Uh, nothing much. Trying to figure out how my powers work. Apparently, it's elasticity, but I'm trying to figure out what exactly my bulk and Young moduli are, basically how much my body would change when compressed or stressed. As it turns out, I can easily change both of those, like I can be fluid or solid. How that works, I don't know."
"At least ya got the long end of the stick," Ben grumbled.
"You know what, I think we should change topics," intervened Sue, sensing the tension between the two.
"I'm done with my breakfast, I'll be at the Biophysics Lab," said Reed, sipping the last of his coffee. He got up the table and placed his plate, spoon, and fork in the sink, almost losing grip at one point.
"Good coffee, Sue." She nodded back.
Sue entered the biophysics lab. It was relatively dark, as there were plenty of holograms and biometrics, as well as various scanners, handheld and not. The holograms displayed biological information, sometimes showcasing diagrams and schematics, one showing a 3D model of a human, others showing close-up or microscopic views of a specimen, in this case, Reed's. One of them showed his tissues stretching in the middle of the room, another showed blue and white strings stretching. There was also a small room that served as a testing chamber, pitch black, with various checkered lines, communication equipment on the other side of it.
Reed was sitting down on one of the chairs, near one of the control panels with lots of microscopes on it, stretching his right arm, a small, handheld scanner in his left, analyzing the way it stretched.
"What are you doing, Reed?" asked Sue, noticing the hyperfocused Reed watching his arm stretch while looking at the scanner, then proceeding to look at the holograms in front of him. For a few minutes, no response, then he replied.
"Trying to analyze what exactly are our new abilities. So far, I can't exactly figure out how my powers work. I've done some tests, though I suppose I haven't done initial scans." I still haven't been able to figure out how my body works, though it's by no means conventional physics."
"Conventional physics?"
"The wormhole revealed an astonishing amount of physics, which honestly I still cannot make sense of even as of now. Conventional physics, aka all that we knew before the wormhole, cannot explain how my powers work."
"Well, I'm just checking on everyone, seeing how they're doing. You good?"
"Yeah. Arms up."
"Why?"
"Gonna scan you to see how your powers work." Sue put her arms up to her sides in a T-pose, as beams emanated from the scanner and scanned her body.
"My turn," said Reed. He stretched his arm to give her the scanner, which she then used to scan him.
After taking a brief glance at the results of the scan, scrutinizing them in great focus, his eyes widening to further analyze them, he asked Sue, "Call Ben and Johnny, it's time to see how we all tick."
Meanwhile, in the living room, Johnny Storm sat down bored, the table in front of him full of a bunch of old Human Torch and Invaders comics. On the couch, Ben lay down and snored, one hand out open. Seeing a dustpan on the table, a pie he was eating, and a can of whipped cream, Johnny had a bright idea. He grabbed the can, smelled it, opened his mouth, and sprayed some into it.
He briefly savored the treat, before sneaking over to the couch, where he carefully sprayed whipped cream on Ben's hand, then gently brushed his face with a duster. He tried to dust the nose and side of his face, but to no effect. He then turned it upside down, using the handheld end to brush on his face. Ben's free hand moved up to swat whatever was on his face, not a fly, definitely. After another attempt, Johnny brushed it once again, on the side of Ben's face, and SPLAT!
Ben had smacked his face with whipped cream. Johnny raised his hands in the air in joy, briskly walking out of the room.
"Johnny!" Ben yelled. At that moment, the two of them were called to the Biophysics Lab, and the teenager briskly walked into the laboratory with a grin on his face as Ben followed him, stomping angrily.
"Oh, enough with the roughhousing, you two.." she said to the two men, noticing Ben's face covered in cream. She handed him a towel.
"Oh we weren't roughhousing," said Johnny. "We were just having a bit of fun..."
"If getting whipped cream in your face is fun, then yeah," said Ben.
"Hey, it tastes good." Sue lightly glared at her brother.
"Well, now that you're here, I'm gonna run a few scans on you to see how your powers work. Arms up," said Reed, who scanned the two with the scanner he used on himself previously. Reed looked at the results of the scanner, and walked over to the control panel to display the results, appearing as holograms, which Reed studied for a while.
"So that it?" asked Ben. "I gotta get muh beauty sleep."
"Not yet, we're gonna have to do some more analysis. To the bioscanner, everyone." Reed led them to the other side of the room, a slightly darker portion, one where a sphere made of multiple triangles lay, Ben grumbled, muttering to himself. There was a control panel with multiple screens and one chair in front of it.
"Sue, the panel's yours," said Reed, as he walked into the sphere, some of the triangles rearranging themselves to allow the scientist to enter.
"Stretch your arm for me," she ordered, which Reed did, his left arm stretching outside of the sphere, the triangles creating an opening for it. His arms stretched beyond his sleeves. He then retracted his arm as instructed by his girlfriend.
"Fascinating," she said, Reed stretching his neck so that he could see what Sue found interesting. He analyzed the screens, seeing what she was seeing. Infrared scans of his body showed that it was blue, meaning it was cool. Another screen noticed something blue and white stretching.
"From these scans, it basically says that some kind of string is warping the space around it, aka your body, causing you to stretch. And it also theoretically says you could open up wormholes."
"Cosmic strings…" he said to himself. He retracted his neck back into the sphere. He then relaxed his body's cohesion, following Sue's orders, becoming something much like oobleck. He then started moving on the ground before stopping and hardening his body, becoming a solid sphere. He then morphed into a variety of 3D shapes, most notably a cube.
"Okay, that should be enough."
Reed exited the sphere, as Sue walked into it, Reed taking over the controls.
"Alright, Sue, can you turn invisible?"
She answered that question by doing so, her body completely disappearing from the infrared scans. Her body then became visible to the infrared scans once again. Another monitor displayed a normal human cell, with an extra pouch. That pouch opened up, causing the cell to disappear. After that, various parts started to reappear.
"I see…" Reed noted.
"When you separated Ben and I, we were separated by something invisible. My working theory is aside from being able to turn invisible, you can project that invisibility somehow. Force fields, basically."
"Let me try…" Sue took a deep breath, before exerting effort. She grunted, struggling to do what she had done on the beach.
"Nothing's working, Reed," she replied.
"Don't worry, try to remember the beach. What were you feeling?" Reed said via intercom. She took a breath, struggling to remember what she felt.
"Hey, look," said Johnny, pointing at the sphere, where some triangles had faded from sight.
"What?" she asked.
"The sphere, some of the triangles are fading, no, the entire sphere is. It's like-WHOA!" Johnny got knocked over by an invisible force. Sue quickly ran out of the sphere to check on her brother, the triangles reappearing.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, checking for any injuries.
"No problem, that was kinda cool," he replied. She sighed in relief.
"Alright, Sue, you're good. Ben?" The hulking, orange rock person walked into the sphere, most of its triangles moving out of their way to let him in.
"Initial scanning, go." Reed pressed a button, getting the results of Ben's physiology. On the monitors, various infrared scans appeared, showing his rocklike hide and the organs underneath it, similarly rocky. They also showed an unusual molecular structure, as well as close up images of his rocky hide.
"So, how bad is it, doctor?" he asked.
Reed replied, "You know I'm not that kind of doctor, Ben. Ask Sue, she's one."
"Um Ben, I don't know how to put this, but…" Sue replied.
"Your insides, they're all made of rock, or well, a rocklike compound."
"What?!" Ben yelled, his beautiful blue eyes widening. "How bad is it?"
"Y-you're now nearly impervious to internal damage, you could theoretically live forever. Smoking doesn't have an effect on you."
"Aw, wutta relief. Least I can continue to smoke all day long."
"Can you throw a punch, Ben?" He responded by doing so, some of the triangles getting knocked over by it, though they returned to their normal locations.
"Alright, that should be it," said Reed. "Sue wants to test something."
She sat Ben in one chair, putting another chair in front of him. She held a bunch of mallets and one comically large hammer. One by one, she hammered on Ben's knee to get reflexes, but none of the mallets elicited a reaction from him. She grabbed the hammer and hammered it on his knee. No response. She tried a strong one, and Ben kicked the hammer right into one of the walls. Thankfully nothing broke.
"Good thing this building's made of ridiculously strong stuff," remarked Johnny.
"Follow me," said Reed. "There's one more thing to test for you, Ben, and you can go back to sleep." Reed exited the laboratory, the other three following suite. They entered the Materials Laboratory, where there was a giant press right in front of him, as well as various tiles and cubes of various materials, some like gel and light as air, some as heavy as an elephant, as well as multiple 3-D printers.
"What's that supposed to be?" Ben asked, looking at the large press.
"A press. It was originally used to compress ultra-dense new elements and materials, but now, we're using it to see how strong you are," answered Sue, who went onto the operating station. Ben walked over to where the press was above him. The invisible woman then instructed him on what he was gonna do.
"What we're gonna do is simple. Just hold the press plate up, and we'll slowly increase the pressure until you tell us to stop." He nodded. He gave the go signal, and the plate went down on his hands, which he pushed up easily. Sue gradually increased the amount of pressure, yet Ben showed no signs of struggle. The pressure eventually went into the red, and yet he still did not struggle. Eventually…
KRUNCH!
The press was destroyed, eliciting shocked responses from Reed, Sue, and Johnny.
"With that much strength, you could possibly crumple up trucks like they were paper," remarked Reed.
"Not bad," replied Ben. "Now if you'd excuse me, I'd like to get my beauty sleep." He separated from the three, heading back into the living room.
After the three returned to the Biophysics Laboratory, Johnny walked into the sphere, Reed resuming the helm at the control panel once again.
"Begin initial scanning…" said Reed, the sphere scanning Johnny.
"Alright, try to set aflame for us," said Reed.
"Flame on!" Johnny yelled, turning into a plasma body. The triangles shifted a little bit as some flames exited the bioscanner.
"Okay, try to go to your lowest possible temperature." Suddenly, Johnny's flames went from orange to red, and lowered in intensity.
"Okay, this is my lowest," he replied.
"Try to increase the temperature of your flames." From red, Johnny's flames became orange, more orange, and slightly hotter. Reed started checking the monitors, which showed the infrared scanners having more red and white. Another monitor showcased a human cell in red, with a yellow organelle right at the center, the cell turning from red to orange, slowly becoming more and more yellow. Meanwhile, in the bioscanner, Johnny created a small flame and started tossing and moving it around.
"Interesting, he has the ability to control heat, absorb and emit it, as well as control plasma. His body's essentially all plasma now, his cells like a human star." Reed felt someone put a hand on him. It was Franklin.
"I think we should do this in the testing chamber," he suggested. "I don't think the bioscanner can take any hotter." They all nodded.
In the testing chamber, Johnny asked, "Why do i have to be put in this thing again?" His father, sister, sister's boyfriend, and his best friend all looked at him from the control panel, covered by a layer of heavy glass.
"Because we don't know how hot you can get, with those fire powers of yours," replied his father. "And the bioscanner can't take that much heat." Reed walked over to the 3-D printer in the room, printing welding visors for each of the people in the room.
"Alright, Johnny, back to where we were a while ago," said Reed.
"Flame on!"
Johnny turned back into fire, this time in orange. As he continued to stay in this state, he started to levitate. The colors of his flames went from orange to yellow.
"His peak temperature's going from 5000 increasing," said Reed. Johnny's flames continued increasing in temperature and brightness. The entire room was illuminated.
"Going from 6000 increasing…" his flames continued to soar, getting brighter and brighter and hotter and hotter.
"Johnny, stop!" yelled Reed. "You're getting too hot, if this doesn't stop, you could approach 33,000 K or hotter. That's the temperature of the hottest stars in the universe, way hotter than the Sun. You gotta stop!"
"No, I can go even further!" His temperatures quickly soared, the color of his flames going from yellow to white, approaching blue, as the intensity of the flames increased. Reed quickly pressed a red button on the control panel, dousing Johnny in fire extinguisher, cooling the room down.
The flames steadily increased, before they went from yellow back to orange back to red to none, and Johnny slowly went down.
"How was that?" he panted, chuckling.
Reed replied, "Very dangerous, at higher than those temperatures, or with much higher plasma density, you could have caused city level destruction or even an ice age, with damage worse than a nuclear winter."
"Okay… bad."
"Yeah, bad."
"You can also control the density of your plasma state, son, just don't go too hot or dense," replied his father.
"Got it, got it."
"And, the results are in," said Reed. "Thank you everyone." Sue, Franklin, and Johnny nodded and left, while he remained in the laboratory.
Johnny possesses the ability to set himself on fire, in other words, able to turn into a state of plasma. His cells possess a new organelle called a pyronelle, located directly at the center of the cells, which turns his cells into plasma, and allows for the process of nuclear fusion of hydrogen into helium to occur within the pyronelle. Essentially, his cells are miniature stars. The energy and plasma emitted from the cells are emitted via small holes in the skin via plasma jets, allowing for fire to be emitted from his body. As he is made of plasma, it is a fluid, and so, should be amorphous, however, Johnny possesses a field that keeps his plasma in a sort of "mold." If it weren't for this field, he'd likely become a miniature, literal star, much like our Sun, and he'd lose his human form, potentially killing him.
Aside from the ability to transform into a plasma state, Johnny has the ability to emit fire from his body in the form of jets, and that includes his eyes and mouth. He can control these jets, the intensity, the amount, the strength, the color. He also has the ability to control the flames he emits and create fire constructs at his will. He has the ability to consciously transform into his plasma state through the phrases "Flame on!" and "Flame off!" to return back to his human state, in which the pyronelle reverts the plasma back into his normal molecular structure.
Johnny has the ability to control the energy output of his plasma state, and therefore his flames. He can control the temperature of his flames, and can go from 2000 degrees Kelvin to over 33,000 K, that's the temperature of an O-type star. I've also noticed that the range of his temperatures match those of actual stars. It is possible that he could potentially reach supernova temperatures, although this is highly unlikely and would be incredibly dangerous.
When Johnny increases the temperature of his flames, the faster he will exhaust himself. At his hottest temperatures, when his temperatures are that of a blue giant star or hotter, when his pyronelles start to fuse iron, Johnny will purge all of the flames, plasma, and energy inside of him in an equivalent to a supernova, reverting him back to human form and unable to transform for 24 hours.
Johnny has the ability to emit his flames in a form of jet propulsion, allowing him to fly. He also has the ability to control the density of plasma, the denser the plasma, the hotter it becomes, although when he is in contact with somebody, they do not feel anything. It must also be noted that the color and temperature of his flames depend on his mood. When he's pensive, he's red, normally, he's orange, and when he's angry, he's yellow or hotter.
Aside from fire manipulation and transformation, Johnny also has the ability to absorb, emit, and control heat around him. Something that I have noticed about him is that his flame emissions are brighter than normal though less hot. I assume that since he is still getting accustomed to his powers, he is similar to a T Tauri star, a star not yet in the main sequence, but is more luminous due to a larger radius. Eventually, he will enter the main sequence and have more stable flame emissions.
Johnny Storm lay down on his racecar bed, tossing up a ball and catching it, with no idea what to do. The gap year he took was worth something, but he wasn't expecting this. He looked out at the window, then looked at his desk, full of old comics.
Man, I still can't believe I've got fire powers.. I've always wanted to be like the human torch, and now I am, maybe literally. Captain America's cool, but the Human Torch is better. I've always wanted to be like Toro. I get the feeling I won't get to like Namor.
I'm not sure if I should have been more careful with what I had wished for, or if it was worth it all. But eh, who cares. I got fire powers! What am I gonna do with them? Maybe I could use it to be an actual superhero like the Human Torch, and when there are no bad guys around, show off to the ladies.
Maybe he's looking for legacy. I could be the next Human Torch. Me. Johnny Storm, the real Human Torch, no longer a work of fiction. I mean, fantasy is now reality now. If all those stuff that happened back then are real, what else could be?
But anyway, I'm so much cooler now, girls will come screaming after me, wanting my autograph, and I could just fly away. But I already have Dorrie. She's really sweet, but she seems adverse to adventure. I mean, this is really cool. I could be a superhero, I could get famous, drive cars, and become rich! Oh man, and I can fly and set things on fire. I could fight fire with fire. The ladies are gonna love me.
This could be great. I can't wait to see what else I can do. But I'm stuck in this house. I gotta get out, see my friends again. So you know what, yeah. Let's test how far I can go.
Johnny walked out of his room and walked towards the elevator, quickly closing, an ecstatic smile on his face. Later, people heard the voice of a flaming man yelling, "Woohoo!"
Benjamin Grimm's body has been converted into a rock body composed of a previously unknown substance. It must be noted that this material is superior to any material I used in the Fantastic, or in the world, in that it is the most durable material I have ever encountered. The applications of this material toward aerospace engineering and in materials science would be invaluable. Being composed of this material, he is immune to gunfire and bazooka fire, and can easily take blunt attacks.
His body is now able to survive environments with extreme pressure and temperature, such as the surface of Venus or the core of the Sun, even the vacuum of space. In regards to the first example, it must be noted that his lungs are unable to be corroded by the sulfuric acid of the planet's atmosphere, or would the amount of pressure make it hard for him to breathe.
All of his organs are composed of this substance, perhaps something silicate, yet in spite of the composition, they still function the way they did pre-transformation, even more effectively in almost all cases. They grant him enhanced strength, stamina, and durability. Toxins that build up fatigue are much less, and he can continue to exert physical effort for perhaps 24 hours before he tires himself out. All of his cells have been transformed as well, and they function far more effectively. He is more immune to diseases and fatigue, and it would take longer for him to become intoxicated or high.
Benjamin has shown the ability to lift objects over 1,200 times his weight, and he is very strong, stronger than any human being on this planet, or in recorded history. His strength is enough to crumple a large truck with little to no effort, or to tear down trees without breaking a sweat. He is stronger than any known animal past or present. He is also superior in speed to a peregrine falcon when diving. His reflexes are much faster than before and he has a much higher pain threshold. Most astoundingly, his durability is far stronger than anything known on Earth. I do not know if anything on this planet could hurt him.
However, unlike the rest of us, Ben has no "off mode," meaning he is stuck in his rocky form as he was the most altered among us.
Ben Grimm sat down on the couch in the living room, slouching, an unhappy look on his face. His face was that of contemplation, one of reflection. He cupped his face with his hands, looking straight ahead at the TV, which was off.
Wuttta revoltin development. Who woulda thought this all would happen, huh? I've been turned into some sort of Thing, and my best friend is to pay for it. Best friend huh? That Reed Richards, so called smartest man in the world, is to pay. He knew that it wuz theoretical? And what did he do? Lead us into an obvious trap. I knew it wuz sum kinda trap, we didn't know nuthin' about the wormhole.
Mebbe he doesn't deserve that, I know he doesn't. I know him, he wouldn't lead us into that sorta crap. But he did. Accidently. I dunno wut he's feeling, but I doubt it's sunshine and roses. I know it wuz all an accident.
But, nuthin changes the fact I used to be an all American hunk, women loved me, see my perfectly toned and chiseled body. I even got engaged to Linda McGill. Now she broke it off after seeing my ugly mug and my hideous, monstrous body. Took off her engagement ring, left it at muh room. How revoltin can that be?
That's just great. I'm no man, I'm some monster. Who'd even love a monsta like me? Why? Why on Earth wuz I cursed with this piece of crap while everyone still looks like them? Why did I have to become the monster? A thing?
Am I doomed to be like this forevuh, a living, walking statue, the one birds shit on when yur at Central Park? Is this who I am? Mebbe. Why? My own Aunt Petunia and Uncle Jake, they ain't gon' recognize their little ever-loving blue-eyed boy.
Susan Storm now possesses the ability to turn herself invisible. This is due to the fact that her cells now consist of a dark matter baryonic matter hybrid metamaterial that allows for the bending of light around her body and the ability for light to pass through her body due to the fact dark matter does not interact with photons or electromagnetic radiation. She has the ability to turn invisible at will. Her cells now possess a new organelle, a dark matter pouch that stores dark matter for her turning invisible. When she turns invisible, the pouch opens up and coats the cell membranes in dark matter.
Also, note… I finally understand what dark matter is. I know what dark matter is, what exactly it is, but that's another story. I think I'm getting off-topic.
In regards to how her powers work, she has the ability to control her invisibility as well, allowing light to pass through her body. She can even selectively control the invisibility on her body, making parts of it visible or invisible at will. Now you may think she wouldn't be able to see because of invisibility, but she is able to bend light to allow herself to see. Her eyes turn invisible too, but since no light passes through her eyes, dark matter near her eyes bends the light using gravity to allow them to enter, and they're made of a special metamaterial that captures light while maintaining invisibility. In addition, she also has the ability to bend light. This means she can interfere with radio signals, heat up popcorn, prevent sunburn by bending light away, etc.
She can also project this invisibility via her cell membranes, which contain exotic matter nodes that project dark energy, specifically frequently asymmetric dark energy and high intensity dark energy. She has the ability to control this projected invisibility, force fields if you will, being able to form shapes and energy constructs, the strength of which depend on her will and energy. If she loses concentration, the constructs will fail. Currently, she is unable to project these force fields at her will, although I believe she will develop this ability over time. She is theoretically able to both turn invisible and project force fields simultaneously, and dark energy can work in conjunction with dark matter to warp light. Both dark matter and exotic matter nodes are activated by nerve signals from the brain.
These force fields allow her to manipulate them for offensive and defensive capabilities, and they also have the added benefit of making theoretically intangible objects tangible, which I still don't know how it works. While her force fields can block light, they aren't immune to sound, and so they can be destroyed by sound by making her lose concentration.
Susan Storm was in the living room, reading a good book on the couch. On one hand, she was reading the book, and on the other hand, she was practicing turning it invisible and back.
Next to her, Ben was sound asleep, snoring, his mouth agape. She did not look disturbed at all, as she just concentrated on her book.
I kinda feel bad for Reed. I know he didn't want any of this to happen, but I can't feel like I played a part in it. I might have called Ben the Thing, and I convinced him to get closer at the wormhole.
But right now, I am a scientific mystery according to Reed, I am proof that two of the greatest mysteries of cosmology are true. Well, being the smartest man in the world's girlfriend does have its benefits.
And I honestly think these powers are cool, even though I still don't understand how I can see even if I'm invisible. I think it has to do with the fact I often hide or fade around people at times, even if I am well known, so I can see how these powers sort of fit me. But when I projected those force fields, I still don't understand how I did it. But I could get used to them.
I could see through flesh, see through things like X-ray vision. This could have a lot of medical and archaeological applications. I could do so much more, I could see where a person got injured, resuscitate people, do surgery without laying so much as a scratch on them, or see through rock and find previously buried treasure.
These force fields, I still don't know how to use them, but I'll be able to master them. They run on what, dark energy? HIDE and FADE? Sounds kind of fitting for me. But, I get this feeling, that there's something else, a force inside of me much stronger than I can imagine. I guess this accident unlocked it.
I don't know what's gonna happen next, but I think I'll enjoy these new powers. We could help so many people.
I now possess the power of elasticity. Because of the accident, my body has become elastic, malleable. I have increased flexibility, and I have the ability to stretch and retract any body part at will thanks to this, yes, any body part. Based on my own tests, I've found that I can stretch up to 1.5 km without breaking a sweat. Any further, and I'd have to exert my body, much like exercising.
I've also found that due to my malleability, I am immune to bullets/projectile fire and blunt forces, and can redirect them, and I have the ability to morph my body into various kinds of shapes. I often find myself repetitively morphing into 3-D shapes, mostly spheres or cubes, often the cube, though I often generally morph into any of Kepler's polyhedra as I find them mathematically elegant. I can contort my body to adapt to any kind of shape or form, and can expand and contract my body at will. This means I can pass through small holes, flatten myself to go through tight crevices, expand my body to use it as a sail, morph my hands into a sword or saber, open keys, etc. I can also alter my bodily proportions or features, meaning I can bulk up or slim down, or change my face shape. I can also relax the cohesion in my body, and allow myself to become a sort of non-Newtonian fluid. Likewise, I can also increase the cohesion in my body and become virtually unmovable or dense.
I've found that I can stretch my brain and increase connections between my own neurons as well as form new ones, due to increased neuroplasticity. I can also expand my brain to increase my brainpower, though Sue finds this quite discomforting. I also have the ability to alter the shape of my lenses, thereby correcting my eyesight and eliminating the need for my glasses. I can only do this for a few minutes, otherwise, I might get overwhelmed by sensory information. The amount of time I can do this will increase with enough practice over time. Eventually, I may not even need my glasses in at least seven years.
My powers work via cosmic strings. Within my body are millions of microscopic cosmic strings that permeate it. My cells have been altered to accommodate these cosmic strings, as they are embedded within their centers, and now possess the ability to duplicate most of the functions of my body without disrupting them. When they stretch, they warp the space around it, aka my body, and so my cells, and my body, stretches around it. They can also contort, fold, bend, etc, and my body will do the same. If I stretch long enough, I can open wormholes to any point in space, so long as I know where it is. I cannot open wormholes through time or other dimensions, and I cannot open them on command yet.
There's a theory in quantum physics, no, the underlying principle of it all, that says reality is all probability. That everything we see, what we perceive as reality, is all because it is the most probable outcome. All outcomes are possible, all things, so a giant McDonald's cheeseburger could pop up, or I could just turn into a tree, or what I am now. All things are, but reality is what it is because it's the most probable. Even that wormhole that suddenly showed up had a chance of showing up.
God, a wormhole.
I don't really believe in faith but… is this the universe's way of punishing me? For becoming so curious about that wormhole I was willing to overlook my and my friends safety so I could figure out one more price in the grand puzzle of the cosmos?
I wanted to explore space to understand the universe, guess I can now explore space anytime I want. But I guess it's a punishment - I can create wormholes in my body. I guess I deserve it: a living reminder that I screwed up, ruining my and my friends' lives, especially my best friend of all people.
Why did I have to be so curious? Oh right, I wanted to understand. But really, there wasn't any other way to study it, get up close, understand how it all works, how the universe works, understand how wormholes work, we'd be able to understand the universe, space travel, everything, maybe even the theory of everything. Unite gravity with the three other forces? I just separated my friends and I.
And here I am, a living reminder of my failure. I didn't have to do it. We could have just returned home and we would have been heroes. It was easily preventable. Why did I have to be so arrogant to think we could survive a wormhole, something which I knew was theoretical until then. We didn't have enough info. Yeah, my ship could survive everything known but a wormhole? How was I supposed to know it was real?
I can't have them be seen as freaks, lab rats meant for study. I have to reveal it all, all that we learned about the universe, the world must know, not just because that's the nature of science. I have to initiate a paradigm shift, with us at the forefront of it all.
April 2029
It was a large room, large models of the planets hanging from the ceiling. Pictures and posters of space were scattered everywhere, many of them informational posters and diagrams, others speculative, one even detailing the Encyclopedia Galactica. There were frames and pictures of famous astronomers, including Carl Sagan, Neil deGrasse Tyson, and Stephen Hawking. There were also large prints on the wall of constellations and equations scattered all throughout.
There were shelves of books everywhere, throughout the room, many of them about science and astrophysics. There were many sheets of paper often sandwiched between the books. On the floor was a messy array of books and papers stacked on top of each other.
There were a couple tables and desks supporting large and opened books. There were also model rockets and spacecraft scattered everywhere, including the Fantastic. There were globes and models as well, one of which being the celestial sphere, the world, and the Moon, a series of glass panels with the Milky Way painted on them, and a simple device that connected a large ball on one and a smaller ball on the other.
There were old telescopes and old books, and there were meteorites in one table encased with glass, with laboratory equipment on the inside. Scattered everywhere were bean bags next to the bookshelves. There was a flight of stairs near one of the walls, leading up to a circular platform, a large observatory, on the top, where a reflector telescope lay, multiple hexagonal mirrors on one end and a circular mirror suspended in multiple rods forming a square in the other. In front of the eyepiece was a comfy seat with a bunch of books next to it.
Scattered around were blackboards and whiteboards filled with equations in very messy handwriting. In one end of the room was a bunch of posters detailing science fiction paraphernalia. There were models of various science fiction ships like from Star Trek, Star Wars, Stargate, and Halo, various models of mecha like from Gundam and Gurren Lagann, and on the floor was a Master Chief helmet. There was a shelf filled with various sci fi books, manga, comics, and DVDs, many of which were scattered through the area. On one end was a TV with various video game controllers in front of it.
On one of the walls of the room was a supercomputer. Engulfed in the light that it gave out was Reed Richards, writing away on the computer a series of research papers detailing his findings from the trip. Soon, it would be perhaps the most influential piece of scientific writing, more so than Einstein's theory of general relativity or Professor Charles Xavier's papers on the X-gene.
Reed Richards typed furiously. Sue entered the room, Reed unaware of her presence, and placed down a tray that held two cups of coffee. She grabbed one of the cups and placed it next to Reed. Looking at her boyfriend's expression, a look of concern appeared on her face. She knew that look, he felt guilty and was doing everything in his power to make up for it. She sighed heavily, leaving the room.
April 2029
Sue returned to the room, the Space Room and Observatory, where she found Reed, who was stretching in a repetitive manner.
"Just curious, why do you keep morphing into Kepler's polyhedra?" asked Sue.
Noticing that she was there, he turned to her and said, "Because they are solids of elegance and simplicity." He stared at her with an intent look, showing that he meant business.
"Sue, the papers have been fully peer reviewed. It's time the world knew about us and what we found."
Some notes:
I was inspired by the biotics in Mass Effect when creating Sue's powers. I was also partially inspired by Earth 27's take on the Fantastic Four.
In creating the Human Torch, I thought of his powers working like a star, a miniature star, and so I incorporated some facts and tidbits about astronomy when writing how his powers work. I was inspired to give him blue flames after seeing Dabi in My Hero Academia.
I wanted Reed to have a cool observatory and astrophysics laboratory all in in one, one that serves as his favorite place to be in the Baxter Building and one where he can go to for relaxation and unwinding.
With regards to their powers, I was inspired by Warren Ellis's way of describing superpowers in Ultimate Fantastic Four and his way of incorporating science into the stories he writes.
One more thing: Reed looks like David Tennant in Earth 1046, that's the universe this fanfiction takes place in.
Thank you for reading!
