Issue #20

When it got to be near 2 am, Susan was tired and drunk yet insisted on partying. Jack, however, knew that this should be it for the night after she had gotten into a fight with a couple of rude guys. Although they were definitely in the wrong for trying to grope some women's asses, she still went a little overboard. So he carried the reluctant woman outside of the club.

"Jack," the blonde slurred in his arms. "I don't wanna go home. I wanna party all night!"

Jack nodded and agreed with her as he continued to carry her. Once the valet pulled up with his car, Jack placed her onto the passenger seat and buckled her up. There were a few accidental touches because Susan was squirming so much but after using his telepathy to sedate her a bit, Jack was able to get her settled in without issue.

Closing her door, Jack shook his head thinking that he would need to make sure that Sue didn't go out drinking alone, especially when she was upset.

Jack got into the driver's seat and immediately revved the engines before blasting into the streets and heading toward the Baxter Building. After speeding through the streets and avoiding the several police cars that tried to stop him, he arrived at the building.

Jack got out before walking over to Susan's side. When he opened the door, Jack was greeted by both of Susan's pale peeks and the pink tips on them. Apparently, she moved around a lot when Jack was driving but he didn't pay attention to it.

Jack straightened up her dress before he carried her out of the car and into the building. Jack pulled out his old access card which let him into the elevator. Clicking the penthouse, the elevator began to travel up.

Susan tossed and turned in his arms a few times but Jack was prepared for this and carried her like it was nothing. When the doors opened, he was surprised to see that the lights on the top floor were on.

"Mom!" "Mom!" "Sue!"

Jack heard Valeria, Franklin, and Johnny. Besides the 3 of them, Jack also heard 3 others approach. But everyone froze when they rounded the corner and saw the sleeping Susan in Jack's arms.

"Uncle Jack!" the two kids called out before running up to Jack and hugging his legs, ignoring their sleeping mother in his arms

"Hey, kids. Just came by to drop your mom off. Do you guys mind bringing her back to one of your rooms? She told me she wanted to sleep with the both of you tonight," Jack explained to them, signaling that he couldn't stay long.

The two kids pouted when they heard that. Jack had been much busier and had rarely been visiting them. At most, he would visit once every two weeks and most of that time was helping Franklin control his powers.

Valeria had been feeling a bit neglected but she also knew that Franklin needed attention more at the moment. Jack also made sure he stayed for at least 30 minutes extra each time, just to spend with her so that Valeria knew that she was also getting attention too.

Franklin used his powers to lift Sue before him and Valeria returned to Val's room. As soon as they got inside, Franklin lay Sue down on the bed while Valeria pulled up a tablet.

Soon, all the videos of the various security cameras around the house were shown. When Franklin sat next to her, Valeria zoomed in on the security camera that had Jack and the others in it. Valeria passed Franklin one of the earphones as they each put them in to make sure their mom wouldn't wake up.

"Thanks for watching over..." Johnny started but was interrupted by Reed

"Why were you with my wife?" Reed questioned

Jack smirked when he heard this. It was truly the funniest thing he could have heard at the moment.

"Really? Your wife? I thought you were literally married to science. Anyway, I was with Sue because she wanted to drink with a friend," Jack explained, trying to hide his anger and not hint at what Sue was planning.

"Well next time she wants to drink with someone, please remind her she has a husband at home," Reed warned

"Ha! I'm sorry but I didn't know that. Last I heard before tonight, you have been missing for 47 days. What caused it this time? The Skrulls? Galactus? You wanted to find a way to get to the fridge faster?"

"I don't like being kept in the dark. I'll be sure to tell Sue this too but this is my warning to you. Don't keep things about my wife secret from me."

This caused Jack to get really angry. If Reed wanted to talk about secrets being kept from spouses, he was the last one to talk.

"42. Strange, Xavier, Stark, Namor, and Boltagon. Hulk. The Council. If I mention any of these to her, will she know what you are talking about?" Jack asked. Reed was about to say something but Jack cut him off. "Of course, she won't. You may be able to keep these secrets from her and the other members of your team, but you won't be able to keep them a secret from me."

Jack didn't wait for Reed to say anything before he teleported back down to his car and drove off into the night.

The other members of the team looked at Reed in confusion but all they saw was panic and fear on his face. Something that they never saw from Reed.

"Stretch? What's he talking about?" Ben asked but Reed ran away without answering. He fled to his private room and locked the door.

Seeing her dad run away, Valeria switched to the camera she had hidden in her dad's room while he was away. Soon, she saw five figures appear on the screen, each one of them looking exhausted.

"Richards? What's going on? When did you get back?" Tony Stark questioned him

"A few hours ago. We have bigger problems! Frost knows!" Reed exclaimed

"Knows what?" Namor asked nervously. If it was anyone else, he would not have minded them knowing their secrets because they were sure that they could erase any proof. Jack was a different story.

"All of it! Prison 42! What happened to the Hulk! About the 6 of us gathering! He knows all of it!"

The others understood why Reed had panicked. This was truly the worst outcome. They were the pillars of the hero community. If anything they did came to light, even a single incident, it would be the end of not just them but the people's faith in heroes.

"We can't risk it. We need to deal with him," Tony suggested. And for the first time, no one disagreed with him. Instead, they began discussing.

"My magic is at its weakest. While I am still Sorcerer Supreme, all of the higher powers that I received powers from have abandoned me since I have refused to fight on their behalf," Strange explained his current power level

"I have also been unable to dive into his mind. Whether that is through magic or psionic means I am unsure but I will not be able to shut him down immediately. I will need time," Xavier explained his side

"I've been working on a few things since my last fight with him with Reed. We should be able to take him if we bring out all the trump cards we have," Tony agreed with the others.

"Then we must strike at the right moment," Namor added

"The Institute is having a Field Day next Friday. There will be celebrations afterward. That is when he will let down his guard. That is when we can strike," Xavier did not mind selling out Jack or the school. He was thinking about the bigger picture.

Valeria and Franklin looked on in horror. The people they had always looked up to were planning to murder Jack.

"But before we handle them..." Tony started. Reed and Xavier nodded.

Valeria and Franklin were curious about what they were about to talk about the screen on the tablet froze. Both children suddenly realized what was happening but it was too late. Xavier was already in their minds.

Back in the room, Reed sighed as he looked at Valeria's room where both of his children and his wife were unconscious.

"All the data is deleted. Your daughter is good but she has too little experience," Tony said

"And their memories have been altered. They will think you talked to Hank Pym about how 42 was the command code for killing the 5 of us if we ever went rogue."

With this, two more loose ends were cut off. All they had left was to deal with Jack.

Meanwhile, Jack had just arrived back at the mansion and gotten into bed with Emma. Jack gave her a peck on the cheek before pulling her into his arms and sleeping with the beauty. Just as he closed his eyes, a thought suddenly flashed across Jack's mind.

'I have like 10 different abilities I could have used to help her adjust her clothes and carry her. Oh well. I can think about that another time. I wanna sleep.'