When the Fantastic Four returned to their headquarters in FF Plaza, all they found was a near-empty lab housed by Reed Richards and an unconscious Lila Storm. She looked near death but Reed knew how this all came about. It was a debacle orchestrated by the Wizard, the leader of all incarnations of the Frightful Four, whom they recently fought. All members of the FF rushed over to her side to see if she was indeed all right. She looked badly beaten.

"For the luvva Pete, what did the Wizard do to her?!" The Thing asked his best friend Reed Richards when he had surveyed the damage that the leader of the evil FF had done to her. "Ol' Wizzie seemed to be really harmless when I fought him before but now, Reed just look at her."

"I surmised this," Reed said, trying to analyze the situation. He had hand on chin, rubbing it and stroking it methodically. "This is a new Wizard that we are encountering. A Wizard that is more ruthless and diabolical than we have seen before. With the addition of the Sandman, it is hard to tell if the Sandman is indeed a villain or a hero again. I think, and this is merely hypothetical here, but I surmise that the Wizard has used some sort of device to bring out the Flint Marko personality in the Sandman, while putting the William Baker persona in remission.* It is not unlike what I have seen in the Alphan, Aurora, who is a mainstay member of Alpha Flight.**"

"Reed, I'll put her on the bed," Sue said, as she used her powers of invisibility to create an invisible shield from under Lila to transport her to the bed. She did it gently so as not to injure her furthermore.

"Thanks, Sue," Reed retorted. "Be careful, be very careful, not to disturb by a hairsbreadth or she could die, she's severely beaten. She's going to need a lot of medical attention, for she could be well."

"Reed, look at the bookcase," Johnny said.

"What is it, Torch?"

"Your Electromag Gun, it-it's gone!!"

"Oh dear," Reed gasped, touching his face in afterthought. "With that weapon, the Wizard could increase the Frightful Four's powers or decrease our powers."

* (The Wizard used the device to cause the switching of personalities in the Sandman here and in M2K's Amazing Spider-man #20. Just a plug for Mike's fabulous Spidey issues - Plugging Gregg.)
** (Aurora is composed of not two but three personalities, which causes trouble for her in my Alpha Flight title. Just another shameless plug - Shameless Gregg.)

Elsewhere

Philip Masters, the Puppet Master, was just released from the Vault by the Wizard and his Frightful four to lay waste to the Fantastic Four. The Wizard used a device similar to the one that he used on the Sandman to brainwash him to believe that the FF were his enemies, as he was trying to reform himself. Now, he wanted nothing more to use Alicia's newfound powers for his own end to have a life of crime.

In his apartment on the Lower East Side, he looked at the briefcase where he kept his clay puppets. Now he had puppets of various super beings, namely, the Fantastic Four, his daughter Alicia Masters, the Undying Force, and Dragon Man. He examined them and waited to make his move.

The real Dragon Man sat on the floor beside him. He growled underneath his breath. Philip Masters took the puppet of Dragon Man and placed it on the table in from of him. He attached the strings to the puppet and placed it in a model of the city.

"Go, my Dragon Man, go into the city, and show the Fantastic Four what the Frightful Four is made of," the Puppet Master said, as he sent Dragon Man on his way.

Dragon Man flew out of the window, shattering it into a million pieces, and in seconds, he was gone from sight.

The Puppet Master then proceeded to use the model and the puppets to make the puppet of the Dragon Man flew over the city to the puppets of the Fantastic Four in FF Plaza. He smiled for the coming battle.

But unbeknownst to him, Sue Storm entered his apartment, invisible to prying eyes. Reed gave her a signalling device similar to Cerebro that would lead her to super powered criminals in the vicinity. She saw this whole display and witnessed the scene before her.

It looks like the Frightful Four has expanded its ranks, Sue thought, while approaching the Puppet Master. She fired an invisible blast of invisible force at the model and the puppets, shattering it just like the Dragon Man had done to the window before.

"Who is it? Who's there?" the Puppet Master asked, surprised at the intruder.

The Invisible Woman became visible, so she could truly overpower him. She encased him in an invisible shield.

"This ends here and now," she said.

FF Plaza

"What's keeping Sue?" the Human Torch asked of the Invisible Woman's husband, Mr. Fantastic.

Reed turned to Johnny. "She should be back soon. I sent her away to find the cause of all this, maybe where the Wizard is, but we both know that the Wizard is ever the elusive one. I could signal her with our flare gun but I wouldn't want to attract attention to her and ourselves. I'm positive that she's all right and not in any present danger."

"Hey, Daddy, where's Mommie?" a voice sounded within the room. Everyone turned to the origin of the voice and found Franklin Richards standing there clothed in a t-shirt that had the emblem of the Fantastic Four and loose blue jeans. "I just had one of my bad dreams."

Reed knelt down to speak to his son. "Is your mother in danger? Did the Wizard overpower her?"

"No, it's not that," Franklin said. "Actually, she's fine but I want to talk to her about my other dream. This one was a good dream and it concerned Auntie Alicia."

The Undying Force stepped forward to talk to Franklin. "What is it, Franklin? What did your dream say about me?"

Franklin smiled. "It was nothing, 'Licia, but I sensed that you really don't want this Undying Force that has been placed upon you. I can rid you of it, I can send it to the ether."

"You don't have to do that, Franklin? I'm sure Reed will invent something to rid me of it on his own," Undying said.

"No, 'Licia, just hold still and watch me."

Franklin placed his hands on Alicia's arms and weird energy exuded out of his eyes and body and engulfed Alicia totally and completely. She seemed to be in pain for a brief moment but it was really a scream of joy and exhilaration that was heard by all.

Alicia Masters dropped to her knees when Franklin's work was done. The pupils in her eyes turned bone white and she was blind again.

"I don't believe it!!!" she shouted. "I-I'm blind again." She paused. "Ben, please hold me!"

"Sure, babe," Ben responded as he helped Alicia up. Then, Alicia looked in the general direction of his face, stroked his features, and embraced him fully. But though the two lovebirds were hugging and Alicia gave him a long kiss on his rocky, craggy mouth, no one saw Johnny turn away, heartbroken that this was the final straw; Alicia would no longer be his.

Then, while this display took place, a newcomer came through the door in Reed's Lab.

"Isn't anyone glad to see me?" she asked.

Everyone turned to the newcomer and Reed saw that it was indeed Sue Richards. She took resplendent in her FF uniform that was fitted especially around her pregnancy.

"Sue, you're back," Reed said, surprised.

"Yes, I finished my business with the Puppet Master."

"My father, I mean step-father, what did he want?" Alicia asked.

"Oh, Alicia, you're yourself again. Well, it seemed the Puppet Master was recruited by the Wizard to be his last member of the evil Frightful Four. He had a plan of siccing Dragon Man on us and he also had puppets of the Fantastic Four."

"What did you do, Sue?" Alicia asked.

"I stopped him, of course. Simply put, I placed him and his puppets in an invisible bubble. I carted the Puppet Master back to the Vault. Then, I took his puppets of the Frightful Four and made them go to the Vault, too." She paused. "So, how's Lila?"

"I'm fine, Sue. And I have an announcement to make," Lila said, with a bandage around her forehead. "I'm taking a leave of absence from the ranks of the Fantastic Four. I want to make it as a super-heroine on my own and try to return to my own time."

"Whatever happens to you next, I'm sure you will do it with a steadfast heart," Reed said and the rest concurred.