Captain America finds Reed

Reed Richards just laid on the floor of the resort gym like a plastic action figure that had melted. The form he held was human only in the most general sense. The electricity had long since stopped flowing though him, so his body was his own again, but it was his mind that was paralyzed now. All he could do is long on the broken maimed remains of his friends in absolute anguish. The friends he was powerless to help and now could only mourn. It was long after Ben had been sliced into rubble like so much cheese that the circuit breaker popped. Even then it was several minutes before his neural pathways could respond, yet with what he had witnessed, he lacked even the will to pull his elongated form back to his natural shape. God knows how many hours he laid there before he felt that first strike on his cheek. Suddenly the loud shouting he had been vaguely aware of came into focus. The man over his shouted "REED! Pull it together man!"

Another slap strong enough to put a normal man into the hospital shook the scientist's rubbery neck. Finally, Mr. Fantastic's body began to return to normal as his eyes began to reflect the tortured man's journey back to the world of the sane. As his clarity of thought returned, Reed mumbled "Cap? Steve? Is that you?" Richards shook his head as if trying to dispel the worst nightmare of his life. He yelled "OH MY LORD! It was horrible Steve. She tore through us like we were paper dolls... She killed Johnny, her own BROTHER! What she did to Ben was even worse." Tears welled in the man of science's eyes. "Did you see it Cap? Did you see HER? Did you see Sue?"

Captain America had been through his own horrors as well with his team in Baltimore. If not for the intervention of this sword at his side. He had awoken on a harbor shore a half hour after Sersi unleashed that hellish blade. He was horribly shaken, but Coinspinner had whisked him away before the damage became more than a temporary debilitation. The Sword of Chance does not speak in words or even really telepathy, but it does give its current owner flashes that help them chart the needed course. Steve realized that the sword was urgently urging him to get to Reed. Cap quickly realized he was less than four blocks from a S.H.I.E.L.D. safe house. Having used this place once on assignment from Nick Fury himself, Cap also knew it had one of the organizations flying cars there as well. In a matter of minutes, the hero of World War II sprinted the distance to the haven, entered his security code and had the flying devise up and running. Even flying, it would take a couple hours to get to the Fantastic Four, but Steve Rogers prayed that it would be soon enough.

Even with the help of the Sword of Chance, the scene when he got there showed that teleporter could not have gotten him here fast enough to help. Steve had nothing but compassion for this man, but he had seen shell shock before and knew that if Reed was to help him, he had to rally his resources and do it now. "I didn't see what happened here Reed, but my whole team was taken down in *seconds*. Do you understand me? Eight of the mightiest and most experienced heroes on the PLANET taken down in less time than it took to tell you. If not for this sword, I would be facing the same fate they are."

Reed's eyes narrowed as he looked the sleek blade over. "Good God Steve! That is the blade that Sue used to kill Johnny. How can that cursed thing help us? It is a murderer's tool!"

Cap said calmly "This sword can't help when it is in the hands of someone evil, but when someone needs its help it will find them and help as long as it can. Its nature makes it go from person to person at random intervals."

Now Reed grabbed the Star Spangled Avenger and shook back "TAKE THAT BACK! Sue is NOT evil! HE did this to her. He used one of those EVIL swords to twist her mind, make her think HE was her husband. Don't you understand it was HIM! He must be stopped! We have to KILL Diablo!"

Cap wasn't sure his partner was stable enough to handle this campaign, but he now had a better idea who and what he was up against. It was pretty good odds that his team mates have fallen to the same fate as Susan Richards, but there are other heroes that could help and Captain America was not going to fall again so easily.