Uninvited guests

Making their way inside the home of the Fantastic Four and pulling up chairs to sit, Reed made his way to the kitchen area while Ben and Johnny went back to their seats where the kids had been hiding, relieved to find they were okay during this entire ordeal. Ben crouched to give his adopted kids a hug while Susan bent at the knee to do the same with her own.

“Are you kids okay?”

Looking over their mother’s shoulder, Franklin and Valaria looked back to their mother, pointing back to the two who got seats at the table, and the one wearing a white robe lingered at the kitchen entrance where their father picked up the phone.

“Uhm, are they…?”

Looking over her shoulder to the three newcomers, Susan sighed and pouted her lip in frustration. “Yeah… Looks like we’ve got some early arrivals before the anniversary party, and a few unwelcome guests.” Stroking a finger through her daughter’s hair, she smiled back to her son and daughter. “Just sit tight, hopefully it won’t be as bad as last year.”

Getting to her feet and clapping her hands together with an exhale of breath, Susan joined the two at the table, eyeing the one standing by the kitchen doorframe as she sat down to properly introduce the newcomers. Her son and daughter joining her at the table at either side of her seat.

“So… I can understand this is a lot to process right now.” Explained Susan, fiddling her thumbs together as her three doppelgangers stared back at her, awaiting some kind of sanity from the madness they just fell into the lap of. “This… Well, this is an alternate reality, parallel to your own where things have turned out differently. Some things you might recognise, others you might not. I’m sure you’ve got a million questions running through your head, and I’m happy to answer all of them. E-even the weird ones. So please, introduce yourselves, you’ve got nothing to be afraid of. And before you ask, no we are not vampires, or Doombots or crazy evil people who wanted to drown the multi-verse in crazy.”

That last bit made the three women stare back at Susan with a raised eyebrow, one or two of them shrugging and shaking their heads at last bit.

“Smooth Sis… smooth.” Snorted Johnny from his seat with the kids. Getting an eye roll from the Invisible Woman until she spotted the blue clad devil woman raise her hand.

“Ah, yes?”

“My name is Suzie Storm, but where I’m from I’m called the Daredevil.” Introduced the blue clad woman, pulling off her hooded mask and shake her ponytail loose, then placing her mask on the table and fold her gloves hands in front of her. Blinking her eyes, they were milky and pale, her expression tired as she sniffed the air and exhaled. “So, I take it the way I can hear you all turning your heads, none of you are blind?”

“Liar, he IS alive!” Whispered the robed woman to herself, catching everyone off guard at the quiet outburst, ignoring it for now.

Getting up from their seats, Johnny and Ben approached the table, with the Human Torch looking back at the blind woman staring forward with a small smile. Her eyes blinking but never shifting to his direction, or any direction. Yet she seemed to acknowledge everyone at the table, almost like she could FEEL where they are.

“We’ve got a Daredevil in our universe too. Good guy too. But he wears red, why is your costume blue?”

Straightening her posture and feeling up her clothes, the woman placed her hands to her cheeks in an expression of shock. “I’m BLUE?!!! Why didn’t anyone tell me? All this time I called myself the Red Avenger of Manhattan! The Scarlet Woman without Fear! All this time and I…” Dropping her hands to her lap, the woman scoffed with a laugh. “I wasn’t BORN blind Johnny, I’ve been blind for 12 years, besides, I ordered my costume blue. Dumbass.”

The group chuckled at that, as Johnny slapped his own forehead and Ben elbowed the man in the arm with a crooked smirk. Looking back at the table, the spider-themed woman’s mask peeled away like it was fluid, revealing the blonde woman behind it as she too raised her hand.

“My name is Susan Storm, and where I’m from I’m called Lady Anti-Venom.” Pulling her seat back, the woman crossed a leg over the other and surprised everyone when her form fitting suit seemed to unravel and change. Becoming a stylish blue business suit and skirt to which made all but the Daredevil gasp in surprise. “I have a symbiote that grants me free clothing and spider-powers, pretty sweet huh?”

“That’s neat.” Valaria commented, approaching the woman and tugging at the sleeve of her jacket to check the fabric. “We have symbiotes in our universe too, I’ve always asked mom and dad for one as a pet.”

“So, is THAT why you smell like housepaint?” Stated Suzie, getting a frown from the other woman as she crossed her arms.

“It’s not housepaint, it’s a living organism that has enriched my life in so many ways. I’ve helped SO many people, healed so many injuries, so much more than I ever could as the Invisible Woman… But it DOES have a sweet tooth.”

“I think we have sweets in the refrigerator.” Susan commented, planning ahead just in case. Looking back at the woman keeping an eye on her husband in the kitchen, the Invisible Woman called out to the robed woman. “And who are you?”

Getting her attention, the woman eventually took a seat at the table with the others, giving them a better view of her face when she pulled her hood back. Her hair was a dirty blonde, cropped and short. Her skin an olive tone, almost Mediterranean in complexion. In the light, everyone could see fine lines and marks on her face. Scars years old faded but not completely gone. Whoever this version of Susan was, she had known a long life of hardship.

“My name is Susan Storm; I am the Moon Dame.” Turning her head sharply over her shoulder, the woman looked back to the entry to the kitchen where she heard Reed talking through the phone, hearing him sound a little alarmed before turning back to the group of people at the table. “I am an agent of Khonshu’s justice in my world.”

“You mean a Moon Knight?” Asked Ben. “We’z gots one here too, he’s a bit crazy on the best of days.”

“You don’t say…” The woman looked down, folding her hands together, giving a far away look until Valaria and Franklin went across the table to meet her properly. Along with N’kalla and Jo-Venn who were curious of the stranger.

“Father says our Moon Knight is quite notorious.” Stated N’Kalla

“Wow, you look just like mom, but not like her too.” Commented Franklin. “Can never imagine her with short hair.”

“Just like…?” Darting her eyes over to the Invisible Woman sitting across from her, Susan smiled back at the robed woman sheepishly, shaking her hair loose with her fingers as she chuckled at her kid’s tugging on the woman’s robes.

Any further conversation cut short when Reed stepped into the room after hanging up the phone. The man shaking his head and wiping his fingers through his hair when he locked eyes with his wife.

“Well…” Reed spoke up, making a grimace with his face. “I told Fury we’ve got… Unannounced visitors.”

“How did the ol one-eyed monster take it?” Asked Ben.

“He’s told me he is coming to speak to us personally and sending a cadre of SHIELD agents to deal with the problem.”

Leaning back with a nod, Johnny raised his arms up like it was a win. “Well then, a few dozen hulk busters will give those ladies a run for their money.”

“They’re for US Johnny.”

“What?!” Called out everyone at the table, shocked, but not completely surprised.

“Nicholas Fury deemed it that the portal is a national threat, and we are under house arrest once they arrive to assess the situation.”

“You DID tell him that this time it wasn’t OUR fault, right Reed?”

“I did honey, he doesn’t care. As far as he’s concerned, the how is not as important as the who. Our portal, our mistake.”

“So, he’s an asshole in THIS dimension too, huh?” Murmured Daredevil, the others around the table giving a collective grumble of affirmatives as Reed stepped back in the kitchen. Turning on the coffee machine to brew a full pot.

“I’m going to brew some coffee… We’re going to have guests soon in the next five minutes. Might as well be prepared for that.”

“I’ll unlock the doors…” Sighed Susan, getting up from her seat and heading to the front door. “Last thing we need is HERBIE to have to rebuild it after SHIELD kicks it open…”

After making sure all Fury would have to do is knock and he’d be able to march inside, Susan huffed and returned to her chair.

“Talk about a shitty start to a shitty day…”