章 42: Fantastic Four
In the last few months or so, the farmers of Stockton, California have wondered about the mysterious silo built on a nondescript parcel of land.
As for what it was? Well…it was a cover for Reed's private spaceship that's about to launch.
The head of the silo opened up and a rocket flew from it, leaving a trail of grey smoke.
During the lift-off, Johnny groaned audibly.
Reed sighed.
"Give me a break, Johnny. This takeoff's far smoother than any of our rides in the simulator."
"It's not about that…ughh…too much partying last night…"
Susan raised a brow at that.
"I wasn't going to comment but now that you mention it, I don't remember hearing you come in
last night…"
Meanwhile, Ben couldn't give a damn about Johnny.
"In case anyone's wondering, we're exactly 15 seconds behind the space shuttle."
After some time, they detached from the rocket and all that remained was a streamlined spaceship that cruised the outer space.
Ben Grimm manned the wheel and piloted the ship at the front while Johnny sat on the co-pilot seat beside him.
Reed and Susan sat on the right behind them close to each other.
All of them basked in the sight for a few seconds before Johnny broke the silence first.
"So umm…what do we do now?"
"This is a test ride, Johnny. We orbit…"
Reed smiled and placed his hand over Susan's
"We take in the view…"
Susan felt a bit awkward and guilty as she coughed and took her hand off his with the excuse of checking something on the monitor.
"...Right…so, everything seems okay in the scans…all systems are good."
Johnny looked out the window in excitement.
"Never been to space before. This is so sweet! Hold on, let me take a picture. I hear chicks dig astronomers."
Everyone rolled their eyes at Johnny while Susan awkwardly smiled as well.
This was already her second time in space…what's more, she even got to leave the ship and float out the space for a while…not to mention having sex in space…
Visiting space for the second time…well, it was still an amazing experience but it's a bit bland compared to her first visit.
"Sue, I…"
"Hm?"
Reed was about to say something when suddenly, Susan noticed something different in the outer space as they continued to travel further away from Earth.
Greenish light scattered beautifully in front of them.
Just as she was about to think how beautiful it was, the green lights had already reached them.
The ship shook as if a plane facing heavy turbulence.
"Reed! What's happening!?"
Johnny asked in a panicking voice.
"No…it's a cosmic storm! Alyssa was right…"
"Get us out of here!"
Susan shouted.
"I'm trying! Hang on!"
Ben gritted his teeth and tried to maneuver away from the cosmic storm but…all four of them were suddenly hit by a wave of unknown energy.
Fire combusted out of Johnny's body.
"Hot! So hot! I'm burning!"
Reed tried to reach for the screen in front of them as he stretched his arm.
"Our shielding will hold…stay on course, Ben!"
Susan's eyes whitened.
"My eyes…everything's whitening out…"
And finally, Ben couldn't hold it anymore and collapsed on his chair.
"Can't move…arms…too heavy…"
Just as they were about to faint, Reed tried to reach Alyssa and ask her to take control of the ship so they could go home.
But at this moment, Benjamin opened up a portal and immediately took them all in, transporting them safely back to the Baxter building.
The ship was left in space and exploded soon after.
"Oh my god! Reed!"
Alyssa saw Reed and the others collapse and ran forward to them. She didn't mind Benjamin who appeared mysteriously but was more concerned if Reed and the others were okay…well, in this case, it seems she's more particularly worried about Reed.
Alyssa ran forward and held onto Reed but when she lifted his hand, she surprisingly found that his hand stretched instead!
"What…"
"Ugh…"
Before she could wonder what had happened, Reed groaned as he slowly woke up.
Opening his eyes, the first sight he saw was Alyssa's tearful eyes looking at him full of worry.
"Reed!"
"Alyssa…we made it back?"
"Yeah…he saved you all…"
Finally, Alyssa looked at the mysterious man that appeared so suddenly.
Reed followed her gaze and recognized the man.
"You are…Captain Freed….of the EPD? You saved us from that cosmic storm? How…"
"I opened a portal and took you out immediately."
"A…portal? But how did you even know…"
Benjamin smiled.
"I'm a friend of Susan's. We met at a grocery store a few months back. She informed me of your…reckless plan to launch into space so I can immediately act if there are any accidents. I also settled the paperwork for your launch. Otherwise, do you really think no one will react to an unauthorized spacecraft launching into space?"
"I-I see…"
"Even if it's privately owned and privately funded, you still need permits for these things you know? Even cars would need plate numbers and a driver's license before it's okay to drive it, much less a spaceship."
"...Thank you."
Reed sighed as he knew that Benjamin had helped them in the background so the launch was smooth and had no interruptions or complications.
"That aside. I suggest you do something about this…situation of yours."
"Huh?"
Benjamin pointed at his legs that are bent in a weird shape
"W-what!?"
At this moment, Reed finally noticed his own situation.
His legs were bent in a weird shape but…he doesn't feel any pain at all!
Rather…
With a calm mind, he immediately started to test out his newfound ability after the initial shock.
Surprisingly, he found that his entire body was completely…elastic! He can extend, bend, or flatten any part of his body at will!
"Fascinating…"
"That's all you're gonna say!? Fascinating!?"
Alyssa was speechless.
How is this fascinating!? It just looks…freaky!
"Ugh…"
A groan sounded out as Susan groggily woke up as well.
Opening her eyes, the first thing she saw was Reed…contorted into a weird shape…
"..."
Her eyes rolled back and immediately fainted at the sight!
"Uhh…"
Reed didn't know what to say…he didn't expect her to faint as soon as she saw him!
Alyssa's mouth twitched and she quickly smacked Reed on the back of the head, sending his head onto the ground and his neck extending…
"You idiot! Hurry up and revert to normal!"
"Y-yes…"
Benjamin laughed and gently woke up Susan again.
"Ugh…I just had the weirdest dream…"
"Hm?"
As Susan woke up, she found everyone staring at her weirdly.
"W-what? Is there something on my face?"
Susan tried to touch her own face but when she lifted her hand, she found…nothing!
"W-where's my hand!? My hand is gone!"
"Calm down. Look, you can still feel your hand is there right? You just turned quite…transparent."
Benjamin answered as he held her hand to show her that it was still there. Just not visible.
"I'm…invisible? I have powers!?"
"Yes."
"Huh…"
Susan calmed down and looked at her own invisible hands in amazement.
Well, she can't see her hands but she can see her floating sleeves in their place.
"Interesting…since this is the case…the cosmic rays…sigh, you were right Alyssa."
"Reed? What's this about!? What do you mean Alyssa's right!?"
Susan crossed her arms angrily.
Well, she wasn't angry that she now has powers but she's angry that Reed isn't sharing something important…again!
"Ah, sorry…it's just a bit disconcerting. I read H.G. Wells' [The Invisible Man] when I was 3 and now I'm living it…"
"Reed Richards! Answer me!"
"R-right…Alyssa was concerned that we might come into contact with cosmic energy…she warned against our flight…obviously, the cosmic rays have altered us in different, radical ways…"
"See! I told you! This happens when you don't listen to me!"
Alyssa glared at Reed with her hands on her hips.
But neither Susan nor Reed paid her any attention at the moment as they finally remembered the other two on their team.
"Johnny!"
"Ben!"
As if on cue, Johnny woke up and his entire body suddenly burst into flames.
"Help! Oh my god! I'm on fire!"
"Johnny!"
Susan panicked when she saw him on fire and wanted to help but Benjamin held her back.
"Calm down. Are you even in pain?"
"Huh? Who're you? What are you saying? I'm on fire! Of course I…am…?"
Johnny stopped and finally calmed down when he felt…that he actually wasn't feeling hot at all!
"Huh?"
He looked at his hands and saw that it was covered in flame…but he wasn't hurting?
At this time, he also noticed Susan and Reed's strange condition.
"Woah! Reed's all stretchy and Sue's all…gone? What's happening?"
"Well, much like us, your body has been transformed by the cosmic rays that hit us earlier…this is quite a miracle."
Johnny scratched his head in confusion.
"Cosmic rays? What? And where's that big dumb Ben?"
The next moment, a shadow loomed over at him and everyone except for Benjamin stared at his back with wide eyes.
Confused, he looked back as well and saw a large…stone…man?
"Whatever you did to me, smart guy…YOU'RE DEAD!"
Ben Grimm, who had become the Thing, glared at Reed angrily as he stomped his way toward Reed.
Reed took a step back and tried to pacify Ben.
"Ben, calm down…we can talk about this…"
"Will do…after I beat you to a pulp!"
Ben raised both his fists and was about to flatten Reed when Benjamin intervened between them.
Benjamin raised his palm and stopped Ben. At the same time, he rang the Clarity Bell once to calm him down immediately.
"...Who're you supposed to be?"
Ben asked.
"Captain Benjamin Freed of the EPD. Since we're both Ben, feel free to call me Benjamin, Benjie, or Freed to avoid confusion."
"...What do you want, Freed? I may have calmed down but my hate for this guy had not subsided one bit. Especially after he turned me into this…Thing!"
"If it's because of your appearance, I can fix that."
"Huh?"
Benjamin smiled.
He had long consulted the System about the possible ways to fix this issue.
There are plenty of ways to make him turn back to human but they are all permanent. Benjamin felt it would be a pity if the Thing is gone forever so he chose the other option.
…Also, the other cures were expensive too so he didn't want to go with them.
This way is more cost-effective.
"Both Susan and Johnny can turn to their human forms at will. There's no reason why you can't too. The only thing stopping you is…yourself.
"What's that supposed to mean?"
Benjamin rang the Clarity Bell again as he spoke.
"Calm down and focus. Close your eyes. Listen to my voice."
"..."
Ben fell silent and closed his eye.
"Focus on yourself. Ignore everything else. Forget your own image and remember…remember Ben Grimm."
Ben frowned but he still did as he was told.
At the same time, Benjamin also used minor hypnotizing magic to make him believe he could turn back.
It's quite funny really.
The System said that he could always turn back but because Ben himself didn't believe he could, he was never able to do so.
Benjamin didn't know if this was the case in the actual comics in his previous world but he wasn't one to complain in this world.
Suddenly, the rocky body of the Thing started to crumble…
Slowly…his body grew smaller and smaller…until he finally returned back to his normal self!
…Well, he was slightly naked and only wore oversized rags but he was still able to make it.
Ben opened his eyes and looked at his hands.
"I'm…back…"
Benjamin smiled and patted his shoulder.
"Although what happened to you in space had changed you…you are still you. You're the one in control of this power, not the other way around."
"...Thank you. Captain Freed."
Ben smiled back and shook his hands.
He looked back at Reed with a slight glare.
"Still mad at you though."
"Haha…"
Reed could only chuckle awkwardly.
He knew that although Ben said that, his hate had lessened quite significantly already thanks to Benjamin.
Benjamin turned back to Reed and the others
"I'll get going for now. All off you should now think about your plans for the future. Change like this…can be both good and bad. What happens from now on, you all should decide for yourselves. But there's no rush. Take the time you need. Call me if you need any help."
Reed nodded.
"Captain Freed…once again, thank you…for everything."
"It's fine. It's what I should do."
…After all, I felt bad about sleeping with your fiance already…ahem.
Benjamin naturally didn't speak that out loud and just nodded to them as he left through a portal.
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