DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING. I'M JUST DOING THIS FOR FUN
Hey guys, I'm back with a new chapter. Sorry this one took so long. My time for writing got a bit lost when I caught a bad case of the flu and work took over the rest.
Anyway, this chapter is about Marvels First Family and one of my favourite hero teams. So lets not waste anymore time and get into it.
Fantastic Four #1
When you think of the New York underground. Most people would probably think of the subway system. As every early morning commuter would on the daily grind heading for work in the morning and coming back in the evening.
Others would think of the New York Sewer system as many children probably has when the topic of alligators turns up.
But for those in a very small community, particularly those who tend to dabble in the strange and weird. The true New York underground lies one mile below the surface. Past all the manmade constructions are a series of massive caverns, some big enough for the Empire State Building to sit comfortably and not even reach the ceiling.
A subterranean world that very few have ever seen. Even fewer that have survived. For these deep dark caverns are far from lifeless. For in the deep caverns of the Earth, live a number of creatures that call this underworld home.
In particular, a race of small humanoid Gremlin-like creatures. Barely five feet tall, with light yellow skin, completely hairless, pointed ears and wore nothing but loin clothes and a pair of goggles that had thin, rectangular slits for the eye holes.
These little Tolkien inspired creatures are known as Moloids. Residents of these caverns scurry across the cavern's floors, walls and even ceilings with their sharp, strong claws.
The Moloids all swarmed towards a particular tunnel that had a dim glow to it. As they travelled further the light became brighter, until the tunnel opened up into this massive cavern, where thousands of Moloids had gathered, all chittering in their own strange language as they held their attention to a platform in the centre of the cavern. Along the walls of the cavern where various machines, all looking like they were thrown together using scrap metal from a junk yard.
Despite their crude design, these machines seemed to function without issue. As there were several generators that hummed as they powered the many lights that shone throughout the cavern.
On the platform stood a short, hunched man, with a face only a mother could love. Seems his body just gave up growing at the age of ten and just decided to go sideways from that point as he looked like he'd never skipped a meal in his life, nor has he been in the sun from how pale his skin is. He wore a lime green jumpsuit underneath a dark green cloak, that was ratty and torn as it dragged on the ground behind him.
He wore a pair of chrome blue goggles over his eyes, which were the same appearance as the ones worn by the Moloids. In his hand was a long metal staff, with some loose wiring and what looks like a miniature tesla coil attached to the top.
This is Harvey Elder aka the Mole Man.
Mole Man chuckled to himself as he looked up at his recently acquired prisoner.
Strung up by his wrists, dangling from two very large and low hanging stalactites, is the Emerald Avenger, Ben Tennyson.
Despite being a prisoner and on display, the Teen Hero seemed quite calm about the whole ordeal.
Mole Man let out and evil chuckle as Ben rolled his eyes. He knew exactly what was coming.
"So one of the surface world's mightiest champions. Brought low at my feet." Mole Man gloated.
"Yep. Evil monologue. Right on cue." Ben thought to himself.
"Even you with your vast array of powers, were no match for me." Mole Man continued, grinning with his misshapen teeth.
Up close, Ben could clearly see that his villain's name was not just a gimmick. Dude definitely had facial complexions that certainly screamed moleish. Despite his creep factor, the Teen Heroes quick wit was not compromised.
"No match for you? Dude, you didn't do squat. It was Jumbo back there." Ben stated tilting his head back to one of the massive tunnels behind him. A low grumbling sounded from the cave as a large shadow shifted in the dim light.
Mole Man pointed his staff at the Young Heroes face. "My pets are an extension of me. Their power is my power. Their victory, my victory."
"Geeze, you sound like one of those moms at a Beauty Pageant. Thinking you can get famous through your kids." Ben mocked as he smirked. "News flash, Badger Boy. There's a reason people remember the athletes more than the coaches."
"SILENCE! You mouthy little vermin!" Mole Man snapped.
Ben couldn't help but burst out laughing at that comment. "Seriously? You're calling me little? Looked in the mirror lately? Guess not based on what you're wearing. Green on Green, talk about tacky."
The Teen Avenger paused after that sentence after it left his mouth. Did he really just comment on another guy's choice in fashion? He's been spending way too much time with Janet if his mind drifted in that direction.
Mole Man's face started to go red with anger as he stomped his stubby legs on his platform. A little temper tantrum that made Ben almost burst out in laughter, but he forced himself to contain it.
"Your mockery will not stand, surface dweller!" Mole Man stated threateningly holding his staff close to the Teens face. A small spark, burst from the tip. "The only reason you live, is so you can bear witness to the fall of your precious city."
"Oh really. And just how on earth to you plan on making that happen?" Ben asked, his tone gushing with sarcasm.
Either Mole Man didn't understand sarcasm, or he was so confident in his plan and hearing himself talk that he just didn't care. As he continued to monologue his evil plan.
"In mere moments, my Moloids will activate my nuclear core. The radiation will seep into the surface above and irradiate the soil and water, spreading to the city. Soon the disease and decay will set in as the city crumbles into chaos. Then when the ashes settle, my people will rise and claim the surface world for themselves. MWHA HA HA HA!"
If Ben could move his arms, he probably would've given the stout villain a slow, sarcastic clap.
"Great plan dude. Poison the world so no one can live there. How original. And how do you plan on living there when the radiation makes the surface uninhabitable?" Ben asked dryly.
Mole Man smirked. "Simple minded child. I have uncovered secrets in Subterrania that you could never comprehend."
A vague and unhelpful response. But the Young Hero didn't really care about how he'd fix the radiation issue. Just how he'd cause it.
"Whatever, Dude. Not like you'll get the chance to succeed." Ben quipped with his cocky smirk.
Mole Man let out a loud hearty laugh. "Oh, and you think you can stop me? Your first attempt failed. What makes you think you'll ever get a chance to try again?"
"Cause the first time, I wasn't trying to stop you. I was just doing some exploring." Ben merely explained.
The Subterranean villain huffed at the statement. "Well exploring or not. You are still one boy against the entire might of the Mole Man."
That's when Ben smirked with full confidence. "And here I thought you were smart. You really think I would be crazy enough to explore an underground cave system alone?"
The moment he said that. Mole Mans eyes widened from behind his goggles. He didn't come alone? But he didn't see anyone else aside from him. That could only mean…
"Oh no…" Mole Man gasped.
"Oh yes." A feminine voice replied from seemingly nowhere.
Mole Man immediately spun around, swiping his staff around in a wide arc as if trying to hit an invisible target.
When it seemed he hit nothing, he's suddenly knocked off his feet by an unseen force and sent tumbling off the pedestal to the Moloid's below. Fortunately for him, his loyal minions caught their master and gently lowered him to the ground.
Ben chuckled as the Midget Madman flapping his arms in a mini tantrum after his Moloids put him down.
"Took you long enough. I had to listen to his monologue for hours." Ben complained to the air in front of him.
The "air" giggled as it shimmered, and a woman appeared. She was a woman of average height with a voluptuous body, blonde hair, that went down to her shoulders and blue eyes. She was wearing a uniform that is form fitting, blue in color and had the number 4 symbol in the centre the chest. She was also wearing black gloves, boots and a belt.
This is Sue Storm-Richards aka the Invisible Woman.
The Blonde Woman glanced up at the Teen with a small smirk. She then made a "tisk" sound, like she was a disappointed parent. "Oh Ben, I let you wander off for five minutes and you get yourself in trouble."
"Hey, Johnny bet he could find this Mole guy before me. Looks like I proved him wrong." Ben defended in a prideful tone.
"You also got yourself caught." She pointed out raising her eyebrow. "What would you have done if I didn't show up?"
"Hadn't thought that far ahead, but something would've come to me." Ben replied casually.
Invisible Woman sighed as she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Honestly how you and Johnny can be this immature in a serious situation, is beyond me."
"Come on, Sue. Look at this guy? How can I possibly take him seriously?" Ben countered.
"Perhaps because he once almost caused every nuclear power plant in the country to melt down and deprive millions without power." Invisible Woman explained in a very serious tone.
"… Oh…" Was all Ben could say in response. Despite the entire goofy over the top nature of this guy and his plans. It's easy to underestimate certain villains and forget that sometimes their crazy schemes may actually work if it wasn't for the hero's dedication to stopping them.
Ben bowed his head in shame. "Sorry Sue."
Sue has had this conversation many times before with her brother to know exactly when an apology is genuine or not. When she saw the Teen Avengers face and heard his tone, she knew it was the real deal.
She shook her head in contempt. She then raised her hand and the air shimmered under Ben's feet and a transparent disc of energy appeared under Ben's feet. This platform provided Ben with solid footing that took the pressure off his arms. Invisible Woman raised her free hand and two smaller discs of energy appeared in the air by Bens bonds. A flick of her wrist and the two discs shot forth and cut Bens bonds like a pair of buzzsaws.
Free of his restraints, Bens arms dropped to his sides as he let out a sigh of relief. He tried to hide it, but his arms really hurt from being suspended like that for a long time. They felt so stiff, that they felt like planks of wood.
But he couldn't worry about his arms as a commotion below them drew his attention.
"Curse you and your meddling, Invisible Woman!" Mole Man cried out, shaking his stubby fist at her. "You will not stop my plans this time!"
"How about us, ugly!" another voice called out.
Mole Man turned around as an aircraft zoomed into the cavern. It looked like some kind of advanced hovercar with the same number four logo as on the Invisible Woman. Out from the flying car, emerged three individuals.
The first one was a man, who seemed to be completely composed of fire. Though, when he landed on the platform, the fire being turned into a young Teenager, roughly Ben's age, with blonde hair and blue eyes, he wore the same kind of suit as Invisible Woman. He was Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch.
The second one to land on the platform, with a very loud crash, was by far the largest and most distinct member of the group. Almost ten feet tall with broad shoulders, but what stood out to everyone was that his body appeared to be completely comprised of orange rocks. Which really helped his blue eyes pop in contrast. His hands only had four digits and he didn't wear a shirt or shoes, but he did wear a pair of blue pants with a black belt and the same number four logo on the buckle. He is Ben Grimm aka The Thing.
The last man to arrive, did so by literally flowing down to the ground like he was silly putty. His entire body stretched and slithered down to the platform and just as easily returned to normal human proportions just as quickly. He wore the same uniform as his peers. He had brown hair, with shades of grey along the sides and brown eyes. He is Reed Richards aka Mr Fantastic.
Together, they are the Fantastic Four.
"Well, this is a hot mess you got yourself here, kid." Thing chuckled as he glanced at the Teen.
Ben rolled his eyes. "Oh, like you would've done better."
"Well, we didn't get caught." Human Torch pointed out.
"You could've mentioned that this guy has giant pet monsters?" Ben countered, then stood up proudly. "Also, I found him first, so I win the bet."
Torch chuckled. "Oh yeah, you won fair and square, Benji."
With that cheeky expression, chuckle and tone, Ben's expression went from boastful, to suspicious.
"Wait. You did you set me up to get caught?" Ben accused.
"Oh no, of course not." Johnny replied, with obvious sarcasm. He then elbowed Thing in the chest. "Ben helped as well."
"Dude!" Ben shouted dumbfounded.
This caused both Torch and Thing to burst out laughing. While Ben just grumbled, mentally berating himself for falling for this prank. He will definitely get these two back for this.
"Honestly you two." Sue snapped at the Rock Monster and Walking Inferno. "I just got through talking to Benjamin about his immature behaviour."
"Come on, Suzy. We're just having some fun." Thing defended in a casual tone.
"Yeah." Torch added. "Besides. It's just Mole Man."
So, it seems, just like the Teen Avenger, both Human Torch and Thing didn't take the Subterranean Villain seriously.
Before Sue could properly chew them out, Mr Fantastic got in between his teammates. A device in his hand which displayed some scientific data for him to read.
"Interesting. It seems the nuclear core has been primed. We have less than fifteen minutes before it detonates." Mr Fantastic stated, catching everyone attention.
"What's the plan, Stretch?" Thing asked the FF's leader.
Suddenly a loud scream from below them caused everyone to turn towards the source as Mole Man loudly shouted, waving his stubby arms about like a toddler throwing a temper tantrum.
"ARGH! Curse you Fantastic Four! Distracting me with your babbling pawn all to conceal your approach!" Mole Man screeched.
"Pawn?" Ben responded slightly insulted by comment. Course Human Torch couldn't help but chuckle.
"But this time. You will not stop me. Today, you will suffer my wrath. Destroy them, my children! Destroy them all!"
The Cavern began to rumble as Moloids started pouring into the cavern in droves. Each armed with various staffs and batons that seemed to resemble the one wielded by Mole Man.
From the other side of the Cavern, the giant shadows began to move. A thunderous roar shook the area as the earth trembled from the impacts of heavy footsteps.
The Alien Avenger quickly started thinking up a plan of attack. Only for Mr Fantastic to beat him to the punch before he could even think of the first alien to use.
"Johnny and Sue, deal with the Moloids, hold them back for as long as you can." He ordered. The Storm siblings nodded as they understood their assignment. "And Ben…"
"Yes." Both Ben and Thing responded. Something the Young Hero found very confusing, working with a team that also has someone named 'Ben' on it.
However, the issue of differentiating between the two was of no concern as Reed was intentionally addressing both as he pointed to the cavern behind them.
"Take care of Mole Mans pets. I shall disable the device. Should it detonate, the radiation will spread across the Eastern Seaboard in a matter of hours." The Worlds Smartest Man explained.
Both Ben's turned to face the approaching monsters. Their humungous frames almost entering the light of the cavern. The Rock Monster and Alien Shapeshifter shared a look and smirked with confidence and excitement.
"Oh yeah. Leave it to us." Ben replied, confidently.
"Leave it to us. Just make sure you don't blow us up, Stretch." Thing added, jokingly.
Mr Fantastic grinned at his best friends joke as they got into position.
"FLAME ON!" Human Torch yelled as his body ignited and he flew into the sky.
Invisible Woman raised her hands and created a platform using her forcefields and used it to fly alongside her brother. The two siblings flew over the mass of advancing Moloids, all of whom waved their weapons and screeched at the attackers.
The Human Torch wasted no time in unleashing a powerful stream of fire from his hands. The inferno struck the stone floor of the cave and ignited into a wall of fire.
The Moloids instantly recoiled from the heat and blinding light of the blaze. However, the Moloids furthest from the flames raised their staffs in response as yellow electrical energy formed at the tips.
From the staffs burst a series of bolts of electrical energy. The beams of light shot straight for the flaming humanoid.
But, before they could strike him, a transparent energy shield appeared in front of him and blocked the beams. Johnny turned back and gave his sister a thumbs up as she floated near him on her platform.
"Thanks, Sis." He spoke.
Invisible Woman only sighed at her brother's nonchalant attitude. "You have to be focused Johnny. You could've been hurt if I didn't block them."
"Yeah, but you were. You've always got my back. So why worry?" Human Torch replied brushing off his sister's concern. He then resumed attacking the Moloids, who continued to shoot at him with their weapons.
Sue could only look on with a concerned expression. If only she could get him to understand. But this wasn't the time for family drama as she flew after him, rising her shields to both protect him and to push back advancing Moloids that flooded through the cavern entrances in droves.
Meanwhile, Ben and the Thing stared down the advancing monsters. They could make out three of them. Their massive shadows making it hard to miss how gigantic these creatures are.
The first to step out of the shadows is a massive beast, 20 stories tall, with a humanoid body, with orange/red bare wrinkly skin. It had long, broad arms with three digits on each. It had a bald, misshapen head with a wide, toothless mouth and large, pupilless, yellow eyes.
This creature is named Rommbu.
Next to emerge was a creature, roughly the same size as Rommbu, but with purple, thick skin, a body that resembled a theropod dinosaur, with a long tail, three claws on each arm, hoof-like feet with four digits. Its eyes were red and a pair of long fangs jutted out of its lower jaw. Most notably, where the two long bull like horns on its head.
This creature is known as Megataur.
Lastly, and by far the largest of the monsters. Standing 30 stories tall, with a body covered in green, overlapping scales. Its eyes were large, pale and pupilless and its mouth was froglike, being wide and appearing to have no teeth within.
A creature appropriately named, Giganto.
Giganto roared with enough force to shake the entire cavern as it, along with the other monsters, advanced towards the heroes.
Thing smiled as he cracked his stony knuckles. "Well kid. You up for a monster mash?"
Ben smirked as he raised his watch. "My watch is only set to one time."
The Rock Golem chuckled. "Ha! Mine too."
The two face back against their opponents as they charge in, the Thing clutching his fists and Ben readying his Ultimatrix as they both yelled.
"It's Clobberin' time!"
"It's Hero time!"
The ever-loving blue-eyed Thing and Alien Avenger leaped off the platform with Ben slamming down the dial and transformed in a flash of green light. But, Thing didn't allow the light to distract him from Rommbu as the Beast roared and reached its large hand towards the Rocky Brute, intending to crush him.
The Thing responded by raising his own hands and caught the giant appendage with his own hands, stopping the limbs momentum cold. His incredible strength holding the giant back with little effort.
However, what the Rock Man more than made up for in strength, he lacked in size as Rommbu used its free hand to make another attempt to grab him.
Thing braced himself for the impact, only for a red blur to slam into the hand and hold it back. The Thing turned to see Four Arms wrestling against the giant hand with his four muscular limbs bulging with sheer power.
The Alien Teen looked back at his fellow strength user. "Thought you might need a hand. Or four." He quipped.
"Nice, Kid." Thing complimented as he shifted his footing. "But lemme show ya how we handle, punks like this down on Yancy Street."
He then gripped Rommbu's hand with full force and yanked with all his might. Four Arms barely got out of the way as Rommbu roared in surprise as its entire body lurched forward and its feet, flew off the ground. Thing use the momentum to swing the massive creature around, over his head and launched the beast directly into Megataur, whose eyes widened in shock as Rommbu collided with it.
Both Monsters came crashing down in a heap into the cavern wall, partially collapsing a large portion of the subterranean cavern. Cracks snaked their way across the walls and several chunks of rock fell from the ceiling above them. Fortunately, Four Arms easily smashed those boulders into rubble when they came too close.
Needless to say, the Teen Hero was surprised. The Thing never failed to remind him get how tough he really is. It's no wonder he and Hulk are considered rivels.
"Well, BT that's two for me. Better pick up the pace." Thing taunted light-heartedly.
Four Arms narrowed as he grinned at the challenge. "Oh, I'll show you what I can do, Boulder Brains."
He and the Rock Brute turned to see Giganto bearing down on them. The Massive beast roared in rage as it raised its massive arm to crush them both beneath it.
As it brought the massive arm down, Four Arms tapped the Ultimatrix dial and transformed in a flash of green light.
"HUMUNGOUSAUR!" The Dino Alien roared.
Raising his arms, the Alien Avenger easily caught Giganto's arm. The sheer force of the blow almost made the Teen buckle from the power behind it and his feet started the crater the ground beneath him.
"You good, kid?" Thing asked, visibly concerned. As confident and brazen as he can be, the hulking member of the Fantastic Four didn't want the young hero to get hurt.
Humungousaur merely chuckled, with a slight grunt of pain as he held Giganto's arm up. "Hehe. You kidding, Old Man. I eat monsters like this for breakfast."
While it was clear the Teen was putting on a brave face, Thing knew that if he could make a joke at this time, then he was tough enough to power through. He smirked and chortled. "Well then, quite waistin time. We gotta wrap this up before the game starts."
The Dino Aliens eyes widened as Thing reminded him. "Oh right, the Giants game is today."
Immediately Humungousaur grew to his full height of 60 feet. While not as big as Giganto, the sudden shift in size was more than enough to catch the giant monster off guard.
Humungousaur grinned as he punched his fist into his open hand. "Ok ugly. Let's rumble."
Giganto let out a loud roar, with Humungousaur responding with a roar of his own as the pair charge at each other and collided at full force.
Caught between a Titans Battle on one side and raging inferno on the other, Mr Fantastic had his work cut out for him as he worked on locating the Mole Mans nuclear device.
Disabling such a device is child's play to the Worlds Smartest Man. However, time is the most valuable resource at this junction. The Leader of the Fantastic Four could not afford to waste a single moment in disarming it.
Taking a small device from his belt, Mr Fantastic activated the item, and it immediately displayed a digital giga counter that quickly detected heightened radiation levels in the area.
Snaking his way towards the source of the signal. Mr Fantastic eventually found the device. Placed, partially imbedded into the stone wall. The device was crudely built as with most of Mole Mans devices. Loose wiring, missing metal plating and a timer that was counting down.
From the moisture that is covering the walls, Reed quickly summarised that this wall is connected to an underwater source that is connected to the water ways above. If this device detonates the water will be contaminated and will quickly spread to the surface water above. He needs to disable it as quickly as possible.
Concentrating, Mr Fantastic flattened his fingers, to allow them to slip in between the gaps of the metal case of the bomb and removed the panel. Revealing a chaotic mass of wires that looked like a multi-coloured bowl of spaghetti. Sorting through this mess will certainly take time. Even with his advanced intellect, he couldn't underestimate his opponent. No doubt Mole-Man specifically made this with him in mind.
Before he could even properly analyse this device, a bolt of energy struck Mr Fantastic in the back. The Brainiac yelped in pain as his body went limb on the ground, flowing across the ground like water.
He eventually regained enough focus to pull himself back together as he turned around to the sound of laughing.
Mole Man approached his enemy, his staff glowing with energy as he chuckled.
"Seems even the great Mr Fantastic is stumped by my genius." Mole Man boasted.
"I'd hardly call this contraption, genius." Mr Fantastic responded. "Granted your skills as a nuclear engineer are impressive. But this crude design is hardly an effective use for a device like this."
Mole Man only gritted his teeth in annoyance. "It matters not. The device will go off and the entire surface world shall know my wrath."
Mr Fantastic only scoffed at the claim. "This will hardly affect the entire planet. If anything, irradiating the ground water will impact a large portion of the Eastern Seaboard. A better tactic would've been irradiating the water vapour in the clouds as that will spread far and wide."
"I will not be criticised by a conceited, vain, narrow-minded fool as yourself, Richards! You wish to lecture me and yet it was your own short sightedness that has resulted in you lying at my feet." The Subterranean Villain proclaimed.
"Yes, well. I will admit I have made some miscalculations." Mr Fantastic admitted with a sigh. "That being said, with all the field work that I have done over the years. It's really given me a chance to, and pardon the idiom, get my feet wet."
Before Mole Man could even register what, the Scientist meant by that, he is suddenly struck in the side of his face by Mr Fantastics boot. The Stretchy Scientist had kept his opponent's attention long enough to stretch his leg around the area before getting into position to land the decisive blow.
The boot struck Mole Man with enough force to render the Midget Madman unconscious. Allowing Reed to get back to work by disarming the bomb. Though the racket going on around him certainly didn't help his concentration.
Giganto and Humungousaur grappled with each other, shaking the ground with each blow, while Human Torch and Invisible Woman battled wave after wave of Moloids.
"Sheesh, where do these guys keep coming from?" Human Torch asked exasperated. He'd been using so much firepower, he was starting to get winded.
Invisible Woman was also not looking so well. On top of keeping herself aloft with her platform, she'd also been protecting her brother and herself from incoming attacks, while also ensuring she didn't block Torch as he flew around randomly and attacked. The sheer mental strain was causing a trickly of blood to drip from her nose.
"Johnny! Get ready to block the tunnels. I've got a plan." Invisible Woman ordered.
Human Torch understood and flew behind her. The Light Bending Beauty focused all her effort and raised her hands in front of her. The air shimmered and a massive forcefield appeared in front of her, the entire field spread out far enough to reach each side of the cavern, effectively dividing it in half. She then pushed forward, and the barrier moved according to her will and met with the Moloid hoard. The shield quickly turned into a transparent broom of sorts as it swept every Moloid in its path and scooped them all up into a large mount as Invisible Woman directed them all through the main entrance of the cavern on the far side.
The amount of strain this was putting on her, Invisible Woman had to drop down to the platform so she can put all her concentration into her forcefield.
With the Moloids firmly placed outside of the caverns entrance. Sue turned to her Flaming Brother. "Johnny, seal the entrance!"
"You got it, Sis!" Human Torch responded with gusto.
The Blazing Humanoid blasted forward to the roof of the caverns entrance and unleashed an intense beam of fire from his hands. The focused heat from his flames, instantly caused the rocks in the caverns roof to melt into lava. The Molten rock flowed down Invisible Woman's forcefield, like rain on a window. Eventually covering the entire doorway and ceiling the entire entrance.
The Teen Adventurer then absorbed all the heat from the Lava, cooling it back into rock.
With that endeavour, complete. The Storm siblings both dropped on their rumps, next to each other, panting from the sheer effort they had put themselves through.
"Good… Job…. Johnny…" Sue panted as she ruffled her brother's hair.
Johnny chuckled as he bashfully tilted his head away from her reach. "Yeah… I was… pretty awesome…" He boasted, earning a playful punch in the arm from his sister.
"But… Could've don't it… without you…" He finished, genuinely.
The Invisible Woman smiled with pride as she leaned over and rested her head on her little brother's shoulder.
All of a sudden, a loud crash, caught both their attention. The Siblings turned to see Humungousaur pinned against the cavern wall by Giganto, the Subterranean Monster using its size advantage and longer reach to gain leverage on the Alien Dinosaur.
Fortunately, Humungousaur strength was able to give him a slight advantage, which prevented the giant monster from crushing him.
Suddenly a fireball struck Giganto in the eye. Causing the creature to wail in pain as it backed away from Humungousaur, clutching its injured eye.
The Dino Alien took that moment to catch his breath as a small flickering light, floated just in front of his face. He blinked open his eyes to see Human Torch grinning smugly.
"Looks like I saved your skin again, Tennyson." Torch boasted. His cocky attitude causing the Alien Avenger to groan.
"Laugh it up Flame Brain. But let's not forget who saved who during that incident in Alaska." Humungousaur shot back.
The cocky grin evaporated from the Pyro-Heroes face. "We said we'd never talk about that again." He hissed in embarrassment.
"I know. So, keep that in mind, if you keep striking this match." The Alien Teen threatened with a smirk.
"Will you two please focus!" Invisible Woman's voice cut through the tension, catching their attention.
The Blonde Heroine strained as she put up a massive force field that held Giganto back. The Massive Monster roared as it struck the field with its massive, powerful fists. Invisible Woman groaned from the strain of maintaining her field, but she held out in an incredible display of power and resilience.
Human Torch immediately flew to his sister's aid. Flying directly at the giant monster and blasting it with a barrage of fireballs. They weren't powerful enough to actually hurt its thick hide. But they were enough to grab its attention as it tried to swat the Human Torch out of the sky.
As the Fantastic Siblings directed Giganto, Humungousaur got ready for round two with the beast.
Just then, he noticed an orange boulder, moving just below him. The Alien Dinosaur turned his gaze to floor to observe the Thing, charging towards Giganto to aid his teammates.
An idea entered the Teens mind as he stepped forward and reached towards the Rocky Brute.
"Hey Thing! Hold up." Humungousaur called out.
Thing stopped and turned back to the Teen, just as Humungousaur's massive, scaly fingers encircled him.
"Woah, hay! What gives?" Thing protested as Humungousaur lifted him off the ground. "What the idea, Tennyson? Flame Brain and Suzy need our help."
"And well give it to them. Now get ready." Humungousaur responded.
Thing looked at the Teen with a befuddled look. "For what?"
Humungousaur grinned. "Something I learned from a few friends."
He then cocked back his fist, with Thing still in his palm. The Blue Eyed Thing, quickly realised what the Young Hero was about to do and beamed with excitement. He knew he liked this kid for a reason.
"Ready?" The Alien Teen asked.
"Oh yeah, Kid. Bring it!" Thing responded with great enthusiasm.
Humungousaur grinned as he hurled the Thing like a baseball with all his might. The Orange Rock Hero flew through the air like a bullet. The Giant Monster barely knew what hit it as the Fantastic Brute slammed into it, right between the eyes.
The Alien Teen pumped his fist in the air in celebration. "Boom! Fastball Special!"
Giganto groaned, stunned as both its arms drooped to its sides as it swayed on its feet for a few moments, before tipping over and falling to the ground. It's massive bulk, crushing the elevated platform, only for Invisible Woman's force field to catch it before it impacted against the ground.
She inhaled sharply from the strain as she lowered the creature to the ground. It's breathing deep as it slumbered, unconscious.
"I woulda let em crash." Thing commented, dusting his hands off.
Invisible Woman sighed as she landed next to her teammate along with Johnny, while Ben turned back to human in a flash of green light.
"I wasn't about to cause an earthquake for the people in the city above, cause a giant monster gave me a migraine." Invisible Woman commented, though her breathing is heavy, due to the overuse of her powers.
"He'll have a lot worse than a migraine, when he wakes up." Ben quipped, earning a chuckle from Thing and Torch.
"Well, that about wraps this up." Johnny said, stretching his arms. "We should head topside. I gotta get ready. Wanna look good for the game tonight."
The two Bens rolled their eyes. "Only you could take longer primpin, than your sister, Matchstick." Thing mocked.
"Excuse me?" Invisible Woman responded, seemingly insulted.
Immediately Things expression turned fearful as he raised his hands in a placating gesture. "N-Nothing Suzy. Didn't meant nothin by it."
The Female Member of the Fantastic Four narrowed her eyes as a warning to the Rock Brute, causing the Alien Avenger to chuckle.
"We should get back up. But maybe we should find Reed." Ben suggested.
"Oh yeah." Thing agreed. "Where'd he run of to again?"
"Probably into some nerd stuff as usual." Johnny remarked offhandedly. "After all he's probably geeking out over Mole Mans…."
Suddenly all four of them froze as they remembered just what Mr Fantastic was dealing with.
"THE BOMB!" They all screamed as they immediately started searching for the Stretchy Scientist.
"Reed! Honey! Where are you!" Invisible Woman cried out as she searched for her husband.
"Reed, this is totally not the time to be tuning us out!" Human Torch shouted as he flew around the cavern.
"Stretch, if we blow up. I swear I'm gonna…." Thing stopped as Mr Fantastic walked around the corner of one of the tunnels. His right arm, stretched out behind him as his fingers had an unconscious Mole Man, entangled in them.
The Heroes all gathered around him, tension present on all their faces.
"Well, you all look agitated." Reed commented. "Are you alright?"
"Us? What about you?" Ben asked. "Where's the bomb?"
"Oh that." Mr Fantastic responded casually. He then stretched his left hand back around the corner and retrieved said device and held it up to the group.
"I disabled this in less than 20 seconds." The Super Genius stated, rather proudly.
The gathered heroes all blinked in astonishment, before letting out a collective sigh of relief.
"It really wasn't that difficult." Mr Fantastic went on to explain, despite no one asking or caring. "At first glance the wiring looked complex and intricate, however it's all just misdirection. Half of these are not even connected, and the remaining wires are just to power the lights."
However, no one was really listening at that point as Susan walked over to her husband and hugged him. "Oh Reed, why didn't you lead with that?" She berated.
"Well, the device is disabled, so it's hardly a threat anymore." Mr Fantastic merely stated. "However, I am a little unprepared as I do not have a safe way to dispose of the plutonium core."
"Don't worry, dude." Ben chimed in, activating his watch. "I got this."
In a flash of green light, the teen transformed. "NRG!"
The nuclear alien grabbed the core from the device with his metal hands. He then reached up to the chest plate of his armored suit and rotated it, several centimetres to the left. A hissing sound is heard, followed by a clicking sound as the helmet slid back, opening up like the lid of a trashcan. The glowing energy within the suit, burst forth with such intensity that the Fantastic Four had to shield their eyes.
NRG then placed the plutonium into the opening of his suit and closed it back up again with a loud click.
The Energy Being let out a satisfied sigh as he patted his suits belly. "Tasty." He commented.
Torch and Thing both looked at the Teen wide eyed.
"Did you seriously just eat a nuclear core?" Johnny asked, amazed.
"Da." The Alien responded in his Russian accent.
"Fascinating." Mr Fantastic responded, placing a hand on his chin. "The abilities of each of your forms are incredible. You'll have to come by that lab again, so I may run some more tests."
"Um… Maybe later." NRG replied, nervously as he turned back to human. He wasn't really keen on spending another afternoon as Mr Fantastic's lab rat. He could still recall the shocks from the first time.
Fortunately for the Young Hero, Thing came to his rescue.
"No time for your quack work, Stretch. We gotta get moving. Don't wanna miss the game."
Both Ben and Johnny got excited, from being reminded.
"Heck yeah! It's gonna be great." Human Torch agreed.
"It's gonna be awesome. Hey last one there, buys the snacks." Ben suggested with a cocky grin.
Johnny responded with his own confident smirk. "You're on, Tennyson. Flame On!"
With that, the Pyro-Teen rocketed into the air and flew up the tunnels to the surface.
"Hey, don't get ahead of yourself, Matchstick!" Thing shouted as he ran over to the Fantasticar and gunned the engine after the Hot Head.
Ben was about to transform and follow them. Only to realise that this was the aftermath of a fight. Even though they are miles underground, there's still a lot of stuff the clean-up. And it was his responsibility to help.
He turned around to face the remaining heroes. Only for Mr Fantastic to be invested in the technology that Mole Man created while Invisible Woman just gave the Teen a warm smile.
"Go on, Ben. We'll handle the clean-up." She stated.
"Really? You sure?" Ben asked, feeling a little guilty just dumping the workload on them.
Sue just laughed and waved her hand. "Go. Enjoy your game." She insisted.
Then a cheeky grin formed on her lips. "And make sure you order a lot of snacks for Johnny to buy for you."
Ben grinned as she gave a playful wink. "Thanks, Sue. You rock."
With that, the Alien Avenger transformed into Jetray and flew after his friends, in a blur of red.
The Invisible Woman chuckled as she watched the Teen take off.
"Bens such a good kid. I can see why Janet likes to dote on him." Susan commented.
"He is an interesting being. Coming from an alternate dimension, wielding technology that has never been seen in this reality." Mr Fantastic responded. "I can learn so much, from his alien forms."
Susan shook her head at her husband's narrow mind. "He's more than his aliens, Reed. And after everything he's been through, it's good for him to have some fun like this."
This caused Reed to chuckle. "It's remarkable, that we consider, battling subterranean civilisations and monsters, to be a fun activity."
A chuckle escaped the Invisible Woman's mouth as she started using her force fields to clean up the debris from their fight.
"Remarkable, isn't the word I would use." She stated.
Reed looked at his wife, with a confused look. "What word would you use?"
She paused before turning back to the love of her life with a sly grin.
"I'd say… Fantastic."
And there it is folks. Ben 10 and the Fantastic Four. Trust me when I say, these guys are gonna meet up and play a role in the Main story. But I just had to bring them into this series.
This chapter is dedicated to someone very close to me. This is my gift to them. But I hope you all enjoy it too. XD
So, as always, if you guys have a Hero and Villain for any future chapters, shoot me a message and I'll see what I can do.
Until next time. Captain Rex 75 out!