Returning home

Continuing their flight back to the Baxtor building, the Fantastic Four and their guests landed in the Fantasticar’s landing pad on the top floor of the building, crowding the hanger bay but not enough that they could not disembark from their vehicles after they were powered down and exit the crafts. At the corner of the bay, they could all see that HERBIE had been hard at work in the Richard’s family absence, gathering cannisters and storing them at the corner of the bay, strapped and labelled, ready to be shipped out. The gene-trigger Reed had requested the A.I. to create while he was gone. By now there had to be 20 barrels.

Entering their home, Janet helped Sara to the living room chair, while Ben and Johnny took opposite seats in the couch along with Alicia. The SHIELD guards took up space in the living room with them keeping an eye on everyone present, while Susan and Reed made their way to the laboratory. “Let’s see if I can get an assessment of HERBIE’s progress, we’ll get a better idea in my lab.”

“I’ll gather some of my old clothes… If there are still some here.” Offered Susan. “Hopefully, you can wear some so you’re not wearing a tablecloth.” Heading into her bedroom, while everyone else was waiting in the living room, Susan turned on the light to her bedroom and smiled to herself. He had kept everything where it was. He did not change or empty out her things since she was in the RAFT, still hopeful he could get her back. It warmed her heart to know he never gave up on her. Gathering some spare clothes from her dresser, she returned to the living room and offered them to the shy creature who slowly but gratefully accepted the change in clothing. “Here, you go, you can get changed in the washroom, I’ll check up on Reed.”

Seeing the woman nod and get up to head to the washroom, Susan made her way down the hall to Reed’s lab. Once she was inside, she found herself surrounded by Reed’s research and work over the last several weeks. Holographic displays of Susan’s genome rotated on a table while Reed and Susan’s research were displayed on screens hanging over the main work desk. Overhead she could see the widescreen showing an image of blue tinted cells, inert and floating in fluid. A breakthrough, she surmised in his research to bring her back, if only partially. Sitting at his chair in front of the screen, Reed looked up to the ceiling and called out to the building’s A.I.

“HERBIE, how goes the production of the gene trigger?”

“Hello Professor Richards, we currently have 500 liters of the gene trigger ready for processing. Would you like it to be shipped to the university campus?”

“No HERBIE, I want the current stock in the hanger bay up top ready to be sent to SHIELD for delivery and distribution.” Answered Reed, getting an acknowledgement from the building’s artificial intelligence. “If we’re lucky, there should be enough to douse the city and end this invasion before it starts.”

Turning his attention over his shoulder from an elongated neck, Reed smiled back at his wife standing at the Lab’s doorway, hugging herself with a look of worry. Getting up from his chair, the man returned his neck to normal length and stood with some apprehension. “You REALLY scared us back there in the dance parlour by the way Suzie.”

Slowly stepping forward, Susan rested her four hands over her husband’s shoulders, pressing her body against his and exhaling a breath she did not know she was holding. “I’m sorry Reed, I didn’t mean to scare you all, but I didn’t want to have her escape or attack someone if she were cornered or found out.” Hugging Reed more closely, she breathed in the scent of his hair, her heightened senses telling her everything about how stressed and scared the man was. “I won’t do that again, okay?”

“Alright… How do you feel?”

Separating from Reed and looking around the lab overwhelmed her with memories, Susan closed her eyes and sighed, trying to block out the terrible reminder of when the thing that wore her face and body confronted her family months ago and nearly did something that NOW would be unthinkable to her. Hugging herself, her eyes opened when she felt Reed rest a hand over her shoulder to help calm her down. “… I should have said something when I first turned when I was still me. But, after?... I was driven, compelled to keep my state a secret.” Breathing in and exhaling, Susan looked up to kiss Reed on the lips but hesitated. “That monster, that fiend that threatened you all… That thing wasn’t me.”

“Hey, its okay Suzie, I KNOW it wasn’t you….” Seeing the man give a comforting smile, Susan could not help herself anymore and pulled the man into a gentle embrace, wrapping her four arms around him and hugging him gently, fully aware of the dangers her new strength could cause.

“That wasn’t me Reed…” She said again, a whisper in his ear. “That was never me…”

Pulling away from the hug, Reed could see Susan was beside herself with guilt, gently cupping her face in his hands and smiling when she smiled back. “I know Suzie, from what I’ve gathered from my research, and from what you’ve told me, this… Species is completely hardwired to multiply and consume. I’m surprised you held out as long as you had.”

“I didn’t… That’s the problem. At first, I thought I was going crazy, other times I wasn’t even in control of myself, the NEED was just so overwhelming. There were times I blacked out and… And…” Feeling the man left her chin up, it was Susan’s turn to be surprised when she felt Reed kiss her on the lips. Breathing in sharply, Susan reciprocated the kiss, her tentacles curling behind her back and over her shoulders, unconsciously pressing up against the man as she tasted his lips. It had been SO long for her to feel his lips on hers, to smell his presence and hear his voice. Moaning softly into his mouth, she risked letting her tongue explore his mouth, to taste him again. The only thing that kept her from going any further was the ‘ping’ sound that came from her collar, letting her know that even without the detonator present, SHIELD was making sure she and the others did not compromise their agreement. Separating from the kiss hesitantly, Susan averted her eyes but maintained her sad smile back at her husband until the beeping stopped. “Its not fair…”

“Give it time Suzie, we’ll get through this.”

Looking the man in the eye again, Susan pursed her lips and gave the man another chaste kiss, peppering his lips and continuing to peck at his cheeks and nose. Her acts of affection only paused when the two heard a cough at the door to the lab and turned their attention to Alicia who stood embarrassed at the door. Her eyes wandering over the two as she fanned herself slightly, almost wanting to join them. “Uhm… We managed to get more out of Sara, we think you should come hear this for yourselves.” She explained, stepping away from the door and making her way back to the living room, giving the two some privacy until they joined everyone else a couple of minutes later.

Gathered around the alien woman now dressed in some of Susan’s old clothes, she sat in the same chair with a mug of coffee Johnny had brewed from the kitchen. “So, tell us Sara, what do you remember about the mansion?” Asked the Human Torch.

“Yeah, anything else about it… Apart from the robot I mean.”

“Ben…” Scolded Alicia, giving the stone man a look.

“Well… Maybe not a robot.” Explained Sara, looking down and shifting her eyes in thought. “He looked like a guy, but his skin was glossy and red, and he was wearing this green get up with a cape…”

“Wait… Did he have a yellow gem on his forehead?” Asked Janet, her face taking on a serious tone as she pointed at her own forehead.

“YEAH! He did.”

“VISION!” Gasped Janet, staring back at the rest of the Fantastic Four as they too realised what she was describing. “Was there a cat woman there too? A tall Viking looking man with a hammer and another man in purple with a bow?”

Looking down at her coffee, Sara leaned back in thought with those descriptions, slowly nodding. “I remember a cat woman… I also remember a green woman big enough to put our bouncer to shame!”

“The Avenger’s mansion!”

“Christ I should have known!” Fumed Susan, spinning in her heel and dizzy with thought, her hand at her chin as her mind raced. “Could you imagine the destruction she could cause if she infected them?”

Already the SHIELD guards scrambled to communicate back to Nick Fury and the Helicarrier off the Manhattan coast. Some even running back to the hanger to their flying transports to communicate with their superiors. “I’m trying to call Mr. Stark’s number now, nothing yet.” Called out one of the SHIELD agents, shaking his head to the others while tapping his earpiece.

“We have to go there, see if we can contain them before…”

Just then, the window frame of the living room exploded when a red and gold metal object shot through and collided into the adjacent wall, forcing everyone to the floor and covering their ears from the blast and raging afterburners that continued to go off until they finally sputtered and died. Looking up from the ground, everyone discovered that the object was in the shape of a man, staggering back to its feet and looking around frantically and clutching to its side where dark fluids and blood oozed down the side and dripped down its leg and on the floor. The whirl of servos and motors could be heard as Iron Man clumsily took a step forward and quickly stumbled back, his flickering eye lenses dying out.

Reaching for the exterior controls to his helmet, the front plating yawned open and folded back behind his head with grating metal to show the man was bruised and battered underneath. Blinking and breathing hoarse breaths, Tony looked around to find himself Surrounded by dozens of SHIELD agents and the Fantastic Four. “Mansion… ‘Pant’… Mansion’s been overrun… ‘Pant’… Need…” The man almost looked relieved until his eyes fell on Susan returning to her feet, then to Alicia, Janet, and Sara. Eyes going wide, the man aimed his outstretched hand out towards the nearest one and splayed his fingers open, where the palm lit up with a whine of repulser energy ready to fire. “STAY BACK! STAY BACK!”

“TONY! It’s ME! Just, just lower your hand alright, I can expla…”

“Oh, I KNOW its YOU, just like the others told me before they tried to drive their claws into my damn ribs to pluck at my liver.” Catching his breath and coughing up blood in his mouth, the man shook his head and staggered back again, looking too dizzy to keep standing. “So, what are you? The BLUE version? You like… Spit acid or something? Maybe shoot quills out or your tits? Well, you’re not going to tear ME apart lady!!!” The moment Susan slowly approached him with her four hands out, Iron Man leaned against the wall and aimed his repulser ray at her. “I’M SERIOUS! Get back!” The moment the whine from his hands became a high pitch release, a bolt of compressed **** shot out.