Fine tuning.

Heading back to the lab after finding Sue and her inter-dimensional duplicates had the Moleman under control, Reed was on his back on the floor going over fine tuning the dimensional portal overhead. Double checking his work, he was closer now than he was the last time he started the machine up and getting an understanding in what went wrong, it was all a matter of just tuning the gate to remain stable… And finding the right dimension. Everything seemed to be in worker order, just like the last time he turned the device on, so why did it end up with another version of his wife coming through the portal? Come to think of it, why only another version of HER? Why not a different version of him, or Johnny, or even some of the other people in New York he was aware of.

Pulling himself free of the desk and sitting up and rubbing the bridge of his nose between his fingers, Reed sighed and fell back into being deep with thought. There had to be a connection somewhere as to why, something he was missing. While he was trying to think it over, he heard footsteps nearby, followed by a pair of delicate hands begin to massage his shoulders. Sighing and relaxing as he felt her from behind kneel and sit on the floor with him, Reed smiled and turned to look over his shoulder.

“Thanks honey, how was…?”

Stopping dead in his question, he found himself look up into the innocent gaze of the former sex **** version of his wife blinking down at him, her hands still on his shoulders and stunned silent, worried she had done something wrong.

“Am I doing it right Ma… I mean, Reed?”

“Ah, its you.” Reed answered, remaining calm and patient with the woman as he sat up and gathered his tools from the floor. The woman was wearing a set of Susan’s hand-me-downs with a short skirt and a v-cut blouse. It was obvious she went with that attire to rouse his attention… And it worked, just enough that the man had to dial back and remind himself that the blonde woman rubbing his shoulders WASN’T his wife “Do you know what the others are doing?”

“Johnny is keeping an eye on the scary mes and the pretty one is watching television. And the glowing one is in here.” She pointed towards the glowing, floating woman in the center of the lab, the coat still over her shoulders and relatively still idle. She still had not moved in the last 2 days. It was starting to get creepy, creepier than when she obliterated one of the Susans who threatened everyone in the room that day.

Scratching his chin in thought, Reed turned his attention from the cosmic entity and back to the curious woman who clasped her hands together at her chest and looked back to him longingly.

“I bet you’re looking for something to do until the others come back huh?” Even though she did not answer, the look in the woman’s eyes told him enough. “Alright then.”

Resting on his back again and sliding into his spot under the dimensional portal to continue his fine tuning, the man reached out his free hand and pointed towards the set of tools nearby.

“Can you pass that spanner over there?”

Looking over her shoulder to the pile of tools on the floor, she slowly picked up one with a blue handle and hesitantly offered it to Reed’s open hand. Accepting the tool, he gave it a look and smiled, slowly handing it back and pointing back at the pile.

“It’s the green one over there.”

Handing the man the correct tool, the pair laughed lightly, unaware that the cosmic being floating in the middle of the lab showed the slightest hint of a smile on her lips, her attention on the pair working on the device until she turned her head to look back over to the doors to the lab open. There, the vampire strolled in unannounced and unaware by the pair at the device. She never made a sound walking into the room, almost as if she were a ghost, sauntering past the cosmic being and tossing her long platinum blonde hair over her shoulder and smirking back at her, before turning her attention to the two and raising her hand towards them. When she did, her shoulder over the floor began to stretch and extend, its silhouette of the woman changing into a fluid shape that extended sharp edges like a massive claw and quickly surrounded the two. Closing her hand, the shadow claw did the same, but before any harm could be done, the vampiric Susan Storm looked back to her cosmic double and smirked at her reaction. There, her hand was also extended with a finger pointing back at the undead being, her face unreadable but the intent was still there.

Raising her hands in mock defense, her shadow returned to its original shape at her feet. Doing so had the effect of having the cosmic woman lower her hand but keep her eyes on the smiling vampire as she left the lab. The two still oblivious to what just transpired until they heard a light slam of the doors closing.

Making her way down the hall with her finger tapping her pale lip, the vampire’s mind turned with ideas after the little demonstration.

“Interesting, VERY interesting…”