บท 4: Chapter 4

"Now we can talk among ourselves," I said, looking at Ben, Johnny, and Susan.

They nodded. I saw questions in their eyes.

"Yes, we need to discuss why we left the Baxter Foundation," Sue said.

Ben and Johnny nodded, agreeing with Sue's words.

At that moment, we were in my house. I leaned back in my chair and said, "The Foundation's dependency on the government and shareholders."

They frowned, not understanding what I meant.

"They won't let us conduct our own research freely," I clarified.

Now they understood why I made that choice.

"Thanks, Reed," Ben said.

My friend's gaze was full of regret.

"No need to thank me, I wanted to get rid of that leash anyway," I replied with a slight smile.

"But what are you planning to do next?" Sue asked. "Conducting research without funds will be extremely difficult, if not impossible."

It was a very good question, and the original Reed Richards might have had trouble answering it, but I had a plan.

"That's an excellent question," I said with unwavering confidence. "I just need to earn the necessary funds."

"What?" my friends asked in unison.

"It's not as difficult as you might think," I added.

The entire night after the battle, I had been playing the stock market. With my brain working several orders of magnitude better than ordinary people, understanding economic mechanisms was quite simple. Adding my residual knowledge from the past made it even easier. While everything didn't happen exactly as in my old world, since this world had countries like Latveria, Symkaria, and companies like Stark Industries, Oscorp, and Hammer Ind., certain similarities existed, and I didn't mind exploiting them.

"And we have an initial cushion for financing our research," I said with a slight smile.

I then showed them the money I had made in such a short time. Reed Richards wasn't poor, as high-caliber specialists always earned well.

"Oh my God!" exclaimed Susan.

"Holy crap..." Johnny said, wide-eyed.

"You surprise me more every day, Stretch," Ben said.

The balance on my account was an impressive sum that could drive many ordinary people mad.

"Fifteen million dollars..." Johnny said in a shocked voice.

"And you're saying you made this amount just today through stock market manipulations?" Susan asked.

In response, I simply smiled and nodded.

"Incredible," Sue said.

"Come on," I replied. "I'm sure if you wanted, you could do the same."

I said this sincerely, confident that she could achieve such a result, as Susan Storm was a very smart genetic scientist, a field much more complex than economics, at least in my subjective opinion.

"I would have taken much longer," Susan said, shaking her head.

"Perhaps," I agreed. "But you would have achieved the same result."

She smirked. I knew my words had the desired effect. Susan then added, "You need to learn to accept compliments."

Ben and Johnny smiled, clearly agreeing with her.

"You're right," I replied.

I didn't have much trouble admitting when others were right about certain issues.

"Now we just need to establish the necessary base. But for that, we need to increase our funds. By my calculations, it will take no more than two days."

Then I put away my phone and took out some files. I handed copies to Sue and Johnny, leaving Ben's copy on the table.

"What's this?" Johnny asked, taking the document in his hands.

Susan began reading, her eyes widening in understanding. Ben glanced at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Now that we've settled this matter, we can move on to the next topic. As you might have guessed, our actions have already set a precedent."

"You mean the Mole Man and his monster, Stretch?"

I nodded and said, "Yes, this event exposed us to the public. For now, we need to take advantage of this opportunity and operate under the name Fantastic Four. That's why I managed to patent the brand."

"Fantastic Four, huh?" Johnny said thoughtfully. "Sounds good, I even like it."

"I hate to agree with Matchstick, but I do too."

"Very good idea, Reed," Susan said. "But I'll handle the design."

"W-Why?" I asked her.

In response, she showed my sketch of our main project at the moment...

"I agree with her," Ben said, seeing the design.

"Same here."

"Damn..." I had to admit defeat.

The sketch was of the first Fantastic Four costume from the comics.

—= S.H.I.E.L.D. =—

"So, what do we have here?" said the one-eyed man, one of the most influential people on the planet, Nicholas Joseph Fury, a member of the Howling Commandos, former CIA operative, and now Director of S.H.I.E.L.D.

His gaze, which didn't match that of a man born in the 1910s, was fixed on numerous videos of the battle between the Fantastic Four and the Mole Man.

"Four individuals with superpowers, no longer tied to the government, and an egotistical shorty we missed, because?"

Next to Fury stood Maria Hill, his right hand and one of his most effective agents. She replied in an unwavering tone, "Our agents were busy transporting terrorists who planned to release bioweapons in New York. Meanwhile, the other teams..."

Fury stopped the report with a raised hand. He already understood there was a reason, but that didn't lessen the problems.

"I get it."

Fury's gaze was still on the Fantastic Four.

"I have a feeling these people will cause a lot of problems in the future..."

He understood that his actions were currently limited. Thanks to public support... no one would allow S.H.I.E.L.D. to initiate a capture of these four.

"Have our agents found out what they plan to do next?"

Maria Hill just shook her head. This made Fury frown even more. Their agents had discovered that Reed Richards had multiplied his finances several times over through stock market manipulations.

"Call in the Black Widow."

"Are you sure, sir?"

"Yes."

Matthew Murdock is a highly renowned figure in Marvel comics. I would say his fame is on par with Spider-Man. By day, he's attorney Matthew Murdock; by night, he's the Devil of Hell's Kitchen.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Murdock, Mr. Nelson," I said.

At that moment, I needed his daytime persona.

"Good afternoon," replied Foggy Nelson, Matt Murdock's best friend and an equally dedicated attorney.

It was easy to distinguish them thanks to Matt's glasses.

"Good afternoon, Mr. Richards," said Matthew.

I was aware of Matt's abilities, which is why I came prepared.

"We're glad you chose us, but may I ask... why did you decide to select our law firm?" Matthew asked.

Judging by Foggy's look, he shared his friend's curiosity.

"Because I believe you are the best attorneys in New York," I replied. "And I'm sure you are both honorable people."

Matthew's abilities meant that all his senses, except his sight, were enhanced several times over. With his hearing, he could listen to a person's heartbeat to tell if they were lying or not.

"You're the son of Jonathan Murdock, right?"

Jonathan Murdock was a man who laid the foundation for Matt's character, a very determined man who instilled his perseverance in his son.

"Yes, did you know him?" Matt asked, surprised.

"A friend of mine was a fan of his," I replied.

I wasn't lying. In my mind, I pictured the face of my old friend from the previous world, who was a fan of Matthew Murdock.

"I see," Matt smiled. "What brings you to us?"

"I need legal assistance in forming a company."

Foggy raised an eyebrow, while Matthew simply said, "I see."

—= Some Time Later =—

"Thank you for your help," I said. "I hope our cooperation will be fruitful."

"I think it will be," said Foggy Nelson.

"God's will be done," Matt said with a slight smile.

From that day, Matt and Foggy took on all the legal matters for the company called the Fantastic Four. Now, I could proceed to the next phase of my plan.

I dialed Susan's number on my smartphone and waited for her to pick up.

"Hello, Reed?"

"The legal part is done," I said, feeling confident. "Now we can move on to the next step."

"Great!" she said. "We've already doubled our capital. Your notes helped us a lot."

"Ha! Matchstick, you lost again!"

"Shut up, rockhead!"

I could clearly hear Johnny and Ben's voices on the other end.

"That's good. I'll start looking for a building... and maybe after that, we can go to a restaurant?"

There was silence on the other end. Even Ben and Johnny's voices faded... I began to think she might turn down the date when she suddenly said:

"Yes!" Sue's voice was a mix of excitement and joy, making me feel incredibly happy too.

"In that case, I'll make the reservation," I replied before ending the call. "I'll be home soon."

"Can't wait," Sue said.

With newfound enthusiasm, I set off to tackle the next tasks. Since Susan was handling the money, and the lawyers were managing the legal matters, it was time to focus on Unstable Molecules.

Unstable Molecules are a type of matter capable of absorbing and replicating the properties of the objects that use them. Reed had been working on this project parallel to the engine, so there was plenty of groundwork to build on.

"I need to hurry..." I said, glancing at my watch.

My feet led me to a coffee shop where I was a regular.

"Good afternoon, Dr. Richards," the owner greeted me with a warm smile.

"Good afternoon, Mrs. Lee. How are you?"

She looked at me for a moment and said, "Wonderful, and I take it you're doing well too?"

I raised an eyebrow in response.

"Your smile gives you away."

"Haha, yes, you're right."

"The usual?"

I nodded, and she said, "It's not healthy to drink so much coffee, Dr. Richards."

"I assure you, I'll be fine."

Taking three triple-shot espressos, I headed to my home lab. I knew a sleepless night awaited me.

—= Central Europe, Latveria, Castle Von Doom =—

"P-Please have mercy..." the former ruler of Latveria croaked.

Victor von Doom looked at the man who had made his people suffer with utter contempt. A pathetic tyrant, incompetent in every way. A man who had brought Latveria to such a low state that it was painful to see.

"You don't deserve mercy," Victor growled through his mask.

Victor had heard enough of these pleas and began to weave his magic to destroy the man.

"Go to Hell."

A green beam shot from Doom's hand, obliterating the former king of Latveria. The people around Victor said nothing against his actions, as they all understood that the former ruler deserved his fate.

"Butler," Victor called.

"Yes, Your Majesty?"

Victor's gaze fell on a portrait of the former royal family.

"Remove this. Remove everything associated with the former king."

The butler bowed and began his task, while Victor ascended to his office.

By now, the office had been modified to suit Victor's needs. Thanks to the Doombots, the work had progressed rapidly.

The new king of Latveria sat in his new chair and waved his hand. A monitor rose smoothly from the desk.

"So, you survived..." Doom whispered, seeing the news about the Fantastic Four. "But not for long, Richards."

—= Matthew Murdock =—

"Quite a busy day, huh?" Foggy asked.

I could feel my friend's muscles moving... Seeing the world in flames was difficult at first, but over time, one could get used to it.

"That's an understatement," I replied with a slight smile.

A glass of beer was emptied in an instant. At that moment, we were in our old friend's bar.

"Working as an attorney for a super-genius is a great opportunity!" Foggy said with a grin.

Reed Richards... He was definitely going to be our most interesting and challenging client. I was certain of it, not just because he was a superhero, as the media had dubbed him, but because he seemed to anticipate our reactions two steps ahead.

"I hope this work will be fruitful," I said.

Foggy smiled and said, "To Nelson and Murdock, Attorneys at Law!"

"To Nelson and Murdock, Attorneys at Law," I echoed with a smile.