Chapter 8

"Good day, Agent Romanoff," I greeted Fury's operative sent to us.

"Just Natasha, Dr. Richards," replied Marvel's femme fatale. "I thought we were almost friends by now?"

Natasha Romanoff, also known as Natalia Romanova, was an incredibly high-caliber spy. That's why I remained cautious around her.

"For you, my dear," Johnny Storm chimed in, "I'll be whoever you want me to be."

Our blond hero was captivated by Natalia, yet he knew he had to maintain a certain distance.

"How charming," Agent Romanoff said.

Susan, who was nearby, kept a vigilant eye on the redhead, likely due to Fury's intriguing behavior.

"I assume you're here for the blueprints?" I asked, thinking about the portal.

"Yes," she nodded.

The blueprint was for another project I sold to S.H.I.E.L.D.: next-generation engines that outperformed current ones, although they didn't match the engines in the Fantasticar.

"I have it right here," I said, stretching my arm to retrieve the data drive.

The flash drive, which I had also created, could hold about 5 terabytes of data.

"Here you go."

She nodded and took the flash drive.

"S.H.I.E.L.D. thanks you for your cooperation," Natasha said.

I rolled my eyes and asked, "Is it because of you that the Skrulls got agitated?"

Thanks to the internet and news, I was well aware that many businessmen, politicians, and military personnel had disappeared.

"Indeed," she smiled. "No one wants green, pointy-eared aliens pretending to be humans."

"And if I ask whether you've managed to capture any of them, I won't get an answer, will I?" I said, looking at Natasha.

"That's why they call you a genius, Dr. Richards," Natasha replied.

Then she listened to something in her earpiece and said, "Excuse me, but we need to return."

Once Natasha left, I said, "Begin scanning the building for listening devices."

Johnny, Sue, and Ben looked at me in confusion.

"Scanning... detected 10 devices."

"Destroy them," I ordered.

ZZT

The surprised looks on my friends' faces were a delightful sight.

"How did you know, Stretch?"

"I assumed, based on her being a spy," I said, shrugging.

"Sounds like paranoia to me," Johnny said.

"No, it's called common sense," I replied with a slight smile.

After meeting with Natasha, everyone returned to their tasks. Sue delved into the data she had on us, Ben watched a baseball game, and Johnny decided to go for a walk outside.

"How best to approach this?" I muttered, contemplating my task.

—= Some Time Later =—

"Hmm..." I said, looking at the data I had gathered.

The Negative Zone is a parallel universe made of antimatter. Its size is almost identical to our universe, at least based on my research.

In their natural state, our universes can't intersect because they are direct opposites of each other.

My gaze fell on the first version of the portal to this universe. Thanks to the Skrull teleporter, I had made significant progress in creating a method to convert matter into antimatter.

"Initiate Project 'Window' test," I said into the recorder.

The drones I designed were programmed to explore the space around the portal if the connection between the main computer and the drones was unstable or lost entirely.

"Begin the test."

The spherical drones were equipped with arc reactors, various scanners, and high-quality memory cards.

As soon as I gave the command, the drones started flying into the portal.

"As expected," I said.

The challenge was not only in maintaining a wave of a certain length but also in the time differential between our universes.

"I need to change the communication method," I mused, considering the potential of quantum physics to aid in this matter.

—= Three Hours Later =—

The time difference between the Negative Zone and our universe was such that a few hours on Earth equated to several weeks in the Negative Zone. Thanks to this, my drones had managed to thoroughly explore the so-called anti-Earth.

"Let's see what you've brought me," I said, deciding to first review the video data.

The first thing that stood out was the dimension that served as a buffer between our universes. With advanced scanners, I obtained a detailed view of this place.

In this dimension, the laws of physics and reality were distorted. For example, space-time behaved differently than on Earth.

"The Distorted Zone," I whispered, recording this information in my portable database.

The next image was of a lifeless planet that resembled Earth.

"So this is what you are, anti-Earth."

The drones then spread out to cover as much ground as possible. They confirmed my suspicion that no creatures inhabited the anti-Earth.

Next, it was time to study the source of the cosmic energy I needed.

"I hope... damn," I muttered when I saw the energy source.

As expected, the source was located beyond anti-Earth. Based on the data I obtained, the source was among a vast number of insect-like creatures. The answer was clear. The source of this energy was Annihilus, or more precisely, his Cosmic Control Rod. This meant I had to prepare for a battle with Annihilus, as he was unlikely to lend me the artifact willingly.

"Good thing I've already started preparing for the fight," I said, looking at the weapon blueprints.

—= Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters =—

"A new mutant in Australia," said Charles Xavier, removing the Cerebro helmet.

Beside him stood his old friend, Hank McCoy, covered in blue fur and known as Beast.

"The number of mutants is increasing," Hank said, studying the data he collected on mutants.

"Is something bothering you?" Charles asked.

"We always knew that mutants would eventually become the dominant species... but our forecasts indicated this would happen around 2080..."

Xavier paused, understanding the implication.

"What do the new models say?"

"If the current trend continues, it will happen around 2020," Hank replied.

Charles frowned. He knew humanity in its current state was not ready to accept mutants.

"We will manage," Charles said. "We will foster friendship between our species."

Hank smiled. His friend's optimism was heartening.

"Yes, Charles, we will make it happen."

—//—

"Stretch... Is this it?" Ben asked, staring at the portal to the Negative Zone.

"Yes, this is the portal to the Negative Zone," I replied, looking at the team.

My best friend's eyes filled with hope. He wanted to act, and I needed to calm him down because rash actions only lead to disaster.

"However, we can't go in just yet," I said seriously.

"Why not?" Johnny asked.

Sue's younger brother was eager to act, which was understandable.

"For several reasons," I said. "But the main one is... our weapons aren't ready yet."

"Weapons?" Ben said, puzzled.

"The source of cosmic energy turned out to be a hostile native?" Sue asked.

My brilliant girlfriend understood instantly.

"Exactly," I nodded. "Display the footage from Annihilus's planet."

As soon as I said those words, a holographic image of Annihilus's planet appeared before the team.

The sight of numerous giant intelligent insects, all chanting one name, was quite intimidating.

"Thanks to the improvements I made to my drone scanners, studying... the cosmic device of this universe went quickly. That's when I discovered this race and their leader."

The footage of Annihilus's army and Annihilus himself erased any friendly thoughts my friends might have had.

"Our goal is this rod," I said, pointing to images of Annihilus's actions. "It is the source of the cosmic energy that can be converted into cosmic rays for Ben."

"What kind of weapon have you created?" Sue asked.

It was a good question, so I decided to demonstrate one of the guns I had built during this time. My arm stretched across the room to retrieve the weapon, which looked like a futuristic rifle.

"Considering that the Negative Zone is made of antimatter, I thought about how we could use that to our advantage."

The rifle in my hands powered up. The barrel extended and expanded by several percent. There was no trigger; the barrel encased the user's hand, adjusting to fit.

"I can't wait to show those bugs some flame," Johnny said with a grin.

"Looking forward to meeting them," Ben said, eyeing the rod.

I smiled and said, "I'm glad everyone is so motivated."

—= S.H.I.E.L.D. =—

The director of S.H.I.E.L.D. stared at the white dot on the organization's map, representing the Fantastic Four's building, seemingly isolated from the rest of the city.

"Agent Romanoff, what have you found out?" Nick Fury asked his subordinate.

Natasha Romanoff could hear the impatience in her boss's voice. The question concerned her current assignment: the Fantastic Four.

"The team listens to Reed Richards, likely due to his authority and their trust in him. I can't say they are fully cohesive yet, but they will be soon," the Black Widow said.

"Are you telling me you didn't uncover anything about Dr. Richards's future plans?" Fury asked.

Black Widow smirked and said, "I didn't say that."

Fury rolled his eye and said, "Agent Romanoff."

Such interactions were one of the reasons Fury used Natasha for these kinds of tasks.

"The team's main objective right now is curing Benjamin 'The Thing' Grimm," Natasha said. "However, the specifics of how Dr. Richards plans to do this are unknown, as Johnny Storm wasn't informed of the details."

—= Reed Richards =—

"So, shall we begin?" I asked my team.

We were in the basement of our building, where the portal to the Negative Zone was located.

"A sub-universe of antimatter promises to be quite an interesting experience," Sue said.

"I always aim to surprise," I replied.

"I thought we were going there to recharge the rockhead?" Johnny Storm said, raising an eyebrow.

Judging by Ben's expression, he had the same thought.

"What's stopping us from doing both?" I said with a smile.

Sue's slight blush indicated I had chosen the right words.

"Alright, lovebirds," Ben said. "Can we get started?"

Once he said that, I initiated the launch program. The building became sealed off from the outside. The portal flared up, and we could see anti-Earth on the other side.

"Hold on, this will be quite an experience," I said, grabbing the helm of my interstellar ship.

BOOM

The Distortion Zone was an incredibly colorful sight, but we didn't linger there long. Soon, we were made of antimatter, and the world around us became utterly alien.

"Transformation successful. Welcome to the Negative Zone," I said in a triumphant tone, still holding the helm.

"The scenery... very colorful," Johnny said with a crooked smile.

"Now I see why you called it the Negative Zone," Ben said, looking at the world around us.

"It's all because the universe is made of antimatter?" Sue asked.

She examined the twin of our planet with interest. I shook my head and said:

"One of the key reasons is that this sub-universe is in the final stages of its life cycle. This fact has profound implications for all aspects of its functioning. As the sub-universe ages, its resources and energy are gradually depleted, leading to various changes and instabilities in its structure and dynamics. Phenomena such as the reduction in star formation, the fading of galaxies, and the increase in interstellar dust. Therefore, this sub-universe is at a turning point where questions about its future become most pertinent."

The cabin fell silent until I broke it.

"However, we should focus on a more important matter. Navigator, plot a course to Arthros."

The integrated AI announced, "Route plotted. Time to arrival: three hours."

"Three hours?" Ben Grimm said in surprise.

"Since I spent a significant amount of time studying the laws of this place, creating a tool to warp space-time wasn't that difficult."

"Warp drive activated," the AI reported.

"Is this like hyperdrive from Star Wars?" Johnny asked.

The space in front of our ship began to compress, and soon a window to the other end of the universe appeared before us.

BOOM

We found ourselves in a corridor-like space of red color. Flashes of energy accompanied us like the scent of ozone with thunder and lightning.

"Definitely Star Wars," Johnny said firmly.