PREVIOUSLY ON THE FANTASTIC FOUR:

Reed Richards, Susan and Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm rode an improperly shielded rocket headed for the moon, only to be bombarded with cosmic rays which gave them amazing powers! Together, they became the Fantastic Four, sworn and intrepid adventurers seeking to face the dangers of the unknown.

WHAT'S GOING ON 1,2,3,4…
A recent encounter with the newly reborn Galactus and his heralds brings the Fantastic Four a brand new set of perplexities; Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, has lost control over his flames, as they endanger those around him, and their newborn daughter Victoria Richards has become a potential threat far greater than Franklin's in the balance of the cosmos. In light of all this, the Fantastic Four take a break from the action and adventure…meanwhile…there is…

7:08 AM. DOOM.

The golden ray light of dawn rose over the small country of Latveria, shining upon its quiet towns and mountains and piercing the veil of twilight...though the gravest shadow of all did not lie in path of the sun, but rather, in the darkness of the Castle Doom. Situated on a high plateau above the capitol Doomstadt, its structure was reminiscent of the Medieval Ages; of knights and sorcerers old whence once walked this earthly ground without fear; such are the heroes of Latveria, all whom at one point had resided herein.

It was only fitting that their greatest son would live within the hallow halls of this Castle once more.

Victor Von Doom walked through the open corridor-like bridge that linked his tower to the main wing of the castle, as the shadows of the columns that made the square border of each window covered in from the light. He walked without words into the ancient corridor, taking several turns in the labyrinth of stone walls and windows. Paintings hung at every other corner, depicting the monarch in his full glory; one even venerated him as a star from the heavens in medieval fresco, as if he were the messiah of his people. And he was.

Reaching his destination, he stood before the rusting iron door with the faces of great beasts carved before it; he brushed his hands and a holographic image appeared before him in translucent yellow-green colour.

CODE:????

Doom lifted his iron glove to touch the hologram and felt it as if it were real, solid question marks rather than being manipulated light bending to the will of Doom. He tapped in the pass code by instinct, and the hologram suddenly faded away. Victor stood back, as a roar was heard throughout the corridor; the eyes of the great beasts carved onto the door glowed luminescent green, and the door began creaking, as if it was pulled apart by an invisible force. Entered the lord of his castle; entered the room wherein he kept a multitude of his engineers at work day and night, following the blueprints he himself had made. These men…born of Latverian blood and educated by International greatness through Latveria's scholarship fund…have returned to pay for their knowledge, and they did so without contempt, for their lord was kindly and just to them, if not strict and cold as ice.

One of them moved towards the king with anxiety. In a terrible instant, he knelt before Doom and, with no intention of truly doing so, sullied the emerald cloak with his dirty hands.

"…milord Doom! You grace us ever so…"

"Enough."

The man was flung away from the monarch, and landed on the ground with a spine-tingling crack coming from his pelvis. He moaned endlessly, as Doom walked past him, the repulsor from his gauntlet dying away.

"Forgive him, lord Doom, he is new here," said another, a veteran of labour within the castle. Although he was only in his late-thirties, he looked past beyond that, if the scars and wrinkles in his face were of any indication. "He just came from…America…you know how they are; rude and terrible manners, having been without a real monarch for so long, milord…"

America.

The word penetrated into Victor's head, like the spear that struck Achilles' heel. He remembered well how he was shamed...he was also once a student in America, but unlike the other lad, he was not as brash…it was his colleagues, the fabled "Knights of the Atomic Table" who were unstable, with their American rebellious thought patterns and lack of respect for the power of knowledge. There he had met his downfall, in the form of one man who stood in the way of everything he represented.

Reed Richards.

He looked at the lad he had hurt awhile back, being carried away by the Doombots at his command. How fortunate this lad is, he thought, for he had met such a man.

Together, they were the counter-aspects of each other; Doom had fashioned himself the light of knowledge, and Reed the darkness of radical thoughts. Richards must have been a greater genius than he was, he admitted, for he made great things even as he was burdened with those erratic thoughts.

But for all great things that he had made, all paled to Doom.

"How fares the cataclysm machine," the monarch asked, as he eyed the giant invention of his design; it was an enormous column of circuit boards and mainframes that, when the rooftops were opened, would stretch to the sky like a great monolith, its shadow falling across the continent like blade. "It goes well, milord," the veteran said, trembling. "…we are almost ready."

"Good…very good. This will set aside those annoying Symakarians back. Carry on with caution." With the wave of his hand, Doom walked away out of the room, slowly and silently, his boots scraping against the ground. With engineers watched in fear, knowing not when he may come back. They scuffled back to their work, as Doombots entered, surveying over their work.

They did not come back with contempt.

They came back with fear.

7:08 AM. JOHNNY AND SUE GO AND ARGUE.

"Aw, God…why'd you have to make the sun come out so bright?"

Johnny Storm got out of bed grumbling, brushing his hand over the stubbles of hair on his chin. "Try to keep awake, Johnny," Sue said, as she passed him a cup of coffee; with Victoria strapped to her back, she was more sure of what she was doing, more secured…and that was the way she liked it.

"Oy vey…caffeine."

"Drink it up, will you?" Sue intoned, as she walked out of her brother's room for a moment, rushing back to the kitchen. From behind her, she heard Johnny cussing about the alarm clock she had bought him recently, which to be fair was causing so much noise that it could wake the other tenants in the building. It was her idea, of course, to rent the lower floors (right below them) of the Plaza as apartments, with the upper levels as storage and facilities for the Fantastic Four to use. Going into the kitchen, aimed her one outstretched hand to the coffee maker, and the other at an empty mug. Instantly, they began hovering in the air, and slowly but surely flew right into her hands.

Walking back into Johnny's room, she had taken notice that the wail of the clock had been cut abruptly, and that there was a crashing sound from outside. Entering the room, she found Johnny looking outside the window with satisfied glee.

"…Finally. I hope someone doesn't look up from outside of my window and see the alarm clock of death falling right upon their noggin or something."

"Johnny!"

Sue placed the coffee maker and the mug onto one of the shelves and immediately walked towards her brother. Pinching his ear, she took a look outside, only to find a wrecked clock with no one in sight. Wincing in pain, Johnny reasoned with her.

"Alarm won't stop."

"Johnny!"

"Oh come on, Sue; the only things outside at this hour are bats and owls!"

"Johnny…"

"Okay, you right, you win, won't do it again. Let go of my ear!" After twisting it one last time, Sue let go, and Johnny jumped around in pain and landed on his bed stomach up groaning. "Johnny Storm, I swear...where's your sense of responsibility?"

"Somewhere out there with power."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Sue shrugged, and poured herself some coffee. Johnny sat up in his bed, while she leaned onto the wall of his room. "Guess it's 'nother day - in - the - insert - boring - word - here," he groaned, stretching his hands. Immediately, Sue moved the coffee cup she gave him away from the shelf behind him, as his elbow accidentally pushed it over the ledge. "That's life, I guess," she said, sipping her drink. "My advice is to live within it." At that point, she felt Victoria trying to slip away from her restraints, and willed her an invisible force field to unloosen the straps around her. Gently, she floated her baby onto Johnny's lap. "Sometimes," she continued, as she tried to keep herself from staring at Victoria with a watchful eye. "You have to…to…"

"…Sue…are you okay?" Johnny looked at her, as her skin tone had changed from flesh to seemingly light blue. Tiny beads of sweat formed around her head, as she looked uneasy. She asked him why, and he blinked, only to find her skin revert back to normal, though the beads of sweat were still moving down onto her face.

"I asked you why."

"Huh?" He looked at her and snapped out of it, as Victoria rolled over and onto his mattress. Susan crossed her arms. "One of the things you have to work on is your attention span," she noted with a tut-tut-tut sound coming from her lips. "You're sweating," Johnny replied, pointing at her face."

"…what?"

She swiped her free hand over her forehead, and felt the dew in her palm. "Yea, that's right; one minute you're all cool, that next you're not. What's up with that?"

"…it's nothing." Sue wasn't listening to Johnny's words, as her eyes suddenly caught something from within the room. She felt it at that time; a cold and terrible feeling that made you feel so nervous; when you were alone but had that feeling that you weren't. From the corner of her eye she caught a blue flicker that disappeared instantly. "Sue?"

"…y-yes," she said in a jumpy, startled voice. On Johnny face was a stunned look; the next, a wide smile was forming on his face as he began pointing at Sue. "What do you call again, Sue? Attention span?"

"…wait, it's just that…I…" She then bit her lip, with a stymied yet concerned look on her face, as Johnny laughed out loud. Sue sighed and carried her baby into her arms.

"Okay, okay, fine; joke's over. Get yourself into the shower and suit up, Johnny. We're taking the tests today."

"Aw, come on…do we have…?"

"Yes."

Grumbling, Johnny sauntered his way to the bathroom like a zombie, dragging his towel behind him. Sue held Victoria tightly, and surveyed the room one last time.

"…what's going on around here?"

She may not be able to see it anymore, but the chill, it was still there. Walking out one step at a time, she felt that chill crawl down her spine like a snake ready to strike at its prey.

12:48 AM. THE PRICE.

"Now, this is interesting," Reed mumbled to himself, as he elongated body stretched to reach the end of the laboratory, twisting and moving around the intricate machines and utilities littered around the wide room. His targets were the canisters filled with the gelatinous orange substances and the high-optic microscope beside them. Stretching his neck a few inches longer, he rested his head right before the lens of the microscope, spilling a tiny dose of the substance into a micro-filtered slide. Then, with the slide in one hand, the other one extended backwards, taking the test tube on the hovering platform which had followed his heat signature anywhere. Mixing the two chemicals in the slide, he then waited for a moment, before slipping it right under the microscope. It would be one great discovery, and it would only take that day.

"Daddy?"

Franklin Richards walked into the laboratory, holding out the movie tickets in his arms. The young boy walked past his father's lower body, and followed the pathway of Reed's stretched upper body. Reed moved his head away from the microscope, and looked down at the smiling boy. He eyed the tickets, unaware that his stretched hand had nudged the slide off the microscope by accident. The slide fell onto the floor, and the mixed substance began pushing through its containment, spewing goo on the floor slowly…

"Ah."

"We're going to watch Harry Potter, right Daddy?"

Franklin's blue eyes fixated on his father's, with a smile on his hopeful face. The man known as Mr. Fantastic said nothing, as he eyed his son and back to the microscope, only then noticing the orange goo on the floor.

"Franklin, please, for a moment," he said, as he drew closer to survey the mess. In frustration, he lifted the goo into his hands, only to find it no longer ready for his experiment. His son still held out the tickets, his smile wiped away from his face at that instant.

"Daddy, what's…?"

"Not now, son," Reed replied quickly, as he continuously prodded the substance with his hands. "If I don't reanimate the adaptable anti-viral bacteria, who knows when we can make a similar organism again in this lifetime?"

"But, can't we watch the movie now?"

"I'm sorry, Franklin…if it were only that simple, I could…" Reed lifted the bacteria and placed it back into its empty canister. "Maybe you would like to go with Uncle Ben then, I don't think I will be able to make it."

Without a reply, Franklin walked out of the laboratory with his head down. His hand dropped down straight, the tickets slipping away from his fingertips. He didn't care anymore, anyway.

"I'm sure Uncle Ben would love to as much as I…"

CLICK.

"Franklin?"

Reed shut the canister tight, as the door shut behind him. He held the can in the air, his eyes moving to face his son's trail. Immediately, he spotted the movie tickets on the floor; he turned to eye the canister, then back, slowly.

Was it worth it?

Stretching back to normal, he lay back on an empty chair, and left the container on the table. His free hand he lifted up to his face and covered it, shaking his head in dismay.

3: 23 PM. MUSKATEERS.

"Oh, come on!"

"What?"

"The Knicks're getting pummelled out there! What do you expect me to say?"

"…you like the Knicks? You like, as in like the Knicks?" Scott Lang stared at his buddy, Carol Danvers, as he passed her the foot-long wiener dog with sauerkraut in his hands. At any other occasion they have met, they were in their working clothes; he as the Ant Man, capable of shrinking down to size and yet retain the same, if not double, of his normal strength; she as Warbird, who had super strength and could channel energy through her body.

Today, Carol traded her skin-tight, black costume for a cotton laced blouse and a dark blue jeans; she wore the Knicks cap backwards, and waved their flag up high in the air desperately. "Come on, you no good son-of-a….COME ON!"

"You've practiced this, haven't you…?" Scott intoned, as he pulled her down with his free hand and back into her seat. Carol nodded, as she popped open the can of Pepsi in her hands. "Like a pro," she replied, taking a sip. "Hey, Ben."

Benjamin Grimm held out the tray full of peanuts, hotdog, and popcorn and shoved it right onto Lang's lap. "There ya go, ten pieces of them wieners," He said grumpily, crashing down onto his seat literally. The two stared at him with quizzical looks on their faces.

"What's worse than fightin' that rusting tin can Doom or getting slammed and banged by a piece of scrap named Quasimodo, ya asks me with those eyes? Ya wanna know? Well, havin' ta line up for hotdogs for ONE HOUR, I tell ya! And they don't even have SPARE CHANGE!"

"Benjamin Grimm," Carol said gently. "Thank you."

"Yer welcome."

"…aaaaannnnndddd we're back to our regular programming," said Scott, as he gave the Thing his plastic cup of hot cocoa. Ben stared down at the steaming brown liquid reflectively and drank it with one gulp.

"So, how are you and Alicia coming along?" Scott asked, as he bit into the hotdog. The audience around them roared in delight, as the opposing team was penalized, drowning out Ben's answer.

"Ben, I can't hear…"

"I SAID WE'RE GOING GREAT!"

"Okay."

"Well, that's good to hear, if you ask me," Carol interjected, as she adjusted her cap. Her blue eyes sparkled with energy, as she looked towards Ben. "The way I hear it, you've never been lucky with girlfriends, Ben. It's wonderful to finally find someone…and settle down."

"…yea, it sure is, ain't it." The Thing sighed, as he slumped and packed the empty cup in the black waste bag they carried. "Alicia's the only one for me, you know…I mean, she ain't like the others, are alien or crazy ya asks me."

"OOooOoh. Jen won't like the sound of that," Scott laughed, and ducked as Ben mocked a punch right at him. He propped himself back up again, and with a smile, held his hand out to pat his friend on the shoulder.

"So, when's the marriage?"

"Heck, there ain't no marriage, Scott, ya loon; ya know that. I mean, the Matchstick's girl-crazy, but come on…how long does a marriage with him last? "

"I didn't mean him, Ben."

"Well, who do ya…oh. OOOOH. I get it now, ya no good…" Ben slapped himself in the head, as the other two laughed out loud. The other spectators shushed them harshly, as the teams playing were at each other's throats in the intense moment.

"Well, just remember to invite us, is all," Carol concluded, as she placed some peanuts into her mouth. "What time are we supposed to meet Monica, anyhow?"

"Three," the other two replied instinctively.

"Good. So, are we up for dinner and show down Soho then?"

The Thing stopped and paused. Scratching his head, he tried to think of way to answer it without revealing much to them.

"Well, ye see…the thing is…I got a date."

"Really," Carol said in surprise. "No way!"

"Yeah. Yeah way."

"Alicia?"

"Well…ye see," Ben stammered. "It's not just the normal kind of date.

"I'm meeting the parents."

4:57 PM. DOOM II.

"Now…what manner of imbecility are you?"

Doctor Doom walked around the chained prisoner, who hung right above him from the ceiling. Blood dripped down the glowing man's throat; blue blood, that trickled down and landed on Doom's armoured face.

Doom was displeased.

He hid it well.

"…Ce…Cen…f-f…for…"

"Four?" Doom said suddenly, as the sound of the word. "Did you…say four?"

With the nod of his head, the Doombots lowered the man down, down to face front the Latverian king. He has a human form, bathed in the glow of blue. Victor noticed the energy crackling at the end of the man's skin, as if it were a different living thing on its own. With his iron hand, he grabbed the man's chin and lifted it up to his cold steel face.

"Speak to me," Doom hissed callously, as his grip brought pain onto the man, tightening around the chin. When he heard a crack, he paused, as more blood poured onto his hands. "Are you an agent of the Fantastic Four?"

"…Ce…cent…"

"Is that a yes?"

"…oo….Cento An-ima…"

Instantly, Doom let go, letting the man's head drop down almost lifelessly. "My guards found you attacking my wife, the Queen Invisible. Is this not true, prisoner…?"

"…six…."

"…?"

"…n…name is…s-sixty four…."

"I have no time for useless things such as." He gripped the man's neck and pulled him out of the Doombots clutches. Lifting 064 into the air, Victor watched in both delight and disgust as the man wretched in pain. "You attacked my queen."

"...her child…the Invisible Woman…"

"Then you have the wrong woman. And the wrong nemesis to tangle with." Grabbing a blade off the weapons rack beside him, Doom lifted it into the air, and slammed it just an inch away from the man's head. "But I will let you live," he declared, as he left the sword in its place. "For the amusement that you have given me, if little at all."

Walking away, Victor von Doom meditated on his thoughts. A mysterious agent attacking his wife…a wife that looked too much like Susan Richards, his nemesis' wife…it was that maybe he had made a terrible mistake. For the want of a wife, he had chosen one which resembled the enemy which he most wanted dead…a mistake that can yet be rectified. Someday.

Boris, his assistant, moved towards him, with dire news. He had appeared from behind a contingent of Doombots making their way towards the royal courtyard, where Victor was about to go to, to see his wife.

"Milord," Boris whispered, as he handed the brown package to Doom. "News from our courier in America. Your request has been approved by the United Nations."

"Ah."

"They…they said they apparently had no say in the matter."

"It matters not, then, Boris," Doom replied, as he handed the package back to his manservant, unopened. "What matters is that it can be done. And it shall. So this game of chess has been set. I am the White King…I shall go first."

Into the garden labyrinth he entered, and walked through the myriad of trails of bushes and hedges, until he had reached the centre of the gardens, where the Queen Invisible, in her blue gown of silk and with her crown of gems, fed the blue jays and sparrows with breadcrumbs by the marble palace fountain in the middle of the blossoming rainbow of flowers.

"My love," Victor said softly, and she turned to him with a smile on her face. "Come to me."

Queen Invisible ran towards her husband, the trail of blue jays and sparrows flying away into the open sky in her wake, and embraced him so. "Oh my king, my heart, let me hold you, caress you, ma…"

"Yes," He said, as he held her back gently, trying to keep envision Susan in her eyes. He did not smile, as she brushed her soft silky hands against his armour. "I have…something for you to do."

"…anything, my liege. For you."

Doom could not help himself, as a grin worked its way across his face beneath the mask.

"…good."

His mistakes may all yet be rectified. Soon.

6: 17 PM. PROBLEMS COLLIDE.

Johnny Storm unbuckled the straps that bound him to the centre of the transmogrifying sphere, as Reed clicked the off button on the main console. He was in flames, which were in one minute exploding, and the next gone, over and over again. "Hmm, yes," Reed grumbled, as he wrote his notes down on his PDA. He sat down on the control consoles chair with a dull expression on his face as the sprinkler system immediately put out the flames, once Johnny got out of the machine.

"Ah, come on, Reed," the kid groaned, as he sloshed his way towards the scientist. "I could've flamed off by myself."

|"Not until we figure out what's wrong," Sue replied, as she walked towards her husband from the observation room. She held the control glove which manoeuvred the automated controls of the laboratory in her hand.

"Ah, crap! I shoud've known…Sis!" Johnny whined, as he instantly burst into flames on his own accord, this time ever stronger than before. Both Reed and Sue shielded themselves from the radiance, as the flames around encircled the laboratory like a ring of fire, the heat escalating. Juggling several fireballs in his hands, the Human Torch smiled with triumph.

"See? I can flame on, I'm sure I can…uh…that is…I can't…."

SNAP.

The sprinkler systems once again were activated on their heads, leaving Johnny drenched and Sue and Reed underneath her force field. Using the glove, Sue snapped once more, and the systems shut down. "Not until, Johnny," she repeated, with a smirk on her face. She lifted her other hand and pointed towards the lockers. "Go west, young man. Go west."

"Rassem frassem casey kasem…"

Reed stared quietly as the doors shut behind them, placing the PDA on the table beside them. Sue, turning to him, found his hand covering his head. "Reed," Sue said, as she sat on his lap. Wrapping her hands around him, she gave Reed a little kiss on the cheek. "Don't tell me you're still…?"

"Sue," he replied, as he looked at her face, his hand caressing her cheek. "For all the great things I have done…I don't know what to do."

"He's not mad at you, honey."

"He is."

"Reed, I have a secondary power. It's called women's intuition." Sue gently turned his face to her, allowing him to dig deep into her blue eyes. "He's just…going through a phase. In fact," she said with a smile. "I asked a favour from Crystal and Medusa, something to put a smile on you and Franklin's faces. It should be here late…"

She stopped. The room was spinning around, in her eyes at least, as she arched her head instantly. Her husband looked at her, calling out to her; yet she heard nothing, just save the sound of the blue sea…

Namor?

No, not Namor. Blue. Blue sea.

She saw it; moving quickly and invisible; several blue forms dashing across the laboratory upon her sight landing on him. "Susan," Reed whispered into her ear, as if he had sensed it too. "Sue, what's wrong?"

Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat.

"…Victoria."

Leaping off her husband, she immediately took off the glove and placed it on the table. Rushing towards the lockers, she banged on the door in panic. "Johnny…! Johnny, we need you now!"

No answer. The showers were still on.

"Johnny!"

No answer again.

Desperately, she mangled the doorknob with the invisible force wrapped around her hand and body, crushing it into pulp. With one swift kick, she burst through the door, only to find that inside, there was a great amount steam exhaust; the showers were still open, and the lockers, save for some of Johnny's items lying around, were left as is.

"Johnny…?"

6: 32 PM. MEET THE PARENTS.

"Uh…Alicia."

"Ben?"

"…hi."

"My, you are nervous today, aren't you?" Alicia Masters took her boyfriend's arm in one hand, and, despite having the strength of twenty men, Benjamin Grimm found himself powerless as he was dragged across the high class restaurant to their reserved table by the view, with Alicia using her guide dog. Ben found his collar of his tuxedo tightening; must have been his imagination. Or maybe it was because he found himself face to face with his worst nightmare.

"Benjamin, it is a pleasure to meet you," Phillip Masters said with a flashing smile, as he pulled a seat for Ben right next to him. Hesitant, Ben sat down, and surveyed the brunette woman beside the bald Masters. "Alicia's told me so much about you, nowadays," she said, as she shook hands with Ben. "My name's Linda. Linda Johnston? I'm sure you've of me."

"…uh, no I haven't, lady."

"Ben!" Alicia pulled the Thing to her to whispered to his ears. "Linda is my father's new wife. She's a famous sculptress, and doesn't like people who don't know her!"

"No, Mister Grimm?"

Ben and Alicia pulled away and sat straight at the sound of Linda's deep and sharp voice.

"….no, uh, that is, y'see….no I haven't heard of someone who's…whose beauty matches yours!| Yea…um…"

Linda smiled, as she relaxed back onto her seat.

"Good show, Ben," Alicia whispered to his ear with approval.

"Well, I have heard of you, Mister Grimm. It seems my young stepdaughter Alicia has taken a liking to making sculptures out of your…let us say, your wonderful posture," Linda continued, as she took a sip of her martini. "It's a pleasure to meet you so, I've met so many men…but none of them actually are just right for dear Alicia."

"Indeed," Phillip Masters added, as he held a piece of clay in his hands and began carving it. "Over the years, I thought that you weren't meant to be...but I've learnt much from then. Alicia loves you, Ben…and if she does, we won't stand in her way. You two, honestly, may just be the death of me…"

"Says the guy who nearly killed me times one hundred" were the thoughts that echoed in Ben's mind, as he held the menu in his hands, trembling. "So what's for dinner?"

"Check the entrée first, dear," Linda instructed him.

"I did. Over there by the coat rack, y'see?"

"Ben, she meant the appetizers," Alicia said, trying to nudge him. "Oh, he's quite a comedian."

"So I see."

"Hey, 'licia. Don't they have burgers in this joint? I could eat a horse."

7: 45 PM. NOTHING DIALOGUES.

"Sleeping like a baby," Sue said as she brushed her fingers on Victoria's skin. Behind her, Reed held his wife tightly, as she watched over their baby.

"And what about Franklin," Reed asked, concerned over his son.

"In his room, playing that educational game Tony bought him for Christmas, thank God," she answered, taking a step back from the cradle. Reed Richards stared into her eyes, which had become sure to terrified liquid blue. He held her on the shoulder, calming her. "Sue," he said. "Sue, say something to me. Please."

The Invisible Woman looked down on their baby and back to Reed. With one gulp, she began spinning the carousel of clowns and horses hanging above Victoria slowly.

"…remember what Galactus said," she began, staring outside through the glass balcony; beneath them, the nightlight of New York glittered a million multi-facet gems in the dark. "The universe is going to depend on it."

"I can see why you wouldn't want to talk about it."

"It's not just that. There's more." She gripped herself tightly, and shut her eyes for that brief moment, feeling the wind rush through her hair. "Something strange is happening Reed. Right after what he said. I'm seeing things…"

"It's nothing, Sue. You're just…"

"Going insane?" The Invisible Woman turned to him and with one hand, felt his chest.

"I don't think you're going insane."

"…what made you think that?" Susan Richards sighed. "Have you seen Johnny?"

"…no trace in the whole building. Maybe he's gone."

"Oh god," she muttered. "I can't take this anymore…"

"Sue."

"Reed, someone bad is coming," she said, pressing her head on his chest. "Someone has to watch over Victoria and Franklin."

"How about Alicia…"

"No."

She looked up to his eyes.

"Not Alicia."

There was a knock behind the entrance door that startled the two. Sue pushed herself back and bit her lip, not meeting Reed's gaze. "That has to be Medusa," Reed said as he walked towards the living room.

"Wait."

Sue just eyed him, as he stopped at the word of her voice. Something blue had walked past her husband, staring back at her.

"You understand Reed? Don't you? Don't tell the kids…"

A momentary pause; Reed looked back at her in the dark baby's room.

"…I…I do," he replied. "I understand."

7: 48 PM. SURPRISES.

"Glad you could make it, Medusa," Reed said, as he shook his friend's hand. "Hank and Jan were just by awhile ago…they apparently wanted to buy more stocks of FF, Inc, given that they need more money for the relocation…"

"So I heard from Steve and Thor," the Inhuman replied, as they sat down on the silver liquid-like chairs in the living room. In her arms, she cradled a young cuddly bundle with a tuning fork sticking out of its head. "By the way, we have no name for him yet," she added, as she lifted the animal to her face. It licked her nose playfully. "He was just a recent born; just like the rest…he's the pick of the litter, and Lockjaw's pride. Lockjaw was honoured to give him to you, Reed, by the way…"

"Ah. And here they are now."

Sue (with Victoria in her arms), and Franklin entered the living room, grabbing a seat. "Franklin," Reed said to his son, who stared at him sadly. "Franklin, I'm sorry I…here, I hope this will make up for everything."

WOOF!

"…a puppy?"

Sue smiled in relief, as Franklin's frown turned into a wide smile. Medusa, with a grin on her face, gave the dog to Franklin, who squeezed it tight. It, in turn, licked him affectionately. "Can we keep him, mom, can we?"

"Well," she said to her son, with her eyes moving towards Reed. "That's got to be up to your father."

Reed smiled, just like everyone in the room. There was a spark of radiance that came from the dog's arrival made all their troubles fade away…for that moment. "Of course, Franklin," he said, sighing. "We'll just have to housebreak him first."

"ALRIGHT! You're the bestest!" Kissing his dad on the cheek, Franklin ran into his room, and the puppy followed, barking after him. Reed, with a smile, wiped his sweating forehead, only to find that Medusa also held out another package in her hands; a brown envelope packed tightly.

"I found this at your company letter box, used my key," she explained, passing it to the man. "It's apparently from the United Nations."

"United…?" Reed immediately opened it, and held out the letter in his hands. Sue, cradling Victoria, peered closer to read it as well. "Reed, that's…"

"Oh my god…"

7: 49 PM. DOOM III.

The night stars and moving paintings illuminated the throne room from the holographic skyline that was implanted on the ceiling of his throne room, as shadow and light danced across Doom's metal frame, sitting on his throne in thought, with Queen Invisible stroking metal leg. Counting the seconds, he waited patiently…methodically…ever so…ready.

Suddenly, Boris entered, trembling with anxiety. Doom eyed him coldly, as his manservant passed him a brown envelope; from their courier from America, he said. Victor opened the letter, and read its contents quietly. Only one minute has passed and already the news has reached him; everything is falling into place. A smile formed on his face, and he held the letter and placed it on his belt. Three things ran through his mind, stopping not and burnt itself in his soul;

The game has begun.

All mistakes may yet be rectified.

Soon.

And in Latveria, night fell silently, covering the country in a blanket of darkness. For tomorrow is a new day…and tomorrow…

Reed Richards will face justice.

NEXT ISSUE: Everything changes, as Reed and Doom are about to reach…TERMINAL.

Hey guys,
This is it. Next issue is going to be big, maybe even larger than life. Yes, it's Doom, and of course, that's cool…but you've never seen Doom like this before! Plus, you may expect the passing of the guard….

Mo_o.