SOMEWHERE NOT ON EARTH.

One eye drew open slightly and dilated, as Johnny Storm woke up in the middle of darkness, a spatial area of nothing, drifting on seemingly real air. He moved upwards, trying to grab footing, only to instantly find that what the air was once before was now the floor on which he was standing on.

Instantly exploding into a crescendo of fire, the Human Torch turned around, trying to find a pathway that would caught through the darkness. He yelled out loud, only to see his voice forming ripples on the shadowy surface with no sound coming from his lips. His eyes shifted to and fro, as his mind grew tense; his arms, despite the insulation of his suit, had a prickly sensation that slowly crawled upwards towards his neck, like something invisible was grasping for it with the grip of a snake. Then, he heard a voice; a voice unfamiliar yet was for somehow, something he had been waiting for. Moving quickly, he flew all the way in that direction, unaware of the dripping ink of black that had clutched onto the tail-end of his flames.

There was then a great bright light that blinded him, and he yelled, as it burnt him more than anything could; his flames were sputtering, despite of himself. He fell onto the obsidian ground, stumbling suddenly as the solid floor began forming into an oil-like substance, coating him in the shadows. He gasped for breathe, screaming, only to find the voice encouraging him, calling his name.

"Johnny Storm."

As he struggled, the Human Torch drifted further into the depths of the ink, deeper and deeper until he was inside, the belly of the beast. Suddenly, a bright burning object seared him; a barrage fire bolts which flew at his direction. Ducking, Johnny turned quickly to face what was behind him. The fire bolts quickly moulded mixed into a form of fire and entropy.

The flame bird of the Phoenix towered above him; brimming inferno like there was no tomorrow. Johnny flew back, dodging the more of the bolts that were flung at him. He quickly flew back, swinging his body to quickly dodge the fires. Suddenly, he was put out. His powers had failed him, as they had before, and he found himself falling into the Phoenix's embrace, engulfed in hellfire.

Then, there was nothing. Except the voice, the voice he heard before. He felt sick, like he was going puke; something stirred within him that gripped his whole chest and began crumpling it like paper, as if he were merely paper.

He heard the laughter, echoing in his mind. The feeling of nausea and vertigo breaking down his nerves, rendering him inert in the arms of the shadows that clutched him, pulling him deep into them like quicksand.

"Give in."

The figure slowly walked out of the shadows, brandishing the white pale featureless mask in his hand. He laughed again, as he stood before Johnny's sinking hands which were reaching out in the darkness. But this was a place where no light can penetrate.

The heart of eternal darkness.

"Give in to your heart's D'spayre."

   “SHADOW FALL: A CHILD OF DARKNESS”

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…

It has been days since the Fantastic Four have seen Johnny Storm. His disappearance has given his sister Sue more than a lot to worry about, as well as a mystery for Reed and Ben to solve while Reed recuperates from his injuries. With two reserve members in tow, Scott Lang and Jennifer Walters, the Fantastic Four take a trip to Baghdad in search for Johnny.

The skies were hazy blue with the white clouds slowly enveloping them into their shadow cast. Benjamin J. Grimm let his hair (if any) down, his blue eyes watching the Ibis birds take soar from the oasis below them, gracefully flapping their wings like angels in the air. Ben took a closer look through the window, only to find himself suddenly staring at bird droppings. Turning back in disgust, the Thing watched the birds, as they cawed at him.

"Stupid flamingos," he grumbled leaning back onto his seat. Beside him, Scott Lang sighed, tossing the peanuts into his mouth. "Come on, Ben," Jen said on the aisle, as she finished the contracts she had been working on for the whole 14-hour flight. Taking a sip of her cup of coffee, Jen took off her glasses and placed them on the opened table. "At least we don't have pigeons that size in New York."

Sue Storm looked out the window, as the captain signalled them all to fasten their seat belts. She thought about Reed for a long time, with him taking care of the children and recuperating from his recent injuries back in New York. It was rare that the Fantastic Four would go on a mission without him; normally, he would be the one who'd give them the solution, the key to defeating any opponent they would say. Without him, the leader of the Fantastic Four…no, that's not a problem. They had Scott and Jen now. And she had to act, in his absence. "Well," Jen said to her, nudging her slightly. "Are we closer?"

"Very," Sue replied, holding up the circular 4 symbol she had taken from her uniform. With one brush on its surface, the 4 sign slowly disappeared in a counter clockwise motion, revealing an advanced tracking device that had captured Johnny's power signature. "It's almost as if he's right-"

Suddenly, the commercial plane rocked against the winds, and the passengers began panicking, as the lights went on and off. Sue, unbuckling her seat belt, managed to hold onto the armrest, her invisible force propping her upwards. "What's going on," she asked immediately to the stewardess, who was strapped in the emergency seat in front of them.

"Mrs. Richards…! Thank god," the blonde woman said, as the plane shifted downwards, as pressure slowly dented the ship as if it were a soda can being crushed by a hand. "Something's gone wrong! The engines suddenly stopped…!"

"Oh my god," one of the other passengers, a middle-aged lady, yelled. "Oh my god! We're going to die!" The others followed, with prayers to God and saying sorry to those they loved.

"Lady," Ben yelled back, as he and the others got up from their seats, getting all their attention. "Yer with th'Fantastic Four here. Give us a little credit here…"

"Ben, Jen," Sue ordered. "The two exits from this plane! If the pressure increases, they'll break away!"

The Thing rushed towards the one in the back, grabbing as it was just about to fly away. She-Hulk moved towards the opposite side too late, as she found herself being pulled out into the sky. With all her might, Jen held on, making sure that she wouldn't fall off.

"Scott, back in your seat…!"

"Not now," Ant Man replied, as he put on the slick metallic helm. Inside, the red optic viewing screen lit up, showing him the molecular composition of everything in the room. His eyes narrowed, moving towards the cockpit, only to find ashes where the pilots once were and the circuit boards in flames. "…Christ. Sue, I'll guide the plane downwards safely, you cushion it!"

"Okay, okay. Fine." The Invisible woman lifted her arms into the air, her eyes shut. Suddenly, a new kind of updraft caught the plane, something unseen. Something invisible.

Sue concentrated long and hard, as she felt the weight of the airplane on her shoulders. Beads of sweat formed across her forehead, as she felt her heart tightening, quickening…panic.

Yes. Panic. Panic is very, very good.

The voice echoed in Sue's mind, as if a bomb had exploded in her mind. Dropping down onto the floor, she felt the pain, as if everything that was her was being drowned…drained away. The voice laughed as it faded away into nothingness, leaving them a plane that was about to crash, and without Sue to back it up…

The plane made its descent onto the ground; its landing gears slowly went down, smashing itself against the rocky surface. Sparks ignited as the rubber brushed against the soil, and the plane began to swerve, against Ant Man's control.

"Damn…!" Scott was about finish recalibrating the systems when he found himself steering the vehicle into the sudden red mist in front of them. With one ditch attempt, he slammed his fist onto the circuit board, jolting it back to functioning status. Grabbing the levers, he slowed the plane down to crawl, but not before having it fall sideways.

Ben groaned, as he found himself against the wall of the ship. Dazed, he scratched his head, as he leaned back onto the seats. "Oh, Aunt Petunia…no more, no more…I won't shave the cat again…"

"…you shaved your cat?" Sue replied, as she crawled up beside him. "…remind me never to let you take Victoria and Franklin for a haircut, Ben."

"Su-Suzie-Q? What in the…?" He slapped himself on the head groaning once more. "Cripes, ya had ta hear that, did ya? Hey…Suzie, you okay?"

Sue leaned against him, as if she was weakened excessively. "It's nothing. Why are we alone…? Wait. Ben," she said suddenly, grabbing hold of her friend. "Where's Jen? Was she…?"

"I'm out here," a voice yelled from outside. "Something's out here, Sue…Sue, you should see this."

She-Hulk got up from the ground, brushing the sand off her clothes. She walked around in the red mist, getting lost…until a lantern light caught her gaze. Walking towards it, she found herself in front of a wide river, and a hooded boatman, whose oar at its end had the lantern attached to it. Behind him, the mist cleared, revealing something they had never seen from their plane ride.

Before her stood a palace with a million towers, most of which had poured crystal clear waters from its balconies. The surface was made of pure marble and obsidian, with amazing things spinning around the castle, like magic…wisps of many different colours swarming around in circles. Jen took a step back in wonder.

"Oh, Sue. You should really, really see this…"

FF PLAZA.

"Daddy, where is he?"

Franklin Richards strapped on his Fantastic Four construction helmet, as he walked around the ruins of their apartment. Behind him, Reed held his daughter Victoria in his arms, walking past the ravages of the Doom bots. "So this is what Doom meant," he spoke to himself, as he drew closer to inspect the junk. "He nearly killed my family."

"Daddy, where is he?"

"I don't know, son," he replied to Franklin, trying to keep Victoria in his arms (as she was restless and wanted to play). "But I'm sure he's…"

"Woof!"

"Puppy!"

Franklin rushed towards the two big puppy eyes behind the cabinet that was ajar, and opened it, letting their pet jump onto him, licking his face. "Puppy…! I thought you were lost! You were just hiding from them after all!"

Reed smiled wearily, right before he leaned the half-charred table counter. Holding the PAD in his hands, he checked Puppy's name off among the list he had of the apartment and its inhabitants. So far, so good in the apartment sector; Franklin's quasi-silver aquarium was intact, so was his computer…Victoria's celluloid crib without a scratch…despite the extensive damage caused by Doom's assault, nothing too important had been tampered...but the lab, well…

"Hm." The man walked down towards Franklin and held the dog's paw. "He doesn't look to bad for wear…"

"He's got powers!"

"…of course he does Franklin," the father replied gently, as he let Victoria down near Puppy. As she began fiddling with Puppy's wet nose, Reed sat beside his son with a sigh. "That takes care of almost everything. Wherever the EM-Breaker is, it's obviously not here. Mommy was right. Ah, well."

"…aren't you worried?"

"Worried?" Reed turned to his son. "What makes you say that Franklin?"

The young boy held his breathe, as he began patting Puppy on the head. "Back then, whenever something got lost or was broken, Daddy, you'd be already running around with Mommy and Uncle Ben and Uncle Johnny trying to find it."

"Well, yes, that's true," Reed replied, scratching his head as he tried to make a mental image of that description.

"So…why aren't you going around finding it? Isn't that your job?"

Reed did not know what to say, as he stroked his chin in thought. A few moments later, and some drinks poured, he looked at Franklin and replied. "Yes, I am worried, of course," Reed said. "But, I've given it some thought really…listen to me."

He held Franklin by the shoulders gently, passing words of wisdom from a father to a son. "Sometimes, the best thing to do when you're in trouble is to be calm, son. Take for example, let's say, now that the EM-Breaker is taken, and some of the lab substances have been toyed with, now would definitely be the best time to panic. But that only leads to madness. You have to be calm, focused and…"

A pause.

Calm.

Focused

Victor, he thought silently. He had nearly broken that very principle he made for himself during that last fight; the ruthless threats he had made were not like him at all…more like Doom's than his words made. And Reed trembled at the thought; that he and Doom were more alike than anyone suspected. For him something hidden, likely to reach a boiling point…that was the trigger to his darkness.

A darkness not unlike Doom's…the calm and the focus of a madman.

Victoria Richards crawled on the floor giggling, as she moved a few inches forward her. She stopped suddenly, and looked up into the man's eyes. She mumbled her words as all babies do, and the man with a blue glow smiled.

"Now, you see me, now you don't," he uttered, as he suddenly faded into existence, leaving an energy mark on the floor, outlining the symbol, the number…

100.

ARABIA.

"So ya means ta tell me that this here sandcastle appeared out of nowhere. Right. Uh-huh. Sure."

The Thing looked at the quasi-Renaissance paintings in the ceiling with an eye of scepticism, as the Fantastic Four explored the areas of the palace one by one. Behind him, She-Hulk held her defensive stance, making small steps across the circular room.

"I still don't like it," Ant-Man replied, as he sat lazily on Ben's shoulder, his elbow on his upright knee and his head on his palm. "I know it makes sense that if there's any place we would find Johnny it'd be in a harem, but this is ridiculous."

The Invisible Woman's eyes shifted constantly; ever since she had been transformed by cosmic rays, her perceptions had increased due to her powers. With them developed over the years, she knew when things were all not what it seemed…but then, that could have been a woman's intuition of things. However, her eyes manage to catch a bit of haze between the walls and the columns, grey-like fog that would disappear from time to time.

"Guys," She-Hulk suddenly said, as she walked towards her. In her arms was an obsidian gourd, which she was inspecting carefully. "There's nothing in this goddamn place. No furniture, no people, nothing. Just this."

"…Then Johnny's gone," Sue muttered, as she held the tracking device in her arms. "His heat signature's no longer on the radar."

"…you sure about that, Suzie-Q?" Invisible Woman's face followed Ben's arm, which was outstretched, pointing towards the dark corridor north of the room. Then she heard it; voices, echoing and fading from within.

Come. Come to me. Panic. Free. Anger. Confusion. Me…

Suddenly, a gush of wind burst through the room, knocking the Fantastic Four backwards, followed by the rumbling beneath the grounds before them. A blinding flash of flame seared through Sue's shoulder, burning her. As she dropped to the floor, everyone around felt as if they were burning inside, save Ant-Man, who dodged the flaming orbs which had attacked them, not allowing it to make contact with him. But then, they were no longer orbs; they were people, spectral visage surrounded in flame. And their voices were that of anger, rage, regret...pain.

"Ghosts," Scott whispered to himself, as he spun in the air, narrowly missing another orb. "These are the people from the ship…!"

"What?!" She-Hulk's hand pulled back, just before the ghostly woman before her phased through her. Spasming in pain, she held her hand, which was already in flames. "You've gotta be kidding…! We can't fight these."

"Everybody, pull back," Sue yelled, as Ben managed to pull her up. With one thought, the barrier between the Fantastic Four and the ghosts had formed, trapping them in the middle of the dome-shaped room. "It ain't normal, I tells ya," Ben griped, as the phantoms eyed them like prey. "I'm feeling drained all of'a sudden…"

The spectres moved in circles, at least one of them trying to phase the through the force field. Ant-Man locked onto his helm, silently deciphering their surroundings. "Sue," he immediately said after, getting all their attention. "Your force field is meant to block physical objects and any form of energy, kinetic or whatnot?"

"I don't come with an instruction manual, Scott, but I guess so."

"Well," He replied, dropping his guard. "These things aren't ghosts. Well, not really. They're heat energy, being shaped into something almost phantom-like because their molecules are vibrating too fast. We're aren't dealing with ghosts, Sue, we're…"

"Going to die." The voice came from behind them, as the two shadowy figures entered the room. The pale mask of D'spayre grinned, as he held Johnny Storm by the shoulder. "Each and every one of you. And your souls will be mine as theirs is."

"Chirst, I should've known," Jen said, slapping herself on the head. "D'spayre. We have files of him back in the Plaza. We don't have any quarrel with you."

"That's right," the demon replied. With but a wave of his hand, the palace was no more; instead, they were in the darkness of nothing but black shadows that stretched onto forever. "Just as much as I have no quarrel with any of your fellow passengers on your plane. However, in light of circumstances, nothing is as it was before." He turned to the Human Torch and gave him a slight nod.

Johnny exploded into flames, as the walls around Sue caved in, her mind being reaped away by D'spayre's psychic vampirism. "Yes, feed your fears," he whispered, with his open palm outstretched. "Feed me."

"Suzie, are you…What in the…!?!" Ben yelled angrily, as his friend flew at him, swiping his belt. Holding his suddenly loose pants up, Ben stumbled, chasing after the Human Torch. "For cryin' out loud you no-good crazy Matchstick…! Come back with my belt there or it's clobberin' time!"

"Catch me if you can," the Human Torch whispered in an unnatural voice, as he dropped the belt onto the shadowy floor. As Ben reached out for it he found himself being pulled inward by the black substance, which had attached itself onto him like a leech. Behind the Thing, Johnny held up his hand, and pressed it onto Ben's back with the heat of a white dwarf star. Yelling in pain, Ben lost his concentration, as he sunk into the black shadows and was gone.

She-Hulk took a step back, as the black wave formed in front of her. She crunched her knuckles and took a swing, slamming her fist through the liquid-like substance. She made her way towards D'spayre, her first landing onto his chest. "There is no need to fight you," he uttered, as he hurtled her back onto the ground. "You are not worth it."

Instantly, as the shadows took a life of their own, becoming one behemoth of darkness. With its one giant hand, it took Jen and slowly but steadily began crushing her in its grip. "A…a little help…here," she blurted out, as she struggled to break free.

Ant-Man turned to her, accessing his helm once more. "Damn it if I can't do anything else," he muttered, as he detected a weak chemical bond in the structure of the monster. "…Punch him in the throat, Jen!"

A few seconds later, the behemoth was no more, melting back into the background. She-Hulk dropped onto the floor.

The Invisible Woman was trapped in her own mind, as D'spayre's words taunted her, giving reality to all her fears. Johnny. Malice. Psycho-Man. Queen Invisible. Memories of old which were lost nightmares once again surfacing. She thought she had buried them but her D'spayre was too, too strong…

"Sue, don't give in," Jen said, as she lifted her friend up. The gourd in her hand dropped to the girl and rolled towards D'spayre as if it had a life of its own. "Come on, girl…"

Ant Man ran quickly in his small form, as flames of Johnny Storm slowly caught up to him. "Hey, cool down," he yelled back, as he aimed his arm at the Human Torch. Without any insects, he was useless…or so he thought. Suddenly the idea dawned onto him, and he leapt onto Johnny Storm's burning shoulder. Despite the intense heat, Scott lunged into Johnny's ear and gave one big yell. Johnny dropped onto the floor in pain, as Scott's voice echoed in his ears like a megaphone.

"Yes," D'spayre whispered, picking the gourd. He clutched it in his hands, and held it up into the air. "Yes…now you shall be truly free. My genie in the bottle."

He unsealed it.

"My Dark Flame."

Suddenly, the realm around them shook apart. Sue turned to find Johnny on the floor and rushed to him, holding her brother in her arms. "Oh my god," she whispered. "Snap out of it, Johnny, we…we have to get out of here."

"I'm afraid there is no escape for him," D'spayre proclaimed, as the shadows danced around them incessantly. Suddenly, they grabbed hold of Johnny as they had Ben, pulling him down into its depths. Sue screamed, as she held Johnny back, struggling to pull him back into her arms. But he was gone. "He is ours now; a child of darkness."

"Sue, snap out of it!" She-Hulk and Ant-Man covered as the darkness enveloped them, and they were gone as well, as the lands around them closed.

The desert was vast and wide; there was nothing in sight, save for the plane crash and its dead passengers and three unconscious beings on the ground. Sue got onto her knees, as she surveyed the area. Nothing; it was as if the whole thing hadn't happened at all.

"No," she whispered, as she beat her fist against the sand relentlessly. "No…"

NEXT ISSUE: The conclusion to SHADOW FALL. The Fantastic Four are back in New York, but all is not what it seems, as Franklin and Victoria are tormented by a "bogeyman" in their midst. All this, as the Fantastic Four get their rematch with D'spayre…and much more than what they had bargained for.