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| Issue #13 February 2010 |
"Illusions of Grandeur" Written By David Golightly |
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PREVIOUSLY IN FANTASTIC FOUR:
The substitute FF comprised of Ant-Man, Nova, She-Hulk, and Machine Man followed up on an alert from Ravencroft Institute, where they discovered that someone had freed the Wizard! Hoping to find traces of their missing parents, Franklin and Valeria Richards went to Atlantis to answer a call from Namor, only to nearly be killed in the process!
“It’s a good thing those aren’t my kids,” She-Hulk said, with more than a hint of irritation in her voice. “I love them to death…but, seriously. They get into more trouble…”
“Let’s just focus on the task at hand, shall we?” Scott Lang, the shrinking hero known as Ant-Man, replied. His hands swiftly ran over the controls of the Fantasticar, guiding the team into the last known GPS location of the Fantasticar Mark II, which the children had been piloting.
In another pod of the Fantasticar, Machine Man focused his retinal scanners on the waters beneath them. The lenses that provided ocular notations deftly charted the course waters, looking for any sign of foul play. The last broadcast from the children had been one of violence.
Frankie Rayes, the cosmic force of nature called Nova, rubbed the back of her neck absentmindedly. She knew that her powers were granted by a source that could withstand the punishment of the cosmos, but she wished that they would be of more assistance in the search. She felt helpless while waiting for Ant-Man and X-51 to discover something.
“We’re approaching the last point of contact,” Scott said over his shoulder as he slowed the craft down. “I’m sealing off the cabin for an underwater pursuit.”
A hiss of air pushed through the craft as the window seals tightened and the internal oxygen supply switched on. Reed Richards, wherever he was, knew to plan for any eventuality, no matter how small or unlikely.
The Fantasticar dove under the water, slicing through the top of the waves like a knife through butter. Bubbles of forced air swarmed around them like insects. For a brief moment they were cut off from all visual line of sight.
The craft slowed considerably as it dropped through the surface of the water. The momentum gone, the engines switched over to propellers in order to navigate beneath the sea. The churning turbines were much louder than the propulsion systems used in the air, but the tension inside the Fantasticar was great enough that no one gave notice.
“What I keep wondering,” She-Hulk said as she peered through the reinforced glass, “is why hasn’t HERBIE tried to contact us again? You don’t think he—”
“There!” Scott exclaimed.
A hundred feet below their current position, Scott Lang focused the flood lights at the front of the craft onto another vessel trapped beneath a boulder. The white metal was jagged and torn in several places, like it had been punctured and then ripped open.
The craft looked very much like the one they were inside currently. As their Fantasticar approached, the four heroes were horrified to see the remains of a smashed and obliterated vehicle that was also designed by Reed Richards.
---- 4 ----
“Let go of us!” Valeria Richards demanded at the top of her lungs. “Get away from my brother, or I swear I’ll—”
A stout woman dressed in purple slapped her hand on top of the young girl’s mouth. “Or you’ll what, munchin?” Titannia asked. “You’ll kick me in the shins? Honey, I’ve gone toe-to-toe with She-Hulk. Trust me, I’m not worried about anything you got.”
Valeria whimpered through the villainess’ fingers as she watched her unconscious brother carried over next to her. Her brother, Franklin, was at times one of the most powerful people on the planet. To use those awesome powers, however, he had to be awake.
“Quit playing around,” A sandy-haired man behind Titannia said. “Tie her up and let’s stick to the plan.”
“What plan, Hydro-Man?” Titannia said. “The Wizard just threw this together at the last minute!”
“Doesn’t matter. Still a good plan.”
“But it’s not even why we went to Atlantis in the first place!”
“You think I don’t know that?” Hydro-Man shot back. “I’m the one that busted the Wizard out, remember? And I also dug you up and brought you along for the ride. Don’t think I won’t put you right back where I grabbed you from, too.”
“Shut up, water-balloon. You know that the Wizard wanted—”
“Silence, both of you,” a new voice said. He stood as tall as Hydro-Man, but like most men, was nearly a foot shorter than Titannia. His purple armor and oblong helmet marked him as a notable villain that most knew on sight. The wingless Wizard, original founder of the Frightful Four, approached the other two villains. “The sedative I gave the boy won’t last more than a few hours. We need to be done with the Fantastic Four before he awakens, otherwise we will have a new set of problems.”
“Don’t worry, Wizard,” Titannia said. “We’ll get the drop on them.”
“No excuses,” the Wizard said coldly. “If you don’t ‘get the drop on them’ then you can consider yourselves out of the upcoming plans. And back in prison.”
---- 4 ----
Machine Man had no need to breath in the sweet oxygen that so many lifeforms required to live. While the rest of the group wore oxygen masks and re-breather filters, X-51 simply sealed off his systems and carefully extracted the wreckage from beneath the boulder.
“What do you see?” Ant-Man asked as he peered around Machine Man.
“Considerable damage to the hull of the ship,” X-51 replied. “The way the metal is bent indicates that these punctures were done by hand.”
“By hand?” She-Hulk asked. “Are you sure? Reed built these Fantasticars to last. It would take an awful lot to rip one to pieces. I bet even I would fumble with it.”
“I can see finger impressions here,” Machine Man answered. “This vessel was definitely brought down by human hands.”
“Then where are the kids?” Nova pondered. “And where’s HERBIE?”
A whoosh of water behind them caught their collective attention, just before a familiar voice spoke up. “They are safe,” the voice said. “Unfortunately, I was unable to save the robot. I think that too much water had gotten into his circuitry.”
“Namor!” She-Hulk exclaimed. “Thank the Almighty. What’s going on? You know where the kids are?”
The scruff leader of Atlantis nodded his head. His raised eyebrows, muscular physique, and penchant for breathing underwater made him recognizable as the Sub-Mariner, once a scourge of the surface world and now ally to the Fantastic Four.
Regardless of his mood, Namor was also known for his obvious aggression to anyone not from his realm. It had taken years before various heroes had come to accept and even rely on Namor for his skills and heroism.
Given the scowl he was wearing, that same indifference was still a large part of his personality.
“They are safe, as I already stated,” the king of the deep said. “I took them to Atlantis where my people are looking after them. Might I be so bold as to ask what you’re doing here? I summoned Richards, not you.”
“Reed and the rest are…unavailable,” Nova said. “We’re searching for them, and we were on our way to Latveria to follow up with Doom before we caught your distress call.”
“So you have no idea where the Fantastic Four are?” Namor said, his scowl deepening. “It is their wretched foes that are aiding Attuma. This is their responsibility!”
“Slow down,” Ant-Man said. “Tell us what’s going on.”
“I had the villainous Attuma, murderer of my people, cornered. He was mine. Then three of the former Frightful Four members arrived to flank my position, freeing Attuma. I sent the distress to accommodate this unfortunate turn of events…however, I did not realize I was summoning the B-squad when I did so.”
“Look, fish-lips,” She-Hulk said as she floated closer to Namor. She shoved her finger in his face. “Take us to the kids and then maybe we’ll help you out. Until those kids are safely back on dry land, if you so much as frown in our general direction, I will rip those gills right out of your neck and do my best to drown you. Understand?”
Namor smirked. “Tactful as always, Ms. Walters. Follow me.”
The Sub-Mariner rocketed away at a breakneck speed, leaving a trail of swirling bubbles behind him. Nova, her cosmic flame still burning brightly underwater, shot the others a look, as if to say, “Is he serious?”
Ant-Man piled back into the Fantasticar and motioned for the others to do the same. The propeller turbines fired back up and the group sped off after Namor. The traced his path between crags of rock and dove deeper into the valley. Huge towers of smooth rock hung over them as they descended, cutting off some of the light that was still able to make it to this depth.
“Would have been nice if he waited for us,” She-Hulk said.
“We’re in a rush anyway,” Scott responded. “The sooner we wrap this up and get to Latveria, the better.”
The trail of bubbles from Namor led behind another outcropping of rock formations. Scott piloted the Fantasticar, which was relatively simple thanks to the design pieced together by Ben Grimm, closer to the outcropping. Namor briefly moved out of sight as he approached.
“Why is he in such a rush anyway?” Nova inquired aloud. “Why wouldn’t he wait for us to—”
The tide in the ocean suddenly changed directions, rocking the Fantasticar back and forth, then turning it upside down. Its passengers became disoriented as the craft began to spin downward at an alarming rate.
“What the—!” Scott managed to say before the proximity alarms started to flash around the inside of the cabin.
The Fantasticar changed course again, this time moving laterally toward the outcropping. The solid contours of the rock formation grew larger and larger in the window as the heroes were forced to watch their fates unfold.
“Break the seal!” She-Hulk shouted to Ant-Man. “Put on your oxygen masks! Once the seal opens I’ll rip open the top!”
Ant-Man pressed the button on the console that unsealed the cabin, and the nearly silent hiss from before sounded again. She-Hulk shoved her fingers under the glass and heaved up, ripping the opening apart. Water filled the Fantasticar immediately, flooding the heroes with liquid death.
Machine Man extended his arms, wrapping them around She-Hulk and Ant-Man, ensuring that the oncoming water would not overpower them. He kicked out of the Fantasticar as Nova, with the power cosmic on her side, did the same, her powers of levitation aiding her in her escape.
The Fantasticar smashed against the outcropping, denting the side as the roof caved in completely. Machine Man released his mechanical arms from around the other two heroes, and Nova moved to their backs to guard them.
The re-breathers covering Scott and Jennifer’s mouths still functioned as before. The odorless oxygen filled their lungs and kept them alive, if not slightly dizzy.
“Stay alert!” Ant-Man called out.
“What was that?” She-Hulk said. “What the hell was that?”
“My scanners are picking up organic elements in this water that match what we found at Ravencroft,” Machine Man said as his eyes began to glow.
“That mean—” Scott began to say, but another shift in the tide ripped him away from the others.
Ant-Man choked back his cries of surprise as he was forced to tumble down through the water. A tornado of water surrounded him, keeping him from swimming away as they descended. Trying not to panic, Scott did his best to remain steady in the center of the maelstrom.
A face suddenly appeared inside the vacuum of water. A sandy-haired man appeared, smiling at Scott.
“Something wrong?” the face said. “You look a little disoriented.”
“Hydro-Man!” Scott said.
“Got it in one. Let’s go for a ride, huh?”
The torrent of water cascaded down into the valley, pulling Ant-Man with it. The hero helplessly fought against the waters as Hydro-Man dragged him down into the depths.
“Scott!” Nova called out, but before she could move further, a superheated blast of red light struck her back.
Namor floated out from behind the outcropping, the tips of his fingers still sizzling from the energy blast he had just unleashed. The visage of Namor shimmered momentarily before vanishing completely, instead revealing the wingless Wizard smirking down at the heroes.
“This trap had been set for your betters,” the Wizard proclaimed. “Still…four dead heroes are better than no dead heroes.”
X-51 lanced out his telescoping arms at the Wizard, but another figure rocketed in between them and caught them. Titannia crushed the pair of metal arms together, denting the framework of Machine Man’s appendages. The purple-clad villainess chuckled through her own breathing apparatus as she peered down at Machine Man.
“Sorry, honey,” she said. “Don’t you know that this is where you’re supposed to give up and welcome death with open arms? I mean, you don’t really think you can—oh..my…God…”
Titannia relaxed her grip on Machine Man as she squinted to see the green-skinned female a few meters to the left of the android. “She-Hulk?!” she said. “You…you…you’re so fat!”
“Oh, no she didn’t,” She-Hulk muttered as she kicked her toned legs to swim at Titannia. She struck Titannia like a bullet, dislodging her grip on Machine Man’s arms.
Nova, recovered from the pot-shot that the Wizard had seared her with, spun around and let rip her own cosmically fueled blast charge through the waters at the Wizard. A force field deflected the blast, but it was still powerful enough to knock him into the outcropping of rock.
Nova dove down after Ant-Man as Machine Man charged toward the Wizard. “You will tell me where the children are,” X-51 stated.
The Wizard fired a few stray blasts at the android as he tried to right himself from bouncing off the rock. “Not far,” the Wizard replied. “Although if I can’t kill Richards then I’ll just do the next best thing. I’ll kill his brats.”
“Was this all just a trap?” Machine Man asked as he traded more blasts with the Wizard. “Or were you actually here for Attuma?”
“I was sent to collect him, yes, but that pompous fish is busy fighting some kind of conflict with the Avengers. That kind of attention I do not need.” *
* [Check out THE AVENGERS title here at Altered Visions to see what’s going on – D]
“So instead you sounded the alert pretending to be Namor in order to draw out the Fantastic Four.”
“That electronic mind of yours really is fascinating,” the Wizard said nonchalantly. “I must dissect it after I kill you.”
The Wizard raised his fist, readying another volley of suppression fire. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught sight of something large heading his way. He turned just in time to see an unconscious Titannia slam into him, knocking him head over heels.
She-Hulk swam down toward them, saying, “And you still have the ugliest damn costume I ever seen!
“Imbecile!” the Wizard exclaimed as he righted himself. “You’re worthless. Better to kill the children and flee then to be stuck here with you dragging me down!”
The Wizard flicked his wrist and a small disc flew through the water, heading for the base of the outcropping. Machine Man recognized it as one of the Wizard’s patented anti-gravity discs and dove down after it.
The disc clung to the base of the outcropping and switched on. The power of the disc began to rupture the foundations of the rock formations, threatening to topple the tower over. She-Hulk followed behind Machine Man after the device, who extended his arms and reached the disc only moments after it switched on. The android pulled the device off of the outcropping and depressed the button to switch it off again. The outcropping still shook slightly, but remained erect.
“There!” She-Hulk exclaimed. “Look!”
The green woman sunk her feet into the ocean floor near the base of the outcropping and shoved an enormous boulder out of the way, revealing a thinly veiled tunnel up into the inside of the outcropping. Kicking her way into the tunnel, she saw that the rock formation was mostly hollow, and there appeared to be light near the top.
Furiously, she swam up through the expanding tunnel until she popped up into an air pocket. Inside the chamber, sitting on a dry patch of rock, were Franklin and Valeria Richards, shiveling. They looked cold and battered, but they were alive.
She-Hulk ripped off her oxygen mask and untied the children. They hugged her, welcoming her sopping wet appearance.
“Thank God you’re safe,” she whispered as she returned the hug.
Machine Man’s chromed head popped up into the chamber a moment later. He greeted the children and offered then a pair of re-breathers. “I took them from the wreckage in hopes we would find you soon,” he said. “The Wizard has escaped along with Titannia. We need to hurry and find Scott before Hydro-Man takes him too far away to find.”
Meanwhile, Ant-Man battled with the raging tornado of water surrounding him. Deeper and deeper into the valley he went, forced down by the nefarious Hydro-Man. Scott washed back and forth within the vortex, deciding that his last course of action would be his only chance of survival.
Unfortunately, the option he had in mind was just as likely to kill him if he did nothing.
Scott Lang had studied the Pym particles that infused him with his powers for years. The Pym particles allowed him to condense the space between his molecules enough to shrink down in size and stature.
The inverse of that process also allowed Hank Pym to grow to incredible heights and continue his adventures as Giant Man. While Scott understood the theory behind the growing process, he had never actually done it.
Since Hydro-Man was mustering a force greater than the comparatively small Ant-Man could counter, shrinking would only increase his peril.
Growing, however…
The swirling maelstrom that encapsulated Scott Lang delved deeper to the craggy rocks below. Hydro-Man was determined to allow the pressures of the deep to crush Ant-Man as well as physically smash him to bits.
Hydro-Man couldn’t help but notice, after diving several leagues, that it was beginning to get more and more difficult to pull his prey downward.
Reflecting his own senses inward to peek at Ant-Man, Hydro-Man was astonished to see that the regular size human being had somehow doubled in size. He was about to reform his face and inquire about the situation, but before he could Ant-Man expanded into an astounding height of twenty-five feet.
The amount of centripetal force that Hydro-Man has stirred was more than enough to suck down a man, but no where near enough to pull down a giant man. Before he could reassert his control over the vortex his body was creating, a bright light flashed from somewhere above.
The lumbering Ant-Man continued to grow as Nova dove down to his depth. The flashing cosmically powered woman summoned her powers again, making sure to direct them away from Scott but toward the vortex around him.
The already sizzling water boiled instantly and Hydro-Man, currently entirely comprised of water, began to vaporize while still under the water. Within moments the still-growing Ant-Man burst free of the vortex just as it vanished into gas bubbles.
“Scott!” Nova called out. “Wow…what…what did you just do?”
“Inversed the Pym particles,” Scott managed to wheeze out. “Never…never did that before. Kind of…hurts.”
Scott focused, concentrating on undoing the inversion. His growth sputtered for a moment before pausing entirely. Slowly, his body began to return to its normal size, relieving the great stress the mass put on his unaccustomed skeleton.
Nova caught the now drifting Ant-Man as his body finished shrinking back down. She checked his pulse, and even though his breathing was sporadic through the re-breather, the pulse remained steady.
She looked up to see Machine Man, She-Hulk, and thankfully, the Richards’ children lower down through the water. “Where’s Namor?” she asked.
“It was all an illusion,” She-Hulk said. “He bated us, hoping to get the real Fantastic Four. Instead we gave him the boot. He tucked his tail between his legs and skedaddled.”
“Is Scott injured?” Machine Man asked.
“I’ll live,” he managed to utter. “Glad to see you kids are okay.”
“We’re fine, Mr. Lang,” Franklin said with a half-smile. “Where to next? Any luck finding our parents?”
“You’re going home,” Scott said. He traded a glance with the rest of the heroes. “We’re going to Latveria.”
---- 4 ----
NEXT ISSUE: The (partial) truth about what happened to the Fantastic Four! ‘Nuff said.
