Reed Richards Has Contacted the Council of Reeds

Every family has secrets. The small safehouse in Elizabethtown, N.J. was one of Reed Richards'. As Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm went to make sure that Franklin and Valeria were safe, Reed let his hands stretch out. To the normal eye, it looked like a tile-topped table. But to Mister Fantastic, it was a keyboard that only he could use.

Hidden circuits came to life with a soft hum. The lights in the room dimmed as holographic images flickered into being. Faces as familiar as those that Reed Richards saw in the mirror every morning—albeit subtly distorted.

"Reed-61616," one of the Reeds said. This one had a long, plaited beard, vaguely Sumerian in aspect. "We know why you have contacted us."

"Porkum," Reed said. "So it's not just my universe."

"No," the bearded Reed said. "Doctor Doom's transdimensional and temporal manipulations have affected several new branches in the multiverse. We have been monitoring the situation as it develops, determining how best to help. You are the first affected Reed Richards to contact us."

Mister Fantastic nodded at his counterpart. The fact that they hadn't contacted him meant there was a problem.

"The Parliament of Dooms has constructed a transdimensional lattice around the affected timelines. A schism that prevents direct intervention from any of our universes to yours."

"But not communication," Reed noted, and he stroked his chin.

"Indeed," the bearded Reed said. "Doom-61616 has sought to bypass your defenses by using unconventional tactics, allying himself with this interdimensional villain, Porkum, and using his sexual powers to target your wife. We fear your Susan Richards is already severely compromised."

"There must be a way I can save her," Reed said firmly. "I'll do anything. I'll—"

"The situation is more dire than you realize," another Reed said. No, this was a Rita Richards, a female counterpart. She stepped forward and data filled the middle of the table, dizzying in its complexity. "Porkum's universe is perverse, guided by cosmic forces of lust, corruption, and degradation. These forces are made manifest in a radioactive isotope known as defraudium. Porkum has brought defraudium into your universe, and those forces are using it to infect your reality."

"We have...an option," Rita Richards said. "Utilizing the resources that you have at hand. It is an unconventional solution to an unconventional problem, however, and while you may save your wife, it will not be without personal cost. Your pride, your dignity, even your self may be lost. But it is not an avenue of counterattack that Doctor Doom would ever suspect, or which Porkum has any means of defense from. Even if it works, however—if you save Susan and your universe—your relationship with your wife may never be the same."

Reed stared at the assembled Reeds. There was sympathy in those eyes. Each of them had their own family. Knew what they would sacrifice to save them. If their positions were reversed—Reed would give them all the help he could.

"Tell me," he said.

Willing, at that moment, to do whatever it took.