"I can't do it." Ben Grimm insisted. "I can't Reed."

"Come on, Ben." Reed Richards insisted. "It's not that bad."

Ben and Reed stood in front of Von Doom Industries, looking up at the massive structure that dominated the New York skyline. They had come a long way to be there, but now that they were, skepticism was beginning to rise to the surface.

"I cannot kiss up to Victor Von Doom, Reed." Ben insisted once again. "I refuse to give that self-righteous, conniving, narcissistic asshole the satisfaction."

"I wouldn't say he's… that self-righteous." Reed tried to reason.

"Reed, he's got a ten foot statue of himself right outside his building." Ben remarked. "Not even Stark is that bold, and that's saying something."

He gestured up to the aforementioned statue, which had Victor Von Doom towering over the walkway into his building.

"Fair enough," Reed conceded. "But Stark wouldn't let us in the front door with my proposal. Victor will."

"Yeah, and take all the credit, royalties, and everything else while leaving us to feed off his scraps." Ben jeered. "You remember how he was back at MIT."

"I remember, but there are more important things than money." Reed reasoned. "If this works, we could help countless people and propel mankind forward lightyears."

Ben still seemed incredibly skeptical, looking up at the statue with pure disdain.

"Come on, Ben." Reed insisted. "In all the years we've known each other, when have I ever asked you to do something you flat out insisted you couldn't do?"

"Five times." Ben answered without missing a beat.

Reed raised an eyebrow in response.

"I had it at four." Reed replied.

"Yeah, well this makes five." Ben remarked as they went inside.

"Come on, Victor isn't that bad." Reed reassured. "He's just… a little larger than life."

…

"Recent astronomical research has suggested that a cloud of cosmic radiation caused a surge in human evolution over 75 million years ago." Reed informed over a massive 3D model. "Satellite readings over the past few months have shown that a cosmic storm of similar properties is due to pass through Earth's orbit in six months time. Now, if we had the chance to study this phenomenon, we could bring about advances in medicine, genetics-"

"Shut it down." a voice interrupted in a thick Eurpoean accent.

"Uh," Reed let out. "If you would let me finish-"

"I think you're quite finished." the voice remarked. "NASA certainly thinks so."

Reed and Ben suddenly looked up in surprise.

"How did you-?" Been started to ask.

"It's part of my job to know these things." Victor interrupted, shutting the model off and turning the lights on.

"Look, Victor," Reed continued, trying to ignore him. "This could be a massive opportunity for everyone. All we need is access to your space station."

"So it's not just my money you're after, it's my things." Victor remarked.

"The shields on the Von Doom space station would shield us from the cosmic rays, allowing us to observe the storm unaffected." Reed explained. "We could then monitor and observe the storm, and its effects on terrestrial elements such as earth and water. Allowing us to analyze the storm and learn how to apply it to everyday life."

Von Doom chuckled slightly in response.

"That's what I've always liked about you, Reed." He replied. "Always stretching. Reaching for the stars."

"Honestly, it's what I love most about him." A female voice suddenly interjected.

The two turned to see a young blonde woman enter the room.

"I don't think I need to introduce you to my new director of genetic research, Susan Storm." Victor commented.

Reed just walked towards Sue and hugged her.

"Hey, Sue." he greeted.

"Hey Reed." Sue replied, kissing him on the cheek. "How's the negotiations going?"

"You know, Victor." He told her. "Likes to play hard to get."

"And impossible to work with." Ben chimed in. "How ya doin, Suzie?"

"Doing good." She answered, hugging him. "Keeping the lights on in the Baxter Building for a few more days."

"Can't thank you enough for that." Reed told her.

She kissed Reed again, then turned to Victor.

"C'mon, Victor." she insisted. "You and I both know Reed is always right. Do you really want to turn down a chance to completely change the way the world looks at the scientific field?"

Victor paused for a moment.

"I will concede the idea shows merit." Victor admitted. "But if I'm funding it, and providing the station… Von Doom Industries gets 75%, as well as applications and patents."

"Are you kidding me?!" Ben let out. "Why not just demand his first born?!"

"25% of a billion isn't so bad." Victor mused. "Might even payoff your mortgage on the Baxter Building. What do you say?"

Reed looked over at Ben and Sue for a moment. Ben seemed hesitant, but Sue just gave a small nod, knowing that this was the best offer they were going to get. Reluctantly, Reed turned back to Victor and held out his hand.

"Let's do it." Reed conceded.

"Terrific." Victor replied, taking his hand and shaking it. "To the future."

…

A few minutes later, the three were in the elevator, heading back for the lobby.

"Well, that went well." Ben remarked.

"We got the deal, Ben." Reed reminded. "I'd call that a win."

"We got had, that's what happened." Ben insisted.

"Look, we don't have to work with him long." Reed informed him. "Just a few days in space, then everything will be fine, trust me. It'll be great"

"Yeah, yeah." Ben replied. "Remind me again why you agreed to work for that guy, Sue?"

"Because he pays well." Sue informed. "And after Reed's grant from ESU got cut, someone has to keep us from going completely bankrupt."

"Still, of all the places to work, why Von Doom Industries?" Ben asked.

"Because Victor's always had a soft spot for me, which basically guaranteed me a good position." Sue answered.

Ben chuckled.

"Always the sensible one, eh Susie?"

"At the risk of sounding jealous and obsessive, I've never really appreciated that 'soft spot' he's had for you." Reed admitted.

Sue sighed, taking Reed's hand.

"You have nothing to fear." she promised. "There's nothing between me and Victor, and there never will be."

"I know." Reed replied, the two briefly kissing, much to Ben's shogrin.

"So, when are we headin for the final frontier?" Ben asked.

"We still have six months, so I'll keep you updated." Sue answered. "Gives our engineer time to double check the rocket. Johnny's gonna have a field day."

"Johnny?" Ben repeated. "As in your kid brother?"

"The very same." Sue confirmed. "Just got his degree and he's been eager for a project to occupy his time. He'll need a place to stay while he's working here though."

"He's always welcome at the Baxter Building." Reed offered.

"Thanks Reed." Sue said gratefully.

"I just hope the kid behaves himself." Ben snorted. "Didn't he almost get expelled from MIT because of one of his pranks?"

"Cut him some slack, Ben." Sue insisted. "He was 13. Besides, I think these days, he saves his best pranks for you."

"Lucky me." Ben deadpanned.

…

Six months later, after some intensive training and making sure everything about the mission was in order, the crew was ready for launch. As Ben was getting his things in order, he took out a picture of himself and his fiance, Debbie.

"Miss you already, Deb." He lamented.

"Atten-SHUN!"

Immediately, Ben sprung up and stood at attention, only for the action to be photographed by a blonde haired 16 year old kid with the biggest grin on his face.

"Digital camera, two hundred and forty five dollars. Memory stick, sixty dollars. The look on your face after realizing you just fell for a classic pavlovian response, priceless.

"Haven't changed, have ya kid?" Ben remarked.

"Nope, and I don't plan to." Johnny replied, stowing the camera. "So, you ready to be the first guy from Brooklyn to go to space?"

"More than." Ben replied. "Though I'd be even more ready if I wasn't wearing these stupid suits."

Ben pulled out a blue uniform hanging from his locker, looking beyond puzzled by it.

"Seriously, I don't know if we're supposed to be going to space or doing Swan Lake in these." Ben commented. "Who designed these things?"

"I did." Sue answered, walking into the room in her own suit. "Using Reed's designs of course. The suits function as a synthetic skin, adapting to your body's individual needs."

"Of course." Reed realized. "Self replicating unstable molecules. I've been working on cracking that formula for months."

"Guess all you needed was a second set of eyes." Sue remarked.

"Guess so." Reed replied.

"Ugh," Johnny let out, leaning on the wall. "Can you believe these two?"

"Tell me about it." Ben commented. "How about you two hold off on the lovey dovey stuff until after we get back from space?"

"Right." Reed replied, snapping out of it. "We'd better get going."

"Right." Sue concurred as she passed out their suits.

…

Once everyone was suited up, they boarded the rocket and blasted off. With Ben at the controls, the rocket seamlessly broke free of the atmosphere and soared to the Von Doom Space Station. Once the shuttle docked with the station, the five of them got out of their seats and entered the station.

"What a ride." Johnny let out. "Enjoying yourself so far, Benny boy?

"Well, we ain't dead yet, so yeah." Ben replied. "Who knows, maybe when this is all over, I'll let you ride shotgun back."

"Really?" Johnny let out.

"No." Ben replied bluntly.

Reed and Sue couldn't help but chuckle.

"I'd forgotten how much like brothers those two were." Sue remarked.

"Suppose that makes us the parents." Reed jeered.

Sue chuckled in response.

"I'm gonna get the probes ready." Reed told her before turning to Ben. "Ben, why don't you get ready to set up the samples?"

"Right," Ben agreed. "Come on, kid. You're gonna make sure my suit does what it's supposed to."

"If you don't mind, I'd like to borrow Susan for a moment." Victor told him. "There are some business issues we need to discuss."

Reed paused, a look of anger passed over him as his grip on Sue's hand instinctively tightened. She placed a hand on his shoulder, subtly shaking her head. He sighed, then loosened his grip once more.

"Of course." Reed relented.

He then went off to ready the probes as Victor approached Susan.

"Shall we?" Victor spoke.

…

"So, should I be worried about the obvious way Doctor Doom is creeping on my sister?" Johnny asked as he helped Ben suit up.

"Not a chance." Ben declared. "She's only got eyes for Reed, and you know it."

"It's not Sue I'm worried about." Johnny replied. "It's Victor 'more money than god and handsomest man alive' Von Doom. You know how he feels when it comes to not getting what he wants."

"You forget Susie's 'no nonsense, my way or the highway' shtick." Ben reminded him. "She ain't gonna budge, no matter how hard Doom presses."

"I know, I know." Johnny replied, putting the last touches on the suit. "Doesn't mean I can't worry."

"Nah, it just means you care about your sister." Ben replied. "Now, how about we cut the chit chat and get this done?"

Johnny nodded as he opened the airlock for Ben. Ben stepped inside and after giving one last thumbs up to Johnny, closed the entry door and opened the airlock. Staring straight out into space was as intimidating as it was awe inspiring. Still, it didn't deter Been from his mission. He began moving to put the specimens in place for the coming storm.

…

With Reed, he was putting the last finishing touches on the probes.

"This should do it." Reed said to himself. "Once these are in place, we should be able to-"

Just then, an alert started going off on his computer. He went over to see what was causing it, and the answer was unnerving.

"Solar winds are up by 65%." Reed noted. "Storm in approaching faster than expected. It will hit in… oh no!"

…

Meanwhile, Victor took Sue to the station's observatory, where he intended for the two to talk.

"So what was so important that you had to drag me away from the experiment?" Sue asked.

"We've been working together for a while now." Victor spoke. "And I feel it has been a very beneficial partnership."

"We have gotten a lot of work done, and made our fair share of breakthroughs." Sue admitted.

"Yes, of course." Victor agreed. "But I was thinking of taking things… to a new level."

Sue sighed.

"Victor, I've told you before." she insisted, a weariness in her voice. "Reed and I are happy with each other."

"If I may be so bold, I feel Reed is holding you back." Victor told her. "You're capable of so much more, yet your time is spent trying to keep him off the streets. You deserve someone who can give you the world. Only in my case, I don't mean it as a metaphor."

Victor then pressed a button on a remote, which opened up panels on the ground that revealed the world below them. Despite everything, Sue couldn't help but be mesmerized by the sight. Victor then took out a small black box from his pocket and hid it behind his back.

"Certainly something you don't see at an observatory." Victor commented as he walked up to Sue.

"Definitely not." she agreed, her eyes still on the stars.

"This is what I can promise you Sue." Victor told her. "And so much more. All it will take is four words. Four words that will change everything."

"The cloud is accelerating!" Reed's voice called out.

Sue snapped out of her trance as she turned towards Reed and Victor discreetly put the box away.

"A massive solar wind is pushing the cloud towards us at an accelerated rate." Reed told them. "We have minutes instead of hours."

"Ben, he's still setting out the samples." Sue realized in horror

"Then we pull him in and raise the shields." Victor spoke. "We didn't come this far just to crack up at the first mistake."

Reed immediately took off to get Ben, while Victor went to one of the control consoles and began raising the shields.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Sue asked.

"Raising the shields." Victor replied bluntly.

"But everyone's still out there!" Sue exclaimed.

"We can't afford to wait." Victor replied callously.

Sue just wordlessly took off, leaving Victor alone to continue his work.

…

Outside the station, Ben was working on placing the last of the specimens. All he had left was a lone rock when Reed's voice came on the comms.

"Ben, get back in here!"

"I ain't done setting up your garden yet, egghead." Ben remarked.

"Ben, the cloud is heading towards us, right now!" Reed warned.

"What are you-?" Ben was about to respond before seeing something coming from behind. "Reed, it ain't coming. It's here!"

In front of him was a massive multi-colored cloud of insurmountable energy streaking towards the station at impossible speeds.

From inside, Sue managed to catch up with Reed and Johnny as they saw the same thing.

"He's not gonna make it." Johnny dreaded.

"Ben, you're going to have to jump!" Sue called out.

"Are you nuts?!" Ben let out.

"Ben, it's the only way!" Reed told him. "Jump for it!"

Knowing he didn't have a choice, Ben did as instructed, leaping from his platform and across the threshold towards the airlock, with the cloud approaching ever closer.

"Come on, big guy." Johnny let out.

Finally, Ben reached the airlock, but the wave of energy struck him in the back, plastering him against the inner airlock door. The wave burst through the doors, knocking the other three back. Johnny went flying into a gas line, which blew from the impact. Reed fell back into a bunch of samples with water in them, the contents shattering as they hit. Sue was sent flying over near one of the oxygen tanks, which snapped and sent out a stream of air in her face. Ben just collapsed to the ground, the rock samples still in his hand falling to the ground.

…

Back in the observatory, Victor was at his console when the wave of energy hit the room. The panel immediately exploded, knocking Victor into the shield, where he grunted in pain before falling unconscious.

…

Reed meanwhile, managed to muster enough strength to open the doors and pull Ben inside before sealing the airlock. He looked down at Ben in worry and trepidation.

…

Letting out a loud groan, Ben began waking up. Instead of the cold metal interior of the station, he was greeted by wooden walls and heart rate monitors. He could feel himself laying on a comfy bed as he saw Johnny sitting next to him.

"Welcome back, big guy." Johnny greeted. "You had us worried back there."

"Where are we?" Ben asked.

"Hospital in the Appalachian mountains, one of Victor's private facilities." Johnny explained. "Reed managed to get us in an escape pod back to Earth and Victor had us all quarantined."

"Quarantined..." Ben repeated. "Reed? Sue?"

"They're doing alright." Johnny promised. "Sue was a little out of it for a while, but she's doing better."

"And me?" Ben asked.

Johnny remained silent for a moment, unsure how to respond.

"Ben, you gotta understand." Johnny told him. "The doctors and surgeons worked around the clock."

Ben began to panic, then he noticed a mirror sitting on the table.

"Give me the mirror." he requested, reaching for it.

"Ben, you need to give yourself time." Johnny told him.

"Give me the damn mirror!" Ben insisted, taking the mirror.

He finally took a look at himself, only to find that he was the same as he was before.

"I swear, they did everything they could, but they were unable to fix your face." Johnny insisted as he backed towards the door.

He hit the deck just as Ben threw the mirror at him, the frame snapping and the glass shattering on impact.

"You little prick!" Ben shouted. "That was not funny!"

"Just trying to lighten the mood." Johnny replied. "It's been so boring here, and you're the only one who I can pull pranks on!"

"Well next time, wait until after I've been up for more than five seconds after a near death experience!" Ben told him.

"Alright, alright." Johnny conceded. "In all seriousness though, welcome back to the land of the living."

Ben just sighed in response.

"Thanks, kid."

…

Outside, Johnny exited the room as Reed walked past.

"How is he?" Reed asked.

"Well, he threw a mirror at my head when I tried messing with him." Johnny reported. "So, pretty much normal."

"I did warn you he would retaliate." Reed recalled.

Johnny just shrugged, then took a look at Reed.

"Since when are you rocking the grandpa look?" He questioned, tapping the sides of his face just in front of his ears.

Reed looked puzzled for a moment as Johnny walked off. He then looked in a mirror on the wall and saw white hairs gracing the side of his head. He dismissed it for now as he went to check on Sue in her room. Once he entered, he was surprised by the amount of flowers in the room in comparison to his small two flowers in hand. He turned towards the bed to see Sue still sound asleep. Reed just smiled a little as he placed his flowers in a vase on the nightstand next to her.

"Sunflowers." he told her. "Your favorites."

He planted a gentle kiss on her forehead, then walked out.

…

Elsewhere, Victor was in a conference call with his board of directors, sporting a fresh bandage across his face.

"Well I have to hand it to you Victor, you've set a record." one of the board members commented. "The biggest stock drop since the Great Depression. We can't even give it away at this point."

"A minor setback, gentlemen." Victor reassured."I can turn this around. I just need time."

"You have one week, Victor." Another board member warned. "Or we're pulling out."

…

Inside Johnny's room, he just finished putting on some snow gear before grabbing some snow goggles and a snowboard and heading out. He barely made it out the door before bumping into Ben.

"Oh, hey Ben." Johnny greeted.

"Where the heck are you going?" Ben asked.

"Snowboarding." Johnny answered. "My gran sent my board here, and I mean to make use of it."

"You know we're supposed to be quarantined, right?" Ben reminded. "This ain't a ski resort."

"Hey, I'll have you know that I am in peak human condition,"Johnny told him. "not to mention I'm a 16 year old boy trapped in a hospital with no video games, nothing to read, and nothing to tinker with. To sum it up, I'm bored out of my freaking skull here!"

"You know Suzie's gonna kill you if you try something like this." Ben retorted.

"What Sue doesn't know won't hurt her." Johnny brushed off. "Besides, she's still sleeping, and I know Reed plans on having dinner with her tonight."

"Oh, does he now?" Ben remarked.

"Talk to him about it." he replied, rushing off. "I've got mountains to shred!"

Ben just shook his head in response before heading off to find Reed.

…

Outside in the facilities courtyard, Reed was looking over the balcony when Ben walked up to him.

"How long was I out for?" He asked, earning Reed's attention.

"Three days." Reed replied. "Glad to see you're doing better. How do you feel?"

"Pretty solid, all things considered." Ben confirmed. "Kid tells me you got big plans with Suzie tonight."

Reed smiled in response.

"Actually, I was planning something." He replied, fishing into his pocket.

He pulled out a small box, one that made Ben's eyes go wide.

"You're finally doing it." he gasped.

"After what we just went through, I don't want to waste another minute." Reed told him. "I'm asking her at dinner tonight."

"Well, I'll be sure to make myself scarce then." Ben promised.

He gave Reed a pat on the back, then turned to walk off. He paused for a moment, his stomach gurgling loudly. He held his stomach, looking a bit sick.

"You ok, Ben?" Reed asked.

"Yeah…" Ben replied. "Just a little queasy is all. Think I'm gonna go lie down."

"Need any help?" Reed offered.

"Nah, I'm good." Ben reassured. "Good luck on tonight."

Ben then went off to his room, leaving Reed alone to prepare for his big night.

…

On the mountain, Johnny looked down at the snowy path before him and just smirked in response.

"This is gonna be fun." Johnny remarked, starting to board downhill.

As he rode his board down hill, he quickly weaved around any rocks and obstacles that got in his way. He rode off a nearby rock, spinning mid air as he did so.

"Woo!" he let out.

He saw another nearby rock and rode towards it, using it as a ramp and leaping into the air, doing several flips as he did so. Unbeknownst to him, the more adrenaline that coursed through his body, the hotter he became. Smoke began lifting off his body as small flames licked his coat.

"I am on fire!" He declared as he shredded down the mountain.

As he held out his hand to stabilize himself though, he quickly realized he was literally on fire. His joy melted away into sheer panic as he tried to shake off the flames.

"Holy shit, I'm on fire!" he let out in a panic.

His attention was so distracted that he didn't realize he was steering towards a nearby cliff. As he fell off, he let out a scream of panic. Just then, his entire body burst into flames, rocketing him forward and causing him to crash into the snowbank. The snow extinguished the flames, melting into an impromptu hot tub. Johnny panted, trying to get his bearings as he looked himself over. While the flames were now gone, so were his clothes.

"Aw, man…" He let out.

…

Back with Victor, he was in the middle of setting up a romantic looking candle-lit dinner, arranging everything so it was perfect. As he did, his manservant Leonard went over the fallout of the accident and its effect on the company.

"As soon as we get back into the city, I want you to book interviews with everyone." Victor told him. "We need to get ahead of this before too much word spreads."

"I've already contacted the Journal and Larry King." Leonard informed.

"Excellent." Victor replied. "And until I can get this scar fixed, make sure they only film my right side."

"Actually we could work with it, sir." Leonard suggested. "It could humanize you."

"You say that like it's a good thing." Victor remarked. "Also get in contact with Susan. I have some unfinished business with her."

"Umm… I'm afraid she's already got plans for this evening." Leonard told him.

"Let me guess, Richards?" Victor assumed.

"Yes." Leonard confirmed. "If you don't mind my asking, sir, why her? You could have any other woman you want."

"You just answered your own question." Victor replied.

…

Meanwhile, Reed was sitting down at a table in a dining room as Sue walked up.

"Sue." Reed greeted happily. "How are you?"

"I'm alright." she answered, taking her seat. "What about you?"

"Fine." Reed replied. "Just… a little rattled by all of this. I planned everything to the minute detail. I can't imagine how I could've-"

"Reed, it was a freak accident." Sue assured him. "There was nothing you could have done."

"I know." Reed replied. "Doesn't mean I don't feel a little responsible."

"There's nothing to be responsible for." Sue replied. "We're all alive, and got home in one piece. In no small part to you, I might add."

Reed gave a small nod in agreement.

"Besides, all of us are healthy and alive, and that should count for something."

…

Meanwhile, Ben was standing over the sink in his room, grunting in pain. He was pale, sweating like a pig and grunting hard. As he tried to exit the bathroom, he fell over onto one knee, feeling immense pain coursing through his body.

…

As he and Sue continued talking, Reed discretely moved a hand to his pocket, pulling out a ring.

"Sue, the time we've been together has been the best time of my life." Reed shared.

"They've been the same for me, Reed." Sue replied, smiling warmly.

"When we were up in the space station and everything was going wrong… I was scared of losing everyone." He admitted. "Of losing you."

"I'm not going anywhere, Reed." Sue promised, taking his hand.

He looked up at her and saw something he could barely believe. Her skin was turning transparent, to the point that he could barely make out her face. It just seemed like her clothes and jewelry were just floating in the air. His stunned expression didn't go unnoticed by Sue.

"Reed?" Sue let out. "Reed, what's wrong?"

"Sue, look at your hands." Reed told her.

Sue did so and saw what he was talking about. She was dumbstruck by what she saw that she was completely see through, only a distortion in the light and her own clothes showing she was there. She panicked, jumping to her feet and accidentally knocking over a bottle of wine on the table. Reed reached a hand out to grab it, only for his arm to stretch beyond its usual range and grab it. His arm retracted slowly as Sue returned to the visible spectrum.

"What on…" Sue let out.

Suddenly, Johnny burst into the room, wearing what appeared to be a hastily grabbed towel.

"Guys!" he let out. "You will never believe what happened to me!"

Both Reed and Sue looked at him in surprise.

"Why are you wearing a towel?" Sue questioned.

"Oh, right." Johnny realized. "Funny story about that. I caught on fire and burned my clothes off. Grabbed this from the pool before coming in."

"You were on fire?" Sue repeated, standing up. "How are you not burned?"

"No clue." Johnny admitted. "All I know is one minute, I'm shredding the show, and the next, I'm flaming up like that."

He snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared on his fingers, much to everyone's surprise Johnny stared at it for a moment before snapping his fingers again, the flame dissipating. He did this two more times to make sure it wasn't a fluke.

"Ok… picture that… but everywhere." Johnny insisted, gesturing to his entire body..

"Reed, do you realize what this means?" Sue asked, turning towards him.

"The cloud has fundamentally altered our DNA." Reed pieced together.

"It's the only explanation." Sue agreed. "Johnny, do you remember what happened to you when we got hit by the cloud?"

"We got hit by that wave of energy and...a gas line blew near me." Johnny recalled. "But I didn't burn up!"

"The cloud must've combined your DNA with the fire." Reed mused. "The water canisters shattered onto me when I got hit."

"Giving your limbs the fluidity of water." Sue deduced. "I was near a ruptured oxygen tank when the cloud hit."

"Allowing you to disappear into thin air." Reed finished.

"So, what happened to Ben?" Johnny questioned. "He got hit more than all of us."

"We have to find him." Reed decided. "Come on!"

…

In Ben's room, he managed to get himself into bed, tossing and turning under the covers. His heart rate was going through the roof as the bed began to creak from an increase in mass.

…

Out in the hallway, the three quickly made their way over to Ben's room, worried for their friend. Upon reaching the door, Reed tried opening it but to no avail.

"It's locked." He let out before knocking on the door. "Ben!"

"We need to get in there!" Sue exclaimed.

"Don't suppose invisibility means you can go through doors." Johnny suggested.

"No, it doesn't!" Sue exclaimed. "Reed, please tell me you have a-!"

Just then, the loud sounds of the bed breaking rand out, causing the three of them to panic.

"Ben!" Sue cried out.

"Maybe I can burn through the door." Johnny suggested.

"And burn down the entire complex along with it?!" Sue exclaimed. "Not a good idea!"

"Well what are we gonna do?!" Johnny replied.

As the two argued, Reed looked down at the door and started getting an idea. He knelt over and placed his hand on the bottom opening of the door. He managed to squeeze his hand through the crack, his fingers and palm flattening as they made their way through. Once his hand was on the other side, he slid it up the door until he got hold of the lock. He quickly unlocked the door, retracting his hand.

"... that is both amazing, and disgusting." Johnny let out.

Before Reed could respond, a loud crash came from inside the room. The three entered to see a massive hole in the wall and Ben nowhere in sight.

"Where is he?" Johnny asked.

Sue and Reed looked out the hole trying to catch sight of something.

"There!" Sue called out.

Reed and Johnny looked out and saw a vague silhouette of a man running into the woods around the facility.

"Any idea where he's heading?" Johnny asked.

Reed looked over at the bedside table, catching sight of a photo of Ben and his Fiancee Debbie.

"He's going home." Reed deduced.