After mingling for a short bit, to hammer the details out on paper, Ben leans over and whispers to Addison, "What did you think about Victor Von Doom?"
"I don't like him," she whispers back. "He rubs me the wrong way."
Ben nods and leans away from her. Of all the things he knows, he knows that his way younger cousin can tell if she likes a person, and most of the time, a good judge of character. They walked over to Reed as he begins to pack up his stuff, into his metal suit case. He then snaps the lid close, "He knew about NASA," the group turns to walk away. "Maybe he made the call to shut us down."
"Ben, think about all the people can help if this works. Huh? We got what we wanted, that's enough. A few days in space, it'll be great."
"I've always wanted to go to space," Addison added as she watched a guy walk into the room as they were leaving.
Ben gives Reed, then Addison a look. "What's the worst that can happen?" Reed questions.
They finally get to the elevator, and Addison presses the button to go down. Standing there, waiting, Susan catches up to them. The elevator finally get's there, and they all pile in. Sue, presses the button to go down to the ground floor. They stand there for a second, then Sue speaks up, "Reed, you should know those solar winds have been picking up speed."
"I've factored them in to my equations," Reed responds instantly.
Addison and Ben watch back in forth between the two. "Right, course you did, in theory. It's a little different, once your out there."
"I assure you, I factored them..."
"When are we leaving?" Ben jumps right in.
Sue turns to look at Ben. "I'll be scheduling the launch," she pulls a card out of her pocket and holds it out towards Reed, "so, call me in the morning for resources and crew."
Reed kind of smiles, "I think I remember the number."
"It's been changed," she replies back, without missing a beat.
Reed's face drops a little and he takes the card. Addison gives a small cough. Reed looks back at Addison. Both Addison and Ben tilt their heads and look towards Sue. "As far as crew, I was hoping that Addison here could be come along as an assistant."
"I'm sure that can be arranged."
"And that Ben can pilot the mission."
Sue looks at Ben, "We already have a pilot on payroll, but you're welcome to ride shot gun. Remember my brother Johnny?" Ben blinks in surprised, Reed thinks back, and Addison raises an eyebrow.
The Fantastic Four debut in The Fantastic Four #1 on Nov. 1961
The group of three stood on a platform, hard hats on their heads, staring through binoculars. They watched as the guy on the motorcycle pull a way from the car, speeding down the dirt way. "I like the bike," Addison just says out of nowhere.
Ben just pulls his binoculars down and just calmly and flatly says, "Can't do it. Can not do it." He begins to turn and walk a way.
Reed pulls down his binoculars and continues to look out. "External SRBs, orbital system engines. It's just like the shuttles you flew.."
"No!" Ben holds his hand up to stop Reed as he turns to look at Ben. He moves closer to Reed to prove his point. "I cannot take orders from the underwear model," he points out towards where Johnny was last seen.
"Oh, come on Ben," Reed tries to ease his friend. Addison puts her binoculars down, and stares at Ben.
"That wing nut washed out of NASA for sneaking two Victoria Secret wannabes into a flight simulator."
"That was him?" Addy gapes.
Reed rolls his eyes and replies, "Youthful High Spirits."
"They crashed it into a wall!" Ben states. "A flight simulator!"
Addy goes back to looking out over the view and Reed leans on to the rail. "When have I asked you to do something you absoltuly said you could not do?"
"Five times!" Ben holds his hand up in his face to prove a point, then begins to go down the stairs, with Addy starting to follow him.
"I had it at four," Reed states.
"Well, this makes five," Ben replies without looking back.
Reed turns and looks at Addy as she steps on the steps. She nods, "He's right, this does make five." She then continues to follow him. Reed just smiles, leans back on the railing, and looks out over the view.
Issue #4 the hyperbolic tagline "The World's Greatest Comic Magazine" was added above the title
Reed sat in a chair, typing away at his computer. Ben was carefully unpacking his bag. He pulls out a book and flips through the pages, where a picture of him and a blond lady are smiling together. Touching the picture, he says, "I miss you already, Debs."
"Captain on the bridge!" Ben snaps the book close, drops it, and snaps to attention. He was greeted with a flash in his face. Johnny walks in, looking at the picture he just got. "Digital Camera: $254. Memory Stick: $59. The look on your hard ass former CO's face when he finds out he's your junior officer: priceless." Reed just glances up and smiles. Johnny sits down and Ben moves threatenly towards him. He jerks back a little when Ben goes for his neck, but Ben just adjusts the zipper. Laughing, Johnny says, "Thank you, sweetie!"
Ben just smiles, "I can handle the ship, I can even handle Mr. Blond ambition there, but I don't know if I should be flying or doing Swan Lake in this suits. I mean, who in the hell came up with these?" He pulls a skin tight blue suit from his locker to illustrate a point.
Sue comes strolling in, wearing hers, with Addy right behind her, both of them carring flight suits. "Victor did. The synthetics act as a second skin. Adapting to your body's individuall needs.
Reed stands up, staring, as Johnny speaks up. "See, that means it keeps the hot stuff hot, and the cool stuff cool." Johnny glances over at Addy, then does a double take. "Like this hot stuff will definitely stay hot." He starts to preen himself up alittle. "Hi, I'm Johnny Storm, the pilot."
Ben begins to glare, but without even blinking Addy responds, "I already know you Johnny. Nice to see you haven't changed."
"We've met?" his ego deflats a little.
"Yeah," she chucks his flight suit at him, "Ben's little cousin," she points over to Ben.
Johnny thinks for a second, "Addy! Since when have you gotten, so big. Last time I saw you were a tiny little squirt."
Addy raises an eyebrow. "I'm only a couple of years younger than you."
"Wow!" Reed finally says. Sue smiles a little, hoping he was checking her out. "Fantastic! Material made from self-regulating unstable molecules." He grabs the suit from Ben's hands and begins to study it. Sue's smile drops. "I've been working on a formula for this."
Sue toughens up a little bit. "Great minds think a like." Reed doesn't even look over at her as he begins to examine the suit somemore. "Here you go, Ben." She smiles and holds out a flight suit.
"Thanks, sweetie," as he takes one.
Reed starts to unbutton his shirt, as Sue walks by, "Reed," she throws the flight suit at him and continues to walk on with Addy right behind her.
In issue #16 the "The" was dropped from the cover logo, becoming simiply Fantastic Four
The space ship docks with the station and Victor speaks up as they head out, "ETA until cosmic event, nine hours."
"If you're good, maybe next time daddy will let you drive," Johnny speaks over to Ben.
"You keep talking and there won't be a next time," Ben states back through the corner of his mouth.
They were followed by Reed and Addy. Reed was telling Addy a few things to add, while she was writing them down on her new digital palm pilot. Reed catches the view from the window and stops and stares, Addy just smiles and continues on. Sue walks up next to Reed and says, "Long way from the projection booth at Hayden Planetarium, isn't it?"
Reed looks over at her, and she begins to walk away. "Yes. Yes, it is," He smiles.
Soon they all walk into the control center. "We can montior the cloud approach and observe the tests from here," Sue says as she indicates the space around them.
"Is it safe?" Ben asks as he begins to unzip his flight suit.
"The shields on the station should protect us," Reed replies.
"Should?" Ben questions, looking over at Reed.
"What's a matter, Ben, getting paranoid in your old age?" Victor responds as he walks a little towards them, then leans on the rail.
"Let's start loading those samples!" Reed exclaimes as he looks directly at Victor then glances over at Addy, when she comes walking over, already out of her flight suit and in just her blue one. "Get your suit ready, Ben." Reed looks over at Ben as he unzips his suit more.
Ben starts to walk away, when Victor says, "I see you're still doing all the heavy lifting." Ben stops and Reed just looks over at Victor. "Maybe you should have just stayed in the lab," Victor talks to Reed. Ben rushes back. "Field work, never suited you, maybe her," he indacates towards Addy, "never you."
"He does the talking, she does the details, and I do the walking," Ben speaks up, "Got it?"
"So, take a walk, Ben," Victor says it so calmly. Ben freezes, not believing what was just said. Addy's fist tightens up, starts to take a couple steps towards Victor, until Reed stops her. "Actually if you all excuse me, I need to borrow, Susan," Susan stops and looks up and over at Victor, "for a moment."
They all look over at her, then Ben looks at Reed, and Reed makes a 'what can I do' siginal. "Sure," Reed says, beginning to walk off, dragging Addy behind him.
Sue was annouced to be pregant in the Fantastic Four Annual #5
Johnny Storm closed the back to Ben Grimm's space, causing it to air lock pressure. "Please, tell me your guy is not trying to rekindle things with my sister, again?"
"Of coarse, not. Strictly business," Ben says through the suit's communacator.
"Yes, well," Johnny press some buttons on Ben's suit, "he's eyes say differently don't they?"
"Hey," Ben grabs his hand, getting his attention, "two hearts got busted last time. Maybe she's not over it either?"
"Wow, Dr. Phil, that's deep." Johnny turns to grab the plants. "Let's think about that. You got Victor, more money than God, stud of the year," he clips the plants on to Ben, "and you got Reed, world's dumbest smart guy." They both step into the air lock and Johnny hands Ben the plants. "Worth less than a postage stamp. That's a real toss up."
"Don't trouble your tiny little mind."
Johnny smiles, "Don't wander off now, boy." Johnny walks out begins to press buttons on a command console to shut the air lock.
"Keep away from my cousin!" Ben shouts out before the door could close all the way. Johnny just salutes, then gives a double thumbs up. Ben sighes, and gives a half hearted one back. He turns to watch as the door to space opens up, he smiles at the sight that beholds him.
In 1968 Franklin Benjamin Richards was born in Fantastic Four Annual #6
Addy paces back and forth, writing stuff on her palm pilot, talking up a storm. "Reed, you should have let me at him."
Reed does't even look up at his work, when he replies, "I can't let you do that. You should know better than that."
Addy continues to tap on her screen as well as pace. "You know how I feel about people insulting my family. No one, insults my family, but family. That guy, is not family!" Reed doesn't even answer as he continued with his work. "Reed, I can't get this to work out," Addy says as she holds out her palm pilot to Reed.
"Here, let me see it," He takes it from her, but before he could get to far in it, the screen near him, beeps. He looks at it and stands up, "That can't be right." He begins to type at the key board.
"The event threshold, in T minus nine minutes and forty-seven seconds." The station's voice rings out.
"That's impossiable!"
Addy grabs her palm pilot and looks at it. "No, that is possiable. That could be why I couldn't work out the simple equation."
"It should be seven hours!" Reed exclaims, looking at her. He could see her thoughts, swirling through her eyes. Without a word, she turns and runs down the corridor. Without a second thought, Reed was right behind her. Pretty soon, he shot right past. He could have swore she was mumbling something about going faster if she didn't have stupid heels on the foot part of the suit. He nears the doors and they slide open. He races towards the railing. "The cloud is accelerating!" Both Sue and Victor look up a Reed too see Addy run up next to him, trying to catch her breath, nodding. "We've got minutes until it hits, not hours." Sue goes over to the computer to confirm what Reed was saying. "Victor, that storm is deadly, we've got to abort."
"Get a grip, Reed," Victor just calmly says, looking at him, "we didn't come all this way to lose our nerve at the first glitch. Just close the sheilds."
Addy's grip tightens on the railing. "Ben is still out there," she states.
Victor just glances at her. "So, reel him in." He then turns back to Reed. "We came here to do a job, so let's do it, quickly."
Reed turns and takes off running down the corridor again. Sue then speaks up, "Victor, Reed is right. We have less than six minutes." Addy audiable sucks in her breath, turns, and takes off running down the same corridor as Reed.
Addy was a few seconds down the hall when she hears Reed say, "Ben you need to get inside, right now!"
She then heard the faint reply of Johnny asking, "What's going on?"
Over they COM Ben calmly replies, "I'm not done arranging your flowers, yet, Egghead."
"Ben, turn around!" Addy hoped that Ben would just listen, as she ran down what seemed like a never ending corridor.
"Guys, I'm not going to make it!"
"Ben, you got to jump!" Johnny states. "It's the only way!"
As Addy continued on, she could hear Reed and Johnny better, but soon lost sound of Victor and Sue. Then she heard a noise that stopped her in her tracks. The shields where being raised. Addy turns to look out the window to see them slowly start to raise. A growl escapes her throat, but she turns and continues on her way.
"Come on, Ben, you've got to get in!" Johnny exclaims.
"Okay, Johnny, get ready to close the portal," Reed says.
Addy turns the corner to see Ben slam into the air lock, then slides down. Then all of a sudden the storm seeps through the portal, causing her to trip over her own feet. She doesn't even attempt to stand up right a way, just keep moving forward. So, by the time the storm slams into her she was running on all fours. She then felt a second wave hit her, her hands and feet dug into the floor, trying to stop the backwards movement. By then she couldn't even hold on as the storm pushed at her again. Soon she was in the air, adjusting her body, every muscle working, just to get her to land on her feet.
