Susan was worried about Doom, because in the film version of events, he was her fiancé.
And up until Reed had dragged him into financial ruin, Doom had actually been a fairly decent man. A little intense, maybe, but not remotely the monster people would later make him out to be.
"Reed, where do you think Doom went?" Susan asked, unable to stop herself from looking to her ex-boyfriend for answers.
How would I know? All I know is that sooner or later, you're going to be mine again.
"I'm sorry, Susan. This is my fault. I'm the reason Doom ended up like this," Reed said with a pained expression.
"Reed, this isn't your fault," Susan replied, her tone softening. "No one can guarantee a data set will be one hundred percent correct. Sending a team into space was always a risk. Doom was just unlucky."
She was already using Reed's first na more naturally now, and she didn't really think this was his fault. Going into space had always been a gamble. Doom had simply drawn the short straw.
Just then, the hospital phone rang.
"Reed! It's Ben. He's gone!"
Reed blinked. "Gone? Maybe he went ho?"
"No. Sothing huge burst out of Ben's room. A monster. A rock monster!"
At that mont, Ben Grimm was running for ho. He had snatched up so clothes on the way to cover his horrifying new appearance, but even so, he was causing chaos wherever he went.
After all, humanity had never seen superhumans like this before.
Drex Valen, by comparison, at least had high-tech armor to hide behind.
A towering, heavily built man with skin that looked like living stone was never going to blend in. Not even close.
Naturally, bystanders started calling the police.
At first, the New York Police Departnt dismissed the reports as nonsense. But once more and more civilians called in, they were forced to take it seriously. Before long, they had traced the rock monster's position.
"Oh my God, what is that?"
When the officers arrived and saw Ben Grimm with their own eyes, every one of them froze in shock.
"Don't move!"
"Hands up!"
The police gave him the standard warnings. If he did not obey, they would open fire. With that appearance, he looked like a monster, plain and simple.
But Ben had already seen his fiancée.
Unfortunately, she had run away in terror at the sight of him.
He was trying to chase after her, desperate to explain that this was only temporary, that he would be back to normal soon.
The police saw that he was not listening, and they fired imdiately.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Dozens of bullets slamd into Ben's body. His hard stone shell took the hits, cracking and deforming the rounds before they could do any real damage.
Ben had not expected the police to shoot so quickly. He had not been hurt. He had not even felt pain.
But he was furious now.
"Get the hell away from !"
His roar sent the officers stumbling back in fear.
One of them even drew a shotgun.
At that critical mont, Drex arrived.
"Big guy. Stop."
Drex landed in front of Ben Grimm.
Ben stared at him, noting the obvious high-tech black armor and the strange device crackling with electrical arcs behind him.
The crowd around them erupted when Black Knight Drex Valen appeared. Even the police looked relieved. None of them felt confident facing an unknown monster like this.
"Black Knight Drex," Drex said.
"I... I don't want any trouble. Move," Ben said.
He had already seen his fiancée. He needed to catch up to her and explain that this was only temporary, that he would change back.
"I'm afraid I can't do that," Drex replied, sounding calm enough to be almost lazy.
"I said move!"
Ben stepped forward.
A subtle but unmistakably powerful magnetic force shifted the local field around him. The bonds between atoms changed by a hair's breadth, and that microscopic shift manifested in reality as a crushing distortion.
Ben's threat died instantly.
His stony body started to crack.
"What the hell is happening?" he shouted, panic flashing across his face.
"That," Drex said, "is the power of a magnetic field, Mr. Grimm."
Then he motioned to the police, signaling that they could co closer.
"Black Knight Drex subdued the criminal!"
"Do we take him back to the precinct?"
"No. Call in the specialists."
The officers approached cautiously.
Ben struggled with all his might, but he could not break free of the invisible pressure pinning him down.
That made perfect sense.
His strength was impressive, over a hundred tons, but after Drex twisted the field around him, he had forced the weight of the entire street's magnetic pressure onto Ben's body.
That was the equivalent of dozens of tis Ben's own strength.
"Wait!"
Reed and Susan rushed over at that mont.
When they saw Ben Grimm, both of them froze.
"Ben... is that you?" Reed asked in shock.
"Yeah..." Ben said, nodding weakly.
"Sorry," Susan said quickly, turning to the police and Drex. "This was just an accident. He's our friend. He has no criminal record."
She had not expected to see Black Knight Drex again.
Then again, neither had she expected to see him here in the first place.
Drex looked at the police one last ti.
"Take it from here."
With that, he flew away.
Susan watched him leave, a strange feeling settling in her chest.
He didn't recognize ?
Before leaving, Drex had already lifted the magnetic restraint from Ben's body. The mont the pressure vanished, Ben collapsed to the ground, gasping for air.
Too terrifying.
It felt like he could have been killed at any mont.
Where the hell did that Black Knight Drex co from?
anwhile, Johnny Storm had discovered his own powers.
Naturally, he was thrilled.
This ant it would be easier to chase girls. It also ant he could beco a superhero.
And Johnny was not the only one feeling the rush.
Reed and Susan had also discovered their powers by accident, and the four of them eventually gathered together to discuss what to do next.
Unlike Johnny, who was practically itching to show off, Ben was in a foul mood.
Why was it that everyone else got powers that did not change how they looked, while his had turned him into this?
His abilities were not weak. In fact, Ben Grimm was probably the strongest among them now.
But he looked horrible.
He did not look human at all.
If he could transform back and forth at will, that would be one thing. Then he would gladly accept it. After all, everyone wanted to be different sohow, and Johnny's idea of becoming a superhero actually sounded pretty good.
Especially since soone had already set the example for them.
"I need to run so checks and make sure this mutation isn't going to cause problems for our bodies," Reed said carefully.
He had not let the power go to his head.
From a biological standpoint, mutation was a risk factor on a very serious level. The kind of risk that could go catastrophically wrong if you touched the wrong thing.
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