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Fantastic Four, The World's Greatest Online Fan-Fiction Comic Magazine #1

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Fantastic Four, The World's Greatest Online Fan-Fiction Comic Magazine #1 Empty Fantastic Four, The World's Greatest Online Fan-Fiction Comic Magazine #1

Post  Paul E. Schultz Thu May 31, 2012 3:58 am

Fantastic Four #1
"Child's Play, Part One"
By Paul E. Schultz

With a voice as course and harsh as two boulders grinding together, Ben Grimm shouted, "It's clobberin' time!" as he charged into the oncoming line of humanoid robots. The steely walls of the Baxter Building's expansive training room echoed with the deafening sounds of iron meeting stone as his massive fists slammed unyieldingly into the metallic opponents. Rocky fingers ripped and pierced steely flesh as he lumbered through the training drones, his blue eyes twinkling at the delight of being able to really cut loose on an opponent. Although he knew better, Ben could have sworn he saw panic in their glowing photosynthetic eyes as he waded through them just as he had waded through countless linebackers a lifetime ago at Empire State University.

Like his glory days on the gridiron, the training exercise was over before he knew it, leaving the orange, stoney, hulking Grimm to stand amidst a sea of shrapnel. Cybernetic arms twitched and sparked as lubricant spurted from numerous severed robotic necks, torsos and eye sockets.

"Sorry, fellas," Ben said, half laughing as he fished a stumpy cigar from the concealed belt pouch of his Navy blue trunks. With practiced precision belaying the massive, stone stumps that made up his fingers, Ben pulled the Adamantium-cased lighter from its hidden belt pocket. "Guess I don't know my own strength sometimes."

A tiny gout of blue flame sprouted from the lighter and an alarm went off overhead. Ben instinctively looked up, immediately wished he had not.

"Warning!" cried a shrill, electronic voice as a steel hose uncoiled from a trap door in the ceiling. "This is a non-smoking facility!"

A puff of foam sprayed forth from the hose, pouring over Ben's head and neck, dousing the tiny flame and ruining the cigar.

"Aw, what a revoltin' development!" Ben cursed, wiping the foul-smelling foam from his eyes as the hose slithered back into its hiding place. "Then somebody needs to tell that to Johnny!"

"Ben?" called the voice of Reed Richards over hidden loudspeakers throughout the training room. "Could you please report to the debriefing room?"

"Be right there, High Pockets," Ben grumbled as an array of robotic tentacles oozed from the walls to begin cleaning up after Ben's brief but satisfying training exercise. "After I wash this blasted foam outa my ears!"

His massive finger jabbed the "up" button as the elevator's double doors silently slid shut.

"The Girl from Impanema" drifted over him as his eyes fell on the little metal plaque mounted above the elevator's button panel.

"Weight allowance fifteen hundred pounds or ten passengers," he read aloud. "Psh! Somebody needs to--"

Suddenly, the elevator stopped and Ben was doused in darkness.

"What the?!"

Darkness gave way to an unearthly red luminescence.

"Johnny!" he called out.

"Warning," came a soothing voice, "Experiencing complete power failure. Fifth power emergency redundancy will become active momentarily."

"A power failure?" he muttered. "In the Baxter Building? "I thought Reed built backups for the backups in this place. What gives?"

As if in answer, the floor beneath his massive feet shifted, knocking him over. He collided with the floor as the elevator listed slightly this way and that. Like a quarter ton pinball, Ben rolled awkwardly with the motions, cursing all the way.

"By God, that's about enough of this!" he growled, managing to get to his feet.

The floor began to stabilize, but Ben could not shake the feeling the elevator was still in motion. The numbers above the door said otherwise.

As easily as one might rip open a head of lettuce, Ben ripped at the doors, peeling them back like so much tin foil.

To his continued dismay and confusion, he found himself stranded between two floors.

"Gotta get to the stairs," he told himself. "See what's going on. So help me if this is Johnny's doin', I'll--"

"Ben?" came a woman's voice from the other side of the outer doors.

"Suzie?"

"It's me, Ben. You might want to stand back."

Instinctively, Ben flattened against the wall behind him in anticipation of what was about to happen.

The outer door peeled back as if spread open by an invisible "Jaws of Life" and Ben beheld the lower half of Susan Richards standing in the hall beyond.

"Susie," grumbled Ben, "if this is your kid brother's idea of a joke, he--"

"It's not, Ben!" retorted Susan.

"I don't like the tone in your voice, Sweetie," said Ben. "You almost sound worried."

"Hang on," she said and the elevator began to rise, carried upward by the power of the beautiful blonde's mind.

When the elevator had reached the upper level, she brought it to a gentle halt.

"What's goin' on?" he asked stepping into the corridor.

"You've got to see it to believe it," said Susan as the two raced for the stairs around the corner.

"Where's that know-it-all husband of yours, anyway?" he asked, huffing.

"On the roof," she replied as they reached the stairs.

"Johnny's up there with him."

"And the kids?"

"Playing fetch with Lockjaw on the moon, I'm told," said Susan as the two of them burst through the door to the rooftop of the Baxter Building.

Wind howled and beat down upon them as they struggled to keep their feet.

Reed, the lower half of his body wrapped around an outcropping of ventilation shaft, worked his nimble fingers over a small touch screen monitor he held. His hair ruffled savagely in the wind.

"Ben! Susan!" he called out.

"Where's Johnny?"

"Right here, sis!" called a voice behind her.

She turned to see the fiery figure of the Human Torch touch down upon the roof.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"Don't worry about me!" he replied through the flames that licked harmlessly at his body. "I'm as good as I ever was."

"Well, Johnny?" called out Mister Fantastic.

"Your theory was dead on, brother-in-law," replied Johnny. "We're not dropping so much as toilet water."

"Must be some sort of force field," said Reed tapping away at his computer. "I'm running a probability analysis to see if I can determine what's causing us to--"

"Aw, no!" gasped Ben as he peered over the nearby edge of the roof. Below the thirty-four stories, the Earth seemed to be falling rapidly away. "Not again!"

"No, Ben," said Reed. "This time it's different."

"How much different? Or do I want to know?"

Suddenly, the sky around them became a swirling mass of brilliant indigo, punctuated by clusters of tiny pin pricks of sheer blackness. The pinholes continued to spiral as their size increased, rapidly blotting out the light around them.

"Is that different enough for you, gravel breeches?" asked Johnny pointing to the swirling strands of black dots.

Soon the blackness was upon them.

"Reed!" Susan called out in a confused panic.

"It's coming in too fast for me to calculate, darling!" he replied. "Some inexplicable anomaly has nullified my computer!"

"It?" gasped Johnny. "What in blazes is 'it'?!"

Before one of the most brilliant minds on the planet could reply, all was gone. Nothingness filled everything. Thick, black nothingness.

****

"Ooh, my achin' head!" grumbled Ben as he attempted to pull himself to his feet.

"Anybody get the number of that starship?" groaned Johnny.

"Interesting," commented Reed as he tapped away at his screen. "I have full power, but I can't seem to access any data."

Looking around, Ben was relieved to see the clouds above them. "What happened?"

Johnny peered over the edge of the Baxter Building and, almost laughing, said, "We're back on the ground! Flame on!"

"Johnny! Wait!"

Before his sister could utter the second word, Johnny was ablaze with flame again and rocketing skyward. He arched to the street below. He landed upon the street at the very feet of the Baxter Building as the crowd around him scattered in a panic.

"What's with them?" he asked. "They act like they've never seen the Human Torch before."

Carried effortlessly upon the power of Susan's cosmically-radiated mind, Ben and Reed touched down nearby. Susan was the last of them to land.

"We'd better get inside," announced Reed. "Maybe--"

"In the name of the Alliance for Peace," came a voice from behind them, "I order you to halt!"

Reed, Susan, Johnny and Ben turned slowly at the familiar-sounding voice.

Stepping from the main entrance of the Baxter Building, Captain America headed a wedge of multi-colored individuals.

"Cap? Hawkeye? Cyclops? Iron Man?" laughed Ben. "What the devil are you doing in the Baxter Building? What's with that retro look, Shell Head? Don't get me wrong, Cap, we're all happy as clams to see you up and about, but--"

"That's not the Baxter Building, old friend," announced Reed, arm outstretched. "Look!"

Ben's attention fell upon the words etched above the main entrance.

"The Peace Building?" he gasped. "What the--?"

"I'll say this just one more time," warned Captain America, shifting his grip upon his shield, "Whoever you are, stand where you are. By order of the Alliance for Peace, you are under arrest!"
Paul E. Schultz
Paul E. Schultz

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Post  Craig DeBoard Tue Jun 05, 2012 5:23 am

If this is an alternate reality where Cap is leading some police squad, I'm curious to see what the FF's counter-parts are up to!
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Post  Paul E. Schultz Wed Jun 06, 2012 12:53 am

Stick around, true believer!
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Post  Eric Nyman Sat Jun 23, 2012 10:54 pm

Nice job Paul. I loved how explained some of the things that Ben goes through in everyday life and the ending has me hooked

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