FF Plaza

"Okay, Crisis and Sonik, let's see how you play with the big leagues," the Thing said, as he stretched his muscles and clenched his fists within the playroom at Four Freedoms Plaza. This was a training session for the newest crime smashers in the biz, Crisis and Sonik. They were to battle the Fantastic Four; the Thing, the Human torch,the Invisible Woman, though she was still pregnant and due at any moment, and Mr. Fantastic, the leader of the FF.

Crisis stepped forward, about to launch into battle. "We may be used to fighting drug pushers and drug runners but you may find that we are quite formidable enough as it is."

Sonik reiterated his comments. "And he's just not whistlin' dixie. We may be urban heroes but we're something special."

"If that is how it is, then it's clobberin' time!!" yelled the Thing as his battlecry as he launched into battle. His first attack was a mistake on his part. He punched Crisis squarely in the gut, sending him flying backwards against the opposite titanium wall. Crisis smiled as he did this and seemingly slipped into unconsciousness.

"Touchdown," the Thing said. "Yer next, Sonik or junior Banshee or whatever you call yerself."

"You made a grave mistake there, Thingy," Sonik commented. Sonik gestured with his arms and from his fingertips came twin blasts of pure sonic force. It hit the thing in the chest, sending him also flying backwards. He hit the opposite wall.

"Thanks, Sonik," Crisis said. "I don't know if I could have handled him myself. Y'see, even if I duplicate the force of his blow, that wouldn't have been enough to down him."

Suddenly, Susan Richards was about to attack the two urban heroes, Crisis and Sonik, when she was struck with labor pains. Reed rushed over to her side.

"Sue, are you all right?" Reed asked.

"T-take me to the h-hospital…" she barely stammered out.

St. Vincent's Hospital

Reed Richards wheeled his wife, Susan Storm, in her wheelchair into the lobby of St. Vincent's. She had already gone into labor and the baby could be due at any moment now. Pregnancy was not always an easy thing for the Fantastic Four. Miscarriages, difficult births was all commonplace for the First Family. Reed would be a fool if he was not fully prepared for any danger that could present himself for this particular birth. Anything could happen to the baby. He or she could be born a mutant, like Franklin.

"Is there a doctor in the house?" Reed yelled at the top of his lungs. Behind him were the Thing, the Human Torch, and the Thing's current girlfriend, Alicia Masters. Susan thought it was best if Franklin stayed home with their robotic babysitter. He shouldn't be exposed to this trauma at such an early age.

The nurses and other hospital officials simply ignored the calls for help of the Fantastic Four. The Thing shook an angry fist in the air. "Okay, if I don't get a doc now, it's goin' t'be clobberin' time!!"

"I'm a doctor!" someone said. A man in a white lab coat with a stethoscope stepped forward. "I'm Doctor Bryan Brendall and I can deliver your wife's baby. I'll prep her for delivery right away. Mr. Richards, you can come with me. The rest of you, I can assume that you are just friends, you can wait in the lobby until we give you the call."

"No way, Charlie," the Thing admonished, getting angry by the second. "We're family, as much so as Stretcho here so we're going in with her. So If I's was you, I'd let us pass and show us where the delivery room is."

Reed placed a hand on Ben's shoulder, staying his anger and trying his best to calm his old friend since college down. "No, the doctor's right. There is no need for extra bodies in there. I'll go with Susan, the rest of you can just calm down, sit down, and wait. It shouldn't be too long."

"Okay, Reedie boychick, if you say so."

With all in agreement, Dr. Brendall wheeled Susan into the delivery room, with Reed right beside him.

St. Vincent's Waiting Room

The Thing, his girlfriend Alicia Masters, and the Human Torch sat in the lobby of the hospital waiting for the moment when the baby could be delivered and they could see Susan and the baby. The thing himself wished it was a girl. He was quite fond of baby girls himself since he was getting closer to Alicia and wished that they would marry soon and have a child of their own. But he had his doubts that that would ever take place. He was afraid that their child would be a mutant or worse.

"All this waitin' is drivin' me buggy," The Thing said, as he folded his arms while sitting in his metal chair. "You know, that Suzie is not known for her easy births. Why, I remember the She-hulk tellin' me about her miscarriage. After that, I'm surprised Reedie and Suzie agreed to have another baby."

"Don't worry about it, Ben my darling," Alicia said, trying to comfort him. The Thing was known to be something of a worrier. He had so many good qualities. "I'm sure the delivery will be a successful one."

"Yeh, Ben, quit worrying," Johnny said. "I mean, I'm not worried and she's my sister. If anyone should be worried about her, it's me."

"Anyway," Ben turned his attention to other matters, "Do you think we should have brought Crisis and Sonik with us? I mean, if they are part of the Fantastic Four's extended family."

"They seem like nice gentlemen," Alicia commented.

"Are you kidding, Ben? We hardly know them. I still don't know why you even invited them over to our headquarters. Sure, they could be an aid to us but we didn't have to ask them to join us. We are a four member team, nothing more and nothing less."

Ben turned his eyes to Johnny. "And what about Lila? She was a member of the team for almost a year. F'r a while there, I thought that we were the Fantastic Five."

"She was different. She helped us fight a battle. She was one of us. These guys are just outsiders."

"I say, give them a chance. Then, we can decide what to do with them. To be honest, I don't think that they want to join us, only learn the ropes."

Johnny smiled. "That makes it okay then."

"Hmm," Alicia commented as she felt her digital Braille watch. "We've been here for hours. Susan should have delivered by now."

Suddenly, a nurse comes in from the delivery room, looking for Ben, Johnny, and Alicia. They seem to be lost in conversation not paying any mind to the going ons around them.

"Excuse me, you can come in now," the nurse said. "It was a successful delivery. Dr. Brendall did a fantastic job."

All three members of the FF's extended family jumped up, yelling in uproarious applause.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Ben asked.

"Why don't you come in to the delivery room and see for yourself?" the nurse asked.
"That's just Suzie for ya," Ben said. "Keepin' us in suspense like that. C'mon, kiddies, let's go!"

As one unit, the three members of the Fantastic Four race down the hallway followed by the nurse to the delivery and as one, they open the door to see Susan Richards in her gown, holding a baby in the crook of her arms, Reed beside her proud with envy of the birth of his second child, and Dr. Bryan Brendall watching proudly over them.

Susan smiled. "Ben, would you be the godfather or our baby girl?"

"Of course I will. What's her name?"

"Victoria Richards."

In another part of town, in a district that we know to be Harlem, Crisis and Sonik are walking from street corner to street corner, trying to find adventure on their own, without the aid of the thing and the rest of the Fantastic Four.

Suddenly, before they can voice their opinions about the world's First Family, they see a glowing light in an alleyway. They don't recognize the man that exits the alleyway but they do recognize his intentions.

"Hello, Crisis and Sonik, I am the Pharoah Rama-Tut. For years I have been an enemy of the Fantastic Four. I need to transport you to your own time and place. If you will come with me…"

"Hey, wait…"

"What the?!"

Rama-Tut presses a stud on his control box. A white light envelops the two urban heroes and a doorway opens. They are pulled with gentle push from Rama-tut's machinery and they are gone.

Another computerized stud is pressed and Rama vanishes. He is proud of a good day's work.