Chapter 9

"Are we really just going to barge into this intelligent bug's lair named Annihilus?" Johnny asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No," I shook my head. "At this moment, my drones are busy distracting Annihilus's army."

I glanced at the time my robotic army had spent on this task.

"According to my calculations, we have about four hours before they reach the fabricator."

Our cloaked ship approached the location of the Cosmic Control Rod. We were now in front of Annihilus's planet.

"Activate the chameleon mode on your suits," I said, switching the ship to autopilot.

"Considering these insects use advanced ships for interstellar travel... I doubt this will work," Johnny said.

Unfortunately for Johnny, I knew him too well.

"By studying these aliens, I identified the weaknesses in their technology. Trust me, the camouflage will work," I assured Sue's younger brother. "But you just want to cause a ruckus, don't you?"

Sue shot her brother a piercing look, leaving him no choice but to chuckle nervously and say, "N-no, I wasn't thinking that at all."

"I really hope so," Sue said with a sweet smile.

Her words and smile made not only Johnny pale but Ben and me as well.

"W-well, Johnny, you and Ben will get to have some fun," I said, pointing at the owner of the Cosmic Control Rod. "Annihilus is unlikely to willingly give up the rod, which is the source of his power."

Ben and Johnny grinned, clearly pleased with what I had told them.

"The ship is ready for teleportation," the onboard assistant announced.

I looked at my team... no, my family, and, seeing that everyone was ready for action, activated the teleportation device.

ZZZT

And we were now in Annihilus's lair.

"Stick to the plan," I said, activating a map of the area connected to a scanner for each of them.

Annihilus was in his quarters, distracted by his meal and watching his subordinates. The scanners confirmed this, meaning there might not be a more perfect moment.

"'Key,' start hacking the local control system," I whispered the code phrase to activate the hacking software.

"Decryption initiated..."

After a few minutes, I gained control over all the entrances and exits. Now we just needed to take down the guards.

"Sue?" I said, looking at the insect guards.

Sue smiled and clenched her fists. In the next second, the guards collapsed.

"That was certainly impressive," I admitted. "But what did you do?"

"A force field inside a living organism," Sue said with a slight smile.

Her words raised my amazement a notch, as the bodies were alive, indicating her incredible effort.

"Your sister just became even scarier."

"No kidding, rockhead..."

"Guys, focus," I said, opening the door.

As soon as I did, we were hit by a telepathic wave of fear. I recognized that the feeling of fear I felt was unnatural. My body scanners detected the influence, which was fantastic because I had long wanted to understand mental attacks.

"INTRUDERS! YOU DARE COME HERE FOR MY COSMIC CONTROL ROD?!" It was unclear if this was a question or a statement.

"Attack!" I shouted.

Johnny Storm took to the air first, unleashing streams of fire.

"IT'S CLOBBERIN' TIME!"

Ben Grimm, used to his stone form, moved with impressive speed.

Johnny's fire and Ben's fist flew toward Annihilus, but he didn't flinch.

"DON'T MAKE ME LAUGH!" Annihilus roared, enduring the assault without discomfort.

"Now!" I yelled, looking at Sue.

Sue's eyes glowed with power, and I aimed my weapon at Annihilus. It was time to end this quest decisively.

I had designed my weapon not only with the surrounding antimatter in mind but also the cosmic energy flowing through the Cosmic Control Rod on the insect's chest. This allowed me to...

"PERSISTENT PARASITES!" the insect screamed.

As his cosmic energy surged, I activated my weapon.

My weapon was based on data about cosmic energy obtained by my drones. Cosmic energy, in essence, was a diluted version of another force existing in the universe—cosmic rays, which granted us our powers, were also fragments of this power, known to comic fans as the Power Cosmic.

Considering all this, it wasn't too difficult to alter the nature of the cosmic energy so Annihilus couldn't wield it as easily.

BAAAM

The connection between Annihilus and his Cosmic Control Rod was violently severed. The insect's body flew to the other end of the room.

"Grab the rod!" I shouted, adjusting the teleportation back and preparing a capsule for the rod.

Ben, closest to the rod, grabbed it.

"I got it!" Ben yelled.

"RETURN IT!" Annihilus screamed, beginning to rise.

His body's resilience was indeed problematic.

"Hold on," I said before the teleportation activated.

ZZZT

"NOOO!" we heard Annihilus's scream as we transported.

—= Ship =—

"Initiate the 'Return' program," I commanded, settling into the captain's seat.

"Executing program..."

"Is it normal that a massive swarm of alien locusts is heading our way?" Johnny Storm asked, watching the space fill with Annihilus's insects.

Sue and Ben turned their gazes to this sight.

"Reed, I hope you've accounted for this..." Sue Storm said with a slightly fearful tone.

"Stretch, we need to hurry... or we might end up like Ripley's crew," Ben said.

I began to notice space deforming—the first signs of the impending hyperspace jump.

"If I hadn't accounted for this, I'd be ashamed to call myself a genius," I said. "I hope you've all said your goodbyes to these insects because we're..."

BOOM

"... getting out of here," I finished in the white corridor.

—= Some Time Later =—

"How was your trip to the Negative Zone?" I asked my friends.

The mission's success lifted my spirits, and it seemed to have the same effect on the others.

"Ready to go again anytime," Ben said with a slight grin.

Johnny rolled his eyes and said, "Don't soil yourself, rockhead."

Then the two resumed their banter, leaving me with Sue Storm, who smiled sweetly and said, "That was quite an interesting date, Reed."

"You didn't enjoy it?"

Sue stepped closer. Knowing what was about to happen made me incredibly happy.

"I loved it," she said, kissing me on the cheek.

—//—

"Only on the cheek?" I asked Sue, unable to hide my blatant displeasure.

She gave a sly smile and said, "If I say yes, will you accept it?"

It was impossible to miss the provocation in her words. My hand encircled her swan-like neck protectively, while the other rested on her hip. She didn't resist what was coming, so I acted quickly. Our bodies drew as close as social norms allowed.

My face was mere inches from hers.

"No," I said.

Then, I claimed my reward.

When the kiss ended, I saw the satisfaction in her eyes.

"Have you learned to read my secret signals?" Sue asked with a contented smile.

My brain ran numerous simulations of possible outcomes… and I didn't like any of them.

"No," I declared, trying to convey my full disagreement in that single word.

Sue's eyes widened. She clearly hadn't expected that response. The guys, who had been silent all this time, couldn't hold back anymore.

"Good answer, Stretch!"

"I'd say it's the only right answer," Johnny Storm said thoughtfully.

"Ben! Johnny!" Sue exclaimed, her voice tinged with disappointment.

"Sorry, sis, but it's called male solidarity," Johnny said, raising his hands in mock surrender. "We can't leave another guy hanging in such a situation."

Ben and I nodded simultaneously, fully understanding what could happen if a man was left in such a predicament.

"Hmph!" Sue snorted.

That was my signal to give her some space for the next few minutes.

At that moment, we emerged from the white corridor, standing before the Anti-Earth. One last push remained.

"Never thought I'd be glad to see this sight," Ben said, gazing at the Anti-Earth.

"Sad you'll stop being related to it?" Johnny asked with a smirk.

For that question, Johnny received a light smack on the head from Ben.

"Ouch!"

"You deserved that," Sue said.

Now Johnny looked like a scolded puppy, while Ben was brimming with happiness.

By this point, our ship was positioned before the portal to our universe.

"Activate the portal," I said, initiating the directive.

Thanks to my development of a completely new communication technology, I could now maintain contact between my devices across dimensions.

—= Earth, Baxter Building =—

The ship landed in the underground garage of our building, and at that moment, we all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Even I, despite my confidence that the plan would go smoothly, couldn't avoid a slight nervousness about potential mishaps.

I glanced at the clock. Very little time had passed since our departure. The time difference worked in my favor. This meant I had time to study the cosmic energy a bit.

"Home sweet home," I said with a satisfied smile.

The plan had worked perfectly, and now I had the source of cosmic energy needed to help Ben. Afterward, I could focus on my other projects.

"It's always nice to be back home," Ben said, a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

I could see that hope burned brighter in his soul than ever before, and I wasn't about to let him fall into despair.

"Finally, I can take a shower," Johnny said with a grin. "Hey, rockhead, want to catch the game tonight?"

He was referring to a baseball game scheduled for the evening.

In the former Soviet Union and most of the world outside the USA and Japan, baseball wasn't particularly popular. In my original world, I knew about the sport only through anime, and even then, I never fully understood the rules. Now, with the memories of my counterpart in this world, I knew much more about it.

"Sure, I'd be up for that," Ben nodded.

Meanwhile, I looked at Sue, who seemed deep in thought.

"Sue, what are you doing this evening?" I asked.

"Well, if I finish my current project, I'll be free," Sue replied with the sweetest smile, which I found entirely objective.

I was confident I'd wrap up my preparations by 7:30 PM.

"In that case, how about we go to the movies?" I asked, feeling a slight, inexplicable nervousness.

"Why not," Sue said, dispelling all my nerves.

—= Reed Richards's Lab =—

"Hmm, this... isn't what I expected," I muttered as I looked at the results of my experiments on the Cosmic Control Rod's energy.

The research data put a firm end to my hopes of quickly harnessing the cosmic power or even a lesser form of it. The energy in the Cosmic Control Rod wouldn't even get me halfway to the power I estimated was contained in the Cosmic Force.

"Ugh..." I sighed, starting work on Project Saturation.

The energy in the rod would suffice only to saturate both Ben's body and mine.

"I guess reaching divine power won't be that easy..." I murmured as I worked.

I had already done the calculations, so the rest was just technical work.

DING

A notification on my smartphone briefly pulled me out of my flow, and I checked it.

"A conference will be held in two weeks..."

My eyes widened.

"Damn! I need to get properly dressed!" I exclaimed, realizing I was running late.

—= S.H.I.E.L.D. =—

"Report the situation," Fury said, entering the command center.

One of Fury's many subordinates gathered his thoughts and began to speak:

"There was an incident at the Los Diablos base. General Ross is keeping the information contained, but our agents within his ranks reported that Bruce Banner's experiment didn't go as planned... Due to staff negligence, a civilian got onto the site, whom Dr. Banner saved."

The scientist then produced photographs from the scene. The massive crater spoke volumes about the project's goals.

"However, Dr. Banner himself received a massive dose of gamma radiation."

A stack of photos landed in Fury's hands, causing him to raise an eyebrow. The enormous mass of green muscles was awe-inspiring.

"And he became this creature," Fury concluded for his subordinate.

Fury recognized Bruce's facial features in the monster.

"Yes. That's how the Hulk came to be. An extremely aggressive being capable of performing superhuman feats."

A video recording showed the Hulk effortlessly destroying military equipment.