บท 6: Chapter 6

"This is terrifying..." Sue whispered, clutching her seat.

"Fantastic!" Johnny Storm exclaimed.

"Stretch, next time I'll walk," Ben Grimm said.

"Come on," I said, getting out of the car. "With the safety system I installed, there was no danger."

Sue and Ben gave me icy looks.

"Alright, I won't drive so fast next time..."

Johnny slumped at my words, and Sue sighed in relief.

"I'll take your word for it," Ben said.

"Where are we?" Sue asked, looking around.

The car had landed on the roof of an old building.

"We're still in Manhattan," I began with a satisfied smile. "I used some of our funds to buy this building. This is now our home."

Sue and Johnny quickly recognized the street.

"You bought a building on 42nd Street?" Johnny asked, surprised. "For how much?"

"80 million dollars," I said. "I believe this place is the most optimal for our plans."

Johnny, Ben, and Sue stared at me with wide eyes.

"What?"

"I think I need to stop being surprised," Ben said, walking forward.

"Agreed..."

"So, you're planning to renovate this building?" Sue asked as I brought the last piece of equipment.

"Yes," I nodded, already having a rough plan in my head. "Now it's just a matter of executing it."

"Are you sure the building will support Ben?" Sue asked with a slight smile, noticing a door that had come loose.

"It should..." I replied uncertainly.

—= Some Time Later =—

The twelve-story building, built in 1970, withstood the weight of my stone friend. For now, we decided to use only the top, that is, the 11th floor of the building.

"How exactly are you going to renovate this place, Stretch?" Ben asked, sitting on a couch with broken legs.

"Watch this," I said, taking a device from my suitcase.

In my hands was a steel object, 5 by 5 cm.

"Remember I told you about nanorobots?" I asked, adjusting the device.

Sue nodded and said, "Yes, you mentioned you couldn't come up with an adequate implementation."

"Exactly," I nodded, finishing the setup. "However, I managed to create something else..."

CLINK

The device in my hands began to disassemble into smaller objects, spider-like robots of very small size.

"...I couldn't create nanorobots, but I managed to make steel microrobots. They will work on the building."

At that moment, a swarm of microrobots split and headed to the lower floors of the building.

"You created a self-replicating swarm of microrobots that can be programmed for specific tasks?" Sue asked.

I smiled and nodded, adding, "The hardest part was the software. I had to create an AI from scratch to coordinate the swarm's actions."

"You're amazing, Reed," Sue said with a smile.

"I know," I replied.

"And how long will they work?" Johnny asked.

I glanced at the tablet connected to the AI, showing the progress of the work.

"About a week," I said thoughtfully, looking at the screen.

Since the materials had already been delivered in the needed quantity, creating the work plan was quite simple. The building's foundation was to be strengthened and deepened. Thanks to the robot swarm, this was very easy to achieve.

"The main thing is that no one interferes," Ben said, opening a beer bottle with Johnny's help.

"That's true," I admitted, taking a cup of coffee.

Sue took a cup of tea, and Johnny followed Ben's example and took a beer. We met each other's eyes...

"TO THE FANTASTIC FOUR! TO US!" we toasted in unison.

CLINK

The coffee tasted incredibly good that evening, much more than any other cup I had ever had.

—= The Next Day =—

"What are you working on?" Sue asked me, also wearing a lab coat, signaling her scientific involvement.

"A generator for the tower," I replied. "By the way, you look fantastic."

The girl looked at herself and said, "Could it be any other way?"

"Heh, no. It could only be this way with you. Are you working on studying our bodies?"

Sue nodded and said contentedly, "At least with the data I've been able to gather about you, Johnny, and me. Ben is more challenging."

"Sounds interesting," I replied sincerely.

The girl's eyes sparkled with the same scientific excitement that fueled me.

"Yeah," she nodded. "The way cosmic energy changed our bodies is hard to imagine!"

I raised an eyebrow, curious about what Sue had discovered. The blonde was quite knowledgeable in genetics. Her opinion was worth considering.

"For example, your body!" Sue exclaimed.

"What about my body?"

"You probably don't need air anymore!" Sue said. "From the data I studied, all you need is food!"

This was interesting data... Hmm, this opens up fascinating possibilities.

"And understanding how my body becomes invisible is even more complicated!" Sue said, making her hands invisible. "At the very least, I can't figure out how I retain my vision while completely invisible!"

"I'm sure we'll find the answers to these questions," I smiled. "As soon as the work on the building is done, it will be time to create the necessary tools to help in our research."

—= Stark Tower =—

"Pour the lady whatever she wants!" Tony Stark exclaimed, drinking amber liquid from a glass. "That hit the spot!"

At this time, Anthony Edward Stark was in his tower, hosting a party celebrating a successful deal.

Tony's gaze was fixed on a woman who would grace his bed that night. Anthony was confident in his ability to charm women.

"Hold this," Tony said, handing the empty glass to a waiter. "I have some important business to attend to."

On his way to the woman, Tony adjusted his shirt and put on his signature smirk.

"Mr. Stark," the woman said, looking at him. "Good evening."

Tony liked the smile on the woman's face.

"The one and only," Tony said. "And you are?"

The woman smiled and said, "My name is..."

—= Some Time Later =—

"Tony!"

Tony Stark woke up with a slight hangover. His eyes opened to see his father's close friend, Obadiah Stane.

"Obadiah?"

"Get up quickly!" Stane exclaimed. "You have a meeting with the military soon!"

Tony looked at the clock and, realizing he was indeed running late, began to dress quickly.

—//—

Working on the first version of the generator, which will power the entire tower, went surprisingly smoothly thanks to a few intriguing solutions I had in mind. The closest in design was Tony Stark's reactor.

The Arc Reactor—a unique energy source created by Howard Stark and Anton Vanko to replicate the Cosmic Cube's energy. A miniature nuclear reactor of pure energy. By hacking government servers, I managed to acquire some relevant designs.

"Let's see..." I whispered, inserting the palladium into the center.

I knew palladium wasn't the best solution, but I didn't have time to create something more sophisticated.

As soon as I inserted the palladium... The process began, and the reactor in front of me lit up.

"Excellent," I said, observing the power levels recorded by my instruments. "This should suffice for now."

My gaze fell on the supercomputer I had assembled, which was currently controlling the project operations.

"The Fantastic Four building has been successfully constructed," announced the mechanical voice. "The first version of the shields has been successfully raised."

This was the AI I had created while hacking government documents.

"Good... Now show me the Gate project."

The initial sketch of the project, crucial for both me and the team, appeared before my eyes.

"It's time to build a portal to the Negative Zone."

—= Some Time Later =—

"What is this, Stretch?" Ben asked.

The entire team had gathered before the first version of the Gate.

"This is a portal to the Negative Zone."

"Why do we need this portal?" Ben asked.

The question lingered not only in his mind but in everyone's thoughts. I smiled and said:

"Setting aside the fact that this discovery will advance science to new heights... This dimension could potentially hold the key to curing you."

Sue and Ben were the most intrigued, though Johnny's eyes also sparkled with interest.

"What do you mean?" Sue asked.

I reached for the tablet at the end of the room.

"Remember when you showed me our research data?"

She nodded.

"I decided to delve deeper into the topic... Computer, display the research data."

Instantly, the holographic monitors lit up, displaying images of me, Sue, Ben, and Johnny.

"I discovered something extremely interesting. Our bodies were altered by cosmic energy," I said, showing a diagram of our positions on the ship. "The energy worked like any other energy. The impact hit Sue and Johnny, giving them the largest dose, while you and I got the remnants. This energy deficiency left us in our respective states."

A simulation of the cosmic energy spread was displayed before my friends as evidence.

"Now, let's discuss the next point," I said, showing Ben's genome. "We can't reverse the changes that occurred to us. Cosmic energy altered us on such a fundamental level that reversing the changes is impossible."

The image of Ben's genome breaking down said it all.

Ben hung his head. It was crucial to restore hope to my best friend.

"This means there's only one solution."

"What is it?" Ben asked.

Sue already understood, judging by her eyes.

"You want to saturate Ben's body with cosmic energy," she said.

I nodded and replied:

"This should allow Ben to transition between two states."

"This energy is in the Negative Zone?" Sue asked.

I nodded and displayed the next video.

"I've spent the last few days trying to find a place with similar energy. This led me to this discovery."

Johnny yawned and said:

"So what are we waiting for? Let's head to this Negative World and upgrade our rocky friend."

I smirked and said:

"We need to test and refine some details first. Primarily, the tether connecting us to the gate and the gate's protection system."

Ben thoughtfully watched the video and the Gate, then said:

"If anyone can do it, it's you. How long do we need to wait?"

His faith in me was encouraging, as it showed that hope still burned brightly in his heart.

"A maximum of one week. By then, the creation of more advanced power sources for the Gate will be complete."

Initial tests showed the Arc Reactor's energy wasn't sufficient to support all the Gate's functions.

"After that, we'll tackle the problem," I said confidently.

—= New York =—

"And what can you say about this?" asked a high-ranking government official.

"It's... an anomaly," said the woman he addressed.

The woman held a very high position in the world of transnational business.

"Don't pressure our ally, Hagar," said a more authoritative voice.

Tap-Tap

Another individual entered the room. The voice belonged to a green-skinned, pointy-eared, anthropomorphic alien.

"We just need to find out what this team is all about," the alien's gaze fixed on the hologram of the Fantastic Four.

Hagar followed his kind's protocol and shifted form... becoming a green-skinned Skrull.

"As you say, De'Ral."

The woman also revealed her true form and asked:

"Will we operate like we do with mutants?"

Hagar shook his head and said:

"This time we can act differently. Humans won't get very far, so we need to activate one of our operatives."

The woman understood what this meant. There were plenty of Skrulls on Earth, but most were in high positions, so the choice fell on a small team of operatives.

"K-3568 will handle this mission," Hagar said. "They need to find out what Reed Richards is all about."

—= Reed Richards =—

I knew my security system wasn't perfect, so I had independent scanners monitoring the system's operations. However, I didn't expect to receive a breach notification so soon. Several dozen surveillance systems provided incredibly detailed information.

"Let's see who's responsible for the breach..." I whispered, looking at the incoming data.

—= A Few Minutes Earlier =—

Team K-3568 wasn't composed of the best representatives of their race, as few were stationed on this planet. The main Skrull elite was engaged in the war with the Kree.

"Rellion, how do we proceed?" one Skrull asked their captain.

The pointy-eared captain looked at the building belonging to the rising superhero team, the Fantastic Four.

"As usual. I don't think these primitives have a counter to our actions."