FANTASTIC FOUR

"The Super-Skrull Cometh"

Chapter 2

As Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Richards had listened so intently to the near-babbling elucidation from three of the Four, which had interrupted an intense set of experiments. Experiments essentially centered upon the possibility that the exceedingly small scale of atoms might, in microscopic materiality, be an entire micro-Universe of Living Planets and brightly burning micro-stars.

"Hm. I see," Mr. Fantastic finally said, even as he super-stretched one sleeved-in-FF uniform arm to switch off his one-of-a-kind mega-microscopic scanner. "It has been less busy for us since the emergence of more superheroes into New York."

"Our New York!" forcefully reproved a still bored-to-tears Thing even as The Invisible Woman cast a scalding laser-like glare in the rocky superhero's disgustedly standing direction. Who apologetically added, "Sorry, Stretch."

"This has been something that's concerned me for some time now," began Mr. Fantastic as he slipped off the smock covering his uniform-wearing super-pliable person. "Which is why, since some of the last 'super-trouble' to hit our city...which was a shared event with the Avengers..."

"Those colorful little glory-hounds," emotively muttered The Thing even as The Human Torch took on the self-same facial affectation that seemed to second such a hushed statement by the man of marble.

Not hearing him, or at least pretending to not have heard him, Mr. Fantastic led the other three to the far side of his super-lab. To a point not too far from where their Fantasti-Car rested 'tween the need for the FF's cosmic ray-powered appearance anywhere in the world, let alone New York...

"Allow me to present," he proclaimed proudly whilst super-stretched arms removed a massive tarp that totally hid the two-story tall cylindrical rocket-like creation of Reed "Mr. Fantastic" Ridhards from ready view. "The Fantasti-Ship. A star hopping, with fully liveable collection of crew quarters for the Four as well as miniature super-lab for me...

"Wow! Way cool, Reed!" was the expected response from the fully afire and flying, now!, Human Torch, as his plasma flame allowed him to fly completely around the Fantasti-Ship.

"Yeah, Reed," The Thing grinned gregariously whilst looking up at the towering star-hopping craft created by this super-scientist team leader. "Does this mean...?"

"That we get to go out into interstellar space?" finished the beautiful blond Invisible Woman with as much emotional excitement as readily displayed by both Ben and Johnny scant seconds earlier.

Even as such was about to be answered by this super-genius, his lovely lady clearly created some unseen steppe with which she swiftly raised herself up the entire two story tall spacecraft.

"That's exactly what it means, Sue," said a smiling Mr. Fantastic, even as he super-stretched his entire torso so as to be at eye level with his seemingly floating-on-air wife and his fully flamed on and flying/hovering brother-in-law. "After a few more minor readjustments, which shouldn't take more than another week, the four of us will be the first from Earth to streak out via hyperspatial-constructing systems in order to..."

"Hey!" shouted The Thing stentorianly, whilst waving huge rock-hewed arms animatedly. "When's someone gonna help me up to look at this thing?"

Having duteously demonstrated his many abilities, that far-and-away surpass a Skrull's shapeshifting powers, to the recurrently drunk Emperor...

"But," began the bloated leader of what little was left of the formerly mighty Skrull race, "why only those four 'super-powers', my Imperial Minister of Science? Did our constant scans of the planet Earth, since first arriving in this galaxy's spiral arms, not reveal several more super-powered individuals besides..."

"It was decided that," respectfully explicated the constantly cautious, so as not to be shot out into the airelessness of space as had happened to those few who dared disagree with their pertinacious Emperor!, Imperial Minister of Science, "such was the most that could be created, Sire. To have attempted to rearrange the genetic material within this supreme specimen of Skrull-hood...well, even his superior physicality would likely 'self-destruct'. Leaving a seemingly 'molten' lump of green flesh where now stands...the Super-Skrull."

Having given such the consideration the Skrull Emperor deemed mandatory, under the dire circumstances surrounding the hundreds of survivors out of the trillions destroyed via a Hunger-gripped Galactus!, he finally replied.

"Then by all means, my Imperial Minister of Science...send this Super-Skrull to Earth. To destroy the Fantastic Four. And any others that might come to stand in the way of what will quickly become...Skrull Rule!"

END OF CHAPTER 2