Medusa and Tigra had been searching all across the cosmos for the Mankal Rings. They had found them. Medusa found one in the heart of a sun in the Andromeda Galaxy. She found another in the Pits of Ra-17. Tigra found two of them hidden in odd places on the Shi'ar homeworld. They had achieved their mission and stopped whoever it was from getting the Mankal Rings. Then out of nowhere a blazing light came and shot Tigra and Medusa in the backs, knocking them out and sending the Mankal Rings out of their hands. The person who picked them up was the same Kree that had come out of Cosmicus's computer.*

(* This mysterious Kree emerged back in FF #6 - Russ)

"The Supreme Evolutionary now has the Mankal Rings! The Deathbird android played her part well by making Cosmicus spread the Mankal Rings across the cosmos. It was pure luck Tigra and Medusa found them for me. Now the universe shall tremble at my might," Supreme Evolutionary gloated. He then teleported to who knows where.

Four Freedoms Plaza

Black Panther, Ant-Man , Human Torch, and the Thing were all about to load into a plane to find the missing Maggott, when they heard a deafening crash. "That came from the infirmary!" Human Torch exclaimed. All four heroes ran there and saw a pumped-up and obviously mad Maggott waiting for them.

"How much noise does a guy have to make to get your attention?" Maggott said.

"What have you done to him Devious?" Ant-Man asked, angered.

"I have made him much more powerful than what he used to be. He is now my ultimate soldier," Devious said.

"Maggott, we will break you free of Devious's control," Black Panther said.

"What control? I revel in this new found power!" Maggott laughed wickedly.

Then out of nowhere, little maggots came flowing out of Maggott's fingers. It was an incredibly disgusting sight to the FF. "Oh you are probably wondering 'How on Earth can Maggott do that?' Well, now I can produce little maggots that can do a variety of things. They can grow and shrink, attach to someone and allow me to control them, attach to someone and allow me to copy their power, eat matter at an incredible rate, shoot optic blasts of destructive force, and attach to me to give me incredible super-strength almost to the level of Juggernaut. Now how's that for powerful?" Maggott said.

"Not powerful enough," Human Torch said and pulled out his own new power. The ice beams from his fingertips froze all the little maggots except for one, which hooked onto Thing.

"Now Thing... attack!" Maggott yelled. Thing began to grow. He punched Black Panther and Ant-Man out of a window. Human Torch was left to fight all three villains alone until out of the hole that Black Panther and Ant-Man where thrown into came the Inhumans.

"People like you get on my nerves." Krosscrux said, unleashing a sonic blast destroying the maggot on Thing's neck and knocking Maggott out.

Devious was now all alone against the combined forces of the Inhumans and the heroes. He knew he could create a bunch of light constructs to hold off the heroes, but it was obvious to him that he would eventually lose. He would come back another day though, to get back his soldier, Maggott. He jumped out of a window and was headed back to his lab when he came across Diablo. "Devious you have been a naughty chico," and with that Devious's world went black.

"Man that was a close one," Human Torch sighed while rubbing his forehead.

"We figured we could be of help," Karnak said his mind wandering to the whereabouts of his missing king, Black Bolt.

"So, Karnak who are the new guys?" Thing asked.

"They are the newest members of the Royal Family. Their names are Cohors , Krosscrux , Crosier and Duellum. Krosscrux has powers of a cosmic nature. Cohors can shoot sulfuric acid out of his pores. Crosier's powers are based more on his appearance. He as you can see has six arms covered with spikes, a lion's head with three eyes, and a 15 foot long tail that is strong as adamantium. Duellum can copy DNA from anything and anyone he touches. He can then use that information to create clones of someone or mix the DNA together to make his own creatures. They all became a part of our royal family when they saved Medusa. This happened while the FF were kidnapped by Cosmicus," Karnak explained.

"Well, now that you mention we have got to find Reed," Ant-Man said, carrying Black Panther over his shoulder. "Oh by the way thanks for getting us," Ant-Man said sarcastically.

"I am sorry, I was about to go and get you guys but, I got distracted by the new Inhumans. Anyway, you are right... we've got to find Reed and Sue. Who knows what they could be going through now?" Human Torch asked rhetorically.

Out of nowhere a blinding light shined in the window Ant-Man and Black Panther were knocked out of, and Medusa and Tigra stepped out of the light. "We need to get down to business, guys. I know you are all battle-weary but we all must gather together to conquer the threat of Supreme Evolutionary," Medusa said, sounding distressed.

"My queen what do you speak of, and why has your appearance changed?" Karnak asked.

" I speak of the villain known as the Supreme Evolutionary. He has the powerful items known as the Mankal Rings. He will destroy the universe if we do not stop him. My appearance has changed Karnak because I carry the Undying Force within my being," Medusa said.

"Are you totally forgetting about Reed and Sue?" Human Torch asked angrily.

"No, I have not forgotten about Reed and Sue. The Undying Force tells me that once we begin our fight with Supreme Evolutionary, Reed and Sue will show up to help us battle the dark menace," Medusa explained.

"Alright, fine. Let's get to taking this dude down. One question though: do you think we are all strong enough to take down this Supreme Evolutionary, whoever he is?" Human Torch asked, not too sure of what the answer was.

"I believe it is possible to defeat him, but I think we might need more help," Medusa said.

"Alright... well most of the heroes of Earth are occupied with this Apocalypse mess.* We would have long ago assisted them if it wasn't for our missing teammates, missing allies, cosmic threats, and these dang new powers we got!" Human Torch yelled, obviously stressed.

(* See M2K's Apocalypse: Ageless Fury mini and the various crossovers for details -- Russ)

"Do you wish to have cheese with that wine?" Achilles asked walking in with the Olympian Squad.

"The Olympian Squad! Why I ought to rip you morons into pieces!" Crosier yelled.

"Man, I can't believe those jerks would have the nerve to follow us!" Krosscrux said.

"Silence! This just may be the help we need," Medusa said.

"Do you mind if I help too?" Maggott asked, awakening from an infirmary bed he had been placed on by Ant-Man.

"Your help would be most welcomed," Medusa said, smiling at Maggott who, though you couldn't tell, began to blush.

"Look we don't have all day. Can we just get to crushing this Supreme Evolutionary punk?" Human Torch clamored, still having a chip on his shoulder. It was because he was worried about his sister. Who knows what could be happening to her and Reed on that spaceship?

"Okay everyone hold on to your stomachs," Medusa warned as she blinked all the heroes to where Supreme Evolutionary was at.

Cosmicus's Ship

"Reed, what is up with the ship's engines?" Invisible Woman asked frantically.

"I don't know Sue, dear! They seem to be shutting off by themselves," Reed tried to explain, but the wheels were turning in his head too fast and too hard.

"Well, that is just great, because we are headed for a big red planet with high energy levels coming from it!" Invisible Woman bellowed to her occupied husband.

"What do the atmospheric readings say, honey?" Reed asked.

"The computer shows that there is enough oxygen for us to breath," Sue said with just a little more calm in her voice.

"Honey, please get into your seat and prepare for a landing," Reed said, sounding like an American Airlines flight attendant.

"What!? I'm positive beyond reasonable doubt that once I get home I will never want to ride in an airplane again," Sue said while strapping herself in. She was using humor to disguise her fear.

"Sue it won't be that bad now," Reed said trying to comfort his wife.

"I wanted to spend quality time with you, but this is ridiculous!" Invisible Woman cried out.

The ship suddenly began to rock back and forth. Then violent shaking began so bad that you would never want to bring a soda on that ship. Sue felt like she was about to throw up. Reed was too busy trying to think of what dangers might be on the planet. Then with a loud boom they hit land.

Reed unstrapped Sue and together they walked out of the ship seeing a very strange and unexpected surprise. It was the Inhumans, Johnny, Ben, Black Panther, Tigra, Ant-Man and some unknowns all fighting against multiple threats, all of which seemed to stream from the Kree with the gold and silver rings covering his body. Ben was trying to fight off a bunch of wolf-like creatures with his new powers. Johnny, Gorgon, and Triton were fighting a group of energy creatures until all three of them were knocked out. That sparked Reed and Sue to jump into the fight. All of a sudden though, Karnak and Ant-Man attacked Sue and Reed.

"What are you guys doing?" Reed implored of Karnak and Ant-Man.

"We are destroying you and your despicable wife," Karnak said, grinning.

"The Hate Ring does wonders doesn't it, Reed!" Supreme Evolutionary yelled to Reed from a distance.

"Who are you anyway you egotistical, piece of slime?" Reed shot back at Supreme Evolutionary.

"I am, my dear genius, the Supreme Evolutionary. The fact that I have a snazzy name won't shock you, but it is a fact that I was created by your son, Franklin Richards. Franklin Richards created Cosmicus and his ship, heck Franklin created the Mankal Rings. So you wouldn't even be in this mess if it wasn't for your son," Supreme Evolutionary revealed.

Reed was stricken with anger not at his son, but at his own self. He knew he should have shut down Franklin's powers forever, but he just couldn't bring himself to do it. Now it was his fault that all of this was happening.

"Not all of Franklin's creations are foul, for I myself am a creation of Franklin!" the Undying Force proclaimed in a moment as she took over Medusa's body.

Sue on the other hand felt great sorrow about Franklin and his creations. With his powers he would never live a normal life, but to take his powers away would be wrong. What a conflict for a mother to go through!

Karnak then suddenly leaped at Sue, who erected a force field around Karnak, cutting off his oxygen intake till he passed out. Reed took out the shrinking and growing Ant-Man by using a molecular disrupter he had in his pocket. Reed couldn't believe he had forgot it was in his pocket. He then turned the knob on the weapon to stun, giving Ant-Man a reasonable amount of pain but not causing any permanent damage.

"Sue, take my gun and help some of the heroes out. I have a plan," Mr. Fantastic proclaimed.

Sue took off, but got a good look at her husband, the bravest man in the world, before she helped Ben. She blasted the wolf creatures that he was fighting into oblivion. "Sue it looks there aren't many of us left," Ben said. He was correct in saying this because Thing, Invisible Woman, Mr. Fantastic, Maggott, Tigra, and Medusa were the only ones left standing.

"What do you say we go and help Medusa, Tigra, and that maggot-wielding guy out?" Invisible Woman asked, knowing Ben was ready for some clobbering time. They both ran to the main battle anxious to get a piece of the action.

Medusa and Tigra kept giving Supreme Evolutionary powerful blasts of cosmic energy, all to no avail. Maggott used his maggots to copy the powers of Medusa and Tigra. His cosmic blasts combined with theirs were still of no use. Thing began to grow to the size of a bus and he threw himself at the body of Supreme Evolutionary. Supreme Evolutionary simply let out a blast, sending Thing into a mountain about ten miles away. "Whatever these Mankal Rings are they are pretty powerful!" Sue shouted to her three allies.

"HA! Woman, you have no idea how powerful the Mankal Rings are. The Hate Ring, my personal favorite, allows you to make anyone hate anyone. They could be brother and father, the ring doesn't care. The War Ring allows you to create anything that fights in or is used as an instrument of war. The Might Ring makes its holder so close to invulnerable you can spit at it. The Love Ring can make the most bitter of enemies become the best of friends. When these rings are all together you can see why they are to be feared. You are all very silly for trying to defeat me, because along with the powers of the Rings I have my own abilities. I am a very powerful telepath and my most powerful ability is that I can create dimensions. Amazing huh? Once I conquer this universe I will go on to create other ones just to conquer them over and over again. Won't that be fun?" Supreme Evolutionary gloated.

Then all of a sudden, a giant beam came out of what was Cosmicus's ship and it hit Supreme Evolutionary. The beam was a blazing, fluorescent green that lit up the red planet's landscape. Invisible Woman, Maggott, Tigra, and Medusa had to cover their eyes because of the blinding light. The wind that the blast created when flying by knocked all the remaining heroes to their knees. When the blast hit Supreme Evolutionary, an agonizing, blood-curdling scream was heard.

"REED WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO ME??!!" Supreme Evolutionary yelled. His yelling helped keep his mind off of the pain. He felt as if his very body was ripping apart.

"Supreme Evolutionary, I place you under arrest. You have no rights whatsoever and your sentence is eternal banishment to a dimensional vortex," Mr. Fantastic said, gloating over his genius move.

"WHAT??? NOOOOO!!!" Supreme Evolutionary screamed as his body began to break down and he disappeared... but he got out one final word: "Reed, I swear that one day vengeance shall be mine!" With that, the Supreme Evolutionary disappeared into his new home.

The heroes could barely contain their excitement. "How did you beat him, Reed?" Sue asked.

"Wow! That was one big blast, Mr. Fantastic," Maggott said with boyish excitement.

"Reed the way you acted like a cop was so sexy," Tigra remarked, purring.

"Okay guys, settle down now. I will tell you exactly how I beat Supreme Evolutionary. The Q12 particle storm that the ship went through charged up the ship with immense energies. I modified the space flux transformer and I was then able to unleash a blast of Q12 energy that propelled Supreme Evolutionary into his new prison," Reed explained.

Tigra was about to tell Reed how much she loved his explanations when a bright blue beam flew straight up from where Supreme Evolutionary had been. The beam began to grow wider. The heroes wanted to speak but it was as if something was holding them back. The beam eventually enveloped the entire planet and the planet then exploded.

Four Freedoms Plaza

Alicia had called in some construction workers to fix and clean up the mess done to Four Freedoms Plaza from the fights with the Frightful Four and Devious. She was shouting orders to one of the heftier construction workers when a loud SHIK! sound was heard and a bunch of heroes suddenly appeared on the floor around Alicia. All of them looked healthy enough to Alicia... but where was Reed?

"Man, talk about vacations. Sheesh, what happened here, this place is a wreck!" Invisible Woman shrieked.

"Actually Miss Richards, that was my fault," Maggott said, covering his head in shame.

"It's not your fault kid, you were being controlled by that wacko Devious. Anyway all this damage didn't come from you. We got some from those stupid twerps in the Frightful Four too," Thing said, trying in his own way to comfort Maggott.

"Not to be rude but, what is the kid's name anyway?" Sue asked.

"His name is Maggott, sis. He came to us for help against Devious, who was hunting him down. We failed to protect him and Devious got a hold of him. Devious altered his powers and placed him under mind-control. We would have lost if not for the Inhumans showing up when they did," Johnny explained.

"Well, Maggott I can assure you we have seen much worse damage in our careers," Sue said, smiling at Maggott.

"Ummm, not to interrupt this tender moment, but where is Reed?" Alicia asked.

"Oh my... where is Reed? We all landed on Earth, maybe he is just in another part of Earth," Sue said, the distress starting to build up in her voice.

"Invisible Woman, my magic tells me that Reed isn't even in this universe anymore," Medea of the Olympian Squad revealed. Sue broke down in tears. Johnny and Ben both hugged her at the same time. The other heroes looked on in sadness. Sue got up, wiped her tears away, and decided it was time she do something instead of crying. She always was a very strong-willed woman.

"Look, we have to find Reed. Obviously he is in some other dimension. I think we should assemble a team to go and find him," Sue said.

"Ben and I will go to find Reed," Johnny said. Sue didn't want to lose them too, but she knew it was no good trying to change their minds. She nodded her head and they took off to the basement to get into Reed's dimension-spanning plane and head off.

Meanwhile, Sue knew what was next on the agenda. "Okay, well for everyone else who is still here we need to form a new FF. So who will be a part of it?" Sue asked. Black Panther left because he said he had affairs in Wakanda to deal with. * Ant-Man left because he had to get back to raising his little girl. The Olympian Squad left saying they were already a team and did not wish to be fractured, plus they were embarrassed that they were some of the first to be taken out by Supreme Evolutionary. Tigra and Maggott said they would join. Medusa said she would stay until a fourth member could be found. The rest of the Inhumans wished to stay with her for the time being. So now a new FF was formed with a temporary fourth member and the Inhumans occupying Four Freedoms Plaza.

(* To see what those "affairs" may entail, see M2K's upcoming MARVEL KNIGHTS series by Adnan Khan over on - appropriately enough - the Knights branch - Russ)

"Sue, I wonder why you didn't go with Johnny and Ben?" Alicia asked, now that all the superheroic business was dealt with.

"I stayed for Franklin. We have already been missing for almost a week now and to be gone any longer would hurt Franklin. Where is my little boy anyway?" Sue asked Alicia, who had been Franklin's caretaker during the time Sue, Reed, Johnny, and Ben were out in space.

"Oh, I sent Franklin to his room while I was calling the construction workers. He is probably just playing with some toys," Alicia said.

Meanwhile Franklin was doing something a lot different than playing with toys. He was talking to someone. " Franklin your father is missing, but I will replace him. Do you wish for me to replace him?" the mysterious voice asked.

"Well... I guess so, because Daddy will be back soon anyway. Will you come to my birthday party?" Franklin asked the voice.

"Of course my dear Franklin. I will gladly come to your birthday party," the voice said.

Alicia then walked into the room. "Franklin, guess what? Your Mommy is home! Come down and see here," Alicia told Franklin.

"I know Mommy's home, but Daddy isn't. Don't worry though I got someone to replace him," Franklin said. As he said this, Alicia's mouth almost dropped. How could Franklin know about his Dad being missing? She had no clue about the mysterious voice.

When Franklin got downstairs he ran and gave his mother a big hug. He had really missed her. "Now were you good for Alicia?" Sue asked Franklin. Franklin nodded his head with an innocent smile upon his face.

That night, Sue fixed a big dinner for all the occupants of Four Freedoms Plaza, even the construction workers. She cooked about a dozen batches of spaghetti for everyone. She had to repeatedly tell Franklin not to slurp his spaghetti. It was after everyone had eaten and all the construction workers unbuttoned their pants when a knock was heard at the door.

Invisible Woman went to the door, opened it, and saw a very handsome young man at the door. "Hello, Mrs. Richards, I have a very important message for you. I know the whereabouts of the missing Inhuman King, Black Bolt. Finding him is of the utmost importance. If we do not the Earth will fall into darkness," Alan Shizer, the man at the door, said.

Johnny's and Ben's ride

"What is that disturbance up ahead Ben?" Johnny asked the Thing as they were flying through the "filling" between dimensions.

"I have no clue, Johnny boy. Hold on, our navigation systems just went out!" Thing yelled.

"Yeah, so did life support systems. We are going down!" Johnny yelled, banging some buttons and hoping they would do something.

"Question is: where are we gonna land? As far as we know this place is empty and infinite," Thing said while pounding his fists together.

Then a red rip began to form in the infinite emptiness and the ship fell into it. It was almost as if the ship was attracted to the rip. Johnny and Ben had pulled out some weapons that Reed had in the ship because they were expecting a fight.

The place where they ended up was red and barren. The ship crashed against some rocks. Ben and Johnny jumped out before the ship hit the rocks and blew up. Now Johnny and Ben had no way to get out of this place.

"Welcome to the new abode of the Adversary. I hope you enjoy your stay because I know I will," Adversary laughed at the two heroes.

Elsewhere

Reed Richards had no clue how he ended up in front of Westchester Mansion. He had just been fighting Supreme Evolutionary and then some big blast came out of nowhere. Could it be that all his friends and his wife were dead? Then all those fears were washed away when he saw the X-Men.

"Hello Reed, what a lovely surprise. Though I'm not too sure you are happy to see us," Magneto said as his X-Men - Alistaire, Boomer, Payne, Firestar, Thunderbird, and Shatterstar - surrounded him. Reed knew he was definitely not in his world.