The Baxter Building
Madison Avenue at 42nd Street
Manhattan, New York

“So easy…”

Morris Bench willed his arm to a contained liquid state, letting the water that was the composition of his Marvel envelope and swell about the Torch’s head. He created a bubble, holding it stable by force of will, letting his essence seep into Johnny Storm’s mouth and nose. The Torch did not move at first, but finally he jerked, his body spasming involuntarily as his lungs struggled to gain oxygen. Bench laughed.

“I could kill ya now ya little shit,” Bench said, not expecting a reply. The Torch had smashed through two floors and a ceiling of reinforced materials before his momentum had finally burned out. Bench had found him bruised and bleeding and unconscious on the floor of one of the lower lab levels. Storm would be lucky if he was not paralyzed after the thing had tossed him through the building. Morris Bench smirked. He was probably doing the kid a favor.

Storm started to choke and cough, but Bench knew it was all reflex. The Wizard didn’t care about Storm, and Bench knew that if he brought the Human Torch back dead nobody would give a rat’s ass, ‘cept maybe his sister, an’ if Geiger had his way she wouldn’t either.

He compressed the flow, forcing more water down Storm’s throat.

“Drown, mother fuc…”

Bench saw stars as something slammed against the back of his head. He staggered and something hooked his leg, dropping him to the floor. He hit hard, losing concentration, the water of his hand spewing across the floor as something smashed into his head again. Stupid and cocky, someone had got the drop on him. He had left his body solid and one of the Fantastic Four had got the drop.

He struggled to focus, shaking his head, trying to wash away. Something slammed into the side of his head and Morris Bench, the Hydro Man fell to the tiles unconscious…

Debra Bernard raised the metal spar and brought it crashing down onto Hydro Man’s head again. And again…

And again…

Debra Bernard leaned back against the nearest wall to catch her breath. She was breathing hard, wiping sweat from her brow and raking her hair back from her face as she watched the unmoving form of Morris Bench. There was a bit of blood at the scalp, and she could see the spot where she had scraped away some of his hair. She did not care, but he was breathing. Better than he deserved for what he had been doing.

She had been lucky that he had been cocky and arrogant and had only transformed his arm into water. Had he been totally liquid, she would have been screwed and Storm would be dead.

“Storm…”

Debbie dropped the metal strut that she had used to batter the Hydro man into unconsciousness and dropped to her knees beside the still form of the Human Torch. He was battered and bruised, and his body had been scraped and lacerated all over. There were rips in his uniform, slashes in his skin and she could see blood welling at his scalp as well. He was not breathing.

Debbie grabbed his head and twisted it to the side, forcing his mouth wide and heaving him up as best that she could to get the residual water from his mouth. She tried to ignore the rivulets of water as they crept across the tiled floor to seep back into Hydro Man. It was fairly disgusting, watching the water absorb back into Bench, so she concentrated on Storm.

She rolled him flat onto his back, grabbed his arms and lifted them out and over his head several times before leaning fully over his prone body. She checked, but his mouth was clean, so she leaned in, tipping back his head and holding his nose as she pressed her own lips over his. She breathed, short and shallow, quickly again and again.

Debbie leaned back and pressed her palms into the soft spot below his rib cage, again and again, over and over.

She leaned in, breathing into his mouth.

She pumped his arms.

She pressed his chest…

“Breathe, dammit!”

Johnny Storm started hacking and coughing, spitting water into her mouth before she could back away. She slumped back onto her ass, watching as the Torch’s coughing jag went on and on. The water he vomited from his lungs crept across the floor and back into Bench as she watched, wrinkling her nose in disgust. Finally though Storm stopped hacking and lay still, breathing normally. He was still unconscious.

“Dammit…”

Debra Bernard stared at Storm for a moment, then at the Hydro Man. Both were out for the count, bleeding from the head. Her SHIELD Emergency Medical Training told her that she should bind their wounds, keep them stable and call for help. There was no time though. She had nothing but the clothes on her back, and truthfully, right then and there she did not give a flying fig about Morris Bench. Besides, there was no help.

In the end she stripped off her tee shirt, ripping away the hem and wrapping that about Storm’s head as tightly as she could. The shirt was filthy from crawling around the maintenance ducts, but it was the best she had to offer. Hopefully help would arrive before he bled to death or suffered brain damage. She was not a Medic, dammit.

With Storm’s wounds bound she shifted about, trying to make him as comfortable as possible. She found no broken bones that she could see, and she had no idea about internal injuries. She hoped that his flame had been hot enough to get him through the floors, and it had. Not enough however, and he seemed to be out for the duration so in the end she simply dragged him out of the way and laid him flat. Then, biting her lip, she removed his wide, black belt. Debbie knew that there were things contained within that she could use, the least of, which was the FF Flare Gun that Storm rarely used. Too, there was the IR beam in the buckle, and hopefully some sort of computer override that might bypass the Wizard’s security alterations on the building.

“Sorry, Storm,” she whispered as she slid his belt from his body. “God knows you probably dream about me undoing your belt, but this is business.” She checked the contents quickly, glancing at Bench again.

Everything was there, along with a Security ID Card and a small handheld PC about the size of a credit card: one of Richard’s inventions. Hopefully Storm was as stupid as he played and she would be able to bypass his personal codes. Debra Bernard, Agent of SHIELD was not stupid. She had beat Hydro Man by a fluke, but no way she could take on the likes of the Wizard, Controller and Trapster.

Well, maybe the Trapster, if she got lucky again.

“Sorry, Storm,” she said as she got to her feet and quickly padded down the hallway. She was heading to the Communications Room on the level, then hopefully to the Weapons Room if she could get in. It would be hard, she knew. Geiger was no idiot.

But then too, neither was Debra Bernard; Agent of SHIELD!

THE FRIGHTFUL FORCE!

Part III: The Agony of Defeat

By Curtis Fernlund

It was hard to focus. He understood exactly what Geiger had done of course, and though he could appreciate the achievement, he did not have to like it.

Upon his surrender, the Wizard had produced one of his Anti-Gravity Discs from a compartment in his armor. With a mocking, villainous tone he had affixed the disc to Richard’s chest, explaining his grand scheme, or at least that particular portion of it- the capture of Mister Fantastic. The disc had been specially designed, based on Geiger’s own field of expertise of course, which was the negation and utilization of gravity. Apparently he had come up with a way to destabilize the gravitational effect of the Earth on a molecular level. Simply an expansion on his own earlier theories and advancements of course, however his initial idea was designed with the unique physiology of Reed Richards in mind.

As soon as Geiger had activated his disc, Richards had felt the sudden ‘polarization’ of his molecular structure. It was as though every molecule in his body had been severed from the planet’s gravitational field, separating in cohesiveness and trying to independently strive away from one another. The result of course was the sudden pliant state of Richards’ body; an almost liquefying effect.

It was a bit unsettling, losing all control of his body from the ability to move, his more personal and involuntary functions, to his actual ability to simply be of some stability. As he felt his cohesion starting to slip away, the Trapster strode forward with a grinning sneer. He had produced a plastic bag of somewhat more dense material and had fluffed it open with a snap of his wrists before quickly lowering it over Richard’s head and body. Reed stared through the thick plastic, watching as Petruski’s face twisted oddly in the distance, his own sight swimming as he seemed to melt into the container. The Trapster sealed the bag then and affixed some type of oxygen apparatus to the clamped metallic opening before locking the entire contraption airtight. It was actually lucky that Petruski had contained him as the liquefying process continued to separate his molecules. Before too long Richards theorized that his form might well have dispersed into the atmosphere. As it was, within the clear fiber weave of mutated plastic; obviously an advancement of Petruski’s as he was a world class chemist after all, Reed Richards felt it increasingly hard to concentrate, let alone comprehend the world beyond his prison, though he strained to do so.

But of course, Geiger was there mocking him, thus giving him a point of focus.

“Enjoying yourself, Reed?” Geiger laughed. Reed Richards could not answer of course, as it was taking most of his concentration to simply see and hear- and think.

“A pity that you can’t speak. I always did enjoy our discussions and debates, back in the day when you still considered me a peer. A pity too that your arrogance after your accident left you such a conceited bastard. Perhaps it would not have come to this.”

Richards listened while scanning the room beyond. The room itself was a brightness- the lighting of course- and the walls a reflective gray that seemed to simply blur with the distance, swirling with the movement of those within. Geiger was distinctive enough, as he was the closest to the prison; a purplish, elongated mass that faded in and out of clarity. The Trapster too, though he was blocky and squat, still purple. He could ‘see’ Medusa in the background, purple again but with a striking mass of swirling red atop. She was alongside the Controller who appeared a huge swirl of pale blue. He could make out Susan’s blue occasionally, with her golden hair, and Crystal’s yellow topped with red. And Ben… he was a huge orange lump.

They were doing something to Crystal and Susan; Reed could see the various forms clumping together. Presumably they were going to use Geiger’s Neural Converter on the women as they had on Medusa, Alicia Masters and the Thing. Geiger had said as much in one of his gloating rants, and with the Controller as well as Phillip Masters, the Puppet Master in the ranks of the new Frightful Force, Richards had no doubt that they would succeed, given time.

He did not see Masters at the moment, nor Alicia and the children, and that was the only reason that he suffered Geiger’s indignities. The children were missing, and until he saw that they were safe he had to bide his time before implementing his plan of escape. The children, and of course Johnny and Debra Bernard; the latter two missing as well. Though so too was Hydro Man, so perhaps Johnny was still on the offensive somewhere in the building. That would indeed make things simpler.

“Hello…”

Richards focused again to see Geiger pressed against the plastic and leering at him. Gloating of course- idiot that he had become. He had been right about that, in that it was a pity they were no longer peers. Geiger was a criminal, a terrorist and a kidnapper. He had endangered the Richards children, and for that he was no longer a consideration, beneath contempt and mercy.

“We’re almost ready, Reed. Very soon your dear, sweet wife will be as anti-Reed Richards as the rest of us, and the exquisite Elemental as well. They will both be mine, Reed. Along with Madame Medusa, they will become my own personal harem of Marvels. I can hardly wait.”

Richards would have smirked, perhaps snorted his derision had he been able. Instead he simply floated there in his bag-like prison, easing his molecules about, focusing on the anti-gravitational disc in their midst.

Soon…

“Alicia… please…”

Alicia Masters felt her stepfather’s hands on her arms, turning her about to face him, squeezing slightly. She held her ground though, turning her head to give him a black but icy stare.

“No.”

Her stepfather was scared. She could smell the fear rolling off of his body, hear the quake in his voice as it jumped almost in octaves as his worry increased. He wanted to leave, to abandon their new friends, but Sandhurst had told her to stay and guard Valeria, and she would not abandon the baby no matter how much her stepfather whined and begged.

“We’ll take the baby then, Alicia,” he said, his long, bony fingers tightening even more. “We need to get out of here, away. They’re insane! Geiger’s a madman, obsessed with destroying Richards!”

“That sounds familiar, ‘uncle’,” Alicia said coldly, placing the baby in her walker. Valeria quickly bubbled with joy and started scampering about the room, heading towards her toys.

“No!” Phillip Masters cried. “Everything I’ve ever done was for you, Alicia. Always! I only wanted to make you happy, make your life better! I never wanted to destroy the Fantastic Four, just get them away from you…”

“You’re hurting me!” Alicia said, wincing as her stepfather’s grip increased. She could hear the frantic timbre of his voice, smell his sweat and foul breath as he held her closer.

“Especially from that rocky, orange freak, the…” Masters shivered to feel the shadow fall across him. He knew that he had said too much even as he felt the strong, rough hand wrap about his scrawny throat. Strong muscles lifted him with ease as he released Alicia. “Thing…” he gasped as the hand turned him about.

“You okay, babe?” Ben Grimm asked, ignoring the Puppet Master’s kicking and struggling, even as his captive dipped his hand into the over-sized pocket of his lab coat.

“Of course, Ben,” Alicia answered calmly. Her vacant eyes stared at her dangling stepfather, her face a cold mask as she seemingly watched. “My uncle would never willingly harm me.”

“Ain’t the way it looked to me,” Grimm said, grinning as he pulled Masters closer until they were face to face. “What about you, Phil? That how you seen it? You weren’t gonna hurt Licia were ya?” Ben Grimm’s face twisted, darkened as he snarled at his captive, “cuz that would really piss me off.”

Phillip Masters pulled his hand from his pocket and held up the small, glowing figurine that he had fashioned weeks ago. It was chiseled with a definite precision, almost a masterful talent, though where Alicia Master’s similar skill became magnificent art, Phillip Master’s creations looked like toys. The one in hand was a detailed, rock-like mass, which resembled the Thing.

“Unhand me, you misshapen brute! I command you!” Masters thrust his puppet forward, the soft glow emanating from the clay growing brighter as the Puppet Master exerted his will on Ben Grimm. The Thing simply snorted.

“We went through this before, chrome-dome. Yer dolly don’t do nuthin’ fer me,” Grimm said as he reached up with his free hand. He splayed his huge fingers wide and enveloped Masters’ own hand, puppet and all. “Ain’t no man’s Ben Grimm’s master,” Grimm snarled as he started to squeeze. “Not you, or Sandhurst, an’ especially not Reed Richards…”

Phillip Masters’ eyes popped wide as the Thing slowly made a fist. He felt the pain as the pressure increased, his puppet crumbling in his own hand as the radioactive glow flared brightly. He started to squirm as Grimm chuckled. He heard bones pop.

“Alicia…” Masters whined, turning to look at his niece as best as he could still clutched in the Thing’s grip. His eyes were wide, and pleading as he started to beg. “Please. Make him stop! I’m sorry!” But Alicia simply ‘stared’.

Phillip Masters screamed as Ben Grimm gave a final squeeze. He felt his bones shatter as his hand was crushed, pulped into a soggy mass of flesh and blood and clay seeping through the Thing’s massive fingers. He started to cry hysterically as the Thing flexed his grip, inflicting more and more pain as he finally released Masters’ throat and let him drop to the floor.

“Ya want out, Phil?” Grimm asked as he started striding towards the nearest window. Masters screamed again as he was dragged along, looking up imploringly at his stepdaughter who simply ‘watched’, her head turning to follow the sound of his voice, the barest smile playing at her lips.

Phillip Masters knew that Sandhurst had ‘conditioned’ her in those weeks spent in Sunshine City. There had been off hours while the Wingless Wizard had perfected his plans, times when Sandhurst had been alone with Alicia, inflicting his powers on the helpless blind woman so integral to their scheme. Masters knew that she had become his more than willing slave when he had tried to override the Controller’s control with one of his own puppets. Masters own bond with his niece and stepdaughter had always been unique and strong, but with Sandhurst controlling the mass of minds in Sunshine City and beyond, his will was far greater. Alicia was his now, the puppet of Basil Sandhurst with no feelings at all for her last surviving family.

Ben Grimm stopped before the wall, peering out the thick, resistant window to the city of Manhattan beyond. Masters eyes grew even wider, his fear expanding as the Thing reached up and started to press against the safety glass. Masters trembled, knowing that Geiger had taken over the Baxter Building’s security and had reconfigured the data for his own ends, but this was Reed Richards’ devices that he was playing with, trebled with the innovations of SHIELD, Stark and T’Challa T’Chaka. They were not idiots, nor stupid.

“Petunia!”

Masters heard Grimm’s word, saw the flash as his voice overrode all of the Wizard’s hacking to the building’s security programming. There was a flicker as the outer sealing force field winked out and the triple-paned safety glass shattered at the Thing’s tremendous strength.

“Ben?”

Phillip Masters heard Alicia’s voice, a sudden twinge of concern as she stepped closer. He heard the baby giggling somewhere out of sight, oblivious.

“Ya want out, Phil?” the Thing said as he hoisted Masters up again to dangle by one arm. “Ya got it.” Ben Grimm tossed him out the window…

“Jesus…”

Debra Bernard stared wide-eyed at the gaping hole, the shattered window and the back of Ben Grimm as he watched the Puppet Master fall to his death. She could hear Masters’ screams dying away with the distance. The Thing had just willingly killed the Puppet Master, and Alicia Masters had stood calmly by while he had done it.

Debra swallowed, backing away from the doorway and back into the adjoining room. Valeria giggled happily as the nanny held her close, stepping lightly but swiftly back towards the door on the far side to the offices beyond and the outer hallway. She had to get away, she knew. She had to save the baby and get help.

She hurried out into the hall, running towards the far end of the corridor and the stairwell beyond. She had seen the Thing shut down the window security with a code word override, the mechanism in his belt flaring red ever so slightly. She knew what she had to do now, as she had failed on the upper floors at the Communications Room. She had consequently gotten nowhere near the Weapons Locker, but now she hoped to think smaller. Here in the living areas she hoped the security would be breachable. Maybe she could get the elevators open, or the stairs at least.

And the wall burst outward!

Debra screamed, diving sideways and twisting to shield the baby as she slammed hard onto her hip and slid along the tiled floor. Stone and wood and plaster rained down about her and she saw the spark of electrical wiring as a cloud of dust billowed and the Thing stepped forth from the hole, which he had created in the wall. He stared at her, his eyes snapping with an anger-fueled fire.

“See Ben,” Alicia Masters said as she stepped to his side, pointing in Debra’s general direction. “I told you I heard her.”

“Yeah, babe. You were right as usual.” Grimm smiled at the love of his life, then turned back to Debra, who was trying to scramble through the debris, trying to get to her feet and cradling the baby, Valeria at the same time. He smirked cruelly, chuckling-

“Stupid, kid. I got no beef with you. Least ways I didn’t.”

Debra Kicked as the Thing reached for her, simply snatching her leg as her bare foot slammed into his arm, the pain of the impact making her cry out. He was faster than he appeared, quickly hoisting her up and whipping her about, his other hand grabbing the wide black belt about her waist. He grinned as she struggled to hold the baby near.

“That Johnny’s belt, Deb? He still alive?”

“Yes,” she hissed, shaking her head. “No thanks to you!”

“Heh. Yer a feisty one, I’ll give ya that. Tell ya what, kiddo. Just give the baby ta ‘Licia an’ I’ll give ya the same chance I gave Phil.” He strolled back through the hole in the wall that he had created, crushing the rubble underfoot as Alicia hurried behind, her own path free of debris.

Debbie paled as Grimm dangled her towards the window, releasing his grip on her leg and simply holding her by the belt. She stared at the empty air beyond the shattered glass and licked her lips. She did not want to die.

“Give me the baby.”

She saw Alicia Masters at her side, reaching out for Valeria, not a trace of pity about her. Debbie did not want the baby hurt, and unfortunately right then Alicia Masters seemed the safest option. She would not harm Valeria or Franklin no matter…

“Where’s Franklin?”

Alicia’s brow furrowed in confusion for a moment and Debra saw the other woman glance at Ben Grimm. He simply shrugged.

“Disappeared with the Inhuman’s mutt, Lockjaw. I dunno.”

“Lockjaw will take him to safety,” Alicia said with assured confidence and Debbie had to agree. Probably Franklin was safe with the Inhuman’s on the moon, telling them everything and they would come running in like the Calvary to help any second now. Any second…

“It’s been fun, kid.”

Grimm stepped closer to the window and Debbie started to struggle. She knew that she could not hope to beat the Thing’s great strength, so she had to out think him. Her hands flew to the velcro clasp of her stolen belt and ripped the two halves apart, falling to the floor and quickly rolling away.

“Why ya little…”

Debra ignored the Thing’s tirade and swiftly scrabbled to her feet and running to gain some distance between her and his sweeping arms. One blow, even a glancing one and she would be done. She ducked and dodged as something black rocketed past and slammed into the wall, caving it in slightly with impact. The Torch’s belt, she realized, and snagged it as she jogged past, heading for the open doorway. Alicia Masters stepped in to block the door, snuggling the baby in her arms and knowing full well that Debra would not attack. Debbie cursed, turning.

“Ya had yer chance,” the Thing snarled as he lumbered forward. “Yer gonna hurt now.”

Debra licked her lips, backing away as her fingers glided across the belt in her hands. She had one desperate chance against the Thing’s brutish strength and malicious attitude. Debra drew the Torch’s little-used flare gun from its belt pocket and raised it; fired!

The Thing screamed as the flare struck him full in the face, exploding in a blaze of fiery light. He staggered back, clutching and clawing at his face and knuckling his eyes. She doubted that she had hurt him badly, if at all, but hopefully she had caught him by surprise and blinded him for awhile. Long enough to make her escape. Hell, she could smell her own hair sizzling, her face feeling the burn and spots danced in her eyes even though she had had them shut.

“Ben!” Masters shouted, a hand reaching towards the man she loved. Debbie grabbed it, jerked as she drove her heel into the other woman’s ankle. It was Alicia’s turn to scream in pain as she fell forwards, her jaw connecting with Debra Bernard’s palm thrust. Alicia’s head snapped sideways even as Debbie shifted her stance in order to catch the woman, and more importantly the baby that she still held. She fell with Alicia and the baby on top of her, Debbie taking the brunt.

Debbie sighed to hear Valeria giggle even over the Thing’s rage. And Alicia was thankfully sprawled on top of her, unconscious. Debbie rolled, glancing at the Thing still rubbing his eyes and cursing up a storm as she cradled the baby and gathered her up. She saw his face was charred black with soot and smoldering. Maybe she had hurt him, after all. No matter though. Time to go-

Debra screamed as the Thing’s fist ensnarled in her hair, yanking her back and up. Luckily she had not risen, and Valeria simply rolled from her grip, laughing at the excitement and tumbling playfully.

Debra kicked and struggled uselessly as the Thing held her high. His eyes were blazing red, pinpoints of blue within and wet with tears and hatred. He snarled, drawing her close, and Debra’s heart skipped a beat as terror washed over her.

“Bitch! Yer dead!”

Debbie screamed, lashing out! She jammed her fingers into the Thing’s eyes, clawing. Grimm screamed again but kept his grip as Debbie struggled, her hands raking, groping, and trying to hang on and gain leverage with her arms slipping about his neck. She gasped as she felt something there, round and slim and metallic. She dug her fingers in; feeling her nails crack away as she ripped.

“Gahhh!”

The Thing screamed as he dropped her and he staggered back, clutching at his head. Debbie landed softly, rolling away as he flailed madly, stumbling around the room. She scrambled back crab-like, blocking Valeria from the Thing’s staggering path.

She stared at the small metallic disc in the palm of her hand. It was the Controller’s as she had suspected, still affixed to the base of the Thing’s skull, though apparently useless. She had read the files though and recognized it as soon as she had touched it, and more, she knew what would happen if she tried to remove it. The Thing, despite his apparent free will was still linked to Basil Sandhurst and from that link the Controller was drawing strength as he did from all of his slaves. Debra hoped that by removing the disc she might snap the Thing from his attitude, and more, sap the Controller of enough strength to make a difference.

And it had hurt Grimm. She could see blood on the disc, and there had been the slightest spark of electricity as she had ripped the control disc from his neck. Remarkably though he was still standing, and he was starting to regain his composure.

“Fuck,” Debbie cursed as she spun about and gathered up the baby, finally getting to her feet. “Sorry, Val. Aunt Debbie’s got a potty mouth. Time to go though!”

Debbie ran out the door and back into the hall, this time away from the Thing. Valeria simply gurgled and cooed.

“Uhn…”

Basil Sandhurst felt the sudden wave of dizziness and stumbled slightly, leaning against the wall for support. He felt weak and knew the reason why immediately. He had lost his link with the Thing.

He glanced up, wiping a sudden wash of sweat from his brow to see if the others had noticed. Both the Wizard and the Trapster were facing away luckily: Geiger still taunting Richards tangled liquid mass within the bubble and Petruski looking out a window in the connecting room for some reason. He had no idea where the sniveling Masters had gone; probably with his niece, stepdaughter, whatever she was to him. And Bench had yet to return after he had splashed off in chase of the Torch. Good.

He glanced at the three women at his side. Madame Medusa of course stood stoically as he had commanded, still under his control he could feel. She was a strong one in her own right, and he adjusted ever so slightly to drain her just a bit more… more… She staggered and slumped against the wall, dazed and visibly weakened, but so what. He felt a bit better.

“Trouble, Basil?”

“No, I…”

Basil Sandhurst looked to the two tables flanking the Inhuman and saw that both Susan Richards and Crystal Amaquelin Maximoff were watching him. Watching him and smiling.

The Wizard had started his neural process on both of them, placing his mind altering, and attitude-adjusting helmets on their unconscious forms after strapping them each to a gurney-like table that they had brought in from one of the lesser labs. They had transported and set up Geiger’s machines easily enough, hooking up to the Baxter Building’s power core, and the women had been under for some time now. They should be unconscious though, until the Wizard chose to wake them, so why were they both staring at him?

“I cannot believe this man ever made Iron Man work up a sweat, Susan,” the red headed Inhuman said with contempt.

“He is rather pathetic, Crystal,” the Invisible Woman scoffed in agreement, sneering at Sandhurst like he was something disgusting that she had stepped in. “I say we put him out of everyone’s misery.”

“Oh, yes. Let’s,” the elemental said and Sandhurst screamed as lightning erupted about him.

Josef Geiger turned as thunder shook the room to see Sandhurst stumbling backwards and smoldering. His pale blue armor was scorched and charred black, smoldering as he staggered out of the room with his hands over his face.

“What?”

He saw the neural helmets on the two women fly apart as both sat up and slid from their respective tables. They each wore a look of hatred; their fiery blue eyes staring daggers at him. The process must have worked, but why had they attacked the Controller?

“Ladies…” Geiger started to say as he stepped towards them with his hands raised peacefully. He did not get far before something hard and solid and unseen smashed into him and slammed him into and through the nearest wall to his rear. Geiger could not even scream in pain as something snaked into his mouth and down his throat, gagging him and cutting off his air as he slammed into the building’s outer wall. If not for his own wondrous armor he suspected that he would be dead now, or at least crippled as the invisible force pressed into him and kept him pinned.

His eyes flicked to the side as movement appeared through the gray flecks that grew in his sight. He saw Petruski staring at him, his eyes bulging comically in shock.

“Wizard? What’s…”

Peter Petruski flew into the air and slammed face first into the wall before suddenly reversing direction and flying away. Geiger watched as his ally started to spin faster and faster, whirling as though caught in a dervish. He looked away and saw the two women strolling towards him.

“You got him, Crystal?” Susan Richards asked, glancing at the Trapster’s helplessly spiraling form. The younger woman nodded, laughing.

“I have him, Susan.”

“Good.”

Geiger felt the pressure increase, pressing in on him as Susan Richards gestured, wiggling her fingers. His body splayed spread-eagled against the wall as she stepped right up to him and looked him up and down. He gasped for air as the clot simply vanished from his mouth and throat.

“I’m only going to ask you once, Josef. Where are my children?”

With his face free the Wizard quickly willed his facemask up and in place. He had made vast improvements on his wondrous armor since the last hapless encounter against the Fantastic Four, and as he sealed off his armor he willed power to shift to his Wonder Gloves. The Invisible Woman simply sighed, shaking her head.

“Fine.”

Geiger screamed as his gloves ripped away. Sparks flew as the woman’s force field encompassed his hands and let them scorch and burn. His helmet was next, forcibly shredded from the housing at his collar and flying across the room to bounce into the corner. Geiger’s eyes widened as his throat clogged again, but not because of that. He saw Reed Richards free, stooping to pick up the discarded helm. Richards glanced at it briefly as he too strolled forward, then casually tossed it away, unimpressed.

“Did you think after all these years Josef that any of us did not have total control of our powers. Susan has a finely tuned adeptness for her abilities and can make you suffer on a microscopic scale. The finest, most securely fashioned armor is no proof against her invisible force manipulation. It’s not quite telekinesis, but close enough for your sake, which is why she was able to block against the actions of your neural helmet. As for myself, I may not show it, and my own powers may not be as flamboyant as my comrade’s abilities, however I have absolute comprehension and control over every single molecule of my form. And I have the mental capacity to control each separate molecule, no matter what you do to them, Josef. Had you scattered them when you had employed your admittedly brilliant mechanism I would have been out of this battle still. You conveniently placed all within a sealed environment however, AND left me with an escape route, providing me with enough oxygen to survive so that you could gloat.

“When I achieve such a state of discorporation however, my more mundane and involuntary subconscious bodily functions cease. I do not breathe nor excrete. I do not need to eat or drink for an extended period of time. My senses become all encompassing within a radius about my altered form, which is a bit disconcerting still I will admit, but I adapt quickly. It was a simple matter therefore to shift my molecules into the Trapster’s sealed oxygen unit, leaving your anti-gravity disc in the plastic containment sack. Once beyond its influence it was easy enough to reestablish my form and snake my way from the device as a monofiliment, becoming corporeal once I had gained my freedom.” Richards shrugged as though all of that should have been obvious.

Geiger could not even squirm as he felt the last of his armor being peeled away. The force of the Invisible Woman’s power was staggering considering that Geiger had withstood blows from the Thing in the past, and he had not even made a dent. He saw Petruski still spinning in the Inhuman’s contained tornado, the winds strong enough to whirl him madly yet so controlled as to barely stir the debris littering the room. And the girl, Crystal, did not even seem to be paying attention to the small storm that she had created, staring down instead at the tiny bulge between his legs that twisted abnormally and painfully at Susan Richards’ invisible touch.

He could not even scream as she squeezed with a fraction of her power.

“Having been on the receiving end of Susan’s powers before, I can tell you that you should answer her Josef. Where are Franklin and Valeria?”

Geiger’s head sagged as he gulped air again, his mouth free. He sucked back mucous and tears as he looked up pitifully just in time to see Petruski slam into the wall and fall to the floor. The Inhuman girl smirked, then turned, heading across the room towards Medusa. Too, he saw a shadow silently fill the far doorway. He blinked as salvation strode into the room- or so he thought.

Then he saw Sandhurst as the Thing dumped the man unceremoniously to the floor, unconscious. Geiger moaned. Medusa would soon be free from control, as well as the Masters woman. It was over, and they had failed again, miserably. Petruski was unconscious. Bench and the Puppet Master had disappeared. Better then to surrender and-

“Richards!”

Every head that was able turned at the sound of the Thing’s bellowing voice. Geiger too glanced up and saw the sheer hatred there, etched on the rocky features of his one-time co-worker. Grimm had been a pilot, and Geiger had been a part of the Think Tank that had created and financed the ill-fated shuttle flight that had resulted in the birth of the Fantastic Four. But for the untimely intervention of the youthful Johnny Storm, things might have turned out differently and Josef Geiger would have miraculous powers as well as the others. He would still have Anne as well, damn them all. Didn’t they see?

“Ben!” Reed Richards shouted, stepping towards his friend, then just as suddenly pulling up short. He saw the barely contained fury the same as the others. Despite his brilliance, Reed Richards had always been a little slow in the uptake.

“Ben?”

“I should’a known these losers would fuck up like they always do,” Grimm said glancing from Sandhurst to Petruski and finally to the helpless Wizard. “Don’t matter who’s on their team. Loser’s a loser. Should’a known…” Grimm stepped forward and Geiger saw his hands curl into fists.

“Should’a killed ya when I had the chance.”

Geiger smiled as the Thing charged to attack. There was still a chance for victory. Then he felt the clot grow in his mouth again, clogging his throat. He felt an odd, numbness in his arms and legs as a strange and unfamiliar pressure surrounded his heart. There was pain, far worse than anything he had ever experienced and he knew exactly what was happening.

He looked to Richards’ wife and she was not even watching him as she casually gestured, inducing a heart attack, a stroke, or worse with her force field creeping into his body and disrupting its normal functions. He tried to scream, but there was no air. The world of pain was fading however, thankfully. Vanishing…

Black…

NEXT: Things go from bad to worse. The Frightful Force may have been defeated, but now the fabulous Fantastic Four must face the brutal betrayal of Ben Grimm and he appears to be out for blood. It’s Part One of “THING AMOK!” And Marvel Omega may never be the same again…