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Issue #17 July 2010	"The Challenge" Part 3 of 4 Written By David Golightly

PREVIOUSLY IN FANTASTIC FOUR:

After defeating more than sixteen of their greatest foes collectively, the Fantastic Four have taken over Monster Island and declared that the world must obey their wishes or else! Backing up that threat? An automated drill designed by Dr. Doom that will solidify the Earth’s core.

“Stay on alert. They may look like the Fantastic Four, but something is seriously wrong. We can’t take any chances, not if the threat they issues is real.”

She-Hulk and Nova both nodded at Ant-Man’s statement. The air of hesitance was thick inside each capsule of the borrowed Fantasticar, piloted by X-51, the incredible Machine Man. At the center of each of their display screens was Monster Island, now only a handful of minutes away. The ocean waves lapped several hundred feet beneath them as they flew toward their destination, providing calm scenery that juxtaposed what they were undoubtedly heading in to.

“Do you really think they would stop the Earth’s rotation, Scott?” Frankie Rayes, the cosmic Nova, inquired. “I know they changed since returning from wherever they were in space, but it just seems so…cold.”

“I think that something or someone is controlling them,” Ant-Man replied. “I think that they aren’t accountable for their actions right now. We all spoke with them after that fiasco in Latveria. They’re different then they were before.”

“Regardless of their power enhancements,” Machine Man said, “the DNA comparison I made was an exact match. We are not dealing with replacements. This is the real Fantastic Four, for better or worse.”

“I couldn’t even get Sue to tell me where they had been,” She-Hulk stated. Jennifer Walters played with her hair, nervous about the coming confrontation. “And what’s with them just calling themselves the Four now? It’s like their personalities have totally shifted.”

“Making the final approach now,” Machine Man said, and the other three heroes instantly snapped to attention.

Monster Island loomed in front of them, a sprawling landmass of sandy beach, rocky crags, and lush jungle. The location had originally been discovered by the Fantastic Four as a budding ecological breeding ground, complete with amazing beasts that the world had never before seen. The Mole Man had also called it home before the Fantastic Four put a stop to his nefarious schemes.

As the Fantasticar sailed overtop of the tree line the heroes could make out rivers and tribunes that sustained the lavish island. Dozens of strange and bizarre creatures traipsed through the terrain, howling at the ship.

The heroes remained silent, not only because of the stress they were feeling, but from the shocking sight they saw at the heart of Monster Island: several towering structures that rose high over the jungle that matched the height of the impressive rolling hills.

“Where…where did those come from?” She-Hulk exclaimed. “I was here once years ago and this was all overgrown jungle.”

“We know Doom was here,” Scott replied. “Maybe he built them.”

“It wasn’t Doom,” Nova intervened. “I recognize the architecture. Those are Kree buildings.”

“Kree?” Ant-Man turned in his capsule to look into Nova’s. “Are you sure?”

“I spent a lot of time in space. Trust me. I know Kree when I see it.”

Several half-constructed buildings were spaced around one central pillar of architectural wonder. The bottom spires were apparently completed but as the eye moved up the structures they became more vacant. Support beams jutted out randomly and entire patches of wall had yet to be filled in. None of the buildings had roofs fixed to the foundations yet.

“Is it abandoned?” She-Hulk wondered aloud. “Or just in progress?”

A nearly invisible beam shot out from the center of the main building, locking around their ship. Their displays told them that all power to the engines had been abruptly circumvented and they were being pulled directly into the open maw of the structure.

“Tractor beam!” Ant-Man declared. “Get ready, team!”

The energy field around them slowly and deliberately piloted them into the heart of the semi-structure. As they passed between the walls they could each see the intricate circuitry and wiring that was housed within the infrastructure. Scott in particular marveled at the alien constructs all around him.

The Fantasticar was set down in the center of a large staging area, what appeared to be a hanger bay of some sort. Theirs was the only vehicle present, however. Once the tractor beam had disengaged they found that they could exit the capsules, and grouped together in front of the Fantasticar.

“This is bad,” Nova said. “This is very bad.”

A door on the far side of the bay slid back, revealing the collected Four. Reed Richards, his wife Susan, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm stared at them as they stalked forward. There wasn’t an ounce of positive emotion displayed on their faces.

Small licks of flame ran up and down the Human Torch’s legs and arms, even though he hadn’t fully “flamed on.” Nova tried to catch his eye but he didn’t even react as if recognition had struck him from out of the mental doldrums.

“Reed,” Scott said, “we’re here to help you. Just talk to us.”

“Your involvement is not necessary to complete our task,” the leader of the Fantastic Four replied. “Your arrival here is considered an act of aggression and you will be detained. Don’t bother trying to fight us.”

“You won’t like what happens,” the Thing chimed in.

“Johnny!” Nova stated. “This isn’t you! Remember what you asked me before Granix attacked? What happened to you, Johnny? It’s like you don’t even care.”

“If you want to shack up, babe,” the hot-headed youth responded, “then I have no problem with that. But I got priorities, and you just aren’t one of them right now.”

“Perhaps if you explained yourselves better,” X-51 offered. “Simply tell us what you are involved with.”

“Earth will be used as a launching point in a new campaign against the Skrull homeworld,” Sue answered. “This city will be the new Kree capital, and Earth the command center of a new regime.”

“That’s insane,” She-Hulk said. “Earth will never succumb to that. Is it the Kree that’s doing this to you? Are they controlling you somehow?”

“This conversation is over,” Reed said.

Like lightning, the Four leapt into a coordinated assault. Reed thinned himself out and lowered to the floor, slashing his arms out at the legs of the other heroes. Machine Man and She-Hulk jumped clear, and Nova took to the air on instinct, but Ant-Man was caught in Reed’s grip.

Johnny jumped up and converted his body to pure cosmic fire, encircling Nova where she hovered in the air. The Invisible Woman slammed a force field shaped like a pike into Machine Man’s chest, knocking him back. The Thing closed the gap between himself and She-Hulk, clobbering her with a right uppercut that launched her to the ceiling.

Ant-Man shrank down to his smallest size, freeing himself from the grasp of Mr. Fantastic. He tried to issue a command to the others, hoping to coordinate a strike of their own, but Reed simply comprised his molecules and trapped Ant-Man in a complete sphere of his own flesh.

“Johnny, you have to stop this!” Nova cried out. “Please!”

She looked down to see that She-Hulk had been knocked out and Machine Man was being held in place by one of Sue’s force fields. The Human Torch continued to encircle her, ignoring her pleas.

“Don’t make me hurt you,” she muttered as she began to focus her own cosmic power.

“As if you could,” Johnny shot back. His fire condensed in front of her just enough to reveal his face and part of his upper torso. His fist lashed out and struck her on the jaw, knocking her out cold.

Her fiery hair died out as she slammed into the metal floor of the hanger bay. Johnny regained his human form and landed beside her as the rest of the Four flanked him.

“Get back to work,” Reed ordered. “The commander will be out of subspace soon and we need to be on schedule.”

---- 4 ----

She-Hulk awoke with a start, ripping in a deep breath as she sat up. Leaning over her was the deformed body of a monster that looked like a cross between a marsh and a half-melted statue. Chunks of moss covered the otherwise smooth surface of the creature, giving it a ghastly appearance.

“Get back!” She-Hulk exclaimed as she shoved the monster away from her.

It stumbled back a few paces and looked at her quizzically. It turned its gaze to another behemoth standing to its left, this one taller than she was and covered in blue scales.

“Relax,” the scaled creature said as it extended a hand toward her. “You’re safe now. At least, for the most part.”

She-Hulk rolled forward into a crouch and nearly fell over from exhaustion. Her head was spinning. She gripped the sides of her forehead and tried to clear away the cobwebs. “What’s going on?” she asked. “Where am I?”

“You’re in what may pass for a dungeon,” the scaled monster replied. “You’re a prisoner, like the rest of us.”

She-Hulk finally collected herself and looked passed the two monsters. Dozens of similar grotesque creatures were dully laying against the walls of the stainless steel room, all of them large and deformed in a unique way.

She-Hulk’s eyes widened and her ears perked up when she looked in the corner of the room and saw her friends, Ant-Man, Nova, and Machine Man all lying nearby. “What did you do to them?” she demanded to know. She tried to jump up and run to them but she stumbled. The marsh monster caught her and held her steady.

“Please, you’re still weak,” the scaled monstrosity beside her said. “It took time, but my friend here was finally able to counteract the drugs that have kept you unconscious all this time.”

She-Hulk looked into the face of the marsh monster holding her up and thought she saw the smallest semblance of a smile on its strange, twisted face. “How long have I been out?” she asked.

“Almost ten days,” a new voice from behind her said.

She turned to see the hunched over form of the Mole Man, his frail body held up by his thick, white staff. His green cloak was still wrapped around his body, but it was torn in several places and singed at the ends.

“They brought you here, like myself and the other captured residents of Monster Island,” the Mole Man continued. He faced the scaled creature for a moment before lookingback at She-Hulk again. “Thank you, Straga. Please go help M’linth. They kept you drugged to stop you from ruining their plans.”

“They? You mean the Four?”

The Mole Man nodded. “They aren’t the same people I remember meeting her years ago. They’ve changed. They threw me in this hell as well, but my pets revived me, just as I had them revive you. Next I’ll see to your friends.”

Now standing under her own power, the marsh monster left She-Hulk’s side and lumbered to the other three heroes in the corner. It bent over them, shaking its moss covered appendage until chunks of it broke free, covering the bare skin of Ant-Man and Nova.

“I’ve been trying to re-wire your robot friend as well,” the Mole Man said. “He’ll be operational soon.”

“And then what?” She-Hulk inquired. “What do you get out of this? Why are you helping us?”

“Stop the Four and then let me go. My arrogance brought me back here when I listened to Doom, but now that I’m back I want nothing more than to live in peace with my pets. This is where I belong. Help me get rid of them and allow me to live in peace.”

She-Hulk saw Ant-Man start to rouse from his enforced slumber. Trading glanced with the Mole Man, she looked back and forth at the amassed creatures there in the dungeon. The Four were so powerful now she wasn’t sure that they could defeat them alone. But maybe, just maybe, with this army of monsters backing them up they would have a chance.

“Okay,” she said. “What can I do to help?”

---- 4 ----

“The commander will be here shortly. I suggest you sorry excuse for Kree ready yourselves!”

Bartos, the technician that had single-handedly defeated the infamous Fantastic Four, or so he told others, smiled as the Kree soldiers scrambled to obey his orders. Behind him the obedient puppets whose minds he had overridden awaited his next set of orders.

He turned to face them, studying them once more. The unforeseen changes of his transfer ray had mutated the Fantastic Four somehow, making their cosmic abilities more impressive then imaginable. They would have destroyed the entire Kree fleet had his own ingenuity not proven more than enough to handle them.

The plan originally had been to simply transport the Four onto his ship, detain them, and reverse engineer their powers much like the Skrulls had done with their champion, the Super-Skrull. Some outside energy source had interfered with his transport, however, and while he had yet to discover who had attempted to disrupt him, he had no doubt that he would uncover them soon enough.* Until then, the augmented Fantastic Four were under his power.

* [We know it was Dr. Doom’s attempt to sap their powers that interfered, but Bartos doesn’t! – D]

The bizarre mix of alien energies, that of Bartos’ own transfer ray and the invisible outside energy source, had increased the cosmic radiation inside the Fantastic Four and thrown it to new heights. There was no telling how powerful they were now! Instead of creating a new soldier from the powers of the Fantastic Four he now had them at his command, which was a much greater accomplishment. He would be rewarded once the commander arrived with the rest of the invasion army.

He was no longer a lowly technician, serving aboard the Kree starship only because of his regal relations. He had earned his place in the new order, and his new capital city would be the beginning of a lavish Kree empire.

Within the last week scores of Kree workers had secretly arrived on Earth, working furiously to complete the Kree city on what the humans called Monster Island. It was perfect: secluded, yet privy to vast ecological resources. The ingenuity of the Kree had never been displayed on a scale like this before. In less than two weeks they were nearly completed in their task. Dozens of sprawling buildings of Kree design had been erected in the center of the island.

He turned to look at the Four and said, “You did well in accomplishing the goal I set for you.”

“I thought you would be pleased,” Reed Richards replied. “Your idea to use the Baxter Building as a centerpiece to convert New York City into something worthy of the Kree would have worked masterfully. I would have slowly introduced new technology that would retrofit the entire city in your image, and the fools would have thought that I was bettering their society.”

“But when we had the opportunity to use Monster Island instead,” Sue added, “we knew it was in your best interests to move forward here. Changing New York City would have taken up to two years.”

“Yes, yes. I should have known that if anyone could have done something so magnificent so quickly that it would be the Fantastic Four.”

“Have you decided on a name yet, master?” the Thing inquired.

“Only the most noble name in Kree history would be fit for the new capital city,” Bartos replied. “Nor-Xi.”

“And what about all the jerks in the jungle?” Johnny asked. He conjured a ball of fire in his hand and tossed it from left to right.

“Yes, Doom’s contingent of villainy*.” Bartos rubbed his chin in thought. “I placed the Mole Man on the prison floor due to his connection with the island. I didn’t want him running around unchecked. The others, however, are of no concern. The wildlife has surely taken them for food at this point, or they have fled the island. Either way, they are not our problem.”

* [Check out the last two issues to see all of the FF’s worst enemies working side by side, and their subsequent butt-kicking. – D]

A Kree worker ran through the busy operations center toward Bartos and the Four. He saluted as he approached, saying, “The commander just hailed us from subspace. He’ll be here shortly!”

“Excellent,” Bartos muttered. “When high command sees my progress they will have no choice but to—”

KRA-BOOM!

A massive door leading into the hanger bay, weighing several hundred pounds, was forced off its hinges and knocked into the operations center. It clanged down to reveal a plethora of monsters behind it, residents of the so-called dungeon that Bartos had locked away for coming too close to the main building. Straga the Scaled One stood at the forefront, flanked by the swampy statue of M’linth and a dozen more ferocious creatures.

The Mole Man stood behind them, commanding from the rear. “Attack!” he screamed as he pointed his staff directly at the Four.

The monsters collectively howled and burst into the room, lashing out wildly. The Four leapt into action, shielding Bartos from the brunt of the attack. The Thing began to trade savage blows with Straga, his orange rock reflecting off of his blue scales. Their devastating punches shook the floor of the operations center like miniscule earthquakes.

The Human Torch shot lances of flame at M’linth, attempting to burn off his marshy covering, but several flying creatures intercepted the blasts in midair and Johnny was forced to move evasively through the air.

“Stop them!” Bartos ordered. “This breach won’t be allowed! Kill them all!”

SMASH!

Thick shards of glass littered the floor as Ant-Man, Machine Man, Nova, and She-Hulk leapt through the large skylight overhead. Refreshed due to M’linth’s bizarre abilities to counteract the drugs Bartos had used to keep them incapacitated, the heroes brazenly took on the Kree engineers from the rear as the Mole Man’s forces attacked from the front, with the Four caught in the middle.

“There!” Ant-Man said, pointing at a bank of terminals near the center of the room. “Buy X-51 some time to make the uplink!”

Machine Man’s boot jets roared to life, controlling his fall so that he was angled toward the terminals. Nova joined the flying creatures, adding her cosmic flames to their claws in hopes of distracting Johnny enough to keep him busy. She-Hulk pounded against one of the Invisible Woman’s shields, even though she had no idea where the woman was. Ant-Man unleashed his bio-electric blasts against Mr. Fantastic, praying that he would be slowed enough for Machine Man to carry out his assignment.

With his left hand Machine Man typed in commands furiously at the console. With his right he batted away several Kree engineers, using his telescoping arm like a club to toss them aside before they could get anywhere near him.

Mr. Fantastic stretched his entire body around three separate creatures, weaving himself in and out between them. One of the monsters, a furry beast with large drooping fangs, hissed at him and spat a corrosive poison that splashed against his stretched body. The leader of the Four ignored it, allowing the poison to slide off of him as he flexed his skin at the molecular level.

Once he had ensnared all three of them he retracted his body, snapping them together tightly. He stretched his arms to grab onto the open doorway that they had burst through, using it as a foundation to pull the monsters up through, slinging them out and releasing them like a slingshot.

His body snapped back to its normal shape and he stared down Ant-Man. “Just give up and save yourself the trouble of being squashed, bug,” he said.

“Dad?”

Mr. Fantastic paused, looking above the terminal that Machine Man had been standing at. Displayed on the screen for the entire room to see was Franklin and Valeria Richards, the children of Reed and Sue. They looked frightened and worried and neither of them appeared to be rested.

The entire room suddenly quieted down enough for the children to be heard. “Daddy?” Valeria repeated. “Mommy? It’s me! Are you okay?”

Sue appeared behind She-Hulk. “Is this your big plan?” she said. “Wave our children in front of our faces?”

“I really didn’t want to do this, Reed,” Ant-Man said. “Last chance. Give up.”

“You’re a fool,” Reed replied.

“I’m really sorry if this goes bad,” Scott said. He looked over his shoulder at the monitor. “Franklin!”

“But…but, Mr. Lang…” the child stammered.

Nova swooped by the viewscreen, dodging several blasts of fire from the Human Torch. “I know he told you through the communiqué that Machine Man established earlier that this was only a last resort,” she said. “But, Franklin, this is a last resort. You have to try. Now!”

“But what if I accidentally—”

Valeria placed a hand on her brother’s shoulder. “You have to try,” she said. “It’s what the Fantastic Four would do. It’s what our family would do.”

Franklin nodded and closed his eyes. He focused on his family: Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben. He felt the stirrings of his amazing power within him build. He concentrated on the people he loved most in the world, remembering how they had once been.

A proud father. A loving mother. A carefree uncle. A strong friend.

The eyes of the Four began to glow and halos of energy encircled their heads. They each fell to their knees, clasping their hands over their ears. Everyone in the room, heroes, monsters, and Kree, stared in wonder at the ongoing event.

When the Four’s eyes opened again there was something different about them.

On the viewscreen Franklin opened his own eyes and looked at his family. “Mom? Dad? Are you there?”

“Uncle Johnny?” Valeria added. “Uncle Ben?”

“We’re here, babies,” Sue replied. She stood up, anger and fury in her voice. “It’s us.”

Ant-Man and the other heroes hesitated. He wasn’t sure if the plan he had told Franklin about through Machine Man’s communiqué back in the dungeon had worked. Franklin’s ability to alter reality, conceivably, could be used to break the brainwashing spell that held the Fantastic Four captive. It was just as likely, however, that he could lobotomize them.

“Interfering brats!” Bartos exclaimed. He faced the Four and pointed a finger at Reed. “I command you to destroy all enemies of the Kree immediately!”

The Thing rose from where he knelt, Straga beside him. “You know somethin’?” he said. “I’ll destroy all my enemies, alright. Starting with you.”

Ben broke into a run, charging Bartos directly. His rocky face contorted into a half smile as he hollered, “IT’S CLOBBERIN’ TIME!”

The tide of the battle shifted almost instantly. With the power of the Fantastic Four added to the might of the other heroes, as well as the Mole Man’s creatures, the Kree engineers were pushed back within seconds.

Bartos cowered behind the terminal, which was promptly ripped out of the floor by the Thing. He hefted the console over his head and glared down at Bartos. “Them brats, as you call them, are family, pal. You got a lot to answer for.”

“Alright!” Franklin and Valeria both cheered on the viewscreen.

The Fantastic Four centered around the cowering Bartos. Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny were surrounded by the other heroes and several of the monsters, including Straga and M’linth. The Mole remained in the background, although the tension had obviously left his features.

Reed opened his mouth to speak, but before he could utter a single syllable, a flash of light poured through the open doorway to the hanger bay. The roar of horribly loud engines reverberated off of the walls as the group looked through the doorway to see a small fleet of Kree warships landing inside the bay.

Bartos smiled. “The commander is here,” he said. “And he’s brought the first wave of our invasion fleet with him. This isn’t over yet, Fantastic Four. Before this day is over you’ll all be dead and the Kree will have its foothold on this pitiful world.”

---- 4 ----

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