Chapter 80: Between a Rock and a Hard Place

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"Nothing happens to anyone that he is not fitted by nature to bear."

- Maximus, (Gladiator) 

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<(Atem POV)> 

"I sure did enjoy that little vacation. I guess, it's fine to have fun sometimes, especially when it is with two beautiful girls like Anna and Wanda. Perhaps, I should do this more often... Hmm, maybe I could have a boy's night out too. I could call Wolverine, Blade, and a couple of other guys. Maybe, I could even get to see Tony having a drinking contest with Logan." I muttered to Zoya floating beside me while casually strolling through the royal garden in Neo Genosha. 

Why was I strolling through a garden? Well, sometimes, it felt nice to just enjoy nature and be present in the moment like when roaming a flowery garden... and no, it's not gay. 

'By the way, I wonder how Blade has been doing. I had given him, Lilith, and Shiklah the responsibility of taking over the Earth's hidden monster world. The last I heard, they had slayed a million-year-old vampire and were lodging a war against some ancient Egyptian pharaoh and his immortal "mummy army". They would probably be returning home soon. Perhaps, I should plan another giant 'welcome home' party.' I thought to myself with a smile on my face while imagining how funny it would be when people would find out that metahumans are not the only species that has been living alongside humans for millennia. 

"I can take care of all the preparations when you decide to have that party. However, I should remind you, that Ben Grimm from the Fantastic Four tried to take his life once again this morning by hanging himself from the roof in his room... As a result, not only did he not die but a significant portion of the building was destroyed because of his immense weight." Zoya informed with a flat voice. "There is also a chance that he might try to commit suicide by jumping in front of a train next in which case the public might hold Meta Enterprises or even you liable since they know of your existence now as well as your connection to New Genosha. So, he needs to be stopped ASAP. That is at the top of your to-do list today." She advised. 

"... That rock-brained idiot. What part of 'sit tight and wait for me to come up with a solution' did he not understand? *Sigh* Zoya, open a hush tube for me to the Baxter Building. I'll see what I can do to solve his problem. Changing the Thing's appearance will at least be much easier than winning a gamble against that damn talking duck." I exclaimed with an annoyed snort as I remembered the drunk duck I had met back on Xandar. 

*Psssp* With almost an inaudible sound, a red-accented hole appeared in the air forming an almost tube-like structure that connected my garden with the main hall of the Baxter building. 

With a silent nod of acknowledgment, I calmly walked in through the hush tube. 

There was a strange silence permeating throughout the Baxter building, like there was some sort of thick tension present in the air. The tense atmosphere indicated that although the Fantastic Four was supposed to be one big family, it was not a very happy family right now.

Using my senses to scan the entire building, I was quickly able to find them in the basement lab testing out different stuff while building some sort of big machine.

With curiosity piquing my mind, I went straight toward the location, diligently praying in my heart that they weren't making yet another doomsday machine that could tear a hole in reality if something went wrong. After all, the "smartest man in the world" in their team was also the most careless man in the world as well. 

However, the scene that welcomed me on entering the basement lab didn't at all look disturbing. Instead, they looked like little kids who had recently gained powers, trying to experiment with their abilities to see what else they could do. "Umm, should I come back later?" I asked confused as I entered the lab, genuinely bewildered after seeing the bizarre "experiments" happening in front of me.

Johnny Storm was inside a sealed pod trying to heat it up with his powers from the inside, Benjamin Grimm was lifting a dumbbell that looked like it weighed more than a ton while a giant drill was literally trying to drill a hole in his hard rock-like skin, and Susan was trying to keep herself invisible as the lights around her changed colors, although she was severely struggling to do so, all the while Reed Richards, aka, Mr. Fantastic, himself was getting molded in a machine like a piece of chewing gum, his shape almost unrecognizable as a human. 

"... Atem?" Susan was the first one to react as she instinctively used her powers to become completely invisible despite the constant change of the spectrum of light around her. "Hey there. We didn't expect you to visit us so soon after your fight with that monster... if it can even be called a fight at all. But since you are here, it means that it is something important, right? Is there any way we can assist you?" Susan inquired, having regained her composure after forcefully calming herself down and becoming visible again. 

Susan's words made Ben and Reed aware of my presence too. Ben immediately set down his weights and took his arm off the drill's head, giving me a look with a downcast expression. For some reason, he seemed to be in a less-than-cheerful mood.

"I figured it had been a while since I last dropped by. So, I thought I'd pop in and check on how everyone's doing. Think of this as a casual visit from your favorite local deity," I said to Susan with a wink before continuing, "And how about you guys? Have you been honing your skills? Have you all mastered your powers already?" I inquired, arching an eyebrow, fully aware that they were far from mastering even their basic abilities.

Susan appeared slightly embarrassed by my words. Casting a swift glance at Ben, she quickly attempted to clarify, "No, we haven't yet completely learned how to use our powers, but..."

"We need to cure ourselves of this as soon as possible and return to our normal human state, the way we originally were," Reed interjected, cutting off Susan's words with his interruption after he was somehow able to extricate himself from the "gum machine" on his own. With a tired expression on his face, he continued, "These powers may be incredible, but we don't want them to impact us negatively. Currently, Ben is the only one suffering due to his appearance, but if we remain careless, we might all end up similarly transformed. Who's to say Johnny won't turn into a ball of pure fire, or I won't become an overstretched chunk of rubber, or Susan won't permanently vanish from sight?" Reed expressed, his voice laden with valid concern.

Oh, so the guy really was worried about them. And here I thought he was too arrogant to care about others. Well, good then, this makes the next part much easier.

"Oh, I see. Well, if all of you decide the same thing, then I guess I have nothing to say." I powerlessly shrugged. "But still, trying to learn more about your abilities and bring your powers under control first before trying to get rid of them was a very good decision on your part." I nodded encouragingly. "It would ensure that nothing unwanted happens if anything goes wrong when you try to remove your powers."

"... Actually, these tests weren't designed to help us bring our abilities under control but to see their maximum capabilities, the utmost limit of what they can do, so that I can tweak the data in my machine. I have already identified the type of energy that affected us in that space storm. This machine can absorb those energies in our cells while canceling our mutations and getting us back to normal. All it needs for that is data about us like how much and what type of power each of us possesses and how much the machine needs to drain from us to get us back to normal without killing us in the process." Reed explained while awkwardly clearing his throat.

"So, this machine of yours can go wrong with the tiniest of miscalculations and even kill the user in the absence of absolutely accurate data?" 

"... It's not complete yet. But by the time it is, I am sure that the chances of it going wrong will be less than ten percent." Reed tried to defend his invention.

"Hey, I am not the one going in there, so I am not complaining." I defensively raised my hands with a laugh. "However, I have an already present solution to normalize Ben's appearance without any danger. Plus, I can also make sure that none of you gets any physical side effects because of your powers," I suggested. "However, removing your powers won't be part of the solution. In my opinion, your mutation is a permanent change, something that can't be and shouldn't be changed back. Changing from a mutate or a metahuman back to a human again is like trying to forcefully change a human into a monkey. It is the most dangerous thing one could possibly do. And who knows, maybe the universe gave you guys these powers for some higher purpose or something. Removing them could be a big mistake." I patiently explained.

Hearing my explanation, Reed didn't sound completely convinced. He looked like he had a lot of doubts but Ben on the other hand had already hooked on to my bait.

"So, what do you propose I should do, Atem? Do you really have a solution that can not only cure me but also let me continue to have this... strength?" Ben asked with desperation in his voice. "Because if you do, then please tell me. I'll do anything to get my human looks back. I don't want to look like this, a monster. I want to be Benjamin Grimm again, not this... Thing." He exclaimed with a barely hidden disgust in his voice.

"I indeed do have a better solution to your problem, Ben, something that will definitely work to return your original appearance back to you... It's called magic," I answered with a knowing smile.

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