As Johnny sank deeper into the water, all he could think about was his recent failures as both a hero and an uncle. When Ben Grimm had seemingly died at the hands of the Wizard, Johnny had gone off the deep end and turning more violent until Franklin stole his powers.
In a fit of rage, Johnny had ordered Franklin's kidnapping to force him to return Johnny's flame powers, only for Franklin to end up comatose and his aura to be sent through space and time by Dr. Doom*.
(*New Warriors #24 -TC)
Now Franklin's body had gone missing, and Johnny was feeling extreme amounts of guilt over it. Getting angrier over wha he'd done to his nephew, Johnny's eyes opened.
In a fit of rage, Johnny had ordered Franklin's kidnapping to force him to return Johnny's flame powers, only for Franklin to end up comatose and his aura to be sent through space and time by Dr. Doom*.
(*New Warriors #24 -TC)
Now Franklin's body had gone missing, and Johnny was feeling extreme amounts of guilt over it. Getting angrier over wha he'd done to his nephew, Johnny's eyes opened.
#77 by Jason Bruss & Tobias Christopher
June 2018 Mr. Fantastic
Invisible Woman
Human Torch
The Thing
Dr. Doom
Malice
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"The Coming Storm""Johnny!" Susan Storm, the Invisible Woman, shouted as she watched her brother fall unconscious into the ocean thanks to Malice's powerful magic.
"Sue, we have to get these people to safety!" Reed shouted as he kept the Doombots at bay along with the Thing. "Get them on the ferry!" "Let's not send the audience anywhere!" Malice shouted as she tossed a powerful bolt of magic at the ferry, sinking it before anyone could board it. "I want all of these people here to witness the fall of the Fantastic 4! Well, 3, now!" "She's lost it!" Ben Grimm shouted as he tossed a Doombot, knocking the others over like bowling pins. "We gotta taker her down, now!" "We can't afford for these people to be hurt!" Reed told him. "You two handle Malice, I'll keep them safe!" Sue told them as created a force field over the crowd large enough to hold them all. Malice floated down towards the ground with an evil gleam in her eye. "It all ends here!" Malice shouted, not realizing that the water behind her was starting to heat and bubble. "Goodbye, Richards family, it hasn't been an honor." As she charged her hands with magic, something broke through the surface of the water. "Leave my family alone!" Johnny shouted as he rose high into the air, with his flames now burning a solid white. Everyone on the island could feel the intense heat, which could be felt as far a mile away. "I have had enough of you!" Johnny threw a giant fireball at Malice, who barely put up an invisible field in time to block it. The force field was barely holding up by the time Johnny threw several powerful fireballs at her. "How is this possible!?" Malice shouted as she continued feeling the heat. Elsewhere in New York, Sharon and Alicia were at a Starbucks. While Sharon was having a coffee, Alicia was having something a little more healthy for the baby still growing inside of her that was due pretty soon. "So, how's the baby?" Sharon asked. "The baby's a real kicker," Alicia said as she felt her stomach. "I'll be glad when I finally get to meet the little roughhouser. How are your cancer treatments coming?" "Pretty well, but lately I've been having trouble going back and forth between stone and human," Sharon told her. "It's starting to worry me." "I'm sure it's just stress," Alicia told her. "Once the baby's here we'll start doing yoga classes together, work off some of that tension." "I hope that'll work," Sharon told her. "I can't get treatments if I can't turn human. And without treatments..." "Stop talking like that, it's going to be fine, you'll see." Alicia promised her. At the Baxter Building, Yoshi was walking down the hall and seeing that in all of the family pictures on the wall, Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny had all disappeared. Meanwhile, Alex had put on a pair of sweat pants and a tank top as he was exploring Reed Richard's lab. "This place is bigger than I remembered." "The lab is ever expanding," H.E.R.B.I.E. said as he floated beside Alex. "The lab is it's own pocket dimension so Dr. Richards can expand the lab at his choosing without messing with the Baxter building's structure." "I want to help with Franklin when they find him," Alex said as he looked at the robot. "He was one of us, the Power Pack. In a way, he's like a little brother like Jack is. He's family." "That's awful sweet of you, kid, but we have to find Franklin first," H.E.R.B.I.E. told him. "Both physically and mentally." The Fantastic 4 had managed to finally strike back at Malice using their various strengths to attack and keep her off guard, finally backing her into a corner against the Statue of Liberty. "This ends right now, Malice," Reed said as Malice started laughing. "This is far from over," Malice smirked. "Lady Luck is forever on my side." Before they could get to her, Malice fizzled away in a puff of smoke. "I hate seeing my face on her body," Sue told her family. "The replacement ferry is on its way, then we can get these people home," Reed told her. "Then maybe we can relax for the evening." "I won't relax until my baby is home," Sue said. "When Franklin is home safe, then we'll talk." "Speaking of which, I need to get to the New Warriors HQ for the try-outs," Johnny said as he de-flamed. "Uh, matchstick?" Ben asked as he pointed downward as Johnny realized he was naked. Reed stretched out his arm and grabbed some newspapers for Johnny to shield himself. "Amazing," Reed said as he pulled out a scanner. "Reed, it's always been that bi--" "Not that," Reed said as he scanned Johnny's body. "I think Malice's magic may have tampered with your powers. They were burning so hot they melted the unstable molecules in your uniform. We should really get you back to--" "Tryouts now, boring lectures later. Flame on!" Johnny shouted as he flew off into the sky*. (And New Warriors #25. -TC) As the three heroes returned to the Baxter Building, Sue walked past Franklin's room and looked over at Reed. "Reed, why is there a bag on Franklin's bed?" "Oh, right, it slipped my mind with everything that's been happening," Reed told her. "I ran into Alex Power this morning. He was need of help so I asked him to move in for a while and be my lab assistant." Sue just stared at Reed and walked away without saying a word. "What? He needed a place to stay!" Reed told her. "You idiot, you let him move into your missing son's room!" Ben said, lightly slapping Reed upside the head. "Here, let me turn human and do that again, but harder." Ben tried to turn back into a human, but found he couldn't do it. "Why ain't I turnin' back?" "Don't worry about it, when Johnny gets back, I'll look at the both of you," Reed said as he watched Sue slamming the bedroom door. Valeria had returned home to grab some things on her to New Warriors HQ when saw Alex Power emerging from the shower with just a towel around his waist. She stopped and forgot what she was doing as Alex saw her. Her mind went blank as she saw his still wet abs coming out of the door along with his wet bangs hanging down into his eyes while he rubbed the towel against his head. "Val?"Alex asked while drying his hair. "You're really grown up since the last time I saw you. It's been forever, hasn't it? Look, I gotta get dressed and talk with your dad, but why don't we hang out later and catch up?" Alex headed into Franklin's room and closed the door as Valeria took a deep gulp. What the hell was that emotion she just felt and how could she ensure that she never felt it again? Latveria The sound of the people revolting outside was like music to Vincent Von Doom's ears. The people were starting to rise up against his father, and soon he'd be able to make his move. From his bedroom window, Vincent could see a gunman in the town square as the young Doom smirked to himself. "My father's time is almost over," Vincent smirked. "Soon the king will be dead. Then... long live the king." TO BE CONTINUED... |