SUE STORM SAT IN HER OFFICE, STARING OUT AT THE night. The surrounding lights of the Manhattan skyscrapers dappled her view. It had a calming effect on her, as did the fact that she finally had some time alone. Their entire floor at the Baxter Building was blissfully deserted. Her brother had taken Reed and Ben out for the evening. Boys only, he had said, and although Sue feared the trouble those three might get into, at the moment she was just too relaxed to care. Besides, the thought of them out together brought a huge smile to her face. She knew the men of the group needed some downtime, just as she did.

She walked out onto the rooftop deck, savoring the view of the city. The moon was thin, a perfect crescent. The wind was brisk and cool. The city was almost quiet. She absolutely loved Manhattan on nights like these. She breathed the air in deeply and made her way back inside. Yes, she thought, it feels good to spend some time alone.

Down on the street, a large black suburban with government plates screeched to a halt in front of the Baxter Building. The doors were pushed open quickly, and several soldiers leapt out of the imposing car. One figure led the rest — a grizzled man with a creased face and a dour expression. His skin was as dark as the night, his hair closely cropped to his head. General George Hager had served his country for his entire adult life and disliked New York City — a town of liberal hippies and communists, as he was often quoted as saying — as much as he disliked the building he was about to enter. He scoffed as they made their way into the lobby and past the Fantastic Four Gift Shop. He exchanged a look of disgust with his aide, Captain Raye, an attractive woman with ice-blue eyes, sharp angular cheekbones, and an equally dour demeanor. She walked quickly, not unlike a model on a runway, but with a much more serious task at hand.

The figures piled quickly into the gilded elevators of the Baxter Building and Hager pushed the button for the top floor. They walked out of the elevator and into the reception area. Hager and Raye came to a sudden halt when they saw a receptionist standing behind a desk. They had assumed that the staff would have already gone home for the evening. The receptionist was tall and plain, her hair pulled back in a sensible bun, a smile painted on her thin face. Her vision was focused on nothing in particular, and her facial expression didn’t change with the arrival of a group of military men. Her voice, when she spoke, had a strange mechanical feel to it: “Ms. Storm will be with you shortly.” Something about her eyes and voice made General Hager suspicious. He put his arm out and swept it right through her body. The image of the receptionist shimmered, revealing her to be nothing more than a hologram. Raye let out a small gasp just as Sue walked into the lobby.

“Thanks, Rebecca,” Sue said politely to the hologram. It suddenly shut itself down and the receptionist faded into thin air. Sue didn’t try very hard to mask the annoyance in her voice as she turned to Hager. “Can I help you?”

Hager took in a deep breath. “We’re here to see Dr. Richards.”

“I’m sorry,” she said slowly. “He’s not in right now. Is there anything I can do for you?” Her polite smile did not match the chilly tone of her voice.

Hager met her tepid smile with his steely gaze. “Yes,” he said, “you can take us to see Dr. Richards.”

The Invisible Woman sighed. “O-kay. I guess my quiet, solitary evening had to end eventually. Come with me, General.”

Across town, a line of people stood waiting in the cold night to enter the newest and trendiest nightclub in all of Manhattan. Ambient noise from behind the double steel doors excited those waiting to get in as a mixture of heat and deep bass could be felt coming from inside. The highly polished doors gave those waiting something to do as they checked their reflections, their skin, at least briefly, colored a light shade of silver.

Johnny led his reluctant, aging troops into the main room of the club. He’d fought tough battles before, but nothing like this. Why is it so hard to get these two to loosen up? he thought as he pushed them into the heart of the nightclub. The large space was filled almost to capacity with gorgeous girls and well-groomed men. In the center of the rectangular room was a dance floor made of metal, and its silver sheen made the lights dance and reflect that much more rapidly. Ben looked uncomfortable. Reed looked confused. Johnny felt great.

“This is it?” Ben asked. Johnny nodded enthusiastically, pointing to a tiny banner on a faraway wall, barely visible in the shifting light of the club, that read, CONGRATULATIONS, REED.

Reed put his fingers in his ears, trying to hear himself think over the roar of the crowd. “I don’t know anyone here,” he said, a bit flummoxed.

Johnny dismissed the comment as if swatting away a fly. “Yeah, I would have invited your friends, but you don’t really have any.”

Reed was getting even more confused. “What about the Nobel committee?” Johnny let out a laugh, and even Ben rolled his eyes at that one.

Johnny explained himself. “Sorry, I mean you don’t really have any friends that I want to party with.” He swept his hands out to the dance floor, eyebrows raised, as if offering the crowed room as an alternative.

On cue, a trio of screaming girls in small, tight dresses came over to them. Johnny’s eyes traveled all over a blonde in a silver metallic dress. He started to make his move.

Reed reached out his hand and stopped him. “Johnny, we had a deal.”

Johnny put his hands out in front of him, making a gesture of innocence. “Hey, they’re not exotic dancers, all right?” His eyes once again burned all over the beautiful women. “They’re just hot,” he yelled and grabbed the blonde, leading her to the dance floor. The other girls swarmed Reed, running their fingers through the gray hair around his temples and grabbing his shoulders.

“You’re Mr. Fantastic, aren’t you?” one of the girls asked. “That is so awesome!” She lead Reed away from the bar and toward the dance floor.

Ben, standing alone, turned to the bartender. He ignored the surprised look on the guy’s rugged face. “I need a pitcher of beer with the biggest handle you got,” Ben said.

About an hour later, the club was in full swing. The line in front stretched around the block, leaving the silver-hued would-be patrons shivering in the cold evening. Reed’s banner had quickly and mysteriously been burned to ash. At the bar, Johnny and his new friends lined up a row of sambuca shots. He turned his finger to flame and ignited the shots. The crowd around them applauded as they tossed the drinks back. Even Ben smiled before downing a pitcher of beer in one gulp. He slammed the pitcher down on the granite bar, cracking the counter. A long, low belch followed.

Reed, too, was beginning to enjoy himself. The music, after a while, was infectious, as was the rambunctious dancing of the lithe bodies on the floor. He was even growing used to the rapt attention of the two girls he’d met when they first arrived at the club. They hung on his every word, enjoying the free drinks that Johnny kept sending over. The two girls didn’t have much to say, but that was fine by him. Reed was more than happy to do the talking for all of them.

“When the universe began,” he said, not noticing one of the girls stifling a yawn, “it was no bigger than a marble. Then, BANG!” He raised his voice and expanded his hands for dramatic effect. The girls squealed and jumped at the unexpected use of his power, his limbs stretching out a few feet in either direction. He smiled at them both and continued. “It exploded, and in a trillionth of a second it expanded exponentially into what became the universe we know today.” He pulled his arms back in and took a long pull from his very strong drink.

“Wow,” said one of the girls, named Sandy. “You’re really smart.”

“Thank you, Candy. That means a lot to me.” Reed’s voice was getting a little hoarse from his trying to talk over the loud dance music, but it wouldn’t let up. As one song ended, another one began immediately.

“I love this song,” exclaimed the other girl, Amy or Amber. Reed couldn’t remember. “You want to dance?”

Reed put up his hands in a show of mock defeat. “No, I don’t really.”

The girl in the metallic silver dress joined in, leaving Johnny to cool his jets at the bar with Ben. “Come on!” she yelled, walking past them.

The girls quickly pulled Reed out onto the dance floor. The reflective metal floor added to his general disorientation as the bodies around him moved to a beat he couldn’t quite seem to find. At the bar, Johnny poked Ben in the ribs, bruising his elbow. They watched, amused, as Reed tried to keep up with the three girls moving around him.

“Just loosen up. Have some fun,” Sandy told him, moving her arms in the air. Reed started to let the music wash over him, the guiding hands of the girls helping him find a rhythm in the loud electronic music. He began to relax, feeling his body getting loose. The girls started to clap and encouraged him as Reed became more daring with his moves, his body being led by the pulsing beats and deep bass of the music. His mind and focus slipped as his body lost its shape, his arms stretching and flying out into the air. His legs stretched, propelling his body upward without his feet leaving the metal dance floor. His arms were like ribbons come alive, bending and twisting around the large room. For once, Reed detached his body from his mind and gave himself over to the music.

At the bar, Ben and Johnny stood with their jaws dropped. Neither could remember ever seeing Reed like this. Johnny, dodging a flying hand and a bit envious of the attention, said to Ben, “When he loosens up, he really loosens up.”

Across the crowded club, near its main entrance, a gaggle of onlookers watched in rapt attention as Reed added his powers to the thrumming beat of the music. Just behind them, Ben saw Sue and a bunch of military brass enter the room, followed by the hulking figures of club security. Ben recognized General Hager and knew that his presence meant trouble.

“Where is he?” Hager asked.

Sue pointed to her fiancé on the dance floor, who was suddenly doing the wave with his long, outstretched arms. “There,” she said to Hager. “Unfortunately. For him.”

Reed spotted Sue and her stone-faced entourage. With reddening cheeks, he pulled his body back into shape, oblivious to the drinks his waving arms knocked over at different tables around the club. He readjusted his coat once his arms snapped back, then rushed over to greet his fiancée. Ben lumbered over to join them, the crowd parting for him.

“Sue! Hi!” Reed said. He looked over at the man with the ramrod posture standing next to her. “General Hager?”

Hager made no attempt to hide his contempt. “Can we speak somewhere private?”

Sue crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow. “Unless you need to do some Jell-O shots off someone’s stomach.” Ben snickered at the comment. Hager grunted and motioned toward the back of the club.

They left the main room of the club and entered the kitchen, a spare, clean space also outfitted with silver metal. Noticing the look on Hager’s face, as well as the military escort, the staff cleared out quickly. Reed led Hager to the back of the kitchen, away from the stoves and oven. The military escort kept close to the general, followed by Ben, Sue, and a now intrigued Johnny, who kept trying to catch the eye of Hager’s attractive aide. Sue leaned in to Ben and asked in a whisper, “How does Reed know the general?”

Ben whispered, “A few years back, the guy was trying to push a new missile defense system. Reed testified the technology wouldn’t work. The general wasn’t too happy about it.” The whispering stopped as the general began to speak.

“I’m only here, Richards, because I’m under direct orders from the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Personally, I don’t like the idea of sharing sensitive information with a civilian scientist — especially one who loves the public spotlight so much.” The general threw a hard look at both Reed and Johnny.

Reed spoke up. “Always a pleasure to see you, too, General. What can I do for you?”

Hager ignored Reed’s tone and continued. “As you may know, there have been recent, unusual occurrences all over the world. Officially, we’ve downplayed their significance to the public. But we’re concerned these anomalies might pose a credible threat to our national security.”

The grizzled general turned to his aide and nodded. She pulled a file out of a metal briefcase and handed the file over to Reed. “This was taken by one of our spy satellites three days ago,” she explained to him.

Reed opened the file, marked CONFIDENTIAL, and pulled out a grainy satellite photograph. The picture showed a silvery blur just above the Earth, followed by a wake of radiant energy. Ben and the others peered over Reed’s shoulder to see the photo.

“What is it?” Ben asked.

“We have no idea,” Hager replied, nodding in Reed’s direction. “We were hoping Dr. Richards here could tell us.”

“I’m afraid I have never seen anything like it,” Reed responded. “Ben?”

Ben Grimm stared at the photograph, searching his vast knowledge to try to come up with some kind of explanation. “I’d say it was a meteor or a piece of space junk burning up in the atmosphere, but the trail’s all wrong.” He paused to consider his words. “This thing’s giving off some kind of energy.”

General Hager’s face showed his concern. “Take a look at this,” he said. “Captain Raye.” The aide brought up an image on a laptop computer. It showed huge craters in the most isolated locations on the planet: the Amazon rain forest, the Australian outback, the Ural Mountains. All of the craters were uniform in size and equally round, perfectly smooth, their walls made of a reflective silver metal.

Captain Raye said, “They’ve been appearing in remote areas all over the world since the events started.”

“Have you identified the silver alloy?” Reed asked her.

She shook her head. “It’s not any known element.”

Hager spoke up quickly. “If we’re going to find out what this is all about, we need a way to locate and intercept that object.”

Reed’s mind already appeared to be wandering, examining the mysterious object and the problems it presented from a variety of directions. He said, “It would be possible to build a sensor, tie it into the Baxter Building’s satellite grid, then pinpoint the exact location of the object.”

A small look of relief crossed Hager’s face. “Good. So you’ll build it for us.”

Reed started to nod his head in agreement but stopped himself. He looked at Sue’s face, which was filled with both concern and curiosity about these anomalies.

“I’m afraid I can’t,” he said.

Hager’s tone was unmistakable. His relief had turned back to contempt. “What?”

The group exchanged puzzled looks, while Johnny once again tried to make eye contact with Captain Raye. She held her focus on the general.

Reed cleared his throat and spoke up. “General, I’m getting married this Saturday. So I just don’t have the time.” He locked eyes with Sue, who gave him her sweetest smile.

Hager was outraged. “Richards, your country needs your help.”

Reed pulled out a business card and scribbled a number just under the name. “Call this man — Professor Jeff Wagner. He’s head of the physics department at Brown. I am sure he can help.”

The tone of the general’s voice made Reed uneasy. Hager wasn’t used to not getting his way, and he had no problem showing it. “I expected more. Even from you.” The temperature of the room fell by degrees and Reed doubted that even Johnny could heat up the chill caused by the general. General Hager turned on his heel, Captain Raye right behind him. He led his entourage out of the kitchen. They plowed their way through the still crowded club and back onto the street, where they started to pile back into their big, imposing SUVs.

Johnny walked up to Captain Raye. “Hi,” he said. “John Storm, Fantastic Four Incorporated. Have you ever done any professional modeling?” He gave her his best, most incendiary smile.

A curt “Not interested” was her only response.

Johnny was undeterred. “’Cause you got the most amazing…”

“Not interested!” Captain Raye said again, forcefully and loud enough for the others to hear. She climbed quickly in to the passenger side of the black SUV and slammed the door shut.

Johnny was left standing on the curb. His voice hadn’t lost a bit of its enthusiasm when he said, “Wow. A challenge. I like it.”

Sue ignored her brother’s shenanigans and turned to Reed. Her face had a tender look and the streetlights bathed her features in a soft glow. “I can’t believe you just turned down a science project.”

Reed took her hands in his. “They can build a sensor without me. The most important thing right now is our wedding. No interruptions. No postponements.” He emphasized his words with small kisses on her hand.

“Okay,” she said softly. She kissed him on the lips.

Reed pulled away. “And listen, about what you saw back at the bar —”

She laughed and interrupted him. “Reed, don’t worry about it. I know you, okay? I’m glad you had fun.”

“Thank you,” he said, sounding relieved.

“Besides,” she added quickly, “it was nothing compared to what I did at my bachelorette party. Talk about wild!”

She gave him a wide smile and walked away, leaving him standing on the curb. His questions — “Wild? How wild? Sue?” — echoed down the empty street.

Ben stood there silently, watching the team of SUVs disappear down the street. The satellite photo stuck eerily in his mind. He had a feeling deep in his gut that something was coming. Something bad. Something they had never encountered before.