Scatter!

Backing up, now that they were outnumbered, the cadre of women looked to their leader who raised her chin in defiance, her hands still folded behind her back seeing the Fantastic Four and their new allies close in to deal with their home invaders. Looking back at the now deactivated portal behind her, her eyes were still unreadable from behind her green goggles, her face a stern expression of disappointment. Her tentacle claws snipping like scissors, betraying her frustration, the woman looked to the roof of the lab and simply turned her attention to the rest of the Sinister Susans with a firm tone of voice.

“Ladies… It would seem our welcome has been overstayed. Condor? Do be a dear…”

The winged crone glared back at her leader as she took to the air with her wings spread and screamed towards the ceiling, the column of sound pressure boring through the metal and concrete as sunlight poured out from above. Before the Four and their new allies could stop them, the one with the staff called out what sounded like an incantation, and the entire Lab swirled and bent into someplace else. Taken back, everyone looked around to find the entire laboratory replaced with what looked like a new year’s party at a ballroom, the place crowded with cheering crowds of people giving toasts while champagne showered overhead from popped bottle corks.

“The heck is this?” Asked Ben out loud, seeing the knife wielding lion woman blow him a kiss before disappearing into the crowd like the rest of her team.

“What in…” Looking around and trying to wave his arms out, they passed right through the celebrating crowds like they were not there. “Holograms?”

“Why are you all just standing there?!” Accused the devil clad version of Susan pointing into the crowd. “They’re getting…” As quickly as the illusion came, it ended, leaving the Four and new Susans standing alone in the lab with a gapping hole in the ceiling. “…Away.”

Just as quickly as the damage was caused, HERBIE quickly went to work repairing the hole in the ceiling, the edges of the damage seemed to ripple like static as small robots gathered the debris on the floor while others patched up the damage. Looking up at the repairs being done, Reed looked to the portal, now sizzling and smoking from the overload with an annoyed sigh just as he found himself surrounded by several versions of his wife checking him over for injuries while the one in a spider-themed costume had her mask unravel like a flower to reveal her face underneath, showing worry and relief he was unharmed.

“Reed! Are you okay? Thank goodness you aren’t too hurt, who WERE those people?!”

“Reed, did they hurt you at all? When did you grow a beard?” Asked the blue clad woman, gently feeling up his face with her gloved fingers. Her questions cut short with the moon knight themed woman pushing her aside to embrace Dr. Richards.

“Reed! You’re alive! Your ALIVE!” Gasped the cloaked woman, pulling off her black silk mask to show her sobbing as she pulled the surprised man in for a kiss. hot tears running down her cheeks as she peppered his lips again and again with kisses before burying her face in his shoulder. “I can’t believe your alive…”

Looking to his own wife who nodded for him to stay and comfort her, Reed eventually pulled away after this version of Susan calmed down, rubbing circles over her back with his hand to calm her and seeing she was wiping tears from her eyes, allowed his own wife to step in. Seeing the two women, the other Susans slowly came to realise the other’s presence and their surroundings now that they could. Confusion written on their expressions as they didn’t recognise the room they were in, or realised things did not seem right.

“Johnny? Ben?” Spoke up the blue daredevil woman as she approached her brother, the man turning off his flames to be slightly taken back when she reached out to feel his face like she did Reed’s. Her face scrunching into confusion when her hands reached behind his head. “What happened to your ponytail?”

“I… I think we can explain that.” Answered the Invisible Woman. “But first we got to catch those ladies before they cause trouble.”

*

Looking out from their hiding place, Franklin, Valaria, Jo-Venn and N’Kalla looked down the hall. Still keeping quiet when the echoes of blasts stopped.

“Do you think it’s over?” Asked Franklin.

“I don’t know.” Whispered N’Kalla, the Skrull girl peaking her head from behind the couch. “I don’t hear anything.”

“Why are we hiding? We’ve been warriors for years.”

Grabbing hold of Jo-Venn’s shoulder to keep him from exiting their hiding spot, Franklin shook his head. “I wouldn’t do that; we get into some weird fights when this kind of stuff happens.”

“HURRY! We can still catch them outside!” Called out Johnny in his fiery state, flying towards the front door with the rest of the family trying to catch up with him, along with three women who all bore Susan’s face as they chased out the door.

“Hey! Wait up for us!”

“I’m gonna get that big lady for trying to clobber me!” Grumbled Ben, slamming his fists together.

“That ‘big lady’ is a version of ME Ben, if anyone is clobbering her its ME!”

“Get in line sister!” Barked the spider-themed woman as her mask enveloped her face and she thwapped a line of black webbing to swing out the door.

Seeing them all race out the door and slam it close behind them, the kids all looked to each other in confusion. Trading looks, N’Kalla and Jo-Venn rejoined Frankie and Val behind the couch.

“You are right. This is too weird for us to get involved.”

Passing a bowl of popcorn to the pair, N’Kalla took a handful while her Kree brother took a sip from his drink.

*

Finally outside and only stopping to get their bearings, the Fantastic Four looked around, with Johnny immediately taking to the air with the wall crawling woman swinging high enough into the air to match. The two keeping their eyes peeled for anything that might show where the six had fled to. Trading looks after the white and black clad woman clung to a wall to a nearby apartment building, the woman shook her head before jumping, and gravity took her back down with Johnny following her back down, the two landing on their feet at the front of the house while the rest of the group waited on them.

“Did you see them?” Called out Reed, seeing the two come back after being airborne. Ignoring the honking from nearby cars as they all gathered at the front of the house.

“Nah, they’re long gone by now.”

“Or putting up a damned illusion.”

“No… No illusion this time.” Stated the blue daredevil woman, her lips pursed in concentration as she faced away from the group. “I can make out just about everything around me. I don’t… Feel or hear them anywhere. Wherever they are, they’re long gone.”

Rubbing the bridge of his nose and sighing, Reed got a reassuring hand on his shoulder when Susan came up and hugged his arm. “Well… This is not going to make Fury happy with us.”

“Should I make the call or…?”

“No… I’ll do it.” Reed sighed. “Maybe they’ll have a better chance at finding them than we can. Plus, he’ll blame me over you.”

“Reed… This wasn’t your fault.”

“What happened anyway… And who are these ladies?” Ben asked, his arms crossed as they made their way over to the sidewalk. “Did yer do-dad go on the blitz again?” He asked, pointing a stony finger at her watch.

“No. THIS time they came here of their own volition. I should have known that if I had made a dimensional portal, so did another version of me or someone like me somewhere in the multi-verse. That Dr. Octopus Susan said they wanted something from us.”

“Like what?”

“By the sounds of it Johnny, everything that wasn’t nailed down. The way she talked to us, we’re probably not the first reality they’ve robbed from.”

“Really? We got bushwhacked by a buncha Interdimensional home invaders?” Chortled the Thing.

“Powerful ones too!” Reed shook his head, still feeling dizzy after being knocked out. “They certainly gave us all a run for our… Money.” Looking over to his right arm, he found the white robed version of his wife snake her arms around his and rest her chin over his shoulder, a far away look on her eyes before she closed them and held on tighter.

Realising they now had three other Susan Storms with them from whichever realities they had been pulled from, Reed gently rested a hand over the woman’s arm and nodded towards their home. Walking up the steps to 4 Yancy street and opening the front door invitingly.

“I think you three are going to be here for some time until we can get this all settled, can I get you all something to drink?”